Habit= something you do as naturally as flushing the toilet after going potty. This blog is a habit. Even on busy days, I automatically just think I have to do it now. Last night after drama practice (thank you Becca for walking me safely to the car :D) it was almost 10 getting home and I still had papers to grade, my nightly web cam with the sweetie, and I just couldn't unwind. Too many wheels cranking in my head. Plus with a field trip on the agenda for the first half of the next day, I knew it'd be a lighter load in the morning mentally so I stayed up getting things done till 1:30am (not a healthy choice) then went to bed. At 2:30am the son-in-law came and woke me up to say Mandy was having labor pains. I'm the labor coach (besides the mom) so we loaded all the pre-packed bags and drove to the hospital which is about 35 minutes. It was a full moon.... I don't know if I need to say more. They checked her into "triage" instead of the hospital and told us only one of us could go back there. The son-in-law went first (I'm reserve for the harder pains). I had only slept an hour and the waiting room chairs were uncomfortable, but 35 minutes later I found myself nodding off sitting up.... quite embarrassing. It was 4am and still no word on if the labor was the real McCoy. In the meantime two other women had been wheeled into maternity triage. One was expecting twins.
I kept thinking about the full moon and how my students and I had just had this very talk about why more activity happens on a full moon (it's really quite scientific). I smiled in my delirium. Then another lady came in and I could tell there was no doubting her urgency. Her husband had her in the wheel chair as they stood at the check-in window of the maternity triage and she was giving one syllable responses with a very focused look. I recognized that face and mentality and knew she had on her game face and it was the fourth quarter. Okay, don't make fun of me... it's how I think. So the lady at the desk keeps asking the usual annoying questions that you could care less about at a time like this and the pregnant lady keeps giving nods (without looking) or one syllable responses. Then the lady says, "So do you have a living will?" Response: "No." "Would you be interested in learning about one?" SERIOUSLY!!!??? The lady went past one syllable: "No, I don't think right at this minute I would be!" I thought she was going to pop the lady one. Then the lady says (without sensing the sarcasm apparently), "Oh, I see you're having triplets, I better go get a third monitor." I thought, "Holy Cow! Triplets!" This lady ended up having the babies 20 minutes later via emergency C-section because the third baby wasn't having a heartbeat. But..... we're more concerned about talking to you about a living will.
So at that point "the mom" kicked in and I needed to see my daughter. I wasn't so comfortable with how she was being cared for now. I switched w/the son-in-law and asked what was going on. The contractions were only 2 minutes apart-- consistent, but only 2 minutes- - and she was only dialated to a 4 or 5 so they were going to send her home. It was now 5:30am before they came in to render their decision. The young nurse (I'm guessing 22 w/no wedding ring on while this is my daughter's second child and obviously I've had a few) then began to tell us what a contraction feels like. "And if it's mild we point to the chin," she says. If it's moderate... nose. And if it's hard, we point to the head... well for obvious reasons. And you'll feel your tummy get really hard and...." I am very proud of myself for not explaining to her that she sounded one cell short of an ameba and that her lack of experience only added to our irritation. We packed the daughter up and headed home as I called my principal to see if I could get a sub and reclaim some of my sleep hours.
Of course, I neglected to check my gas gauge before heading out this morning and ... I was on empty. $3.11 per gallon!!! That's crazy. Even with my fuel rewards (.60 cents off) it was outrageous! All the stress drove me to comfort eating. A crispy kreme donut called my name clear from the gas pump. I really just went in for some hot chocolate to wake me up for the drive home, but at 6am exactly, she didn't have the hot water yet. So donut it was. I haven't had one in quite some time. Yes, it was good, but all the sugar gave me a headache. Or... maybe it was the lady in the waiting room.. or the young nurse... or the fact that I was operating on one hour of sleep. Anyway... I ate it.
Getting subs on a Friday-- priceless. They couldn't get one. I went in (same hairdo as the day before and one hour of sleep). I came home for lunch and slept and went back and made sure my daughter was resting. I had dropped little REllo off to my son and his wife at 3am so he was taken care of. The other son and his wife offered to have him come over later and play with the cousins on the new trampoline if needed (and he did that later). I love my family. I have such great kids. Okay... I'm not just saying that because I'm deliriously tired. After school and after I fed the sore pregnant lady some blueberry/banana pancakes (it was the craving of the moment since she hadn't ate all day), I went off to sleep from 5:30-8pm. So, you now know what my after school eats were along with one egg and a can of pears. I ate a bowl of Mini-wheats when I woke up at 8pm because I knew I'd be up at least two more hours (I don't generally eat after 8pm) but I knew I didn't have enough fiber in my days, so had to get some in, plus cereal is easy when you've had such a crazy day.
Went a little over on my calorie goal today, but pretty sure I burned them off and we have a new night ahead of us. So now, I'm going back to bed because I sense that it could be a weekend of little sleep.
BREAKFAST: Donut (Boston Crème- 280 cal. and 1g of fiber, bad sat. fat though)
Snack: Quaker Granola Bar (90 cal. and 1g of fiber)
LUNCH: Dannon Fit Yogurt (90 cal.) Carnation Tuna Pouch (90 cal.) w/16 wheatables (160 cal. and 1g of fiber)
AFTER SCHOOL EATS: 2 blueberry pancakes (water mix, not milk w/bananas smashed in) =200 cal. and 2g of fiber, plus one egg (90) and 1 can of Del Monte 100 cal. pears (4g of fiber)
DINNER: Bowl of Frosted Mini Wheats- 230 cal. and 7g of fiber
Total Calories Today= 1300-1400
Total Grams of Fiber= 16g of fiber
Friday, April 30, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
DAY 116- Healthier Eating Journal
READ THE GOOD CARBS V. BAD CARBS ARTICLE BELOW THIS POST.
My other word to the healthwise-- always pack healthy snacks for the day. Eat all day throughout the day with planned purpose in your eating so you're not eating a bunch of sugar all day or just processed garbo or you're not getting enough fiber, etc. It may sound like a lot of work, and for the first month or two... IT IS! But once you start realizing what's in the food you're choosing and what it is or isn't doing for you... you look at it a whole lot differently. You still have your candy bar once in a while (I do) or your processed food once in a while, but you eat a lot healthier and make better choices and it's a whole new perspective. I'm thinking of that Disney song "A Whole New World". I'm against fad diets. You just need to know what you're eating and what you want to do with your body. Do you want to make it fatter? YOU make it fatter. Reality check.
Sorry, sometimes I just get irritated when people act like it's some "fat" fairy that mysteriously adds pounds to their body at night. Likewise, I get irritated when people act like your body is "just luck" or "good genes" when it takes discipline to get it healthy and looking good. Okay... I'll stop.
TODAY'S FOOD INTAKE:
For breakfast I had Raisin Bran Extra for the fiber start (230 calories and 7g of fiber)
SNACK: apple (90 cal. and 5g of fiber
LUNCH: Healthy Choice Herb Chicken w/broccoli (290 cal. and 9g of fiber)
SNACK: 16 Wheatables (140 cal. 1g of fiber)
DINNER: One Pork Chop (140)+20 for what it was cooked in? and chips (160), Snickers Ice Cream Snack Bar for dessert (90)
Total Calories Today= 1200
My other word to the healthwise-- always pack healthy snacks for the day. Eat all day throughout the day with planned purpose in your eating so you're not eating a bunch of sugar all day or just processed garbo or you're not getting enough fiber, etc. It may sound like a lot of work, and for the first month or two... IT IS! But once you start realizing what's in the food you're choosing and what it is or isn't doing for you... you look at it a whole lot differently. You still have your candy bar once in a while (I do) or your processed food once in a while, but you eat a lot healthier and make better choices and it's a whole new perspective. I'm thinking of that Disney song "A Whole New World". I'm against fad diets. You just need to know what you're eating and what you want to do with your body. Do you want to make it fatter? YOU make it fatter. Reality check.
Sorry, sometimes I just get irritated when people act like it's some "fat" fairy that mysteriously adds pounds to their body at night. Likewise, I get irritated when people act like your body is "just luck" or "good genes" when it takes discipline to get it healthy and looking good. Okay... I'll stop.
TODAY'S FOOD INTAKE:
For breakfast I had Raisin Bran Extra for the fiber start (230 calories and 7g of fiber)
SNACK: apple (90 cal. and 5g of fiber
LUNCH: Healthy Choice Herb Chicken w/broccoli (290 cal. and 9g of fiber)
SNACK: 16 Wheatables (140 cal. 1g of fiber)
DINNER: One Pork Chop (140)+20 for what it was cooked in? and chips (160), Snickers Ice Cream Snack Bar for dessert (90)
Total Calories Today= 1200
TO CARB OR NOT TO CARB-- THAT IS THE QUESTION
From Harvard School of Public Health
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/carbohydrates/
The Nutrition Source: Carbohydrates
Choose good carbs, not no carbs. Whole grains are your best bet.
Don't be misled by fad diets that make blanket pronouncements on the dangers of carbohydrates. They provide the body with fuel it needs for physical activity and for proper organ function, and they are an important part of a healthy diet. But some kinds of carbohydrates are far better than others.
How to choose healthy carbs--
The best sources of carbohydrates—whole grains, vegetables, fruits and beans—promote good health by delivering vitamins, minerals, fiber, and a host of important phytonutrients. THE BAD CARBS--Easily digested carbohydrates from WHITE bread, WHITE rice, pastries, sugared sodas, and other highly processed foods may contribute to weight gain, interfere with weight loss, and promote diabetes and heart disease.
5 QUICK CARB TIPS
1. Start the day with whole grains. Try a hot cereal, like old-fashioned oats, or a cold cereal that lists a whole grain first on the ingredient list.
2. Use whole grain breads for lunch or snacks. Confused about how to find a whole-grain bread? Read "Separating the Whole Grain from the Chaff" to learn how to spot whole grains in the supermarket. Or try this recipe for hearty whole grain bread.
3. Bag the potatoes. Instead, try brown rice, bulgur, wheat berries, whole wheat pasta, or another whole grain with your dinner. Read "Health Gains from Whole Grains" for a list of whole grains and their health benefits, or check out these whole grain recipes.
4. Choose whole fruit instead of juice. An orange has two times as much fiber and half as much sugar as a 12-ounce glass of orange juice. Looking for juice alternatives? See six ideas for low-sugar drinks, a recipe for a low-sugar fruit cooler, and a recipe for sugar-free sparkling iced tea.
5. Bring on the beans. Beans are an excellent source of slowly digested carbohydrates as well as a great source of protein.
Researchers have developed a way to classify foods that takes into account both the amount of carbohydrate in the food and the impact of that carbohydrate on blood sugar levels. This measure is called the glycemic load. A food's glycemic load is determined by multiplying its glycemic index by the amount of carbohydrate it contains.
Here is a listing of low, medium, and high glycemic load foods. For good health, choose foods that have a low or medium glycemic load, and limit foods that have a high glycemic load.
Low Glycemic Load (10 or under)
• High-fiber fruits and vegetables (not including potatoes)
• Bran cereals (1 oz)
• Many beans and legumes, including chick peas, kidney beans, black beans, lentils, pinto beans (5 oz cooked, approx. 3/4 cup)
Medium Glycemic Load (11-19)
• Pearled barley: 1 cup cooked
• Brown rice: 3/4 cup cooked
• Oatmeal: 1 cup cooked
• Bulgur: 3/4 cup cooked
• Rice cakes: 3 cakes
• Whole grain breads: 1 slice
• Whole-grain pasta: 1 1/4 cup cooked
• No-sugar added fruit juices: 8 oz
High Glycemic Load (BAD) (20+)
• Baked potato
• French fries
• Refined breakfast cereal: 1 oz
• Sugar-sweetened beverages: 12 oz
• Jelly beans: 10 large or 30 small
• Candy bars: 1 2-oz bar or 3 mini bars
• Couscous: 1 cup cooked
• Cranberry juice cocktail: 8 oz
• White basmati rice: 1 cup cooked
• White-flour pasta: 1 1/4 cup cooked
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/carbohydrates/
The Nutrition Source: Carbohydrates
Choose good carbs, not no carbs. Whole grains are your best bet.
Don't be misled by fad diets that make blanket pronouncements on the dangers of carbohydrates. They provide the body with fuel it needs for physical activity and for proper organ function, and they are an important part of a healthy diet. But some kinds of carbohydrates are far better than others.
How to choose healthy carbs--
The best sources of carbohydrates—whole grains, vegetables, fruits and beans—promote good health by delivering vitamins, minerals, fiber, and a host of important phytonutrients. THE BAD CARBS--Easily digested carbohydrates from WHITE bread, WHITE rice, pastries, sugared sodas, and other highly processed foods may contribute to weight gain, interfere with weight loss, and promote diabetes and heart disease.
5 QUICK CARB TIPS
1. Start the day with whole grains. Try a hot cereal, like old-fashioned oats, or a cold cereal that lists a whole grain first on the ingredient list.
2. Use whole grain breads for lunch or snacks. Confused about how to find a whole-grain bread? Read "Separating the Whole Grain from the Chaff" to learn how to spot whole grains in the supermarket. Or try this recipe for hearty whole grain bread.
3. Bag the potatoes. Instead, try brown rice, bulgur, wheat berries, whole wheat pasta, or another whole grain with your dinner. Read "Health Gains from Whole Grains" for a list of whole grains and their health benefits, or check out these whole grain recipes.
4. Choose whole fruit instead of juice. An orange has two times as much fiber and half as much sugar as a 12-ounce glass of orange juice. Looking for juice alternatives? See six ideas for low-sugar drinks, a recipe for a low-sugar fruit cooler, and a recipe for sugar-free sparkling iced tea.
5. Bring on the beans. Beans are an excellent source of slowly digested carbohydrates as well as a great source of protein.
Researchers have developed a way to classify foods that takes into account both the amount of carbohydrate in the food and the impact of that carbohydrate on blood sugar levels. This measure is called the glycemic load. A food's glycemic load is determined by multiplying its glycemic index by the amount of carbohydrate it contains.
Here is a listing of low, medium, and high glycemic load foods. For good health, choose foods that have a low or medium glycemic load, and limit foods that have a high glycemic load.
Low Glycemic Load (10 or under)
• High-fiber fruits and vegetables (not including potatoes)
• Bran cereals (1 oz)
• Many beans and legumes, including chick peas, kidney beans, black beans, lentils, pinto beans (5 oz cooked, approx. 3/4 cup)
Medium Glycemic Load (11-19)
• Pearled barley: 1 cup cooked
• Brown rice: 3/4 cup cooked
• Oatmeal: 1 cup cooked
• Bulgur: 3/4 cup cooked
• Rice cakes: 3 cakes
• Whole grain breads: 1 slice
• Whole-grain pasta: 1 1/4 cup cooked
• No-sugar added fruit juices: 8 oz
High Glycemic Load (BAD) (20+)
• Baked potato
• French fries
• Refined breakfast cereal: 1 oz
• Sugar-sweetened beverages: 12 oz
• Jelly beans: 10 large or 30 small
• Candy bars: 1 2-oz bar or 3 mini bars
• Couscous: 1 cup cooked
• Cranberry juice cocktail: 8 oz
• White basmati rice: 1 cup cooked
• White-flour pasta: 1 1/4 cup cooked
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
DAY 115- Healthier Eating Journal
Another busy day to make the time fly and the calories seem secondary to simply being involved in life. That's a good thing. This morning I had to grab the yogurt and an apple for on-the-go breakfast because of early morning drama practice. Got the genie dance figured out so she can come out of the lamp correctly. Worked on the tinkerbell/cowboy dance last night and taught that one after school. This is all really good, fun exercise. It's nice to feel like I can do this stuff again. The kids are working hard. More dance groups and rehearsals after school. Just a busy day. Staff members are also wearing pedometers in a healthy incentive program we're participating in. It's a good idea. The pedometers are pretty cheap though-- as they quickly discovered-- and one minute you're up to 7000 steps and the next minute-- Blip-- you're back to zero. It's kind of cool to see how many steps you take though. I had no idea I walked so much just in a normal day's work. Throw in the dancing and my steps really go up. Good deal.
I'm watching the highlights of the new Shrek movie on American Idol (they went to the opening of it) and guess what? They're making the cat (Puss n Boots) that was the warrior/Zorro type character last night this fat blob and they talk about how he doesn't exercise or get out anymore and he just sits around eating. Hmmmmmm. Just can't get away from it. I also wanted to tell you that the eggs and cheese I tried last night as "sleep" food.... works. I was sleepy. The problem is, I ate that about 6pm. So I was still relaxed last night when I slept (could be a mind thing), but I was sleepiest about an hour after I ate. And, you can't eat after 8, so.... I do agree with eating lighter foods that your digestive system can handle in the evening though. I even agree certain foods do make you sleepier. I just have to figure it out... like I have so many things throughout this journey.
Speaking of trying things.... don't waste your time on the pepsi porkchops. I had one tonight and 1) heartburn (probably the diet pepsi) and 2) just wasn't that good-- dry meat even. I have much better recipes for pork chops in the crockpot and I think I'll just stick to them. It is good to try new things though. :) It's also good not to have a pregnant lady w/24-7 cravings livng in your house when you're trying to eat healthier. If she wants ice cream... she gets it. She came home yesterday all excited because she found 90 calorie ice cream snickers treats for me. Great.... I love Snickers. Can do without ice cream most of the time, but I tried one and.... she needs to eat them quickly so I don't eat anymore!!!! She did bring me some more wheatables by request and I learned that you need to check THE FIRST INGREDIENT listed (not just because it's what makes up the majority of what's in there) because if the first word is "enriched" or is not whole grain or wheat, you're not getting your full good grains. I'm bummed that the words on the box say "made from stone ground wheat" and yet what's the first word? Enriched. Yep. It does say whole wheat flour in parenthesis after that so how does that work exactly? Well I can have 16 for 140 calories and they have the pecan in them and 1g of fiber, but I can see there are probably healthier choices. I will finish the box though. It's better than jelly beans or cake. :D
Today's Food Intake:
BREAKFAST: Dannon Fit Yogurt (80) and 1 apple (90 and 3g of fiber)
SNACK: 16 Wheatables (Pecan) 140 cal. and 1g of fiber
LUNCH: Healthy Choice Shrimp Dinner (290 calories and 9g of fiber)
AFTER SCHOOL SNACK: 1/2 cup of the scrambled egg w/sausage and spinach left over on a piece of toast (220 and 1g of fiber)
DINNER: One porkchop cooked in the Diet Pepsi Crockpot recipe. (200 and no fiber)
DESSERT: Mini Snickers Ice Cream Treat (90). Didn't get enough fiber today.
Total Calories Today= 1100
Total Fiber Today= 14grams
I'll have my frosted mini-wheats tomorrow to make sure I get more fiber.
I'm watching the highlights of the new Shrek movie on American Idol (they went to the opening of it) and guess what? They're making the cat (Puss n Boots) that was the warrior/Zorro type character last night this fat blob and they talk about how he doesn't exercise or get out anymore and he just sits around eating. Hmmmmmm. Just can't get away from it. I also wanted to tell you that the eggs and cheese I tried last night as "sleep" food.... works. I was sleepy. The problem is, I ate that about 6pm. So I was still relaxed last night when I slept (could be a mind thing), but I was sleepiest about an hour after I ate. And, you can't eat after 8, so.... I do agree with eating lighter foods that your digestive system can handle in the evening though. I even agree certain foods do make you sleepier. I just have to figure it out... like I have so many things throughout this journey.
