Just My Size

Now that I am back to work I needed some nylons/tights. I had a brand new pair of tights that I had owned for over 15 years that I wore for the first two weeks of work, but after several washings and some runs in the abdomen part - they were literally falling off of me and had to be tossed. I really wanted to get new tights at Lane Bryant but I just wasn't in the mood to head over there (way past my house). So I stopped at CVS.

Over fifteen years ago I used to by Just My Size nylons/tights at CVS. Now as I stand here in the isle and look at the package I was SO disappointed. In my head, "what do you mean the weight cut off is 300? I am 330.. I wonder if they will fit. Those ones that I bought from Target are too tight in the upper leg, but I think that they were a smaller range than these. WTH, did the Just My Size people not get the memo that we are a heavier nation now than we were 15 years ago? Why wouldn't they make these bigger instead of making them smaller..." I put the package back on the shelf.

Brow furrowed and scowling face - I was ticked off. I really didn't want to go to Lane Bryant but I was worried that they would be too tight given that I was about 30lbs over the 300 / 5'7" max size on the back of the box. As I started to walk to the front of the store feeling very defeated I realized.. omg.. I am 233lbs! Not 333lbs!

With a huge grin, and literally laughing out loud I go back to the shelf and grab a few boxes and head up to check out.

Clearly after losing these last 69lbs in a year my brain hasn't caught up with my body. =)

Let's make a wrap...

Healthy Wrap

A tortilla or Mediterranian wrap is my go-to food.  I generally eat this once or twice per day.

Nutritional Breakdown looks something like this:

Calories: 458

Carbs: 48

Fat: 11

Protein: 53

Start with a whole wheat organic tortilla wrap, or an organic Mediterrian wrap.

Place a cooked meat of choice on one half of the wrap.

Put blue cheese, feta cheese, or any cheese of your liking on top of the meat.  If you aren't going to put cheese, then add the meat when the wrap is half-way done heating or your meat will dry it out.

I generally put the wrap on a pan in the cold oven and then set the temp for 350.  Generally by the time it pre-heats the wrap is lightly toasted and ready to remove from the oven.  You want your wrap lightly toasted enough so you can still fold it in half after you have placed all of your ingredients inside.  If you toast it too long, it will crack and shatter once you start to fold or pick it up.

I top my wraps with:

- My homemade salsa goes on the meat/cheese combo

- Carrot slices go on top of the salsa

- Fage greek yogurt goes on the top half of the wrap

- Dijon mustard goes on top of the yogurt

- Alfalfa sprouts go on top of the mustard/yogurt

Fold in half and get ready for a flavor explosion.

Enjoy!

Veggie - Carrots, Tomatoes, Onions, Sprouts and Dijon Mustard on a Toasted Mediterranean Flat Bread
 

I didn't have any salsa made that day, so I just used the tomatoes in its place.

Chicken, Carrots, Tomatoes, Dijon Mustard, Greek Yogurt, Sprouts on a Mediterranean Flat Bread

Chicken, Blue Cheese, Mexi-Mix Cheese, Dijon Mustard, Tomatoes, Sprouts on a Mediterranean Flat Bread.

Turkey, Salsa, Greek Yogurt, Dijon Mustard and Sprouts on a Whole Wheat Organic Toasted Tortilla.

Let's make some chicken...

Chicken Breasts

Chicken is great to have on hand.  Add it as meat to a sandwich or wrap, add it to the top of a salad, add it to soups - it is versatile and when prepared ahead of time and frozen - you can have chicken available anytime.

I buy my chicken at the Bethesda Farmer's Market.  There is a meat guy there on Saturday's only and he sells some amazing chicken breasts.  I have to do a big of work when I get them home to remove the excess fat and trim off the tenderloins, but it is worth it.

For this simple recipe you will need:

Chicken breasts - fat removed and tenderloins removed.  I generally bake the breasts and freeze the raw tenderloins for my husband for when he makes his famous chicken curry.

Toppings of your choice can include:

- Lemon Juice

- Lime Juice

- Mrs. Dash or another herb sprinkle

- Dijon Mustard and Garlic Spread

- Plain

- or any other topping of your choice

Spray Pam or lightly smear the bottom of a pan with extra virgin olive oil.  I generally put aluminum foil on the bottom of my pan first.

Place breasts in the pan and cover, smear or sprinkle the topping of your choice.  I bake about 18 breasts in a single day, then I don't have to do it again for a month, so I will do a variety of flavors.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.   This time/temp combination creates a chicken breast that is not overdone, is juicy on the inside and is a great addition to any meal.  

These are Lemon Pepper Breasts

Be sure to let the breasts rest at least 15 - 20 minutes before cutting into them.  I generally let mine rest at least 30 minutes, then freeze them whole without cutting.  If you cut into them too early (while they are still hot) all of the juice runs out of them and they quickly become dry.  I take them out of the freezer a day before I want to eat/consume them.  I reheat by cutting into desired thickness of slices and reheating in a pan.  Or, I will add them to an already hot dish (like soup), or just slice them cold and reheat just a little before adding to a salad.

Enjoy!

Let's make some salmon...

