January Progress

Ok, I didn't do so good on the blogging front in the month of January. I found myself getting distracted by all the other things going on in my life and I just never got around to it. I've been doing pretty good on the reading front though - I've read 10 books so far in the month of January! I'll post more about that later on. Tonight I wanted to talk a little bit about my "eating healthy" resolution. Yeah.... that hasn't gone so well. I did GREAT the first week. I took my breakfast and lunch with me to work every day and didn't eat out at all the first week. But then, things went south. In a major way. It's been really cold lately and I find myself wanting to constantly eat. Which is never good, but most especially so when you're watching what you eat. This week has been a little better than last week and I'll explain why in a bit. Ok, OK, I can't wait.

I've discovered the joy of Mason Jar Salads.

Seriously about 45 minutes on Sunday afternoon and I had 5 awesome salads to eat for lunch! I found my recipe for this week from Organize Yourself Skinny (Formerly known as Skinny Mom's Kitchen). Go HERE to see her awesome and fantastic blog. She actually provided all my workday meals this week - breakfast and lunch! So what's the deal with Mason jar salads? Basically, by layering up the ingredients in the right order, you can pre-make your salads and they stay fresh for up to 5 days! MUCH easier than trying to put together a salad in the morning before work, because if you're anything like me, you're barely getting out of the house on time anyway! I made Tammy's Chopped Black Bean and Corn salad (direct link HERE)with a minor change or two.

 

Here's what I used:

5, 1-Quart mason jars with lids

1 1/4 cup salsa (I used Tostitos Restaurant Style Medium Salsa)

6 ounces Greek yogurt

1 quart cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 red onion, chopped

2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained

16 oz frozen corn (I did not thaw mine)

2 small avocados, peeled and diced and tossed in lime juice

5 ounces pepper Jack cheese, diced

4-5 cups chopped romaine lettuce

1/4 cup cilantro (I used Gourmet Garden's Cilantro Paste)

 

Mix the cilantro paste and Greek yogurt then layer in this order:

1/4 cup salsa cilantro

yogurt mixture

cherry tomatoes

onion

black beans

corn

avocado

cheese

romaine

 

There are quite of few things you could alter or substitute if you were looking to cut out spiciness or calories. I enjoyed these salads the way they were though and definitely plan on making more of them in the future. I liked the ease of having a healthy, filling lunch ready to go without it being a pre-packaged, processed meal, plus I don't feel guilty if I want a snack later on in the day. I didn't care for the amount of prep/clean up time though. It was definitely close to 45 minutes just chopping stuff and then cleaning up. I also didn't realize you need to take a bowl with you to dump the salad out into. I thought originally you just shook them up and could eat them out of the jar. The biggest issue I had with them though is that because the recipe makes 5 jars, I was stuck with the same thing to eat 5 times this week. I'm someone who likes a lot of variety and found that to be a little frustrating so in the future I will probably adapt my salads to 3 servings at a time.

 

 

So not only did Tammy help me with lunches this week, she helped with breakfast too! I made her basic Bacon, Egg and Cheese breakfast sandwich (link HERE). I'll start of with saying that I am not a huge fan of English muffins but these were not bad at all and will definitely look for this brand again. This recipe is super easy and you can easily adapt how many you want to make at once. I made six because that's how many muffins were in the box.

 

 

 

So you need:

  6 whole wheat english muffins (I used Thomas brand but could not find the high fiber version Tammy talks about on her blog)

6 slices pre-cooked bacon (I used Hormel thick cut fully precooked bacon)

6 eggs (I used egg whites only since I really don't like egg yolks)

6 slices cheese (I used Velveeta's sharp cheddar slices)

 

I like the precooked bacon because it A)Eliminates a step, and B)I don't get splattered by frying bacon. I hate frying bacon more than just about any other food. I always get splattered and burned. So yeah, I don't love cooking bacon at all. I love to eat it, but not enough to cook it myself. So anyway, I fried my egg whites in a non-stick butter flavored sprayed pan until they were not quite done and then added the cheese and let continue to cook until done. Once eggs are done, transfer to english muffin, top with folded piece of bacon and "lid" of muffin. Let cool slightly then wrap either in plastic wrap or a sandwich bag.

