Deliciously Odd Dinner Combo

What a productive day – it has flown by- I guess that means it was busy!

After a morning at the wellness center and a weight loss nutrition consult, I had a Subway lunch at my desk – roast beef +provolone on honey oat with all the veggies, Sun Chips, and diet coke.

My afternoon patient canceled, which worked out well because I needed some time to update my presentation I’m doing tomorrow for our local university’s dietetic internship class. For the last 6 years or so, I have been a preceptor for the dietetic internship, which means each intern spends a week with me and my co-worker Heather, observing and helping with wellness and weight management projects. Since our hospital is the primary place they receive bariatric surgery experience, tomorrow I am going to do a lecture for the upcoming class on Bariatric Surgery Nutrition….again, speaking to groups is one of my favorite parts of my job and I love speaking to the students!

I also ended up teaching Boot Camp class today- man, was it a good workout. My co-worker Chad teaches the class most Mondays and I am the backup instructor - I used to teach all the time, but I found that I enjoy taking the class more than teaching. It was a great workout though and I had a lot of fun teaching today!

When I got home, I was starving…and I had two of these home-baked goodies…

Dinner was an odd combo- but delicious. Grilled chicken salad + roasted broccoli + Annie’s shells and white cheddar.

Yum- an unplanned dinner, but it came together perfectly!

Hope you’ve had a great Monday…I’m heading to bed early tonight…Goodnight!

Beautiful morning

Good morning! It almost feels like fall here today…there’s a bit of a chill in the air. I love it!

Breakfast was banana oats topped with dark chocolate, strawberries, and almond butter…perfect.

Today should be a relatively calm and fun day- I have a few nutrition consults and boot camp this afternoon! I have to enjoy these next two Monday nights because in two weeks our Monday night weight loss class starts back for the fall.

How is your Monday? Have a great day!

Relaxing night at home

I say this every week-but, I can’t believe the weekend is over so fast!

I rarely bake anything, but tonight I had the urge to make homemade dark chocolate chip cookies from scratch…it has been years since I’ve done this….they turned out well though. (I had 3 over the course of the evening).

Michael joined us for dinner…easy and simple- lean turkey bratwurst on whole wheat buns + sweet potato fries.

After dinner, we watched Extreme Home Makeover- that is always such a tearjerker….and played some Wii Bowling and Tennis – Anthony dominated.

After saying goodbye to Michael, we are getting our dogs settled in and turning in for the night.

I hope you’ve had a great weekend. Goodnight!

Fun Morning

This morning, I had an Owen-inspired breakfast – we both had the same thing – yogurt and berries.

Our church has an annual service at a park at the lake and today was the day. This is just some of the huge crowd that attended.

It was a great morning in a beautiful setting. After the church service, and some games for the kids, Owen spent some time on the playground.

And, I had a burger and chips for lunch + shared a brownie with Owen. There weren’t really any healthier options available, which was fine…I’ll make up for it with more veggies later.

After lunch, we drove about an hour to meet my brother-in-law, Dave, halfway to send Owen home to mommy, daddy, and Emma Kate. It was fun, Owen! We love you!

 

Now, Anthony and I need a little nap.

See you later!

Special Guest #2

Later this afternoon, while Owen was napping, Special Guest #2 arrived….

Michael!!

After Owen’s nap, we took the boat out to a local restaurant at the Marina, Calhoun’s….Owen and Michael…

My best friend and me….

My dinner was a grilled barbeque chicken sandwich + fries….simple but very good +  a great glass of wine.

The captains of the boat….

Michael got in a little skiing time….

And, we all went for a quick swim.

Now, Owen is snuggled into bed and we are not far behind.

Goodnight!

Special Guest #1

Owen is here!!

He’s spending the weekend with Aunt Angie and Uncle Anthony! We are so excited to have him. I met my sister and Dave to pick him up and we hit Chick-Fil-A for lunch. Owen had chicken nuggets and fries…and I had a grilled chicken salad….man, was Chick-Fil-A packed with kids! I don’t go there a lot, but I do appreciate that their food is relatively healthy compared to most fast food places.

After Owen helped me with grocery shopping, we came home and he played Wii bowling with Anthony’s mom who had stopped to visit (she’s not Special Guest #2, but we were glad she stopped by)!

Now, Owen’s napping and we’re preparing for Special Guest #2 to arrive….should be a fun night tonight!

Have a great afternoon!

Special Guest x 2

What a perfect, slow morning. Anthony brought me coffee in bed and I just lazed around watching the news for awhile before I got up. I love slow mornings!

Breakfast was a blueberry-dark chocolate chip pancake topped with fresh berries + syrup….+ cup of coffee #2.

Anthony’s been outside all morning helping with the installation of our new heating and air unit….we found out a couple of weeks ago that it was getting ready to kick the bucket – pretty good considering it is over 20 years old!! So, we decided to make the investment before it totally died leaving us with no air conditioning in August.

I’m on my way to meet and pick up Special Guest #1. Special Guest #2 should be arriving a little later….can’t wait.

Have a great Saturday!

Friday Fiesta

Thanks for your great advice about ways to outsmart the snooze button!! I’m glad to know that I’m not the only one who has a snooze addiction!

