Sunny Days

What a beautiful weekend we had - sunny and 80 degrees both days. I don't spend time in the gym on weekends, but I had plenty of exercise with all of my outdoor activities.

At the farm on Saturday, we moved all of the tools in the barn and made an area to hang all of the horse blankets for the off-season. God knows how many years' worth of dust I spent up during that! Someone also pulled down a tree in front of the barn, so that had to be moved. I picked up the tree trunk and started walking. It was a small-ish tree...maybe 6-8" in diameter and about 12 feet long...but away I went dragging it around the barn, across the top field, through the gate and all the way down into the middle of the farm until I reached the burn pile. No joke, I probably walked a quarter of a mile with that thing. Then I ran up the hill going back to the gate. Dang. I stopped on the way up to admire this hoof print in the ground:

How's your luck, buttercup?

On a farm that's been established for more than 50 years, there are all sorts of treasures to be found. The one I'm really excited about is an old metal bathtub. I said it would be a great planter for a garden, so Jill said "Take it! It's yours!" Wooooohweeee. I decided we should leave it at the farm, clean it up and plant a pretty garden in it. I can't wait to get started on that project. I went to Home Depot yesterday and bought a steel brush, primer and paint. Once we figure out where to put it (and...uh...how to get it there...), I'll fill it partly with mulch and then soil. I've already decided what plants to put in it, too.

After the treasure hunt, another working student and I brought two of the horses to the outdoor arena. Because these horses stay in a herd, they can get pretty antsy when you separate them. Especially when one of the horses being separated is the boss. Make him leave his boys, and he will be sure you know how unhappy he is about it. We pulled slats from the outdoor arena fence to create a quick-escape in case the horses got too antsy. I walked our new boy Jeffrey up and set him to work right away walking over cavalettis and doing figure-eights through cones. He didn't mind wandering around the new environment at all, and enjoyed some extra snack time. When we decided the boys did a good job and we could stop work on a high note, we walked them out the gate, took off their harnesses, and let them run free. Watching a thoroughbred gallop down a hill is a beautiful thing.

See you later, Jeffrey. 

Sunday was no day of rest in my backyard. Mission: build a cat-proof fence. I've been finding some "gifts" left in my vegetable garden by my neighbor's thoughtful cats. Off to Home Depot Ash and I went for all the building materials for a fence and a real-deal gate. Oh yeah...hinges, latch and all! For four hours we worked and worked and worked planting a few new flowers and herbs, pulling weeds, taking down the old fence, putting in posts for the new fence, attaching the new fencing material and finally cleaning up. The last part of the project is building and attaching the gate, but we were running out of daylight and had to stop working for the night. By Wednesday, the garden is going to look fantastic. It already looks so much better. All of the beds were made so neatly this year, and the plants were arranged with adequate spacing and supportive structures. I can't wait until it all fills in. I should have taken some before pictures to do a comparison, but I'll just have to settle for after. I was having an absent-minded moment and could not find the charger with my camera battery of course still in it. How one loses a charger that was last seen plugged into the wall, I will never know. Hopefully I find it tonight.

I hope everyone had a great weekend! Take advantage of all these beautiful spring days!

The Journey and the Destination

It's been just over two weeks since I began logging my food and exercise with My Fitness Pal. A year or so ago I tried to participate in a fitness challenge a group of food bloggers did together, but didn't last very long. It was just too difficult to keep legitimate track of anything. The database of food and exercise in MFP is phenomenal.

To give a starting point, here is how I set up my account:

Age: 28
Height: 5'5.5"
Weight: 128.6 (I later changed it to 129.6 when I realized that must have been a fluke w/ my scale)
Goal Weight: 125
Weight Loss Goal per Week: 0.5 pounds (changed to 1 pound based on MFP calculation)
Calorie Goal per Day: 1400 (calculated by MFP; changed to 1200 when adjusting the above category)

As I later learned, MFP calculates a recommended weight loss goal per week, and mine was calculated at 1 pound. When I changed my weekly weight loss goal, my calorie goal per day was adjusted to 1200.

Each day I enter my food and exercise as accurately as possible, and I believe there have only been 1 or 2 days where I have exceeded my calorie goal - all other days I have finished the day under 1200 (or 1400, previously). But, try as I might, my body has not changed one bit (yes...I've been looking at that big, red 0 for two weeks now).

I think there are a few reasons why I haven't had any change. First, I'm not trying to shed tens of pounds. While someone working on a larger weight loss goal may lose the first 5, 10 or even 15 pounds quickly, I'm merely trimming off a few pounds. I've always heard people say the last 5 pounds is the hardest, and that's pretty much all I'm going for, so I may have a tough run of it. That being said, I really shouldn't expect much out of just two weeks.

