Cute Lunch!

The husband made my lunch today since my class went late last night. I asked him for a half sandwich and spinach salad made with some leftover chicken and he came up with the cutest lunch!

Spinach salad with carrots, apples, almonds, and 1.5 oz diced white meat chicken. Plus a homemade walnut oil-lime-honey dressing.



Cranberry sauce in low-fat plain yogurt with flax (it looks kind of gross!)



Half a pimento cheese sandwich on Ezekiel bread:



Apple slices with cinnamon:



All together for ~550 calories:



After lunch I went on a 30 minute walk. It was sunny and chilly out there, but so refreshing. -111 calories more.

Thanks for all of your comments! I promise I'll get to them this weekend....I'm really busy and need to work this afternoon!

Almost Friday!

Great lunch today :)

PB + Banana + Honey



Spinach salad with spaghetti squash and the last of the leftover brussels sprouts. Having these on hand was great - a way to get in a delicious side of veggies without having to prep them during the week. If you have a favorite vegetable dish, make some on the weekend to have for lunch during the week. It really ups the quality of my salads!





Yogurt + cran



All together for 543 calories:



After lunch I went for a 30 minute walk. It was nice to get some fresh air!

I'll do my best to post dinner in the dining hall tonight when I get home, but if class runs until 8:45-9, I might have to hit the sack....but I'll do my best!!

New Lunch Spot!

FABULOUS lunch!!! I discovered this place called Crisp a few weeks ago and had the most amazing split pea soup there (here's the old post) and so I decided to go back with a friend and the husband. I had another WONDERFUL soup:

Red Beet!!!



I struck up a conversation with the chef behind the counter because I wanted to know how it was made, and I wanted some insight into the nutritional information. He said it was just beets, EVOO, onions, and cream. Oh, onions and cream, my favorites! *Sarcasm* Honesty it wasn't that creamy, but I had to take this into account. He said the batch used 25 lbs of beets and he used 3 quarts of cream. After some quick math and the assumption I consumed about a cup of pureed beet soup, I settled for about 250 calories for this portion. I gave a little of it to the husband too. Not too bad for such a good soup, but it certainly would have been a lot healthier had he used half and half or cut back on the cream (of the 250 calories, I'm estimating about 150 were cream and 100 were the beets!) But it was worth it and was delicious, warm and filling.

With the soup I had a big salad with:

• Spinach
• Mixed greens
• Roasted turkey (I'm guessing I ate 2 oz worth and gave 2 pieces to the husband)
• 1/4 cup raisins (they totally made the salad!! But for 100 calories? I could have done better with another vegetable
• Roasted portabella mushrooms
• Carrots
• Broccoli
• Honey dijon dressing (I had about .75 oz and settled at 50 calories' worth)

It also came with a toasted buttered piece of bread, which I gave away too (empty calories).





And the best part? They have a table with free CRISP apples!! I took one for snack :)



Lunch calories: ~500.

After lunch we got in 15 minutes of walking around the neighborhood. Nice!

I was so busy this morning that I never needed a snack. Sweet!

Dinner tonight is titled Tropical Delight :)

Lunch, and Lunch!?

I'm here, barely awake! My body feels like I have the flu going on 5-6 hours of sleep. People: DO NOT SKIMP ON SLEEP! It's sooooo important to your health! I can't believe how much worse I feel than usual, and I only got a few less hours! Guess my body needs every minute. I'll be in bed early tonight to catch up :)

The newscast went well and actually flew by (unlike the last one I did at 5 a.m.!) It was lots of fun. They had the most wonderful tea - Earl Gray Lavender - and I had four teacups!! I split the four cups between one of those half and half containers, for 20 calories, but otherwise I didn't snack. I was offered omelets, smoothies, and more, but I knew I didn't need any fuel because of my superstar breakfast, so I turned them down. Next time I might skip breakfast and just eat there (this was a breakfasty client that actually has healthy options) but it was easier to just say no.





Lunch #1
I got home around 8:30 and took a 30-minute power nap, as I was pretty exhausted, and felt better after that. By 9:30, it had been 5 hours since breakfast, so I figured I should have "lunch." I whipped up some pumpkin yogurt and fiber one and had some coffee, decaf ironically, with skim milk in it.





Calories: ~120.

Lunch #2
I started to get really hungry around 12 - not sure if my body knew it was usually lunchtime or if it was ready for dinner!! I ate too fast and am now really full!

Leftover homemade Butternut and Carrot Soup: (DEE-licious!!!) This was a HUGE bowl too, so it's more soup than it even looks like.



