Has anyone tried the Amazing Grass Products?

Sunday, September 13, 2009

I am big into protein powders as way to get my protein numbers up on the nutrient calculator. I love the products from Amazing Grass and in a recent order, I tried the Amazing Meal Pomegranate Mango infusion in my "green" smoothie. It is delicious! I have tried all sorts of protein powders and now this one is a new favorite. You can find it on www.amazinggrass.com. For some reason (I wasn't sure if it was all in my head), I feel energized when consuming their products. I am always trying to find ways (because I am a vegetarian) to get my daily protein. When I do not have my smoothie for the day, it is very difficult. I was eating eggs till I read that story in the ProJo (local newspaper) about how egg processors throw the male chicks into the machinery to kill them because male chicks do not produce eggs. It makes me ill to think of that. I have been researching other ways of eliminating the dairy products or at least minimizing them. I have been reading the raw food way to eat. All interesting, although I am not sure I would take the plunge.

Sometimes in the morning it is tough to look at a green smoothie, but boy does the one I made with Amazing meal taste good. The ingredients I used are:

1 c. soy milk
1 medium banana
1 scoop Amazing Meal
1/4 c. raspberries
1 c. baby spinach
3/4 frozen mango
crushed ice


Lynda

Finish for a Guinness 5k in Warren RI

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Boy, did we have fun at this race. The fun part is there is a group of us that goes to these 5k's from the gym. Our Trainer, Linda, wants to beat everyone, especially her 15 year old son. Well, it is kind of hard to beat someone who is 20 years your junior. He usually runs with us and as soon as he sees that 3 mile marker, he looks back to see where we are and those 15 year old legs turn on the steam and blow us away. That is Eric (her son) in front and I am in pink in the middle and Linda is in pink behind me. :)



Of course, the food after this race was spectacular. There were approximately 300 people running in this race. At mile marker #2, a sign was posted that said "only one more mile to your Guinness". We all had a good laugh at that one. The food after this race was donuts, watermelon, apples, bagels, oranges, brownies, cookies, clam chowder and of course, beer.



The best part of the race is that I beat my trainer by .10 seconds! I always beat her (and she is 7 years my junior and I have bad knees right now). But she forgot her inhaler (boy do we sound old or what?). So, I cruised past her at the last leg of the race. I do this to her all the time. I never knew I had a competitive side!



Looking forward to two weeks and the CVS 5K. I better work on my speed because I know Linda, my trainer, told me she is done letting her "elders beat her and I am going down!"




Lynda

First day back to the gym.....and back to running again!

Another picture of our Washington DC trip. That is me and the hubby. Our hotel package came with a fabulous picnic lunch. Arugula salad with walnuts and goat cheese, gourmet black olive pesto sandwich with roasted tomatoes and cheese, oatmeal cookie and of course Cabernet. We ate our lunch at Lafayette Park across from the White House. What a wonderful trip we had. Now, onto today's blog posting....

Today I was very excited. It was the first day I figured I would test out my knees and hamstring from their week off of exercise. Well, almost a week. So, I started with a shorter run, just 3 miles. Ran half way, stretched the ever tightening hamstring, and off I went to complete my run. And boy, did it feel good to be out there. I missed my running. It is like my therapy. And I missed the gym and lifting weights.

So, before I left to exercised, I jumped on the scale. Looked down and saw 129 lbs. even. Wow! For the past month, I have been up and down between 130 - 134. To see 129 even was surprising given my lack of exercise and recent return from vacation. And there is something psychological about 129 being in the 120's for me. I do like breaking the 130 barrier. But for the life of me, I don't understand the weight loss this week. I know I have watched my calories and food intake very carefully. I have not felt as hungry as normal which I attribute to my lack of exercise.

So, I am trying to figure this all out. Do I decrease my normal exercise routine? I kind of have to right now due to the injuries. Maybe the key for me is less is best. Less exercise, less food intake. Who knows? I guess only time will tell. I do know one thing, I need more sleep!

Lynda

Back from DC and resting the knees

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Since my return from vacation, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I did not gain any weight from my eating out every meal last week. I tried to make good choices and it is definitely challenging when you are a vegetarian.

We slept in every day. What a treat that was. We would go to bed by 8PM (wild party animals, aren't we?) and would wake up at 7AM. We would be on the road for breakfast by 8-9 AM. We had eggs on a bagel with cheese and a fruit cup most mornings. We did have pancakes and fried eggs one day. But they did not taste too good to me. I haven't had a fried egg in 20 years. One day, I had a yogurt cup mid-day to keep me going. I usually had salmon for dinner. One night I had a big salad and a flat bread cheese pizza. We had too many glasses of wine most nights (that is more than one for me). We never had lunch, since we ate breakfast late and dinner early.

My knees were sore when I left to go on vacation, so I figured it would be a good rest for them with no running scheduled. What a mistake that was! We walked 10 miles minimum each day while in DC. By the last day of our trip, there were no more walking left in them.

