A Commitment To You:

So, March is about to begin. Where does time go? In a few days, my baby will be 5 months old already. How did that happen? It goes by way, way too fast. Anyway, five months is way too long to still be using the, "I just had a baby," excuse, in my book. So, I've decided to dedicate March to a review. I recently bought Jillian's 30 Day shred, and I've loved it. Being sick, I had to take a break. So, starting fresh tomorrow, I will do 30 straight days of Jillian's 30 Day Shred, complete with before and after pictures. I will also let you know how much, if any, weight and inches I lose in those thirty days. It will be hard, but 20 minutes a day is worth it, I think. I'm also going to try to get out of the house EVERY day if I can, and wear my Shape-Up Extended Fitness shoes out and about. We'll see if Jillian, my Shape-Ups, and MFP will work together to help me lose 10 pounds in March. What are your goals for March?

Yesterday's Recipes

Jordon's Soft Corn Tacos

The brilliant thing about these is that the serving sizes are BIG and they are very filling. We all enjoyed them, and my favorite part was using Nonfat Greek Yogurt as a substitute for sour cream. It tasted very similar, but the caloric and fat content were much, much lower. Anyway, here it is.

La Burrita - Corn Tortillas- El Grande, 1 container (12 tortillas ea.)
Beef - Ground, 85% lean meat / 15% fat, 1 pound, pan-browned
1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced
1 yellow onion, diced
1 large carrot, finely diced
1 medium stalk celery, finely diced
1 medium potato, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
3/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese (or Cotija)
3 cups homemade refried beans/pintos (I will find a link to a pressure cooker recipe for this ;) )
1 packet taco seasoning
1/2 tablespoon oregano

Prepare all vegetables (dicing, mincing.) Brown hamburger. Add vegetables to pan with hamburger. You shouldn't need additional oil. Cook until veggies begin to get tender. Add taco seasoning, oregano, and 1 cup of water. Cook until mixture is no longer watery. Preheat oven to 450. In a 13x9 casserole dish, layer corn tortillas, smear with beans, top with meat mixture, repeat layers. Top with remaining beans, meat, and sprinkle with cheese. Cook in oven for 10-15 minutes, or until heated through and cheese is all melted. Remove from oven, top with lettuce. Serve with non-fat greek yogurt (or light sour cream if you prefer,) salsa, and guacamole.

I said it was 6 servings, and according to www.myfitnesspal.com, here is the info: 449 calories, 12 grams of fat, 28 grams protein, 684 milligrams of sodium

I forgot to take a picture before I served it...oops. Sorry. I will take a picture if I make it in the future, which I probably will.


Also, a little something yummy I blended up last night:

I LOVE jamba juice, but can't stomach all that sugar/calories. So I came up with a better alternative.




Blackberry Smoothies

2 cups Nonfat Greek Yogurt
1 package frozen blackberries, no sugar added
1 red apple
1/2 cup granulated Splenda
1 cup Silk Coconut Milk - Vanilla
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp shredded sweetened coconut

Combine all ingredients except blackberries in blender. Mix well. Add blackberries. Mix until smooth. Serve immediately.

Info: (4 servings) 268 calories, 4 grams of fat, 12 grams of protein, 50 milligrams of sodium, 22 grams of sugar (again, thank you www.myfitnesspal.com for this calculation.)

I think I'm finally on the downhill side of sick! YAY!

Hello all of you beautiful people! I appreciate you checking out my blog so much. Please, feel free to share it if you'd like. I'm going to try to post more often, this virus has gotten the best of me lately, and include more reviews, as well as my weigh-in results, etc. I'd love to hear what you're all up to as well. Tonight, I'm TOTALLY making up a recipe with ingredients I have on hand. I'm calling it, "Jordon's Soft Corn Tacos." I will let you know how it goes, and post pics, as always. If it's any good, I will post the recipe, ha ha ha, along with the nutritional facts.

Still Sick...but Not Letting That Stop Me!

I promised you all slow cooker chili, any goll darnit I have it cooking right now! My sweet husband not only brought home my delite pizza last night, he also brought home Papa Murphy's newest dessert pizza, complete with chocolate chips, oatmeal crumbles, and marshmallows. I indulged. Eeeek! But you know what, I think moderation in all things is important. A little indulgence once in a while is okay, just not every day. And today, I'm back on my path to Un-Frumpy Town. Here is the recipe and info for my low fat, low calorie, veggie and protein packed slow cooker chili (I will attempt a photo when it's done):

2 cans dark red kidney beans
1 can white kidney beans
2 8oz cans tomato sauce
1 can italian stewed tomatoes
1 large yellow onion diced
1 large carrot sliced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 ribs celery, sliced
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 tbsp oregano
2 tsp basil
1 tsp parsley
1/2 cup water
1 pound ground 97% fat free white turkey breast, browned


Brown ground turkey. Dice onions and bell peppers. Slice carrot and celery. Combine with all other ingredients in slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 hours. (Or on high for 5-6 if you get started late like me ;) ) Enjoy!

According to www.myfitnesspal.com, if this is divided into 8 servings, each has 258 calories, 2 grams of fat, 26 grams of protein, and 946 mg of sodium.

Home Sick...thank Heaven for Slow Cookers!

