Weight Loss Food Diary, Thursday 10-23-14

Starting weight - 247
Today's weight -245 - down .5 pounds
Current goal weight - 227 - by December 13, 2014

Calories consumed -
Breakfast - cherry banana smoothie - 166 calories
Lunch - cheeseburger, chocolate milk, chips - 360 calories
Dinner - steak, mac & cheese - 615 calories
Snacks - peach cobbler, milk - 310 calories
Total - 1448 calories / goal - 1430 calories - over 18 calories

Water consumption - 30 ounces / goal - 130 ounces - 100 ounces under

Exercise -  Pedometer recorded 4800 steps / goal 1550 steps - 3250 steps over

Weight Loss Food Diary, Wednesday 10-22-14

Starting weight - 247
Today's weight - 245.5 - down .5 pound
Current goal weight - 227 - by December 13, 2014

Calories consumed -
Breakfast - peach blueberry smoothie - 246 calories
Lunch - Slim Fast - 180 calories
Dinner - chicken in mustard, noodles, orange juice - 636 calories
Snacks - chips and salsa, red velvet cake, milk - 308 calories
Total - 1370 calories / goal - 1430 calories - 60 calories under

Water consumption - 0 ounces / goal - 130 ounces -130 ounces under

Exercise -  Pedometer recorded ~1500 steps / goal 1850 steps - 350 steps under

Almond/Peanut Butter Peach Blueberry Smoothie

Another morning, another tasty smoothie!

This is the almond, peanut butter, peach, blueberry smoothie, and yes, it has all those things!
It's kind of chewy, but maybe I just needed to let it blend longer.
Here's what you need:

• 1 cups spinach
• 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
• 2 peaches, pitted
• 1 cup blueberries
• 2 tbs peanut butter

This one is a bit more hearty than the previous few, thanks, peanut butter!  But it is very good, and filling!
Here's the skinny:

• 265 calories
• 33g carbs
• 14g fat
• 9g protein
• 289mg sodium
• 22g sugar

125 of those calories come straight from the peanut butter, so it you wanted to substitute it with light or even almond or another nut butter, that would work really well, too!

Weight Loss Food Diary, Tuesday 10-21-14

Starting weight - 247
Today's weight -246 - up 1.5 pounds
Current goal weight - 227 - by December 13, 2014

Calories consumed -
Breakfast - B-Limey smoothie - 115 calories
Lunch - Slim Fast - 170 calories
Dinner - ginger chicken, rice, broccoli casserole, coke - 527 calories
Snacks - pudding, red velvet cake - 413 calories
Total - 1236 calories / goal - 1430 calories -194 calories under

Water consumption - 0 ounces / goal - 130 ounces - 130 ounces under

Exercise -  Pedometer recorded 2500 steps / goal 1550 steps - 950 steps over.

B-Limey Strawberry Smoothie

Hey, it's day 2 of the smoothie challenge!  This is another tasty, even healthier concoction.

Super simple ingredients:

• 2 cups spinach
• 2 cups water
• 1 lime, juiced
• 2 cups blueberries
• 1 cup strawberries

Blend and enjoy!

This recipe serves 2 (great for couples! or for seconds during the day!) and here's the caloric breakdown:

• 115 calories
• 28g carbs
• 1g fat
• 3g protein
• 26mg sodium
• 18g sugar

Truthfully, it tastes even better than yesterday's smoothie, even if it is a little tart.

Weight Loss Food Diary, Monday 10-20-14

Starting weight - 247
Today's weight - 244.5 - up 1 pound
Current goal weight - 227 - by December 13, 2014

Calories consumed -
Breakfast - Cherry on Top smoothie - 186 calories
Lunch - Slim Fast, taco - 350 calories
Dinner - date night @ Copeland's - 766 calories
Snacks -leftovers, cheesecake, orange juice  - 562 calories
Total -1843  calories / goal - 1270 calories - 573 calories over

Water consumption - 24 ounces / goal - 130 ounces -106 ounces under

Exercise -  Pedometer recorded 5700 steps / goal 2150 steps - 3550 steps over.  1 hour cardio, burning approximately 313 calories.

Cherry On Top Smoothie

Hiya, folks.

As has probably been noticed if you're following me, I'm doing a complete weight loss, food diary, transformation, accountability thing right now.  In my first week of just counting calories, I lost 4 pounds.  I am elevating the next 30 days with a smoothie challenge, Slim Fast challenge, and continuing to count calories.