Sliced apple with cinnamon:



And Kashis:



From above, with Cooking Light:



Lunch calories: 467 (Soup was 250, 15 crackers were 130, 6 oz apple was 88.)

I'm still hoping to go running this afternoon. We'll see how I feel when the time comes.

I'm surprising the husband with a really fun dinner tonight - I'm using a surprise ingredient that I normally would never want to use and he's stumped as to what I'll be making. Guess you'll have to wait and see!

Rainy Lunch

First off, let me say thank you to all of the wonderful comments! I'm completely flattered that so many of you find my blog, photos, recipes and meals inspiring. I'll keep the posts coming!

For some reason, I had a really late lunch today. I usually eat at 12 on the DOT but today I had a few things to do at work and just kept working. Must have been that stellar breakfast this morning that held me over!!

I had hot pumpkin tea at 11:00 because I was freezing (not because I was hungry!). NOTE: I got really "hungry" at 10:30, but I knew it wasn't real hunger. I guzzled some water and sure enough, 20 minutes later I was chugging along again on my projects. I think I was just bored! You can tell when I'm bored because I go through sugar-free gum like water.



Lunch:
My "go-to" lunch when I want to feel healthy is tuna salad. Last night I decided on salmon salad instead, and it was great!

Ingredients:
3 oz packet of pink salmon
1 tsp curry powder
1 tbsp reduced-fat mayo
3-5 squirts of 2 kinds of mustard
1 celery stalk, diced
1 carrot, diced

It was great and mighty filling!



Of course I had to have Kashi crackers! I treated myself to 5 more than usual since I left out the yogurt today.



Also had 1/2 cup of leftover brussels sprouts (from Thanksgiving - sauteed in apples and bacon) over baby spinach:



And my fruit component, kiwi :) Yes, I eat the skin. Who wants to peel fruit when you don't have to!?



All together with my big orange cup of water for 485 calories. A little lower than usual, but I thought the two salads added enough bulk. I'm still a little hungry, but I think I just need some more water.



I REALLY wanted to go walking today, but it's raining and the radar doesn't look good. I guess I'll have to wait another day.

I brought some skim milk in a jar to have hot chocolate (CIB) as a snack. Yum!!

Lunch breakdown for Hope:
(This is EXACTLY why I believe in food journaling! Calories do sneak in where you might not expect. I had 20 Kashi crackers, which is more than a serving, and the brussels sprouts were about 50 for half a cup per the recipe nutritional info since they had bacon and apple in them.)

Lunch		Cals
	1 serving, 1/4 cup (2.2 oz) Bumble Bee: Fish, Canned, Packaged: Salmon Pink	90
	1 tablespoon (0.5 oz) Hellmann's: Mayonnaise: Reduced-Fat	20
	2 teaspoon (0.2 oz) Hellmann's: Spreads: Dijonnaise	10
	3.75 oz Vegetables, Fresh: Carrots, raw, edible portion	44
	2.5 oz Vegetables, Fresh: Celery, raw, edible portion	10
	20 cracker (0.1 oz) Kashi: Crackers: TLC, Original 7 Grain	173
	1 1/2 cup Brussels Sprouts with Apple	54
	2 oz Fresh Express: Salads: Blends, Baby Spinach	13
	3 oz Fruit, Fresh: Kiwi Fruit (chinese gooseberries), raw, edible portion	52
	0.25 serving, 2 tablespoons (1.1 oz) Newman's Own: Salad Dressings: Lighten Up, Honey Mustard	18
Total:		484

Wrapping up with Sunday

What a cloudy overcast day! Fits my mood somewhat :( Since we were staying at someone else's house, we decided not to get up and run in the morning. I think I'm actually going to take today off of exercise, as I haven't had a day off in a long time. It's raining out, but we're going to try to get in a walk before dinner to get some movement in.

Breakfast:
I brought some plain instant oatmeal and a pear for breakfast. Also found some almonds in my purse (which I keep in there for emergencies) so I had all of that for breakfast. It was delicious!!



Plus coffee with some skim milk:



Breakfast calories: ~289. Rather low! But that's a good thing, I suppose!

Lunch:
I couldn't decide what I wanted for lunch. Husband's mom came over with her friend and we were still with his brother as well, so there was a crowd. I decided on a bowl of leftover vegetables and a piece of Ezekiel toast. Along with some tea.







I was still a little hungry, so I had plain yogurt with cranberry sauce afterwards.



Lunch calories: 469.

