1,000-calorie Brio Meal, New Book, New Menu, 7 Miles

Haha so glad you guys like the Athens pics! We definitely stuck it out regardless of the weather – we’re such big rebels. Haha It definitely made me miss college – as every fall does. Grrrr. So to backtrack again as I’ve been quite the bad blogger of late!! Monday I ended up having just one more snack – cheese & crackers – so I ended up at 1,795 calories, 181 carbs, 83 fat grams and 67 protein grams. This is a TOTAL estimate as at Brio (for the shower – a few pics below!) I had bites of everything family style – a little bit of ravioli, a little bit of pasta, a little bit of lasagna, salad, etc. So in adding them together I ended up at 1,071 calories for just lunch – was this right? I have NO idea. But I didn’t eat anything else that day but 2 kashi waffles with fat-free syrup and another Fresh Mozzarella BLT with pesto! Anywho – here’s what I ate.

Mel is so ready to be a mom!!


My work girls!


Yesterday was a pretty good day! I had potato/egg/sausage burritos that I hadn’t had in FOREVER – yum. And I had some snacks – yogurt and crackers/cheese. Then I walked 4 miles (4 mph), started a new book (Karin Slaughter’s Faithless), and had Taco Soup.

Then I worked some more, had two mini pieces of candy and went back to the gym for 3 miles (4 mph). I headed home hungry, had a slice of cheese, then made dinner – Chicken Souvlaki! So yums. (added quinoa as my calorie counts were WAY too low!)

Then me and Austin settled in for Castle, and me and my mom watched Gossip Girl (she stayed the night!). I ended up at 1,654 calories, 200 carbs, 39 fat grams and 106 protein grams. Here’s what I ate. Not bad at all, especially with the 7 miles factored in (HRM is acting up again or I’d have a better idea of calories burned…. I’m sending it back. Boo. I’m guessing about 490 – average of 70 calories/mile).

And a few things I forgot to share! Here’s my new menu for this week:

Monday: Waffles + syrup (b); Taco Soup (l); Fresh mozzarella BLT with pesto (d)
Tuesday: Potato/egg/Sausage Burrito (b); Taco Soup (l); Chicken Souvlaki (d)
Wednesday: Breakfast Muffin Pizza (b); Red Curry Chicken (l); Chicken Pesto Salad Sandwich (d) new!
Thursday: Potato Egg and Sausage Burrito (b); Taco Soup (l); BLT Pasta Salad (d) new!
Friday: Breakfast muffin pizza (b); Red Curry Chicken (l) Greek Feta Chicken (d)
Saturday: Italian Seasoned Eggs with Tomato/Basil Ricotta Toast (b) new!; Chicken Pesto Salad Sandwich (l); Greek Feta Chicken (d)
Sunday: Green Eggs & Muffin (b) new!; BLT Pasta Salad (l); Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti (d)

I used a new format to help me and Austin at home where it has all of the ingredients to make the recipes above on the first page, and then all of the recipes in so it’s like a 6-page packet I put on the fridge – no pulling up the blog or a word doc – woo!

And I finished The Girl Who Stopped Swimming (book club meeting tonight!), so I’ll post my review tomorrow following the meeting!

And I’m SO behind on blog reading – next week my life slows down. Yesssss. But I plan to catch up (again) tomorrow – yay! I hope you’re all having fabulous weeks.

P.S. I have to walk another 7 miles today to hit goal for this month. Blah! Only 3.5 miles to go and then off to book club – woo!

Athens in Photogs, Alcohol Calories, TV Time and a WONDERFUL weekend

Happy Monday, ladies! I feel SO much better knowing I’m not the only one who sometimes parks it in front of the TV for dinner! I do completely value eating at the table and will definitely try to do it more – but sometimes you just want to watch Sex and The City during a nice bowl of pasta! Haha So to backtrack in photos first… Athens was GREAT!!! (These are extremely out of order.... I apologize in advance!) :)

Hangin' with Stacy and Shane!


With the family (Austin's two little bros & two little cousins - boy and girl farthest to right both go to GA - the boy is a sophomore, Austin's brother, and the girl is first year grad school)


The Family Group- Austin, brother Tyler, Cousin Laura, Cousin Kevin, Brother Elliot and Me!


Me and Stacy bumped into another co-worker, Jackie!

Good times!

Austin's co-worker Matt

The group, minus Tyler + some rando dude who got in our picture! (he will be photoshopped later - weirdo!)