So this week, I have done NO EXERCISE. You have no clue how scary this has been for me. I need to rest my knees or knee surgery will be in my future. And a funny thing has happened to me. I am not as hungry and not as carb-crazed as I usually am. I have been diligently planning and counting calories each day and not feeling hungry at all. I am keeping that protein count up, eating bean dishes and lots of veggies. My lunches have been egg sandwiches (see prior posting) or peanut butter and sugar free jelly on fiber one english muffin. I do feel flabby, but my weight has stayed exactly the same at 130. It is nice to have more time in my life as well. I usually work out a minimum of 1 hour each day and some days I workout 75-90 minutes. Sometimes 120. I have tracked a ton of fitness minutes in since I started counting. Now, I sit back and think that maybe I should not do so much running. My plan is to try and run 3 miles tomorrow and see how the knees feel. I also plan on going to the gym and do a kickboxing class with weights. I do miss my running (I love it!) and I do miss the weight lifting, but sometimes it is good to take a step back and relax and heal. It is good for the soul!

Blueberry-Hemp nut smoothie

This is how my body feels this morning (See pic of my fat cat). I had fish and chips for dinner last night. It was a craving. BIG MISTAKE. It is good to do this to remind yourself why you eat healthy. I bravely stepped on the scale this morning and the fish and chips did not disappoint. Up 4.4 lbs. I didn't even finish my dinner last night. I also did not run yesterday. My leg has quite a bruise on it from my fall this week and the skin is tight from the abrasion. I have the 5 miler on rolling hills (this part scares me) tomorrow, so I am resting up. Did go to Powerflex class and upped my weights a little (punishment for the bad dinner?).

So, after class, I decided to mix it up with a smoothie. I had a ton of blueberries hanging around, so I added 2 cups to the blender, 1 c. TJ soy milk, 1/2 banana, 1/2 container 0% fage, 2 scoops Lean 1 protein powder, 1.4 c. black raspberries and the newest ingredient: Nutiva Shelled Hempseed. I have to say the hempseed smells so good, really nutty. I was hoping I would taste it in the smoothie, but I did not. Hempseed has a ton of protein (33%) AND 9% Omega-3. This recipe made 4 cups. I ended up having two cups. Calories: 413, carbs: 49, fat: 12 and protein: 29

I am eating out for dinner this evening and I plan on having some edamame, avocado and tomato salad for lunch. Dinner is Pasta night. I better load up on the veggies!

Lynda

Waffles with fresh blueberries and a digger!

Doesn't this look yummy? It was so good.

I decided I was all smoothie'd out. I wanted to chew real food for breakfast. I went out and ran 5 miles and came back hungry. You know it is bad when you are day-dreaming about breakfast while running! So, I popped a couple of Trader Joe's multigrain waffles into the toaster. These are really good and much better than the Kashi brand. I added some fresh blueberries, some cool whip lite, real maple sryup (see my post from July from Vermont on that--I have syrup for life). I also added some Salba for extra protein. Well it as a good thing I ran this morning because the calorie count on this meal is as follows:

Calories: 521 (Well, that canceled out my run!) Carbs: 95 (ouch)Fat: 8 Protein: 7

See, that is the problem with not having the smoothie. I get so much of my daily protein from my morning smoothie. I have a hard time making it to my protein level for the day, when I start out with a 7 for breakfast.

Now to my digger story:

I had my 5k trail run last night in Bristol. The nicest group of people run this race. I was excited because it was cool and the humidity was low. It was much improved from last week's run, where it was so hot in the woods, it made me sick.

Anyway, the hubby has now taken to coming with me and bringing our dogs. This is a special treat for them. They get to ride in the car and go for a dog walk! You cannot get better than that in the dog's world.

So, it was dark last night with a threat of rain (typical Rhode Island). It was even darker in the woods. I was flying through -- trying so hard to get a good time for my run. There are TONS of roots exposed on this path. I was running up a hill, using the roots to propel me and increase my speed. When suddenly my right foot got caught in one and down I went. How embarrassing! The girl in front of me heard my fall and turned around to check on me. The girl behind me stopped too. What nice people. I see them every week, since we run around the same pace. I made them both promise to tell everyone that I fell gracefully, like a ballerina! They both laughed and promised to lie for me and we finished our race. I fell quite a bit behind them, but still finished in 30 - something for my time, which isn't too bad considering my fall. I was filthy. Covered in dirt on my left shoulder and my knee (the left, bad one) is scraped up a bit. Oh well.

Now, I am scheduled to run in North Attleboro this weekend in the 5 miler. I am taking a day of rest today since my left leg feels tight, probably from the bruise. I think my pride is hurt more than my body.

The good news is that my hubby met with the guys who run the race. He chatted with them both and they offered to lend me some timing devices for my 5k run that I am organizing in memory of my son in Bristol RI at Colt State Park on October 11th. I was having trouble getting any responses from the timing companies. I guess because this is my inaugural race, they figure I won't get many entrants and they cannot be bothered to even return my calls or my emails. I have had so many people offer their help with me arranging the race. I have a friend of my daughter's offer to disc jockey the race with some good music, one friend is donating the water, many have offered to help. I'll need it. I have one friend who has designed the t-shirt and promised it will be "cool". Since the charity is the RISPCA, I am sure some animal theme is in the works.

