Spin, Breakfast, Tacos and a Cleanse!

Last night I went to spin and Nicky K. was subbing for Pablo who was traveling this week. Her class is so much different than Pablo's and I'm glad I got to experience her teaching. She did a lot of interval training, more out of the saddle to the saddle and back out again to get us moving wheras Pablo does one song standing another seated - Nicky does both in one song. She walks around with high energy, singing along to the music and is full of energy. She doesn't bike along with us as much as Pablo and she is very strict about resistance and following along and reminding us of our RPM but it's great energy, a hell of a work out and I felt the class feeling lighter and tired. When I got home, I had a salad that I made for lunch but never ate which was spinach, shaved brussel sprouts, peppers, tomato, carrots, cabbage, walnuts, goji berries and almonds. I had very little arctic zero chocolate peanut butter to finish my meal but got in to bed early because I was so worn out.

I had some great activity yesterday with Bar Method and Spin and had 5 WW activity points and over 14,000 steps. Again, the fitbit did not track spinning too well because I was locked into the bike and not "stepping" but it felt great to get my body moving!

I did not go to Bar Method this morning because I wanted to give my body a chance to rest and my muscles to repair. I had done Bar Monday, Wednesday and Thursday morning this week and spin Thursday evening so I felt okay taking the break. However, we are going out for Mexican tonight with a lot of friends for Tina's birthday so I really wanted to push myself this week to work out and eat clean in preperation for this meal. We are also going for gluten free pizza tomorrow night (made with a cauliflower crust) before going to see Bryan Cranston in "All The Way" so hopefully I can get to a Bar class tomorrow morning so I don't feel so bloated from the dinners. But I don't want to feel like I miss out on anything and I can still go out with friends and be included so since we are having pizza tomorrow, and I refuse to miss out on pizza I think I am going to go with a chicken fajita (without the tortilla) for dinner tonight. It is fresh vegetables and protein cooked on a sizzling black skillet served with salsa. It sounds fresh and clean and if I can avoid the tortilla then it won't be as heavy a meal as it could be.

Ryan and I had breakfast together this morning. He is so busy with work and was up early this morning getting a research paper done before 10am so I made us breakfast while we sat on the couch and watched the Today show (did you see the Sochi rescue puppies? So cute!)

Ryan had a bacon and provolone omelette which I whipped in the nutribullet to make it extra fluffy and light. I also made his a spinach, apple, goji berry, almond, walnut, raspberry, blueberry nutribullet! I also put some Eleven Madison Park granola on the side for some added love!

I made an egg white and oatmeal pancake blended with chia seeds and a Tbsp of pb2 chocolate powdered peanut butter. I topped it with a banana and yummy toppings (all weighed out ahead of time to be 0 WW points). Toppings included 2g walnut pieces, 3g slivered almonds, 5g goji berries, and 4g hemp granola cereal. It was heavy, filling and delicious and I hope it keeps me full through the morning. I am going to get a salad from Just Salad for lunch with spinach, kale, broccoli, asparagus, banana peppers and butternut squash for 0 points because I know dinner will put me over, but I don't want to worry about it since I saved all of my weekly 49 points just for this weekend and the dinners we have planned.

Ryan is leaving on Wednesday through Saturday for a business trip to Houston, TX. He has been working so hard on his research and presentation and I am so excited for him! While he is gone, I schedule a colonic at Gravity East Village for Thursday. I work out, I eat well, but I still feel...well...backed up. With spring starting, I want to feel relieved so I decided to go with a colonic to clean my system out. I am going to follow this up by starting another 10 Day Advocare Herbal Cleanse which will help restore all of the good bacteria that is expelled from my body from the colonic. The colonic at Gravity East uses the gravity system which fills your body with water through a tube and then, with a different tube, relieves toxins and waste from your body without suction (which puts a lot of pressure on the body). They will be able to see waste that is old and built up and we can decide from there if another colonic is needed sooner rather than later. I am also planning to do an infrared sauna treatment afterwards which will further rid my body of heavy metals and toxins. In July when I was doing my bloodwork for my thyroid, my heavy metals tests came back high for Mercury and Lead so this will be extremely beneficial and hopefully I will feel better afterwards.

