MIA

I will be MIA for an undetermined amount of time! There are some personal things going on in my life that I need to focus on!

ABCDEFG Next time won't you sing with me

I had to jump on the bandwagon... seems its going around and since I have nothing better to talk about why the heck not???

A: is for Apple, what’s your favorite variety?

Apples and I have a very unique relationship. I LOVE them now but as a kid I could not eat them (well refused to eat them) because they would squeak on my teeth and it still gives me chills to think of it. I like the soft juicy kind, as apposed to the crisp (the squeakers) so I think I have to say Fuji or Gala!

B: is for Bread, regardless of nutrition, calories, or whole grains what is your favorite type to have a nice big piece of?

The darker the better. I love a dense thick bread. I have never been a big fan of white bread. I am lying. If you put any kind of bread in front of me, sweet, buttery, dense, fluffy... I would eat the crap out of it!

C: is for Cereal what is your favorite kind currently (just one!)

HARDEST QUESTION EVER. I LOVE cereal. There is just something so perfect about it :) My current favorite is just your good old All Bran.

D: is for Doughnuts, you might not currently be eating them but what kind do you fancy?

Oh Em Gee.... I haven't had a donut in I couldn't even tell you how long but if I were going to have one it would have some sort of filling (custard) and be covered in Chocolate :)

E: is for Eggs, how would you like yours prepared?

The incredible, edible egg. Any way I can get them. I am lucky that my kids love eggs so much too because this is one of our "go to's" for dinner every week when time is tight. I love omele

ts filled with veggies and cheese!

F: is for Fat Free, what is your favorite fat free product?

Probably fat free cottage cheese.

G: is for Groceries, where do you purchase yours at?

Listen, I am a mom on a budget. I would love it if I could always shop at Whole Foods, or the like but I can't. I usually end up at Walmart or Smith's, due to convenience. I do however make the special trip to Whole foods every couple of weeks :)

H: is for Hot Beverages, what is your favorite hot drink?

I am a recovering coffee addict.

I: is for Ice Cream, pick a favorite flavor and add a fun topping.

My all time fav would have to be baskin Robbins Peanut butter and chocolate, and Pistachio. Don't get me wrong. I don't hate on any ice cream, I also love cookies and cream and mint chocolate chip. Favorite topping. Caramel. Yum.

J: is for Jams or Jellies, do you eat them, and if so what kind and flavor?

When we lived in Cyprus one of my English friends had toast with Orange Marmalade every time we met for breakfast. I thought it was the most disgusting thing ever. Now.... I love it. :) So that would be my favorite, that or strawberry. Or raspberry.

K: is for Kashi, name your favorite Kashi product?

The Kashi Honey Sunshine Squares is my favorite. I have alternated that with the All Bran!

L: is for Lunch, what was yours today?

Wish I had something amazing to say here but to be honest, I haven't had much of an appetite for the last week and have literally had to make myself eat something throughout the day (stress does that to me). I think I made myself eat a Fiber bar.

M: is for microwave, what is your favorite microwave meal/snack?

POPCORN hands down

N: is for nutrients, do you likes carbs, fats, or proteins best?

Oh my. I love carbs. I think I am a carb-a-holic however carbs love my butt and that seems to be the only place they will settle SO.... I try to stick with lean meat and veggies on my diet and keep my carbs lower.

O: is for oil, what kind do you like to use?

I don't. I can't remember the last time I did. For me anyway. I use my PAM sprays.

P: is for protein, how do you get yours?

Mostly chicken, or fish. I will use my protein powders on occasion too but not everyday.

Q: is for Quaker, how do you like your oats?

Yum, I love oats baked, overnight in a cookie or from the microwave. I am not picky!

R: is for roasting, what is your favorite thing to roast?

I don't roast anything. LOL. I do however like when other people roast things. Meat or veggies please.

S: is for sandwich, what’s your favorite kind?

Easy. Turkey and Avocado with all the fixin's... uh huh!