Today was a super-productive day at work. We started with our monthly unit meeting and we accomplished alot. It reminded me how lucky I am to work with such an intelligent and creative group of women. We met at Starbucks and I had a grande coffee with cream…nothing fancy today. Back at my desk at the wellness center, lunch was leftover lasagna from last night…stay tuned – I’ll add my lasagna recipe to my Favorite Recipes page ASAP. Thanks for asking!

After lunch, I went to the hospital for the afternoon- I saw a diabetes nutrition consult, had another meeting…and had a snack. Fage total with honey- this is so good- almost cheesecake-like….

After work, I stopped by Sephora – it is totally one of my favorite stores ever! I try not to go there too much because I could easily spend way too much money! I’m not really a clothes shopper, but give me a shop full of skincare, makeup, and fragrance…I’m in heaven. I was searching for a new fragrance…I love Philosophy Amazing Grace, but I wanted something different, so I tried a new Philosophy fragrance, Unconditional Love – love it!! When I got home, I went for a nice walk around the neighborhood and then Anthony and I tried a new Mexican place for dinner – yes- we do eat Mexican once a week (or more some weeks). We started with chips, salsa, and guacamole…pretty good, but not as good as our favorite, La Fiesta.

And, I had a vegetarian quesadilla for my entree….it contained beans, peppers, onions, mushrooms, zucchini, and cheese…very good.

I firmly believe that Mexican food can be part of a healthy, balanced diet…but making good choices and portion control is key. I left most of the rice and 1/4 of the quesadilla on my plate and was satisfied, but not stuffed.

Now, Stacy and Clinton are calling my name…time for my weekly What Not to Wear slumber party with my sweet husband!!

I’m so excited – two very special guests are coming to visit tomorrow!! Do you have big plans for the weekend?

Goodnight!

Snooze-aholic

Good morning!!

Quick and simple breakfast today: whole grain English muffin with almond butter and blackberry preserves + berries.

Does anyone else totally abuse the snooze button on your alarm clock? I have to find a way to start jumping out of bed on the first alarm. This morning, my alarm was set for 6:00 and I didn’t crawl out of bed until 6:48! I have to add- this is a lifelong pattern, so change may not even be possible at this point

What works for you?

Have a great Friday!

Snack Attack

Hey everyone! I hope you’re having a good Thursday so far!

My fruit breakfast was so delicious, but it left me hungry about 2 hours later…and, in my rush to get out of the house on time, I forgot my Fage yogurt snack! So, around 9:30, I found this peppermint patty to nibble on…

A couple of hours later, I was starving! I had seen a few diabetes nutrition consults but didn’t have time to stop for lunch, so I had this Glucerna bar from our stash of office samples.

After my two morning snacks…I wasn’t really hungry for lunch. I had a break for a couple of hours this afternoon. I got to come home and do some laundry and some cooking…Since I wasn’t really that hungry, over the course of the afternoon, I nibbled on some sweet potato chips…

And fruit….

Sort of an unusual day of eating for me, but I think it reinforces to me that I really need my protein with breakfast…starting out with fruit only, I just felt hungry all day.

This evening, I did a presentation on Eating Well for Optimum Health at our local National Kidney Foundation office….doing speaking engagements like this is one of the highlights of my job – I absolutely love it! There were probably about 15 people there, and we had a great discussion. This afternoon, on my break, I had time to throw together a lasagna- I hadn’t made one in a while…I made it with lean ground beef and whole-wheat pasta. Since I knew I’d be working late, I thought it would be nice to come home to a pre-made dinner. When I walked in the house after my presentation, my sweet husband had brought me these….

He is so good! I’ve been tired (and a bit grumpy) the last few days and I think this is his way of making me smile!

Dinner was homemade lasagna, garlic bread, and a yummy salad.

A couple of Questions and Answers from the last couple of days…

1. I can tell you don’t count calories, but what are your eating guidelines? For example, Cristin at Eat Like Me recomends and follows the Food Pyramid guide, which have been very helpful. Thanks.

I don’t really follow any specific guidelines. I don’t count calories, but my estimate is that I average around 2000 calories most days. I try to always eat lots of fruits and veggies. I try to have a lean protein, a healthy carbohydrate, and a fruit and/or vegetable at each meal. And, I really focus on eating mindfully and listening to my hunger and fullness cues…that has been huge for me personally….stopping eating when I’m “comfortably satisfied”, not “stuffed” or even “overly full”. Hope that helps a bit.

2. Hi – new reader – just wondering — do you make your own sweet potato fries or buy pre-made?

I do a little of both- with my burger last night, I made them homemade…just a sliced sweet potato drizzled with EVOO, salt and pepper, and roasted at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes. I also often use the frozen Alexia brand…love them and they are so easy.

3. I love mangoes but have no idea how to choose them. Any tips?!

I go by the texture. If the mango flesh gives slightly when you apply a little pressure- it is usually ripe. If it feels completely firm, I pass. I also usually smell it- don’t know if that really helps but I feel like I can smell the ripe mango smell when it is ripe.

Thanks as always for reading!

Goodnight!