In order to prepare for the colonic (and the advocare cleans), I am going to eliminate beans and legumes from my diet 4 days prior, dairy, fried foods, and soda 2 days prior (not that I eat that anyway) and 1 day prior and the day of, no meat. I am going to eat a lot of salads (just like I normally do) but cut back on anything that isn't raw, steamed, blanched, or slightly cooked. With Ryan traveling this will be much easier! Monday I am having friends over for lunch and was planning to slow cook pork and sweet potatoes. This will be a good "last supper." but still be healthy and clean. I am doing a FreshDirect order with a lot of vegetables, salmon, tilapia, no refined carbs (pasta, bread, grains), and some quinoa. Since I am eating clean prior to the colonic, the Advocare Herbal Cleanse will be a great follow-up and will help restore my body after cleaning it out! I am not looking to lose weight with the colonic, I just want to clean myself out from all of these "leftovers" so that I have room to fill my body with clean, good nutrients. I feel like I eat well and workout but something is missing. I still feel "crappy" (pun intended) and I find it hard to "stay on track" because I don't "feel good." I feel bloated and heavy and not normal no matter how many salads I eat. And not feeling well leads me to eat the bad stuff like the ice cream and chocolate and chips. If I can jumpstart my emotions and how my body feels, then it will be a lot easier to fill it with really good stuff! And yes, I am being a good wife, and doing this when my husband is not home. Everything should be expelled from the body during the session and you won't run home feeling the need to go to the bathroom, but Ryan will not want to talk about it and hear about the treatment so it is better to do while he is away!

I might do a Cooler Cleanse Juice Cleanse the day of the colonic so that my stomach is empty. I have to stop eating 4 hours prior and stop drinking 2 hours prior so that my stomach and bladder are empty which lowers the need to go to the bathroom during the treatment.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. It should be warming up soon, so go out and take a walk and enjoy life!

XO

Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate and an Egg White Pancake

Last night's dinner was a FreshDirect "short cut" of Stewed Pull Chicken. We served it with a salad and gluten free schar parbaked rolls. It was easy, simple and only 8 points. It was so beautiful out last night, so Ryan and I went for a walk after dinner and went to buy dessert. I was planning on making quest bar cereal, but we bought Ben & Jerry's Froyo Chocolate Fudge Brownie and Immaculate Gluten Free Fudge Brownie Chocolate Cookie Dough...YUM! The cookies were gluten and dairy free. It was a chocolate overload (and I topped it with arctic zero chocolate peanut butter ice cream). Each cookie is 4 points, but I wanted froyo so I measured out 19g of cookie dough (2 points) and 52g of froyo (2 points) and 35g of arctic zero (0 points) for the most delicious chocolatey dessert. I topped it with 3g hemp granola (0 points) and 3g coconut chips (0 points).

I loved that the cookie dough was pre cut into chunks so it was really easy to put on a baking sheet and bake for 13 minutes!

This morning I had breakfast at home. It was an egg white and oatmeal pancake with chia seeds and powdered peanut butter blended together (6 points) and topped with hemp granola, flax seeds, goji berries and sliced almonds (toppings weighed to be 0 points)! This was so filling and I used a small pan so it was really thick and fluffy!

Last night I prepped a chicken salad for lunch today. Maybe I can try to get outside to eat for a bit today!

It is so warm and sunny this morning so I walked to work! It was beautiful and a nice change from the cold windy days we've had (and still have ahead of us this week)!

Tomorrow starts the craziness of our busy weekend beginning with early bar method and an evening focus group. Long days are made a lot easier though when it is still bright out when I head home!

I hope everyone enjoys the sunshine today! Get out and take a walk if you can!!

XO

The sweetest surrender of winter, She put up a flag it is waving. The thunder of summer is rumbling in.

March seems to be flying by and when we moved our clocks forward this past weekend, the days are finally getting longer. Although this is great for the evenings when the sun doesn't set so early and I can walk home from work or feel more productive with my day, it also means the mornings are darker so it is much harder to get up for Bar Method! But spring and summer will soon be here and hopefully it will bring beautiful sunny days (after this next prediction of cold and snow for this week of course)!