Yes.... it never stopped raining at the game -blah!

Me and my brother-in-laws, Ty and E!

Athens = rainy mess

Debbie Downer

But we still had a blasty!

Stacy and Laura got to meet - yay!

Stacy making sad faces as all walked around barefoot with our jeans rolled up - we be classy!

The Winning Flip Cup Team! (I got it on the first time every time.... but once - I rock!)

And part of the losing team. haha

The Group at Stacy & Shane's Tailgate!

Austin & his bros

The hallway outside the game day condo - i've never seen so much UGA stuff in one place as it was in that condo.

Everywhere - even the trashcans and kitchen hardware!

And lamps - I mean REALLY! haha

UGA bedding - I was wrapped up in their culture for sure!

So here's howSaturday went down.... I woke up… late… as in my mom got here before I had gotten in the shower – eek! We got it together and drove to Athens, heading out around noon – woo! We got in town, picked up Tyler (Austin's sophomore-at-GA brother) and headed to the condo – SO cute – so GA. The place was nice, we freshened up (i.e. I put on make up while Austin had a beer), then we headed to Stacy and Shane’s tailgate! Laura and Kevin (cousins!) met us there, then we all hung out, played cornhole, then walked to Austin’s corporate tailgate which was a TOTAL shit show (I’m talking catered, bartenders, etc. in the middle of north campus). Everything was going FABULOUSLY and free and flip cup was ON so naturally a blast was had… and then it started raining. And then it flooded… and then someone stole our cooler. Eek! We all stayed positive (and had panchos) but then it was game time and we all split up to head to the stadium. In the rain. I’m talking water up to mid-calf! The game was fun though – loved the stadium! We didn’t make it long though – were freezing, hungry, etc. So we walked back, grabbed Subway, then threw our clothes in the dryer, brushed teeth, refreshed, etc. Austin’s brothers + cousins met us at the condo then we all headed out to the bars to meet back up with Austin’s work peeps – SO much fun!! Then we went to dinner with Austin’s parents at DePalmas, then we ended up in a cab… that took us to a gas station and left us there…. Then Austin’s brother’s friend came to get us and we ended up in dorms drinking liquor with 19-year-olds. Shining moment, friends! Haha It was all good, really – we didn’t make total asses out of ourselves, promise! In all honesty it was great to meet Tyler’s friends and fun to be at an age where we can hang out in a way, ya know? Anywho… tracking is a disaster – I drank my weight in liquor – but this is my educated guess! 2,522 calories, 254 carbs, 49 fat grams and 110 protein grams – wow – not as bad as I thought. Although, 759 calories in alcohol isn’t anything to write home about – eek! Here’s what I ate… and drank.

Sunday I woke up in a room with no windows and no idea what time it was, when I went to sleep or how long I slept. I did know that I felt like I’d been ran over by a train. Dang it! I had so many waters! Guess that’s what you get when you drink from 2 p.m. to 3 a.m. ish….. We made breakfast, said bye to Austin’s parents, got in the car and rode home the whole way with the top down – thank you BEAUTIFUL weather. We deserve you! We got home and my mom was there – fun! We hung out with her, visited, ate leftover pizza, showered, started laundry, etc. Then Monica and Katie came over with Katie’s 4-month baby boy Cullen- SO sweet. Sadly I forgot to take pictures, but it was so nice to see Katie – she looks FABULOUS – and to meet her beautiful, blue-eyed baby boy! And of course to see Mon and talk to her more about the townhouse her and Andy just bought- yay!! Once all of the ladies left, mom headed out and I got in bed and just ate all day long. I know – I’m such a skank! Haha I did catch up on ALL of my TV though – nice! (that's JUST like exercising, right?)

What do you guys think of the new shows? I really liked Flashforward, I thought Eastwick was okay… I’m going to give it a couple more episodes, and I laughed so much at Cougartown. I just heart Courteny Cox!!

I ended up at 1,974 calories, 214 carbs, 82 fat grams and 98 protein grams. OMG. I ate my way through the day. Grrrrr. Here’s what I ate.

Today was not too good. I didn't sleep well and woke up feeling like a zombie with a puffy right eye. Lovely. I went to work, helped host a work shower for my manager/friend, worked more and came straight home. Yes, no workout, peeps! Too tired. I'm ON IT tomorrow though, especially since we went to Brio for lunch today.... and it was family style. OH NO!! And there was cake. eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek! I'll post today's results and some shower pics tomorrow!! Hope you all had good Mondays and GREAT weekends!

