day forty-two...thanksgiving road trip day two

Today was full of driving and adventure. I took this picture above when we took a little walk to a natural hot spring that just bubbles up from the ground. It is amazing how hot that water can be even though it was about 40 degrees outside.

Breakfast
I woke up around 9am this morning and made myself a vanilla pumpkin shake. I just mixed some pumpkin flavor drops with a french vanilla shake packet. Thought the pumpkin was appropriate being Thanksgiving and all.

After breakfast we were on the road to do some exploring. My dad wanted to show us some mines, but there was just too much snow to make the trek. So instead we walked around and took some pictures.

As soon as we got to the hiking site, the sweetest "guard" dog came right up to us and joined us on our walk. He was sort of like our guide, I suppose. You think the snow would bother him, but this little guy just loved it.

After walking around, we crossed a half frozen creek and found an area to relax near the creek. There was a giant spot of fresh powdery snow, so I decided to make a snow angel. Why not, right? And in case you were wondering, yes, it was extremely cold and uncomfortable, but I definitely don't regret it.

Morning Snack
Once we got back in the car, we traveled back to check out of our hotel and started driving towards Mammoth. On the way, I ate some brown sugar cereal crunch along with a bottle of water

We stopped along the way to Mammoth to check out some natural hot springs and ran into this creek called hot creek. It is basically a scalding hot creek of water. It was really neat to see actually. The water is heated by some volcanic matter under the earth...I don't really understand how it works. All I know is that the air is freezing, but the creek still remains piping hot. Simply amazing. Those really blue pools are just some of the hot springs.

We hiked down a trail and was able to touch the water, but couldn't get too close at times because it was blocked off. I guess the water is too hot to touch. Walking back, we found this giant rock on a hill, so my dad decided he wanted to take a picture of me sitting on it. He is quite the photographer, isn't he?

Lunch
We finally made it to Mammoth when I ate my lunch for the day. I ate a s'mores crunch bar while we looked around.

We then decided to head back up north to check out what was up there. We found out that there is nothing really past Mammoth. But we did find this gorgeous, giant lake. It was lightly iced over and just a beautiful sight to see.

Afternoon Snack
After getting tired of seeing nothing, we decided to head back to Mammoth where we got a hotel room for the night. My parents then grabbed some dinner while I heated up my dinner in the microwave (thankfully provided in the room). I ate the green bean casserole I made yesterday...such a delicious Thanksgiving meal! And even after sitting around for a day, it still tasted pretty good! Click here for the recipe.

Dinner
After we ate our Thanksgiving meal, we headed out to see a movie. I heated up a calorie burn cappuccino and brought it with me to drink about 30 minutes into the movie. I tried to make it scalding hot so by the time I drank it, it would be drinkable hot...but...it cooled down to a more of a warm temperature. Not my favorite temp, but still delicious! I wasn't able to snap a picture because...well, it was dark in the theater.

Dessert
We came back to the hotel room right after the movie and I made my last meal of the day. I blended up a peanut butter milkshake and enjoyed every last sip. Great ending to my Thanksgiving day. And you know, it feels pretty great going to bed slightly hungry on the most food-centered day of the year.

Well, I am off to bed. I hope your Thanksgiving was a blessed one!

xoxo,
Toni

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

green bean casserole

Want to eat a green bean casserole but skip out on all the fat and unnecessary calories? Well, than this recipe is just for you...and me ;)

Thanksgiving is coming up and I wanted to eat something that was still "Thanksgiving" and a green bean casserole just made sense. So if you still want to partake in a Thanksgiving meal or if you need a comfort food classic any day of the week, just follow this recipe. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Step One
Gather your ingredients. You will need:

1/4 cup egg beaters
1 1/2 cups green beans (washed and trimmed)
4.5 oz low fat cottage cheese (I just looked for the one with the lowest carbs and fat)
1/8 tsp salt
1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese
1/2 tbsp light butter

 
Step Two
Put all your ingredients in a bowl, except the shredded cheese and parmesan cheese. Then mix them all together until the green beans are coated evenly.

Step Three
Pour the mixture into a greased glass baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Step Four 
After that, sprinkle the cheese and parmesan cheese on top and bake for another 20 minutes. 

Step Five
Take out of the oven and cool for a few minutes...then dig in!

This entire meal counts as 1 Lean and Green meal with 2 1/2 Condiments and 1/2 Healthy Fat  

 
Enjoy! And Happy Thanksgiving!!!

xoxo,
Toni

day forty...forty days and forty nights

[source]

It has already been forty days since I began the Take Shape For Life program. Forty days! I will be honest...there are not a lot of things I have stuck to for forty days. I am beyond thrilled and cannot wait to continue on this journey toward losing weight and getting healthy.

And it is only by the grace of God that I have even made it this far. I could never have done this by my own will...I would have eaten a dozen cupcakes by the second day. But with Christ, I am strong. He gives me the strength to say no to those temptations and keep fighting each day.

