I did not want to go to the Box.. at all… but I did… and it was hard but a different kind of hard.. after the warmup we did a AMRAP (as many reps as possible) in 10 minutes.. but the movements were all unfamiliar and/or something I feared.. like the stupid “ring row” which is kind of like a very modified pull up… I lean back and support my weight with my arms in an angle with only my heels on the floor.. then situps and I mean ALL the way up.. then girl pushups… and finally kettlebell swings (which I like and felt comfortable with)… I was only through round two in the situps and I could tell I was going to hurt my back because as I got weak I tried to arch my back instead of rounding it and that was NO BUENO… so, no more situps after round two… I finished 4 rounds in 9:59.. but getting up and down off the floor was not pretty… and honestly was pretty embarrassing.. such an easy simple thing for most people.. but it’s a chore at my size. Plus, I kept getting dizzy.. sigh. I did finish though 

… and then I cried.. it was all just overwhelming.. how far I have to go. and my coach said “ya know, every workout can’t be a 10.. and sometimes the hardest part is just showing up and checking the box”.. this is going to be a long journey.. I know that.. I sat there getting my breath back and feeling sorry for myself.. but decided I needed to end this on a success of some kind so, after I rested a bit, I ran up two flights of stairs so I could break my stair record for the day. Then I left the gym. 

148 days til Africa 
60 lb goal with 47lbs to go

Yes, I crave pringles.  Okay, I USED to crave pringles.. since I’ve given up the bulk of processed foods in my diet, my cravings have almost completely been eliminated!  But pringles would be a treat.. and I love to combine pringles with something sweet (that way I make doubly sure it settles on my inner thigh!).  So, I was looking for something to meet that salty, crunch craving and kept reading about Kale Chips on several food blogs – Kale Chips.  Kale, you know, the stiff, green, curly stuff they put on your plate as decoration?  Yeah, you can eat it!  WHO KNEW!  I ran across the following video and decided to massage my way through a bunch of Kale…

Here is my review of what I am calling Kringles (Kale Chips):

• Taste? a bit bitter with a slight aftertaste
• Texture? crunchyyyyy yes buttttt a very thin, airy, light crunch.  Okay, lets say that the crunchiest of crunch is a 10 … celery would be a 10.. and a 1 would beeee.. uhhhh.. a 1 would be Kringles!  They crunch but there’s just not much there.. like crunchy air?.. no, no… a crunchy feather! Just not much substance
• Smell? I did mention bitter right?  Well, the fragrance was the foreplay of the taste.
• Presentation? They look.. green.. but fun.  Their looks didn’t turn me off in anyway.
• Caloric or Nutritional comments? Well, they are a huge bang for your caloric buck.  You can eat the whole darn batch for about 100 calories!  Kale is a great source of vitamins A and C, super Potassium content and not too shabby on the Calcium either.
• Overall Score?  I give this as is a 4.  Mainly because it’s such a nutritious snack.  I will be trying Averie’s recipe for Kringles to see if cashews, bell pepper and nooch(?) can counter some of the bitterness.  Stay tuned!

Oats, apples, cinnamon and almond sauce!

mmmmmmmm Merry Christmas!

Annie

Cukes, Orange and Yellow Bells

I followed her recipe almost exactly…

• 1 zucchini
• 1 red bell pepper (I used a mini size)
• 1 yellow bell pepper (I used a mini size)
• 1/2 cuke (again, I used a mini)

The spiralizer made quick work of turning the zucchini into noodles.

The Dressing was what drew me to this:

Zucchini Noodles

• 2 tbsp peanut butter
• 1 tbsp agave syrup
• 1 tbsp maple syrup (only had sugar free)
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger (didn’t have any, darn it!)
• 1-2 tbsp raw apple cider vinegar (I used 1 tbsp of uhmm regular apple cider vinegar)

Peanut Sauce

I blended using my submersion blender – there just wasn’t enough there for my vita mix to handle (gots to get me a smaller wet container … maybe Christmas??)

