Icy Monday and what’s in YOUR pantry?

Good Morning bloggies! I had a surprise last night and learned that school is out today again for my 3 kids. We live in a huge county, and part of that county is so far north in the state of Georgia that apparently they still have ice up in the mountains. So the whole county is out of school again. Amazing! All of you bloggies up north are probably cracking up! It’s going to be 40 degrees today, so I’m assuming that they will be back to school tomorrow.

This mornings breakfast and first day without any natural sweeteners in a while but …I use Stevia in my coffee, I’m not going to give that up.

And to eat: something a little different,

Ezekial Muffin, 2 egg whites, shaved real parmesan cheese, and Cholula Hot Sauce.

Yesterday was a good day with food and otherwise. I promise to start shaking things up and eating different things today. So I apologize for all of the repeats that you are going to see, with the exception of dinner.

I had some more homemade trail mix (I am just all about this, it is sooo easy to make and eat):

I went to the gym (more about that later!) and had a protein shake after my workout:

Sorry about the stock photo My shake yesterday had chocolate protein powder, unsweetened cocoa, maca root, banana, oatmeal, water and ice. And was probably the same thing as the picture. (I’m a creature of habit )

Then I went to SBux with my GF Colleen and we discussed many things including exercises, figure competitions, and food where I had yet another Grande Non-fat Latte: (but not the banana)

And a picture of Colleen and myself from The Girls 2009 Christmas Party:



I had made dinner hours earlier, before I went to the gym, and it simmered on the stove while I was gone to workout and to the grocery store.  Dinner was adobo pork, (umm, not completely clean, has sugar, but homemade, so no preservatives!) brown rice with real parmesan cheese, and carrots with acorn squash baked in the oven:

The pork was absolutely divine. So savory! The veggies and rice with a bit of cheese were the perfect clean compliment.

Later, I had some of this tea that I hadn’t opened during the holidays:

It was, at the very least, interestingly flavored.  It kind of smelled like a sugar cookie.  It kind of smelled like orange.  It wasn’t terrible, but it was…strange!  I don’t know if I will be partaking in this tea again.  The jury is still out

I’m excited because I got my newest Oxygen Magazine in the mail today, and it’s all about ABS:

800 workouts to choose from? I’m all over that.  I’m also all over the sexy arms section, too! Summer isn’t too far away in Georgia..it starts getting warm at the end of March!

I also got some additional reading material while I picked up some essentials at the grocery store:

I need to re-order this, it is an invaluable resource when I am running!  I also got this:

(Another invaluable resource, LOL)

I also picked up some other items: shredded coconut, Braggs Aminos, oranges, the above pictured acorn squash and carrots, Fage 2% Yogurt with Honey, brown rice, Havarti cheese, and some other things.

So let’s talk about the pantry.  I have my own shelf in the pantry   All of my clean eating supplies are on the bottom shelf, and the rest of the pantry is, well, not so clean.  The sweets and such are above where the kids can reach, and “Lauzon’s Bar”  is on the top shelf   It’s kind of a mess, so please don’t judge:

The above picture is of the entire area.  The next few are of the healthy shelf only, as that is what we are most concerned about:

Raisins, honey, cacao nibs, 5 grain cereal, protein powders…

Oats, coconut oil, rice vinegar,

Honeyville Red Wheat Berries, natural peanut butter, agave nectar, coconut water, maca root,

and that basket behind the agave nectar has nuts and flours and grains in it.

So the question of the day is: What’s in your pantry?? Let’s see if we can’t substitute some of the unclean foods for clean!

Have a great Monday!

Jessica xoxo

Snow Day Friday ;)

Yes, I live in the Atlanta area.  YES, we got snow.  Now, I have to admit that I am not a fan of snow.  I was born and raised in Rochester, NY and lived in many snowy areas: Burlington, VT, Boston, MA, Buffalo, NY.  So if you ever wonder why…there you have it   It’s nice for the kids, though.  Surprisingly, they haven’t asked to go outside yet!  And I tried to get my dog outside, and she went straight back in and went and sat on the heat vent. LOL!

This morning, in light of the snow and the fact that it is winter, even here in the south, I wanted comfort food.

I am going to call this oatmeal bowl Dark Chocolate Covered Raisins Oatmeal.

Yesterday it snowed.  Did I mention that? LOL!

It was snowing, but you can't see it...

Also, yesterday after I ate the smoked salmon breakfast, I wasn’t hungry for hours and hours. I missed my snack, and finally had lunch at 2:00! The only reason I ate was because I was leaving for the gym at 5.  Lunch was great.  I made another bison burger, but crumbled it and put it in a wrap.  These were clean wraps, and they were really good.  I started with some reduced fat feta and purple onion:

Added some butter lettuce and ground bison:

And wrapped it all up.  Phenomenal!!

