healthy living...

Remember last week when I told you that we were changing our lifestyle by eating more organic foods, etc. Well, it’s only been almost 2 weeks and I feel better than I have in a long time! I have so much more energy and I find myself daily wanting to make small changes to improve other eating/exercising habits. Take for instance last night, we had dinner and I’m a sweets girl. I love to have something sweet after I eat. In the last few months, I’ve gone from buying 2 boxes of 100 calorie packs every week to maybe buying 1 boxes a month! Literally, the last few months I’ve been slowing changing my eating habits but more so over the last few weeks. So after dinner, I asked Kaz if he wanted a chocolate chip cookie. With our food order, we got 4 containers of organic chocolate chip cookie dough and it is delicious! He said no he didn’t really want one, so instead of baking 1 for me, I ate a grapefruit! 

I’ve also been drinking a glass of carrot juice everyday for almost 10 days now and it really makes such a difference. Annie Rice has had a full sippy cup everyday now for 10 days and it makes me so happy! She LOVES it, although I don’t always love her diaper:)!

Kaz’s favorite dinner that I make is chicken casserole. It’s always been his favorite meal! I normally put in chicken, cream of chicken, chicken broth, and cover the top with ritz crackers soaked in butter. We eat that over pasta. The other night I decided to make it and made a few small changes that is healthier for us and tasted JUST AS GOOD! Instead of chicken broth, I added zucchini and added plain ritz crackers instead of soaking them in butter, over organic whole wheat pasta instead of plain pasta! I’m really seeing day by day how little changes make big differences. We also made a really big decision over the weekend...REMEMBER HOW I SAID I HAD NO DESIRE TO GIVE UP SODA! I’m going to be pretty honest here and tell you how bad my soda addiction has been. We would literally go through 4-6 2 litters a week! I would drink coke zero all day, every day from breakfast until I went to bed. The more I thought about my statement last week about not giving it up, the more I was convicted that Annie Rice sees me drink soda all day and I make her drink water. That’s not really the best example for me to be setting so Kaz and I made a deal. We decided to NOT BUY soda in our house ANYMORE! We have given ourselves 1 out a week BUT ONLY over the weekend IF we go out to dinner. We can’t bring it home, so it has to be if we go out to lunch or dinner on the WEEKEND! I actually was dreading doing this because I just knew my headaches would be awful but I have to say the Lord has honored our decision because I’ve had 1 headache that was yesterday and it maybe lasted 15 minutes. I’m on day 5 of no soda, just water and a little apple juice in my smoothie:) 

I’ve made a couple really good recipes lately that are very yummy! Here are 2 from this week that our family loved:)

Mexican Rice Bake

2 boneless skinless chicken cooked

3-4 cups of cooked brown rice[I use the rice in the bag so mine came out to be a little over 3 cups]

1/2 bag of frozen corn

1 cup of salsa

1 cup of plain greek yogurt[I used vanilla because we didn’t have plain and I couldn’t taste a difference]

1/2 cup of cheese

1 can of drained black beans

Mix it all together[make sure the chicken and rice are cooked, the corn is frozen]. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes! We ate it with tortilla chips! Very yummy!

Chicken Casserole

2 boneless skinless chicken breast cooked. Cut in cubs

2 regular cans of 99% fat free cream of chicken

1 zucchini cut in tiny cubs

Bake for 20 minutes at 350

Take it out and cover the top with crumbled ritz crackers[I used reduced fat]

Bake for 10 more minutes

Serve over pasta!

num yum num...

That's what Annie Rice says. Num num yum num! I told you lately she has started eating everything! We are loving this stage because since we got her she's been a picky picky little eater:) Last night, we cooked our first meal from Healthy Home Foods. Kaz had been asking for spaghetti so that's what we made! We loved it and I think from these pictures it's safe to say Annie Rice did too:)

healthy lifestyle changes...

