What have I been eating?

Haven't posted anything in a while. Things have been hectic since we came back from a family visit in Georgia. So, what have I been eating lately? Well, I thought I would show you some pictures of what I eat. I subscribe to a lot of blogs and for the most part, I get my recipes from those. I am not to the point where I can create my own recipes from scratch and post them yet. That is my ultimate goal. In the meantime, I will just have to get my ideas from others. Don't worry, I always give credit where credit is due. Unless I come up with a recipe on my own, or make several changes to something, I link back to my original source for the recipe. So, without further ado, here are some pics of a handful of things I have made and the story behind them.
First up is Better Butter Chicken. This is the one recipe I can't give you. See, I got it out of a book and I would not re-post it without permission from the author, Sarah Fragoso. She authored the book Everyday Paleo and that's where the recipe came from. I purchased this book when it became available in Nook format and it was well worth the $10 I spent. Lots of great recipes and other info if you are trying to transition your family to this way of eating. So, how was it? It was excellent! I had it over some steamed broccoli with half of  a Sandwich "Muffin" to sop up the sauce with.

My 2-year-old liked it too!

Up next is breakfast from one morning. I had some center-cut bacon leftover in my fridge, so I decided to make a sandwich. I once again made my trusty Sandwich "Muffin" and scrambled up an egg. I topped it with a slice of Deluxe American cheese and voila! Breakfast is served. It was quite tasty and reminded me of the bacon, egg and cheese biscuits I used to get at McDonalds only way better!

Last up is a recipe I came across on a Pinterest board  for donuts, and had to check it out. I am very glad I did because these were some of the tastiest donuts I have ever had. And they are low carb to boot! These were created by the genius over at Your Lighter Side. The only changes I made were in the glaze. I did not have any 80% chocolate and did not want to run to the store to get some. So I just used 1 ounce of unsweetened chocolate and upped the sweetener amount. I also made them in a standard donut pan. I will definitely be making these again!

My donuts fresh from the oven!

These came out of the pan fairly easily.

All glazed up and ready to eat!

Seriously, who needs Dunkin' Donuts?

So, there are some of the things I have been testing out and happily eating. I hope you will try some of these recipes yourself and see how tasty and satisfying eating this way is.

Pancakes for Breakfast

I was in a pancake mood with the first hint of Fall outside today. I put some center cut bacon in the oven and went to work on the pancakes. They take a little bit of work, but they are definitely worth it! Fluffy and satisfying, I served mine up with some sugar free maple syrup. YUM! You can find the recipe I used here. Check out the blog while you're there, too. She makes some seriously yummy stuff!

So, what's going on with your blog?

