The Running Vegetarian

Dukan Diet Experiment - OVER!

2011-07-09T16:10:00.002-04:00

Okay, I was very exited about this diet. Mostly because of the fast results. I dropped 5 lbs the first day and 2 more the second day and 1 more the fourth day. You wake up skinny!

That is the good part of the diet.

Now for the bad:

I had every bad side effect there was. I had a constant headache, nausea, dizziness, couldn't think straight, and I was very, very tired.

That being said, I am a total carb junkie. I love my fruits and veggies. Normally, I eat pretty healthy. No white stuff. The attack day diet was extremely boring too. Probably because I am a vegetarian.

But the absolute worst part of the diet was when you get off of it, BAMO! Weight comes back in a flash. The only day I felt good on the diet was the first day. Probably because I was working off the carbs from the day before.

So, no more 131.8. Back to 138.8. I ran 8 miles today. That was the other problem I had with this diet, it is not for anyone who runs. You need carbs for energy to run.

Well, today is a new day. I am back on the SELF magazine drop 10 plan. This is a good diet for me. It has preset meals. You don't have to think or figure out what to do. Just select your 3 meals and on days I exercise heavily, have a 4th mini meal or treat. I did this diet a few months back and it works. Now, I won't lose 5 lbs overnight tonight. I will probably be down 1-2 lbs by next Saturday.

Lynda

Dukan Diet-Day one Attack Phase

2011-06-26T16:29:00.002-04:00

I downloaded the Dukan Diet book to my Kindle. For the most part, I try to just count calories & exercise to lose weight. This has worked wonderfully for me. Especially if I can run and keep the calorie count to 1200-1400 per day.

Lately, however, I have been hungry all the time. Carb-starved, as I like to call it. I have not stuck to my calorie counting. I am still exercising and running but not making the best eating choices and my weight is up.

This diet has intrigued me since I heard about it on the Dr. Oz show. I read the 4-Hour Body book. While it was very good, the diet just did not work for me. It is hard to stick to any diet that is low carb when you don't eat meat.

So, I decided to try this one. It has a few paragraphs about what you can eat as a vegetarian during the attack phase. I read this entire book and went on the website to find my Dukan program:

2 day attack phase

20 day cruise phase

29 day consolidation phase

These two books have so many similarities (low carb, cold therapy, etc). And differences. One is the oat bran. You have to have 1 1/2 tbsp. of oat bran every day with the Dukan Diet. 4HB makes you eat beans. No beans on Dukan Diet in this phase.

Today's menu:

Breakfast: 2 hard boiled eggs, Protein shake (water, Lean 1, 6 oz Chobani 0%, 1 c. crushed ice)

Lunch: 1 bocca burger, Protein shake (1/2 cup non-fat milk, 5 star Whey Protein powder - 1 level scoop, 4 oz Chobani 0%, Amazing Grass Cocoa, 1 c. crushed ice)

Dinner: ahi Tuna steak, oat bran gallette (Dukan Diet recipe)

Totals for the day: calories: 986, carbs: 60, Fat: 22, Protein: 142

You are supposed to have 1 1/2 quarts of water each day. I can tell you I have had more. When I intake a ton of protein, this is what it does to me--it makes me thirsty. I also ran 10 miles today.

From reading this book (I could skip the chapters on obesity, smokers, etc.), I will feel really tired tomorrow. This is due to the lack of carbs. I started this diet with a pooch of a belly (that is what I call it) and my weight is currently 140lbs. According to the stats on the Dukan website, I should be down 1.63 pounds after I complete the full day tomorrow in this attack phase. We shall see.

Also, according to this diet plan, my goal weight should be 133. The weight I am attempting to obtain (that I believe is best for me) is 129.

I do have to say that I am not hungry at all today. I do feel tired, but that is probably due to me getting up at 4:30AM and running the 10 miles.

PS I had to revise my original post. When it came time for dinner, I just could not have another protein shake. I was too full! Since I knew I needed the oat bran, I made the Dukan diet oat bran gallette (pancake).

Lynda

Dear Diary: 2011, how life has changed...

2011-01-01T00:59:00.000-05:00

I thought I would start blogging again here at the running vegetarian website. Unfortunately, I think I should get a new blog address. You see, I am injured and cannot run.

Last year, I thought it would be a great idea to sign up for a full marathon. I had done a couple of Half Marathon's and it seemed like a logical step. Plus, this year I turn the big Five-Oh! I just wanted to finish one before I turned 50.

Training was hard. I stuck to the Rookie Marathon's suggested running/training plan. But with all of the running (8 miles on Tuesday, 5 miles on Wednesday, 8 or 9 on Thursday and 15 on Sunday), once I got to this part of the training, my knees started to go numb. Then ache. Really ache. So, I put the knee straps on and plodded through the training.

Word of advice to anyone training for their first marathon, don't "plod" through an injury. It doesn't work. By the time I returned from our vacation up north, my running friends could not believe my condition and my limp. After my long run, my knee looked swollen and ugly.

They (my running friends) said STOP RUNNING! GO TO THE DOCTOR! I did the latter and eased up on the running. I ended up with a kneecap problem. Nothing serious but caused by the marathon training. Doctor says "rest & cross train". I am not a good cross-trainer. I love running because I love the outdoors. Hey, I live in SW Florida, how could you not love outdoors?

I have been biking, lifting weights and using the elliptical trainer. BORING! Except for the weights, I am bored.

And since I have not been exercising, I have gained weight! I feel like a Mush-Mellow! But that is about to change. You see, these last couple of month's taught me a lot about myself. When I ran, I ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. Well, no more of that. I found out, not running and eating like I used too equals an additional 10 pounds. Clothes don't fit. And I am miserable.

So, welcome 2011!

Start weight: 143 (hard to even post)

Calorie Intake per day: 1,200-1,300

Eat at home more (more control on calories)

Get 8 hours of sleep

Drink more tea (notice it does not say "green" tea)

Exercise Plan:

Elliptical 2 x per week 45 mins. per session

Stationary bike 1x per week 45-60 mins per session

Weight train 3 times per week; try to increase weight lifted

Walk or dog walk 1 x 60+ mins. per week (this is my rest day)

Yoga 1 or 2 x per week 90 mins. per session

That seems like a pretty good plan. I am hoping that the yoga helps me heal. I would like to run again in one month. Even if it is just 3 miles without pain, I would be happy.

So welcome 2011 and the changes in my life. I may even attempt pool running. Anything to mix it up!

Breakfast today: Oatmeal (Bob's Red Mill) with banana and two tbsp. of Barney butter

Lunch: 2 slices of walnut arugula pizza (Men's Health Mag)

Dinner: Leftovers

Lynda

Today's Run 7 + miles

2010-08-01T09:47:00.000-04:00

Wow, today's weather was picture perfect for running. The temps were in the mid 60's when we started at 7AM and no humidity. My Florida friends would be sooooo jealous, because I know they are running in high heat and humidity.

Yesterday, I stayed the course with my meal planning, but swayed off a bit when the hubby left an open jar of dry roasted peanuts out while I prepared dinner. I have been craving sweet corn and purchased some from the supermarket. It was just getting placed on the display area, so it was most likely fresh. Well, it was not very good. Next time I crave sweet corn, I am heading to the local farm stand. I did end up having some wine with dinner as well. Just one glass. I did not have dessert, so I am proud of myself there. All in all, not a bad first day, but I did go over that calorie count (I want to stay in the 1200 range). Total for yesterday: 1,398. I went over on, guess what? Fat by 1 gram. And I was under on the carbs a bit.

We also went to see the movie, Inception, with Leonardo DiCaprio. Love him. The movie, not so much. The best description of this film was strange.

Today's meal plan is simple. I have already had one green tea and it is starting to grow on me. I really wanted that extra cup of coffee this morning, but had the tea instead. I had a new cereal for breakfast called Optimum Slim & some blueberries. That was only 369 calories, including my gummy vitamins and calcium pills.

Lunch will be a salad. Dinner is tuna steak on the grill and some summer squash and cooked spinach from our garden.

I may even have room for a little dessert. I will update with a pic of the salad and dinner later today. I have provided a link to our planned run from this morning. I modified it a little as I dropped water before the run and probably added 1 mile to my total, including the run home. I felt so good running and felt like I could definitely do more today, but my kneecap was hurting and of course, the old hamstring on my left side. But you definitely have to say today is one of those perfect weather days. This is what makes New England a nice place to be in the summer.

Lynda

<a href="http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/ri/rumford/988127403812875496">229 don avenue, rumford, ri</a><br/><a href="http://www.mapmyrun.com/find-run/united-states/ri/rumford">Find more Runs in Rumford, Rhode Island</a>

Confessions: 137.8 OMG!

2010-07-31T11:49:00.000-04:00

First let's start with the confession. I was moved by a blog post by another Spark Friend, Florida Sun, to come clean with my uprising weight. Yes, one year ago this week, I weighed 129 lbs. So what has changed?

Easy answer: I stopped logging into Spark, got too busy with my social life and work and stopped counting calories. Actually, I think it is not counting calories and protein, fat, etc. That is how I found out how to lose the weight last year. Once I started looking at my food intake, I found I was a high fat/carb person and my protein was too low. I am a vegetarian. So, I would eat tons of walnuts for protein. But also consumed lots of fat.

I worry about this marathon I signed up for. I am thinking I have bitten off more than I can chew. Can I do it? Is it too much? Too far? My friends gave me a training schedule, but I am going to follow the Marathon Rookie plan. It has long runs, but not as many. It is a much lighter schedule with the theory being not running as far is better because once your body has run for two hours the benefits for training are nil. When exhaustion sets in, the likelihood of injury does as well. There is a 20 mile run in the training and a few 18's. I will attach a post of the schedule in a later blog post. It is just that this schedule is not as daunting as the one my friends provided.

I have been struggling with injuries all summer, hamstring, knees, top of foot. Icing and Motrin constantly. And I am struggling with light headedness which my doctor says is allergies. None of my meds seem to help all the time.

So, it is posted. I am up almost 9 lbs. I am up a pant size (from 6 to 8). The size 8 is loose but the size 6 is tight. I can see the fat under my arms, on my back and in my tummy. Very ugly.

Today is a new day, right? And every day is a gift. I learned that when I lost my son two years ago. I plan on counting my calories again. Doing more yoga and trying to like green tea. That is what worked last year and hopefully this almost 50 year old body will respond again!

So far today, I had a ; small organic yogurt before Powerflex class, spinach/goat cheese/omlet for breakfast and two homemade Tazo green teas, with agave (1 tsp.) and lemon (why don't I like green tea?).

Planning on a corn on the cob, summer squash, and Rachel Ray's Open Eggplant sandwich for dinner.

Lynda

Sticking to the Game Plan

2010-04-06T08:55:00.000-04:00

Day 6:

Okay, sorry I did not post the pic of my pasta dish from Sunday. To be honest, the dish was quite bland. Instead of the Parmesan cheese that was recommended as "optional", I used smoked Gouda. So it made the dish at least have a flavor. That did add calories, but I just shaved the Gouda and only used less than one ounce.

Yesterday's dinner was scrumptious:

I made a swordfish steak and just grilled/steamed it in a tsp. of olive oil and some lemon pepper seasoning. For the side, that is a big portion of sauteed spinach that I cooked with a small amount of water until it wilted and then added a pat of butter (real kind). Also, I cut up 1/2 of an avocado and squeezed some lime onto it. Delicious and low calorie and good fats.

This morning I was up at 3:50AM. I have accomplished so much already. 6 1/2 mile run- check done! Dog walk- check done! Garbage out-check Done! etc. etc. I ran with the running group that meets at 5AM and I am so glad I did. Good run, good friends.

For breakfast today I have had 4 egg whites and 1 small individual package of egg beaters, scrambled with 1 c. spinach and some fresh basil chopped up in it. I did spray my pan with a little olive oil pam. For my "side" I just put a little fresh salsa. That should keep me full till lunch time. Oh, yes, and I am having my chocolate-pistachio green tea with honey. It is the only green tea I like.

Lunch today will be small. Another Bocca Burger and that black bean - avocado - corn dish from Sunday. Snack will be an apple.

Tonight's dinner is at Naples Flatbread and Wine Bar. I will order my favorite dinner, the Mediterranean flatbread. It will be cut in half, as they serve such large portions there. And this is my only wine night. I have not had one glass since 3/31/10 - part of my detox/cleanse plan.

And it is working (down 2 lbs already). I feel better and my run today was a great one. Felt like I could keep on truckin! What is that old adage? You are what you eat. So true.

Lynda

1200 Calories

2010-04-04T07:59:00.006-04:00

Okay, so I got the idea about 1200 calories from the biggest loser show. And from entering my settings on www.Sparkpeople.com website. But after reading several articles regarding women in the over 45 age group needing 1 hour of exercise per day to MAINTAIN their weight and reading how women after the age of 45 start to have their metabolism slow down and require less calories per day than before that magic number to MAINTAIN. I figure it is much better (for weight-loss purposes) to keep the calorie count in 1200-1299 range and exercise every day.

Today's breakfast was oatmeal pancakes (this is a file pic-I did not add banana):

Oatmeal pancakes

I found this on www.sparkrecipes.com. It is delicious, easy to make and makes 3 servings. And did you check out that protein count? Awesome. Especially for vegetarians.

Now, since it is Easter Sunday, I am planning on a long dog walk (long for them is 2-3 miles) and 1 hour of weight training with a short bike ride today to the gym. It is supposed to be another glorious day, sunny and in the mid 80's.

Lunch will be an avocado-bean salad and a bocca burger (more protein) again found on www.sparkrecipes.com.

Snacks for the day include a serving of 100 calorie Orville Redenbachers kettle corn fat free popcorn, a handful of apple chips from Fresh Market and 1 skinny cow vanilla ice cream sandwich for dessert.

Does that sound like 1200 calories? Well it is if you measure and pre-portion out those serving sizes. The total calorie count for the day only comes to 1,234 and I am well within my protein and fat and carb numbers that work for me for weight loss.

I will update and post pics of the dinner later in the day.

Spring has sprung!

2010-04-04T07:13:00.000-04:00

My April promises to myself:

I am going to try to keep the calorie count to 1200-1299 every day. This promise will include pre-planning and calculating my meals in advance.

I am reading the Runner's world book, Run less, Run Faster. I plan to implement some of their program (more to follow). So far, the training only has you running three days per week and it highly recommends cross training to strengthen your runs.

8 Glasses of water per day.

Green tea (still not liking it), but I am drinking it daily. And 1 cup of coffee.

Yoga class 1 x per week; this will help with the running plan.

Weight training 2 x per week

Now, this week we have a training run tomorrow that is 12 miles. It is funny even writing this, as that is almost a half and now I use 12 as a gauge for my training runs.

Next week I am scheduled to do a 10k that is hosted by the Naples Philharmonic. They are going to be playing at every mile marker. Hal Higdon is going to be there signing books. Pretty cool, huh?

I forgot to add this one link:

www.womenshealthmag.com/nutrition/detox-diet?page=3

It was an interesting article and I tried this meal plan o 4/1/10. On 4/2, I can honestly say I woke up with flatter abs. Not sure why, but I did feel "cleansed" a bit. And I felt better, which is the real whole point of the article. This page link brings you to the sample two days of foods to eat. It is from Women's Health Magazine.

Happy Easter everyone!

Monday Monday

2010-03-15T15:46:00.000-04:00

Today my hubby comes back from wet, rainy Rhode Island. He is in for a treat because it is 75 degrees and "bountiful" sunshine today. I love the way the weathermen down here come up for new ways to describe sunny weather. Makes me glad I live here.

So far, for breakfast, I had a smoothie. It looks like I did that alot when I was successful with my weight loss last year. So, I am coming around full circle. The smoothie consisted of:

1 c. fresh squeezed OJ
1 scoop Pure Protein brand whey protein in Vanilla
1 c. frozen unsweetened strawberries
1 tbs. flaxseed
1 small container of Fage 0% greek yogurt, vanilla flavor

Total Calories for breakfast: 458, carbs 52, fat 7, protein 30

The higher carbs will help me to fuel. Today I went for a 20 min. dog walk (aka stroll) and then went for a two mile run to my gym and did the full circuit with heavy weights. Then I ran to where the alligators are and did 100 pushups off the wall. Then I walked 1.3 miles home. Whew! Since I was not hungry this morning, I only had 2 cups of black coffee and 2 large glasses of water before the workout above. Had the smoothie at 11AM after the workout. I know the experts say this is bad, but I am going to try to eat when I am hungry and stop when I am not.

Now, for dinner tonight. As I said yesterday, the hubby wants to lose some weight. So I made my famous Pea soup. I will post on that later and take a nice picture of it with the recipe. I found this interesting article on Prevention Magazine, which I would like to share:

One woman’s scale diary

Don’t let the number determine your self-worth! One 40-something Prevention reader shared how her weight fluctuated in 1 day.

