Exercise Queen!!!!

Whooo Hoooo!!! I made it to 30 minutes on the elliptical last night!!!!  I felt euphoria, I felt empowered, I felt ecstatic, I felt like an Exercise Queen!!!!!

I was so happy that I had the time to stop by the gym on the way home from work.  It wasn't really crowded yet and I knew that if I went home first, it would be hard for me to get out of the house again.

Anyway, just wanted to drop a message that my workouts are going great so far.  I hope to continue!  I will try to get a SPIN class in sometime this weekend.  Might be tough with the Memorial Day holiday and all, but I will try not to make any excuses.

Until next time, stay strong and eat healthy.

20 Minutes and Portion Control

Why aren't the pounds coming off????  This is becoming a little bit frustrating to say the least.  I have been tracking what I eat since February and I have not seen the scale go down at all!!!  Now granted, I have cheated at times by eating things that  I know I shouldn't.  Things like pizza, ice cream, and candy.  But, I feel like overall I have been eating MUCH better than I used to.  I started exercising in hopes that it will help.  Like I mentioned before, I have been going to SPIN classes.  My goal is to go 3x a week but that hasn't always been possible, since  I have to find someone to watch the little one for me.  I also managed to use the dreaded elliptical.  This is the machine that I had trouble doing 3 minutes on so I was prepared for it to kick my butt again.  However, the first time I did it at the Y, I was able to stay on it for a full 15 minutes!!!  WOW!!!! Yippee!!  Hooray for me!!!!  I know I was able to last that long because of the SPIN classes.  They helped my legs stay in it.  So, yesterday, I had about an hour or so of free time so I headed over to the Y and hopped ont the elliptical (there weren't any SPIN classes going on at that time).  I figured I'd do the 15 minutes and then ride the bike.  Well, 15 minutes came and I felt like I could keep going.  I said, "ok, I'll do 16 minutes".  Then it got to be 16:02 and I have this crazy notion tat I can't stop on anything but the minute mark.  So, 17 it was.  But when I got to 17, I said, "hey why not try for 20."  And guess what???  20 minutes it was!!!!  I lasted for a full 20 minutes on the dreaded elliptical.  Yes, me!!!!  The one who could barely do 3 minutes not so long ago.  So, even though the scale is not going down, I am going to continue to fight this battle.  This week's concentration is on portion control.  I am going to seriously concentrate on eating until I am satisfied and not until I am full or overly full.  I don't like that feeling anyway.  Wish me luck!!
Until next time, stay strong and eat healthy!

Hungrier and Hungrier

I know I have only started my exercise program this week at the Y, but it seems that ever since I started, I have become hungrier as the days go by.  Yesterday before lunch I had to make this as a snack to tide me over until lunch:

It Sunbutter and banana on Healthy Nut Bread.  I was so hungry I bit into it and realized that I needed to get a picture.  It was delish!!!!

Do any of you find yourself super hungry once you have started an exercise program?

Unitl next time, stay strong and eat healthy!!

Spinning and Hydration

I've been missing in action lately, but its because I've been up to some new things.....

Let me first say that my legs and butt are tired and sore!!!  I joined the YMCA over the weekend and then on Sunday I participated in a SPIN class!!!  Now I have taken two or three SPIN classes before but I forgot how intense they are.  The seat was REALLY bothering me so the next time I have to make sure to pick up one of the seating pads.  The class was one hour and by the time we hit the 45 minute mark, I was ready to collapse!  The instructor was good and I believe he said that we should be drinking 40 oz of water (or sports drink) throughout the class.  Now to me, that's ALOT of water in one hour.  I only had a measley 16 oz bottle of water with me.  I will make sure when I go back (yes, I am going back for more punishment and pain) that I have my 32 oz bottle with me.  Hey, its a start. 
Let me show you some things that I have been eating lately:

For breakfast I have been eating oatmeal.  Throughout the blogosphere I've noticed that people put some kind of nut butter on their oatmeal.  So, since I received some samples from Sunbutter, I decided to put a little bit on mine.  I tell ya what, I really am beginning to like this sunbutter.  The taste of it mixed with the oatmeal was great!

For a snack, I had a banana and some strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries.