This may be a question you are asking. After all, I have billed my blog as a fitness blog, so what's up with all of the recipes and no exercise stuff? This is true, and I may be changing the theme of it as I am truly passionate about cooking and baking, too. We will see what time holds for me. In the meantime, I am going to give a little rundown on what has transpired so far on my journey. So, back in January, I decided to start dieting and exercising to lose my accumulated baby weight. I started exercising 4-5 days a week and eating a low-fat diet. Needless to say, I was great with the exercise. I felt better, had more energy and was sleeping better at night. My diet, not so much. I was dealing with constant cravings, always feeling hungry and just not satisfied when I finished a meal. An hour after I was done, I was looking for a snack. Needless to say, this aspect of my journey was extremely frustrating. And to top it all off, the weight was not coming off! I felt like my appetite was out of control. So after 8 months of low-fat dieting and exercise, what did I have to show for it? Yes, my clothes were a little looser, and  I definitely felt better but I was extremely disappointed by the crawling rate of weight loss. At that time, I had only lost 6 pounds in 8 months. Talk about being frustrated! So then, I came across a documentary in Netflix. This documentary really got me thinking about the way I was eating. If you have not seen it and have the Watch Instantly option for Netflix, go watch it today! The documentary is called Fat Head. I really began to think about some of the things he was saying and agreeing with some of the stuff. So, I then began to do my own research starting with one of the books cited in the movie. It's called Good Calories Bad Calories by Gary Taubes. This is a great book with a lot of factual information. It's not an exciting read and is very tedious, but it's got a lot of good information that refutes the low-fat diet that we have all been brainwashed to believe in. So after more research on the internet and finding some great blogs on the subject, I felt confident in my decision. I decided to start eating low-carb. So how did my first week go eating low-carb? I lost 5 pounds. I had finally found a way of eating that works! I know, you may be thinking, "eating all of that fat can't be healthy"! Oh, yes it can. We have all been led to believe that fat is bad and we must put our trust into "healthy whole grains". Have you ever noticed you don't just see grains? It's always "healthy whole grains", like it's one word. Needless to say, I have had some raised eyebrows and questions from my family. "You're not eating carbs? Not even whole grains??" No I'm not. So how do I feel now? I finally feel like my appetite is under control.  I love to eat this way. Food is flavorful and satisfying when it has fat in it. And to top it all off? I feel SATISFIED when I finish a meal. I am not looking for something to eat an hour later. Sometimes, I can go 4 or 5 hours before I feel truly hungry again. When I do feel like I need a snack, I find that I only need a few bites of something to satisfy me. So you tell me, is eating low-carb really bad for you? The difference in my appetite is proof enough for me. If you are like I was, always feeling hungry or not satisfied, or counting the hours until your next "cheat meal", then maybe you should looking into eating low-carb too. After all, there is PLENTY of information out there about this way of eating. Just do me a favor before you blow this off. Do your due diligence. Give it a try yourself, or at least look at some of the information out there that dispels the low-fat diet. Some good books to look at are:
Good Calories Bad Calories by Gary Taubes
Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It by Gary Taubes
Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis
Eat Fat Lose Fat by Dr. Mary Enig
The Great Cholesterol Con by Dr.Malcolm Kendrick
How I Gave Up My Low-Fat Diet and Lost 40 Pounds by Dana Carpender
These are just a few of the sources I found. There are tons of blogs to look at as well. Just look at the blogs I follow. So, this is where I am now, and why I changed my diet. To date, I have lost 12 pounds eating this way. I finally feel like I can lose all of the weight I gained during my pregnancies. I finally feel like I am in control of my eating. It's a good feeling!

Frozen Strawberry Yogurt

So, I have been missing ice cream lately, but I didn't want to get a sugar-free one from the store that has God knows what in it. After some debating, I decided to try my hand at making some frozen yogurt. Thinking back to my childhood, I started remembering the times we would visit my grandparents and eat really unhealthy food. One of the things I remember eating was my grandmother's homemade strawberry ice cream. Cold and creamy, and probably loaded with tons of sugar! It's one of those great childhood memories I wanted to see if I could recreate for my children without all of the sugar. I remember seeing a show on the Food Network where someone had taken a bag of frozen strawberries and put it in the food processor with some sugar and milk. I decided to use that as my inspiration. I went to the store to see if I could find some whole milk Greek yogurt, which is not so easy to find in large grocery stores in this area for some reason. All they have is fat free stuff.  Not wanting to make the drive downtown to Whole Foods for just yogurt, I decided to improvise with my recipe. I ended up using heavy cream to make up for the fat missing from the yogurt. I had a half bag of frozen strawberries in the freezer, so I went to work. I was pretty pleased with the results. The finished product was definitely creamy, with only a  slight lingering quality you get from most low carb ice cream recipes that call for lots of cream. I think next time, I will go to the effort to find full fat Greek yogurt, or just make my own with this really easy recipe I found. I posted a couple of pics with the ingredients I used and the   finished product before it went into the freezer. You could probably make this with fresh fruit and put it into an ice cream maker as well. Enjoy!


Frozen Strawberry Yogurt
8 oz frozen strawberries, or whatever berries you would like
¼ cup xylitol 
¼ cup Zsweet or granulated erythritol
1½ cups fat free Greek yogurt
1 cup heavy cream
In a food processor fitted with the S blade, place the frozen berries and sweeteners. Pulse until it's the consistency of coarse sand. Add the yogurt and cream. Pulse until everything is incorporated. Check for sweetness and place in freezer-proof containers. If you let it freeze solid, be sure to let it sit on the counter for at least 15 minutes to soften up again.

All of my ingredients

The finished product. Yum!

Cookies!

