Health & Hotness

Top o the mornin to ya lassies!

2010-03-17T07:42:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patty's Day!!

I kicked off the day on the right foot with a GREEN smoothie. Yum! My blender tends to go into hibernation during the winter months, but now that it is (almost) spring, I think it's time to reintroduce this guy to the other kitchen appliances. ;)

I got my smoothie recipe out of an Oxygen magazine (GREAT magazine) and it was everything I could've hoped for.

It had ice, skim milk, chocolate protein powder, nanner, natural PB, coffee and a dash of vanilla extract. I add a handful of spinach to make it green (and extra nutritious:)). I shared half (minus the coffee) with Carter. He gave it two green thumbs up.

Rewinding back to yesterday, I made Orange Chicken for dinner. Since I worked last night, I cheated and used the Wanchai Ferry Orange Chicken.

It turned out really good! My 3 year old LOVED it. That's a successful dinner in my book! I steamed up some broccoli and wa la! Dinner is served.

I was half running out the door while I scarfed my dinner, so I forgot to take a picture. Thankfully my sweet hubby took a picture of his. My portion was about half of what he has and 2x as much broccoli. ;)

The boys are watching Go, Digeo, Go so I actually got to blog uninterrupted this morning. I kinda liked it! haha.

I've got a ton of stuff on my to-do list today, so I'm gonna run for now. See ya later for a lunch post!

Hugs,

Laura

Question: Any fun St. Patty's Day plans?

Workout High

2010-03-16T12:04:00.000-07:00

There is nothing like the feeling after completing tough workout! I was a sweaty beast after I finished Burn Fat, Boost Metabolism. I thought I was going to die at a couple points, ha but I pushed through and finished strong. Whew. If my 3 year old hadn't been watching me suffer from the comfort of the couch I probably would've been cursing the whole time. I refrained though and just silently cursed in my head ;)

Lunch was this beauty...

I love Amy's products! I know it doesn't look very appetizing..but trust me, it rocked my face :) I also sipped one of these guys...

This is the only flavor that doesn't taste like death. I think I might actually love it. It almost tasted like sparkling wine. Well at least that's what I kept telling myself as I drank it. ;)

Sorry for such a short post, but I got 2 hungry kiddies that are getting fiesty on me. I'll catch ya later!!

Hugs,

Laura

Question: Have you tried Kombucha? Love it or Hate it? Favorite flavors? I've tried a few of the other flavors, but Grape is the only one that I can drink with out dry heaving, haha.

Bleary Eyed Tuesday

2010-03-16T08:52:00.000-07:00

Whew, I don't know about you guys but this time change is killing me in the morning! I've been waking up feeling so off. Hopefully the internal clock catches up quick! :) But it's nothing a ~~couple~~ cup of coffee can't fix!

I didn't end up going to the gym last night. Instead I spent it snuggled with the hubby on the couch watching 24. I think I made the right decision ;)

Last night's dinner was Chicken Parm from You've Got Supper and a mixed greens salad with Annie's Goddess dressing. I adore this website. Everything I've made from them has been so good! They even have a weekly dinner plans with an organized grocery list. They do all the work for you. So if you're in a dinner rut or just looking for some new (really good!) recipes, this is the place to go.

Brekkie was a repeat of yesterday. Sorry to be boring, but it was just so darn good :) I've already got something different planned for tomorrow's breakfast, so no worries, I won't make you look at my veggie egg scramble again. ;) This time though, I did remember the feta. It was glorious.

I also munched 1/2 an Ezekiel english muffin with a smidge of Smart Balance and Polaner.

I'm starting the Fitnessista's Summer Shape Up from last year. I was preggo when she did it last year, so I'm going to do it this year. I'm excited to get started! Well I'm off to do Day 1 of the plan which is 30 minutes of cardio. I'm going to pop in Jillians Burn Fat, Boost Metabolism DVD because I'm not going to be able to get to the gym today since I work tonight.

Hope you loves have a great day!! :)

Hugs,

Laura

I'm back & better than ever!

2010-03-15T15:01:00.000-07:00

Haha :) Well I am back, but you can be the judge of whether or not I'm "better than ever!" ;)

So sorry for falling off the face of the planet on you guys! Life just got a little crazy and the bloggy was pushed to the back burner. But I'm looking forward to starting back up with it again!