I'll be back with more later.  Oh, I just love to buy different bags so here is the latest.  I love it!  Its not too big and not too small.  Its from Timbuk2.

Its my little treat to myself.  Until next time, stay strong and eat healthy!

Sunbutter And Random Eats

Finally I am feeling better.  I was down and out for about 2 weeks with this darn cold\strep throat issue.  Since its late and I have to get up early for work tomorrow, I am going to show some of my food choices from the past days\weeks.  I hope to get back to "normal" posting soon.

I made a salad with romaine lettuce, radishes, carrots, dulse, buckwheat, and some avocado.

Almost forgot to take a picture of my veggie and cheese sandwich from Great Harvest Bread Co.  It was fantastic!  I will definitely get this again.

Random cheese and organic whole wheat crackers for a snack along with this:

I really liked the creaminess of this yogurt.

Some curried vegetable and chick pea soup....yummy!

I finally opened this organic sunbutter that was sent to me as a sample from Sunbutter.  I tried it on some toast and wasn't sure that I liked it at first, however, the more I ate it, the morre I began to like the nutty taste of the sunflower seeds.  Its definitely something I could get used to.  I plan to try some in my oatmeal and will let you know how that is.  I also want to try some on a banana since that is usually how I like to eat my nut butters.  I definitely think this is a good alternative for someone who is allergic to peanuts.

Ok, that's all for now.  Hope you enjoyed.  Until next time, stay strong and eat healthy!

Quick SuperFood Breakfast Post

Since I've been sick all week, I am behind on all of my errands so this is going to be quick.  Little Girl is still sleeping so I have a couple of minutes to get some things done.  Breakfast must be quick and since I am not too hungry I decided to try this out:

sorry for the blurry photo.  I take these photos with my phone so sometimes they are not too great.  Anyway, this bar hit the spot!  It is definitely my favorite.  I love the peanut butter taste and the crunchiness is the bomb!!!  Ok, gotta go....Until next time, stay strong and eat healthy.

Feeling Kinda Bleh....Still Attempting to Stay Healthy

Its been a couple of days since I posted.  Reason being is that I haven't been feeling too great.  My throat is killing me and I think my ear is infected.  So, I have just been laying low.  Today when I woke up, I wasn't too hungry so I chose this:

Its one of the samples that I received from the Amazing Grass folks.  It really did the trick because I wasn't hungry for a couple of hours.  It had a really good chocolatey taste and also had some great crunch.    Later on in the afternoon I had this: a nice smoothy which included frozen berries, a banana, chia seeds, cacao nibs, some collard greens, and this:

I could really taste the difference by adding this Berry Flavored Drink Powder to the mix.  I made more than I intended to make so I am saving some for later.

What do you eat\drink when you are feeling a bit under the weather?

Until next time stay strong, and eat healthy!

Amazing People.....Amazing Grass

I love the blogging world.  There are so many people out there willing to share their healthy habits and lifestyles.  I am glad to have found so many informative and fun blogs.  They help to keep me motivated and wanting to have a better lifestyle.  I even started exercising this week.  I wake up a half hour earlier in the morning and get on the treadmill.  Then I use exercise bands to work my arms.  So far, its going well although my foot was killing me the other day.  I think it was because I hadn't worked out in awhile and the weight I am carrying is not helping my feet.  Sometimes they just hurt.  It was hard for me to get around at work because everytime I got up, my foot was in excruciating pain.  I won't let that stop me though.  It feels much better today.
The people at Amazing Grass were kind enough to send me these samples(note, I am not getting paid for this.  These are my opinions only):

I was so excited to try them.  I have already tried two of the drinks:

I tried the Wheat Grass and the Berry Flavored Drinks.  It says to mix them with your favorite juice, water, orin a smoothie.  Since I am always pressed for time, I used water to mix them with.  I wasn't too crazy about the Wheat Grass but I think it would be much better in a smoothie.  Since the benefits of Wheat Grass are so profound, I will definitely drink it again.  I really enjoyed the Berry Flavored one.  The subtle taste of the berries really came through and made this a great drink for me.  It  also says that it will "jump start your day" so I will see how many energy levels maintain throughout the morning.  Can't wait to try the energy bars that they sent.  I will let you know what I think about those also.  Yesterday morning for breakfast, I had this:

Its a Flax Muffin that I picked up from Whole Foods the other day.  I could only eat a quarter of it though because I realized that it had coconut in it and I am not a big fan of coconut.  Funny part is that the little bit I did eat really filled me up.