Well, I have been slowly trying different recipes that I find on the internet and I came across one that I had to try. It's for Tiramisu Cookies. I found this little gem over at All Day I Dream About Food. A blog after my own heart. Carolyn, the author of the blog, comes up with some incredible desserts and baked treats. She shares some interesting similarities to me. She is a stay-at-home Mom of 3, just like me! She is also diabetic, I am "genetically predisposed" for diabetes; one of the reasons I decided to look into eating low carb in the first place. I am amazed with the creativity she puts into some of her recipes. This one is no exception. I did tweak the recipe a bit, per her advice on her post. Instead of doing 2 different fillings, I left out the cocoa powder and just mixed everything else together into one filling. The filling came out a little too sweet, so I think next time I will cut back on the sweetener. I will leave the original amount of sweetener there and you can adjust as you see fit. I don't know if I would still call these tiramisu, though. Don't get me wrong, these cookies are divine. However, I think I would liken them more to a mocha cookie. I can definitely see a peanut butter adaptation of the filling. I think I will try that out and post the results here. So head on over and look at the original recipe here. I am just posting my recipe for the filling with my changes. I hope you give these a try. They are definitely worth the effort!

Mascarpone Filling:

4 oz mascarpone cheese

1 tbsp coffee liqueur, such as Kahlua

⅓ cup powdered erythritol

2 tsp strong-brewed coffee

For the mascarpone filling, whisk everything together until combined.  To assemble, spread the bottom of one chocolate cookie with the mascarpone filling and press together to make a sandwich. Repeat with remaining cookies. Chill in refrigerator 20 minutes to set fillings.

So what about sandwiches?

So what do you do when you are craving a sandwich, but you have sworn off bread? Well, nowadays there are many options open to you. Enter your friends almond flour and coconut flour. Both are low-carb (speaking in net carbs here) and gluten free. With all of my perusing of the web and various blogs, I have come up with my own recipe for sandwich bread which I am quite happy with. Until I can get a Magic Line Loaf Pan, I will continue to use this recipe. There are many variations of it on the Low Carb Friends site. I just picked one and tweaked it a little bit. You can make it sweet or savory, depending on what you add to it. I was craving tuna for some reason, so I got my can of Tonno in olive oil and added some homemade Mason Jar Mayonnaise to it. The results were very satisfying!

Sandwich "Muffin"

Makes 1

¼ c. Almond Flour

1 Tbsp. Chia Seeds (you can also use flax seed meal)

½ tsp. Baking Powder 

Pinch of Celtic Sea Salt

¼ teaspoon onion powder

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

1 Egg 

½ Tbsp. Butter, Melted

In a small bowl mix dry ingredients and set aside. In another small bowl whisk together egg and melted butter.  I like to melt the  butter in the ramekin dish you bake it in. Add the wet to the dry and mix well. Spoon mixture into 6 oz. ramekin and microwave for 50 seconds to 1 minute. (Mine was perfect at 1 minute).

Dinner last night

Well, I tried a recipe last night that I saw online a few weeks ago. It intrigued me, so I decided to follow this blog and I am glad I did! If you have never checked out Your Lighter Side, you should! Jamie aka "Carbarella", comes up with some tasty stuff that is delicious even though it is low carb. If you are one of those people who think eating this way is boring, then you should check out some of the blogs I subscribe to. Anyway, back to dinner. I decided to try a recipe I had seen posted for Chili Cheese Tots. Just looking at the picture made me want to try it. I have to say the results were good enough that I will definitely make this again! The Cauli Tots will have to be worked on a little bit. I don't think I squeezed out enough liquid when I made them and they definitely need to be baked a little longer. Here are some pictures of my endeavors. This recipe is basically 3 recipes in 1. Don't let that intimidate you though, I made it last night for dinner and was able to get it on the table in a little over an hour. You could also make the Cauli Tots in advance and pop them in the oven when you are ready to make dinner. Without further ado, here are the pictures of the 3 components and the final product which was then inhaled by yours truly! Head on over and check out the recipe here. You won't be disappointed, I promise!

Here's the finished Cheese Sauce. I made this while the tots were baking.

I made the Chili while the Tots were in the freezer.

Here's the tots after I pulled them out of the oven. I think next time, I will leave them in there longer.

And lastly, the finished product. It was delish!

