I'm blogging here. WOO!
I hope to see you there! :)
12 Weeks Out Progress Pics!
Morning guys!!! Yesterday was a bit of a mess, so I didn't get to post... but guess what?! I took progress pics... AND I'm moving!
to HERE: http://geniesjourney.wordpress.com/
Please follow me along and let me know what you think of the new setup. :)
I wanted a cleaner layout and the ability to keep things more organized (recipes, progress pics, etc.). I'm not completely convinced that I like WordPress better, though. GAH!
to HERE: http://geniesjourney.wordpress.com/
Please follow me along and let me know what you think of the new setup. :)
I wanted a cleaner layout and the ability to keep things more organized (recipes, progress pics, etc.). I'm not completely convinced that I like WordPress better, though. GAH!
Pom, Protein, & Patterson
I had a lovely post planned today, mentally.
Let us have a moment for my most favorite-ist Kentucky Wildcat team ever.
We love our Cousins. I love Wall. Patterson is a saint... at least nearly one.
POM review is postponed.
Before pics are postponed. (I actually look okay!)
Let's have a moment.
I hope all these wonderful guys have a fantastic life in the NBA. I will cheer them on there.
Best. Wildcat. Team. Ever.
Let us have a moment for my most favorite-ist Kentucky Wildcat team ever.
We love our Cousins. I love Wall. Patterson is a saint... at least nearly one.
POM review is postponed.
Before pics are postponed. (I actually look okay!)
Let's have a moment.
I hope all these wonderful guys have a fantastic life in the NBA. I will cheer them on there.
Best. Wildcat. Team. Ever.
Some like it hot!
PHEW! I drank about 64oz. of Kool-Aid (w/ Splenda) last night to wash down my meal. It was SPICY!
Who needs salad dressing when you have these two bad boys? I love them both! As you can see, I drowned my salad in it...
That's a blend of spring mix and baby spinach, topped with black bean & corn salsa, homemade mexi-hummus (as I so cleverly dubbed it! LOL!), red onions, chicken (of course!), pepperoncini peppers, jalepeno peppers, GARLIC HOT SAUCE, and HABENERO HOT SAUCE.
As mentioned in my previous post, I had this chocolate whey cake for dessert... slathered w/ Naturally More peanut butter! SCRUMPTIOUS!
My whey cake consisted of:
1sc BSN Lean Dessert Vanilla
2T unsweetened cocoa powder
1T unsweetened applesauce
1 egg white
3T Splenda
pinch of baking soda
pinch of xanthan gum
Mixed and nuked for 45 seconds!! The whey cake could be better... it was a bit dry, but it was still tasty and hit the spot!
We went to the SIL's house to watch the Cats play! GO CATS! My adorable two year old nephew kept saying "Neenee (Genie), go keee-eees (kitties, instead of cats!)"... Kids really do say the darndest things, huh? I made it home shortly after midnight... a few glasses sips of Moscato may have passed these lips. :)
On today's agenda...
Bright and early!! I woke up groggy and crampy and bloated and... you get the point. I made my way into the dungeon for my treadmill sesh. At least that is done.
My reward was this DELICIOUS and HUGE muffiny thing. When I took it out of the ramekin, it looked like a gigantic coffee shop sized muffin. I will be making more of these.
Mix:
1.5oz Gerber Squash baby food
95g liquid egg whites (not sure why I chose this number! whatever LOL)
35g oat bran
1/2T cinnamon
1/2T pumpkin pie spice
1/4c Splenda
1/4t vanilla extract
1/4t mapeline extract
1/4t butter extract
pinch of baking soda
pinch of xanthan gum
Bake in ramekin at 350 for 30 minutes.
Nutrition: 187 calories (3g fat, 26g carbs, 17g protein)
I'll probably have it again for breakfast tomorrow!!
I have this packed for the remainder of the work day:
The cabbage + chicken is in my belly already. :) I foresee a protein bar in my future, too!
Love, peace, and chicken grease!! Catch y'all later!
Oh yeah, and I will be posting 12 weeks out pics tomorrow! I love blogs w/ progress pics... although I won't like posting my "before" pics! Especially in my hormonal mess of a state. You've been warned! EEP!
Naturally More
What Peanut Butter Should Be
Uhm, they aren't lying! This stuff is AWESOME! Amazing!! So good that in just a couple days I have almost demolished the ENTIRE jar! I did have some help from my hubby. ;)
Amanda over at Naturally More was kind enough to send me a jar to review! Thanks Amanda!! It's WONDERFUL! You may have made me a customer for life!