March has been very busy. Every weekend we seem to be going out, eating out, staying out late and not sleeping as much. As fun as everything is, I can feel it in my body and the effect it is having. The first weekend of March we ate the 16 course meal at Eleven Madison, This past Friday we had burgers and fries before the Avett Brothers concert in Brooklyn, Saturday we went out to dinner with my parents and this coming weekend we have dinner plans Friday with friends and Saturday we are going to our favorite pizza restraint, Nizza, which now serves gluten free polenta crust before going to see Bryan Cranston in "All The Way." I love the excitement of being busy, seeing friends, having fun and living every minute of this month to the fullest, but eating out every weekend is not only expensive, but my body feels it as well. I feel the salt in the meals, the extra larger portions that I am not in control of, the appetizer, entree and desserts that I am eating and the tiredness I feel from being out late and not being able to wake up early for a Bar Method class the next day. Living a healthy lifestyle is about control and moderation though. I can't not go out with friends or to dinner with Ryan just because I don't want to eat badly. There are healthy options on all menus including salads, grilled chicken and fish. But it's also good to indulge and not deprive otherwise it does not become fun to live a healthy lifestyle because you end up resenting everyone else.

Because we have also been so busy on weekends, I have made it a point to cook meals at home for dinner that has plenty of leftovers for lunch the next day! We have done a few Fresh Direct orders and have purchased pre-marinated meats that require little effort other than to put them in the oven and create a side dish! Last Sunday (after our filling meal at Eleven Madison) I made peppercorn petite filet with a side of sweet mashed yams (Fresh Direct 4 minute sides in a snap) and a brussel sprout and red onion salad on the side. The meat cooked in the oven for 25 minutes and was a perfect medium rare. The meal was so simple and it came with 3 filets so we cooked 2 and froze 1. I was able to make steak salad for lunch Monday and Tuesday from the leftovers! It saved a lot of time, money and energy! And the meat was delicious!

Wednesday night I made one of Ryan's favorite dishes, tilapia with a balsamic butter sauce. Tilapia is really easy to make and does not produce a fishy smell when cooked which makes it the perfect protein! The sauce is really light and flavorful and the butter is so decadent! The sauce is made by melting 2 tbsp of butter in a sauce pan and letting it brown. You then add 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar and let it simmer for a few minutes, stirring occasionally until it thickens. Pour it over the fish (or any protein or vegetables) and enjoy! Our meal (half a pound of tilapia each) was 7 points and we served broccoli and carrots on the side. Another easy meal to make at home. The fish took about 10 minutes to cook!

I also made a lot of Quest Bar desserts this past week. The protein meal replacement bar served as a great dessert because it kept me full later at night and helped energize me to get through morning bar classes. My stomach wasn't rumbling and I felt like I could go longer without eating between dinner and breakfast the next day. But rather than eat it as a protein bar, I tried to get creative.

My first dessert this week was a Quest Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough cookie - it is cookie dough after all! I cut the bar into 4 even sized and rolled them into balls to form cookies. I baked them in the oven (350 degrees) for 10 minutes and served with ice cream and frozen bananas! The bar tasted even better baked than it did raw!

The second quest dessert was strawberry cheesecake cereal. I cut the quest bar into small chunks and rolled them into balls. I baked these for 10 minutes in the oven and served with almond milk!

Another quick and easy dinner that we made last week was sesame chicken with stir fry vegetables. The plate was so colorful and vibrant with the mixture of vegatbales and the chicken was coated in a sauce made with 2 tbsp honey, 3/4 tsp rice wine vinegar, 3/4 tsp cornstarch, 1/4 cup water and sesame seeds. For 3 servings (Ryan had double what I ate), it was 6 points! The chicken cooked for 10-15 minutes on high heat and then I added the vegetables for another 2-5 minutes. The sauce I made while the chicken cooked and added to the pot with the chicken and vegetables and mixed well. I added sesame seeds at the end for garnish.

I went to Bar Method Tuesday morning, Wednesday morning and Thursday morning! I took Monday off because I wasn't feeling well and Friday I took off because we were going to Barclay's Center for the Avett Brothers concert and I wouldn't be able to bring my huge backpack with me inside.

Friday morning, I cooked breakfast with Ryan...egg white and oatmeal pancake with chia seeds, topped with chocolate pb2, coconut flakes and hemp seeds (5 points). I love this breakfast because it keeps me full and energized all morning long!

For lunch I had a salad from Just Salad so that I could keep my points low since I knew we would be going out to dinner before the concert! I had kale and spinach chopped with artichoke hearts, broccoli, banana peppers, asparagus and egg whites with a serving of honey-dijon herb dressing. I had 2 cups of Chia Pop Aged Cheddar (2 points). It was so flavorful and filling. I had never had it before, but will have it more often now. It was so delicious and was a perfect side to my salad!

