Daylight Savings, Monopoly, and Cheeseburgers.

Well today was Daylight Savings! Which means for most people that they get one extra hour of sleep. Does it mean that for me? Of course not! My body simply wouldn't allow it and woke me up at 5 am. But it was all for the best because I've had a nice productive day. Funny story - Back when I was a kid I used to think that the government created Daylight Savings specifically for the kids, like me, who had to wait out for the bus. I figured that they just didn't want us to have to wait out in the dark in the morning, so when it started getting dark they pushed the clocks back. I had no idea that the "adjusted" time was actually the summertime and in the fall we were just going back to "normal" time.

So, I woke Tim up around 6. Made us breakfast (sausage and eggs for him, 100 calorie pudding for me) then we went grocery shopping. Now, last night we were watching this show on Hulu called Julia and Jacques: Cooking From Home. And they were making hamburgers, so of course we were in the mood for hamburgers. Well, Giant Eagle has these premade patties with stuff already in them so we each chose one. I chose Cheddar and Bacon and he chose Italian. We got onion buns and sliced Gouda cheese to go with them. But more on that in a bit.

So, since we got up so early we were home by 8am! i watched some TV, he played some Grand Theft Auto. Then he got a call and got back around noon. We ate lunch (leftover tacos from last night). After that we decided to play a fierce game of Indiana Jones Monopoly. I got lucky and got the "Parkplace" corner all locked up and put "hotels" on all of the property. I was winning for a good portion of the game, but in the end...I landed on Tim's properties about five times in a row and he took me for everything I had. Final stats?

Holly: All properties mortgaged, $2



Tim: "hotels" on every property, $9043



After that horrible defeat we decided to make the burgers! Tim put Lowery's Seasoning Salt on them to add some extra flavor and they were delicious!

Mine:



Tims:



So now we might be watching a movie to end the night with. Great Sunday!

A week of sandwiches

Current Weight: 136

Pounds Lost This Week: 1

Pounds Lost Total: 6

I lost less this week but I was sick and didn't do very much exercising at all. Tim lost another 6 pounds bringing his total to 17. This next week we're doing a week of sandwiches for dinner. We're going to have BLT's, Italian BMT's, Turkey Panini's, Ham and Cheese, Chicken Salad, and Tuna Salad. He's also on call this week so we're going to try and wake up early and do a Biggest Losers Video. Wish us luck!

Week 3, Skinny Cow!

Current Weight: 137

Pounds Lost This Week: 5

Pounds Lost Total: 5

Well, what we're doing must be working. Tim has lost 10 pounds and I have lost 5. We've been doing really good with the exercising. We have been doing every other day except once because he stuck doing something for work and didn't get home until like 7 and at that point we just wanted dinner and relaxation. So we picked up where we left off the next day. We still don't know what we're going to do when he's on call.

But my main reason for writing today is to introduce whoever is reading to Skinny Cow products. They are my new best friends.

Skinny Cow Ice Cream Bars (100 calories per bar): These are literally the best ice cream bars I've ever had and they are completely low cal. And they're not small either. They're bigger than most bars I've had. They come in Vanilla, Chocolate, Caramel, and Mint, and Cookies n' Cream. They also have Fudge bars and Mini Fudge Pops. The Mini Fudge pops are actually only 50 calories a piece!

Skinny Cow Ice Cream Cups (150 calories with the exception of the caramel cone which is 170): These come in the following flavors: Chocolate Fudge, Dulce De Leche, Strawberry Cheesecake, Caramel Cone and Cookies and Cream. I have not tried them yet but I am dying to! Gotta wait til the box of Mint Bars is gone from my fridge though.

Skinny Cow Cones (150 calories): These come in Chocolate with Fudge, Mint with Fudge, and Vanilla with Caramel. They have the cute little cone like on a Drumstick.

Skinny Cow Sandwiches (140-160 calories) These come in some amazing flavors: Chocolate Peanut Butter, Cookies n' Cream, Mint, Strawberry Shortcake, Vanilla, Chocolate, and No Sugar Added.

Skinny Cow Clusters (120 calories): These are Caramel filled chocolates. They come in Milk and Dark Chocolates.

Skinny Cow Crisps (110 calories): These are wafers covered in chocolate with either chocolate or peanut butter creme inside.

So if you're like me and want to get skinny but still have a gigantic sweet tooth you definitely have to buy some of these delicious products.

Week 2 On the Diet

Current Weight: 143.2

Total Lost: ? (didn’t weigh myself til today)

Ok so this week we added exercise to our routine. We started Monday. We have committed to going walking/running every other day. We are doing about 2 miles each time so far. When we get enough money we're going to buy bikes and start changing it up with that. My legs aren't dying but I'm definitely feeling the burn.

