Oh My Meal Prep!!!!

Whew!!!! Ok so it's Sunday and Sunday means: MEAL PREP DAY!!!! Oh how I have a love/hate relationship with meal prep!! I love it because during the week it's so easy to just grab and go and not have to think about what I'm going to eat! I hate it because, well...it's time consuming! I have been cooking for the past 3 hours and that does not include clean up (the dishes are still staring at me on the counter...and the dishwasher is full...oh joy).

Either way, this week's menu was planned out yesterday and it includes:
- tilapia with quinoa and cabbage
- spaghetti squash with marinara sauce, chicken and sauteed mushrooms and onions with broccoli
- chicken with 1/2 of a sweet potato and broccoli or cabbage (whichever tickles my fancy when it's time to eat it)
I still have a tuna and cranberry recipe that I want to make, but that might have to wait until tomorrow.  I also planned to make egg muffins, but I used all my onions which leaves me with only mushrooms to go in them (blah) so I'm going to have to hit the store for more veggies before I can make those.

So let's begin! This week I stepped out of my comfort zone and tried 3 new items to cook! 1. cabbage (yes, this was my first time making cabbage in life)! 2. quinoa 3. spaghetti squash.  Everything else was pretty much something I've already had or made before so no biggie on how to prep.
I wasn't sure how to make ANY of these foods since it was my first time, so I utilized the best thing to learn how to do just about anything...YOUTUBE! A childhood friend of mine and a few Facebook friends helped with how to prepare the cabbage.

Cabbage is amazing!! It's super cheap (I got mine for $.26/lb #eatcleanonabudget) and it's super yummy!!! I seasoned my pot with pepper, basil, a little sea salt, and a little chicken broth! I boiled mine as well. I think I now have enough cabbage to last me for the next 2 weeks!! One head will yield a large harvest!

Next up is the quinoa! I got tri-colored quinoa from Whole Foods since it was the cheapest! I had never tasted it before so I didn't want to pay too much for it and risk not liking it. Quinoa is a grain that essentially cooks like rice.  You boil 2 cups of water and add 1 cup of quinoa to the boiling water. Let it simmer until the water is completely gone and viola! The thing with quinoa is that you have to rinse it off first. I decided I would pour mine into a colander to do the rinsing and all of the little tiny quinoas started coming out of through the holes of the colander!!! PANIC SET IN!!! "I bought this stuff from Whole Foods" is what I heard myself shout as I try to quickly stop the quinoa from falling through the holes all over my counter top and into the sink...then down the drain!

So I had to find something else to use....and I found this little (literally) contraption to rinse my quinoa in.  Talk about comedy!! And tedious task because that thing is only big enough to maybe hold a spoon full of quinoa. If you look closely, you can see the quinoa on the sink...those pieces didn't make it into the pot! I poured a little chicken broth into the pot of quinoa to give it a little flavor...I also do this with my rice. My review on quinoa is that it's not bad. It's not the most exciting thing, but not terrible. I'm not sure if the "tri-color" had anything to do with taste or not. Again, this is my first time cooking it and/or eating it.

Spaghetti squash: Ok this was super easy to make as well and it taste really good!! I didn't get a chance to really eat it, but I was able to taste a little bit of it after it finished "roasting".  I learned how to make it via this Youtube video. 

Before

Cut squash in half and clean out all the seeds and pulp in the middle. You can do this with a spoon. 

This was after it was cooked. I'm not sure why it was recommended to put seasoning on the outside of the squash, but whatever..I did what I was told. 

Final product!!!

 Looks just like spaghetti right!? I added the sauce, chicken, mushrooms and onions after I snapped this pic! 

I now have several different dishes to eat for the week! This is when I love meal prep (especially when it's over) and I'm super excited about trying new things! 

Clean up on the other hand....

And this is to put it mildly...I tried to do some cleaning as I was cooking.  Geez...where is Halle Berry when you need her to help with clean up (from Boomerang)????

And now it's time for dinner..and yes...that's a glass of red wine. Meal prep has driven me to drink! LOL j/k! One glass went well with tonight's meal. P.S. I had already started eating before I snapped the pic! 

And all of this has me badly in need of manicure....nail polish chipping like crazy!!! 

So that's this week's meal prep and all it's splendor!! Until next time!! Thanks for reading! 

"Clean eating"...I don't even know what that means...

...no one knows what it means....it's provocative...it gets the bloggers GOING!!

Just kidding!!!  A little Saturday morning humor for you :)

Lately I've been asked what exactly is clean eating and what does it entail? I'm glad you guys are giving me feed back by asking questions.  Questions means I need to clarify a little more! Also, asking me questions is great for me too because I might not know the answer, but research is becoming my best friend so I'm up for the challenge of finding out! Knowledge truly is power in this thing. This whole eating clean and working out healthy lifestyle can seem overwhelming, but taking it one day at a time and gathering information as you go definitely makes it easier to comprehend.  

So you might be thinking clean eating looks like this...

or maybe you're thinking more like this and only this...

Well that is part of it.....wait no...just eating lettuce is ridiculous and people that joke about that's how they are eating aren't funny.  You can't sustain life on just lettuce! Eating clean does not mean starving.

