day thirty-one...getting back into the swing of things

As of this morning I am finally home and done with housesitting. I love house and pet sitting, but I am happy to be home. There is no bed like your own. ;) Now that I am back home, it is time to get back into the swing of things.

Now, I have to be honest and confess that I have not really been working out since I began housesitting. Now that I am back home, I am going to be getting up again in the morning and attempt to work out 5-6 days a week. Not long workouts...just short 30 minute conditioning exercises or a jog. I don't know, we will see how it goes. Let's just take it one day at a time. Sound good? Good.

Breakfast
I woke up earlier than usual this morning in order to get the house in tip-top shape. Bed made, blankets folded, kitchen clean, etc. Didn't take long at all. Before I knew it, I was walking out the door and packing up my car to head home. But before heading home, I made a mocha shake. For some reason, it tasted way better than usual...less icy maybe? I opened up the new pack of mocha shakes, so maybe it is just a really good batch.

Morning Snack
After I got home, I had some time to kill before church, so I headed over to Trader Joe's and picked up some essentials for this week's lunches. I bought some romaine lettuce, pizza burgers, and some veggie burgers. When I got back home from shopping, I ate a cinnamon raisin crunch bar and began walking to church with my parents.

Lunch
I had some zucchini to use before it went bad, so I made a plate of zucchini pasta with veggie sausage. This time, however, I did not add any mozzarella cheese to it...only a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

Afternoon Snack
After lunch I met up with Kiera at Starbucks and caught up on some blogging and started writing this post. While there I had a black coffee with some splenda and an ice water and later on ate some cinnamon pretzel bites. They actually paired really nicely with the hot coffee.

Dinner
I still have a couple macaroni and cheese packs left from my first Medifast order, so I thought I would eat one of them tonight. Nothing really special to report about it...except that it looks more like cheese soup rather than mac and cheese. :)

Dessert
So I tried out a new dessert tonight...it was a brownie! Wow...this was soooo good! Way better than what I thought it was going to taste like. The brownie literally melted in my mouth. I am liking this Medifast program more and more every day. Instead of getting bored with the meals, I actually look forward to them! Love it!

So anyways, I hope your weekend was a good one! Keep me in prayer as I am starting the second month of the program and that I wake up on time in the morning to work out! :D

It's good to be home and back with these two crazy cats. ♥♥♥

xoxo,
Toni

zucchini pasta with sausage

Step One

Gather your ingredients. You will need:

2 medium zucchini

1/2 cup of marinara sauce

1/4 cup of light mozzarella cheese

4 sausage links (depending on what kind of sausage. I used Morningstar)

1 teaspoon of olive oil

Step Two
Wash the zucchini. Then cut off the ends and peel the skin.

Step Three
Julienne the zucchini to resemble spaghetti noodles.

Step Four
Heat up the olive oil in a non stick pan and add the zucchini. Saute for a few minutes.

Step Five
Cut the sausage into bite size pieces.

Step Six
Add the sausage to the zucchini and cook until thoroughly heated.

Step Seven
Mix it all together while adding the marinara sauce. Keep stirring until the sauce is warm and zucchini is soft.

Step Eight
Transfer the zucchini to a clean, oven-safe plate. Then sprinkle the cheese on top.

Step Nine
Place the plate under the broiler and cook for a few minutes. Keep an eye on it so the cheese doesn't burn. You want it to have a nice golden brown color to it. Take it out of the oven carefully (plate will be hot) and enjoy!

Medifast Lean and Green Breakdown:
Lean: Morningstar sausage links (4), 1/4 cup of light mozzarella cheese
Green: 1 1/2 cups of zucchini, 1/2 cup of Trader Joe's marinara sauce
Healthy Fat: 1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil

xoxo,
Toni

day seventeen...who do you please?

I will keep it short and sweet tonight, but I just have one question to ask you. Who do you please? Is it yourself? A spouse? Parent or sibling? Your flesh or your spirit? Tonight at church we read a verse in Romans 8 that said, "So them, those who are in the flesh cannot please God" (Romans 8:8). This hit me like a ton of bricks and made me really think about who I am trying to please. It was only last month that I was living a life solely devoted to my flesh and feeding my sin of addiction to food. I did not realize at the time that because of my fleshly desires, I could not please God. Really makes you think about who you are pleasing.

I can say with confidence now that I am living wholeheartedly for the Lord and am walking in His steps more than ever before. Through this Medifast program, I have been able to deny my flesh those things it longs for and instead fill up my spirit with the things of God. And with the Lord's help I am able to walk in His ways and please Him.

Breakfast
Sunday's seem to be my late start day. I tend to sleep in, which causes me to eat my breakfast later on in the day throwing my meal times way off. This morning I woke up and had a pineapple mango smoothie around 10am.

Lunch
I went to church around 11am and didn't get home until about 1pm, so it was definitely time for my lean and green meal for the day. I made a new dish today that I think you guys will love. Sundays from now on are going to me my "try new things" day. And hopefully by Monday or Tuesday I will have the recipe for you all. So today I made spaghetti using zucchini and added some marinara sauce and sausage to it...oh, and a little bit of melted cheese. Delish!

Afternoon Snack #1
After two or so hours, I ate my first snack of the afternoon. I had some pizza bites and drank lots of water. For some reason these bites are super dry, resulting in me drinking about 24 ounces of water. But I see it as a good thing!

Afternoon Snack #2
I then had a smores crunch bar as my second snack of the afternoon. I can't tell you enough how much I love these. They are so stinkin' good! I could easily eat these everyday, all day.

Dinner
I ate a tad late today, because I had to wait until I got home from church...which was around 9pm. I will be honest, I don't like eating too late because I feel kind of gross in the morning. I don't know what it is. But...I have to complete my meals for the day even if that means eating late. I will just have to wake up earlier on Sundays in the future so I don't have to stay up late.

Dessert
I tried to pick a small, light meal so it doesn't sit in my stomach too long as I am going to go to sleep for the next 8 hours.

Remember to feed your spirit rather than your flesh so you can please the Lord and not yourself or someone else. God is the only one who matters.

xoxo,
Toni