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Halloween Shenanigans

This morning I did a yoga video called “Cardio Burn Yoga” – it was about 30 minutes long.  The instructor was Patricia Moreno.  It was… okay.  I would have liked it to be a little more difficult/intense.  The last few minutes were really good – she finally ran through the whole routine that that video had been working towards – but I felt like I could have spent my 30 minutes doing something more productive.  I had meant to go running but it was raining, so I opted to stay inside and try the video instead.

Breakfast was the same as usual:

  • 1/2 cup oats, 1.5 cups water, 1 cup chopped grapes, and 2/3 cup greek yogurt stirred in at the end
  • an apple

I took a 40-minute walk today – there were Halloween festivities at the office that I wanted to watch so I came back early.  Some of the highlights were: a costume contest, a pumpkin carving contest, a pumpkin pie eating contest (!), an apple bobbing contest (you have to try to eat apples off of strings hanging from the ceiling with no hands), and just general hanging out.  I didn’t participate in the contests, but they certainly were fun to watch.

Lunch: (free Friday lunch from Specialty’s)

  • A nice big salad – lettuce, tomatoes, eggs, chicken chunks, mushrooms, peas, corn, artichoke hearts, beans (black, kidney, and chickpeas), carrots, scallions, and italian dressing – I went back for another plate
  • english muffin with smart balance and olallieberry jam
  • an apple

Snack:

  • 2 WW wraps and a banana (I sliced the banana in half and ate each half wrapped in a whole wrap – really good!)
  • persimmon
  • plum shared with Bobby

I came home from work around 4:30 and picked up candy on the way – Reese’s and Take 5’s!  I get good candy.  Unfortunately we got absolutely ZERO trick or treaters… so no one got to enjoy the awesomeness that was my candy selection.  But Bobby and I will! 😀  Candy:

When I went out to get the candy I picked up a veggie pizza for $5 and popped it in the oven for dinner.

Dinner:

  • totally humongous salad – romaine, turkey bacon, tomatoes, carrot, red pepper, celery, and a lot of TJ’s sesame ginger dressing – it poured out all at once accidentally.
  • very small slice of pizza

Dessert:

  • Reese’s!!!
  • WW wrap with a banana – I liked my afternoon snack so much that I thought it deserved a repeat…
  • an apple

And check out what I got in the mail today:

Thank you so much RhodeyGirl!  I mentioned that I couldn’t find the Spooky S’Mores flavor and she was kind enough to mail me some.  I wish I had checked the mail before I ate my desserts 🙂  You’ll probably see them make an appearance tomorrow.

We had a great Halloween night, even with the lack of trick or treaters.  There’s always next year!  I hope you all had a safe and enjoyable night – what a great way to start the weekend.  Happy Halloween!

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The Thanksgiving Pumpkin

This morning I did a 45-minute yoga session: Yoga Fitness Fusion by Angie Stewart (Exercise TV).  I’ve done it before, but not when I was actually strong enough to do all the moves completely – I was sweaty and refreshed at the end.  Sabrina had a great suggestion for my knees – lots and lots of stretching.  It sounds easy enough, so I’m going to give it a shot!

Breakfast was my recent obsession – super creamy soupy oats.  I actually added a packet of Splenda today (we have them at the office), which made this perfectly sweet and delicious.

  • 1/2 cup oats, 1.5 cups water, 1 cup of halved grapes
  • 2/3 cup greek yogurt stirred in at the end
  • 1 apple

I took my walk (1 hour) before lunch today and it actually started raining at the end!  Just a slight drizzle – this is only the second time it’s rained here since April I think.  It rained one other weekend in October.  Lunch was pretty simple:

  • 1 english muffin with smart balance and olallieberry jam
  • eggplant parmesan with shredded rice cheeze (I think I used too much… definitely didn’t need it all, but I ate it anyway!  It was very chewy and cheezy!)
  • carrots and cauliflower with bbq sauce
  • 1 apple (unpictured)

Snack:

  • 2 wraps, plain again!

Dinner:

  • butternut squash fries (I went back for another serving about this size – my total was a little less than half of a whole squash)
  • shirataki stirfry with eggplant, a plum, red pepper, veggie meat, carrot, cabbage, yellow plum tomatoes, and some rice vinegar – I had a bit more of this as well.

Dessert:

  • 1 chopped apple with 1/2 cup of vanilla soy delicious ice cream and lots of cinnamon
  • EDIT – to add 3/4 cup of Greek yogurt (Fage) with 1 tablespoon-ish of honey

We were going to carve the pumpkin tonight, but both of us are tired from work and we’re just snuggling on the couch instead.  So now we have a huge pumpkin to do something with!  Maybe we can eat it instead of carving… Or maybe we’ll just carve it after Halloween.  It can be a Thanksgiving pumpkin.  I still haven’t decided if I’m dressing up yet, but there are lots of festivities at work tomorrow and I have a super-cute bright orange skirt (Gap) that I’m going to wear.  Happy Halloween! Enjoy your candy and treats!