Speaking of trying things.... don't waste your time on the pepsi porkchops. I had one tonight and 1) heartburn (probably the diet pepsi) and 2) just wasn't that good-- dry meat even. I have much better recipes for pork chops in the crockpot and I think I'll just stick to them. It is good to try new things though. :) It's also good not to have a pregnant lady w/24-7 cravings livng in your house when you're trying to eat healthier. If she wants ice cream... she gets it. She came home yesterday all excited because she found 90 calorie ice cream snickers treats for me. Great.... I love Snickers. Can do without ice cream most of the time, but I tried one and.... she needs to eat them quickly so I don't eat anymore!!!! She did bring me some more wheatables by request and I learned that you need to check THE FIRST INGREDIENT listed (not just because it's what makes up the majority of what's in there) because if the first word is "enriched" or is not whole grain or wheat, you're not getting your full good grains. I'm bummed that the words on the box say "made from stone ground wheat" and yet what's the first word? Enriched. Yep. It does say whole wheat flour in parenthesis after that so how does that work exactly? Well I can have 16 for 140 calories and they have the pecan in them and 1g of fiber, but I can see there are probably healthier choices. I will finish the box though. It's better than jelly beans or cake. :D
Today's Food Intake:
BREAKFAST: Dannon Fit Yogurt (80) and 1 apple (90 and 3g of fiber)
SNACK: 16 Wheatables (Pecan) 140 cal. and 1g of fiber
LUNCH: Healthy Choice Shrimp Dinner (290 calories and 9g of fiber)
AFTER SCHOOL SNACK: 1/2 cup of the scrambled egg w/sausage and spinach left over on a piece of toast (220 and 1g of fiber)
DINNER: One porkchop cooked in the Diet Pepsi Crockpot recipe. (200 and no fiber)
DESSERT: Mini Snickers Ice Cream Treat (90). Didn't get enough fiber today.
Total Calories Today= 1100
Total Fiber Today= 14grams
I'll have my frosted mini-wheats tomorrow to make sure I get more fiber.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
DAY 114- Healthier Eating Journal
Be sure to check out the great article I found on foods that help you sleep. It might surprise you. (It's listed below this posting). I'm doing this early today because I have a lot to get done this evening and this blog takes a while to do. First of all, I am keeping the Crockpot Pepsi Porkchops on my dinner menu because I forgot to pick up the ingredients (I don't drink caffeine and might have pop a couple times a month) so I couldn't start it this morning. Rello (the grandson) and I are going to take another trip to the store when he wakes up and we'll get the ingredients and make it tomorrow instead. Or, I might have his mommy pick it up because it looks like it might rain and she's going shopping with her coupons tonight.
I'm feeling better and better about our play coming together after individual practices this week and last. I'm expecting them to sing, dance, and memorize lines from a play they've never heard of (because I wrote it just for them). Overall, they're digging in and getting it done. Another couple got their dance routine down this morning and one of my lead singers sang for me this morning and he really sang it quite well. I'm still nervous and a little stressed because that's what I do before any play, but I am also excited and ready to see it all come together. They're pretty amazing kids.
So foodwise, I was on the go with morning and lunch drama practices so it was easy to stick to my menu.
BREAKFAST: I took my Dannon Fit Yogurt for breakfast (80 calories) and grabbed a Quaker Granola Bar, but I didn't check which one it was. They're usually 80-90 calories. I ate it and thought, Wow! this is chocolate covered for 90 calories?! No, it was 140 calories and 1g fiber. The pregnant lady switched the boxes on me again. Still, breakfast was only (220 total) calories which is fine!
SNACK: Large Apple (didn't buy any small ones-- still can't eat the whole thing because they're just so big) 100 calories and 5g of fiber
LUNCH: Healthy Choice Frozen Turkey Breast Dinner-- 290 calories and 9g of fiber)
AFTER SCHOOL SNACK: 100 calorie mini-pouch popcorn (3g of fiber)
DINNER: Moving the Crockpot Pepsi pork chops to tomorrow and tonight I had eggs that I haven't had for a while (w/cheese and fresh spinach) because I saw on the list below that eggs and cheese are foods that will help me sleep and I haven't been sleeping very well the last few nights. I crumbled some lean ground sausage in the bottom of the pan and cooked it in small crumbled pieces until done then drained the very little grease and added the fresh spinach. Put the lid on it and let it steam a little stirring at times for a couple minutes. Then added he scrambled eggs. When they were done I shredded on some low-fat cheese (using very thin shredding blade) and turned it in the bowl upside down so cheese would melt. I added salsa later. About 200 calories per serving. I used whole grain toast (one slice) to make French toast w/butter spray (140) and some sugar free syrup (10 cal. for 1/4 cup and used 1/2 that so 5 calories) on it. The whole grain is also supposed to good for sleeping too. Total dinner calories= 350 and fiber 1gram
Total Calories Today= 1100
Total Fiber Today= 19 grams
I'm feeling better and better about our play coming together after individual practices this week and last. I'm expecting them to sing, dance, and memorize lines from a play they've never heard of (because I wrote it just for them). Overall, they're digging in and getting it done. Another couple got their dance routine down this morning and one of my lead singers sang for me this morning and he really sang it quite well. I'm still nervous and a little stressed because that's what I do before any play, but I am also excited and ready to see it all come together. They're pretty amazing kids.
So foodwise, I was on the go with morning and lunch drama practices so it was easy to stick to my menu.
BREAKFAST: I took my Dannon Fit Yogurt for breakfast (80 calories) and grabbed a Quaker Granola Bar, but I didn't check which one it was. They're usually 80-90 calories. I ate it and thought, Wow! this is chocolate covered for 90 calories?! No, it was 140 calories and 1g fiber. The pregnant lady switched the boxes on me again. Still, breakfast was only (220 total) calories which is fine!
SNACK: Large Apple (didn't buy any small ones-- still can't eat the whole thing because they're just so big) 100 calories and 5g of fiber
LUNCH: Healthy Choice Frozen Turkey Breast Dinner-- 290 calories and 9g of fiber)
AFTER SCHOOL SNACK: 100 calorie mini-pouch popcorn (3g of fiber)
DINNER: Moving the Crockpot Pepsi pork chops to tomorrow and tonight I had eggs that I haven't had for a while (w/cheese and fresh spinach) because I saw on the list below that eggs and cheese are foods that will help me sleep and I haven't been sleeping very well the last few nights. I crumbled some lean ground sausage in the bottom of the pan and cooked it in small crumbled pieces until done then drained the very little grease and added the fresh spinach. Put the lid on it and let it steam a little stirring at times for a couple minutes. Then added he scrambled eggs. When they were done I shredded on some low-fat cheese (using very thin shredding blade) and turned it in the bowl upside down so cheese would melt. I added salsa later. About 200 calories per serving. I used whole grain toast (one slice) to make French toast w/butter spray (140) and some sugar free syrup (10 cal. for 1/4 cup and used 1/2 that so 5 calories) on it. The whole grain is also supposed to good for sleeping too. Total dinner calories= 350 and fiber 1gram
Total Calories Today= 1100
Total Fiber Today= 19 grams
FOODS THAT HELP YOU SLEEP- Ask Dr. Sears.com
FOODS THAT HELP YOU SLEEP: We call them sleepers and wakers. Sleepers are tryptophan-containing foods, because tryptophan is the amino acid that the body uses to make serotonin, the neurotransmitter that slows down nerve traffic so your brain isn't so busy. Wakers are foods that stimulate neurochemicals that perk up the brain.
SNOOZE FOODS
These are foods high in the sleep-inducing amino acid tryptophan:
• Dairy products: cottage cheese, cheese, milk
• Soy products: soy milk, tofu, soybean nuts
• Seafood
• Meats
• Poultry
• Whole grains
• Beans
• Rice
• Hummus
• Lentils
• Hazelnuts, Peanuts
• Eggs
• Sesame seeds, sunflower seeds
BEST DINNERS FOR SLEEP
Meals that are high in carbohydrates and low-to-medium in protein will help you relax in the evening and set you up for a good night's sleep. Try the following "dinners for sleep":
• pasta with parmesan cheese
• scrambled eggs and cheese
• tofu stirfry
• hummus with whole wheat pita bread
• seafood, pasta, and cottage cheese
• meats and poultry with veggies
• tuna salad sandwich
• chili with beans, not spicy
• sesame seeds (rich in tryptophan) sprinkled on salad with tuna chunks, and whole wheat crackers
Lighter meals are more likely to give you a restful night's sleep. High-fat meals and large servings prolong the work your digestive system needs to do, and all the gas production and rumblings may keep you awake. Some people find that highly-seasoned foods (e.g., hot peppers and garlic) interfere with sleep, especially if you suffer from heartburn. (See gastroesophageal reflux). Going to bed with a full stomach does not, for most people, promote a restful night's sleep. While you may fall asleep faster, all the intestinal work required to digest a big meal is likely to cause frequent waking and a poorer quality of sleep. Eat your evening meal early.
FOODS THAT KEEP YOU AWAKE
Caffeine-containing foods top the list of foods that wake you up.
Know what foods contain the most caffeine. As you can see from the chart, coffee, colas, and tea rank highest in caffeine content.
FOOD CAFFEINE (mg.)
coffee, brewed, 6 ounces 105
coffee, instant, 6 ounces 55
Mountain Dew, 12 ounces 55
Colas, 12 ounces 35-45
Tea, 6 ounces 35
• Contrary to what we are led to believe, chocolate is not high in caffeine. Two chocolate chip cookies may contain less than 5 milligrams of caffeine, a packet of cocoa mix contains 5 milligrams, and one chocolate candy bar contains around 10 milligrams. In fact, many people find chocolate desserts that also contain dairy products to actually be a sleep inducer because of the combination of tryptophan and carbohydrates.
To get the taste of tea with less of a caffeine jolt, recycle the tea bag. Discard the first cup of tea made from the tea bag, which contains the most caffeine, and make another cup. Also, don't squeeze the tea out of the tea bag, as these drops of tea contain more caffeine. Try grain-based hot beverages and caffeine-free herbal teas as alternatives to coffee and tea.
Some over-the-counter cold and headache remedies are high in caffeine. Check the label or ask the pharmacist, especially if you are a caffeine-sensitive person.
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/t042400.asp
SNOOZE FOODS
These are foods high in the sleep-inducing amino acid tryptophan:
• Dairy products: cottage cheese, cheese, milk
• Soy products: soy milk, tofu, soybean nuts
• Seafood
• Meats
• Poultry
• Whole grains
• Beans
• Rice
• Hummus
• Lentils
• Hazelnuts, Peanuts
• Eggs
• Sesame seeds, sunflower seeds
BEST DINNERS FOR SLEEP
Meals that are high in carbohydrates and low-to-medium in protein will help you relax in the evening and set you up for a good night's sleep. Try the following "dinners for sleep":
• pasta with parmesan cheese
• scrambled eggs and cheese
• tofu stirfry
• hummus with whole wheat pita bread
• seafood, pasta, and cottage cheese
• meats and poultry with veggies
• tuna salad sandwich
• chili with beans, not spicy
• sesame seeds (rich in tryptophan) sprinkled on salad with tuna chunks, and whole wheat crackers
Lighter meals are more likely to give you a restful night's sleep. High-fat meals and large servings prolong the work your digestive system needs to do, and all the gas production and rumblings may keep you awake. Some people find that highly-seasoned foods (e.g., hot peppers and garlic) interfere with sleep, especially if you suffer from heartburn. (See gastroesophageal reflux). Going to bed with a full stomach does not, for most people, promote a restful night's sleep. While you may fall asleep faster, all the intestinal work required to digest a big meal is likely to cause frequent waking and a poorer quality of sleep. Eat your evening meal early.
FOODS THAT KEEP YOU AWAKE
Caffeine-containing foods top the list of foods that wake you up.
Know what foods contain the most caffeine. As you can see from the chart, coffee, colas, and tea rank highest in caffeine content.
FOOD CAFFEINE (mg.)
coffee, brewed, 6 ounces 105
coffee, instant, 6 ounces 55
Mountain Dew, 12 ounces 55
Colas, 12 ounces 35-45
Tea, 6 ounces 35
• Contrary to what we are led to believe, chocolate is not high in caffeine. Two chocolate chip cookies may contain less than 5 milligrams of caffeine, a packet of cocoa mix contains 5 milligrams, and one chocolate candy bar contains around 10 milligrams. In fact, many people find chocolate desserts that also contain dairy products to actually be a sleep inducer because of the combination of tryptophan and carbohydrates.
To get the taste of tea with less of a caffeine jolt, recycle the tea bag. Discard the first cup of tea made from the tea bag, which contains the most caffeine, and make another cup. Also, don't squeeze the tea out of the tea bag, as these drops of tea contain more caffeine. Try grain-based hot beverages and caffeine-free herbal teas as alternatives to coffee and tea.
Some over-the-counter cold and headache remedies are high in caffeine. Check the label or ask the pharmacist, especially if you are a caffeine-sensitive person.
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/t042400.asp
Monday, April 26, 2010
DAY 114- Healthier Eating Journal
It was a busy, busy Monday. Yesterday I decided to start working on healthier "inside" changes as well. This week I will..... call or write to an old friend that hasn't heard from me in a while and tell them how awesome they are. I will ask a co-worker if I can ride her horse (something I haven't done in... it's been so many years I can't even remember... maybe 20???). Number 3-- Another co-worker is always asking me to come over or go to a movie or something with her. I'm going to do that. I did a personal inventory this weekend and I need to expand my personal circle a little more. Life is too short not to let others in. In high school we're all about our friends, then we get married and have kids and we're all about our kids and we leave our friends slowly, but surely, in temporary mode. Maybe it's just me. At any rate, I'm not going all hog-wild and I certainly don't need to do things with friends every night now... I'm thinking once or twice a month would be healthy. That still leaves me grandkid time and sweetie time. We'll see how it goes. I started by writing to a friend I've been thinking about. Tomorrow, I don't know which one I'll do, but I will try. :D
The food me is just getting more and more comfortable with pacing myself and knowing what I'm eating. There is so much control AND freedom just in knowing what you're eating. If I want a KitKat bar I just figure it into one of my snack times. It's not like I don't have it. I'm trying to get my fiber in and I'm keeping my calories at a rate that lets me lose weight, but it's still above 1000 calories so I'm still doing it at a healthy slow rate of 2-3 pounds every two weeks. It's all been gradual. I also know that on days I have things going on that involve food celebrations or it's just the weekend, I can eat calories that "maintain" my weight and I eat more than I normally eat, but I still don't gain weight because there's a difference between calories that maintain your weight and calories that equal pounds lost. And yes.... I still focus on my core by doing my squats (not with weights) each night and my crunches (lying down in bed) every night. I swear by those two.
I also took Rello for a walk down to the store to buy our stuffing for dinner. That's a good little bit of exercise, especially coming up the hill on the way back. It's not a big hill, but it's enough that you know it's a hill. I also plan to work on some more dances for the play tonight. That should work of a few calories from today!
My Food Intake Today:
BREAKFAST: Frosted Mini-Wheats (230 and 7g of fiber)
SNACK: Large Apple (115 calories and 5g of fiber and way too much apple for me in one setting)
LUNCH: ½ can of tuna fish (45) and 10 Ritz crackers (150,)Dannon Fit Yogurt (80) I at the yogurt about an hour after the tuna and crackers because they were filling. Total lunch calories=280
AFTER SCHOOL SNACK: 1/2 cup of cole slaw (90 cal. and 1g of fiber) and 7 potato chips (I saw them... I ate them... what can I say.. at least I know to count and stop at 1/2 the serving :)(80)
DINNER: Tried the Bruschetta Chicken Bake (270 calories and 2g of fiber per serving)
Ingredients: 4 oz part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded, 1 tsp leaves dried basil, 1 1/2 lbs chicken breast, cut into pieces, 2 cloves garlic, 1 can tomatoes, diced, 1/2 cup water, 6 oz stove top stuffing mix. Directions: Pre-heat oven to 400 °F (200 °C). Place tomatoes in medium bowl. Add stuffing mix, water and garlic; stir just until stuffing mix is moistened. Set aside. Place chicken in 13 x 9" baking dish; sprinkle with the basil and cheese. Top with stuffing mixture. Bake 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. It was pretty good. I'll add corn and more cheese, but it was pretty good if you like stuffing (which I do). It was also very easy and quick. I had 1/2 cup left-over steamed veggies (25 cal. and 1g of fiber) with it and another piece of my left-over sugar free angel food cake (60) w/2 tblsp. of lite coolwhip (20) and 1/2 cup of blackberries (30 cal. and 4g of fiber).
Total Calories Today=1300
Total Fiber Today= 21-22 grams
The food me is just getting more and more comfortable with pacing myself and knowing what I'm eating. There is so much control AND freedom just in knowing what you're eating. If I want a KitKat bar I just figure it into one of my snack times. It's not like I don't have it. I'm trying to get my fiber in and I'm keeping my calories at a rate that lets me lose weight, but it's still above 1000 calories so I'm still doing it at a healthy slow rate of 2-3 pounds every two weeks. It's all been gradual. I also know that on days I have things going on that involve food celebrations or it's just the weekend, I can eat calories that "maintain" my weight and I eat more than I normally eat, but I still don't gain weight because there's a difference between calories that maintain your weight and calories that equal pounds lost. And yes.... I still focus on my core by doing my squats (not with weights) each night and my crunches (lying down in bed) every night. I swear by those two.
I also took Rello for a walk down to the store to buy our stuffing for dinner. That's a good little bit of exercise, especially coming up the hill on the way back. It's not a big hill, but it's enough that you know it's a hill. I also plan to work on some more dances for the play tonight. That should work of a few calories from today!
My Food Intake Today:
BREAKFAST: Frosted Mini-Wheats (230 and 7g of fiber)
SNACK: Large Apple (115 calories and 5g of fiber and way too much apple for me in one setting)
LUNCH: ½ can of tuna fish (45) and 10 Ritz crackers (150,)Dannon Fit Yogurt (80) I at the yogurt about an hour after the tuna and crackers because they were filling. Total lunch calories=280
AFTER SCHOOL SNACK: 1/2 cup of cole slaw (90 cal. and 1g of fiber) and 7 potato chips (I saw them... I ate them... what can I say.. at least I know to count and stop at 1/2 the serving :)(80)
DINNER: Tried the Bruschetta Chicken Bake (270 calories and 2g of fiber per serving)
Ingredients: 4 oz part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded, 1 tsp leaves dried basil, 1 1/2 lbs chicken breast, cut into pieces, 2 cloves garlic, 1 can tomatoes, diced, 1/2 cup water, 6 oz stove top stuffing mix. Directions: Pre-heat oven to 400 °F (200 °C). Place tomatoes in medium bowl. Add stuffing mix, water and garlic; stir just until stuffing mix is moistened. Set aside. Place chicken in 13 x 9" baking dish; sprinkle with the basil and cheese. Top with stuffing mixture. Bake 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. It was pretty good. I'll add corn and more cheese, but it was pretty good if you like stuffing (which I do). It was also very easy and quick. I had 1/2 cup left-over steamed veggies (25 cal. and 1g of fiber) with it and another piece of my left-over sugar free angel food cake (60) w/2 tblsp. of lite coolwhip (20) and 1/2 cup of blackberries (30 cal. and 4g of fiber).