11 Miles, 2 New Recipes, UGA BOUND!

This is going to be a quick post because (a) I’ve been a bad, busy blogger and (b) we’re out the door to go to Athens (UGA) for the football game! Woo! Austin’s parents just bought a game day condo and while we’re not “dawgs” we ARE SEC fans who know a good deal when it hits us in the face – woo! So to quickly backtrack…

Thursday was a great day! I got lots of work done, walked 4 miles during lunch then had a new recipe for lunch – Chicken and Pasta Salad for two!



½ cup chopped, peeled cucumber
¼ cup plain fat-free yogurt
2 tbsp chopped onion
2 tbsp light mayonnaise
1 tsp mustard
1/8 tsp celery seeds
1/16 tsp salt
1/16 tsp pepper
8 oz. chicken (chopped and cooked)
4 oz. farfalle.

Combine the first 8 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the cooked chicken and the cooked pasta, and toss well. Cover salad and chill for 1 hour. Serves 2. We really liked it – great for lunches since it’s a cold salad! Anywho, after lunch I got more work done, then went to the gym for 2 more miles, abs and back and biceps. Here’s the upper body workout I did.

Then I was feeling it – so I ran a mile – woo! 7 miles! I headed home and made dinner – Chicken in Tomato Sauce with feta – nom nom nom.

Then me and Austin preceded to have some wine, good conversation and stay up too late – good times though! We even ate dinner in our dining room for the first time – nice! I ended up at 1,871 calories, 207 carbs, 49 fat grams and 111 protein grams – not bad, especially with the 7 miles + ST factored in – woo! Here’s what I ate.

Friday I had a super productive day at work! During lunch I walked 4 miles, then after work I decided to grocery shop with my new meal plan – woo! I went to Trader Joe’s and Publix, and didn’t get home until 7 p.m. Grrr. I DID make a new recipe for dinner though from Monica’s Food Network Magazine - Fresh mozzarella BLT with pesto. Here’s the recipe for one sandwich (one serving):

1 3- to 4-inch baguette (77 grams)
3 Slices turkey bacon
1 ½ tsp pesto
1 ½ tsp fat-free mayonnaise
1 spear romaine lettuce
2 slices tomato
1 slice fresh mozzarella (28 grams)
Salt and pepper to taste.

Slice baguette open, leaving one side attached to form a hinge. Cook bacon in skillet until crispy. Combine pesto with mayo and smear on bottom of bread. Layer romaine, then tomato, bacon and mozzarella. Season with salt and pepper. Close sandwich and serve. We loved it! So yummy – a definite new fave that I plan to start bringing to work – woo! After dinner I cooked/packed for Athens then we had a repeat of the night before – wine, good conversation, music, etc. Love it not raining – I can use my backyard! Anywho – I overdrank… ended up at 2,120 calories, 239 carbs, 59 fat grams and 95 protein grams – eek! Good times though – woo!!! Here’s what I ate.

A few questions!

Where do you eat at home? Dining room, in front of the TV? Depends?
Do you watch college football? Who’s your pick?

K – have WONDERFUL weekends. I can’t wait to catch up on your blogs when I get back home and to my computer on Sunday. FYI – don’t worry about Reuben, my mom is here staying with him. Spoiled pupper!! :)

1 New Recipe, 4 Miles, Avocado fun and Sammy Chat

Thanks again for all of your fabulous soup ideas! Please add recipes to my comments if you don't mind (or links!) - i'd love to try them!! To backtrack, Tuesday I ended up at 1,849 calories, 202 carbs, 69 fat grams and 98 protein grams. Again – high on fat – SO WEIRD! I used to have the hardest time hitting the minimum. I guess on days when I have reduced fat (not fat-free cheese) I need to watch the olive oil – good to know! (this is what happens when I track AFTER and not before!). Here’s what I ate.

Yesterday was pretty blah. Got up, went an alternate route to work leaving at 7:15 a.m. because our bridge is still out. Stupid bridges. I got in on time though – WOO – and got to work, having an English Muffin pizza + dove chocolate for breakfast. Followed by a mid-morning snack of yogurt!

