SCBR Week 4/ Day 6 Food/Exercise Journal

7:30 am - Coffee + AB Toast - Content (5)

I started today with a fave - FM Breakfast Blend with 2% milk and sugar.

I was a little oatmeal-ed out and didn't feel like going for my make-up bagel day, so I had some Great Harvest High 5 Fiber toasted with some Barney Butter almond butter.

It was really good! I love how the heat from the toast warms through the Almond butter...mmm!

12:00 pm - Soup + Kale + Water - Content (5)

I was planning to eat my leftover spicy chicken salad from yesterday and even brought extra bread in today, but whilst browsing the web, I remembered Lent had started! I couldn't eat meat today!

I went to my tried and true Home Economist, a local health-food oriented grocery store, and picked up some nice, hot veggie tortellini soup to combat the yucky cold, rainy day.

I also got the kale I regretted not getting yesterday. I talked a co-worker into getting some, too. He said he liked it, but I dunno.

I also pulled out the leftover taboulleh and got some water. I ate my lunch while watching Paula Deen cook some yummy-looking berry dishes.

Above is the "after." It turns out my body wasn't as hungry as I thought I was. I had another case of "big eyes." My parents used to tell me that all the time when I was a kid. They said that I always thought I could eat more than I could and tried to get me to start with smaller portions because I could always get more. I guess old habits die hard. I still try to work on this little tidbit they passed along to me.

I ate all the soup, half of the kale, and none of the tabbouleh. I'm saving the leftovers for this weekend.

Lunch was great and much more filling than I would have expected it to be. It's so great to finally start exploring vegetarian options for meals...I'd really like to eat more fruits and veggies anyways.

1:00 pm - Tea + Cookies - Content (5)

Awhile back, my dad gave me some iced gingerbread cookies and I decided to give them to a co-worker whom I knew loved them and because I didn't want to eat the entire bag myself. The co-worker didn't want all the cookies so they stayed in my office most of the day. Of course, I ended up eating a few - 3 to be exact.

I had some Green Tea with Lemon by Bigelow Tea, which was nice and mellow.

Here's a close-up of cookie #1. The cookie was way better than I expected. I thought it was going to be all hard + crunchy, but it was soft and lofty...almost cake-like. It was delicious. I had to go back for more.

I got 2 more. Yum!

3:00 pm - Cheese + Apple - Content (5)

I decided to have another snack - an apple, some more water (gotta get lots of liquids for my post-work workout), and some Babybel cheese.

Have you tried these little Babybel cheeses? They are soooo good! They are nice and light and smooth and delicious. I can't remember the first time I had one, but it may have been in France. I found them at the Home Economist today for $4 for a bag of 6. I felt totally jipped because I had only seen them for $6 at Harris Teeter. I bought them once or twice, but decided it was too much for cheese. I'm liking the $4 price tag much more.

4:45 pm - Clif Energy Banana Bread - Content (5)

After changing for my workout class, I threw one of those Clif Energy bars into my bag - the Banana Bread flavor.

I scarfed this down on my way from work to a local store to get myself a little something-something. I'll post about that tomorrow since it's already late and I'm not even on dinner yet! As for the bar, it really tasted like banana bread at first bite. The more I ate it, the more it tasted like a health bar, but it was still good and seemed to give me plenty of energy for my class later.

5:45 pm - Dance Workout - Energized and Awesome!

I had a nice hourlong work out of zumba and dancing. It was so much fun. It amazes me that I can't run for an hour, but I can dance for an hour. Go figure!

I asked my instructor how many calories we burn per class and she said she estimates she burns 600-700 when she's going full force. Yowsa! I can't quite move like her, so I'm estimating low at around 550. Still a good workout!

9:15 pm - Warm Quinoa with Shrimp and Asparagus - First Signs of Feeling Full (6)

We're digging deeper into our other budgets to pay for food through the end of the month. Hubby picked up shrimp, asparagus, garlic, a small onion, and some parsley today for dinner. Guess this will come out of our "Out to Eat" budget?

