I'm outta here!

Just a quick note to all my loyal readers (all three of you)-- we are leaving on vacation first thing tomorrow morning (woo hoo!!!) I won't be blogging because we aren't bringing the laptop, but I will try to do a recap when we get back next weekend. We are bringing a lot of our own food to not only save money, but to save our waistlines and life expectancies as well, so I will have to let you know how it goes.

Sorry I have been a major slacker the past few days, we have just been busy getting ready to go to the happiest place on earth as well as doing a few other things.

So, I've been eating a lot of these:
How do I love thee, yogurt bowl, let me count the ways.

And just trying to make do with what we have. I made whole wheat pasta the other day and added chopped turkey bacon, fresh basil and tomatoes from my friend's garden (ours is pathetic.) It was a great, easy summer meal.
On Saturday we went to the BYU football game in Colorado Springs. We started off the day with blueberry oatmeal to show our school spirit.
And then I made BYU mint brownies to take along with us.
There is nothing remotely healthy about these brownies, but I did eat more than my fair share. All to show my school spirit, of course. It didn't matter in the end because we lost the game. Oh well.

Well, I'm off!! A week of walking, sunshine and excitement awaits me!! We won't mention the stress of flying with four children, meltdowns when said children don't sleep enough and the overpriced, uh, everything. See you on the other side!

Supermom

Oy, this track off may be the death of me yet. While my kids are out of school I feel compelled to provide them with fun, memorable experiences. After all, this is pretty much like a summer vacation for them. However, I feel like I provide them with these experiences at the expense of things that are important to me. I guess that is the dilemma of motherhood.

I did get in 30 minutes on the elliptical this morning. I know, I am totally in a rut, but again, we go back to the fact that my kids are out of school and suddenly my options are severely limited. Thursday is normally my bike riding day, but Audrey won't ride and I seriously doubt any of them could take on the hill of death anyway.
(No, that's not it, but it might as well be.)

I made the kids pineapple broils and yogurt for breakfast. (Well, no, I didn't actually make the yogurt. But I have made my own yogurt before. It involves a heating pad. I'll have to try it again sometime.) Pineapple broils are toasted English Muffins topped with low-fat cottage cheese, crushed pineapple and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Then you broil them.

After breakfast we went out on a little outing and then ran some errands. Snack was a WL shake for me again, and these for the kids. They love them.

Lunch was PB&J on Sandwich thins. I use that Smart Balance peanut butter and spreadable fruit. I also had low-fat cottage cheese for extra protein. It's been a while since I've had PB&J, and I have to say, it is really good.

Now here is where I had to sacrifice. My mom is coming again tonight. If you aren't keeping track, this is the third time in a month--she really loves me. Anyway, I had to clean the house instead of work out. What I should have done was clean the house this morning instead of taking the kids to a farm, but I am SUPERMOM. Hopefully I will get a chance to work out at some point tonight, in between taking kids to and from math class, piano lessons and scouts, going grocery shopping, returning library books, highlighting my hair (I'm going to try to do it myself...wish me luck!) and making dinner. Maybe I will try to do P90x while waiting for my highlights to set.

Snack:

Dinner:

Breakfast burritos made with egg whites and ham chunks on whole wheat tortillas. I put peach salsa that I got at the farmer's market on mine and it tasted weird. Oh well. Now I'm off to save the world...

Side Effects

I took allergy medicine before going to bed last night and it knocked me out! I think I finally woke up (if you could call it that) around 7:00 and even then I could hardly piece two words together to make a sentence. So the kids got cereal for breakfast even though it wasn't a Sunday.

I did the elliptical while they ate and started to come back into reality as the morning progressed. Of course, my allergy symptoms came back, too.

I took the kids to Open Gym at the rec center this morning. I love this and they do too! It is great exercise for them. It is especially valuable in the winter when it is hard to be outside. I had a Weight Loss Shake on the way for my snack. We are out of Greek yogurt (boo) and I am still going strong on my non-shopping week! We came home and the kids had grilled cheese. I grilled up my turkey and cheese as well. And we used up the last of the bread. Never fear, I will figure something out!

I got in a strength training session this afternoon and then we had an early dinner of toasted tuna and cheese, squash (the gift that keeps on giving), green beans fresh from the garden and canned peaches. One of the girls had the audacity to say that she liked the canned peaches better than the ones we got from Ryan's co-worker!!!! Why have I been wasting them on her, then?!

Now the girls are off at gymnastics and Isaac and Ryan are off at soccer--more exercise for all! Lincoln is asleep. I don't know what has been up with him lately but the last few days he has been REALLY cranky! After dealing with him all day, I was glad to put him to bed and come downstairs to this:

A huge fruity protein shake in a bowl with cereal and a Vitatop. The only thing that could have made it any better was some of Rochelle's homemade hot fudge (I can't stop thinking about it) and maybe a few Valium (it's been a long one.)

Didn't stick to the plan.