Bacon, Leek and Cheddar Quiche

Well, I have been subscribed to several blogs now for a while and I have been collecting recipes like crazy. One of the places I go to time and time again is, Linda's Low Carb Menus & Recipes. There are so many good recipes and menu ideas for anyone who wants to get started eating low carb. It's definitely a great resource. One of the recipes I found there was for a Leek Quiche which I had planned to make for breakfasts this week. As I started to get all of my ingredients out, I began to think, "I bet bacon would be great in this!" And so, I began to tweak the recipe a little bit as I made it. I cooked up bacon and then sauteed the leeks in the bacon fat instead of using butter. I used Sharp Cheddar cheese, because I had 3 blocks of it in my fridge. I have to say, the results were pretty darn tasty! So, here is my first contribution in the form of recipes in my blog. It will definitely not be the last! I hope you try it and like it as much as I did!

Bacon, Leek and Cheddar Quiche
Adapted from Linda's Low Carb Leek Quiche recipe
6 slices bacon, chopped
1 large leek, sliced and rinsed of any visible dirt
8 oz sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
3 eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
In a large skillet, saute the bacon until it's as crisp as you want it. Remove from the pan, but leave the drippings. Place the sliced leek in the pan and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. In a greased pie plate, add 3/4 of the cheese. In a bowl, beat the eggs, heavy cream and seasonings, set aside. When the leeks are done, remove from skillet and drain on a paper towel. Sprinkle the bacon and leeks over the cheese in the pie plate. Pour the egg mixture over everything, making sure to distribute it evenly. Sprinkle the top with the cheese. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes until the cheese is slightly browned on top. Let stand for a few minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Here's what mine looked like after I took a slice out of it. I couldn't wait to taste it!

It's been a while...

So, I haven't posted anything in a while. I have been pretty busy the last few weeks doing my research. I decided to just try not eating any starch or sugar for a week and see what would happen. Now mind you, I have been working out and trying to eat healthy since January with very little progress. So, how did my experiment go? Suffice it to say, I was ecstatic when I got on the scale and had lost 5 pounds! Really? I have been busting my butt for 8 months, fighting my cravings, trying to eat low-fat and the most I lost in a week doing that was 1 pound. I don't exercise for a week and just cut out carbs and I lose 5?!? Needless to say, I decided to go whole hog with this for a few reasons. The first being, when I eat this way, I don't have cravings. I also noticed that I get full on less food. I don't feel the need to stuff myself. Sometimes when I was eating a meal that would be considered "high-carb", I would notice that I would have to force myself to stop eating. I would sometimes eat until I was uncomfortably full. I have not done that once since I started eating low carb. Another reason I decided to stick with this approach is because of my "genetic predisposition". My mother, her sister, their mother and her sister were all diagnosed with type 2 diabetes when they were in their 40s. I am in my late 30s right now, so this is definitely something I want to pay closer attention to. I am NOT going to go the same way they did. I have watched my family members succumb to the affects of diabetes and I refuse to let that be my fate. My mom battles with her blood sugar daily. It's extremely difficult for her to try and undo her eating habits at her age, but she is making a great effort at it. After looking at all of the options of low carb diets out there, I chose the one that's been around the longest: Atkins. I chose it because there are scads of recipes and menus for it, and there are plenty of bloggers who live a low carb lifestyle. They have been my saving grace through all of this. Also, the Atkins site itself has LOTS of information and recipes along with forums and a community of people to connect with. I am doing my first phase of the diet right now which is called Induction. So far, I feel good. I don't snack in between meals like I used to and when I get hungry, it's not the ravenous hunger I used to experience. Now I don't know if this way of eating is for everyone, I can only speak for myself. As for what's right for you? I would definitely encourage you to try it for 2 weeks before you make judgements. I would also say watch the documentary Fat Head if you are freaking out about eating all of that fat. It's a very interesting take on how the current dietary guidelines got started and why. That's all for now. I will keep you posted as developments occur.