Total Calories Today=1300
Total Fiber Today= 21-22 grams
Sunday, April 25, 2010
DAY 113- Healthier Eating Journal
Sometimes on Sunday... especially when it's nice, or when I just need some quiet time... I like to go for a drive. I don't really plan where I'm going to go except that I tend to gravitate toward the pastures, trees, and country setting. It feels peaceful... slower. People out riding horses, walking along fields that are freshly plowed, and leaning over fences visiting with their neighbors. I like it.
Before I forget... I challenge you to do what I've been doing and what my students have been doing when you go through a drive-thru or eat out at a restaurant-- simply ask how many calories are in your order. I went through KFC a few days ago for some grilled chicken and coleslaw and not only didn't he know... he didn't even try to find out. Every place before this has at least had it by the time I get to the window.
On the fiber note.... some forms of fiber take effect quicker than others. :D Something to consider. It has definitely kicked in ... finally on day three of eating my fiber regularly.
Today's Food Intake:
BREAKFAST: Frosted Mini-Wheats (230 cal. and 7g of fiber)
SNACK: 10 Grapes (25)
LATE LUNCH AFTER CHURCH: 1/2 Tuna Sandwich. No Mayo and only 1/2 sandwich w/tomato, spinach leaves, pickle, and 1/2 slice of provolone (200). 1/4 cup of coleslaw (40). 1 cup of steamed asparagus, broccoli, zucchini, and squash (50) Total Lunch Calories (290)
DESSERT: Slice of sugar free angelfood cake w/1 cup of frozen blackberries and 2 tblsp. of lite cool-whip (145 calories and 8 grams of fiber)
EVENING SNACK: 1 Cup of trail mix (high fiber, but higher calories) 280 cal. and 6 grams of fiber because I mostly picked out the nuts and some of the raisins
Total Calories for the Day= 1000-1100
Fiber for the Day= 24 Grams!!!!
Before I forget... I challenge you to do what I've been doing and what my students have been doing when you go through a drive-thru or eat out at a restaurant-- simply ask how many calories are in your order. I went through KFC a few days ago for some grilled chicken and coleslaw and not only didn't he know... he didn't even try to find out. Every place before this has at least had it by the time I get to the window.
On the fiber note.... some forms of fiber take effect quicker than others. :D Something to consider. It has definitely kicked in ... finally on day three of eating my fiber regularly.
Today's Food Intake:
BREAKFAST: Frosted Mini-Wheats (230 cal. and 7g of fiber)
SNACK: 10 Grapes (25)
LATE LUNCH AFTER CHURCH: 1/2 Tuna Sandwich. No Mayo and only 1/2 sandwich w/tomato, spinach leaves, pickle, and 1/2 slice of provolone (200). 1/4 cup of coleslaw (40). 1 cup of steamed asparagus, broccoli, zucchini, and squash (50) Total Lunch Calories (290)
DESSERT: Slice of sugar free angelfood cake w/1 cup of frozen blackberries and 2 tblsp. of lite cool-whip (145 calories and 8 grams of fiber)
EVENING SNACK: 1 Cup of trail mix (high fiber, but higher calories) 280 cal. and 6 grams of fiber because I mostly picked out the nuts and some of the raisins
Total Calories for the Day= 1000-1100
Fiber for the Day= 24 Grams!!!!
LOW CALORIE TOASTED TUNA SANDWICH
1 Pc. of Whole Grain Bread (80-110)
Butter Spray (0)
1/2 can of tuna fish in water (45)
5 fresh spinach leaves (10)
1/2 Slice of thin provolone (35)
1 med pickle sliced (12)
1 tomato slice (4)
(200-216 total calories)
Instructions: cut bread in half, spray one side of each half w/butter spray and put on flat griddle to cook. Put the cheese on one of the halves. Then put the tuna on top of the cheese. Next, put the spinach leaves on the tuna. Let each piece of bread brown. remove and add pickle and tomatoe and put the other toasted half on top.
Butter Spray (0)
1/2 can of tuna fish in water (45)
5 fresh spinach leaves (10)
1/2 Slice of thin provolone (35)
1 med pickle sliced (12)
1 tomato slice (4)
(200-216 total calories)
Instructions: cut bread in half, spray one side of each half w/butter spray and put on flat griddle to cook. Put the cheese on one of the halves. Then put the tuna on top of the cheese. Next, put the spinach leaves on the tuna. Let each piece of bread brown. remove and add pickle and tomatoe and put the other toasted half on top.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
DAY 112- Healthier Eating Journal
DO YOU REALLY NEED THAT CAKE? Are you willing to give up a healthy meal for it? Okay... some cake can be made to taste fairly good with fewer calories, but even fewer calorie normal-sized pieces of cake are 250 calories. Your normal piece of cake prepared from a cake mix and slathered with frosting is 400 calories people! Yes, I'm a little upset I ate the cake thinking.. hmmm... 250-300 calories and then finding out.. NO! 400 Calories. Well, it was good. But if I had to do it over again I would just say, "No thank you as yummy looking as it was." Or, I have to really manage the rest of the calories for that day. The problem is, cake has little to no nutritional value, so you're giving up more than just your calories when you eat it; you're also not gaining anything. That said, you can make a piece of cake for fewer calories. Angel food (sugar free especially) is a perfect example.
Okay, other than my cake meldown (after the fact) the baby shower was a lot of fun (thank you again Jackie) and it's always good for your heart to visit with other ladies. Jackie decorated and we just had sandwiches, homemade fruit salad, chips, and of course.... the cake. :D The company was great; the visiting was therapy for all; and I got to see Gma Shorty again. She confessed that she has not been watching what she eats since I left and has put on a few pounds. We also discussed that she will be 88 soon and she is still driving! :0 It was good to see her though as she has been gone to Oregon with her daughter.
The baby shower games were fun. The melted candy bars in the diapers was disgusting, but fun trying to guess the flavor... that's just wrong. Gma Shorty was gagging. She was a good sport though. Mandy is 11 squares of t.p. around. Jackie was smarter than me and passed on the cake. I sent some home with her for the boys... DON'T EAT IT JACKIE... 400 calories! Sorry!
We got on the subject of food and fiber (of course) and Korrine said that fiber speeds up your metabolism and also confirmed that we don't eat near enough. That led to a recitation of everyone guessing what was high in fiber and what was not. It was Fiber Education 101. Of course we ate the cake right after that so I'm not sure what we learned from it. I am eating my cup of raspberries tomorrow though. :D
Today's Food Intake:
BREAKFAST- Frosted Mini Wheats (230 and 7g fiber)
SNACK: banana (90 cal. and 3g fiber)
LUNCH: ½ sandwich (200), 1 cup fruit salad w/fresh apples, grapes, and bananas (100), 15 chips (140) and 1 pc. of white cake w/raspberries and frosting (400) Yes, I had a heart attack when I looked this up. No more cake for me. I like it… but not that much… it was as much as my whole lunch! Thanks to the fruit salad I did get 4 more grams of fiber.
Snack: 10 Grapes- (34 cal. And .4g of fiber)
DINNER: Twice Potato w/Egg & Onion. Use a small potato or a large one and only eat half. Scrub it well and bake it in the microwave. Don’t overcook it. If it shrivels, you’ve overcooked it. Let it cool while you chop up your green onions, whisk your one egg, and shred a little low-fat cheese. Dice up the baked potato (60) and cook it in a small no-stick fry-pan w/Pam spray and I usually squirt a little butter spray on top of the potatoes once they’re in there and add the onions (10). Cook for a couple of minutes stirring a couple of times. Then, sprinkle with your favorite seasoning and add your egg (90). Cook until egg is done and scrambled into the mix. Sprinkle on a few bacon bits (25) and add a little salsa (20) when you get it out. I’d be adding a little low-fat cheese if I hadn’t already had that piece of cake! If you add cheese, turn to low heat and put the lid on it. Let it sit about 30 seconds to melt the cheese, then take it off. 205 calories w/out the cheese.
Total Calories Today (thanks to a piece of cake): 1400 and 16 grams of fiber
Okay, other than my cake meldown (after the fact) the baby shower was a lot of fun (thank you again Jackie) and it's always good for your heart to visit with other ladies. Jackie decorated and we just had sandwiches, homemade fruit salad, chips, and of course.... the cake. :D The company was great; the visiting was therapy for all; and I got to see Gma Shorty again. She confessed that she has not been watching what she eats since I left and has put on a few pounds. We also discussed that she will be 88 soon and she is still driving! :0 It was good to see her though as she has been gone to Oregon with her daughter.
The baby shower games were fun. The melted candy bars in the diapers was disgusting, but fun trying to guess the flavor... that's just wrong. Gma Shorty was gagging. She was a good sport though. Mandy is 11 squares of t.p. around. Jackie was smarter than me and passed on the cake. I sent some home with her for the boys... DON'T EAT IT JACKIE... 400 calories! Sorry!
We got on the subject of food and fiber (of course) and Korrine said that fiber speeds up your metabolism and also confirmed that we don't eat near enough. That led to a recitation of everyone guessing what was high in fiber and what was not. It was Fiber Education 101. Of course we ate the cake right after that so I'm not sure what we learned from it. I am eating my cup of raspberries tomorrow though. :D
Today's Food Intake:
BREAKFAST- Frosted Mini Wheats (230 and 7g fiber)
SNACK: banana (90 cal. and 3g fiber)
LUNCH: ½ sandwich (200), 1 cup fruit salad w/fresh apples, grapes, and bananas (100), 15 chips (140) and 1 pc. of white cake w/raspberries and frosting (400) Yes, I had a heart attack when I looked this up. No more cake for me. I like it… but not that much… it was as much as my whole lunch! Thanks to the fruit salad I did get 4 more grams of fiber.
Snack: 10 Grapes- (34 cal. And .4g of fiber)
DINNER: Twice Potato w/Egg & Onion. Use a small potato or a large one and only eat half. Scrub it well and bake it in the microwave. Don’t overcook it. If it shrivels, you’ve overcooked it. Let it cool while you chop up your green onions, whisk your one egg, and shred a little low-fat cheese. Dice up the baked potato (60) and cook it in a small no-stick fry-pan w/Pam spray and I usually squirt a little butter spray on top of the potatoes once they’re in there and add the onions (10). Cook for a couple of minutes stirring a couple of times. Then, sprinkle with your favorite seasoning and add your egg (90). Cook until egg is done and scrambled into the mix. Sprinkle on a few bacon bits (25) and add a little salsa (20) when you get it out. I’d be adding a little low-fat cheese if I hadn’t already had that piece of cake! If you add cheese, turn to low heat and put the lid on it. Let it sit about 30 seconds to melt the cheese, then take it off. 205 calories w/out the cheese.
Total Calories Today (thanks to a piece of cake): 1400 and 16 grams of fiber
Friday, April 23, 2010
DAY 111- Healthier Eating Journal
Today was a much better day and coincidentally the sun was shining. Hmmmm. Talked to some of the kids who didn't make it to practice last night and we're back on track. Some of them came in on their own today to rehearse and I'm feeling more relieved. Plus... it's Friday. :D They started decorating for prom today. It's much different than it was "back in the day" when decorating took the entire week. Plus the dance floor is the size of a living room. I asked why they made it so small (walled it in) and they said that no one will dance if it's big!??? Huh? Call me old.... that is just weird. Still, the decorations were awesome and they were all excited.
I had downed 15-- count em'-- 15 grams of fiber by noon today. I feel like my stomach has sludge in it as we speak, but I am doing my job on the fiber. By the time I eat dinner I will have reached my goal of 20. Woohoo! Now if I'm going to feel compacted every day eating 20 grams of fiber I might have to do more research to see 1) why that is 2) what are the bad effects of not eating 20 grams (because I do not want to feel like I'm compacted and bloated 24-7).
BREAKFAST: Raisin Bran Extra w/skim milk (230 calories and 7 grams of fiber)
SNACK: 12 pretzels = 27 calories
LUNCH: Parmesan Chicken w/broccoli (Healthy Choice Frozen Dinner) 390 – 40 (didn’t eat the dessert= 350). 8grams of fiber! :D
AFTER SCHOOL SNACK: Dannon LIght and Fit Yogurt (80) 2 sticks of my KitKat bar (100)
DINNER GOAL: 3 grams of fiber and under 500 calories
Wish me luck. Taking the daughter in town for some shopping and dinner. Girls night out before the baby shower. Rello has to stay home with daddy. :( He will be sad, but mommy needs a break. We have to pick up some things for the shower tomorrow. Thank you Jackie for organizing and hosting it. :D
I will post later about how successful I was staying under 500 calories while still getting in 3 more grams of fiber.
Well the good news first-- stayed under 500 calories. Only added four more grams of fiber though. The pregnant daughter got tired just riding in to town (okay... she is 8.8 months pregnant) and took Rello w/us so we decided just to go to KFC so she'd still have energy to go to Albertsons to pick up the groceries for tomorrow. I ordered the grilled chicken (drumsticks) with a side of coleslaw. Two grilled chicken drums= 140 calories but 0 fiber. The coleslaw was about 40 calories and 1 gram of fiber because I only had part of the serving. My stomach is still feeling very bloated from trying to cram all this fiber down it. I ate a small banana to get my other 3g of fiber in and 90 calories. The good news is I picked up blackberries to go w/my sugar free angel food cake for tomorrow and guess what?..... loaded with fiber! 1 cup has 8 grams! Natural fiber gold mine and only 65 calories. Something to remember. Just doing sandwiches, fruit salad, and chips tomorrow w/my angel food dessert for the baby shower.
Total calories for today= 1200
Total fiber today= 19-20 :D :D :D
I had downed 15-- count em'-- 15 grams of fiber by noon today. I feel like my stomach has sludge in it as we speak, but I am doing my job on the fiber. By the time I eat dinner I will have reached my goal of 20. Woohoo! Now if I'm going to feel compacted every day eating 20 grams of fiber I might have to do more research to see 1) why that is 2) what are the bad effects of not eating 20 grams (because I do not want to feel like I'm compacted and bloated 24-7).
BREAKFAST: Raisin Bran Extra w/skim milk (230 calories and 7 grams of fiber)
SNACK: 12 pretzels = 27 calories
LUNCH: Parmesan Chicken w/broccoli (Healthy Choice Frozen Dinner) 390 – 40 (didn’t eat the dessert= 350). 8grams of fiber! :D
AFTER SCHOOL SNACK: Dannon LIght and Fit Yogurt (80) 2 sticks of my KitKat bar (100)
DINNER GOAL: 3 grams of fiber and under 500 calories
Wish me luck. Taking the daughter in town for some shopping and dinner. Girls night out before the baby shower. Rello has to stay home with daddy. :( He will be sad, but mommy needs a break. We have to pick up some things for the shower tomorrow. Thank you Jackie for organizing and hosting it. :D
I will post later about how successful I was staying under 500 calories while still getting in 3 more grams of fiber.
Well the good news first-- stayed under 500 calories. Only added four more grams of fiber though. The pregnant daughter got tired just riding in to town (okay... she is 8.8 months pregnant) and took Rello w/us so we decided just to go to KFC so she'd still have energy to go to Albertsons to pick up the groceries for tomorrow. I ordered the grilled chicken (drumsticks) with a side of coleslaw. Two grilled chicken drums= 140 calories but 0 fiber. The coleslaw was about 40 calories and 1 gram of fiber because I only had part of the serving. My stomach is still feeling very bloated from trying to cram all this fiber down it. I ate a small banana to get my other 3g of fiber in and 90 calories. The good news is I picked up blackberries to go w/my sugar free angel food cake for tomorrow and guess what?..... loaded with fiber! 1 cup has 8 grams! Natural fiber gold mine and only 65 calories. Something to remember. Just doing sandwiches, fruit salad, and chips tomorrow w/my angel food dessert for the baby shower.
Total calories for today= 1200
Total fiber today= 19-20 :D :D :D
FIBER CALCULATOR (20-25 grams per day)
TO CALCULATE YOUR DAILY REQUIRED FIBER INTAKE GO TO:
http://www.healthcalculators.org/calculators/fiber.asp
http://www.healthcalculators.org/calculators/fiber.asp
Thursday, April 22, 2010
DAY 110- Healthier Eating Journal
Hectic, skeptic day. I think our moods and perspective often reflect the weather. Our school had student body elections and cheerleader try-outs all in one assembly. The kids are always a little wound in class after the assemblies, but it's good to see them give their speeches and do tryouts, etc. I do feel for the kids who lose, but that is true in competition for jobs, or in sports, or in many situations in life. It'd just be nice if they didn't have to do the "feel bad" part. They do survive it though and perhaps it prepares them for other real life experiences because not everything in life will go our way. That's just life.
Prom is this weekend so all that frenzy is going on as well. I always think of my prom with my sweetie when this time of year rolls around. The year was 1980 and we were 17 (two of the youngest seniors in our class). I had one of those light blue dresses (I'm sure it had some form of polyester in it) with matching eye shadow and he rented a baby blue tux to match. I still have the dried flower corsage 30 years later.
So food talk.
BREAKFAST: Yogurt and granola bar (170 cal. and 1g of fiber)
Snack: Grapes (30) and 8 almonds (56 and 1g fiber)
Lunch: Lrg. Slice of Roast Beef (200), boiled potatoes (100 cal. and 2g fiber), carrots (10)
After School Snack: Raisin Bran Extra Cereal w/skim milk (230 cal. and 7 whopping grams of fiber) This has the almonds, craisins, and yogurt clusters in it.
Dinner: Tried the BLT w/avacado (45 cal. 2g fiber) as the spread instead of mayo and of course tomato and lettuce on whole grain toast. Liked it. Added a slice of provolone (70 cal.) so it was a high cal. sandwich but it was my dinner. 400 calories and 5g of fiber
Total Calories Today: 1300-1400
Made it up to 16g of fiber today. That's double from two days ago. Feel bloated though. I decided to do some more research to see if I really needed that much fiber and.... yep... she's right. I used the fiber calculator from University of Maryland's Medical System and it said my calories (to maintain my weight) are 1400 per day and my fiber actually needs to be 23grams. Yikes!
TO CALCULATE YOUR DAILY REQUIRED FIBER INTAKE GO TO:
http://www.healthcalculators.org/calculators/fiber.asp
Prom is this weekend so all that frenzy is going on as well. I always think of my prom with my sweetie when this time of year rolls around. The year was 1980 and we were 17 (two of the youngest seniors in our class). I had one of those light blue dresses (I'm sure it had some form of polyester in it) with matching eye shadow and he rented a baby blue tux to match. I still have the dried flower corsage 30 years later.
So food talk.
BREAKFAST: Yogurt and granola bar (170 cal. and 1g of fiber)
Snack: Grapes (30) and 8 almonds (56 and 1g fiber)
Lunch: Lrg. Slice of Roast Beef (200), boiled potatoes (100 cal. and 2g fiber), carrots (10)
After School Snack: Raisin Bran Extra Cereal w/skim milk (230 cal. and 7 whopping grams of fiber) This has the almonds, craisins, and yogurt clusters in it.
