trust and blessings

I was reading Psalms chapter 2 this morning and came across a verse that said, "Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him" (Psalm 2:12d)

Don't you just love that? All we have to do is put our trust in the Lord—the all-knowing, all-powerful God—and He will in turn bless us. Seems like a win-win to me.

That is my prayer today and for this year...that I would have trust in the Lord and that in every situation I will turn to Him rather than the things of this world. Amen? Amen!

Breakfast
Back to normal today...meaning, I am back to my regular work schedule. I have had the majority of the last two weeks off from work and am actually really happy to be back on my daily routine. I am a big fan of structure...which is probably why I like this program so much. Anyways, for breakfast I made myself a french vanilla shake. I put a tad too much ice in it, so it was quite cold, but still delicious!

Morning Snack
This morning I ate a cookie dough chewy bar with a cup of coffee. I have mentioned it before, but the only way I can really eat these bars is by dipping it in some coffee...but it works for me!

Lunch
For some reason I was hun-gry by the time lunch came around. But I soon quenched that hunger with a salad topped with a pizza burger, light cheese, and some light dressing. Simple yet delicious!

Afternoon Snack
I was once again pretty hungry once my afternoon snack came around, so I made myself a calorie burn cappuccino...this kept me quite full until dinner.

Workout
Went for a run after work today and never felt better. By the end of the first mile I was already getting tired, but I persevered through it and finished with flying colors!

Dinner
Once I got back from my run, I ate some mixed berry cereal crunch along with a bottle of water.

Dessert
To end the night I made a peanut butter milkshake and called it a night. I am so tired as I am writing this, so I am off to bed!

Remember..."Blessed are all those who put their trust in the Lord"!

xoxo,
Toni

day sixty-three...if it was easy, everyone would do it

Today was kind of tough. Not really for food reasons (although having an entire box of see's candy in my office doesn't help) but rather for exercise reasons. I went for a 2.17 mile jog and just struggled with it. Then I saw this quote and thought, how true! I mean, if running was easy, everyone would be healthy and in shape, right? But the fact is, is that working out is hard! There is just no easy way if you want to see results. Simple as that.

With that said, I am not feeling discouraged, but rather encouraged. Weird, right? But I am excited to see my weight for tomorrow morning. And you know...if I don't reach my goal of 2 pounds, that is okay. I know I am due for a plateau and I am ready for that, but I also know that I have tried my hardest this week and have stuck to the plan. 

But all the glory goes to the Lord for helping me get through my run tonight and also through this week.

Breakfast
Okay...enough with my "life is hard but keep going rant"...let's move onto my eats for the day. For my breakfast this morning I made a mocha shake and added some instant coffee to it. Totally enhances the flavor of the shake...you should try it.

Morning Snack
I was out and about on an errand when my morning snack time came around. My stomach started grumbling and I realized, Oh, it's time to eat! Funny thing though, in about ten minutes my stomach stopped grumbling and I wasn't hungry anymore! Just goes to show that when those hunger pangs do come, stop, drink some water, go for a walk, etc...I promise the hunger will dissipate. :) But anyways, when I did make it back to the office, I made a calorie burn cappuccino and sipped on the hot goodness for about 30 minutes. 

Lunch
Back to the daily grind for lunch today. I had a romaine salad topped with a pizza burger, some parmesan cheese, and light chipotle ranch dressing. Perfection. It was raining outside which is why the table has puddles on it. ;)

Afternoon Snack
For my afternoon snack I had some nacho cheese chili puffs. These are fairly good...just remember to have some water on hand...well, at least for me. They can get spicy at times.

Workout
As I mentioned earlier, I went for a run today. Nothing out of the ordinary, just my same 2.17 mile run. It was hard but fun at the same time. Maybe the difficulty was due to the cold? I don't know. At one point I couldn't even feel my nose! Oh well...I fought through the pain and finished the run.

Dinner
After my run, I made a java chip frappuccino. I just mixed instant coffee with the chocolate chip soft bake and blended it with some water. Easy peasy and delicious!

Dessert
To end the night, I had a strawberry crunch bar. Something light and small...because tomorrow is a weigh in day!

