Cheers to the freakin Weekend!- A Runner's World

ITS FRIDAY!!!! WOOOOHOOO!! Well Easter is Sunday and I for one can't wait, it means Spring has arrived even if Mother Nature doesn't agree- although around here have you SEEN the temps they are expecting HELLOOO Almost 60 degrees!! :) I just love pastels and Mint is def going to be worn on Sunday and I am super stoked!

I ran outside for the first time since last fall and it was AmAzEbAlLs! Seriously that doesn't even describe the emotions I felt! It truly was perfect temps, and with the Sun being out and shining warmth, I didn't even care that I had an earth shattering awful cramp in my side, but I pushed through and finished it out. Before being a runner I never understood the hype behind running- I mean really who wants to feel like their lungs are exploding with sweat rolling down you and jell-o legs. Personally that sounds just awful. However, when you get through your first real run, you realize that all that crap I just stated is just that crap- the endorphins overpower any pain or negative feeling you could ever have. It is so freeing to be able to conquer something like that, especially from someone who in jr high sucked up to the teacher/track coach so she didn't have to EVER run in "Track AND Field" that's right I just did the "field" part and an occasional 100M dash- seriously anybody can do that!

I realize that some people may think that I don't qualify as a "runner" but you know what I am running laps around those still sitting on the couch doing nothing. Plus you don't have to be a track star or cross country runner (do those exist) to be called a Runner. The word Runner isn't about how fast you go or how far, its about YOU as a person getting up and doing something. As tears roll down my face as I write this I can't help but think its my "fitness family"-you know who you are, that make me push myself just a little farther. I take each day as it comes now, and let me tell you I am 4 work outs in this week and I feel amazing and I still have 3 more to go before my week starts over ( M-S--> I work out)! Trust me those tears I have rolling down my cheek are happy tears, they are more than that really they are PROUD tears! So to those of you struggling to get that work out in today, I want to encourage you to look at this way: You don't have hundreds of workouts to go, you are one work out DOWN, one in the books, one workout that NO ONE can take from you. You can succeed and it happens one day at a time!

Have a WONDERFUL weekend and Happy Easter!

And Happy Running to those fellow runners this weekend- ITS GORGEOUS!

Accountability-the key to success! Plus giveaway announcement

Today begins yet another attempt at C25K- I WILL get through this whole app if it kills me! I am always so quick to give up if my ankle is hurting or swollen, but this time I will push through regardless of my "pain"- half the battle is mental! Even if I have to speed walk in place of jogging some days I will get through this and run a successful race on June 1st! I can not wait to run it, and with my bff to boot! She is one of my best cheerleaders and I hope to have my other 2 big cheerleaders on the sidelines (mom and J). I plan to look like the people in the crowd at the end! Boom!

On another note- I am super pumped about my "weightloss planner". I am the queen of being organized (I love lists)- sometimes a little too much- I am that girl that has lost something from being too organized! However this planner is already doing wonders- I am tracking thoughts as well as food (times) and work outs for the day with little check boxes- so I am holding myself accountable- who wants to stare at a Un checked check box...NOT THIS GIRL! That's really depressing when you are a person who will write something on your list JUST to check it off- Yes I do that..sorry I'm not sorry! So far today all checks are a go- even hooked myself up with a fresh playlist to run to tonight! I am so excited its FINALLY warm enough outside!!! HURRAY!!!

On another note, I am feeling as though I have finally gotten over my food hurdle! I got the crap out of my system and have gotten back into eating what I should to keep my body healthy and Happy. The sun is definitely helping tremendously!My biggest problem was having that mindset of "if I don't write it down, then the calories don't count right?" WRONG! You are only fooling yourself if you think that way- your body knows what you put in and what comes out and EVERY CALORIE COUNTS!

Picture found HERE

Now onto the important task at hand! I am trying to amp up my followers-so I feel important.  I am going to do a giveaway if I can reach 50 followers. See that little box on the side that says  "join this site" CLICK IT! I swear it is painless!! Just do it..you know you want to- aren't you curious about what the giveaway is?! At 20 followers I'll announce what the giveaway is!!

Weigh in Wednesday- another link up plus idea!

So I decided that since its Wednesday and I got on the scale who I am going to break up with for a week and see how I do, i decided this was a great day to do a Weigh in Wednesday. I mean they both start with W and it sounds like a plan since I was going to blog about breaking up with my scale anyway so here goes....

Alright so I have got to figure out a way to get my brain to follow through with what my body has been working so hard at trying to achieve. By that I mean- I wish I could shake the emotional attachment to food out of my ever loving brain! I talk with people on a regular basis about reaching the core of what caused you to get to this point, well laziness and grief have started me on this trail to self destruction- BUT I will not let the food win this time around! I refuse to be controlled by a THING- I mean I am a grown ass woman and I can have self control if I really want it- I quit smoking cold turkey for cryin out loud.

On to my new idea a planner that is specifically targeting my weight loss- mind you I got laughed at for this- but how is using a planner with pre-dates already in it any different from MFP or logging in a notebook-answer? It's not- it just has the blocks already marked out for you. I got this lovely new organizer at Wal Mart- which I hate but we don't have a Target close enough to just run to on lunch!