Snack:
Went grocery shopping (LOVE grocery shopping!!!) and got healthy food for the week. I'm so excited about the meals I have planned. I definitely want to have my curry tuna salad for lunch tomorrow :) Anyways, I have been enjoying Carnation Instant Breakfasts in milk as hot chocolate, but I always have to use half a packet and hate having to save the other half, so I investigated other options in canisters (I can't find the No Sugar Added kind in a canister). So I got some NSA Nesquik. It's great!! It's very similar to the CIB's but isn't made with dried milk and doesn't have as many vitamins, but I think it'll do find until I get the courage to just order a canister online. I've hesitated because I think I might not drink it all if I buy it and pay for shipping and all. Dumb excuse, but at least I have a temporary solution.

8 oz of milk with 2 tbsp Nesquik. It was delicious!!! 125 calories.



We're making homemade butternut squash soup for dinner tonight. I'm pretty starving now at 4:30 and hope I can make it without needing another snack.

See you then!

I'm Done!

Whew. Done eating out. Done overeating. I'm ready to get back on track (and couldn't be more excited about eating healthy again!) I think I did some damage this weekend, but not as much as it could have been thanks to a few hard workouts and good choices.

Saturday recap:

Lunch:
Once we arrived in Spartanburg we had Progresso Reduced Sodium Gumbo with grilled cheese. I had my grilled cheese open-faced to save calories. Also had a Diet Coke.









Lunch calories: ~371. Rather low!

Snack:
I was starving around 2:30, so I decided to try the Kashi GoLean Crunchy Pretzel Chocolate bar I brought along if I needed it. 150 calories, 8 grams of protein, 5 grams of fiber. It was good, but I was expecting more pretzel and less chocolate. I only got a few tastes of pretzel. But it did a good job holding my hunger for a late dinner. I'll probably get these again, but I didn't think it was as good as the TLC bars. But the stats are heavier for longer tiding of hunger. Hard decision!



I also had a few sips of husband's nonfat latte at Barnes and Noble. Sorry, no photo.

We came back to get ready for dinner and I had a few Wheat Thins and some of the husband's Bourbon on the rocks. I LOVE this drink, but only as sips from the husband. I don't think I'd want my own. I am certainly acquiring a taste for liquor these days! Bourbon reminds me of Christmas, so that's why I love it :)



Total snack calories: ~225, which put me around 1,000 for the day. Had plenty available for dinner.

Dinner:
But........unfortunately I blew it at dinner!!! I made healthy choices, but I just ate too much and did way too much nibbling off of other people's plates. It was also the kind of place that I couldn't pass up on wine (we got 2 bottles for the table) so I had about 8 oz - not. good.

Had two of these:



Had a tiny piece of bread:



And two mussels from the appetizer:



Husband had frog legs for his appetizer - ewww! I couldn't bear to try them, although I believe they did taste like chicken. Duh.



I had a tomato / goat cheese / balsamic / pesto salad to start. I had 2 of the 4 tomatoes and shared the rest.



I went with the healthiest choice I could: Grilled pork chop with asparagus and beets. Well, the pork chop was covered in butter sauce and served over buttery grits (NOT on the menu!), the asparagus was just 3 spears and the "beets" were just two beet chips. All topped with fried carrots. Of course I ate too much of the grits (probably half served) but I did only eat about 1/3 of the pork chop and gave the rest to the husband. I wanted the Grouper, but I got this because it seemed healthier, but the grouper was a much better choice!! Ugg. Oh well. It was good.



Also had 2 bites of husband's filet, about 4 french fries, and 1/4 of this braised cabbage, which was SOOO good. Not sure the nutritional, but I logged it as 50 calories.



Since the restaurant screwed up our order a few times, we got 2 free desserts (too bad they couldn't just have reduced the bill instead of giving us food we didn't need!). I had about 4 bites of the creme brulee....



And two of the chocolate mousse....



And a decaf coffee....



So that was dinner. I ate about 1,000 calories, and did NOT do a very good job, thanks to the wine. But as always, it could have been a lot worse. Amazingly, I did so well during the first half of the day that I hit about 2,000 calories total. Thanks to 500 calories worth of exercise, I net about 1400 - which is actually acceptable.

The worst part was that I when we got home and I was a little tipsy, I had 2 Starburst and 2 Wintergreen candies. Totally out of character!!! I told you wine is my best friend and worst enemy. I think I was just sad the day was over. I logged them though, so they're included in the numbers.

All three holidays, I was at or just over maintenance calories, so although I drank and ate too much, I didn't do as much damage as it feels like. Just a few days of healthy eating will get me right back to where I was.

And I can't wait to resume my healthy lifestyle!!