A few weeks back I treated myself to Jillian's workout DVDs (30 Day Shred, No More Trouble Zones and Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism).

I'm in love ya'll. Seriously. I've never gotten such a great workout from a fitness DVD. I'm literally dripping in sweat after I'm finished. LOVE IT! :) So of course today I got my workout on with the No More Trouble Zones DVD. I'm hoping to hit up the apartment gym when the hubby gets home from work to get some cardio in. We shall see!

Breakfast was glorious today. I sauteed some mushrooms and spinach in coconut oil and then added 3 egg whites and 1 whole egg. I was planning on adding some crumbled feta to the mix, but I totally forgot. No matter though, because it was still awesome without :)

Lunch was deli buffalo chicken & slice of munster on millet bread, a handful of Food Should Taste Good chips (I've tried the Sweet Potato and The Works- both are excellent!) and a few strawberries. Yum :)

It's been a kind of gloomy, chilly day outside. I don't know about you guys, but days like this bring out the Betty Crocker in me. I got my baking pants on and made some amazing banana bread.

A couple weeks back I had some seriously overripe bananas. I decided to make some nanner bread but I was out of eggs and butter so I did what any expert chef does. I googled how to make vegan banana bread. ha :) I read through a few different recipes and then I got daring and decided to create my own. Surprisingly, it ended up turning out great! So I thought I'd share it with you guys. Let me know if you try it! :)

Heath & Hotness Nanner Bread

* 1 1/2 Cups flour (I used white, but I'd like to try it with Spelt or half ww flour and half white)

* 1 Cup Organic Sucanat

* 2 1/2 Tablespoons of Organic coconut oil

* 3 large ripe bananas

* 1 tsp of baking soda

* 1/4 tsp of sea salt

* 1 Tablespoon of vanilla extract

1.) Preheat oven to 325 degrees

2.) Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well

3.) Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray and pour in batter.

4.) Bake at 325 for 45-55 minutes

I hope you give it a try the next time you make banana bread :) Please let me know if you do and how it turned out.

Alright bloggy's I'm off to start dinner! See you soon :)

Hugs,

Laura

I'm still here!

2010-01-26T10:50:00.001-08:00

Hey guys!

Sorry I've been MIA the past few days. It's been a little crazy around here. Normal blogging should resume tomorrow! Pinky swear! :) Hope you all are having a great Tuesday!

Hugs,

Laura

Saturday Shenanigans

2010-01-23T14:07:00.000-08:00

Hey guys!

We ended up going to the mall today b/c we had some gift cards burning a hole in our pockets. I made out pretty good. I got 3 sweaters and a long sleeve shirt for $50. All the winter stuff is so cheap now!! Crazy. Now I'm on a mission to find some jeans.

We worked up an appetite after all that shopping so we grabbed some Chickfila at the food court. Chickfila has a lot of great healthier options, especially for a fast food place. I got the Chargrilled Chicken sandwich, a side salad and a diet lemonade. Yummy in my tummy :)

Our mall has an indoor putt putt course, so we took Carter for his first game of miniature golf. He LOVED it.

He actually got a hole in one on one of the courses. He was so proud of himself! I have a feeling we'll be frequenting this place often. :)

I gotta run and start dinner, but I'll be back for a dinner post either tonight or tomorrow morning. Later gaters!

Hugs,

Laura

Morning Sunshine!

2010-01-23T07:20:00.000-08:00

How's everyone's morning going? Good, I hope!

As predicted, last night I ended up re-heating the leftover shrimp pasta for dinner. I steamed some broccoli to go on the side as well. Not to shabby. :)

After putting the kids to bed I did this workout DVD:

I have a few of her workout DVD's (Burn and Firm Pilates, Pick Your Spot Pilates) and I really like them. All of her stuff gets good reviews on Amazon.com. I love reading reviews of stuff on Amazon before buying something. It's kept me from making a few crappy purchases in my time. Anyone else do that?