Dinner: Tried the BLT w/avacado (45 cal. 2g fiber) as the spread instead of mayo and of course tomato and lettuce on whole grain toast. Liked it. Added a slice of provolone (70 cal.) so it was a high cal. sandwich but it was my dinner. 400 calories and 5g of fiber
Total Calories Today: 1300-1400
Made it up to 16g of fiber today. That's double from two days ago. Feel bloated though. I decided to do some more research to see if I really needed that much fiber and.... yep... she's right. I used the fiber calculator from University of Maryland's Medical System and it said my calories (to maintain my weight) are 1400 per day and my fiber actually needs to be 23grams. Yikes!
TO CALCULATE YOUR DAILY REQUIRED FIBER INTAKE GO TO:
http://www.healthcalculators.org/calculators/fiber.asp
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
DAY 109- Healthier Eating Journal
So I'm feeling like one of those stranded shipwrecked people on this blog. Nevertheless, even if I'm just talking to myself, I'm helping myself. I'm pretty good at watching calories now and I avoid certain combinations because of excessive sodium. I eat way less chocolate because of the saturated fat and I also use butter spray and very little cooking oil. Now.... I am watching my fiber. I felt like I was on a scavenger hunt last night trying to find how much fiber's in the food I already eat. Then I got to school and my spinach had started going science project in the school fridge so I had to improvise.
Lunch: I ran home and grabbed a Healthy Choice frozen dinner. It was a salmon and rice one. Now, I really like most of their meals and they're very low cal. This one though.... Nasty! I seriously almost gagged. Do not recommend it unless you were the only person on that stranded island we discussed earlier and you didn't have any food to eat. Yes, it was that bad! So I forced down a few bites and couldn't do it anymore. Maybe got 100 calories. I ate an apple (90 calories and high in fiber), a Quaker Granola Bar (90 calories and 1g fiber) and some grapes (40 calories and .5g fiber)
Had my usual punt breakfast-- yogurt and a banana (170 calories and no fiber in the yogurt but almost 3g in the banana)
Snack: ½ Apple Strudel muffin (100 calories) and 12 almonds (90 calories and 1.7g fiber)
After School Snack: 2 sticks of my KitKat bar (100 calories and .5g fiber)
Dinner: Roast (138 calories and no fiber) w1/2 cup potatoes(60 and 1.7g fiber), carrots (10), thin slice of pumpkin pie (minus the crust) 100 calories and 1g fiber
Night Snack: 100 calorie mini pouch popcorn (4g of fiber)
Total Calories Today= 1200
Total Fiber 12-13 grams (still not at 20, but that's an improvement over yesterday and lunch was just abnormal today). A Fiber One Bar would have put me at my needed fiber. I might need to go buy some tomorrow.
Lunch: I ran home and grabbed a Healthy Choice frozen dinner. It was a salmon and rice one. Now, I really like most of their meals and they're very low cal. This one though.... Nasty! I seriously almost gagged. Do not recommend it unless you were the only person on that stranded island we discussed earlier and you didn't have any food to eat. Yes, it was that bad! So I forced down a few bites and couldn't do it anymore. Maybe got 100 calories. I ate an apple (90 calories and high in fiber), a Quaker Granola Bar (90 calories and 1g fiber) and some grapes (40 calories and .5g fiber)
Had my usual punt breakfast-- yogurt and a banana (170 calories and no fiber in the yogurt but almost 3g in the banana)
Snack: ½ Apple Strudel muffin (100 calories) and 12 almonds (90 calories and 1.7g fiber)
After School Snack: 2 sticks of my KitKat bar (100 calories and .5g fiber)
Dinner: Roast (138 calories and no fiber) w1/2 cup potatoes(60 and 1.7g fiber), carrots (10), thin slice of pumpkin pie (minus the crust) 100 calories and 1g fiber
Night Snack: 100 calorie mini pouch popcorn (4g of fiber)
Total Calories Today= 1200
Total Fiber 12-13 grams (still not at 20, but that's an improvement over yesterday and lunch was just abnormal today). A Fiber One Bar would have put me at my needed fiber. I might need to go buy some tomorrow.
GREEK SHRIMP w/LINGUINI, CANTALOUPE AND SORBET- 475 Calories
Greek Shrimp- Ingredients: 1 clove garlic, minced, 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved, 1/8 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, 3 ounces frozen, peeled and devined, medium shrimp, thawed, 1 tablespoon sliced green onions, 1 tablespoon crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese. DIRECTIONS: 1. In small nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray cook garlic over medium-high heat about 30 seconds or until fragrant. Stir in tomatoes, oregano, salt and pepper. Cook and stir about 2 minutes or until tomatoes are soft. 2. Add shrimp and onions. Cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes or until shrimp turn opaque. Sprinkle with cheese. +++Just add these fun sides to create a full meal--1 cup linguini pasta, 1 teaspoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, 3/4 cup broccoli flowerets, 1/4 medium fresh cantaloupe topped with 1/2 cup fat-free raspberry sorbet . (Total Calories for Complete Dinner: 475)
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
DAY 108- Healthier Eating Journal
Well, life felt back to normal today with students back at school and the weekend trip quickly fading. The weather was amazing. It was the first time this year that I actually turned on the A/C in my car (and I don't turn it on until it hits 80 degrees). The students were great. I think the weather has us all in a good mood. Good luck to Logan (and Kelsey) on the high jump today. I had hoped to travel to their track meet, but the grandson won once I got home. He wanted ice cream from the drive-in. A baby cone and some sandals for summer were in store for this evening with Rello. Then we went to the store to buy some healthier food.
The store has these cute little metal shopping carts and he was also my shopper in the store. I picked up some fresh cut pork chops, asparagus, and cilantro. Grapes and bananas went into his cart too as well as his strawberry yogurt. He was starting to wind down because he had a fun trip to the park w/mom for a play group and he had skipped his nap. He'll be going to bed early tonight! Mom is glad about that. She's still pregnant and a two-year-old can be exhausting. :D I'm not pregnant and I have a hard time keeping up!
That reminds me. I know people say breakfast is your most important meal of the day and in many ways it is, but I disagree with the myth that you can eat as much as you want because you have all day to burn it off. Why do that? Yes, you have all day to burn it off and yes, you need to eat breakfast, but that kind of mentality can make you eat a lot of unnecessary calories. Eat to get the digestive system rolling and to feed your body for the day's activities, but don't get carried away. 200 Calories for breakfast during the work week is plenty. In fact, you can just grab a yogurt cup, or a piece of toast, a bowl of cold cereal w/skim milk, or a granola bar, or even a scrambled egg with spinach and little shredded cheese all for under 200 calories each. If you're looking to lose weight and not just maintain it (you have to cut some calories). My other tip-- eat every few hours and not just three times a day. Your body gets used to it and starts pacing itself AND you get to eat pretty much all day. Know what to eat and what you are eating though.
Today I had Dannon's Light and Fit Yogurt (80) and a banana (80) for breakfast. That was plenty of food and under 200 calories (160 total). I had pretzels for a morning snack (I like the crunch and that I can have 55 of them for 110 calories). For lunch I took a Starkist 2.6 oz. chunk light tuna pouch (80) and 10 Ritz crackers (160) for a total of 240 calories for lunch. It was plenty because I'd been snacking on my pretzels all morning, plus the tuna and crackers are filling. I had the grapes for my after school snack. (15 grapes= 50 calories) Then I grilled a 4 oz. boneless pork chop (132 calories) and made some brown minute rice. When the rice was cooked I added a small can of diced tomatoes (drained) and some chopped fresh cilantro( 1 cup of rice=155). Rice goes well w/pork chops. I also steamed some fresh aspargus in the microwave Asparagus (1/2 cup or 6 spears= 20 calories). For dessert I had a small piece of pumpkin pie (1/2 the normal size) with a small dab of lite cool-whip (200).
Today's total calories= 1100 approx. calories
Yogurt
Banana
Pretzels
Grapes
Tuna Fish
Crackers
Pork Chop
Rice w/tomatoes and cilantro
asparagus
pumpkin pie w/light cool-whip
As I look through my food list for today, I ask myself these things: Did I eat something green? Yes. Did I eat some healthy fats? Yes. Did I eat fresh vegetables and fruits? Yes. Did I eat protein? Yes. Did I get enough fiber in my diet (I added this because Raundee said we're supposed to get 20 grams a day). I just added mine up and I got 9. So..... my challenge tomorrow is to add fiber without adding too many calories. Sweet potato and oatmeal for sure. I'll have my spinach salad w/sliced almonds and pears because just 1.2 oz. of sliced almonds is 4 grams of fiber and one small pear has 4 grams of fiber too. The one thing that really surprised me though that's loaded w/fiber is an avocado. 1/2 Cup has 5 grams of fiber. That's as more fiber in just one salad than I had for my entire day today. I might have to look at Fiber One bars too because I had no idea I was that low on my fiber intake and one of those (w/chocolate by the way) has 9 grams of fiber. Always something new to learn.
The store has these cute little metal shopping carts and he was also my shopper in the store. I picked up some fresh cut pork chops, asparagus, and cilantro. Grapes and bananas went into his cart too as well as his strawberry yogurt. He was starting to wind down because he had a fun trip to the park w/mom for a play group and he had skipped his nap. He'll be going to bed early tonight! Mom is glad about that. She's still pregnant and a two-year-old can be exhausting. :D I'm not pregnant and I have a hard time keeping up!
That reminds me. I know people say breakfast is your most important meal of the day and in many ways it is, but I disagree with the myth that you can eat as much as you want because you have all day to burn it off. Why do that? Yes, you have all day to burn it off and yes, you need to eat breakfast, but that kind of mentality can make you eat a lot of unnecessary calories. Eat to get the digestive system rolling and to feed your body for the day's activities, but don't get carried away. 200 Calories for breakfast during the work week is plenty. In fact, you can just grab a yogurt cup, or a piece of toast, a bowl of cold cereal w/skim milk, or a granola bar, or even a scrambled egg with spinach and little shredded cheese all for under 200 calories each. If you're looking to lose weight and not just maintain it (you have to cut some calories). My other tip-- eat every few hours and not just three times a day. Your body gets used to it and starts pacing itself AND you get to eat pretty much all day. Know what to eat and what you are eating though.
Today I had Dannon's Light and Fit Yogurt (80) and a banana (80) for breakfast. That was plenty of food and under 200 calories (160 total). I had pretzels for a morning snack (I like the crunch and that I can have 55 of them for 110 calories). For lunch I took a Starkist 2.6 oz. chunk light tuna pouch (80) and 10 Ritz crackers (160) for a total of 240 calories for lunch. It was plenty because I'd been snacking on my pretzels all morning, plus the tuna and crackers are filling. I had the grapes for my after school snack. (15 grapes= 50 calories) Then I grilled a 4 oz. boneless pork chop (132 calories) and made some brown minute rice. When the rice was cooked I added a small can of diced tomatoes (drained) and some chopped fresh cilantro( 1 cup of rice=155). Rice goes well w/pork chops. I also steamed some fresh aspargus in the microwave Asparagus (1/2 cup or 6 spears= 20 calories). For dessert I had a small piece of pumpkin pie (1/2 the normal size) with a small dab of lite cool-whip (200).
Today's total calories= 1100 approx. calories
Yogurt
Banana
Pretzels
Grapes
Tuna Fish
Crackers
Pork Chop
Rice w/tomatoes and cilantro
asparagus
pumpkin pie w/light cool-whip
As I look through my food list for today, I ask myself these things: Did I eat something green? Yes. Did I eat some healthy fats? Yes. Did I eat fresh vegetables and fruits? Yes. Did I eat protein? Yes. Did I get enough fiber in my diet (I added this because Raundee said we're supposed to get 20 grams a day). I just added mine up and I got 9. So..... my challenge tomorrow is to add fiber without adding too many calories. Sweet potato and oatmeal for sure. I'll have my spinach salad w/sliced almonds and pears because just 1.2 oz. of sliced almonds is 4 grams of fiber and one small pear has 4 grams of fiber too. The one thing that really surprised me though that's loaded w/fiber is an avocado. 1/2 Cup has 5 grams of fiber. That's as more fiber in just one salad than I had for my entire day today. I might have to look at Fiber One bars too because I had no idea I was that low on my fiber intake and one of those (w/chocolate by the way) has 9 grams of fiber. Always something new to learn.
Monday, April 19, 2010
DAY 107- Healthier Eating Journal
If you feed a child until they become obese... is that child abuse? Something to think about.
Still feeling a little tired from all the driving yesterday then an all day lecture inservice. I'm glad we have students tomorrow. It's funny how you miss them. The classroom and halls are pretty empty and pointless without them. The in-service meant free food, but that's not always a good thing. They did have fresh fruit w/muffins and bagels for breakfast. I skipped the muffins and only had 1/2 of a whole wheat bagel w/cream cheese. A few strawberries and pineapple too. They served taco salad for lunch and I had mine without any chips or shells. They also had Kudos 100 calorie snacks so I ate one (though I wasn't hungry when I ate it). I practiced "bored" eating today. Not good.
I had planned on cooking rice and fish for dinner, but the grandkids aren't all crazy about fish so I fried them hamburgers and made myself a tuna melt (to get in my omega3's) and steamed veggies. I baked their French fries but didn't eat any since Jeremy brought me a KitKat. I finally caved in and ate one little strip off of it. 50 Calories! After dinner I helped him organize his talk (since it's on obesity in America) and it was interesting as he put together his Carl Jr's order w/calories and sodium content. He said they don't eat out a lot (can't afford it), but when they do, he gets the two for one burger special. He has those Western bacon burgers w/lrg. fry and upgrades his drink to an Oreo milkshake. Grand total on calories= 2720. According to the calorie caluculator-- that's over his calorie intake for the DAY. The sodium intake was worse at 2800mg sodium (800mg over intake for the DAY). It was quite enlightening to say the least.
Today's eating:
BREAKFAST: 1/2 whole wheat bagel w/cream cheese, 4 strawberries, 2 lrg. chunks of pineapple, 1 cup of orange juice (Total breakfast calories=320)
SNACK: pretzels (110)
LUNCH: Taco Salad-- no chips or shell- 400
Snack: Kudos 100 calorie bar
Dinner: Tuna Melt w/provolone on small hamburger bun (250), steamed veggies (35), one stick of KitKat (50)
Total Calories for the day=1300
Still feeling a little tired from all the driving yesterday then an all day lecture inservice. I'm glad we have students tomorrow. It's funny how you miss them. The classroom and halls are pretty empty and pointless without them. The in-service meant free food, but that's not always a good thing. They did have fresh fruit w/muffins and bagels for breakfast. I skipped the muffins and only had 1/2 of a whole wheat bagel w/cream cheese. A few strawberries and pineapple too. They served taco salad for lunch and I had mine without any chips or shells. They also had Kudos 100 calorie snacks so I ate one (though I wasn't hungry when I ate it). I practiced "bored" eating today. Not good.
I had planned on cooking rice and fish for dinner, but the grandkids aren't all crazy about fish so I fried them hamburgers and made myself a tuna melt (to get in my omega3's) and steamed veggies. I baked their French fries but didn't eat any since Jeremy brought me a KitKat. I finally caved in and ate one little strip off of it. 50 Calories! After dinner I helped him organize his talk (since it's on obesity in America) and it was interesting as he put together his Carl Jr's order w/calories and sodium content. He said they don't eat out a lot (can't afford it), but when they do, he gets the two for one burger special. He has those Western bacon burgers w/lrg. fry and upgrades his drink to an Oreo milkshake. Grand total on calories= 2720. According to the calorie caluculator-- that's over his calorie intake for the DAY. The sodium intake was worse at 2800mg sodium (800mg over intake for the DAY). It was quite enlightening to say the least.
Today's eating:
BREAKFAST: 1/2 whole wheat bagel w/cream cheese, 4 strawberries, 2 lrg. chunks of pineapple, 1 cup of orange juice (Total breakfast calories=320)
SNACK: pretzels (110)
LUNCH: Taco Salad-- no chips or shell- 400
Snack: Kudos 100 calorie bar
Dinner: Tuna Melt w/provolone on small hamburger bun (250), steamed veggies (35), one stick of KitKat (50)
Total Calories for the day=1300
Sunday, April 18, 2010
DAY 106- Healthier Eating Journal
What a nice Sunday! The sun was shining and it was "beautiful day in the neighborhood" as Mr. Rogers would say. Do kids even know who Mr. Rogers is anymore? I remember watching this episode where he assured the little kid that there weren't any monsters down the drain and that he wouldn't go down the drain when they pulled the plug. I thought, "Really? There are kids who honestly believe they will go down the drain if you pull the plug?!" Then we had Mandy.... She screamed bloody murder at the top of her lungs if you pulled the plug before she got out of the tub. She did that till she was 4. I'm sure her brothers had something to do with the fact that she believed she would go down the drain. It was quite traumatizing for all of us.
It was great to see and visit with old friends this weekend. What is life about if not about people. How boring and pointless our lives would be without them. The speakers at church were great and the story of Moses and his trek through the balmy desert was timely. I've always thought how ungrateful and arrogant his followers must have been to witness so many miracles and answers to prayers in their life and yet they would murmur and complain every time something went wrong. And then I thought about my own life and pretty much I could say the same thing about myself. Time to focus on the have's and not the have not's (for example). :D
The drive back across the state was predictably boring, but coming back always seems to go quicker and take less gas. Haven't figured that one out yet. Being gone for the weekend also makes it feel like you didn't rest much and BAM! work in the morning. At least it's an in-service day so we'll be doing the learning instead of the teaching. I dropped off bags of cookies to both sons and got to see Jason's raspberries and garden spot (in the dark). Baby Maddy and I tried to decide which star was hers. It was such great weather it was fun to be out even at night. My other son and his wife just got a trampoline with the "cage" around it. Brought back many trampoline memories from when the kids were little. They loved sleeping on it and of course seeing if they could bounce each other (which is why I'm relieved to see they got one with a cage/net). I'm a bit excited to jump on it as well. Maybe we'll put the pregnant daughter on there... that could speed things up. :D J/K Mandy.
Well, it's been a long day. Here's my food news for the day:
BREAKFAST: Honey bunches of oats (160 w/milk) fresh strawberries on the cereal (5 sliced=10 calories), one piece of toast w/butter spray (120). Total breakfast calories= 290
SNACK: 2 Homemade chocolate chip cookies (140) made by my husband :D
LUNCH: Roast (138), potatoes w/gravy (130), 1/2 cup corn (66), 2 more cookies (140). Total lunch calories= 474 (includes dessert)
DINNER: cheese stick and yogurt (160)
Total Calories Today= 1100
It was great to see and visit with old friends this weekend. What is life about if not about people. How boring and pointless our lives would be without them. The speakers at church were great and the story of Moses and his trek through the balmy desert was timely. I've always thought how ungrateful and arrogant his followers must have been to witness so many miracles and answers to prayers in their life and yet they would murmur and complain every time something went wrong. And then I thought about my own life and pretty much I could say the same thing about myself. Time to focus on the have's and not the have not's (for example). :D
The drive back across the state was predictably boring, but coming back always seems to go quicker and take less gas. Haven't figured that one out yet. Being gone for the weekend also makes it feel like you didn't rest much and BAM! work in the morning. At least it's an in-service day so we'll be doing the learning instead of the teaching. I dropped off bags of cookies to both sons and got to see Jason's raspberries and garden spot (in the dark). Baby Maddy and I tried to decide which star was hers. It was such great weather it was fun to be out even at night. My other son and his wife just got a trampoline with the "cage" around it. Brought back many trampoline memories from when the kids were little. They loved sleeping on it and of course seeing if they could bounce each other (which is why I'm relieved to see they got one with a cage/net). I'm a bit excited to jump on it as well. Maybe we'll put the pregnant daughter on there... that could speed things up. :D J/K Mandy.