Not the best picture but you get the idea- How cute is this?! It has so much more than what you can see in the picture :)

I will be writing down each day what work out I am doing, and jotting down feelings of the day- so my own personal food diary that is pretty to boot! I mean look at it damask AND teal?! I hit the jackpot!! I'll check in next week with how my divorce with the scale is going! Good luck to all those trying something new this week! Are you one of them?! What are you trying? One thing can be the straw that broke the camel's back OR it can be that push to get you through your race! Never give up..Progress NOT perfection! Onward and Upward with TurboFire and C25K- no excuses now!

Another Tuesday for the books-Linked

I have never done a link up before and because I always read them and think "I should do this" I am going to follow through. What the what?! I chose this link up because its funny and I like funny things. Both of these bloggers know how to get a laugh go check them out HERE (Holly) and HERE (Jake)!

Finish The Sentence
1.If calories didn't count I would eat....my weight in pizza every other day with a side of nachos because lets get real after that dang 10 day cleanse with NO cheese I know that I will never EVER...EVER give it up again- EVER!

2.On my prom night....I went with a sophomore, who ended up picking up someone else and they started dating after- Prom night FAIL- but my dress was the bomb..lots of jewels puffiness and pink- I was not about to slut it up on prom night- although the sophomore girls there thought that to be the best choice of action-hmmm maybe that is why my date flew the coop....note to self!

3.When I go to the store I always buy...fresh produce and pray I can use it before it goes bad and I get "the look"- It's not often that I get that "look" but I don't like it- its the look of I told you you would waste it AGAIN!- GAH!

4.Family functions typically....start out good and all normal but then some one has to cock it up (what movie) and I leave annoyed and never so happy to get home- why do some people feel the need to get bat shit crazy in front of others? Keep that crap at home where it belongs!

5.I think my blog readers....are the bomb diggity because you come back to read! :) THANKS! I love hearing when people say they read my blog!

6.I'd much rather be...on a beach with a Miami Vice in my hands soakin up the sun instead of freezing my hiney off in Illinois-BOO!

7. I have an obsession with... expensive purses, shoes ( all kinds), Tiffany Blue- I am determined to own a piece from Tiffany's before I die!

8. My work friends...are just that "work" friends, try to keep things sepparate...ya know what I mean?!

9. When I created my facebook account...I def had a Myspace page still, and thought the cool kids had as many friends as possible and that it was ok for creepy guys you don't know to add you- YIKES- gotta love those first 2 years of facebook. ya know when you had to be in college to have an account...yes I am that old!

10. My least favorite word is..pit...as in arm...ughh it makes me shutter and I don't know why but its gross!

11.I really don't remember...where J and I went on our first date...I thought girls were supposed to remember this crap...I have racked my brain a million times and still..Nothin...that and a few choice nights from college- but I like to pretend they just didn't happen..I don't remember so it didn't happen...right?! like the tree that falls but no one is around so does it really make a sound!? My theory NO, and I will stick to that and deny any crazy thing I did unless it was awesome then I will totally own up!

12. Justin Bieber...makes me feel really old some days, but not too old to NOT bust out a car dance to his songs- that just happened!

Well that was fun, and it def made my blog post short and sweet today. Tuesday's are my least favorite day of the week- No NCIS re-runs on USA- what in the world are they thinking!?!?

Weekend Recap: Chicago style

So I spent the bulk of my weekend traveling and in the Windy City- and man is it windy...ughhh or just freeezzzinnggg! Can I just say before I talk about my adventure how crazy Chicagoans can be- ummmm they do NOT wait for the "walking" hand- they just walk- and let me tell you cars..DO NOT stop...I have never heard so many horns honked in one hour in my entire life. Its a little bit redic. I swear I saw a handful of people more than once almost die, and it didn't faze them one bit. I knew this would probably happen, but yet again a reminder of why I live the simple life- I may love my labels, but they do not make me ME, I enjoy my laid back lifestyle, I enjoy being able to run outside for 40 minutes and see 5 cars...on the highway. This is the life I choose to live...props to those who can live the big city life- for me its way fun to visit, but I'm more than ready to come home when my stay is over!

Now onto the Hotel- I know some of you will think I am NUTS, but I was totally stoked to stay in a hotel with a mini fridge- that was stocked...no I have never had a "stocked" mini fridge- can I just say I prefer the un-stocked, that I can personally stock with cheap booze and leftovers over their 5 dollar canned Miller Light- GROSS at least offer Bush light ;)-insert country to the core joke.


I would have drank the shit out of that liquor if it didn't cost 800 dollars!

So here is my recap of Chi-town in a Nutshell: we sent ourselves into a food coma...wait scratch that the food comas of ALL food comas. I think that misery is what could have described how we felt. We started out at Giordano's- Famous stuffed pizza- and was it stuffed.

"Special without Onions" holy Pizza

After stuffing our pie wholes to the brim, we went to the most touristy spot in Chicago- Millennium Park. I needed to see the "bean" people. It was everything I hoped it would be, shiny large and my smiling face lookin right back at me!