According to Clean Eating Magazine, clean eating is consuming food in it's most natural state or as close to it as possible. It means eating 5-6 meals a day (remember portion control while doing this), drinking lots of water, reading and understanding ingredient labels (the shorter the list the better....if there are several things in the list that you can't even pronounce, that's not clean), avoiding processed and refined foods, but this does not mean avoiding carbs all together. Complex carbs like whole grains are clean and acceptable. It means eating organic as often as you can (it's expensive to eat all organic, but do what you can).  Meat, eggs, and dairy should be eaten organically if your budget allows. My budget doesn't always allow this, but I do try to eat organic as often as possible.  It means consuming healthy fats (all fats are not bad...olive oil, avocado, nuts, etc are examples of good fats that our bodies need).  

Like I said in the last post, I got my start on understanding all of this after I read Tosca Reno's book The Eat Clean Diet.  Here is a link to it on Amazon if your local library doesn't carry it. The Eat Clean Diet. Now Tosca has several books out, but I would just start with this one to get the basics. If you want to look into reading more of her books, by all means, check her out!

Another very helpful resource that I've used and highly recommend is the Gracious Pantry.  Their website has a segment called Clean Eating 101 that I think you all should check out! It's pretty awesome! I totally think you can find anything you're looking for with this resource! Clean Eating 101

After you start understanding what clean eating is all about, you will soon understand that it looks more like this....

And it's rather delicious and you won't feel like you're missing out or sacrificing taste!! All of these pictures were taken from Instagram pages of people I follow who eat clean and have provided a recipe for the following dishes.  The first 3 pics came from fitmencook and the last one came from bgg2wl.  Check them out on IG!! 

The goal is to be fit, not skinny and that's a big dag gone difference!

Today was a very important day for me!! I was so excited, I could barely sleep!! Today I finished Jillian Michaels' Ripped in 30 DVD!! Like I said in an earlier post, I have had this DVD for at least 2 years and I've never finished the whole thing! I'm very proud of myself and I'm even more excited about the results that I'm seeing!

Here is a picture of me on the day that I joined the gym on the left and a picture of me from this morning on the right.

I've never been really "big" per se, but I am definitely loving the results I'm seeing here! Now let me be clear, my results are not all attributed to doing Ripped in 30! The picture on the left is from October 31, 2012 and the right is from today, Feb 1, 2013.  Clearly that is longer than 30 days.  The first two months after I joined the gym, I was still eating relatively all that I wanted to eat.  I was doing better with food choices, but I still enjoyed a cupcake here and there and I still drank alcohol whenever I pleased.  I read food labels, but mainly the nutrition label and I would glance at the ingredients just to see how long the list was.  After I started eating clean, I started to slim down! 

My goal is to be fit and ripped...not skinny and there's a big dag gone difference between the two! As for right now, I appear to be much thinner, but I have a lot more work to go! I want to get stronger and I want to get leaner.  The biggest "problem" area on my body has always been my stomach.  I am truly trying to tone that up more and hopefully will see some abs shining through! Since it's only been a month of clean eating, I'm excited to see what I'll look like this summer! 

10 things to know about me and my journey:

1. I'm doing this all the natural way....clean diet and exercise

2. I'm not taking any type of pills to achieve results.  The only supplements I take are: protein shakes (mine just consist of protein powder and water), fish oil, and calcium with iron. I don't use the protein shakes as meal replacements.  

3. I'm not on a diet.  In the realms of clean eating, I eat what I want! This is a lifestyle change...diets usually last for a little bit of time then you're right back to your old eating habits. I used to have a huge sweet tooth, so I've been getting my sweet tooth satisfied through various foods that are considered "clean". Fruit has probably been my biggest form of satisfaction! I eat a piece of fruit with almost every meal.  

4. I work out 6 days/week.

5. I'm not starving myself at all. In fact, I got so excited about buying food last month that I would have preferred to buy groceries over spending my money on anything else. 

6. I eat 5-6 times/day.  I also eat ever 2-3 hours.  Before I started all of this, I called myself eating 5-6 times/day, but I found out that I was actually snacking pretty much all day! I was eating like every hour! 

7. I drink a gallon of water every day! Staying hydrated is very important! When I first started, I had a hard time getting the whole thing down. Not that I didn't like water, but it was just difficult to drink a whole gallon.  I started pacing myself too because getting up all night long to use the bathroom was annoying. Bed pan please!!!! 

8. I stopped drinking alcohol! Yes...that's right...gone! I will admit that I did have a glass of red wine while out with friends.  Basically if I do decide to drink, it'll probably just be red wine.  The empty calories and the dehydration were counterproductive to achieving my goals.  

9. I stopped eating fast food! The last time I had fast food was when I was in the airport flying home from Memphis (January 4th was the exact date).  I always prepare food to take with me from now on because I have to be prepared or else I'll resort to eating fast food due to the fact that I'm starving and desperate.  Again, counterproductive to my goals.

10. Progress is slow, but consistency wins all the time!!! If you're in the process of trying to reach your fitness goals, keep going, stay consistent, and progress will come!! Stay motivated and encouraged!! 