Well, it's been a long day. Here's my food news for the day:
BREAKFAST: Honey bunches of oats (160 w/milk) fresh strawberries on the cereal (5 sliced=10 calories), one piece of toast w/butter spray (120). Total breakfast calories= 290
SNACK: 2 Homemade chocolate chip cookies (140) made by my husband :D
LUNCH: Roast (138), potatoes w/gravy (130), 1/2 cup corn (66), 2 more cookies (140). Total lunch calories= 474 (includes dessert)
DINNER: cheese stick and yogurt (160)
Total Calories Today= 1100
Saturday, April 17, 2010
DAY 106- Healthier Eating Journal
My sweetie cooked me breakfast. I had cinnamon swirl toast w/a scrambled egg that had fresh spinach scrambled in it and 2 pieces of bacon. 400 calorie breakfast but I'm maintaining my weight this weekend instead of losing. Plus I like to eat a full breakfast on the weekend. We went grocery shopping to get him some healthy groceries for when I'm gone. Picked out some meats, some light ice cream (100 calories per half cup instead of 170) and fresh fruits and butter spray. We did a little yard-saling but didn't find anything of interest. Went to the second hand stores and found some books. That's the best place to get books.... cookbooks, kids books, history, gifts (as in books that have obviously never even been read and they still have the 18.95 price tag on them and brand new book jacket. At $1.00 and $2.00 it's a great deal. Got the oil changed in the car and mainly just walked around holding hands a lot. Oh, and got my hair thinned. I start looking like a mushroom if I don't get it thinned.
Mr. "I'm a bad eating influence" brought the bag of basalmic chips and that was our healthy morning snack (140). Had re-runs for lunch 1/2 steak, 1/2 cup baked potato and spinach salad. Also had a cranberry grapefruit Sobe today (10 calories)So add another 500 calories for lunch and snacks. Played some cards and some ninetendo (yes, we have one game we know how to play and we're not good w/the new type controlers so we just stick to the one game we know). I won both at cards and nintendo. Whoa, did I just say that! :D Okay, I'm competitive. All right, we also did the crossword puzzle (he printed out the same one so we could both do it at the same time) and he did beat me done on the puzzle.
He made tacos for dinner but he used the elk hamburger and we got some low cal salsa that was just nasty. Very tangy. Between that and the elk... I got down one bite and thought I might instant replay, so had to punt. We've never had salsa that odd tasting before. The elk steak we had last time was okay, and maybe it was the salsa mix, but just couldn't do it. Had a few chips to rid my mouth of the taste and a 1/2 cup cottage cheese, but even that tasted a little funky after that sour salsa, so couldn't eat the cottage cheese either. Settled for two pieces of cinnamon swirl toast w/butter spray. I know.... not the healthiest dinner, but can't take all night for dinner. Dinner calories? Hmmm. I bite of timid bite of taco, a few chips (with 1/4 cup cottage cheese, not salsa) 100? 150? Two pieces of cinnamon swirl toast 240.
Our dessert today-- homemade banana split. You can save calories by cutting the banana in half and sharing it. I put sliced up 4 strawberries on each of our bananas and we tried the light ice cream (1/4 cup 50 calories) w/1/4 cup reg. choc. ice cream (85 calories)and drizzled a very little chocolate syrup (which also comes in lite). Use the measuring cups when you do your ice cream on a b. split, or cone, or sundae. If ice cream is more like a topping than the main course you can enjoy it and have a lot less calories. If you do the banana split like this (and there's sugar free spreads too) you can enjoy a great ice cream dessert for only 220-250 calories. Same calories as a piece of cake or a candy bar.
Total Calories = 1450 (maintaining my weight kind of calories-- not weight loss calories but I did enjoy the banana split)
Time spent with my best friend= priceless.
Mr. "I'm a bad eating influence" brought the bag of basalmic chips and that was our healthy morning snack (140). Had re-runs for lunch 1/2 steak, 1/2 cup baked potato and spinach salad. Also had a cranberry grapefruit Sobe today (10 calories)So add another 500 calories for lunch and snacks. Played some cards and some ninetendo (yes, we have one game we know how to play and we're not good w/the new type controlers so we just stick to the one game we know). I won both at cards and nintendo. Whoa, did I just say that! :D Okay, I'm competitive. All right, we also did the crossword puzzle (he printed out the same one so we could both do it at the same time) and he did beat me done on the puzzle.
He made tacos for dinner but he used the elk hamburger and we got some low cal salsa that was just nasty. Very tangy. Between that and the elk... I got down one bite and thought I might instant replay, so had to punt. We've never had salsa that odd tasting before. The elk steak we had last time was okay, and maybe it was the salsa mix, but just couldn't do it. Had a few chips to rid my mouth of the taste and a 1/2 cup cottage cheese, but even that tasted a little funky after that sour salsa, so couldn't eat the cottage cheese either. Settled for two pieces of cinnamon swirl toast w/butter spray. I know.... not the healthiest dinner, but can't take all night for dinner. Dinner calories? Hmmm. I bite of timid bite of taco, a few chips (with 1/4 cup cottage cheese, not salsa) 100? 150? Two pieces of cinnamon swirl toast 240.
Our dessert today-- homemade banana split. You can save calories by cutting the banana in half and sharing it. I put sliced up 4 strawberries on each of our bananas and we tried the light ice cream (1/4 cup 50 calories) w/1/4 cup reg. choc. ice cream (85 calories)and drizzled a very little chocolate syrup (which also comes in lite). Use the measuring cups when you do your ice cream on a b. split, or cone, or sundae. If ice cream is more like a topping than the main course you can enjoy it and have a lot less calories. If you do the banana split like this (and there's sugar free spreads too) you can enjoy a great ice cream dessert for only 220-250 calories. Same calories as a piece of cake or a candy bar.
Total Calories = 1450 (maintaining my weight kind of calories-- not weight loss calories but I did enjoy the banana split)
Time spent with my best friend= priceless.
Friday, April 16, 2010
DAY 105- Healthier Eating Journal
I'm on the road again. Just can't wait to be on the road again (Yes, I'm thinkin' Willie again). If you don't get that.... you're young. My turn to go to the other side of the state. It seems like there's so much work to do before you leave that you're just tired the first day. Is car jetlag an oxymoron? So if you're going to be in the car for more than an hour you should plan ahead with the food. Why? Because it'll save you money and calories and you'll look better when you get to your destination... skinnier. :D Unless of course you pack junk like twinkies and pop. So plan ahead. I packed some munchies, but I also packed "safe" backup. I rolled up my thin sliced turkey deli meat and put it into a ziploc so I'd know that if I ate it all-- it'd just be 100 calories (and I did eat it all). I rolled them up so they wouldn't be messy to eat while I was driving. I also threw in a cheese stick (which I didn't eat... just not in the cheese mood today). And I had a yogurt in the bag in case I needed some filler and didn't want to go crazy. I like crunchy stuff when it's a long trip. I should have gotten some pretzels, but just had some leftover Sunchips from yesterday so put some (30) in a ziploc. They lasted me the whole trip (300 calories though)... plus the lunch meat... so 400 calories. I won't take 30 next time. If you take 30, you eat 30. The yogurt was too hard to open and pay attention etc. so didn't eat it. I should have brought a banana or apple to go with the deli meat and cheese stick. Next time.
For breakfast, little Rello was happy that Gma was home to have breakfast with him. I had yogurt and put some of the Special K granola in it. Not much though because that stuffs like 230 calories for 1/4 cup. I used a couple tablespoons. Since there are 16 tblsp. in a cup I'm going to say that was about 55 calories for my SK granola which is almost as much as the 70 calories for the whole yogurt! I'm going w/just adding fresh berries next time... or just eating it with my banana like I usually do. So lunch and breakfast= 525
Rello got to go to the doctor w/mommy (my daughter) today to see Kayson (his unborn baby brother). She had an ultrasound and they let him be in there. They did the ultrasound because the baby hasn't been moving much. Turns out he's just a big boy with little room to move. He wasn't moving in the ultrasound room either until Rello started carrying on about Kayson being a "scary". I suppose he did look like an alien on that screen. He's was talking loudly and baby Kayson started moving. I'm sure it's not the first time Kayson has heard Rello holler! :D All is well and we're hoping Kayson comes soon because he's going to be a big boy!
It was nice weather for traveling, but it's very boring when you're on the road by yourself. I practiced rolling my belly button to my back (yoga) and danced and sang a little with the radio. It is definitely a tempting time to snack so remove all food that you don't want consumed when you leave on a trip (especially if you're alone). When I got home it was so good to see my sweetie and he had read my blog and gone to the store to pick out the food for dinner. He grilled me a steak that he marinated in A1 marinade (20 calories per tblsp) and seasoned with the grillmaster seasoning I like. It was SO good. I love when he BBQs. He baked me a potato and made a green salad and even picked up some lowfat ranch dressing (wishbone) that was good (40 calories). We were talking about going out for dessert but we looked up some calories first. His large rootbeer float would have been over 600 calories. We looked up a couple of other things and decided just to go with a small cone made at home. Heavenly hash 1/2 cup=150 calories plus the small Keebler sugar cone (50). Not a 100 calorie dessert, but much better choice than a large rootbeer float! All together-- an awesome dinner by my sweetheart and a total of 600 calories.
We went to the movies. Skipped the popcorn since we just had ice cream, but went to the book store before the movie and they had those Utah truffles that are unlike all the other fake chocolate. One of the truffle bars is 300 calories though. Couldn't do it. They had bite size ones (which is cruel and unusual punishment) and I treated myself but it was 75 calories. The cashier had an accent and saw us looking at the truffles. She said that U.S. chocolate is fake tasting to her-- very waxy-- which I agree-- but that these truffles are very similar to the German chocolate she is used to. She then proceeded to tell us that Smiths has real German chocolate that she loves, but that it's "quite spendy" (imagine the English accent). When we read the calories on the truffle she was quite dismayed. Aghast! "No wonder I've gained weight since I started working here! I love those things!"
So total calories today= 1200
Time spent with my hubby... priceless. :D
For breakfast, little Rello was happy that Gma was home to have breakfast with him. I had yogurt and put some of the Special K granola in it. Not much though because that stuffs like 230 calories for 1/4 cup. I used a couple tablespoons. Since there are 16 tblsp. in a cup I'm going to say that was about 55 calories for my SK granola which is almost as much as the 70 calories for the whole yogurt! I'm going w/just adding fresh berries next time... or just eating it with my banana like I usually do. So lunch and breakfast= 525
Rello got to go to the doctor w/mommy (my daughter) today to see Kayson (his unborn baby brother). She had an ultrasound and they let him be in there. They did the ultrasound because the baby hasn't been moving much. Turns out he's just a big boy with little room to move. He wasn't moving in the ultrasound room either until Rello started carrying on about Kayson being a "scary". I suppose he did look like an alien on that screen. He's was talking loudly and baby Kayson started moving. I'm sure it's not the first time Kayson has heard Rello holler! :D All is well and we're hoping Kayson comes soon because he's going to be a big boy!
It was nice weather for traveling, but it's very boring when you're on the road by yourself. I practiced rolling my belly button to my back (yoga) and danced and sang a little with the radio. It is definitely a tempting time to snack so remove all food that you don't want consumed when you leave on a trip (especially if you're alone). When I got home it was so good to see my sweetie and he had read my blog and gone to the store to pick out the food for dinner. He grilled me a steak that he marinated in A1 marinade (20 calories per tblsp) and seasoned with the grillmaster seasoning I like. It was SO good. I love when he BBQs. He baked me a potato and made a green salad and even picked up some lowfat ranch dressing (wishbone) that was good (40 calories). We were talking about going out for dessert but we looked up some calories first. His large rootbeer float would have been over 600 calories. We looked up a couple of other things and decided just to go with a small cone made at home. Heavenly hash 1/2 cup=150 calories plus the small Keebler sugar cone (50). Not a 100 calorie dessert, but much better choice than a large rootbeer float! All together-- an awesome dinner by my sweetheart and a total of 600 calories.
We went to the movies. Skipped the popcorn since we just had ice cream, but went to the book store before the movie and they had those Utah truffles that are unlike all the other fake chocolate. One of the truffle bars is 300 calories though. Couldn't do it. They had bite size ones (which is cruel and unusual punishment) and I treated myself but it was 75 calories. The cashier had an accent and saw us looking at the truffles. She said that U.S. chocolate is fake tasting to her-- very waxy-- which I agree-- but that these truffles are very similar to the German chocolate she is used to. She then proceeded to tell us that Smiths has real German chocolate that she loves, but that it's "quite spendy" (imagine the English accent). When we read the calories on the truffle she was quite dismayed. Aghast! "No wonder I've gained weight since I started working here! I love those things!"
So total calories today= 1200
Time spent with my hubby... priceless. :D
Thursday, April 15, 2010
DAY 104- Healthier Eating Journal
I'm doing this early because I only have time to run home after school, type this up, change clothes, grab my after school snack, go to the store and get food for our drama practice tonight, head back to the school for the practice before drama practice, thengo home and get packed for my trip to the other side of the state after school tomorrow. Now that was a run-on! My calorie counting is trickling into my students because I am constantly talking about sodium, saturated fat, and how many calories are in things. So I challenged them to ask the people at the drive-thru or the restaurant how many calories were in whatever they ordered and see what happened. Two of my students did that this past weekend and their stories are quite interesting. Both were at a drive-thru.
Student #1 was told that he didn't know and when she got up to the window to pay a lady (the manager) told her that they did know and gave her an entire calorie sheet that McDonalds will provide you. It's quite nice and quite informative. She said the guy "got in trouble" for telling her that. She brought me the sheet and the students wanted to add up their calories. It was quite interesting to watch them read off their typical McDonald's order and see what the calories added up to. So then we had to talk about age and how active you are. I explained that if you burn off 2500 calories, for example and only take in 1200-- that's bad. I did tell them that the average for their age is 2000 calories and that from there they have to determine how physically active they are. On the other hand, if they go home and sit in front of their computer, video games, or TV for the rest of the night, they have to watch their calories a lot closer. It's kind of a "reward" system. Then they wanted to know how many calories this burned off and how many calories that burned off. I knew some of the things, but now..... I have to do more research.
Student #2 also asked how many calories were in the thing she ordered at the drive-thru and he not only told her that he didn't know... he told her that she didn't need to know!!! Her mom was so mad that they went in! Long story short, the manager came out, the guy apologized, they told her the calories. WoW! I had a student who came in at lunch today (for drama practice... yes that's pretty much my life right now) and she was telling me that I've really got her thinking about calories and what she eats and saturated fat now. She said her dad has high cholesterol and described what he eats and how she's going to help him start making healthier food choices. So... I think it's important not just to talk about the calories with kids these days, but also to talk to them about the saturated fat and sodium, etc.
Then... my daughter sent me to school with a new Special K snack bar to try. They're called Fruit Crisps. There's two in a package/serving and they taste like thin pop-tarts. The two crisps together are 100 calories. My new favorite 100 calorie treat!!! She sent two with me and had one of the boys at school try it and he told all the other students how awesome they taste. Now I do have to say (and I told them this) although it's a low cal treat... I'm not sure that makes it healthy. It's still healthier to eat a banana or apple. But I know kids (myself included) are going to munch on munchies every now and then. So... it was an interesting day.
My food intake for today:
BREAKFAST: I had my Special K fruit crisp and an activa yogurt for breakfast (170)
SNACK: I had 1/2 of the package of fruit crisp (one bar- 50 calories) for a snack
LUNCH: Fresh spinach salad w/mandarin oranges, sliced almonds, basalmic spritzer, cheese stick (250)
AFTER SCHOOL SNACK: My son-in-law brought home wal-mart honey bbq boneless wings (I had 6= 160 calories) and I found this web site for calories on most of wal-mart's deli food: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/nutrition-facts-calories/walmart-deli
DINNER: I will be taking food to the rehearsal tonight (which I need to go get right now) so whatever it is... I won't go over 600 calories for myself-- dessert included -- and Becca's making cookies so I'm going to have one! I will also have some more fruit and veggies, because I've really only had one serving of each so far today and that's not enough.
Didn't have the cookie. Made some fruit salad so ate that and a few Sun Chips. My daughter was evil and bought donuts knowing I love apple fritters. My sweet tooth is going a little too crazy! 300 Calories in that donut, but I had that instead of Becca's cookies which ended up being those German chocolate bar things that are loaded and just as much as a donut. The bad thing about donuts is the sat fat-- 5g. Yikes! Thanks to the donut I hit 500 evening calories and now have extra sit-ups to do! I do not recommend eating donuts more than once in a great while because of the sat. fat and obvious lack of nutritional value in general. Although there must be some apple in an apple fritter??? :D
Total Calories Today 1200-1300
Student #1 was told that he didn't know and when she got up to the window to pay a lady (the manager) told her that they did know and gave her an entire calorie sheet that McDonalds will provide you. It's quite nice and quite informative. She said the guy "got in trouble" for telling her that. She brought me the sheet and the students wanted to add up their calories. It was quite interesting to watch them read off their typical McDonald's order and see what the calories added up to. So then we had to talk about age and how active you are. I explained that if you burn off 2500 calories, for example and only take in 1200-- that's bad. I did tell them that the average for their age is 2000 calories and that from there they have to determine how physically active they are. On the other hand, if they go home and sit in front of their computer, video games, or TV for the rest of the night, they have to watch their calories a lot closer. It's kind of a "reward" system. Then they wanted to know how many calories this burned off and how many calories that burned off. I knew some of the things, but now..... I have to do more research.
Student #2 also asked how many calories were in the thing she ordered at the drive-thru and he not only told her that he didn't know... he told her that she didn't need to know!!! Her mom was so mad that they went in! Long story short, the manager came out, the guy apologized, they told her the calories. WoW! I had a student who came in at lunch today (for drama practice... yes that's pretty much my life right now) and she was telling me that I've really got her thinking about calories and what she eats and saturated fat now. She said her dad has high cholesterol and described what he eats and how she's going to help him start making healthier food choices. So... I think it's important not just to talk about the calories with kids these days, but also to talk to them about the saturated fat and sodium, etc.
Then... my daughter sent me to school with a new Special K snack bar to try. They're called Fruit Crisps. There's two in a package/serving and they taste like thin pop-tarts. The two crisps together are 100 calories. My new favorite 100 calorie treat!!! She sent two with me and had one of the boys at school try it and he told all the other students how awesome they taste. Now I do have to say (and I told them this) although it's a low cal treat... I'm not sure that makes it healthy. It's still healthier to eat a banana or apple. But I know kids (myself included) are going to munch on munchies every now and then. So... it was an interesting day.