Then we headed to the "Magnificent Mile"- I wish I was a balla....seriously get yourself to NOT sing that song. I am going to tell you what I would have bought if money grew on trees and I had the chance to indulge this weekend on ANYTHING. First I would have bought a Marc by Marc Jacobs purse, then a Tiffany ANYTHING- but serrrriously I wanted EVERYTHING! See photo below ;). Then I would have bought a Burberry Trench coat- because I can. I would have bought the teal pair of shoes I was swooning over- and still may purchase- they are actually in my price range of under 100 dollars! Then there was Crate and Barrel which I could have spent HOURS in, I love kitchen stores SOOOO much!

"What I've found does the most good is just to get into a taxi and go to Tiffany's.  It calms me down right away, the quietness and the proud look of it; nothing very bad could happen to you there, not with those kind men in their nice suits... " -Holly Golightly

 

I WANT- I have black but I WANT- this is more Tiffany than Light blue.

How gorgeous was this platter?!

Ok now that that is out of my system...what we actually did was a crap ton of window/counter shopping...also known as browsing because I'm broke...Jack!(If you don't know what that's from we can't be friends- DVR that shit. After walking for what seemed like all day- oh wait WE DID.....we headed to Cheesecake factory to order..well cheesecake. Then decided to just come back and eat dinner so our cheesecake would still be cold when we left and could go back to hotel (we stayed at the Sheraton by the way- GORGEOUS and pretty dang decent price for being right next to the "mile"). We then went to Garrett's Popcorn shop- per recommendation...and it was worth EVERY SINGLE MINUTE we waited in line ( like an hour...outside). I am still eating on it 3 days later and its still AMAZEBALLS.

We ate at Cheesecake Fac. for dinner and were completely miserable the rest of the night. We did our Charcoal face mask (from Macy's) when we got back and then the moisturizer also recommended- they saw me coming. OMG my skin felt amazing afterwards and Sunday morning!.

Sunday was probably my favorite- minus walking through Tiffany's...I'm pretty sure if I lived near one I would pull an Audrey and go EVERY morning to look :). We went to Whole Foods and Trader Joes- if we had them here I would shop there ALL THE TIME! Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend and Happy Monday...its over now- only 4 days til the weekend ;)





Just another speed bump in life

so I am so ready for this day to be OVER! Seriously I woke up on THE wrong side of the bed (not really but kinda). I am not sure what is causing this grumpiness, actually I know exactly whats causing it. Have you ever gotten yourself sucked back into your old habits but feel like you are actually on the outside watching it happen and want to SCREAM NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Well let me tell you that is how I feel today. This week has been awful- number one source- poor grocery planning!

I have been doing so good on making sure to watch my foods and try to work out and I have failed the last 3 weeks ( being sick and mother nature have not helped) however its still my own fault. I have no excuses that are valid, they just suck. I know i haven't lost my motivation, and I definitely don't want this blog to be a Debbie downer site, but sometimes you just need to vent. I am hoping that this poor me session well snap my ass out of this BS. That's exactly what it is BS, this vicious cycle of feeling yucky because of what i have eaten and not exercising turns into more of that crap because of how I feel. Why is it so hard to cut yourself from emotional eating. Last night I seriously felt like puking because I had filled myself up so much. GROSS!  I hate that, more than anything. I have been starting out perfect, and as the day progresses I get worse and worse, and by dinner i have gone off the deep end.

I am making a grocery list TODAY for Monday. Why Monday you ask welllll now on to the exciting part. I am leaving on a train tomorrow morning for Chi-town. Now as hard as it is to believe, someone who has grown up in Illinois her whole life, has not been to Chicago. Well the "real" Chicago. I have been to Six flags, and other suburbs for school purposes, but never Chicago. I am staying on the "Magnificent Mile" and I am pretty pumped. I am probably most excited for Whole Foods-yes I am a foodie and most of you who know me know this is true!

I can't wait to enjoy a real slice of Chicago deep dish pizza, and stroll the shops of downtown. It will be a great get away for me, and a great way to start fresh. I plan on working out Sunday morning- thank goodness Katie is going with me, because she will kick my booty!

Thanks for listening to my cry about my stupid old eating habits, and I will be cleaning out the pantry/fridge tonight so that Monday my only choices are good ones. I need to get back into cooking healthy, I love to cook and I don't know why it becomes such a chore- oh wait yes I do....its when I am not working out, and not eating healthy- when you feel crappy you want to eat crappy until you hit that wall of NO MORE! Last night I hit that famous wall AGAIN, BUT I am not starting my journey over, because part of what makes a journey so fulfilling is knowing what you have overcome. This is just a minor speed bump, and now I am back on track!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful Weekend!!

Happy Changes- WINNING

HAPPY THURSDAY!!- is it sad that "Thirsty Thursday" just popped in my head?-you can take the girl out of college but you can't take the "college" out of the girl- oh wait yes you can its called your body hates alcohol of any form after the age of 25....No? is that just me?