During lunch I went to the gym in my building for a 4-mile walk (4 mph) whilst reading The Girl Who Stopped Swimming. It’s SO GOOD – I’m trying to finish it before this weekend as our book club meeting is next Wednesday! For lunch I had a new recipe from Cooking Light – Curried Tuna Pitas. Here’s my variation for ONE serving:

3 oz. drained water-packed chunk light tuna (1 can)
1.5 tbsp fat free mayonnaise
½ tsp curry powder
1 tbsp celery, finely diced
2 tbsp sliced almonds (14 grams), diced
1 pita pocket cut at top (removes ¼ of it)

Sorry the pic is SO bad - i'm going to make it again soon so i'll take another!

Combine mayonnaise and curry powder. Stir, then add celery and almonds. Sprinkle with salt and pepper as desired, then stuff into pita. Serve. Each pita has 271 calories, 24 carbs, 9 fat grams and 17 protein grams. You could easily cut this back by only using 7 grams almonds (what the recipe called for!), or you could beef it up some by adding more celery, lettuce, tomato, etc. I liked it how it was though – nom nom nom. I’ll be making it again – too easy not too! Oh – you should know that it called for ½ tsp of celery seed but I couldn’t find that spice to save my life (could have SWORN I had it).

In anticipation of this lunch not being enough, especially with the walking, I brought a fabulous sandwich – my new fave – garlic hummus, turkey, reduced fat provolone and avocado on wheat. YUM! Here's a half... i'm so addicted to the avocado!

I cut my first avocado Wednesday night – so easy and SO good. The sandwich comes out to 294 calories, 29 carbs, 13 fat grams and 24 protein grams. It could easily be cut down by using 1 tbsp of hummus rather than 2, and by using a slice or two less turkey. It REALLY filled me up though! After work I bypassed the gym and headed home for movie night with Austin. Me and Austin made Oh Livin’s Summer Garden Pasta (still a FAVE!) and settled in with some cat cookies for dessert. Great day!

What is your favorite sandwich right now?
Do you prefer your sandwiches in tortillas, bread, bagels or other?!

I ended up at 1,760 calories, 211 carb, 62 fat grams and 95 protein grams. Here’s what I ate. Today should be a good day! I have LOTS of cardio to do though - which means lots of reading - yay! Hope you're having happy Thursdays!

Sick Day, 2 New Recipes, 4 Miles, Frozen Spices and Calling All Soups

Today I woke up feeling bad – massive headache, sore throat, etc. To be honest – I felt hungover! And exhausted. So weird. So I called in sick and fell back asleep. I woke up again at 10 a.m. CRAZY! I never do this. I felt better when I woke up and even thought about going in, but decided to just stay home and rest and drink water. So I did. I went down and got breakfast. And had a dove chocolate.

Then Austin came home for lunch and I baked a new recipe I put together last night form Monica’s Food Network Magazine: Mediterranean Calzone. Here’s the recipe for TWO calzones.

4 oz. chicken
1 garlic clove
8 oz. pizza dough
¼ cup low-fat ricotta cheese
¼ cup red onion, chopped
2 artichoke hearts, chopped
1/8 cup roasted red peppers, rinsed and chopped
½ small Roma tomato, seeded, cored and diced
1 oz. fat-free feta cheese
2 tsp olive oil

Inside pre-cooked


Outside post-cooking


Cut in half, ready to eat - yummy!


Preheat oven to 375. In the meantime, sauté garlic and chicken until no longer pink. Cover a flat surface and divide pizza dough into two sections. Roll each into a circle and place on baking sheet. Mix ricotta cheese and onion together chicken-garlic mixture. To assemble each calzone, layer ricotta mixture, artichoke heart, red pepper and 2 oz. chicken breast on one half of each dough section. Next sprinkle tomato and feta. Leave ¼-inch around perimeter of dough. Fold in half to make a half-moon shape. Pinch sides together with a bit of water to seal. Brush exterior of dough with oil. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. Nutritional Information for EACH calzone (1/2 recipe): 474 calories, 62 carbs, 13 fat grams and 26 protein grams.

REVIEW: We REALLY liked it, but next time I’m going to sprinkle some salt and red pepper flakes in the inside for more flavor, add some onion, and reduce the olive oil (really only needed a ¼ tsp TOTAL). Very good though! Austin headed back to work and, I had a Kashi cookie and, I kid you not, fell asleep. Geez! Who am I? LOL Finally around 3:30 I decided I had to get out, so I drove over the gym close by and thought I’d walk a bit and see how I felt. I got in and walked 4 miles – good stuff! I headed home and had 2 crackers with cheese – yum. Then I put together dinner for the night Cooking Light’s Southwestern Chicken and White Bean Soup.