Updates

Well, here it is, the end of week 3 for me with P90X. I must say that I really enjoy the workouts. It's refreshing to see the people in the video working hard and gasping for air just like I am. That used to really annoy me when I would do a workout and the people in the video are not breaking a sweat or even breathing hard. I like to see everyone working hard like I am! I am trying to stay away from the scale right now and just go by how my clothes are fitting. My stats to date:
2 months ago, I went into Goodwill to buy some clothes since I was tired of wearing maternity clothes all the time and not being pregnant. I tried on several things. One of the things I tried on was a pair of size 16 shorts. I could not button the waist. This was a HUGE wake up call for me. So, fast-forward to 2 weeks ago, I went back and tried on a pair of pants size 14, and they fit! So, now I have a measurable size. I was wearing drawstring everything in size XL when I started my journey in January and  they are  just way too big on me now, so I am in size L in letter sizes. I have noticed that my shirts are fitting me better as well. I can start to see some definition in my arms when I flex them. Now just to get rid of the layer of fat that is covering them! I have also been doing some browsing around on the internet and blogging world. One of the things that keeps popping up is the word Paleo. Have you ever heard of it? Some of the blogs I subscribe to talk about it. So, I am looking into this way of eating. From what I can see, it's something that I think I would definitely like to try. The problem I think will be getting my whole family to go in on it with me. Also, it's not exactly a "budget friendly" way to eat. My husband is really into budgeting right now as he just got a second job so that we could stay afloat. I will be looking into ways to maximize my dollar, like the local farmer's market and any other sources that I can find. I will keep you posted with my progress and/or decisions in this area.

Done with week one!

Well, I made it through my first week of P90X. I have to say, I love, love, love this workout!! I know, it's only been a week, but I can already tell that I am going to be really challenged. This is exactly what I have been looking for! So, I did not follow the eating plan to the letter. I stuck to it as best I could with the food we had in the house. I am going to the store today, so next week should be a little tighter as far as the eating plan goes. I did keep track of everything I ate, though. I also had 2 cheat meals. I will not apologize for this. I really need my cheat meals or else I end up binge eating something really high in calories like an entire pizza or a pint of ice cream. I did find a recipe for ice cream made from cottage cheese in one of the blogs I follow. I made some of this to keep me from raiding my in-law's freezer which has 3 containers of full-fat ice cream in it right now. So, on to the workouts. Here's my impression of them:
Monday- Chest & Back was definitely challenging. I didn't have a pull-up bar, so I used a resistance band with a door anchor. I have to say, this was not enough for me and I purchased a basic pull-up bar the next day at Walmart.
Tuesday- Plyometrics. Oh yeah, this workout kicked my booty! I have to give credit where credit is due. The only reason I got through this entire workout is because I have been doing Turbo Fire for 8 weeks. This workout works everything from your core to your feet!
Wednesday- Shoulders & Arms- I was actually surprised at how much weight I could lift. I found myself having to use heavier weights on the second round and I will probably increase the weight on most of the exercises next time.
Thursday- Yoga X- Okay, I can't comment on this one as I did not do it. Sorry, but the idea of doing yoga for 90 minutes makes me cringe! I know it's really beneficial and everything and I promise I will do it next week.
Friday- Legs & Back- Oh yeah, I only did the first half of this workout. I just couldn't hang. I will definitely need to eat something before this one so that I don't pass out. It's one killer workout.  I used the pull up bar with a chair to take most of my body weight. Bar none, the hardest legs workout I have ever encountered!
Saturday- Kenpo X- I actually enjoyed this one. It really brought back memories of Turbo Fire. My shoulders, back, abs and legs are all sore today.
Sunday- Rest or Stretch X- I decided to just rest today and really assess how my week went.
One reward I got was shopping for new clothes on Friday. Eight weeks of Turbo Fire worked their magic and my pants are all just too big now! I went to the Goodwill to shop for clothes as I am only planning to wear them temporarily.
For anyone out there who is thinking about trying P90X, do it! If you are not afraid of pushing yourself and you really want to make significant gains in your fitness goals, just go for it. I have no regrets and fully plan on doing a second round when I am done with this one!

This is it!

So over the last few weeks, I have been immersing myself in the world of P90X. At least, trying to find out everything I can to prepare myself for it. I have already gone through the nutrition guide and found all of the recipes I will be eating. I have made a tentative grocery list and written all of my workouts down on a calendar so I can cross them off with a red marker like they suggest. I guess I am as prepared as I can be for Monday. The hardest part, I think will be getting up at 6am to do my workouts. See, my husband will most likely be working a second job during the day, so if I am going to do my workouts, it's gonna have to be first thing in the morning. I think this is a good thing, though. I really wanted to get back to working out first thing and this is the incentive I needed. I am totally committed to completing a round of P90X before my sister's birthday which is October 9th. She is turning 40 and I really don't want to go up there and still look like the frumpy mom that I am right now. Especially since she's already 10 pounds lighter than she was before she had her second child. So, that is definitely some incentive for that. I already want to really challenge myself and see how far I can go. I want to see if I can be like one of those people you see in the infomercials. You know the ones who have lost like an insane amount of weight in 90 days. I want that to be ME! If they can do it, so can I.

