Workout, Doctor's Appointment and Black Bean Soup

Got in another early morning workout at the gym today, even though it ment waking up at 5:30 to do so, I'm glad to get the workout over and done with, especially on a day like today. Today I got out of work, early, woohoo, well not really, as I had an emergency doctor's appointment and it looks like I am going to have need surgery to remove my gallstone and maybe even my gallbladder.

I have been very hesitant and after having four non related surgeries in my 24 years, I didn't want to add another one to the list. But, when you have excruciating pain that comes out of nowhere, with the strength to wake a person up and bring this otherwise tough chick, to a whimpering, wheepy, I think I'm seriously dying right now mess, well then at that point something seriously needs to be done to get this problem fixed, asap. And so I am, yay a whole new set of dietary restrictions that I have to abide by. No wheat products and a low fat diet, it looks like I'm going to lose weight one way or another I guess that's way of looking at my current predicament!

Tonight I made black bean soup for dinner and dole whip, which will not be ready by the time I post, so that will have to wait for another day, but the recipe for mt black bean soup follows.

Heat 2 tbsp of grapeseed oil in a pot, add 1 small chopped onion, scallion and tomato. Saute until soft, about 3 minutes

Stir in 1 tbsp chili powder, 1 tsp cumin and salt

Saute for about 1 minute

Add 30 oz. of black beans (I didn't have enough black beans so I substituted some white northern beans)

Stir in 3 c. of water and 1/2 c. of Pace salsa. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Using a blender, blend 3/4th of the soup until smooth.

Be very careful when blending hot liquid and only fill blender half way, cover the top with a towel just in case there is some splatter.

Mix blended soup back into the pot

*When pouring any liquid, especially when cooking, turn you spoon over and pour directly onto the spoon, this stop you get hot liquid splashed in your face or on your clothes.

Yumm

Ladle into bowl, top with cilantro, pico de gello, cotija cheese, avocado, lime juice, sour cream, salsa, tortilla chips or whatever you like.

Wheat and the 30 Day Shred

I've been MIA for a little bit, due to my health and trying to get some areas of my life in order, but I am back!!

When I was younger, I was given an allergy test and one of the items that I had a reaction to was wheat. Since then I have not had any serious reactions when I have eaten food which contain wheat, that is until about a year ago when I started changing my eating and started eating more whole grain and whole wheat products. When one switches their diet to be more balanced and healthier, one would think that they would begin to feel better, not me, things actually got worse. No matter how healthy I ate, usually whole wheat pasta or a sandwich with whole wheat bread I would feel almost instantly severe pain in my stomach. Well, the wheat allergy that I was diagnosed with as a child had transformed into a complete intolerance of wheat. So what did that mean, no more sourdough, french bread or whole wheat bread, pasta, bagels, tortillas, oatmeal and anything that contained wheat flour, even soy sauce, it's in just about everything!

Over the last year my intolerance to wheat has gotten worse, simply because I have not given up wheat completely.  Not eating things that contain wheat, especially things that I like to eat and have eaten for pretty much the entirety of my life is really hard to do and cut of my diet. But the more research I'm doing on gluten and wheat intolerance coupled with the intense stomach pain I experience, and which seem to be intensifying when I do eat food that contains wheat, I want and have to change my eating completely and remove wheat from my diet all together.

Gluten Free Italian Vegetable Salad - Yummm!

My bestie, Monica and I have started Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred 5 days ago. Prior to starting the workout I had been reading reviews of the dvd on the internet and based on what people had posted, the workout sounded like a pretty intense. Well, I can report to you that it is. In a nutshell the concept of the workout is that it is only 23 mins, but you are constantly moving, most of the time working out two parts of your body at the same time, like arms and legs, or back and legs for 3-2-1 min increments. It was hard, scratch that, it is hard, but it has gotten easier as we have progressed. Monica even has started saying that she now feels like she needs to do the workout each day as it has become part of her routine. With the 30 Day Shred, yes its only 23 mins, but its of 23 mins of sheer intensity, sooooo much sweating and pain, but we get through it. One thing that I've learned since starting this journey to get rid of this unhealthy body is that no matter how fit or fat you are, workout hard, give it your all, it you may not be perfect right now, but working out a little each day, is so much better than not doing anything at all. With time and the effort that you put in, your body will respond, get stronger and your stamina will increase, so get your butt off the couch and get out there, be active and don't make excuses.

