Now, Who Doesn't Love a Calzone!?!?

I made calzones tonight...and they actually turned out pretty good.  I would definitely do it again.

I got the recipe from my new go-to favorite, Greenlitebite.com.  Here's the recipe...with a few adjustments.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 package of Trader Joe's Whole wheat Pizza Dough 
• 1 9 oz frozen pack of spinach defrosted
• 8-10 mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 cup fat free Ricotta cheese (124 g)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/8 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
• Sauce for dipping 

Preheat oven to 425 Degrees.  Separate the dough into 2 even 4 oz balls.  Stretch and roll out the dough.  Pre-cook mushrooms in a pan.  Drain any excess water from the spinach and mix it with mushrooms, ricotta, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and mozzarella.  Half the spinach-cheese mixture on place each half on one side of rolled out dough. Fold over the dough, flatten a bit, seal the edges and pierce a fork.  Place calzones on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil and sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake on the middle rack for about 18-20 minutes until crust is firm to the touch and the spinach is warmed through.

 Hot out of the oven!!!

I thought it was gonna be small...but it was pretty huge!!!

It was very good...and really easy!!  I even got a "yeah...it's pretty good" from my fiance.  Woohoo!  I'm super full...I finished about 3/4 of it. 

I ate a little late (an hour passed my cut off time), but I did a lot of activity today.  Physique 57 in the morning...walked three mile uphill (at 4.0-4.2 mph) in the afternoon...and walked to Harry's with my fiance this evening.  Pretty big day for physical fitness:)

Anyway, tomorrow, I will be making Angela's Carrot Chia Spelt Muffins!  My fiance's family is coming into town...maybe they can be my guinea pigs.  I may not know how to cook...but I sure can follow a recipe!  Yay, me!!

Tuesday Weigh In?

I started this post yesterday...but I ended up going to the outlets with my mom, so I was never able to finish.  I don't know if this is allowed in the blog-world, but I'm just gonna pretend that it is Monday again...

Well, this is it.  The last Monday weigh in for awhile.  It's funny...even though I said that I would be giving up the scale for four weeks, I woke up this morning thinking that that I would give it one more week.  I figured that I would be able to see my total weight loss for my summer break if I gave it one more week.  AND my OCD told me that if I did one more week I would be taking the whole month of August off.  I like even things...and multiples of 5 (I know...don't ask).

So, I went to the bathroom...and hopped on the scale.  129.2!  I was happy that I hadn't gained again since I did the sneak peak after my sneak peak.  When I thought about my week, I hadn't exactly been as healthy as I could have been...but I did my best and that is all that you can do, right?

Anyway, the funny (...or not so funny) thing is, I immediately started thinking about weighing in next week.  Was I gonna lose?  Was I gonna go up!?!?  How was that gonna make me feel?  Will I hit the ten pound mark?  All these questions floated around my head minutes after I stepped off the scale.

That's when I realized that this would definitely have to be the last week for awhile.  It just isn't healthy.  I didn't even give myself a second to celebrate my loss before I was already contemplating the next time I would be getting on that stupid scale.  So that was it....and the scale was banished.

My scale's new home...it's at the top of my closet on top of Carson's cage. 

Kind of liberating...kinda scary.  My only real fear is that it will affect my eating.  I'm afraid that without having that D-day at the end (or beginning) of each week that I won't feel the same accountability.  But we will see.  I say I am in this for the long haul...for a healthy lifestyle and this will definitely be the test.

Anyway, here are my stats...

DATE       WEIGHT       BODY FAT (%)    HYDRATION (%)           BMI
5/31             138.4                28.6                       49.9                      27.0
6/13             137.2                28.2                       50.2                      26.8
6/28             133.8                27.4                       50.8                      26.1
7/5               133.8                27.2                       50.9                      26.1
7/12             130.6                26.2                       51.6                      25.6
7/19             131.0                26.2                       51.6                      25.6
7/26             129.2                25.6                       52.0                      25.2

I have lost a 9.2 lbs in 6 weeks...which I truly think is phenomenal.  I'm proud that I did it the right way.  Without dieting or restricting what I eat.  Yes, I still track my calories...yes, I do stay away from certain foods...and yes, I did/do exercise daily.  But these are all things that I don't mind doing...these are all things that inevitably make me pretty happy.  I have never felt so healthy in my life...and I still get to eat brownies and tortilla chips on occasion...how awesome is that!?!?