So as I am sitting here at my desk, something occurred to me. I have really been thinking to myself "have I made any progress?" I mean sure I know how to read labels, and I know how to eat clean, but that doesn't mean I do it.

As I am getting ready to log in myfitnesspal (Lindsayk86- follow me), I realized for the last year I have committed to eating a nutritious breakfast EVERY DAY ( minus when sick-which is not often AT ALL for me). Win. Since starting my journey in January I have committed to eating 4-5 small meals daily. I am trying to keep that afternoon snack in check ( I usually skip it). However I consider this a HUGE win for me, compared to 3 years ago when I would actually try and not eat anything most of the day, thinking that this would help me.

Another WIN for me is that I have been focusing on how much I NEED/WANT to work out- the want is the RUNNING outside!, its weird and hard to explain but this to is really a win. My whole life I have looked at working out as a chore, as something that I was expected by doctors and other professionals to just DO. Well I don't like being told what to do(shocker). I want to DO it on my own. I have never really been one who follows the crowd, I kind of march to the beat of a different drum ;). So to all of you out their who think making the "little" changes does nothing- YOU couldn't be farther from the truth. Those little changes are the ones that actually stick. Here is a list of GOOD changes I have made and know that I will never go back on.

Changes I have made:

1. 4-5 small meals every day (weekends are the hardest)
2. Wanting to Run
3.Buying Almond Milk-No cow milk for our house!
4.Eating breakfast EVERY DAY
5. Seeing myself as a work in progress- not reaching for perfection RIGHT NOW

Changes to come:
1. working out 5-6 days a week REGULARLY
2. eating 5-6 small meals daily
3. Lifting weights- this is one I am going to throw in with 1
4. Eating at least one meal as a salad every day (and no I don't mean the kind with fried chicken doused in Ranch)
5. Creating a healthy lifestyle I would be proud to raise my kids in.

Now if mother nature would just cooperate so I can get outside- I hate the dreadmill!

Yes I will "shake it for you" Luke Bryan! Best running song EVER

What are your small changes?!

Taking the work out of daily meal decisions

So I have been trying to figure out how to add a "followers" gadget FOREVER...I finally figured it out...but its lonely...so you should probably be the first follower! ;) You know you want to!! :) PLEEEEAASSEEE..haha ok no you don't have to do it, just keep reading :)

So on to other tasks at hand...Menu planning. I tried it one month then gave up on it...why I don't know lack of time or just being lazy.  Either way, I need to figure this crap out- it really did save me money and the dreaded question every night of WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR SUPPER!?...ugh I hate figuring that out and J is usually no help :). The biggest reason I want to get back to it is not even so much for dinner or money reasons but because I need to see what I am eating for breakfast, snacks and lunches daily- those are probably the hardest for me because its so easy to come home and grab leftovers in the fridge and when they aren't very healthy -see last nights post of J's favorite foods- then I eat them anyway and use up pointless calories. So today I am making a menu plan for the month of April and the rest of this month or what's left of it.  I am hoping that by getting this started that I will stick to my work outs as well - I am placing what work out I am doing on each day. Look for updates on if this actually works :)

What are some of your favorite go to meals?! I will be sharing my favorites soon.

On any note I have a new "secret" ingredient for when making meat loaf- I made the same sauce I always do (ketchup, a little bbq sauce and a tsp of brown sugar) then added Peach preserves-OMG yum, although there is a lot of sugar(it is fruit) I feel as though its ok to have a little bit of bad thing as long as it's not every day

I love birthdays!

 So, today is Tuesday and it appears I did not get my post up yesterday as planned! whomp whomp....so Ill just combine yesterday/today into one. K?! Awesome now sit tight I have a crap ton to throw at you!

So over the weekend it was the wonderful St. Patrick's celebration here in the QCA, and let me tell you I froze my little hiney off just to watch a stinkin parade. What was I thinking?! It seriously felt like it was negative 100 outside with the wind ( last years parade I sweat my butt off and got burnt...I will never complain about that again). So what better way to warm your stupid ass up after standing in the cold? Hot chocolate with Bailey's? Yes please...most expensive hot chocolate EVER (1 dollar for a mini Styrofoam cup and 2 something for the shot- they saw me and my bff comin a mile away- I probably would have paid 10) We bar hopped to a couple places and then J met up with us- he was oh so thrilled :). Then by dinner we split from everyone else and went to a friends birthday bash- what an interesting night.

Sunday, J and I picked up my mom to go target shooting (she has never done it, so of course J insisted). It was fun, but again HOLY FREEZING (I need some serious under armor gloves with hot hands inserts). Then continued to eat bad Sunday for dinner.

Lets just recap what bad food choices I made this weekend- Go big or Go home, not so much when it comes to food.
           *KFC
           *Happy Joe's
           * City Limits (its a bar and I had fries and a grilled chicken sandwich)
           *lets not forget all of the beer...YIKES- but man was it fun!

