Back on track!

Well, after a few days of splurging and a not so great weigh-in last week, I am back on track and intend to stay that way!  I had a wonderful talk with my best friend, Bran  Tuesday night after eating some wonderful Mexican grub and watching Beauty & the Beast in 3D.  There have been a lot of changes in my life in the last 4 months and for some reason, it is taking me awhile to adjust.  I couldn't be happier where I am, but I haven't got into my groove yet.  BUT something just seemed to click after our talk and I feel like all my motivation and willpower has come back to me.  


Today was such a wonderful day!  After a week of cold, windy days, the sun finally came out today!  So, after a little (almost 2 hour) nap, I went with K to the farm to keep him company while doing chores.  First, though, my MIL asked me to walk with her, so we went on a nice 2 mile walk.  I LOVE walking, especially when I have someone to walk with.  After our walk, I went to the milk barn to hang out with K and my BIL.  They talked me into helping out a little and the best part of the night came when I got to help K's Uncle pull a calf.  I grew up around a dairy, so it wasn't anything new to me, but my family sold our dairy over 15 years ago.  Spending time in the barn tonight and helping deliver a calf just made me realize how much I love being a dairy farmer's wife!  

Sunday Funday!

I spent the day yesterday with my lovely Mom & beautiful little niece, Taegan.  She always makes me smile. :-)  Just look at that face!

I bought a few zucchini's last week and really wanted to use them before they went bad.  So, I took them with me to my parent's house & we made zucchini fries!  They turned out great and were fairly easy. 

First, you chop them up into fry size pieces.  You will need 2 eggs and some bread crumbs.  The recipe I used called for Parmesan cheese, but we didn't have any, so we just coated the zucchini in the eggs and bread crumbs.  Set the oven to 450 degrees and line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray with olive oil.  After coating the zucchini fries, lay them on the cookie sheet and put them in the oven for 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes, flip the fries and stick them back in for another 10 minutes. 

You will be able to taste the zucchini more in the larger pieces, so if you have a picky eater, I would recommend making smaller pieces so they taste more of the breading than the zucchini.  :-)  Mom and I saved those smaller pieces for Dad.  We ate them plain, but you can dip these in ranch or marinara sauce.   

Pizza, Pizza!

So, my IL's are always ordering pizza. Every time they do this, I freak out because I know how many calories there are in one little piece and just looking at the grease dripping off of it makes me sick!  I like pizza, but not the gross feeling I have after eating a few pieces!  While grocery shopping last week, I found something wonderful......

For only 90 calories, you can have 1/6th of this crust.  And the best part is, there are two crusts in the package!  So, I popped one of these on my pizza stone, brushed some olive oil on it and put some low calorie toppings on it.

Pizza Sauce = 70 calories for 1/2 cup ( 1/2 cup goes a long way)

Turkey Pepperoni = 70 calories for 17 slices

Low Cal Shredded Cheese = 80 calories for 1/3 cup

I ate 1/4th of the pizza and let K have the rest.  After all, he was out all day working hard in the cold weather.  :-)  He loves cheese, so his portion had a lot more on it than mine did.  I also piled on the pepperoni for his.  Then I baked the pizza for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.  The package said it only needed to be in for 8-10 minutes, but I like my crust a little crispier.  

This was my slice, which had 7 pieces of pepperoni, 1/3 cup cheese & minimal sauce.  I estimated my serving to be about 4 WW points.  MUCH better than the 6-8 points I would be using on a piece from the local pizza place!  And I still had enough points left over for a soft serve cone from McD's!  Great Day!  :-)

Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili

We've been having un-seasonably warm weather lately, but I still thought that chili sounded good.  I found a great recipe for Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili.

It was DELICIOUS!!  I love finding recipes that K likes.  It had a little kick to it, but in my opinion, chili is not meant to be bland!  What I love about this recipe is you can add or take out ingredients and it will still taste just as yummy!  It makes a lot... but who doesn't love leftover chili?  I made a chicken chili wrap for dinner last night by putting a little of it on a tortilla.  I will definitely be making this again!

Cowboy Chicken

First of all, I have to say, I LOVE my crock-pot!  I wake up in the morning, throw a few ingredients in & turn it on.  When I come home from work, dinner is ready!  


Tonight K & I had Cowboy Chicken....

It's so simple to make & taste so yummy!  

Ingredients

2 frozen chicken breast

1 cup salsa

3 tsp brown sugar

3 tsp brown mustard

2 cups frozen corn

Directions

Spray crock-pot with cooking spray.  Add chicken.  Combine salsa, sugar and mustard.

Pour mixture over chicken.  I also added a cup of water to prevent it from drying out.

Cook in crock-pot on low for 6 hours.  I added the corn 30 minutes before serving to prevent it from getting soggy.  You can also add black beans if you like.  

We ate the chicken & corn with crescent rolls, but it taste good served over rice or on a tortilla! 

I didn't take the time to figure the exact calories on this, but I estimate it is just under 300 calories.  

Handbook 2012

I just thought I would share this.  This was sent to me in an e-mail and I thought it was worth passing along...

HANDBOOK 2012

Health:

1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants..
4. Live with the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games
7. Read more books than you did in 2010 .
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:
11. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don’t have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don’t over do. Keep your limits.
14. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
18. Forget issues of the past. Don’t remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don’t hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree…

Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. Love has healing power.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change..
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come…
38. When you awake alive in the morning, be thankful for it.
39. Your Innermost is always happy. So, be happy.

Happy New Year!!

Well, it's officially 2012!  K & I spent the last few hours of 2011 with his family drinking wine and playing cards in our pajamas.  It was a very relaxing & fun evening!
Instead of making a resolution this year, I am going to set goals for myself.  In 2010, I made a resolution to lose weight.  It took me about a year and a half, but I lost 100 lbs!  I felt so amazing, both physically and mentally.

Before

After

I felt amazing the day I walked down the aisle to marry the love of my life.  But since getting married, I have been in a bit of a funk.  Now don't get me wrong, I couldn't be happier anywhere else, but I have made a lot of changes in the last few months....  I moved over an hour away from my family & best friend, started a new job and am just trying to get adjusted to the married life.  My jeans are tighter, and I am afraid to step on the scale, because I know I have put on weight.
With that said, here are my goals for 2012...

• Find healthy recipes that K & I will both enjoy.  Make weekly menus using the recipes I find & use them to make my weekly grocery list.  This will not only help us eat healthy, but it will save us money by only buying the items I need for that week's menu.  
• Use my NordicTrack Incline Trainer (I just ordered!)  for at least 30 minutes 5 days a week.  
• Learn how to use coupons to get the most for my money!  I'm not talking extreme couponing, but I would like to save money by clipping coupons and looking at ads to get the lowest price.  I love saving money!  :-)

A year ago, I never imagined I would be where I am now.  I am truly blessed & can't wait to see what 2012 has in store!  Happy New Year!