New Orleans Recap

Friday through Monday I was onn a trip to New Orleans to visit my dad for the holidays. I have never been to New Orleans before and I LOVE it. It is a great city.
I may be going over bored on enjoying vacation but did ok. Here is a quick recap of my eats on my trip.
Saturday Dec 27
breakfast= banana, chick-fil-a biscuit :) (a yummy treat at the airport)
lunch= diet coke, 2/3 of a burger and 1/3 of fries (we were at a burger place and it was worth it)
I felt gross in the afternoon. (too much grease) When ever I eat fatty food, my chest hurts. So instead of sitting around the hotel I went to the gym for a light work out. I wasnt in the mood for a hard work out but moving and sweating a little felt good.
exercize= 5 min walk, 1mi @ 10min/mi, and 15 min 4 mph inclin 7
dinner= diet coke, salad: lettuce, tomato, mozzerella, basil and mint, 6 shrimps sauted in olive oil
treat= 1/2 daquiri, 1 rum & diet coke
Sunday Dec 28
breakfast= yogurt, fruit and granola, and a few of aislinn's (my sister) homefries.
lunch= diet coke, 1 fried pickle, 1 mini meat pie, 1 bite catfish cake, chicken club sandwhich: bun, chicken, lettuce, tomato, cheese, ranch.
dinner= diet coke, a house salad, a taste of gumbo, I dont remember the name but it was a squash like veggie stuffed with chopped shrimp with a scampi like sauce and topped with bread crumbs (a local friend of my dad's recommended it. It was AMAZING!) and a few potaos
dessert= 1/2 a praline and a pack of M&Ms
Monday Dec 29
exercize= great interval run; 5 min wal, 40min run, 5 min walk
breakfast= cinnomon raisin bagel w/ little cream cheese, ~ 1 egg scrammbled, a few homefries, a bunch of citrus fruit, yogurt & mixed berries
snack= 1 1/2 benegis (sp?) and a cafe de lait
snack= diet coke, plane peanuts, and apple
dinner= chicken tetrizzinni (sp?), peas
dessert= Coconut Cake
while watching a movie= choclate carmel popcorn and some candy (maybe a littlee binge).

I could have done better. I wasnt that healthy but I enjoyed the food and trip. My orginal plan was to go back to school today but I am not anymore. I have got to stop eating so much crap though.

Recovery

Last night was not a good night. I started off eating just a couple chocolates but it escalated. I had a big binge. I was bored and tired. I also think the lack of lunch didnt help either. I had the following (in no order): 1 piece of fudge, 1 chocolate stick, 3 Lindon Truffles, 2 piece boxed chocolates, 1 Turkish Delight candy, a Pecan Puff, a Cookie Press Cookie, a small piece of Tropical Ginger Cake, a small piece of Happy Birthday Jesus Cake, and some M&Ms. I slept like crap from all the sugar. I kept waking up, a tossed and turned (my comforter wwas on the floor when I woke up, and I had weird dreams. Next time I am about to binging, I am going to remember my restless night's sleep.
I woke up to a fresh start. I had a 1c skim milk, a scrambled egg, a orange, and a piece of Panetone. (love that bread). I was originally going to have 1/2 a grapfruit, but I didnt like it today. Even with sugar. This meal provides: grains=1.5oz, fruit=1c, meat&beans=1oz, dairy=1c, calories=373

While baking the cake I had ~ T of batter. For lunch I had an open-face Ham and Cheddar melt and some grapes. This meal provides: grains= 2oz, Fruit= 1 c, meat&beans= 2 oz, dairy=1/2c, and cals= 373.
For dessert I had a peice of peppermint bark.
While frosting and decorating the cake I ate some frosting, a little to much. The cake turned out great! It is a 3 egg Coconut Cake with a Pineapple Icing Filling and a Buttercream Frosting outside with sides of coconut. The whole thing is from scratch. :)

For my Mom's birthday we went to our Favorite little italian place, Provinos. I had a glass of Diet Coke. (After 1 it was too bubbly and I switched to water.) I had 1 garlic roll, some salad, and Penne Pasta Prima Vera: penne, marinara sauce, brocolli, zuccini, tomatos, and mushrooms with a sprinkle of parmasan. I ate all my veggies and most of my pasta. This meal provided ~ grains= 3 oz, veggies= 2-3 c, dairy= 1/2c. I also had 3 spoonfuls of my Mom's Spononi. I am perfectly full, and not the slightest bit stuffed :) Later we are going to have cake.