8 oz. chicken breast
1.5 tbsp 40%-less-sodium taco seasoning
Cooking spray
2 tsp olive oil
2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 16-ounce can white beans, rinsed and drained (272 grams total)
1/2 cup green salsa
2 tbsp Fat-free sour cream
Chopped cilantro (optional)
Trader Joe’s Organic Corn Chips (20 grams)
Cumin and Salt to taste

Combine chicken and taco seasoning; toss well to coat. Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray, and add olive oil. Add chicken; sauté 2 minutes or until chicken is lightly browned. Add broth, scraping pan to loosen any browned bits. Meanwhile, place beans in a small bowl; mash until only a few whole beans remain. Add beans and salsa to pan, stirring well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 10 minutes or until slightly thick. Makes two large servings. Top each with 1 tbsp sour cream, cilantro and 10 grams corn chips if desired. Nutritional Information (including cilantro, sour cream and chips): 426 calories, 38 carbs, 10 fat grams and 37 protein grams.

REVIEW: I LOVED this! Austin liked it a lot, but said it was a little too salty for his taste. I decided I won't add cumin or salt next time - I think because all of the ingredients (chicken stock, salsa, etc.) are salty in and of themselves, it doesn’t need anything extra. I’ll definitely be making this again – but next time I’ll make more servings! Woo! I also loved that I was able to use this ingenious product – frozen cilantro cubes (from Trader Joe's - a Moncia recommendation)!

I added two cubes right before I took it off the heat – SO good, and great to use if you aren’t looking for a garnish. (gives the flavor- not the look!) Trader Joe's also has Basil and Garlic - but I have the basil plant and am fine with jarred minced garlic! (and garlic NEVER goes bad!)

Then I had yet another kashi cookie, got everything ready for work and got in bed – still kind of tired but definitely feeling better. Maybe I’m just run down? Or maybe it’s this weather change (back and forth; hot and cold)? Or sinus pressure? I dunno, but I’m glad I feel better and am going to get some rest tonight! I’m such an old lady!

A few questions:

What fresh spices do you keep on hand?

Have you ever tried frozen spices?

What is your favorite soup? (tis the season!)

K -out to watch TV with Austin! I might have a treat later so i'll post my stats in the morning! Happy Tuesday! SO GLAD tomorrow is hump day!

Weekly Menu, Auburn Weekend, It's Raining, It's Pouring...

Hi friends! Happy Monday! I hope for you all it’s not raining. It’s raining here. It has been raining here in Atlanta forEVA! Seriously – going on 9 days straight I think? Maybe more? Anywho…. Backtracking!

Friday I worked until noon, raced home, packed, then went to the gym for a mile running (6.3 mph), a mile walking (4 mph) and back + biceps – great workout! Then I headed home, hopped in the shower, grabbed Reuben, packed up the food and went to pick up Austin. We drove into Auburn and, I kid you not, I fell asleep in the car. I NEVER do that! Weird! We got to Teresa & Forrest’s new house – SO CUTE! Loved it – they did an awesome job picking out their paint colors, granite, etc. – everything was so nice! Reuben was excited to – to see Daisy and Cassie, their puppers! We visited, got ready, then went out to dinner with friends and then to 1716 to drink/chat! No rain – lovely! We left the bar, went home and stayed up talking until 4 a.m.ish… – eek! I had a blast, and ended up at 2,226 calories, 229 carbs, 30 fat grams and 94 protein grams. Yes, we drank all night and 673 calories were alcohol. That HURT, especially since I only burned 334 at the gym – eek! Here’s what I ate and drank.

Saturday I woke up at 11 a.m. Still tired. Oh no! But it was time to get it together, get going and get to the tailgate! We left around 1 p.m., Forrest went to work at his store and we walked to the tailgate, Reuben in tow! We had a great time seeing Andy, Mon, Andrew, Laura Anne, Ellen, Nick, Candice, Jamie and everybody – GREAT to catch up! About 30 minutes to game time it was raining. And kind of miserable. We decided not to buy tickets and to just go to the house. If the game was good, we would go to the bars. We walked back, walked into the store and then MONSOON. Oh my! We drove home, got in cozy clothes and then I knew we weren’t going to make it out again! And we didn’t! It continued raining... all night. But we still had a blasty and I got in bed by midnight – MUCH more reasonable! I ended up at 1,835 calories, 172 carbs, 66 fat grams and 100 protein grams. Here’s what I ate.

