Cloudy Day!

It wasn't a sunny day and it was much cooler today as well but it was still a great day! I started off breakfast with some polenta, cherries, hazelnuts and agave nectar. A great way to start the day. I did some running this morning to price some supplies I will need for my business and also exchanged some sock for my son. I also starting picking up stuff that he will need to head off to college. He will be staying in the dorm and my daughter is renting an apartment so they will be both being need some different stuff. When I think about it, I only have about four week to get it together. I have to admit that got me a little anxious. But I am going to sit down and make a plan and get it done.

Since we are going to Michigan on Friday I thought I better attempt to get rid of stuff that is sitting in the refrigerator. I had a little container of pinto beans so I made some tacos. Yummy. This time I decided to keep them whole instead of mashing them and they really hit the spot. I mixed a little salsa and sour cream. A great and satisfying lunch.

I trained at 2:30 and after training I had a some soy nuts and raisin. I did 30 minutes of cardio and came home to make dinner for the boys. I prepared them a flank steak roll. Hubby butterflied the flanks steak and pounded it down. I spread it with a mixture of sun dried tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, horseradish and pepper. Rolled it up and tied it with kitchen rope. I browned it in a little oil on a pan and then stuck it in the oven until it reached a temperature of 150 degrees. Hubby it was good. They had baked potatoes and broccoli along side.

I had some tempeh in the refrigerator and some broccoli slaw so make this delicious salad. This is one of my favorites. I cooked up 2 ounces of dry wheat pasta. I heated up 2 tsp of peanut oil in a pan and added garlic, one lime juiced, 2 ounces tempeh and a dash of salt. I cooked it about 5 minutes and then I added the broccoli slaw and cooked another 3 minutes. I put it on topped of the noodles and finished off with slice green onions and 1 tablespoon of peanuts. It is so good and the little crunch of the broccoli slaw and taste of lime makes this a great dish.

I haven't had this yet but it has been on my mind all day and I am looking forward to sitting down and enjoying it. SO good!!

I think I will sit and make a list of the eats I plan on having in Michigan. It always makes me feel a little better going with a plan.

No big plans for tomorrow. I have to get my hair done at 12:15 but that is it. Hopefully I can make the pasta and cookies for my mother-in-law. Every time I go up to visit her I bring her these and I know she looks forward to them. I just love seeing the joy in her eyes it makes it so worth doing.

Good Evening!!

As you can see by my post that I didn't take any picture of my eats today but I had to take a picture of this! Doesn't it look like the most delicious things you have ever seen? And you know what? It isn't ice cream or frozen yogurt. That's right. I saw Sarah and Gena post about this and when I saw it I knew that I would be giving this one a try. I think I am in love!

It was FABULOUS! I loved every morsel of it and didn't feel guilty one little bit. So you ask what is this bowl of delight? It is a banana... Yep that is right a sweet delicious frozen banana.

I froze two bananas earlier today when I saw this recipe and was looking forward to giving it a try. I threw the frozen banana in my food processor and let it go for about five minutes. I did have to add a little water but it came out fabulous. Gena also gave a recipe for the delicious chocolate syrup. 2 tablespoons of agave nectar and one tablespoon of cocoa powder.

Seriously this is so good. I split the banana ice cream and syrup in half and plan on enjoying the other half tomorrow. I guess when I see the marked down bananas at the store I can pick them up and freeze them for this delicious treat. Give it a try you WON'T be disappointed.

I had a good day today! Eating went well. I had a hummus stuffed pita with cucumbers for lunch, soy nuts and raisins for a snack and then dinner was just kind of what every you can find since I just didn't feel like cooking anything. I had some carrots with hummus, left over Kale salad and a "meatless" sausage I had made a few days ago. When I make the sausages again I will take some photos. So all in all I think I had a pretty good day. I can't tell you how at peace I am beginning to feel around my eating. I don't remember the last time I have felt that way if I every have. I am not sure if it has been reading all the wonderful blogs that inspire me or just the fact that I was ready for it to happen. I guess it doesn't really matter. I am ready to beginning focus on some other wonderful things coming in to my life.

Keep growing and learning what a wonderful things!!!

Good Morning!!

Start off my morning with a nice bowl of "Cold" oats. I love making this the night before and being able to wake up in the morning and have it waiting for me. Simply delicious.

