Groceries Galore

Hi there!  Happy Saturday yo!

Man, do I feel great!  Saturday mornings are always an early wake up at 7:40, but who are we kidding, I'm naturally up before that anyways...I think it's just mental that I don't get to 'sleep in'.  Ma had to work and Brudder is moving, so I was solo today.  I still went, had a blast, wished they were there, and burned some mega calories!  A recovery shake, which I usually share with Ma, was enjoyed after. Gotta get some protein in the bod to build some lean muscle!

The last few weeks of craziness, which I could probably write a book on, have left my cupboards, freezer, and fridge a barren wasteland.  I'm pretty sure I had to clean out some tumbleweeds yesterday... So grocery shopping was on the agenda for today.  Now here is the amazing part; our regional director wanted to thank us for working so hard before school started (we weren't getting paid and didn't have contracts yet, but if we wanted jobs we had to market for kids for enrollment) that he gave us all $100 Giant Eagle gift cards!  Sweeeeet.  Gift card and food perks united to bring my $156 total down to $42!  No extreme couponing needed :)

The Bounty

I love to grocery shop when I have no time frame.  I just cruise up and down the aisles and scope out the goods.  I usually do most of my shopping at Trader Joe's, but I had to use that gift card!  I also love to go after the gym; I always feel motivated, healthy, and just plain awesome, and in turn, I make great food choices.

PB of choice on the right, intriguing PB on the leftt.

One way I try to help myself make good choices throughout the week, is that I come home from the grocery store and immediately get to work.  I boil half of my dozen of eggs, then just pop them back in the carton in the back row (B is for back and boiled).  In addition, I almost always make some sort of meal that I can divide into containers to have quick, ready to go meals for lunches or dinners.  I just feel so inspired to cook when I get home.  Today's dish was completely from my brain, no internet recipe inspiration, nadda.  It just kind of developed.

Garlic and Herb Chicken and Cauliflower

Boy, is it delicious!  You can find the recipe over on the recipes page!

I also made some quinoa to go along with it, divided it up into a few containers (2 with chicken and cauli, 1 of just quinoa to use later with something)

Instant lunches!  Just heat and eat :)

Ok, I'm full...the only downside of grocery shopping is I tend to snack the whole time on all of the new goodies I bought to try!  But, guess that just counts as my lunch.  I think I'll try to grab a wink or two before heading into work tonight...yay retail.

Today's lesson learned:

Going to the grocery store when you're not hungry is something we've all heard; that's physical.  What about your mental state?  If you go to the grocery store when you're feeling great, confident, happy, and motivated, you'll make much better choices in every aisle.  Fo sho!

Plan to Make a Plan

I kind of failed on the whole pictures of my food thing today.  Whoops.  I was busy, alright?!?  Gimmie a break, I'm still new at this :)  Eggs, whole wheat french toast, and turkey bacon for bfast, cucumber/tomato/onion salad for lunch, an iced coffee, a couple bites of my left over burger from yesterday for lunch, and a protein shake and some Asian snack mix for dinner.  My day was wacky, so my eating was too.  Eh...tomorrow is a new day!  Which reminds me... I need to plan it out...

This is super easy, lasts in the fridge, and yummy!  I just make a huge bowl and snack on it through the week.  This bowl was about 3 cucumbers, 2 tomatos, and 1 vadallia onion.  Cut them up, and toss it with  some olive oil, rice vinegar, salt, pepper and a little dash of sweetner (I like to use agave nectar).  I would list measurements, but it's all about personal taste!  I like mine tangy but Keefer likes it a little more mild.  

So, anyways, planning.  We all need to do it, some try a little more than others, and there is a decent handful that plan correctly and see everything through successfully.  Personally, I try to make a plan, but I am flexible and resourceful when it might not go 'as planned.'  I would have to say that part of the successes that I have reached, were because of planning.  After a while, what used to be a planned activity becomes a habit and that is an amazing thing.  When you were little, your parents had 'made plans' for you to brush your teeth before you went to bed, but after a while, it just became a habit because it was planned so often and it was also planned predictably.  The same goes for healthy living!  Don't get me wrong, I'm not perfect.  I'm not a robot, I'm a real girl!  I promise.  Pinky promise.  But, I do try my best to do as I should.  When I talked before about planning out your workout, I mentioned how group fitness really aids in that process, but you don't have to have a class to have a plan.  Every night before I go to bed I plan out what is happening the next day; which job I have to be at when, what/how/when I'll be eating, and most importantly; when I will be exercising.  Mom has been telling me for yeaaaaarrrssss, "Exercising has to be like brushing your teeth...you just do it!"  Thanks momsy, it finally clicked for me  :)

When I plan to go for a run in the morning before work, I kind of actually get myself psyched up for it, I look forward to it, and it's not so hard to wake up when you're looking forward to something.  Yeah, it's a mind game...but it's definitely a game I'm willing to play!

For example, let me walk you through how my planning will go for my day tomorrow.  I work at 7am until noon (weird short truck shift) and then I will head to babysit from 2pm until late into the evening.  Maybe 10ish?  First up, when will I work out??!?!  I'm all about getting up early, but I just got home from BodyPump and Kickboxing and working out again less than 12 hours later after all that stress is a bit much for the 'ol body.  Babysitting is out near the mall so I can't go between...hmmm...it would be ok to rest tomorrow, it wouldn't ruin my life, but guess what!?  They have OnDemand!  Did you know about all of the FREEEE exercise videos OnDemand?  You must check it out.  Go. Now. Leave a comment about what you found!  When the kids go down to bed, I'll pull up a workout on the TV and use the living room.  Task planned.

Now on to the food... breakfast is easy because I'll be at home and I'll probably have one of my favorite and staple breakfasts on the go:  peanut butter french toast!