Next, since because my eating habits have always been pretty much what they are now, I'm not sure that focusing so much on food is going to do much for me. Which brings me to the strongest point: I need to work harder. My big night at the gym is Thursday nights, when I have a 1-hour ballet class followed by 1-hour of Zumba. Ballet is a mix of strength and cardio, and Zumba is about 99% cardio (we hold squats a couple of times during our dances). If I really want to see a difference in the way my body looks (which has been my main goal - I only figured dropping a couple of pounds would come with that as part of the toning process), I need to log more hours at the gym. Maybe another fitness class, but definitely some time spent using the weight machines and a little more cardio to burn fat as I tone up with the weight machines. I do lose calories with some at-home exercises and activities, but I can't imagine that has the same impact as dedicated gym time.

What does all of this mean? Moving into the second part of my first month using MFP, I'm going to put a stronger effort toward gym time. I am lucky to having a flexible work scheduling, allowing me to start my day any time between 9 and 10. That means if I wake up early, I can take care of household business so my evenings are chore-free. Goal number 1: wake up an hour earlier. I also have two pups who are eager for more time outdoors. Goal number 2: get those puppies walking, even if it's just the 3/4 mile loop around the block. If I change into gym clothes and walk the dogs when I get home from work, that means I'll be warmed up and ready to head to the gym. Goal number 3: spend 1-2 more hours in the gym each week.

Tomorrow's Friday and usually a rest day after the long Thursday night at the gym and all the chores at the horse farm on Saturday, so Monday will begin my newly dedicated efforts!

100 Calorie Dessert

Dessert: so good, but sometimes so bad. It doesn't have to be! The season for fresh berries is arriving (or has already arrived in some areas) and those sweet little treats make a delicious dessert. Rinse and cut your berries, and top with Cool Whip Light. Instant dessert!

1 cup of mixed berries and 2 tablespoons of Cool Whip Light - only 99 calories!

500 Calorie Dinner

Since using My Fitness Pal, I'm more aware of the contents of each of my meals - if I have a heavy lunch, I should have a lighter dinner if I don't have time to exercise. Similarly, a lighter lunch leaves room for a heavier dinner. All in all, the key is portion control, which can be difficult when there is a plate of your favorite food in front of you! One of my favorite comfort food dinners is chicken parmesan and it is so simple to make.

Ingredients:

• boneless skinless chicken breast (thin sliced or strips)
• olive oil/cooking spray
• bread crumbs or cracker meal
• grated parmesan-romano cheese
• pasta or pizza sauce
• shredded mozzarella or Italian cheese blend

I began with thin sliced boneless skinless chicken breast browned in a cast iron skilled sprayed with olive oil (I love my oil mister!). Once each side was browned, I removed the chicken and dipped it in a beaten egg, then a mixture of bread crumbs (I've also used cracker meal in the past, or a mixture) and grated parmesan-romano cheese. I then placed the breaded chicken breast pieces in a glass baking dish, topped each with a table spoon of Trader Joe's fat free pizza sauce, and then a tablespoon of shredded Italian four cheese blend on each chicken breast slice.

My sides were a piece of Texas toast (since I don't eat bread very often and usually cook for one, it's nice to keep a box of Texas toast in the freezer because I don't always have fresh deli bread otherwise) and brussel sprouts sprayed with olive oil and sprinkled with garlic powder. I slid a cookie sheet with the Texas toast and brussel sprouts into the oven alongside the dish with the chicken, and baked it all at 425 for about 15-20 minutes.

The end result is a full meal that is just over 500 calories: I used about 6 ounces of chicken, sliced 5 brussel sprouts in half, and cooked one piece of Texas toast. Eliminating the Texas toast would cut out 120 calories. Overall, not a bad meal, and it would be especially good after a tough workout at the gym!

My new best friend

If you read that last post, you'll know I've been disgruntled with my eating habits lately. Partially due to following in line with Ashley's habits, but let's be real here - mostly my own fault. I could always prepare myself a separate meal or choose better options when we go out to eat. Now that meal planning is back on track, I'm going to borrow from my cousin and direct you all to her excellent review of an app we're both nuts about - My Fitness Pal.

I've always considered myself to have fairly healthy habits - I make the majority of my own meals, happily eat most fruits and vegetables and have a moderate activity level. But let's be honest here - now that I'm an adult spending the greater part of my waking hours in a law office, I'm exercising my brain more than the rest of my body. I'll also admit (shamefully), that more often than not, I drive to the office. Yes, me, the environmentally conscious individual who lives a mere 3 blocks (equating to a less-than-10-minute-walk) from her place of work, drives a car. Why? Because I've gotten too damn lazy. I'd rather roll out of bed at 9 and scramble to slip in the office door just as the grandfather clock chimes 10 times than wake up at a decent hour, play with the dogs, take my time getting ready, and enjoy some fresh air (oh right, this is Philly) on my way to work. Honestly, I'd love to do all of those things, but, like I said...I've grown lazy.