So not only did I feel awful yesterday but I have eaten starburst today and feel icky- WHY do we eat foods that "seem like a good idea" but then make us feel awful. J and I had an interesting conversation that is oh so true. If we tend to get sick on something, we usually never want it again (for me its Wendy's- YUCK) but alcohol somehow escapes this trend- I mean really who hasn't said "I'm NEVER drinking again!"..only to drink the next weekend? Although the spaces seem to get larger between escapades for me, I still find myself wanting to go out and "party" after months of not doing it then I deeply DEEPLY regret it. Food has the same agenda for me- only the timing is different, immediately after eating KFC I felt gross, and still 2 days later I have a crap food hangover...WHY?!?!! Well I got "it" out of my system and plan to not do fast food like that again...yuck!

Now on to today, its pretty important...its J's birthday! YAY!!! Is it sad that I am more excited about this than he is?!...wait don't answer that. I made upon his request Meatloaf and Au gratin potatoes from scratch. My grandma offered to bring the apple pie (his favorite) and of course I bought candles for it- he's going to be thrilled-which I totally forgot to use! whomp whomp

P.S. I am going to try moving my alarm clock..aka phone across the room so that I have to get my butt UP in the morning to work out!

P.P.S like my signature?! :) I'm pretty proud of myself- ugh I found a website that has a template-I'm not that good :)

Here's my favorite pic from this weekend :)

Cleanse recap and where to from here

So the cleanse was officially over yesterday, HOWEVER I came down with some kind of nasty on Tuesday morning, and for some reason a salad didn't sound appetizing, so I had soup instead. Yesterday I still felt icky and ended up eating Mac n cheese ( yes the Kraft kind that I signed the petition for, I do eat it, and I would like it to not contain JUNK- soapbox). So i didn't really get to finish my cleanse with the "Bang" I had hoped for. However, I am going to be trying to keep to the clean eating, and I am trying a new trick. I am making a "note" on my phone to write down my day according to work outs and food.

Today I did not get my morning work out in as I am still feeling like poo, BUT I am going to force myself to do C25k, b/c if this crap doesn't want to leave on its own I am going to sweat it out! So here is my day for a run down on what my meals look like:

8:15 banana
10:15 apple and cheese stick ( YAY CHEESE)
1:15 salad and orange
4:15 almonds and applesauce (natural no sugar)
5:15 Run
6:15 Homemade pizza on gluten free crust ( its in the organic section, mix)

So I am hoping by having every single meal planned a day ahead of time it will help me stick to this better than if I am aimlessly searching for something in my fridge/pantry.  I am going to try and stay eating clean 80/20.

On to what I thought about the cleanse. For the most part I like it, however for me, the strictness was almost too much. I was getting to the point where I was going to binge, and that's never a good place. It was true to what it said, a very gentle cleanse, I didn't even really notice it, except that I felt deprived from CHEESE...I may have a problem. The funny thing is, before I started this cleanse I had already begun exempting cheese from things where it didn't matter (Subway, most salads- you can't usually taste it so why have the extra calories), but KNOWING that I COULDN'T have it somehow made it unbearable for me. I don't think that excess strict eating works for me. I know most think it comes down to will power, and I agree in regular eating it most certainly does. But for some reason our brain seems to want things it "can't" have..at least my brain.  When you aren't 21 drinking becomes a game, its fun...once you hit 21, then you are allowed and it loses a little spark. Same goes for anything that is forbidden. Why do we want those things that we can't have? Because we "can't" have them. So for me, I think keeping the eating as organic and as close to nature as I can get is wonderful, but I am not going to limit myself and not eat things because someone tells me I can't.It's all about finding what works for you, some people do really well with great restrictions, I am not one of those people, and if I want to eat a piece of cheese I am going to, but I am going to try and only eat white cheeses from now on, the others have yellow dye in them and for what?! NOTHING! I really wish they made it easier to buy white American cheese, but for now I will keep buying my pepper-jack MMMM :).

 P.S I think the word "restrictions" should be thrown in with the word "diet" both are EVILLLLLL!

Thanks for stopping by!

                       xoxo, Lindsay

Advocare Day 9 and Clean Salmon Cakes

So last night I decided to try something different for dinner, b/c lets face it if I eat one more piece of grilled chicken I may barf. I love chicken but this is getting ridiculous!

I woke up this morning and thought ok Day 9 bring it, right now I am wishing I would have just stayed in bed.( I just love hormones...bitches) So I drank my second to last fiber drink...HALLELUJAH...actually I didn't think they were that bad :).

Last night I did my day 1 of TurboFire, can't get myself up in the morning....daylight savings can suck it and so can this virus or bacteria that has invaded my lungs and causing coughing fits all dang night.  I did feel much better after a sweat last night, so I will be forcing another sweat tonight...and hopefully a run in as well...we shall see how much I feel like barfing as the day progresses ( I know you wanted that detail ;)).

So on to the salmon cakes, I would love to chat more with y'all but I am just not feelin it today. I did  however want to share this quite yummy dish.

