Oops

I'm sitting on the couch watching tv after my very long day today and I just realized that I almost forgot to post today! Looks like it may take me a little while to get back into the swing of things.
After realizing that I forgot to post I also remembered that I'm actually supposed to post everything I ate today and a little bit of panic comes over me. Had I remembered this earlier in the day/night I may have made some better choices today. I guess this is why food journaling really works. Just being aware makes such a big difference.
Sigh... well here goes:

6:30am:
Americano w/nonfat milk & splenda. Thank Shara!

9:00am:
Kashi trail mix bar
**Dried fruit and nuts. Very small and may taste a bit too healthy for my liking. I like my breakfast bars to be healthy but still satisfying and delicious. This one was borderline gross. Still ate it though. So whatever that means.

12:30pm:
Leftover chicken breast w/corn, black beans, salsa, and shredded cheese
**This was a recipe I made a few days ago. I almost tossed this last piece out but then decided that in the interest of saving money I'd give it a shot today. Turns out - still good!

2:00pm:
5 Red Vines
**Another weakness of mine. Too bad for me we have a Costco sized bucket (?) of them at the office. Someone needs to get rid of those right away. So far I might be the only one really working towards that goal. Hm?

5:30pm:
One bite of chicken & cheese tamale from Trader Joe's. I love free samples there. Just as much as I love everything else in that place.

6:30pm:
A few handfuls of jalapeno potato chips.
This one is again thanks to Celia from yesterday. You see, there is a reason why I don't buy things that I really like and keep them in the house. Like chocolate chip cookies and jalapeno potato chips. Because if/when I do, they are gone immediately. I have zero self control when it comes to certain foods. Keep that in mind everyone. Stay away from me with your temptations!!!

7:30pm:
Leftover honey mustard chicken from last night. Side of couscous (also from last night.) And steamed broccoli with reduced fat shredded cheeses melted on.
2 bites of a Lean Cuisine - pasta & broccoli in alfredo sauce.

9:00pm:
Mochi. 2 pieces of strawberry and 1 chocolate.
**This is a delicious frozen dessert from TJ's. It's sort of like an Asian version of ice cream. They come in little balls (yes balls) that you can just pick up and bite into. But it's still kind of like ice cream. Anyway, I bought these because I thought I was going to be making dinner for some guests and I had a real fun Asian-y meal in mind so I thought this would be a fun dessert to add to the menu. But when the guests canceled I couldn't resist having some Mochi anyway.

9:46pm (right now):
Snacking on Tajin chili powder. I get a really weird craving for anything Mexican candy like once in a while. And by that I mean pretty much everyday. This is the closest thing I could find to Mexi candy so that's what I'm eating. This should make a nice bloated day tomorrow. Awesome.

SO... lesson learned for the day: Don't forget you'll be posting every little bite you eat for everyone to read each day so... stop being a fat ass.

Side note... I was trying to figure out approx how many calories I had eaten today. I wont get into those details now but by doing this I realized just how many stupid extra calories I ate today that I could've gone without. If I had only left out those silly snacks I would have been right at the number of calories I'm supposed to have. But just those few snacks/bites totally put me over.
Oh well. I guess tomorrow is another day to try again.

Welcome Back to Me

Hi! After a very long break I'm happy to report that I'm back! I finally have a kitchen again. MY kitchen. Clean and well stocked with all of MY cooking essentials. I can't begin to tell you how happy this makes me. With all of the nightmares I have been living recently the worst part was not being able to cook in a nice clean kitchen. Over the 6 months that I was living at home (sort of) I learned that I might be a little on the OCD side when it comes to cooking. I tried to cook a few times in other kitchens but instead of it being the relaxing and enjoyable time that it usually is for me, it quickly threw me into a full fledged panic attack. Unorganized kitchens with not so clean pots and pans, weird smells, other people's food, etc. Ugh it was pretty bad. So anyway, now I have a place of my own again and I get to enjoy my favorite activity in peace each and every day.
It's been a long time. So no major plans yet for a diet. Although I'm sure there will be one soon. But for now I just want to get back into the habit of food journaling. Need to start slow.

Here's what was on the menu for today:

11:00am - 1:00pm:
Snacked on Tostitos and jalapeno cheese dip.
**Very unhealthy, I know, but YUM. Who doesn't love cheese dip?

2:30pm:
Starbucks Americano with a splash of half & half and nonfat milk. And Splenda.

3:30pm:
Salad... Spinach, tuna (mixed with miracle whip light and dijonnaise,) cherry tomatoes, and feta.
Dressing: olive oil, rice wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar (just a splash) and lemon juice. Pretty much my go-to salad dressing for anything.

5:30pm:
Chocolate chip cookie. Thanks a lot Celia.
**Chocolate chip cookies are basically irresistible to me. Like, it's absolutely impossible for me to say no to a chocolate chip cookie. No matter what. Well, unless it has nuts in it. In which case, keep that shit as far away from me as possible. Thanks.

