Shoutin’ from the Rooftop

I am sorry that I have been pretty much missing in action lately. I feel like this is a constant theme here. It isn’t intentional. It just seems like the day gets away from me and then in the evening after the girls are in bed, I don’t want to blog. I don’t want to talk. I don’t want to be on the computer. This year has been a year of adjustment and changes since Megan started kindergarten.

Since I have pretty much been glued to the couch for the past 36 hours with a sick little girl, I figured it was a good time for me to catch up.

I have several new product reviews to get posted. I have an updated recipe that I made on Sunday night that I will try to get sent out. I just need to figure the points/nutritional values. And the best news of all (at least to me) I have found someone to update the pictures on the website. This is something that has been really bugging me for a long long time. I had someone build my site in the beginning. Then I haven’t had much design support since. Not complaining. That is just the facts. One day it hit me to ask my sister-in-law. She is able to change the picture that is in the middle of the before and after. That after picture is so old. Megan is going to be SIX in February. My hair looks NOTHING like that. So, I am trying to get a picture  that I am happy with that she can use. I just got my hair cut shorter this week so I will try to get that updated soon.

I think that is all for now. As always, I appreciate all of you that take the time to read my thoughts, frustrations and confessions and even take the time to email me.

Have a great day. I will be back soon.

Tags: thoughts

I will be the first to admit that I am a Pinterest addict. It can suck the time away like nothing else. I have discovered many unhealthy recipes but at the same time I have found many great healthy ideas. First I want to state that this is not my recipe in any sense of the word. I will give credit where credit is due. I found this recipe at www.eatinonthecheap.com

I thought the recipe was fabulous! Amazing. So simple.  And I will be making it again soon. When I make it again, I will also be making two more batches to freeze. This would be a great recipe to throw in the freeze. You are already taking the time to cut the chicken, onion and green bell pepper. Why not just prep  three times as much?

Baked Chicken Fajitas

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in to strips

1 15 oz can, diced tomatoes, drained

1 4 oz can diced green chilies

1 medium onion, sliced

1 large green bell pepper, seeded and sliced

2 T vegetable oil

2 t. chili powder

2 t. cumin

1/2 t. garlic powder

1/2 t dried oregano

1/4 t. salt

tortillas, salsa, shredded lettuce, etc

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 9×13 baking dish. Mix together chicken, onion, peppers, tomatoes and green chilies in dish.

In a small container (I used one with a lid so I could shake this) combine the following: oil and all spices.

Toss spice/oil mixture over chicken and vegetable mixture.

Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked completely and vegetables are tender.

6 servings. 1 servings = 4 PP (tortilla and toppings are extra points)

Note: I did think the chicken to veggie ratio was a little off. I think next time I will increase the chicken a bit.

Great recipe

Tags: chicken

Why do I feel the need to eat when I am not hungry?
Why? I wish I knew why my brain works this way. I know I am tired.
I know I am feeling overwhelmed with everything that needs to be done. But why? Food isn’t going to make my to-do list go away. It isn’t going to make me have this sudden burst of energy. Eating isn’t going to make my house clean, the laundry caught up, or my girls act like angels. (They are good girls though)

What a relief it would be to conquer this issue. I wonder what it would feel like to not have food rule so much of my life.

Tags: thoughts

I am going to be honest up front and admit that I am going to commit a blog “sin”. I am going to post a recipe without a picture. I just haven’t had time to make this again and take a picture. My good friend Pam made this recipe up and it is amazing. My family loved it and I will be making it soon. I am even thinking of making a double batch and freezing some.

Peach Keen Black Bean Soup
3 15 oz cans black beans
1/3 tsp garlic
1 can fat free chicken broth (regular size not the huge can)
1/2 c peach salsa (Mrs Renfro’s at Meijer or Trader Joe’s brand)
1 tsp cumin
1/4 c chopped green or red bell peppers
1/2 c chopped onion

Do not drain or rinse beans. Empty one can of beans in to blender. Add in a 1/3 of the chicken broth and puree until mostly smooth. Repeat this with remaining two cans of beans. Add pureed beans to stock pot. Add in garlic, onion, salsa, cumin, and peppers. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 35-40 minutes.  If it is too thick you can add a bit of water.

8 servings  1 cup serving = 3 Points Plus Value

Kristen’s notes:  I used black beans that had no salt added (listed on the can). I found that the soup needed a bit of salt (not much) because of that. I did not need to thin out the soup with water but that was personal choice.

You could top this with some reduced fat sour cream or reduced fat cheese. This is an unbelievable recipe and my family has been asking for it again. Great job Pam and thanks for sharing!