Then I hit the gym.  I hit this class so hard I was exhausted at 9pm.  Mysti rocked this class.  Then I did some shoulders (finally) and chest and headed home.  Overall, I burned 584 calories @29% fat in 1:25:40.  This weeks totals so far: 1936 calories in 4:57:55 not including today!!!

I also had some homemade trail mix: golden raisins, raw cashews, raw cacao nibs:

I was ravenous when I got home from the gym.  So while I took a shower, I put a pork loin in the convection oven with carrots and they were ready when I was done:

4 oz. pork loin, 2 carrots, and my fantastic salad that I missed so much because there wasn’t a single dressing I could have with the whole food sensitivity thing going on.  Last night, I had what I wanted.  And it was all clean eats.

The salad was butter lettuce, reduced fat feta, roasted red peppers, and crushed Mary’s Gone Crackers.  Fantastic!!

Have a wonderful day off to my Georgia friends!  To all of the rest of you, TGIF!!!

Still thinking about paradise…

Bob Marley always get’s me thinking about Jamaica   So, in an ode to Bob Marley this morning, I made some Jamaican Oatmeal:

A closer look:

Plain ole’ oatmeal, pineapple, raw cashews, shredded coconut, and maple syrup flakes.  Brought me back to the tropics

So, yes, my husband reads my blog. So that’s a big hint.

I had exhausted kids yesterday, and really, my days actually start when they get home from school at 2:45.  So I tried my best to eat good meals to keep my energy levels high throughout the day.  I didn’t need my 3:00 cup of coffee, so I must have succeeded.

When you energize through food, you won’t need a surge from sugar or caffeine mid-afternoon. Most days, if I drink coffee in the afternoon, it’s because I want to (I LOVE coffee) not because I need to.

I went and hung out at the gym all morning.  Why, how unusual! I was starving after my workout, so I brought my portable smoothie machine (kind of like a generic bullet thingy everyone has), packed a frozen banana, then threw  maca, unsweetened cocoa powder, chocolate protein powder and water all together and had a homemade smoothie right from the gym.  It looked like this:

Sorry about the old pic, but people probably already think I’m strange for smoothie-ing at the gym…can you imagine if I took a picture of it too? LOL! I don’t care, if I go to the smoothie bar, I can’t count on the quality of what they’re putting in my drink, or if there’s sugar.  There wasn’t any sugar in mine, except for some fructose in the protein powder! And it tasted ah-maz-ing.

Lunch was also ah-maz-ing.  I actually made something that tasted like it was from a restaurant:

YUUUUUMMMM!

There it is, baking in my new convection oven. That I love. Took 10 minutes, 15 total…

That’s not a great picture, but here is what was on my extra fiber tortilla (not clean, but I don’t think I would be able to make my own, and ezekial is out for the time being)…FETA, rotisserie chicken, purple onion, butter lettuce.  If you don’t fold it over first, and then put it in the oven…it will fall apart, and you will need a fork and knife.  FYI. Didn’t matter to me, it was awesome!

To accompany that (not sure what I should name it?)  I steamed some broccoli in my huge chinese style steamer that came from San Francisco:

And had a great big plate full with splashes of my current fave seasoning, balsamic vinegar:

Snacky time right after the kids got home to re-energize:

My new FAVE snack

I know, I need to switch things up! But I am loving my new FAVORITE snack:  raw cashews, raisins, and raw cacao nibs.

Then there was dinner, and I was once again stymied…I worry about the kids and what they’re eating, and then cook myself something entirely different (it’s not normally like this, but I can’t eat everything they are eating).

Does anyone remember peas and carrots jewelery? I used to have earrings that were peas and carrots.  That’s really strange, but they were my favorite when I was around 4 years old.  I think they came with a necklace too: and looked exactly like what I ate last night for a side:

So what this is:  obviously a sweet potato (I put a bit of earth balance spread on it), peas and carrots, and under all of that mess of pineapple is a very dried out bison burger that I bought frozen and pre-made at Whole Foods.

embarrassing.

So, I was still dealing with my kids dinners and getting them eating, and totally dried the cr*p out of the burger.  It tasted fine with that small exception. I had sprinkled garlic salt on it, and with the pineapple…it was fantastic tasting. Not so much to look at.  Maybe I will try again tonight, if I get stuck for ideas for my dinner.

Even with all of that food at dinner (yes, I cleaned the plate, as usual)…I was hungry around 10pm.  I plan on switching what I eat late at night around, as it is my witching hour, but last night I treated myself as I had such an incredibly hard day with the munchkins:

In keeping with the tropical theme, that is my “banana boat”. HINT! With a side of chocolate Purely Decadent coconut milk , everything in it I can eat ice cream!

