Halloweekend ;]

Happy Halloweeeeeeen!!! :)

How are all my spooky health nuts today? haha =)
I am doing ok!! A very uneventful weekend here...

 Lots of lounging happened....

=) I loved it though, I still wasnt feeling quite up to par, still am not actually, this cold has taken alot out of me... so I lounged, worked out, drank a few drinks on the couch, slept...ALOT... and ate... REPEAT ;)

It was so nice not to have plans, anywhere to be, etc. I totally needed a weekend like that... do you ever need weekends where you have nothing to do??? =)
Although uneventful, I still have plenty to talk about --- go figure ;) .... lets get started on my HALLOWeekend recap, shall we?....

Lunch on Friday =) asian veggie medley + morningstar chicken patty (inspired by the lovely HealthyDiva!)   + a big ole salad w/ veg,r.f. cheese,sunflower seeds and basil parm dressing ;)

Friday night I wanted to go grab a few things from the store; Hubby said --- "lets stop and see my new office!" --- so we did ;) ITS SO NICE!! and smells like new carpet;) I told him to give me a thumbs up, HAHAHA, he was thrilled!

cute babe, cute.{he hates pictures, btw...how will we ever stay married? LOL!!}

.... We needed to pick up some adult beverages (hello, I live in Wisconsin, its part of the culture, haha!) and guess what my pretty little eye spotted???.....

God loves me, the heavens shined down, lights flashed, I did a dance... it was fab. ;) ok not really, but I did run up to Rich who was in the beer aisle and told him this was DEFINITELY going in the cart... p.s. its phenomenal ;)!! My faves go; Cosmo,Sangria,Marg. I cannot wait for her to come out with more, I love me some Bethenny Frankel!

What else happened, you ask??? Well I'll tell you...

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream + Whipped Topping happened.... (LOVE)

Morning facemasks and coffee happened ;) { I almost left the mask on for trick or treaters, muahahaha }

The most amazing muffins also happened... but more on that later;)

I will be posting some recipes later on, including that recipe....

What were you all up to this weekend? Did you dress up??

We had trick or treating last night, I only got 8 trick or treaters, the weather was really crappy and we live on a dead end but still :( I was sad... So Rich will be taking the rest of the candy to work with him! haha...

TTYSOON <3's!

-Amy



Sam's Club Love :]

Who says good things dont come in BIG packages? Everytime I shop at Sams I feel like I warped to that world in Super Mario Brothers 3 {I think it might be level 4?} where everything is HUGE! hahaha... Im a dork, we've established this.

I've been meaning to post this for a while now, about my love affair with Sam.{'s Club --ha!}

Aside from cleaning products (hello 3 pack of Swiffer Wet Jet cleaner for CHEAP...) and cheap Skinnygirl ... I love their food products. LOVE. some things I dont need so large, but many things I *do*. Bulk is the way to go if you eat alot of it. It pays to pay a little more at the time, because you dont need it every single week then... ;) Sometimes we really cant fork out the extra money, but our last trip was very successful! ... am I the only one who gets super uber excited about groceries and savings? hahahaha.... probably :P

So here are some of my favorite finds from my last Sams trip... which reminds me; I see another in my very near future ;)

I always have to get the value pack of my favorite bagel thins from Thomas ~  I keep one pack out and put the other pack in a freezer bag and freeze them until I need them :D

I do the same with my favorite Multi Grain sammy thins... freeze one in a freezer bag until I need to gobble them up ;) {tis the season for lame jokes. haha}

2.5 lbs of amazing... nothing else needs to be said. I need to go get more before the season ends.

20 Tortillas for wraps, etc. for very cheap ;) DIG IT! the stats on these are amazing... thanks to Kristi for putting me onto them!

Nature Valley granola thins -- kept in fridge so they dont melt ;) -- 36 beauties!! I like to crumble these up in my greek yogurt or have them as dessert or put a toasted marshmallow in between two of them (helloooo s'more!)... nom nom nom

and of course, last but not least... my beloved mojo :)

LOVE these, and Im currently all out... booooooo

What do you love on this list? Do you have anything I need to add? :)

Adios Sickness!!