For the people who have asked about the class I was taking I took a Food Handlers Sanitation class. This is something I want to have for my Personal chef business. The test well and I feel confident that I passed. I believe she said it take 4-6 weeks to get the results. But I am proud of myself for taking the class and now I look forward to to moving on.

Everyone is out of the house this morning and I am enjoying being home "alone". Don't get me wrong I love my husband and kids but sometimes it is just nice to be alone in your home. I still am hoping that the right job will come along for my husband. I love him dearly and it breaks my heart to see him searching for work and nothing coming his way. I continue to give out hope that it will come and it will be the best job every! Love you honey!

I have my training session today and then I meet the girl for our book group after that. We are leaving for Michigan on Friday for the 4th of July weekend so I want to make a list of things that I need to get together for that. This will probably be one of the last "family" trip we have for awhile since both of the kids head off to college in August. I know they are not looking forward to going but it is important that they see my husband folks since they no longer travel and I can't remember the last time they saw the kids. We haven't told them yet we are coming so they are going to be thrilled. I usually bring a special treat for his folks so I have to make sure that I get the cookies baked and the pasta made for them. I also need to sit down and figure out a plan on how I am going to eat. I am still hoping to get the vegetarian eating going so I will have to have a plan to make that happen. There looks like I will be able to see a few friends that will also be heading home for the holiday so I am looking forward to that.
Hope everyone has a great day. It is much cooler today and the sun is shining going to be a great day!!

Beautiful Day

It is the perfect day today and has been a great one! I sat out this morning and part of the afternoon just enjoying the weather. It was nice to relax after a busy week. My son even came out and sat with me and we got a chance to just visit. It was SO nice! He is such a great kid and I am going to miss him So much when he heads off to college in August. But it also give me a great sense of pride that my husband and I have raised such a great young man. Oh I am going to get teary eyed just writing this.
Went over to a friends last night for dinner. It was a great time and I hope that we can do that stuff more often. It was three couples and we enjoye each others company and some good eats too. I brought over some food for everyone to try and everyone seems to truly enjoy everything I brought over. If I would have thought about it I would have taken some pictures. Note to self have to remember to do this next time. I ended up bring Kale chips, veggie tray with "Raw" beanless zucchini Hummus and a Fruit pizza. The hummus is one of my new all time favorites just love it with veggies for dipping.
Meet my first prospective client. We had a nice visit but was disappointed when she said she was going to think about it. But I did my best and that is all that I could do. If nothing it was a great learning experience and i think i am going to work on some sample menu plan to show new prospective clients. I just have to keep reminding myself I am learning and in time this is going to be great! I truly have an open mind. Since I don't have class anymore I need to sit and decided how I want to fill my week. I am hoping my husband is going to talk to our accountant about the business so I can begin moving forward. I am still terrified about this new adventure but I believe it is a risk worth taking.
In the food department, I am trying a new lasagna recipe on the boys tonight for dinner and also made them a Sm ore cake. I am always eager when trying new recipes to get their reactions and comments. Not sure what I will have tonight have been picking a little this afternoon and probably should have had lunch but I ended up eating veggies and the "Raw" hummus at 11:30 and then when I got hungry again in it was 3:00 wasn't sure if I wanted to have lunch and so I didn't. I first had Greek yogurt and fruit and then the picking began. I guess I should have just had a lunch. I guess I have learned for next time. I am thinking of having a bean burger that I have in the refrigerator with some sweet potato fries. Sounds like a great dinner. Not sure if i will have a dessert or snack later since I did some grazing earlier. But I feel good and I have been doing a great job on maintaining my weight and who doesn't love that?
Hope everyone is having a great weekend. I am hoping to get back to posting pictures of my eats this week.

Test Day!!

Sorry I have been MIA for the past few days I have a LOT of things going on and I am eager to share everything with you. I got up early to attempt to study but am so not in to it. So I am going to just go in and do my best.
Weight has been OK not fabulous but not terrible. I feel like I have been eating OK so I am letting it go and going on just living.
I was at Costco yesterday and they had a demo of the Vita-Mix. God I wanted it so badly but with our current financial situation I know it is not to be. But I do have it on my want list when things turn around for us.
My husband and I work on brochures for my two business it was so exciting and fun to be doing this together. I also have a meeting set up with a women to talk about the vegetarian consulting. This could be my first client and I am thrilled with the opportunity. As soon as I take this test today I will begin working on what I want to discuss with her at the meeting on Saturday morning.
I have worked out in two day and am anxious to get back in the gym today. My old self today want to blame myself for not working out for the weight but I have to continue to remind myself that there are normal fluctuations in weight and it will all be good. This is all about growing and it is exciting and scary all at the same time.
I will be back later after the test.

