Quinoa and Money

I can't believe February is almost over. The topic for the photo challenge on day 27 was something you ate. For day 28 it was money. So here is something I ate plus a way I save money. Let's face it eating healthy is not always cheap. I do love Quinoa though. I bought this huge bag of it at Costco. It is great and can be used in many ways. This can also be made much like a bowl of oatmeal if you are looking for something different for breakfast. It is also really great to combine with black beans, corn and some salsa as a Mexican inspired side.
 Today  I added this can of green beans to a bowl of my quinoa. I also added some cinnamon and about a tablespoon of pumpkin. It made a really yummy and filling snack to have between my two jobs. The green beans I bought at Aldi for only about $.59. There are many ways to save money when trying to eat healthy and one of my favorites is being smart about vegetables. Canned green beans are great to pair with a meal and can normally be found fairly cheap.

Have you ever tried Quinoa and what is your favorite way to enjoy it.

Lets catch up again

I was hoping I would do much better with the photo challenge so let's catch up.

Day 23: your shoes

They are no longer this clean this was Day 1

These are my running shoes I am currently sporting. They are made my brooks. I got fitted for them at the Fleet Feet store locally. I really like the idea of them helping you find shoes that fit you personally. They also make it so that if you are a runner or walker you are not going to be injured by having the wrong shoes.

Day 24: Inside your bathroom cabinet
This "topic" is really hard for me to relate to my blog. However the one thing I can say about this picture is that its organized. One thing I have learned from losing weight is being organized keeps everything in life flowing. I really have gotten into really organizing all aspects as much as I possibly can lately.





Day 25: Green

Asparagus. I got this one sale. It is so yummy. Steam+salsa my favorite way to enjoy it!

Day 26: Night
One of things I have learned about myself and many others who have a hard time losing weight is night time. We often over eat at night time. It takes a lot of focus to not over eat at night. One of the things I find really helps is brushing your teeth because after you brush your teeth you find it much harder to want to eat something else. This isn't always going to work but it is one way to fight it off.

Be proud of yourself

I am really focused on finishing the February photo every day photo challenge.

Day 21 of the photo challenge: Photo you love of yourself.

This is a picture of my friends Nora, Bryan and myself at the finish line of my first ever marathon. I love this picture but I was so amazingly proud of myself. There wasn't a finish line when I hit my goal weight or even when I became a lifetime member to go through. At this marathon there was. They say that there is such thing as a runner's high. I don't think mine has ever been higher than it was at this very moment in time. Do I think I look good in this picture? No way. However I know the sense of pride I felt and no one can ever take that away from me.

Day 22: Where you work:

Well I have two jobs. So that requires two photos. The first picture is a picture of the cooler that my company keeps our roses in. My full time job is at a wholesale floral company. Its rather difficult to define my actual job title. I can this, I never thought I would learn this much about flowers and I really love that I get to do several different "jobs" that keep me busy. I love small company feel.

My second job as most people know is weight watchers. There is no better feeling than seeing a member achieve their goals. I love all the different people I meet and learning all about their journeys. I take real pride in being able to help anyone. I only hope that I can inspire them the way the inspire me more and more each week. This week I had my very first member reach 100 pounds lost. I can honestly say I am just as proud of him as he is of himself. I think what I learned from  my time at weight watchers to be proud of everything you accomplish no matter how big or small.

Be proud of yourself of this week.

What if...

Day 20 of my photo challenge todays topic: Handwritting.

Think about this:

Lets catch up...

I am a little behind on my photo challenge... Valentine's Day really wore me out this year.

Day 16: Something New

This PB2 is a powdered peanut butter that you mix with water and make your own peanut butter. The best part is that it is only 1 points plus value per 2 tablespoons. This is actually really the chocolate flavored peanut butter. I am really loving stirring this into oatmeal and even making it a dip with apples or other fruit.





Day 17: Time

Friday was a very busy day. My sister came from Cincinnati to visit and so I had to do really find time to get my  5 mile run. I always tell everyone to never make excuses so Friday I had to listen to my own advice.

Day 18: Drink Here is another new product I tried. It is called Click. It is a protein powder but it taste like the different latte coffee flavors. I really loved the sample and I can't wait to order more. Protein powders are great for having after a good workout to replenish your body and I love this product.

Day 19: Something you hate to do: I am not a cook. I really try to think of creative meals but they really always end up the same. I hardly ever branch out and I am really trying this year to try a few new things. Fish is a product I have really been trying to have more of. Here is what I had for dinner tonight.

Tomorrow is a new week and back on track. How did you do this week? What new products did you try?