Combined all this loveliness and it looked scrumptious!

Thai Peanut Zucchini Noodles

Averie mentioned she didn’t like onions and garlic.  Me?  I love me.. the more the merrier.  This was really good as is but next time I make it (and there will be a next time) I’ll add some chopped onion or maybe a chopped shallot instead.

I was curious about the nutrition of this little dandy… The serving size is HUGE and if you eat the entire thing it’s a bit more than 400 calories, 21.5 grams fat, 52.5 carbs, 9.2 fiber and 13.2 protein.  Not bad? It gets better… it’s got 1600mg of Potassium.. that is 2/3 of what you need for the day.. and wait for it.. waaaait for it… 1100mg of Vitamin C!!  Wow.  (Estimates courtesy of Sparkpeople.com)

Check out Averie’s site – She’s got a giveaway going on for The Amazing Grass Chocolate Green Superfood Combo.  I’ve never tried it but am entering and if I win.. I promise to report back!

Merry Christmas!

Annie

1 C water
1/2 C coconut milk (I don’t have coconut milk so I sub’d water)
1 C oats
pinch of salt
some chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate shavings instead)
some almonds, finely chopped (I toasted these first to bring out the flavor.. yummo)

I added some toasted organic coconut too.. double yummooooo

Bring the water, coconut milk, and salt to a boil. Add oatmeal, stir to mix. When the mixture returns to a boil, throw in the almonds and the chocolate chips Cover the pan and remove it from the heat. Let it sit for 6 to 10 minutes, then serve. [I didn't add the almonds or coconut until it was done.. I like a bit of crunch.]

Almond Joy Oatmeal - yummo!

Thanks for a yummo recipe Katie!

Merry Christmas!

Annie

No Frills but yummy

Not bad for 220 calories…. now, let’s see how long I stay satisfied…

Last night I tried some of HEABs Protein Pancakes… I halved the recipe and added shaved dark chocolate and some ABU!

HEAB'S Protein Pancakes

I am now getting serious about getting healthy.  I say hello to the big FIVE-OH in 121 weeks… that’s 853 days.. I have some things to get done by that deadline.. and I’d better start now… today I will eat healthy, spend 15 minutes outside and come up with my plan for the next 30 days.

When it comes to eating right and exercising, there is no “I’ll start tomorrow.”  Tomorrow is disease.  ~V.L. Allineare

Annie

Creamy Tators

Everyone has their special dish to prepare and I am the “Queen of the Mashed Potatoes”.  So, prior to making the heart breaking decision not to go, I had whipped up 5 pounds of yukon golds.  The secret(s) to creamy tators is keepin’ it REAL… real butter, real cream cheese and real whipping cream.  Uh huh.  No margarine, no ff cream cheese, no skim milk or even half and half.  This is not a time to scrimp on calories.  If you’re gonna do tators – DO ‘EM!  (While I’ve been sick, I’ve been surfing with my laptop in bed and found that Ree of the The Pioneer Woman makes her tators like I do!  Who knew?  Except I use regular salt and whole cream and she uses lawry’s seasoned salt.)  The Pioneer Woman herself is going to be in Ponca City this Saturday for a book signing of her new cookbook… Ponca City isn’t too too far from me and I’m thinking I may go see her.  It would be a first for me.  I did stand in line at midnight for a Harry Potter book (and no I wasn’t the only adult there!) but I’ve never stood in line for an autographed book.  I’m thinkin’ seriously about it.

In the meantime, I’m recuperating.  Hoping to be fever free for 24 hours so I can get out of this house without making anyone else sick.  But just look at who I’ve got to keep me company…. ohhhhhhhh.. smoogy woogy widdle dahlin puppy dawgs… they do not care what I look like, or that sneeze my germs all over them, or that I croak like a frog and cough like a fog horn… they just love me…

Unconditional Love

Happy Thanksgiving,

Annie

First, I tried the Fig and Maple Brussel sprouts from the Zesty Cook.  I followed his recipe pretty darn close… cut the little brussels in half, tossed them with a bit of olive oil, salted them and roasted them for 30 minutes at 400 degrees.  I like mine very done… start checking them at 20 minutes if you like yours less done.