Kaz and I have been doing a lot lately to change our lifestyle to become healthier. There are some habits that we have, that have needed changing for a long time...and the more Annie Rice grows up, the more we want her to see better eating/exercising habits from us! My biggest weakness is COKE ZERO! I honestly have no desire to give it up. I don’t know that I ever will but I literally drink it like I have a coke zero IV hooked up to me! I drink it all day long! Everyday! Even when I was training[well, the little that I did] for the half marathon, I drank coke zero all the time! Little to no water! It’s A REALLY REALLY BAD HABIT! I have been TRYING...TRYING being the key word to only drink soda at night for dinner. Some days, I do really good, others like today I had it for lunch! BUT I AM GETTING BETTER! I’ve made it a goal to drink at least 3 glasses of water a day. In the past, I would be lucky to drink that in a month! SEE, I TOLD YOU IT’S BAD! I told Kaz last night there needs to be a soda rehab!

I’ve mentioned several times on here, some of my eating habits...We have both been really convicted over the last several months about what we eat! More specifically, the amount of processed foods that we eat! Organic wasn’t even a word in our vocabulary. I ate Smart One’s for lunch and sometimes dinner for almost 3 years...EVERY SINGLE DAY! I cut those out all together back in September. I haven’t had one since! I’ve started replacing those lunches with healthier versions...chicken salad made with greek yogurt, PB and banana wraps, etc. A couple weeks ago we heard about a company called Healthy Home Foods[located in NC and SC]. I took a look at the website automatically thinking it would be outrageous because it’s all natural, organic foods, but I almost fell in the floor when the representative told me for our family it would be about $60 a week! I called to get a better understanding and a food representative came out to our house and cooked there food for us! It was DELICIOUS! I was pretty much sold before they came out, but I was definitely sold after tasting the food and seeing how affordable it is! We received our first shipment last night, which is a 6 month supply of food:) It’s A LOT! I’m so excited to be making these healthy changes...As I was looking through the food, I noticed that my husband added in a few items that I didn’t know about...like chocolate peanut butter! HaHa! 

I’ve been trying to add 1-2 fruits/veggies with every meal that I eat! For breakfast, I have eggs every morning! I made some homemade granola over the weekend and I’ve been having a small cup of granola + fresh strawberries with the eggs! It’s yummy yummy! 

I’ve been keeping a food/exercise journal to keep me on track! The reason I decided to do this for at least a month is because the last few months I have had little motivation and it’s my accountability partner:) 

We have been jumping up and down and praising the Lord this week for Annie Rice’s new eating habits! I don’t know where my old picky picky picky Annie Rice went BUT I HOPE she doesn’t come back:) Everyday, Annie has floored me more and more! She has been drinking at least 1/2 a sippy cup of carrot juice everyday! She’s been eating eggs, veggies, subs, really anything we give her without a fight! Normally, we have to fight her on at least the first couple bites and then once she finally starts eating it herself she says ALL DONE, so the fight starts back over! I have been really really proud of her eating this week! 

With some of the changes we’ve made, I honestly feel so much better! I have so much more energy! I pray that I can continue making healthy lifestyle decisions:) 

Here’s the recipe to the granola I made! It’s really yummy!

4 cups of oats

1 1/2 cups of flax seeds

1 cup of sliced almonds

2 cups of honey

1/4 cup of vegetable oil

1 tablespoon of cinnamon

Mix the oats, flax seeds, and almonds together. Let the vegetable oil and honey warm over the stove. On a baking sheet[I put tin foil over mine so it’s not as messy] lay out the  granola mixture and pour the honey mixture over it. Mix it all together and add cinnamon to taste! Bake at 200 for 10 minutes!

I used the honey, to make it a little healthier. I also did not put any dried fruit because I really enjoy fresh fruit in mine:) 

MY weight loss plan....