7:15 AM: 133.8 lb, Right before hopping in the shower

8:30 AM: 137.5 lb, Wow, my clothes weigh 3.7 lb!

9:15 AM: 138.7 lb, Gained 1.2 lb from breakfast

10:30 AM: 137.9 lb, Bathroom break, -0.8 lb

1 PM: 135.8 lb, Lost 2.1 lb, thanks to a sweaty cardio workout

1:30 PM: 137.4 lb, Up 1.6 lb from lunch

4 PM: 138.6 lb, Gained 1.2 lb, probably from all the water I was drinking

5:30 PM: 137.5 lb, Bathroom break, -1.1 lb

11 PM: 140.8 lb, Yikes! Gained 3.3 lb—probably the pasta I ate and the wine!

11:30 PM: 137.1 lb, Undressed—huh, gained 3.3 lb since this morning

7:15 AM: 135.4 lb, Lost 1.7 lb while sleeping

Now, my weigh-in at the gym today (fully clothed and all I had was the two coffees and two large waters) was 140 lbs! Ahhhh!!!!!!! But I don't feel that fat today, what is up with that?

Lynda

Back on track

2010-03-14T21:45:00.000-04:00

Today I decided would be a good day for me to get "back on track". I have been eating well (for the most part) for the past 10 days. I have not had dinner out and have been preparing meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) with recipes found on Spark People Recipe website. I have been counting calories. I decided to return back to this blog because last year at this time I was at a lower weight (by 3 lbs) and I was actually keeping fit.

So, I plan on going back in time to 2009 and see what I was doing "right" and find out why I feel a little pudgy and not fit and trim like last summer.

I ran 4 miles this morning and it was a beautiful morning We ran down at a place called "Clam Pass" in Naples, Florida. It had this really cool boardwalk that is pretty new and was made from recycled milk cartons--really cushiony run. We ran at 8:30AM, ran on the beach and actually made a circle and ran back to our car. I need this practice running on the beach since my next 5k is the Beach bum 5k, which is held on the beach. Beach running is tougher on the knees and ankles than running on a flat road.

Tomorrow is meal planning like last year. I think why I haven't been doing so well is that my portions are not the same as the ones posted on the Spark Recipe website. Hubby is back from Rhode Island and wants to lose weight too.

Lynda

I am back!

2010-01-09T11:12:00.001-05:00

Where have I been? Great question. I have formally moved to SW Florida. It is supposed to be warm here but someone left the door open to Canada and we are freezing! So, I am sitting here enjoying a nice cup of Chocolate Pistachio Green tea and writing this blog. I have my electric heat on 73 degrees. This house just does not warm up like the one in Rhode Island, which is probably due to the heat rising and we have 12 ft. ceilings here.

So, what have I been up to? I am training for my first Half Marathon. I started in late October and am now into my final week! How did that happen so fast? I have also found out that my inner athlete has finally come out and I am officially a "crazy runner". I joined the running group down here, The Gulf Coast Runners". What a cool bunch of healthy people this group is. And it is also a wonderful way to meet people with my same interests. So far, the farthest I have run is 12.8 miles. Next Sunday is the big day.

Updates: Unfortunately, I was unable (or unwilling) during the holidays to maintain my weight loss. I had managed to get to the magic number of 129 lbs. and felt and looked so great and light. My size 6 clothes were falling off of me. However, I am not at what I guess you would call my happy weight of 135 lbs. Not tragic, but I am going to try to get to the 129 again and maintain.

So, for New Years, I pledge I am going to try to make the following changes:

Yoga (I think I stopped doing this due to all of the running and distances and time alloted for that during training. Very dumb of me as if I ever needed a little yoga for my body, I need it now!
Green tea - I have to admit that I am not sold on the taste of green tea (bitter to me). So, I remembered how I went to this awesome store down here in Estero called Teavana. The lady taught me how to brew tea. I know, this sounds silly, but, all teas should be made at different temperatures. Green is brewed at 175 degrees, not boiling and only for 1-2 minutes of steeping. I think in the past I boiled the water and left it to steep too long. So, this morning I am having Chocolate Pistachio Green Tea and it is Yummy!
Run my Half Marathon injury free! This is a goal that I am enjoying so much now that I have friends to run with. I am exited and I know that I can do this. I am almost sad to know that I will no longer have this goal after next weekend. My running friend told me that once I am hooked after the half, I will be signing up for a full marathon. Question is: Do I have that in me?
Drink less wine. This is a tough one for me because I love my Cabernet. However, with all of the training, I quickly found out that my running ability is linked to no alcohol the night before. Since I have been running 4 days per week, that limits the wine. I have found that less is best.
Sleep more and plan my sleep time. Does this sound like a strange thing to add? Well, I have been getting 7 1/2 to 8 hours of sleep per night and it is heavenly. You have to plan on your required amount first and then adjust your time you retire for the evening. It works!
Plan my meals. When I get overwhelmed with work, this is where I slack off. I am back to calorie counting and planning because that worked for my weight loss. I have learned eating healthy has made my running better.

So there you have it. New year, new me. Let's see how I do! Green tea below:

Breakfast this morning was baked banana oatmeal brulee! (One fourth of this pan). I added a little dollop of vanilla yogurt mixed with Fresh Market almond butter which was made right there in the store. Recipe for the oatmeal was from www.katheats.com. Her website is wonderful and has great healthy recipes.

Whoops, forgot to give the recipe totals:

Calories: 375 (including my topping)
Carbs: 77 (which you need in the morning)
Fat: 12 g
Protein: 15g (yeah)

I also did yoga at home this morning for 60 mins. I got the class off of www.yogadownload.com. This is a great website if you cannot get to a yoga studio. I am not much one for doing a yoga dvd, I find it distracting. This is just downloaded off your iphone or ipod. I did the 60 minute Detox yoga.

Happy New Year Everyone!
Lynda

Has anyone tried the Amazing Grass Products?

2009-09-13T12:42:00.003-04:00

Sunday, September 13, 2009

I am big into protein powders as way to get my protein numbers up on the nutrient calculator. I love the products from Amazing Grass and in a recent order, I tried the Amazing Meal Pomegranate Mango infusion in my "green" smoothie. It is delicious! I have tried all sorts of protein powders and now this one is a new favorite. You can find it on www.amazinggrass.com. For some reason (I wasn't sure if it was all in my head), I feel energized when consuming their products. I am always trying to find ways (because I am a vegetarian) to get my daily protein. When I do not have my smoothie for the day, it is very difficult. I was eating eggs till I read that story in the ProJo (local newspaper) about how egg processors throw the male chicks into the machinery to kill them because male chicks do not produce eggs. It makes me ill to think of that. I have been researching other ways of eliminating the dairy products or at least minimizing them. I have been reading the raw food way to eat. All interesting, although I am not sure I would take the plunge.

Sometimes in the morning it is tough to look at a green smoothie, but boy does the one I made with Amazing meal taste good. The ingredients I used are:

1 c. soy milk
1 medium banana
1 scoop Amazing Meal
1/4 c. raspberries
1 c. baby spinach
3/4 frozen mango
crushed ice

Lynda

Finish for a Guinness 5k in Warren RI

2009-09-09T20:07:00.001-04:00

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Boy, did we have fun at this race. The fun part is there is a group of us that goes to these 5k's from the gym. Our Trainer, Linda, wants to beat everyone, especially her 15 year old son. Well, it is kind of hard to beat someone who is 20 years your junior. He usually runs with us and as soon as he sees that 3 mile marker, he looks back to see where we are and those 15 year old legs turn on the steam and blow us away. That is Eric (her son) in front and I am in pink in the middle and Linda is in pink behind me. :)

Of course, the food after this race was spectacular. There were approximately 300 people running in this race. At mile marker #2, a sign was posted that said "only one more mile to your Guinness". We all had a good laugh at that one. The food after this race was donuts, watermelon, apples, bagels, oranges, brownies, cookies, clam chowder and of course, beer.

The best part of the race is that I beat my trainer by .10 seconds! I always beat her (and she is 7 years my junior and I have bad knees right now). But she forgot her inhaler (boy do we sound old or what?). So, I cruised past her at the last leg of the race. I do this to her all the time. I never knew I had a competitive side!

Looking forward to two weeks and the CVS 5K. I better work on my speed because I know Linda, my trainer, told me she is done letting her "elders beat her and I am going down!"

Lynda

First day back to the gym.....and back to running again!

2009-08-28T15:58:00.003-04:00

Another picture of our Washington DC trip. That is me and the hubby. Our hotel package came with a fabulous picnic lunch. Arugula salad with walnuts and goat cheese, gourmet black olive pesto sandwich with roasted tomatoes and cheese, oatmeal cookie and of course Cabernet. We ate our lunch at Lafayette Park across from the White House. What a wonderful trip we had. Now, onto today's blog posting....

Today I was very excited. It was the first day I figured I would test out my knees and hamstring from their week off of exercise. Well, almost a week. So, I started with a shorter run, just 3 miles. Ran half way, stretched the ever tightening hamstring, and off I went to complete my run. And boy, did it feel good to be out there. I missed my running. It is like my therapy. And I missed the gym and lifting weights.

So, before I left to exercised, I jumped on the scale. Looked down and saw 129 lbs. even. Wow! For the past month, I have been up and down between 130 - 134. To see 129 even was surprising given my lack of exercise and recent return from vacation. And there is something psychological about 129 being in the 120's for me. I do like breaking the 130 barrier. But for the life of me, I don't understand the weight loss this week. I know I have watched my calories and food intake very carefully. I have not felt as hungry as normal which I attribute to my lack of exercise.

So, I am trying to figure this all out. Do I decrease my normal exercise routine? I kind of have to right now due to the injuries. Maybe the key for me is less is best. Less exercise, less food intake. Who knows? I guess only time will tell. I do know one thing, I need more sleep!

Lynda

Back from DC and resting the knees

2009-08-27T14:25:00.003-04:00

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Since my return from vacation, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I did not gain any weight from my eating out every meal last week. I tried to make good choices and it is definitely challenging when you are a vegetarian.

We slept in every day. What a treat that was. We would go to bed by 8PM (wild party animals, aren't we?) and would wake up at 7AM. We would be on the road for breakfast by 8-9 AM. We had eggs on a bagel with cheese and a fruit cup most mornings. We did have pancakes and fried eggs one day. But they did not taste too good to me. I haven't had a fried egg in 20 years. One day, I had a yogurt cup mid-day to keep me going. I usually had salmon for dinner. One night I had a big salad and a flat bread cheese pizza. We had too many glasses of wine most nights (that is more than one for me). We never had lunch, since we ate breakfast late and dinner early.

My knees were sore when I left to go on vacation, so I figured it would be a good rest for them with no running scheduled. What a mistake that was! We walked 10 miles minimum each day while in DC. By the last day of our trip, there were no more walking left in them.

So this week, I have done NO EXERCISE. You have no clue how scary this has been for me. I need to rest my knees or knee surgery will be in my future. And a funny thing has happened to me. I am not as hungry and not as carb-crazed as I usually am. I have been diligently planning and counting calories each day and not feeling hungry at all. I am keeping that protein count up, eating bean dishes and lots of veggies. My lunches have been egg sandwiches (see prior posting) or peanut butter and sugar free jelly on fiber one english muffin. I do feel flabby, but my weight has stayed exactly the same at 130. It is nice to have more time in my life as well. I usually work out a minimum of 1 hour each day and some days I workout 75-90 minutes. Sometimes 120. I have tracked a ton of fitness minutes in since I started counting. Now, I sit back and think that maybe I should not do so much running. My plan is to try and run 3 miles tomorrow and see how the knees feel. I also plan on going to the gym and do a kickboxing class with weights. I do miss my running (I love it!) and I do miss the weight lifting, but sometimes it is good to take a step back and relax and heal. It is good for the soul!

Blueberry-Hemp nut smoothie

2009-08-15T09:59:00.005-04:00

This is how my body feels this morning (See pic of my fat cat). I had fish and chips for dinner last night. It was a craving. BIG MISTAKE. It is good to do this to remind yourself why you eat healthy. I bravely stepped on the scale this morning and the fish and chips did not disappoint. Up 4.4 lbs. I didn't even finish my dinner last night. I also did not run yesterday. My leg has quite a bruise on it from my fall this week and the skin is tight from the abrasion. I have the 5 miler on rolling hills (this part scares me) tomorrow, so I am resting up. Did go to Powerflex class and upped my weights a little (punishment for the bad dinner?).

So, after class, I decided to mix it up with a smoothie. I had a ton of blueberries hanging around, so I added 2 cups to the blender, 1 c. TJ soy milk, 1/2 banana, 1/2 container 0% fage, 2 scoops Lean 1 protein powder, 1.4 c. black raspberries and the newest ingredient: Nutiva Shelled Hempseed. I have to say the hempseed smells so good, really nutty. I was hoping I would taste it in the smoothie, but I did not. Hempseed has a ton of protein (33%) AND 9% Omega-3. This recipe made 4 cups. I ended up having two cups. Calories: 413, carbs: 49, fat: 12 and protein: 29

I am eating out for dinner this evening and I plan on having some edamame, avocado and tomato salad for lunch. Dinner is Pasta night. I better load up on the veggies!

Lynda

Waffles with fresh blueberries and a digger!

2009-08-13T15:15:00.003-04:00

Doesn't this look yummy? It was so good.

I decided I was all smoothie'd out. I wanted to chew real food for breakfast. I went out and ran 5 miles and came back hungry. You know it is bad when you are day-dreaming about breakfast while running! So, I popped a couple of Trader Joe's multigrain waffles into the toaster. These are really good and much better than the Kashi brand. I added some fresh blueberries, some cool whip lite, real maple sryup (see my post from July from Vermont on that--I have syrup for life). I also added some Salba for extra protein. Well it as a good thing I ran this morning because the calorie count on this meal is as follows:

Calories: 521 (Well, that canceled out my run!) Carbs: 95 (ouch)Fat: 8 Protein: 7

See, that is the problem with not having the smoothie. I get so much of my daily protein from my morning smoothie. I have a hard time making it to my protein level for the day, when I start out with a 7 for breakfast.

Now to my digger story:

I had my 5k trail run last night in Bristol. The nicest group of people run this race. I was excited because it was cool and the humidity was low. It was much improved from last week's run, where it was so hot in the woods, it made me sick.

Anyway, the hubby has now taken to coming with me and bringing our dogs. This is a special treat for them. They get to ride in the car and go for a dog walk! You cannot get better than that in the dog's world.

So, it was dark last night with a threat of rain (typical Rhode Island). It was even darker in the woods. I was flying through -- trying so hard to get a good time for my run. There are TONS of roots exposed on this path. I was running up a hill, using the roots to propel me and increase my speed. When suddenly my right foot got caught in one and down I went. How embarrassing! The girl in front of me heard my fall and turned around to check on me. The girl behind me stopped too. What nice people. I see them every week, since we run around the same pace. I made them both promise to tell everyone that I fell gracefully, like a ballerina! They both laughed and promised to lie for me and we finished our race. I fell quite a bit behind them, but still finished in 30 - something for my time, which isn't too bad considering my fall. I was filthy. Covered in dirt on my left shoulder and my knee (the left, bad one) is scraped up a bit. Oh well.

Now, I am scheduled to run in North Attleboro this weekend in the 5 miler. I am taking a day of rest today since my left leg feels tight, probably from the bruise. I think my pride is hurt more than my body.

The good news is that my hubby met with the guys who run the race. He chatted with them both and they offered to lend me some timing devices for my 5k run that I am organizing in memory of my son in Bristol RI at Colt State Park on October 11th. I was having trouble getting any responses from the timing companies. I guess because this is my inaugural race, they figure I won't get many entrants and they cannot be bothered to even return my calls or my emails. I have had so many people offer their help with me arranging the race. I have a friend of my daughter's offer to disc jockey the race with some good music, one friend is donating the water, many have offered to help. I'll need it. I have one friend who has designed the t-shirt and promised it will be "cool". Since the charity is the RISPCA, I am sure some animal theme is in the works.

So, that is the story of my digger. I am sure that my race on Sunday will be very interesting.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

I had my 5k trail run last night in Bristol. The nicest group of people run this race. I was excited because it was cool and the humidity was low. It was much improved from last week's run, where it was so hot in the woods, it made me sick.

Anyway, the hubby has now taken to coming with me and bringing our dogs. This is a special treat for them. They get to ride in the car and go for a dog walk! You cannot get better than that in the dog's world.

So, it was dark last night with a threat of rain (typical Rhode Island). It was even darker in the woods. I was flying through -- trying so hard to get a good time for my run. There are TONS of roots exposed on this path. I was running up a hill, using the roots to propel me and increase my speed. When suddenly my right foot got caught in one and down I went. How embarrassing! The girl in front of me heard my fall and turned around to check on me. The girl behind me stopped too. What nice people. I see them every week, since we run around the same pace. I made them both promise to tell everyone that I fell gracefully, like a ballerina! They both laughed and promised to lie for me and we finished our race. I fell quite a bit behind them, but still finished in 30 - something for my time, which isn't too bad considering my fall. I was filthy. Covered in dirt on my left shoulder and my knee (the left, bad one) is scraped up a bit. Oh well.