Sunday I woke up at 8 a.m. and blogged a little, then went down and watched some HGTV with the crew, then we headed out to Atlanta. I packed ALL of our meals, but we left not hungry, then got hungry on the road, so I had a junior cheeseburger at Wendy’s. Guh. It hurt my tummy. Then we got home, unpacked, showered, and CHILLED. I did next to nothing and it was STILL pouring rain. Instead of dinner I had tons of snacks – not good! I ended up at 1,837 calories, 222 carbs, 69 fat grams and 86 protein grams. Here’s what I ate. I went to bed early…. Had a feeling the weather was going to be nightmarish the next day…

Today I woke up and I was right…. AWFUL weather all night, thundered and kept me up, etc. Grrrr. I got in the car at 7:10 – 20 minutes before normal. I got in at 8:10. I traveled at, on average, 5 mph. Oh my. I got in and it was still storming and everyone was late, some couldn’t even make it because of flooding – eek! I stayed busy, and during lunch I tried to work out but the gym was SO crowded because the outdoor runners were on the treadmills. Me and Stacy did chest, triceps and shoulders – and walked 2 miles. The plan was to go back after work and walk 2.5 more miles… but at 3:20ish shit hit the fan and Atlanta was closing down quickly, side streets flooding, etc. So we were all free to go. By 3:45 I was out of there… in the car for another hour and 15 minutes. Then HOME!! I got in bed, watched TV, and then me and Austin made dinner and some meals for the week – not too bad! Our power hasn’t even gone out (knock on wood!) and NO it hasn’t quit raining. Sigh. So glad we got the new roof! Anywho, I ended up at 1,686 calories, 225 carbs, 49 fat grams and 74 protein grams. Here’s what I ate.

Oh – I also set up this week’s menu! It’s below – I made lots of it tonight! And here’s dinner. Yum!


Monday: Bacon/Egg/Cheese Muffin (b); Sweet & Sour Chicken (l); Tomato & Mozzarella Pizza (d)
Tuesday: Breakfast Muffin Pizza (b); Chicken & Pasta Salad new! (l); Mediterranean Calzone (d) new!
Wednesday: Bacon/Egg/Cheese Muffin (b); Curried Tuna (l) new!; Garden summer pasta (d)
Thursday: Breakfast Muffin Pizza (b); Yellow Curry Pasta (l); Chicken in Tomato Sauce with feta (d)
Friday: Potato/egg/sausage burrito (b); Quinoa with garlic chicken and veggies (l); Chicken Souvlaki (d)
Saturday: Potato/egg/sausage burrito (b); Chicken in tomato sauce with feta (l); Garden Summer Pasta (d)
Sunday: Potato/egg/sausage burrito (b); Chicken Souvlaki (l); Pasta with sundried tomato pesto (d)

A few questions:

When you travel, do you pack all of your own meals/snacks?
If not, what do you do to make sure you eat “good.”
If so, do people think you’re crazy? :)

K –I’m off to read your blogs. I promise more pictures tomorrow, as well as two new recipes!!

Catch-up Time, 2 New Recipes, Leg Workout, More Running!

Happy Friday!! Sorry I’ve been MIA this week, friends! It’s been a tough work week and it’s spilled over to my personal life in a not-so-good way. Blah. I try to keep ‘em separated but sometimes I take my work frustrations home making me quite the Grumpy Gus. And to top it off it has rained here in Atlanta every. single. day. Nonstop, no sun, like stereotypical Seattle. Do you know what this means? My commute has DOUBLED and I’ve been spending 2 hours a day in the coche. Yes, I finished listening to The Notebook (review below) and am now on the sequel, The Wedding. Sigh. But I’m back and I’m positive and I feel better about work (and yes, it IS still raining – but I’m taking a half day today so whateva). And don’t get me wrong, I still worked out, ate right and watched lots of TV – all is not wrong in my world! Haha So backtrack… First, here’s a pic of those Tex Mex Sloppy Joe’s we made Monday!

I need to make a few tweaks to the recipe before posting – it was just too sloppy for us! (I blame myself for not straining the tomatoes). Anywho – if you want it pre-tweaks holla!

