I need more veggies

Being sick with a cold for over a week has proved to me that I need more nutrients in my life. In the form of veggies, fruits and whole grains. I'm trying to incorporate more into our meals. I've been eating a lot of crap. (Andy packs his lunch daily and does really good. Someday I'll get him to post about this. Andy isn't nearly as snacky as I am!)



I made whole-grain pasta with veggies. Instead of using a sauce, I added in a few dashes of balsamic vinegar, a spray of olive oil and some garlic.

I added 3 cups of spinach but it wilted down a down!!!



Fat-free feta made it even better.



Here's a photo of the "junk." These are so good. I will not be buying them again. PB and pretzels is such a trigger food for me.



It's also really easy to squeeze in lots of veggies with sandwiches at Whole Foods. Andy ordered roast beef with arugula, tomatos, onion and sun-dried tomato pesto.



And a small side of pasta salad, veggie pasta salad and cucumbers. A small side of it was only $1. Love it.



To show you my "junk" I also ordered a root beer. This root beer actually isn't junk at all but I prefer to eat not drink my calories. Virgils is a good choice for soda when I'm craving it though!



I ordered a turkey avocado sandwich on whole wheat bread. I asked for extra spinach and caramelized onions. I loved it.



Dinner tonight was stir-fried veggies, lean burgers with guacamole and a La Croix sparkling water.



I just bought a pre-sliced and diced veggie pack, threw in some sriracha, teriyaki sauce, red pepper flakes and cooked for 5 minutes in a skillet. The veggies stayed crispy and delicious.



I'm not a HUGE fan of this sparkling water but it hits the spot when I have a diet coke craving.

I want to thank Mari for showing me how to use ExerciseTV. I am kind of lame when it comes to TV...I only recently learned how to use the remote. I am not a TV person by nature. But Exercise TV...I LOVE IT! I am so excited to try out some new videos and workouts.

Do you use Exercise TV? Any suggestions on workouts for me? I'm trying to burn 800-1000 calories a day (I burn a lot. This is a 90 minute-2 hour workout for me. My HR stays between 150-180 but more on that later!) Anyway I can use all the help I can get!

TGIF

I don't know why...but I am so stoked about today being Friday! I guess it's probably because I don't have any classes today. Going back to school is easier than I thought it would be though, I feel like I never left!

I found out that my Tuesday night class (from 7-8:40pm) is only for eight weeks! I thought it was sixteen weeks like the other classes I am taking. So relieved that it's not. Come March, I will have my tuesday nights free.



I fueled after my run yesterday with a big smoothie. I used my favorite flavor of Amazing Meal.



Some of this loveliness. I forgot how great almond milk is in a smoothie! And it's not as calorie dense as cow's milk. And no tummyaches!!! LOVE!



I added a frozen banana, six frozen strawberries, ground flax seed and a drop of raw honey to the mix.



And had a vitamuffin on the side. Have you tried the Fudgy Peanut Butter Chip vitamuffins yet? They are my favorite! The peanut butter chips get all melty and hot and YUM!



And this smoothie was HUGE without being loaded with calories and sugar which I loved. I do wish I had some protein powder at home. I'm making a grocery list today! You guys gave me some great suggestions yesterday so I'm excited.



Dinner was raw veggies with sabra hummus. You know I'm gonna be sad when it's all gone!



And my first Flat-Out wrap pizza. Topped with pesto, light cheddar cheese, asiago cheese, chicken pesto sausage (from TJ's) and chopped red bell pepper. And a pepper flower on top.



Flat-Out wraps crisp up so nicely for pizzas. I'm glad I ventured out of my comfort zone and used these. They are low in calories, full of fiber and tasty.



This morning, I stuck with an old favorite. Sometimes I just need PB & J. Especially when I'm craving junk food like today.



What do you do when you're craving junk food?

"I'm hungry for more"

How cool would it be to have Anthony Bourdain's job? Andy and I are settled in for the night watching his show and wishing we could be him for awhile. Imagine eating and travelling for a living? FANTASTIC?



Alas, I lead a normal life. Today I planned on going to the gym after working (!!!) but my knees were killing me so I made today a rest day. After filling out tons of paperwork and watching gag-inducing bloodborne pathogen videos, I made myself lunch. Raw veg and hummus.



Veggie loaded spinach pasta with a dab of pesto and some turkey sausage. This pasta was killer. I added tomatoes, zucchini and crookneck squash to a 1 tsp olive oil and 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar and mixed it in with the pasta.



Dinner was junk food, made a bit healthier. For the burger, I used lean beef. Each burger was 190 calories, 8 grams of fat and 23 grams of protein. I used a whole wheat bun and a slice of pepper jack cheese to make it tastier.



With chipotle sweet potato fries. I use the frozen Alexia brand. Each bag hhas 7 servings but I split it into 4 servings. So I probably ate about 1.75 servings. (ok I'm a nerd!)



And a pickle.



For dessert, I'm having a mini margarita. I used one shot of tequila, one part Trader Joe's Margarita mix (it's lower in sugar than most! loooooove it!) and one part Simply Orange juice. I love making margaritas on nights like these. And the low-sugar mix doesn't spike my blood sugar like most mixes do.

As for the job, it went great because all I did today was watch that horrible video. I am completely freaked out by needles and this video was chockful of them. GAG GAG GAG!!!!

Are you freaked out by needles?