Too Much of a Good Thing

My parents are getting home tonight so that means my sister and I have been trying to clean/ straighten up the house. My mom is a neat freak so when she's gone, things tend to get not as neat. In order not to make a bigger mess, dinner was leftovers again.

Honey Mustard Chicken on a whole grain bun with

grilled zucchini and red cabbage on the side.

Then came the craving for something sweet. Yesterday I made a batch of my signature cookie- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Melties. These are so good they practically melt in your mouth. So I had one...and then another, and another and well you get the point. I took a picture of the first one, but it didn't turn out. I can't handle myself around these cookies so I need to be done baking for awhile!

Afternoon

I had a Clif Z bar, Honey Graham flavor at work and half of a grapefruit as a pre-workout snack. The grapefruit tasted extra good, it was juicy and hit the spot.

I went for a 2.5 mile run around the lake in front of my house. It was cold (39 degrees!) but besides the wind, it was actually nice running weather. Back home, I did some toning exercises using a balance ball and a resistance band. I tried the DVD that came with the balance ball and band. It has three 20 minute segments: Lower Body, Upper Body, and Core. It was pretty decent for a lighter workout and gave me some new ideas.

My parents are due home within the next hour, I better finish up!

Mexican Chopped Salad Leftovers and Mixed Berry Yogurt

My morning oats kept me full for almost 5 hours! I debated having my yogurt about two hours ago but decided I really wasn't hungry.

For lunch I had leftovers from last night's Mexican Chopped Salad. It tasted extra delicious today. I'm not sure if this is because I have an appetite today or if the flavors were more intense. I also warmed it up so that might have increased the flavor too. Along with the salad, I had a serving of Kashi crackers and homemade mixed berry yogurt.




Okay, in reality the yogurt is semi-homemade. What I did was mix plain lowfat yogurt with frozen berries. My reason for doing this is simple- I don't really like eating store-bought fruit yogurt. My family doesn't like to eat artificial sugars so we buy the real sugar sweetened yogurts. This is fine, but personally it's too sweet and caloric for my liking. While I don't really like plain yogurt, I find that if I mix fresh or frozen fruit with it, I get the best of both worlds. I usually prepare the yogurt the night before so by the time I eat it the next day, the fruit isn't frozen any more. Of course, fresh fruit tastes better but unfortunately fresh berries still cost a fortune at this time of year in Minnesota.

Lazy Sunday

Today was one of the most unproductive days I have had in awhile. I guess my body needed a rest because I fell asleep for 2 1/2 hours this afternoon! I haven't taken a nap in so long! I have to admit that it felt great. Oh and good news, the sun was out today although it was still quite chilly. At least, no snow!

This morning I was up early with Brody. I made some coffee first thing and had a bran muffin that I baked yesterday. It was kind of dry but the parts with banana chunks were good. (I will post the recipe and full review later.) I sat in bed watching the Food Network (have I mention I am obsessed?) and drinking coffee. It was a wonderful leisurely way to relax since I was home alone.

A few hours later I got hungry for real breakfast. I was going to make a bowl of oatmeal but the bag of oat bran caught my eye. S to change things up, I made a bowl of bran instead. On the stovetop, I boiled a cup of almond milk with a cinnamon stick. I added 1/3c oat bran, 1/4 c pumpkin, 1/2 banana, 1 tablespoon raisins and more cinnamon! Usually, when I make any type of hot cereal, I don't add any sugar because I find that the fruits/nuts/milk that I add are sweet enough. However, any time I add pumpkin, I find that it does need extra sweetening. I ended up adding about a tablespoon of brown sugar. Half mixed in, and half sprinkled on top which caramelized into deliciousness. I wish I had a picture of this beautiful orangey bowl of bran, but I was sans camera since my sister borrowed it for prom.

After breakfast, I sat down to read the chapter on carbohydrates in my text book. I'm such a nerd, I LOVE reading about nutrition. There was an "Expert Opinion" section on the benefits of a high-carbohydrate diet. I thought it was interesting so I wanted to share this passage:

"The great civilizations of the world developed and flourished consuming high-carbohydrate diets. The classic examples are the Chinese civilization, based on rice; the Egyptian and Babylonian cultures, which consumed wheat; and, in the Americas, the Maya, Inca, and Aztec peoples, whose staples were corn and beans. Except for the affluent countries of the Western world, the majority of the world's population continues to consume a high-carbohydrate diet derived from cereals, legumes, vegetables, and fruits....Ecologically, a high-carbohydrate diet makes better use of the world's resources. Cereal crops and legumes require about one-fifth of the resources needed to yield the same energy that beef would require. Thus, the available resources of the world would not be sufficient to produce the high animal fat diet of North America for everyone." - Dr. William E. Connor

It's a good thing I love my carbs!

After studying, I thought about running, but I didn't feel like I was energized enough for my long 90 minute run. So what did I do? Watched Giada's Weekend Getaway and A Cook's Tour. Another show came on afterwards and that's when I fell asleep for 2 and a half hours!!! It was 5:30 when I woke up!

Despite not eating lunch, I had no appetite. I've also felt dehydrated all day long. I keep drinking huge glasses of water but my thirst isn't satisfied.

Like I said, I wasn't hungry but my sister was so I got to work on dinner, a mexican chopped salad. This salad was very easy to make. I brushed honey mustard on top of a few chicken breasts and baked them in the oven a little under an hour. While the chicken was baking, I chopped the ingredients for the salad:

• Tomatoes
• Onion
• Green Peppers
• Avocado
• Corn
• Apple
• Cilantro

Once the chicken was done, I chopped that up and added it to the bowl. For a dressing, I tossed the ingredients with lime juice, chipotle pepper juice, a little bit of EVOO, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper.

Served on top of a bed of lettuce with chili-lime chedder cheese quesadillas.

The salad tasted fresh and a great combination of flavors. I wish I would have actually had an appetite so I could have enjoyed the meal more. I'm having leftovers for lunch so I'll be able to enjoy it then!

I am trying not to feel too guilty about not exercising today. I feel like such a couch potato today. Ahh tomorrow I can get back on track and start a fresh week, right?