Then for my mid-morning snack I had these:

Two juicy clementines.....Yummy!  When lunchtime came around, I was pretty hungry.  I was so glad I had packed this:

A nice salad with romaine lettuce, arugula, dulse, hemp seeds, and some buckwheat groats.  In the back is some yogurt with strawberries and goji berries.  Then there are some organic cheddar mix that has crackers and pretzels.  This kept me full for the rest of  the day.  When I got home, I was exhausted and really not sure what to eat for dinner.  The only thing I could come up with was veggies so I had some steamed broccoli and a sweet potato.  Sorry no pics.  It was late and I was tired.

So, I think overall my eating for the day was good.  Sure I ate some cooked food, but I also had some raw stuff mixed in.  I am not sure that I can do 100% raw, but I feel if I incorporate more raw in my diet that I have been, then I will be doing better.  Each day, I aim to get headed in the right direction as far as eating goes.  I haven't seen much change in the numbers on the scale, but I am determined and I know that it will come.

Until next time, stay strong and eat healthy!

Mixed Greens and Fridays

Whew!  Friday is finally here!  This has been one crazy and hectic week.  I thought the weekend would never get here.  So, I have been reading a ton of blogs and have been getting a lot of inspiration and motivation.  I especially enjoy seeing what people are eating and what strategies they are using in their journey to a healthier lifestyle.  The one blog that has me ready to excercise my butt off is Kath Eats Real Food.  That girl is amazing with her running and her eating habits.  I admire her. So, for breakfast, since I wasn't in the mood for the usual oatmeal, I had this which I just so happened to have on hand:

This drink has saved me plenty of times when I haven't had the time to make my own juice.  Its not bad tasting but I feel like I get more nutrients if I make my own.  Then for lunch I had this homemade salad:

Its a mixed greens salad with some lite olive oil vinegairette dressing.  There is also some guacamole dip (doesn't look too appetizing I know, but believe me it was delish!) and the fruit is goji berries, strawberries, and blueberries.  This lunch really filled me up.  As you can see I was eating at my desk because I had some work to catch up on.  For dinner (no pic, sorry...its hard to get pics at dinner because I am also trying to feed the little one and get lunch made, etc. but I hope to get better) I had a chicken quesadilla which I know I shouldn't have had....oops!!!  It was VERY filling but I know it was not good for me.  So, that was my one slip up for the week.  No more!  I will strive to drink more water today and get some form of movement in.

Until next time, stay strong and eat healthy.

Back In Action...Veggies and Hummus

I'm back!!!  I was down and out with some sort of stomach virus and let me tell ya....it really knowcked me down!  So, I wasn't eating too much but this is what I did have the one day.  For lunch I wasn't too hungry and  I was at Whole Foods so I opted on this:

it was a fantastic very flavorful kale salad.  I would definitely get this again. Then for dinner I opted on some veggies:

I roasted some brussel sprouts and some sweet potato fries.  I added some chipotle pepper hummus and guacamole on the side for dipping.  All in all it was not a bad day of eating.  I was a little hungry later so I had some low fat vanilla yogurt topped with some hemp plus cereal (sorry no picture).

I will be back soon.  Until next time, stay strong and eat healthy!

Fruits, Salad, and Basketball

Sorry for the missed posts these past few days.  Took the little one to her first Sixers game last night and she had a blast!!!  She kept saying "basketball game, basketball game".  Oh to be young and enjoying the simple things in life.  So, here is what I ate for breakfast:

I wasn't feeling too hungry but I did feel the need to eat something sweet.  The orange and the pear hit the spot.  They were the sweetest pieces of fruit that I have had in a long time.  Of course I had to dip my banana in Trader Joe's Almond Butter.  That stuff is fantastic!  For lunch I was still trying to eat clean so I had this:

This yummy salad had mixed greens, cranberries, walnuts, and a rasberry vinegarette dressing.  I didn't realize it when I got it but it did have a little bit of feta cheese added to it.

For dinner, I had some tofu with Vegan sausage.  Sorry there is no picture, but it was late and I had to get things ready for work the next day.