Super Bowl XLVII

This Sunday at 6:30pm, the Baltimore Ravens will battle the San Francisco 49s in Super Bowl XLVII!!! If someone never watches any other football games during the NFL season, you can find many Americans tuning in to the Super Bowl every year for several reasons:
1. You're a fan of one of the teams that is playing.
2. You entered into a pool at work trying to predict who will win the game and what the score at the end of each quarter will be.
3. You're just a football fan...period. 
4. You want to watch the commercials.
 ............And if none of those reasons interest you, at least tune in this year since Beyonce is preforming the half time show!!




The Super Bowl is also a time that calls for a huge celebration also known as a "Super Bowl Party".  This is a huge deal for Americans across the country as people get together to watch the big game and often times prefer to do it with lots of friends and lots of food! Before I became a football fan, I will admit I most certainly would go to a Super Bowl party even though I had no interest in watching the game.  I went because I just love a good party!

These parties can also wreak havoc on your new years revolutions of trying to lose weight and stay in shape. Most of the foods on the menu include lots of high calorie dishes with lots of carbs.  You've been working really hard all month hitting the gym consistently, trying to eat right, and then you tell yourself "I'm going to this party and today will be a "cheat day".  Oh "cheat day"! I'm actually starting to notice just how deceptive that term really is! We con ourselves into believing it's ok to go overboard and just eat and drink whatever we want in the name of a cheat day.  Then we believe we can just hit the gym and reverse the damage we have just committed.  Well how about this, here is a list of dishes that you can indulge in at your Super Bowl party, enjoy yourself, and not feel guilty or feel the need to consider it a "cheat day". And your guests probably won't even notice their eating "guilt free" dishes while you're enjoying this festive occasion!!

#1 Buffalo Wings 
What's a SB party without buffalo wings?? Well I was watching the cooking channel the other day and came across Paula Dean's son Bobby Flay's show! He makes dishes that his mom makes, but he uses ingredients that are better for your waist line and slashes tons of calories that would normally go into the dishes from Paula's recipes.  Here is Bobby's recipe for buffalo wings and it also includes a cheese dip that is also low cal to enjoy with them instead of using traditional Ranch or Bleu Cheese.
http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/bobby-deen/bobbys-buffalo-wings-with-tangy-cheese-dip.html

#2 Game Day Chili
With temperatures dropping, chili is always a winter favorite! It's also super easy to make in your crock pot or on the stove and it's filling! You can get more bang for your buck and your guests will feel full and satisfied!  Bobby suggests using sour cream and cheddar cheese to top it off, but if you're looking for an even lower calorie alternative, use plain Greek yogurt in place of the sour cream, and you can use a lower fat cheese like mozzarella or shredded Swiss to top it off! 
http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/kelsey-nixon/game-day-chili.html

#3 Skinny Spinach and Artichoke Dip
I have found a few pretty good recipes on a website called skinnytaste.com.  This website specializes in recipes that are low in fat! Now a good spin dip is one of my personal favorites and it definitely is a good football party food! I also know spin dip can pack a lot of calories and fat due to it being a creamy food! Here is a recipe I found on Skinny Taste that will provide lots of flavor without the cost of sacrificing tons of fat!
http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/09/hot-spinach-and-artichoke-dip.html

#4 Beer
What's football without beer?? I think that's a must at a Super Bowl party or at least it goes hand and hand while you're spectating right!? We also know beer can be a quick way to put on the pounds and also can help you acquire that infamous "beer belly" if you drink enough of it! Women's and Men's Health Magazine has a segment from Eat This, Not That on their websites that have been very helpful when trying to make good food choices. Their websites are Women's Health and Men's Health.
Either way, Men's Health provided a list of the 40 Best and Worst Beers to drink.  Take a look at the list and see if your favorite makes or doesn't make the best list cut!
www.eatthis.menshealth.com/slideshow/slideshow-best-beers
The list starts off with the worst then gets to the best!

Here is another link for more dishes on Skinny Taste that you may want to check out for your party!
http://www.skinnytaste.com/search/label/Superbowl%20Recipes

So there you have a list of eats and a complete list of the best of the drinks! This should allow you to have a great time at your party, eat, drink, be merry, and not worry too much about reversing all of your hard work that you put in at the gym! Remember this key word though: MODERATION!  

Enjoy your party and GO RAVENS!!!! :)

Hol' on Ash...Imma let you finish, but eating healthy is EXPENSIVE!

If you follow me on Instagram or if are my friend on Facebook, you may have noticed that lately I've been posting several pictures of food that I've been eating or things that I've been doing to embrace this new healthy lifestyle of eating clean and working out.

As I was doing some chores around the house, I thought about what can I do (other than post my pics of what I'm eating and exercises I'm doing) to help someone else who may think this lifestyle is too expensive to embrace.  Well just in case that person is you, I'm so glad I thought to write this post!

Let me first start with saying, I would have been one of those people who thought eating healthy and joining a gym was out of my budget.  I am very money conscious and try to be as strictly on a budget as possible. I try to never complain about the low salary educators are paid, because God definitely blesses me and provides for me regardless if I can't always do everything I want to do. I never want to seem ungrateful because so many people are unemployed and would take my salary to their no salary any day. Either way, everyone knows educators are not the breadwinners by any means, so sometimes you really have to get creative and smart when you're stretching a dollar.  They don't call me Frugal Frannie for nothing! And I take that name with pride because that's just how it has to be some times!