7:30pm:
Honey mustard chicken:
1/2 cup honey, 1/2 cup Brummel & Brown butter, 1/4 cup Dijonnaise, and a dash of pepper. Mix all ingredients together and pour over chicken. Bake at 375 for 45 mins, basting frequently.
Super easy recipe and very delicious. And according to my calculations, which may not be the most accurate but you know, the recipe (if made with 4 chicken breasts) should only have around 305 calories per chicken breast.

Couscous with toasted pine nuts.
Just right out of the box. I highly recommend keeping this in the house at all times. It makes a great side dish for any meal. Great as-is from the box but there is also a ton of very easy way to make it your own. Adding sun dried tomatoes and feta is one of my faves.

Creamed Spinach:
Ok this one is still in the experimental phase so I wont post a real recipe until I get it right. The one I made tonight was decent but it needs a little fixing. I'll keep you updated on this one. I'm excited that I thought of it though. I might have to start cooking with spinach more often. It's so easy and so good for you.

That's it for today my friends. I will hopefully be posting regularly throughout the week so check back often please!
Oh and tomorrow I have a pretty fun new diet gadget to report about so make sure to come back for that.
Thanks for reading. See you soon!

I'm Tired

The story of my life these days can be summed up pretty easily: I'm tired. It's just how I'm feeling all the time. Anyway that being said I don't have anything new and exciting to tell you guys so I'll just stick to the basics. Here's what I ate today:

11:00am: Costco Falafel Balls, Cucumbers, Tomato, and Hummus
** Very delicious lunch or breakfast or whatever. I used Sabra hummus which is soooo good. You can buy it in most grocery stores. I just used the original flavor but all the other ones are great too. Roaster Red Pepper, Sun Dried Tomato, Garlic, etc.

4:15pm: Frozen Yogurt
** Since I had to move out of my beloved little home in Little Italy I've had to find some new fro yo spots. I've been to a lot in San Diego and I still think Yogurtland is #1. Some have come pretty close but none of the others are quite as delicious, cheap, and just overall perfect. Today I went to Del Mar Swirls. For the most part is was great. Good flavors (not as many as Yogurtland) and not too expensive. My only real complaint was the cups. I like my frozen yogurt cups to be a little bit wider. Like not so much tall but wider in circumference. Does that make sense? See if it's wider I can put all 3 of my flavors (I usually get 3) next to each other and mix them when and how I want to. BUT with the taller cups I pretty much have to put all the flavors on top of each other and then I'm just eating each one on its own. SO anyhow.. that was the only issue. Otherwise I was quite happy. My flavor combo today was: plain tart (always,) espresso, and cookies & cream. And chocolate sprinkles on top. YUM.

7:30pm: Roasted Vegetable Wrap w/ Baba Ganoush
** This tasty dinner was courtesy of my home away from home - Trader Joe's. They have a great selection of wraps, sandwiches, salads, etc. Some are better than others when it comes to calories. This one was 390 calories - kind of high on the fat - 12g - which is why it ends up being 8 pts. But anyway - it was very good and pretty filling I think.

It's now 9:30 or so and I was thinking about having another snack before bed but to be honest I'm just too tired to go all the way downstairs and deal with that. Maybe my exhaustion will be good for my diet. OR maybe these are just the early signs of swine flu. Can we do something about this whole thing please? I mean swine flu, really? It sounds terrible and kind of disgusting actually.

Anyway... that's all for me today. It's way past my bedtime.

Part 2 Day 2

Well... big shocker. I gained 1.5lbs. After yesterday I really am not surprised. I have been playing this dieting game for over 10 years now and I have a pretty good idea of how my body responds to certain foods. I think the 2 guilty culprits from yesterday were the 711 sushi (i still love you though) and the chicken. While you would think the chicken was the most innocent thing on my menu I used a lot of salty seasoning for it. So with the high sodium from that and the high sodium soy sauce i just HAVE to pour all over my sushi - the 1.5lbs makes sense. Glad I figured that one out! Now I'm off to go find Carmen San Diego.
Game plan for today: eat very little and drink TONS of water.

9:00am: Tuna & Garbanzo Beans Salad (kind of)
** So I'm getting ready to move out of my apt in a few days which means no grocery shopping. This was a haphazard meal put together with whatever I could find. In case this sounds good to any of you - although I'm almost sure it doesn't - here's what I used for this one:
1 Can of Tuna
1/2 Cup of Garbanzo Beans
Pickle Relish
Splash of Light Rice Vinegar
Dijonnaise
Light Miracle Whip
Dash of S&P

5:00pm: Lean Cuisine

There you have my day. I know it sounds a little minimal but let's be honest here, I'm not wasting away or anything.
And btw, I did violently search through my purse at work for some extra change to get a bag of chips or something but I had no luck. Relax... they would have obvi been Baked Lays.

*** Since I am posting this on Friday morning I can happily report that 1.5lbs is now gone. Yay!! Mission accomplished. =)

Day 14!!

This is it. Today is the final day of my 5 lb challenge. My official weight today is X-6lbs!! Yahoo! If I can keep this up for one more day it will be a great start for my soon to come next challenge.

11:30am: Homemade Cottage Cheese with an Apple
** YUM. One of my most favorite snacks/meals ever. I have this with regular low fat cottage cheese too. 1 apple, cottage cheese, and splenda.

