Day 140: Book Review, New Recipe & Lost Anticipation

I did pretty much as planned last night after posting! Read blogs, read some more of A Body to Die For and passed out! Today was quite a whirlwind – back-to-back meetings, last minute to-dos, deadlines, too-long phone calls about non-time-sensitive things, etc. I felt like I was just spinning my wheels all day and, while I know I got a lot done, I feel like I could have done more. Boo. At least I’m working at home tomorrow so I’ll have fewer distractions – yessss. Oh, lest me forget, yesterday I ended up at 1,505 calories, 184 carbs, 31 fat grams and 98 protein grams – not a bad day at all – especially when you factor in the cardio! Here’s what I ate.

Today was a good day in that I walked 3.5 miles at lunch & 2 miles after work, and did legs! Not bad at all. Also, I wore long johns under my slacks/dress shirt so I stayed toasty as opposed to uncomfortably cold (nicest I could describe the most recent temps in my office). And Austin got a call – a guy is driving from Columbus to see the car tomorrow night. He seemed serious so that’s good news. And I finished Danielle Steel’s Second Chance. It was by far the quickest listen – wow – I just flew through it. While some parts were unbelievable it was a great story about loving someone but letting life get in the way and the importance of making your own choices instead of letting others make them for you. Also – compromise – when to give and when you’ve given too much. It told a great story, and had a great and not overly happy ending. I enjoyed it and would recommend it! Lastly, we tried a new recipe: Pita Pizzas. I must admit – I combined a couple of recipes to make this one so bear with me (one from Hungry Girl and one from Spark People)! This serves 2:

3 small Trader Joe’s Wheat pitas (100 calories each)
¼ cup chopped green bell peppers
¼ cup chopped onions
½ cup chopped mushrooms
1 package of boca soy crumbles
9 Hormel Turkey pepperonis
.75 tsp of Olive Oil
3 tsp of red pepper flakes
12 tbsp Muir Glen Organic Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce
80 grams of Kroger Fat-Free grated mozzarella cheese
3 tbsp President Fat Free Crumbled Feta - California Tomato & Basil

Set the oven to broil, and lay out the three pitas on a pan. Smear ¼ tsp of olive oil on each pita. Smear 4 tbsp of tomato sauce on each pita, and sprinkle 1 tsp of red pepper flakes on each pita. Set aside. In a pan sprayed with nonstick spray, cook peppers and onions over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add mushrooms, stir, and cook for one more minute. Then add frozen soy crumbles, and continue stirring and cooking until crumbles are thawed and heated (about 1-2 more minutes). Remove from heat, divide into three servings and spoon onto sauce-covered pitas. For each pita, sprinkle 25 grams of cheese, 1 tbsp of feta and 3 pepperoni slices on top. Put in oven to broil for about 5 minutes, or until cheese melts. Remove from oven, cut one in half and each serving has 1.5 pita pizzas!

I really liked them! Austin not so much – too many green peppers for him. Oops! Next time: I’ll use less boca soy crumbles (it was a lot!), more pepperonis (5 per pita) and maybe more sauce (the sauce part was my favorite; 1 tbsp more). I may also broil for 7 minutes, instead of 5, so the pita is a bit more crispy. I was just SO SCARED to burn it! Note: I made the onion, bell pepper, mushroom, boca mixture ahead of time, so I just microwaved it for 30 seconds tonight then added it on. As far as nutrition, it came out to 358 calories, 52 carbs, 6 fat grams and 32 protein grams – not bad!

K – off to watch Lost with Austin, and probably read more of my book!! “Talk” to you tomorrow!! Happy Hump Day!