So I usually set a budget of about $150/month for groceries.  Now some people may think "that's ridiculously low" or you might think it's too high, who knows.  Either way, I used to have a grocery budget of  $175 then I had to scale back due to some other financial obligations.  I looked through my spending history on www.mint.com (excellent budgeting tool to help keep you on track on where you're spending your money and how much you spend each month on certain things and it's totally secure) and I noticed that prior to me wanting to eat completely clean, I was meeting my monthly budget of $150 for groceries without exceeding it.  I do recall in previous months, I'd have to get "creative" with my meals towards the end of the month when my budget had ran out and I was left with really having to only eat the food I already had instead of buying more food. This usually left me eating a bunch of processed food that was stored in my pantry or buying a pizza from Dominos on a day between Monday and Wednesday so I can get the $7.99 carry out special and eating off that pizza for a few days to survive.

Since I started eating clean, I have already spent $200 on groceries and if I didn't have a budget, I would certainly go back to the store between now and January 31st to buy more food.  The first week of eating clean, I went to the grocery store and I went HAM!!! I spent like $100 on food that was mostly produce which I knew would be gone by the end of the week. $100/week on groceries, $150/monthly budget for groceries...you do the math and imagine my dismay when I realized I had gone too hard too fast with this whole thing.  You might be wondering, so what did you do Ash? I talked to my sister  and she made a really good point.  She suggested that I make dishes that allow you to make a lot with few ingredients.  Stuff like quiche, casseroles, etc.  With that being said, I started thinking about things that I could make that 1.) I already had in my freezer, pantry, or refrigerator and 2) could be something that could stretch out for a couple of days. I also read up on how frozen veggies are just as healthy as fresh and thanks be to GOD, Kroger had a 10/$10 sale on their frozen veggies so I stocked UP!!!!

I have also started thinking of ways to shop smarter which definitely requires a lot of planning and a lot of time.  Convenience comes at a price...and sometimes that means eating junk and not having that fit body that you want (since abs are made in the kitchen you know).  Without a plan, you will more than likely make bad decisions for food because when you're hungry, you aren't thinking about how you can make a nice healthy dish.  You want food and you want it now!! And if food requires you to cook it (other than in a microwave), then you usually want no parts in preparing it! So the next thing to do is eat whatever is convenient whether that be fast food, chips, candy, sweets, anything to get your blood sugar back to a normal reading or sometimes higher if you eat the wrong foods.

I've started cooking on Sundays and preparing dishes for lunch throughout the week. By doing this, I cook all the food I want for the week, put it in Tupperware, refrigerate or freeze, then when it's time to pack my lunch for the day, I just grab and go.  That eliminates standing in front of the refrigerator, swaying back and forth thinking "what shall I eat, what shall I eat".

As for grocery shopping a lot smarter, I have now downloaded an app called Grocery Pal (Google App Market...Android).  This app has stores like Kroger, Harris Teeter, Giant, Food Lion, Wal-Mart, etc. and all their circulars listed so you can see which store has the best deal.  It also allows you to make shopping lists and download coupons to your loyalty card.  I did notice the loyalty card section is limited, but you can always do this online at your favorite grocery store's website.  I downloaded a coupon for $3.00 off the protein powder that I use from Kroger's website and one day I was shopping and noticed the protein powder was on sale for $13.00 (down from $18.00) plus my $3 off brought my protein powder to a whopping $10 (I saved $8 woohooo)!!! I was soooo excited about this deal! Kroger also sends coupons in the mail every month and they do NOT accept expired coupons so I have started highlighting the expiration date to be sure I don't miss out on a good deal.  I am also carrying my coupons in my purse so that if I randomly pop into the store, they're always with me. Thanks to this idea, I scored a pack of Boca burgers for $.64!!! They had been marked down to $1.64 and I had a coupon (in my purse...YES!) for $1.00 off! Talk about EXCITEMENT!

So there are a few tips for you! I hope they help and remember you will get better at this and it will take less time as you get used to it all. It'll be second nature! I'm excited about next month's shopping because I have learned a few lessons so I know better for next time.  Happy shopping and remember..eat clean, train mean, get lean!!!

Week 2....DONE!

Today marks the end of week 2 of Ripped in 30! I must admit, this week was very challenging.  Aside from forcing myself out of bed at 5:00am to get downstairs to work out, Jillian also used A LOT of moves that really focus on the shoulders.  Moves that involve you to be in a plank some kind of way (plank jacks, mountain climbers, crow push ups, rows, pendulum lunges with serving biceps, etc.).  I gave it all that I could and I got through it! At the end of each work out, I told myself "YOU DID IT!!"  This really helped me feel motivated to do it again the next day.

I am proud to say that I have been noticing results both in the way my clothes are fitting and in what the scale is saying!!! Here is a picture I took of myself in the beginning of the week.