2:30pm: Fiber Gourmet Pasta & Chicken Salad
** Canned chicken, Fettuccine, Miracle Whip, Relish, S&P....

8:30pm: TJ's Chicken Wontons & Brown Rice
** Another success from TJ's frozen food aisle

I'm a little bit worried about my final weigh in tomorrow. I know that even if it goes up a bit it's still ok. I didn't eat badly today but I feel like just to ensure a good result tomorrow I should've stayed away from the carbs and sodium a little bit more. BUT like I said, I will be totally ok no matter what it says tomorrow. I feel good about my progress and I'm excited to keep it going.

There will certainly be quite a few obstacles coming up for me over the next few weeks. First and foremost is money. Having none is an obstacle on it's own but having none while you're trying to eat healthy is a whole different story. I easily drop over $200 every time I go grocery shopping. Well at least every time I go grocery shopping my way. There are ways around spending a fortune on food and even though I hate doing it I'll figure it out.
My next obstacle is called March Madness. Don't ask me how I ever got involved with anything sports related but turns out it's so much fun! I think it has to do with being able to print out my bracket and carry it around with me at all times. And even though for the 2nd year in a row I had nothing to do with filling out my own bracket I still take full pride in "my" picks. And I'm pretty sure I'm gonna win. Ok so anyway... the obstacle here is that watching basketball pretty much always equals sitting at a bar and drinking like a thousand beers. Not so diet friendly. But on the bright (kinda) side, with my TWO new jobs I wont be able to watch all the games. So even though it wont be as much fun as last year, at least I wont totally screw up the diet.
Well there are a few more changes coming up for me that could make this tough but nothing I can't handle.

Thanks for reading. See you soon! =)

Day 8

Day 8 Weight: X-4.5 lbs

I made it through the first week of my 5 lb challenge. Yay! Seeing that I was down 4.5 lbs this morning was a great feeling. I know some people think it's crazy to weigh yourself everyday. Most trainers/nutritionists/etc don't think it's a good idea either. For me, especially when I'm trying to lose weight, I think it helps. When I start my day off with a good number on the scale (like today) it motivates me to keep going! Like why would I screw it all up today with a bad day when I'm doing so well? On the other hand when I start my day off with not such a good number on the scale it motivates me to keep going too! It's a good kick in the ass reminder that maybe I wasn't so good the day before and now is the time to get back on track before I ruin it all.

So another Friday is upon me. I think today will be a good day. No plans for happy hours or any other major obstacles that could get in my way. I am scheduled to work all weekend so that will help out as well. It also happens to be St. Patty's Day weekend and I think I owe to myself to celebrate a little as well. We'll see what happens.

10:00am: 1 piece of toast (Sara Lee) with Trader Joe's Egg White Salad
** This is a really good option for a quick and light breakfast. The Egg White Salad from TJ's is another one of my faves. It comes in 2 flavors - Egg White & Chive and Ranchero. Both are delicious. The Ranchero has a little bit more flavor so I usually eat that one first. You can always add some more seasoning to them if you find them bland. The entire container has only 100 calories in it and is super high in protein. I would highly recommend buying one or both of these if you are looking for a good low cal snack. There's nothing better than being able to eat an entire container of something and still know you only had 100 calories max.

12:00pm: Cobb Salad w/balsamic vinaigrette dressing
** Chicken, eggs, avocado, tomatoes, carrots, mozzarella cheese.
I made sure not to eat the entire salad so I could leave room for some fro yo. I didn't get any yesterday so I'm craving it more than ever right now.

3:30pm: FRO YO!!
** It was even better than I thought it was going to be. I am quite happy right now. And for the record I made sure to pick the lowest calorie flavors. I did break down and add some chocolate and rainbow sprinkles to it BUT I looked it up and it turns out sprinkles are not really that bad! Only around 35 calories for a tablespoon. They do have a lot of sugar which isn't too good but who cares - it was delicious.

7:30pm: Broccoli & Chicken Pasta in a Mozzarella Cheese Sauce
** This was a meal put together by only using ingredients I already had in the kitchen. I borrowed some ideas from other recipes I had and just gave it a shot. Turned out to be quite good I think! Here's what I used:
Fiber Gourmet Fettuccine
Broccoli
Chicken Breast
Cherry Tomatoes
Fat Free Mozzarella Cheese/Parmesan/Feta
Half & Half
Garlic, Garlic Powder, Vegeta, EVOO, S&P, Cayenne Pepper
For a meal that sounds like it should be super high in calories but isn't, I think it was quite a success. I will definitely make it again. Possibly using Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze instead of half and half. That will save a lot on the calories and will still taste great. I think any cheese would work for this recipe. I just happened to have a bunch of fat free mozzarella. Goat cheese (my fave), blue cheese, gorgonzola, etc... would all probably be just as good.

I had a pretty good Friday I think. I ate good food without ruining my diet. I do sometimes worry when I have a heavy-ish meal for dinner that it will lead to a gain on the scale the next day. I tried to make sure I didn't eat too too much for that reason. Either way I'll be ok. No diet panic attacks for this girl.