Also, on a side note, I tried another recipe this weekend.  POM "chicken" with brown rice and spinach...it was another yummy treat from Greenlitebites.com.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 oz POM juice
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp dried tarragon
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• pinch of kosher salt and ground black pepper
• Quorn "chicken"
• About 2 cups cooked brown rice
• 2-3 cups of baby spinach

Whisk the POM juice, honey, vinegar, tarragon, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.

Submerge the "chicken." The recipe says to marinate for at at least a half an hour...but 10-15 minutes is okay with the Quorn "chicken." Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and spray with a non-stick cooking spray. Place the "chicken" in the hot pan and cook according to directions.  Once cooked, add the marinade to the pan. Bring it to a boil. Add the cooked rice, and then the baby spinach.  Stir in the spinach until it just starts to wilt.  Then it is ready to serve!!!

 Is it looking any better than usual?!  My college roommate has a food blog and her food always looks SOOOO good...I need to ask her what I'm doing wrong (maybe it's cause half the time I use my iPhone camera:))

I had to thank Roni for her wonderful recipe.  I've started using Greenlitebites each week when I make my weekly meal plans.  So helpful.  

Okay...I need some nourishment.  NOW!  I may walk to Whole Foods to get some applesauce and coffee.  A couple of my favorite bloggers keeps writing about Green Monster muffins...and I'm feeling an obligation to make them (YUM!). 

My First "Real" Trip to TJ's, *Surprise* & Chu-chu-chu Cheetah's!

Today, I am recuperating.  I don't think that I will even get a workout in.  It's gonna be a "lazy, lay on the couch all day" kinda day...which is fine with me because I haven't had one in awhile.

My fiance and I went to a surprise party for a friend last night!  I'm a homebody...but it was nice getting together with friends!

This picture was clearly taken at the end of the night...as denoted by my fiance's eyes.

I didn't eat before we went to the party...which was probably a mistake.  There wasn't much food that I could eat...barbecue chicken, potato salad, beans, and corn bread.  I don't eat chicken or potato salad...the beans were cooked with meat...and I decided to stay clear of the corn bread.  I had a couple of tortilla chips AND I did indulge in a brownie or two...or three (they were really small).  I also had one drink...which is very good for me.

After the party, I got some seafood bisque soup to go from the Marietta Diner.

Not my actual soup.  This is just a cup...I got a big old bowl!

The diner is in the neighborhood.  The food is not great (to me).  But it's open late and I do enjoy the seafood bisque!

The soup was salty...and I really shouldn't have eaten it so late.  And I really shouldn't have eaten a nice size portion of my fiance's fries.  But at least we had fun!!!

Another excitement from this weekend was my "first" trip to Trader Joe's.  Okay...of course, I've been to TJ's before.  My first trip actually happened years ago!  But this was my first trip as a "healthy eater."  I was AMAZED by both the prices and all of the yummy treats.  I really had to restrain myself and try to stick to my list.  

The only extra item that I did get was...

Trader Joe's Smoked Salmon and Spinach Filled Crepes

I don't know why out of all of the yummy foods there, I decided to go with frozen crepes...but I threw it in the cart.

They looked like this...

Three crepes was one serving.  210 calories and 10 grams of protein.  They were...uh, not the greatest.  They needed to be topped with a sauce or something.  It was recommended to eat them with a salad...but I just had an orange.  They were also very rich...had my stomach a little upset with me later.  I don't know what I am going to do with the additional 7 crepes that are still in the freezer.  Definitely a miss:(

Something else new that I tried this weekend was Kailey from Snackface's chu-chu-chu cheetahs (a.k.a. sweet potato chips).

They are supposed to have those little dark marks on them.

Another bad picture of my food.  I need some tips:(

I had my chu-chu's with a veggie hot dog on a 100% whole wheat bun.  Not the healthiest meal (no green), but it did the trick for Friday night.

So, that is my weekend in a nutshell.  I need to get back to my horizontal position on the couch.  I really need to eat.  It's passed noon and all I've had is some cranberry pomegranate juice.  This is the problem with eating so late.  It's gonna be a light day since I over-did it yesterday...which is fine cause I don't have the energy to cook much anyway!! 

He said "YES!"

I was moping around the house yesterday after the big sneak peak weigh in.  My fiance tried to cheer me up a bit...but I guess he wasn't saying what I wanted to hear.  So, I went to the blogs:)  Everyone at Blog to Lose was so supportive...and had helpful advice.  Maria from Oh Healthy Day was super sweet and took the time out to send me a really nice and very insightful email (I'm starting to get why people like this blogging thing so much). 