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The Creamiest Oats

This morning was Cardio Yoga.  I can’t decide what to do tomorrow – I want to run, but my knees still hurt and I’m scared of overdoing it.  I think I need to get some knee braces.  I might try a different yoga video that’s longer than the cardio yoga one.

Today’s breakfast was the most amazing bowl of oats I’ve ever had.  The Greek yogurt made them oh-so creamy and delicious.  I was in heaven!

Breakfast:

  • 1/2 cup oats, 1.5 cups water, 1 cup grapes (chopped in half), 2/3 cup plain greek yogurt
  • an apple

I did take my hour-long walk before lunch today.  It was nice.  Just walking and thinking.

Lunch:

  • english muffin with smart balance & olallieberry jam
  • huge salad – romaine, grape tomatoes, red pepper, celery, shredded carrot, and 2 slices of turkey bacon – topped with balsamic vinegar
  • apple!

Snack:

  • 2 wraps, just plain!

After nutrition class tonight Bobby and I drove up to San Francisco to have dinner with his cousins at Slanted Door, a trendy Vietnamese restaurant in the Ferry Building.  We’ve been there once before, for lunch, and it was delicious.

Dinner:

  • my appetizer – shrimp soup (it had tomatoes, shrimp, bac ha, and pineapple – I ate everything but left most of the broth)
  • vegetarian spring rolls (I had 3 pieces)
  • my meal – grapefruit and jicama salad (also red cabbage, pickled carrots, and candied pecans) – it was really good!
  • a few bites of Bobby’s crab cellophane noodles

Dessert:

  • 2 apples + 1.5 tablespoons of PB (I just can’t go to bed without dessert…)
  • a few banana crisps
  • several too many handfuls of cashews

It was so nice to see Bobby’s family – they are really sweet.  If you’re reading, thank you so much for dinner!  We had a lot of fun.

I hope you all had a fantastic Wednesday – though mine was incredibly busy, I had a very nice day.  It’s almost Halloween!  I can’t wait.  Happy Thursday 🙂

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Running High

This morning’s workout was a 3.2 mile run.  I timed it – about 28 minutes (my watch isn’t digital so it’s kind of hard to be exact).  I never thought I would enjoy running!  I guess I should stick with it in case I start to hate it again 🙂

Breakfast:

  • 1/2 cup oats, 1+ cup water, 1 peach yogurt, grapes
  • apple on the side

I took a leisurely hour-long walk before my lunch.  My legs are sore.

Lunch:

  • shirataki pasta mix – cabbage, celery, red pepper, shirataki, and pasta sauce
  • smart balance & olallieberry jam on an english muffin
  • an apple

Snack:

  • 2 ww wraps
  • 1 banana – I actually ate each wrap with half of the banana inside it – so good!

Dinner:

  • acorn squash with cabbage, celery, and apple, topped with turkey bacon and rice cheeze – I also had the skin and some of the squash part of Bobby’s – he never eats the skin!
  • raw veggies and bbq sauce
  • close up…

Dessert:

  • rice puffs, rice milk, and a persimmon
  • another persimmon (unpictured)
  • freeze dried banana slices from TJ’s

I had a bunch of GREAT responses to my nut/nut butter question.  Thank you all!  Happy Hump Day!  I hope you’re all getting ready for Friday – What are your Halloween plans?  And what is your favorite Halloween candy?

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Hip hip hooray for PB&J

I think I was low on calories yesterday, so before I went to bed I snacked on some pumpkin seeds (spicy!):

Speaking of snacking on nuts, I had a bunch of almonds on… Saturday night I think?  Probably 1/2 or 2/3 cup.  It was random.  This morning I got up and did Cardio Yoga (no surprise there)… and went to work.

Breakfast:

  • 1/2 cup oats, 1 cup water, 1 peach yogurt, a bunch of grapes
  • 1 apple

On Monday and Wednesday I eat breakfast about an hour earlier than normal, so I usually need a snack.  La Tortilla factory to the rescue!

  • WW wrap with peanut butter

And before lunch I took my hour-long walk.  It was pretty leisurely today.  The soreness from my weekend runs and the 5 miles of walking to and from the concert yesterday didn’t hit until this morning – but man did I feel it when I woke up.

Lunch:

  • 2.5 cups of stirfried veggies (last night’s leftovers)
  • 1 PB&J sandwich on an english muffin
  • an apple (unpictured)

Snack:

  • Another WW wrap with peanut butter

After class I stopped by Milk Pail for groceries and got a huge stash of veggies, fruit, bread, and OJ (for Bobby) for $20.  It was crazy.  Also crazy was the fact that we didn’t eat until 9:15 – when I got home I was starving so I snacked on a bunch of these cute yellow tomatoes as I made dinner:

Dinner:

  • shirataki noodles with cabbage, eggplant, some veggie ground meat, and pasta sauce
  • raw veggies and bbq sauce

Dessert:

  • 1 apple with 2 T peanut butter

I’m loving peanut butter today 🙂  After going so long without it (I’d been on an almond butter kick), I’m glad to have it again.  Today’s question – what is your favorite NUT or NUT BUTTER? I have several favorite nuts – almonds, cashews, and pecans.  As for nut butters, I think I have to stick with the classic – peanut butter all the way.  What do you think?