Halloween!

I cannot believe that Halloween has come and gone! It was one of the first years that I havent dressed up or gone out, but it was a lot of fun! I had originally made a complete Halloween themed day of snacks, but we ended up changing it up and just kind of going by what we were craving. We also stopped by a local liquor store and found some fun pumpkin beer which was exciting! IT was also funny because a lady in there asked which beer is best for sitting on the porch and scaring little kids! Haha, I wouldnt want to visit that ladies house! We snacked all day and watched some scary movies at night. We made it through The Shining and Halloween before watching the Seinfeld series finale, at which point I was pretty much dead asleep. These days not much can keep me up past 11, its pretty sad actually.

In the middle of the day we were cooking and Adam was cleaning up a bit when he found a snake curled up under a plate on his dining room table! It was one of the scariest things Ive experienced in a while even though I didnt even see it. He managed to pick it up by its tail and took it outside, where his neighbor chopped it with a machete. Thank goodness, I did not want that thing alive. It was our trick for this season, instead of a black cat we came across a black snake! UGH!

Our menu for the day was mummy dogs, homemade mozzerella sticks, jalapeno dip, mini strombolis, wings, veggies and dip, and cup-o-dirt.

We had a few groups of trick or treaters at Adams. He always buys the big size candy bars, he likes to be the favorite house! There were only a few greedy kids who tried to raid the bowl as I held it, I had to slap one girls hand away! And the older kids just came in regular clothes. But we still had a good amount of backup candy at the end of the night.

Meal Plan

This past week I only had to make dinner one time, because it's been a pretty hectic week in terms of nighttime happenings. I actually kind of enjoyed the week off because it gave me time to gather lots of new dinner recipes and ideas. I am trying out one of my moms recipes this Sunday, which will be the hardest that I have attempted thus far, because it is something that I have eaten many times and have high expectations for. And then I have one made up recipe that I want to try....although I have no idea how it will turn out and can just hope for the best. If it's awful, there's always takeout!


Friday: Shrimp and Tofu Pad Thai with Shrimp Potstickers
Saturday: Out to Bahama Breeze for Kellys 30th Birthday
Sunday: Moms Chicken Pot Pie and Homemade Biscuits (theres nothing healthy about this)
Monday: Leftovers
Tuesday: Sweet and Sour Chicken, baked, with carrots and snow peas. Served with some brown rice.
Wednesday:Loaded Potatoes (hey, they're from Eating Well) with Parmesean Tomatoes and a Salad
Thursday: Baked Chicken with an apple/onion sautee and cheddar slice melted on top, served with sweet potato wedges

Theres no turning back

So, today I officially signed up for my 5 Mile race. Theres no going back, I have to do it(Im $22 in)! I am really hoping that my legs are feeling better soon. I know that if they werent hurting I could definitely run it with no problem, but right now Im just in pain. I took yesterday and today off so they can rest up and hope that tomorrow they'll be ready to go.

Now that I have fulfilled my chinese craving (and cant wait for my lunch leftovers), I had a clear head to plan out this coming weeks meals. When I put on my jeans this morning I noticed a slight difference, and that makes it all even more worth it! This weekend I plan on making my own pumpkin puree since there is a shortage of the canned stuff here, which is so crazy. Then Ill be able to make my truffles and we will continue icing our Halloween cookies. Yum!
Monday: Fish Tacos with tilapia and peppers, Big Salad with salsa/ff sour cream mix for dressing
Tuesday: Chicken Parm Burgers with ground chicken on 100 calorie whole wheat buns served with salad and ff caesar dressing
Wednesday: going to the Magic game! Ill try to be good.....
Thursday: Shrimp Salad with roasted asparagus and broccoli - somethign easy since we will probably go to HHN
Lots of veggies, so we will definitely be hitting the farmers market tomorrow.

It's my favorite day of the week!

Another Friday is here!! Plus, its the last weekend of September so Halloween is literally right around the corner. How Exciting! I bought some gourds and Halloween coasters that I can finally break out. And I hope that it will start to get cooler.

This morning I went to get breakfast from the place in our building and to my surprise a nice guy was there that I think would be really perfect for Erin so I have a matchmaking task on my to-do list!