This morning I switched up my breakfast for ya (finally! right?!) partly due to the fact that we didn't have enough milk left for a bowl of cereal and partly b/c I don't want to bore you to death with my predicatable eats. Your welcome. ;) I scrambled 1 egg and 3 egg whites and a toasted whole wheat english muffin with Naturally More Peanut Butter (good stuff!) and strawberry preserves. I also had a cup of sugar cookie tea.

(ignore the christmas plate)

While I munched breakfast, the boys played on the floor next to me-

Love them :)

Well loveys I gotta hurry and get ready. We're going to the mall a little later and hopefully play some indoor putt-putt. Have a great Saturday!! See you tonight!

Hugs,

Laura

Fill me in: Anybody got fun plans for today??

My husband's a mind reader

2010-01-22T14:17:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday everyone!!

All morning I'd been thinking about how good a Veggie sub would be for lunch. And whadda know, when the Hubby came home for his lunch break he had Subway! I hadn't even said anything to him about my lil craving. I swear he reads my mind sometimes. Love him :)

That's 6in veggie on 9 grain wheat with no cheese and every veggie. Mmm Mmm! While he was home I ran to Kroger to pick up some laundry detergent b/c I've had this massive pile of laundry taunting me the past 2 days and we're running out of stuff to wear. Not good.

It just so happens that other other love of my life (Joe Beans) happens to be on the way to Kroger. Of course I couldn't drive by without saying hello and grabbing my "crack mocha." It was free today b/c my frequent buyer card was all punched (shocking, right?). It always tastes even better when I don't have to pay for it. ;)

The hubby has to work late tonight (boo), so I'll probably ended up eating leftovers from last night and doing a workout video when I put the kids to bed. Tomorrow should be fun though. I think we're going to a take Carter putt-putting for the first time. :) Hope everyone has a great Friday night! (Hopefully a little more exciting than mine! ha)

Hugs,

Laura

Winner Winner Shrimpie Dinner

2010-01-22T07:46:00.000-08:00

Hey Heyyy!

How's everyone's Thursday night going? Only one more day til the weekend! WOo! Dinner tonight was pretty awesome. It was quick, easy and delicious- the 3 things I look for most when it comes to making dinner. We desperately need to do a big grocery shop in our household, so I didn't have many options to work with. I dug through the pantry and freezer and grabbed some frozen shrimpies, feta, a can of diced Italian tomatoes and a box of whole wheat linguine and then tossed it all together. Deeelish. Here's what you'll need:

- 6 oz of feta (or to your liking)

- box of whole wheat linguine

- bag of frozen shrimpies, thawed

- 3 tsp of minced garlis

- 1/4 c white wine

- 2 T of EVOO

- 1 can of Italian diced tomatoes

1.) Cook pasta according to package directions.

2.) While the pasta is cooking, add 1 T of EVOO, 3 Tsp of minced garlic, 1/4 c of white wine and thawed shrimpies to a pan. Cook until the shrimp are pink (it should only take a few minutes). Set aside until pasta is done cooking.

3.) Drain pasta. I always add a little butter to the hot pasta, but that's totally optional. Now add the shrimp mixture, feta and diced tomatoes to the pasta. Toss everything together.

4.) Enjoy! What'd I tell ya? Simple, quick and Deelish!

My bowl:

I may or may not have gone back for another bite... or three ;)

After putting the kids to bed, I got my workout on with Ellen Barrett's Super Slimdown DVD. Good stuff! It's a yoga/pilates fusion and I always get a good workout from it. Has anyone done P90X? The hubby and I know a lot of people who are trying it and we're thinking about possible doing it together. I think it could be kind of fun doing something like that together. If any of you have done it or know anyone whose tried let me know what you think. I hear it's pretty hardcore!

The hubby and I watched The Office (love that show!) and I sipped on a mug of hot cocoa.

Not a bad way to spend the evening :) See you guys tomorrow!! Have a great night!

Hugs,

Laura

I like it hott...

2010-01-21T11:43:00.000-08:00

My chili that is. ;) This is going to be a boring post b/c my meals today have just been a bunch of repeats. I promise I'll eat something different for breakfast tomorrow :)

My predictable breakfast:

Lunch was a bowl of leftover White Bean Chicken Chili with a dollop of lite sour cream. Mmmm, so so good! Chili always tastes better the next day, don't ya think? I also had a slice of Ezekiel with Smart Balance buttah, but I wolfed it down before I even thought to take a picture. Sorry my mouth was on fiiii-yaah.