Tuesday was pretty blah – not gonna lie! I worked, walked 4 miles during lunch, worked, did chest/triceps/shoulders after work, then walked ½ mile, ran 1 ¼ mile and walked ¼ mile – so 6 miles + ST. Not bad! My lunch workout burned 280 calories, and my after work workout burned 356 – so 636 calorie burn. Woo! I raced home and had leftover manicotti while watching Entourage (SO good – first good one in a while – go Lloyd!) Then we made breakfasts and lunches for the next day and I got in bed and watched Gossip Girl (again) and ate my weight in Trader Joe’s crispy cookies. Eek! I ended up at 1,852 calories, 222 carbs, 71 fat grams and 91 protein grams. Here’s what I ate. Um – fat was out of control – what? So odd. Anywho – too many cookies, but I feel good about carbs – they’re never that low!

Wednesday was another tough one. The office was quiet so I got A LOT done which is great! During lunch I walked 4 miles. Had some meetings, got in a bad mood, went straight home in a bad mood and stayed grump all evening so I kept to myself. Sigh. Do you ever have days like that? Where it’s like “I’m in a crap mood so for you own good please just let me wallow and watch my programs.” Hehe I ended the day with a swig of Nyquil (to help me get my z’s) at 1,841 calories, 211 carbs, 51 fat grams and 125 protein grams. Here’s what I ate. Holy protein – that’s a lot for me. I will say I tried a new recipe and it failed. Sad.

Thursday was a little better in that I didn’t have to be at work until 8:30 a.m. for a meeting that lasted until 11:30. Not bad. As soon as the meeting went out I went to the gym and walked 1/2 mile, ran 1 ¼ miles and then walked ¼ mile – 2 miles, then did legs and abs.



I was a sweaty mess, but good thing I was able to go STRAIGHT home to work from home – woo! I ended up working until 6 p.m. but I got so much done and felt great about it. Then me and Austin got ready for our weekend visit to AUBURN – WAR DAMN EAGLE, and then we had some wine and chilled out (I stayed up too late – oopsie). I ended up at 1,773 calories, 171 carbs, 55 fat grams and 94 protein grams. Here’s what I ate and drank. Not bad, especially considering that I drank wine. Oh – and I made a new recipe from Monica’s Food Network Magazine, Chicken and Summer Vegetable Tostados.


Fabulous! It would normally be a little too high calorie for me, but I made it “their way” first and found that it was too much food! So again, going to tweak the recipe! But here’s a photog. And here’s my review of the notebook...

I give it a 4.5/5. I personally loved that I had seen the movie because as you can imagine, when you’re listening + driving in Atlanta you can be a bit distracted. So it was nice to already know the story and made it much easier to follow. That being said, I just love the story. I could easily see the movie unfold and thought it was just such a goodie (with them old vs. young; the story of how they fell in love; etc.). Good, good stuff – great “car” book!

K- going to read blogs tonight in AUBURN - yay. Can you tell i'm ready to get back and have a reunion with some of my besties??! Although, I must say it won't be the same this season without Jimmy & Mary - one of our FAVORITE couples from Birmingham, Ala., who always have a SUPER fun tailgate had a baby this week, little Emma (they're the ones we threw the shower for!). Thankfully we still have Teresa & Forrest in town with no babies yet! :) Talk to you all soon - can't wait to catch up!

3 Recipes from Yesterday's Eats, New Chest/Shoulder/Tricep Workout and Leftovers

First of all thanks for all of your sweet comments on my new clothes! I do love to shop, but I don't like to not spend a lot. :) It's just so fun to put stuff together - and shopping in my closet is free - woo! I commented on your comments in the comments section of the last post! Thanks again!!

So yesterday I ended up not eating anything else after all! I had 1,446 calories, 157 carbs, 55 fat grams and 82 protein grams. Here’s what I ate. The new recipes are below as promised!! Today was pretty 'blah' to say the least. Just worked, walked 4 miles during lunch. Then worked some more. I had EVERY intention of walking 1 more mile and doing the workout below.... but there was a major accident on 400 so I talked to Austin and we decided it was best for me to go ahead and get on the road or it would be WAY late before I would be able to get home. So I skipped the gym and will do this workout tomorrow!

