Dessert was cooking for hours...

Here's a quick Saturday recap before we start our whirlwind Sunday!

9:30:  Hot Lemon Water

10:00am:  "Biggest Loser" Protein Pancakes with peanut butter & syrup

I must have not used enough egg whites because I only managed to squeak out 2 'cakes this morning, but they were really dense and even better then the 3 skinny minisJ 

11:15am-12:30pm:  Power yoga class

My Saturday morning teacher weighs about 85 pounds and she will KICK. YOUR. ASS. with a multitude of chatarungas, 1-armed downward dogs and hero to bridge poses.  NOT for the faint of heartJ

1:30pm:  Lunch- Toasted Vanilla Greek Oikos Yogurt with a sprinkle of Flax seed & toasted almonds & Coffee with creamer

This wasn't a low-fat flavor (had 4.5 grams), but TOASTED COCONUT was just screaming out to me from the shelves.  And, quite frankly, those 4 grams of fat made this baby taste like a creamy & luscious DESSERTJ  Between that & the flax and almonds, this kept me so full!

4:30pm:  Snack-Apple

6:30pm:  Dinner-  Wasn't the 'original plan,' but after loosing track of time moving my Mom into her new home (!!!!), I had 2 slices of pizza in between lining kitchen shelvesJ 

8:30pm:  Dessert- Coconut Slow Cooker Hot Chocolate

Dinner may have been last minute, but in this house:  Dessert had been simmering for HOURS!!!!J  Into my small slow cooker, I whisked:

• 1/2 can fat free condensed milk
• 1 can light coconut milk
• 2 oz. chopped dark chocolate
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• Drop of coconut & vanilla extract

And let this sit on low for 5 hours!  The last hour I set the slow cooker to 'keep warm' and that allows the hot chocolate to REALLLLLY thicken  up

Even with the 'lighter' ingredients, this hot chocolate was sooooo rich & almost pudding-like.  It's the closest you will ever get to drinking a chocolate barJ  Topped with a little whipped cream & toasted coconut and we were whisked off into a blissful chocolate comaJ   

We sipped while finally catching up to the rest of the planet and finally got to see Ted.  HIL-FREAKING-LARIOUS!  Scott almost chocked laughing 3 timesJ 

Today we have some running around to do, BUT have a gooooooooood lunch trip planned.  Can't wait to tell you about it tomorrow!  Have a great Sunday!

Carbs, carbs & more carbs

Friday's Breakdown:

6:45-7:15am:  2 mile Walk Away the Pounds

I did the ORIGINAL 2 mile "Walk Away the Pounds" which, nostalgically, was the first exercise tape I popped in when I decided I was going to start working out 8 years ago.  And after 8 years...yep, I still break a sweatJ  

8:00am:  Hot Lemon Water

9:00am:  Breakfast- Banana with 1 packet of Justin's Maple Almond Butter

Anyone ever try Justin's?  I like the regular, but for whatever reason I found this one to be really RICH.  My stomach hurt for awhile after.  But I'm weird like that...sometimes Life cereal tastes rich to me:)

10:00am:  Coffee with creamer  (which, if I'm lucky, coincides with a beautiful thing called Katie's NAP TIME!J)

11:45pm:  Lunch-Spinach Quesadillas

Hunger hit FAST and LETHALLY at 11:30, and I just wanted something WARM....as quick as humanly possibleJ

So I filled half a wheat tortilla with torn spinach & mozzarella...

And a few minutes in our panini press (or skillet/microwave) and I had the warm & cheesy (AND SPEEDY!) lunch I was craving.

Even if I had to share spinach bites with my little nibblerJ

Apparently I become the most important person in the room when it's lunch time!  I had a very attentive audience...both just waiting for any crumbs to dropJ

1:30pm: Snack #1- Chocolate Malt Carnation instant breakfast with 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk

3:30pm:  Snack #2- Strawberries

6:00pm:  Dinner- Ham & Cheese Sliders with Tater tots & hash browns

Has anyone tried this new take on sliders that is SWEEPING Pinterest these days??  They are INSANEEEEEEEEEELY good!

Mini ham & greyere sandwiches topped & baked with a mix of butter (oh yes...I said butter), mustard, Worcestershire, onion powder & poppy seeds (or black sesame seeds when you clear outJ).  A-MA-ZING.  No, for real.  All of the butter goodness soaks into the little Hawaiian sweet rolls (which, um..HELLO, are WONDERFUL by themselves!) and caramelizes while it bakes.  Crazy good...and a VERY simple way to feed a crowd.  (HELLLLLO Superbowl!)

