We need to be LIKETHIS...

Welllll...yesterday wasn't a great example of 'balanced' eating at allJ  So here's a classic case of 'do as I say, not as I do."J  I'm blaming it on the fact that it was mostly gloomy yesterday AND my allergies left me in a hazy funk.  Looks like the benedryl and I will be LIKETHIS until winterJ  So without further ado, here's carb day: 101J

Tuesday Recap:

10:00am:  2 mini chia pancakes

Blame this one Katie since that child was not going to be satisfied with anything LESS than HOMEMADE PANCAKES yesterday morning.  Cough, high maintenance.  So I just followed her lead and made my own little 1/4 cup mix + 1 tablespoon chia seeds mix.

11:30am:  Snack- Watermelon (not pictured...but you get it, amiright??)

12:30pm:  Lunch- 4 mini pitas with 2 tablespoons hummus

3:00pm:  Snack #2- Small handful cashews & 7 dried clementines

By now I was elbow deep in FALL DECORATIONS, so I grabbed whatever was closest so I could keep getting my FALL onJ

6:00pm:  Dinner- Spaghetti & turkey meatballs

I was DYING for this last night and it HIT the spot perfectly.  But, even as Scott said, this is definitely a "Tuesday treat," not the normJ

8:00pm:  Dessert- 2 Hazelnut cookies

OK...4, I had 4.  EKKKK!  It was just a BLAHHHHH day.  And coupled with the fact that I felt lousy, I didn't get it in any exercise either:P  So make no mistake I took benedryl before bed last night in an attempt to PULL MYSELF TOGETHER this morning.

Here's to a healthier Wednesday!

Off to yoga, ASAP...J

Namaste undone...

Morning, all!  Hope you guys had a great weekend.  Mine included plenty of pictures...just not too many of foodJ  Hahahahahahaha...it was spent going to birthday parties for two of my little cousins...

...one including a petting zoo, which was pretty much thecutestthingeverJ

And Saturday night was spent with a sleepover with my niece that involved homemade pizza...

...and pumpkin cookies, which we ate while bundled up in hoodies and pretending it was FALLJ

Oh yeah...and it was only about 2984023572032 degrees on Saturday when we took this pictures, as we were placed directly in front of the fan when we took this picJ  But thankfully the pumpkin cookies must have ushered in the COOLNESS, as the weather has been nothing short of GLORIOUS around here ever since!  MAGIC COOKIES...mwahahaha!

Andddd that brings us to Monday.  I tried to be VERY consious over the weekend and PAY ATTENTION to what I was eating (including ONE of those cookie sandwhichs), and that helped set me up for a healthier Monday...OK, with one treat in the mixJ

Monday Recap:

10:00am:  Breakfast- 12 almonds & watermelon

1:00pm:  Lunch- "Happy Salad"

3:00pm:  Snack- Chicago Popcorn

Well, it had to happen sooner than laterJ  Cheese & caramel popcorn was DYING to be tried...and it was worth the wait for sweet & salty deliciousnessJ  I used my large ramekin to keep the portion in check, but in honest, the small one would have been just enough tooJ

6:00pm:  Dinner- Taco Salad

I was VERYTEMPTED to have anything BUT salad for dinner last night, so I knew taco salad was the easiest way to 'stick to the plan.'  They're always just so damn good.

• Kale mix
• Avocado
• Ground turkey, seasoned with taco seasoning
• Diced roasted peppers
• Red beans
• Corn
• Mexican cheese blend

Workout:  Power Yoga

I took a 2 day yoga-hiatus after my Friday class BEAT ME UP, so I was SUPER ready to get back in the swing last night.  And I always love a class that ends in headstands/handstands/shoulderstands....they're just fun to mess around with.

AHHH!  AND GUESS WHAT HAPPENED AFTER CLASS!  So I was standing outside the gym talking to my yoga buddy (HI SHARON!!!!) and we were laughing about something and all of a sudden we heard a loud laugh coming towards us...we look over and a car drove by and a man was laughing at us out the window wearing A SCARY CLOWN MASK!!!!!!  I mean, WTF???  I, like MANY FOLKS, do NOT like clowns and I felt an INTERNAL LEVEL of PANIC of about 10000000!J  I've seen different 'reports' of people seeing CLOWNS STANDING IN THE MIDDLE OF THIER STREETS AT NIGHT in thier neighborhoods.  Dear Jesus, please don't let this become 'a thing' this Halloween season.  I don't think my ole ticker can take itJ  

How's THAT for undoing all of my 'calm Namaste??'

So yeah...thought you'd enjoy my little TERRORJ  Make no mistake that I watched that car and made sure he PULLED AWAY before we ran off to our carsJ hahahahahhaha

ANDDDD on that note, hope you guys have a GREAT/non-terrifying TuesdayJ

A good option in a sea of BAD...