For dinner, I can honestly say I had the best burger ever! We went to Pure Bistro on 5th Avenue only a few blocks from Barclay's. It was exciting to be back in Brooklyn, but we both really did not miss the long commute on the subway! We didn't even realize how long our daily commutes were until we now can walk to work! I got an 8oz. beef burger cooked medium rare with swiss cheese and portobella mushrooms. It was served with a small salad and pickle on the side and I ordered a baked sweet potato on the side. They are known for their gluten free breads and I can tell you that this was the best roll ever, gluten free or not. It didn't fall apart like a tapioca rice bun but was crunchy and hard on the outside and soft and moist on the inside. The burger was so filling and I could only eat half of my baked potato! Ryan got the western BBQ burger with beef cooked medium well, american cheese and bbq sauce! We will definitely be going back to Pure Bistro the next time we are in Brooklyn. I was so full the whole night and I was dreaming about that burger all weekend!! There were also some amazing looking entrees on the menu like a pineapple mango salsa salmon! As delicious as it sounds though, I want, no I need, another burger from there soon! I ate way too quickly and forgot to take a photo (which I'm sure Ryan was happy about since he is always embarrassed when I take pictures of my food), but I found a few online to show the wonders of the burger! They even had a juice bar making fresh juices and smoothies!

After this amazing dinner, we headed to Barclay's Center! The show started at 8pm and featured Old Crow Medicine Show opening for The Avett Brothers! The show was incredible. There was so much energy and happiness and Ryan and I could not stop smiling and singing along. We were dancing and singing and screaming and we loved every minute. The Avett Brothers had an amazing setlist which featured rock songs that transitioned smoothly into their softer ballads and then back again to the faster songs. The buidlup was incredible and we all stood in anticipation for what was next! The music was beautiful too! They had a double bass, drums, cello, banjo and guitars and during instrument switches, the cello played beautiful melodies that I could have listened to all day! The show's encore featured both bands on stage which had 2 fiddles, 2 banjos, 2 double basses, a cello, drums, keyboard...ahh it was so beautiful. I have been listening to Avett Brothers nonstop the rest of the weekend!

Saturday my parents came over in the afternoon to see the progress we have made on the apartment now that the desk and dining room table were built. Ryan hung photos which added such personality and flair to the bare walls and now it feels so homey! We went to Frank's on First for dinner where we went the first night they came over to help us unpack! I had the veal special with mozzarella, roasted red peppers and a putenesca sauce! I was so full and definitely felt this meal the next morning. It was delicious, homemade, salty and savory and after a long night out the night before, this meal was a good way to end the weekend! Sunday was relaxing - the weather was warm and sunny and we hung around the house - listening to the Avett Brothers of course. Fresh Direct delivered in the morning everything we need for the week to make salads, a few dinners (rotisserie chicken, pulled chicken, and maple mustard glazed pork). For dinner we had Maple Mustard glazed pork (which I will be having as a salad for lunch today) with mashed potatoes and asparagus. It felt good to be able to weigh my food, know the ingredients that I am cooking with and know the points! I gave up a lot of control the past 2 weekends and had fun and don't have any regrets, but it felt good to be back on track (at least until Friday when the craziness starts again).

Work has been busy and great, and I am having a positive attitude about everything. I feel good, I am working out, eating right (cheat meals on weekends) and am loving life right now. I had a great Bar Method class with Brittany this morning - my glutes were shaking the full hour - and I plan to go to class Wednesday and Thursday morning and hopefully Spin at Pablo Thursday night - I have to sweat off some of this delicious food I have been eating! Dinners will be Fresh Direct prepared meats (pulled chicken) with fresh vegetables and lunch will be salads with the premade rotisserie chicken! I hope the week goes by fast because I can't wait for this weekend! It makes everything so exciting when we have something to look forward to. We have been so busy though that it will be nice in April to relax a little when it's warmer out and enjoy the city!

XO

Ride With Pablo!

"You control your body. You control your speed. You control your power!"

Those are the words Pablo kept repeating last night and it really was motivational. Spin is hard, spin is tiring, but spin also forces you to go within yourself and find out how hard you can push yourself. And when you think you have pushed yourself far enough, go a little more. Spin makes you use your own body to build resistance against the bike - you control your ride and, just like Pablo said, you control your body. It's all mental. When the heat in the room is getting to be too much and the music is just too loud, and your muscles are sore and you can't climb that hill any higher (and you can't actually see the hill they want you to climb), you just have to remind yourself that there is an end, and the longer you push, the quicker the end will come!

