Recipe: 3 Bean Salad

I'm invited to a potluck this afternoon and wanted to make sure there would be something there that Matt and I could eat and not feel guilty about. This was the perfect recipe. The host will be grilling chicken and tri-tip, so I decided on this 3 bean salad, and I also packed a salad to bring.

New Hair

I woke up early with Matt today and headed off to the gym to get in an hour of cardio before my hair appointment. For breakfast, I had oatmeal with egg whites mixed in that made me gag. Barf-ola. I'm trying to lean more towards whole foods and not relying on my protein powder unless it's an emergency. I made the oatmeal in the microwave instead of stove top, making sure to stir every 20-30 seconds but the eggs still curdled. I choked it down forgetting to take a picture because I was starving and in a hurry. Bad blogger!

At the gym, I was an animal!! I had rockin' music and so much energy. I did 20 minutes on the stair master, 25 minutes on the pre-core elliptical and 15 minutes of running. In the locker room, I checked my heart rate monitor

 

Progress

Did you miss me? :) Holy shiz this last week has been CRAZY. Work has been super intense and I've been working crazy late nights. I've still managed to work out every night, but I had to push one thing to the back burner and it had to be the blog :(.

So, lets catch up, shall we?

Matt and I redid the patio in front of our town house and we planted 5 different types of tomatoes, basil and cilantro. I'm hoping by the time summer rolls around, we'll be rolling in the goods! Nothing beats home grown tomatoes. I can't wait!

My first WIAW :)

Yayyyy! I love reading other blogs to see what they ate every Wednesday.... Is that weird? I'm not a stalker, I just love seeing what other clean eats my favorite bloggers are having. It gives me inspiration and motivation to be a better cook! So, I finally jumped on the WIAW train. Enjoy :)

 For breakfast, I had overnight protein oats. They were DELICIOUS and so filling! My stomach usually lets me know when it's been 2 1/2 hours. I'm hungry like clockwork. However, today was pretty busy at work and when I finally looked at the clock it had been 3 1/2 hours since breakfast and I still wasn't hungry. I ate anyways. :)

Weekend in Pictures

This weekend was filled with lots of fun and good eats!! I love good, healthy food.I did really good on lowering my carbs and sugar and am feeling a bit leaner. Yay.

Friday morning, I started with my beloved bowl of oatmeal and coffee.

It's filled with natural peanut butter, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, flax seed, Mila (ground chia seeds), and MRM protein powder. Topped it off with fresh berries and it was amazing. I seriously love oatmeal.

Goals

I was chatting with my one of my sisters the other day and we were talking abut our eating habits. She's lost about 25 lbs and looks amazing. We discussed how diets never work because once you get to your goal weight, you think you're done and start eating the way you used to. Then you gain weight, diet again and the cycle continues. Eating healthy needs to be a lifestyle and become second nature or it will never work and keep you lean.

Re-evaluating

Good morning loves. I officially have 3 1/2 months to look bangin' in this bathing suit in Hawaii

Product review: Artic Zero Ice cream bars

Matt and I found these at Costco on our last shopping trip. I've heard great things about them from the live fit group, so we decided to try them. This company is based out of Temecula, so I REALLY wanted to try them and support a local company.

Sunday Prep

Normally on Sundays, I prep foods for us to eat the following week. It only takes about 2 hours to get everything done and then we're prepared for the week. I always focus on bulk cooking a lean protein and a complex carb to have ready to go in the fridge. I also try to make a double batch of protein bars. Having things ready to go in the fridge keeps us on track because when we're hungry we reach for things already made in the fridge instead of junk. One of my favorite quotes: "Fail to plan and you plan to fail".

Yesterday's Prep:

Recipe: Vegetable and Turkey Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

I have been craving something with pasta sauce...must be the Italian side of me. Usually I would make something with pasta to go with the sauce, but since we don't eat carbs after 4pm I decided to try cabbage rolls. They came out really, really good. Even Matt liked them.

Veggie Pasta

How about some of this deliciousness?

Obsession: Panera Bread's Acai Iced Tea

I have a slight obsession with Panera bread's Acai iced tea. It is sooooo tasty. I was out running errands today with Marley and stopped to get one because I was craving something sweet. The tea is unsweetened, but it curbs my craving for something sweet because it has a sweet, fruity flavor. It's tasty and clean eating approved. Check and check. :)

Does Lifting Heavy = Manly Muscles?

 Do you know who the fitness model Kelsey Byers is? She's this hot little thang....

 

Good Team

Matt and I's morning routine is usually the same everyday when we come downstairs after getting ready. I make all of our meals to pack for lunches that day while he makes coffee, feeds the Marley Bear and makes our oatmeal.

This week we have been on an oatmeal kick. We mix in our MRM Vanilla protein powder, ground flaxseed, 2T of all natural peanut butter, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, fruit and cacao nibs.

Justin and Clean Eating Costco Shopping Haul

The most important news from today? I'm an Aunt again! This makes nephew #6 and I couldn't be more excited. Justin was born Friday, March 2nd, weighed in at 6lbs 10 oz and is absolutely perfect.

Zumba Queen

Want to know how to have a GREAT start to your morning? Begin by knocking a brand new wine glass that your best friend got you for Christmas and watching it smash into a million pieces all over the floor. Awesomeness. Because I wasn't running late enough as it was.

I still made my new favorite protein pancake even though I was running super late. Smeared some peanut butter on top and ate it in the car with my coffee on my way out to Palm Springs.

Movie Night

It's alot of work being by myself in the mornings! Today is day two of the boyfriend gone and I am not enjoying it! I had to make the coffee this morning, make the Marley Bear breakfast, make my breakfast and meals for the day, take the Marley Bear out, bring up the Sparklett's jug and put out the trash cans all by myself. Sheesh!! 

On my own

Well, Matt is out of town until Thursday which means Marley and I are on our own for dinner tonight. I wanted something easy and comforting since its pouring rain outside. I decided on an egg white omelette and stuffed it with spinach, and a mixture that was from dinner yesterday: chicken, peppers, onions, and salsa. While cooking, my assistant is never more than a foot away in case something falls to the floor.

New Start

I have wanted to start my own blog ever since I could remember. However, going to school full time trying to finish my bachelor's degree, while trying to find a passion for fitness and a healthy life style doesn't leave much downtime. I finally just decided to go ahead and do it.

A little background about me. One day in 2008 I woke up, walked downstairs to eat breakfast, stepped on the scale just to "see" and came to the realization that I had let myself balloon to 187lbs. For my 5'6" frame, I was huge. I wore a size 15 in juniors and there was no denying my need for help any longer. I immediately asked my friend Janis to join weight watchers with me. She joined with me, and we began counting points on everything we ate. I realized I had no concept of portion control or what healthy food was.That first week on weigh watchers, I gained 3 lbs. Greaaatttttt. Our leader talked to us about this different type of program that they offered called "The Core Plan". We were allowed to eat anything that wasn't processed. Any fruits, veggies, lean meats that we wanted! The only stipulation is that we needed to listen to our bodies and realize when we were "satisfied". After 6 months on weight watchers, I got down to 165 lbs and a size 9.