My food intake for today:
BREAKFAST: I had my Special K fruit crisp and an activa yogurt for breakfast (170)
SNACK: I had 1/2 of the package of fruit crisp (one bar- 50 calories) for a snack
LUNCH: Fresh spinach salad w/mandarin oranges, sliced almonds, basalmic spritzer, cheese stick (250)
AFTER SCHOOL SNACK: My son-in-law brought home wal-mart honey bbq boneless wings (I had 6= 160 calories) and I found this web site for calories on most of wal-mart's deli food: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/nutrition-facts-calories/walmart-deli
DINNER: I will be taking food to the rehearsal tonight (which I need to go get right now) so whatever it is... I won't go over 600 calories for myself-- dessert included -- and Becca's making cookies so I'm going to have one! I will also have some more fruit and veggies, because I've really only had one serving of each so far today and that's not enough.
Didn't have the cookie. Made some fruit salad so ate that and a few Sun Chips. My daughter was evil and bought donuts knowing I love apple fritters. My sweet tooth is going a little too crazy! 300 Calories in that donut, but I had that instead of Becca's cookies which ended up being those German chocolate bar things that are loaded and just as much as a donut. The bad thing about donuts is the sat fat-- 5g. Yikes! Thanks to the donut I hit 500 evening calories and now have extra sit-ups to do! I do not recommend eating donuts more than once in a great while because of the sat. fat and obvious lack of nutritional value in general. Although there must be some apple in an apple fritter??? :D
Total Calories Today 1200-1300
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
DAY 104- Healthier Eating Journal
Well going to bed earlier certainly helped my energry and alertness level this morning, but I still wanted to hit the snooze button. I had to be there by 7:00 for kids coming in for the play and things I wanted to set up for my lesson today. Took an Activa yogurt (70) and banana (80) with me for breakfast. For lunch I had the full tuna sandwich on a bun (had to be 400 calories or more) w/baked chips (140) but I knew I would be headed straight to the track after school and wouldn't have time for any calories righ after school. I always just drink water with lunch. They had 1/2 cup of apricots for the fruit with lunch (50). After school I headed to the track meet to help out with timing and they brought in pizza about 6pm. I had a small thin slice of canadian bacon and pineapple (150). When I got home I had some warm hot chocolate- 120 calories-- (which is just always good after a track meet) and a piece of whole grain toast (110) w/butter spray, 1 tbsp. of peanut butter- 90 calories(yes, I measured to see what that would get me) and 1 tsp. of honey (which is plenty-32 calories).
Total Calories Today - 1200-1300
So Kali and I had this discussion today about how many calories I should be eating each day. I found this web site that calculates this for you based on 1)age 2) ht. and wt. 3) how active you are with exercise and 4)your gender. The nice thing about it is that it shows you how many calories you can take in each day if you want to maintain the weight you're at AND how many you should take in if you want to lose weight. You can also determine how much weight you'd like to lose per week. After the first couple of weeks doing this, I've never lost more than one or two pounds per week, so I just put in two per week. According to the calculations I should take in around 1300 calories per day if I want to lose 2 pounds per week. But I can take in 2000 calories per day if I want to maintain my current weight. So that's awesome, because if I decide I want to go eat out, or there's birthday cake, etc. going on, I can still do that as long as I stay at 2000 calories for the day and I'll maintain my weight. I only have seven more pounds to go and after getting used to 1200-1300 calories per day, I won't have a problem maintaining my weight. That is also based on moderate exercising 3x a week. I've about decided that 1500-2000 is the best range for maintaining my weight.
Here is the web site: http://calculators.hpathy.com/calories-need.asp
Total Calories Today - 1200-1300
So Kali and I had this discussion today about how many calories I should be eating each day. I found this web site that calculates this for you based on 1)age 2) ht. and wt. 3) how active you are with exercise and 4)your gender. The nice thing about it is that it shows you how many calories you can take in each day if you want to maintain the weight you're at AND how many you should take in if you want to lose weight. You can also determine how much weight you'd like to lose per week. After the first couple of weeks doing this, I've never lost more than one or two pounds per week, so I just put in two per week. According to the calculations I should take in around 1300 calories per day if I want to lose 2 pounds per week. But I can take in 2000 calories per day if I want to maintain my current weight. So that's awesome, because if I decide I want to go eat out, or there's birthday cake, etc. going on, I can still do that as long as I stay at 2000 calories for the day and I'll maintain my weight. I only have seven more pounds to go and after getting used to 1200-1300 calories per day, I won't have a problem maintaining my weight. That is also based on moderate exercising 3x a week. I've about decided that 1500-2000 is the best range for maintaining my weight.
Here is the web site: http://calculators.hpathy.com/calories-need.asp
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
DAY 103- Healthier Eating Journal
So I was a little nervous about showing the teeny-boppers the dance routine for our play, but I have to say, that going over it and over it the last few nights has really reminded me of how many calories I used to burn when I danced. It has been great for me. And... the girls were kind. They didn't make fun of the old lady's dance and they are humoring me by doing it and saying they liked it. The important thing is... it's done. No more debating about which song, which moves, etc. And, they are good sports who look cute doing it so it's all good. I did threaten the boys that if they didn't have all their dance ready by Thursday that I'd be choreographing there's too. That got them going! They do all that "popping" and the only popping I can do is to put my hip back in place, so I'm glad they're on it!
I think I have spring fever turned summer fever because I am having such a hard time getting out of bed lately. That translates into breakfast on the go. Luckily, I have learned to keep healthy get and go food around. I grab my yogurt (70) and banana (80) and head out the door. I also took food to work. I had the 4oz. salmon (110) w/spinach salad that had mandarin oranges in it an a few sliced almonds (130). I used the balsamic spritzer (yum). I used it on both the fish and the salad. For dessert I had 1 cup of cottage cheese (200). My morning snack was a few carrot sticks and celery sticks. My after school snack was a Fresca because it was nice and hot outside and I was thirsty. I know it's not healhty. It's empty calories, but it sounded good.
For dinner we had so many phone calls and visitors in between that I ended up fixing a quick 1/2 sandwich (230) instead of dirtying the kitchen. Ever have those days? I did the baked chips with it (160) and a granola bar (90). Then.... Russ came in and gave me a plate of 4 shrimp he had cooked up. I wasn't going to eat them because I had already eaten, but I looked up the calories and... Holy Cow! 4 Large shrimp (steamed, no batter) = 22 calories! Yeah!Shrimp and Fresca both for 22 calories. What a day! Okay... they're both things that need to be eaten sparingly, but I liked it!
Another 1100-1200 calorie day and I could have a bag of 100 calorie mini pouch popcorn tonight if I want and still be fine! It does pay to pay attention to portion control, and what food you eat. It feels like I just eat all the time. The food you buy and keep around the house and at work really plays a lot into your failure and success at healthier eating and weight loss. The other part is staying active. Dance, bike, walk (quickly), try something new (like Tai Chi) or make a pact with your hubby (or parent or sibling) to do crunches and squats every night. Who are you accountable to? Makes a difference.
I think I have spring fever turned summer fever because I am having such a hard time getting out of bed lately. That translates into breakfast on the go. Luckily, I have learned to keep healthy get and go food around. I grab my yogurt (70) and banana (80) and head out the door. I also took food to work. I had the 4oz. salmon (110) w/spinach salad that had mandarin oranges in it an a few sliced almonds (130). I used the balsamic spritzer (yum). I used it on both the fish and the salad. For dessert I had 1 cup of cottage cheese (200). My morning snack was a few carrot sticks and celery sticks. My after school snack was a Fresca because it was nice and hot outside and I was thirsty. I know it's not healhty. It's empty calories, but it sounded good.
For dinner we had so many phone calls and visitors in between that I ended up fixing a quick 1/2 sandwich (230) instead of dirtying the kitchen. Ever have those days? I did the baked chips with it (160) and a granola bar (90). Then.... Russ came in and gave me a plate of 4 shrimp he had cooked up. I wasn't going to eat them because I had already eaten, but I looked up the calories and... Holy Cow! 4 Large shrimp (steamed, no batter) = 22 calories! Yeah!Shrimp and Fresca both for 22 calories. What a day! Okay... they're both things that need to be eaten sparingly, but I liked it!
Another 1100-1200 calorie day and I could have a bag of 100 calorie mini pouch popcorn tonight if I want and still be fine! It does pay to pay attention to portion control, and what food you eat. It feels like I just eat all the time. The food you buy and keep around the house and at work really plays a lot into your failure and success at healthier eating and weight loss. The other part is staying active. Dance, bike, walk (quickly), try something new (like Tai Chi) or make a pact with your hubby (or parent or sibling) to do crunches and squats every night. Who are you accountable to? Makes a difference.
Monday, April 12, 2010
DAY 102- Healthier Eating Journal
Sleep plays a big part in our health as well. Sunday nights I tend to stay up a little too late contemplating and getting ready for Monday. Then I have to get up earlier than I have the two previous days because it was the weekend. Consequently, I came home and took a nap today.
I had my activa yogurt (70) and a banana (80) for breakfast. I am out of frozen Healthy Choice meals! Yikes! Need to go to the store tomorrow. Had to go with what they had in the cafeteria. Ended up eating 2/3 of tuna sandwich on a bun (280) w/baked chips (140) and an apple (90). Was starving when I got home because of not having my snacks. Had a granola bar.
I had leftovers for dinner so I'll do the salmon recipe for dinner tomorrow, so I'll leave it the same on my menu. If anyone did it today, go to the web site listed and get another recipe. They have a lot of great ideas. I had a slice of ham (140), 1/2 cup mashed potatoes w/butter spray (50), 1/2 cup steamed veggies (30). Relly and I had the 100 calorie mini pouch popcorn that we shared while I did my puzzle later on the couch and played with his train. He found some leftover mini robin eggs from Easter and shared a few of them (5-6). That's probably 150 pointless calories. I'll work those off tonight practicing this dance routine I have to show some girls tomorrow for the play!
Total Calories Today=1200
Thought for the day. Take time for yourself. I enjoy taking an hour after I get home from work and just doing the puzzle, or wrapping up in a blanket with something to read or watch. I need down time because I am go-go-go all the time and it doesn't do any good to work so hard all the time if we don't also take the time to enjoy it. We have to have balance. Saturday mornings I like to get up, eat a nice full breakfast and clean the house before I start my day. It just makes the rest of the day go so much nicer and it only takes an hour the majority of the time. Right now my spring play takes up a lot of my mental time, so taking a time out to do some puzzles tonight was just a reminder that I need to relax mentally too. And on that note.... now that I've done my puzzle AND had a nap... I'm ready to go work on the dance! :D
I had my activa yogurt (70) and a banana (80) for breakfast. I am out of frozen Healthy Choice meals! Yikes! Need to go to the store tomorrow. Had to go with what they had in the cafeteria. Ended up eating 2/3 of tuna sandwich on a bun (280) w/baked chips (140) and an apple (90). Was starving when I got home because of not having my snacks. Had a granola bar.
I had leftovers for dinner so I'll do the salmon recipe for dinner tomorrow, so I'll leave it the same on my menu. If anyone did it today, go to the web site listed and get another recipe. They have a lot of great ideas. I had a slice of ham (140), 1/2 cup mashed potatoes w/butter spray (50), 1/2 cup steamed veggies (30). Relly and I had the 100 calorie mini pouch popcorn that we shared while I did my puzzle later on the couch and played with his train. He found some leftover mini robin eggs from Easter and shared a few of them (5-6). That's probably 150 pointless calories. I'll work those off tonight practicing this dance routine I have to show some girls tomorrow for the play!
Total Calories Today=1200
Thought for the day. Take time for yourself. I enjoy taking an hour after I get home from work and just doing the puzzle, or wrapping up in a blanket with something to read or watch. I need down time because I am go-go-go all the time and it doesn't do any good to work so hard all the time if we don't also take the time to enjoy it. We have to have balance. Saturday mornings I like to get up, eat a nice full breakfast and clean the house before I start my day. It just makes the rest of the day go so much nicer and it only takes an hour the majority of the time. Right now my spring play takes up a lot of my mental time, so taking a time out to do some puzzles tonight was just a reminder that I need to relax mentally too. And on that note.... now that I've done my puzzle AND had a nap... I'm ready to go work on the dance! :D
Sunday, April 11, 2010
DAY 101- Healthier Eating Journal
It was a nice Sunday. I was fasting so I didn't have dinner last night or breakfast today and I thought I would be starving when I got home and I was hungry... but not starving. When we fast with earnest intent on the people and thing we are fasting for and about, it changes our physical desires as well as our spiritual desires. We fast as a family once a month and as I mentioned before, little ones, pregnant ladies, and sick-o's don't fast. So... zero calories on the breakfast this morning.
I enjoy the youth I teach at church. They are the poster children of hope, of future dreams unrealized yet, and of great things yet to come. It really is a privelege to be a teacher in any walk of life and we often learn far more than our students ever do. We talked about Rebekah and Isaac today and almost-teenagers love a good love story. I asked them if they knew what prearranged marriages were and was surprised that they did. They had heard about them in other countries. I asked them how they would feel having a prearranged marriage.... not so much. They did not like that idea at all. Then we talked about the servant of Abraham and how they would feel if they were him and their boss said, "Okay, go get my son a wife but not from around here." They were uncomfortable with that too. So the servant prays and knows that the "wife" will be a woman who offers to water his camels. Of course we have to talk about camels. Watering them is not a one bucket from the well scenario. When they stop to drink they consume 30-50 gallons per drinking. Their hump stores about 20 gallons. We had to discuss this. It says he had camel(s)... not a camel... so she's going to be hauling a lot of water.
He gets there and hopes someone will show up. We read the story in Genesis. Not only does a woman show up and offer to water his camels, but she is "fair" (we discussed this meant she was beautiful) and she was a virgin. We didn't go there... I just said that she was single and had never been married. Mom and dad can give the other details. Then she invites the servant to dine with her family. He retells the whole story to her family (which is related to Abraham) and I asked the kids what they would think if some guy came to dinner and told them that about their sister. They said they would think he was crazy. Then we read that the family thought he must be blessed by the Lord... and this was meant to be. What faith. A faith missing today. If that wasn't enough, the servant said (and I paraphrase) okay, thanks for the food, I need to take the bride-to-be and run. The mom and siblings of course asked if they couldn't wait a while... after all they had just learned she was to be married and leave. Again my students were surprised as well. He said he couldn't wait. They called Rebekah in and she said she would go (showing her crazy faith). Today we think of that as crazy behavior, but I think they would think some of our behaviors and customs are crazy as well. Each to their time. :D So the great love story began and Isaac loved her or so it was written in Genesis.
I had a great conversation with them and we made links for thier own chain out of the qualities they want in their future spouse. I know they're young (12), but they're still at the age where they don't quite know everything yet (that hits in 2 years) and where they are willing to listen. Their lists were quite impressive and not nearly as superficial as I had thought some of them might be. I guess when they compared their lives to Rebekah and Isaac, they were just happy to get to pick their spouse. Oh the things we take for granted in this beautiful free country we live in.
For dinner I had the baked ham and was aware that it was loaded w/sodium, so had two thin small slices and focused more on the potatoes. Had a full cup of those w/just a little gravy. I decided not to put the broccoli into a casserole or sauce because of the sodium in the ham. Instead I layered a small glass roaster with a package of fresh mushrooms (sliced), then a small thin zucchini I sliced, then some broccoli I cut up, then finally I sprinkled some baby carrots across the top. I seasoned it with lemon pepper and added 1/4 cup of water. I covered it w/wax paper and cooked it in the microwave for 15 minutes. Then I tranfered it to a skillet and sprayed a little spray butter on top, turned it and cooked it on low-med heat just until all the water was gone. I didn't use any cooking oil and the vegetables were just right and very good.
The kids love to squeal and run around when the cousins are all together. It's noisy, but it's a wonderful noisy. After they played a while and we got things cleaned up, I got out the bananas for their treat: CHOCOLATE DIPPED BANANAS. I would recommend this activity for any family. What fun and it's so easy.
1) put a cookie sheet lined with wax paper in the middle of table and use a toothpick to draw off "their corner"
2) give them each a banana that's been cut in half and still has the peel on it (so they can peel it themself before you start painting w/chocolate)
3) give them each two popsicle sticks (we found it's a waste to have them do more than one whole banana because they lick their fingers, etc. and no one else it going to eat their bananas when they're done!)
4) I gave them each a glass banana boat dish I had but you could also use paper plates
5) Divide the melted chocolate chips (I zapped them in the microwave two minutes and stirred) evenly between all the kids
6) give them each a butter knife to "paint the banana" or whatever utensil you feel safe giving them if they're not very old (but you are doing this with them to supervise)
7) PAINT THE BANANAS w/choclate
8) Add sprinkles and put on the wax paper
9) put them in the freezer for 20-30 minutes and the shell becomes hard like dipped ice cream. They loved it!
After that Stacy (my eldest son's wife) took the kids to the park and my son and I discussed his topic for his upcoming speech in his college speech class. Guess what it is.... obesity in America. Oh! Boy do I have plenty of advice for him. He was a standout athlete in HS and went to state in three sports his senior year, so he's all about the sports and exercise side of it, but I put my two bits in about the other side of it. We had a great family discussion about it too and he received lots of helpful ideas. It was a nice Sunday.
I enjoy the youth I teach at church. They are the poster children of hope, of future dreams unrealized yet, and of great things yet to come. It really is a privelege to be a teacher in any walk of life and we often learn far more than our students ever do. We talked about Rebekah and Isaac today and almost-teenagers love a good love story. I asked them if they knew what prearranged marriages were and was surprised that they did. They had heard about them in other countries. I asked them how they would feel having a prearranged marriage.... not so much. They did not like that idea at all. Then we talked about the servant of Abraham and how they would feel if they were him and their boss said, "Okay, go get my son a wife but not from around here." They were uncomfortable with that too. So the servant prays and knows that the "wife" will be a woman who offers to water his camels. Of course we have to talk about camels. Watering them is not a one bucket from the well scenario. When they stop to drink they consume 30-50 gallons per drinking. Their hump stores about 20 gallons. We had to discuss this. It says he had camel(s)... not a camel... so she's going to be hauling a lot of water.
He gets there and hopes someone will show up. We read the story in Genesis. Not only does a woman show up and offer to water his camels, but she is "fair" (we discussed this meant she was beautiful) and she was a virgin. We didn't go there... I just said that she was single and had never been married. Mom and dad can give the other details. Then she invites the servant to dine with her family. He retells the whole story to her family (which is related to Abraham) and I asked the kids what they would think if some guy came to dinner and told them that about their sister. They said they would think he was crazy. Then we read that the family thought he must be blessed by the Lord... and this was meant to be. What faith. A faith missing today. If that wasn't enough, the servant said (and I paraphrase) okay, thanks for the food, I need to take the bride-to-be and run. The mom and siblings of course asked if they couldn't wait a while... after all they had just learned she was to be married and leave. Again my students were surprised as well. He said he couldn't wait. They called Rebekah in and she said she would go (showing her crazy faith). Today we think of that as crazy behavior, but I think they would think some of our behaviors and customs are crazy as well. Each to their time. :D So the great love story began and Isaac loved her or so it was written in Genesis.