And now I am off to bed! Isn't this picture of my cat, Peggy, just the cutest! Even cat haters have to love this. I mean, how can you not. ;)

Goodnight!

xoxo,
Toni

chocolate chip doughnut holes

Before starting the Take Shape for Life Program, I loved to eat doughnuts...like a lot. And the ones with the sprinkles on top were my absolute favorite. So...after playing around with some ingredients to make that perfect (or close to perfect) Medifast doughnut, I finally created a recipe worth sharing.

*Note: I used a Bella cake pop maker to make the doughnut holes. You can buy one right now at Target for only $16 or you can scoop the batter onto a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 5-8 minutes or until the tops are lightly browned.

Step One
Gather your ingredients. You will need:

1 Medifast Pancake Mix (1 Medifast Meal)
1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (1/2 condiment)
1/8 tsp. baking powder (1/4 condiment)
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract (1/4 condiment)
1/4 tsp. pumpkin capella drops (optional)
2 tbsp water (not pictured)

Step Two
Place all the ingredients into a small bowl and mix well.

Step Three
Fill the cake pop wells until the batter is just below the top. I poured too much in some of them and they poured over, so be careful.

Step Four
Bake for about 5 minutes and then turn off the machine and let it stand for about 1 minute. Then pop open the cover and take out your delicious doughnut holes. Mine stuck a little, but came out once they cooled more.

Step Five
Dip into sugar free syrup or Medifast syrup or eat them plain (like I did) and enjoy!

xoxo,
Toni

day fifty-five...when you're at your lowest

I am sick...still. Most of my friends have come down with a cold this past week and I thought I was the lucky one who surpassed getting sick. I was wrong.

So anyways, I woke up this morning with a sore throat and just felt like my face was going to explode. I have to tell you since I couldn't last night, but as I was getting in my car yesterday morning, I turned KWVE on and Pastor Chuck Smith was teaching. It was too funny because as soon as I turned on the radio, Pastor Chuck was saying something to this effect: "Let's say you are not feeling well. Watch out because that is when the Enemy attacks. It is when we are at our lowest that he comes in and pounces." Well, there you have it...I better be in the Word today!

Breakfast
Nothing new to report for breakfast...except for the fact that is was a chilly 39 degrees! I am a wimpy Californian, I know. Once I did manage to leave my warm and cozy bed, I started to get ready and made a mocha shake and enhanced it even more by adding instant coffee to it.

Morning Snack
My new shipment of Medifast came in yesterday! I opened it up right away and decided to sip on a calorie burn cappuccino (which I ran out of a few days ago) for my morning snack. I was going to make a cup of coffee anyways, so why not just make it one of my meals. And although it was beyond divine, I did end up burning my tongue with the first sip...so that wasn't very fun.

I also got this sweet stack of recipe cards that are all holiday themed! I love it and cannot wait to try some of them!

Lunch
Back to the same old meal for lunch. I made a salad topped with a chili lime chicken burger and shredded Parmesan cheese as well as a drizzle of light chipotle ranch dressing. Simple but delicious.

I also paired my salad with a diet ginger ale...I needed a little splurge today.

Afternoon Snack
My stomach was rumbling by the time my next meal time came around. I ended up snacking on some brown sugar cinnamon cereal crunch for about 20 minutes. These not only fill you up buy they last a while too!

Oh...and I had another cup of coffee with the cereal...it's just one of those days. Isn't the white Christmas tree pretty! It's up in our office area and I love walking by it every time I use the restroom or walk to the kitchen.

Dinner
I was in the mood for some cheesy goodness tonight. So I whipped up a batch of macaroni and cheese and added a small pinch of shredded Parmesan cheese to thicken it up and give it a touch more flavor. The mac and cheese is pretty good when I add just the smallest thing to it. The picture looks fairly appetizing, right?! I think it looks a tad better than my other mac and cheese photos. :P

Dessert
Cut up a smores crunch bar to munch on after church tonight. I stayed for a while talking so it was a perfect "pop in your mouth" treat. No one noticed or at least cared (I think), which is a double bonus!

So, I will admit that I have had better days, but the Lord is still on the throne, so I have nothing to complain about...although I do admit to complaining several times today. I am praying that the Lord would change my heart and help me to be thankful in all things...the good and the bad.

xoxo,
Toni

day fifty-two...doubt

Yesterday at my second Christmas party, our college pastor, Abraham deAlba spoke on doubt and it hit me like a ton of bricks. Me? Doubt? Never. But...I was wrong. I have been doubting God unknowingly, thinking certain things will just never come to pass. I am a doubter. Simply put.

