Tips, Hints, Clues...we all need them!

My eating schedule during the week is what someone might call "out of the ordinary".

• I eat breakfast before school around 7am. 

• Three hours later, my lunch starts, at 10:00!  So I eat a light lunch (trying to be healthy, you know!) 
• By the time I'm done with students, it is 1:00 (another 3 hours) and I am craving food! It could be an apple, yogurt, pretzels, anything really, and if I don't have something prepared, the chocolate on my desk that we're selling for Spanish Club is dangerously tempting!
• Then it's planning time, meetings and I'm home around 3:30 or 4 (again, 3 hours!) and I'm ready for dinner!
• THIS is my first dangerous time of the day...when I get home I'm ready to kick back and it's very tempting to grab something to eat!
• Dinner is ready between 5-6:30 depending on the day, and I am READY!  
• Eight o'clock-ish is another time I have to fight through...if I can brush my teeth and mouthwash, I'm alright.  Or make some air-popped popcorn!

SO, the whole point of this little blog is to show one way I'm preparing to cope.  Taking something completely out of my diet is out of the question...I do not have that kind of will power.  Plain and simple!

I do think that eating every 3 hours IS a smart thing to do IF you're smart about it!  It's not the same as eating a full fledged meal every three hours, just something to keep the metabolism up to par.  (Apple, granola bar, banana, 100-cal pack, etc.)

To help my home-cravings since the kitchen is all too easy to get to, we've done a few things.
1)  There isn't a lot of snack foods in our house right now.  And it's WONDERFUL (at least wonderfully helpful...it can be wonderfully frustrating as well).
2)  The snack food that we DO have, I have gotten one step ahead of... 
PORTION CONTROL.  The side of the box tells you how much to eat, but I always eat more if the box/bag is open in front of me!

SO, I grabbed the boxes of Special K Cracker Chips (highly recommended!!), Triscuits, Vanilla wafers and Kellogg's Krave cereal that were in the cabinet and my boxes of snack baggies.

Would you know that these make 100 calories...?!

• 25 Cracker Chips
• 5 regular calorie Vanilla Wafers
• 5 regular calorie Triscuits
• 2/3 cup Krave cereal

So now I have 100 calorie packs!

The other plus side, food simply doesn't look as appetizing in a baggie as it does in the beautifully decorated box!

RIGHT?! 

Local Workout Classes

...they're simply the best!  If you make a New Years Resolution that has to do with health or weight-loss, I recommend that you join a local class.  We all know that intrinsic motivation only lasts so long after the New Year, but if you sign up and pay for a class or find some friends to join with you, you're no longer your only motivation!  And, it's part of your schedule.  Not to mention that some of these classes can be loads of fun too!

Thanks to Sarah, I went to a Zumba class in the next town over.  I knew I liked Zumba (thanks to Molly!!), but hadn't looked into taking a class this year--although I knew it was the best way!  I have it on the Wii, but if I don't have to do it, I don't make the time.  SO, we went to Zumba, (first class free!).  And it was just OKAY.  My hips and my legs and my arms don't move so well all together :)  I left feeling good because I worked out, but frustrated because I looked like a fool, not to mention the front wall is a mirror!!

NOW, the saving grace to this at this point was that Audrey, a teacher from school, was also at Zumba!  Who knew!!  She had taken a one hour aerobics class right before Zumba.  I figured I'd try that next time...there's still music, a beat, and a good work out!  And it's only $2 a class!

Longer story short, I went to Aerobics the next class not totally planning to stay for Zumba, but then I was so warmed up and Sarah and Audrey were staying, so why not!  I'll try again!  I am GLAD that I did!  Day 2 was so much better!

Now, twice a week I'm doing Aerobics and Zumba back to back...2 hours straight :)  One hour of toning and then one hour of cardio!  I would love to run on the days off, but this snow all of a sudden isn't helping my cause.  If I wait a few days, I'm sure it will melt, only to come back a few days later, but at least I might be able to get a run in!!

OH and ps--my fitness schedule has inspired my hubby a little bit as well--he has taken the dog running once or twice and feels the pain! :)  We're also trying to eat better, which always helps!

GO JOIN A CLASS!!!! :)

DIY Dry Erase Calendar...$5 or less!

To add a splash of color to our kitchen and to create an active calendar, not on the computer, I made a dry-erase calendar, thanks to none other than pinterest! 

VERY easy to do, and can be done in one night!

1) Decide what colors you would like your calendar to be and go to your local hardware store or super center and collect the paint samples of the right colors.  (I recommend the swatches that are one single color, you'll get more out of it and the multiples can be too small).  They are free, but you might want to look out for suspicious on-lookers! (Why could you possibly need so many samples?!)