Now, I am scheduled to run in North Attleboro this weekend in the 5 miler. I am taking a day of rest today since my left leg feels tight, probably from the bruise. I think my pride is hurt more than my body.

The good news is that my hubby met with the guys who run the race. He chatted with them both and they offered to lend me some timing devices for my 5k run that I am organizing in memory of my son in Bristol RI at Colt State Park on October 11th. I was having trouble getting any responses from the timing companies. I guess because this is my inaugural race, they figure I won't get many entrants and they cannot be bothered to even return my calls or my emails. I have had so many people offer their help with me arranging the race. I have a friend of my daughter's offer to disc jockey the race with some good music, one friend is donating the water, many have offered to help. I'll need it. I have one friend who has designed the t-shirt and promised it will be "cool". Since the charity is the RISPCA, I am sure some animal theme is in the works.

So, that is the story of my digger. I am sure that my race on Sunday will be very interesting.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

The good news is that my hubby met with the guys who run the race. He chatted with them both and they offered to lend me some timing devices for my 5k run that I am organizing in memory of my son in Bristol RI at Colt State Park on October 11th. I was having trouble getting any responses from the timing companies. I guess because this is my inaugural race, they figure I won't get many entrants and they cannot be bothered to even return my calls or my emails. I have had so many people offer their help with me arranging the race. I have a friend of my daughter's offer to disc jockey the race with some good music, one friend is donating the water, many have offered to help. I'll need it. I have one friend who has designed the t-shirt and promised it will be "cool". Since the charity is the RISPCA, I am sure some animal theme is in the works.

So, that is the story of my digger. I am sure that my race on Sunday will be very interesting.

Great run, great running friend!

2009-08-09T11:45:00.003-04:00

So my friend and I planned on running 7 miles today so we can prepare for our 5 miler next weekend. She had the route all mapped out and I put on my gps (run keeper) app and off we went. It was a really nice route she mapped out. It ended up being 7.26 miles in total for the run part. We walked home another mile.

Our run was all through Rumford and actually almost went by my house. We ran by the back of Wannamoisett CC, down Roger Williams Avenue by the water where the breeze picked up. It is starting to get humid here, but is still very cool and quite enjoyable for running. No sunshine now, but there was some on our run.

On the way back, our ending point was the Seven Stars bakery in the Rumford Center. If you have not been by here, you need to check it out. The food inside the bakery is amazing. There coffee is fabulous. I had a ginger scone, with large pieces of ginger in it. I am assuming there was approximately 410 calories in that scone, so it probably canceled out much of my running, but it was so good. I had an iced coffee and they do what I do and put coffee ice cubes in hot coffee to make the iced coffee. So good and your coffee doesn't get watered down. The bakery is truly a treasure for Rumford.

I know the hubby wants to eat healthy the next few days because of the bad eating he did during his golf tournament, so I have to start planning!

Lynda

Two very good eating days in a row

2009-08-08T18:41:00.004-04:00

So, the hubby was in a golf tournament this week. I was free to eat and plan my food around my own choices. So, I was good. (Now, I am not trying to imply the hubby makes me make bad choices, but.....). I had grilled tuna, grilled sweet potatoes and grilled asparagus. So good and so low in calories. And high in protein.

Today, I went out to lunch with the girls. I could have chosen the "Annie's special" grilled cheese on multigrain bread. Till one of my girlfriend's told me "there is a lot of bread in that sandwich, but it is so good." Well, my weight climbed 4 lbs this week. As much as I wanted that sandwich, I chose spinach salad. It was good. And the dressing came automatically on the side. We ate at the Rue on Hope Street in Providence. Great service and they come by with fresh baked (just out of the oven) Italian bread that was to die for! So, I still got my bread, but in a much more manageable portion. I also ran 5 miles today and went to an hour long powerflex class.

Weighed myself this morning and I am only up one pound now. So, all of my good efforts (and increased cardio) paid off.

Lynda

Too Many Calories, but good food

2009-08-06T18:05:00.004-04:00

Well, I need to start with last night's run. It was so humid in the woods. I actually had to walk part of the run. I just could not do it. I was mad at myself for taking my vitamins at 4PM and eating those Triscuits so late. Ugh! Half the race, I felt like vomiting. Burped all the way. Just awful. I guess I need to learn from my mistakes and this was a big one.

This morning, I woke up bloated and sore. My upper back hurts. I am not sure why, but I blame the class I took in the morning with Beth. I must have done something to hurt this much.

Now, onto today's meals:

Breakfast: I had a pure protein drink. It was good. I poured it over crushed ice. Then I had a bowl of Kashi Autumn Harvest Wheats and blueberries. Very Good, Very filling.

Lunch was a hollowed out french bread stick with homemade egg salad. This is basically hardboiled eggs, chopped scallions, and light mayo. Add a couple of plums.

Dinner was so good. I chopped up 1/2 an avocado, 1/4 c. black beans, 2 Joseph's oat-flax tortillas (small size), 1 piece of light swiss cheese, 1 chopped tomato. I just put all the ingredients in the tortilla, rolled it up and put it in my frying pan, sprayed with Pam. Additionally, the tomatoes I have are from a friend's garden and they are just starting to turn. So, I put some on the side for a side-dish. Added a little motzarella. Yummy!

Calorie count: 1795 (over my total req'd. by 35), carbs: 235, fat: 55, protein: 97

Lynda

Eating Junk

2009-08-05T15:51:00.004-04:00

Sometimes I cannot for the life of me understand what makes me crave things. Especially after the kick a.... class I took this morning. She turns me into a carb-o-holic! It is so hot at Bally's, it is unhealthy. If you are in the east bay area of Rhode Island, I highly recommend joining another club. If it wasn't so close to my house, I would not be there. First of all, the club is filthy. The equipment is old and now they have instituted a new policy that the gym be kept at 75 degrees. In this humidity, it is down right disgusting in there. Not a great gym at all. Too bad because they have great instructors that work there. They are the ONLY reason to belong to the E. Providence Ballys.

Okay, enough griping! So this morning I finished my green drink from yesterday. Then I went to that hard class and came home and devoured the box of Triscuits (lowfat kind) and Fiber one cottage cheese. I also made two wraps for lunch with Black beans, lite swiss cheese, a tomato from my friend's garden-yummy, and 1/2 an avocado. Then more triscuits. I am going on my run this evening, so that is it for me for food. Oh yeah, and they had goldfish on sale at the supermarket and I ate 1/2 a bag of them too!

Lynda

Popcorn for dinner????

2009-08-04T20:30:00.005-04:00

Yes, I did have popcorn for dinner. I was doing so well for the day, too. I started the day with an amazing grass smoothie that had arugula, chocolate amazing grass, blueberries, chia seeds, salba, hemp protein, soy milk and strawberries.

Good start to the day with 398 calories and lots of protein. Then I had some leftovers (again) for lunch. The eggplant - quinoa dish from last week. I have to admit, I am not liking quinoa. I won't give up on it, but also will not be making that recipe again. Well, maybe I will try it with the smoked motzarella cheese. It could be better, but that recipe was time consuming. The quinoa never held together very well in the pattie form either.

Now, today I worked really hard on getting another certification in QuickBooks. I passed!!!!! Now I am certified in Enterprise Solutions! The more certifications, the better. So, passing the test and watching all of the tutorials took most of my day. So, when hubby wanted dinner, I made him grilled cheese. Since we purchased the new refrigerator, I tossed out all of my old wheat bread. I tried Ezakiel, but just don't like it. Tried a couple whole wheat ones from Stop and Shop, again .... yuk. Slices too large and they just don't seem to be real type of bread. No flavor. So, since there was no bread and no cheese left for me, I decided to pop up some Act butter-lovers popcorn. Of course, I ate the whole bag (with the help of my dog, Sasha). Added a little parmesan cheese and voila....dinner. Not the best, but when I entered all of the food I ate today in Sparkpeople.com, I was okay. How did that happen with the dinner I had????

Which is a good thing. My usual 75 minutes of crazy Linda's HiLo weight class was missed by me due to the work I did today. I only worked out for 19 minutes doing Jillian Michael's 30 day shred level 3, parts 2 and 3 on www.youtube.com. Walking pushups, etc. got me sweating but by no means equals my usual workout. But, I passed my test and I am so happy! Now tomorrow, I will make up for the missed class. Which means Beth's killer HiLo with weights class. This class is way worse than Linda's. I will also try to get a little yoga in as well. Good for runners.

Then I also have my running group tomorrow evening. I cannot wait. It is so much fun. So, tomorrow's calorie burn will be high. I need to get on track with planning my eating better. I have fallen off the track. Sometimes, I feel like cooking, sometimes, not. But the hubby will be at a golf tournament at the end of the week. That means no cooking dinners for him for Thursday - Saturday. That makes life so much easier. He also informed me (from looking in our cupboards and our recent refrigerator move) that we need to concentrate on eating the food we have and not adding to the stored food. Our cabinets are full! So, I will work on emptying them out. Plan Plan Plan.

Lynda

I hate Mondays!

2009-08-03T19:34:00.003-04:00

So, Mondays are always hectic and I am always tired. I don't know why.

This morning I went for my normal 5 mile run down by the reservoir. So beautiful and peaceful there. Except for when this crazy old lady on roller blades comes by me. She wears a helmet and she doesn't always look like she has control of her body (especially when she is coming down hill straight at you). Now, I am generally a kind person, but I have just had it with her! She comes right at you and at the last minute, cuts to my right and just squeaks past me. I swear sometimes I think she is going to knock me over. So today my evil Lynda came out and I yelled "you are supposed to pass on the right!" Which was probably not the best choice of words because she was on the right as she came straight for me. She yelled back that she is on the right and I just grumbled on my way.

So that was the start of my day. I ended up making a mango-banana smoothie with added Salba and Chia seeds for protein.

For lunch, I reheated my eggplant and quinoa from last week. I have also discovered Kind bars. So good. Today's was Macadamia nuts with cranberries. Yummy! I also had some protein water (Special K).

For dinner, I had a spinach pie from Uncle Tony's restaurant that I had frozen in my refrigerator. We just purchased a new one that is beautiful and it looks so organized right now. That is where I found the spinach pie.

Calorie count for the day: 1665, carbs: 199, fat: 65, protein: 105

Did I mention the one glass of wine or the tomatoes on the vine I had at lunch? All are added in the above totals.

Lynda

Great bread, Fat cat

2009-08-01T16:00:00.005-04:00

Sorry I have been MIA for the past few days. I can honestly tell you that I have not been planning or eating the best of foods the past few days. We had dinner out yesterday. We ate at Squantum Dinner Club in Riverside, RI. This is a private club we belong to and the food is the best food of any restaurant ever. I had grilled swordfish with a double order of grilled asparagus. It was so good. How Chef Scott makes this asparagus is beyond me. It is so tasty! And the swordfish was out of this world. They do have a wood grill so maybe that is the secret. I did have two wines. Boo hoo! They also had ahi tuna appetizer with wasabi seaweed topping. So delicious. I could have eaten just that.

So, for breakfast, I had frosted shredded wheat cereal with blueberries. For lunch I had this fabulous bread from Trader Joes (Multigrain). I had a piece with peanut butter and one with butter.

Also pictured below is my cat, Jeter, who I should probably put on a major diet. He is the laziest animal I have ever had. He is fat for a reason. I named him Jeter so I could convince the hubby to keep him. He is a major Yankee fan and I am a die-hard Red Sox fan. It makes for interesting summers!

Lynda

Spinach Lentil Stew

2009-07-28T12:34:00.005-04:00

This lunch could not be simpler or tastier. I used:

Prepackaged black lentils (TJ)
one can of hunts tomatoes
2 c. spinach, sauteed in olive oil (1 tbsp)
dusted with grated Parmesan cheese

This makes two servings

OMG it was soooooo good and filling. Very much needed after the kick as...... workout this morning. I just sauteed the spinach in the olive oil until cooked, added the pre-cooked lentils and tomatoes with jalapenos and cooked until heated throughout. Add to the a Kashi flax bar and a double drink of Special K protein water and a good, high protein lunch.

Calories for lunch: 482, carbs: 60, fat: 16 and protein: 26 (yeah!)

Lynda

Green-Berry Smoothie for a change

2009-07-28T08:25:00.002-04:00

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Today I felt thinner. So, I hopped onto the scale and found I still weigh 130 lbs.! Yeah!!!!! I think I attribute it to my morning smoothies and my calorie counting on SparkPeople. I try to stay within the required ranges and it is working. Now that I count my calories, I find that I don't eat as much as I did when I did not count them. I stopped the grazing "because it is there". I was notorious for eating walnuts (salted) or almonds. They are good for you but contain a lot of fat. You have to eat a serving, which is hard when you eat them out of the container. I also did not realize how low my protein levels were (I am a vegetarian), until SparkPeople (which was why I was eating all of the nuts). Now, I do my best to get to the range required. This has helped my body tremendously. I tried on a bathing suit this morning and the bottoms were falling down! Wow! They were a medium. Since that is one of my trouble spots, I am psyched!

I also attribute the weight loss to my running. I have learned so much about the sport from SparkPeople and the team you can join. If you haven't joined a group, please do so. You can connect with others and the wealth of knowledge out there is amazing. You can also learn from other's mistakes. I just love it and I am now running longer distances. I am even finding it "peaceful" to run without my ipod. I just get into a zone and enjoy the scenery. I wish I could get the hubby to run with me. Maybe this winter when he has more time.

My weight loss is on schedule for the end of September being 125 lbs. But I am good with 130. It is well within my range for my height and bone structure. I still have a little roll when I sit, but none when I stand. I am firmly a size 6 and probably a size 4 at some stores, since the 6 is a little loose.

I also do "fall off the wagon" when I go out to eat and on weekends. You can see the increase in calories on those days. But, we are all human, right? It is the nature of the beast. And it is perfectly okay to live a little.

Okay for today's ingredients in the smoothie. This made approximately 4 servings:

2 tbsp. chia seeds (soaked)

2 tsps. salba

1 packet berry amazing grass superfood

1 c. european nonfat yogurt (Trader Joes)

.25 c. strawberries

.5 c. fresh pineapple

1 c. blueberries

1 c. arugula

1/2 c. soy milk

1 c. water

1 c. crushed ice

Total calorie count: 449, carbs: 50, fat: 12, protein: 13

This is the total for all four servings. I am having 2 this morning for breakfast before heading to Ballys for the killer 75 minute HiLo with weights class and 15 minute yoga class.

Lynda

2009-07-27T17:14:00.008-04:00

Tonight's dinner was Eggplant Ragout with Quinoa cakes.

I wanted extra protein and I had 4 small eggplants in my refrigerator that needed to be used, so I found this recipe on sparkpeoplerecipes.com. It is a function able website where you can put what you have on hand (eggplant) and a list of recipes are generated for that ingredient. This recipe is definitely not an easy one. I also eliminated the roasted peppers because the hubby hates peppers. Next time, I will add them to my half. I love them and I think the extra flavor is needed. I also did not have smoked mozzarella. I will definitely make sure I have this ingredient. I love all smoked cheeses. I used regular light mozzarella and added some parmesan grated cheese. This dinner was still yummy. I paired it with a wine called Casa. It is my new favorite. It is a wine from Chili and it is relatively inexpensive. This meal was very filling. Bon Appetite!

Ingredients

Directions

Make quinoa cakes:
Bring water and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a boil in a heavy medium saucepan.
Meanwhile, wash quinoa in 3 changes of water in a bowl, then drain well in a fine-mesh sieve.
Stir quinoa into boiling water and return to a boil, then simmer, covered, until quinoa is dry and water is absorbed, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and cool, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes, then stir in egg.
Line a baking sheet with plastic wrap and lightly brush with oil. Lightly oil a 1-cup dry-ingredient measure. Pack enough quinoa into measure with a rubber spatula to fill it two-thirds full. (If spatula becomes sticky, dip in water.) Unmold onto baking sheet and gently pat quinoa into a 4-inch-wide patty with spatula. Make 3 more quinoa cakes, brushing measure with oil each time. Chill cakes, uncovered, at least 15 minutes.
Make topping while quinoa cooks and chills:
Toss eggplant with 1 teaspoon salt in a colander and drain 30 minutes. Squeeze handfuls of eggplant to extract liquid, then pat dry.
Cook eggplant, onion, garlic, oregano, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, covered, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, roasted peppers, and water and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until eggplant is very tender and mixture is thick (if dry, thin with a little water), about 10 minutes.
Cook quinoa cakes:
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Carefully add quinoa cakes and cook, turning once carefully and adding remaining 2 to 3 tablespoons oil, until crisp and golden, 8 to 10 minutes total (pat cakes to reshape with cleaned rubber spatula while cooking if necessary). Transfer to plates.
To serve:
Return eggplant ragout to a simmer and stir in parsley and half of mozzarella, then simmer, stirring, until cheese just begins to soften, about 30 seconds. Spoon over quinoa cakes, then sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.