Great Day!!

Not only was today a good eating day but I also was able to get a lot done that I have been putting off. This morning I decided to start out the day with some banana pancakes. I can't remember the last time I had these and they were SO good! I have to have these more often. Quick, easy and delicious, gotta love that. I topped it off with a half of banana, little raspberries, blueberries, little sunflower seed butter and a drizzle of agave nectar.

I was busy all morning, I was able to get all the floors cleaned and the furniture dusted. Hubby did all the vacuuming. Love when we work as a team to get things in order. I also made pasta for the boys for dinner. I got hungry about one and decided to have a quick and delicious salad. This is one of my favorites and I am sure you have seen it before, and will see it again. Love the combination of beans, goat cheese, walnuts, figs and balsamic vinegar.

I wasn't planning on having this for dinner but when I was doing my salad for lunch I spotted the brussel sprouts and was longing to have this dish with the delicious sweet potato. I made a huge plate and it was quite delicious. Who said I didn't like brussel sprouts? I love them baked when they are nice and crispy.

I was planning on having something different for tonight's snack but then I saw this... I just couldn't resist. I was going to beat myself up about having it but instead I served up a small portion in a bowl topped with just a little ice cream. Oh SO yummy! I had gotten a book from the library called, "How it all Vegan" I had everything in the house to make this Chocolate Upside Down Pudding Cake so I made it for the boys. (and me!) It was quite delicious didn't really go totally vegan since we all topped it of with ice cream but I may attempt to by some Coconut Ice Cream the next time I am at Whole Foods. I great recipe.. Love it.

Chocolate Upside Down Pudding Cake

1 cup flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup dry sweetener (used Sucanat)

1/2 cup margarine (used Brummel and Brown, yogurt spread)

1/2 cup soy milk (used Almond breeze)

Sauce:

3/4 cup dry sweetener (used Sucanat)

1/4 cup cocoa powder

2 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, cocoa, and salt. Add the sweetener, margarine, milk, and vanilla and mix together gently until "just mixed". Spread in a lightly oiled casserole dish or loaf pan. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix together the sweetener and cocoa. Sprinkle evenly on top of the cake mixture. Carefully pour the boiling water over top. DO NOT MIX THIS! It will do its own thing in the oven. Bake for 40 minutes. To serve, scoop out portions and serve in a bowl with ice cream. Enjoy!!

Was my day perfect, no but I am so proud of myself for turning it around. This is progress in my book.

Back in the Groove!

Good Morning! As you can see by my title, Back in the Groove, I have yet again having difficulty in the eating department. But yesterday I came to calm conclusion, I have the opportunity to start fresh in the morning. It gave me a sense of calm and there was no need for panic.
I am going to have great day and I am going to have bad days but in the end I have been blessed with another day to start again. So that is where I am this morning, a day to start fresh, and that feels great.
Yesterday whatever I ate just didn't seem to satisfy me and I just kept on eating. I can't remember the last time I felt this way and I attempt to try to figure out why. But I never came with and answer to they why and maybe there didn't need to be one.
I am still quite full from all the grazing and eating that was done yesterday but I will attempt to have some breakfast around 9:00. I am going to make some banana pancakes. I have my meals planned for the day and I have a things to keep my busy so it should be a great day! I am eager to get back on the saddle!!
I love having this new approach it has serve me well in so many ways!
I continue to working on getting the my business up an running. I made an posted some fliers yesterday and also posted something on Craig's list. I will contact the paper next week to find out how I go about running an add and will look into all the new supplies I will need to purchase. I continue to experiment on the boys with new meals and that is the fun part that I truly enjoy.
Once I have all the equipment, a good data base of recipes, I will begin to experiment with friends. I look forward to the opportunity to share with them wonderful new eats! I need to continue to keep risking because I know it will only help me grow and learn! Not always easy to take the risk but well worth the outcome!
I plan on posting the each day this week. It helps me stay focused on my eating and I enjoy sharing what is going on in my life.
I will take pictures of my food today and posted some time this evening.
Hope everyone enjoys Father's Day today. It will be a low key day here. Both kids won't be around to much but I guess I better start getting use to that.
I plan on searching for a nice dessert recipe for hubby for dinner and they will be having Chicken Carbonara for dinner which I prepare most of the recipe yesterday only thing left is making the homemade pasta today.

