Guilt free

Today was probably one of the best of my life - definitely top ten!

Not only did I walk 11.5 miles this morning (only a mile and a half short of a half-marathon), but I followed it up with a short game of golf and am now blogging on my porch while dinner cooks on the grill.

I ate a peanut butter sandwich before my walk and Kevin had brunch ready by the time I returned. He called to check on me while I was starting my final mile and asked what I wanted for breakfast. The answer was easy: everything. I was starving!

Walking 11.5 miles burned 1400 calories - that's more than I eat in a day! So, I was stoked when I saw that he had made me pancakes, eggs (substitute), bacon (turkey) and sliced watermelon. It was half of my usual caloric allowance, but I didn't care. I'd just walked 11.5 miles!

We rested for a couple of hours and then met a friend at the golf course. I didn't play a full round - just a few holes, but I walked some more and had a grand ol' time. When Kevin got the munchies and the beer cart came by, we split a Twix (one half is only 125 calories!). I'm not really counting calories today - considering how active the day has been for me, I think I have deserved this.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not going crazy and eating anything I want, but I am allowing myself to splurge a bit. After all, a good workout isn't the ticket to the buffet line. But it does mean you can relax a bit.

I ate a candy bar, guilt free. Now, I am drinking regular beer (as opposed to light) and waiting for cheese-stuffed chicken breasts to cook on the grill. Oh, did I mention the tortilla chips I'm crunching on? After calculating it all, I am looking at about 1600 calories - and to be honest, on the weekends I usually let myself have 1500 so it's pretty darn awesome.

The freedom of today has just been so uplifting. And in that lies the silly smile that won't leave my face. I was intimidated by the scheduled walk today for my training. I was supposed to go ten miles - longer than I'd ever knowingly walked before. When I got home and mapped out my actual course, I was pretty thrilled to see how far I'd actually gone.

Scheduling golf in the afternoon was a great way to keep my muscles from cramping or getting too sore. Plus, driving around in the gold cart, feeling the breeze all around us was amazing. I'm pretty sure God was hanging out with me on that golf course this afternoon. He blessed me with a beautiful day, a wonderful boyfriend and a chance at a new life.

Check out my grill, yo!

Kevin and I grill A LOT. Whenever we have time to fire up the grill for dinner we do - even in the snow! I am always excited when I get new ideas for things to make on the grill.

In honor of Memorial Day, many of my blogs, magazines, and weekly newsletters have been sending out cook out recipes - with lots of recipes for grilled food!

Here are a few of my faves:

Six Bikini Friendly Burger Recipes (Some vegetarian ideas in this one too!)

23 Quick and Easy Kababs (So good for portion control!)

16 Irresistable Grilled Desserts (Disclaimer: Not all of these are calorie-friendly!)

Cookouts that dazzle (with 8 ingredients or less!)

Hungry Girl's "German-ish potato-ish salad" or Hungry Girl's Faux-tato Salad

Clean Eating's Homemade Ketchup (low sodium!)

Eat This, Not That's Burger Topping Selector (To keep us on track if we're at someone else's cookout!)

Have a great holiday!!!

Flowers make everything better

As long as they weren't dowsed with fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides and pesticides. So what's a girl to do if she wants pretty flowers without the nasty chemicals? Here's a fabulous alternative:

http://www.diecutflowers.com/ OR
http://www.etsy.com/shop/paperplatypus

They are beautiful alternative that will last a really long time that didn't require miles upon miles of refrigerated gas vehicles or nasty chemicals.

Clean up on Aisle 11? Wasn't me!

Since I didn't have to be at my internship this afternoon, I took a much-needed trip to the grocery store.

The stuff on my list was no fun: toilet paper, toothpaste, cat food, eggs etc. But I decided to pick up a few more things while I was there. As I was walking up and down the aisles looking at all of the options for jalapenos and such, a thought struck me.

I shop differently now.

Usually when I go to the grocery store it's with a fairly short list. I have routine foods that I eat everyday for breakfast and lunch and only a few different things for dinner. But rest assured, there isn't any boredom in my palate. I mix it up a lot!

My usual grocery list:
Milk
Egg substitute
Sliced ham
Oatmeal
Mini rice cakes (a great snack between meals - they are like cookies only healthy!)
Salsa (great on everything from meats to salad!)
Baby Carrots
Celery (I alternate between the carrots and celery in my lunches)
Apples
String cheese (great for my post-workout snack!)
Yogurt (just a few - it really isn't "worth it" to me because I don't find it filling)
Peppers
Fresh veggies (That's all I write - then I decide in the store)
Fresh fruit
Meat
Beans

Sometimes I add a few things to it - like toiletries or maybe pasta and sauce, but to be honest, I rarely enter the middle of the grocery store anymore! Mostly, I cook fresh vegetables. I might buy frozen corn, but it's rare for me to buy anything in a can anymore. It's not intentional, it just happened naturally as I became interested in cooking things from scratch.