I've been looking forward to trying my quinoa that I picked up from a health-food store awhile back for the longest time. With us eating seafood (non-meat) for Lent and hubby having picked up asparagus with the shrimp, I decided to give this Whole Foods recipe a try: Warm Quinoa Salad with Shrimp and Asparagus.

I made a couple slight changes: I didn't have sundried tomatoes, so I subbed tomato paste - about 1 tbsp, I sauted the shrimp in a separate pan and put them over the asparagus and peas when those went in, and I ended up cooking my quinoa for about 5-10 minutes longer than suggested and had to add a wee bit more veggie broth. The end result was well-worth all the effort and it wasn't really that hard.

I served dinner with some whole grain buttered toast - a slice of High 5 Fiber for hubby and the nub of the Dakota for me. Can you tell which one is which?

Hubby waits while I photograph dinner.

And a beautiful dinner it was. I thought it came out great! This is definitely a keeper. Even hubby liked it and I thought he wouldn't because he doesn't like cousous. The quinoa reminded me a bit of couscous, but seemed more tender and not quite as dry.

We had some water and more 3 Buck Chuck with dinner.

Hubby had lots of seconds and I had a little bit. Dinner was so good!

11:00 pm - Baklava + Milk - First Signs of Feeling Full (6)

Hubby got me some baklava while he was at the store. One of my fave restaurants is in the same shopping center as the grocery store and he swung by to get me this treat. I will be enjoying the baklava with a wee bit of 2% milk.

As soon as I publish this post, I'm off to enjoy. I'm ashamed to admit to eating this so late, but you gotta do what you gotta do, right? I need to work on getting my schedule in check so I'm not eating so late and not doing everything else, like blogging, so late. I've been doing pretty good so far this week, but I guess I lost track of time tonight. Whoopsie!

Calorie Summary + Personal Update

Calories Eaten: 2047
Calories Burned: 545
Net Calories: 1502

I'm a little over my goal, but I think I'm doing pretty good since I haven't even finished 1 week of calorie counting. I'm starting to get a better handle on how to balance my foods and snacks, but I know I have a lot to learn still, too.

As a side note, I wanted to talk to how my changes from SCBR seem to be affecting me. Earlier this week, I started noticing my jeans were fitting looser. Yay! I've also felt a bit more energized overall. Even today, when I went to my dance class, everything seemed a wee bit easier! It was such a great feeling! I love seeing the results of hard work and this has been 4 weeks now in the making...woohoo! I miss how I felt when I was an "athlete" (skating 6 times a week), so I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things.

Tomorrow is my school's homecoming, so I'm hoping to have some fun pics to share! :) I'm off to enjoy my baklava!

Almonds, Apples, Bread, Breakfast, Coffee, Cookie, Dessert, Dinner, Healthfood/Granola Bar, Lunch, Pasta, SCBR, Shrimp, Snack, Soup, Tea, Kale, Asparagus, Quinoa, Peas

Comments

[Leah]

hehe "Hubby waits while I photograph dinner".. I totally giggled because thats what its like in our house.

Have a good weekend!

[Janice]

Woohoo for the looser jeans! I've started reading SCBR and am going to make myself a notebook today. Got my pedometer on (had one already)we shall see just how slothful I am lol.

[FoodsThatFit]

I am really impressed by your discipline! Way to go! Your dinner looks fantastic, healthy and filling!

[caroline]

Your flowers are beautiful!

[Jen]

YUMMY eats!!! seriously, everything!!! You are doing amazing! :D

[Sharon]

Oh my gosh, that Great Harvest High 5 Fiber looks delicious. I hope I can find it in stores.

And yummy to the tea and cookies!

[Maggie]

Wow, your dinner does look amazing. Bobby always sits and waits for me to photo things too :)

I hear you on late night eating - I'm also a late riser, but I'm trying to make my whole schedule earlier to fix it.

[Kath]

I gotta be honest, I seriously doubt your instructor burns 600+ calories during an hour of dance. That's like sprinting a 8:30 pace run for an hour! My dance cardio classes are more like 300 for an hour, and that's even sweating.

See you tom!

[Jen]

TOO cute, hubby having to wait while you took pics for dinner!! :)

Yummy eats!! I nominated you! check out my blog :)