Wow!!

So I have been trying to immerse myself in the blogging world. What a place to get lost in! Needless to say, it's quite an overwhelming experience. There are so many different blogs out there that are like WAY better than mine. I do like the fact that a lot of the blogs I looked through and am now following started pretty much the way mine did. Someone wanted to record an experience or a journey that was personal to them and it blossomed into something else. There are LOTS of blogs out there, so you definitely need to be selective. I originally subscribed to around 100 blogs and I have now pared it down to about 25. I may start the search again, but for now, I will stick with the ones I have. So much good info and great recipes! I hope I can have a blog half as good as some of the ones I am following. Here are some of them if you want to take a peek for yourself:

http://marianutrition.blogspot.com/

http://fitbottomedgirls.com/

http://www.bodyrock.tv/

http://www.pbfingers.com/

http://dreamaboutfood.blogspot.com/

http://www.carascravings.com/

I hope you check some of these out, they all have great information. Enjoy!!

How exercise is going now

Well, after my 10 day hiatus from exercise, I decided to just jump right back into it yesterday. I did a HIIT workout and then a core workout. The HIIT was a struggle to get through, I'm not gonna lie. I was so tired this morning, but I was glad that I pushed through it. I did the Fire 45EZ workout today, and it wasn't much easier. But again, I just persevered through it, telling myself that I could finish it. It sounds cheesy sometimes use "self talk" when you are working out, but I tell you, it works. I can definitely attest to that. Yes I was still tired and I still had to struggle, but when you tell yourself that you can do it, your mind tells your body to finish. I don't know if that makes any sense, but it's the best way I know to describe what happens to me. I will continue to monitor my energy levels to see if I am getting my stamina back.

It's what's for dinner!

Well, I decided to try something new for dinner last night. I was pretty pleased with the results. It was a variation of a recipe I had seen on the show 5 Ingredient Fix on the Food Network. The original recipe was called Turkey Robinson. So, I tried it the way the recipe read a couple of weeks ago. It was pretty good. Only thing is, I just don't like the taste of cooked spinach. I have tried and tried, but i just can't get past the gritty taste I get from it. So, I will eat my spinach in salads. Anyway, I decided to give the recipe another go, with a few modifications. So, here is my version. I hope you enjoy!

Turkey What's For Dinner

1 pound lean (93/7) ground turkey

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 cups low sodium chicken broth

1 can great northern beans, rinsed and drained (you can use whatever white bean you like)

1-16 oz bag frozen green beans (if you don't want extra liquid, thaw and drain beans)

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet, add the ground turkey and garlic. Cook over medium heat, breaking up meat and incorporating garlic. When meat is no longer pink, drain. Add the chicken broth and simmer until the liquid is reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Add the canned beans and green beans. Allow everything to heat through. Season with salt and pepper, if needed. Serve over brown rice.

Browned turkey with chicken stock. Let the liquid reduce by half.

Thaw your green beans first if you don't want the extra liquid in the finished dish.

The finished product. I put 1/2 cup of brown rice into the bowl and added the turkey on top. It was pretty yummy and filling!

After Dinner Treat

So, in keeping with watching my calories, especially since I haven't worked out in 9 days now, I decided to try lightening up my dessert. We bought some apples at the store last night but I didn't want to put the same old peanut butter on them. So, I had seen a facebook post from Holly Rigsby where she had suggested adding a little yogurt to peanut butter to up the protein content. So, I played around with it and came up with something that was quite tasty. Here's what I did:

Yogurt-Peanut Butter Dip

1/2 cup natural peanut butter

1/2 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon agave nectar

8 drops Sweet Leaf Vanilla Cream flavored stevia drops

cinnamon to taste

Mix everything together well and store in the fridge. Indulge when necessary.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Yes, I shamelessly stuck my finger in the bowl when the apple slices were gone!

Being sick is NO fun!

