day forty-one...thanksgiving road trip day one

Thanksgiving is tomorrow. Can you believe it? This year has flown by. It seems like the older I get, the more quickly time moves. Weird, isn't it? I also posted a Thanksgiving recipe for a green bean casserole today...you can check it out here.

Anyways, my parents and I left on a road trip this afternoon to Bishop, CA. So I got up this morning and started my food preparations for the next couple of days. I started making my Thanksgiving dinner so I would have something "special" to eat tomorrow. As far as my other lean and green meals go, I figured I would find something along the way...even if it means I only get lettuce and a lean meat.

There were many temptations on the way to Bishop...I had to say no to chips, sandwiches, popcorn, fries, burgers, and worst of all, a cinnabon cinnamon roll. I won't lie, the smell of it was brutal. I actually had to chew a piece of gum just to keep my mouth moving and my mind occupied. It actually worked too...I made it through the day and stuck to my health plan. And as a bonus, the hotel we are staying at has a mini fridge and a microwave! So now I am able to cook and eat all my meals! The Lord is good!

Breakfast
I woke up this morning and made myself a strawberry shake while I planned out what I would need to pack for the next few days. I didn't sleep in too late today, so I got a somewhat early start on my eating for the day.

Morning Snack
As I was packing my clothes and food, I decided to take a break and bake a special Thanksgiving bread. I used an apple cinnamon oatmeal packet, added some baking powder and capella pumpkin drops, and baked it for about 20 minutes. It was delicious! How can you go wrong with mini pumpkin apple bread? I will post the recipe soon. :)

Lunch
I started making my Thanksgiving lean and green meal when I realized it was time to eat lunch. So I threw together a romaine salad and topped it with a pizza burger and light chipotle ranch dressing. PS...this dressing is divine!

Afternoon Snack
We were on the road by the time my afternoon snack came around. I brought some cups, so I just poured out my cheese pizza bites into the cup and attempted as best as I could to get a picture of it. I never realized how challenging it was to get a focused picture while in a moving car...it's challenging!

Dinner
My next meal was near the middle of our road trip and little after the cinnabon temptation. We were stuck in traffic, so it was a little bit easier to snap a focused picture. It was dark though, so it still came out all weird. Oh well...I guess you can kind of tell it is a lemon meringue crunch bar... ;)

Dessert
Still on the road, I ate my dessert. It was a good thing I pre-made my brownie in a cup because I wouldn't have been able to eat it otherwise. I remember this afternoon thinking, just cook it now, what can it hurt. I realize now that it was the Lord speaking to me. Thank you, Lord! By the way...I think because my brownie was at room temp rather than piping hot, it had a similar texture and taste to a piece of chocolate cake. It was really good actually! I will definitely be doing this more often! Excuse my poor excuse for a picture...this was the worst of them all.

Well, I am currently writing this in my hotel room—praise the Lord they have excellent wifi—and can't wait to tell you all about my adventures tomorrow! I pray you have a blessed night!

xoxo,
Toni

day twenty-six...guilty feelings

I have a confession...for the past few days, I have been getting down on myself and feeling guilty for the things I am eating. I have given myself a little more freedom and creativity when it comes to my lean and green meals, and I am simply not feeling thinner...if that makes sense—so I feel guilty because it must lead back to those lean and green meals. And maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. Either way, I need to start treating myself better and feeling guilty for eating according to plan. I am on the right track...there is nothing wrong with that.

With that said, I have a plan. For now on, I am going to have a "treat" lean and green meal on Friday and Saturday or Sunday and every other day I am just going to keep it simple. Simple meaning, a salad with a protein. A treat meal can mean making pizza boats, zucchini spaghetti, or cauliflower pizza. That way, I am still having a little fun in the kitchen, but not all the time. 

Wow...okay...now, let's talk about what I ate today.

Breakfast

I had spare time this morning, so I decided to make an oatmeal waffle. I just mixed the oatmeal with some water and put it in the waffle maker. It stuck like crazy, but it was still crispy and delicious.

Morning Snack

It was a chilly morning, so I made a lovely hot cup of the calorie-burn cappuccino. I can drink this every morning. Love it!

