Oh, it's one of "Those" Days!

Do you ever have mornings like this?! I woke up at 5:30 when The Husband got home from work (yeah for only 1 more day of working nights!) a 1/2 hour before my alarm. I had planned on sleeping in a little til 6:00 since I was up working until 1130 last night - dooooh! No problem....my early start to my day turned into being early, then, late.

I got ready, packed up all my stuff, walked out the door and realized I forgot to feed our super cute cat that adopted us - so I quickly set my stuff down, fed the cat and left.



In the car I realize I forgot my Magic Bullet and need it for my smoothie.....drove back to the house, grabbed it, picked up my co-worker and headed into work (yeah for carpooling!) Get to work to make my smoothie and realize I forgot the top to my magic bullet - the important part needed to blend - AHHHH! Luckily my co-worker saved the day and let me use the kitchen blender - phew!

Good start, right.......Breakfast was awesome however, once, I did ACTUALLY get it made up. I started with a fabulous berry smoothie.



1 c ff milk
1/2 c ff greek yogurt
splash of pure vanilla extract
1/2 c frozen raspberries
handful of fresh blueberries

I was sooooo excited that the Jump Start Diet called for Almond Butter today - I have seriously been missing my nut butters! Is it possible to have nut butter withdrawals?! I had 1 Tbsp freshly ground organic almond butter from Whole Foods with 1 Tbsp of Organic Apricot Preserves on a Thomas Double Fiber English Muffin.



It was soooooo GOOD! I rounded everything out with some half caf and my Nathan Bottle of water! A total liquid breakfast.....



My quick summary recap for yesterday:

2,826 Calories Burned
12,880 Steps Taken
~ 1,460+/- Calories Consumed

Today is going to be a good day, today is going to be a good day.....this is my mantra today :)

It isgoing to be a super busy day, but, I am hoping to get out for a lunchtime stroll but not sure - may have to save my workouts for tonight.....catch you later today or tonight!

Happy Thursday All!!!

The perfect lunch break….

Today has not been too bad of a day going back to work after a long holiday weekend.  Then again, getting a pedicure at lunch probably put me in a nice peaceful “Zen” state LOL.

This morning I snacked on some TJ’s Organic 0% Greek Vanilla Bean yogurt with some Fiber one and a TJ’s Cat that is hiding in the cereal :)

My pedicure was awesome and I now officially have opalescent blue-ish toe nails ~ Fun!  I was pondering all day if I was going to eat the lunch I brought of pick up Thai that was next to the nail place…..Can you guess what won?  Since I got it all togo, it came in cute recyclable containers.

I started off with salad in a Spicy Thai Peanut Dressing – LOVE this sauce!

And for the main dish I ordered the Spicy Cashew Chicken ~ Chicken breast with cashews, dried chili’s, onion, green onions and garlic ~ Soooo Good! But, it’s better when you get it there since I was officially able to see the oil they use when they make it *sigh* I liked it better when I could deny that it had oil :D

 

Plus ~ 1 cup of brown rice.

They actually give you way more rice than you need so I only scooped out what I needed to feel full and satisfied. I LOVE brown rice, it really doesn’t need anything on it.

This might have been one of the most perfect lunch breaks ever!  Thai+pedi – ahhhh!  My lunch was so completely satisfying.  It filled me up and I do not need a PM snack ~ yeah, i can save a few calories/points that way.  Next time I think I’ll ask to see if they can add more, real veggies to it maybe……

I did pick up 3 super cute sample packs for my niece and nephew today ~ Super Cute Annie’s Organic Pretzel Bunnies and Carrots.  I will get to see them this weekend when my sis and I go for our pampering session – yeah!

Alright all ~ I am off to workout as I still have a TON of steps to get in to reach my minimum 10,000 step count.  I am not sure what the plans are for tonight, but, hopefully I have some time to work on my new blog layout and to post the interview I owe you all.

Click HERE for your chance to win some Amazing Grass!

What does a Bikini Bootcamp Circuit & Core session look like?

Happy Friday all! This morning I woke up thinking Day 5, 9 days of Bikini Bootcamp to go ~ Yeah! My morning meditation started as soon as the alarm went off. Today was all about awakening your senses. You lay in bed in a relaxed position, breathing comfortable and focus on each body part starting with your toes. By the end of the exercise your whole body feels grounded to the Earth and relaxed.

I am not sure if that was a good or bad thing for me to meditate first because I worked SLOW all morning LOL. The book works through a series of circuit workouts and today it was Circuit B.

