Food Log 5-16-10

Breakfast:

120 Granola

100 Yogurt

90 Banana

15 Strawberry

325 Calories Total

Lunch:

Panera pick 2 with BBQ Chicken Salad, French Baguette and Chicken Noodle Soup.

520 Calories Total

Dinner:

269 Chicken Chimichanga

20 Greek Yogurt

85 Watermelon

10 Romaine Lettuce

50 Dressing

20 Croutons

454 Calories Total

Total Daily Calories: 1389

Total Calories Burned: 2484

Deficit: 1095

First of all, this is the lowest calorie range I have ever tried while dieting. I usually never go below 1500-1600 and just up my workouts to make it work. This time I just don't have time to put in over 2 hours a day at the gym. That just doesn't work for me right now. I'm keeping my workouts to 5 days a week with my basic schedule of Turbokick, running and lifting weights.

Secondly, I gave up all pop this round. I don't drink a huge amount of pop to begin with so I just replaced my morning Diet Dr. Pepper with coffee and a bit of Splenda instead. I don't want to fight the headaches so I can't give up having something in the morning right now. And this is purely a diet. My lifestyle is already changed. I already have good habits. This is a last ditch effort to lose as much as weight as possible before we leave. That's all. If giving up pop helps, I'll do it. As soon as I step foot in the airport I'll be grabbing a Diet Coke. And possibly some peanut butter cups. The essentials. I just don't want to lose any weight when we get home. I'd rather do it now and get it over with.

Baked Chicken Chimichangas

What you need:

1.5 cups cubed cooked chicken breast

1.5 cups picante sauce

1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese

2/3 cup chopped green onions

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp dried oregano

6 flour tortillas

1 T butter, melted (I actually just used spray fake butter)

What to do:

In a bowl combine the chicken, 3/4 cup picante sauce, cheese, 1/4 cup onions, cumin and oregano. Spoon 1/2 cup mixture into the center of each tortilla. Fold sides and ends over filling and roll up. Place seam side down in pan coated with cooking spray. Brush with butter.

Bake, uncovered, at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until heated through. Top with remaining picante sauce and onions.

Makes 6 servings

Nutrition:

calories- 269

fat- 8 g

cholesterol- 39

sodium- 613

carbs- 31

fiber- 1

protein- 17

These were really good! I actually doubled the recipe and we'll be eating them for a few days. I topped them with Greek yogurt too. It was great to make ahead, throw in the fridge and just put it in the oven at dinner time. I'll definitely make them again. After I get through the other million recipes I have on the list.

**From Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet Cookbook**

And Here's Where I Begin Annoying You

A few days ago I bought a new recipe book with tons of new and healthy recipes to try. I'm really excited to start making them and posting my favorites. Up first, chicken chimichangas! Then I have a whole list of ones that I want to try including desserts, drinks and even breakfast! Of course to go with these new and fabulous recipes, I'm also jumping back on a hardcore diet starting Sunday morning. It actually has nothing to do with wanting to weigh less, but I want to be able to go on vacation and be able to gain 4-5 lbs and not feel guilty. Most people do it the other way and lose the weight when they get home but I think I'll be much more relaxed about it if I go in weighing a few pounds less and know that I won't have to pay for it when I get home. So I have 3 weeks to lose 5-6 lbs. Ugh. My poor husband will have to live with me through this and I know I'm not much fun when I can't eat what I want. I think he's really enjoyed the fact that I've been much more relaxed about what I eat and take a day off here and there from the gym. It's only 3 weeks though. Then we have 9 days alone. In paradise. Hopefully I can handle it. In the meantime, you're stuck with me whining about weight loss again. Sorry about that. To make it worse, I think I'm going to post my daily food log too. Lucky you!

Recipe!

This is less of a recipe, more of a random thing I threw together that is super yummy! I needed a fruit dip a while back so I mixed 1 tub of Cool Whip Lite and 2 containers of Strawberry Shortcake light yogurt. Use fruit to dip. Easy and yummy. Doesn't get any better than that!