Serves 4.

Calories for above: 408, carbs: 67, fat: 21, protein: 21

Total count for the day: Calories: 1213, carbs: 165, fat: 43, protein: 69
All good, calories are a little low. Maybe I'll have a frozen treat later, if I am hungry. Carbs are a little low, but protein and fat are in my required ranges.

Lynda

Great morning smoothie!!!!

2009-07-27T16:30:00.003-04:00

Here are some pictures of the views I had during my 10 mile Blessing of the Fleet Race. Rhode Island is a beautiful state (in the summer). The race finished at the Coast Guard House, where they gave us a complimentary beer. We did not go up and have one, however, since after doing something healthy, I am just not into alcohol afterward.

Well, I mixed up a fantastic smoothie this morning for breakfast and forgot to photograph it!!!!! Ugh! I just winged it and put ingredients in that I felt like having.

Ingredients are as follows:

1/2 c. of soy milk
1/2 c. of blueberries
1 scoop of Lean 1
1 tbsp. Salba
1/2 medium banana (frozen)
1/2 c. frozen mango
2 tbsp. of Chia Seeds
1/2 c. water
1 c. crushed ice

This made 2 1/2 cups. I had the first 1 1/2 this morning after my 5 mile run. I am having my 2nd cup before dinner (late afternoon).

Calories: 435, carb: 61, fat: 16, protein: 22

Now for lunch I made a tuna sandwich with tuna (packed in water), chopped onion, celery, dried cranberries and tsp. of light mayo on a 1/2 Joseph's oat flax pita. I also had 2 servings of Special K protein water, 1/2 amazing grass chocolate bar, 1 plum

Calories: 264, carbs: 34, fat: 6, protein: 26

So, as you can see, I am doing well on the protein front and I have plenty of calories left for dinner.

I am alone for dinner tonight (hubby is in another golf tournament). I think I will grill eggplant.

Lynda

Sundried tomato pizza

2009-07-26T18:19:00.005-04:00

Tonight's dinner was sundried tomato pizza with spinach and olives. The hubby asked if I wanted Uncle Tony's pizza (local pizza parlor) and boy would I have loved it. But the 4 wines from last night kept nagging me in the back of my mind. So I offered to make this quick and easy pizza. Quick, because it is made with Bobolli crust and Trader Joes sundried tomato bruchetta. Just take out the pizza crust, slather the sundried bruchetta, add kalamata olives and sauteed spinach and red onions. Top with low fat pizza cheese and you are good to go. Cook in an oven that is 450 degrees for 9 minutes. I liked the pizza, but the hubby said it did not hit the spot. I think he was craving pepperoni. Although this pizza was probably better than Uncle Tony's pizza calorie wise, it was probably not the best dinner for calorie savings.

Calories for the day: 1,386 carbs: 146, fat: 44 protein: 35

Okay, poor eating habits continue on the weekend. I need to fix this, but get so lazy about my regiment on the weekends. Got to check the websites to find out how to stop this! I see a green drinkk for my breakfast tomorrow morning so I can detox and "right the ship". :)

Lynda

Last nights too many wines.....

2009-07-26T13:16:00.005-04:00

Okay, I''ll be honest, I am not super woman. I am a little stiff around the hamstrings but also my right side is tight. So, yesterday, I sat out in the sunshine, got a little tan and enjoyed every minute of it.

Later, the hubby came outside with a glass of Bogle Cabernet and I moved to the shade and enjoyed.

Now here comes the realization that I am not "Super Woman". While we sat chatting, I kept closing my eyes. Right in the hubby's face! Wow! I guess I was tired. Well we did clean the entire house, after I lifted weights at the gym, after I ran 10 miles.... so I guess I should not be so hard on myself. I planned on grilling some tuna steaks and some veggies, but I think the fact that I fell asleep sitting up was a clue that maybe we should go out for dinner. We ended up at Wannamoisett Country club. Now, it was a beautiful evening and while we were sitting chatting and waiting for our 6:30PM reservation time, I had another wine. It was helping my tight muscles somehow.....

We change our clothes and head over, meet up with friends who joined us for dinner (including my running pal) and had TWO MORE WINES!!! YIKES!!! What is that, like 450 calories? I had one cheesey roll with butter, honey bourbon salmon and some grilled asparagus and grilled corn. Yummy! We had great service, great food and great friends. And I had too much wine. I also had a ton of water. Still drinking water today. Probably wine related.

This morning's breakfast (still sore in my right side) was the same as yesterday, Cascadian Farms multi-grain squares and blueberries. I have also had some TJ's oat-flaxseed multigrain crackers and light cheddar cheese slices. And a peanut butter Larabar. So I am good till dinner. I guess this is called Recovery Mode, literally. (on a side note, I did have these wines over the course of 8 hours)

Lynda

I finished my 10 mile race!!!!!!

2009-07-25T11:37:00.002-04:00

Exhilaration is the best description of how I feel. My friend and I completed the 10 mile race last night. The weather was perfect. 61 degrees with a breeze (we were by the ocean). What a gorgeous race. So many people were on their lawns cheering us on. It was by the far the best race I have ever run. There were people with hoses to spray you down, people with water, oranges, you name it. It was a big party! Some people had cookouts and had loud music playing, which pumped you up along the way. I am so glad I did this. I must have drank 13 glasses of water throughout the day yesterday. I drank most of it before the race, and some after. It was so much fun! Now we are planning on our first half marathon. Like my friend said "WE CAN DO IT!" And you know what, we started out at the back of the race and we started slowly. That worked for us. Then we started moving along, passing many people who had passed us. At the end we still had energy and really cranked it up. We had a 1 mile walk back to the car, which was a good way to cool down.

And the other best thing was when I got on the scale this morning........130 lbs., which will probably go up when I drink my 8 glasses of water today. But who cares! Runners high! It is the best!

Now, for breakfast today, I had a bowl of cereal (Cascadian farms multigrain chex) with blueberries (3/4 c.). I had a walnut-date bar, called Kind, and I had a one coconut water. Oh yeah, add to that a couple of plums. And lots of water. I went to the gym this morning, which surprised my trainer. She couldn't believe we showed up. I did a weight lifting class, but used lower weights on my legs. My back is a little tight now, since the hubby decided today is a good day to clean the carpets. So I helped with vacuuming and moving stuff. Now I am outside on the deck enjoying the minimal sunshine we have here in Rhode Island and resting my back.

Calories for this mornings breakfast: 473, carbs: 88, fat: 8, protein: 9 (gotta work on that today to rebuild those muscles I tore yesterday).

I am very proud of myself that I did not eat anything when I came home from the race. I made sure that I hydrated well before, during and after the race and I ate enough to make it through it. I listened to Jillian Michael's radio show (a past podcast) and she said never have carbs before bed. If you are hungry, have protein. So, I am going to try to stick to that to get rid of these last 5 lbs.

Lynda

RACE DAY!!!!

2009-07-24T11:35:00.004-04:00

Today is the big run day, well, actually tonight. I did 30 minutes of heart-opening yoga this morning. Then I made myself an omelet. I forgot to photograph it, so I found this photo to show what it looked like. Basically, I put spinach in my omelet pan, some broccoli, added one egg and 1 egg white, scrambled. Put one small handful of goat cheese ontop (approximately 1 tsp.). It was good and filling. I wanted something filling and warm since it is cold here today. This afternoon, I plan on having the remaining pasta dish with the zucchini that I made on Tuesday evening (see earlier post). That should give me the energy I need. I also had some fage 0% with blueberries and honey. I am actually quite full still. I will probably eat my pasta around 2PM and then maybe a plum at 3PM. I have been drinking water and going to the bathroom all morning. The race starts at 6PM and we should finish sometime at 8PM. My friend and I tend to start our race in the back of the pack. There is supposed to be 3K people at this race and it is a big event. There is a seafood festival after the race.

Wish me luck!

Lynda

Lunch/Dinner

2009-07-23T21:08:00.004-04:00

I had a double order of the roasted edamame from yesterday for lunch with 1/2 a larabar and the remaining glass of my breakfast smoothie.

Well, the hubby did not come home until late tonight. Today has been a weird day because I had no clue what I felt like eating for lunch or dinner. So, when hubby came home, I asked "What do you want for dinner?" He had no clue either but offered that he was not hungry, how about a tuna wrap. Well, I had that for dinner yesterday, but I figured fast and easy since it was already 7:30PM and my plan is to go to bed early with the big run coming up tomorrow. We also had zucchini (last one in the garden for now) that I sauteed in 2 tbsp. of margarine with a little lemon pepper crushed on top and some smothered onions. Nothing like a fresh picked veggie!

So, for dessert, I dumped 1 cup of fat free vanilla yogurt into a bowl, added some pineapple, raspberries and cool whip lite and added some coconut. It was so good. So good I ate it before taking a pic of it. But I will make that again.

Calories for the day: 1529, carbs. 197, fat 65 (whoops-too much), protein 73

Lynda

Last Night's Run; Today's smoothie

2009-07-23T11:23:00.003-04:00

Well, last night's run went really well. The best part about it is that I have managed to reserve October 11, 2009 for a 5k in memory of my son. I am very excited and will work really hard his weekend on all that I have to do to organize it.

Boy, was it humid in the park last night. I was exhausted! By mile 2, my legs felt like they weighed approximately 100 lbs. each. My time was still pretty good (anything under 30 mins. is good for me). The course is 1/2 in the woods and I ate my fair share of bugs last night. It is almost all uphill in the woods and when you come out, there is a long, gradual downhill. In my mind, I was reconsidering the goal of running the whole 10 mile race tomorrow. Maybe I should incorporate some walking due to the humidity. I am going to try to run it all -- we shall see how that goes. I am hoping for a lot of adrenaline.

This morning's smoothie is a concoction I made myself:

1 packet amazing grass berry flavor
1 tbsp. salba
1 tbsp. chia seeds, soaked
1/2 c. soy milk
1/2 c. european vanilla yogurt
1 c. spinach
1/4 c. raspberries
1/4 c. blueberries
6 medium strawberries
1/2 c. water
1 c. crushed ice

Blend away! It was actually pretty good. Calories: 371, carbs. 67, fat: 10, protein: 17

I still have 3/4 cup left to have with my lunch. I am not sure what lunch will be. I cannot figure out what I am craving right now.

Lynda

Tuna wrap with roasted edamame

2009-07-22T16:38:00.002-04:00

Well, I finished up my appointment earlier than scheduled and came home so hungry. But I stuck with my plan. I made a small amount of tuna with light mayo, shallots, celery and dried cranberries. Then I tried this roasted edamame (soy beans) recipe. It is delicious! Recipe is as follows (from sparkpeoplerecipes.com):

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 cups ready-to-eat shelled soybeans (edamame)

Nutritional Info

	Fat: 7.9g
	Carbohydrates: 9.4g
	Calories:134.2
	Protein: 8.7g

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In small bowl mix all the ingredients until coated well. Roast beans in a shallow baking dish, uncovered, for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring once, until soybeans begin to brown. Yields 4, 1/2 cup servings.

Number of Servings: 4

Now I am off for my trail run. It is humid tonight! Wish me luck!

Lynda

Pineapple-Mango Protein Shake

2009-07-22T08:46:00.004-04:00

Well, since I started the Vegan mornings the past two days, my weight has climbed to 134lb. this morning.

So, I plan to go back to my old ways (that worked!). This morning I decided to concoct a tropical shake.

Ingredients:

1 scoup (1/2 serving) of Lean 1 protein powder - vanilla
1 scoup (2 tbsp.) of TJ organic hemp protein
1/2 c. pineapple
1/2 cup mango
1/2 banana
1/2 c. soy milk, vanilla (light) not pictured
8 oz. fage 0% (greek yogurt)

Just toss all in the blender till smooth and creamy.

Okay, the color is slightly disgusting looking. I guess I should save the hemp protein for when I make a green drink. But the taste was just what I was looking for. I guess I could never be a vegan. Food choices are so limited and I think I really need my dairy products. I felt tired. I slept like a rock last night. Got a good 7 hrs. of uninterrupted sleep, which is big at my age, as it doesn't happen too often.

Did my 1 hour of Detox yoga #2 from yogadownload.com this morning. I did not do any up-level positions. My body is tight and just not stretched out very well, probably from my running. I have my running group in Bristol this evening with the trail running 5K. It is supposed to be very humid here this afternoon, but at least the sun is shining!

Calories: 546 (ouch!) carbs: 76 (another ouch!) fat: 8, protein: 43 (yeah!)

Since I am running at 6:30PM tonight, my day's meals will be a little mixed up. I plan on a 2nd breakfast of cereal with blueberries around 11AM and then I have an appointment that will keep me out till 3:30PM. I will have my dinner around 5PM (tuna sandwich and roasted edamame), which I will post. Then after my run, I just plan a Peanut butter Larabar.

Lynda

Zucchini spinach pasta

2009-07-21T19:46:00.003-04:00

Okay, after I bragged that I converted the hubby, he announced today that he wanted spaghetti and meatballs! I had planned on making Zucchini Spinach Pasta recipe that I found on Sparkpeople Recipes. So, I made 2 dinners (just like the old days).

Check out that beauty of a zucchini! I picked it fresh tonight (check out the mud on my hand from all of today's rains). This recipe was delicious and low calorie. I omitted the goat cheese and did not even miss it. I also omitted the wine, since I am a red wine girl and did not want to open a white wine for just me. I made a double batch so I can have this for my lunch/dinner on Friday before the big race.

Nutritional Info

	Fat: 12.5g
	Carbohydrates: 53.1g
	Calories:378.9
	Protein: 16.2g

Ingredients

1 cup whole grain pasta
1 cup zucchini, sliced
1 pat butter
1 tsp. flour
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 oz. white wine
2 tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
1 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. dried italian seasoning
1 cup fresh spinach
1 oz. soft goat cheese

Directions: Put on water to boil for pasta and cook pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, cook zucchini in non-stick pan until browned, about 5 minutes. Set zucchini aside, and in the same pan, melt butter on medium high heat. Add flour and stir well. Cook the rue for about 30 seconds.

Add the chicken broth and stir until smooth. Then add the wine, lemon juice, basil, and dried herbs and cook for about 1 minute. Add the spinach and cook until just wilted, about two minutes, and then add the zucchini.

Drain the pasta well and add to the sauce mixture. Stir until everything is evenly coated. Crumble goat cheese on top and turn off heat.

Serve immediately, and enjoy!

Number of Servings: 1

I give this recipe two thumbs up!

My total calorie count for today is:

Calories: 1742 over by 92 calories (ate those damn licorice scottie dogs from TJ's and also ate the peanut butter filled pretzels), fat: 61 (over by 1) carbs: 261 (over by 9), protein: 53 under by 8

Whoo, I have to do better. I have to watch my planned totals and not snack too much. That's what happens when I buy the goodies from TJ's. My refrigerator is full of good things right now. I need to stay the course.

Lynda

Blueberry-Roobios Antioxidant Smoothie

2009-07-21T07:40:00.003-04:00

To be honest, when I am mixing up this smoothie, I am thinking, "I am never going to drink this. It looks disgusting." This is another recipe from the book, Thrive, from Brendan Brazier.

Ingredients:

1 banana
2 c. cold water or 1 1/2 c. cold water, 1 c. ice
1/2 c. blueberries
1 tbsp ground flaxseed
1 tbsp. hemp protein
1 tbsp. agave nectar
1 tbsp. hemp oil or coconut oil
2 tsp. ground rooibos (form of tea)

Mix in a blender. It is actually delicious. I'll let you know if it holds me through my crazy hi lo with weights class. I am having half now, half with lunch, which will be the remaining pizza from yesterday.

I think I ate too much yesterday. I woke up this morning with a very bloated feeling. My weight is actually up 4 lbs! (Lynda stop the wine at night). We will see how the week goes.

Calories for the above (2 servings) 430, carbs. 60, fat 21, protein, 9

Lynda

Portabella Mushroom wrap with zucchini

2009-07-20T20:43:00.005-04:00

Well, I had planned portabello mushroom sandwiches (wrap) with sweet potato fries, but hubby went outside to turn the garden and told me that the zucchini are ready! So, change of plans. For the mushroom sandwiches, I just cut up some portabello mushrooms and added some olive oil and some hamburger spice from McCormick spices. I added some goat cheese and put them in a spinach wrap. So good!

Now for the zucchini: I had found a recipe in Runner's World magazine that looked good. It was called Zucchini with almonds and croutons. Well, we did not like it.