A lot of you have asked HOW I lost the weight....Well, my plan hasn't been super strict...ACTUALLY I went in spurts. I've always "kind of" followed weight watchers. I usually eat a smart one everyday for lunch..Last year, I was so busy working at Seacoast and doing photography I didn't exactly have a lot of time to cook so it was usually smart ones for lunch and dinner. Running was really my only form of exercise and Kaz and I started juicing back in January 2010.

Now that I have more time, I'm going to follow Weight Watchers very strict for the next 2-3 months. I REALL REALLY REALLY want to loose those additional pounds and working from home I need a strict plan! I signed up for Weight Watchers online for 3 months[$53 for the 3 months]. It's been GREAT![Mind you, I typically follow this plan anyway JUST NOT VERY STRICT...] While I already eat smart ones, 100 calorie packs, etc I'm not very good at staying within my points range..SO THAT'S going to be the real trick! Being at home everyday, I have the flexibility to eat whatever I want...that's both a good AND bad thing. Keeping track of my points is really going to help me follow a plan. 

I LOVE that I can enter the foods I've eaten and WW online tells me exactly how many calories, grams of fat, etc I've eaten AND how much I am allowed for the rest of the day. I can also track my exercise and water intake. 

The way I've set my account up, is to weigh in each Sunday. WW online will show my progress from week to week!

I'm super excited about this AND ready to loose those few extra pounds!

I'm also starting back on the "NO SODA" bandwagon that I fell off of at Christmas:( It's a very hard addiction to stop! Everytime I try to stop, I do good for awhile AND then crash. So this time I'm doing something a little different....I'm allowing myself 2 diet cokes a week. THAT'S IT! To you, that may sound like a lot BUT when you are used to drinking just diet coke all day, it's really not...This way, I can cut down the soda, but still get a little fix:)

I'm still going to continue running BUT I'm going to add in strength training 2xs a week. AND Kaz and I are going to continue juicing.
SO, there's my plan. I would LOVE to hear your tips and tricks..OR your weight watchers experience!

M-O-T-I-V-A-T-I-O-N...

Since December, I really haven't had ANY motivation to loose weight. I've been running a TON so it kind of gave me the freedom to eat whatever I've wanted. I haven't gained any weight BUT haven't lost any either....I still have 8 more pounds to go to reach my "wedding day" weight. I would really love to loose a total of 23 pounds[including the 8] BUT my current goal is 8 pounds:) I'm starting back hard core TODAY...I'll be telling you a few things I'm doing next week but when loosing weight YOU HAVE TO CELEBRATE the little victories. Today I'm celebrating...I think the pictures speak volumes!

August 2009

October 2009

March 2010

June 2010

January 2011

 There MAY NOT look like a lot of difference in the last 2 pictures BUT BELIEVE me there are!

Since Jan 2010 I've lost 36 pounds, gone down 4 pants sizes, and 2 shirt sizes!!!!

For all who think loosing weight is not possible, IT IS!!!! Stay MOTIVATED!

Learning to run….

I have a co-worker and good friend [both in their late 40s] who told me they wanted to start running and asked if I would help them. ABSOLUTELY! This is something that I LOVE to do. It’s no secret that I love to run…I get such an enjoyment from it…a peace, relaxation…

I used to be big runner in college, especially my sophomore year until I started having major knee problems. I had surgery almost 2 years ago and I feel like I have a brand new knee! It’s been incredible!

BUT anyway, so for the past 2 weeks [3 days a week-ALTHOUGH we are only on day 4] we are doing a running plan. I actually created one in my head wrote it all out and then found a beginner plan online. Let’s just say mine is a “little bit” easier. Not by much though….

So here it is, starting out for a brand new runner. If you’ve never ran before and want to, try it. These 2 ladies really didn’t think they could run. This week they ran a total of 32 minutes. Pretty good for only being on day 4!