So, that is the story of my digger. I am sure that my race on Sunday will be very interesting.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

I had my 5k trail run last night in Bristol. The nicest group of people run this race. I was excited because it was cool and the humidity was low. It was much improved from last week's run, where it was so hot in the woods, it made me sick.

Anyway, the hubby has now taken to coming with me and bringing our dogs. This is a special treat for them. They get to ride in the car and go for a dog walk! You cannot get better than that in the dog's world.

So, it was dark last night with a threat of rain (typical Rhode Island). It was even darker in the woods. I was flying through -- trying so hard to get a good time for my run. There are TONS of roots exposed on this path. I was running up a hill, using the roots to propel me and increase my speed. When suddenly my right foot got caught in one and down I went. How embarrassing! The girl in front of me heard my fall and turned around to check on me. The girl behind me stopped too. What nice people. I see them every week, since we run around the same pace. I made them both promise to tell everyone that I fell gracefully, like a ballerina! They both laughed and promised to lie for me and we finished our race. I fell quite a bit behind them, but still finished in 30 - something for my time, which isn't too bad considering my fall. I was filthy. Covered in dirt on my left shoulder and my knee (the left, bad one) is scraped up a bit. Oh well.

Now, I am scheduled to run in North Attleboro this weekend in the 5 miler. I am taking a day of rest today since my left leg feels tight, probably from the bruise. I think my pride is hurt more than my body.

The good news is that my hubby met with the guys who run the race. He chatted with them both and they offered to lend me some timing devices for my 5k run that I am organizing in memory of my son in Bristol RI at Colt State Park on October 11th. I was having trouble getting any responses from the timing companies. I guess because this is my inaugural race, they figure I won't get many entrants and they cannot be bothered to even return my calls or my emails. I have had so many people offer their help with me arranging the race. I have a friend of my daughter's offer to disc jockey the race with some good music, one friend is donating the water, many have offered to help. I'll need it. I have one friend who has designed the t-shirt and promised it will be "cool". Since the charity is the RISPCA, I am sure some animal theme is in the works.

So, that is the story of my digger. I am sure that my race on Sunday will be very interesting.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

I had my 5k trail run last night in Bristol. The nicest group of people run this race. I was excited because it was cool and the humidity was low. It was much improved from last week's run, where it was so hot in the woods, it made me sick.

Anyway, the hubby has now taken to coming with me and bringing our dogs. This is a special treat for them. They get to ride in the car and go for a dog walk! You cannot get better than that in the dog's world.

So, it was dark last night with a threat of rain (typical Rhode Island). It was even darker in the woods. I was flying through -- trying so hard to get a good time for my run. There are TONS of roots exposed on this path. I was running up a hill, using the roots to propel me and increase my speed. When suddenly my right foot got caught in one and down I went. How embarrassing! The girl in front of me heard my fall and turned around to check on me. The girl behind me stopped too. What nice people. I see them every week, since we run around the same pace. I made them both promise to tell everyone that I fell gracefully, like a ballerina! They both laughed and promised to lie for me and we finished our race. I fell quite a bit behind them, but still finished in 30 - something for my time, which isn't too bad considering my fall. I was filthy. Covered in dirt on my left shoulder and my knee (the left, bad one) is scraped up a bit. Oh well.

Now, I am scheduled to run in North Attleboro this weekend in the 5 miler. I am taking a day of rest today since my left leg feels tight, probably from the bruise. I think my pride is hurt more than my body.

The good news is that my hubby met with the guys who run the race. He chatted with them both and they offered to lend me some timing devices for my 5k run that I am organizing in memory of my son in Bristol RI at Colt State Park on October 11th. I was having trouble getting any responses from the timing companies. I guess because this is my inaugural race, they figure I won't get many entrants and they cannot be bothered to even return my calls or my emails. I have had so many people offer their help with me arranging the race. I have a friend of my daughter's offer to disc jockey the race with some good music, one friend is donating the water, many have offered to help. I'll need it. I have one friend who has designed the t-shirt and promised it will be "cool". Since the charity is the RISPCA, I am sure some animal theme is in the works.

So, that is the story of my digger. I am sure that my race on Sunday will be very interesting.

Great run, great running friend!

So my friend and I planned on running 7 miles today so we can prepare for our 5 miler next weekend. She had the route all mapped out and I put on my gps (run keeper) app and off we went. It was a really nice route she mapped out. It ended up being 7.26 miles in total for the run part. We walked home another mile.

Our run was all through Rumford and actually almost went by my house. We ran by the back of Wannamoisett CC, down Roger Williams Avenue by the water where the breeze picked up. It is starting to get humid here, but is still very cool and quite enjoyable for running. No sunshine now, but there was some on our run.

On the way back, our ending point was the Seven Stars bakery in the Rumford Center. If you have not been by here, you need to check it out. The food inside the bakery is amazing. There coffee is fabulous. I had a ginger scone, with large pieces of ginger in it. I am assuming there was approximately 410 calories in that scone, so it probably canceled out much of my running, but it was so good. I had an iced coffee and they do what I do and put coffee ice cubes in hot coffee to make the iced coffee. So good and your coffee doesn't get watered down. The bakery is truly a treasure for Rumford.