We all need a boost from time-to-time, so I'm looking to MFP, and my friends, for some motivation. I've only been using the app for a week, but I love it. Like my cousin, I love scanning the barcodes of my food to enter my daily calories. When I want to search the database, I'll log into my MFP account on the computer to make the process a bit easier. One thing I'd like to put a little time into, and I think will be time well spent, is creating meals. For example, I made falafel last week and went through the process of entering every part of the meal - the canned chickpeas, the pita, tomato, the avocado, the this, the that. If I were to combine all of those ingredients into a meal, I'd enjoy the ease of entering 1 item into my food diary rather than half a dozen.

Along those lines, since it can be somewhat of an annoyance to have to scroll through the database to find all the components of a meal, that alone is a motivator. It's even more of a reason to east simple, fresh meals, even when going out to a restaurant. Last weekend, Ash and I went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner, and I ordered chicken fajitas. The plate comes with it's own tray of toppings, but I kept it simple adding only rice, cheese and avocado to my chicken.

Overall, I think this is something I can stick with long-term, because once I'm in the shape I want, I can reset my account so that it helps me maintain my weight, rather than lose weight. In the past I've kept an online food journal, but I've never counted calories, paid too much attention to serving sizes or otherwise used any sort of precision when keeping track of my eating habits - I just watched for general trends. Now I have a friend to keep my on track - My Fitness Pal!

Getting back to "good"

My boyfriend has terrible eating habits. When left to fend for himself, he considers a turkey and cheese sandwich with a side of Ramen as dinner. No, no, no. While there have been some positive influences on his eating styles (he's now able to make tacos for himself), he has always pulled me away to my formerly stellar eating habits, and about 5 pounds of weight gain is the proof. Damn him.

But that's it! No more! It's back to meal plans, staying strong against unhealthy snacking and more dedication toward gym time for this rogue health-head.

Last week, I made two of my old favorites: a frittata and falafel. It's been a fairly long time since I made either, but they were great dinner meals and both were enough to have leftovers for work lunches.

This past Saturday I made a stop at Trader Joe's on my way home from the barn. I've been making a stop there about once a month lately, and stocking up on some staples (like pasta, sauce, frozen goods, etc.). I love the prices at TJ's - I'm able to get better quality goods much cheaper than the grocery store (at least compared to my neighborhood stores). TJ's isn't my favorite for most produce, since I find many of their items to be individually wrapped, but this time I did bring home a basket of plums, a couple bananas, a couple bags of carrots and romaine lettuce. These items were packaged the same way I'd find them anywhere else.

On Sunday, I went through everything I purchased and what I already had at home, and wrote out my week's meals on a dry erase board in the kitchen:

• Tempura shrimp with rice 
• Falafel
• Tacos (made with ground turkey)
• Pasta with turkey meatballs
• Caesar salad with grilled shrimp

I based my plan on what would produce leftovers that I could have for lunch later in the week, what I'd make when Ashley would be over during the week, and what would be the best meal to have after my 2-hour night at the gym. So it's sort of planning on top of planning and my God do I love a plan.

Burgers, Burgers, Burgers

You know, I do not make burgers often enough at home. I don't have any good reason for it, either.

Last night I made turkey burgers that were simple yet fancy at the same time: ground turkey, Lizano sauce, finely shredded carrot, minced yellow onion and breadcrumbs. The recipe is easy - use whatever quantity of ground turkey needed for the number of burgers you're preparing, and add the rest of the ingredients in whatever amount your tastes desire or require.

In other cooking news, I bought a new frying pan and it's awesome. I've had the same Italian-made frying pans since I moved into my apartment in Philly about 4.5 years ago. They weren't of poor quality, but they also weren't meant to last a lifetime when used as frequently as I have used them. The non-stick coating was coming off, so it was time for them to go.

In their place, I purchased the awesome Bialetti Aeternum saute pan, which has a white ceramic coating. It's absolutely amazing how the food does not stick to the pan at all. I am not even kidding you. I used it for the burgers as well as stir fry. The dark sauce in the burgers of course runs out while they are cooked, and the heat sears it to the pan. While it may look like a nightmare, all it took was a wet sponge to wipe right off. Amazing. It's a concern for me that some of the non-stick coatings on pans can be harmful, but with the ceramic coating, it's much safer. Peace of mind for your health, easy to clean, and the ability to see the bright and beautiful colors of your food as it cooks against the white background...what's not to love?

This is not a sponsored post. I purchased this product myself and this review is solely my opinion.