My first impression... Lower in fat AND higher in protein that plain ol' peanut butter?! I can dig it!!
50% More Fiber
25% More Protein
20% Fewer Carbs
No Trans Fats
Not as much of a fat drop as I would have liked in my current nut butter craving calorie restricted state, but I'll take it!! Plus, if you look closely, the serving size is a wee bit bigger!! Although only a few extra grams larger, those few grams of extra food make me happy! :)
I love the addition of wheat germ, flaxseed, and flaxseed oil!! What a great way to up your fiber and vary your fat intake. One of the main reasons I limit nut butters while restricting calories is I like to vary my fat sources. I'm liking that Naturally More is more than just peanuts. And I like the subtle crunch! So far, so good!!
Looking closer at the ingredient list, of course, the cane sugar and honey caught my eye. Since there are only 2g of sugar per serving, I don't mind the sweet addition one bit! That hint of sweetness really tastes great!
And egg whites... well, what's not to like about egg whites?! :D
There you have it, Naturally More gets two thumbs WAY up from me!! If I had three thumbs, I'd give it three thumbs up... but three thumbs would just be weird... I can't imagine trying to blog/type with three thumbs. ;)
I enjoyed some last night on top of a chocolate whey cake!! It really HIT THE SPOT!
So, now that you want a jar, hop on over to the Naturally More website and check out the Store Locater or even buy it online! There is a ton of great info on their products, nutrition, testimonials... Check it out! :) I see Naturally More Almond Butter! I definitely want to try that!!
Chug-a-Lug
I had another crazy day yesterday... I finally got settled down after 11PM *cries*.
Here's what we had for dinner...
ZATARAINS!
That's beans and rice, garlic chicken sausage (I chopped a couple up and left two whole), sliced mushrooms, some extra chicken broth... It was SALTY! I ate my tiny helping on a bed of baby spinach with cheddar rice shreds, red onions, and HOT SAUCE (not pictured).
I think almost everything tastes better in salad form... except cake... and cookies... and peanut butter.
After dinner, I tended to 4 pounds of chicken breast that were beginning to look a bit pale. Fired up the Foreman and drenched those puppies in my favorite BBQ seasoning. Then I let the seasoning burn... I think it tastes better that way. Hubby agrees! :D
Played with my new sharp shiny objects...
I must say, I surprisingly prefer the cute little orange Asian chopper that I used on my chicken two days ago... maybe I just like it because it's Asian, so I automatically felt a close bond with it... or maybe not.
This big ol' (new) knife got the job done, though! I think it will take a little while to get used to...
I wilted enough cabbage down for the rest of the week. Phew.
This morning I had a helluva time prying myself out of bed for a.m. cardio, but I did it... after chugging down my current pre-cardio concoction!
That's a mixture of Crystal Light and Kool-Aid (made w/ Splenda) in the back. I mix all the stuff together the night before so that the chunks of BCAA have time to dissolve... I don't want to drink it in this state:
GAG!
After my super low intensity cardio sesh (upping the intensity is next week's goal!), I had a berry Amazing Grass + vanilla whey + coffee concoction... I added a bit of Splenda, too! It was actually quite tasty!
Brekkie numero dos was a baby food squash + oat bran + egg white + Splenda + cinnamon bun protein powder + mapeline extract + butter extract + vanilla extract + cinnamon + pumpkin pie spice PANCAKE! That's a lot of ingredients! It sure was tasty, though! I like putting the maple extract IN stuff.. it's like pancake syrup built right in! LOL!
I had this for breakfast #3. It was supposed to be lunch #1, but I was hangry.
Wilted cabbage + bbq grilled chicken + olive oil mayo! I don't know why I love this concoction as much as I do!
PHEW! Longest. Post. Ever.
Thanks for the feedback on the dress I posted yesterday! My coupon code did not work, so I'm not getting it. :( I can't justify spending $100 on a dress I will only wear one time. I would feel guilty... anyone else do that?
I have some reviews coming up soon! See ya later alligator!
Do we likey?
Do we likey? I have an old cream vintage jacket/almost-a-trench thingy that I scored at Goodwill about 10 years ago that I think would look good with it! :)
What's for lunch?!
I had a blast meal prepping last night, since I got to test out my brand new sharp objects!
I was a chopping machine...
CHICKEN!
Thinly sliced over a jagumbo bed of steamed broccoli florets... Love those lil trees.