I know the hubby wants to eat healthy the next few days because of the bad eating he did during his golf tournament, so I have to start planning!

Lynda

Two very good eating days in a row

So, the hubby was in a golf tournament this week. I was free to eat and plan my food around my own choices. So, I was good. (Now, I am not trying to imply the hubby makes me make bad choices, but.....). I had grilled tuna, grilled sweet potatoes and grilled asparagus. So good and so low in calories. And high in protein.

Today, I went out to lunch with the girls. I could have chosen the "Annie's special" grilled cheese on multigrain bread. Till one of my girlfriend's told me "there is a lot of bread in that sandwich, but it is so good." Well, my weight climbed 4 lbs this week. As much as I wanted that sandwich, I chose spinach salad. It was good. And the dressing came automatically on the side. We ate at the Rue on Hope Street in Providence. Great service and they come by with fresh baked (just out of the oven) Italian bread that was to die for! So, I still got my bread, but in a much more manageable portion. I also ran 5 miles today and went to an hour long powerflex class.

Weighed myself this morning and I am only up one pound now. So, all of my good efforts (and increased cardio) paid off.

Lynda

Too Many Calories, but good food

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Well, I need to start with last night's run. It was so humid in the woods. I actually had to walk part of the run. I just could not do it. I was mad at myself for taking my vitamins at 4PM and eating those Triscuits so late. Ugh! Half the race, I felt like vomiting. Burped all the way. Just awful. I guess I need to learn from my mistakes and this was a big one.

This morning, I woke up bloated and sore. My upper back hurts. I am not sure why, but I blame the class I took in the morning with Beth. I must have done something to hurt this much.

Now, onto today's meals:

Breakfast: I had a pure protein drink. It was good. I poured it over crushed ice. Then I had a bowl of Kashi Autumn Harvest Wheats and blueberries. Very Good, Very filling.

Lunch was a hollowed out french bread stick with homemade egg salad. This is basically hardboiled eggs, chopped scallions, and light mayo. Add a couple of plums.

Dinner was so good. I chopped up 1/2 an avocado, 1/4 c. black beans, 2 Joseph's oat-flax tortillas (small size), 1 piece of light swiss cheese, 1 chopped tomato. I just put all the ingredients in the tortilla, rolled it up and put it in my frying pan, sprayed with Pam. Additionally, the tomatoes I have are from a friend's garden and they are just starting to turn. So, I put some on the side for a side-dish. Added a little motzarella. Yummy!

Calorie count: 1795 (over my total req'd. by 35), carbs: 235, fat: 55, protein: 97

Lynda

Eating Junk

Sometimes I cannot for the life of me understand what makes me crave things. Especially after the kick a.... class I took this morning. She turns me into a carb-o-holic! It is so hot at Bally's, it is unhealthy. If you are in the east bay area of Rhode Island, I highly recommend joining another club. If it wasn't so close to my house, I would not be there. First of all, the club is filthy. The equipment is old and now they have instituted a new policy that the gym be kept at 75 degrees. In this humidity, it is down right disgusting in there. Not a great gym at all. Too bad because they have great instructors that work there. They are the ONLY reason to belong to the E. Providence Ballys.

Okay, enough griping! So this morning I finished my green drink from yesterday. Then I went to that hard class and came home and devoured the box of Triscuits (lowfat kind) and Fiber one cottage cheese. I also made two wraps for lunch with Black beans, lite swiss cheese, a tomato from my friend's garden-yummy, and 1/2 an avocado. Then more triscuits. I am going on my run this evening, so that is it for me for food. Oh yeah, and they had goldfish on sale at the supermarket and I ate 1/2 a bag of them too!

Lynda

Popcorn for dinner????

Yes, I did have popcorn for dinner. I was doing so well for the day, too. I started the day with an amazing grass smoothie that had arugula, chocolate amazing grass, blueberries, chia seeds, salba, hemp protein, soy milk and strawberries.

Good start to the day with 398 calories and lots of protein. Then I had some leftovers (again) for lunch. The eggplant - quinoa dish from last week. I have to admit, I am not liking quinoa. I won't give up on it, but also will not be making that recipe again. Well, maybe I will try it with the smoked motzarella cheese. It could be better, but that recipe was time consuming. The quinoa never held together very well in the pattie form either.

Now, today I worked really hard on getting another certification in QuickBooks. I passed!!!!! Now I am certified in Enterprise Solutions! The more certifications, the better. So, passing the test and watching all of the tutorials took most of my day. So, when hubby wanted dinner, I made him grilled cheese. Since we purchased the new refrigerator, I tossed out all of my old wheat bread. I tried Ezakiel, but just don't like it. Tried a couple whole wheat ones from Stop and Shop, again .... yuk. Slices too large and they just don't seem to be real type of bread. No flavor. So, since there was no bread and no cheese left for me, I decided to pop up some Act butter-lovers popcorn. Of course, I ate the whole bag (with the help of my dog, Sasha). Added a little parmesan cheese and voila....dinner. Not the best, but when I entered all of the food I ate today in Sparkpeople.com, I was okay. How did that happen with the dinner I had????