Each exercise is performed for 1 minute - you do not count reps and the focus is on form over quantity ~ slow burn....ahhhh! All spurts of Jump Roping/Jumping Jacks, etc are done in 2 minute intervals.

* Jump Rope to warm up
* Reverse Lunges
* Overhead Press
* Side Extensions
* Jump Rope
* Wall Sits
* Standing Triceps Kickback (30 seconds, each side)
* Crunches
* Jump Rope
* Hip Rotators
* Push-ups
* Upper Body Twists (working your obliques)

The above series is repeated twice and followed up with:

* Jump Rope
* 3 minutes of abs plus 3 minutes of stretching

The goal is to complete the entire series twice in 38 minutes ~ Yup, work straight through without breaks if you can.

After the Circuits, you move on to Core Training.

* Criss Cross Abs (15 times each side)
* Controlled leg Drops (1o times each side)
* Dead Bug (10 times each side)
* Crunches (20)
* Single Leg stretch (10 times each side)
* Swimming (similar to Superman's) (10 times each side)

At this point, I am usually ready to say forget Bikini Bootcamp! But, then, I remember my reward.....YOGA! I did 15 minutes of Sun Salutations today plus added some more Asanas.

* Sun Salutations can be found HERE
* Asanas
- Cat Pose followed by Cow Pose
- Bridge Pose
- Boat Pose
- Reclined Twist Pose

Angelea is rockin' the bootcamp too. She posts all her circuit workouts on her site - Check out her site if you want to see more.

My Monring Burst was on the go today but there was just ONE problem. I realized after my first drink than when The Husband was nice enough to do the dishes, he didn't quite get all the soap out of my cup. I think I could've blown bubbles *sigh* So I salvaged my lemons and made up a fresh cup to have with my Trader Joe's Multi-Grain Oats.



1/2 c TJ's Multi-Grain Oats
1/2 c water, 1/2 c fat free milk
Spash of vanilla extract
Dashes of cinnamon
Drizzle of Agave Nectar

I cooked the oats with the water/milk mixture in the microwave for 3 minutes watching to make sure I didn't overflow the bowl. The result actually looked pretty tasty.



But, I think I actually prefer regular old fashioned oats. My bowl was 3 Weight Watcher Points and packed with fiber and a little protein. Hopefully it keeps me going for awhile.

Quick Recaps for Wed & Thurs:

Wed:

Cal burned: 2,925
Cal consumed: 1,515 (25 WWP)
Steps Taken: 9,522

Thurs:

Cal burned: 2,667
Cal consumed: 1,253 (23 WWP)
Steps Taken: 11,059

TODAY'S FUN READS:

* Click HERE for some great recipes on how to GO GREEN when you CLEAN.
* Click HERE to find out the BEST & WORST SUMMER COCKTAILS.
* Soup recipes will be coming up next!!!

Today is your last day to enter my Mr. Krispers Giveaway. Click HERE!

Have a Fantastic Friday all! I am heading out to Spin Class at lunch for my cardio ~ fun!

Attack of the Snacks...

This afternoon I was completely fighting some sweet cravings and I swear I heard the lovely M&M Gumball Machine Call my name. I couldn't ignore it, I mean, that would be rude, right? lol....So, I caved, pushed the handle and ended up with this.



Woohoo! It's my lucky day - jackpot! Not really, but, I thought it would hold me over and I wouldn't need a snack. That worked until my stomach started growling at 4 PM. I decided to have my original snack (1 c FF Greek Yogurt with 1/2 c strawberries) & sweetened it up a bit with a little Sweet Cactus VEGAN Agave Syrup.



The Sweet Cactus Agave Nectar is my absolute favorite brand. A little goes a long way - I added a 1 teaspoon drizzle to my greek yogurt & it made it makes it sweet like froyo! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it and this is the ONLY brand that is 15 calories per teaspoon - all others have more!





When I got home, I made up my dinner & cooked/packed up a dinner to take to The Husband. While bagging up some of his treats to go with his chicken, watermelon & green beans....



A few fell on my napkin that I couldn't turn down eating! They were both really tasty & I could easily see eating way more than a serving - danger, danger....must get The Husband to eat them ASAP :)



Here is the plate 'o' grilled chicken I made up for him. He LOVES chicken drumsticks and they are the perfect thing to pack up.



Tonight, I broke out a new for me product and bought the Trader Joe's Cajun Salmon.



Like I said last night, I am not a huge fan of cooked fish - give me raw sushi anyday!!! But, in an effort to stick to the Jump Start eats, I took one for the team and thew 6 oz on the grill for me to eat.