Well, I gave in to temptation last night. How could Rochelle bring homemade hot fudge to the dessert party and sabotage me like that?! I seem to have fallen into a rut lately. I am getting really good at justifying my choices. "I only had four meals today, so this hot fudge sundae can count as the fifth." Today I wasn't that great either--I ended up tasting some of the leftover Lemon Meringue Pie. Two pieces of it. This is why I never have stuff like this in my house! I have no will power whatsoever. Tomorrow is a new day.

This morning I got up and did elliptical for 30 minutes. Breakfast for the kids was Cream of Wheat, sweetened with Agave Nectar and Truvia. I had the usual. We spent the morning playing at the park and I didn't have lunch until about 1:30 (no snack either!) so I just ate it and didn't take a picture! It wasn't that exciting, though, just a turkey sandwich.

Dinner was burritos. I finished off someone's and ended up just having a yogurt bowl. I should mention that not only do we have a low supply of food because of my no shopping thing this week, but my kids are out of school for the next three weeks, so our schedule is way off and we will be out playing a lot.

I ran on the treadmill for about 15 minutes, then went back to the elliptical for another 15 or so tonight. Then I did some Pilates and Yoga for about 30 minutes.

My allergies have been acting up again today and I am exhausted. Can allergies make you tired?

Labor Day

The kids let us sleep in until 7:30 again this morning! It was nice. Ryan had the day off, so he got the kids brown rice pudding for breakfast while I ran on the treadmill for a little over 30 minutes. I had my normal breakfast, but a little late (around 9 am) because of my work schedule.

It ended up being a moot point because I came home from work early and got to have lunch with the family! The kids had ravioli, cantaloupe and whole grain crackers. I made myself a fish soft taco and also had some cantaloupe. I then did a nice long strength training session.

Today was the first day of "Lindsay not going grocery shopping for the week" and I was happy to find turkey burgers, turkey dogs and whole wheat buns in the freezer. A perfect Labor Day meal--I doubt we will be quite as lucky for the rest of the week...but I do seem to have a lot of stuff stocked up in the freezer, so who knows?!

Now we are on our way to a dessert party with some great friends. This is what we are bringing...
Two Lemon Meringue Pies. At least they aren't chocolate. I don't know for sure what else will be there, though...


I plan on having great will power. That is my plan. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. I will not fail. That is my plan. I will just keep saying this over and over and see if it sticks! I love food. I love dessert. But I hate being fat, so I will just stick to my plan.

Addendum

Um...I ended up just going with the free day theme today. No protein shake. There may have been a few snack sized candy bars involved. And copious amounts of ooey gooey chocolate cake. I'm feeling full.

Back on the wagon tomorrow!

Saturday and Sunday

**I started this post yesterday, Saturday, and I'm just now finishing it...

I took three of the kids on an early morning bike ride before breakfast this morning. Audrey took a nasty spill on her bike at the beginning of the summer and we have yet to coax her back onto it. Ryan and her stayed home and made "egg frames" for breakfast. I ran on the treadmill while they ate. Family bike riding, while great exercise for the kids, has pretty much no cardiovascular benefit for me whatsoever. But it is fun!

We are leaving on vacation in just over a week and I decided to try an experiment--I'm not going shopping this week so we can use up what we have before we leave. So I probably won't be following any of the plans I listed on the sidebar. I will just have to get creative. I hope to make it to Thursday night without shopping. We will see how it goes!

**Now for what I am writing now...
I worked a full day yesterday, going in just after my protein shake at 2:30 and staying until 9:30. I had planned on sub sandwiches for dinner, so that worked well for everyone. I brought Sun Chips along with mine, because there is nothing worse than not having enough food at work--there is NOTHING you can do about it!

Ryan's looks a lot better than mine did...

And now on to Sunday--FREE DAY! I slept in this morning and didn't eat until I got home from church--by then I was famished!! We had grilled Tilapia with brown rice, squash, salad and grilled bread. I ate A LOT. I might have a protein shake later tonight, but that will probably be it for today.
Have a great Labor Day! I'm working tomorrow morning as well, but I look forward to a relaxing afternoon. And then--my kids are out of school for the next three weeks!! So hopefully the stress won't cause me to fall back on my Diet Coke addiction!

Spinach, anyone?

The weather has been incredible the last few days--I just want to be out in it!!

Yesterday I got in an elliptical work out while the kids ate breakfast. Unfortunately that meant I missed my opportunity to take a picture of what they were eating. I made some yummy cinnamon raisin nut bread with yellow squash puree. It was too yummy. I really just need to stop making bread.

Lincoln and I took a bike ride around noon. Yes, it was that nice outside!! I don't know if someone switched the gears on my bike or what, but I really struggled up the big hill. Or maybe I should just blame it on the "cold" weather!

I had the same breakfast, morning snack, lunch and afternoon snack as I did the day before. I get stuck, what can I say? Dinner was Grilled Tuscan Style Chicken and whole wheat garlic toast. It was pretty good. We also had squash and peaches and cantaloupe. Even with the cooler weather, we are eating our summer faves.
I served the chicken with a small bowl of fresh basil on the table. Chloe grabbed the bowl and started unloading it onto her plate. I asked her what she was doing and she said, "I love spinach!!" I said, "That's not spinach, but you can have some if you want." So she filled herself up with raw spinach last night. So did Audrey! That seems like a success, albeit a very strange one.