Ingredients:

3/4 c. almonds
1 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. cumin
pinch of salt

Mix the above ingredients in a bowl, place on cookie sheet and roast in oven for 8 mins. at 375 degrees.

Slice 1 lb. small zucchini into 1/4 inch slices cut into half moons. Saute for 2 mins. in a frying pan with 2 tbsp. olive oil over medium-high heat. Remove and put into a bowl to cool. Add the almond mixture and add 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar (white) and 1 tbsp. almond oil, 2 tsp. lemon juice, 2 tsp. shallots minced. Add 1 packed cup of mixed whole herbs, including parsely, chervil, dill and mint. Add 2 c. croutons and salt and pepper to taste.

Calories per serving: 360, carbs. 25, protein 10 fat 27g

Now, hubby and I did not care for this at all. I wish I didn't get this fancy and just made zucchini steamed with butter. It would have tasted better. We did not eat it all either. Oh well, that is how you learn.

Calorie count for the day: 1661, carbs. 192, fat 74, protein 59

So, I was over on the calories for the day, under on the protein, and over on my fat. Ugh! It is probably due to all of the almonds and the oils. I have to be better tomorrow.

Lynda

Chili Kidney Bean Pizza Vegan-style

2009-07-20T18:18:00.003-04:00

Lunch today was Chili Kidney Bean Pizza, again from the Thrive Book, by Brendan Brazier

I made this lunch today around 12:30PM, but had some interruptions, so I did not eat until 1:30PM and I wasn't even hungry from that tiny smoothie from this morning.

This "pizza" is flat out delicious. It smelled so good cooking. Even the hubby almost wanted to have some. Until he found out what it was made of. I am slowly converting him to my vegetarian ways. I used to have to make two meals per night and he is now trying out my dinners and liking them. He has lost over 20 lbs. from his "I am a carnivore" days. So he is an easy convert.

Ingredients:

Crust: 1 1/2 c. cooked brown rice, 1 1/2 c. red kidney beans, 1/4 c. coconut oil, 1 tbsp. chili powder, 1 tsp. chili flakes (I used red pepper seeds), sea salt to taste. Put all into a food processor and ground down to a somewhat smooth consistency. Roll out onto a 8 x 8 brownie pan, lightly greased with more coconut oil.

Topping: 1 tomato, sliced (I used several grape ones) 1/2 onion, sliced, 1/2 c. grated carrot, 1 tsp. oregano, 1 tsp. thyme (you can also add red or green sliced peppers)

Calorie count for the pizza (2 slices, but makes 4) 324, carbs: 55, fat: 16, protein: 8

I am still full but I do have to make dinner. I also gobbled some Chia seeds (soaked ones) before my run this morning. They really don't have a taste, but I love them for some reason. Maybe it is the consistency. They are really good for you.

I have been so good eating so far today. I'll check back in for dinner!

Lynda

Thrive Chocolate Almond Smoothie

2009-07-20T18:05:00.005-04:00

This mornings breakfast was a Chocolate Almond Smoothie -- Vegan style.

I have to be quite honest, when I decided to get back on the straight and narrow this morning after a not-so-great weekend of eating, I thought I would try this out. When I made it, it looked kind of yucky. This recipe makes 2 servings, one I had for breakfast and the other with my lunch. I looked at how much it made and thought about how hungry I was after returning from my 5 mile run this morning an thought I would gobble the entire meal up. But I did not. I had 1/2. And it held me over till 1:30PM today. I am amazed.

Ingredients:

1 banana (not pictured)
2 fresh dates (or you can soak them)
1/4 c. almonds (ground up in a coffee bean grinder to a powder)
1 tbsp. ground flaxseed
1 tbsp. hemp protein
1 tbsp. roasted arob powder
1 packet amazing grass chocolate (I added this ingredient)

Blend in blender.

Calorie count for 2 smoothies: 447, carbs: 60, fat: 20, protein: 16

It did not have that full, smoothie taste to it. In fact, the 2nd glass tasted better than the first. Next time I will mix it up before running. It did keep my hunger away for hours. I am hooked!

Lynda

Dinner at Cattails City Grill in East Providence, RI

2009-07-19T06:44:00.003-04:00

Last night, our dear friends called us and asked if we wanted to meet for dinner. Of course, we said "Yes". We went to a place very close to our home called "Cattails". This restaurant is beautifully decorated and is a nice little place to get great food. I ordered the halibut special that came with grilled mushrooms, like the one pictured here. It had an orange sauce ontop. It came with mashed potatoes, but I had the "double vegetables" instead. As soon as I heard broccoli rabe, I was hooked. It also had grilled asparagus and bok choy. Add two glasses of wine and I had a complete meal.

Hubby had tomatoes and mozzarella stack (I helped him with his appetizer). He also had some chicken/cheese dinner that looked like Alfredo (bad bad hubby). We all licked our plates, which says a lot to the chef. I highly recommend this restaurant. We have never had a bad meal there. Menu is quite large and will accommodate all tastes. Great service, as well.

Lynda

I feel a little better, but still hungry!

2009-07-18T13:21:00.000-04:00

I feel better because I went shopping! And the size 6 pants from Express were a little large! I didn't dare try on a size 4, but at Express (I had a $75.00 off coupon that expired at the end of the month), I always figured the sizes were more true. I have shopped at Ann Taylor and their sizes are 1-2 sizes larger than the true size. At that store, I am probably a size 2, but not really. Anyway, I am thirsty and not at all motivated to clean the house, but I have to, since I am gone tomorrow and definitely will not feel like it when I return. My leg is better now. Which is really strange. I planned on running tomorrow evening, but I think I will take an entire day off of exercise and rest the leg. Especially since the BIG RACE is on Friday.

Lunch today is one hard boiled egg, one whole wheat toasted English muffin smeared with laughing cow, low fat cheese, and some grape tomatoes. Peanut butter Larabar for dessert.

Calories, 481, carbs. 57, fat, 22, protein 21

Feelin' Fat today

2009-07-18T10:00:00.000-04:00

Why do I feel fat today?

That is the question of the day. My leg (hamstring) was feeling good the last couple of days, but today it is nagging me. And I was hungry! So, I had one blueberry muffin (made from last Sunday) with my coffee before I headed out to Powerflex class. I have been listening to Jillian Michael's Sunday radio shows and she said you should NEVER work out on an empty stomach. I usually always do this on Saturday. But, I felt bloated and fat this morning and lethargic. So, I had the muffin with my coffee.

Now, I come home from the class and I am starving! What is up with that? I was craving eggs, but since I am going to that shower for Brunch tomorrow, I am assuming there will be scrambled eggs there. So, I decided to have Kashi Go Lean Waffles. Very low calorie count at 160 for 2 waffles. Then I sliced a honey dew melon and dusted both with chia seeds.

I used (for the first time) the maple syrup we purchased when we were on our Vermont trip. This syrup will last my lifetime. We were driving down the mountain on the way to the reunion, when we saw all of the tubes in the trees in the woods. They led to the sugar house where they made the syrup. The sign on the man's house said "come on in for maple syrup". That 1/2 gallon cost $25.00, which I guess is a buy. He claimed it was processed that very same day (I don't believe it). It is very good and very sweet. You only need 1-2 tsps. Let's hope this meal tides me over till lunch. A lot of carbs.

Calories: 502, carbs: 106 (ouch!) fat: 9, protein: 16

Seared Sea Scallops with Quinoa Pilaf

2009-07-17T18:10:00.002-04:00

Tonight's dinner is Seared Sea Scallops with Quinoa Pilaf. I found this recipe at www.prevention.com website. They have so many fabulous recipes. I changed some ingredients to make it work for my kitchen:

It is made in 3 steps, sauce, quinoa, scallops

Sauce (you make this first)
1 c. pomegranate juice
3/4 tsp. low salt soy sauce
3/4 tsp. curry
2 tbsp. minced shallots
1/3 tbsp. minced fresh ginger
1/2 tsp. cornstarch
1/3 tbs. water

Bring first 5 ingredients to a simmer over medium-low heat. Simmer for 30 minutes till reduced. Add the cornstarch and water to thicken. Set aside & keep warm.

Quinoa
1/2 tsp. olive oil
1/2 shallot chopped
1 c. quinoa, rinsed well
1 c. low sodium vegetable broth
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 c. golden raisins
1/4 c. dried cherries or cranberries
2 tbsp. slivered almonds, toasted
1/3 tbsp. lemon juice

Heat oil in large pan over medium-high heat. Add the shallot and cook, stirring for 5 minutes. Stir in quinoa and cook 5 mins. Stir in the broth and cinnamon and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 mins. or until tender. Stir in raisins and cherries. Cover and set aside.

Scallops
1 lb. sea scallops, patted dry and salted and peppered with ground black pepper
1 tbsp. olive oil, divided
1/4 tsp. sesame oil, divided

Heat 1/2 olive oil and one half of the sesame oil in a large non-stick frying pan over high heat. Cook the of the scallops for 4 mins. turning once and adding the remaining oil as needed.

To prepare, place scallops on dish and drizzle with the sauce and garnish with toasted almonds. Add Quinoa.

This dinner was delicious, although, I doubt I will be able to make my hubby a fan of Quinoa. But I will keep trying. He never used to eat the meals with me, I always had to make two, but now he is eating the things I make and I have to give him credit, he is a real trooper.

Calorie count for the day:

Calories: 1701 (whoops, over budget, what a surprise, given my non-lunch)
carbs: 238
fat: 55
protein: 97

Did I mention the one small glass of wine with this dinner? Probably not. That is also included in the above totals. No dessert tonight, but I am pretty full. Must be because of the protein intake. I did not feel like going to the Kwandoflex class today and my run was pretty lethargic. I probably need a day of rest, but that will come on Sunday, as I have a bridal shower to go to in Burriville. Ugh! The girl who is getting married is my daughter's friend and is a vegetarian, so I am sure there will be a good meal for me at this Country Club.

Okay, where has she been hiding?????

2009-07-17T16:25:00.000-04:00

No photo here. I am too embarrassed by what I grabbed for lunch. Stacey's baked cheddar pita chips, light cream cheese, fiber one cottage cheese, TJ's gingerbread cat cookies. How is that for nutritious? Not too good. I have been so busy with telephone calls, paperwork....Ugh! So I could not even attempt to make some of the foods I wanted to. There is always this weekend. Now, I don't have a thing planned for dinner, but I do have some scallops in the fridge and I think I better start to think about some veggies. I'll get back to you. Now, for punishment, I need to add up my calorie count for the lovely lunch above!

Chia Blueberry-Strawberry Smoothie

2009-07-17T07:32:00.001-04:00

I received my chia seeds yesterday, via UPS. I ordered the organic ones recommended in the book, Thrive. So, I soaked them in 2 c. water, with 1/3 c. seeds. It is pretty cool how they form a gel. I actually had 1 tsp. before dinner last night. They are a complete protein (perfect food for a vegetarian) and they also contain Omega-3 oil (like the kind you get in fish such a salmon). 1 tbsp. contains 68 calories, which is not too bad for a protein source.

So, I decided to make a refreshing smoothie for breakfast. Especially since my dinner last night did not end up the way I wanted it to. I wanted my bourbon salmon, but they were out. Oh well. I ordered eggplant and it was good, it was an appetizer portion. It came with 3 large thin slices, that were grilled with cheese, balsamic reduction and red sauce. I also ordered a salad that was pecans, dried cherries and goat cheese. This salad was huge and had much too much dressing on it. It was drenched. I wished I had ordered that on the side. Imagine the calories I consumed on that salad.

So, today is my detox day from last night's dinner. Ingredients for my smoothie:

1/2 c. Trader Joe's cranberry juice
1/2 c. blueberries
1/4 c. frozen banana
1/2 c. strawberries
1 packet amazing grass (berry flavor)
1/2 container Fage 0%
1 c. crushed ice
1/2 c. spinach

Calories: 349, carbs: 54, fat: 6, protein: 27

I would definitely add some honey or Stevia sweetner to the above drink. It needed a little more sweetness for my taste. But this is totally my experiment smoothie. It was probably bitter from the cranberry juice. This is a great juice from TJ's because you can tell it is pure, not sweet like one from Ocean Spray that is basically apple juice.

So, I am off to run a couple of miles this morning. It is kind of humid finally, a/c is on. Then off to the gym for Kwandoflex class for one hour. It is an okay class (I find it easy). So, you lift weights and do kickboxing moves. I will use higher weights, since you do each body part for only 3 minutes, i.e. lunges and squats, 3 + 3, then we will kickbox for 5-10 mins., then back to chest and back, etc., etc. I will do whatever I have to do to work off that bad salad from last night!

Hectic & Crazy day

2009-07-16T14:19:00.000-04:00

Wannamoisett Country Club, Rumford, RI

Today has been very unorganized. Not like I like to be, being a bookkeeper and all. All day, I have been running behind. I flew out the door to a client's site and did not have time to do my usual cleanup. And now I sit here and I seem to have gotten nothing I wanted done. Ugh! So, I have to get to work because tonight is my "drunken" book club. That is the name my hubby gives it because very few of us read the book. Book discussions (if we are lucky) last all of 5 minutes. But it is a fun group of ladies.

Today's lunch was "on the fly" literally. I had some more crackers (Triscuit low fat) and some more Fiber One cottage cheese (1/2 cup). I also drank some of my remaining green drink from yesterday, but I ended up dumping it because it did not taste too good. I also had a peanut butter Larabar. I was craving that as well. I have been drinking a ton of water today. Probably due to the crappy Triscuits for last night's dinner and lunch today. I am still thirsty.

For dinner, I will have my usual honey-burbon salmon and double order of asparagus. The servers think I am very boring, but I cannot help it.....I love that dinner. There will be 2 wines with the book discussion/gab fest over the course of probably 3 hours. But we should be able to sit on the patio tonight. It is really muggy today. I finally put the a/c on for the first time all summer.

Expected calorie counts for today:

Calories: 1595, carbs, 157 fat, 55 protein 77

So, I barely stayed within my guidelines. I did my yoga for runners this morning. I did not feel like it, but my body definitely needed it after running 8+ miles yesterday. Weighed myself this morning and I am still hanging at 131. When are the 120's coming?

Last Night's Run @ Colt State Park

2009-07-16T08:16:00.000-04:00

As promised here are the pictures of Colt State Park. It truly is a beautiful place. Only a 30 minute ride from my home. As you can see, I took the pictures at 8PM at sunset. 3/4 of the run is trail running in the woods, where they warned us that the horse might have been in there earlier today so watch out. The run was hilly and you had to watch out for the roots that were everywhere. And I mean big roots. Easy to trip on. I would much rather run along the water on the bike path, where you get the breeze from the bay, but it was still a lot of fun. I even beat a 17 year old girl. She was my pace person throughout the race. I like to find someone who runs my pace and stay behind them. But she slowed down too much at the end and that is where I got my burst of energy. All and all, it was a lot of fun, but I was exhausted. I did not end up having my blueberries and cereal (I am having that this morning), but I had leftover (2) pieces of the arugula pizza, some One coconut water (soooo good) and some cottage cheese (1/2 cup) and crackers. I craved salt for some reason. And one half of a cherry larabar. I used my new Polar 11 heart rate monitor. I am still not sure how to use it. I need to go on their website and read. Okay, off to work. I'll update again at lunch.

Okay, I need a green drink!

2009-07-15T12:41:00.000-04:00

So, I decided to make a green drink, since my breakfast had little "green" in it. I decided to experiment. The drink does taste good, which to me is surprising, given the ingredients:

1 cup of TJ mint-green tea, 1/2 c. Kombucha tea (fermented tea), which is supposed to be really good for you, but is definitely an acquired taste. I tried to drink it straight up, but YUK! It has a beer-type flavor and actually pops and fizzes when opened. I'll keep trying it, but ugh! 1 tsp. of Salba chia powder, 1 c. spinach, 1/2 c. black raspberries, 1/2 c. strawberries, 1 squirt of agave nectar (for sweetness), oh yeah, and my hidden ingredient, kelp. Yes, kelp, that annoying seaweed that gets wrapped around your ankles in the ocean. That is also an acquired taste. I read about that in my book, Thrive, that I mentioned before.

Now for my lunch/dinner:

1 piece of terayaki salmon
1 corn on the cob
1 serving baked beans (TJ's organic)

Now I am fueled up for my evening run. I am really full. I plan on a bowl of Cascadia Farms cereal for dinner with blueberries at approximately 4:30PM. The run is at 6:30 PM and I have to leave here at 5:30PM to get to Bristol in time to chat with the group before the run. It is only a 5K, but by the time I get home, it will be about 7:30PM and I do not plan on more dinner after that. Maybe some yogurt with honey, but that is it. I'll take pictures at the park. It is truly a RI treasure!

The Craving for Protein

2009-07-15T09:11:00.001-04:00

I went out this morning for a 5 mile run. The weather here is beautiful, like fall. Perfect for running. It is only in the low 60's here in the morning and low humidity.

