New Goal

I am beginning a new weight loss goal of 10 lbs by mid-August. I logged my weight in my head yesterday morning, but apparently yesterday wasn't the best day to begin. I was unusually hungry all day long. Hopefully, between yesterday's eating craze and the upcoming Memorial Day weekend, I can still manage to lose 1 lb by next Tuesday 5/31.

Today was pretty good eating-wise, and I went for a nice walk outside too in the Metropark.

BREAKFAST (8:30 am)

1/2 cup Kashi Go Lean Crisp Toasted Berry Crumble cereal + 1/4 cup Trader Joe's dried Montmorency cherries + 2 TBSP chopped pistachios + 6 oz Yoplait honey vanilla Greek yogurt + dash Vietnamese cinnamon and dash nutmeg

LUNCH (1:00 pm)
Out running errands at lunch

1 serving pretzel sticks (not on Cinch plan, I know) + 1 cup salad + Lean Cuisine Thai Style Noodles with Chicken

SNACK (5:30 pm)

1/4 cup 60% dark chocolate chips

DINNER (7:30 pm)

Greek Ravioli:

1.5 oz 90% lean ground beef + 1/4 cup feta cheese + 1 cup sauteed spinach + 1/2 cup Pomi brand chopped tomatoes + 2 TBSP chopped olives + dashes each garlic powder, oregano, and basil + 1 serving frozen cheese ravioli. (I looked everywhere last weekend for whole grain ravioli: Heinen's, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and no one had it! I sure wish someone would make it.)

Super Proud of Me!

I ate really well today AND got in some fun exercise with my friend Holly at Zumba class! It is such a great feeling to do well on both food & exercise for the day.

BREAKFAST (8:30 am)

½ cup cottage cheese + ½ cup Dole peaches + 1 TBSP Justin’s Maple Almond Butter + 1 slice whole grain bread + dash nutmeg. Coffee w/ splash of milk

LUNCH (1:00 pm)

2 cups ginger broccoli slaw + 1 serving Back to Nature Organic Stoneground Wheat Crackers + 1 Trader Joe’s all natural beef hot dog, chopped + pickle relish, stadium mustard, diced onion, Trader Joe’s organic ketchup

SNACK (4:30 pm)

1 cup organic apple slices + 1 Laughing Cow Light Blue Cheese wedge + 1 TBSP Justin’s Maple Almond Butter + dash nutmeg

DINNER (7:30 pm) – Mexican!!

1 cup strained Pomi brand tomatoes + ¼ cup chopped red onion + ½ cup frozen corn + ¼ cup black beans + 2 Trader Joe’s all natural fully cooked meatballs + chopped avocado, dash cumin, chopped cilantro, lime juice

The Week Ahead

I have a fully stocked fridge with healthy foods to eat this week!

Today went rather well except for around 5:30 pm when my husband and I took our son out for ice cream. It was a beautiful day, and I skipped my mid-day snack to budget calories for ice cream. :)

I'm looking forward to the upcoming week. I've never been more motivated to eat well and get more exercise. In the past, I've always made exercise a priority, but I never ate as well as I could. Then, I found the Cinch diet, and eating well was rather easy, but I took a step back exercising. Now, I'm going to work on both together. Tomorrow, I am planning for either a Zumba or Step Aerobics class at the gym after work or some quality time on the Elliptical in my basement if I don't make it to the gym for some reason.

BREAKFAST (9:00 am)

Berry Smoothie and Almond Butter on Toast

LUNCH (2:00 pm)

Lentils and Couscous with Broccoli and Roasted Red Pepper Pesto

SNACK (5:30 pm)

The aforementioned ice cream!

DINNER (8:00 pm)

Trader Joe's All Natural Beef Hot Dog on Whole Wheat Bun with Ginger Broccoli Slaw

Virtual Farmers Market

Day 2 of Fast Forward was a success! I ate the exact same thing as yesterday, except I used cashews at dinner instead of almonds since I ran out. I’m hoping that by tomorrow morning a few of those 5 lbs I gained have disappeared.