Instead of working out, it took me an hour to get home. I arrived cranky and immediatley got in sweats, folded clothes and made a new recipe: Tex Mex Sloppy Joe's! (from Monica!). I'll post it tomorrow, but in the meantime... here are yesterday's recipes and for the record, I had the same breakfast and lunch today at work (reheated) and I can confidently say they make GREAT leftovers.

Breakfast

English Muffin Breakfast Pizza from Monica’s Clean Eating Magazine
Makes 1 Serving

1 English muffin, split
2 slices tomato
1 tsp olive oil
2 slices turkey bacon cut into 1” strips
20 grams shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (less than ¼ cup)
Chopped fresh basil for garnish

Preheat oven to 450. Line a small baking sheet with foil. Place English muffin halves cut-side up on the baking sheet. Top each with tomato and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle bacon over tomatoes, then top with mozzarella. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and beginning to brown. Sprinkle with basil. Nutritional Information: 303 calories, 27 carbs, 17 fat grams and 13 protein grams.

Lunch

Taco Soup from Monica’s friend Beth
Makes 6 Servings

1 pound lean ground beef (96/4)
½ onion (simmer with beef)
1 can tomato sauce (14.5 oz)
1 can rotel
1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes, do not drain
1 can corn
1 can black eyed peas, drained
1 can light kidney beans, drained
1 can dark kidney beans, drained
1 packet dry ranch dressing
1 packet taco seasoning
3 tbsp Cilantro
Optional: ¾ cup fat-free cheddar cheese and 60 grams of Trader Joe’s Organic Corn Chip Dippers.

Put large pot over medium heat. Spray with nonstick cooking spray. Add onions and cook for 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Add ground beef and cook until no longer pink. Add all drained vegetables and season packets. Once everything is combined and stirred up good, add cilantro, then turn heat to medium-high. Once it comes to a boil, knock it back to simmer for 10 minutes and then serve topped with cheddar cheese and corn chips. Nutritional Information per serving (including 1/8 cup fat-free cheddar cheese and 10 grams of Trader Joe’s Organic Corn Chip Dippers): 399 calories, 49 carbs, 8 fat grams and 30 protein grams.

Dinner

Beef and Ricotta Manicotti from Eat Better America
4 uncooked manicotti pasta shells
4 oz. ground beef
¼ cup chopped onion
1 tsp garlic
½ cup fat-free ricotta cheese
½ tsp Italian Seasoning
½ box organic cut spinach, thawed, squeezed to drain
¾ cup pasta sauce
1 tbsp parmesan
Salt and red pepper flakes to taste

Heat oven to 375. Spray bottom and sides of 1-quart glass baking dish with cooking spray. Cook pasta shells as directed on box, omitting salt. Rinse with cool water; drain well. Spray 10-inch nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Cook beef, onion and garlic over medium heat about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until beef is no longer pink. Remove from heat. Stir in ricotta cheese, Italian seasoning and spinach. Spoon beef mixture into shells; arrange in baking dish. Spoon marinara sauce over shells. Bake uncovered 20 to 25 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Nutritional Information (per serving = 2 shells): 333 calories, 44 carbs, 6 fat grams and 25 protein grams.

I can also confidently say that all 3 of these recipes will be staples at our house! I can't get over how yummy delish the breakfast is (it tastes like it's "bad"!), how hearty, filling and flavorful the soup is (gotta love 3-beans!) and how low calorie and tasty the manicotti is! I'm definitely going to "play" with the manicotti and try other mixes (mushrooms, etc.). I'm just loving how those two stuffed shells were so filling (thank you, spinach). Good stuff.

On to TV: I watched Vampire Diaries and LOVED! Anyone else watch it? Love it?

Also -what is your take on leftovers? Yay or nay? If yay, which of your favorite meals reheats the best?!

Today I ended up at 1,807 calories, 212 carbs, 65 fat grams and 100 protein grams. Here’s what I ate. I’m super happy that my carbs were UNDER for the first time eva! But the fat was too high and I really wish I hadn’t caved on those cupcakes during my 3 – 4 p.m. meeting. Sigh. I’m such a giver-inner!

K- off to read blogs. Just finished True Blood - wowza - that show is just CRAZY. Crazy good! Now i'm watching Gossip Girl - LOVE!!

P.S. Short N Sassy brought up the idea of an email address specifically for your blog. I thought it was super smart and so i've added kellyfittingbackin@gmail.com if you want to shoot me an email! Thanks for hte idea, SLJ!