Celery, mushrooms, and chipotle hummus... and a tuna pouch which I forgot to eat... OOPS!
Slicing mushrooms can be very amusing...
BAHAHAHA!!
Happy hump day!
Happy hump day!
Foliage!
I woke up bright and early and mustered through 30 minutes of easy cardio. I have issues with cardio, especially morning cardio. I need to start upping the intensity.
Afterwards, I enjoyed a delicious Dymatize Vanilla + Berry Amazing Grass shake. It hit the spot!
While it was scrumptious, it didn't keep me full for long. Thankfully I have a boatload of veggies with me!
For my midmorning snack, I munched on a tuna pouch (not pictured) and some random Asian slaw I concocted last night. It was magically delicious! :D
Cabbage, red onions, a slivered apple, toasted Asian sesame dressing, and freshly cracked black pepper... all shook up! YUM!
ATTENTION SHOPPERS
I need a dress by next weekend! Not too stuffy, not too frou-frou (I hate frou-frou!)... I want something easy but put together. Have you all seen anything good lately? I don't shop often enough to know what's out there! Hopefully I will be back after lunch with some ideas... and maybe a poll!
See ya then!! Make today great!!
BEE ZEE
WOW! Today was totally busy. I did not get to sit on my sorry ass until... uhm... 10:00. Didn't I just say that I need to start making time to breathe? All aboard the #FAIL train, round two!
Here's what I ate! I had a lot of frankenfoods today! They are comforting and easy to pack. I haz no shame.
I ate these Apple Cinnamon Protein Mini Muffins before noon. They were supposed to be my pre-workout meal (at 4:00PM).
and more Chocolate (not so) Salty Balls.
That pic is DISGUSTING! No recipe for these... because you don't want it. Really. Edible. That's about it.
I went to CVS at lunch to roll my Extra Care Bucks. Lucky for me Arizona Diet Green Tea w/ Ginseng AND their Pure Protein Chocolate Peanut Butter bars were on sale. I LOVE Pure Protein bars. They are tasty, under 200 cals, AND low in sugars! Sugar alcohols don't count. :P
**insert jumbled mess of a day here**
Workout, done!
Extra cardio, done!
**insert jumbled mess of an evening here**
It's all behind me. Sometimes work is stressful, and while nothing bad or wrong happened, I'd rather not think about it.
For dinner (PWO) I had some dry rub bbq chicken (on the Foreman), chipotle mashed potatoes, AND broiled green beans... cooked a little too long, but that's the way I like'em!
**more work errands... more mess**
I am not gonna lie. The taters were a box mix from Aldi. I suspect wheat in those bad boys as my tummy is feeling a bit raw right now -- kinda like I gently rubbed my insides with a not-too-coarse piece of sandpaper.
My nightcap: Dymatize Elite Whey in Vanilla, 1/4t xanthan gum, a generous amount of Saigon cinnamon, and two heaping tablespoons of Splenda, blended with ice and water into this frothy, creamy, concoction.
It is quite possible that my unhappy stomach is due to the amount of protein powder I ingested today and not wheat that may or may not be in my mashed tater mix. The food was all tasty, though! No regrets! I'll just try to be more mindful next time.
See y'all tomorrow!! I'm really excited about tomorrow's food!! YAY!
Here's what I ate! I had a lot of frankenfoods today! They are comforting and easy to pack. I haz no shame.
I ate these Apple Cinnamon Protein Mini Muffins before noon. They were supposed to be my pre-workout meal (at 4:00PM).
and more Chocolate (not so) Salty Balls.
That pic is DISGUSTING! No recipe for these... because you don't want it. Really. Edible. That's about it.I went to CVS at lunch to roll my Extra Care Bucks. Lucky for me Arizona Diet Green Tea w/ Ginseng AND their Pure Protein Chocolate Peanut Butter bars were on sale. I LOVE Pure Protein bars. They are tasty, under 200 cals, AND low in sugars! Sugar alcohols don't count. :P
**insert jumbled mess of a day here**
Workout, done!
Extra cardio, done!
**insert jumbled mess of an evening here**
It's all behind me. Sometimes work is stressful, and while nothing bad or wrong happened, I'd rather not think about it.
For dinner (PWO) I had some dry rub bbq chicken (on the Foreman), chipotle mashed potatoes, AND broiled green beans... cooked a little too long, but that's the way I like'em!
**more work errands... more mess**
I am not gonna lie. The taters were a box mix from Aldi. I suspect wheat in those bad boys as my tummy is feeling a bit raw right now -- kinda like I gently rubbed my insides with a not-too-coarse piece of sandpaper.