I bought some processed stuff today - things I wish I had on hand while creating new dishes (like lite soy sauce, fat free mayo and cake mixes), but those were just bonus buys to me. Things I use rarely, but like to have on hand, you know?

I usually keep a couple cans of soup on hand (for those sick days when you just need it) and there are a few cans of "cream of ..." in the pantry, but there are just so many extra calories in processed foods! Not to mention sodium and such that I've found myself gravitating to the fresh alternatives.

It makes grocery shopping a heck of a lot faster, let me tell you! Sticking to the edges of the store means less traffic. I'm in and out much quicker these days! And with my schedule so busy all of a sudden, that the way I like it! Healthy AND fast? I'll take it!

Forgot my lunch!

This day isn't even half way over and it's been crazy!

I woke up at 6:30 (thirty minutes behind schedule!) left the house about 15 minutes later than I wanted and stepped on the treadmill 10 minutes later than planned. I upped my speed to get in my four miles and had 20 minutes to shower, get dressed and make it to class on time. Rush, rush, rush!

And in all the rushing, I forgot my lunch.

There was a time when forgetting my lunch would have really thrown me off my diet, but at this point I'm pretty well-versed in real-world tactics for healthy eating.

In order to energize my body after my workout, I bought a Fiber One bar. Protein bars are way too caloric for me, but a Fiber One bar is a good filling option when you're in a bind, though I wish they had more protein. The apple and string cheese sitting in my lunch bag, however, is much better.

For lunch, I bought a Lean Cuisine. I'm not usually a fan of Lean Cuisines - mainly because the amount of calories in them is high for the volume of food you get - but it was the best option available.

On my way to work, I've decided to stop by McDonald's for my snack. I love that you can buy sliced apples at fast food restaurants nowadays. Sure, it's expensive when you think about it, but when you're in a bind like I am today, it's a great option!

Summer: Jobs and Salads

Tomorrow starts the first day of the rest of my life!

I know, I know - pretty melodramatic. But for reals (that phrase always makes me think of Apol btw), I start my first legal internship tomorrow! I'm clerking for the Missouri Public Defenders Office. My alarm is set for 6 a.m. and I will be in the gym by 8 ... then, when I'm done on the tread mill, I will have to suit up (literally!) in time for class. When class ends, I will fly back to Kansas City for work.

6:00: Wake up, make breakfast
7:00: Leave for gym
8:00: At gym, on treadmill
9:15: Shower for work/class
9:40: In class
11:00: Lunch time
11:20: Second class
12:45: Head to Kansas City
1:35: Afternoon snack
2:00: At work
5:00: Off work
6:00: Eat dinner
6:30: Homework!
9:30: Bedtime

Just typing it out makes me tired! But to be honest, I just went over my training regimen and it's only going to be that bad on Tuesdays and Thursdays. And that's *if* I work 5 days a week - which I'm not certain will be the case. I'll know more tomorrow.

What is certain, however, is that this summer is going to be crazy! Time for cooking will be minimal. And time for researching recipes and such will be even harder to find! It's a bummer too because summer is finally finding Kansas - and with this heat comes an intense desire for cold foods! I don't have a pile of yummy salad recipes and stuff and I could really use a few.

Tonight I defrosted boiled shrimp and ate a plate full of watermelon. I just couldn't bring myself to turn on the oven - it's so hot in my house! If anyone wants to take it upon themselves to find yummy summer dishes that are cool and crisp, I would be very grateful! Clearly, no one needs a new lettuce-based salad, but other summer food is very welcome! So far I have a great tuna salad recipe (the secret is garlic powder), a wonderful stoplight salad made with peppers, and a fantastic black bean and corn salad.

In that spirit, here is the recipe for the Watermelon "salad" I had with my shrimp tonight.

Cut watermelon in 3/4 inch pieces - removing rind in process. Spray with Balsamic Breeze spray dressing. Enjoy. :-) That's all. Simple and lovely. This is the recipe that inspired me, but I was missing a couple of ingredients and didn't feel like sorting out the nutritional stats. The version I made was only 60 calories per cup of watermelon. YUM!

Pound for Pound Challenge

As a fan of The Biggest Loser, I've seen many commercials and promos for the Pound For Pound Challenge. People across America are pledging to lose weight, and for every pound lost, a pound of food is donated to a local food bank.

I just pledged my last 20 pounds and the donations through the weight I'm losing will go to a Kansas City charity.

I don't even have to ask people for money - which I really like. Just keep with what I'm doing and I can out locally! I love it!

Click here for more information!