I was wondering if any of you belong to a CSA?  I inquired on one in my area and it sounds great, but I am not sure it will be cost effective for me.  I want to know your thoughts and if you belong to one, I would like to know what your experiences have been.

Until next time, stay strong and eat healthy.  This journey I am on is a one day at a time battle for me.  I will survive!!!!

One Hour Lost

Funny how turning the clocks back one hour can have such an impact on one's energy.  Yesterday when the time changed, I was ok.  I was not feeling tired, sluggish, or anything different.  Today, however, is a MUCH different story.  I cannot seem to get my energy level up.  I feel sluggish and ready for bed and its only 3:30 in the afternoon.  I don't feel bad though....you should see the people in my office.  They are walking around like zombies and a ton of people keep yawning.  Most, if not all, are blaming their lact of energy on the fact that we lost one hour!  LOL.  Hopefully some of what  I ate today will give me the much needed energy to drive home.....here is what I had:
For breakfast, I had the usual oatmeal with Chia Goodness.  I forgot to take a picture, but you have seen it here before.  Lunch was this salad with home-made chia dressing and some cheddar flax crackers:

For my afternoon snack I had this bar. (well, I only had a few bites because I am not sure if I like it or not)

For dinner I plan on having a mixed greens salad with a raspberry vinegarette dressing.  Hopefully I don't fall asleep in the middle of eating it.....

Until next time, stay strong and eat healthy.

Rainy Days

I can't wait for Spring!!!  It has been raining extremely hard here for two days now so a lot of flooding has been going on.  I am just glad it is the weekend and I didn't have to go out if I didn't feel like it.  Nothing like staying in on a rainy day.

So, this is what I have consumed thus far today:

I wasn't really hungry for breakfast so I opted for some organic spelt toast with some jelly and almond butter.

I was a tad bit hungrier for lunch so I made a sandwich with avocado, tomato, onion, and chipotle pepper hummus from Trader Joe's.  This hit the spot!  Not sure what I'll have for dinner, but I will try to post a picture of it later.  Until next time, stay strong and eat healthy.

Avocado, Tomato, and Onion

Its been crazy busy these past couple of days, but I have been extremely focused on my eating.  To be honest, I have done very well this week...NO JUNK food at all!!!  Yippee!!!! Here is what I ate yesterday:

Each morning I've been having this yummy bowl of oatmeal with Chia Goodness added.  It has done the trick with keeping me full pretty much throughout the morning.  Around 10 am I felt the need for something so I had this:

The Tazo Awake tea was a great energy booster for me and I felt the need to munch and crunch on something so I had the apple.  For lunch I had my new favorite sandwich...Avocado, tomato, and onion on Organic Spelt bread.  I was so into the sandwich and how good it tasted, that I completely forgot to take a picture.  OOPS!  I will be eating it again so no worries, you will see a picture sometime soon.  Around 2:30 pm I was a little hungry so I grabbed one of these from my earlier trip to Trader Joe's:

This one was the peanut butter pretzel one and I must say that I really enjoyed it.  So, I had some Raw food in my eats today.  I think that the strategy of me trying to add Raw food into my meals slowly is working for me.  I do know that I have been concentrating more on eating healthy and making sure that I don't put any junk into my body.

Until next time, stay strong and eat healthy.

Excercise Help Needed Please

I know I need to start excersing.  I belong to the gym at my job and I was doing very well with going 3 times a week at lunchtime.  I was so diligent and excited when I first joined.  Then, as with anything (at least for me), I just stopped going.  Why?  Well, I could come up with every excuse in the book.  The true reason is that I just got lazy and fell off the wagon.  Now, for the millionth time, I am back at square one where exercise is concerned.  My question is, how do you keep yourself motivated to stay on track and not get lazy?  How have you come to the place where exercise is a daily part of your routine?  Or, are you in the same boat as me?  I need suggestions and thoughts, please.  Unitl next time, stay strong and eat healthy.

My First Tofu Scramble...Breakfast For Dinner

I was wondering what to whip up for a snack and since I had been eating well all day, I didn't want anything heavy.  So, I rummaged through the refrigerator and came up with ingredients for this.