Last night's class was hard and great! I hadn't been to a spin class since October so I knew this would be hard. I knew I would not be able to push myself as hard as I wanted to, but as long as I was there and moving my legs and sweating, I knew everything would be okay. I love that moment when Pablo gets on his bike and says "Hello! How is everyone doing? Tonight's going to be easy" because you just know, there is no such thing as easy when it comes to Pablo! When the lights dimmed and the music started playing, I lowered my head, turned up my resistance and just rode my bike. I rode the hill that Pablo told me we were going to ride and I got up out of the saddle when it became really tough, and sat down and pushed my legs faster to go downhill. The music was loud, emotions were strong and I was loving it! I couldn't think about anything at all. I sang along to the music in my head and just went with the flow. I love that Pablo rides with us and then he walks around the room and makes sure that everyone is doing okay - I love that he locks eyes with you and moves side to side standing in front of you while you move side to side on the bike. It's motivational and it's fun!

I had a lot of Weight Watchers Activity logged from the ride (5 points), but the fitbit did not do a good job. From the chart, it looks like I was barely moving during the 45 minute class, whereas the activelink tracked high activity levels. I only hit my steps goal on my walk home. I am glad that I use both to track my activity because sometimes the tracking does not make sense. Obviously last night's spin class was more activity than the fitbit shows since it is showing my walk to the class as more activity than the class itself.

I got home last night and made a quick dinner of a rice cake topped with avocado and maple ham. Dessert was what I was waiting for, but I needed some quick protein and fiber and good food right after my ride to refuel and help my muscles repair! Dessert was a baked chocolate cookie dough quest bar with arctic zero chocolate peanut butter ice cream! It was heavenly. And it kept me full the rest of the night - I didn't go into the kitchen once to snack and I didn't take a bite of Ryan's cereal for his late night snack! Tonight, I plan to make the quest banana boat! We have plenty of bananas at home and chocolate powdered peanut butter and so many flavors of quest bars to choose from! I am going to leave out the chocolate chips and only use half a quest bar to keep the points lower. Bananas are 3 WW points when you cook with them, so it makes the dessert an extra meal if I used a banana and a full quest bar. By only using half a bar, and using powdered peanut butter, my points are lowered, but the taste is still just as great (I hope)!

I didn't go to bar method this morning like I had planned. I got really used to sleeping in and having breakfast at home this week so I decided to do it one more day and get back into my routine Monday! For breakfast, instead of my usual egg white and oatmeal pancake, I made an omelette with ham and avocado (5 WW Points). Basically a recreation of dinner last night. And I added chia seeds for some extra "expansion" of the eggs and to make it more filling! It tasted so delicious and kept me full all morning! The avocado melted inside of the egg and became "cheesy." Tomorrow I will have my pancake since I need to be full all day before our 16-course tasting menu at Eleven Madison!

It's unbearably cold again today and I am so ready for this winter to end. It seems to be going on forever! It makes me not want to wake up early, workout, get out of bed, walk, or be outside. I miss going on a walk after dinner with Ryan, but it's too windy and too cold, and not fun! We would much rather stay inside watching TV. And as fun and comfy and warm as that is, it does not help with our activity. I can't wait for the warmer months to show up so we can get our butts moving again! Then we can walk and bike everywhere and then I'll be more motivated to get out of bed in the morning for bar method!

Tonight, we are going to stay in and watch a movie. I am ABSOLUTELY going to bar method tomorrow. It's our 1 year anniversary and I am going to bar to celebrate, just as I did 1 year ago! Then we have our amazing dinner to prepare ourselves for! They say it takes about 4 hours for the entire meal - so we have a reservation at 5:30pm and we plan to be there a long time! I know with a tasting menu the plates are small, and by spacing them out, I know we won't get "stuffed." I am dreaming about the food that we had at our wedding so I am so excited to be going back to Eleven Madison. It is such a treat to eat there and I can't wait to share it with my husband!