T: is for travel, how do you handle eating while traveling?

Luckily (or maybe not so luckily) I don't travel a lot but when I have to if I am dieting for a comp I usually pack a bunch of protein and stick to salads, otherwise I just enjoy myself and eat within reason! I try not to indulge too much.

U: is for unique, what is one of your weirdest food combos?

I don't think I have any. I guess other people might find it weird to eat ground turkey with mustard? When I am competition dieting I get all kinds of strange comments on what I eat... but I don't think its because its weird more because its boring.

V: is for vitamins, what kind do you take?

Right now I currently am not taking any. I ran out. I like to stick with CLA, L-Carnitine and a multi

W: is for wasabi, yay or nay?

YAY... burn baby burn!

X: is for XC Foodie, why is she so awesome?

Hmm...

Y: is for youth, what food reminds you of your childhood?

These do. My mom's famous cookie bars. I LOVE them and every time I felt homesick when we were away I had to make them. I came up with a "healthier" way to make them though.

Z: is for zucchini, how do you prepare it?

I LOVE zucchini, I like it steamed, or grilled or as bread :)

Your turn!!!!!

Spreading the love

I LOVE giveaways :) Someday I will have to host one but until then... check this one out!

The Fitness Dish is giving away some pretty cool stuff, click here!

Lemonade

The last couple of weeks have been that of self reflect, doubt and craziness. I won't get into it but my life is anything but breezy right now. You know that saying when life gives you lemons make lemonade? Well I am squeezing the hell out of those suckers... lets see what I get! I am having a hard time thinking of things to write about, a hard time thinking of anything really.

I am however hoping that I benefit from the stress diet that I am on as of late ;)

Anywho... a few amazing things that I have tried recently. GENIUS. That is all I have to say about this recipe. I mentioned before that I tried the black bean brownies and was less than impressed. Now seeing this recipe threw me for a loop and I ALMOST didn't make it but I did. And it was... amazing. Chocolate Chip Blondies found here . I am a fan. I will make again, and again, and again.

I also cannot freaking way for an excuse to make this. I need a party. Girls smash night is coming up I suppose I could whip it up and surprise my sisters with a healthy yummy treat! Chocolate Covered Katie, you are a genius. Love her recipes.

I also made this yummy easy taco salad recipe from Dashing Dish last week, I used a low carb tortilla and it was soooo fun to eat and so good. I used chicken and one time instead of making it taco flavored I thought it would be fun to try it BBQ style... so I used some Walden Farms sugar free BBQ sauce and it was GOOOOD too! I also made her Chicken Enchilada Pockets for the family one night and they were loved by EVERYONE. It was similar to what I call Chicken pillows that my kids looooove so it was a big hit!

I hope you can enjoy a few of my new favorites!!!!!

Train, shmain...

HOWDY!

I have been MIA, been busy with trying to get my life back in order. I felt so overwhelmed and consumed with the thought of competing that when I finally decided to wait until later, guess what happened?

I slept.

Like a rock.

Multiple times a day.

I feel like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. I wasn't sleeping well at all and now I am sleeping through the night, and have been needing little naps through out my day. Guess I am playing catch up. Anyway, point is now I am sure I made the right decision. I will compete when I feel ready. Period.

So since I am not competing this summer my sister in law has talked me into running a half marathon or two with her. We did the Race for the Cure here in SLC this month (a 5k) and that night we both registered for a half on July 9th. That doesn't give me much time to train does it? I once ran a half with a days notice and no training what-so-ever and lived (barely) to talk about it so I think if I actually start running I will be able to not only do it but beat my time of 3 hours. So now I have something to work towards, a goal, an achievable one that doesn't give me anxiety and sleepless nights I am golden. Only problem is... did I mention I HATE running? LOL!