I had a great conversation with them and we made links for thier own chain out of the qualities they want in their future spouse. I know they're young (12), but they're still at the age where they don't quite know everything yet (that hits in 2 years) and where they are willing to listen. Their lists were quite impressive and not nearly as superficial as I had thought some of them might be. I guess when they compared their lives to Rebekah and Isaac, they were just happy to get to pick their spouse. Oh the things we take for granted in this beautiful free country we live in.
For dinner I had the baked ham and was aware that it was loaded w/sodium, so had two thin small slices and focused more on the potatoes. Had a full cup of those w/just a little gravy. I decided not to put the broccoli into a casserole or sauce because of the sodium in the ham. Instead I layered a small glass roaster with a package of fresh mushrooms (sliced), then a small thin zucchini I sliced, then some broccoli I cut up, then finally I sprinkled some baby carrots across the top. I seasoned it with lemon pepper and added 1/4 cup of water. I covered it w/wax paper and cooked it in the microwave for 15 minutes. Then I tranfered it to a skillet and sprayed a little spray butter on top, turned it and cooked it on low-med heat just until all the water was gone. I didn't use any cooking oil and the vegetables were just right and very good.
The kids love to squeal and run around when the cousins are all together. It's noisy, but it's a wonderful noisy. After they played a while and we got things cleaned up, I got out the bananas for their treat: CHOCOLATE DIPPED BANANAS. I would recommend this activity for any family. What fun and it's so easy.
1) put a cookie sheet lined with wax paper in the middle of table and use a toothpick to draw off "their corner"
2) give them each a banana that's been cut in half and still has the peel on it (so they can peel it themself before you start painting w/chocolate)
3) give them each two popsicle sticks (we found it's a waste to have them do more than one whole banana because they lick their fingers, etc. and no one else it going to eat their bananas when they're done!)
4) I gave them each a glass banana boat dish I had but you could also use paper plates
5) Divide the melted chocolate chips (I zapped them in the microwave two minutes and stirred) evenly between all the kids
6) give them each a butter knife to "paint the banana" or whatever utensil you feel safe giving them if they're not very old (but you are doing this with them to supervise)
7) PAINT THE BANANAS w/choclate
8) Add sprinkles and put on the wax paper
9) put them in the freezer for 20-30 minutes and the shell becomes hard like dipped ice cream. They loved it!
After that Stacy (my eldest son's wife) took the kids to the park and my son and I discussed his topic for his upcoming speech in his college speech class. Guess what it is.... obesity in America. Oh! Boy do I have plenty of advice for him. He was a standout athlete in HS and went to state in three sports his senior year, so he's all about the sports and exercise side of it, but I put my two bits in about the other side of it. We had a great family discussion about it too and he received lots of helpful ideas. It was a nice Sunday.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
DAY 100- Woo-hoo Healthier Eating Journal
Well I decided to start off my one-hundredth day of eating healthier by weighing myself on the wii. It's been a couple weeks since I checked in because I skipped Easter weekend and the scale at school is still broken. The wii tells you that it hasn't seen you in a while (basically that you're a slacker) and then it reminds you of your goals. I started this journey at 167 and I thought it would be most appropriate to mark my 100th day with a weigh in. I am now 147. Now I know 20lbs. may not seem like a lot in 100 days, but I've been doing this at a realistic pace with realistic exercise (no gym passes or running or weightlifting). And I still have my sweet tooth, but I've learned what's in stuff and what some healthier choices are.
For example, today when I was yard-saling and the time was getting away from me and my stomach was grumbling, I rummaged around in my car as I headed home to fix a late lunch and found some jelly beans. Now two weeks ago I did the same thing-- forgot to take healthy snacks w/me. The jelly beans looked harmless enough, but they're 10 calories each and I ate 15 to hold me over. For 150 calories I could have a baked potato w/sour cream! I could have a small banana and Activa fit Yogurt! You get the point. Wasted, empty calories. 90% Of the time now, I make the better choices. I'm not perfect, but I'm so much better and know so much more now. I am still learning though. Like I ate turkey chili the other day and thought I was doing so great by going turkey, but found out that the avg. turkey chili has 900-1000mg of sodium in it. Hormel's turkey chili had even more~! Cured ham is horrible too 1900mg of sodium in a cup of ham. So, if you know you're going to eat something high in sodium (like tomorrow's baked ham), don't add salt to anything else at dinner, and pay attention to the sodium in whatever else you eat that day because you're already pushing your 2000 limit. For example, have an Activa Yogurt and a banana for breakfast (76mg sodium for both) and have a baked potato with sourcream and garlic powder and pepper for a total of 10mg sodium all together).
Total Food Intake Today:
BREAKFAST: French Toast w/2 tblsp. Lite Syrup, (225) 1 scrambled egg fried in Pam spray (90), 1/2 leftover baked potato fried in Pam spray (50 calories) and sprinkled w/bacon bits (25 calories.
SNACK: 15 jelly beans that I found in a bag in my car while I was driving around yard-saling (150)
LUNCH: ½ Tuna Sandwich w/pickle and 1 tbsp. of fat free ranch (230), 9 Kettle Cooked chips (75 calories, 80mg sodium, .5 grams sat fat.), 1 banana (80) and one chocolate covered pretzel Russ made me eat and said it was 40 calories.
Had a late, large breakfast (9:30) and a late lunch (2:30) because I’ll be fasting tomorrow, so I’ll be skipping supper tonight and breakfast tomorrow. We get home from church about 2:30 so it’ll be just in time to end our fast. I usually drink when I fast though most people don’t. It is not just a physical cleansing: it’s a spiritual cleansing as we think of a purpose to fast. We do this as a family once a month and think of those in need or ask for guidance in our own families, or both. The children and pregnant ladies or sick ones don’t fast.
TOTAL CALORIES TODAY= 1040 (without supper—which I won’t be having)
The daughter pulled out her tub of all her old (BTP)jeans (that means "before the pregnancy). I actually have pants that fit now. I am no longer a "sagger". I was so inspired that I choreographed the whole dance routine that one of my dance groups for the play hasn't been able to put together. That was my exercise for today and it was way more than I have been doing so I'm doing my crunches but nothing else tonight. A new weight, a new pair of pants, a lot of great deals at yard sales, a nice visit with my sweetie on the phone, and my kids are coming over tomorrow. It was a great 100th day of healthier eating.
For example, today when I was yard-saling and the time was getting away from me and my stomach was grumbling, I rummaged around in my car as I headed home to fix a late lunch and found some jelly beans. Now two weeks ago I did the same thing-- forgot to take healthy snacks w/me. The jelly beans looked harmless enough, but they're 10 calories each and I ate 15 to hold me over. For 150 calories I could have a baked potato w/sour cream! I could have a small banana and Activa fit Yogurt! You get the point. Wasted, empty calories. 90% Of the time now, I make the better choices. I'm not perfect, but I'm so much better and know so much more now. I am still learning though. Like I ate turkey chili the other day and thought I was doing so great by going turkey, but found out that the avg. turkey chili has 900-1000mg of sodium in it. Hormel's turkey chili had even more~! Cured ham is horrible too 1900mg of sodium in a cup of ham. So, if you know you're going to eat something high in sodium (like tomorrow's baked ham), don't add salt to anything else at dinner, and pay attention to the sodium in whatever else you eat that day because you're already pushing your 2000 limit. For example, have an Activa Yogurt and a banana for breakfast (76mg sodium for both) and have a baked potato with sourcream and garlic powder and pepper for a total of 10mg sodium all together).
Total Food Intake Today:
BREAKFAST: French Toast w/2 tblsp. Lite Syrup, (225) 1 scrambled egg fried in Pam spray (90), 1/2 leftover baked potato fried in Pam spray (50 calories) and sprinkled w/bacon bits (25 calories.
SNACK: 15 jelly beans that I found in a bag in my car while I was driving around yard-saling (150)
LUNCH: ½ Tuna Sandwich w/pickle and 1 tbsp. of fat free ranch (230), 9 Kettle Cooked chips (75 calories, 80mg sodium, .5 grams sat fat.), 1 banana (80) and one chocolate covered pretzel Russ made me eat and said it was 40 calories.
Had a late, large breakfast (9:30) and a late lunch (2:30) because I’ll be fasting tomorrow, so I’ll be skipping supper tonight and breakfast tomorrow. We get home from church about 2:30 so it’ll be just in time to end our fast. I usually drink when I fast though most people don’t. It is not just a physical cleansing: it’s a spiritual cleansing as we think of a purpose to fast. We do this as a family once a month and think of those in need or ask for guidance in our own families, or both. The children and pregnant ladies or sick ones don’t fast.
TOTAL CALORIES TODAY= 1040 (without supper—which I won’t be having)
The daughter pulled out her tub of all her old (BTP)jeans (that means "before the pregnancy). I actually have pants that fit now. I am no longer a "sagger". I was so inspired that I choreographed the whole dance routine that one of my dance groups for the play hasn't been able to put together. That was my exercise for today and it was way more than I have been doing so I'm doing my crunches but nothing else tonight. A new weight, a new pair of pants, a lot of great deals at yard sales, a nice visit with my sweetie on the phone, and my kids are coming over tomorrow. It was a great 100th day of healthier eating.
Friday, April 9, 2010
BROCCOLI CHEDDAR CHOWDER
Ingredients
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 large potato, peeled and diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 14-ounce cans vegetable broth, or reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 8 ounces broccoli crowns, (see Ingredient Note), cut into 1-inch pieces, stems and florets separated
• 1 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
Preparation
1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot and celery; cook, stirring often, until the onion and celery soften, 5 to 6 minutes. Add potato and garlic; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in flour, dry mustard and cayenne; cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes.
2. Add broth and broccoli stems; bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Stir in florets; simmer, covered, until the broccoli is tender, about 10 minutes more. Transfer 2 cups of the chowder to a bowl and mash; return to the pan.
3. Stir in Cheddar and sour cream; cook over medium heat, stirring, until the cheese is melted and the chowder is heated through, about 2 minutes. Season with salt.
Nutrition
Per serving: 205 calories; 9 g fat (4 g sat, 3 g mono); 21 mg cholesterol; 23 g carbohydrates; 9 g protein; 4 g fiber; 508 mg sodium; 436 mg potassium.
Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (61% daily value), Vitamin A (64% dv), Calcium (34% dv).
1 1/2 Carbohydrate Serving
Exchanges: 1 starch, 1 vegetable, 1 high-fat meat
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 large potato, peeled and diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 14-ounce cans vegetable broth, or reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 8 ounces broccoli crowns, (see Ingredient Note), cut into 1-inch pieces, stems and florets separated
• 1 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
Preparation
1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot and celery; cook, stirring often, until the onion and celery soften, 5 to 6 minutes. Add potato and garlic; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in flour, dry mustard and cayenne; cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes.
2. Add broth and broccoli stems; bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Stir in florets; simmer, covered, until the broccoli is tender, about 10 minutes more. Transfer 2 cups of the chowder to a bowl and mash; return to the pan.
3. Stir in Cheddar and sour cream; cook over medium heat, stirring, until the cheese is melted and the chowder is heated through, about 2 minutes. Season with salt.
Nutrition
Per serving: 205 calories; 9 g fat (4 g sat, 3 g mono); 21 mg cholesterol; 23 g carbohydrates; 9 g protein; 4 g fiber; 508 mg sodium; 436 mg potassium.
Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (61% daily value), Vitamin A (64% dv), Calcium (34% dv).
1 1/2 Carbohydrate Serving
Exchanges: 1 starch, 1 vegetable, 1 high-fat meat
DAY NINETY NINE- Healthier Eating Journal
It just occurred to me that tomorrow will mark 100 days since I've been on this journey to change the way I eat. I feel the need to plan some celebrating of some sort. Not quite sure what. Open to suggestions. Seems counterproductive to celebrate with food, but maybe I'll make myself that awesome homemade fudge cake recipe again. Or...maybe I'll buy myself a new pair of pants. They're all hanging off me right now. I found an old pair in my dresser this morning and put them on, but Kali informed me that they were highwaters. I'm glad someone's honest with me. Won't wear those to school again. So my daughter (who will be having her baby any week now) dug out all her old pant suits that I bought her when she was in state leadership in high school and I found a couple that look great. They all fit, but I'm just not quite young or hip enough to make a couple of the outfits work on a woman pushing 50. Some ladies can do it... but not me. I look like an old lady trying to look young... which I'm not. Still, I have a few pair of dress pants that fit now! :D
I could, of course, go to some yard sales in the morning and claim I deserve it in celebration of 100 days of healthier eating. Yep... I'm going to use that one. I need to go check on Grandma Shorty too. Maybe I'll take her a piece of my chocolate cake. It won't be anything like her famous pies, but it'll be fun to visit with her and hear about her latest adventures with Esther and Wheel of Fortune and the new little twins. Maybe I'll take the pregnant daughter shopping for a new baby outfit since we'll be seeing him in a week or so. So many options.
Okay... FOOD Talk..... I will skip right to the chase. I tried turkey burger for the first time today. Now nobody shoot me with your vegetarian darts, but it was just not good. I made the turkey meatloaf from the cookbook and we all agreed it wasn't "bad" but it just wasn't normal meatloaf. No one took seconds and we all like meatloaf. The only reason we leave any is so we can have a meatloaf sandwich the next day. So on the bright side, I didn't have seconds and I won't have to add up the calories for a meatloaf sandwich tomorrow. The texture and taste is just a lot different than hamburger. It's kind of mushy and bland tasting to me. We killed it with ketchup and ate just to say we did, but we all voted that in our house the meatloaf would remain hamburger based. I also would modify the recipe (and did) to eliminate frying anything before it goes into the meatloaf. It's just not necessary. I also throw fresh spinach into the meatloaf (chopped up) and that was the one thing that still tasted good.
I watched that show Food Revolution tonight on ABC. There's a lot more to it than what I originally thought. I didn't realize the actual programs he's establishing for kids and thought it was absolutely awesome what one person is doing for the problem of obesity in America. One teenage girl that worked in his program was obviously overweight and she said that even at her age she had spots on her liver from her poor eating habits and that her doctor said she may only have 7 years left to live. And she wasn't gigantic. I see her size kids in schools all the time. He also does so many other things that are just genius. He's passionate about it. He uses the word "revolution" and he means it. And though they said he wrote a book, he's not a celebrity in my book because I didn't even know who he was before this. He seems like an ordinary guy with a cool English accent. It makes you realize that each of us could make a difference. I encourage everyone to watch it.
Here's my food intake today:
BREAKFAST- Banana (80 calories)
SNACK: 55 Pretzels throughout the school day (110 calories)
LUNCH: 1 cup turkey chili, 1 slice of homemade whole wheat bread, 1 banana (300 calories total lunch)
AFTER SCHOOL SNACK: granola bar (90)and another banana (80)
DINNER: Turkey Meatloaf per OSU cookbook recipe (210 calories), baked potato w/1/3 cup of cottage cheese instead of sour cream (160), 1/2 cup green beans (20)
TOTAL=1100 calories today
I could, of course, go to some yard sales in the morning and claim I deserve it in celebration of 100 days of healthier eating. Yep... I'm going to use that one. I need to go check on Grandma Shorty too. Maybe I'll take her a piece of my chocolate cake. It won't be anything like her famous pies, but it'll be fun to visit with her and hear about her latest adventures with Esther and Wheel of Fortune and the new little twins. Maybe I'll take the pregnant daughter shopping for a new baby outfit since we'll be seeing him in a week or so. So many options.
Okay... FOOD Talk..... I will skip right to the chase. I tried turkey burger for the first time today. Now nobody shoot me with your vegetarian darts, but it was just not good. I made the turkey meatloaf from the cookbook and we all agreed it wasn't "bad" but it just wasn't normal meatloaf. No one took seconds and we all like meatloaf. The only reason we leave any is so we can have a meatloaf sandwich the next day. So on the bright side, I didn't have seconds and I won't have to add up the calories for a meatloaf sandwich tomorrow. The texture and taste is just a lot different than hamburger. It's kind of mushy and bland tasting to me. We killed it with ketchup and ate just to say we did, but we all voted that in our house the meatloaf would remain hamburger based. I also would modify the recipe (and did) to eliminate frying anything before it goes into the meatloaf. It's just not necessary. I also throw fresh spinach into the meatloaf (chopped up) and that was the one thing that still tasted good.
I watched that show Food Revolution tonight on ABC. There's a lot more to it than what I originally thought. I didn't realize the actual programs he's establishing for kids and thought it was absolutely awesome what one person is doing for the problem of obesity in America. One teenage girl that worked in his program was obviously overweight and she said that even at her age she had spots on her liver from her poor eating habits and that her doctor said she may only have 7 years left to live. And she wasn't gigantic. I see her size kids in schools all the time. He also does so many other things that are just genius. He's passionate about it. He uses the word "revolution" and he means it. And though they said he wrote a book, he's not a celebrity in my book because I didn't even know who he was before this. He seems like an ordinary guy with a cool English accent. It makes you realize that each of us could make a difference. I encourage everyone to watch it.
Here's my food intake today:
BREAKFAST- Banana (80 calories)
SNACK: 55 Pretzels throughout the school day (110 calories)
LUNCH: 1 cup turkey chili, 1 slice of homemade whole wheat bread, 1 banana (300 calories total lunch)
AFTER SCHOOL SNACK: granola bar (90)and another banana (80)
DINNER: Turkey Meatloaf per OSU cookbook recipe (210 calories), baked potato w/1/3 cup of cottage cheese instead of sour cream (160), 1/2 cup green beans (20)
TOTAL=1100 calories today
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Sweet and Spicy BBQ Chicken--
1/2 cup light brown sugar, *1/4 cup cider vinegar, *2 tblsp olive oil, *2 tblsp lemon juice, *3 garlic cloves, 1.5 tblsp Dijon mustard, 1 tsp .Worcestershire sauce, 6 boneless chicken breasts (1.5 lbs.). DIRECTIONS: In a blender, combine the brown sugar, vinegar, olive oil, lemon jice, garlic cloves, mustard, lime juice, and Worcestershire sauce. Blend until smooth. Lightly pound chicken breasts and put in sprayed lrg. glass baking dish. Pour marinade over it and refrigerate 1-3 hrs. Cook on BBQ grill. 275 calories. (p. 34 OSU cookbook) Serve w/one cup of Mexican rice and baked summer squash w/butter spray. DINNER TOTAL CALORIES= 535
DAY NINETY EIGHT- Healthier Eating Journal
It's almost Friday.... Had play practice this evening and am very impressed with how dedicated so many kids are considering they're in a small school where everyone has a million other things going on. It's kind of cool to see them come in from tennis, and track, and the band kids, and cheerleading, etc. and everyone just pulls together. In larger schools, they keep to their "groups" a lot more than they do in small schools. I had Becca go run and get cookies for everyone and I didn't have a single one. Not that I could have moved faster than all those boys to get to them anyway...
I do have to say that with all the singing and dancing going on in this play I decided to come home right after school and see if I could put some steps to some music for one of the numbers we are using and I found muscles that have been on vacation for at least 10 years. I definitely got some cardio workout today. Dancing used to be great exercise, but the way they dance today... much faster beats. It's a miracle I didn't put my back out!
