Let's try this again, shall we?!

Hey girl, hey!

So, it's been a while since I've been around here regularly - like 3 or 4 months. Lately I've been seriously missing my blog... big time. I think it's time to try and start back up. I can't promise I will post regularly, but I'll try and that's all I can ask, right?!

Just to give a rundown from the last time I was here. I got myself 100% together sometime mid-February and started myself back up on Weight Watchers. As of last Saturday I hit 20lbs lost. Well, I had some down days this week and ate when I shouldn't have and ate what I shouldn't have and had a gain. A 1.8lb gain. Ish.  C'est la vie. I move on and look to the future.

I'm always on Instagram, like seriously addicted to the damn app. (morethanjustmommy) Anyways, I follow quite a few fitness IG profiles and have found some new motivation which led me to think about some new goals.

I want to see what I can do with this body of mine.

I know I can lose weight and all, but I want to have the best body possible short of plastic surgery - cause I would get that shizz in a heartbeat buh-lee-dat! My thoughts and ideas are still just that, but the first step to achieving goals is to make a plan. Time to plan! I'll touch on that one more when I have brainstormed a few ideas.

Meal planning & grocery shopping

Is it just me or does meal planning make you hungry? Seriously. As I sit here and browse through Pinterest on my Healhty & WW Friendly Board I find myself wanting some serious food. Thankfully I have my trusty water by my side so I can chug while I salivate.

Some new recipes I've added to my meal plan, and am incredibly excited for, are:

Butternut Squash Coucous

Black Bean & Brown Rice Burgers

Crunchy Black Bean Tacos

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake in a Mug  - without the frosting, but I'll probably use some Free Cool Whip

Penne Rosa - minus the shrimp, but add chicken

WW Broccoli-Cheddar Soup - throw in some more veggies!

Pizzadillas - seriously, how did I never think of this?!

Zucchini, Black Bean, & Rice Skillet - I'll try to modify this one so I don't have to use instant rice.

Chicken, Shiitake, and Wild Rice Soup

I have included the links to the recipes in case you're interested. I tell ya, it's a good thing I like leftovers  because some of these my family won't eat. I'll update as I make them and give my usual reviews. 

Now that my planning is done, off to the gym I go!

Well, hello there!

I don't even remember the last time I set foot onto my blog... yikes! Things have changed quite a bit and I guess it's time for me to find my way again - and in more ways than one.
I'm pretty sure the last time I was around here I was creeping around the weight that I weighed in at last week. I did balloon up to 225 and kind of had an "a-ha" moment. Sadly, that lasted for all of like 10lbs of weight loss when I got back down to my prior highest weight.
Well, the short recap is this:
I'm back. I recommitted to Weight Watchers last week at a whopping 214.8 pounds. :-( I joined Planet Fitness with my cousin and weight-loss/workout partner, Nelle. I got 2 gym workouts in last week as well as 1 at home.

Week 1: I weighed in at 211.2 pounds - so that's a 3.6 pound loss. YAY!

I belong to a WW group on Facebook and my goal that I wanted to commit to for the month of January was to utilize my journal 100%. This means tracking all food, water, goals, etc.. So far (8 days in) I've tracked everything. I'd say that's a pretty good accomplishment for me for my first week.
I have many goals, but am starting with just this monthly one for right now. I'll expand a little more with my goals next month. I use my journal to create a new goal each week and my goal for the week is to make it to the gym 4 times this week. Considering I have a date with Nelle 3 days, I only have to go one extra day. Doable? Yes!

Until next time...

Recipe Review :: SkinnyTaste Sesame Encrusted Chicken Tenders

This recipe is a favorite in our house. I love it, kids love it, hubs loves it. They are a little time consuming, but they are so worth it in the end. When I make them I pair it with the Skinny Baked Mozzarella Sticks (also a HUGE hit in our house) I'll post that recipe soon too. 