Well, hello my long lost besties:)

I've been sooooo sickly, so I havent been blogging at all... because my meals have consisted of soup w/ a side of cough drops and tea. ;P I'm FINALLY feeling better though, sinuses are still on fire and coughing up a lung, but I promise this is improvement. ;)

Yogi tea to be exact, thanks to my bestie Kristi :)

Since when did Halls get so inspiring?...I went and got it, and I high-fived ME, *while* strutting. boom. ;) I also found out each one has 15 calories, not cool Halls, not cool.

Soup has included Campbells Select Harvest, Progresso, and some home-made tortellini,chicken broth,veggie,turkey sausage mix of a life-time. haha it was OK... not my favorite.

How do you heal sickness??? I took meds the first night and that was it, my legs were numbed, I decided from now on if I'm sick and I want that feeling I will make myself a tottie ;) haha... my goodness, that just cant be good, can it?!

This morning, my life. haha.

Cinnamon Nature Valley = AMAZING...

PreNatal VitaFusion Vity's (not pregnant or trying, but good for me to take:))

{and everything is better in gummy form. lol!)

Spring Valley Vitamin C gummies

and more yogi tea/pumpkin coffee;)

So Im saying adios sickness(minus the lingering firey sinuses and coughing-up-lungs-cough. ;P)

and hello to the recumbant bike and lots of strength training today... running will come back eventually, but for now, Ill stick to lighter cardio... dont wanna get *too* crazy haha.

*SIDENOTE* I link to facebook pages as often as I can, because many times they link you to their product coupons, we all know I love me some coup-ENS. lol ;)

OK, ta-ta for now...next blog post comin' up soon ---> favorite finds at Sams Club... do you shop at a cosco, or sams? I love it for some things!

Good eats, and Thoughts *~

Happy Thursday all! ~

I have been posting alot on facebook, just not blogging... I like to switch it up a bit ;)

I do want to share a really yummy, easy recipe or 2 with you this morning, and also my current workout routine... and perhaps something to leave you with as far as thoughts go... feeling inspired today!! :D

Along with feeling inspired I've been feeling a little lost! Im 25 years old, and Im still feeling like I'm transitioning in life, maybe I will always feel like that... I dont know. I'm not sure what I want to do with the rest of my life (career wise) --- and I just feel like I havent experienced what I wanted by 25 just yet. Dont get me wrong, I am soooo blessed. Just kinda wanting to go out and grab life by the balls (excuse my reference to balls, I reference them quite often. hahaha) ... OK, moving on!! :)

So the other day I made an amazing dinner, I've made this dinner before but I added a few new seasonings and it seemed to make it that much better!

I give you --- easy stir fry/sweet & sour chicken... its kind of a cross between the two ;)

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breasts
• 1 small can of pineapple tidbits (not drained)
• about 1/4 c. {more or less depending on your pref.}sweet and sour sauce of choice (I try to find low-sodium versions)
• 1 bag of frozen stir fry veggies of choice {I used Great Value brands deluxe stir fry, bomb.}
• 1/4 cup reserved water from crock pot after chicken is removed
• Seasonings you will need: fresh/dried parsley, garlic powder, fresh cracked pepper {all to taste, I love pepper so I used a generous amount}

Make it:

• cook chicken breasts in water & seasonings for 4 hours on high in crock pot, or 8 hours on low
• remove chicken (carefully! I use tongs) and place on cutting board; shred.
• in large skillet over medium heat add the chicken and the rest of the ingredients; I also added extra pepper and parsley to the mix
• cook over medium heat until all of the veggies and ingredients are warm and marinated well (stir often and do not cover or it will get too watery)

served over a bed of brown rice;) ... enjoyyyy!!! sooo easy, right?