So, I ran on an empty stomach and while I am running, I am thinking about what I want to eat for breakfast! I was craving protein. Actually, peanut butter. So, I am eating breakfast which is a Fiber One wheat English muffin with Trader Joe's organic peanut butter with flax, one hard boiled egg and a plum.

And lots of water. I did drink a whole Sigg bottle of water before I ran (and one black coffee). Now I am into my second bottle.

Calories: 283, carbs: 32 Fat: 12 Protein: 15

Lunch is still not planned, but I am going to meet my running group this evening and run a 5k, so lunch may be my dinner (and a bowl of cereal may be my actual dinner), so I can run. Wow! That will give me 8 miles for the day. My big 10 mile race is one week from this Friday. I need to get some mileage in. Next weeks running will be light. I am really loving my run keeper program on my iphone. It tracks pace and mileage. I was able to maintain a 9:20 minute mile, which for me is an average pace. I am definitely not a fast runner. No aches or pains, which is wonderful!

Spinach Pie (A Rhode Island Thing) with Spinach Salad

2009-07-14T17:27:00.000-04:00

Tonight's dinner is a baked Spinach Pie from Uncle Tony's Restaurant here in Rumford. Hubby picked them up when we had a pizza one night and I froze them. They are huge! So, I am making a spinach salad with mandarin oranges. It is sooo good and I will bake one of the spinach pies and split it between hubby & I. So, poor Mike, he has another dinner with green stuff. But I know he likes spinach pies. They are made with an italian bread dough and filled with a spinach that was cooked in some olive oil. Add to that some black olives and voila, you have a spinach pie!

Recipe for spinach salad: (makes 4 servings)Dessert is a dish with 1/4 c. black raspberries, one container of Yoplait pineapple upside down cake (fat free), a little cool whip lite and topped with a small amount of Post grapenuts cereal. Yummy!

Calories for dinner: 223, carbs: 37, fat: 6 protein: 6

CALORIES FOR THE DAY: 1,251, carbs: 197, fat: 25, protein: 72

Leftovers for lunch

2009-07-14T08:37:00.000-04:00

Today's lunch is leftover salad from yesterday. The hubby is not much for "greens", so when I try to get him to eat them, he squawks. Yesterday, I made a beautiful strawberry-onion salad and he at all of the strawberries and gave me back the rest. Oh well, I tried. So today's lunch will be the leftover salad (with additional strawberries added). Then I mixed up a package of tuna with some celery, onions, dried cherries, fage 0% and some honey mustard. I just scooped it into a bowl to have with my salad.

Calorie count for lunch: 328, carbs: 41, fat: 9 protein: 22

Tropical Smoothie

2009-07-14T07:51:00.000-04:00

This morning I felt tropical. Well, I was craving pineapple for some reason. So, I mixed up a tropical smoothie for breakfast.

Ingredients:

1 c. coconut water
1/2 container 0% Fage
1 heaping tsp. of Salba organic ground chia seeds
1/4 c. pineapple
1/3 c. papaya (frozen)
1/2 c. mango (frozen)
1 banana (not pictured)
sprinkle of cinnamon

The above recipe makes 2 servings. One is my breakfast and the other I will have for my late day snack. I usually get really hungry around 3:30PM-4PM for some reason.

I am going to assume by the above ingredients, I got a lot of vitamin C. I am currently reading Thrive, by Brendan Brazier. He is a vegan and uses some unique ingredients to help him get optimal performance in sports and life. He is big into Chia seeds, sprouted seeds, etc. So you may see some different recipes if I get so adventurous.

Calories for breakfast AND snack: 530, carbs: 86, fat: 8 protein: 37

I am heading off for the 1 1/2 hour Hi Lo with weights class with Linda. At the end, there is 15 minutes of abs on the ball and 15 minutes of yoga stretch. Hopefully, I will burn off most of this smoothie!

Arugula Walnut Pizza

2009-07-13T18:26:00.000-04:00

Yeah! My new camera came in. Okay, I guess I should read the instructions! Tonight's dinner could not be easier. Great dinner for a Monday night. I am always more tired on a Monday. I think it is due to my on the road work schedule. I much prefer working out of my home office, but Monday is payroll day, so off I go.

Here is the recipe for Arugula Walnut Goat Cheese Pizza (from Men's Health Magazine)

1/4 c. walnuts, coarsely chopped
2 tsp. olive oil, divided
1 cup thinly sliced red onion
1 8oz. whole wheat pizza crust (I used Boboli brand, thin crust)
1 c. grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 oz. goat cheese, sliced
3/4 c. loosely packed arugula

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Toast walnuts on a baking sheet 3-4 mins. or until fragrant and lightly browned. Transfer immediately to a plate.

2. Heat 1 tsp. of oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat; add onion. Cook stirring occasionally, 6-8 mins. or until onion is soft and golden.

3. Place crust on rack in oven, top with walnuts, onion, and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper; arrange goat cheese on top.

4. Bake for 7 minutes or until crust is golden, crisp, and warmed through. Scatter arugula on top and drizzle with remaining oil. Let cool slightly before cutting into wedges. Serving size is 1/8 of the pizza. Makes 4 servings

Calories per serving: 295, fat 15g, mono 3g, poly 4g, cholesterol 5 mg. protein 9g; carb 6g; sugars 3g, fiber 3g, iron 1 mg; sodium 229 mg; calcium 44 mg.

Additionally, I made that strawberry onion salad (see strawberry onion salad on an older post to the right) which has strawberries, avocado, onions, salad mix, balsamic vinegar and strawberry preserves and 1 glass of red wine (always with pizza). Tonight's wine was J. Lohr Cabernet. I love the glasses we purchased in Vermont. Perfect to get the aroma out of the wine glass.

Calories for the day (good thing I ran):

1,668, fat, 60, carbs 171, protein 79

Too many calories (over by 18). Carbs were a little low (under by 3) and all others within my weight loss guidelines on Sparkpeople.com

Lunch is leftovers

2009-07-13T12:44:00.000-04:00

So, you know I cleaned out my refrigerator this past weekend. Hubby never ate the dinner I prepared on my long run day last Thursday. So, I packed up my tuna steak, my grilled asparagus and my roasted sweet potatoes and I have a fabulous high protein lunch for today. I also had some grilled broccoli in my fridge, so I took that as well.

Since I am working on the road today, this is a great lunch for me. I have everything in my tupperware containers, so I can reheat in the microwave at the office. I also packed a Larabar for dessert, the coconut cookie one.

Calories for lunch:

399, carbs: 46, fat: 11, protein: 32

green drink, blueberry muffin, hard boiled egg

2009-07-13T08:29:00.000-04:00

Not to sound boring on a Monday morning, but I am always running late on Mondays, literally. So, since I did not finish my green drink from yesterday (I drank half), I am re-blendering the leftovers and I added one scoop of protein powder to it (from yesterdays green drink). I had one of my blueberry (lite) muffins from yesterday and one hard boiled egg. I read on some website that studies show that people who eat one egg per day lose weight. So, I am going for it.

I also ran (or tried to) 3 miles this morning on my hurt knee I iced it for three days and took ibuprofen for two days. It does feel better. I am also running with my knee strap. I should have used that on my long run, even though I did not need it at the time (no pain). I also did 20 minutes of detox yoga this morning too. Let's see if that helps. I have been researching my injury on Jeff Galloway's website and he recommends no running for 5 days and icing the injury until there is no pain.

Calorie count for this a.m. breakfast:

Calories: 406
Carbs: 57
Fat: 12
Protein: 24

Bocca burger, asparagus, grilled peaches for dinner

2009-07-12T18:50:00.000-04:00

Tonight's dinner was very healthy. My hubby told me there was too much food. I think it was just perfect.

I grilled a bocca burger for me. I grilled a real hamburger for my "I am still a carnivore" husband. I also grilled asparagus (favorite veggie) and some Trader Joe's baked beans. These beans were so good and cheap! I love Trader Joes! I also had the idea to grill the peaches that I got at TJ's. They were really ripe and ready to go. I brushed them with a little EVOO and when I flipped them, I added some goat cheese. The creamy goat cheese with the sweetness of the grilled peaches was delicious! It was so good, hubby wanted to know why I put dessert on the dinner plate.

I finished the dinner off with a wine that hubby found in a wine magazine. It is called Casa and it is a Chilean wine from a company called Lapostolle. It is a Cabernet from 2006. Excellent, if you like a dry wine with a lot of legs. It is my new favorite.

Calories (if you ate the Bocca burger and were not a "carnivore": 576, carbs: 60, fat: 16 & protein 31

Dessert was a Trader Joes raspberry vanilla ice cream bar (80 calories)

Count for the day: (okay, okay, I had two wines---I told you it is my favorite)

Calories: 1524
Carbs: 214
Fat: 34
Protein: 66

All goals met. Let's see if I can run tomorrow.

Done cleaning the house and now I am resting the knee

2009-07-12T15:22:00.001-04:00

Whew! I am done cleaning. My hubby is outside completing his "honey do" list. Yard is looking good, sun is out. Just finished cleaning up the house and I had put my knee strap on to alleviate the pain behind the knee from the long run this week. So, now I am inside, watching the Red Sox win (again) and catching up on my emails and icing the knee.

I was hungry and since I took the inventory of the fridge this morning, I noticed I had 3/4 c. of the salsa I made last Wednesday, so I thought, "great mini lunch", especially since breakfast was late this morning (we slept in a little to 7AM) and by the time I made the blueberry muffins, it was 10AM. This little bit of salsa will keep me going until dinner, which will be early since the hubby has had nothing but walnuts to eat all afternoon. He is almost done with his list and I have to convince him to rest a little since it is Sunday.

Calories for lunch (I also had 5 cups of water while cleaning; it is hot and humid today)
Calories: 268, carbs 35, fat 11, protein 11

I am planning on Bocca burgers for dinner with grilled asparagus, and some TJ Baked beans. I have to keep my calorie count down because I am not sure how much running I am going to be able to do this week with this knee.

Amazing Green drink with lite blueberry muffin

2009-07-12T10:20:00.001-04:00

It is Sunday. I was almost going to make this a lazy day, but since we kinda goofed off late yesterday afternoon and since we have nothing scheduled for today, it is house cleaning day. It is a gray day with peeks of sunshine here and there. What else is new in Rhode Island. I cannot wait to go back to Florida in October. I will never take the sunshine for granted again.

So, I tackled my kitchen first. Cleaned our cabinets and took stock of all of the items in my cabinets (for future dinners, etc.). I decided to make blueberry muffins since I had 3 containers of blueberries in my refrigerator. I got this recipe from Self magazine, but modified it to my ingredients:

Pam spray (I used baking cups, not recommended since recipe is lowfat and they stick)
1 large egg
2 tbsp. lowfat buttermilk (I used the dry packet kind)
2 tbsp. sour cream (I used fage 0%)
1/2 c. oat bran
1/3 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. mashed bananas (3 medium)
2 tbsp. brown sugar (I would eliminate this next time-made muffins very sweet)
1/2 c. blueberries
1/2 tsp. grated orange zest (I used lemon, but this ingredient can be eliminated)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat muffin pan with Pam. Whisk egg, sour cream, buttermilk in a bowl. In a second bowl mix oat bran, flour, baking soda, baking powder, & salt. In a third bowl, mash the bananas, add the brown sugar (only if you used sour cream). Gently fold the buttermilk mixture into the banana mixture. Lightly add the flour mixture, folding till mixed (gently). Fold in the blueberries and fill muffin cups 3/4 of the way. Bake until toothpick inserted comes out clean. 15-20 minutes. Makes 6 muffins.

These are delicious and are only 130 calories with 1.8 g fat and 29 g carbs, 3.8 g fiber, 4.4 g protein

I also made a green drink to go with it so that I could get more veggies in for my daily count. I used 1/2 c. soy milk, 3/4 c. nonfat milk, 1 c. spinach, 1 packet berry amazing grass, 1 peach, 1 nectarine, 1.75 c. blueberries, water and crushed ice. This mixture came out really thick. I hope it energizes me because I still have a lot of house cleaning to do!

Total calorie count for breakfast:
Calories 484 (includes whole green drink, which I will consume throughout the day)
Fat 7
Carbs 94 (ouch!)
Protein 22

Lunch at the golf club

2009-07-11T18:31:00.000-04:00

This morning I had to run a few errands and go and see my 88 year old Nana. Unfortunately, she was already in bed at 10:45AM, so I ended up visiting with my Uncle and filled him in on my life so he can update my Nana.

Eventually, I ended up at the golf course where my hubby was finishing up his tournament. The day today was beautiful, dry and sunny. So enjoyable. They had a big spread of a cookout set up, but being a vegetarian was not on the mind of anyone who set up this meat-laden "man" cookout. Tons of beef, chicken, pork, more beef, etc. They also had potato salad full of mayo, but I am so done with that after last weekend.

I got the attention of my server and asked for their vegetable panini. This is definitely not a diet dish, but it was de-lish! It had grilled portabello mushrooms, zucchini, and grilled red pepper. It also had mozzarella cheese. I also ordered for my side, sweet potato fries. These were also very good and hot. Hubby helped me eat them. They did have a fruit salad at the cookout that none of the men there wanted, so I had a dish of that. I guess when you are filling up on all of that meat, you don't want to ruin it with fruit salad.

We hung around the course to see who won the tournament. Now we are home watching the NY Yankees play the Angels. GO Angels! (Don't let my hubby read this!) And having a nice glass of Bogle Cabernet. Resting the leg. Life is good. Probably won't have dinner tonight. Too full from the large lunch. So watch for a big breakfast tomorrow.

Hungry for something chewy

2009-07-11T09:46:00.001-04:00

Well last night I was very good at the dinner dance. I did have a lame salad (iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, cukes, black olives) and one slice of their olive bread (very good) and a big slab of salmon, grilled. I ate the whole piece, but it was a little dry. They usually have the best salmon, but since it was a function with 120+ people, I guess it was more difficult to get everyone's dinner out on time. (I also had two wines.)

So, this morning, I limped up, literally. The left leg froze again on me. It must have been from all of the dancing I did last night. The band was excellent and I just couldn't resist all that disco music.

I am still working on stretching it and absolutely NO RUNNING till it is healed. My trainer at the gym told me it is my hamstring that is bothering me (even though it is just behind the knee that hurts). She told me ice and rest and stretch.

I went to the gym and lifted weights today. Then stretched. Breakfast was Cascadian Farms Organic Multi grain squares with 1/2 c. of blueberries. And one hard boiled egg for protein.

Calories: 327, carbs 45, fat 6, protein 13

I plan on having a green chocolate milk later when I feel hungry. Got to get my green drink in.

Where did she go for lunch?

2009-07-10T14:50:00.001-04:00

Where did I disappear for lunch? Ah ha! I went to the gym this morning. Was I crazy since I could barely move? Probably. But moving made me feel better. I took a kickboxing/weight class. One of my best girlfriend's was laughing at me because my forward kick had no kick in it due to that tight leg muscle. But I gave it my all. It is finally getting to be nice weather here. Weather we should have been having one month ago. So, we must enjoy it.

Anyway, I came home from the gym hungry, and headed to the fridge. I still had one cup left from my green drink from yesterday's breakfast, so I swallowed that. Then I at some of the bean dish from Wednesday. Very yummy. As you can see from the picture, the weight is coming off. Just a little side fat left. I am up a little from Tuesday's low point. I am at 132.4lbs. Only 7 pounds to go in two months. Very do-able.

Tonight we have a dinner dance (what am I thinking?) at Wannamoisett Country Club for the tournament my hubby is in. Should be fun. I have been working for one half hour and yoga stretching all afternoon. The worst thing I can do is sit. I posted on Sparkpeople.com and told of my venture from yesterday (I measured the run in my car and it was 11 miles, not 10). Told of my soreness and was advised by my running team that I should not have increased my mileage so dramatically (basically doubling my usual). Too much too fast. So, I need to step back, rest the old tears in the muscles and let them heal before heading back out on them. I already feel better, so I guess I am healing. I was told to only increase by 1.5 miles each week. So, on Monday (or Sunday) depending on my legs, I will run 7.5 for my one long run of the week. Or maybe just do 5 and try for the longer run on Thursday. We shall see how the leg feels.

Smoothie for Breakfast

2009-07-10T08:00:00.000-04:00

I woke up very sore this morning. I am not sure how to make myself "unsore". I hate to take pills, but I think I see a Motrin in my future. My lower back is tight (which almost never happens) and behind my balking left knee.

So, this a.m., I felt a little hungry but did not feel like a green drink (I do still have one cup of yesterday's in my fridge). So I mixed up a banana-mango smoothie.

Ingredients:

.75 c. frozen mango
2 scoops Lean 1 vanilla
.25 c. frozen banana
1 cup soy milk
1 tbsp. flaxseed
8 oz. Fage 0% greek yogurt

So, my calorie count is high on this smoothie, but I felt like I needed it (given no dinner last night after the big run).