Week 1:
3 days a week
Run 1 min
Walk 2 min
Repeat 10xs


Week 2:
2 days a week
Run 2 min
Walk 1 min
Repeat 10xs

1 day
Run 3 min
Walk 1 min
Repeat 7xs


Week 3:
2 days a week
Run 4 min
Walk 1 min
Repeat 5x

1 day
Run 5 min
Walk 1 min
Repeat 4xs

We have started meeting at work 30 minutes earlier than normal to run. It really has been a great start to the day. Try it out! If you work outside of the home, ask a co-worker to start exercising with you. The weather in SC right now is beautiful! Not too hot, not cold! You can also do this plan at the gym!

Randomness……

-I really want to learn how to sew! I know the bare minimal basics but I want to know more! I would be willing to barter or trade any photography sessions or class for some sewing classes! I’ve made the basics-Burpies and blankets BUT I really want to learn to sew curtains and little dresses! Here’s a few things I’ve made…

-Juicing is a very powerful thing…I told you awhile back that Kaz and I started and it was going great. One thing I noticed over the 3 months we juiced was I stopped having sinus problems and no longer had to take medicine. I have ALWAYS had problems with my sinuses and for as long as I could remember I took medicine almost every day. While juicing I never had to take medicine or had problems. We stopped because life got busy and we were traveling so much and let me just say…The last 2 months I have taken sinus medicine EVERYDAY! We started back juicing and once again no medicine! If you have any illness or sickness it’s definitely worth trying! It’s a very powerful thing! We only juice carrots now unlike before when we juiced a lot of other veggies. So every day I drink a 8-10oz glass of carrot juice! Yum, Yum!

-The next 2 weeks are going to be extremely busy for me with photography. I’ve had a little break which has been nice but it’s getting ready to be insanely busy BUT then I go on my trip to NYC!

-Speaking of NYC, What are some things you have enjoyed doing there? It’s my favorite place and I’ve gone every year for the last 5 years. I know the city really well but I’m always looking for different things to do! I also want to see a celebrity!


-Stay tuned until tomorrow….I’M FINALLY going to post pictures of the nursery :)

losing weight....

I’ve been trying to lose some weight…I worked really hard at it for awhile and then kind of slacked off but I’m so close to my goal I’m back on the band wagon again. Since January I’ve lost 25 pounds. I’ve got 15 more to go!

Here’s me last August…..

Here’s me last weekend!

A few key items that have helped me lose weight:

1. Running!
2. My favorite foods:)

First-My breakfast every morning [Yes, I have ice cream for breakfast] Blue Bunny Aspen Bars!

Snack-100 calorie chocolate pretzels! Yum, my favorite


Lunch and most dinners-Smart Ones. I love these! They are so easy but so yummy! My favorites are the Baked Ziti and Creamy Rigatoni!


I have found a new dinner that I love. Wanchai Ferry Beef and Broccoli. This is so easy and taste delicious! I add Brown Rice and the meal is complete! You should definitely try it!

What are some tips that have helped you lose weight?

I slid off the tracks a little….

Do you ever start out on the right track and then slide off the road a little? Well, that’s how I’ve been with my healthy journey….

I did really really good for awhile…and then slowly I got off track. NOW I didn’t crash- just took a small turn…[I haven’t lost anymore weight BUT haven’t gained any either! I’ve continued to lose inches though:)]

Diet Coke: I didn’t have ANY for 2 weeks then I started compromising a little and now I’m back to drinking them a lot more….SO I’m going to try and start again taking it day by day. My thing is I really like the taste….I NEED something besides water to drink…I get bored drinking water ALL day. Do you have any suggestions?
Running: I was up to 7 miles!!! I’ve still continued running but not every day like I was so I’m starting back today! I at least want to run 5 days a week:) It’s just so hard for me to go to the gym after work, so If I don’t go during lunch then it’s easier for to me to justify in the afternoons not to go…

30 day shred: I made it to day 6:( So today I’m also starting back on it! I can do it, I can do it, I can do it! It’s 20 minutes a day…I CAN DO IT!
Eating healthy: I’ve still done really good at this. I’ve watched what I eat but at the same time I haven’t tried to control it so much! If we were out to eat, I got what I wanted and really enjoyed it but didn’t go overboard. I’ve found some really good healthy snacks to eat[cauliflower and fat free ranch dressing, mango delight with celery, etc]. For lunch I’ve been bringing chicken and brown rice, and 2 sweet potato round patties[If you’ve never had these, PLEASE go get them from your grocery store (frozen section)! They are amazing!!!]