Well, I have finally come down with something. Not sure what it is, though. I think it's bronchitis, but I am not sure. I refuse to go to the doctor unless I am like dying. The only real bummer is that I haven't been able to workout for like 6 days now. That is what really stinks! So, I have been spending some time pondering things. Where I am, and where I want to go in the second half of this year. I am definitely extremely disappointed in my apparent lack of progress on the weight loss front. But, I can beat myself up, or I can move on and focus on what it is I would like to accomplish. So, I bought a book and downloaded it to my Nook reader. So far, it definitely speaks to me. The book is called Reshaping it All by Candace Cameron Bure. She definitely had struggles just like me. I will let you know more as I delve further into it.

I have made a decision

Well, I have been thinking about it the last few days and I think I am just going to take the plunge. I am going to attempt a round of P90X when I am done with Turbo Fire. That will make my first day July 4th. What a way to kick off Independence Day! I have been looking over the nutrition guide, and The hardest thing for me will definitely be the eating. It's a hard pill to swallow not eating hardly any starchy carbs for 30 days. I will definitely begin to prepare for that starting now. I don't want to start the workout and be going through withdrawals as well as trying to handle getting used to a grueling workout schedule. So that is the plan. For right now, my ongoing journey is still to clean up my eating. I am such a wuss sometimes and I won't just say no when I should. Definitely working on that. I have started journaling my food so that I can actually what I am eating. I think that is definitely a step in the right direction. We will see what the next 4 weeks brings for me.

What's for breakfast?

Well, I have been eating eggs every day this week and I was craving pancakes this morning. So I decided to throw together some ingredients and see what happened. The result was not too shabby.

So I started with some eggs, since that's what I try to eat in the morning. I then added some salt, cinnamon, vanilla and a touch of agave. Next I put in some oats. I got out my stick blender and whizzed it all together. The resulting mix was quite runny, which I knew it would be, so I added some almond flour and coconut flour to thicken it up a bit. I cook

ed them on my griddle and served them with a bit of maple syrup. A trick I learned is that if you cut up your pancakes first and then drizzle on the syrup, you can get away with using a lot less

of the stuff. I used about 1 1/2 tablespoons on mine. So, me and my 2 year old ate them. She approved and even asked for seconds! Ahhh, success.

I used a 2 tablespoon measure to ladle them onto the griddle and ended up with slightly large silver dollar pancakes.

The finished product

My 2-year-old is camera shy

So, here is my thrown-together recipe:

In a blender, place:

4 eggs

1 tablespoon agave nectar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup oats

Blend until combined, then add:

1/4 cup almond flour

1 tablespoon coconut flour

Blend again until combined and cook on a nonstick griddle or in a pan, if you prefer. Enjoy!

Success and contemplation

Well, I have had tangible success now. I have dropped a bra size! When I began my journey back in January, I was in a size 38 bra. I am now in a size 36! Yes!! Now I need to work on my post-baby belly. So, now onto my contemplation. I am seriously considering trying P90X when I am done with Turbo Fire. I am really enjoying the Turbo Fire workouts and am hoping that they will begin to melt the extra blubber that has taken up residence in pretty much every part of my body. I really feel that the gains I have made in the last 6 weeks are largely due to this program. I am going to try my best to stick to the eating plan for the second 6 weeks and really see what kind of results I can get by doing the program the way it's supposed to be done. I have not weighed myself yet, maybe I will get around to that sometime this week. I also have not taken any measurements, although I do know that I have lost some inches at least around my chest! I am definitely going to take a closer look at the eating plan for P90X and see how much work it's going to require on my part. I will definitely have to make a decision soon as I like to plan ahead on things like this.

