the dreaded week 2 is over

so week 2 is behind me, and i'm grateful. i never watch the biggest loser, although i think i may begin...but according to them, and all of my buddies on my fitness pal, week 2 and 3 are difficult because your body is adjusting to the changes. week 1 had it's challenges - sugar cravings, carb cravings (i'm not sugar or carb free, but amounts have seriously been reduced). i should have journaled that week, as if anyone who is starting this journey reads this, they should know that week 1 positively stinks. it does. i was grumpy and angry. it was uncomfortable and yes, i was hungry a lot of that week.   week 2 felt more in control as far as eating and balancing meals, but the scale did not show the work that went into it. i'm assured that this is normal to keep plugging along. also, i think our cheap scale is whacked, but i've already decided to not put too much stock in the numbers anyway. day by day. i'm focused on today's meals. tonight is subway or jersey mike night. elizabeth has late ballet, so we just make it easy and pick up sandwiches. i love sandwich night because when the food is gone, its gone....no seconds. i also wanted to add that i LOVE my fitness pal. i only have a few friends on there, but they are so incredibly supportive. some are losing large amounts of weight like me, and some are just trying to drop a few. it's all relative as far as the struggle.

had my first walk last week - no wait! i walked twice! yay go me! lol! the second walk was longer and i took the whole family. clearly i'll need to adjust my shoe choices as i ended up with some nasty blisters.

things i want to work on in the next month:
reducing sodium
more water intake
regular walking routine
eating something besides coffee for breakfast

i'm grateful to be where i am. the daily bloat that i felt every morning has subsided and that pushes me forward believe it or not. i usually have 2 places that i quit each time i try this....week 3 is one of them. i get tired of meal planning, the small numbers on the scale, etc. - i'm driven to push through this week and get on the other side of it. for some reason, i quit after the loss of 12 lbs as well. not sure what the deal is with that. we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

for the record:
day 18
5.6 lbs gone
it's funny you know...some moments i'm thrilled with that number...other times when i reflect back on the last two weeks, i think "holy shit! that's it???? after all of that, that's it??" but then i head into the kitchen and pick up the 5lb bag of flour and think.... "holy shit! that's gone!!!!" and it's good.

friday favorites #2

rustic neutrals. my favorite. beautifully photographed.

wooden spoons. authentically seasoned. i have an addiction.

 this weeks favorite recipe! i fought this all the way....but completely succumbed.

cheesy spaghetti squash casserole. 164 calories per serving. insane. *eta...i LIVED off of this all week! it really is so good! the recipe makes a lot, so i had it for several lunches and along side a couple of meals, ate it for a snack, etc.  -it's soooo good, that i'm now having doubts that it's so low in calories! lol! and the baby spinach in it totally makes it yummy. lots of onion too.

 the art of food styling. not as easy as one might think...working on this.

 a favorite place to shop for "props". great prices. this week i purchased these and these.

 discovered this beautiful blog this week. and this recipe.... i've looked at this over and over and am pining away for summer when i might actually try to make a peach pie. this one. this.heavenly.pie.

this week's words of wisdom:

 

may the journey be smooth.

happy friday!

tortilla chips

if you know me well, you know my obsession with super mex.  agh. i won't go into the details, but one of my favorite things are their big round tortilla chips and salsa. a dear friend of mine showed me how to duplicate those chips, and for a snack, or alongside a meal, i'm just as happy with these. they're quick and easy, and as long as you bake them, really not so bad in calories.

 
i buy the costco pack of romero's stone ground corn tortilla "minis".  any soft taco size corn tortilla will work. i preheat the oven to 350 and lay my tortillas in a single layer on a baking sheet. lightly spritz them with water (i just use my fingers to throw some drops around, but you can use one of those fancy cooking atomizers i suppose....)then i just lightly sprinkle some kosher salt onto them and bake for about 20 minutes. i like mine dark and crispy. one chip has only 35 calories. they are perfect to dip in salsa, black bean soup (recipe to come soon!) or today i stacked shredded chicken mixed with a little salsa verde on mine.

it was dang fine tasty and satisfying. i'm excited to start making my own salsas soon!

a garden in the city

yesterday the brownie troop took a little field trip to a tiny piece of heaven. the long beach community garden near the el dorado nature center.  i never knew this existed.  i am so inspired that i'm ready to sign up for a plot. how completely satisfying to grow your own food. one of our troop members has a plot, and she generously let the girls plant onions, cilantro and red wine lettuce.  the orchards are just beginning to bloom so i wandered around there for a bit as well. there is something about a southern california orchard that thrills me!  i'm looking forward to visiting our local farmer's markets and taking advantage of the upcoming spring crops. hopefully lots of recipes to post.

“God made a beauteous garden
With lovely flowers strown,
But one straight, narrow pathway
That was not overgrown.
And to this beauteous garden
He brought mankind to live,
And said "To you, my children,
These lovely flowers I give.
Prune ye my vines and fig trees,
With care my flowers tend,
But keep the pathway open
Your home is at the end."

God's Garden
― Robert Frost

friday favorites

time for my first installment of friday favorites! recipes, gadgets, inspiration found here and there, mostly pinterest. it's the little things that keep me going.

mexican on my mind this week....

mexican chocoloate breakfast shake
so yum....mexican chocolate and oats? i mean COME ON!

quinoa taco filling
i'm trying to get on board with quinoa for all that i've heard regarding it's benefits. i will have to do a comparison against extra lean ground beef.  my son is vegetarian, so i'd like him to like this... worth a try. however! just read this the other day, and it's something to keep in mind.
buy local

roasted salsa verde
i have a love for the tomatillo.  i have visions of growing my own in the local community garden and canning salsa. for now, i plan to make this after a visit to the farmer's market.

chicken enchilada soup
even in california it's winter which signals soup time! this recipe sounds healthy yet hearty.

butterscotch pot de creme
well this has nothing to do with mexican cuisine, but i wanted to add a bit of "beautiful food" to the mix, and this one has special meaning to me this week. i adore food photography and styling (wish i could do it!) and i also believe in the occasional splurge, which i took this week with a dear friend. after a healthy dinner, we shared a butterscotch pot de creme. it was ridiculous. it was wonderful. it was worth it.

words of wisdom
and to end my post....this week's words of wisdom - apropos because it's my first 10 days into this whole process, and i may have been a bit grumpy....it's improving every day though.

happy friday! 

the morning brew

today's question: give up the coffee? it's funny...i was never a coffee drinker...well, except when i used to dunk my cookies in my pa's afternoon coffee.  i've only really been hooked on the stuff for maybe 2 years. and even now, it has to be cleverly disguised with a myriad of overly sugared ingredients, my favorites being international delight's heath and almond joy, as well as belgian chocolate toffee by coffeemate. that stuff should be illegal... so therein lies the problem - not only am i consuming daily caffeine, but i'm adding gooey sugar to the mix as well.

honestly, i don't believe i'm going to give it up at this time. i actually look forward to that cup in the morning. i AM however, trying to cut back on the creamer. i used to just pour it in at will, who knows how much was going in! i'm down to 3 measured TBSP now which equals about 105 calories.

i read somewhere - maybe on livestrong (liestrong) that a cup of coffee a day was good for you and helped prevent cancer? but then, there's always something that will prevent cancer while at the same time kill you in a different way.

i KNOW i should have a good and balanced breakfast instead. i do know this....but for now, i'm flying in the face of defiance because this works for me. and until i can throw my training wheels off on this journey, i need to go with that.

*thank you to my baby bird who gave me the anthropologie owl mug for christmas! 

today's stats:
day 11  down 2.6