Which is a good thing. My usual 75 minutes of crazy Linda's HiLo weight class was missed by me due to the work I did today. I only worked out for 19 minutes doing Jillian Michael's 30 day shred level 3, parts 2 and 3 on www.youtube.com. Walking pushups, etc. got me sweating but by no means equals my usual workout. But, I passed my test and I am so happy! Now tomorrow, I will make up for the missed class. Which means Beth's killer HiLo with weights class. This class is way worse than Linda's. I will also try to get a little yoga in as well. Good for runners.

Then I also have my running group tomorrow evening. I cannot wait. It is so much fun. So, tomorrow's calorie burn will be high. I need to get on track with planning my eating better. I have fallen off the track. Sometimes, I feel like cooking, sometimes, not. But the hubby will be at a golf tournament at the end of the week. That means no cooking dinners for him for Thursday - Saturday. That makes life so much easier. He also informed me (from looking in our cupboards and our recent refrigerator move) that we need to concentrate on eating the food we have and not adding to the stored food. Our cabinets are full! So, I will work on emptying them out. Plan Plan Plan.

Lynda

I hate Mondays!

So, Mondays are always hectic and I am always tired. I don't know why.

This morning I went for my normal 5 mile run down by the reservoir. So beautiful and peaceful there. Except for when this crazy old lady on roller blades comes by me. She wears a helmet and she doesn't always look like she has control of her body (especially when she is coming down hill straight at you). Now, I am generally a kind person, but I have just had it with her! She comes right at you and at the last minute, cuts to my right and just squeaks past me. I swear sometimes I think she is going to knock me over. So today my evil Lynda came out and I yelled "you are supposed to pass on the right!" Which was probably not the best choice of words because she was on the right as she came straight for me. She yelled back that she is on the right and I just grumbled on my way.

So that was the start of my day. I ended up making a mango-banana smoothie with added Salba and Chia seeds for protein.

For lunch, I reheated my eggplant and quinoa from last week. I have also discovered Kind bars. So good. Today's was Macadamia nuts with cranberries. Yummy! I also had some protein water (Special K).

For dinner, I had a spinach pie from Uncle Tony's restaurant that I had frozen in my refrigerator. We just purchased a new one that is beautiful and it looks so organized right now. That is where I found the spinach pie.

Calorie count for the day: 1665, carbs: 199, fat: 65, protein: 105

Did I mention the one glass of wine or the tomatoes on the vine I had at lunch? All are added in the above totals.

Lynda

Great bread, Fat cat

Sorry I have been MIA for the past few days. I can honestly tell you that I have not been planning or eating the best of foods the past few days. We had dinner out yesterday. We ate at Squantum Dinner Club in Riverside, RI. This is a private club we belong to and the food is the best food of any restaurant ever. I had grilled swordfish with a double order of grilled asparagus. It was so good. How Chef Scott makes this asparagus is beyond me. It is so tasty! And the swordfish was out of this world. They do have a wood grill so maybe that is the secret. I did have two wines. Boo hoo! They also had ahi tuna appetizer with wasabi seaweed topping. So delicious. I could have eaten just that.

So, for breakfast, I had frosted shredded wheat cereal with blueberries. For lunch I had this fabulous bread from Trader Joes (Multigrain). I had a piece with peanut butter and one with butter.

Also pictured below is my cat, Jeter, who I should probably put on a major diet. He is the laziest animal I have ever had. He is fat for a reason. I named him Jeter so I could convince the hubby to keep him. He is a major Yankee fan and I am a die-hard Red Sox fan. It makes for interesting summers!

Lynda

Spinach Lentil Stew

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This lunch could not be simpler or tastier. I used:

Prepackaged black lentils (TJ)
one can of hunts tomatoes
2 c. spinach, sauteed in olive oil (1 tbsp)
dusted with grated Parmesan cheese

This makes two servings

OMG it was soooooo good and filling. Very much needed after the kick as...... workout this morning. I just sauteed the spinach in the olive oil until cooked, added the pre-cooked lentils and tomatoes with jalapenos and cooked until heated throughout. Add to the a Kashi flax bar and a double drink of Special K protein water and a good, high protein lunch.

Calories for lunch: 482, carbs: 60, fat: 16 and protein: 26 (yeah!)

Lynda

Green-Berry Smoothie for a change

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Today I felt thinner. So, I hopped onto the scale and found I still weigh 130 lbs.! Yeah!!!!! I think I attribute it to my morning smoothies and my calorie counting on SparkPeople. I try to stay within the required ranges and it is working. Now that I count my calories, I find that I don't eat as much as I did when I did not count them. I stopped the grazing "because it is there". I was notorious for eating walnuts (salted) or almonds. They are good for you but contain a lot of fat. You have to eat a serving, which is hard when you eat them out of the container. I also did not realize how low my protein levels were (I am a vegetarian), until SparkPeople (which was why I was eating all of the nuts). Now, I do my best to get to the range required. This has helped my body tremendously. I tried on a bathing suit this morning and the bottoms were falling down! Wow! They were a medium. Since that is one of my trouble spots, I am psyched!

