4 New Recipes, Q&A, , 10 Miles, Water Goal in Place

Thank you all for your support with my goals! You had lots of great advice on the ‘water’ front, and I’ve decided to drink 5 16-oz. bottles a day, or 80 oz.! I started today and, while I’m not finished because it’s only 7:30 p.m., I’ve already had 4.5 bottles. It’s much easier then I thought, especially when I drink 1 while walking! Also, I LOVE Erica’s idea of doing a month without goals… and just see what happens. Perhaps this will be December – I’m SUCH a rebel. Let me back up…

Yesterday was a pretty great day! I woke up to another yummy brunch pizza square thingie and got to work! During lunch me and Stacy walked 4 miles, then worked more, then I had Pasta in creamy sundried tomato sauce (minus onion; plus chicken) then after work we went back down for 2 miles and a chest/triceps workout. We decided to do shoulders with legs this week to break it up a little more!

I raced home HUNGRY and was craving a pizza I wasn’t supposed to have until tomorrow. Oh well – I had it anyway! Here’s the recipe for my new Four Cheese Pepperoni Pizza (recipe makes ONE serving):

4 oz. Trader Joe’s Pizza Dough
½ tsp dried basil
6 Turkey Pepperonis
1 tbsp reduced fat parmesan cheese
28 grams fat-free feta cheese
2 tbsp Trader Joe’s Spaghetti Sauce
28 grams Trader Joe’Fresh Mozzarella
30 grams Fat-Free Ricotta Cheese

Preheat oven to 400. Spread out dough. Mix together sauce and ricotta; smear on dough. Then top with feta, mozzarella and pepperonis. Sprinkle with parmesan and basil. Bake for 10-12 minutes until cheese is melted. Nutritional Information: 454 calories, 56 carbs, 11 fat grams and 23 protein grams. Um, loved it! Next time I may had 3 more pepperonis or maybe just some red pepper flakes. SO good though!!

After dinner I hung out with mom, watched some shows, read some of my book, played with Reuben – the usual! I also had snacks – trader joe’s cookies… the devil. I ended up at 1,760 calories, 201 carbs, 64 fat grams and 93 protein grams. Here’s what I ate. WAY too many cookies, reese’s cups, etc. Grrrr.

Today I woke up to a new breakfast – Breakfast Chilaquiles. I stumbled across a variation of this, did some research on what a chilaquile was, and then made this recipe! Makes SIX servings.

12 corn tortillas
Eight large eggs, scrambled
12 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 cup salsa
¾ cup fat-free grated cheese
3 tsp canola oil, divided
Salt, pepper and cumin to taste
Optional: 6 tbsp fat-free sour cream for a topping

Preheat oven to 350. In a nonstick skillet over medium high heat using 1.5 tsp canola oil, heat tortillas until both sides are crisp. (do two at a time using ¼ tsp oil). Once all are cooked, use fork and knife or pizza cutter to cut tortillas into 1-inch strips. Use the skillet to scramble 8 eggs, seasoning with salt to taste. Use the skillet one more time. Over medium heat, add 1.5 tsp canola oil, then defrosted chicken with a bit of salt, pepper and cumin. Cook for 3-4 minutes, then add salsa. Stir until chicken is no longer pink, then shred chicken with two forks. Get 9x13 glass dish. Layer tortillas, then eggs, chicken mixture and shredded cheese. Bake covered with foil for 20 minutes. Add sour cream as desired and serve. Nutritional Information: 351 calories, 34 carbs, 10 fat grams and 28 protein grams. I thought it was great, although you must forgive the shotty work picture! It was really filling and just different! I didn’t have sour cream (forgot it!), but did add a little salt to spice it up. Hot sauce or sirachi would have been good too. Anywho, I’ll definitely make this again, but may reserve it for weekends when I’m feeding more people as I think it would have been even better if I had been able to eat it after cooking rather than reheating!