Clean Salmon Cakes

12 oz wild caught salmon- mine was frozen
3 egg whites
1/2 cup Brown rice bread crumbs
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1-2 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp lemon pepper
1 tsp cayanne pepper (optional)
1 small onion chopped up fine
1/2 green pepper chopped up fine (optional)
1-2 tbsp grape seed oil or EVVO
2 lemon wedges (to squeeze over when done)

Mix all ingredients together except oil
form into patties ...it may be easier to get the amount you want and put it in the hot pan and flatten that way-its very VERY sticky
Cook until it doesn't seem mushy when you push on it- make sure your pan is low heat...they will burn

Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce:

 2 tsp honey mustard
dash of balsamic vinegar
dash of sesame oil

mix together and eat with salmon cakes

Thanks for stopping by, let me know what you think of these babies!

                                                xoxo, Lindsay

Day 8 on the home stretch: Clean Snacks

So as I am sitting here right now and it is SNOWING...ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? seriously I am soooo tried of this yucky weather...I think J and I need to seriously think about buying land in Texas! :) He may disagree...ya know with all his hunting and such :). So to coincide with this craptastic weather...this weekend was cold, rainy, and yucky outside. J and I had a really fun Saturday just the two of us...you know Will Smith style. We went to Iowa City, for those that know J, you can probably already guess what stores we HAD to go to! :) Let me tell you if this weekend was ever a test of my will power i succeeded ten fold what I failed at.
Friday night the friends came over, and I DID AMAZEBALLS. No cheats here! Saturday I did super duper awesome, and thennnn we went shopping, which meant we were probably going to eat out. No worries, I can still find something clean...or I thought! GAHHHH I will tell you Bennigan's is one of my all time favorite places to eat, b/c their potato soup is the bomb diggity. Seriously if you have not eaten it your world is not complete. So on the other side...trying to find something clean in their menu was dang near impossible. So ordered their take on "southwestern" fajitas. I requested no sour cream and no cheese, asked if their tortillas were flour or corn...FLOUR!? GASP...well I let her bring them knowing full well I couldn't eat them. When the steaming skillet came to our table, I was dissapointed to say the least, pretty sure they just steamed the onions and 3 green pepper slices and gave me PLAIN grilled chicken...no spices? Trying to not be discouraged, so I didn't make J feel bad for his choice...I sucked it up I thought ok since its plain as shit I am going to eat it on a flour tortilla...yeahhhh I took one bite and decided it was so gross the flour wasn't even worth it. So instead I ate the guac i requested and a little pico along J's steamed broccoli (normally yum, I gagged- too much plainness in 10 days).
When this bitch is over, I plan to stick to eating mostly what i have had...because it makes me feel good...HOWEVER, and I do mean HOWEVER, I am NEVER giving up cheese again...EVER. The good news is, low fat cheese is considered in fact clean..WINNING!

So here are just a few of my "clean" snack choices I plan to carry over (some I already ate before*):

Boiled egg with piece of fruit
1oz dry roasted almonds with apple
1-2 servings Kale chips with Banana
3 lemon/lime wedges with carrots and hummus
celery and hummus; orange
1oz dry roasted almonds with 1/2 oz dried fruit mix
banana and 1 tbsp almond butter

Those are just a few of my snack options and of course once I can have dairy I can add back in cottage cheese, light string cheese, and non fat greek yogurt.

Thanks for stopping by stay tuned only 2 more days left of cleanse,
                                           xoxo, Lindsay

Friday and Advocare Day 5 of cleanse

I feel as though every morning a little song pops in my head..."Its finally Friday...."sorry for those of you who don't know/like country. Seriously can we just talk about why it takes 5 days for Friday to get here and only 2 for Monday...I feel as though the "work" week is seriously misguided.

I digress.

So it is Day 5 for me, and I must say I wanted to cheat SOOOOO SOOO Bad yesterday and have a piece of cheese, but I knew I wouldn't be able to stop...so instead I ate my fajitas on a bed of lettuce with fresh salsa. I def need to try those salmon cakes soon :) maybe Sunday! Today I am feeling much better, still missing cheese but not the wanting to cheat so much, but it is only 9:04, for most this would be normal...for me this is a WIN! (I can eat cheese for breakfast- what its dairy and has protein!)

So me and my GREEEAAT ideas, I decided that tonight would be a great night to clear out the freezer...aka fried pheasant, fried fish, annndd fried turkey. We are having my bff and her bf over...so now I can't have fried yumminess AND wine?! What in the H E double hockey sticks was I thinking?! Seriously I wasn't...however I am going to have my yummy marinated asparagus with roasted red potatoes and grilled chicken for my dinner. The others will get chips and fresh salsa, loaded baked potato casserole and lots of yummy fried goodness and a few grilled things covered in bacon....seriously I am drooling right now thinking about it. However, I am going to stay strong and if I can make it through tonight then I have no excuses once this cleanse is over!

So onto a side note, I did not get my work out in last night...and for me this was a legit excuse- may not be to some...but I am still struggling with getting a routine down for working out. Its on my TO DO RIGHT FREAKIN NOW LIST....so I got my "Breaking Dawn Part 2" in the mail yesterday. For those of you who are not twilight addicts, I have not seen this one and its the final book/movie. So of course I had to watch part 1 and 2. The good news is, I am down 7.2 lbs in 5 days with out exercise for this cleanse (makes me a little angry with myself to think of what it could be if I had worked out- ya live ya learn). The bad news? I had slowly gained back those 7 lbs that I had originally lost- most of which was water due to eating bad for a week and eating INSANELY bad last weekend.