I am going to work tonight, so I know I won't have time to blog today. I made the kids some "Plum Crumble" for breakfast. I had a bunch of plums that weren't getting eaten and I remembered this recipe I had. I had to modify it a bunch--it was actually meant to be a dessert, but the kids LOVED it and by the time I was through with it, it wasn't all that bad for them!
My day has been typical so far--elliptical in the morning, same old for all my meals, leftovers for lunch and an afternoon strength session. For dinner we are having Egg-cellent Enchiladas--really just breakfast burritos on corn tortillas with avocado slices. It's another busy, busy night at our house!

Just Peachy!

Ryan's co-worker delivered another box of delicious peaches. We are in heaven!! Some people can them. Some dry them. Some bake with them. We just eat them. They will probably be gone by tomorrow.
Yesterday I did the elliptical for at least 30 minutes. I got very caught up in the show I was watching and didn't want to stop until it was over. I rarely watch t.v. unless I am working out. I have been catching up on all the episodes of "Bones." Good show.

I made the kids muesli and I had my usual, with...peaches. Yum. Yes, there is oatmeal under there, somewhere.

For lunch I grilled a chicken breast and had it on a sandwich thin with some light Laughing Cow cheese, avocado, tomato and spinach. Oh, and I had a peach on the side.


This is the aftermath of the after-school snack...


Dinner was simple--our weeknights are so busy dinner has to be quick and easy. The girls snarfed down their Tuna Melts on our way out the door to gymnastics. I used these whole grain English muffins--you could see the seeds and stuff in them. Yum!

For Ryan and I, I use reduced fat pepper jack cheese and add a tomato slice as well.

Work out at the hospital

Yesterday was a busy one and I ended up exhausted! I started off the day on the elliptical.

I made the kids Swedish pancakes with sweet potato puree for breakfast. Then we dropped off 2 at school and 1 at a babysitters and took the remaining child to the Children's Hospital to have a painful procedure performed on her face. The poor dear has warts on her face--and has for years now. We have tried everything. That procedure was a work out in and of itself! It took five of us to hold her down. We all ended up sweating. I'm not exaggerating.

I was starving by the time we got home and also just really tired. I ended up making myself a quick sandwich and dozing on and off for the next few hours until it was time to get the kids from school. I thought I might have been getting sick, but now I wonder if I was just emotionally worn out from the morning we had had.

For dinner I made lettuce wraps and we had fresh fruit on the side.
We had people over after dinner so I was out of time to exercise. Only one work out yesterday :(. You can't win them all.

NOT hungry?!

This morning I ran on the treadmill (my parents left so I have that option again.) I made pumpkin muffins yesterday, so I served the kids those for breakfast along with leftover rice pudding and scrambled eggs. The pumpkin muffins weren't that great--I ran out of sugar, which should be a good thing, since we are trying to avoid it, but really pumpkin muffins need some sort of sweetener. I used some Agave nectar, but apparently not enough! I'm still trying to figure that stuff out. Oh well...

Lincoln and I didn't get to go on our bike ride today--the schedule this week is a little weird because Audrey is getting outpatient surgery tomorrow. Anyway, I was glad I got that running in first thing.

For lunch I had leftover salad, leftover chicken and leftover flatbread.
I did a total body strength session after lunch and drank a lot of water.

Then, for some odd reason, I was simply NOT hungry again until late--like 7:00!! I think it might have been all the water I drank. I ate two pieces of cantaloupe around 5:30 to tide me over while I went grocery shopping. Then I came home and had a nice, big SIAB. I made a peach, pineapple, strawberry, mango, banana, vanilla, spinach protein smoothie and topped it with some various cereals, chopped almonds and chia seeds. It was good and I still feel very full!

Free weekend

Yesterday was technically my free day, but I do feel like it was the end of a free weekend. Ugh.

I started off with my normal oatmeal and egg, but just for a bit of variety I added a little bit of this Kashi cereal to the oatmeal. It was good!
Snacks are always tricky when I have to eat them inconspicuously at church; yesterday I brought these tasty crackers and a light string cheese. Unfortunately, after one bite it became very obvious that the cheese was past it's sell-by date, so one bite is all I had. Yuck.
Lunch was a roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy (I didn't have those), breadsticks (I had too many of those), salad and squash. Too many carbs!! I don't like this Sunday lunch and we have it often. I need to find an alternative.
I made chocolate chip pumpkin bread for choir practice (which I have at my house every Sunday afternoon) and I snacked a bit too much on that (just to make sure it tasted okay...) Then I had a protein shake and Vitatop for dinner. Unfortunately I had those chocolate chips on the brain and kept snacking on those as well. See, what a horrible weekend it has been (food wise!) ?!

I did some Pilates in the evening and then came to my senses and threw the rest of the chocolate chips in the trash. Sianara, temptation! Here's to a perfect day today!!