Lunch

Like I mentioned earlier in the post, I am going simple during the week for my lean and green meals. So today, I had a simple, yet delicious chicken salad. I ended up using a new dressing today as well. It is the light honey mustard one made by Annie's. It was soooo good! Paired perfectly with the chicken. Even my cat, Peggy wanted a bite. ;)

Afternoon Snack

I actually wasn't hungry between lunch and my afternoon snack! Yay! I am finally getting over these cravings to eat...or really just to keep my mouth busy. Anyways, I opened up a bag of the cheese pizza bites and ate those for a good 30 minutes. There are a lot of bites in one bag!

Dinner

As I mentioned yesterday, I saved the mac and cheese for tonight. And that is exactly what I had. It turned out way better than any other mac and cheese I have made! Not a bad alternative to the real stuff! I am still trying to snap a decent photo of the mac and cheese, but it is just not photogenic.

Dessert

I have been having a crunch bar every day since day one and am not going to stop doing that now...so I had a cinnamon roll crunch bar for my dessert and loved every last bite of it. I actually almost forgot to eat it because my parents came over to the house I am watching and we were all sitting together watching Food Network's Chopped. We were all so in to it and in awe of how these chefs make a beautiful dish out of the strangest ingredients. But anyways, I did end up remembering and enjoyed the bar while watching.

And just to put a smile on your face, here is the cutest picture of our neighbor's cat peeking over the fence into our backyard to say hello to our two cats.

'Til tomorrow!

xoxo,

Toni

day twenty-five...a girl walks into a bakery

Oh the things you find on Pinterest...this one is a keeper and perfect for my post today...

So today I walked into a bakery. Not just any bakery...French's Bakery. A family owned and established bakery loaded with delicious baked goods. The moment I walked in, the smell just overwhelmed me. It was the first time in a few weeks that I truly felt weak.

Let me rewind...the reason I was even there in the first was because I had to purchase a cookie tray for work—this was all work-related and had nothing to do with pleasure or torturing myself.

Okay, so I walk in, smell all the goodness and purchase the cookie tray. While the girl is helping me checkout, I am standing there just looking at all the cookies, cupcakes, eclairs, croissants, and cakes...I feel like they are talking to me...just buy me, it won't hurt...you deserve it. I should have turned away but I couldn't stop looking at all the different kinds of pastries they had. Thankfully, the girl finished the transaction and I was on my merry way out the door. No other purchases were made.

I will be honest...it was hard. I know I have been strong resisting temptation and it has been fairly easy, but today was not easy. Sweet treats are my all-time weakness. I am so thankful the Lord provided that exit door...that was my way out. I had to stop and think, is it really worth it? Nope, I am already sweet enough...I don't need that cupcake. ;)

Breakfast
I woke up around 6:45 this morning and got going on my day. Got ready, made my breakfast and headed out the door to get to work on time. I had some extra time on my hands, but I decided to make a quick mocha shake and just get on the road.

Morning Snack
My stomach was grumbling by the time my morning snack came around. I chugged some water and made an oatmeal muffin. For some reason, I have a bunch of the oatmeal packets left so I am trying to finish them off before I open my new boxes of food.

It was a good thing I ate my snack when I did because it was right after I finished eating that I was asked to go to the bakery. I am sure not having a growling stomach helped me resist that bakery temptation.

Lunch
I had originally planned to have a salad for lunch, but as I was getting out the lettuce, I noticed there was cabbage as well. So I nixed the salad and went for a cabbage and pizza burger hash. Glad I did because it was delicious!

Afternoon Snack
I made it! The time quickly passed between lunch and my afternoon snack. I tell you, it is the hardest time waiting after lunch...I don't know why. But anyways, as soon as 3:15 rolled around I broke open a bag of bbq bites and started snacking.

Dinner
After debating for a while on what to have for dinner I decided to just have a s'mores crunch bar. I was going to have mac and cheese, but I will save that for tomorrow.

Dessert
Like the oatmeal, I have a few more soft serve packets left, so I decided to whip up a peanut butter milkshake using the peanut butter soft serve. This is such a perfect treat to have when lying in bed reading or watching a movie or something. Totally feels like you are sipping on a calorie-laden milkshake...when you in fact, are not.

So, another end to a great day. The Lord is good and I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

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