Weight Loss, Good Food, and More!

First things first, I lost 4 pounds this week! I am so excited about this! 

When I got up this morning, I didn't want a heavy breakfast knowing that I would be weighing in at noon.  So, I decided to make myself a smoothie.  

I really enjoy smoothies both in the mornings and after a good workout.  They're kind of like my "salads" - you can throw just about anything in to the blender and it usually turns out pretty good.  

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie Recipe:

1 frozen banana

1 heaping scoop of chocolate protein powder

1 Tbsp PB2

1 cup almond milk

4-5 ice cubes 

Blend and enjoy!

After I weighed in, I was getting pretty hungry so I headed to my new favorite fast food place.  

I eat at Subway just about every Friday and I never get sick of it.  There are so many healthy options there and it leaves me full for a long time.  Today I had a Black Forest Ham sandwich on flatbread with lots of veggies and honey mustard.  

After work, I got in a great workout at the gym.  60 minutes on the elliptical and about 20 minutes of weightlifting.  

Tonight for dinner is Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken from Skinny Taste.  

If you don't know about the Skinny Taste website, you're missing out.  I have never made a bad meal from there and the recipes are all so healthy.  Check it out.  You won't be sorry. 

Last but not least...

I'M MOVING!

I'm excited. I'm scared. I'm a bit overwhelmed.

Oh, and I'm not just moving, but I'm moving in with Jake.  Yes, we've decided we're going to live together.  It will be a change.  But I'm excited.  I swear.  Ok, I'll be excited when it's all over and I'm settled into a beautiful house.  With a huge kitchen.  And a live in maid.

This weekend will be spent looking at three different houses.  Fingers crossed that we really like one of them!

Have a great weekend!

Thank You

Just a quick post - I'll be back to post more after I weigh in today at noon (fingers crossed!!!).  One of my favorite weight loss blogs to read is Runs for Cookies.  A few days ago, the author of the blog, Katie, offered to post anyone's blogs on her Blog List.  Thanks to her, I have doubled my followers and my page views have almost tripled in the last few days. 

Of course I want to say a million thank yous to Katie.  I also want to thank each of you for reading my blog.  You keep me accountable to keep working hard at losing weight.  You also keep me accountable to keep posting on this blog.

Thank you for being here and thank you for being a part of my journey!

I'll be back later with, hopefully, good news!

Getting Out of My Own Way

Today after work, I headed to the gym.  I even packed my gym bag this morning and brought it along with me, so I wouldn't have to stop home.  My plan was to run/walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes (I'm still following the Couch to 5K plan), then lift for about 30 minutes (I'm also still following the The New Rules of Lifting for Women plan), and then if I had it in me, maybe 20 minutes on the elliptical.  

When I got to the gym and opened up my gym bag, I noticed that these were the shoes I had brought along.  As you can see from the picture, they are EXTREMELY worn.  I haven't used these in over 6 months.  I can't imagine why I had grabbed these (or why I still have them), but I did (and I do).  

No problem though.  Not having the perfect shoes was not going to stop me from having a good workout.  So, I put the shoes on and headed out to the treadmill.  As I got the treadmill going, I went to put in the earbuds to my iPod and they looked like this.

Seriously?!?! I thought about going back to the locker room to see if the other "bud" was in my gym bag but I was already on the treadmill and it was busy at the gym so I didn't want to risk losing the one I had snatched.  

There was a learning lesson here though.  What I realized from the not-so-great start to my workout was this -  I am the only one that can get in my way.  Old shoes and a missing earbud are only excuses and have nothing to do with getting in a good workout.  So, I did my run with only one earbud.  I lifted heavier than I ever have before, even though my shoes were worn.  I went back to the locker room and found the other earbud in my gym bag.  So, I went back out and did a hard 20 minutes on the elliptical.  It was a good workout. 

When I got home from the gym, I was so hungry.  Lately, I've been on this kick of throwing random things together and calling them a salad.  Here was the combo tonight.  

It actually turned out quite well.  Then again, I'm not picky.  

After my "salad", I enjoyed the last of the chicken tikka masala.  I was a little sad to see it go - it was REALLY good (at least I thought so - I think Jake would tell you differently).

Oh, and obviously I'm not one of those people who thinks cilantro tastes like soap.

I finished off dinner with a delicious Weight Watchers Ice Cream Bar.  They are NOT cheap, but I usually have a $1.00 off coupon for them so I justify the purchase because they are so satisfying and do not taste "diety" at all.

Now, it's time to relax for the rest of the evening.  I think it's well deserved!

No Go(at)

Tonight, I got home from school and just needed a little snack.  I stocked up on a few goodies at Trader Joe's on Sunday so knew exactly what I wanted. 

I pulled out the goat cheese...

...and some Mango Chutney (from Whole Foods)...

....and put them into a cute bowl to be served with a some pita chips. 

Delicious, right???
WRONG.

I sat down on the couch with my snack and started watching the latest episode of Community on Hulu. As I scooped a bit out to spread on a pita chip, I noticed a little hair in the cheese.  "That's odd", I thought to myself.  However, I have two cats so a little fur is not that big of a deal around here. I took a bite.  Savory and sweet, perfect snack.