No Day But Today

I am happy to say that my reason for not posting yesterday was not because I was too tired or lazy or bitter. I was out seeing one of my favorite Broadway musicals of all time, Rent. It's an unbelievable feeling to see this show again after so many years. The music and lyrics of Rent have been burned into my brain since the first time I saw it. This time around was honestly better than I remember it. From the minute the show started to the minute it ended my emotions were all over the place - crying, laughing, remembering. One of the show's main messages is "No Day But Today." And after seeing it last night, I can't help but be inspired to live my life a little more like this everyday. No regrets about the past and no fears about the future. Live in the moment and live each day to the fullest.
I have digressed a bit from my intended blog theme. Let me see if I can tie this all together....
Living each day to the fullest to me means spending time, most importantly, with the people I love. No diet is worth giving up time with friends and family. For someone like me who tends to go a little far with dieting - that is an important reminder. However, I want to live a long and healthy life that I can enjoy. I want to feel good about myself. I want to stop wasting precious minutes of my life trying on one thing after the other just to find an outfit that fits. I never want to skip out on going to the beach again just because I am too afraid to be in a bathing suit. Pool parties are supposed to be fun. They are not supposed to induce a panic attack.
So in the end it comes down to balance. I need to focus on my ultimate goal but not lose sight of what is important in life. Find a way to stay on track without pushing your friends away. And for those of you who do not struggle with this as much as others, please remember to support your friends who do. We all love happy hours and nachos - yes. But sometimes going for a walk or cooking dinner at home is fun too.
So that's my transition from Rent to food. For an incredible description of someones experience with Rent (having nothing to do with food) please click here to read my incredibly intelligent and articulate friend Kayla's writing about it.

Wednesday:
Low Sugar Oatmeal
Healthy Choice Frozen Meal
Motts Healthy Harvest Applesauce
Leftover corn & rice & beans
Trader Joes Veggie Gyoza's
A few bites of a Lean Cuisine Frozen Meal

Thursday (so far):
Thai Chicken Salad
Jello Pudding Snack - 60 cal

Since I didn't post yesterday at all I'll go ahead and put this one up now. I'll have a regular full day tomorrow. As far as the rest of the day today goes I'm thinking of getting some fro yo at some point. Mmmmm. Dinner will be healthy. I think. ;)

Thanks for stopping by! See you tomorrow.

PS... Day 7 Weight: X-4lbs (yay!)

And I'm Back... Challenge Day 5

Day 5 Weight: X-4lbs

So I took a little break from posting for a couple of days. For one I was just a little bit tired (this is hard work you know, ) and secondly I was a kind of disappointed with the underwhelming response I got from my last post. I was really looking forward to getting your feedback on the workout songs. So either not as many people are reading this as I thought, or those of you who are reading are just too lazy to respond. Or maybe you guys just don't go to the gym? Either way I have decided to stop pouting and move on.
Thank you very very much to those of you who did take the time to help me out... Ms. Wilde, Tim, Lauren, and Anonymous. Your suggestions are all fabulous and I'll be thinking of you guys when I'm miserable at the gym. I'll have the new play list ready to post soon.

I started my new job this week and in terms of dieting I think it will be a very good thing. It has me on my feet all day and gives me no time to do any kind of mindless eating - which I tend to do when I'm at a desk all day long. We'll see how it goes, hopefully I am right.

1 piece of Rocky Mountain Toast (1 egg & low cal Sara Lee bread)

Persian Cucumbers w/Artichoke Tapenade
** Seems like a weird combo, I know. But I like to mix weird things. It's just a really quick and fresh snack.

Jello 60 cal Pudding Snack
Motts Healthy Harvest Blueberry Delight Applesauce
** These are both really good healthy snack options especially if you are looking for something sweet.

Chicken & Shrimp Fajitas, Red Beans & Rice, Corn
**The chicken fajitas were from none other than Trader Joes. This is another delight from the frozen foods section. You get the veggies, chicken, and seasoning all in one bag and, of course, it's all very healthy. I added in some shrimp too pretty much just for quantity. For the tortillas I used one of my WW staple items - La Tortilla Factory tortillas. The smaller size has around 50 calories and 8 grams of fiber. If you are dieting you need these tortillas! You can use them for anything... wraps, burritos, fajitas, etc.
The red beans and rice were one of those Knorr/Lipton Cajun Sides. It's not particularly low cal or anything but not bad at all as a side dish, especially if you are splitting with someone.
And the corn was from a can.. nothing too special there. I used a dash of cayenne pepper pretty much over everything in the meal just to give it an extra little kick. It all turned out great.

Thanks for reading! See you tomorrow. :0)

5 lb Challenge: Day 2

Day 2 Weight: X - 2.5 lbs

As much as I would like to, I cannot officially celebrate this as my halfway point. My body has a very quick reaction to, well to anything really. Basically my weight fluctuates by 2-3 lbs daily. So just depending on the next few days of eating I could potentially hit my goal early... but the real challenge is to keep it at that weight and then keep going for more. Does that make sense?
Nonetheless, losing 2.5 lbs is a great feeling! With that dreaded happy hour out of the way now I am feeling confident and ready to keep this up.

