Day 3 - Success

I'm so tired tonight. Other than a handful of animal crackers that I had after dinner, today was mostly successful. A quick post for the day:


BREAKFAST (8:30 am)

Cranberry Cashew Parfait:

1/4 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup Kashi Go Lean cereal
6 oz. honey vanilla Greek yogurt
2 TBSP chopped cashews
Dash cinnamon


LUNCH (1:30 pm)

Thai Chicken Wrap:

1 cup chopped cucumber and 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 whole grain tortilla wrap
3 oz. cooked chicken breast
2 TBSP Justin's maple almond butter
Dash balsamic vinegar


I had my daily dark chocolate around 2:00 pm.


SNACK (5:30 pm)

Ginger Snap lara bar
8 oz. organic skim milk


I have found a new favorite lara bar, the ginger snap. It is so yummy!


DINNER (8:00 pm)

Zucchini and Black Bean Quesadillas:

1 cup sauteed zucchini, 1/2 cup sliced red onion, and 1/2 cup all-natural salsa
1 whole grain tortilla wrap
1/4 cup black beans plus 1/2 oz. cheese
1/4 of a medium avocado
Dash cumin

Day 13 - Back to the Gym!

It was so nice to squeeze in a 3 mile walk with my friend Holly after a long hiatus. I really missed the gym over the past few weeks, and I'm looking forward to getting back into my group exercise classes.

Today was pretty good on the Cinch plan until the end of the day where I ate way too many animal crackers. And if I'm being completely accountable, I also ate 2 dark chocolate peanut butter cups from Trader Joe's. They are extremely good, and I'm going to get my Daddy some next weekend when he comes to visit us. :-) He loves dark chocolate too!


BREAKFAST (8:30 am)

Cranberry Cashew Parfait:

1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal
6 oz. honey vanilla Greek yogurt
2 TBSP chopped cashews
Dash cinnamon and cloves


I had my daily dark chocolate around 11 am again today!

LUNCH (1:00 pm)

Leftover Avocado Crab Dip with Whole Grain Tortilla Chips:

½ cup celery sticks, ½ cup all-natural salsa, 1/4 cup shredded carrots, 1/4 cup sliced red bell pepper, ½ cup chopped cucumber
1 serving whole grain tortilla chips
3 oz lump crab meat
½ of a medium avocado
Lime juice and chopped cilantro

SNACK (4:30 pm)

Lemon Lara Bar
8 oz. organic skim milk

DINNER (7:00 pm)

Leftover Pistachio Nut Dusted Chicken, Wild Rice, and Salad:

Salad with 1 1/2 cups romaine lettuce and 1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup wild rice
3 oz cooked chicken
2 TBSP crushed pistachio nuts
Balsamic vinegar for the salad

Day 5 - Usual Day

I spent nearly the entire day taking care of my sick son. Through careful planning, I was still able to make food for myself that adheres to the plan. Other than that, not much else to report today. I'm looking forward to the week ahead and hoping to keep my sanity due to an equally as busy week as last week. Hoping to actually relax someday soon?!

BREAKFAST (9:30 am)

Cherry Almond Green Tea Smoothie:

1 cup Trader Joe's Very Berry Cherry Blend, frozen berries
1/4 cup whole oats
8 oz organic skim milk (I cut this in half, so my smoothie was thicker.)
2 TBSP almond butter
Green tea leaves and dash cinnamon

This smoothie was just OK. It had too much of an almond taste for me. I like my smoothies to taste more like berries. Next time, I will leave the almond butter out of the smoothie itself & eat it on the side.

LUNCH (1:30 pm)

Turkey Almond Pita:

1 medium chopped plum tomato, 1/2 cup diced cucumber, 1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 whole grain pita
3 oz Trader Joe's roasted and sliced turkey breast
2 TBSP almond butter
Dash balsamic vinegar for the pita




After lunch, I was kind of bad and had too many of those cadbury eggs with the candy crunch shell. No more substituting for the dark chocolate allowance...