I bought these pants probably last year some time and they're a size 14 from New York and Company.  Now most women pride their selves on being able to go down a size or 2 at NY&Co due to it "running big".  Not really the case for me. I'm a solid 12/14 there depending on the cut.  I don't get any free-bee lower sizes  here. I bought them in a 14 because the 12's were a little too tight (at the time) and they rose up a little so I got the 14 for more wiggle room and to make them longer.  I put these on and I was SWIMMING in them!!! I had to wear a belt with them (which by the way, I never wear a belt with my dress pants).  Most of the time I certainly don't even need a belt. So here is a little progress.  I'm also proud to announce that I'm down 10 lbs since I started working out at the end of October.  I didn't start eating clean until January, although I was trying to be good about what I was eating in November and December. Remember Thanksgiving and Christmas, holiday feasts, tons of sweets and treats also accompanied me throughout those months. I definitely went up and down give or take a pound or two during the first two months, but mainly tried to stay on track because I was doing a challenge at my gym that challenged you to stay within 2 lbs of your original weight beginning with November 1st all the way to December 31st. So being held accountable for the weight, definitely helped keep me on track. 

Now if you're wondering "what is she doing and how much weight is she really trying to lose". I'll tell you! My goal is not to be "skinny". I want to be RIPPED!! I want to have defined, visible, lean muscles.  That is the ultimate goal! Looking good with clothes on is all fine and dandy, but looking good naked is when you know you've made it! At the end of my journey with Ripped in 30, I'll be sure to post a progression pic from the beginning to the last day.  

Stay tuned! 

Surviving the road trip!

This weekend I went on my first "road trip" since starting this eat clean lifestyle.  I must admit I was really nervous about going out of town because I wasn't sure how it was going to go with me trying to stick to eating clean and not being in the comfort of my own kitchen or being easily accessible to a refrigerator or microwave, etc. I traveled to Washington, DC for my sorority's Centennial Founder's Day (Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Innnnncorprorated) celebration! OOO-OOP my sweet sweet sorors!!! I will have another post for the phenomenal time I had this weekend and how I am so proud to be a member of this illustrious organization!!!!

Ok back on track, so I traveled to DC and I knew there were going to be three things that could pose a problem while I was there. 1.) I would be traveling almost 6 hours in my car total (going and coming) 2.) on Saturday, I knew I was going to be out and about all day long 3.) since I was staying with a friend, I couldn't guarantee she would have food that I would want to eat AND I don't like to go to someone's house and just eat up all their food (other than my sister and brother-in-law's house lol).  With me trying to eat at least 6 small meals/day, I knew that would be highly inconsiderate to expect a friend to feed me like that.  I am also on a very strict budget since this year I'm really trying to stay on track with not overspending. This easily eliminates me eating out for every meal while I'm away from home.

So I knew I was going to have to strategically plan what I was going to eat in order to survive this weekend. I did a little research and found a few helpful websites that suggested certain foods that travel well.  With that being said, I got to work on figuring out what I was going to take with me.  I knew I was going to be having brunch with my sorors on Saturday afternoon so that was one meal that was already accounted for. I also looked at the menu online before going to be sure I could choose a healthy meal once I arrived. The rest of the day and Sunday was the mystery.

The proposed itinerary for the weekend went like so: Saturday: drive to DC (2.5 hours), brunch with the sorors at noon, day party with the sorors from 3-until whenever, not sure what was happening in between, then going out to the campus of Howard University at 10:30pm to prepare to ring in Founder's Day at midnight with thousands of other members of the sorority, church on Sunday in Alexandria, VA, drive back home (2.5 hours)!

I decided on these items: medium sized navel orange (pre-peeled and put in a ziplock bag to be able to easily snack on it), 2 bananas, a canister that held about 3 palm fulls of almonds, one apple, a ziplock bag of Pirate's Booty cheese puffs (yes, I know these aren't "clean", but I was just trying to get rid of the rest of them that were in my pantry), 2 of my homemade protein bars (really one for me and one for my friends to taste in case they were interested), pre-packaged unsweetened applesauce, 1/2 cup of quick oats with cinnamon (for breakfast on Sunday), and one all natural granola bar.

My sorors made fun of me saying my purse was stocked with snacks. One asked me "do you have kids are something?? Why do you have all that in your purse?" Disclaimer: the apple, applesauce, and quick oats were kept in a lunch box...I did not have those things in my purse.  Everything else was loaded into a very large purse my sister got me for Christmas (perfect timing)!!!

This worked out perfectly!! On the ride down, I was getting a little hungry so I ate one of the bananas.  For brunch, I had an egg white omelet with lots of veggies, chicken, and turkey sausage for a little extra protein, a side of fruit, and some home fries which I shared with some of my sorors (yes, not clean, I know).  At the day party, I was starting to get a little hungry so I ate my orange, a handful of almonds, and the Pirate's Booty cheese puffs.  I also nibbled on my protein bar since it got crumbled while in my purse.  After the day party, we had some time to spare so we went to another restaurant with some of our older chapter sorors. I was not planning to eat while there, but I was a little hungry so I got a half order of baked chicken wings.  By morning, I had the quick oats and cut up the apple for breakfast.  After I got out of church, I ate the last banana, the granola bar, and two handfuls of almonds (I was now on the verge of starving).  This was unfortunately not enough to satisfy my growing hunger and I was getting sleepy so after about a hour and a half after eating that, I stopped off at a Starbucks (had a gift card) and got a skinny vanilla latte and a piece of banana nut bread (not clean, I know..cheat day)! This sustained me the rest of the way home!