Next up; how to make Taco's portable for lunches, dinners... :D ... because unfortunately, leftover tacos arent very portable!!

Make it into a taco salad, nom nom nom

Romaine lettuce mix (with veggies) --- you could do spinach, but im allergic :( womp womp.
+ no salt added corn(about 1 serving, drained, rinsed), leftover taco meat, could add black beans but I forgot haha, salsa, 1 serving light sour cream, and reduced fat shredded cheese.... sooooo yummy and filling!!!

About 3pm the hungry monster invaded my body so I ate this:

+ frozen peas were added in. sooo good on such a cold Wisconsin day :)

Current workout routine:

Run/Jog 2 miles on treadmill @ 5.0-5.4 pace, .5 incline... sometimes I walk at a brisk pace but I crank up the incline ;)
THEN move onto the recumbant bike between 4-12 miles, depending on my time I have.... its a sweaty routine, and I like it!!
Then I move onto my arms/abs (my problem areas)
What are you doing lately? :)

Soooo, just something to leave you with that I posted on my facebook;

Get comfortable with being uncomfortable ~ meaning --- step out of your comfort zone today; psych yourself up... you can do anything you put your mind to! It might feel uncomfortable at the time... but you can do it!! ♥ most of this journey is mental for all of us; this healthy lifestyle... if you tell yourself you cant because ______{insert excuse here}_____. You wont. If you tell yourself you can, YOU WILL. because you can. Just some "food" for thought ;)

Be back soon all,

xoxo Amy

Mexican-Style Meatloaf, a fiesta for your mouth

Hola!! :)
in honor of my amazing dinner (yes, I tooted my own horn, toot toot.) I made last night, I had to open with a little espanol... are you fluent or semi-fluent in spanish? I took up to Spanish 5 in highschool and two years in college, I feel like I lost a lot of it once I stopped using it... they say if you dont use it, you lose it --- its true. I wish I could brush back up on it, I now am very fluent in "spanglish" ;)

Thanks for your sweet feedback on my post yesterday, I wasn't sure how it would go over, it wasnt my usual post, it was a little deep :D but I get kinda inspirational every now and again -- haha!

One last thing before I share my meatloaf that was muy excellente ;) --- Hubby and I took Brutus to the vet last night for a couple boosters and guess how much the little beast weighs??? 46.4 lbs!!! he is just a little over 4mos. old... UNBELIEVABLE! I am sucha proud mama ;) and Rich is a proud poppa... oh my goodness... can you imagine how ridic we will be when we have children?? RIDIC. lol

our baby when we first got him <3

our "baby" napping last night after the vet <3

I almost cried leaving him this morning --- I am headed home/Milwaukee for the weekend and I hate saying goodbye to him and my hubby... why am I such a dork? hahaha! I know I'll see them Sunday, silly silly.

Ok, ok... enough of my ramblings... here is the yummy recipe!! Let me know if you try this combo ;)

Mexican Meatloaf

[[ Meatloaf monster ready for the oven. ]]

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. grass-fed beef (or other lean ground meat -- could use other beef or turkey.)
• 2 servings (= 10 crackers) whole grain saltines (crushed)
• 2 servings (= 2 - 3/4 C.) PictSweet(c) Seasoning Blends pepper/onion/celery mix (frozen section. I might steam this first next time, it was REALLY cold mixing it in. haha)
• 1 serving (= 3 T.) liquid egg whites
• 1/4 C. home-made(or other of your choice) salsa
• Seasoning of choice (you dont need much since the frozen veg. blend has seasonin as well) --- I used a pinch of fresh(dried thank you to hubby) parsley, garlic powder, onion powder
• 1/4 C. Reduced Fat mexican cheese blend

Make it:

• Mix first 6 ingredients in a large bowl
• Form into a loaf and put in the bottom of a sprayed roasting pan
• Cover roasting pan with foil and then place lid on top
• Put in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes
• Uncover (be very careful of the foil -- use hot pads), continue cooking until middle is no longer pink (about 15 min more)
• Cut up and enjoy ;)

served with steamed broccoli w/ a little light butter(made w/ conola oil) and shake of garlic powder...

so so so so so yummy!!!!