So, I'm absolutely miserable today with chest/head congestion. Exercise probably won't happen, since talking too much makes me winded. But, on the plus side, today is a wonderful day for utilizing my slow cooker! As I promised yesterday, tonight's dinner is going to be a very tasty slow cooker chili that's packed with veggies and protein and low on fat and calories. I'll be making some cheese biscuits for my husband and toddler as well, but probably won't divulge myself. We'll see ;)

**Change of plans. I am shaky and feeling worse. I'm thinking PaPa Murphy's Delight pizza tonight and chili tomorrow. So sorry! Sickness is getting the better of me.

Vegetable Lo Mein with Chicken

Ronzoni - Smart Taste Angel Hair Pasta, 1 container (14 oz ea.)

Pacific Natural Foods - Organic Free Range Chicken Broth, 1 Cup (8 fl.oz.) 240 mL

Red Bell Pepper, 1 large sliced

Yellow Bell Pepper, 1/2 large sliced

White Onion, sliced

Two garlic cloves, minced

Kikkoman Naturally Brewed Soy Sauce, 3 tbsp

Snow Peas, 2 1/2 cups

Celery, two ribs, sliced

Beans Sprouts, 1 container/2 cups

Chow Mein noodles, 1 cup

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, 16 oz.

Canola cooking spray, 1 tsp., 4 second spray

Cornstarch, 1 tbsp

Prepare chicken breasts ahead of time. Dice. Slice onion, celery, and peppers. Mince garlic. In a large pot, bring water to boil and prepare past according to directions on the box. In a large skillet or wok sprayed with canola oil, stir fry onion and garlic until the onion is translucent. Have broth, soy sauce, and cornstarch mixed and ready. Add chicken, peppers, celery, and snow peas. Stir fry for one to two minutes, then add chicken broth, soy sauce, and cornstarch. Bring to a boil. Let cook until all veggies are tender but crisp. Serve veggie mix on top of noodles, and top with chow mein noodles.

According to myfitnesspal.com, if this dish is divided into 8 servings, each has 298 calories, 3 grams of fat, 22 grams of protein, and 541 milligrams of sodium.

Miss Chinese food since beginning your journey? Me too. So, tonight's dinner, Vegetable Lo Mein with Chicken, healthy style ;)

Good morning warriors of un-frumpiness! One thing I've missed since beginning my journey is Chinese food. I love that sodium, fat packed stuff! So, I looked around, got some ideas from allrecipes.com (which I will be reviewing soon,) and using those ideas developed my own version of a (hopefully) delicious Vegetable Lo Mein with Chicken. I will be making it tonight for dinner, as well as posting the recipe, pictures, and my review. Be watching... and if you need something to look forward to, tomorrow I will be making an awesome, veggie packed, slow-cooker chili. See you soon! Good luck today! Exercise early so you don't put it off all day and neglect to do it. It's hard to get motivated, but it feels so good when you've done it.

My First Review: www.myfitnesspal.com

All I have to say is, I'm in love.

1.) It's free.

2.) Feedback has always been super motivating and positive.

3.) I'm always aware of what I'm eating i.e. how many calories, how much sodium, how much sugar, is it a waste of my calories for today, etc. I want to eat healthier.

4.) the food database is awesome. I rarely have to enter anything. And, it's easy to do so if I have to. And, I can even enter my own recipes and it tells me the calories, etc.

5.) It tells me what my daily intake should be, figuring in how much I want to lose and how fast, and it adds back in the calories I need for breast-feeding, and rewards me for exercising with calories. So nice.

6.) Not only does it make me pay attention to my caloric intake and exercise, it helps me track my water and motivates me to drink more of it.

7.) It let everyone know how awesome I am by showing how many calories I burned and how, and how much weight I've lost. Even how many days in a row I've logged in. I CAN'T go a day without logging in. It is the facebook of weight management.

8.) Last but not least, I lost 7.2 pounds in the first three weeks. Boo-freakin-yah baby. And I never felt like I was starving.

If you're on the path to becoming un-frumpy and you haven't checked this site out, DO IT! (And no, I received no payment from them to post this. I wouldn't object though...ha ha ha.)

Well Hello!

So, I had a brilliant idea while sitting at home, sick. I should start a blog. I understand that there is a good possibility that NO ONE will ever read it, but I should start it for me. You see, I am on a journey. I'm sure many of you imaginary readers can relate to it: I am currently a frumpy mama. I am on the path to becoming un-frumpy. And I want to write about it.

One of the big changes I've made in my day to day life is menu planning for my family. I used to make really tasty meals, but they were very reoccurring and not so much based on their nutritional value as on making my husband drool. So, I'm trying to find and change and create healthy recipes that will still make my husband think I'm awesome, but also fulfill some of my family's nutritional needs. Just tonight, I made a whole wheat pasta primavera with smoked gouda and parmesan. It was so tasty, and really light compared to other past pasta options. I regret not taking a picture before it was inhaled. I will do so in the future.

Another big change, EXERCISE. I know, the dreaded get off the couch and work it out. I have discovered that as much as that word used to strike dread in my heart, every time I work out and get some sweat pumping, I feel fabulous. Well, as soon as I shower afterwards I feel fabulous. Watching my calorie intake and exercising has actually infused me with a sense of power and control in my life. I am in charge of my body, and not the other way around.

My goal: to make healthy eating and exercising a regular way of life. And, in doing so, get to the point where I can walk into a store and see those cute jeans that would have never fit me in the past and pour my un-frumpy butt into them and look HOT. So, if you are on a similar journey and would like to join me, please do. I will be posting recipes, and reviews of tools I'm using, and pictures, and all that good stuff. I hope to hear from you along the way.