I'm sure as I continue to have to travel while adapting this lifestyle, I will find other foods that travel well.  I say that overall, I think I did pretty good during this road trip and came as prepared as possible!

I'll be traveling again soon for the whole weekend instead of one day.  I'll be sure to let you guys know how that goes!

Protein Bars

Thursday I happened to stumble across an article online that listed the best and worst protein bars to consume. Well my favorite protein bar of all time is the Clif Bar! I especially love the chocolate chip peanut butter crunch bar! That is the one featured on the far left of my picture here.  Well of course...my favorite protein bar was listed on the WORST list of protein bars.  And this was like a list of top 5 best and worst bars.  Go figure!

Of course I was disappointed, but it does make sense.  They only cost about $1 per bar at Kroger and this is an on going "sale" they have them on.  Not too many really healthy things are that cheap.  The article explained that Clif Bars are designed to give fuel to someone who's participating in very strenuous activity for a long period of time. Example: mountain climbing for 4 hours; running a marathon; etc. They are not for the person who wants to fuel up before getting in an hour workout at the gym.  That would be me! I was eating these bars as pre-workout meals and sometimes as meal replacements if I was traveling.

When I found out I was not eating the Clif Bar appropriately, I decided it was time to start making my own protein bars.  I went online and google'd "homemade protein bars" and I came up with this recipe! I made them tonight and they were delicious!!!

There were a few things I did differently which I read in the comment section that other people did it the same way and they approved so I followed suit! I used chocolate protein powder instead of vanilla or unflavored.  I also used ground flax seed instead of chia seeds because I wanted to use what I had instead of buying something else. I was not able to find grain sweetened chocolate chips, so I just used the Kroger brand and I got the semi-sweetened ones to cut back on sugar as much as I could. I figured it wouldn't hurt to use them since it's only 2 tablespoons.  Everything else was what the recipe actually called for. Oh one more thing, in the beginning of the recipe, it says roast your oats in the oven for 10-15 minutes prior to starting. I wasn't sure of the temperature that the oven should be on since it didn't say, so I already had my oven on 400 degrees so I just roasted them at 400 for 10 minutes.

The corner is missing because I had to take a taste before saying these were good enough to recommend to someone else to make! :)

So now that I have my homemade protein bars, I'm ready to go! They were super easy to make too!!

If you're planning to make them, let me know how you like them!!

Week 1...done!

For the next 7 weeks (well now 6 weeks), I am challenging myself to work out AND eat clean to accustom myself to changing my lifestyle, but also to get physically ready for my 29th birthday.  The birthday part is a bonus, but I am seriously trying to make lifestyle changes to being more healthy.

Week one was completed today!!!!

Ok so this is what's been going on.  I bought a Jillian Michael's DVD called Ripped in 30 almost 2 years ago.  The program basically has four weeks of exercises that recommends you commit to doing 5-6 days/week and following Jillian's suggested meal plan and at the end of 30 days, you're supposed to be able to see visual and dramatic results and changes to your body! Well I'm not sure if it's supposed to be dramatic, but Jillian says "if you follow this DVD and meal plan, at the end of these 30 days, you're going to thank me".  Either way, like I said, I've had the DVD for almost 2 years and in those 2 years,  I have started and stopped and started and stopped this DVD over and over again. I've never did the full 30 day program and I certainly have never followed the meal plan.  The farthest I've gotten was completing week one for at least 4 days/week of exercise.  

Now I will say the DVD is challenging.  Jillian's programs are definitely not a walk in the park by any means! As she says "you don't buy a Jillian Michael's DVD and think it's going to be easy".  I would say I haven't finished the program because I usually divert my attention to one of the other many workout DVDs that I own, or I just give up on regular exercise all together.  

This time, I am truly trying to stick to this commitment. And now that I've shared this with all of you, I'm going to let you guys hold me accountable and I'm going to do it! 

I've been doing the DVD every morning this week around the 5 o'clock AM hour! Some mornings I have tried to talk myself out of getting out of bed telling myself it's ok if I don't do it today because I'll just workout in the afternoon after work at the gym.  I've also been cold in the morning and much warmer under my covers. Thursday morning, I was so incredibly sore that I almost convinced myself that I should just take the day off because it'd be better for my body that way.  A lot of self-talk occurred this week regarding doing this workout.  This morning when I woke up, it was unusually warm in my house so I had no problem springing out of bed to head downstairs to get to work. After I finished, I just thought to myself, I DID IT!!! I was so excited that I accomplished working out every morning this week as I said I would commit to doing.  

I've also been eating very clean this week! I have found lots of great recipes and food ideas on several websites! Some of my favorites that I've found is The Gracious Pantry, recipe.com, The Eat Clean Diet. and of course good ol' Pinterest is always a winner for looking for recipes.  I actually found out about the Gracious Pantry on Pinterest.  One thing I've learned is that anyone who has a nice body that they had to work at (meaning it's not just genetically a nice body) will tell you, it's not just about working out, it's what you're eating too. One week of eating clean has totally changed my life! I went to a faculty meeting Thursday and there were all kinds of cookies and sweets that I usually crave and am weak not to eat them, but I didn't even want them after doing such a great job eating clean throughout the week. 