I hope you all have an amazzzzing weekend.

I will probably not be blogging because I will be so busy :)

I will leave you with these words of wisdom....



go WINsconsin!! ;) ... I would put up a badgers photo too but these were fresh on my camera roll ;) SO ... ON WISCONSIN for the badgers too... cant wait!!! :D

~Stay healthy, happy, and be kind~

xoxo Amy

What I see...

What do you see in this photo?

a red-faced sweaty betty? yes. but go deeper...

I see someone who used to weigh 240 lbs., who used to HATE (yes, hate.) the way they looked and felt. I see someone who is strong mentally and physically. Someone who still second-guesses themselves, and still has "Fat" Days... yes. For some reason they never go away? At least not yet...

I see someone who loves the gym, loves her jobs, loves her husband, friends, family.

I see someone who now, has the confidence to run, smile, hold my shoulders back and be proud of who I am.

Do you also see someone who "probably has been skinny their whole life"? ... I admit it, I am guilty of snap judgements...

"oh, how does she know what its like, shes probably been skinny like that and ate crap for food"...

hush it, amy. I say to myself.

Its hard as humans to not make judgements, its in our nature. But today; remember:

*Everyone has a story* My story keeps being told. I want to inspire. I am not perfect, I will never claim to be... if you dangle a chunk of deep dish chicago pizza in my face, I am going to eat it.

If you tell me "I havent seen you in months, lets go out on the town" ... Im going.

You have to live your life for you, and what works for you. I often say; leading a healthy lifestyle isnt ALL about counting calories, intense workouts, and beating yourself up(to build yourself back up) --- MUCH of it is... but dont lose sight that this is LIFE and you only get ONE... enjoy it, live it up(within reason)... being healthy is about balance.

I just feel very inspired the last few days, so I thought I would share my thoughts! :)

I had a really *down* day the other day, about the scale...about life... and I just had the most amazing workout yesterday and really jacked myself back up to where I belong...

I also posted a quote yesterday that I will leave you with, until my next post. ;)

~When you begin to love your actions, you begin to love yourself~

Be back soon,

xoxo Amy

Sweating and Gaining

Hello loves,
how are we all today??? ohhh you know me, slacking on blogging... but not slacking on workouts... holy crap --- lol.

20 minute no stop jogging(5.0-5.2) yesterday...

& 12 miles on the recumbant bike = sweaty hot mess...

But as most of you have seen I am up in #'s and the only thing I can think of is food, although I eat mostly healthy food, I wonder if I am eating too much? I literally burned over 600 calories (almost 700) in my workout yesterday then ended up cleaning like a crazy person at work working up yet another sweat, and barely sat down last night... Im wondering if I didnt eat enough? or drank too much over the weekend = dehydration? I know I cant dwell on #'s but sometimes its discouraging... its like an 18 year old telling a 40 year old age aint nothin but a number... trying to tell myself its just a number. lol!! ;P

I made a spectacular Anniversary dinner last night ...

I apologize for the obnoxious glare that came off of my plate...

Recipe for amazingness; Italian Chicken Sausage Subs

Ingredients:

•  1 package chicken italian sausages (pre-cooked -- I buy them in bulk @sams club) or you could use turkey italian sausages as well but usually those are not pre-cooked.
•  1 jar spaghetti sauce (I get the kind w/ veggies in it ;))
•  1 green pepper (cleaned, sliced thin)
•  1 yellow onion(or red) about 1/2 of a large one (or less if you arent into onions) cut into strips
•  Seasonings; I chose italian season blend and garlic powder I also used some shaker red. fat parmesean
•  Reduced fat Italian cheese blend (I love sargento's)
•  Multi-grain sub rolls (can be found in the fresh bakery at Wally world)

Make it:

•  Simmer Italian sausages on stove top w/ sauce, onion, green pepper, and seasoning blends[medium heat until everything is warm - about 15-20min]
• Meanwhile; split sub buns open in the middle like a hotdog bun shake garlic powder onto opening and put a little mozz cheese in, put buns in 350 degree oven until cheese melts, turn off stove.
• Assemble sauce,sausage,veg mixture onto buns then top with a little more cheese; place back into oven that has been turned off to let cheese melt, remove, cut in half, voila.