Calories: 591
Carbs : 51
Fat: 15
Protein: 55

Pretty high calorie count, but my body craved it this morning. Plus, with the smoothie, a lot stays in my blender, so I don't know how accurate it is.

I ran 10 1/2 miles today!!!!!!!

2009-07-09T19:57:00.000-04:00

Oh, I wish this was a picture of me. Look at those arms! This is how I feel inside right now after completing my 10 mile run today. This is what I would look like at my goal weight (125lbs) -- I think. Anyway, my friend Dottie and I took off on our journey to complete our practice run for our upcoming 10 mile race on July 28th. We wanted to run at around the same time of day to try and get a feel for running at night. We both usually run in the morning. I like running with Dottie because she slows me down. I usually keep a 9:27 pace and we ran at 10:53. So I still had energy by the end and I am not wiped out.

I am not hungry at all. I wonder why? I had planned on eating the bean dish from yesterday, but all I wanted was my 27 oz smart water. So, I am going to do what my body is requesting of me and not eat. Plus, it is now 8PM and one of my promises to myself was not too eat after 8PM, if at all possible.

So, notes to myself for the real run: put a band aid on my right foot baby toe. It ended up rubbing in my sneaker and now is a little red. Eat a good lunch that day for energy. Eat a noon that day (it worked wonderfully for me today). Bring water with my water holder! I forgot water tonight.

Anyway, no dinner tonight so no update. I'll fill you in on how I feel (if I can walk tomorrow).

Ahi Tuna steaks, asparagus, sweet potato

2009-07-09T12:35:00.000-04:00

Still hungry. So I feasted on a 4 oz. tuna steak (shared one oz. with my dogs/cats -- they begged). Really simple recipe. Got the tuna steaks frozen from Trader Joe's. Love that store. I grilled the sweet potatoes yesterday in the oven with a little EVOO. So, for the recipe for the above, I just brushed olive oil on the asparagus and lightly dusted the steaks and the veggies with lemon pepper seasoning (no oil on the tuna). It was so yummy. I figured I would eat a heavier meal at noontime and a much lighter dinner after the BIG RUN. Dinner will probably be left overs for 2 reasons, I have a ton of them in the fridge and I will be exhausted. I made a second plate of the tuna above for the hubby. The iced tea is TJ's mint iced tea with a little Stevia added for sweetness. I had 15 TJ's low fat ginger cat cookies for people. I think in a few hours I will be all digested and ready to go.

Calories for lunch: 386, carbs 44, fat 10, protein 31
Calories for cookies: 240, carbs 50, fat 4, protein 4 (I had 30 cookies)

2 wines = 2 lbs!

2009-07-09T08:19:00.000-04:00

So yesterday, I hit my all time low for weight since I started this journey. 131.2! I jumped on and off the scale to make sure it was true.

My run was canceled and my hubby came home from golf. So, how did I celebrate? With that damn open bottle of wine we brought home from Vermont.

On the plus side, I slept like a baby last night. Went to bed at 10:30PM and slept straight through till 5:23AM. Great! I don't like needing the wine to get to sleep, however. So, the plan for this a.m. was to have the green drink, do 45 minutes of yoga and go. But I am hungry!

So, I am already having my snack of the day. And the green drink. Chocolate one. Ingredients:

Amazing grass, chocolate packet
1 c. milk, non fat
1 c. spinach
1/2 c. blueberries
4 large strawberries
ice
water

My "snack" is 1/2 container of fage 0%, 1/2 c. blueberries, muslix 1/4 c.

Actually, this satisfied me. I will work on the green drink during the day. Calorie count: 396, carbs 63, fat 2, protein 34

Wish me luck. My big 10 mile practice run is this evening!

Black Bean Avocado Salad with Corn

2009-07-08T13:17:00.000-04:00

Well, I had my lunch and my dinner all planned. What do they say about your best laid plans? Tonight I am joining a new running group. They run at Colt State Park in Bristol, Rhode Island. It is running on roads and trails. I am not a big fan of trails due to the mosquito factor. I will spray "Off" on me tonight. My original plan for dinner tonight was this bean dish that I found on katheats.com blog. Then my lunch was going to be heavier, tuna steak and grilled veggies (sweet potatoes and broccoli). So I grilled the veggies and my hubby came in an announced that since the sun is shining and since he is in a golf tournament tomorrow, he is not eating dinner with me, he is eating at the Club. So, since I am relieved of my "duties", I put my roasted veggies in the fridge for tomorrow and put the tuna steaks on hold. Then I made this lovely bean dish for later tonight. So, I was carb starved from my killer workout, and I ate watermellon, triscuits and cottage cheese for lunch. New plan for today is for me to eat this bean dish around 4PM and then go running for 6:30PM. So the ingredients are as follows:

1 can black beans
1/2 red bell pepper
1 corn on the cob, cooked and de-cobbed
handful of cherry tomatoes
1 avocado, diced

Dressing ingredients are 1/2 squeezed lime, dash of cumin, dash of hot sauce, dash of chilli powder and dash of garlic powder, couple of shakes of salt. Combine before assembling the above veggies.

This makes 2-3 servings.

I put it all in fridge so the flavors can meld together. I'll let you know how tasty it is.

Calories for this dinner 374
Carbs 59
Fat 12
Protein 15

Calorie count for my quickie lunch of triscuits and cottage cheese: 310, carbs 47 (much needed), fat 6, protein 19

Add to this my dessert of Fage 0% and blueberries and my totals for Wednesday are as follows:

Calories 1228
Carbs 189
Fat 23
Protein 82

So, if I stick to the above foods and don't blow it when I return from my late run, I am under on my fat count (I stored enough from the weekend to make up for it) and under on my calorie count by a little. I may throw a Larabar in my car in case of the munchies.

Damage Control-Day 3

2009-07-08T08:34:00.000-04:00

Okay, today I was planning on a green drink (again). It is such a great way to get your veggies in for the day. Anyway, it is not what I am craving; however, I am going to take that Turbo Jam kickbox class that is sooooo hard this morning, so I must stick to my plan.

Ingredients for my green drink:

1 c. raspberries (black)
1/2 c. blueberries
1 amazing grass packet berry flavored
1 c. non fat milk
1 scoop spirulena vanilla protein powder
1/2 scoop neuro powder (for energy)
1 cup spinach

Calories: 335, carbs: 53 , fat: 3, protein 26 (yeah)

Ouch on the calorie count, but I will need the energy for this class. Beth, the instructor, is 39 years old and has a killer body. She looks 20 and I keep telling her that her class should have an age limit of under 30, since, at age 47, I have a hard time keeping up. You should see my face when class is over. It is the only class where I end up red faced and panting upon finishing.

Watch my lunch today. I am flipping lunch with dinner due to a late night run with my new running club that runs every Wednesday. So, my lunch is my dinner and my dinner is my lunch.

Damage Control-Day 3

2009-07-08T07:56:00.000-04:00

Today is the 3rd day of damage control week after the holiday/family reunion we attended this past weekend. We did not get much sleep last night due to sick dogs. It was like having a baby in the house, waking up every two hours. I NEED SLEEP TO LOSE WEIGHT! So, I plan on some make up sleep tonight.

What a surprise for me to step on the scale this morning and find the number at 131.4. I was shocked. Now, I am not going to get too excited, since past weight measurement have indicated and up and down swing. But it was still nice to see. I got on the scale twice.

So I must continue to do the following (it works!):

Get 7 hours sleep minimum
Eat lots of veggies and fruits
No white bread products
Keep sugar down
Keep calorie count to my recommended levels
Track all foods
Exercise 60 minutes per day, every day

This has worked for me and it can work for everyone. Watch my food intake, I have cheated here and there, but try to stay on track during the week. I try on the weekends, but sometimes that is hard, like last weekend.

Keep the faith!

Open Faced Eggplant and Tomato Melt

2009-07-07T19:47:00.000-04:00

Tonight's dinner is Open Faced Eggplant and Tomato Melt, with corn on the cob

Ingredients:

1 1/2 oz. pine nuts (handful)
3 tbsp. olive oil (or as Rachel says, "EVOO")
1 small eggplant, peeled and diced
Coarse salt and black pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp. ground cumin (a few good pinches)
12 sm. grape tomatoes, diced
6 oz. feta cheese
10 fresh basil leaves
1 Joseph's Pita (oat and flax) - I used this, not recommended
1/2 loaf crusty baquette, split lenghtwise (this is what I should have used)

So, let me explain. I know the only person who does not care for crusty bread. My hubby only likes pocket bread, so that is what I used. Don't do it. The oil made the pita come apart. Although, the calorie count is greatly reduced by using this bread, I highly recommend using the baguette. That is what I usually use, but I thought I would try it in the pita. Live and learn.

You have to toast the pine nuts first, then put them aside to cool. Next, add the eggplant to a frying pan with the oil and let it cook, covered, for six minutes. Shut off the heat and add the cumin, salt & pepper. Move to a bowl. Combine the diced tomatoes, feta cheese and basil, (roll up basil to a log and cut into confetti).

To assemble, toast your baguette in the used frying pan (there should still be a little olive oil in it0; add the eggplant mixture, then the cheese-tomato mixture, top with pine nuts. Very tasty. I added an ear of my Trader Joes, two buck shuck, that I microwaved. I picked it up at the store today. It is so good, it doesn't need butter. Yummmmmm!

Now, for the calorie count:

Total calories: 357, fat 27, carbs 26, protein 9

The recipe above makes 3 servings. I refrigerated my last serving. Also, since I went to TJ's, I purchased an impulse item of peanut butter filled pretzels. I had one serving of that (I was hungry....it is cold and raining here again today--Ugh!)

So, I went over my daily total a little. But I did work out today, hard. I did yoga for 30 minutes this am and then took Linda's Circuit training class today for 75 minutes. She had us doing all sorts of crazy things on the exercise ball today. Wall sits, lunges, squats, you name it. and with added dumbells for 20 minutes Plus we jumped around doing old school Hi Lo for 35 minutes straight. But it was fun. She had us do 20 minutes of continuous abs. My abs are going to be killer abs, once the fat is gone.

Total count for the day:

Calories: 1528
Carbs: 192
Protein: 70
Fat: 64 (bad)
(over by 8 grams) Probably over by the pretzels I should not have eaten-not on my planned schedule

:)

Tuna sandwich for Lunch

2009-07-07T13:07:00.000-04:00

I am still working from my pc for pictures. I will pick up new batteries for my camera today. Lunch today is 1/2 tuna pocket. I love this Joseph's oat flax pocket bread. One pita is only 60 calories and is low carb. To the tuna (one small can bumble bee tuna with water), I added the following:

1/4 cup dried cherries
1 tbsp. plus a little more of mayo
1 small slice of onion, chopped
1 small stalk of celery, chopped.

I also had one hard boiled egg, again, more protein. Also, had a double Special K protein water (60 calories & 10 protein). Add to that 3 Stacey's bare naked pita chips and you have a great lunch.

Totals for lunch: Calories 476, fat 16, carbs 57, protein 33

I had a LaraBar (peanut butter) for my snack of the day and ate the whole bar. They are so yummy!

Green drink for breakfast

2009-07-07T06:29:00.000-04:00

I am hooked on Amazing Grass. I feel so energized. I don't think it is mind over matter. So for today's drink I used the following ingredients (all go into the blender & ground up to a smooth consistency, as pictured):

Chocolate Amazing Grass packet
1 cup nonfat milk
1 banana
1 cup spinach
1 cup blueberries
1 ripe banana
1/2 serving Lean 53, vanilla flavor (for protein)

Total calories for breakfast: 412
Fat 6
Protein 23 (yeah)
Carbs 73

Portabello Mushroom Sandwich Recipe

2009-07-06T21:21:00.000-04:00

Here is my recipe for tonight's dinner:

Portabello Mushroom Sandwich:

1 large organic mushroom top, sliced lenghthwise
1/2 c. sliced onion
5 sprays of Pam Olive Oil spray
a couple of shakes of McCormick's hamburger seasoning
1 oz. feta cheese
1/2 Joseph's pita (oat and flax, low carb)
1 tbsp of mayo

Put first 4 ingredients into a frying pan. Lightly fry on medium heat till browned; Melt the one ounce of feta cheese ontop (shut off heat from stovetop). Slice Pita in half, put tbsp of mayo inside and add ingredients from frying pan.

Add to this some TJ sweet potato fries, to which I lightly dusted with chili powder (yummy) and dipped into Jack Daniel's barbeque sauce.

Very good, lowfat dinner!

Lunch and Dinner for Damage Control Week

2009-07-06T18:04:00.000-04:00

Sorry for missing the lunchtime post. My lunch was quite dull anyway. I love avocados and I purchased a bag of them from my favorite store, Trader Joe's. So lunch on the fly today was one avocado with pepper. And one hard boiled egg. See, I told you it was boring, but I had a lot of work to catch up on since I goofed off all weekend and Friday in Vermont. Love avocados, but I hate what they do to my fat totals. I don't think the fat should count like, say, butter fat. But the numbers are the numbers.

My snack today was 1/2 cup of 2% Fage with honey. Very smooth and creamy and yummy. Again, fat here today is a little high (which is why I saved the other half).

For Dinner, Portabella mushroom sandwiches in Pita bread with onions and goat cheese, Special K protein water (2 servings), and TJ's sweet potato fries. My husband "borrowed" my AA batteries from my camera, so I am photographing food with my pc. Not too easy to do. I'll post dinner pictures later.

Totals for today DID NOT KEEP WITHIN MY GUIDELINES. Not a good way to start damage control week. :(

Total calories: 1250 (good) Total fat 64 (Ugh! 9 grams over my max allowed) Total protein 60 (okay, but not great) Total carbs: 136 (which is a little low)

Activities for Damage Control Week:

Running: Ran 5 miles at a 10 min. pace, including warm up and cool down
Weight lifting: Bally's Powerflex (Linda, once again, kicked my butt!)

So, I probably used up approximately 1000 calories on exercise. Hopefully that makes up for some of my bad weekend.

I cannot believe I am saying this but I am glad to be back in Rhode Island!

2009-07-06T06:47:00.000-04:00

o

Ok, Vermont is a beautiful state, but so remote. Nothing to do. The weather was bad until Sunday. I mean really bad. Pouring rain. And I never saw so many hippies in my life! They still think it is 1969 there. I could never live there. I guess I am a city girl at heart.

So, now back to my food choices for the weekend. VERY BAD. To give my self a little pat on the back, there were really no good choices to select from. The memorial was catered and it had tons of sandwiches that were loaded with mayo. I had egg salad since it was the only vegetarian choice. I did have chips, which in a way was good since I have not had Fritos in over 10 years. I did not enjoy them. Additionally, I felt crappy eating poorly. I did not have enough water all weekend. I ate cookies, pastry and white bagels... Ugh! Choices I would not make at home.

So, this week, I officially call punishment week! I do have to train for my 10 mile race, so I am off to run 5 miles this morning. I have scheduled another run on Wednesday (5k) with a running group in Bristol and then a 10 mile practice run on Thursday. I am also going to lift weights this am at Bally Total Fitness Powerflex class. Today is usually my off day from working out (yoga day), but since I could not exercise all weekend, I am off to get my day started and my week going in the right direction.

Only good eating this week. I also am reading a book on Vegan cooking called Thrive. It is supposed to give you good eating for running long runs. I need the inspiration!

Yesterday was BAAAAD! Welcome to Rainy Vermont!

2009-07-04T06:53:00.000-04:00

We did a little sight seeing yesterday. That is me in front of a covered bridge. It is very pretty here, even when raining. The rain is intermittent so we will try to walk a lot today. I need to.

Yesterday's eating started out so good and then went so bad. I blame the wine store we stopped at. We picked up a lovely bottle of Sharecropper wine (94 points). It is a Cabernet. It needed to breathe before we drank it.

So, my hubby and I had a couple of glasses before dinner. Our hotel is okay. It is clean and has Internet (yippee!). Our dinner was at a restaurant called The Common Man. It was a cute little place. We shared a cheese plate of Vermont's local cheeses. The creamy goat cheese was my favorite. The cheese came with warm Italian bread. I took photos of it with my iPhone, but I took my PC with me and cannot upload them till I return to R.I. (heard the sun is shining there). Then for dinner we had the small sized version of their creamy mushroom ravioli. I am not sure what was in it, but it was so good, it had to be bad for me. It had only 4 raviolis and I shared them with the hubby and he shared his gnocchi with scallops, also delish.