We used the same recipes as last week again this week. I'll go ahead and post them on here if anyone is interested in them. Each of the recipes is made for 2 servings since we have just the two of us. I found this online recipe calculator that allows you to type in all your ingredients and it'll bring up the nutritional facts for you, so I will also put down the nutritional information for you:

Apricot Chicken

Ingredients:

1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/8 cup flour
1/2 Tbsp oil
3/8 cup dry white wine
1 medium shallot, minced
2 apricots pitted and chopped
2 Tbsp apricot preserves
1/4 tsp dried tarragon

Instructions:

1. Place chicken breast between plastic wrap. Flatten to 1/2 inch. Sprinkle with half of the salt and all of the pepper. Place flour in shallow dish. Dredge chicken in flour.

2. Heat oil in skillet over medium, add chicken and cook 3-5 minutes per side until not pink. Transfer to a plate, cover.

3. Take pan off heat. Add wine and shallot to pan. Return to medium heat, cook about 3 minutes. Add apricots, cook 3 minutes. Stir in preserves, tarragon and remaining salt. Return chicken to pan. Cook 1-2 minutes. Serve.

Information:

Calories: 268
Fat: 4.7 grams (Sat 0.5g, Poly 0.4g, Mono 2.6g)
Cholesterol: 55mg
Sodium: 629mg
Potassium: 160mg
Carbohydrates: 23.7g (DF 1g Sugar 15.3g)
Protein: 24.5g

Tomato and Turkey Sandwich

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp salad dressing
1 Tbsp shredded parmesan
1 Tbsp basil
Juice from 1/2 a lemon
pinch of pepper
4 Slices whole wheat bread
4 oz deli turkey
2 slices tomato
1 Tbsp olive oil

Directions:

1. Combine dressing, parmesan, basil, lemon juice, and pepper in a small bowl. Spread on 2 slices of bread. Put turkey and tomato on remaining slices and top with other slices.

2. Heat oil in skillet. Place sandwiches in pan and cook about 2 minutes per side or until golden.

Information:

Calories: 300
Fat: 10.4 grams (Sat 2g, Poly 1.1g, Mono 6.2g)
Cholesterol: 34.7mg
Sodium: 846.8mg
Potassium: 142mg
Carbohydrates: 31.2 grams (DF 3.4g Sugar 8.4g)
Protein: 16.7 grams

Basil Penne with Cherry Tomatoes

Ingredients:

4 oz whole wheat penne
¼ cup cannellini beans
1 ½ cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp basil
2 Tbsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp shredded Parmesan

Directions:

1. Cook noodles, drain, return to pot. Toss with next 5 ingredients. Cook 5 minutes. Top with parmesan.

Information:

Calories: 328
Fat: 7.8 grams (Sat 0.9g, Poly 0.6g, Mono 5g)
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 87mg
Potassium: 312mg
Carbohydrates: 52.1 grams (DF 9.1g Sugar 4.9g)
Protein: 10.2 grams

Breaded Turkey Cutlets

Ingredients:

2 ½ Tbsp bread crumbs
½ lb turkey cutlets
1 tsp thyme
¼ cup dry white wine
1 Tbsp minced shallot
½ Tbsp butter

Directions:

1. Spread bread crumbs in shallow dish. Press Cutlets into crumbs to coat.

2. Spray skillet and place over medium heat. Cook 2 ½ minutes per side until there is no pink in the middle. Place on a plate.

3. Add wine, shallots, and thyme to pan. Boil 1 minute. Reduce heat and swirl in butter until melted. Spoon over cutlets.

Information:

Calories: 211.8
Fat: 3.9 grams (Sat 1.8g, Poly 0.1g, Mono 0.7g)
Cholesterol: 77.6mg
Sodium: 224.7mg
Potassium: 42mg
Carbohydrates: 7 grams (DF 0.6g Sugar 0.6g)
Protein: 29.4 grams

This week we’re going to have the turkey sandwich again, turkey chili, the apricot chicken, mac and cheese, and ham and cheese sandwiches. I’ll post more recipes next week if we like them. Also for sides to these dinners we’ve been having various steamable veggies. They are amazing. Just pop them in the microwave and pour them onto the plate. I hope you all enjoy the recipes!

Sources: sparkpeople.com, eatingwell.com, fitnessmagazine.com

New Nutritious Lifestyle

Me and Tim are starting what he calls a "new nutritious lifestyle." We decided we were fatties and have had enough. So we threw away all our bad foods (chips, brownies, etc) and replaced it with good foods (strawberries, blackberries, bananas, chicken breast, tomatoes, etc).

My meal plan for the first week is as follows: Gnocchi with Spinach and White Beans, Apricot Chicken with Broccoli, Turkey Pananis with Fruit Salad, Penne with Honey Roasted Asparagus, and Turkey Piccata with Tomatos.

We'll see if we have the will power.