Found this in Pinterest - love this, this was me in the past.

     

How to Poached an Egg 101

Tonight's din din is simple and fast cause I don't have a lot of time, this weekend is busy which seems to be a reoccurring phenomenon. I don't like it! Anyways, din din was poached eggs over mixed greens, drizzled with mushroom and sage olive oil.

Now poaching eggs is not as hard as people think, it looks fancy, but its not, are doing is slowing simmering the egg in water, simmering, not boiling. Someone on the Food Network said that you want the water in the pan just like you want you jacuzzi water. Not boiling, but bubbling just a wee bit, ok maybe they didn't say wee, but here's how to make a poached egg.

Fill a medium sauce pan with about 5" of water and bring to a simmer

Crack the egg in a small bowl, be careful to not break the yolk

Gently, very gently, drop the egg in the water

Depending on how you liked your yolk, depends on how long you keep the egg in the water. If you like a running yolk, keep the egg in the water for 3 minutes, but if your are not a fan of the running yolk and like you egg cooked a bit more, go for 5 minutes instead. I happen to like 3 minute eggs.

One minute - the egg white is starting to get a tinge of white.

Two minutes - the egg white is uniformly the same color.

Three minute egg - the entire egg white is now encapsulating the yolk.

Using a slotted spoon, remove the eggs and place on a paper towel to drain excess water.

You can eat poached eggs with toast for breakfast, have them with a salad, maybe with some steamed vegetables like green beans or asparagus. Also try drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, you will not be disappointed. 

New workout buddy and Garlic Parmesan Tomatoes

My friend Erika, aka Rika, was my new workout buddy at the gym this morning, bright and early at 5:45 am!!! Knowing that someone is waiting for you to workout definitely helps you get out of the house out and it is that extra motivation, especially when you are working out in the early morning.

Today's workout: elliptical (30 minutes) and some weights

I was going to make Spicy Thai Noodles tonight for dinner, but there were some ingredients that I forgot to grab at the store. So, what did I end up having for dinner: Roasted Chicken with broiled garlic parmesan tomatoes and mixed green salad. The recipes for the Garlic Parmesan Tomatoes follows below.

Garlic Parmesan Tomatoes
6 roma tomatoes, washed and dried with a towel
1/4 c. oil, grapeseed or sunflower
1 tsp. garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp. parsley, chopped (fresh or dried)
1/2 tsp. marjoram, chopped (fresh or dried)
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 tbsp. parmesan cheese, grated

Set your broiler on high, slice the tomatoes in half, lengthwise and broil skin side down on a baking sheet for 5 mins. 

While tomatoes are in the oven, mix together oil, garlic, parsley, marjoram, red pepper flakes and parmesan cheese in  a bowl.

Using tongs turn over tomatoes (skin side down) and spoon garlic cheese oil over tomatoes and use the back of the spoon to insure that the oil is evenly spread. Broil for 5 more minutes. 

The finished product!!!

Patience

There are some areas of my life that I am able to exercise patience, but alas, there are somethings that I struggle with exercising any level of patience, and they usually revolve around my weight, my future husband (whoever he may be) and trying to figure out what I need to be doing for the rest of my life. Thankfully there are two things that help me push through the days of impatience: writing and prayer.

I'm going to let a little secret out: I like to write. Now I'm not the most eloquent of writers and my writing has little to no consequence to anyone but save myself, but I do enjoy putting on paper and out of my brain my thoughts, prayers, wishes and things I wish I had the courage to say to a handful of people face-to-face. I also really like to like letters to people, now not a single one of them has ever made it to the post office, and I doubt they ever will as they are mostly written for my sanity. Anything I write is usually on scraps of paper or in notebooks that are supposed to be used for other purposes, but one thing is certain, they always find their way back to a special box where I keep special mementos. I am looking forward to filling in the new journal my parents gave me with new or the continuous and ever present desires of the heart, prayers, wishes and letters.