I feel amazing and I'm so excited about this new lifestyle! I will be honest...there is one downfall....

Eating clean is E-X-P-E-N-S-I-V-E!!!!!!!!!!!!!  In the first week, I've already spent over $100 on food!!!  I think I got a little too excited and did not consider that this clean food which is mostly produce will not last me longer than a week.  Right now, I'm on a mission to figure out how I'm going to make it through the rest of the month and how am I going to do it "clean".  I know that I cannot afford to spend $100/week on groceries, but I don't want to go back to eating anything just because it's cheap.  I've been thinking of some creative things I can do so stay tuned for that.  I'll post how my first month of eating clean went at the end of this month.  

I also plan to post progress pics! The one I took this morning looked pretty good, but there is a lot more work to go! I can't wait to see what kind of progression I will have at the end of this month and then at the end of the 7 weeks!! Stay tuned.....

49 days until "A" Day!!!!

In case you guys didn't know, my 29th birthday is in approximately 49 days!! I affectionately started calling my birthday "A" day a few years ago. Probably some time after Beyonce come out with the B Day album on her birthday.  Ok so I'm not that creative...but that's neither here nor there.  

So with my birthday coming in 7 short weeks, I'm committing to a new challenge.  In the next 7 weeks, I am preparing to commit to eating clean and working out 6 days/week. Any health fanatic will tell you that abs are made in the kitchen and it's really about what you're eating instead of focusing mainly on working out.  

I joined the gym on October 31, 2012 and in the past 2 months, I see some progress, but I'm sure if my diet was clean, I'd see even bigger results.  I wanted to do things my way and decided I could just put in at least 2 hours in the gym and still eat  what I wanted (within reason).  I then started to notice, I'm logging all these hours in the gym, slaving away, yet my diet is setting me back.  I want maximum results!.  

I'm fully ready to take on this challenge! I know it's going to take work and it's not going to be easy, but it'll be worth it when I'm strutting around this summer looking amazing.  Not only will I look good, but I'll be healthy and that's truly what it's all about.  

Today I spent a few hours cooking meals for the week.  It was a very labor intensive process, but after I was finished, I felt truly accomplished and was ready to take on the week.  Prior proper planning truly does prevent piss poor performance!! That piss poor performance is eating crap just because you haven't planned ahead of time and when you're starving, you become desperate.  Desperate will have you back where you started eating those foods that have set you back all this time.  

Here are some pics of some food I have prepared for this week! 

The far left is roasted broccoli and cauliflower, brown rice, and 4 oz of chicken breast with red onion and green peppers on top.  The other dishes are either 4 oz of grilled chicken breast or 4 oz of turkey chop with sauteed fresh green beans with mushrooms and garlic, brown rice, and green peppers and red onions on top of the meat. 

This was breakfast this morning. 1/2 grapefruit, spinach wrap (9 grams of fiber and 9 grams of protein in the wrap alone) 2 egg whites and one whole egg, spinach, mushrooms, feta cheese inside the wrap.

I have other foods that I'll be eating throughout the week, but this was just a little sample for now! I hope to post progress pics at the end of the 7 weeks! Better yet, I'll be sure to post...good or bad...I need to be held accountable! So here I go!!! #legooooooo :)

Holiday Stressed!!!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!!! It's interesting that just about every month of the year has a holiday in it, yet we consider the time around November, December, and January "The Holidays".  Possibly because Thanksgiving, Christmas (Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, etc.), and New Years are all within a few weeks of each other.  Although this time of the year is a very festive, joyful, and magical time of the year, it also comes along with STRESS!!!!

Getting the whole family together, traveling, Christmas shopping, packing, finishing all the unfinished business you meant to do weeks ago, cooking, cleaning, entertaining, ahhhhh the list goes on and on!! Every year, I tell myself I'm going to do better at managing this time of the year, and every year I find myself back in the same predicament as last year....stressing to make it through these next couple of weeks. Luckily for me, I'm an educator so I get two weeks of vacation.  This is so needed and appreciated!!

Things that usually stress me out during this time of the year are: packing to travel, and the shopping.  Now I love to travel and I love to shop, but when you have to do everything at once, these things start to become my least favorite things.  I usually travel to see my sister and brother-in-law for the holidays so I have to pack for an extended stay.  I'm weird about how I pack though (which probably causes me more stress).  I have to pack a bag for the weekend I spend in Richmond (I go to Richmond first then fly out of RIC to get to Ange), then another bag(s) for the trip to Memphis (that's where Ange and Chika live now).  All of this baggage is stressful within itself because I just come with so much stuff. I'm sure there's got to be a better way of packing/traveling, yet I haven't mastered this yet...*sigh*.  Right now I have a full sized suitcase, a carry-on sized suitcase, and a duffle bag. Don't forget the purse and my coat that I'll be toting along on top of my magazines that aren't quite fitting in my carry-on right now.  