The hubby came home for lunch so I quick ran out and grabbed myself some much needed caffeine- a Grande Iced Nonfat Sugarfree White Chocolate Mocha w/ Sugarfree Whip (yea it's a mouthful to say!) from Joe Beans.

OH.MY.GAWWSH. You guys, I'm literally addicted to these things. They are so good. My hubby jokingly calls them my "crack mochas." ha :) Joe Beans is this great little drive thru coffee place here Lynchburg. Which brings me to the second reason I adore them- the drive-thru. There's no need to schlep the kids out of the car, wait in line, order, wait for my drink, get the kids back in the car. I know there are some Starbucks that have drive-thrus, but (don't stone me here!) I'm not a big fan of Starbucks. There I said. I just feel like I can get better coffee, cheaper elsewhere (like Joe Beans ;)). I hope we can still be friends :) ha

Alrighty, I'm off to get some stuff done and possible munch some of this-

whilst I do so :) Hope you're all having a great one!! See ya later!

Hugs,

Laura

Fill me in: Are you a Starbucks fan or is there another coffee place that holds your heart?

It's raining, it's pouring the old man is snoring

2010-01-20T14:47:00.000-08:00

Hey loveys!

How's everyone's afternoon going? I've been out running errands all day with the kids and of course the day I need to do all this stuff it's raining buckets outside. My poor kids. They were such troopers though. :) Our playdate was rescheduled for tomorrow, but I took Carter anyways just so he could run off some energy. He had a blasty. Afterwards we ran to Walmart and got some stuff for dinner tonight- White Chicken Chili. Something about cold, rainy days just demands a nice hot bowl of chili. I got this recipe from AllRecipes.com. It's a great site and I frequent it often for dinner ideas. I modified a few things, but here's the recipe:

White Bean Chicken Chili (allrecipes.com)

(this picture doesn't do it justice!)

- 2 T. EVOO

- Shredded rotissere chicken (I don't really have a measurement, I just throw it in until it looks about right)

- 1 onion, diced

- 1 tsp of minced garlic

- 14 oz can of chicken broth

- 1 bottle of salsa verde

- 7 oz can of diced green chiles

- 2 cans of diced tomatoes w/ chilis

- 1 can of corn

- 15 oz can of white beans

- S&P to taste

1. Heat oil and saute onions and garlic til soft.

2. In a large soup pot stir in broth, salsa verde, diced tomatoes, chilis and onion and garlic. Bring to a boil, then simmer 10 minutes.

3. Add corn, chicken and beans. I let it simmer on low until dinner- usually about an hour or so.

4. Top with lite sour cream and shredded cheese.

Let me know if any of you try it! :) I gotta run and pick up the hubby from work. Have a great night!!

Hugs,

Laura

It's Humpday!

2010-01-20T07:25:00.000-08:00

Happy Wednesday chicas!

I woke up this morning to the sound of Carter munching crackers in my bed and Brady blowing raspberries on the window next to our bed. Who needs alarm clocks when you've got that?! After that lovely morning wake-up we had a quick breakfast. I had a repeat of yesterday's (Cheerios, Kashi Toasted Berry Crumble and sliced nanner) because it was so dang delish.

Instead of showing you a repeat pic of yesterday's breakfast here's a picture of my two munchkins. The first one is of Brady. His new thing is playing peek-a-boo with his pants :) Let's just hope this is a cute baby phase and doesn't carry over into highschool ;) The second is of Carter. He's obsessed with anything fire and rescue. In this picture he is wearing his halloween costume from last year. Let's just say I've gotten my money's worth and then some! He wears it EVERYWHERE!

Later today we're meeting my friend Natalie and her two boys at this place called Kids Cove. It's a huge indoor playplace and it's FREE! Music to any mom's ears! :) I don't know if I mentioned this but we just recently moved to Lynchburg, VA from Michigan. My husband and I both went to school here in Lynchburg (Liberty University), but after we got married he got a job in Michigan. He's originally from Michigan, so it was nice go back to his hometown and spend some time with his family (who I adore). I'm happy to be back in Virginia though. It just feels like home, ya know? :)

I'm off for now. Gotta get showered and ready to go. I'll see you this afternoon with a lunch and Kids Cove recap :) Have a good one!