Sesame Encrusted Baked Chicken Tenders

Servings: 4 1/2 • Serving Size: 2 chicken tenders • Old Points: 4 pts • Points+: 5 pts
Calories: 196.9 • Fat: 9.1 g • Protein: 22.9 g • Carb: 5.7 g • Fiber: 1.5 g • Sugar: 0.3 g Sodium: 400 mg

Image is from SkinnyTaste.com

Ingredients

• 18 oz chicken tenderloins 
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp low sodium soy sauce
• 6 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
• 1/2 tsp course salt
• 4 tbsp panko
• olive oil spray (I used Canola oil spray)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425°. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick oil spray. Combine the sesame oil and soy sauce in a bowl, and the sesame seeds, salt and panko in another. Place chicken in the bowl with the oil and soy sauce, then into the sesame seed mixture to coat well. Place on the baking sheet; lightly spray the top of the chicken with oil spray and bake 8 - 10 minutes. Turn over and cook another 4 - 5 minutes longer or until cooked through.

Recipe Review :: SkinnyTaste Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken

A while back the hubs started watching what he was eating and exercising pretty regularly. When he first started that he would pick up some Smart Ones from the grocery store and one of the ones he picked up and LOVED was the Santa Fe Style Rice & Beans. Well, when I saw a recipe that was kind of similar to it on SkinnyTaste.com, I knew I had to make it for him. 

I made the Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken and we both loved it. I served it over 1 cup of white rice (for an extra 5 points) and skipped the scallions on top. I also left out the cilantro - we're both not huge fans of cilantro. The picture below shows some cheese sprinkled on top.. you could do that if you wanted to (for more points) but we didn't bother and it was delicious without. 

Somehow when I made it I didn't get 8 servings, but 7 instead. Not sure why there was the difference..  This recipe will definitely be in regular rotation. 

Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken 

Servings: 8 servings • Size: 1 cup • Old Points: 3 pts • Points+: 4 pts
Calories: 190 • Fat: 1.5 g • Fiber: 5.6 g • Carbs: 23.1 g • Protein: 21 g



Image from SkinnyTaste.com

Ingredients:

• 24 oz (1 1/2) lbs chicken breast
• 14.4 oz can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies
• 15 oz can black beans
• 8 oz frozen corn
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 14.4 oz can fat free chicken broth
• 3 scallions, chopped
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper (to taste)
• salt to taste

Directions:
Combine chicken broth, beans, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, scallions, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, cayenne pepper and salt in the crock pot. Season chicken breast with salt and lay on top. Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. Adjust salt and seasoning. Serve over rice or in a tortilla (extra pts).

Weekly Weigh-In: Week 1

Wow. It sucks to say "week 1" since I have gone down this path so many times, but I have to put a number on it. All behaviors aside, I had a great first week. 

-3.0 pounds

I will admit I was not 100% on point all week. I had ice cream, I had coffee with unmeasured sugar (instead of my usual Splenda), I had a greasy cheeseburger, I had mini peanut butter cups. Throw all of those things together and you'd expect I wouldn't lose anything, right? Well, I realized when I add the point values of all of these untracked, unplanned foods together - I actually ate about 48 of my 49 weekly points. I've never been much of a believer of eating the weekly points since I thought I couldn't lose if I was. This is proof that I can eat my weeklies and not feel guilty about it.

I only got 2 workouts in this week - that's bad. I can say, "At least I got some sort of physical activity in." but that would be me making excuses and allowing this to continue to happen in the future. My friend Liz said one time that she eats all of her weekly points, but she makes sure to earn that many activity points. I like the idea of that! While I know it might not work for everyone - she's lost 40lbs on WW, so I trust her advice and am willing to try it. 

I have a running/dining date with my cousin on Saturday and we're planning on going to Shamrock's. Now, let me be honest here - we're going there with the intention of eating Juicy Nookie burgers. I've never had one and she's having a last hurrah/birthday week. Saturday will consume all of my weekly points and I plan on burning off that meal before I even eat it, which means I have a lot of work ahead of me this week. 

Goal for the week: Earn 49 activity points. 

I caved

Last night my overwhelming desire for ice cream defeated me. I did great all day, drank all of my water, had a great dinner (which I wasn't nearly full or satisfied from) and the pang for ice cream hit. I wish I could say I was good and I measured my serving before I ate it, but I did not. I scooped it into my bowl and ate it. I considered more for a little while, but overcame the want and went to bed instead.
I didn't let it get the best of me and screw up my points for today. I continued with my great breakfast, drinking my water and getting in a workout.
So what I screwed up a little... I didn't let it ruin me. I'm just being real and honest - that's a turnaround for myself.