I also attribute the weight loss to my running. I have learned so much about the sport from SparkPeople and the team you can join. If you haven't joined a group, please do so. You can connect with others and the wealth of knowledge out there is amazing. You can also learn from other's mistakes. I just love it and I am now running longer distances. I am even finding it "peaceful" to run without my ipod. I just get into a zone and enjoy the scenery. I wish I could get the hubby to run with me. Maybe this winter when he has more time.

My weight loss is on schedule for the end of September being 125 lbs. But I am good with 130. It is well within my range for my height and bone structure. I still have a little roll when I sit, but none when I stand. I am firmly a size 6 and probably a size 4 at some stores, since the 6 is a little loose.

I also do "fall off the wagon" when I go out to eat and on weekends. You can see the increase in calories on those days. But, we are all human, right? It is the nature of the beast. And it is perfectly okay to live a little.

Okay for today's ingredients in the smoothie. This made approximately 4 servings:

2 tbsp. chia seeds (soaked)

2 tsps. salba

1 packet berry amazing grass superfood

1 c. european nonfat yogurt (Trader Joes)

.25 c. strawberries

.5 c. fresh pineapple

1 c. blueberries

1 c. arugula

1/2 c. soy milk

1 c. water

1 c. crushed ice

Total calorie count: 449, carbs: 50, fat: 12, protein: 13

This is the total for all four servings. I am having 2 this morning for breakfast before heading to Ballys for the killer 75 minute HiLo with weights class and 15 minute yoga class.

Lynda

Tonight's dinner was Eggplant Ragout with Quinoa cakes.

















I wanted extra protein and I had 4 small eggplants in my refrigerator that needed to be used, so I found this recipe on sparkpeoplerecipes.com. It is a function able website where you can put what you have on hand (eggplant) and a list of recipes are generated for that ingredient. This recipe is definitely not an easy one. I also eliminated the roasted peppers because the hubby hates peppers. Next time, I will add them to my half. I love them and I think the extra flavor is needed. I also did not have smoked mozzarella. I will definitely make sure I have this ingredient. I love all smoked cheeses. I used regular light mozzarella and added some parmesan grated cheese. This dinner was still yummy. I paired it with a wine called Casa. It is my new favorite. It is a wine from Chili and it is relatively inexpensive. This meal was very filling. Bon Appetite!

Ingredients

For Quinoa Cakes
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup quinoa
1 large egg, lightly beaten
4 to 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided

For Topping
1 1/2 lb eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup drained bottled roasted red peppers, rinsed and chopped
3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 lb smoked mozzarella, diced (1 cup)

Directions

Make quinoa cakes:
Bring water and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a boil in a heavy medium saucepan.
Meanwhile, wash quinoa in 3 changes of water in a bowl, then drain well in a fine-mesh sieve.
Stir quinoa into boiling water and return to a boil, then simmer, covered, until quinoa is dry and water is absorbed, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and cool, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes, then stir in egg.
Line a baking sheet with plastic wrap and lightly brush with oil. Lightly oil a 1-cup dry-ingredient measure. Pack enough quinoa into measure with a rubber spatula to fill it two-thirds full. (If spatula becomes sticky, dip in water.) Unmold onto baking sheet and gently pat quinoa into a 4-inch-wide patty with spatula. Make 3 more quinoa cakes, brushing measure with oil each time. Chill cakes, uncovered, at least 15 minutes.
Make topping while quinoa cooks and chills:
Toss eggplant with 1 teaspoon salt in a colander and drain 30 minutes. Squeeze handfuls of eggplant to extract liquid, then pat dry.
Cook eggplant, onion, garlic, oregano, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, covered, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, roasted peppers, and water and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until eggplant is very tender and mixture is thick (if dry, thin with a little water), about 10 minutes.
Cook quinoa cakes:
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Carefully add quinoa cakes and cook, turning once carefully and adding remaining 2 to 3 tablespoons oil, until crisp and golden, 8 to 10 minutes total (pat cakes to reshape with cleaned rubber spatula while cooking if necessary). Transfer to plates.
To serve:
Return eggplant ragout to a simmer and stir in parsley and half of mozzarella, then simmer, stirring, until cheese just begins to soften, about 30 seconds. Spoon over quinoa cakes, then sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.

Serves 4.

Calories for above: 408, carbs: 67, fat: 21, protein: 21

Total count for the day: Calories: 1213, carbs: 165, fat: 43, protein: 69
All good, calories are a little low. Maybe I'll have a frozen treat later, if I am hungry. Carbs are a little low, but protein and fat are in my required ranges.

Lynda

Great morning smoothie!!!!

Here are some pictures of the views I had during my 10 mile Blessing of the Fleet Race. Rhode Island is a beautiful state (in the summer). The race finished at the Coast Guard House, where they gave us a complimentary beer. We did not go up and have one, however, since after doing something healthy, I am just not into alcohol afterward.

Well, I mixed up a fantastic smoothie this morning for breakfast and forgot to photograph it!!!!! Ugh! I just winged it and put ingredients in that I felt like having.