Flax Bread

Holy batman, did I have a vent session or what? Thank you so much for listening, and for your kind words of support. It has been a rough couple of weeks at my household. Topping it off my daughter wound up with the flu so I spent my entire night on the hour every hour holding her hair while she prayed to the porcelain God. Poor baby. She has been sick a couple of times today as well, with a fever but seems to be going down. I finally got her to eat... cereal.. she is just like me :)

Anywho, had to share a recipe. I made some flax bread this morning. I LOVE me some bread and lowering my carbs is always super duper hard for me but unfortunately that is one of the ONLY ways I can drop any weight so I have to find my "fixes".

Low Carb Flax bread

2 C Flax seed meal

1 Tbsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Salt

1-2 Tbsp Sugar (I used 1 T sf honey, and 1 T torani brown sugar cinnamon syrup)

5 eggs, beaten (I used 3 whole and 2 egg whites)

1/2 C water

1/3 C unsweetened applesauce (or oil, or pumpkin)

Preheat oven to 350

• Mix dry ingredients well
• Mix wet ingredients well and add to dry
• Let batter thicken for 2-3 minutes but not too long
• Pour into pan (I used 11x13 baking dish)
• Bake 20 minutes

I cut mine up like brownies and then sliced it again in half again the long way (does that make sense?) I threw it under the broiler and toasted it then had a sandwich. Super good. Makes approx 12 servings.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 slices

Amount per Serving

Calories 106

Calories from Fat 64.2

% Daily Value *

Total Fat 7.13g

10%

Saturated Fat 0.38g

1%

Cholesterol 53.75mg

17%

Sodium 234.35mg

9%

Total Carbohydrate 7.27g

2%

Dietary Fiber 5.44g

21%

Sugars 0.5g

Protein 6.17g

12%

Est. Percent of Calories from:

Fat

59%

Carbs

27%

Protein

23%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calories needs.

Reality check time

This is going to be a rough blog to write so bear with me. It has been a rough couple of weeks for me. I don't really know what is wrong... just that I feel so overwhelmed and so emotional. So unhappy, moody, I could really go on and on. It could just be that my husband has been gone for what seems like an eternity (10 days) or that my body seems to HATE me. Either way my head is a mess. I have been planning to compete on June 18th for a while now. I have been dieting (mostly) and training and working really hard but I keep questioning myself. I am getting so overwhelmed with the "post" comp issues that ALWAYS present themselves no matter how badly you try not to let them. It just happens. My main reason for competing initially was to give myself a goal, a push to lose the weight that I feel I unfairly gained because of competing in figure. LOL. Right. So I planned to work my A$$ off to get on stage, look amazing... and then what? Gain it back the second I look at a carb? See where I am going with this? My head is a MESS.

This is probably where I should start seeing a therapist. You all will have to do.

When I decided to start competing a couple of years ago I was TINY. I had to work really really hard to put on that weight for Figure. Now I can't seem to get rid of it. Now hear me out, I know that I am not by any means overweight. I know that in a lot of eyes I look fine. But in MY eyes... I don't feel like I look fine. I don't feel like I even look good. Most days I feel "beefy". That is the word I use to describe myself these days. Beefy. I want to feel good again. I want to wear my jeans not have my jeans wear me. I want to feel comfortable in my own skin again. I don't want myself reverting back to old habits. Scary habits.

This is where it gets rough. I think that it would not be in my best interest to compete so soon. I am so scared of the "after" that I can't really get into the "before". Does that make sense? So my new game plan is this. I want to be a normal person, who CHOOSES to eat healthy because it makes me FEEL good not because I HAVE to. I want to enjoy eating with my family again, I don't want to have that "stress" whenever there is a family function and I know I will be surrounded by food I CAN'T eat. I want to focus on my workouts, losing the weight that I feel I need to lose and after all of that is said and done if I decide to compete I will. But right now, TODAY... I don't know if that is an option for me. It kills me to say that, but I need a reality check. Anyway, my husband will be back soon, my head may or may not go back to normal. I may or may not change my mind about competing in (gasp) 5 and 1/2 weeks but either way this is where I am at today.