I am determined to keep this diet going, and the biggest thing for me is knowing HOW to do it. LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS of salads ( without the extra carbs with croutons- i do love them), instead I use crunch vegetables and almond slivers or sunflower seeds.

I have yet to get down a certain low calorie dressing that tastes good, I tried making my own vinaigrette..but HOLY buckets it calls for a LOTTTT of oil and that's WAY too many calories.  So I am on a mission to find a low cal HEALTHY dressing recipe annnndddd amazing gluten free pizza crust. This my friends seems impossible, BUT I will find them and I will share them when I do...just don't expect them tomorrow ;).

Have a fabulous weekend!! (drink a glass of wine for me ;))

                                      xoxo, Lindsay

Clean Fajitas and Day 4!

So its Thursday!! Whoop!! I am soooo excited that tomorrow is Friday! Why? ummm because its Friday..duh! ;)

So onto the cleanse..I am currently on Day 4 which means no Fiber drink this AM, I am starting to struggle with the eating fruit for breakfast...I miss my eggs! :( But I haven't broken yet! I have done really good with the eating so far...adding in the workouts has still been a struggle since I completely effed up my shoulder somehow :(...I was in tears several times yesterday, went to the chiro..its definitely feeling better..but I don't want to disrupt what she fixed...so TONIGHT is the night! and I don't care if I have to heat up my shoulder for three hours after I am doing this shiz tonight!

I will say I have been a lot more productive because of two things..no food shows and no pinterest...GAH..I said it...seirously do you know how many cheesey goodness recipies are on there?!?! Skinny or not this girl can't have cheese for another 6.5 days...I may die. I can promise you this..I am on the HUNT for a Seriously yummy gluten free pizza crust- I have tried the cauliflower and thats great and all but I need it to be like a crustttttt from say Happy Joes...yes..I want Happy Joes...but I will refrain UNTIL Day 11 then I will be making my own Taco pizza from SCRATCH! I just really need a good crust recipe that isn't going to make me feel bad for eating an extra slice. I have tried probably 4 or 5 different crusts...and they are all either soggy, too dense, or tough...thats the worst. Seriously have you eaten tough dough before?! I don't know about you, but when I bite into my beloved pizza I shouldn't feel like my teeth are being yanked out!

So on to the Clean Fajitas..I had a picture but Instagram wont let me use it...bitches..that's my picture dang it.  So here is the recipe I will update the post with a picture when instagram stops being a selfish bicsh!

Clean Fajitas
Fajita seasoning: see below
2 tbsp oil (I might try water next time to omit the extra fat that didn't seem necessary)
1 lb of chicken
1/2 cup of black beans
Fresh Salsa- around 1/2 cup
1/2 cup of corn
**can add shrimp if you like just balance with the shrimp
2 green peppers
1 medium onion

Fajita seasoning: I used the recipe here but omitted the corn starch for "clean" purposes

Preheat oven to 400
Slice up your onion and pepper in long strips. set aside
Spray your 9x13 pan
cut up your chicken into tiny strips, place into dish (if you used shrimp place these in as well-REMOVE tail)
mix the oil or water with 3 tablespoons of your seasoning; spread over meat and mix up with tongs
add in your peppers, onion, salsa, black beans, and corn
mix together with tongs
place in oven uncovered for about 40 minutes or until chicken and veggies are cooked to your liking

Portion size is around 1/8 of the pan- trust me its plenty!!

Pair with corn tortillas, or over brown rice with lettuce.
WARNING-THESE SMELL AMAZING, make sure to just eat your portion ;)

I hope you enjoy these as much as we did!! I love Mexican food and will definitely be using this recipe even after I am done with the cleanse.

                                                        xoxo, Lindsay

Roasted Veggies and cleanse update!

So it seems I may have forgotten to blog the last two days- well yesterday I attempted but with there being snow EVERYWHERE I decided to spend my time wisely :).

Over the weekend I told you I would be doing an all morning workout...didn't I? Well if I didn't I most definitely DID. I kid you not I have never worked out for so long in my life (actual working out). Those who know me, know its like pulling teeth (or it used to be) to work out more than once in a day...and that one time better be under an hour. Well this bisch worked out at 815am- about 1045am. I cut the third one short because HOLY buckets I was tired. I did a cheerfit first- I was hoping for more dancing- it was just teaching the moves, :( disappointed. The next work out HOWEVER, made up for the lack there of the first go around. HOLY MOSES. It was a ballet work out and good grief I was shaking by the end (OK maybe half way through). The last one was a rhythm one...think drummer meets aerobics. That's seriously what it was. Sunday I was super SUPER sore, as in there were muscles I was feeling that I didn't know existed. Which means that I got a seriously good work out in! BOOM.