Duties for today:

Make homemade Pasta
Make Calzone and freeze for dinner this week
Clean bathrooms
Dust
Find a recipe for a great dessert and bake
Being making a list of supplies need for the business!!

I guess that is a start! I will catch up with you later.

One Class done and Three to Go!

I just got done eating this delicious meal for dinner. Just love this dinner and it is so quick and easy to make. Probably takes a total of about 15 minutes to cook, gotta love that. Plus I think you get a nice size amount of food. I great satisfying dinner after a very busy, tiring day.

Last night I prepare my lunch for today. I decided to have this delicious salad. I had the lettuce in a separate container and then I just add the toppings when I was ready to eat. I ended up eating my lunch in my car. We got an hour for lunch which was enough time to drive home and come back. They had picnic table and if it would have been nice out I would have done that.

The lunch was great and one I really enjoy.

Class was good and a little boring but I am looking forward to going up to bed early tonight and ready and reviewing what I learned today and start in on the homework that we will need to have done before Thursday class. I love learning and it was nice to dust the cobwebs of the old brain.

I ended up getting up pretty early this morning not sure if I was nervous about the class or what. So I was able to shower do a little Internet stuff and then sit down to a wonderful bowl of polenta. This is a great breakfast. Just love the texture of polenta, it is very similar to cream of wheat. I topped it with cherries, hazelnuts and agave nectar. Great breakfast.

I have been pre-planning all my meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) for the week. It does take some time and planning but it SO worth it. I have a little book that I put what I am going to have for breakfast, lunch and dinner each day. So I at the end of the day I just open it to the next day and know what I am going to have for breakfast the next morning. Just makes less stressful and after I have planned the week of menus I make a list of all the things I will need to get from the grocery store. At times I do some switching but I know that I have everything in the house to make all the meals planned. I also do this for the boys for their dinners. I am hoping that by doing this I am saving us a little money as well.

The weight has been great! I have been able to stay to my eating plan quite well. From time to time I do some eating but I have been picking fruit or vegetables when I do and it hasn't seem to affect my weight at all. This morning I was at an all time low at my home scale, 145. I don't even remember the last time I every weighed that. I am thinking maybe back in high school. I am feeling fabulous and thrilled with this new way of eating. I look forward to being able to share with others who may next help or are interested in the "switch"

Well off to finish the meal planning and grocery list and then heading to bed early to do some reading and get a good night sleep. Hoping that I will be able to train with my trainer tomorrow waiting to get a text from him to see where he can fit me.

Vanilla-Spiced Toast with Berry Syrup

This morning I decided on some French toast with syrup made from a mix of frozen berries. I nice change for breakfast this morning.

Did not have a lot of time for lunch so I made a quick lunch, Arugula Salad with Fig and Goat Cheese. It was nice because I was able to use up more left over in the refrigerator. I think I may have all my little containers of beans empty in the refrigerator. I think I have one with black bean. I think I still have some beets and the wheat berries but I am pretty proud of myself for using these up. I went over to my girl friends this afternoon to bounce some ideas about the two business I am trying to get up an running. She had some great insight for me and I SO appreciate her taking the time to talk to me. Of course I was so excited about the talk we had I came home and got going on some of the stuff we talked about. I printed out business cards and a coupon that will give people the opportunity to talked to me for a free consultation. I am nervous and excited about this possibility. I also have some stuff that I will work with the Personal Chef business this week.

Was so busy and forgot to take a picture of my snack. I ended up pulling a protein muffin I had made a while back and had that for a quick snack in between printing business cards and making the boys and myself dinner. I still had some of the Vegan Bologense and we usually have pasta on Sunday I decided to have another delicious bowl. I think I have enough for one more dish. Will plan to have that one more time this week.