Honestly I could've just ate half but I didnt, it was just toooo good :( probably why I hated the scale this morning! So take note friends: EAT 1/2, and have a side of veggies ;)

It was a nice anniversary even if the Hubby's bears lost and so did my brewers! wahh! oh well, I am still naming our state WINsconsin... ;)
What are your struggles or triumphs? Clearly my struggle is the scale, triumphs are my new found love for biking and doing well at it.

Today will be another sweaty workout, even though all I wanna do is sleep --- this weather is horrible for my motivation ;P

Chat again soon (I will not stray again I will not stray again. lol)
xoxo





Famous Chili and delish cookies. >>:) {party hat. lol}

Welcome to the recipe edition of my blogspot for the week;) ... oh and TGIF.
Its also my hubby and I's 2 year anniversary weekend, woot woot --- Monday will be 2 years, it is so hard to believe... I can honestly say; I love him more now than then... crazy, right? He surprised me at work today with a "100% Cotton" green bay packer shirt (mind you: he's a Bears fan so he prob went and washed his hands 20 times after touching it haha) -- cotton is for your 2nd anniversary, last year he got us bears/pack tickets for "paper"... Im spoiled. OK, enough sappy ;) lets move on to some wonderful eats...mmmmm....

First recipe.... famous Chili ;)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. grass fed beef (or other lean meat/soy based "meat")
• 7oz can diced green chiles (not drained)
• PictSweet(c) seasoning blends pepper/onion mix bag
• 2 Jalapeno peppers (remove seeds and ribs to prevent from being too spicy if your scurred. lol)
• Fresh red onion, chopped
• Seasonings (to taste): chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, fresh cracked pepper, parsley
• ----------------------------------------
• 2 cans no salt added diced tomatoes (undrained)
• 1 small can diced tomatoes w/ green chiles
• 2 cans chili beans (undrained)
• 1 can red kidney beans (drained,rinsed)
• ...and the secret ingredient:
• wait for it...... ketchup. lol[as pictured.lol]

MAKE IT:

• Brown the meat with the first set of ingredients with a little tiny bit of water in the pan over medium heat (I bring it to a boil... it just helps get the flavors movin lol) chop up all the meat fine
• dump the rest of ingredients in as directed (ketchup is just a couple swirls;))
• let simmer until ready to serve --- ENJOY!

----next up: Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal Cookies(thanks to Peanut Butter Fingers for the recipe, I just added my own flare!)

Oatmeal Pumpkin Spice Cookies



Ingredients:

• 1 spice cake mix
• 1 small can pumpkin
• 1 c. quick oats
• other possible add ins: nuts of choice, chocolate chips, pumpkin spice marshmallows;)
• you could also top with sprinkles or frosting... I did not, though

MAKE!:

• Mix cake mix powder, pumpkin, and oats and put dollups on sprayed baking sheets.
• Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until done;)

 be sure to eat some batter too nom nom nom (no eggs! yay!)

OK, time to go for now...

Will blog more tonight while I catch up on DVR and have a few relaxing adult beverages;) xo

The Workout Train, left the building...