Just another thought about the diet. Because of my sort of extreme personality I usually tend to go for a much quicker type of weight loss. Like... it's Monday and I need to lose 10 lbs by Friday - that type of thing. We all know that the faster you lose the weight, the faster you will put it right back on. That's why fad diets are not really so good for you. They do not teach you a realistic long term way to eat. It's just a quick fix. Instant gratification.
Since I don't have any major events coming up right now there is no reason for me to go the quick fix diet route. I know I'll be better off in the long run by doing it this way. However, if anyone is looking for some quickie diets with great results let me know. I'll give you scoop.

10:00am: Egg Beaters Omelet w/Corn, Jalapenos, & Fat Free Feta

2:00pm: Handful of Pomegranate Arils (seeds)

4:00pm: Homemade Cottage Cheese w/ Persian Cucumbers & Cherry Tomatoes
** My wonderful mother is nice enough to make homemade cottage cheese for me once in a while. I think it's absolutely delicious and could probably eat it everyday if I had it.
I make this little salad with regular low fat cottage cheese too. The key is to season it with salt and pepper. It's a great and refreshing snack or meal. Great if you are looking for a light lunch.

5:00pm: A few slices of dried pineapple with chili

7:30pm: Artichoke Penne Pasta and Asparagus
** This pasta dish turned out quite delicious. It is made with Gerties Artichoke Tapenade from Costco. I found the recipe on the jar but made a few changes to lower the calorie count. It called for penne pasta, butter, parmesan cheese, and of course the tapenade. I used Fiber Gourmet Penne, Reduced Fat Parmesan, and Brummel and Brown Spread in place of the butter. Brummel and Brown is so good as a butter substitute. It's perfect for baking, cooking, whatever. And the stats are even better... 45 cals per serving.
I saute the asparagus in a pan with some olive oil cooking spray, lemon juice, garlic powder, and Vegeta Gourmet Seasoning. Right before I serve it I sprinkle with a little bit of Reduced Fat Parm.

9:00pm: Yogurtland Fro Yo
** I am very proud to say that I made this dessert as diet friendly as possible. I checked the nutritional info and picked the 2 of the flavors with lowest calories. Then I weighed it out to make sure I didn't get more than I needed. And of no toppings. I do love my chocolate sprinkles (rainbow ones too) but it was just as delicious without them - I promise. It came out to around 110 calories. Totally worth it.

I feel pretty good about my day today. I also got in a great workout thanks to my favorite trainer/bff. I do feel like I ate a little bit on the heavy side in the evening and it may show up on the scale tomorrow. Anyway, I'm not too worried.

One last thing... And this one is important so listen up!! I need to do a little makeover on my Ipod Shuffle and I need your help. I'm looking to put together a super motivating super fun workout mix. So please send me your favorite workout songs. Anything that will keep me on that treadmill just a few minutes longer. Post a comment, send me an email, facebook me, whatever! Once I have it all together I'll post it on here so that you guys can use it too if you'd like. Check out the video below if you need some inspiration. =)

I am depending on you guys so pleeeease don't let me down! Thank you thank you thank you!

Don't Say Diet

Waking up this morning I immediately started thinking of ways to justify pushing back my 2 week challenge. Just a few days... I'll start on Monday. No no no. I start a new job on Monday and the last thing I need is to be psycho about what I eat on my first day of work. Cause I'm always psycho on Day 1. Plus, I'm sick of starting diets on a Monday. This is why I made such a big deal about starting today... Friday! I am ridiculous. Ok I'm starting today. Happy hour is still up in the air. Ugh... life is tough.

So since the challenge was to lose 5 lbs in 2 weeks I need to make sure to document my weight daily.

Day 1: X lbs (you swear I'm posting my actual weight online. ha ha.)

Egg Beaters Scramble w/cheese, onions, and green peppers

Lean Cuisine Fettuccine Alfredo

Ok so I reluctantly agreed to go to happy hour with the promise of free drinks and a NO BURRITO support team at my side. Here's the damage:
3 Amstel Lights = 95 calories each; 2 WW Pts each
1 Shot of Patron = 105 calories
1 Vodka Soda = 100 calories
Southwestern Cobb Salad - Not a healthy salad. Probably could've gotten a burger for the same amount of calories. BUT I prefer salads most of the time and I only ate about 2/3 of it so hopefully that helped a bit.
3 Fries dipped in Ranch

Overall I think Day 1 was not a complete disaster. I guess we'll see what the scale says in the morning but I can tell you this much... It could have been A LOT worse. Like a lot.

At the end of the day, when push comes to shove, it is what it is.

Thursday

My day today began with an inspirational little chat with my one of my favorite dieting buddies. We have been dieting and exercising together probably since we were in our early teens. Having a good friend to pair up with while you're trying to lose weight is always a huge plus. Although I must say that as much as we motivate each other to stay on track, we tempt each other to cheat maybe even more. So maybe it's not a match made in diet heaven but I happen to think it's a whole lot more fun this way.
Despite the fact that this "friend" is trying to convince me to go to happy hour with her tomorrow, I think I may resist the urge and go with my plan to start my diet on Friday. And do you know what that means??? That means that today I get to eat anything I want! Fan-fuckin-tastic.