Garlic Dijon Smothered Salmon with Lemon Herb Essence

I purchase my salmon from the local farmer's market in Kensington, MD.  The seafood guy there has an amazing selection of fish, shrimp, scallops, etc.  I email him by Thursday of that week and tell him how big of a piece I want as most times I don't get there until later and all of the salmon is sold out.  When I make this recipe I generally get a piece of salmon as long as the tip of my middle finger, up to my elbow.  Then I slice it in smaller pieces, coat and bake them and then freeze them.  I take them out the day before I want to eat them and they reheat very nicely in a pan, or are even delicious cold. =)

Remove the skin from the bottom of the salmon and slice into single serving strips.  Here is a linked video to help you accomplish this task easily.

You will need:

Organic Garlic - I generally use 2 cloves per salmon piece

Organic Lemons - 1 lemon for every two salmon pieces

Organic Dijon Mustard (no calories, if your mustard has calories - read the label)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Coconut Oil (1 tsp for every two salmon pieces)

Mrs. Dash or some type of non-salt herb mixture.

Instructions:

Chop garlic very fine - use a spoon or a knife to crush the diced garlic until it gets pasty.  I use the Slap Chop and then I crush with a spoon in a shallow bowl.

Add 2 TBSP Dijon mustard per two salmon pieces

Add 1 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil per 3 salmon pieces

Mix together.  Let rest while you prepare the rest of the dish.

Roll lemons while pressing down on them on the counter to help soften the pulp/fibers inside and release some of the juice.

Slice lemons into semi thick slices. You should get 5 - 6 slices per lemon.  See bottom photo for example of thickness.  If the slices are too thin they will dry out and do not release as much lemon flavor/essence into the bottom of the salmon.

Place lemons on the bottom of a pan covering the entire bottom of the pan.  

FYI - Try not to use aluminum foil when cooking fish as it effects the taste of the fish.  Try to use a glass or pyrex pan if possible.  If you have extra lemon slices that is great.  You can place them on top of the fillets after they are in the pan and sprinkle with some more herb mixture.  If not, no biggie. =)

Sprinkle the herb mixture on top of the lemons in the pan.  Again, the ideas is that as the lemons heat, their moisture will help create the herb-lemon essence moving up through the fish as it bakes.

Smear the garlic/dijon mixture onto each piece of salmon.  Place them on top of the rows of lemon slices in the pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  Serve immediately, or let rest/cool and then place in containers to be frozen for later use.  DO NOT over bake.

ENJOY! =)

Let's make some salsa...

Wash tomatoes and slice them in half.

Place tomatoes on the best invention ever for slicing/dicing stuff - The Magic Chopper / Chop Wizard / Vidalia Chopper

Another view point





















Get some strength training in and slam down the top to create perfectly diced tomatoes.

Add red and yellow onions also diced in the chop wizard.

 Add jalapenos as desired.

Stir all ingredients together.  Use on everything.  I use this with eggs, on all of my wraps and with salads.

Enjoy!

61 Days...

I am now 61 days into my Facebook Motivational Program and it is going just excellent.  

I took Friday off as a rest day and then wanted to make up for some of the cardio/strength I missed - so yesterday I took my bike outside in the first time that I have owned it in easily 8-ish years and I took took an hour and 50 minute bike ride and I went 9.18 miles.  Thank you Spark People tracking program for allowing me to map exactly where I went with Google Maps then calculating, based on my time and weight, how many calories I burned - which was 745.  A normal day of cardio for me is around 420 calories burned.

I am very proud of this accomplishment and especially since I can still walk the next day.  I was up at 6:30a (sleeping in an hour and a half from my weekday wake up time) and ready to rock and roll. =)

Feeling very proud of myself these days. =)

Biggest Loser 10 Week Challenge and a 5k Training Program - Week 2

Week 2 - 3/16 - 3/22 Report:

Biggest Loser 10 Week Challenge:

- Lost 2.4lbs
- Ran a 5k at a time of 51:44 down from my 60:33 last June. Very proud! =)

- Drank over six 8oz glasses of water every day

- Did standing push ups once a day when I went to the bathroom from all of the water.

- Three times during the week I drank a glass of water with my food which helps fill the stomach and reduces the amount you want to eat.

- Did the last chance workout on top of my regular workout which is 5 more minutes of cardio on my 45 minutes, and 2 core exercises, 2 lower body exercises and 2 upper body exercises.

March 15 - 22nd: 5k Your Way - Week 2 Training Sessions:

Day 1: Walk for 3 minutes, then jog for 1.5 minute. Do 5 cycles of this for a total of 27 minutes. (DONE on 3/15)

Day 2: Walk for 3 minutes, then jog for 1.5 minute. Do 5 cycles of this for a total of 27 minutes. (DONE on 3/17)

Day 3: Walk for 3 minutes, then jog for 1.5 minute. Do 6 cycles of this for a total of 31.5 minutes. (Moving to next week schedule..) 

I am finding this to be harder than I had thought.  I think that I am really bored with the treadmill/bike routine I have been doing for two months now.  The weather is starting to get better and so I might try to do one of these outside to see if that changes the way that I physically feel while/after doing it.

=)