Thursday Recap:

Morning Workout:  30 minutes dance + 1 minute planks + 2 sets of arm weights + 2 sets of squats

8:30am:  Breakfast- Perfect Fit pancake with peanut butter & syrup

Thankfully, yesterdays 'cake looked more like this oneJ

12:00pm:  Lunch- Jersey Mike's Turkey & Cheese sandwhich

I fully planned on having the 'in a tub' option at Jersey Mike's yesterday, which is where they make a "sandwich" with all of the filling ingredients, but ditch the bread and make it 'in a tub' for SIGNIFICANTLY less calories.  But by yesterday morning I was starting to feel that droopy-eyed/tired feeling I get after not having carbs for a couple days (just like I did last 'slimdown'), so I opted for SOME BREAD this time and nearly instantly perked up.  Smetimes a gal just needs some breadJ  Not to mention this rosemary Parmesan bread (since they were out of wheat) was a FABULOUS choiceJ hahahahaha  The sandwich and water still clocked in around 400 calories, so I ain't mad at that.

Besides, I got tons of working out from chasing Katie around the beach & teaching her how to play ski ball yesterday on an ABSURDLY gorgeous day on the Jersey shore.  $5 parking & free beach vs. the arm & a leg you spend exactly SEVEN DAYS prior (aka-pre Labor day) = SOOO worth a couple warm days in EARLY September.J

3:00pm:  Snack- 

And once we hit the boardwalk for a bit, I KNEW I needed some sort of pick-me-up for an afternoon snack, so I opted for a kids sized frozen yogurt from Kohr's with some rainbow sprinkles.  By my calculation, it clocked in at a VERY satisfying 120 calories and completely hit the spot.  

Not a bad option in the SEAAAA of BADDDDDDDD options  (oh, funnel cake, you WERE soveryclose to swaying me!)

6:00pm:  Dinner- Squash & Sausage 'stir fry'

This is such a quick & delicious meal...especially for the end up summer, when squash is a dime a dozen (even better, from a friend's garden!  Thanks, Jackie!!)

I simply sliced up the squash lengthwise and tossed it on the grill, along with 3 of these sausage links...

Once everything got a quick kiss of the grill, I brought them in and gave everything a dice...

...and tossed em in the bowl along with some torn fresh spinach, juice of 1 lemon, a couple tablespoons of capers, salt & pepper and a handful of Parmesan cheese (last time I also used kalamata olives, basil, chives and parsley for even MORE flavor, but was plum out of all of the above this time).  The heat from the sausage & squash wilts the spinach a bit and makes all of the flavors blend together perfect!

Quick, easy and SUPER healthy, give this one a try before all those summer veggies say sayonara!

Evening Workout:  Hatha Yoga

I was BEAT last night (even those sandwich carbs couldn't perk up a day spent running in the sand, surf & sun...NOT that I'm complaining about THAT, for sure), but I was NOT in the mood to push myself into any poses last night!  Oh well, that's what yoga's about...doing what you feeling like doing IN that momentJ

Alrighty...well, today is a GLOOMY one and I can't say I'm SUPEREXCITED to hit crazy, power yoga THIS morning either...but I'll just feel wrong if I skip it.  So off I go to get KILLED by my Friday teacher, who is the QUEEN of crazy, power, difficult moves.  We usually call the class "Ruth's torture factory"...how very Namaste, no??J  (but we LOVE you, Ruth!!)

Hope you guys have a great weekend and fingers crossed for a HUMIDITY BREAK in NJ!!!

(yes, that statement was THREE exclamation points worthyJ)

Have a great weekend!J

Breakin into the snacks...

Wednesday Recap:

Breakfast- Perfect Fit Pancake with peanut butter & lite syrup

And I'd be lying if I said that the above pancake was the actual one from yesterday, as I had yet ANOTHER pancake disaster yesterday morning.  I don't understand it since I've had a perfect track record with the Perfect Fit ones...buttttt, let's just say yeseterday got UGLY!  Sorta looking like this little number.

Morning Workout:  Power Yoga Class

Where my teacher decided to talk about how far we've come and celebrating the little victories of what we've accomoplished....which, of course, made me cry in pigeon poseJ

1:00pm:  Lunch- Salad with grilled chicken, roasted pears, walnuts & blue cheese (not pictured)

It always cracks me up when I forget to take pictures of food since it's what I do ALL DAY/EVERY DAY!  Buttttt I completely lost track when I went to meet two of my ole co-workers for lunch at the local diner and we got to chattin up a storm from the minute we sat down...sooooo, yeah, that happenedJ

4:00pm:  Snack- 1/2 granola bar & 7 dried mandarin oranges

So I just HADDDD to break into my NEW snacks sooner than laterJ  The HONEY SMOKED BBQ granola bar was certainly interesting.  It tasted like a mix of beef jerky (??  I know) and BBQ potato chips...and it was actually SORTA spicy.  I mean...talk about uniqe.  1/2 was all I could manageJ  And the dried oranges were chewy and sweet, a perfect mix from that odd little snack comboJ

Evening Workout:  Body Jam

Energy OFF. THE. CHARTS last night.  I always love when you feel like you are BEAT, but the great music and class energy just keeps you going.   THAT happened about 84 times last night, since it was an ENERGETIC releaseJ

7:00pm:  Dinner-  Cucumbers & hummus

I was still pretty full since I ate EVERY drop of salad at lunch and sampled those snacks...not to mention I was sweating like crazy when I got home, so this cool 'dinner' hit the spot to finish the day.

Well....yet ANOTHER hot one in Jersey today.  Headin out to enjoy (hopefully) one more day of 'summer fun.'J

Have a great Thursday!