I'm back! And so is my belly

I know ... it's been awhile since I blogged. And if you can't tell by the lack of posts, you could tell by my waistline. Yikes!

So here's the not-so-skinny from the past three months. Basically, I finished law school and took the Bar exam. Written in one sentence like that it doesn't seem like much, but man was it intense! The last month of law school came with finals and the pressure to do better than ever. I'd like to say I studied my butt off, but that would only be figuratively true. Oh, I studied like crazy, but my butt didn't even almost come off. Then, when I finished my last final, I turned my attention to studying for the Bar Exam. The next two months were spent binging and cramming 3 years of law school and 15 million pounds of peanut M&Ms into my mouth.

And now it's over.

And I gained 13 pounds.

I had to buy new pants - a size up - and have lost all ab sucking-in muscles.  My muffin top is world class and if I stand just so, I look pregnant. I call it my Bar Baby. I've been joking about taking maternity pictures.

But tomorrow is a new day with a new adventure! I start a temp job in the corporate world of cubicles and fluorescent lighting. It's at the world headquarters of a really big corporation and comes with a few perks - like a gym!

For the next three months, I get to wait on my Bar exam results, work an 8-5 job and enjoy free time. There is a little college graduation ceremony in there (though I graduated in Dec. the ceremony isn't until May). You know what that means? I get to put the majority of my energy into getting back on track with my weight. I couldn't be more excited!

Goodbye, Bar Baby!

@MeatlessMondays - a year later

This week marks my anniversary following the Meatless Monday movement!

All in all, it's been a neat endeavor that has greatly opened my palate. I can see a difference in my grocery bill and have often found myself going meatless on other days of the week just because I'm craving the dish.

My boyfriend has joined the movement too, much to my excitement. This semester has us apart on Monday nights and last week he grabbed his dinner at a fast food place. When I asked what he ordered - out of idle curiosity - and discovered it was vegetarian, it brought a huge smile to my face. It was proof that he believes in the movement too and isn't just doing it because someone else is cooking the food and giving it to him.

Here are some meals that have come into our world thanks to Meatless Monday:

Sweet Potato Black Bean Burritos

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burrito

2 medium sweet potatoes
1 cup refried black beans, with lime
1 tbsp olive oil
1 c onions
1 poblano pepper
1 whole roasted, peeled chile
2 sticks string cheese
4 multi-grain wraps

Baked sweet potato at 400 degrees for 35-45 minutes, until soft
Let cool. While potatoes cool, saute onions and peppers in olive oil until onions are caramelized and soft.
Peel sweet potatoes and mix with refried black beans. 
Put sweet potato mix on wrap, add onion mix and top with string cheese. Roll wrap unto burrito, place on pan and heat in over for 15 minutes, or grill in panini maker (as pictured). 
Number of Servings: 4
295 calories, 13 g fiber, 18g protein

Pumpkin and Black Bean Chili

Pumpkin and Black Bean Chili

1 medium onion, chopped
1 yellow pepper, chopped
1 c. fire roasted red peppers, chopped
4 c vegetable broth
4 c black beans, cooked and drained
1 can pumpkin, no salt
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp parsley

Saute onions and yellow pepper.
In crockpot combine all ingredients.
Cook on low for 4-5 hours, until heated throughout. Enjoy!
Makes 10 servings.

128 calories, 8 g fiber, 7 g protein

Grilled Eggplant

Grilled Eggplant
1 Eggplant, sliced into 1/2-inch slices
Spray with cooking spray, lightly salt and let sit while prepping the grill. Place on grill for 5-8 minutes each side until soft and amazing. Top with chopped peppers or your salsa of choice.

PB&J Grahamwiches
1 Tbsp Peanut Butter
1 Tsp jam/jelly
2 sheets graham cracker
Make like peanut better jelly sandwich. Tastes better after sitting a few hours because the jelly side gets a bit soggy and it melts in your mouth.

I've also learned a lot about eating out on Mondays and ways to avoid meat at restaurants. I particularly love sushi for Meatless Mondays, but when in a bind you might find me at Taco Bell because of their myriad of veggie-friendly dishes.

If I had to criticize the Meatless Monday movement about anything, I have two things to say.

First, the recipes offered on the official Meatless Monday site tend to be amazingly complicated and expensive. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if that turns people off when they first think about going meatless one day a week.

Second, they don't talk enough about ways to meet protein needs sans meat. Someone like me needs at least 60 grams of protein a day - even on days I go meatless. There are a lot of ways to do it, I just wish the Meatless Monday organizers would talk more about it. Sure, you can miss it one day a week and make up for your protein needs later, but doesn't that defeat the purpose? Also, if someone chooses to go meatless more than once a week they need to know how to do it safely.

Lunch today is mashed avocado with chopped peanuts spread on a tortilla and cooked quesadilla style. It's another fave lunch I've discovered thanks to Meatless Monday and writing about it has my mouth watering!

Click here to read my first post about this awesome movement! I don't celebrate the end of August as my anniversary date because I fumbled a bit at the start. But since Sept. 20, 2010, I've consistently NOT eaten meat on Mondays.

Got Milk?

My grandmother hated milk. Absolutely hated it! While she was in the hospital the last year of her life, the nurses would bring her Ensure and as they walked out of the room, she promptly poured it into the nearest plant.

Why does this matter? Because I maintain that her hatred of milk led to her death.

First, she fell and broke her shoulder. My grandfather didn't have the strength to take care of her Because of this, she went into a nursing home for a few weeks. She was bummed, a bit depressed, but there was a light at the end of the tunnel.  Until, three days before she was set to go home, she fell out of the bed and broke her hip. With that, and the long months of rehab and recovery ahead, she also broke her spirit.