Today's eating:
BREAKFAST: Activa yogurt (70 calories)
SNACK: 25 Pretzels (55 calories)
LUNCH: ½ cup meatless chili, mixed w/1/2 cup cottage cheese. Carrot sticks and celery sticks, 4oz. fruit cup (300 total lunch)
SNACK: Bowl of Cold Cereal- HOney Bunches of Oats w/skim milk AND 1/2 banana cut up into it (200)
DINNER: 1 med. piece of Roast, potatoes w/butter spray, carrots (250)
DESSERT: A few more potatoes when I got home (80)
Total calories today= 1000
I do have to say that with all the singing and dancing going on in this play I decided to come home right after school and see if I could put some steps to some music for one of the numbers we are using and I found muscles that have been on vacation for at least 10 years. I definitely got some cardio workout today. Dancing used to be great exercise, but the way they dance today... much faster beats. It's a miracle I didn't put my back out!
Today's eating:
BREAKFAST: Activa yogurt (70 calories)
SNACK: 25 Pretzels (55 calories)
LUNCH: ½ cup meatless chili, mixed w/1/2 cup cottage cheese. Carrot sticks and celery sticks, 4oz. fruit cup (300 total lunch)
SNACK: Bowl of Cold Cereal- HOney Bunches of Oats w/skim milk AND 1/2 banana cut up into it (200)
DINNER: 1 med. piece of Roast, potatoes w/butter spray, carrots (250)
DESSERT: A few more potatoes when I got home (80)
Total calories today= 1000
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
DAY NINETY SEVEN- Healthier Eating Journal
It was a beautiful day today, but it was cold last night. Compared to the other side of the state yesterday though... I can't complain. My husband said they woke up to 8 inches of snow and had to use a snow day yesterday! Meanwhile, I'm thinking I need to get the lawnmower out this weekend and cut the grass here. I need to get at least one full hour of healthy exercise this week (that means more than just walking), so the lawn mowing might be it.
I was researching long term effects of healthy eating and here is the lastest tidbit (which is enough to scare anyone into eating healthier and exercising more) that I found:
"Calorie restriction experiments since the 1930's in many species have shown that for every excess dry ounce of food (28 grams, 120 calories) you eat, especially empty sugar calories from drinks, rice, white bread, or potatoes, you lose one hour of your life and health, the equivalent of smoking 4 cigarettes. In other words 600 extra calories a day (2 soft drinks and a candy bar) will shorten your healthy years (youth) and lifespan 8 years on average, the same as a pack of cigarettes a day. Not getting at least 1 hour of heavy exercise each week also shortens healthy years, youth, and lifespan about 8 years."
Something to think about....
My stomach is still feeling bloated, but I've decided the word bloated isn't right... it feels packed... heavy and I don't mean six-pack on the abdomen type packed either~ I can't figure it out really because my body's clearly up to something. I'm eating normal to low calories, but I really think it's "what" I'm eating more than the calories I'm eating.
Today's food intake:
BREAKFAST- Activa Yogurt (70 calories)
Morning Snack- pretzels (55 calories)
LUNCH:
4 oz. Salmon w/spritzer and lemon pepper (110 calories) AND 1/2 cup cottage cheese w/mandarin oranges (170)
AFTER SCHOOL SNACK: 15 Lays stacks (150 calories)
DINNER:
4 oz. Salmon w/deli mustard and spritzer(115 calories) AND baked sweet potato w/butter spray (100 calories)
DESSERT:
Homemade chocolate cake from yesterday (see recipe in blog) 250 calories
Total is 1000-1100 calories but I still feel bloated or stuffed. I'm thinking it might be the onions or maybe I need to skip potatoes tomorrow and go for something lighter in my stomach.
I was going to do the tomato soup recipe tonight, but I was missing fresh cilantro and garlic. I need to go to the store again. I found some egg roll wraps that look pretty cool (100 calories)-- almost like a pastry-- in the Asian food section last trip and I'm thinking about experiementing with an eggroll wrap-type dinner tomorrow since I need to go to the store anyway. I was missing an ingredient for the black bean salsa too, so I didn't do a very good job of following my menu (or being prepared to follow it today). Please learn from my mistakes. :D My son-in-law is probably getting tired (or scared) of all my food experiments, but no one's died yet and we're all learning things we never knew! :D
I was researching long term effects of healthy eating and here is the lastest tidbit (which is enough to scare anyone into eating healthier and exercising more) that I found:
"Calorie restriction experiments since the 1930's in many species have shown that for every excess dry ounce of food (28 grams, 120 calories) you eat, especially empty sugar calories from drinks, rice, white bread, or potatoes, you lose one hour of your life and health, the equivalent of smoking 4 cigarettes. In other words 600 extra calories a day (2 soft drinks and a candy bar) will shorten your healthy years (youth) and lifespan 8 years on average, the same as a pack of cigarettes a day. Not getting at least 1 hour of heavy exercise each week also shortens healthy years, youth, and lifespan about 8 years."
Something to think about....
My stomach is still feeling bloated, but I've decided the word bloated isn't right... it feels packed... heavy and I don't mean six-pack on the abdomen type packed either~ I can't figure it out really because my body's clearly up to something. I'm eating normal to low calories, but I really think it's "what" I'm eating more than the calories I'm eating.
Today's food intake:
BREAKFAST- Activa Yogurt (70 calories)
Morning Snack- pretzels (55 calories)
LUNCH:
4 oz. Salmon w/spritzer and lemon pepper (110 calories) AND 1/2 cup cottage cheese w/mandarin oranges (170)
AFTER SCHOOL SNACK: 15 Lays stacks (150 calories)
DINNER:
4 oz. Salmon w/deli mustard and spritzer(115 calories) AND baked sweet potato w/butter spray (100 calories)
DESSERT:
Homemade chocolate cake from yesterday (see recipe in blog) 250 calories
Total is 1000-1100 calories but I still feel bloated or stuffed. I'm thinking it might be the onions or maybe I need to skip potatoes tomorrow and go for something lighter in my stomach.
I was going to do the tomato soup recipe tonight, but I was missing fresh cilantro and garlic. I need to go to the store again. I found some egg roll wraps that look pretty cool (100 calories)-- almost like a pastry-- in the Asian food section last trip and I'm thinking about experiementing with an eggroll wrap-type dinner tomorrow since I need to go to the store anyway. I was missing an ingredient for the black bean salsa too, so I didn't do a very good job of following my menu (or being prepared to follow it today). Please learn from my mistakes. :D My son-in-law is probably getting tired (or scared) of all my food experiments, but no one's died yet and we're all learning things we never knew! :D
HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE FUDGE CAKE-- 250 Calories of heaven
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder,
1/2 tsp. baking soda,
1/4 tsp. salt,
2 oz. bittersweet 70% Cacao Ghirardelli chocolate coarsley chopped,
1 1/4 cups sugar,
1 tblsp unsweetened cocoa powder,
1/3 cup boiling water,
1/4 cup unsalted butter,
1/2 cup light olive oil,
2 eggs,
1/2 light sour cream.
Glaze:
2 oz. Ghirardelli 70% cacao extra bittersweet chocolate broken into pieces,
1/3 cup powdered sugar,
1 tblsp. unsalted butter,
2 tblsp. milk.
DIRECTIONS: Spray 10X2 pan. Combine dry ingredients. In separate pan combine chocolate, sugar, and cocoa-- and process for 1 minutes. Add boiling water and butter-- stir one minute. Add eggs and stir, add olive oil, stir. Add sour cream and stir. Add flour mixture and stir. Pour into pan and bake on 325 for 45 minutes. Cool before topping w/glaze. Glaze is cooked over low heat until smooth and refrigerate 15minutes before pouring over cooled cake. I just let it set out on the counter and it was fine. 250 calories, 4g sat. fat., 170mg sodium.
1/2 tsp. baking powder,
1/2 tsp. baking soda,
1/4 tsp. salt,
2 oz. bittersweet 70% Cacao Ghirardelli chocolate coarsley chopped,
1 1/4 cups sugar,
1 tblsp unsweetened cocoa powder,
1/3 cup boiling water,
1/4 cup unsalted butter,
1/2 cup light olive oil,
2 eggs,
1/2 light sour cream.
Glaze:
2 oz. Ghirardelli 70% cacao extra bittersweet chocolate broken into pieces,
1/3 cup powdered sugar,
1 tblsp. unsalted butter,
2 tblsp. milk.
DIRECTIONS: Spray 10X2 pan. Combine dry ingredients. In separate pan combine chocolate, sugar, and cocoa-- and process for 1 minutes. Add boiling water and butter-- stir one minute. Add eggs and stir, add olive oil, stir. Add sour cream and stir. Add flour mixture and stir. Pour into pan and bake on 325 for 45 minutes. Cool before topping w/glaze. Glaze is cooked over low heat until smooth and refrigerate 15minutes before pouring over cooled cake. I just let it set out on the counter and it was fine. 250 calories, 4g sat. fat., 170mg sodium.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
BACON WATER CHESTNUP WRAPS (Trish)
3 cans of whole water chestnuts
3 pkgs bacon
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of ketchup
toothpicks
Directions: wrap each water chestnut in 1/2 slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Makes about 55. Bake on 325 for one hour, drain grease, and wipe out pan. Mix ketchup and sugar in a bowl and pour over cooked chestnuts. Then bake for one more hour. Makes about 55 (140 calories for 4) I have also made these in the microwave. They are the talk of the party and everyone will want the recipe!
3 pkgs bacon
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of ketchup
toothpicks
Directions: wrap each water chestnut in 1/2 slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Makes about 55. Bake on 325 for one hour, drain grease, and wipe out pan. Mix ketchup and sugar in a bowl and pour over cooked chestnuts. Then bake for one more hour. Makes about 55 (140 calories for 4) I have also made these in the microwave. They are the talk of the party and everyone will want the recipe!
Santa Fe Breakfast Casserole
(Ingredients) * 2 tsp. canola or olive oil, *1 onion diced, 3 med. potatoes thinly sliced, 5 eggs, 7 egg whites, 2 cups small 1 or 2% cottage cheese curds, * 2 cups low-fat cheese shredded, * (2) 4oz. cans of chopped green chiles, drained (optional), 1/2 cup all-purpose unbleached flour, * 1 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt (optional). DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350. Spray 9X13 pan. Use nonstick frypan to fry oinons in oil. Add potatoes and brown. I a bowl whisk together eggs and egg whites. Add cottage cheese, cheese, chiles (I would trade the chiles for fresh spinach), and dry ingredients. Gently stir in cooked potatoes. Pour into baking dish. Bake 30 minutes. Calories- 235, Sat. fat3g, Sodium 730mg.
DAY NINETY SIX- Healthy Eating Journal
Today, I bought my first turkey burger. I tried to buy saffron. Again.... not in a small town. I made the chicken (see recipe below) from the OSU cookbook Whit sent me. I highly recommend it. I would add corn instead of olives and use spray instead of olive oil to reduce calories. Olive oil does contain healhty fats though. I was watching some show last night (okay as I was clicking through channels) and it was talking about how to identify the good and bad fats in your meat. The marbling is collagen type fat and is good fat. He said the elastic looking shiny stuff is bad for you. He also said that for stewing meat, the cheaper meat cuts with some of the good fat showing is the best to use. I learn something new every day.
I also learned a great deal from my students today. I have them do oral caricatures for speech and they study the life of a famous person, dress as that person, tell us about themselves, then give a short speech actually given by that person. They did a great job and I learned info I never knew about some famous people. I also love the little Nike basketball my players from this year surprised me with yesterday out of the blue with their notes and some-day famous signatures. Thank you girls. I love it and you.
Breakdown of my eating day:
BREAKFAST: Banana- 90 calories
MORNING SNACK: 25 pretzels 55 calories, 0 sat. fat., 220mg sodium
LUNCH: spinach, 1/2 cup mandarin oranges, 2 tblsp. almond slices, w/Wishbone Balsamic Breeze salad spritzer- 1 calorie per spray) total 100 calories
tried the Yoplait light smoothie (90 calories but I only had one sip-- nasty tasting so threw it away)
AFTER SCHOOL SNACK: low-fat cottage cheese (1/2 cup- 100 calories) and lays stacks (15 plain- 200 calories)
DINNER: Chicken dinner (see recipe in blog) 300 calories w/out the olives, safron, and less oil. 1/2 cup fresh sliced strawberries (23 calories) no sugar added
Homemade chocolate cake (I left the recipe on the menu at the bottom) 250 calories
Total calories today with Lays stacks and chocolate cake included= 1100-1200
I can have my cake and eat it too! :D I just have to be smart about what I eat, when I eat it, and how I cook it. Oh.... and faithfully do my crunches and squats each night.
I also learned a great deal from my students today. I have them do oral caricatures for speech and they study the life of a famous person, dress as that person, tell us about themselves, then give a short speech actually given by that person. They did a great job and I learned info I never knew about some famous people. I also love the little Nike basketball my players from this year surprised me with yesterday out of the blue with their notes and some-day famous signatures. Thank you girls. I love it and you.
Breakdown of my eating day:
BREAKFAST: Banana- 90 calories
MORNING SNACK: 25 pretzels 55 calories, 0 sat. fat., 220mg sodium
LUNCH: spinach, 1/2 cup mandarin oranges, 2 tblsp. almond slices, w/Wishbone Balsamic Breeze salad spritzer- 1 calorie per spray) total 100 calories
tried the Yoplait light smoothie (90 calories but I only had one sip-- nasty tasting so threw it away)
AFTER SCHOOL SNACK: low-fat cottage cheese (1/2 cup- 100 calories) and lays stacks (15 plain- 200 calories)
DINNER: Chicken dinner (see recipe in blog) 300 calories w/out the olives, safron, and less oil. 1/2 cup fresh sliced strawberries (23 calories) no sugar added
Homemade chocolate cake (I left the recipe on the menu at the bottom) 250 calories
Total calories today with Lays stacks and chocolate cake included= 1100-1200
I can have my cake and eat it too! :D I just have to be smart about what I eat, when I eat it, and how I cook it. Oh.... and faithfully do my crunches and squats each night.
MEDITERRANEAN CHICKEN- 330 CALORIES
(Ingredients) 2lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into 3-4 pcs. *1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro, 1/2 cup finely chopped parsley, *2 tblsp. minced garlic, *1 tblsp. crushed ginger, *1 tblsp. lemon pepper, *1/4 tsp. saffron threads (opt.), * 1 lemon quartered, *2 med. onions sliced thin, 1lb. red or white potatoes cut into thin wedges and sprinkled w/paprika, 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/2 cup water, *1 cup olives cut in half. DIRECTIONS: In roasting dish, mix herbs and lemon. Crumble saffron into the herbs. Coat chicken with the herb mixture then top w/onions and potatoes. Pour olive oil ov er the top. Add the water. Cover and bake in 350 oven for 45-60 minutes. 330 calories, 2g sat. fat, 390mg sodium. Reduce calories by spraying chicken instead of adding oil and skip the olives. I'd add corn instead. It was VERY GOOD.
Monday, April 5, 2010
DAY NINETY FIVE- Healthy Eating Journal
Still recovering from holiday eating and food. Ever notice how your stomach doesn't like it when you "mix" too many types of foods in one day. Pretty sure I gained a couple pounds this weekend. Heavy stomach. No worries though. I just need to stick to good food choices this week. Thanks to Whit G. and the OSU cookbook she mailed me-- that's going to be a lot easier. Thank you so much Whit!
Today I started the day with a much needed serving of Activa Yogurt for breakfast. I finished off my box of wheatables today (16 for my mid-morning snack-140 calories) and had my 200 calorie healthy choice soup for lunch. I didn't eat all of it-- left the broth because I'm feeling so bloated. After school I had some pears and headed to town to pick up material for costumes for the play. Took a couple of hours and my stomach was growling so broke down and bought some Lays plain stack chips. Remember the Lays stacks are healthier than the Pringles. Had 200 calories worth between stores and driving. Made it back for late supper and made the shrimp alfredo pasta dish I posted, but you have to use fresh spinach and mushrooms for the best results. I also like thin noodles. Not a fan of thick noodles for anything except goulash. Now there's something I haven't made for a while. I think I'm going to try some turkey burger too. Tonight... just the pasta dish (320 calories) and a piece of whole grain toast w/butter spray (110 calories). Total calories about 1100 today but feel bloated nevertheless.
Speaking of that... had a conversation with a blog follower today about the whole cabbage thing. I think it's safe to say that the only reason those extreme-- go all week eating cabbage-- diets work, is because you spend a lot of time in the bathroom or wishing you were!! I only did it two days in a row and I couldn't take it any more. I want to find food habits that are natural and normal. That is not my idea of happy times eating!
Try out some of the great recipes for the OSU cookbook this week and I know some of you are attending or attended other colleges, so please feel free to send some from yours as well.
BACON WATER CHESTNUP WRAPS (Trish)
3 cans of whole water chestnuts
3 pkgs bacon
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of ketchup
toothpicks
Directions: wrap each water chestnut in 1/2 slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Makes about 55. Bake on 325 for one hour, drain grease, and wipe out pan. Mix ketchup and sugar in a bowl and pour over cooked chestnuts. Then bake for one more hour.
Makes about 55 (140 calories for 4) I have also made these in the microwave.
They are the talk of the party and everyone will want the recipe!
Today I started the day with a much needed serving of Activa Yogurt for breakfast. I finished off my box of wheatables today (16 for my mid-morning snack-140 calories) and had my 200 calorie healthy choice soup for lunch. I didn't eat all of it-- left the broth because I'm feeling so bloated. After school I had some pears and headed to town to pick up material for costumes for the play. Took a couple of hours and my stomach was growling so broke down and bought some Lays plain stack chips. Remember the Lays stacks are healthier than the Pringles. Had 200 calories worth between stores and driving. Made it back for late supper and made the shrimp alfredo pasta dish I posted, but you have to use fresh spinach and mushrooms for the best results. I also like thin noodles. Not a fan of thick noodles for anything except goulash. Now there's something I haven't made for a while. I think I'm going to try some turkey burger too. Tonight... just the pasta dish (320 calories) and a piece of whole grain toast w/butter spray (110 calories). Total calories about 1100 today but feel bloated nevertheless.
Speaking of that... had a conversation with a blog follower today about the whole cabbage thing. I think it's safe to say that the only reason those extreme-- go all week eating cabbage-- diets work, is because you spend a lot of time in the bathroom or wishing you were!! I only did it two days in a row and I couldn't take it any more. I want to find food habits that are natural and normal. That is not my idea of happy times eating!
Try out some of the great recipes for the OSU cookbook this week and I know some of you are attending or attended other colleges, so please feel free to send some from yours as well.
BACON WATER CHESTNUP WRAPS (Trish)
3 cans of whole water chestnuts
3 pkgs bacon
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of ketchup
toothpicks
Directions: wrap each water chestnut in 1/2 slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Makes about 55. Bake on 325 for one hour, drain grease, and wipe out pan. Mix ketchup and sugar in a bowl and pour over cooked chestnuts. Then bake for one more hour.
Makes about 55 (140 calories for 4) I have also made these in the microwave.
They are the talk of the party and everyone will want the recipe!
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