I have been getting the computer that was brought up stair for me up and running and down loaded some of the stuff I will need on it. I had a few grapes and some celery with hummus but now I think I am going to sit and relax and make myself a little shake of almond breeze, strawberries and banana. I nice end to a great productive day.

I have a busy week a head with the Sanitation Class on Tuesday and Thursday and I am hoping that my trainer will be able to fit me to train on Wednesday and Friday. But I am excited about all the wonderful things happening in my life. Now it is my husbands turn, I hope something wonderful and exciting will cross his path soon!!

Saturday Recap

Here is a recap of the food I had yesterday. It was a busy day and I now have a computer of my very own which will help me to keep my blog up to date.

Going Strong!

Was having Internet issue so I am just now getting a chance to post about my food from yesterday. I started off with using some the barley I still have in the refrigerator and made this delicious bowl of barley with dried cranberries, walnuts and a little honey.

Doesn't this look fabulous? I had some wheat berries I had pick up awhile a go and was anxious to cook them up and give them a try. They do take some time to cook but oh they were SO worth it. I soaked the berries the night before and rinsed the water and add fresh water and cook for about 60 minutes.

Now that they were cook I had no idea what to do with them. So I got online and found a recipe for Wheat berry Waldorf Salad and since I had everything in the house I thought I would give it a try. It was absolute fabulous I decided to throw it on a bed of spinach for a little more veggies. This recipe is a keeper and I look forward to finding some more recipes that use wheat berries. If anyone has any to share I would love to hear from you.

I work a lot on my personal chef business and also am thinking about doing some consulting at the gym with vegetarians. I was asked by another trainer to talk to his vegetarian client and I my husband said you aren't going to do that for free are you? It never even crossed my mind to charge someone and with our current situation it would sure help. So not sure if it will go anywhere but I have nothing to lose. I started getting hungry in late after and decided to finish off the little bit of Greek yogurt I had left and threw in the rest of the raspberries and a half cup of blueberries and little sliced almonds. Nice and refreshing snack. I did also munch on some cauliflower and hummus.

Didn't feel like making anything tonight for dinner and I saw that I had some left over butter beans and Swiss chard so made another bean and chard sandwich. Just love this sandwich.

I had a great day over all and had made some great strides and moving forward with my business. Matt, I did receive your email and thank you for all your time and effort to help me it is SO appreciated. My husband and myself both love the idea of KB Cuisine and I may even go with it.

Weight was good this morning and the eating has been right on. Feeling great and going strong I feel like I am unstoppable!

Good times Roll!!

Yesterday I started off breakfast with my one of my favorites! Muesli! I know you are probably get so tired of me talking about it but I do really like it. Finished up the rest of the grocery shopping yesterday morning so all is well with food in the house. Note to self (Why did you buy the ice cream?)

I had some leftover black beans from the taco salad yesterday so I decided to make some bean burritos: black beans, avocado, salsa and cumin. They were OK I don't think I would die to have them again. Still it was a satisfying lunch.

Did my strength training today and 30 minutes of the bike. Pack this for a snack for after. I love soy nuts with a little raisins. I came home to make dinner for the boys. I decided to have them try Pork wrapped in bacon with sweet potato wedges for dinner. This is one of the meals that I froze the other day. They enjoyed the pork and my husband even said it was restaurant quality. Can you see my face gleaming? They are not sweet potato fans so he said they were good but not something he enjoys. (Note to self make sure to serve food that the clients enjoys, and not you!)

There was leftover kidney beans and crushed tomatoes in the refrigerator so I decided to make chili. This bowl is huge! and normally I would be stuffed after this but I was hungry for some reason. Not sure what that was about and I ate more food after that. I had sweet potatoes, nuts and of course: ice cream! I was disappointed that I tend to still have food binges like this but I will continue to work on it and I know at some point i will master this as well. While watching the Lakers game last night I had some hummus and celery. I tried a new recipe for hummus with no beans. It was interesting it was made from zucchini and sunflower seeds. If anyone get the cleaning eating magazine it was in the newest edition.

I also had one of the trainers at the gym come up to me and ask if I would talk to one of his vegetarian clients about diet. I was honored that he thought I was doing a good job with the diet to ask me to talk to her. So today I am going to come up with a hand out or something to help vegetarian lose weight. I am excited about the opportunity to share what I know and help others achieve their goals!!