 

These were great - I really liked these a lot and they took no time whatsoever to make. I think for all six it took me 10-15 minutes. Like I said before, I'm not a big fan of english muffins but these were very good and I will definitely be trying these again. Again a big huge thanks to Tammy at Organize Yourself Skinny! She was my lifesaver this week and helped me get back on track!

New Year, New Goals!

Well 2014 has finally come upon us. I can't say that 2013 was a bad year; nothing truly bad happened and many good things happened in my life. My boyfriend and I took a fantastic road trip to Las Vegas and we got to see all different parts of the country. We are talking about another road trip this summer and I can't wait! My work finally moved to a nice new building and we are no longer working in a trailer park (I cannot even tell you how happy that makes me!). My family has all been well as well as my friends so I really can't complain. That doesn't mean there aren't things I want to change, however. I feel like I got very complacent with my life last year. I didn't make a lot of changes and I spent more time than I'd like to admit just sitting and watching TV (and usually snacking while I did it). So this year, I decided to make resolutions. I know, I know, resolutions don't work for 90 percent of us, but I'm going to at least try. So what are my resolutions this year?

Let's start at the top and work our way down, shall we?
1. Get more organized - I really didn't used to have a problem getting everything done in the week that I wanted to, but my life has been a lot busier in the last year and I've discovered its not as easy as I thought. I find myself not getting my housecleaning or cooking done, instead opting to spend my whole weekend cleaning (or not doing it at all sometimes) and just grabbing something quick to eat on my way home from work. I've been looking for ideas on Pinterest (you can follow me here) and have gotten some great downloadable calendars and schedules to get me started.

2.  Blog more - obviously, I haven't been blogging. My last post was from September and now it's January... again, I think it comes from the lack of organization, so my goal is to set aside a specific amount of time for blogging each week and my goal is to start off with one blog a week. I know that probably doesn't seem like a lot to you big time bloggers out there, but hey, a girl has to start somewhere. That also means my blog won't focus just on recipes anymore. I'd like to incorporate some of the other things I'm working on this year too.

3.  Eat better - this is a hard one for me. I love comfort food, carbs and junk food. I like eating out too. I'm hoping that by organizing my food plan each week and sticking to it, I will be able to decrease the amount of pure crap that I eat. Cause trust me, it's a lot. I need to add a lot more fresh fruits and veggies and cut back in the processed carbs. I'm hoping to incorporate this into the blog as well.

4.  Get more physical activity - another challenge for me. I'm not someone who enjoys exercise. Never have, can't imagine that I ever will. But, that doesn't mean I can't be more active. My plan is to start small. I have an elliptical machine, Netflix and 20 minutes every day. There's no reason I can't do this aside from my own lack of willpower. I'm also using a 20 minute program from the magazine "All You". You can find the program here. Let me take a sidebar here though. I love this magazine. It has style stuff, recipes, health stuff, relationship stuff, and coupons. And it's only $2.99 a magazine. What a steal! Let me caution you against one thing though - don't get the tablet version. Yes, it's cheaper, but there's a reason. You don't get the coupons and if there's something you want to clip and save, you can't since you can't print anything from it.

5.  Get craftier - I used to make stuff all the time. I made homemade cards and paintings and just tons of other crafts. I barely do any of that now. Mostly because I'm just sitting in front of the TV most nights and because my craft room has gotten so unorganized I can't find anything. See how everything is tying together?? The most important thing for me this year is getting organized because all of this other stuff is tied to that.

6. Last but not least, I am challenging myself to read 100 books this year. I've already got 4 down this month and am getting ready to start #5. It's a lofty goal, but I'm sure I can make it! Each month, I will post a blog with the books I've read and my thoughts on them.

You've probably noticed by now there's a recurring theme: Organization. Time. Activity.  These are the major items I want to get better with this year and really focus on making good habits with.  You might have noticed I didn't put "lose weight".  I have resolved to lose weight year after year and it just never happens.  So this year, I'm putting the focus more on the things that will bring about losing weight as a side effect, i.e., getting more active and eating better.  I hope you've made some resolutions - post some of your thoughts in the comments below and I'd be happy to check in with you and see how you're doing.  I hope you will check back and follow my progress in 2014.