I need to remember that the Lord has a plan. Sure, I may not know when it will come to pass, but He does and that is all that matters. Easier said than done, right? I want things to happen right now...today. However, I cannot doubt God. I just can't. There is no sound reason why I should. I mean, He is the God of the universe and knows every little detail about me, and I want to doubt Him? I am crazy!

So that is it...no more doubting. No more questioning God. I need to practice patience and rely fully upon the Lord and trust in His timing. He will make my desires come to pass if it is His will.

Now that we have that settled, let's move on to my eats for the day!

Breakfast
Had a lovely morning sleeping in today. Once I woke up, I made a mocha shake and drank it once again while curling my hair...I think I am going to make a habit out of this.

Lunch
After church I was hanging out with a friend at Portola Coffee Lab and while drinking an iced coffee I had a bag of cheese pizza bites. Honestly, not the best pairing, but still good when eaten by itself.

It was also my friend's first "hipster coffee" so I had to snap a picture of her taking a picture of her beautiful mocha...she's the cutest. Love you Kim!

Afternoon Snack
Once I got home from my coffee visit, I cleaned the kitchen and then had a chocolate crunch bar. I then started to put together and cook my dinner.

Dinner
I made a new lean and green meal for dinner! I am still testing it out, but I am hoping to master the recipe by Christmas. I made a turnip gratin. Not my favorite to be honest...it still needs a bit of tweaking. Keep a lookout for the recipe soon.

Dessert
I had a calorie burn cappuccino as soon as I got home from church. Don't know why, but I was just in the mood for a nice hot cup of coffee.

Dessert #2
I had some friends come over after church and while I made them some cookies, I also made myself some chocolate chip pancake cookies. They were really good...very similar to a doughnut hole. I will post the recipe soon.

That is all I have for today! Hope your day is blessed!

xoxo,
Toni

day forty-nine...I am His, and He is mine

I never doubt that I am a child of God, but reading quotes like these just seem to encourage me. Now, I may not doubt this, but maybe you are. Perhaps you think God doesn't care about you...that He has forgotten about you. Let me tell you that He hasn't. Sometimes we have to go through a hard patch in our lives, but He is always there...walking right beside you. God is there in the good and bad times.

Don't fear, my friend. God is there. He will sustain you. He will help you. All you have to do is trust in Him and know He will come through. The night may be tough, but joy will come in the morning.

Remember that today.

Breakfast
I made a strawberry shake this morning. And judging by the picture, you can probably figure out that I added a tad too much ice. It was still fairly good though.

Morning Snack
I made the most delicious apple cinnamon oatmeal muffin today! Just microwaved it in the microwave but cut the time by 20 seconds and it came out so moist! Pairing this with a cup of coffee would be the perfect Christmas treat.

Lunch
I wanted to keep it light for lunch because I wasn't feeling all that well. So I made a salad using the rest of the romaine I had in the fridge and topped it with a vegetable burger and some light Italian dressing. Simple and light.

Afternoon Snack
Still feeling a tad stomach sick, so I picked a small snack. I had some honey mustard pretzel bites because there are fewer in the bag than all the other snacks. :) Worked like a charm.

Workout
Ran again today. Same as Monday...but shortened my time by 2 minutes! It's weird how much I actually enjoy running now.

Dinner
After I got home from running, I jumped in the shower and then made myself a java chip frappuccino (I mixed together a chocolate chip soft bake packet with a packet of via and some ice and water). I had a dear friend and neighbor come over and pretty much give me the best facial of my life while I drank this delicious new favorite drink. Plus, my skin is so soft! I love it!!! Check out the products I used...they are all from the dead sea!

Dessert
After my mini facial, I cleaned up my room and just had a peaceful and relaxing evening. Around 9pm I ate a lemon meringue crunch bar and then called it a night. I was tired for some reason, so when I had the opportunity to go to bed early, I took it. Tomorrow is a weigh-in day...I need the sleep.

Good night friends! PS...I have a huge surprise for you all tomorrow, so don't miss it! :D

xoxo,
Toni