I was on my way upstairs when I realized I hadn't taken a picture of it (sorry for the dark picture).  This smoothie was great, it had frozen mixed berries, hemp seeds, raw cacoa nibs, almond milk, and a couple of leaves of spinach. 

Later for dinner I decided to make my first tofu scramble since I was in the mood for breakfast.  Here it is

 

I know this pic is also dim (bare with me as I get better with posting pics).  At any rate, this had green peppers, onions, tumeric, garlic powder, and vegan sausage.  Let me just say that this was FANTASTIC!!!!  I will definitely be eating this often.

Healthy Eating And Not Giving In To Temptation

So last night I'm rummaging through the refrigerator trying to figure out what to eat.  I didn't want to ruin the good day of eating that I had so I was really concentrating on something healthy.  Hmmmm.....what could it be?  I saw an avocado and some tomatoes and an onion.  Ok, I thought...maybe I'll just have a sandwich....but for some reason I felt like I needed more substanance, so this is what I came up with

That's a veggie burger with vegan cheese.  I topped it with the avocado slices, tomato and onion and then I put a little mustard and ketchup on it.  Let me tell ya, it was fantastic!  I was so proud of myself for finding something healthy and not giving into temptation which was the leftover pepperoni pizza in my refrig.

Until next time stay strong and eat healthy!

My Eats For The Day

This stuff is DELICIOUS!!!!  I had my yogurt and topped it with this...yummy goodness for sure!!!

For lunch I had this salad.  It was so so, but it was the only somewhat healthy thing that I could get at my cafeteria

If you can see in the box, I slipped up and had a couple of pieces of chicken put in the salad.  Hey, hey, I mentioned that I was s-l-o-w-l-y transitioning into this vegan lifestyle.  Change takes time especially when I have been eating the SAD diet for sooooooo long.

I had this as a snack and absolutely HATED it!!!  Blech!!!  I think it was too fishy tasting for me.  I hope I can find someone who likes them because I hate to waste food.

Well, until next time, stay strong and eat healthy!

Green Juice

Ok so today I am craving some green juice.  When I first read up on green juice and green smoothies, I noticed that a lot of people said they were craving these drinks.  I was wondering how someone could crave something like greens and fruit, etc.  Well, now it has hit me!  I am craving the same thing.  It seems funny to me but for about an hour now I have been craving a green drink.  So, once I get some more things done around the house, I plan on making a green juice consisting of celery, spinach, carrots, and apples.  Yum, yum, can't wait to make it.

Yummy Yummy Vegan Food

Well, we went to Horizons restaurant in Philly last night and it was absolutely fantastic!!!  It was the first vegan restaurant that I have been to so I was not sure what to expect.  I was more than pleasantly surprised!!! 
I know I should have taken pictures of the food but I was just so overwhelmed by the goodness that I did not take one picture!!  Ugh......I will learn for next time.
We started the meal with the Jamaican BBQ Seitan....it was so savory and tender and delicious!  The BBQ sauce was out of this world.  We had homemade foccia breadsticks with a delicious dipping sauce( can't remember what the sauce was). For the main meal I had the grilled seitan with spinach and yukon mashed potatos with a horseradish sauce....let em tell you after one bite it felt like I was in heaven. 
For dessert we had chocolate stuffed beinets.  Oh my can you say "YUMMY"??!!!!  I was very full but did not feel bloated as I would have had I gone to a "meat eaters" restaurant and had something from the Standard American Diet.
We will definitely go to Horizons again.  It is definitely a thumbs up for us!
Until next time, stay strong and eat healthy

Vegan Restaurant

Just want to post real quick that I am sooooo excited because tomorrow I will be going to a Vegan restaurant in the city!  Can't wait.  I will let you know how the experience turns out.

Transitioning

Seems like just when I think I am ready to eat healthy, something stops me in my tracks.  Like that darn peice of choclate cake that I ate!  I was doing so good all day and then, bang.....it hit me...the cake called and I ate it.  Now I did not need it, but I saw it and wanted it.  So, I caved in.  Felt bad afterward and even beat myself up a little about it.

BUT...I am going to do much better today!  That is my goal.  I am back to transitioning slowly but surely to the Raw Living Lifestyle.  I CAN DO THIS!!!

I WILL DO THIS!!!!!