And carbs, carbs and more carbs were just on the menu tonight.

On Friday night, that is ALWAYS acceptable.

9:00pm:  Round of arms (with 8pd weights), 30 leg raises on each side, "Booty Blast"

ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND, everyone!

The return of Trader Joe's night....

Hope everyone had a great day & liked the new blog!  Thanks so much for your sweet feedbackJ  

Here's how Thursday went down:

6:50-7:30am:  Dance/jogging/weights/squats/1 minute plank mix...

8:00am:  Hot Lemon Water

9:30am:  Breakfast- Peanut Butter Cookie Larabar 

And, in case you're interested, Katie & I took a little swing by Trader Joe's today to stock up a bit.  Here are the good...

 The Produce:

• Herb Salad Mixes
• Leeks
• Endive
• Baby Broccoli
• Green Onions
• Clementines
• Lemons (of course!)

 Freezer Stuff:

• Mandarin Orange Chicken
• Multi grain waffles
• Spinach, Fontina & Roasted Garlic Chicken Sausage
• Fire roasted Peppers & Onions
• Roasted corn

The Pantry Stuff:

• Taco Shells
• Trail Mix
• Artichoke Hearts
• Capers
• Refried Beans
• Olive oil cooking spray
• Red lentils
• Vanilla
• anndddd...

 ...the rumors are TRUE.  It DOES exist!!

CRUNCHYYYY Cookie Butter???  Ummm...yes, please!  This is going firmly to the BACK of the pantry...but it's good to know it's there for emergencies of the Cookie Butter persuasionJ

And the grocery trip led to a "nontraditional lunch"J
11:45am: Lunch/snack (1)-  8 Dark Chocolate & sea salt almonds

Wow...these things were SO good!  I know it's not a normal way to kick off lunch, but I was DYING to try these and figured it was better to bite the bullet and try em out then pretend that a Green Monster was going to satisfy me today, only to find me scavenging for these at 12:15J  So I decided today was going to be a 'variety of lunch/snacks' kind of dayJ

1:45pm:  Lunch/Snack (2)-  Apple 

2:45pm:  Coffee with creamer  (why can't I quit you permanently, creamer??)

3:30pm:  Lunch/Snack (3)- Herb salad mix with a diced 2% cheddar cheese stick & a drizzle of raspberry vinaigrette....

So I had to go for a '3 hour tour' this afternoon (AKA- getting my license renewed at the DMV) and wasn't sure how long I'd be in Gilligan's Island line.  I thought the cheese would hold me over for however long it would take (and a little spinach in there to balance out those chocolate almondsJ).  Not only did the cheese keep me full, but I actually made it out of the dreaded DMV in about 20 minutes.  WIN/WIN!

5:45pm: Dinner- Trader Joe's Night!   Pulled Beef Brisket tacos (bumped up with some fire roasted peppers and onions) ....

Pssst....don't cha know the latest trend in tacos??  That filling the shells with the meat & cheese and THEN tossing them in the oven to heat up the shells for a few minutes somehow makes tacos go from great to GGRRRREAT?????  

It's true.  I mean, GOOEY CHEESE??  That should have been a given, no?

All with a side of oven roasted baby broccoli....(drizzled with olive oil, salt & garlic powder and baked at 400 degrees for 40 minutes) 

All together now... complete with a stuffing of sour cream and diced spinach.  So, so, so, so, so, so GOOD!  The brisket was sweet & savory and the peppers & onions really added an extra kick of flavor.

...oh yeah, and don't forget that gooey cheese!!

So, there's no "Katie's Corner" tonight because the brisket was a little too tough....and there was no dessert for me because Scott & I decided to watch "American Horror Story" at 'dessert time,' and that show pretty much ruins my appetite EVERY. DAMN. EPISODE!  (hmmmm...maybe I should watch it all day??J)  Only one episode left...eeeeeeeeeee!

Have a great FRIDAY, everyone!