My nightcap: Dymatize Elite Whey in Vanilla, 1/4t xanthan gum, a generous amount of Saigon cinnamon, and two heaping tablespoons of Splenda, blended with ice and water into this frothy, creamy, concoction.
It is quite possible that my unhappy stomach is due to the amount of protein powder I ingested today and not wheat that may or may not be in my mashed tater mix. The food was all tasty, though! No regrets! I'll just try to be more mindful next time.
See y'all tomorrow!! I'm really excited about tomorrow's food!! YAY!
Feelin' Good!
My shoulder feels pretty good. The sickies are at bay... just some minor congestion, but I think that is residual junk just clearing out. I actually took yesterday completely off... again... and boy am I glad I did! I think forcing myself to workout previous days was doing more harm than good! I thought I was listening to my body by not pushing the workouts, and despite the workouts feeling physically draining, I mustered through. Bad move on my behalf! I need to be kinder to myself. I run myself ragged, so I am constantly getting sick. Sometimes I need to just BREATHE!
After cardio this morning, I drank a tasty little Amazing Grass coffee concoction.
Coffee, Amazing Grass Superfood in Chocolate Infusion, Cookies & Cream Body Fortress Whey Protein Powder, Ice, Stevia... blended to frothy perfection. nomnomnom
I'll be eatin' on some broccoli florets and tuna later on. YUM! I really need to pick up some salmon pouches and grapefruits. They have been missed!
I hope your Tuesday is off to a fabulous start!
Gone Fish'n
I apparently can't follow a plan to save my life... not even a simple dinner menu.
Switch it, change it, rearrange it.
We had fish tacos! My tacos consisted of pollock grilled with lemon pepper, romaine, red onions, black bean & corn salsa, and cheddar flavored rice shreds. I slathered a mixture of olive oil mayo and lime on my corn tortillas prior to taco construction. Pollock may be my least favorite fish, but these tacos were quite tasty!
For dessert...
Chocolate (not so) Salty Balls!! LOL! No, but for real, I attempted to make a low carb, chocolate protein cookie. The macros are on point. The taste is okay to good. The texture and appearance... are a big friggin' FAIL! These were made from BSN Vanilla, egg whites, ANPB, Splenda, and vanilla extract.
We just finished the Nip/Tuck finale. I'm a bit sad it's over. It didn't seem like an ending... a grand finale, KWIM?
Switch it, change it, rearrange it.
We had fish tacos! My tacos consisted of pollock grilled with lemon pepper, romaine, red onions, black bean & corn salsa, and cheddar flavored rice shreds. I slathered a mixture of olive oil mayo and lime on my corn tortillas prior to taco construction. Pollock may be my least favorite fish, but these tacos were quite tasty!
For dessert...
Chocolate (not so) Salty Balls!! LOL! No, but for real, I attempted to make a low carb, chocolate protein cookie. The macros are on point. The taste is okay to good. The texture and appearance... are a big friggin' FAIL! These were made from BSN Vanilla, egg whites, ANPB, Splenda, and vanilla extract.
We just finished the Nip/Tuck finale. I'm a bit sad it's over. It didn't seem like an ending... a grand finale, KWIM?
Apple Cinnamon Protein Mini Muffins
Ugh. Today has been weird. Oh well!
For lunch, I had some steamed cabbage and olive oil mayo (YUM!), along with a tuna pouch. Exciting, right? I know. ;)
I also had some steamed broccoli to munch on...
BUT, my pre-workout snack stole the show! Apple Cinnamon Protein Mini Muffins!
APPLE CINNAMON PROTEIN MINI MUFFINS
105g (1c) Oat bran
2oz (2 scoops) All the Whey Protein Blend - Cinnamon Bun
138g (3 servings) liquid egg whites
1c unsweetened applesauce
3/4c Splenda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1) Preheat oven to 350. Spray muffin tin w/ non-stick spray.
2) Dump all ingredients into bowl and mix.
3) Using a cookie dough scoop (it's easier this way -- the perfect size!) fill mini muffin tin 3/4 full of batter
4) Bake for 15 minutes
This recipe made 28 mini muffins for me. The nutritional breakdown can be found below.