AND 1 new sweet that I’m in LOVE with is this: Blue Bunny Aspen Bar! It’s amazing! I’ve been having it as my sweet after dinner and I really look forward to it. I will save all day on sweets just for this!!!

I found this cool and healthy blog…This lady loves green smoothies and drinks…I’m not there yet with the whole green thing[I’ve had bad experiences with green drinks] BUT I’m going to try some of her stuff! My friend Rhonda LOVES green drinks! Kaz and I LOVE juicing and have it every day! I can tell such a difference when I have juice and when I don’t[including my health…We juiced for a solid month and I never had sinus problems…We stopped for 1 week for vacation and I woke up the last 4 days with sinus problems every morning…Once we started back, I haven’t had a problem since…] That’s just one of the benefits I’ve seen!

Where are you on your healthy journey? Do you have any snacks or foods that you love? TELL me about them…I would LOVE to know!

some healthy treats....

I’m going to share 2 delicious and HEALTHY recipes with you….
Manpineberry smoothy

Strawberries

+

Pineapple

+

Mango

+

Peaches

+

a little orange juice

+

Ice

= Fantastic healthy smoothie! And a sweet treat!

This next recipe...I can’t remember the name of it…So I’m going to call it Mango delight! Let me tell you a little about this recipe….Back when I was in 8th grade, we had an Acteens sleepover at church and my cousin Pam decided we would make foods from other countries. This recipe was from another country although I can’t remember which one..It’s only been 13 years since then…I’m doing pretty good just to remember the recipe!

This is the perfect sweet BUT healthy snack during the day!

2 mangos
1 small tub of fat free cool whip
1 teaspoon of vanilla flavoring
Thinly sliced almonds
Orange juice

Put a little orange juice in a blender[just enough to cover the blade]. Cut up the mango, put it along with the vanilla flavoring in the blender and mix together. If it’s too thick add a little more orange juice, BUT you don’t want it soupy like liquid…It needs to be a little thick. Mix all of that with the cool whip, add the sliced almonds on top….AND you have a great dip! I personally like to eat it with celery. It’s the perfect healthy BUT sweet snack during the day…and low calorie:)

Do you have healthy snacks that you love? If so, I’d love to hear them!

What to do about lunch.....

Ok, so I HAVE a problem….I don’t know what to carry to work for lunch:( Now I know this may sound silly, BUT honestly it’s a dilemma in my mind. For a very long time, my safety net for lunch has been SmartOnes. I would take them everyday…Occasionally[a little more than I should] I would go to Moes[right across from work] and grab lunch, but what I eat there is $8.00 and I can’t spend that everyday. These are things I’ve tried, and the problems I have with them:

Baked spaghetti[I only like it the day after it was originally cooked]

Peanut Butter sandwich[I feel guilty eating it more than one day because of the fat]

Salad[get tired of it…and hate preparing it everyday]

Smoothie[don’t ever want it once I get to work because it’s not as filling or it doesn’t sound as good as regular food]

Egg sandwich[love eggs, but the whole heating it up thing after it’s been cooked gets to me]

Are you starting to see my dilemma? I’m a little picky……..
I’ve thought about Chili-I love chili but am trying to cut out a lot of meat…..I HONESTLY NEED HELP! What is something good that I can take for lunch, low in fat and calories, healthy, and taste good:)

 Please help……