2)  Purchase or find a picture frame at least 11x14.  I bought mine from Walmart for $5! 

3) If your frame is 11x14, cut the paint swatches into 1 3/4 inch squares.  If it's bigger, you can do 2" and it does the job well.  You will need at least 35 squares (figure 5 rows of 7 days!)

4) On the page that comes inside the frame, lay out the squares to get the spacing right.

5) With double sided tape or rubber cement, adhere the squares to the page.

6) Close the frame and Wallah!!!  Your own, homemade dry-erase calendar!  All you need is a dry-erase marker and some things to do during the month and you're on your way to being a little more organized as well as a little more stylish!   :)

This one was done in blues and we made one for my sister in purples, yellows and turquoise which turned out great as well!
**A word to the wise: make sure the squares are straight...a little crooked gets a lot crooked by the time you're done!**

Delicious ice cream alternative...and so easy to make!!!

I went to a party and made a treat. 

It had to be a healthy treat--that's my new trend.  So I made healthy cookie dough dip! 

To dip, I bought reduced-fat vanilla wafers. 

There were leftover vanilla wafers.

On the side of the box, there was a recipe popping out at me!

  

BASICALLY, take cupcake wrappers.
Put one wafer on the bottom.
Mix 1 part low-fat cool whip with 1 part yogurt (flavor of your choice) and dollop it on top
Stick another wafer in sideways.
Freeze! (about 2 hours)

DELISH!!! 

I made about 8 of them with whatever leftover cool whip I had from the holidays and stuck them in the freezer.  Chris and I ate all of them within a few days!  I calculated...only 60 calories a piece, and that was with regular cool-whip!  MMM MMM!!!

Wedding Shower help!!

If anyone has any sorts of Wedding Shower ideas, they would be greatly appreciated!!  I am in need of pulling of a wonderful shower for my sister Britney and her fiance Cliff, in about a month.  Of course, I'm using pinterest as my main source of inspiration, but experience always provides the best help!

New Years Resolutions

Chris and I have made some New Years resolutions.  They are almost, if not entirely, having to do with health sorts of things. 

In particular, Chris is limiting his greasy food intake to once a week. 
I found a printable to help aid my running desires (a shocking new interest of mine).  It's going to be tough since there's snow all over the place, so getting to the gym will be the real challenge.  If you're interested, here is the link to the 60-mile-challenge printout!

One of the best things that helps me run is my iPod Fitness+ and iPod nano touch.  It keeps track of how far you've run, how fast, plays music, allows for a "power song" to keep you going when you're ready to give up, and allows you to pause your workout.  Then you plug in your iPod to the computer and it logs you into your own account and keeps track of all of your progress--it's awesome!

There are going to be some changes in our diet too. I'm keeping my eye out for tips for eating less...portion size, not eating past a certain time, drinking more water, etc.  If anyone has any tips, please let me know!

New Years Eve!

Well, planning what to do in order to close out 2011 was a bit of a challenge!  A lot of our friends were at a wedding, and others had traditional family get togethers and we just were at a loss!  I ended up joining my parents and sister for some good ol' NYE snacks and a movie. 

The snacks were almost all inspired by what Chris likes to refer to as my "crack" now-a-days...pinterest!  Mom is hooked and so are a few other key people in my life, so any excuse to try out a new recipe is a welcomed occasion!

We made the traditional pigs in a blanket (hot dogs cut up and rolled in crescent rolls...follow instructions on crescent rolls for baking). 

Mom's recipe was potato rounds, which were a much easier version of loaded french fries!  Pick a few potatoes (depending on how many you're cooking for) and wash them.  Then slice them into about 1/4 inch rounds and place on a baking sheet.  Either brush on or spray on butter on both sides and lightly salt.  Bake at 375* for 35 minutes, turning once.  Once you take them out of the oven, sprinkle on some shredded cheddar, some bacon bits and chives--delicious snack!  Dipping in sour cream never hurt either :)

We tried to make Butterbeer Cupcakes for Trisha when she came home from Ecuador, but never got the chance.  Since we had decided to watch HP 7.2, we figured a good Harry Potter inspired snack was in order--and it was our sweet treat.  Thanks to Pastry Affair for the recipe!  We had to improvise in a few places, so they probably weren't the best they could be, but given the right ingredients and the experience we now have, they would be fantastic!! 

Our drink of choice to celebrate 2011 and bring in 2012 was a Raspberry Lemon Drop

Here is the link to the recipe!  If you're going for a more casual drink, I would recommend more than a "splash" of 7up!  :)

It was a great night, great people and a great kick off to 2012! 

(I do have to mention, I left my parents house just in time to come home to my hubby and get my Midnight Kiss!) :)