Like my plate?  I told you I don't do glam.

Mallory's Famous French Toast

- 1 slice Trader Joe's 7 grain french toast (cooked in toaster)

- 1 Tb. natural peanut butter

- Generous sprinkle of ground flax seed

- Generous sprinkle of slivered almonds

- Light drizzle of honey

Lunch will have to happen on the road because I'll be done at work and I'll be starving if I wait to get to babysitting.  So, I'm planning out right now, a trip to Qdoba.  I have a super special ninja meal I get that is delicious, cheap, a good choice, and oh so ninja.  Check back tomorrow for the deets.  But shhhhh...keep it on the DL.

Dinner.  Now that is tricky.  I have a few options here.  I could pack something to take with me (probably the best option) or hope they have something there that would fall into my 'good choice' category.  Knowing myself, and my 'eat it all now because you may never see it again' binge streaks (which are at their worst when I babysit), I am deciding now, right here for the world to see, to pack myself a dinner.  Yeah, it takes a few extra minutes of my time.  But you know what?  It's worth it.  Like, 134 times a million worth it.  I'll go to babysitting with the mind set that I brought my good choice with me, and nothing is going to bring me down!

So there you go, that's how my mind works.  I personally believe that the 5 minutes I just took planning out at least an outline of my day tomorrow will really benefit me in the long run.  Yeah, I'll still have to reel in the binge monster when I get to babysiting, and it will be a challenge, but I'm hoping by bringing my own food, I'll be consistently reminding myself what I'm working towards.  That's my plan anyway.

Today's lesson learned:

Make a plan.  The plan might not go as planned; it might even derail into oblivion, but at least you have got your mind going in the right direction.  Working without a plan, all willy nilly and such, can and will lead to bad choices.  Who wants those?  Not this girl.

Sweat x 3 = Feel the Burrrrn

I had the whole day off from my retail job, which usually doesn't happen on Mondays, and since I don't know how to relax because I'm always go go go, I went to the gym!  On Mondays, there is an instructor, Ivan, that teaches kickboxing and it's usually a rockin' class that kicks your butt.  So off I went and although it was still a calorie scorcher, it wasn't what I remember taking the last few times I went to it.  I think it might be that since it is in the morning on a weekday, a lot of older people take the class, so he simplified it a little more for the crowd.  When I work out in a class, I like to challenge my body AND my mind.  Before the gym though, I grabbed a quick snack on my way out the door because working out on an empty stomach is a no no...but I'll write a post about that later!

I went straight from the gym to help a friend move and for a few hours...aka sweat for 2 more hours while lifting heavy things and moving them to and fro.  Always fun  :)

Finally made it home to relax for a bit and made my self some lunch.  Today it was leftovers made from leftovers...score!  I've been craving some mac and cheese lately but I usually can't justify it.  It doesn't have much protein (especially the Kraft variety), it doesn't have many other nutrients in it, and it's a refined white carb.  The other day, though, I found the Annie's variety of mac and cheese and it looks and pretty much tastes, exactly like Kraft, but with whole grain noodles and organic ingredients.  Slightly more justified by this point.  So the first round of left overs came from the steamed vegetables I made the other day when Keefer and I made some delicious chicken.  I cut the broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower into smaller pieces and mixed them into the whole pot.  Viola! Completely justified mac and cheese!

With 2 small plumbs and a big bottle of H2O

After lunch, I'm not gonna lie...I took a nap.  I good 1.5 hour nap and I was zonked out.  But, since I had the whole day off, I planned something intense.  Are you ready for this?  I went to three group fitness classes today.  It's not something I do all of the time, and is definitely not something I suggest doing all of the time, but once in a while is AOK.  The alarm went off and roomie and I left for BodyPump and Step.  Now, if someone would have asked me, "hey, let's go to the gym today for 3 hours!" I would said, " yo, you crazy?"  But here's what makes it pretty easy, seriously, easy! :  Group fitness!

Group fitness gives you a plan.  It gives you somewhere to be at a certain time.  We've all been there, you're at home and saying, "ohh, well, I'll get up and go in a little bit."  Then a little bit turns into an hour, then an hour turns into three, and you've lost every last bit of motivation that you once had.  But with group fitness, in the morning you say, "hey, I'm going to kickboxing tonight and it starts at 5:30."  So guess what, instant appointment.  It's easier to put on a calendar if you need to; to help manage your time better.  Once you're at class, it gets even easier because guess what?  You don't have to plan our a routine.  You just show up and someone tells you what to do!  Finally, there is a whole group of other people there to do what you're doing.  Yeah, some find it intimidating to work out infront of others, "what if I make a fool out of myself?  what if I can't do it right?"  Well, guess what, get over it.  Seriously.  Suck it up and just do it.  As long as your moving, you're burning calories!  Who cares!  We're all in the same boat!  Not to mention, with all of those people around you, it pushes you to put forth more effort because who wants to look like a weakling...not this girl!  I like to think if I'm really going at it, I might inspire someone else in the room to kick it up a notch.  Other definitely do that for me!

We came home and I made myself a delicious fresh mango protein smoothie!

Fresh mango smoothie:

8oz skim milk

1 scoop designer whey vanilla protein powder

6 ice cubes

1 fresh mango, cubed

1 handful fresh spinach

(I promise you can't taste it, but you get all of the nutrients and it makes it a lovely shade of green!)

Add in blender with the heaviest ingredients on the top of the pile, lid on, blend!  Enjoy!

Today's lesson learned:

Three hours at the gym is never easy, especially in the motivation department, and shouldn't be tackled all of the time. When you add group fitness into the mix, however, you have an instant appointment, a pre-laid out game plan, and increased motivation to feel the burn.  Go out and find a class near you!