Nonfat Sugar Free Vanilla Latte
1/2 Bagel w/Cream Cheese
** This wasn't in the plan for the day. BUT it happened to show up in front of me so.. I caved.

NEW Healthy Choice All Natural Entrees Frozen Meal: Pumpkin Squash Ravioli
** When it comes to my frozen meals I'm pretty much Lean Cuisines all the way. I sometimes dabble in the WW Smart Ones but for the most part I'm all about the LC's - only when they're on sale of course. Healthy Choice meals for some reason have always been at the bottom of my list. Well, last time I was at the store I noticed what I thought was a new brand of frozen diet meals. Turns out it's the new packaging on the NEW Healthy Choice - All Natural Entrees. So I decided to give them a try. So far so good! This one was quite delicious. Similar to LC's Butternut Squash Ravioli but I think this one gives you more ravioli and less calories.

Leftover Green Beans & Brown Rice

Passion Fruit
** It's not just a Bath & Body Works scent... it actually is a fruit! My mom grows these in her backyard and is quite generous with them. Dee-lish.

Hebrew National 97% Fat Free Hot Dog w/Kraft 2% Cheese & Low Sugar Ketchup
** This snack comes from the days of Low Carb dieting. Although the Low Sugar Ketchup is new. It's made by Heinz. Ketchup is just one of those condiments you would never think of worrying about when you're on a diet but if you check the stats you'll see it's pretty high in sugar. The low sugar kind tastes just as good (i think) and saves you a little on the calories.

Spicy Pickle Turkey Panini
Spicy Pickle is about a block away from my place in Little Italy. They serve paninis, subs, salads, and soup. This place is good for a quick bite. They have really good turkey and just generally delicious ingredients. I also really like this place cause it reminds me of being in Colorado =)
My panini: Sausalito turkey, roasted red peppers, sundried tomatoes, pepperjack and chipotle mayo
So my dinner was good. Not diet good. But you know, good good. And overall my day was ok. I didn't do anything disastrous but I didn't do anything great either.

I am still being tempted to go to happy hour tomorrow. This is my eternal diet dilemma. Do I give in and go to happy hour, convincing myself the entire time that it doesn't mean I have to go off my diet when really everyone knows that the minute you start drinking it's only a matter of time before you say fuck it and end up eating a California burrito at 2am. OR do I proudly announce to the world that I am, once again, on a diet and unless you want to come get a salad with me then I'll just see you never? What's a girl to do? Sigh...

I Heart Trader Joe's

Light Yoplait Yogurt w/Lowfat Granola

Corn w/Lowfat Cheese
Bush's Baked Beans - Vegetarian
** I know these last 2 sound kind of strange. Sometimes I just really like eating canned food. It's quick and easy and I think it's delicious. Although not all agree so I'll just leave it at that.

Thai Shrimp Gyozas, Prig Khing Green Beans, and Brown Rice
** This was a delicious and healthy Trader Joe's dinner. If there is anyone left in the world who does not shop at Trader Joe's yet, stop what you are doing right now and go. I am a huge fan of this store. For some reason I think a few people group this store in with Whole Foods and assume it's just as pricey - but you couldn't be more wrong. Trader Joe's is some of the most affordable grocery shopping you can do. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE WHOLE FOODS but I can't quite afford it at the moment so I wont get into that right now.
Ok so back to TJ's. I would highly suggest that you start off by taking a stroll down the frozen foods aisle. It is nothing like the frozen foods you would find at a grocery store. It is SO much better. The food tastes better, is better for you, and is definitely cheaper. I just can't say enough.
The Thai Shrimp Gyozas and the Green Beans both came from TJ's frozen foods. I am obsessed with these gyoza's. I have been buying them for years. They come in veggie too. Super low in calories and WW Pts. This was my first time buying the green beans and as expected they were delicious as well. And then obvi the brown rice.. nothing special to report there.
Trader Joe's is always my go-to when whenever I throw a party, dinner party, etc. They have lots of dips and things like that. They've also got a lot of little hour d'oeuvres (that is weird word to spell) in the frozen section. Everything there is just so quick and easy to make you really can't go wrong.
A quick warning about TJ's though... If you buy any fresh produce or fruit there eat it right away. It will go bad quickly. I'm not sure what they do differently than regular grocery stores but I just know it's pretty much always the case. So don't buy more than you need.
Last thing and then I'm done. Don't leave the store without buying yourself at least 2 (or 6) bottles of Charles Shaw wine aka "Two Buck Chuck." No joke - it costs $1.99. It's not the best wine you'll ever have in your life but knowing that you only paid $1.99 for it makes it taste a whole lot better.

Oh yeah that reminds me... I did have some wine with dinner too. Maybe half a bottle or so?

Uh-oh. Sounds like somebody's got a case of the Mondays

Since it's Monday I feel like I should have some sort of goals set for the week. I think I'd like to focus on getting to the gym this week as well as continuing to eat at home as much as possible. Maybe I should even say that I'm gonna try to not spend any money on food this week at all. Like no grocery shopping or anything. That'll be tough. Maybe impossible?