Genius!

Want to know why I'm willing to spend so much time in the car? I have a secret weapon. iPads are a genius invention! Each kid has their own headphones and they can watch movies, play games or whatever they want as long as they leave me alone. Isn't that great?

Playing Catch-up! (Again!)

We've been busy so this is is a big catch-up blog post. We had a very eventful weekend that started Friday morning. M got all dressed up for her Kindergarten visitation.

Luckily for her, our wonderful neighbor volunteered to take her and pick her up because I had to take J for a school field trip. We got to see on the animals up close and personal! I spent a lot of time hoping my son didn't try to join the rhino in there.

J got to pet and feed the lemurs. They were so cute!

He also spent a lot of time sitting in the bunny area petting the bunnies. He was so sweet and gentle with them. I think we spent more time in the bunny area than anywhere else. They were awfully cute.

Then on Saturday M had her first dance recital! M and L were so excited! (So were their mommies.)

The girls did great and M has decided she wants to sign up for the summer session too. Gone are the days where summer was a vacation. Now apparently it's a chance to squeeze in a few extra activities.

Sunday was of course Mother's Day and we spent it with the moms in our lives. We went out to breakfast, I did a little shopping (alone!!) and then we headed to my parents' house to spend the afternoon. After dinner we came home and put the kids to bed and Matt and I watched a movie until bedtime. Perfect.

Monday we made the drive back to my parents' house to pick up my mom since she had a doctor's appointment Monday afternoon and then this morning we're at the surgical center so she can have a procedure done. Fun stuff.

The next few weeks are looking pretty hectic. We have some fun end of the year things at school, pre-k graduation, summer activities starting and then Matt and I are going on vacation in the beginning of June. Yay!

Frisco, TX!

For our little weekend away family vacation we headed to Frisco, TX! One of my favorite places! Our first stop was at the American Girl store. This was like heaven to a little girl and her mommy. Not so much for her daddy who was footing the bill. We came out with a Bitty Baby and the starter set. Very exciting!

We played GI Joe out in front of the hotel. This was actually a rather pleasant way to spend some time while daddy got some work done.

We went to Dunkin Donuts so the kids could experience what real donuts should taste like. And mommy likes the coffee. J took a turn with the camera.

Then of course M had to take a turn too.

Then mommy got a turn. Look how happy everyone looks with good donuts and coffee!

Daddy got to ride the carousel with the kiddos.

We went to the Fort Worth Zoo which was amazing. The kids had such a great time and all the grown ups did too! We could have spent all day there if the kids hadn't worn out.

I love this picture because it's a glimpse into what usually goes into getting pictures of our kids. Matt tries to bribe them and of course they rarely cooperate.

M's favorites were the Macaws. She's a bird lover. Too bad for her that mommy hates birds. A lot.

M being pleasant and cute.

J, grandma Sonya and grandpa Mark headed through the zoo.

Grandma was even brave enough to take the kids swimming outside. I still couldn't swim with my new tattoo but I heard the water was freezing so that's ok with me!

I would say the trip was a great success. It took us 2 vehicles to get home our IKEA purchase, the rides there and back were rather peaceful, the kids love traveling with grandparents and everyone slept fantastically! That's what I call a successful vacation!

This trip was exactly one year since our first trip to Frisco to see Kenny last year. We drove by Pizza Hut Park while we were there and talked about the many hours we spent in the parking lot, the horrible storm we stayed through the first time and the miserable heat we stood in 2 weeks later when we went back. Ponchos the first time, aloe vera the second time. And 2 trips to IHOP because it was the only thing open after 10 PM. The first time freezing and miserable and the second time deliriously happy and sunburned. (And we went to IHOP 2 times on this trip too. Good memories) Driving by there I could still hear him singing. I could still remember every detail of how it smelled, felt and sounded. If he plays there next year you can bet we'll be there to do it all over again. Summer of 2011 I'm sure will make up for missing him this year! I can't wait!