XO

Evening Bar Method Workout

Last night's bar method class was great! I got off the waitlist and into Tiana's 5:45pm class which takes place in the smaller studio C. I really like the small studio because the class is small so there is more attention on each individual. My shoulder was really hurting by the end of the day so I did take a few modifications like push-ups against the bar and laying down on the mat during round back. The hardest part of class was during final stretch when you pull on the stretching strap - that seemed to hurt my shoulder the most. We did arabesque for seat work and I was shaking through the whole thing. It had been awhile since I had done it so it took a little bit to get used to the turned out position and having my hips uneven. During foldover it's important to keep your hips squared and not turned out and since I had done so much foldover this month, I had to remind myself that arabesque is different. It works your obliques as well as the underside of your seat. It felt really good!

I got home and made a kale and grain salad. I got the kale and mixed grains from FreshDirect pre-made deli salad. It was made with sprouted mixed grains, including mung bean, letins and brown rice, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, kale, soybeans, cashews and olive oil. I served it with mesclun salad, tomatoes and cucumbers to give it the appearance of being more than just grains in a plastic container! It was delicious and filling for an evening meal (it was 7:30pm by the time I got home so I was eating much later than I was used to). The total was 8 WW Points.

For dessert, I was really excited to bake a quest bar. Since I had a cookies and cream bar before bar method, I opted to only have half of a chocolate chip chunk for dessert. I didn't want too much protein and I didn't think eating 2 protein bars in a short amount of time was a great idea. Tonight though, I prepared to have only 1 quest bar after spin and have 2 hard boiled eggs before the class. The baked quest bar was delicious!! Even more than just microwaving it.

I baked the bar on foil in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. The outside was browned and crispy and the inside was moist and gooey. Even having half felt like such a treat! The chocolate chunks and the gooey cookie made me think I was actually having a perfect chocolate chip cookie, but it was even better! I topped it with chocolate peanut butter arctic zero and some coconut chips. It was only 2 WW points for half of the quest bar and I only had half a serving of the arctic zero for 0 points!

Tonight I am going to bake the cookie dough bar (5 WW points). I cannot wait to try that.

This morning I slept in again since I had taken an evening bar method class and had breakfast with Ryan. We made egg white and oatmeal pancakes topped with almond butter and coconut. It looked just like a juice generation acai bowl! I even blended some almond better with the egg whites. It was nice to spend the morning with Ryan (and Haley) and commute to work in 10 minutes. But, it is much harder for me to go to an evening bar class so it's easier for me to wake up and go and have it done with. Because you need 12 hours to cancel a morning class and only 2 hours to cancel and evening class, I can always talk myself out of going at night because I'm too tired from work, or I am too hungry, or I just want to see Ryan. But the mornings need much more of a commitment with the cancellation policy so I just have to get myself out of bed and get to the studio and I know I will feel much better afterwards.

I am exciting to spin tonight too. I haven't been to Pablo's class since before Italy! I know I am going to be sore but I am going to bar method tomorrow morning so that will certainly help stretch me out before my muscles know what happened to them! I usually hate spinning - I hate being yelled at, I hate feeling like I am in boot camp, and I hate thinking that I need to burn calories and sweat in order to lose weight. The problem with spin is that, yes you burn a lot of calories, but that is not an excuse to stuff your face when the class is over. People over eat after a spin class because they think they sweat so much and need the "fuel." I also don't want my muscles to bulk up so I don't turn the resistance knob as much as I could, but I need some resistance so that I do get a good workout and my muscles have something to do. Spinning with no resistance is pointless! I also love spin because I usually get 6 activity points so it's great on weeks (like this week) when I need a boost in points, especially with a 16 course tasting menu on Saturday!! Pablo is a lot of fun though. Pablo (and all of the instructors at the studio) are so encouraging and they tell you to ride for yourself and not for them or anyone in the class. They tell you that you don't have to follow the routine and to be at your own pace - make it about you and what you want to accomplish. It's a great 45 minutes where you break a sweat, you get out of your own thoughts and you listen to some really awesome music and just take a ride.

I hope everyone is having a great day! It's really cold out and I know we're all looking forward to warmer weather. Just stay positive!

XO

Slow Cooked Turkey Meatballs

I love coming home to the smells of a home cooked meal. I think it was part of growing up - my mom would cook dinner every night for the family when we got home from school and the smell of it throughout the house is something I will never forget. And she always had fresh baked bread to go with the meal. On weekends, she would even make homemade bagels.