GOOD GOOD MORNING!!! :)

How are all of my friends in healthy blog land? :) Im good! Had my amazing morning coffee and chatted w/ fitness clients... Life is so great when you love what you do every single day!
I also love sharing my journey w/ others who are just begining theirs, I hope I can inspire others with my story... because honey, if I did it, anyone can! lol ;)
My title says it all, The Workout Train left the building but guess what? Its back!! STELLA GOT HER GROOVE BACK! (or, Amy... lol)

Im super pumped to report im back on the band wagon to rock this october with some rockin' workouts... I have got my eating under control(well, besides my usual splurges that I allow myself....its *LIFE*)

I reported on my facebook my progress, but Ill use pictures here to show you :)

1/2 hour sweaty treadmill workout on Friday --- first day back at it... first 12 minutes jogged at about 5.0 speed... (playlist included new David Guetta, new Brantley Gilbert, and some Jason DeRulo... I am all over the place lol!) then I went and did a walk at 5.0 incline at about 4.0-4.2 speed... with bursts of running uphill, then the last about 3 minutes I jogged at 5.1... I always run at a .5 incline AT LEAST... but again, find what works for YOU!! because YOU control it!! :) what your comfortable with and what works for you!

31 minutes Saturday --- jogged the first mile (In 11:40 this time!! :D) and then did the similar walking/running uphill thing, only this time at a 6.0 incline most of the time... extra shweaty...
and then went on the recumbant bike----

Blurry photo, did 7 Mi. at a "3" for the "Load" and just over 28 minutes FELT GREAT! I never had done the bike for very long before, but I have to say I really enjoyed it!

Today: I hope to do 3 miles on the treadmill, or at least 2.7mi...and then 8 miles on the bike --- and as always some planks,stretching, etc for strength and flexibility...

I forget why I got off the bandwagon? oh yes, all of the excuses under the sun!! We all do it, but we need to tell that voice in our heads to SHUSH! we create our destiny, our bodies will allow us to do what we tell them to, so do not underestimate yourself (but rather listen to your body, dont talk yourself out of being GREAT. im slowly learning this lesson...)

Per usual, my morning breakfast is pretty normal: coffee(pumpkin pie! oh yum!) --- mojo clif bar(mountain mix;D), vikiing apple and 2 cheese sticks... yogurt coming up about 10:30 to give me some fuel for my workout at 11:15am.

How are you all doing with rocking october, eats, mental blocks? Its the 3 pieces to the puzzle: mental, physical, and eats! ;P

See you all in a little bit for more to my posting mayhem! xo

Playing catch-up ;D

As you know I took a slight moment away from updating my facebook as often and blogging.

Rich and I took some time for *US* (and the "son" aka Brutus lol!) to relax at night, no phones and no computer, which made my blogging a little bit on the backburner;) we just havent had a lot of alone time lately (just been super busy, we are very blessed!) -- so we finally had some time to chill and man it was nice:) Do you ever take time off from the phone and computer? Its definitely hard for me since im far away from home, its my main way to keep in contact with everyone. Health isnt just about eating fruits and vegetables its about strengthening relationships, enjoying your loved ones, quality time, laughing, and snuggling :)

I hope this new post finds you all well, healthy, and happy.

LETS ROCK OCTOBER (ROCKTOBER) {thank you Sara for this wonderful idea!}--- what is your pledge to yourself this month? Mine is to stick to my meal planning and healthy cooking... and stayin on this rockin exercise kick I am back on --- which I will ellaborate more on later!! ;) together we can reach our goals we set for ourselves!! No matter what it is, its important to have them!! :)

What have you been brewing up lately? Its fall-time and its seriously my favorite time of year(I think I may have mentioned that a few hundred times?) so of course pumpkin everything, casseroles, crockpot cookin and soup are just a few of my favorite things... I will be sharing not only some of my favorite finds, eats, etc. with you but the recipes I will be brewing this fall ;)

SO, next few blog posts:
-Gettin' back on the workout train (and what workouts I've been doing)
-Egg Bake crockpot style
-Crescent Roll-Ups(football time snack!)
-Famous chili (ooooyah!)
-Sam's club finds
-Fall-Lovin' post (pictures of beautiful Wisco in Fall, and some fall-inspired recipes)


What else would you like to see? See you in a little bit ;)
xoxo,
Amy