Tags: Soups

I have a new strategy I think will be a great motivator to eat well and workout. I tried out this new strategy for myself today. And I am proof that this does work.

It is simple. Go to a clothing store of your choice. Preferably a store that you like their style. This strategy will not work if you don’t want to buy their clothes. lol. So once you get to the store, go pick out some clothes. Of course you can be hopeful when you are choosing sizes to try on. Obviously you aren’t going to be unrealistic and pick a size 6 pair of jeans if you are currently wearing 12′s.

The proceed to the dressing room. This strategy will be especially successful if you do not currently own a full-length mirror at home. Now take off your clothes. Take a good look in that full length mirror. Ouch. Do I really look like that? Hmm. I didn’t realize. Guess there are some benefits of not owning a full length mirror and being ignorant.

This new weight loss strategy is so effective. It helps you go to a Christmas party and pass on all appetizers. No thank you. Those images in the full length mirror continue to flash through my mind. Small portions of dinner is just fine. No way you are going to eat any dessert at this point.

It is nice to leave the party and not be stuffed or even full. I can faintly hear the rumblings of a hungry stomach.

The great thing about this strategy is that it is completely free to go to a dressing room and try on clothes. Great motivator.

Tags: motivation

The girls and I were lucky to be able to take a trip recently to visit my sister and brother-in-law in Colorado. My sister had lived with us for a year while my BIL was deployed to Afghanistan. So obviously after a year living with us, we all became even closer. It has been hard on my girls not to have their aunt around all of the time.

I will admit that I was nervous. This was the first time that I was going to fly alone with the girls. Thankfully they are veteran fliers but we also have a plane change/flight connection to make. It all went as smoothly as possible. They both did great and I even received compliments both flights on how good they behaved.

My biggest challenge while there was the lack of exercise equipment. I was nervous since I have become accustomed to working out six days a week. I knew that the exercise was important to my mental health but until this trip I really did not realize how much I really needed it.

I worked out the day we flew out. So I knew that I only had four more days that I had to deal with. By the second day, I seriously felt like I was crawling out of my skin. I finally started doing some jumping jacks to get my heart rate up. I played tug of war with their huge rowdy boxer.

The trip was great and I wouldn’t have traded it for anything. It was just a good reminder that exercise has become a necessity for me. I need it to keep sane. My body needs it to stay healthy. Like I have said many many times, I don’t always enjoy it. I don’t always want to do it. But I never regret it once I am done. And I was reminding myself of this fact this morning when I was up before 6am for my five mile run.

Keep plugging along.

Tags: exercise

I will admit, I am addicted to Pinterest. If you are not familiar with Pinterest, it is pretty much a virtual bulletin board. You “pin” bookmarks, products, pictures that you find on the internet and then you have them for reference. I have a whole Motivational board.

Just speaking the truth. I cannot believe how far I have come just since January. I am the strongest I have ever been in my life.

Now if that doesn’t speak to me. How many years I wanted to lose the weight. I would have done about anything.  I thought I was willing to do anything to lose the weight. I wasn’t willing to put in the hard work that was necessary to lose the weight.

I couldn’t say it any better.

I have lived with too much regret for too long. No more regret.

And finally one of the best yet. I am continually reminding myself of this fact.

We all deserve more than rewarding ourselves with food.

Go get moving. More just a bit more yt

Tags: motivation

I have mentioned before that I have a heart rate monitor and it has always been a HUGE motivation to me. Nothing like seeing your calorie burn increase as you work out. It makes me push myself when I see those numbers. My beloved Polar F4 heart rate monitor finally bit the dust after 5 years. I was literally lost for several weeks without one. I know I wasn’t always pushing myself like I know I should because I couldn’t see the numbers. Shows how much of a visual person I actually am.

So I finally broke down and ordered a new Polar watch. I researched. I fretted. I debated. I finally ordered the Polar FT 60. It has so many bells and whistles compared to my old watch. Shows how much technology advances in such a short time. It was a long six days waiting for the new watch to be delivered. Finally yesterday it showed up. Funny how such a crazy thing can be so exciting for me.

Today’s strength class was the first time I was able to try it out. So happy to see that heart rate and calorie burn. I am still learning how to work it. Unfortunately after 5 minutes, I accidentally stopped the watch recording. EEK. So I had to restart it.

Add five minutes AND 25 calories to that total.  462 calories and 1 hour and 15 minutes. Thank you very much Polar. I love this watch. I can’t wait to figure out everything that it does.

I am excited to see what my calories burn is tomorrow for cycling. We have a new teacher for spin who just happens to be our new strength teacher. She is good and she is brutal. And my heart is thankful that she is whipping me in to shape even more.

Tags: exercise, HRM, motivation