Until next time, be strong and eat healthy.

Back On Track

So I know its been awhile since I posted.  I have just been crazy busy these past few weeks.  At any rate, I am back.
This morning I had my green juice which consisted of blueberries, blackberries, celery, apples, spinach, and kale.  Because of the berries it was not green at all.  More like a purple juice.  It was so yummy!
Later in the morning I had some oatmeal and a banana with almond butter.
For lunch I had a vegetable sloppy joe sandwich that was delish!  I am working on getting more and more raw foods in, but I am taking the transition slowly since this will be a way of life for me and not just a diet.
Well, gotta get back to work.  Hopefully soon  I will be posting pictures of my meals.
Until next time, stay strong and be healthy.

Digging out in Philly

Whew what a snowstorm we had!!!  26" in all and we are supposed to get more on Tues\Wed!!!!  I hate the winter...ugh!

Used the snow blower, thank God for that, and then came in to eat some oatmeal...yummy.

Be back in a bit

Smoothies....

I am really beginning to love smoothies.  This morning, I couldn't decide what I wanted for breakfast but I knew that I  wanted a raw treat.  So, out came the blender and I blended up some pineapple, strawberries, blackberries, goji berries, raw cacao nibs, raw hempseeds, and chia seeds with some almond milk for pure bliss!!!!  I devoured this drink in no time!!!

I will definitely be making more of these.  Especially since it kept me full for the better part of the day.

So, its off to Trader Joe's to get some almond butter and a few other things.....

until next time.....eat healthy and stay strong!

Uneventful Eating

I made myself a smoothie for breakfast.  I blended together some frozen strawberries and pineapples, then I added some almond milk, some spinach leaves, a banana, and some cacoa nibs.  It was delish!  The for a mid morning snack I had 2 bananas and some mixed nuts.  For lunch I had a salad and some mixed fruit.  Dinner consisted of a veggie burger and some mixed veggies.

At least I was able to have some raw food in the mix today.  Slowly but surely I am making the transition.

One Step At A Time

Today I didn't get in as much raw food as I wanted so I concentrated on not eating any meat.  For Breakfast I had a piece of cinnamon raisin toast with jelly and some lemon water.  For snacks I had a banana with raw almond butter that I mixed with some chia seeds and I aslo had some strawberries and grapes.  For lunch I had a salad with some goji berries, nutritional yeast, hemp seeds, and since I didn't have time to make any salad dressing, I just had a packet of the ceasar dressing that they sell here at work.  I was driving home and wasn't sure what I was going to have for dinner so I decided to stop by Giant.  Did you know that they have a great Natural food aisle?  They have tons of vegetarian and vegan products.  I opted for one of Amy's frozen dinners.  It was the Chana masala with rice and peas....FANTASTIC!!!!  I would like to eat those meals more often but I wasn't happy about the sodium content and the little bit of saturated fat frightened me.  So, these will only be last minute options for me when there is nothing else in the fridge.

Well, I made it through the day and I don't think that I did too bad.  Takin it one step at a time is what I have to keep reminding myself.

Yes I Did Have Dinner

I forgot to mention that I had broccoli and rice for dinner along with some black bean soup.  The soup was fantastic and I was so full after eating it all!!!!!

Making It Happen

So yesterday was day two of me trying to get healthy and eat better.  I am trying to incorporate more raw foods into my everyday living...tough, but doable.

For breakfast I had green juice (kale, spinach, apples, blueberries, and blackberries).  Lunch consisted of a salad with goji berries, hemp seeds, nutritional yeast, romaine lettuce, and homemade dressing.  I try to make the dressing a little spicy and interesting so yesterday's dressing consisted of tahini, cayenne pepper, garlic, lemon juice, shoyo, and some agave nectar.  I didn't really measure anything, I just taste tested it as I went along and to be honest, it was pretty tasty.

I plan on taking pictures of what I am eating so stay tuned for that.  Until next time...Keep your head up and eat healthy!

Getting Started....

Well, today is another day for me to start adding raw\vegan foods into my daily eating routine. Each day is a challenge, but I know I will prevail.

So far today I had a smoothie (spinach, almond milk, chia seeds, hemp seeds, goji berries, and blackberries) and an organic teriyaki tofu burrito.