Anyway, I was sitting on the couch with my fiance and kinda out of no where I asked him if he would do a 5K with me.  He said "When?"  I said, "I dunno...September!?"  He said, "Okay."  He said okay!!!  I was super happy. 

My happiness is twofold.  One, I've been trying to get the nerve up to sign up for a 5K.  I did two a couple of years ago...but I didn't train at all, ran/walked the whole way, and didn't give it my all either time.  This time, I feel physically fit!  I feel ready!  Even though, I've primarily been running on the treadmill...I figured I have a month to transition to outdoor running to train.

My second reason for being happy is that my fiance is not a very healthy person right now.  His eating habits are very poor...and he doesn't exercise (He would cringe to read this...but it's true).  I'm hoping committing to a 5K will give him a little jump start.  He said that we could start running in the evenings.  (I pray that this really happens).

So in other news, I have a little confession.  Since my declaration of banishing the scale for the month starting Monday...I have hopped on the scale TWO TIMES!!!  I know...I know.  I figured I would get it all out before I say goodbye for four weeks...right?!  Anyway, the first time was yesterday afternoon...still said 131.0. 

Then this morning.  Can you believe when I got on the scale this morning it said 129.something. *mouth drops open*  That makes absolutely no sense!  I did not burn 3500+ calories in less than 24 hours.  And to make it even more interesting my body fat dropped a percentage point too!!  I really don't know what to say.  And of course, quiet celebrations in my head started...I felt like I looked skinnier than yesterday...and all of that lunacy.  Anyway, I think that I need to re-read Maria's email.  She said so many good and poignant things in support of trading the scale for a healthy lifestyle. 

Okay...I promised myself only 30 minutes on the computer and then I "want to" do C210K (I read somewhere yesterday to replace "have to" with "want to" when talking about your daily workout).  Thanks again blog world!!!

What Am I Doing Wrong?

So, Fridays have kind of turned into the day that I take a sneak peak at the scale before my Monday weigh in.  I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing.  I feel like if the scale says something good, it'll motivate me to have a good food weekend.  But if the scale says something bad (like today), it puts me in a bad mood...and the bad mood usually comes back on Monday when I weigh in again.

Okay, the scale didn't say something horrible...but it didn't budge since Monday.  Not even a half of a pound!  I don't get it!?!?  I do EVERYTHING right!  I stay between 1300-1500 calories.  I work out EVERY day and this week I worked out twice a day on two separate occasions.  I eat the right foods (mostly fruits and veggies)...and I have had minimum alcohol (had a little splurge on Monday with the co-workers).  I've done new exercises this week so it's not my body adapting.  I'm soooo frustrated.  It's never been this hard to make the pounds come off.  I thought that if you did all the right things (i.e. exercise) and ate all of the right foods, you are supposed to lose weight....right?!!

I don't see myself going back to "the dark side" as far as eating but I am VERY frustrated.  Do you think that it has to do with the corn chip incident from the other night?...one tiny binge (600 calories of organic yellow tortilla chips) cancels out ALL of my hard work?!!?  I'm kinda sad.

On to lighter things...I finally tried Allie's "carrot cake" sandwich yesterday...and it was super good.

 As usual, taking a picture was an afterthought.  If you look closely, I already took a bite out of it.  Hee hee! 

Here's Allie's "recipe."

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup carrots, chopped
• 2 slices of cinnamon raisin bread (I used Rudi's and it was awesome-sauce)
• 2 Tbsp. cream cheese (I used Neufchatel cheese...a lot like cream cheese, but less fat)
• 1/8 cup pecans
• 1 tsp. of honey
• some cinnamon

Chop carrots and heat for one minute in microwave.  Add honey and cinnamon to carrots.  The rest is pretty self explanatory.  It's a sandwich, silly!

Anyway, the bread made it super yummy!!!  Moist, organic cinnamon raisin bread is awesome!!!  It was a little high in calories...but I balance it out with the rest of the food that I had for the day. 

Well, I still need to do my C210K...even though I'm super bummed.  I'm gonna try to keep trucking along.

UPDATE:  After Monday...I think that I am going to banish the scale for two weeks.  I will see how that makes me feel.  I feel great about how I'm eating and exercising...the scale is the only thing making me not happy.  So, I will take a two week hiatus after my July 26th weigh in.

ANOTHER UPDATE:   I also think that it is time to really implement the food cut off at 8:00 pm (at least on Sunday-Thursday.  I'm really not sure what else to do?!!