If any of you are interested in starting this program, click here. :)

Breakfast
I am off work for the rest of the week, so I slept in a bit this morning. When I did wake up, I made myself a dark chocolate shake. I love having the shakes first thing in the morning...they get me going.

Morning Snack
After breakfast, I cleaned, cleaned, cleaned...my room, not the house. My sister was here as well, so we cleaned up our room and then went to the store together. Once we returned, I ate a chocolate crunch bar while reading the latest Rachel Ray Magazine.

Lunch
I made something different for lunch. Since it is Thanksgiving week, I wanted to stray a bit from my mundane salads and try out some new recipes...especially since I have the time. So today, I made some turnip fries and paired it with a protein chicken burger topped with a little bit of light cheese. Delish! I have actually never had turnips before today, but they were pretty good and really close to potatoes in texture. Keep a lookout...I will post the recipe soon.

Afternoon Snack
Lunch kept me quite full, so I wasn't all too hungry for an afternoon snack. But, I still had one. I ate the honey mustard pretzels along with some water. There aren't that many pretzel bites in a bag, so it was a perfect amount that kept me satisfied for the next couple hours.

Dinner
I had to bring dinner with me to church, so I just a made a coffee milkshake. It was easy to take and drink...plus it was delicious. It was actually sitting around for over an hour and it was still icy cold when I drank it! Love this stainless steel cup. You can buy it here. It is actually 30% off right now too!

Dessert
After we got home from church, I ate a blueberry soft bake. I followed the new instructions that came with the new box and it came out so much better! No overflowing...only because I cooked it in a cup. :P

Well, that is all I have for today. If you can, please keep my dad in prayer. He injured his knee and is in constant pain. Just pray for the Lord's will to be done and that the Lord would give the doctors wisdom on what to do next. Thank you!

xoxo,
Toni

day thirty-seven...from the rising to the setting sun

So today I watched the sun rise and the sun set...meaning I have been up since 5am. Today we had a warehouse sale at my church and it was crazy busy all day long. My mom and I were non-stop from about 8am to 3pm. It was tough, but fun. Despite all the madness going on, I still managed to eat all of my Medifast meals and my lean and green meal for the day. There were times when I had to sneak a bite in between helping customers, but it all worked out.

Breakfast
I ate breakfast around 6am. I wasn't all that hungry, but I knew I had to eat. So I made myself a quick chocolate chip pancake muffin to take with me and eat on the go.

Morning Snack
For my morning snack, I had a strawberry shake. I totally spaced and forgot to take a picture of it. It was right when we opened the sale and things were crazy. I was only able to take sips in between helping customers.

Lunch
We were still busy at lunch, but I was able to sneak in a time to make a chai latte. I just added some hot water and stirred. It was perfect to have a drink at this point...a lot easier to drink than eat. ;)

Thought I would share a cute picture from the sale...this is The Bear Hug Band! It was so precious to see the kids dancing around to the music while their parents shopped. So, many thanks to The Bear Hug Band! I am sure the parents thank you too for keeping their children occupied while they got some shopping done distraction free. ;)

Afternoon Snack
As we were nearing the end of the sale, things were slowing down and I was able to eat a chocolate crunch bar. Once again though, I was eating it intermittently while helping people. But it all worked out. There were only a couple times people caught me with my mouth full. Whoops!

Afternoon Snack #2
I ate my second snack while cleaning up. I was so hungry I just devoured my bag of cheese pizza bites. By the time I was more than halfway through the bag I realized I didn't snap a picture of it! I am just all off today. Oh well...next time.

Dinner
I had my lean and green meal for dinner...and my goodness it was delicious! I was thinking of something for Thanksgiving that I could make that was TSFL approved. Now, I don't like turkey (I know I am weird), so I thought...what else goes with Thanksgiving dinner? Well, casserole does! So I made a broccoli and cheese casserole. This is one of the best things I have ever eaten! Click here for the recipe. This is comfort food at its finest.

Well, I am off to drink an espresso because it is going to be a late night for me. My friends and I are going to watch the Hunger Games: Catching Fire. So excited!

 Have a good night, my friends!

xoxo,
Toni

day thirty-six...friday favs and week five weigh-in

Is it just me or are you a little anxious on your weigh-in day? I just keep thinking...well, I did everything I could, so let's see what happens. Well, I will tell you what happened this morning...not now, but in a little bit. :)

So today I am eating all my favorite meals. It's Friday...and, I had a good weigh in, so why not?

There are days when you just need to "splurge"...in a healthy way, of course...and today is that day. All my splurge foods are of the Medifast kind, but they are all my favorites. It's Friday favorites day! Who knows...maybe I will do this every Friday.

Breakfast
This morning I had a vanilla pumpkin shake. How exactly did I do that? Well, I mixed the vanilla shake mix with some capella pumpkin drops. Every sip tasted like fall...and Thanksgiving! Can you believe Thanksgiving is in less than a week?! So crazy! How is this my favorite? Well...I love the vanilla shakes, but as you may have remembered, pumpkin is my all time favorite fall flavor. So making a pumpkin shake that I can actually have is like a dream come true!