Same Journey...New Format

HI EVERYONE!  Yes...it is I, Donna, back from the depths of...well, trying to keep up with my now happy & giggly 10-month oldJ

It feels like 12 years ago since I posted about the adjustments of having a newborn, but here we are:  planning a 1-year old's birthday party and still adjusting DAILY.  I've wanted to get back to blogging for awhile, but couldn't really fathom taking time away from Katie, who changes every single dayJ  So I thought I'd change up the format here a bit and see how things go.  I thought I'd post more of a 'daily eats' type posts vs. the 'cooking dinner' posts, which I'm HOPING will translate to MORE pictures and LESS chatter...becausssseeee the chatter part tends to take up a bit too much time, and I thought this would be easier to post, as well as for you guys to read!  I figured it all leads to the same results, which are:

• Giving you an idea of HOW we try to stay healthy...at least MOST of the timeJ
• And to give you ideas for meals, snacks & exercises to keep your days interesting and keeping you on the 'healthy path.'

I've also updated my weight loss page with my pregnancy 'journey' to give you an idea of where I'm at right now and that I'm on the same page of 'trying to make it all work' as the rest of you.  (I've also updated my Cooking, Travel & Food Finds page as well!)

So here's hoping you like the new format....and since my little buddy has become quite the little chowhound lately, I thought I'd make a little "Katie Corner" to show you all of her noshes...ya know, if you're interested in that sorta thing.  If not for anyone else, I know this will THRILL my Mom, so I'll probably be sharing a lot (Hi Mom!).

SHEESH!  I had a lot of chatter today....let's get on with it, shall we????

8:00am:  Hot lemon water

Here I go....chattering already, but I've GOT to share this with you guys!  Soo...wanna hear the craziest thing??  I've read that drinking a glass of hot water with the juice of 1/2 a lemon first thing in the morning aids digestion, weight loss and all sorts of health benefits (read about em here!), but the main reason I drink it?  IT ACTUALLY KILLS MY CRAVINGS!!!!  Like, DEAD FLAT!  Ya know those weeks where you could KILL someone for chocolate around 2pm??  Well...let me tell you: if I have lemon water in the morning = I couldn't care less.  Did you hear me??  Couldn't. Care. Less.  For chocolate!  For salt!  It's insanity.  For whatever reason it's the thing that makes me PAUSE and ask myself "Do I REALLY want that" before I actually indulge.  Don't ask me why this is true...but I hope it works for you as well as it does for me!  It's not 10000% EVERY time, but it DOES work a good 96% of the time...and those are good enough odds that I'll buy stock in lemons all my live-long daysJ

9:00am:  Coffee with skim & 2 teaspoons honey

9:45am:  Breakfast- "Biggest Loser Oatmeal/Protein Pancakes" with 3 teaspoons peanut butter & a drizzle of maple syrup

These 'cakes are a base blend of oats, egg whites & cottage cheese but give you that carb-y, satisfying feel of pancakes while not weighing you down AND filling you up.  They ACTUALLY taste more like french toast than pancakes...but really, who's going to complain about that?J

10:30-11:45am:  POWER YOGA!

1:00pm:  Lunch- Green Monster Smoothie

• 1/2 cup unsweetened light coconut milk
• Coconut flavored Yoplait Greek yogurt
• 1 banana
• 1 tablespoon Chia seeds
• 2-3 cups of spinach
• 4 ice cubes 

2:45pm: Snack- 2 Trader Joe's Graham Crackers with lite cream cheese

Probably should have had an apple, but this was just what I was wishing for and it kept me full until dinner.

And speaking OF...

6:00pm: DINNER- Toasted Orzo chicken soup 

 Warm, comforting & cozy...just what was needed on the chilly night that was Wednesday in NJ!

I loved the pulled chicken & how light it all tasted with the veggies & broth.  My only swap was to use whole wheat orzo (although that's tough to find some times) & the 2 tablespoons of butter used to toast said orzo seemed a bit much.  Less than a tablespoon would definitely have been enough.  Besides that, it was perfectly winter-y appropriate.

8:00pm:  DESSERT- 2 Vanilla Joe-Joe's

10:00pm:  

• 12 of each: bicep curls, lateral raises, tricep extensions, overhead press, chest fly
• "Booty Blast": 12 standing leg stretches to the right, 12 to the back, 12 squats.  Repeat on the left side.
• 30 side leg raises on each side

Anddddd in "Katie's Corner"....we have all of the soup veggies that I broke up for her and she scarfed down...even the garlic slices...hehehehehheeJ 

• carrots
• zucchini
• pulled chicken
• whole wheat orzo
• onions & garlic

 And I even managed to whirl up the leftovers of the soup...

...into 5 days worth of lunch!  Weeeeeeeeeeee! 

Soooo, how do you like the new format?  I'm hoping to keep it interesting with different tidbits in case things get too repetitive.  I'll try my best to keep it simple, so I can keep it consistent!

Have a great Thursday, everyone!