After breakfast I worked more, went with Stacy to walk 4 miles, then had a new lunch: Spicy Italian Chicken from Fix it and Forget it Lightly. It makes FOUR servings:

½ cup fat-free Italian dressing
½ cup water
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp paprika
¼ tsp black pepper
1 pound chicken boneless, skinless
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp cold water
8 oz. penne, cooked.

Spray the inside of the slow cooker with nonfat cooking spray. Combine all ingredients except chicken, water and cornstarch. Add chicken. Turn to coat. Cover. Cook on low 4-5 hours. Remove chicken. In a saucepan, combine cornstarch and cold water. Add cooking juices gradually. Stir and bring to a boil. Pour sauce over chicken and them serve over noodles. Nutritional Information: 363 calories, 50 carbs, 3 fat grams and 34 protein grams. It wasn’t amazing but it wasn’t bad. It was like a B- minus. I don’t think I’d ever crave it. Sad. It needed something like a veggie, but I can’t think of a veggie that would go good?? Maybe just a can of diced tomatoes?? (like fireroasted or something like that). I’m going to give it a whirl with the tomatoes –I’ll holla back! And when I do I’ll post the picture!

After work I went straight home, hung out with the family and cooked dinner – Beef Tacos for FOUR servings. Very, VERY simple friends:



1 pound 96/4 beef
4 Mission carb balance tortillas
4 tbsp salsa, divided in 4
1 jalapeno, finely diced
1 package taco seasoning
3-4 tbsp of water
Nonstick cooking spray
12 cherry tomatoes, diced
1 oz. Kraft natural swiss/cheddar cheese blend, divided in 4

Spray a large nonstick pan with nonstick spray. Add beef, jalapeño, taco seasoning and water. Stir until no longer pink, then add to tortilla, top with salsa, tomatoes and cheese. Serve. Nutritional Information: 314 calories, 9 fat grams, 26 carbs and 32 protein grams.

Now I’m in bed watching TV and won’t be eating any more. OMG. I ended up at 1,791 calories, 222 carbs, 52 fat grams and 115 protein grams. Here’s what I ate. Way too much crap. Again. In my defense today was the Thanksgiving Potluck for my department. I didn’t participate and instead walked 4 miles. But I did give in later and have a chocolate chip cookie and, randomly 4 shrimp. Hehe After that I had another stressful situation that led me to the Hersheys. When WILL this treat season end? I blame myself – I forgot my gum- not good! Bygones…

K - here are some questions from my last post answered!

Why 113? Well when I first started losing weight the goal was 115. No reason – just figured I’d try to get there and if I got there I’d see what’s up. 115 felt great. My clothes fit great, I had high energy levels, etc. So I thought 113 was good to ensure I stayed at or just below 115. Well I dropped to 110. Not a good weight for me – I needed those few extra pounds to fill out my cheeks, clothes, etc. So 115/114/113 are my happy weight!

What exactly constitutes a "neighborhood" walk for Reuben? Reuben is tiny. He broke 7 pounds this month (we think it’s the exercise). He’s also a bit…. Hmm.. paranoid I’ll say. He does well on a leash but he’s not enjoying it. He spends the whole time looking up at me like still there? Still there? Still there? So, I want him to be happy on a leash and though a walk around the block (maybe ¼ mile) would be good for him to get more comfortable on a leash, get out of the yard/house, etc.

I'm so curious to know if there's any part of your life that isn't organized? Definitely! There are some things I simply can’t wrap my brain around. Like car maintenance. I’m AWFUL – rarely getting check-ups, checking my warranty, etc. Or really, even cleaning it. My car is my id fo sho and it’s something I need to tackle. Also, I’m working on getting our garage more organized as well as our downstairs hall closet. Lastly, our social events – we use Google calendar but I can be bad about RSVPing so I’m trying to work on creating an area where invitations go so I can refer back to them for registries, etc. These are just a few (of many!) areas I’m trying to really lock down so I can chill. I know it sounds weird but it’s how I am!

Now a couple of questions for you:

What do you do at "forced-fun work events with food"? Fight or flight?

What are your favorite taco toppings?