Morning Snack
My favorite morning snack is the calorie burn cappuccino. It has the perfect amount of sweetness and leaves you feeling full for the rest of the morning. Words cannot explain how delicoius and creamy this cappuccino was today. I could literally have this every single morning...maybe I should... ;) PS...isn't that cup just the cutest! I got it from Starbucks...here is the link to buy it...but it looks like it may be sold out right now.

Lunch
I went out to lunch today with some dear friends. It was a sweet time of fellowship and much needed girl time. :) I went to GreenLeaf Chopshop and ordered the "build your own hot entree". Basically you get a piece of meat with a choice of two sides. For my meat, I went with the flat iron steak. I don't think I have had red meat since starting the Take Shape For Life program, so I thought I would "splurge". Steak is one of my all-time favorite meats. For my two sides, I ordered the Tuscan kale salad (basically just kale, shaved pecorino romano, lemon juice, and olive oil),  and the green beans and shallots. Everything was so delicious! The meat just melted in my mouth. Definitely a special treat for today.

If you are ever in the Costa Mesa area, I would highly suggest you try this place out. Click here to find a location near you. I went to the one at SOCO...just fyi. :)

Afternoon Snack
So continuing with my Friday favorites theme, I decided to eat my favorite snack...the brown sugar cereal crunch. These always remind me of french toast for some reason. I have mentioned before how much I enjoy cereal, so these satisfy my craving completely.

Look at this sky! So gorgeous seeing this driving home from work.

Dinner
After coming home from work, I was going to have a smores crunch bar, but I decided to make myself a milkshake instead. A peanut butter one to be exact. My favorite dessert turned dinner ever!

Dessert
On my way to church I ate a s'mores crunch bar. It was quick and easy to eat. It also ended my night with a smile...this is my favorite bar, so of course I smiled in delight. :) I cut it into little pieces so it would be easier to eat during church.

Weight Update
Okay, so you ready for my weigh-in news? Well...I lost another three pounds! I was shocked when I saw the number on the scale. I actually weighed myself three more times...just to make sure. So as of this morning, my weight is 147.2. It seems so surreal that I have lost 19 pounds in only five weeks! Take Shape For Life is the best thing that has ever happened to me...besides being saved and going to Heaven. ;)

I highly encourage you to look into this program. Start now or after the holidays, just do it! I am a living example that if you follow the program, you will lose weight. It's that simple. And I honestly don't work out all that much and I am still losing weight. What do you have to lose trying it?

xoxo,
Toni

day thirty-three...the great pumpkin

Thanksgiving is quickly coming up and surprise...pumpkin is everywhere. It seems like everything has pumpkin in it. For some, this is not a problem...but for me, it is...or at least used to be.

I love all things pumpkin...pumpkin bread, muffins, pie, pancakes, scones (my all time favorite), lattes, you name it. Even this year, before I started Medifast, I was eating everything out there! Now, I am able to say no and instead eat my own Medifast approved snack.

If I can resist the pumpkin temptation, so can you. Seriously, I am the biggest pumpkin fan out there (ask my family), and I am, by the beautiful grace of God, able to easily say no to all things pumpkin. It just ain't worth it. So this Thanksgiving, say no that pumpkin pie and instead whip up a pumpkin shake using a french vanilla shake packet and a few drops of the Capella Pumpkin Flavor drops. Chances are, people will want what you are having instead of that pie. ;)

Breakfast
Had a strawberry shake this morning and it was goooood. I am really liking everything lately. Love it!

Morning Snack
A couple hours after breakfast I had a chai latte. It was cloudy and cold at the time and it warmed my shivering body. The drink is a tad powdery even after you mix it, but still delicious. A wonderful alternative to a fat laden chai tea latte, which is also loaded with sugar.

Lunch
I am so predictable when it comes to my lean and green lunches...today I had the same romaine salad but topped it with a vegetable burger (chopped up) from Trader Joes. It sort of tasted like an egg roll for some reason. That's a good thing...the egg roll taste. At least to me it is.

Afternoon Snack
For my snack this afternoon I finally finished up the bbq bites from my last order. I didn't order more, so these were officially my last ones.

Workout
I think I am going to be working out after work. It is so hard for me to get up in the morning let alone having to get up and workout. So, today after work I did a 30 minute toning workout. I used the workouts from one of the SHAPE DVD's. I love it. The moves are simple, but it still works your muscles and let me tell you...you will feel it the next day. That's a promise. ;)

Dinner
After my workout I made some macaroni and cheese, and I didn't overflow it! All that cheesy goodness (thankfully) stayed inside the mug. I apologize because there is just no way to snap a flattering picture of this meal, but here it is.

Dessert
I had to eat dessert in church again...but it was a smores crunch bar so I was okay with crunching a little bit. And yes...that is the smores bar hiding in my purse. I tried to be discreet. ;)

Besides my pumpkin rant, today was a good day! I am thrilled to see what tomorrow brings...it's Wednesday! I love Wednesdays. Why? Well, I love going to church on Wednesday nights and I am also halfway through the week! Plus...I hear rain is coming!!!

xoxo,
Toni