9:30am: Yoplait Light Yogurt & Low Fat Granola
** This is a really nice, really light breakfast. Comes out to 5 WW pts. I'm pretty picky about yogurt because I absolutely hate when there are pieces of fruit in it. So far Fiber One and Yoplait Light Thick and Creamy are my top two picks.

1:00pm: Leftover Lo Mein
** I decided it was best to save money by not throwing away my leftovers. Plus I went to the gym today so I figured that made it ok.

2:30pm: Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwich

4:00pm: Think Thin Bar
** This is a really good high protein energy type bar. It tastes like a candy bar and is actually good for you. All the flavors are delicious but my favorite is anything chocolate or peanut butter. I think it's got around 240 calories or so which makes for a pretty good small meal.
(Yes Sophy this came from your house. Can we consider it my payment for running your errands?)

5:00pm: Quite a few handfuls of Oriental Trail Mix
** This was not in my plan. I was stopping by my cute little local market, which I love even though it's over priced, for some milk. I couldn't help myself when I saw the trail mix because I just love it so so much. So, of course, as soon as I got home I just sat around and snacked on it. It's spicy and delicious. Yum.
(I guess my plan for not spending any money on food this week is shot. Oh well that didn't sound like much fun anyway.)

7:30pm: Amy's Organic Chunky Tomato Soup
** Yum Yum Yum Yum! I was so impressed with this soup. It's low sodium which usually means I'd have to add salt to it (which would kind of defeat the purpose of the low sodium thing.) Anyway, it did not need salt at all. It was very satisfying and only 5 WW Pts for the entire can. It has chunks of tomatoes in it which I think makes it so much better than regular tomato soup. I added some chopped up basil leaves and just a few shakes of low fat Parmesan cheese.
You can find Amy's soups in most grocery stores along with the other canned soups.

Now I must give credit where credit is due. I have always looked around online for good diet and food websites. There are a lot of great ones out there - especially if you're on Weight Watchers. About 4 years ago I stumbled upon a site that quickly moved to the top of my list of favorites and has kept that spot ever since. www.hungry-girl.com is a website and online newsletter which I subscribe to and rave about to anyone who will listen. It's as if the creator, Lisa Lillien, made this site just for me! She sends out daily emails with great tips and tricks for girls like me who love to eat.
A lot of the products and recipes that I use and love have come from Hungry Girl. She also has a great cookbook that is full of recipes as well as a ton of other fun tidbits about dieting and such. I would definitely recommend signing up for the emails as well as getting the book. The emails are free and the book is very reasonably priced. And she's got another book coming out very soon - April I think.
One more honorable mention and I'll be done for the day. For anyone out there on Weight Watchers a really good site to keep bookmarked is www.dwlz.com. Her name is Dottie and from the looks of the site she's been on WW since before I was born. But she's got almost everything covered when it comes to points. When I'm on WW I check this site all the time for restaurant points. She updates it often and has A LOT of restaurants on there. This is a very good resource for anyone who's counting.


Well it's time for me to switch my focus over to the highly anticipated season finale of The Bachelor. Aaaahhh who will he choose?

Thanks for reading! See ya soon. =)

I Need A Drink

And it's Friday. Which means less to me now than it once did. But sometimes I still pretend and treat it the same...

8:00am: Light String Cheese

9:00am: Fiber One Bar

10:30am: Leftover Rotini Pasta
** So I woke up really hungry today. Not in the mood for eggs so I just fished around for something else. The first two were good snacks but I was still hungry a bit later. I know some may find it odd that I'm eating pasta in the morning. But the truth is I can pretty much always eat dinner food for breakfast. I mean, I'd eat sushi first thing in the morning if I could.

1:30pm: String Cheese and Skinny Cow Ice Cream
** This is just one of those days when all I want to do is eat. So instead of making real meals I just eat random snacks. It's not very good. But this is precisely the reason why I buy all this "diet" food. That way when I'm having one of these days I know I'm at least better off than running over to Jack In The Box and getting a Jacky's Spicy Chicken sandwich with curly fries and buttermilk ranch dipping sauce. Right? Although that meal is just so delicious. It's unreal.

3:30pm: Kashi Bar

**Disclaimer: It is now Sunday morning. I am going to post as honestly as I can regarding the last day and a half. Or at least what I can remember =)**

The rest of the day on Friday consisted of the following meals and beverages:
5-6 Bud Lights
711 Sushi
1 glass of Champagne
Don't really want to remember how many shots of Vodka and Jagermeister (gross.)

Saturday:
Breakfast Burrito
1/2 of a BBQ Chicken Salad
A few bites of boneless buffalo chicken strips (YUM)
A bite of BBQ Chicken Pizza
(Hi Mike! Hi Tim! Did I get everything?)
String cheese
Broccoli w/ Kraft 2% slice of cheese
A couple pieces of turkey
About an entire bottle of red wine
Lean Cuisine Pizza

Wow. So there you have it. I know it's not very pretty but dammit I'm only human!

