August Foodie Penpals!

Hey all! It’s that time again…Foodie Penpals Time!

This month I sent a box to Diana in Brooklyn, and I received an awesome box from Steph in Florida 🙂

My wonderfully awesome box included the following:

1. A package of guava paste: Steph told me that this is a Cuban staple. I had heard of it before but had never tasted it. Absolutely delicious! I found a really yummy sounding empenada recipe that I’m making for friends this weekend using it 🙂
2. Parkesdale Farms Strawberry Preserves: I LOVE strawberries! I could probably eat nothing else for the rest of my life and be a very happy woman. It therefore goes without saying that when I saw this adorable jar in my box, I was very excited! It pairs perfectly with my favorite banana-flavored peanut butter for a sweet snack!
3. Gator Sprinkles: This seasoning rocks on chicken! I cook all the time, and I’ve used a lot of different seasonings. This is by far one of the best I’ve had in a very long time. Absolutely fabulous!
4. Black Beans: Okay, so I’m not sure if Steph is psychic or what, but my room mate and I LOVE black beans. We cook with them constantly, so this was a perfect item for me!
5. Justin’s Peanut and Almond Butter: I actually sent these to my penpal this month, too; how funny is that? These are great on crackers, and paired nicely with the strawberry preserves. They did not last long. I ate them all within two days of getting them!
6.  Organo Gold Gourmet Hot Chocolate: I live on a snow belt, and in the winter time here in CT, nothing beats a nice mug of hot chocolate. I’m very excited to have these for the colder months ahead!
7. Organo Gold Green Tea: I love tea at night, and I especially love green tea. Perfect!
8. Arbonne Detox Tea: Super yummy! I’ve used one bag so far, and I have the others stashed away for the winter. I have a feeling they’ll be just what I need when the weather gets cold 🙂
9. Arbonne Energy Fizz Sticks: These rock! They’re very tasty, and great for an afternoon pick-me-up at work!
10. A reusable shopping bag: I’m all about going green, so this was an awesome little additional surprise!

Thanks so much for the awesome box Steph!

A little info on the  program:

This program is amazing for anyone who loves to cook, or just appreciates food!

Here is the general idea:

-On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.

-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!

-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!

-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)

-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.

-Foodie Penplas is open to US & Canadian residents.

Happy Eating, and Happy Friday Everyone!

Chelsea ❤

Weekly Weigh-In, Week 2

Hey guys! I’m very excited to be writing this post, as my first week was more successful than expected.

My starting weight was 189 lbs.

As of this morning, my weight is 187.4 lbs, which means that I lost 1.6 lbs this week. Not too shabby for a week that was light on exercise. I attribute it to good eating choices, as well as the couple of good workouts I did manage to get in.

Here’s the exercise breakdown for the past week:

Monday

I started off the week with a one mile walk. It was the last morning of puppy-sitting the lovely Sasha, so I took her for a walk and did so at a brisk pace so I could get a bit of a sweat in.

Later that evening, I did a 20-ish minute ab workout as well.

Tuesday

Tuesday Morning I did a 1.5 mile jog around my neighborhood. This was a great start to my day. The energy I obtained from the run kept me going for a good portion of the day, and I was proud of myself for getting up so early, too.

Wednesday & Thursday

No workout.

No excuses here, just explanations. I stayed up late both Tuesday and Wednesday night. I had a can of soda too close to bedtime one night, and was up late on the laptop the second. Since I was up so late early, I didn’t feel like getting up at 6 AM, nor did I feel like it after work. Entirely my own fault, and I intend to rectify that with as many workouts as possible this week!

Thursday afternoon, as you know, I posted about my struggles throughout the week, and asked for some advice on how to improve my running time and distance. Two lovely ladies responded with very helpful advice, which I put into action the very next morning. Which brings us to…

Friday

Friday morning I got my butt out of bed and went for another 1.5 mile jog. I kept my pace up well and felt really strong when I was done. It was a great feeling to get in a good solid workout, and it kept me alert throughout the day.