My new journal

 In addition to writing, prayer is also a tremendous comfort. Being able to pray is one of the greatest gift in the world God has given us and it amazes how quickly He will answer a prayer. I'm thankful that He hears our prayers, sure He may not answer our prayers right away and oftentimes we think that He is not listening, but He hears our cries, He knows the unspoken desires of our hearts, He knows our wants and our needs. God knows what is in our best interest, and while we may struggle and not understand why things are not working out the way WE want, maybe God is using our inner struggles to strengthen our faith. We are sinful and we lack faith, but we often we forget that God is the one person who we can turn to in our greatest need, He placed every star in the sky, created the world with the power of His word, and performed so many miracles while he was on earth. He has known about our very existence long before our parents, our family and friends knew us, and yet we think that He is not able to solve our miniscule issues. Our God is big and capable of so much, we need to remember that he has a plan for each one of our lives and His timing, not ours, is perfect!!!      

A new favorite verse of mine is Psalm 37:4 and 5 - Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. 

The Weekend Wrap Up

Church, light lunch, garden update and new baubles - oh my!!!!

Sunday is the Lord's day and at church with my church family. This mornings sermon was on the 9th commandment - Thou shalt not bear false witness, oh how it involves more than just lying.

After church and helping set up for the church-school's high school graduation, it was lunch time. I have not been eating real healthy meals the last couple of days due to lack of planning on my part, so today's lunch was on the lighter side. One small red potato, topped with herb greek yogurt and chives and a green salad. Mix 1/4 cup of plain greek yogurt, 1/4 tsp. parsley and dried onion and 1/8 tsp.Trader Joes 21 seasoning salute in a bowl. Spoon mixture over potato and sprinkle with chopped green onions.

Baby Cucumbers

My garden has gotten a lot bigger, the lettuce is growing (there is some freckled lettuce in the salad i had for lunch today), the cucumber and tomato plants are huge. The cucumber has little baby cumbers that are starting to grow. The tomato plants are tall and starting to flower, I think they should be bearing fruit in a week or two.

  I've been wanting to find a ring to wear with the ring my dad gave me for my 13th birthday. I found one that was my birthstone from OhKuol an etsy store, I love etsy, but that's another post for another day. Anyways, on Saturday it finally came in and I love it! Gotta run and squeeze in at least two loads of laundry before tonight's church service/graduation. Yay for laundry, the never ending chore!!

Sleep and mani/pedi

I have been MIA for a couple of days as I have been using what extra time I have to catch up on sleep. Sleep has been evading me for the last three nights and I'm not a the type of person who can survive, let alone manage, on minimal amounts of sleep, I like my sleep. Lately I end up falling asleep early in the morning, but then usually I end up waking up late for work. Friday morning I woke up at 7:33, I'm supposed to be on the road by 7:15 to get to work on time. I hate getting ready for work rushed, especially 15 minutes after I was supposed to be out the door. Thankfully I made it to work at 8:00 and not in my pjs!!!

As a girl, nothing beats ending a long week then spending time with my "sister-friend", getting some mani/pedis and going shopping at the mall with her and her daughter, mostly window shopping these days. I have shopping issues, while I'm not a fan of shopping for clothes, I do like shopping for other things. Shoes, I love shoes and make-up too. I picked up a lipstick I had been trying to get, but everywhere I went it was sold out. So I was happy about finally getting it.

Today's workout: elliptical for 40 mins. (502 calories gone, bazinga!) and rowing for 5 mins (hard). This week there has been too much eating bad unhealthy food and not enough working out, mostly due to bad planning on my part. So to solve that problem to do list are going to be prepared daily and workouts in the morning is going to become regular so I'll be able to do more when I get home after work.

