day sixty-one...seven days 'till Christmas

Let the countdown begin!

I am a huge Christmas fan. I love everything about it...everything. I feel as if people are simply more cheerful and happy as they go about their day around this time of year...or at least I am.

So as of now I am as happy as can be and cannot wait for the family to come together and celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Breakfast
Back to the daily work routine this morning. I made myself a dark chocolate shake and went on my merry way.

Morning Snack
I can't tell you enough how much I like these calorie burn cappuccinos. They are so perfect on wintery days. Definitely ranking as my favorite Medifast meal as of late.

Lunch
Back to the salad today. I really like the pizza burger and parmesan salad combo. All I do is chop up some lettuce, heat up a pizza burger and sprinkle some shredded parmesan cheese and dressing and I am done! Quick and delicious!

Afternoon Snack
I was fairly full when it was time to eat my next snack, but I still munched on some cheese pizza bites. I mean...who am I to say no to a snack time? I am also almost done with these...I didn't order anymore on this last order.

Dinner
I am house sitting tonight, so I had a cinnamon roll crunch bar when I got to the house after work. I then got started working on some new recipes!

Dessert
One of the recipes I created was a vanilla pudding cake. Let's just say that if you are in need of a treat, you must make this. :) I will post the recipe soon!

Also...in case you didn't see it earlier, I posted a recipe for a pumpkin pie custard. Check it out here.

Hope your day is a blessed one!

xoxo,
Toni

day twenty-four...you are not a dog!

I saw this and could not resist posting it. I am watching two dogs at the moment and they do get food treats for being good. But I am not a dog...I don't get food rewards.

So anyways, I cannot believe I just typed "day twenty-four" in the post title. Can you believe it has already been twenty-four days since I began the Medifast Program? I am loving it and have never felt better.

As you know I am housesitting alone for the next week. This situation can easily cause me to slip and fall back into my old patterns of eating or it can strenghten me. It is when you are alone that the waters are truly tested. Last night for example, I was making a cauliflower pizza for dinner and found myself popping in a few pieces of light mozzarella in my mouth while waiting for the crust to cook. Now, I could have punished myself for eating more than I should and go off on a binge, or move past it and adjust the rest of the meal so it still fits within the required lean and green guide. Thankfully, I chose the latter. It was an easy fix...I simply adjusted the cheese measurement for the top of the pizza. Easy peasy.

Next time you are alone, stop and pray, and trust in the Lord no matter the situation. He can and will get you through it.

Breakfast
It was a leisure morning for me. I cooked my friend, Kiera, some breakfast while I made and ate an oatmeal muffin.

Morning Snack

A couple hours after we ate breakfast, it was time for my morning snack. I totally spaced and didn't get a picture of it because I was eating it on my drive to church...probably better that I didn't snap photos while driving. I had a peanut butter crunch bar in case you were wondering.

Lunch

I was planning on making a cauliflower pizza today, but I didn't have enough time to make it for lunch...I had to eat my next meal immediately. So instead I opted for the brown sugar cinnamon crunch cereal and decided to have the pizza for my afternoon snack.

Afternoon Snack

Okay, here it is...the cauliflower crust pizza! I used the recipe found here but made a few adjustments. I will post the recipe hopefully by the end of the week. It was so delicious...couldn't even taste the cauliflower. But I do have to say that this is a rare once in a while treat. I feel like there is a lot of cheese and eating that much once a week or something cannot be good for you. So let this be a once a month treat instead. It is definitely a great alternative to pizza though...so keep that in mind the next time you want to order that extra-large 8 topping pizza. ;D

Dinner

I was actually still quite full from the pizza, so I had a chocolate chip soft bake and drank a bunch of water with it.

Dessert

To round out the day, I ended with a coffee milkshake. Love love love this drink! It is by far the best dessert you can make. I highly recommend it.

Well, that is all I have for today. Just remember that in those times when you are alone, you are going to be tested, so just be prepared, stay strong, and know that God is in control and there will always be a way out.

"No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it" (1 Corinthians 10:13).

xoxo,

Toni

day twenty-three...a girl's night in

Tonight I threw a girl's night in party...I made a ton of food, and guess what? I didn't even have one lick of it! That is such a huge success for me! I know I took a risk by cooking, but I felt confident knowing I wouldn't eat any of it. My parents were also there for a bit and ate what I made. They said it turned out pretty good, so I didn't even have to try the food.

The only thing I will say is that you need to really think about it before you throw a party or cook a big meal. Why? Well, you don't want to stumble yourself. I could not have done this two weeks ago without eating something. So, don't rush anything. Stop and think. Ask the Lord to be with you...it will all turn out okay.

Breakfast
I was able to sleep in this morning...it was soooo nice! But with that said, I got a late start on my eating. So I made a calorie burn cappuccino just to get me started with the day. It was perfect!

Lunch
I went to Starbucks for a bit and when I returned home, I ate my lunch. I tried out these new boca brand meatless crumbles and topped my romaine salad with them. I wasn't the biggest fan of them, but they weren't bad either. I miss the meatballs from Trader Joe's, they are still out of them.

Afternoon Snack #1
I don't know what it was about this bag of pretzels, but they were so good! Like, better than usual. I don't know...maybe I am just getting used to all the odd tastes in some of the food. ;)

Afternoon Snack #2
I had a little time to kill before my guests started arriving, so I thought I would attempt to make waffles using the pancake mix. And it totally worked! All I did was mix the pancake packet with a dash of cinnamon and 4 tablespoons of water. I then let it sit for about 5 minutes to thicken up a bit. I poured the mix into the waffle maker and voila! Waffles! I have actually never made waffles before, so this was a first on many levels. I am just thankful it turned out.



Dinner
At this point, some of my friends had started to arrive along with my parents, so I began making the appetizers for them to munch on while dinner was cooking. While I was doing that, I began munching on a caramel crunch bar. It kept my mouth busy and also helped me not want to pop some food into my mouth...intentionally or unintentionally.

Dessert
After dinner was eaten, I made the girls my top secret chocolate molten lava cakes. And while they were eating those, I decided to eat my dessert as well. So I microwaved a blueberry soft bake and ate with everyone else. And you know what, never once did I feel like I was being left out or wishing I could eat what they were eating. I was content the entire night. And never once did the girls question my not eating the food I was making. They all know about my plan and supported me last night 100%. I love my friends dearly...it is good to have friends who love and care about you when you are on this journey.

Overall, it was a fun night of food and fellowship and watching these two cuties...

I pray your Sunday is a blessed one!

xoxo,
Toni