Fo lunch

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! I hope everyone is having a blessed day with family, fun, and food.
I started my christmas at our beautiful Midnight Mass. It is a great way to start a holiday that is sometimes hard to remember the real meaning. :)
While waiting to go to mass I had 3 chocolates: 1 was milk chocolate with a thin layer of praline, 1 was milk chocolate with nuts (those 2 were thin sticks 2 in long), 1 was a dark chocolate carmel.
For breakfast I had 2 sausage balls, a piece of panetone, some Cheese Grits Casserole, and 1/2 grapefruit while opening presents.
I went on a great run after Christmas morning ended and James, my step-brother left for his mom's. I went 4 mi in 43:15 and MY KNEE DIDNT HURT AT ALL! I got a heart rate monitor for Christmas and it was fun to play and run with it. :)
I had 1/2 a mini candycane and a bite of carrot while baking dinner. I had ham, au gratin potatoes, carrots, brussel sprouts, and a roll for dinner. I had a small piece of each dessert: Peppermint Pie, Bolvarian Creme Pie, and Ginger Cake.
We finished dinner by 5:30 so I might need a snack (a Christmas cookie and chocolate :) ) although I am tired and may go to bed earlier.

Sweet Sweet Christmas Eve

Today is definitly been one of those days where my eating has been 'only during the holidays'. I have probably had the amount of sweets I normallyhave in a month this week since Friday. Today I started off and ended good. The middle was not healthy.
I of course had my cup of coffee with 1 T skim milk. For breakfast I had AMAZING oatmeal. It was made with 1/2c skim milk, 1/2c water, 1/2 oats and 1/2 mashed banana. I topped it off with 1/2 apple chopped, 1/2 oz walnuts, and 1 T apple butter. I was so thirsty early in the day I drank like 4 glasses of water in the first 5 hrs I was awake. (No I was not hungover.) After breakfast I went to the recycling center. I missed walking the dogs :(
Today I baked a Peppermint Pie (which I saw the nutrition info for and will just be having a little (~560 cal a slice)) and frosting for the Happy Birthday Jesus Cake (see next post). While baking I had 2 chocolate waffers, 1 marshmellow, lick of marshmellow/condensed milk, lick of peppermint whipped creme, lick of the 2 combined, some of frosting (ok more than some :) ), and some dark chocolate M&Ms(OMG YUM!). It was past lunch time and I wasn't hungary from munching, so I didn't eat lunch. It was not the healthiest midday. Not munching while baking is one of my downfalls. But atleast I listened to my body and did not eat if I was not hungary. I wrapped all my presents to put under the tree. Had a chocolate and a bite of peppermint bark.
Then I decided to work out so I would be hungary for Christmas Eve Dinner. I then did 15 min arms (weights), 15 min abs (pilates based & crunches), 15 min legs(pilates based),10 min yoga, and 40 min walk with Charlie. Then I showered, got dressed and socialized.
I had a total of a diet coke (in a wine glass to make it more festive), 4 crakers, ~ 3 T crab dip, 2 small pieces guoda, and 1 piece cheddar. Then for dinner I had a glass of red wine (~4oz), a popover, wild rice(~1/2c), roast beef (~2oz)(That I have been calling Roast Beast like on the Grinch :) ), corn(~1/2c), and peas(~1/2c). Then for dessert I had a cup of coffee with 1 T 2% milk and a pice of cake.
I gave up daily artifical sweetners about 3 months ago. I gave up cold turkey and never looked back. I have had ~ 4 sugar-free syrup lattes and 4 diet cokes since then (2 just diet coke & 2 in coktails). I think that they should be special occasion treats and are fine in moderation.
Even though I had ALOT OF SWEETS I do not have the yuck feeling. Actually I am not stuffed or sick at all. I think 1) not eating lunc when I wasnt hungary and 2) my long walk helped alot. Actually I am not too full. ( I never really eat to full always just under). I may have to have a sanck before we leave. (PRobably a sweet ;) )
I had a Diet Coke and coffee because we are going to Midnight Mass and I need to stay awake. I am not going to get much sleep because mass will probably last until 1:30, which means I wont beasleep until 2 am! Then my stepgrandama is coming over at 9am to open presents because my step brother James is leaving at noon to go to his moms. I AM GOING TO BE TIRED!!!
Hope everyone had a great Christmas Eve. Merry Christmas!