Rainy Day!

Today is a rainy day but it isn't going to dampen my spirits! I am feeling great both physical and mentally and I am not going to let anything ruin that! Yesterday was a great day and was also filled with a few of my all time favorites. I was planning on having oatmeal yesterday for breakfast but changed my mind and had Italian Onion and Potato Omelet

Is does take a little effort making but it is so worth it. When hubby got up in the morning I offered to make him one as well. He like it but I am not making any bets that I can convert him to eating vegetarian but maybe a flexitarian!

Most of the morning was used to planning menu ideas for the boys for the week and making a grocery list. I decided to search for some new recipes for the boys to try and begin to start making a base of recipes I will use on my soon to be clients. This took a lot of time but I love recipes and food so it was fun for me. I decided to have a bean burger for lunch. I had one last burger in the refrigerator that needed to be cooked up. I love bean burgers and I am loving the new buns that I bought, Ezekiel hamburger bun. I buy the English muffins but not the hamburger buns and now I don't think I will buy anything else. So nice and dense and just all round a fabulous hamburger bun. It is a little high on the calories, 150 well worth it in my book.

After completing my grocery list I had the bright idea of a trial run on a cooking session on my family. I thought it would be a great way for me to see how it all would work out and what changes I would have to make. So I got my grocery list together (decided to buy just the food for the cooking session) and headed to the store. It took me about two hour to drive to the store, shop and return home. Since my timing was off, I should have done this in the morning. It was a little hard to gauge time because hubby had to come in and cook dinner and that threw off my time. I believe I did well on time and now I have five dinners for the boys in the freezer. All they have to do is taking it out of the freezer, thaw in the refrigerator, and cook. Now I wait for them to make comments on the food. I love this snack and have it quite often since you get a lot of it, its chocolate and love the texture. I actually had this after dinner. It it made with silken tofu, cocoa, agave nectar. Not real sweet but it seems to hit the spot for me.

Since I was spending a lot of time in the kitchen doing cooking I did give much thought to dinner. Decided on taco salad since it is quick, easy and delicious. I just love this salad and I think I have said it before you have to try it!!

Had a great day yesterday and looking forward to another great day today. I need to finish up the grocery shopping, strength train and cardio and a little house cleaning.

Scale was good this morning and I can almost touch 145 on my scale at home. This is good for me to see because I was having a hard time not beating myself up yesterday for not doing any cardio. With some advise from Matt I decided it was OK to take a day off. Thanks Matt for the continued words of encouragement, support and advise I REALLY appreciate it!

Empowered and feeling great!!!

I woke up this morning and the last banana looked like it needed to be eaten. So I decided to have some oatmeal with banana and some walnuts on top. Nice start to my day and used the banana so it didn't get wasted.

I have been craving salads lately and decided to have another today for lunch. This is one of my favorites. It has 3 chopped figs, walnuts, goat cheese, white beans and lettuce drizzled with balsamic vinegar. I heated up the beans an little before I placed it on the lettuce and it help melted the goat cheese. Yummy! Love it!

Has a great strength training session today and my weight is holding steady which continue to help realize that I can keep this under control and the more I know that I can the less pressure I put on myself to be perfect and so strict with my eating. Which is truly liberating! Per Matt's suggestion I did 30 minutes on the bike today. Knee felt good and is even feeling a little better tonight. I know it is weird but always feel like the bike is so much harder than the other equipment maybe because I don't have very strong legs and when you are on a bike it is all about the legs. I got a nice sweat and it felt great to put cardio back into my work out. I thought I wasn't going to eat a snack and I was going to just wait until dinner but I got home from working out and was feeling hungry so I decided to have my soy nuts and raisins that I had put in my gym bag.

I had almost forgot about this sandwich and when I was planning my meals for this week I saw this recipe and remembered how much I loved it! It was a great dinner and I also finished up the watermelon that I had cut up today. I think I ate the whole baby watermelon. But I love watermelon and I thought better of having watermelon then some other else.

Today was a good day and I did sign up for the Safety and Sanitation class today. I will be taking that on Tuesdays and Thursday starting next week. It only goes for two weeks from 9-330. Will have to figure out some arrangement with my personal trainer to get my session in since I train with him on Tuesday and Thursday at 230. I am sure we can work something out. I feel so good about making step forward to doing something that I truly enjoy!