I'm also thankful its Friday because that is my one rest day, and my body is wanting it badly. I've been doing really well at the gym, going everyday, but sometimes you just need a break. My legs are exhausted, so I will be back at it tomorrow. Even though they will get some work done tonight at HALLOWEEN HORROR NIGHTS!! Yay, it's my first time going and I cannot wait!

Last night I attempted a garlic glaze for chicken and it was pretty much a bust. It was supposed to reduce into a syrup but instead the rice wine vinegar was just evaporating away and I was left with a small amount of liquid and lots of red pepper flakes and minced garlic. Not what I had been expecting, although it still had a decent and very spicy flavor. Next week I think that I have a pretty good menu planned out, and since Adam is gone tuesday night for his fancy new meeting with his new boss I will be turning his kitchen into a candy shop and making lots of pumpkin truffles.

Sunday is football day so I will make Pumpkin Pankcakes with Egg whites and Turkey Sausage, then we are going out to watch the games so Im sure we will snack and have a beer.
Monday: Turkey Burger stuffed with red fat mozzerella and spinach, served with a red fat mayo-basil spread and baked sweet potato fries
Tuesday: Mexcian Chicken while I slave away with the truffles. Baked chicken breast with salsa and fat free cheddar on top
Wednesday: Pan seared garlic shrimp, asparagus, tomato Pasta
Thursday: Chicken marinated in herbs and stuffed with laughing cow light cheese wedge, served with steamed broccoli

The following week I plan on attempting my first chicken crockpot dinner. It just sounds so easy that I need to give it a whirl! And I need to have some stuffed shells soon......because they are by far the best cool weather food dish out there.

It's Friday!

Friday is here! This week has flown by and I'm so excited that I can sleep in tomorrow. Adam is out of town so I'm on my own for food. I should do pretty well and will only splurge on saturday night, but I am factoring those calories into my days. Since sunday I wont be overindulging on football fare, I am making footbally food for Mondays dinner and the game. Friday we will be going to the first night of Halloween Horror Nights so we will probably use a gift certificate for the italian place by work before we head off for that. The other nights will go something like:

Monday: Buffalo Chicken and BBQ Chicken Quesadillas using high fiber 70 calorie tortillas, rf cheese and ff ranch with a big salad
Tuesday: Tuna casserole using low sodium cream of mushroom and only making a small portion
Wednesday: BBQ Chicken Salad WW recipe which actually has no bbq sauce in it so I will use a small amount in the dressing
Thursday: Baked chicken with roasted carrots, red potatoes and sweet potato(left over from this week)

So tomorrow I will hit the farmers market to get all I need. I'm so glad I made it onto week 3! I actually did step on the scale last night. I am only 2-3 pounds over what I was before which isnt bad, but I feel like its more than that. Maybe I will be able to get to my goal weight I was aiming for back in the summer.

Diet

Starting Tuesday of this week I began my diet and started to pay attention again to what I'm putting in my body. Adam is jumping on board too since his knee surgery is coming up in November and he won't be able to workout for a good month at least. I discovered a really great blog that has WW points by each recipe. I think this is a good way to gauge your food, even if you arent on the WW plan. I have written out a meal plan for next week and will not let myself stray from it! Sunday is football day so we are allowed to splurge, and with some wine and apps tonight, but I worked those calories into my day and am not going to go over my limit. With a partner to keep motivated this should be a little bit easier than going it alone, at least I hope it is. I really want a pair of those new GAP jeans and so when I fit into them nicely I will allow myself a pair. Plus, christmas time is notorious for pictures and I would like to look nice in them this year.
I was proud of myself this morning, all I wanted was a breakfast sandwich! I got on my iPhone and googled the calories in both the starbucks lowfat sandwich and the einstein lite sandwich. Both were still too high for what I consider decent morning calories now so I resisted (plus, let's be real. If I went to starbucks I would have also ended up with a pumpkin spice latte, the best fall drink around). I was proud. It was a small step to get where I want to be. I originally planned on running tonight but have to move it to Saturday and Sunday. Next week I will definitely be fitting in a Friday workout (probably my first EVER!).
My meal plan:
Monday: Taco salad with ground turkey and homemade salsa
Tuesday: Salmon, sweet potato and broccoli
Wednesday: Garlic spaghetti with more mushrooms and shrimp than noodles
Thursday: Spicy shrimp fried rice, with leftovers for Friday