Ingredients are as follows:

1/2 c. of soy milk
1/2 c. of blueberries
1 scoop of Lean 1
1 tbsp. Salba
1/2 medium banana (frozen)
1/2 c. frozen mango
2 tbsp. of Chia Seeds
1/2 c. water
1 c. crushed ice

This made 2 1/2 cups. I had the first 1 1/2 this morning after my 5 mile run. I am having my 2nd cup before dinner (late afternoon).

Calories: 435, carb: 61, fat: 16, protein: 22

Now for lunch I made a tuna sandwich with tuna (packed in water), chopped onion, celery, dried cranberries and tsp. of light mayo on a 1/2 Joseph's oat flax pita. I also had 2 servings of Special K protein water, 1/2 amazing grass chocolate bar, 1 plum

Calories: 264, carbs: 34, fat: 6, protein: 26

So, as you can see, I am doing well on the protein front and I have plenty of calories left for dinner.

I am alone for dinner tonight (hubby is in another golf tournament). I think I will grill eggplant.


Lynda

Sundried tomato pizza

Tonight's dinner was sundried tomato pizza with spinach and olives. The hubby asked if I wanted Uncle Tony's pizza (local pizza parlor) and boy would I have loved it. But the 4 wines from last night kept nagging me in the back of my mind. So I offered to make this quick and easy pizza. Quick, because it is made with Bobolli crust and Trader Joes sundried tomato bruchetta. Just take out the pizza crust, slather the sundried bruchetta, add kalamata olives and sauteed spinach and red onions. Top with low fat pizza cheese and you are good to go. Cook in an oven that is 450 degrees for 9 minutes. I liked the pizza, but the hubby said it did not hit the spot. I think he was craving pepperoni. Although this pizza was probably better than Uncle Tony's pizza calorie wise, it was probably not the best dinner for calorie savings.

Calories for the day: 1,386 carbs: 146, fat: 44 protein: 35

Okay, poor eating habits continue on the weekend. I need to fix this, but get so lazy about my regiment on the weekends. Got to check the websites to find out how to stop this! I see a green drinkk for my breakfast tomorrow morning so I can detox and "right the ship". :)

Lynda

Last nights too many wines.....

Okay, I''ll be honest, I am not super woman. I am a little stiff around the hamstrings but also my right side is tight. So, yesterday, I sat out in the sunshine, got a little tan and enjoyed every minute of it.

Later, the hubby came outside with a glass of Bogle Cabernet and I moved to the shade and enjoyed.

Now here comes the realization that I am not "Super Woman". While we sat chatting, I kept closing my eyes. Right in the hubby's face! Wow! I guess I was tired. Well we did clean the entire house, after I lifted weights at the gym, after I ran 10 miles.... so I guess I should not be so hard on myself. I planned on grilling some tuna steaks and some veggies, but I think the fact that I fell asleep sitting up was a clue that maybe we should go out for dinner. We ended up at Wannamoisett Country club. Now, it was a beautiful evening and while we were sitting chatting and waiting for our 6:30PM reservation time, I had another wine. It was helping my tight muscles somehow.....

We change our clothes and head over, meet up with friends who joined us for dinner (including my running pal) and had TWO MORE WINES!!! YIKES!!! What is that, like 450 calories? I had one cheesey roll with butter, honey bourbon salmon and some grilled asparagus and grilled corn. Yummy! We had great service, great food and great friends. And I had too much wine. I also had a ton of water. Still drinking water today. Probably wine related.

This morning's breakfast (still sore in my right side) was the same as yesterday, Cascadian Farms multi-grain squares and blueberries. I have also had some TJ's oat-flaxseed multigrain crackers and light cheddar cheese slices. And a peanut butter Larabar. So I am good till dinner. I guess this is called Recovery Mode, literally. (on a side note, I did have these wines over the course of 8 hours)

Lynda

I finished my 10 mile race!!!!!!

Exhilaration is the best description of how I feel. My friend and I completed the 10 mile race last night. The weather was perfect. 61 degrees with a breeze (we were by the ocean). What a gorgeous race. So many people were on their lawns cheering us on. It was by the far the best race I have ever run. There were people with hoses to spray you down, people with water, oranges, you name it. It was a big party! Some people had cookouts and had loud music playing, which pumped you up along the way. I am so glad I did this. I must have drank 13 glasses of water throughout the day yesterday. I drank most of it before the race, and some after. It was so much fun! Now we are planning on our first half marathon. Like my friend said "WE CAN DO IT!" And you know what, we started out at the back of the race and we started slowly. That worked for us. Then we started moving along, passing many people who had passed us. At the end we still had energy and really cranked it up. We had a 1 mile walk back to the car, which was a good way to cool down.

And the other best thing was when I got on the scale this morning........130 lbs., which will probably go up when I drink my 8 glasses of water today. But who cares! Runners high! It is the best!