Things began to rapidly decline and she passed away after choking on a drink of water that went down the wrong tube (and led to eventual pneumonia). Sure, it's a very bizarre story and would not stand up under the proximate cause standard in a court of law: But I maintain that my grandmother's brittle bones killed her. And the cause of this is that she didn't drink enough milk in her 20s.

This is why I am now adding calcium to my list of nutritional concerns. And once I started looking at how much I'm consuming, my eyes totally bugged out all Roger-Rabbit-style.

According to Sparkpeople.com, I should be consuming between 100-150 units of Calcium. For the past week, I've consumed: 76, 68, 111, 181, 42, 105. A couple of weeks ago, there were days when I only consumed calium amounts in the teens! And my calories were way over my usual limit on those days. Is this a possible factor in the munchies that were clearly affecting me? C'est possible!

Since one cup of milk is 30% of the calcium units needed, it makes sense that this should become a staple in my diet (I know, common sense considering all we've learned from the "Got Milk" campaign).  Why hasn't it? Because even nonfat milk is still 86 calories. But thanks to the Tip of the Week and my new fascination with calcium, I am making it a point to drink more milk. Sure, I eat string cheese everyday and have a cone from McDonalds (10% of our needed calcium!), but there is no reason I can't prioritize milk into my calorie budget.

Hmm, there is always the Chocolate Milk Diet ... I don't know about drinking a glass of chocolate milk three times a day, but once a day- since it's so good for me - isn't much of a sacrifice. Hehe.

Signs of change

You can call me Droopy Drawers.

I noticed it as I was walking into school today. The crotch of my pants was hanging half way to my knees!

I'm not going to go so far as to say that I have already gone down a size, but maybe it's close! That is my first achievement: to fit into my cute size 14 jeans. I hate wearing my stupid Lane Bryant Plus Size Mom Jeans. Blech!

Looks like I'm on my way!!! Yay!

On a side note, the Laughing Cow cheese breakfast is not agreeing with me. I forget I'm lactose intolerant because I just naturally don't eat much dairy (save ice cream, of course). Well, eating cheese every day is proving a problem. Looks like it's time for another solution to the quick breakfast.

Bready, set, NO!

So, I made a mistake in my food today ... you'll laugh, but trust me, there was meaning to my madness.

I went to McAlister's Deli for lunch today and, before ordering, asked to see their nutrition information. Yeah, they directed me to their Website. So, I was on my own and, well, didn't make the greatest decision.

I know it sounds weird, but I chose the BLT, no dressing. Why? Because even though bacon is high in sodium and each slice has about 3 grams of fat, it isn't too bad, calorie-wise. Ok, so where did I go wrong? The bread! It was 500 calories all by itself. How crazy is that??? I honestly didn't even think about it. I just ate the bread that was written on the menu.

Maybe I should print out the nutrition info for my common eateries. Couldn't hurt right? Also, I need to be keeping track of my calories throughout the day. Had I known how bad that bread was, I wouldn't have opened the beer I am currently finishing.

At least tomorrow is a new day and yesterday wasn't so bad!

Totals: 1,800 calories 245 carbs 49 fat grams 79 protein

Football Fave

So, yesterday the Kansas City Chiefs played the Philadelphia Eagles. This rarely happens apparently, so I decided to do something special.

Taking a page from Hungry Girl (literally), I made a variation of her Philly cheesesteaks that I now call Philly Chiefs Steaks!

The Chiefs may have lost (and did we really expect them to win?), but the sandwiches definitely rocked it!

Instead of using green peppers, we went a bit themey and added red and yellow to the mix. Also, I am not a fan of "American cheese" so I used a fat-free Swiss. It was a plethora of taste AND colors! All for only 300 calories. Not bad really - and most of those came from the bread.

I just had the leftovers - sans bread - and it was still super tasty!

The Cowboys play tonight (WOOOOO) ... any suggestions for dinner?

Yesterday's Totals: 1,060 calories 138 carbs 29 fat grams 62 protein

Chew the right thing

It's been a pretty crazy weekend, let me tell you.

Mid-morning Friday I won a free, last-minute trip to Dallas - THAT NIGHT.

So, class ended and I had to rush home, scarf down lunch and head to the airport.

Lunch consisted of a hotdog with leftover turkey chili (from the Hungry Girl nacho recipe I made the night before - I do not recommend it as a meal. A party snack, maybe, but it is HARD to only eat their serving size). Dinner consisted of a sandwich bought at the airport while waiting for my delayed flight. The sandwich didn't contain nutrition info, so I had to guess.

Luckily, I did pretty well. The only options were Wolfgang Puck sandwiches and I went with the ham and Swiss. I only ate the bread for half of the sandwich, so I saved a lot of calories there I think (not to mention fat from the dressing smeared on the bread).

Then, once I landed in Dallas it was a mad dash to the Taylor Swift concert and lots of dancing ensued. Followed by drinks with one of the radio show djs.

Overall, I did pretty well, I think.

Yesterday, I met with an old friend for breakfast (egg white and veggie omelet with fruit!) and then had lunch with my mom (salad, no dressing).

I just entered in the foods and calculated my calories and am excited to know that I didn't go over at all! This is awesome because it means I am pretty good at making the "right" choices. Yay!


Friday:
Totals: 1,655 calories 167 carbs 49 fat grams 92 protein

Saturday:
Totals: 1,553 calories 224 carbs 40 fat grams 89 protein