Nutritional Info
- Servings Per Recipe: 28
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories: 27.6
- Total Fat: 0.5 g
- Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
- Sodium: 74.6 mg
- Total Carbs: 3.6 g
- Dietary Fiber: 0.7 g
- Protein: 2.9 g
ENJOY!! These babies got rave reviews from the husband. :)
Menu Planning Monday - 03.22.10
Monday: Broiled pollock, red potatoes, broccoli (green beans for hubby)
Tuesday: Chicken, chipotle mashed potatoes (<-- from a box) (brown rice for me), green beans
Wednesday: Zataran's red beans and rice (just brown rice for me), garlic chicken sausage, broccoli
Thursday: Buffalo chicken tenders, oven baked fries, side salad
Friday: Pizza!!! I will have my favorite cauliflower crust pizza, while the hubs will get to enjoy a whole wheat crust!
For more menu ideas, head on over to I'm an Organizing Junkie's Menu Planning Monday!
If you have any questions about any of my meals, or want a recipe, ask away. :)
***************
In other news, I totally just came clean to my coach. *sigh* I guess that's just how I roll. Poor guy probably thinks I'm a nut case with all this falling-off-the-wagon-before-I-even-get-on-the-wagon type of behavior. LOL!
For breakfast this morning, I had a boring looking plate! It was delish, though!!
Three egg whites and one whole egg over easy, a slice of lightly toasted Ezekiel bread to sop of the yolk, and an apple for dessert! YUM! It actually tied me over to meal number two, too!
I shall dub thee Sludge Cake.
SLUDGE CAKE
1/2oz (1/2 scoop) protein powder (I used ATW Cupcake Batter)
8g (1 scoop) Amazing Grass Superfood in Berry
25g (1 heaping Tbs) unsweetened applesauce
46g (3 Tbs) liquid egg whites (or 1 egg white)
Blend in Magic Bullet then cook like a pancake!
It was actually pretty darn tasty! See you after lunch! :)
Ten steps back
Ugh. What a gluttonous weekend. I'm definitely having eater's remorse. I feel like I took 3 weeks of progress away. I hit an all time low on the scale weight this weekend, followed by a weight I hadn't seen in a couple weeks. Diet #FAIL. BOO! What's done is done. I can and will do better from here on out! :-D
I scored some major loot this weekend! My dad spoiled me rotten!
WOO hoo!! Two containers of Lean Dessert, Chocolate Fudge and Whipped Vanilla! I love the Vanilla!!, two Amazing Grass Superfoods, and a sack full of multis! I AM SET!!
My dad owns a sharpening shop (creatively named The Sharpening Shoppe LOL!!), so I get spoiled with sharp objects. :-D
I'm going to keep the lid on this bad boy until prep is over! I can't wait to bake with it! or drizzle it on homemade biscuits... just sayin'!
Seth got his belated birthday present...
A LITER bottle of Ed Hardy vodka!! We taste tested it last night... TWO HUGE THUMBS UP! This is some smooth vodka! You couldn't even taste it mixed w/ light cranberry juice.
Swan Song
I bet you all are wondering what I ate that caused me such grief and bloat?! Well, Saturday started off well. I knew we were going to Red Lobster, and I was prepared. I even ordered a dessert to split (without guilt)... but when we returned home, my dad corked a bottle of this...
It was just okay. I didn't love it. Anyways, wine led to lower inhibitions, which led to my hand continuously being in the jar of mixed nuts that my dad ever-so-conveniently leaves out at all times... right next to the fun sized Milky Way and Snickers bars. Let's just say that I have no willpower when it comes to nuts or chocolate.
On the way home the next day, we stopped at the mall so Seth could spend some of his birthday money. I didn't see anything I liked... I rarely do! I'm picky and cheap. That doesn't leave me with many options! LOL! We did stop at Whole foods, and I got some of my favorites and some munchies for the way back (It's a long drive!)...
Anyone else LOVE Whole Foods guacamole? I am a sucker for good guac!! I need to start making it at home! Seth picked up some cheese Snikkidy's (LOVE these!) and we dipped it in the guac to tie us over! We also split some spicy salmon and brown rice sushi.
Okay, okay, looking back, maybe I didn't do THAT bad, but I'm supposed to be PREPPING!
But wait, there's more...
Halfway home we had to stop and get gas. I got some beverages and a Cow Tale just for good measure. I also got one for Seth... so I wouldn't feel as guilty eating one alone. LMAO!
So, there you have it. I'm four pounds up this morning! SHEESH! I'll be upping the water and watching the sodium today! Flush that water weight out!
Oh, this book caught my attention at the book store... Have any of you read it? I'm intrigued!
This post is way too long. I'm cutting myself off! Have a great week, y'all!!