Now, for breakfast today, I had a bowl of cereal (Cascadian farms multigrain chex) with blueberries (3/4 c.). I had a walnut-date bar, called Kind, and I had a one coconut water. Oh yeah, add to that a couple of plums. And lots of water. I went to the gym this morning, which surprised my trainer. She couldn't believe we showed up. I did a weight lifting class, but used lower weights on my legs. My back is a little tight now, since the hubby decided today is a good day to clean the carpets. So I helped with vacuuming and moving stuff. Now I am outside on the deck enjoying the minimal sunshine we have here in Rhode Island and resting my back.

Calories for this mornings breakfast: 473, carbs: 88, fat: 8, protein: 9 (gotta work on that today to rebuild those muscles I tore yesterday).

I am very proud of myself that I did not eat anything when I came home from the race. I made sure that I hydrated well before, during and after the race and I ate enough to make it through it. I listened to Jillian Michael's radio show (a past podcast) and she said never have carbs before bed. If you are hungry, have protein. So, I am going to try to stick to that to get rid of these last 5 lbs.

Lynda

RACE DAY!!!!

Today is the big run day, well, actually tonight. I did 30 minutes of heart-opening yoga this morning. Then I made myself an omelet. I forgot to photograph it, so I found this photo to show what it looked like. Basically, I put spinach in my omelet pan, some broccoli, added one egg and 1 egg white, scrambled. Put one small handful of goat cheese ontop (approximately 1 tsp.). It was good and filling. I wanted something filling and warm since it is cold here today. This afternoon, I plan on having the remaining pasta dish with the zucchini that I made on Tuesday evening (see earlier post). That should give me the energy I need. I also had some fage 0% with blueberries and honey. I am actually quite full still. I will probably eat my pasta around 2PM and then maybe a plum at 3PM. I have been drinking water and going to the bathroom all morning. The race starts at 6PM and we should finish sometime at 8PM. My friend and I tend to start our race in the back of the pack. There is supposed to be 3K people at this race and it is a big event. There is a seafood festival after the race.

Wish me luck!

Lynda

Lunch/Dinner

I had a double order of the roasted edamame from yesterday for lunch with 1/2 a larabar and the remaining glass of my breakfast smoothie.

Well, the hubby did not come home until late tonight. Today has been a weird day because I had no clue what I felt like eating for lunch or dinner. So, when hubby came home, I asked "What do you want for dinner?" He had no clue either but offered that he was not hungry, how about a tuna wrap. Well, I had that for dinner yesterday, but I figured fast and easy since it was already 7:30PM and my plan is to go to bed early with the big run coming up tomorrow. We also had zucchini (last one in the garden for now) that I sauteed in 2 tbsp. of margarine with a little lemon pepper crushed on top and some smothered onions. Nothing like a fresh picked veggie!

So, for dessert, I dumped 1 cup of fat free vanilla yogurt into a bowl, added some pineapple, raspberries and cool whip lite and added some coconut. It was so good. So good I ate it before taking a pic of it. But I will make that again.

Calories for the day: 1529, carbs. 197, fat 65 (whoops-too much), protein 73

Lynda

Last Night's Run; Today's smoothie

Well, last night's run went really well. The best part about it is that I have managed to reserve October 11, 2009 for a 5k in memory of my son. I am very excited and will work really hard his weekend on all that I have to do to organize it.

Boy, was it humid in the park last night. I was exhausted! By mile 2, my legs felt like they weighed approximately 100 lbs. each. My time was still pretty good (anything under 30 mins. is good for me). The course is 1/2 in the woods and I ate my fair share of bugs last night. It is almost all uphill in the woods and when you come out, there is a long, gradual downhill. In my mind, I was reconsidering the goal of running the whole 10 mile race tomorrow. Maybe I should incorporate some walking due to the humidity. I am going to try to run it all -- we shall see how that goes. I am hoping for a lot of adrenaline.

This morning's smoothie is a concoction I made myself:

1 packet amazing grass berry flavor
1 tbsp. salba
1 tbsp. chia seeds, soaked
1/2 c. soy milk
1/2 c. european vanilla yogurt
1 c. spinach
1/4 c. raspberries
1/4 c. blueberries
6 medium strawberries
1/2 c. water
1 c. crushed ice

Blend away! It was actually pretty good. Calories: 371, carbs. 67, fat: 10, protein: 17

I still have 3/4 cup left to have with my lunch. I am not sure what lunch will be. I cannot figure out what I am craving right now.

Lynda

Tuna wrap with roasted edamame

Well, I finished up my appointment earlier than scheduled and came home so hungry. But I stuck with my plan. I made a small amount of tuna with light mayo, shallots, celery and dried cranberries. Then I tried this roasted edamame (soy beans) recipe. It is delicious! Recipe is as follows (from sparkpeoplerecipes.com):


Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 cups ready-to-eat shelled soybeans (edamame)

Nutritional Info

	Fat: 7.9g Carbohydrates: 9.4g Calories:134.2 Protein: 8.7g

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In small bowl mix all the ingredients until coated well. Roast beans in a shallow baking dish, uncovered, for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring once, until soybeans begin to brown. Yields 4, 1/2 cup servings.

Number of Servings: 4

Now I am off for my trail run. It is humid tonight! Wish me luck!

Lynda