Remember When

Day 15 of the photo challenge was: Phone

Remember when almost all phones had cords. I even remember phones you had to do the turn dial on. It is amazing how much things can evolve. Now we have cell phones and many of us do not even have home phones. Now we even have applications on our cell phone from companies like weight watcher so we have access to all the information we need. One of the things that this made me think of was the evolution of the weight loss industry. We talk about the magic pill and we all know it doesn't exists. We have all lived through many diet fads. Low Carb, low fat, grapefruit. Even weight watchers had evolved and continues to evolve. We no longer have to eat liver every week. (thank god)! Remember don't limit yourself but at the same time remember to limit yourself. Evolve your diet. Try knew things and don't be afraid.

I'm Forever yours... Faithfully

Happy Valentines Day!!!!!

Photo Challenge Day 14: Heart

There are a couple of things that I think about when I think of Love and Weight Loss.

Love yourself and others. I really believe that positive self talk is one of the keys to being successful at weight loss. Don't tell yourself you are going to fail. It is important to love yourself. Don't set yourself up to fail by telling yourself you are going to. There is a quote by Henry Ford that says "Weather you think you can you think you can't you're right" This is very true. So Love yourself as much as you love others.

The second part is to have support from others. Surround yourself with those who support your journey. I can honestly say that the best part about my boyfriend is that he loves me no matter what. Even if I never lost a pound he would still have been there. He has never made me feel like I can't do anything I have set my mind to. He may think I am crazy with some of the adventures I have tackled over the last couple of years. Even though he will never become a marathon runner or even give up eating steak he is always there by side...

Have a fantastic Valentines Day!

Drink More Water

The photo challenge for day 13: Blue
This is my water favorite water bottle. I know I have showed it before but I have really been trying over the last week or so to focus on filling it up as many times as possible. Today I have already achieved 4 times which gives me about 96 ounces of water. I think they key to focusing on the water is to have it right next to you. I keep this on my desk at work and I try to have it not be empty at any point in the day. I always fill this and really chug it when I am starting to feel like I am going to eat something and I know I am not hungry. I also try to fill this and drink it entirely during all meals. I also try to fill it when I am having my morning snack and I try to drink at least about half during my snack. I really think that focusing on the water keeps me from eating at times I may have. Drink a good amount of water is equally important to so many aspects of your health though. Keeping hydrated is really important. On days where I am more active than others I try to have even more water. I think having a bottle with the straw and knowing how many ounces it holds also keeps me in check each day.

How do you make sure you get in your water?

Happiness and Clothes

Day 11 of my photo challenge... Today's topic: Something that makes you happy
This is the logo to my gym. Does my gym exactly make me happy well NO... However what does make me happy is that there was a time in my life when after having a rough of a week as I have had I never would have stepped foot in this gym yesterday. I can honestly say I very proud of the commitment I have made of obtaining a healthy lifestyle that includes regular exercise. I also really believe that consistent exercise really does relieve so much of this stress. I often tell people that I pound every problem into the pavement... Yesterday I pounded 4 miles on the treadmill at my gym.

Day 12: The inside of your closet
Well here it is. My closet. When I saw this as today's topic I thought how do I relate this one to my blog about staying and being healthy. Then I realized that was easy. Before I lost weight I loved finding clothes I felt good in. Then I lost nearly 50 pounds and I love the clothes even more. I do not have a single item of clothing in here that doesn't fit. I love my clothes now more than ever. I feel comfortable and I never have to worry about fighting with any of them wondering if I am going to be able to button, zip or fit into them. I always tell the story of the day my grandfather told me I should just buy new pants instead of continuing to poke new holes into my belt. I really focused these last couple of years of parting with anything that was not my true size. Now I feel almost giddy when my mom buys me a size small, it fits and I feel great.

Day10: Self Portrait

Jenna and I Easter 2009

Today photo challenge was self portrait. After working over 60 hours and the week isnt' even over I don't even want to know what my portrait would look like today. This did make me think though about pictures. When it comes to losing weight I always recommend people document it with photos. Sometimes we can't see our own progress. I remember the first photo that really made me think wow I look really good. I went home to visit my family for Easter in 2009, many of them had not seen me in months. I still lost more weight after this picture was taken however this was one of the first times I really saw the progress in myself. This is a picture of my sister and I that day. I also had not seen my sister Jenna in a very long time the day this photo was taken. I still remember how amazed my family was in my progress and my sister Jenna especially. She was so proud of me and it really made me so proud of myself to see how proud she was of me. Take pictures and reflect on your progress no matter how big or small.

Be Prepared

This week has been really long...

Day 9 Photo Challenge: Front door:

Yea that what mine looks like. I have been walking out of it before the sun is up and walking back in after its down. That is a long time to be away. Being away from home for so many hours means preparing breakfast, lunch and snacks. It also has to be food that have a good balance to keep me satisfied.

Here is my menu for tomorrow:
Breakfast:
Egg Beaters with 1/4 cup Black Beans
Oatmeal with Pumpkin,cinnamon and banana Slices

Coffee (of course)

Snack

Green Yogurt and Pear

Lunch:

Tuna with mustard and pickles

Asparagus

Strawberries

Snack

100 Cal pack

Orange

What kinds of foods do you have when need to keep a long day under control?