Yeseterday Recap!!

I some of my favorite eats yesterday. I had planned on having something different for lunch but I was hungry for a salad instead so I made this spinach salad and it was perfect. Spinach, pumpkin seeds, avocado, dried apricots and vinaigrette dressing. Perfect lunch.

When I was at the store last week I had found lite silken tofu and was excited about making up a batch of tofu mousse. The best part is that I was able to eat the whole package of tofu since it was 30 calories per serving and it contained 4 servings. I nice big bowl of mousse for a snack now that is living. Love the texture of this one. Note to self make sure you look for more lite tofu.

I had some mushrooms in the refrigerator that needed to eaten so I made Sage-Mushroom Barley with Parmesan. Now I have never ever been a lover of mushrooms but I think I might be converted. I really enjoyed the texture of the mushroom and maybe it is because i haven't had meat in almost two month but this one is a great meal. And I love the texture of barley.

You have to try this one.

3/4 cup cooked barley

1/2 cup mushrooms

1/2 chopped onion

1 clove garlic

2 tsp oil

1 cup chopped spinach

2 TB Parmesan

1/2 cup navy beans

saute the onion, mushroom and garlic in the oil for about 5 minutes. Add the beans, rice and spinach and cook until the spinach is wilted and the beans and rice a warmed up. Top with Parmesan. Very filling !

I was able to do 30 minutes on the elliptical yesterday with out to much difficulty. I am continuing to ice the knee and take ibuprofen. I still continue to have pain but I do feel it is starting to get maybe a little bit better. It felt so good to be able to have a nice sweat and it is just good for my mental outlook on things.

I am heading over to the health department this morning to get the application to take the sanitation course I need to get my sanitation card. This will help me move forward with my personal chef business. I am excited, anxious and all those other feeling that we get when we entered the unknown. But I am optimistic.

Weight is going back down to my "happy" weight which is very exciting.

Cranberry and Walnut Barley with Honey

Good Morning! I feel like I have been away way to long and I apologize for that. Don't really have an excuse just have been trying to find out what I want to do with my life.
I made a big batch of Barley yesterday since it does take 45 minutes to cook. So I had a delicious bowl this morning. I just love great complex carbs!!

I have to make some calls today since I am need to get a sanitation card to be able to pursue my personal chef business so at nine I will give the health department a call and see what that entails. I also need to call on seeing if I need to apply for a business license. I am excited about this adventure and I hopeful it would turn out for the best.

I had a girl night out with some friends on Friday and brought over some Kale chips. I was a little nervous about doing this because I had no idea what the reaction was going to be. But I was pleasantly surprised how much they all enjoyed it. It made me so happy. Next time I make some I will make sure to post a picture. You have to try them they are really good.

Ever since I had attempted running a week or so ago my knee have been killing me. I mean really bad. It totally scared me and now I am hoping that I haven't done some major damage. I have not done any cardio since Thursday and to tell you the truth I am scared to attempt it. I have been icing and taking ibuprofen and hoping it will pass. I do think I will go to the gym and do some cardio on the elliptical today. I bad knee some time get more aggravated if I do keep the fluid moving threw the joint. So I am going to go over and do that this morning and maybe a short back work out. Trainer wasn't able to train me today.

My weight is still in my range but on the very high end so I need to get that back down to a more comfortable number for me. I have to admit I did get into the ice cream a few times this past week. But I am not beating myself up about it like I am going to go threw the rest of my life with out ice cream, I think not! I am still learning how to control the portions though. Practice makes perfect? :)

I am looking forward to a great week and I am hopeful this is going to be a great one. Husband has a group interview for a job on Thursday and I continue to pray that the perfect job for him will come soon. I can only imagine how difficult this must be for him. He is a great husband and father and it breaks my heart to see that a company doesn't see what I see. God will provide for us and I know good things will come our way just have to keep the faith.

I promise I will get back in to the swing of things and be more regular on posting because I do believe it helps me stay more foucused.

Matt: thank you so much for you comment and I would love to be able to talk to you further about what you had discussed. Please let me know how we can get in touch to chat.

Hope everyone has a great day!!

New Things to Try!

Started of my day with one of my favorites. Muesli, I just love this. I swear I could eat this every day. It is nice to make it the night before and it is already to go the next morning.