Cashew butter, coconut, banana. That’s all you need.

Have a fantastic day everyone! I have to get to the gym for my first 3 miler in over a year!  Just as a reminder, the ALCAT page is updated, as is a new page with my personal food sensitivities…and the FIT workout is almost complete (except for legs and abs). Let me know what you think!!!

Stay warm!

Jessica xoxo

Yesterday’s Workout (Cardio and Weights):

Chest:

Machine Chest Press, 50 lbs. 3 sets, 12 reps

Pushups (body weight) 3 set of 12

Triceps:

Bench dip (body weight) 3 sets of 8

Machine triceps extension 80lbs. 3 sets, 8 reps

Seated tricep extension 15 lbs. 3 sets, 12 reps

Cardio:

BodyAttack Class

calorie expenditure: For the cardio – 462 calories at 35% fat; for the weights: 77 calories @ 52% fat.

I didn’t get to my shoulders I plan on doing them today after my run, along with some abs.  Please keep in mind that my cardio classes also incorporate body weight strength training, so I probably did 100 push ups before I even hit the floor for weights, as well as a ton of body weight strength training on my legs and an ab track   Overall, a good workout!

Brrr…It’s COOOLD Here!

Yes, even in Atlanta…18 degress?!?! OK, I’ve had enough. I’m trying to convince my husband to take me for a long weekend to the Florida Keys or the Bahamas…(we have points..the perk to his traveling all of the time – didn’t want to seem like a snob!) It’s not working so far, but he is in Ohio, so maybe it will work after all because he’s dealing with snow and ice!

Breakfast today will not include anything Ezekial, because I found “millet” on the ingredient list, and I can’t have millet. SO, I had some Cream of Wheat with pineapple, coconut and honey…everything tastes better with pineapple! And it was the only fruit I had on hand:

My eats yesterday were interesting, in part because I just didn’t know what to eat, and hadn’t planned ahead like I normally do.  I had gone to the gym, and then to Target with all my kids to keep them occupied (gift certificates!) and was famished by the time I got home.  This didn’t do much to hold me over, even with the protein in my grande non-fat latte:

Nope, didn't cut it...

Looking in the fridge, I found I had some leftover rotisserie chicken and broccoli (which was actually yummy..and I doused it in my fave balsamic vinegar):

It didn’t hold me for very long though, I had some Mary’s Gone Cracker crumbs with it, but I suspect I was seriously lacking in the carb department! Half an hour later, I made homemade trail mix:

Raw cashews, raisins, and raw cacao nibs! FANTASTIC!!!

Good thing I ate that snack, because I didn’t eat dinner until late, and once again I was famished.  I was planning on pasta, and had bought some Ezekial pasta to eat with my homemade arugula pesto.  But, since I discovered the millet in the ezekial stuff, that was a “no go”.  As was the whole wheat pasta, that had rye and spinach! (It was tri-colored). Even the plain whole wheat pasta had something in it I couldn’t eat. (sigh…frustration).  So, I decided that regular pasta would be good. FINALLY:

Rotisserie chicken breast, 1 serving of angel hair pasta, and arugula pesto. YUMMY! and a salad to round things out…with my LOVE, FETA. I can eat feta as it is made from cow’s milk. YAY me, LOL! Also with balsamic vinegar, my seasoning of choice today…

Hungry again at 10pm, I made a cashew butter on whole wheat bread (not clean, but not left with any other options…making my own tomorrow!) with “no jelly” strawberry sandwhich:

OK, how good does that look? It was great! And would’ve have been clean sans bread

On a side note, I updated the ALCAT page. Please check it out and let me know what you think of the test. Thanks!

Also, I hit the gym today and ran the 2 miler I was supposed to run yesterday but didn’t feel up to. I also did a round of weights as I had been slacking lately:

Back:

• cable seated low row     3 sets, 40lb. 12 reps
• seated reverse fly           3 sets, 8 lb.   10 reps
• reat deltoid row              3 sets, 40 lb. 12 reps

Biceps:

• 21′s  (except I did 10 each) 3 sets, 12 lb.  30 reps
• internal rotation (bicep exercise) 3 sets, 15 lb.  12 reps

I wanted to do more but I had all of my kids with me at the gym.  Tomorrow will be chest, shoulders and triceps.

For anyone that’s interested, in 1:19:40 I burned 399 calories @ 40% fat.  (15 minutes of that was probably chatting with my friends at the gym ) Last weeks total burn: 12/28-01/03 in 4:08:54 I burned 1799 calories.

I leave you with a happy Princess Sophia who was playing with her newly acquired toy from Target and loving every minute of it:

Yes, that is Strawberry Shortcake and her pal, Lemon Mirangue, in a pool with a flower that sprays water!