Saturday

Saturday morning I had a session with my awesome trainer James at Rezultz Training in Menands, NY. I’ve been working with him since my senior year in college, and when I moved, I decided that I would continue to work with him. I drive up to NY once every two weeks for a training session. We did a lot of upper-body work, as well as some abs. I felt very strong after I was done, and I can’t wait for my next session!

Sunday

Sunday morning I was sore from my session the day before, so I decided to take a day off so my body could rest.

So overall, not a horrible week, but not as good as it could be. My goal this week is 5 workouts. I installed an app on my phone called “0 to 5K”, which I’ll be starting tomorrow. It takes you through an eight-week program that trains you for a 5K race. You just plug your headphones into your phone and run or walk as it tells you to. As motivation, I’m going to be looking for races coming up in about eight weeks and registering for one. Super excited!

I hope everyone is having a pleasant and productive day so far.

Happy Monday!

Chelsea ❤

Good Morning!

Good Morning everyone! I hope everyone’s day is off to a good start, because I know mine certainly is!

I achieved my super-short-term goal of getting my butt out of bed and going for a run this morning. I got in a mile and a half, and I couldn’t be happier 😀

I felt really good after my run this morning, and I have another mini-workout planned for this evening after work!

I’d like to send out a special thanks to Noelle and Beth for your advice yesterday. It really helped my motivation this morning knowing that I have people behind me. I tried to follow a combination of what each of you said, and it made my run a really pleasant experience rather than something I felt I was obligated to do 🙂

Happy Friday!

❤ Chelsea

Could Use Some Advice!

Alright, I’m prematurely writing my weekly exercise entry this week because I feel like if I don’t I’ll never get where I want to be. So far this week I’ve dragged myself out of bed for one solid run, and a short one at that. I only ran one mile. I felt good after, but I’m disappointed with that distance.

My biggest problem lately has been a lack of sleep at night. I haven’t gotten up for a run the past two days because the nights before I couldn’t fall asleep until after 3. It’s my own fault, though. I drank a soda about an hour before bed Tuesday night, so the caffeine kept me awake, and last night I started watching a movie too late and lost track of the time.

The upside to all of this is that I’ve been making sure to be really good with my food choices, and I’ve been religious about recording them on MyFitnessPal. My goal is to increase my mileage by the end of October. Right now I can do 2 miles if I really push myself, but it’s a challenge. I want to make that a “short run” and increase a typical run to at least 4 miles. I also want to improve my time, which is proving to be the biggest challenge so far. Any advice on how to go about either goal will be greatly appreciated and rewarded with a healthy, home-made treat package! I’m a little bit lost, and I would really appreciate the help 🙂

Short term goals are a bit easier. For instance:

Tomorrow I’m determined to get myself out of bed for a good solid run tomorrow. My goal for the day is to get up early and bang out at least a mile and a half, if not the full two. I will be checking in again tomorrow to report on that!

 

Happy Almost Friday!

Chelsea

Mediterranean Chicken with Eggplant, Revision

Hey guys! I knew I was leaving something out when I was typing the recipe out for you before. The other thing that I added was chopped bell pepper.

Here is the revised recipe:

Ingredients

1 eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices

• I sliced it into circles, but you can slice it lengthwise if you prefer!

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – diced

1 medium bell pepper, chopped

• I used a green bell pepper to simulate the colors of the Italian flag, but any color will do just fine!

1 small onion, diced

1 cup part skim mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup tomato paste

1/4 cup water

garlic powder, as desired

onion salt, as desired

chopped parsley, as desired

grated parmesan cheese, as desired

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place eggplant slices in a pot of lightly salted water and soak for 30 minutes.

• You don’t have to boil the water for this. I used warm water myself, but any temperature will do. This step helps to bring out the flavor in the eggplant.

2. Remove eggplant from the pot and brush with olive oil.

3. Grill until lightly browned and place in a 9×13 inch baking dish. Set aside.

• I have a mini indoor grill, but you can just saute the slices in a pan if you don’t have access to one.