SNACK (4:30 pm)

Cranberry Pesto Egg Spread:

1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 serving whole grain crackers
1 hard boiled egg, sliced
1 TBSP sun dried tomato pesto
Dash rosemary


DINNER (7:30 pm)

Edamame Cashew Stir Fry:

1/4 cup each diced red pepper, shredded carrots, chopped celery, diced onion
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
1/2 cup shelled edamame
2 TBSP chopped cashews
1 TBSP each OJ and rice vinegar, dash ginger, and chopped scallions

I was able to cook with edamame again! This meal was really yummy. I added cooked chicken to my husband's meal, but I really liked mine just as the recipe directed.




Tomorrow, I am planning to have Berry Walnut French Toast for breakfast, Cinch Caesar Salad for lunch, Berry Smoothie with Hazelnuts for a snack, and the Turkey Mock Tacos for dinner.

Day 4 - Food Inc

Last night I watched Food Inc., which is a documentary made in 2008 about the mass food industry. I was amazed and disgusted at times, especially when they showed how meat is raised, processed, produced, and shipped out for human consumption. The movie was enough to make me want to become a vegetarian, but I just don't think I could do it. I do like meat A LOT, but I plan to start being much smarter about my meat choices in the grocery store, during restaurant meals, and any other place where I might be eating away from home. I realize yet again how important it is to me to eat as chemical-free, hormone-free, pesticide-free, & antibiotic-free whenever possible. I realize this won't always be the case, but when I am able, I will!

And now, back to my Cinch plan. I lost another 3 pounds in 3 days on the Fast Forward. I have now lost a total of 11.5 lbs in exactly 5 weeks. It's amazing how awesome food tastes after you've been eating the same thing for 3 straight days. Thinking back to the first time I completed the Fast Forward phase, I remember how much I loved the variety of foods and flavors that I was having on the Core plan.

BREAKFAST (9:00 am)

Cranberry Cashew Parfait:

1/4 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup Kashi Go Lean cereal
6 oz. vanilla yogurt
2 TBSP chopped cashews
Dash cloves

This parfait was really yummy. My husband's parfait is on the left, and mine is on the right. His looks like it has more yogurt inside the glass...




LUNCH (2:00 pm)

(This recipe was supposed to use ground turkey, but I needed to use some rosemary ham in the fridge before it went bad.)

Ham Pita "Pizzalad":

1/4 cup marinara sauce, 1/4 cup shredded carrots, 1/4 cup chopped onion, 1/2 cup diced bell peppers, 1/2 cup spring salad greens
1/2 whole wheat pita
3 oz rosemary ham
1 TBSP olive oil
Dash of balsamic vinegar for the salad

This pita pizza tasted SOOOO good! Loved this one. It felt like I was eating so much food too, and the whole meal probably only had about 250 calories. Delicious.



After lunch, I substituted my daily dark chocolate with 6 of the mini cadbury eggs with the candy crunch shell. It was also 100 calories, but this is my favorite candy ever. It's only out once a year around Easter time, so I just had to have a few. I tried to forget about the fact that it's loaded with Yellow #5, Blue #3, etc. UGH!


SNACK (5:30 pm)

Apple, Hazelnut Butter, and Cheese

1/2 of an apple
1 mini Babybel Gouda cheese
1 TBSP Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter

I dipped my apple in the hazelnut butter and ate the cheese on the side.


DINNER (8:00 pm)

California Cilantro Chicken Burrito Bowl:

1 cup chopped romaine lettuce, 1/2 cup all natural salsa, 1/4 cup each green bell pepper, onion, & vegetable broth
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
3 oz cooked chicken, cubed
1/4 medium avocado, cubed
1/4 tsp chopped garlic and 1 TBSP chopped cilantro

I really love this recipe too!



Tomorrow, I am planning to have the Cherry Almond Green Tea Smoothie for breakfast, the Turkey Almond Pita for lunch, the Cranberry Pesto Egg Salad for a snack, and the Edamame Cashew Stir Fry for dinner.