   Not so bad when its through a straw ;) (don't mind my flunk day cup HOLLA)
 
Monday I started the cleanse with SkinnyMeg and MamaLaughlin. I mentioned that I would be doing this advocare cleanse I am on day 3 this morning, and I have to say, eating clean is the way to go. I haven't been so groggy, and I definitely have had more energy.
     For example: regular night before cleanse, me coming home, dreading making dinner ( i love to cook when I am not dead ace tired) and watching NCIS the rest of the night, occasionally forcing a workout.
                     THIS WEEK: very clear thoughts all day, come home from work, clean up kitchen, prep a crap load of food, organize pantry (a secret love of mine-well it was a secret :)), make dinner, eat with J, finally sit my booty down around 8, watched "The women tell all-Bachelor" (why do I do this to myself?) Then bed. I can't tell you how good I have felt.

This cleanse is a very VERY gentle cleanse- I have done the harsh ones...YIKES! I do have to pee like every 30 minutes (fairly normal for me), but the other part...pretty normal- I know you could hardly wait to hear about my bathroom scenes. So if you are wanting a cleanse that isn't going to make you mad dash to a public bathroom while knocking over grandma Mary and her walker...this is the cleanse for you :)- Plus decently priced for a cleanse! :)

Some of the things I have been eating: grilled chicken (skinless, boneless), Roasted Green beans, mushrooms, and green peppers marinated in balsamic vinegar, Almonds, lots of fruit, Hummus-my new love, LOTS of salad, more new things to try later this week and next.

Here's my recipe for my roasted veggies that were marinated:

1 package frozen green beans
fresh mushrooms
Green Pepper( I had a half that was leftover, and needed to use it)
Balsamic Vinegar
2 tbsp grape seed oil
Old Bay Seasoning
1 tbsp dried oregano
1tbsp Jalapeno Seasoning (spice section, by the creole spices) -optional
1 tsp Italian seasoning (spice section ,not a packet)
Salt and Pepper

 Preheat oven to 350

Balsamic Marinade:
Pour all veggies into Gallon Ziploc baggie
Add in all spices, oil and vinegar
"smoosh" bag around- ITS FUN!
pour onto baking sheet  and place in oven to bake until veggies are tender, around 35-40 minutes is how long mine were in, but green beans were straight up FRO-ZEN, so it just depends on what you like.

**Variations:
In the summer I use asparagus, no spices with Parmesan cheese in its place (I can't have dairy during cleanse, GASP)and then place on foil on your grill (YUM!)

I have to say, I didn't even miss the cheese, the veggies were so tasty on their own! Let me know if you have any particular way you love to roast veggies- I'm pretty obsessed with it! :)

Hope you have a wonderful day, stay tuned on more cleanse updates.


P.S. the workouts have not started back up- but I WILL be doing some TurboFire tonight! :)

                                        xoxo, Lindsay

Clean eating andddd turbo fire?!

I must have lost my mind, I am starting the advocare cleanse Monday...I'm nervous, excited, and freaked all at the same time. So on this cleanse you are supposed to eat as close to nature as possible.which means, no cheese, ranch,cheese, processed foods of any kind, dairy...did I say cheese? If this cleanse doesn't kill me I may just get myself into clean eating( you can have cheese..just no dyes). I am excited to see just how much processed garbage I can actually live without. It's kind of crazy to think that 90% of the stuff in the average Americans house contains over half of the ingredients that you can't pronounce....say what?! So I'm going to try my hardest to stick to the rule of if you wouldn't purchase the ingredients then you don't need it....J on the other hand...totally against this. why do men insist on acting like children?! So guess what, I'm gonna let you in on a secret...he IS going to eat clean with my meals...yes he will still have his beloved Doritos but I'm going to try my darnedest to get him to eat clean too. Seriously who wants to cook 2 dinners every night?! Um I love to cook but that's just ridonkulous!

On to TurboFire...it finally came in the mail...woot..and as I am looking in their food book..or more like novel...they recommend most of the things that this cleanse has....who knew?! Uhh yeah apparently a lot of people...did you know that a lot of the additives that are in packaged foods actually have addicting agents?! No wonder its so freaking hard to give up nachos, Kraft Mac n cheese, etc.. I find it slightly disturbing that manufacturers find it necessary to put addictive agents in our food just so we continue to buy...gotta love corporate America ;-).

I feel as though I should add a disclaimer that this purely a personal choice, I do not judge those who eat the food I called "garbage" hello I have some of that stuff in my pantry, but when you think about good nutrition, you don't find it in a box. I am hoping I can help you learn with me. I am hoping that by cleaning up my eating habits, I can "clean" up my waistline. Do you know that we are seriously in March already?! Holy Moses summer is coming at a rapid pace!

I have several vacays planned for summer and I want to look amazeballs! So tomorrow I'm doing a crazy amount of workouts with my friend ( if that doesn't kill me, the cleanse still has a chance to).  Sunday I'm starting the C25K for real- 5k coming up and I don't want to look dumb!  Monday is the cleanse- no work out but I plan to start turbo fire tues morn, c25k after work(it's 3 days a week for one haven't done it) I know it seems dumb to put all of that on here, but you keep me accountable. Have a wonderful, safe weekend!!

                                                   Xoxo, Lindsay