I really liked the spicy cajun flavor, but, to me, Salmon is super fishy and super oily when cooked. I did manage to eat most of this and shared some with the cat that adopted us. She LOVED it and it made me wish I could love it like her since the health benefits rock for salmon.

I also made up the Jump Start Ranch Style "Spagetti" Marinara. You can get the recipe by clicking HERE and scrolling down to the recipe. I used butternut squash because I thought that was spagetti squash. However, mine didn't quite turn into spagetti. It was tasty though and I would definitely try to make this again.



I had some fabulous, crunchy, freshly steamed sweet green beans topped with 1 Tbsp of slivered almonds.



All together with my Perrier Fizzy Water.



After dinner, I whipped out workout #2 - Strength & Stretching from the Jump Start.

I used my 5 lb Cow Bells with each exercise:

15 Squats
15 Rear Lunges, each leg
15 Side Lunges, each leg
15 Romanian Deadlifts
15 Plie Squats

Static Stretching - hip flexor, hamstrings, claf glute & innter thighs - Stretching is my favorite part each day!

For dessert, I decided to break out one of the new teas from my "tea swap", Yogi Stress Relief tea. Sorry Cryssy, but, I thought this tea was really awful lol.....It had a bit too many spices for me but it is nice to be able to try it without buying it.



A couple of Righteous Round Mini Chocolate Chip cookies might have gone unphotographed too along with a small bite of dark chocolate. I do not know what is up with my BLT's (bites, licks, tastes) today, but, I am definitely making the commitment to have NO BLT's tomorrow!

Anyone want to join in on the fun?

I am off to enjoy the rest of The Biggest Loser!!! Go Blue, Go Pink, Go Green - go anything BUT brown :D lol....see you all in the morning!

Cool Costco Finds & July 4th BBQ salads….

This morning before I headed out to Costco (thinking I’d beat the crowd only to have people lined up BEFORE they opened), I snacked on 1/2 a Amazing Grass Organic Greens Super Food Bar.

I LOVE seeing all the organic ingredients and the stats are not too bad either. The entire bar is 4 Weight Watcher Points.

It looks very similar to a Lara bar other than it is ALOT “greener” :)

I thought this bar was alright – I couldn’t think of a way to describe the flavor. It’s sweet like a date with the taste of raw nuts and spinach. I like Lara bars better but 1/2 of this bar did a great job at keeping me full all morning. I did grab a couple of TJ’s cat cookies on my way out the door as well.

I came home to find our new stove installed! Yeah!

Check out ALL the oven settings – this if the first stove I’ve owned that I am actually not even sure what all the settings mean. I might have to read the book :)

My Costco finds were SO AWESOME that I had to share them with you all. I picked up the veggie burgers that I told you all about yesterday that we had at work. You find them in the Fridge section next to the pastas. They are VEGAN and cook completely fast! The brand is Don Lee Farms

The nutritionals and ingredients are awesome!

And the recipes on the box sound amazing. Another cool part is that you can keep this in the fridge or freezer!

I also bought some AmyLu Caramelized Onion Chicken Burgers – I LOVE Amy Lu sausages so I am sure these are just as fantastic.

And I am sooooo freakin’ excited that they finally carry Sandwich Thins out here!!!! I hear you all always talking about these fantastic 1 Weight Watcher Point buns and I can never get them.

I pretty much at this point think I am stocked up on burgers for a long time, but, in a good way for sure. For lunch I decided to grill up one of my new Don Lee Vegan Burgers on a sandwich thin.

Topped with Annie’s Organic Ketchup & Dijon mustard, tomato slices and avocado slices..

With a side of this Veggie Mix Salad I picked up at Trader Joe’s.

All together this was a fantastic 6 Weight Watcher Point Lunch! This veggie burger is amazing ~ it tastes alot like a veggie eggroll to me but you get the crunch of toasty sunflower seeds too.

For dessert, I had two of the most amazing cookies ever that I picked up at Costco too! They just melt in your mouth with lemony, buttery, powdered sugar goodness.

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After lunch, I prepped for our BBQ tonight by making up my VEGAN Pasta Salad.

Plus my Healthier Potato Salad ~ This was The Husband’s sample bite to make sure it tasted ok :)

I also have a FANTASTIC dessert being mixed up right now! Pictures and the recipe to come later tonight or tomorrow, but, here is a HINT….It’s Homemade Low-fat Frozen Vanilla Bean Yogurt!

I am off to get ready for the BBQ! See you all later tonight or in the morning!