4. Saute the diced chicken and onion in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Spice as desired.

5. Stir in tomato paste and water, cover skillet, reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.

6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

7. Pour chicken mixture over the eggplant. Further season the chicken if desired.

8. Distribute the chopped bell pepper evenly with the chicken.

9. Spread cheeses evenly over the top of the chicken.

10. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until cheese is lightly browned.

11. Let cool and ENJOY!

Enjoy guys!

Chelsea ❤

Mediterranean Chicken with Eggplant!

Good morning all! I hope everyone had a pleasant evening, and are having a good start to the day 🙂

Last night I prepared dinner that I was pretty proud of. I based it off of a recipe from allrecipes.com, which I love to use, since MyFitnessPal is linked to that site, and all I have to do is type in the recipe title to enter my calories.

The original recipe, called Mediterranean Chicken with Eggplant, is here:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/mediterranean-chicken-with-eggplant/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=mediterranean%20chicken%20with%20eggplant&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page

I looked at it and thought it sounded pretty good, but changed a few things up. I also cut the recipe in half, since I have fewer people to feed. Also, I’m steadily becoming kind of cheap, so I didn’t feel like spending money on more eggplant 😛

Here is my version:

Ingredients

1 eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices

• I sliced it into circles, but you can slice it lengthwise if you prefer!

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – diced

1 small onion, diced

1 cup part skim mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup tomato paste

1/4 cup water

garlic powder, as desired

onion salt, as desired

chopped parsley, as desired

grated parmesan cheese, as desired

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place eggplant slices in a pot of lightly salted water and soak for 30 minutes.

• You don’t have to boil the water for this. I used warm water myself, but any temperature will do. This step helps to bring out the flavor in the eggplant.               

2. Remove eggplant from the pot and brush with olive oil.

3. Grill until lightly browned and place in a 9×13 inch baking dish. Set aside.

• I have a mini indoor grill, but you can just saute the slices in a pan if you don’t have access to one.               

4. Saute the diced chicken and onion in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Spice as desired.

5. Stir in tomato paste and water, cover skillet, reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.              

6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 

7. Pour chicken mixture over the eggplant. Further season the chicken if desired.

8. Spread cheeses evenly over the top of the chicken.

9. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until cheese is lightly browned.

10. Let cool and ENJOY!

 

So, as you can see, I mostly followed the recipe, but changed up the spices a bit and added some cheese. I served it over tri-color rotini, but you can use your favorite pasta or rice, or even serve it alone with a side salad!

Happy Hump Day!

Chelsea            

Stuffed Peppers!

Good Morning All! I thought I’d start the day off with a quick recipe. Last night I made stuffed peppers for myself and my room mates, and I thought I’d share my recipe with you 🙂

Sadly, I did not take a photo. I will make more of an effort to do so in the future, but these smelled so good and I just didn’t think about it.

I got home later than usual last night, and as a result, I decided to make the peppers without rice to avoid extra carbs and calories. It would have been too heavy for me at that time of night. Jamie (my best friend and room mate) assisted by chopping up the vegetables while I cooked the meat and put the peppers together!

So here you have it…

Late-Night Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients

3-4 Bell Peppers, any color, tops removed

1 lb ground turkey

1/4 cup mushrooms, chopped

1/4 cup broccoli, chopped

1/4 cup bell pepper, chopped (Hint: The tops work great for this!)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Spices, as desired

2-3 tbsp olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, Farenheit.

2. Place peppers in a baking dish and place in preheated oven for 15 minutes.

3. While peppers are cooking, brown the turkey in a skillet over medium-high heat. Spice turkey as it is cooking. Remove from heat.

4. Heat oil in a second skillet and saute the vegetables in it. Spice veggies if desired, add to turkey.

5. When peppers are done, remove from the oven, and fill with turkey & veggies.

6. Top each pepper with mozzarella cheese.

• If you wish, you can layer the filling and the cheese inside of the pepper as well!