Brussel Sprouts

Roasted

Fig and Maple Brussel Sprouts

Combined 1/2 cup of chicken stock and the dates in the good old Vitamix to combine.  Then brought to a rolling bowl, turned down the heat and added 1/4 cup Maple syrup.  Simmered for about 10 minutes and when the brussels were done, I poured the mixture over them… all I can say is mmmmmmm.  I’m definitely serving this as a side at Thanksgiving!

Next, I couldn’t resist making some carrot fries!  I heard about them on HEABs site… and followed her link to Choosing Raw’s Carrot Fries.  All I an say is YUMMMYYYYY.  Lord they were good.  I had a small mishap withe the mandolin when I was cutting the carrots that involved some blood.. and well.. it could have been worse.. so BE CAREFUL… I wish I could have used my spiralizer but it just doesn’t work well with small veggies like carrots.

Again, I like a little black on my roasted veggies… the pan was still warm from the Brussels so I dropped a dollop of coconut oil and let it melt then rolled the carrots around until they were covered.  I added a bit salt and popped them in the 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Carrot Fries

Carrot Fries mmmmmmm

Rolled Oats in Vitamix

Oat Flour

I finished my day by gettin’ figgy with some Fig and Almond Shortbread by Miss Emily of Sugar Plum.  I changed a couple of things.. first I didn’t have any almond butter because I had just used the last of it to make HEAB’s ABU (almond butter, almond milk, plus some extras).  If you have not tried this – DO IT.  It’s the most amazing stuff… although I’ve never added it to some of the stuff that HEAB does (broccoli??)… it is SUPER on oats… and is great to spread on sandwiches or whatever.  The cool thing is you basically cut the calories in half without sacrificing that scrumptious almond butter taste!

ABU and Brown Sugar

Chopped Figs

But I digress… First I used the old vitamix to make flour out of a cup of rolled oats… I added some flour, clove, salt and a bit more rolled oats (non pulverized)… in a separate bowl, I combined the ABU with the brown sugar and creamed…  then added some vanilla to this wet mixture…. I omited the orange juice because I didn’t have any… I don’t think this effected the recipe too much since the ABU was much more moist than regular almond butter.  Finally, the dry ingredients were combined with the wet ingredients – and once that was mixed well I added the figs.  The mixture was pretty dry.  I used a rolling pin and rolled it out like a pie crust…. cut away the ragged sides and then cut into squared… placed in a 350 degree oven… I only cooked for 20 minutes because I wanted them chewier.. They’re very good and I know my friend will like them.  Personally?? I’d eat them with some ice cream… mmmmmmmm

And now, I need to clean the kitchen!

Fig and Almond Shortbread (Vegan)

Of course I’m still clicking along on Katie’s Chocolate Covered Kindness pages as well.  It’s so nice to know that by doing the things you enjoy (reading blogs and trying new, wholesome, delicious recipes) I can help raise money for a good cause.  You rock Miss Katie!

I’m making two new recipes today:

Figged and Maple Brussel Sprouts from the Zesty Cook himself.  If they turn out as super as they sound, they will be one of the side dishes at our Thanksgiving meal this week. Next…

Fig and Almond Shortbread (vegan) from Miss Emily of Sugar Plum blog.  This is a little Thanksgiving present for a friends family – her daughter is vegetarian/vegan? I can’t remember which so I’m going for vegan just in case.

I’m still not exactly sure what this blog of mine will be but decided to quit thinking about it and just go with the flow… so, this is what’s on my mind today – cooking two new recipes, finding the new breakfast clubber blog and supporting Katie.  So there.

I’ll leave you with a picture of my favorite thing right now… oat groats!

Oat Groats