Sun+Yogurt=YUM

Day 8 of the photo Challenge, today's topic is sun.

I recently shared in one of my meetings that using crystal light packets in Greek yogurt can give it a yummy flavor without adding calories. Today I had this generic version of crystal light in my Greek yogurt. It is almost like having a really yummy morning treat. The flavor is sun splashed orange. The thing I really like about flavoring my own yogurt is that I can still have 8oz of yogurt for 3 points plus values and there are no additional points for the packets.

How do you enjoy yogurt... Have you ever tried using the crystal light packets in your yogurt?

Day 7: Coffee

So the topic of the February photo challenge for day 7 was "button."

The picture here shows the "buttons" to my Keurig machine. I love this and I love coffee.

No points in coffee, just the stuff you add to it. I always try to make sure I am measuring that cream. I really love the fat free hazelnut creamer or fat free milk. I also enjoy many of the flavored coffees for the Keurig machine. So far the cappuccino and pumpkin have been my favorites.

How do you take your coffee?

Birthday dinner

Today is Day 6 of the February photo every day and today's topic was: Dinner

Unfortunately it was not exciting at all considering most would have had a special birthday dinner. I did not.

Smart One + Broccoli=Dinner

Easy, quick and rare that I would eat a smart one. I would love some of my Nanny's meatloaf since we always got to pick our dinner on our birthday's. Since pasta is my 2nd favorite this was the quickest way to some pasta. Extra vegetables always makes a smart one much more filling... Of course I had to have dessert so I had apple pie weight watchers yogurt.

What did you have for dinner tonight?

Photo Challenge Day 4 and 5

Day 4 Challenge: Picture of a stranger

All of these people are strangers. However they were at the Old Chicago in Merrillville on Saturday when I was celebrating my birthday with friends. The key is that I did celebrate. I believe in the core component of the Weight Watchers program that you have to bring the plan to your life not force the plan to change everything. I like pizza, beers and good times with good friends. Sometimes we can indulge however it is more important to focus on not to much of it.

Day 5: 10am
Although this picture was taken at 9:50am, I figure close enough. This was my snack just before I completed my 5 mile run today. I love these cliff bars because they are small and easy to take with me when I need a quick snack before a run or workout. The bonus is that they sell these for a fairly great price. Here is a link to a blog I wrote awhile back about pre-workout snacks. They are important to fuel your body but need to be worth it.

Photo Challenge Day 3

Today's topic: Hands

When you see your "hands" approaching the refrigerator or cabinet remember

Stop and reassess

Are you hungry? If you are not sure then reassess. Walk away. Have some water. There is always a moment when you wished you had walked away. So next time walk away.

Februrary Photo Challenge Day 2

Today's challenge was "words" I truly believe this. If you really want something go after it. No excuses, no tomorrows, right now. What do you really want and what needs to happen for you to achieve it? There have been so many things that I never thought I could do and yet I have done them. Run 26.2 miles in a marathon. Really I never thought I could do that. Lose nearly 50 pounds in 10 months. I tried losing weight so many times I can't count. I did it and you can to.

February Challenge and Yummy Food

February is here already I can't believe it. On the new big "thing" on the Internet Pinterest gave me an idea to do a 29 day photo challenge for February. The idea comes from a really cool blogger (The House of Smiths) This blog is really fun and she has some really great DIY ideas for your home. Shelley's ideas is that each day you take a different photograph. Although I am not a professional photographer I thought it would be a good way for me to get ideas for the blog. I am really going to try to focus the pictures however on something that relates to the "healthy" side of my blog.

Day 1 of the photo challenge was to take a picture of your "view" today. Today's view is my kitchen. Even though this is going to go into a frame, your kitchen can say a lot about you. I think you could really learn from mine that I am not a clean "freak" I do try to keep things organized and clean as I can in my kitchen though. It also shows I recycle and that having healthy food around is a must. Also that I LOVE COFFEE which you would find on closer inspection.

Also today is yummy dinner Wednesday. This week's recipe is once again brought to you by Emily Bites. If you click the link you will get the original recipe for... Lasagna Cupcakes!!
Here are the ingredients and my changes:

Lasagna "Cupcakes"

Ingredients:

½ lb 95% lean ground beef (I bought 96% from Meijer)
1 ½ t Italian seasoning

5 oz mushrooms, chopped (I only used about 2.5oz)
16 wonton wrappers (check the produce department!)

4 oz fat free Ricotta cheese (I found this at paylow on sale!)
1 ½ oz Parmesan cheese, freshly grated (I forgot about this so I used the dry stuff after cooking)

1 c pasta sauce (I used the sauce from back home LaRosa's) Use your favorite

4 oz reduced fat 2% shredded Mozzarella cheese (I bought fat free because it was on sale)

Click the above link or here for the directions and recipe. If you love lasagna but hate how much time it takes to make this recipe rocks! Also it only makes 8 servings!

Enjoy!