Mostly A Good Day

I almost made it through the day where I didn't put extra food in my mouth at non-meal times. (Just typing that out makes me feel ridiculous...) I ended up eating some pretzels with lentil dip before dinner, and some cinnamon flavored baking chips after dinner because I had a major sweet tooth. Tomorrow, my plans are to drink more water during the day and eat every 3-4 hours. Although I am having dinner at my in-laws, so I will do the best I can.


BREAKFAST (8:30 am)

Strawberry Muesli:

1 cup strawberries, sliced
1/2 cup Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal
6 oz. Chobani brand honey vanilla Greek yogurt
2 TBSP chopped peanuts
Dash cloves


LUNCH (1:30 pm)

Zesty Bean and Summer Slaw Bread Salad:

1 cup shredded cabbage, 3/4 cup shredded carrot, and 2 TBSP chopped red onion
1 slice rye bread, chopped
½ cup great northern beans
¼ of an avocado, chopped
1 TBSP orange juice, 2 TBSP rice vinegar, ½ tsp celery seed, sprinkle of pepper

This was a modified version of the Zesty Bean and Summer Slaw Pita recipe in the Cinch book. I am becoming bored with the recipes, and I am also on a rye bread kick lately, so I jazzed this one up. It was really good.

I had my daily dark chocolate right after lunch.


SNACK (4:45 pm)

Plum with Yogurt and Cinnamon:

1 plum, peeled and sliced
No whole grain
6 oz. Chobani brand very berry Greek yogurt
1 TBSP slivered almonds and 1 TBSP PB & Co Cinnamon Raisin Peanut Butter
Dash Vietnamese cinnamon

YUM!


DINNER (7:30 pm)

Tuscan Panzenella Salad:

½ cup cup chopped cucumber, 1 vine-ripened chopped tomato, ¼ cup chopped red onion, and 1 chopped beet
2 TBSP whole grain croutons
½ cup great northern beans
¼ of an avocado, chopped
Dash balsamic vinegar and dash dried basil


I was inspired yet again by California Pizza Kitchen's salad menu, so I modified this one to meet the Cinch plan. I thought it was OK. Hubby didn't like it... said it was "too beany".

A quick follow-up on my "becoming bored with the recipes" comment above. Although the recipes in the book really are quite delicious, I wish a Cinch cookbook would come out. I have been an avid meal planner for years, and I find a lot of satisfaction in keeping up the variety of foods for myself and my family. Lately, I have been spending a lot of time searching for new recipes to try. I even made a list of Spring foods to incorporate into my next grocery list and meal planning, including:

Apricots
Cherries
Radishes
Cherry Tomatoes
Asparagus
Zucchini
Fennel
Scallops
New Potatoes
Okra
Sugar Snap Peas
Kumquats

I love Spring!

No More Excuses

At first, it was too much snacking, and then my son was sick. Then, I was extremely busy working 2 jobs, and then I was out of groceries. If there is one glaring lesson for my Cinch journey over the past month, it is life will get in the way. My weight hasn't budged in the past month, and I've got to kick it into high gear!

For this upcoming week, I have groceries in my kitchen, and my son is finally feeling better after 2 straight weeks of being sick. I do have a lot of work to do this week, but with some advance planning, I can (and will) keep up with my eating plan. I really miss the gym too, so I plan to get back into my workouts.

Today, I made up my own recipes that follow the plan, and they were all very good!

BREAKFAST (9:30 am)

Dark Chocolate Oatmeal with Apples and Cinnamon:

1 Gala apple, chopped
1/4 cup quick cooking oats
8 oz skim milk
1/8 cup Ghiradelli dark chocolate chips
Dash Vietnamese cinnamon


LUNCH (1:00 pm)

Israeli Salad with Feta Cheese and Rye Bread:

3/4 cup chopped cucumber, 3/4 cup chopped green bell pepper, 1 chopped plum tomato
1 slice rye bread, chopped and tossed into the salad
1/4 cup garlic & herb feta cheese
10 olives
Dash lemon juice and balsamic vinegar

I had my daily dark chocolate right after lunch.




SNACK (5:30 pm)

No fruit (because I knew that I'd be tossing in fruit into my salad at dinner)
No whole grain
1 oz cheese
2 TBSP Cinnamon Raisin Peanut Butter by PB & Co


DINNER (8:00 pm)

Morrocan Chicken Chopped Salad:

1 cup spring salad mix, 1/4 cup shredded carrots, 1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper, 1/4 cup steamed butternut squash, 1/8 cup dried cranberries sweetened with apple juice, and 1/8 cup chopped dried apricots
2 TBSP whole grain croutons
3 oz cooked "Smart" chicken breast (no antibiotics or hormones used in raising the chicken)
1 TBSP slivered almonds, plus 1/2 TBSP olive oil for the salad dressing
Vietnamese cinnamon dry rub on the chicken, dash champagne vinegar, dash dried mustard

I was inspired by California Pizza Kitchen's version of this chopped salad, but I deleted the avocado, hard boiled egg, and beets to make the meal fit the Cinch plan. I bought the beets during my shopping trip this weekend, but I realized that this meal had plenty of ingredients already. This salad was DELICIOUS!!