Happy feet

New lippy: Bobbi Brown - Rose

Monday's to do list

Morning Workout and Southwest Chicken Wraps

Now I usually wake up around 6:00 am and don’t get out of bed until 6:15-6:30ish, but today started  a wee bit earlier than usual, like 5:45 am earlier, because my mom needed some help her loading up her car. By the time we got everything loaded in her car and she left for work, I had some extra time on my hands. Do I go back to sleep for about 30 mins. or do I squeeze in a workout at the gym? My bed was looking real comfy  and who doesn't want to sneak in a couple more minutes of zzzz's, but the gym won this morning and I think I’m considering keeping up with morning workouts. I like that I don't have to think, well to be honest its more dread, going to the gym or going for a run after work, because it’s already done! In addition to not having to think about adding a workout out after a long day at work mind, I think working out in the morning has another benefit: willpower. Since the morning has already started out healthy, why would I want to eat mindlessly and feed my body with crappy food which will only make me feel sluggish and those calories that I just workout off will find their way back to where they just came from. This mornings workout has given me the motivation to not want to eat that cookie or those unhealthy snacks at the office. I was even able to throw in a load of laundry after working out and before I left for work. One less load that I have to do tonight! Now when I get home from work, there’s no excuse for not having enough time to make a healthy dinner and bonus, I’ll also be able to cross some tasks off my to-do list that have been neglecting for sometime.

For dinner I made Southwest Chicken Lettuce Wraps. If you don't want to use lettuce another alternative is tortillas, but since I'm watching my calorie intake and gluten free tortillas are not in the house at the moment, lettuce it is.
Southwest Chicken Lettuce Wraps
1 tbsp. oil, grapeseed
1/2 c. red bell pepper, diced
1/2 c. red onion, diced
2 tsp. garlic, crushed
3 c. chicken breast, shredded
1 c. enchalada sauce
1 c. chicken broth
1 c. black beans, drained
1/2 c. plain greek yogurt
1/2 tsp. hot sauce (Tapatio)
salt and pepper
1 head of butter lettuce
Cilantro, chopped (optional)
Avocado (optional) 

1) Heat grapeseed oil in large skillet.

2) Saute bell pepper, onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes.

1 cup enchilada sauce and chicken broth

3) Stir in chicken

4) Add enchilada sauce and chicken broth to skillet and mix. Simmer covered for 20 minutes.

5) While chicken mix is simmering, wash lettuce and pat dry &

in a separate bowl mix together greek yogurt and hot sauce, add salt and pepper to taste.

6) Stir in black beans.

7) Spoon 1/4 cup of chicken mixture, 1 tbsp. yogurt hot sauce and top with cilantro, red onions and avocado - Enjoy!.

Getting up and out the door is probably the hardest part of working out in the morning, sure sleep is nice and so is a comfy, warm bed on a chilly morning, but sometimes we have to give up what we like in order to obtain what we want and the same thing can be said about food. Sure I would rather eat Ben and Jerry’s ice cream instead of a rice cake with peanut butter or yogurt, but at the same time I want something other than a brief moment of satisfaction and I want to have a different relationship with food. Your body WILL adapt to change, sure it might be slow and it will no doubt be difficult at times, but with time, waking up earlier to go to the gym will get easier, with time it will be easier to say no to foods that have nothing to offer nutritionally, but will only give momentary satisfaction. With time your body gets used to the adjustment, it will get used to the early mornings and it will want to be fueled with nutritionally balanced food rather than processed junk, so let’s do this again tomorrow!

Today was the primary elections, I hope you made your voice heard and voted today!

The Weekend Wrap Up

What's happening to the weekends, I woke up this morning wondering where Saturday and Sunday went. The weekend seems to be getting busier and busier and Monday likes to sneak up on me.
I get to teach Sunday School with my best friend, Monica, and this Saturday we took a couple of our students who will be graduating out of our class to Chuck E. Cheese.....the experience was eye opening. The kids weren’t bad, they were pretty good, even great. Even though there was only a couple of them, there was only two of us, and the kids wanted to go in all directions and not mention it is a money sucking leach. The kids blew through their tokens, and I couldn’t resist their little sad faces, so more and more tokens were purchased. I’m happy I got to spend time with my little chitlins and I will miss not having them in my class.