7. Place the filled peppers back into the oven for an additional 15 minutes.

8. Remove peppers from oven, let cool and ENJOY!

Happy Tuesday!

Chelsea

Monthly Photo Shoot, August

Hi All! One more quick one for tonight!

I promised a monthly photo to show tangible evidence of effort and weight loss, and I’m making good on that promise right now 😀

These are the very first photos that I have taken on this journey to healthy living! I have one from the front, and an additional photo from each side. I don’t love them, but I have confidence that I can achieve permanent weight loss and take photos that I will be proud to post!

So here you are…

 

Again, they’re certainly not great, but I’m happy to post them because it means the beginning of a new era in my life. Posting these photos is a stepping stone towards a better lifestyle and a healthier me! I’m excited to keep going and to share my achievements with all of you month by month 🙂 

Weekly Weigh-In, Week 1!

Hi All! I hope everyone had a pleasant Monday, and is having an equally pleasant evening 🙂 I personally had an awesome day, starting off my weight-loss journey!

So, first things first…I got on the scale this morning to establish a starting weight.

I weighed in at 189 lbs.

This isn’t great, but hey, you gotta start somewhere! At least now I have a number to work from 🙂

I started off the day with a one-mile walk. Today was the last day of puppy-sitting for my parents, so I took the puppy with me. I was a little bit disappointed, since I wanted to get in a jog in addition to the walk, but I overslept and wasn’t able to. Sasha likes to walk at a brisk pace, though, so it wasn’t too bad!
Throughout the day, I made sure to make healthy eating choices. I had coffee and a low-fat granola bar for breakfast, followed by a second cup of coffee at work. For lunch I had a turkey sandwich with lettuce and tomato and just a teaspoonful of mayo for flavor 🙂 I had a 50-Calorie fruit strip mid-afternoon, and allowed myself one indulgence, which was a Lindt White Chocolate Truffle. (As delicious as it was, at 77 Calories apiece I think I’m going to have to let those go for awhile!) Finally, for dinner I made stuffed bell peppers. I decided not to use rice to avoid the extra carbs. I also got home later than usual, so I wanted to avoid consuming extra calories past 7 PM. Be on the lookout for my stuffed pepper recipe this week!

This evening after dinner, I did some abdominal work. This was partly for the sake of working my abs, and partly so I’d feel better about this morning’s exercise. I got a good sweat going, and felt a lot better about my exercise for the day after I was done!

I have my alarm set for 6 AM tomorrow, which is a half hour earlier than usual. This way I can make sure I have time to get a solid jog in, as well as have time to eat breakfast and get ready for work. I have full confidence in myself that tomorrow will be a better day exercise-wise, and another great day food-wise!

Have a great night everyone!

❤ Chelsea

It’s Time For a Change!

I’ve struggled with my weight my entire life. I’ve tried every method in the book, from crash diets to excessive exercise and everything in between. Over the past year, I’ve really found that the old fashioned way is the best way to go. The fad diets shed water weight quickly, but the pounds come right back as soon as you stop them. You feel awful, too, because you’re not getting the right nutrients.

I lost a fair amount of weight with simple diet and exercise changes this time last year, and I was very happy with my progress. Unfortunately, several factors-laziness very much one of them-have pulled me away from my goal and frankly, I’m tired of making excuses.

So this is me holding myself accountable. I’ve seen a few people whose blogs I read doing this recently, and I feel that it’s time for me to do the same. I need to start working out more and eating better, but I need something to keep me going.

So here’s the deal…

I’m going to do a weekly weigh-in on Mondays. (Tomorrow will be the first, so be on the lookout!) I will give my starting weight and total weight loss. I’ll give details on my workouts that week as well.

In addition to this, I will give a monthly photo. Just a photo of me in my workout clothes-the same ones each time-so that the difference can be easily seen. 

Finally, I will post a couple of recipes that I’ve prepared throughout the week. That way I can prove the changes to my diet, and you can enjoy the same yummy recipes, too!

It’s time for a change, and I’m ready to make it. I can’t wait to share my journey with all of you 🙂