Last night I walked home from work. It was a little bit cold, but since I had been sitting at my desk all day and I hadn't done a morning bar class, I knew I needed a little activity! So I walked home (that got me to a total of 9,000 steps for the day and 1 WW activity point). I got home within 20 minutes and the turkey meatballs I had prepped in the morning were warming in the slow cooker. I love that I was able to cook them for 6 hours, but still keep them warm even though I wasn't home! Slow cooking is so easy and because I slow cook in large batches, we have leftovers for days! I was already thinking about all of the meal possibilities that we could make with left over meatballs (meatball parm or meatball wraps anyone)!

Ryan and I had meatballs with mashed potatoes (FreshDirect Sides in a Snap) and asparagus. I love crunchy, bright green asparagus and it was a nice break from our usual salad. 4 meatballs with sauce were 5 points and 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes were 5 points. The meat was dense, but still moist from having slow cooked for 6 hours. Next time I might even cook it for 4 or 5 hours since the meatballs are so small. Or I could make 12 meatballs instead of 24 so that 2 meatballs would be 4 points. However, eating more is a mind game so having 4 meatballs (small) instead of 2 (large) seems like a lot more to me. And if I think I am eating a lot more, then I stay fuller longer!

For dessert, I had a Yopa greek yogurt with dark chocolate bits that I had put in the freezer. It was just like eating ice cream, and I topped it with a banana.

Tonight I am going to SoHo for a Bar Method class. I really wanted to sleep in now that the upstairs neighbors haven't been so loud and I wanted to have breakfast with Ryan! He made ham and cheese on udi's gluten free bread with eggs over easy and I had an egg white omelette topped with powdered peanut butter, flax seeds and a banana! It was fun to sit around with Ryan, watching the morning news and getting ready on my own time. However, this morning, I am feeling not working out and I feel a little sluggish. I am excited for an evening class, but I am not excited about it being at 6:30pm. It means I won't be home until 8pm. I hope it warms up a bit so maybe I could bike home. It's been awhile since I took citibike since I got so used to the early morning bus/train commute, so it's about time I took a bike ride!

I also plan to go to spin tomorrow night. If I am going to complain about feeling bloated, sluggish, tired and not happy, then I need to do something about it. A good diet is great, but exercise helps get everything moving and sweating mentally tells me that I am doing something good for my body. I sweat a lot more in evening bar classes because the studios are warmed up, people have been in classes all day, and the air is not as fresh (sounds gross, but the morning classes have cold studios from not being used all night, so I don't break a sweat). It's all mental - I am not working any harder in an evening class than a morning one, but sweating makes me feel like I am pushing myself harder. I also am a bit more flexible at night because my body has been moving all day (well, not really since I sit for 8 hours). I feel more flexible, stronger, and more capable of going lower, tucking harder and even taking some of the challenges like raising my legs in flat back or the L shape in round back. I did hurt my shoulder last night, so unfortunately I will be modifying with push-ups at the bar tonight. I am going to have a Quest Cookies and Cream bar before class (my new favorite flavor) and a pre-made kale and grain FreshDirect salad when I get home for muscle recovery protein! Night classes usually energize me, so I hope that I will be able to fall asleep reasonably early. I have been feeling so refreshed lately now that I have been sleeping through the night!

I also worked to work this morning, again, it was cold, but it felt good to get in some activity before I sat around all day since I didn't do a morning bar class!

Below is the Turkey meatball recipe. Skinnytaste recipe can be found here! I used 99% fat free turkey breast and gluten free breadcrumbs. This can be made with turkey, chicken or beef (WW Points will vary). Enjoy.

Skinnytaste Crock Pot Italian Turkey Meatballs
Servings: 6 (4 meatballs)
Weight Watchers Points: 5

Meatballs
1 pound turkey breast, ground
3 tbsp Schar gluten free breadcrumbs
4 tbsp grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
1/4 cup parsley
1 egg
1 garlic clove, crushed
salt and pepper to taste

Sauce
1 tsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, crushed
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large bowl, combine turkey, breadcrumbs, egg, parsley, garlic and cheese. Mix all of the ingredients together.

2. Form small meatballs and set aside (24 meatballs)

3. Meanwhile, in a small pan, heat olive oil over medium heat.

4. Add garlic and saute until golden, be careful not to burn.

5. Pour crushed tomatoes into slow cooker with bay leaf. Add garlic and oil from pan.

6. Add meatballs to slow cooker.

7. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Serve and enjoy!