With shopping, I always tell myself to start shopping early, but that rarely happens.  My mom used to shop for Christmas all year round! She'd start for next year's Christmas on December 26th of this year.  She never seemed too stressed about her holiday shopping.  I suppose it was because she did it all year round so by the time December came, she probably only had to get a few things to tie everything together.  I didn't do too bad this year, but a few people I forgot to shop for (that I forgot to shop for last year and the year before) are my coworkers.  It's that awkward moment when people are coming with gifts and cards for you and you have nothing to give back.  I know Christmas is not about receiving, but they've got to feel some kinda way that I never have anything to give back to them.  It always slips my mind until I get to school and there are several cards on my desk and other goodies from various people in the building.  I told myself that next year I'll try to remember them and at least make a photo card through Snapfish or something!! 

With all this stress talk, "The Holidays" are also that wonderful time of the year for EATING!! And lots of it!! According to this poster at my gym, the average person gains 8 pounds during the holidays! Eeekkkkk YIKES!!! 8 pounds!!!??? With all the eating (Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner), drinking, and the plethora of desserts being offered, I can totally see how gaining 8 pounds can happen if you're not careful! My gym has a challenge going on right now that encourages participants to weigh in every week from November 1st to December 31st and you must stay within 2 pounds of your original weight (well you can lose, but you can't gain more than 2 pounds).  I decided to sign up to keep me focused and to remind me that I cannot be that one who just carries on as if it doesn't matter that I've participated in the "eat, drink, and be merry" festivities without a care in the world. Thus far, after Thanksgiving I gained 2 pounds (ahhhh almost got a penalty for that one), but I have since lost it by getting more serious about my diet and putting in some really intense workouts.  I hope to practice self-control for Christmas and to continue to work out regularly while I'm on vacation.  I believe I can do it! 

What stresses you out the most during "The Holidays" and how do you deal with it?  

Dinner on a budget!

As I mentioned in my first post, I will be sharing foods that I cook and love to eat! Tonight's post is called dinner on a budget, because well...I'm on a BUDGET!! Every penny counts and every dollar has a name in this household! Now don't get it wrong, I am blessed and God definitely supplies all of my needs. Now my wants on the other hand....yeah, you get it.  But as long as my needs are supplied, I'm all good! Thank you, Lord! :)

Either way, yesterday I went by Trader Joe's (which by the way is a health haven for those on a budget) and I picked up a few things.  One of those things included some ground turkey.  I had it sitting in my refrigerator and knew I either needed to cook it or freeze it very soon.  So I decided today to cook it.  I do cook meals for one (that would be moi), so sometimes I have to get really creative so that I don't waste food as it is kind of hard to make portions small enough for just one person. With the ground turkey, I made two meals! Yes, two different meals and both were very cost efficient!  One meal I will have tonight for dinner, and those left overs will probably be lunch or dinner tomorrow.  The other meal will be eaten some time in the next few days.  

Meal number one: turkey burgers! And they are good!! So I took half the package of ground turkey to make two turkey burger patties.  I mixed an egg, sweet onions, green peppers, Mrs. Dash Onion and Herb seasoning, and a little bit of Worcestershire sauce together to make the patties.  I then cooked them in a frying pan over medium heat until they were completely cooked.  Putting the onion and green peppers in with the ground turkey makes it sometimes hard to keep the patties together while cooking, thus I added the egg. When I got finished cooking those, I set them aside because I was working on meal number two.  In the mean time, I cut up a little red onion (I love onions!!) and placed those on top of the patties and sprinkled a little bit of shredded sharp cheddar cheese on top (not too much, just a little).  To go along with my burgers, I baked some french fries.  Not the most healthiest side dish, but sometimes I have cheat days! And besides, I baked them so not too too bad.  

Meal number two: whole wheat penne pasta with marinara sauce, ground turkey, and a few pieces of turkey pepperoni.  I cut up a few more green peppers and onion and sauteed those before putting the ground turkey in to brown and cook thoroughly.  I combined the cooked penne pasta, marinara sauce, ground turkey, and pepperoni together to make a quick and easy pasta dish! I seasoned the ground turkey with Italian seasoning, basil, and oregano.  

I now have two meals using some of the same ingredients without wasting anything! 

By the way, in case you haven't noticed the trend or was wondering why...I don't eat red meat or pork so this is why I'm using the ground turkey and turkey pepperoni.  I gave up all meat instead of fish for Lent this past Lenten season and after it was over, I only incorporated chicken and turkey back into my diet.  I left the red meat and pork alone.  It hasn't been too bad either! I have really enjoyed using turkey and chicken products for that added protein.  I also use a lot of herbs and spices to season my food instead of salt.  Mrs. Dash's line of seasonings is amazing and gives food a real boost of robust flavor!! Some of my favorite from the line is lemon pepper, garlic and herb, original seasoning, and onion and herb! 

meal #1

I didn't have any bread, so I basically adorned my turkey burger with all the fixings without a bun.  I added fresh spinach, red onion, organic ketchup, and spicy brown mustard.  I am also working on taking at least 20 minutes to eat my food instead of scarfing it all down in record time.  What I found to be helpful was to write this blog while I ate.  And sure enough, it's been about 20 minutes! I washed dinner down with a tall glass of water!! I may have a piece of fruit for dessert.  

Do you like turkey burgers? If you make yours from scratch, what do you like to season yours with?