So, I thought I would blog about my smoothies here, too.  Day One Smoothie One is called the Cherry on Top.

This smoothie is the easiest thing in the world to make:

• 2 cups spinach
• 2 cups water
• 1 banana
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 cup cherries, pitted

Blend and enjoy!

This recipe serves 2 (great for couples! or for seconds during the day!) and here's the caloric breakdown:

• 186 calories
• 46g carbs
• 0g fat
• 7g protein
• 83mg sodium
• 28g sugar

So, it's super healthy, super tasty, and super good for you because it's full of super foods.  :)

Weight Loss Food Diary, Sunday 10-19-14

Starting weight - 247
Today's weight - 243 - down .5 pounds
Current goal weight - 227 - by December 13, 2014

Calories consumed -
Breakfast - bacon, eggs, toast, juice - 528 calories
Lunch - skipped - 0 calories
Dinner - hamburger, fries, hot dog, coke - 695 calories
Snacks - cinnamon toast crunch, smores, coke - 428 calories
Total - 1651 calories / goal - 1270 calories - 381 calories over

Water consumption - 0 ounces / goal - 130 ounces -130 ounces under

Exercise -  Pedometer recorded 2000 steps / goal 2150 steps - under 150 steps.

Weight Loss Food Diary, Saturday 10-18-14

Starting weight - 247
Today's weight - 243.5 - up .5 pounds
Current goal weight - 227 - by December 13, 2014

Calories consumed -
Breakfast - skipped - 0 calories
Lunch - BLT, onion rings, coke - 626 calories
Dinner -  -  calories
Snacks - pretzel bites, coke - 310 calories
Total - 936 calories / goal - 1270 calories - 334 calories under

Water consumption - 0 ounces / goal - 130 ounces - 130 ounces under.

Exercise -  Pedometer recorded 5600 steps / goal 1850 steps - 3750 steps over.

Weight Loss Food Diary, Friday 10-17-14

Starting weight - 247
Today's weight -243 - down 1.5 pounds
Current goal weight - 227 - by December 13, 2014

Calories consumed -
Breakfast - skipped - 0 calories
Lunch - ramen - 450 calories
Dinner - grilled cheese - 567 calories
Snacks - pizza, coke - 479 calories
Total - 1496 calories / goal - 1270 calories - 226 over

Water consumption - 60 ounces / goal - 130 ounces - 70 ounces under

Exercise -  Pedometer recorded 2533 steps / goal 2150 steps - 383 steps over.  No other exercise.

Weight Loss Food Diary, Thursday 10-16-14

Starting weight - 247
Today's weight -244.5 - down 1.5 pounds
Current goal weight - 227 - by December 13, 2014

Calories consumed -
Breakfast - poptart - 200 calories
Lunch - McDonalds burger, cookie - 231 calories
Dinner - salad - 294 calories
Snacks - peanut m&ms - 125 calories
Total - 850 calories / goal - 1270 calories - 420 calories under

Water consumption - 60 ounces / goal - 130 ounces - 70 ounces under

Exercise -  Pedometer recorded 1300 steps / goal 2400 steps - 1100 steps under  No other exercise.

Weight Loss Food Diary, Wednesday 10-15-14

Starting weight - 247
Today's weight - 246 - no change
Current goal weight - 227 - by December 13, 2014

Calories consumed -
Breakfast -  Frosted Flakes with milk - 183 calories
Lunch - Chef Boyardee lasagna - 250 calories
Dinner - Greek food, coke - 757 calories
Snacks - -  calories
Total - 1190 calories / goal - 1270 calories - 80 calories under

Water consumption - 28 ounces / goal - 130 ounces - 102 ounces under

Exercise -  Pedometer recorded 2684 steps / goal 2500 steps - 184 steps over  No other exercise for the day.

Weight Loss Food Diary, Tuesday 10-14-14

Starting weight - 247
Today's weight - 246 / down 1 pound
Current goal weight - 227 - by December 13, 2014

Calories consumed -
Breakfast - Toast with jam, milk - 200 calories
Lunch -Taco Bell with Sierra Mist - 739 calories
Dinner -Domino's pizza with Coke - 570 calories
Snacks -cake & coke - 158 calories
Total - 1673 calories / goal - 1440 calories - 233 calories over

Water consumption - 0 ounces / goal - 130 ounces - 130 ounces under

Exercise - Cardio - 220 calories burned.  Yardwork @ mom & dad's - 115 calories burned.  Pedometer recorded 3000 steps / goal 3000 / break even.