May update

So here it is May already and I am not exactly where I wanted to be at this point in time. Big surprise! I can say that I have lost some weight. My clothes are visibly looser than they were when I began this journey. I have not gotten on the scale yet. I refuse to do that until I can safely get into one size smaller than I am right now. My XL clothes are definitely to the point of being baggy now. My L clothes range from slightly snug to noticeably loose. I tried on 2 pairs of pants that are size M (they are maternity, but I will have to stay with them until I lose more of my pregnancy gut) and they were to say the least, extremely tight. Well, that was a month ago. I tried them on again on Saturday and they were still tight, but not like the sausage casing that they were the first time I tried them on. So I am making some progress, albeit not as quickly as I would like. That is my own fault, unfortunately. The biggest stumbling block at this point continues to be my eating. I just don't understand where all of my willpower went! Seven years ago, I was a size 4 and I had wonderful willpower! I would just look at the way my clothes were fitting and say to myself, "Okay, no more junk food!" And then I wouldn't eat it anymore. I could actually pass it up! Of course, I had a helping hand back then that was banned a couple of years later. You know what I am talking about. The gloriously effective ECA stack. For those of you that don't remember ephedra, it was "stacked" with caffeine and aspirin and it kicked ass at helping me lose weight and conquer cravings. Oh the good old days. I have been doing some research into other products to see if I can find anything comparable to the effectiveness of ephedra. I have found some that look like junk in a bottle and some that actually looked promising. I will definitely keep you posted on those developments. Signing off for now. I will be continuing my weight loss endeavors this morning with another Turbo Fire workout. It's Fire 55EZ this morning.

Well, this is my first week of my new program, Turbo Fire. So far, I really like it. I had to forgo my workout today because I am getting over a mild cold. The one frustrating thing about having 3 kids is that someone is inevitably always sick. I try to be very conscious about washing my hands frequently and not touching my face, but that does not guarantee anything really. So, I am trying to make the best of my situation and at least eat the way I should.

You think I would learn!

So, I have been endeavoring to eat relatively clean now for about 4 weeks. I have been doing pretty well with my meals. It's the snacks that get me! Well, last night, I was craving carbs big time. (It's that Special week for me and this usually happens.) So, there is a box of bacon and ranch pasta salad on the pantry shelf. So, what the heck. I make it for dinner because my 2 year old will eat it along with me. I put in a can of chicken, like that will make it all healthy with some protein. I then proceeded to take a bite of it. It tasted horrible! Needless to say, I only got about 4 bites of it down before I had to switch to a bowl of cereal. I don't know how my husband can eat that stuff for lunch on purpose. Needless to say, this was a good thing for me because it means that my body is starting to not like the junky stuff that I would eat regularly. I am starting to notice more and more that eating junk has begun to not sit well with me anymore. But, you think I would learn this lesson instead of constantly going back for the junk!

Serious pondering

So I have been doing some serious pondering the last few days. More and more I keep hearing about the Paleo Diet and I must say, I am intrigued. The testimonials are all wonderful. That's true of a lot of diets also, but I really agree with most of what they say about that way of eating. We definitely eat way too many processed foods. I agree that our bodies were never meant to run on large amounts of grains. Fruits and veggies have way more nutrients than whole wheat bread. I also know that for the past couple of weeks, since I have started incorporating more veggies into my eating that I have noticed a difference when I don't eat them. When I eat a truly unhealthy meal it just does not sit right with me anymore. I am really considering giving this paleo thing a try. I know I will definitely miss some things, like my Greek yogurt. But, if it can help jump start my weight loss it may just be the kick in the pants I need right now.

Time for an update

So here we are 3 months into my Year of Fitness. So far, I don't know how much weight I have lost. I am afraid to get on the scale! The last time I did, I weighed 3 pounds MORE than when I started. Didn't quite understand that one, because all of my clothes are getting looser. Needless to say, I don't really want to get on a scale again for a while. I am just going by the way my clothes fit. I can definitely tell that I have lost some inches. I am losing my weight from the "top down" as they say. My bras are looser, and not just in the circumference. I can definitely tell that my boobies are shrinking. I was hoping to keep them after all of the hard work I went through to get them (3 pregnancies). Oh well, if that's the price I have to pay to fit into my old clothes again then so be it. I finally got an android phone and loaded it up with a couple of apps to help me track my caloric intake. That's the reason why my weight loss is not coming along as fast as I would like. I just take in too many calories! So my goal for the rest of March is to track my eating as accurately as possible and try to cut my calories down to what they should be. I definitely like the workout program I am doing. It's not always feasible for me to do it 5 days a week. I usually average 3-4 days. I don't miss my strength training workouts if I can help it, but I have no qualms about skipping my cardio workouts. I really need to get those in. I know that I need both to get this weight off. That's most likely another reason that I am not seeing the weight loss I want to see. Skipping my workouts. Sometimes it just can't be helped. With 3 small kids, one of them is inevitably always sick or coming down with something. So I inevitably end up fighting off some type of sickness like every other week.