Eating In

Since I went to the grocery store yesterday and obvi purchased way more than I was supposed to, the goal for today is to eat all meals at home. With no job and almost nothing to do but job search, there really is no reason this should be a problem. Especially since I have a ridiculous amount of leftovers from last night. Like a lot.

8:30am: Egg Beaters Omelette w/Jalapenos & Reduced Fat Feta and a Persian Cucumber
** Delicious but somewhat small breakfast. I'll probably have some yogurt soon. A little tip for anyone watching their sodium intake... I almost always use Morton Lite Salt instead of real salt. It's got like 50% less sodium (or something close to that) than regular salt. Totally tastes the same and no one ever notices the difference when I use it in recipes. Very low pt meal. 2-3 pts.

1:00pm: Turkey & Pickle Sandwich; Israeli Salad
** I am stuffed. Such a good lunch. My sandwich was made with my low cal Sara Lee Bread, Light Miracle Whip, Dijonnaise mustard, oven roasted turkey, and a pickle.
My version of an Israeli Salad consists of: cherry tomatoes, Persian cucumbers, fat free feta. Dressing: EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil - yes I watch Rachael Ray. I'm unemployed leave me alone.) So... EVOO, rice vinegar, lemon juice, and a splash of balsamic. Season with salt & pep.
Very satisfied. May even hold off eating again until dinner. Although I would love something sweet. After a salty meal like that I almost always want something sweet. Like maybe a WW or Skinny Cow ice cream treat. Mmmmmm....

3:00pm: WW 2pt Chocolate Cookie Dough Ice Cream
Thank God for portion control packaging. Otherwise I'd sit here and eat a whole carton of this.

6:00pm: Light String Cheese and Leftover Asparagus & Red Pepper (from last night's dinner)
** I was starving. I can definitely say that knowing I'd have to put whatever I ate in the journal stopped me from doing anything terrible. Like having 3 string cheeses instead of just 1. So... yay me!

7:00pm: Leftover Cheese Rotini from last night
** Still good tonight. I added a little bit of garlic pasta sauce to it just to switch things up. I forgot to mention last night that the pasta I used to make this recipe is Fiber Gourmet pasta. This is by far the best high fiber light pasta I have ever tried. Only 2 pts per serving and definitely tastes just as good as the real thing. So far I have not been able to find this in stores anywhere so I order it online. It is definitely worth the extra effort of ordering online. If you're placing an order make sure to also get their Mac & Cheese. It's so so so good and totally diet friendly. www.fibergourmet.com

8:00pm: Fiber One Yogurt
**Good for breakfast, snack, dessert... whenever!

Mission for the day accomplished. No money spent on food and overall a good day of eating.

Also - if anyone wants any of the recipes for the foods I'm eating or questions about where to find anything please let me know! I love being able to help people out when it comes to eating healthy. Or just eating in general.

Thanks for reading! See you soon.

PS... Another added benefit I have discovered from doing this is that once I post for the day it pretty much stops me from any late night snacking. Cause I mean if I eat after I post then when would I write about it? And if I don't write about it then I'd be lying! =)

Here I Go!

Ok so I'm just going to begin because if I think about this damn blog anymore I am going to give up and not do it. I feel the need for whatever reason to give a brief intro of what I'm trying to do here. There are a lot of things that I enjoy in my life... good music, good movies, good (and bad) tv shows, etc. BUT one of my one and only true loves in life is eating good food! I love pretty much everything about eating and food. Grocery shopping is like therapy to me. I love cooking, watching The Food Network, reading cookbooks, planning dinners, finding new restaurants, and of course just eating. So my focus, for now, is going to be on that. Eating, food, dieting, etc. Have I said 'food' and 'eating' enough times yet? Geez.
Anyway... Since I was blessed with Jewish genes my obsession with food tends to show on my very short frame. Which means over time I have developed an equal obsession specifically with diet foods. Anything Low Fat, Low Sugar, High Fiber, No Sugar Added... I'm there. Sometimes I do specific diets - Weight Watchers aka WW is my fave - and sometimes I just try to eat healthy. I've pretty much tried every diet you can name. And if I haven't tried it yet I'm sure I will soon. I love starting something new although I rarely finish it. I have a tendency to spend a lot of money on gimmicky diet plans. I wont even go into all the ones I've tried. I'd probably get yelled at if I did.
On top of loving diet foods and diet plans I love rich and decadent fatty foods just the same. I guess the combo of diet and fatty foods is what keeps me dieting all the time but never lets me go totally overboard.
So anyway, back to what I'm trying to do here. I've got some extra time on my hands now since all I really do is sit and job search all day long. So with some inspiration from others I decided to do something different and fun other than sit on Facebook all day. I've been able to find some really great foods and recipes that fit in with a healthy diet and I've always loved to share them with people. Share and/or force people to try them. And lastly I think this might be a fun experiment for me to see if I can keep an honest food journal that anyone can look at. And please feel free to call me out on the days when I am being less than healthy. Seriously - do it.
So that's the plan! Food Journal officially starts tomorrow. So don't ask me what I ate today cause I am certainly not telling.
Yay this is fun... thanks for reading. See ya soon!