Weight Loss Food Diary - Monday, 10-13-14

Starting weight - 247
Today's weight - 247 / baseline
Current goal weight - 227 - by December 13, 2014

Calories consumed -
Breakfast - Toast with jam, OJ - 180 calories
Lunch - Spaghetti O's, milk - 313 calories
Dinner - assorted Chinese - 790 calories
Snacks - coke, mooo bar - 155 calories
Total - 1438 calories / goal - 1270 calories - over by 168

Water consumption - 60 ounces / goal - 130 ounces - under by 70 ounces

Exercise - The weather was unseasonably bad with tornadoes so I did not go for a walk.  Pedometer recorded 3500 steps / goal 3000 / over by 500.

With news of my 10 year high school reunion on the horizon, I'm determined to be a smaller me by the time it gets here.

Salmon Cakes and Roasted Asparagus

Looks amazing, right?

This morning, I've got two delicious, mostly healthy, super easy recipes to offer!  (We're gonna pretend that that couscous there in the top never happened, mmk?)

First up are the Salmon Cakes.  This recipe is modified from one featured on Ten Dollar Dinners by Melissa d'Arabian.
You will need:

• 2 strips of bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled, bacon fat reserved
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup ranch dressing
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 lemon, zested
• 1 pound tinned salmon, skin and bones removed
• 1 cup mashed potatoes (leftovers work fine!)
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs
• 2 tbs grated Parmesan cheese
• pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

1. Heat the reserved bacon fat in a small skillet over low heat.  Add the onion and cook until translucent.  Allow to cool slightly.
2. Mix the bacon, onions, egg, ranch dressing, mustard, sugar, and lemon zest in a large bowl.  Add the salmon and mashed potatoes, mixing gently.  Form the mixture into about 8 patties.
3. In a shallow dish, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and pepper.  Coat the patties in the bread crumb mixture.
4. Heat 1/4 cup of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and cook the patties in batches until golden, roughly 3 to 4 minute per side.  Add more oil as needed.
5. Remove the cooked patties to a plate lined with paper towels to help absorb some of the oil.  Serve hot.

The skinny (per Salmon Cake):

• 223 calories
• 9g carbs
• 13g fat
• 16g protein
• 396mg sodium
• 4g sugar

All in all, it's really not too bad for you.  You can eat 2 decent sized cakes and not feel guilty!


On to the Roasted Asparagus - again, super easy, and very healthy!
You'll need:

• 1 pound fresh asparagus, woody stems removed
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

For the Vinaigrtte:

• 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1 tbsp olive oil

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, toss the asparagus in the olive oil and liberally season with salt and pepper.
3. Spread the stalks out on a baking sheet, in a single layer.   Roast until tender but still firm and moist, about 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, make the vinaigrette.  In a small bowl, vigorously whisk together the mustard and lemon juice.  Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, whisking quickly to emulsify the olive oil into the juice mixture.
5. Transfer the cooked asparagus to a serving plate, then drizzle with the vinaigrette and serve.  These asparagus are tasty served warm or cold.

And the skinny on these veggies?  (Roughly 6 spears)

• 115 calories
• 5g carbs
• 11g fat
• 3g protein
• 56mg sodium
• 2g sugar

So, this is a fairly easy dinner to make, and it's fairly healthy, too!  And even my 5 year old loved it!

First Day of Homeschooling

Today was Scott's first official day of Kindergarten!

He blew through his assignments in about an hour - he learned what lives in the ocean, how to distinguish living from nonliving, how to distinguish ocean plants from animals (anemones are hard!), he found the difference in comparative pictures, and he learned about how we use the alphabet in many different ways, the parts of a book, and he read the book Pig's ABCs.  When Jared gets home, we're trekking to the library for a few books about ocean creatures!

Tonight, I'll be preparing my first series of photos for my first cooking-blog-post in over a year!  Perfect Summer Basil Burgers, Salad with Grilled Grape Tomatoes and a Vinaigrette, and Fun Fruit Sushi....which I should go prep the fruit for now!

Holy Update, Batman!

Alright, so.

I haven't updated here in almost a year and a half.

But worry not!  New things are coming.

Like.  Today.