Then I took out another scoop on my knife to spread on the next pita chip.  This is when I noticed there were a few more hairs in the cheese.  Hmm... these aren't cat hairs.  I pulled one out with my finger.  It was definitely a piece of hair/fur and it was white (my little kitties are gray).

 I brought the cheese into the kitchen for better lighting, took a big scoop out of the bowl and saw this...

My guess? Goat hair.  What else could it be?  I just bought this on Sunday and it doesn't expire until May.  Needless to say, I threw the snack out.  I still have the rest of the cheese in the fridge and I think I'll take it back to Trader Joe's this weekend.  

What a bummer though.  A really really gross bummer.

Since I already had the calories counted for the snack that mostly sat in the garbage, I did what any person trying to lose weight would do.

I ate a tablespoon of this wonderful magic delight.
Straight off the spoon. 
Hey, I just ate goat hair.  

A spoonful of Cookie Butter makes everything better.

Engagement Rings and Indian Food

Jake and I made a big decision and decided that we were going to start looking at.... 

Source

ENGAGEMENT RINGS!!!

We are just starting to look, but it was so much fun.  I absolutely fell in love with the very first ring I tried on.  Everything else paled in comparison.  Isn't it beautiful???

We then ran to Dick's Sporting Goods, Bed Bath & Beyond, Trader Joe's and Target.  I decided I was going to make Chicken Tikka Masala for dinner tonight.

I marinated the chicken in a yogurt marinade with lots of spices

The chicken tikka masala was served over this jasmine rice I found at Trader Joe's.  It came frozen in pouches and they only took 3 minutes in the microwave.  I will definitely buy this again.  It was good and so easy. 

I served the meal with some garlic naan that we also found at Trader Joe's.

Roasted curried cauliflower

Here is the final product.  It could have used a little color (I forgot to add the cilantro on top as well), but it was really good.  The tikka masala was really spicy, but we like spice so that was okay. 

Recipe

Chicken Tikka Masala

Ingredients

• 1 ½ lbs boneless skinless chicken, cut in 1 inch cubes

Marinade

• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground red pepper
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 piece minced ginger ( 1-inchinch" long)
• 6 bamboo skewers ( 6-inchinch")

Sauce

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 jalapenos, minced
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon garam masala ( buy in Indian market)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 1 cup whipping cream
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Soak bamboo skewers in water.
2. Thread chicken on skewers, and marinate (in the refrigerator) for an hour or so.
3. Discard marinade.
4. For sauce, melt butter on medium heat.
5. Add garlic & jalapeno; cook 1 minute.
6. Stir in coriander, cumin, paprika, garam masala & salt.
7. Stir in tomato sauce.
8. Simmer 15 minutes.
9. Stir in cream; simmer to thicken- about 5 minutes.
10. Grill or broil chicken, turning occasionally, to cook through- about 8 minutes.
11. Remove chicken from skewers; add to sauce.
12. Simmer 5 minutes.
13. Garnish with cilantro Serve with basmati rice, naan or pita bread.

32 Before 32

My biggest goal right now is to lose 115 pounds before my 30th birthday.  18.2 down, 96.8 to go and a year and a half to do it.  Piece of cake, right?

Tonight, while running on the treadmill, my mind began to wander.  115 pounds gone is a huge accomplishment, but there are so many more things I want to accomplish.  So, I've created...

My 32 Before 32 List

1. Reach goal weight and maintain it.
2. Run another half marathon

3. Run a full marathon

4. Complete an indoor and outdoor mini-triathlon

5. Attend a blogger conference/retreat

6. Get married (hint, HINT)

7. Finish my master's degree
8. Start working on my doctorate
9. Buy a house
10. Go to Europe

11. Get a dog

12. Play and sing at an open mic night
13. Wear a bikini... in public... without scaring small children
14. Run outside in a tank top and shorts... and look good doing it
15. "Re-learn" Spanish and be fluent again
16. Take dance lessons with Jake
17. Go indoor rock climbing
18. Go horseback riding

19. Buy and wear 4" heels

Source

20. Buy a DSLR camera
21. Knit a hat or socks (or just something other than a scarf or a dishcloth)
22. Work at a job that I love

23. Pay off my credit cards
24. Learn more about freelance writing

25. Spend a long weekend in Vegas

Source

26. Travel solo (sorry honey, I love you and our vacations but this is the "only child" in me!)
27. Water ski (... again)
28. Learn how to play golf (... again)
29. Start a monthly group with friends/couples (e.g., Euchre, wine tasting, etc)

30. Become an early riser (all the time)

31. Improve my self-confidence and self-esteem (a bit vague, but I'll know when I'm there)
32. Create a website (hopefully from this blog!)

Wow... I have a lot to do! Suddenly, 32 seems right around the corner! I guess this turned into a bucket list... 

What's on your bucket list?  

Florida Pictures

I keep forgetting to post these! My mom and I took a nice vacation to Marco Island from March 1st - 5th.  We take a mother/daughter trip every spring, and this was one of my favorites.  Here are some pictures from our trip!

Morning walk on the beach
(picture no. 34908234 of my feet)

I love getting up early on vacation!
Walking the beach at 6:34 a.m.

You know those times when you think you look good until
you see the picture?  Yeah, this was one of those times.
I look like a fly.  The glasses have to go.  

Love these sandals.  I was admiring my new pedicure as well 

And that's all!

Enjoy your Saturday!