Hugs,

Laura

Afternoon Miracle

2010-01-19T14:02:00.000-08:00

I just put my little nuggets down for a nap. Both of them at the same time. (Cue choir of angels) This rarely happens in our household, so when it does I embrace- by doing absolutely nothing. I know I should use this time to pop in a workout DVD, but somehow my DVR always wins. Shocking, right? ;) Right now I'm munching Mary's Crack (as it's so fondly called in the blogworld) and hummus while catching up on Desperate Housewives reruns. Glorious :)

Not a bad way to spend an afternoon, eh? :)

Before all this craziness went down, I had a pretty decent lunch. Nothing epic, but it got the job done.

Morningstar Veggie Burger on a Sandwich thin w/ lettuce and a smear of cream cheese.

Clementine on the side. Yum. I love these lil guys!

I've got a ginormous pile of laundry to tackle and dinner to think about, so I'll see you all tonight!

Hugs,

Laura

Fill me in: What t.v. show can you absolutely not miss? For me it's definitely 24 and The Office.

Quickie

2010-01-19T09:34:00.000-08:00

This is going to be a quickie post. To recap, last night the hubby worked late, which means I was lazy with dinner. I pretty much ruined my appetite by snacking on goldfish crackers all day. So I made myself a PB&J on whole wheat (sorry, I totally spaced on taking a pic) and made Carter and my hubby grilled chicken and green beans. I had to run out to Target and get formula last night and while I was there I saw this glorious hunka love:

I know!! It just doesn't get much better than dark chocolate and caramel. It took everything within me not to devour this entire bar. I had 3 squares. And they were DIVINE!! After putting the kiddies to bed, we caught up on our DVRed episodes of 24. I adore this show, so much so that I wanted to name our second child Jack. I know, i know. Unfortunately, it was vetoed. ha

Breakfast was another find from my trip to Tar-jay. A new Kashi cereal, Toasted Berry Crumble. I mixed it with Cheerios and sliced banana. Amazing combination! Definitely give it a try!

Kashi GOLEAN Crisp! Toasted Berry Crumble

YUM!

It's 60 degrees here (glorious!), so I'm thinking about taking the boys to the park. I'll see you lovelies later this afternoon for a lunch re-cap! Hope you're all having a wonderful day!

Hugs,

Laura

Hello Blogworld, It's me Laura!

2010-01-18T11:56:00.000-08:00

Hey there! Welcome to my little bloggy! Before we get into the good eats for the day, I should probably tell you a little about myself. I'm 24 and married to my best friend. We have 2 adorable boys Carter, 3 and Brady 10 months. I'm passionate about all things health and fitness (there's just nothing better than the feeling you get after a good, sweaty workout! Can I get an amen?! :)). I'm lucky to have a hubby who feels the same way. That being said, as of late, more specifically after I had my second baby, I started slacking a bit on the health and fitness front. And I've gained some poundage. I know I'm past the point where I can blame it on post-pregnancy weight. It's been 10 months! It's just pure laziness on my part and I'm ready for a change! :) It's a new year and what better time to make some changes than the start of 2010? My mantra for this year is Hardwork + Dedication = Health and Hotness.

Alrighty, on to today's eats, thus far:

Breakfast: WW english muffin w/ 2 egg whites and a slice of cheese

Snackie: Cookie Dough Balance Bar

Lunch: Organic spring mix, sliced strawberries, feta, rotissere chicken & a drizzle of vidalia onion dressing

I also had 2 chocolate kisses, but I gobbled them up before I could take a picture. :)

Well, I'm off to feed the baby and then play Memory with Carter. Anyone ever play that game as a kid? Carter is obsessed! We play at least 3 or 4 times a day. I still need to figure out what to make for dinner! ha Any ideas?

Check it out: Carrots N Cake (www.carrotsncake.com) was one of the first blogs I ever read and to this day it's one of my favorites. I think Tina has an amazing approach to living a healthy, balanced lifestyle. Check out her Lose the Dough plan that she just posted today. It's really great!