I got to spend the rest of the day with my bestie, we got our eyebrows threaded, thank goodness I had bangs to hide them for as long I was able to, they needed some major cleaning up. I felt like I had two caterpillars taking a vacation on my forehead, not cute!

Before

After

Next stop, Target, and anyone who knows my unspoken "rule" about Target, well lets just say they should not come with me. I have to go through every section maybe that’s why I always leave with a basket full of stuff that I didn’t need. My best friend should know this, so there was no reason for her to be so surprised that we spent two hours meandering around Target.

Sunday morning was spent at church, Sunday afternoon I went to the mall with a couple of friends, I bought a new lipstick from Bobbi Brown called Roseberry. I gawked at this Michael Kors bag that I’ve been wanting for sometime. I was so close to doing some major financial damage, but I slowly stepped away, but I will be back someday to take you home Michael Kors Jet Set Medium Travel Tote. After the church service Sunday night I had an impromptu get together with some of my friends, we picked up some pizza and bread sticks and I made some banana boats (I got the recipe off of Pinterest). I love spending time with my friends and I’m so thankful God has placed each one in my life.

Breakfast today was the usual greek blueberry yogurt & iced hazelnut americano. I forgot my lunch at home so I had to pick up something near work. Lunch was seared tuna that was brushed herbs with grilled veg and a green salad. After working out and a Sprouts run I ate dinner which was salad with miso dressing and watermelon.

Lunch

Dinner - Salad with cucumbers, tomato, carrots, avocado, beets, red onion, cilantro and miso dressing.

Today's workout: 45 mins. on the elliptical and some weights

Weigh In No. 2 and a beauty bust

This week has been extremely busy for me, but being busy didn't get in the way of me working out this week. I'm not a gym rat, but I made it a point to get my butt in the gym three times this week. Once you make working out part of your routine and it gets the same importance and necessity as lets say brushing your teeth or washing your hair, being busy does not become an excuse to not workout.

Saturday's have always been my weigh in days. 16 months ago I started attending Weight Watchers meetings, but I was never really consistent. My attendance was usually based on how my week went, if I had a good week, than I would go, if I had a bad week, I wouldn't go I didn't. It has only been in the last 4-5 months that I have been consistent in attending. No more of this playing with the scale, if I have had a bad week (food or exercise wise), I want to know so I can fix the problem before it gets out of control.  

After my morning workout at the gym and making a pit stop at Coffee Bean for my morning "juice" I trekked my butt over to Weight Watchers and weighed in and this is what the scale had to offer me:

Weigh In No. 1: 243.4
Weigh In No. 2: 241.4 (-2.0lbs)

Woohooo!!!! Those workouts and conscious eating really work, its the good old fashion way of losing weight. I guess that why it's been around longer than all the other fad diets that come and go. My goal this week is to get out of the 240's, let's do this thang! 





My face has been SOOOOO dry recently and I have being trying everything that I have in my medicine cabinet to try to get some moisture back into my face, along with the all important drinking of lots of water, which to be honest can be improved upon.  Well, my skin has rebelled and thought that it would be in my best interest if I break out. I felt like I was 14 again and going though puberty. So I thought I try one more thing, I love Philosophy products and have used them in the past before, so I know how they work with my skin. Sometime ago I bought Lasting Hope (a instant refreshing moisture mask) and thought I'd give it a shot.

Trying out the mask

                   




It worked!! I reapplied it two more times this week and well it seems that my skin likes Philosophy products, my wallet on the other hand doesn't understand. But I figure you only have one face so you gotta take care of it!!! This week I also went for it and busted out the red lipstick. Me thinks it's gonna be making more appearances :o)