Keep The Exercize Up

I had the best run I have had in a while. I set out to run around the big neighborhood loop (2mi) twice, which would equal 3.8 mi. I was feeling FANTASTIC after that so I did the small loop (1mi) once. My plan was to run as much of it as I could until my knees hurt. It started to hurt and was killing when I finished. But I made it all 4.7 miles in 49:06. It was perfect running weather: 41*, clear skis, crisp air to fill your lungs. It was invigorating.
Then I met up with a friend at Starbucks. I got a non-fat, no whip, Peppermint Mocha Twist. It was 220 calories. But I had a cupon for a free one. Every sip was delcisious and worth every calorie.
I made home for dinner. I had a good size salad of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, mushrooms, carrots, and oil & vinagar dressing; a piece of lasagna (mom;s from scratch= SO GOOD); a piece italian bread with garlic butter.
For dessert I had a Peanut Butter Blossom, Pecan Puff, and a piece of fudge.
Later, I baked a chocolate cake and licked the batter of the spatula. :) I also ate a candy cane while it baked.
My holiday strategy is to EXERCIZE EXERCIZE EXERCIZE to conteract the sweets. I normally eat 1350 - 1600 calories (no sweets) a day with 45-60 exercize plus a lot of walking. My holiday plan is to eat 1350-1600 calories of food and to not eat more discretionary calories than I exercize that day.

Today
coffee= 5
Breakfast= 385 (35 dis - apple butter)
coffee= 5
lunch= 370 (50 dis - full fat cheese)
sanck= 220 (130 dis - total cal minus 8oz skim milk)
dinner= no idea ~550
dessert= guessing ~250 (all dis)
TOTAL= 1780 (465 dis)
Running= 49 min X 9 cals/min = 441
I was a little over but there is some guessing in there.

Repeat But Better

Today I was craving eggs for breakfast. This is weird for me because up until about 2 years ago I did not like eggs. I only ate Grandma's Special Eggs (poached on bread). Well I have discovered that they are great at keeping you full. So I was craving eggs and hade not had a poached egg in a while. For breakfast I had a ww english muffin with a poached egg on half and apple butter on the other half. My mom had bought it and I wanted to try it. It was very good. I also had a glass of milk and an orange.
It is SO COLD here that I had a second cup of coffee after I came back from running errunds.
For lunch I had a repeat from yesterday, except I had cheese instead of milk, less cranberry sauce and a granny smith apple instead of gala. It was SO GOOD. It was 2 pieces ww bread + 2 oz turkey + 1 piece provolone cheese + 1 T cranberry sauce, and an apple.

I am going to walk the dogs with my mom, step aunt and step uncle. Then I am going to go on a run and do some yyoga. I am meeting a friend at starbucks. I plan on getting on of the holiday drinks (I have a cupon :) ), so it will not be my normy healthy choice.

Baking Tradition

A few years ago I took over the holiday cookie baking. I normally bake 4 types in one day. It noramlly ends in me and my controlling self having a melt down. This year I added fudge and peppermint bark, and spliting the baking over 3 days. It worked out great. Everyone raved about them. My brother and my sisters friend said I should be a baker. I did not do anything healthy varitations because 1) they are the cookies that only get made during the holidays 2) my family frowns upon when I do that. I took a bunch of pictures to share.

Peppermint Bark

Fudge
Ginger Snaps

Peanut Blossoms

Cookie Press Cookies

Pecan Puffs

Hope your Holidays include lots of yummy treats in moderation. :)