Then, to top off the bad evening, (besides finishing off a Chilean wine at dinner), we had Haagen-daz ice cream for dessert. Hubby had been craving real ice cream for weeks (I don't keep the stuff in the house, only skinny cow ice cream). So his craving is satisfied and my waistline is expanding. I blame him! :)

On the Road Today to Vermont

2009-07-03T07:30:00.001-04:00

Okay, so I am not a happy camper. Weighed myself this morning. 136! I was 132.2 two days ago. Was it the carbs? Was it the shortened workout? Who knows. Now I am heading off for a weekend in Vermont where there will be eating out and wines. Ugh! This am breakfast is my green drink from earlier in the week. Ingredients:

Blueberries 1 handful

Spinach, 1 cup
Amazing Grass berry flavor
Strawberries 1.5 cup
Water
Crushed ice

Wish me luck on my willpower and losing this weekend. It could also be my 4 hour sleep or my wines from last night. Off to run 6 miles! It will probably be my only workout other than walking this weekend.

Packing lunch of wheat english muffin, peanut butter and jelly and a larabar. Dinner out tonight is at The Common Man in Warren Vermont. I am taking my camera!

Got out of work too late for my planned dinner!

2009-07-02T19:58:00.001-04:00

Leftovers for tonight! I reheated the other half of my pizza. Thank goodness my tuna is frozen. It will have to wait till next week because we leave for Vermont tomorrow morning. Good thing my lunch filled me up because I just was not hungry for dinner. So I had my two leftover pieces of pizza and my red wine (of course). So here is how my day stacked up:

Calories: 1556, carbs 193, fat 46, protein 65

So, I went over my calorie goal, especially since my workout was very light and shortened today. Tomorrow I will go for a 6 mile run in the morning since we will be sitting on our fat a.... in the car for 5 hours.

Gotta run. Need to pack! Have a Happy Fourth! I don't know about my Internet access in my hotel (or motel, we are going to a dinky town in Vermont), so I may not post for the next 3 days. We will see. I am packing my pc, so hope for Internet. I will post my meals if I can.

Egg sandwich on Wheat English muffin w/Corn cob

2009-07-02T13:01:00.001-04:00

I wasn't sure what I was having for lunch today. It is cold again and I am hungry. It is still only 68 degrees and cool with no sunshine. And it is supposed to be sunny this Saturday and Sunday, but not where I am going in Vermont. It is supposed to rain there, figures.

Lunch today is another egg sandwich. For today's sandwich I used two medium hard boiled eggs, but used one whole egg and both egg whites. I used the French onion laughing cow and spread it on a toasted whole wheat english muffin. Today, I left out the butter that I used on Monday's sandwich. I had a three kalamata olives and another piece of TJ's two buck shuck corn. No butter there either (none needed), just a little pepper. Very tasty and filling lunch. Add to that my remaining green drink from this morning and the hunger is gone.

So totals for lunch: 343 calories, 40 carbs, 14 fat and 19 protein

Ugh! A massive storm overhead to start my Thursday!!!!

2009-07-02T08:12:00.000-04:00

Well, my day has not started off so well. I planned on doing 60 minutes of yoga, but only got in 38 minutes, when my client called with a major issue. Oh well. Then the storm came. My fat cat (the guy on the left) was outside and boy did he hustle back in here.

So, I was going to pass on my green drink this a.m. because I really wanted to chew something. I was really hungry today too. That always happens after I have "white" pasta for some reason.

But then I read a post from another foodie and she said she loves the green drink to start her day too. So, I made a big batch of berry amazing grass drink.

Here are my ingredients today:

1 packet berry amazing grass
handful of blueberries
1 c. strawberries
1 cup arugula salad
1/2 cup nonfat milk
1 cup water
1 cup crushed ice

So now I have a large blender full of this. I had one glass for breakfast with a bowl of greek 0% fat yogurt, more blueberries and some Bear Naked granola sprinkled on top.

So, I will green drink myself throughout the entire day. The totals including my entire green drink are:

401 calories
65 carbs
6 fat
27 protein (yeah)

Strawberry Onion Salad

2009-07-01T17:04:00.000-04:00

So, I planned on grilling some nice tuna steaks for dinner tonight with some broccoli and roasted eggplant. Will it ever stop raining in Rhode Island? I think it has rained here every day since I left my home in Florida at the end of April. It is cold here too. Damp and moldy. As I write this it is 64 degrees and miserable out.

So, to change dinner, my hubby suggested ravioli. I thought, hmmm, how can I have ravioli and keep on my weight loss journey? Okay, I can have 4-5 of them at dinner. That is 310 calories & because they are cheese with eggplant -- more protein. We purchased these ravioli's at a place on Federal Hill called Venda Ravioli. So good. They are handmade and wonderful. I will also use their marinara sauce, also keeping the calorie count down. BUT I AM STILL HUNGRY! I think it is all mind over matter.

So, I am going to make a salad to fill me up. It is a strawberry onion salad:

Strawberry Onion Salad

Ingredients

* 3 teaspoons strawberry all-fruit spread
* 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
* 1 teaspoon olive oil
* 1 teaspoon flaxseed oil
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 1/8 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes
* 1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
* 1/2 small red bell pepper, finely chopped
* 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
* 1 pkg arugula salad mix (about 3 cups)
* 1/2 ripe avocado, cut into 1/4" chunks
* freshly ground black pepper

Directions

In a medium glass bowl, combine the all-fruit spread, vinegar, olive oil, flaxseed oil, salt, and red-pepper flakes until well-blended. Gently fold in the strawberries, bell pepper, and onion. Cover and let stand for 15 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.

Place the arugula in a serving bowl. Add the avocado and strawberry mixture and toss to coat well. Season with black pepper to taste.

This salad was delish. Okay, okay, there was one glass of wine with dinner (Sterling Cabernet--so smooth, one of my favorites). You have to have wine with pasta, right?

So, my total calories for the day are: 1595 carbs 216, fat 45 protein 80 all good. My workout netted approximately 700 calories.

I did not get a quick run in first due to my work schedule. But we still got in our hour dog walk this evening (it actually stopped raining somewhat) and we walked at a much faster pace than yesterday, so our dogs are finally getting back in shape. I love the app for my iphone called RunKeeper (free one). Tells you your distance and your pace. Tonight we walked a 19 minute mile (including dog stops).

Maybe I will get some much needed sleep tonight. Especially since the Red Sox played today and I will have nothing to keep me up. That was another initial promise to myself to try to get 7 hours of sleep each night. I am not very good at that. We get up at 5:30AM and when I watch the sox, bedtime is usually 11 PM and I don't fall asleep till midnight. Then I wake up and wake up a few times during the night. I think that might be age related or I have too much on my mind.

So, Good Night All!

High protein fast lunch, not the best

2009-07-01T13:37:00.000-04:00

Today's lunch was going to be the same as Monday's lunch. I cooked a few eggs and because the class at the gym today is the hardest of the whole week, 75 minutes HiLo with Beth, I need to make sure I don't overeat. The best way I have found is to have this egg sandwich. It fills me up. It is probably due to the protein. I have tried other meals, but because today's class at the gym is so challenging, I usually overeat. But, unfortunately, the best laid plans, undo. Because of a schedule change, I ended up quickly eating a hard boiled egg, 8 Tricuits (lowfat ones, not the ones pictured) and some Cabot's cottage cheese 0% fat 0 (1/2 cup). I also had 1/2 of a builder's high protein peanut butter bar and some Panda licorice (8) pieces. Totals for this not so great lunch: calories 375, protein, 26, fat 9, carbs 50, so I guess it is not too bad, but the sodium I am sure is high, plus I am still hungry. I will try to tough it out. Next is dinner and that planned ahi tuna steak dinner is now changed due to the lovely weather in Rhode Island, I cannot grill. It is pouring here and is cold. Is it really July 1st??????

Green smoothie for breakfast (again)

2009-07-01T08:27:00.000-04:00

Ok, I guess I am boring. I am going to make the same breakfast that I had on Monday. Only today's green drink:

One packet amazing grass berry flavor
1/2 cup nonfat milk
1 handful of blueberries
1 c. strawberries
.75 cup of papaya
1 cup spinach
1 cup water
1 cup crushed ice

Put all in a blender and grind till smooth. Total calories: 314.

Asparagas Quesadillas for Dinner

2009-06-30T18:18:00.000-04:00

Okay, I need more veggies for dinner. So here goes the asparagas Quesadilla. It has some strange ingredients, but is very very tasty.

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 lg. red onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 lb. asparagus spears, cut into two inch pieces, lightly steamed in microwave
12 grape tomatoes, halved

6 flour tortillas (I used spinach ones)
1/2 cup light cheddar cheese (you could also use Monteray Jack)
1 cup store bought salsa
1 small dolup of sour cream (if you want, we had corn on the cob instead from Trader Joes-Yummy)

To make the asparagus filling: In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 4 minutes, or until softened. Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, and pepper. Stir for 1 minute.

Add the asparagus and tomatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes, or until the flavors are blended. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.

To assemble the quesadillas: Divide the asparagus filling among the tortillas, positioning it on one half of each. Sprinkle with the cheese. Fold the tortillas in half.

Clean the skillet and coat it with cooking spray. Heat over medium-high heat. Add 2 tortillas and cook for 2 minutes per side, or until golden. Press with a spatula to flatten slightly. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.

To serve, cut each quesadilla in half and top with the salsa, tomatoes, sour cream and garnish with cilantro.

244 calories each quesadilla

Also, had two special K protein waters with dinner 60 calories

So here goes the totals for today:

1597 calories, 198 carbs, 58 grams of fat, 95 grams of protein (yeah)
Whoops went over my calorie allotment for the day, but worked out like a maniac so, I should be okay. PS Went for another 1 hour dog stroll tonight. Add that to the calorie burn.

Just a little tuna sandwich

2009-06-30T12:03:00.000-04:00

Tuesday is Tuna day!

Ok, it is really because I am trying to get my protein up. Anyway here are the ingredients, nothing special:

1 can of bumble bee tuna packed in water
1 small chunk of purple onion chopped
1 tsp. of light mayo
1 tsp. of fage 0%
1 wheat english muffin, toasted

258 Kcals

Had the rest of my smoothie for a beverage. Snack of the day is 1/2 an Amazing grass chocolate bar 110 kcals. I figured I was due some extra calories since lunch was so light and the workout was kickin!

Smoothie for breakfast today

2009-06-30T08:00:00.000-04:00

TODAY IS SMOOTHIE DAY!

The ingredients:

1/2 cup vanilla, no sugar added soy milk
8 oz of Fage (greek yogurt) 0% (love this stuff)
1 tbsp. flaxseed
.25 frozen banana
1/2 c. mango (frozen)
1 scoop Lean 53 protein supplement
1/4 cup of crushed ice
1/2 cup of water

Directions: Put all into the blender and grind up till smooth. Add a sprinkle of cinnamon.
So Good!
Total calories for both glasses: 400; Makes one large glass (before workout) and one smaller glass for post workout.

I am going to need these calories. Already did 20 minute Yoga session from www.yogadownload.com, Hot Power fusion. This is a great website, as the 20 minute sessons are free. I purchased a year membership and download them all. Great for traveling, as they are on my ipod. Plus, when you run alot, you get tight hamstrings and other ailments (especially at my age). The yoga keeps me flexible and without injury.

As you can see, my cat, Meep, helped me with breakfast.

Heading to the gym to run for 20 minutes at a 10 minute mile pace around the track at Bally's - 26 times around. Then to Linda's crazy Hi Lo 75 minute class with some weights and lots of jumping. I figure I burn a lot of calories here because I am always hungry after her class. At the end, we do 15 minutes of stretch. So delightful.

Dinner is yummy! Easy Pizza

2009-06-29T21:00:00.000-04:00

This meal is the best for a Monday night. My energy level is always low on Monday nights. I am not sure why. Anyway, this pizza is easy to put together, especially since the crust is pre-made. I buy Boboli thin crust for this pizza and always keep one in the kitchen cabinet for easy, fast dinners. All ingredients are for the entire pizza. I cut it into 8 slices and ate only two at dinner (punishment for the glass of wine!)

I cut up 1 cup of sun dried tomatoes
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 cups of portabello mushrooms
1/4 cup sliced red pepper

and put into a small sauce pan and lightly fry them until browned. I scatter the veggies onto the prepared crust, add some Trader Joe's Mozzarella goat cheese (approx. .75 cup - the picture shows one cup, but I did not use it all) and some toasted pine nuts. Bake in the oven at 425 degrees for 7-8 minutes or until the cheese starts to melt. Upon removing the pizza from the oven, I cut into 8 pieces.

You will see in the picture, the pizza is divided in half. That is because my husband despises peppers of any sort, so I divided the pizza to delineate the pepper side. This makes 4 servings. My dinner, including the wine (that I said I would only have on weekends) is 577 Kcals.

Add to this 3 pink lemonades throughout the day from Special K Protein water (5 grams of protein per serving. Got to get that protein up if I want to lose weight. Yummy!

Total caloric intake for the day:
1,441,
protein is 61,
fat 52 and
carbs 185,
all within my guidelines for losing.

Total calories burned: 300 (which I think is low for the day for me, but that is what Spark People has for Yoga & the slow walk. I did power yoga though, a little more intense, but I love it! Also, we walked our dogs at a slow pace of 24 minute mile (including all the dog stops) and we walked for 56 minutes. Good for digestion.

Eggs and Protein

2009-06-29T15:55:00.000-04:00

Ok, I needed a good lunch that will travel well since I have to go to my office today. So, I made this lunch with one hard boiled egg, one toasted wheat english muffin, 1 package laughing cow cheese and a small bit of I can't believe it's not butter. with some salt and pepper. Total Kcals=311 which is good since the "only" exercise scheduled for today is 60 minutes of Power Yoga (not a high caloric burn today). Hopefully, the weather will cooperate and I can walk my dogs two miles tonight. Also, I plan on a late afternoon snack of 1/2 of a Larabar peanut butter cookie, 105 kcal.
Total lunch calories: 311 + 105 + 60 = 466

Also, Here is my dinner list until Thursday (We are traveling on Friday through the weekend):

Amazing grass breakfast

2009-06-29T08:26:00.000-04:00

Ok, today's breakfast is my high powered Amazing grass supplement green drink. Ok, it looks gross. But, it is chocolate and tastes great. I add 1/2 cup of nonfat milk, one green packet 30 kcals, 1 lg handful (1 cup?) of spinach, one medium banana, 1.75 cup of strawberries and 1/2 cup of blueberries. Also add 1/2 cup of water and .75 cup of crushed ice. Put it in the blender and voila! Green drink. Great morning refreshment and includes 5 servings of fruits and vegetables. Total kcals = 364. The good news this morning is that my weight is down to 134.4 lbs. Why I was up so far yesterday is beyond me. Had a good morning yoga session. Power Yoga #5. My green drink was fabulous and I am already starting on my 8 glasses of water.

My new blog!

2009-06-28T15:54:00.000-04:00

Hi There! Welcome to my healthy living blog. I am creating this blog to keep up with my healthy living and get to my goal weight which is 125lbs. I have a long way to go, since I don't exactly lose weight too quickly. A little bit about me: 47 years old, current weight is 138 lbs. I am training for running in my first 10 mile race. In the picture below, I just finished my 5th road race this year. I ran in the Estero race for the cure in Estero, Florida in March. My next race was a 5k in Rhode Island (part of the Cox Road Races), then onward to my very first 10k at Colt State Park. Last weekend, I ran in the Will Speck 5k race in Cranston, RI and this weekend, I ran in the Scott Gorham 5k right here in my home town of Rumford, RI. So far, my very best time for a 5k is 28:05. I did that in May, 2009. I will be documenting all of my foods eaten, so it should keep me honest. :)I plan on starting that phase tomorrow. This is just my introductory blog. I am getting to be a blogging junkie. My favorite blog is katheats.com. She is great and so healthy. Fabulous cook too. So, here is my new goals for July:

1. Keep my calorie count to under 1400 kcals per day. (This is going to be tough for me).
2. Exercise 1 hour minimum every day. (This will be easy because I love to exercise).
3. Do more yoga! I currently do yoga 2x per week for 60 minutes. I love the website www.yogadownload.com. I do yoga right from my home.
4. Try to run 10 miles per week. I will need to increase this because I have the 10 mile race coming up.
5. Walk short walks with the hubby and dogs each night. Probably a 2 mile stroll is a better description.
6. Keep track of all foods eaten.
7. Get 7-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night.
8. Limit wine intake to weekends only, 1 glass per time.

So, that is my goals. I hope to be at the 125lb. mark by 9/30/09. I need to get thinner before an upcoming wedding and before I return to my home in Florida for the winter season. I probably should not have left there this year, since here in Rhode Island there is no such thing as summer this year. Good for running, but I miss my vitamin D.

Lynda

2 cups of spinach 1 small can of mandarin oranges 1 small red onion, thinly sliced into rings 1/4 c. thinly sliced onions, toasted Dressing: 1 tbsp. orange juice 1 tbsp. honey mustard 1 tsp. honey Toss first 4 ingredients. Mix dressing in a bowl. Drizzle over salad.