I found this in the store and I was very excited about giving this try. Tofu Shirataki Spaghetti. What a great alternative to spaghetti and it is only 20 calories for per serving.

On the back of the package was a recipe for soup. Nice quick and easy and was only 65 calories per serving. The noodles had a great texture and I would like to experiment with these. On the package it said it could be used as you would regular cooked noodles.

I had pick this up a last week and was eager to give this is a try. I had read about this some where and I when I saw it at Whole Foods I picked it up right away. It is called Seitan and it is made from wheat gluten. This particular one was Italian Sausage-Style Seitan. I found a recipe for Vegan Bologenese.

It was very good and the little crunch from the carrot and the celery in the sauce was a nice touch of texture. This is another product that I would like to do some more experimenting with.

It has been a great day of trying some new things and I love it! Had I not decided to try this new way of eating I would have never thought of trying some of these new and unusual foods. I can only imagine what other things I will find to try. Is there something new that you have tried lately that I might be interesting in trying? I would love to hear about them. This is what eating should be about at least that is how I feel.

I am still here!

Sorry I have been lazy and haven't felt like posting but I know it is so important that I do so here I am. This morning I had Vanilla-Spiced Toast with Berry Syrup. I love French toast and this one is quick, easy and quite delicious.

I went over to my girlfriend for lunch today so I packed my lunch. I didn't even think about taking a picture of it. I will be making it again so I will take one when I have it again. It was Artichoke and White Bean Hummus Pita. It was a little messy to eat but well worth it. I like this hummus and I think I would make it again just to have as another type of hummus to make.

I had a great visit with Kim and she is such a great friend. She motivates me to be my very best and not be afraid to offer all the gifts that I have to give to the world.

I hand thrown these in the freeze along time ago and I had decided that I was going to have Fritter over a green salad tonight. I love these guys!! Cauliflower Fritters!

I did have a quite a few treats yesterday so the scale was up about two pounds today. So I am keeping it tight today so I am done eating for the day. I did cardio at the gym today since I am still have knee issues from the days that I was running. So I have been doing the elliptical at the gym.

I have planned all my meals for all next week so I am ready for a great week ahead!

Back in the Game!

Although I enjoyed all my wonderful eats during my son's graduation it was a day to get back in the game. So I had some leftover green chilies and black beans so I made up another breakfast burrito. Love this!

I had made some of Marissa Barbecue Bean Salad for the graduation and there was some leftover so I put it in a flatout and made a burrito with it. Still a little watermelon so I finished that off for a great filling lunch.

I had some pineapple slices in the refrigerator so I thought I would grill some up on the grill. They were topped with a little pecans and candied ginger. I nice refreshing little mid-afternoon snack.

Since I have been on a roll with using up stuff in the refrigerator and I wasn't plan on making any more food to stuff into the refrigerator I opted for this wonderful dish for dinner. Tempeh with broccoli slaw and whole wheat pasta. I just love this stuff. Tempeh is one of my favorite things now since starting this vegetarian lifestyle. MMMM!!

It feels really good getting right back in the game. Was is difficult? Hell yes but well worth the effort. I know we tend to kid about there is always tomorrow but it is so true. The one thing I have learned is the sooner you can get back in the game the better of you are. It was difficult and there was still plenty of cake left over and I would have loved to have had more today but I knew it would only take me further away from where I like being. Yesterday was the first time I actually felt and liked what I saw in the mirror and I do not want that to leave. It was nice to finally feel like I have arrived.

The scale is coming back down to a good range and I should be back to my "happy" weight in a few days. Although I don't like having a free for all with food like I did at graduation it is nice to know when I do I have what it takes to get back on my game very quickly and that is very comforting to me.

So next time you blow it out and say there is always tomorrow it is so true! Don't beat yourself up on what occurred but focus on get back on your game. That is always that truly matters in the end.

I attempted to do some running yesterday, bad idea. Although I had hopes that I would be able to run more often my knees are telling me other wise. So I must listen to my body. I didn't do any walking this morning but I will attempt to do the elliptical at the gym after my strength training session today and see how they feel. If they say no I will have to listen and take a rest and bounce back in when I can. I know if I stay true to my diet that is will be OK that I take a rest from the cardio.