I found my mouth watering for the blueberry smoothie that I had at lunch today, and again when I had the parfait. This took place the last 2 times I completed the Fast Forward phase too. I found myself craving the spices cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves before I ate them. Even though there is a small amount of sugar in the way I have modified each of my meals (since I loathe plain yogurt and tart raspberries), I think my taste buds are starting to clean up again. Yay!

I’m really excited about an upcoming virtual farmers market that I just joined here in NE Ohio. It’s called Fresh Fork Market. It’s a CSA (community supported agriculture) program. They deliver fresh, organic foods from local farms every Friday, and it begins on May 27. I am super excited to see what will be in the first weekly basket of groceries. Can’t wait to make meals that are Cinch-friendly out of the ingredients. A typical basket of groceries from last year included: 1 Free Range Organic Chicken; 3 lbs Red Norland Potatoes; 12 oz Stuffing (day-old bread); (6-count) Rustic French Dinner Rolls; 1 bunch Organic baby carrots; 1 to 2 Organic Yellow Spanish Onions; 1 bulb German White Porcelain Hardneck Garlic; and 1 lb Organic Benchmark green beans.

Day 3 ends my Fast Forward phase tomorrow. Thank goodness. I made the Tuna Pecan Pasta for my husband tonight, and I wanted to eat some myself.

I'm Back!!

Woah! What a crazy month I’ve had in April. Between caring for my sick son, sick husband (migraine + ER trip), softball practice starting, an Easter weekend get-away to Indiana, planning for a 2-year old birthday party, a crazy busy full-time job during the day coupled with an equally busy part-time job in the evening, it's no wonder I made it through the month with all of that stress.

Although because of my crazy chaotic life, I managed to gain 5 lbs back from all of my hard work on the Cinch plan. I’m pretty bummed about that, so today I started all over on the detox Fast Forward phase. As usual, I modify this phase each time, so here is how today shaped up:

BREAKFAST (8:30 am)

Spinach Scramble:

1 cup sautéed spinach + 1 scrambled egg
1 cup Trader Joe’s Very Berry Cherry Blend (blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, and cherries) + 2 TBSP slivered almonds
Dash onion powder for the spinach scramble and dashes of cinnamon & cloves for the berries

LUNCH (12:00 pm)

Smoothie:

1 cup frozen blueberries
6 oz Chobani brand vanilla greek yogurt
2 TBSP Justin’s Maple Almond Butter (on the side scooped with a spoon)
Dashes of cinnamon & cloves for the smoothie

SNACK (4:30 pm)

Parfait:

1 cup Trader Joe’s Very Berry Cherry Blend (blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, and cherries)
6 oz Chobani brand vanilla greek yogurt
2 TBSP slivered almonds
Dashes of cinnamon, nutmeg, & cloves

DINNER (7:00 pm)

Spinach “Mess”:

2 cups sautéed spinach
1 hard-boiled egg
2 TBSP slivered almonds
Dash onion powder

The day was mostly OK until RIGHT NOW! I'm pretty hungry, so I'm going to bed before I can think about going into the kitchen to get food.

2 Week Crunch!

I have only 2 weeks left until my deadline, which also happens to be my son's birthday! Things have been absolutely crazy busy insane lately. I haven't been able to keep up with my blog...


BREAKFAST (8:30 am)

Blackberry Maple Almond Butter Toast:

2/3 cup frozen blackberries, thawed
1 slice whole grain bread, toasted
8 oz. organic skim milk
1 TBSP Justin's Maple Almond Butter
Dash nutmeg

Don't know why, but I just couldn't eat the full cup of berries.


LUNCH (1:30 pm)

Refried Bean Pita:

1 cup shredded purple cabbage, 1/2 cup all-natural salsa, 1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 of a whole grain pita
1/2 cup vegetarian refried beans
1/4 cup Wholly guacamole
Dash cumin

Again, I just couldn't think of what else to add in the pita to meet the full 2 cups of veggies that is required.

I had my daily dark chocolate right after lunch.


SNACK (4:30 pm)

Nutmeg Parfait:

No fruit (I planned on having a kiwi, but forgot my peeler)
No whole grain
6 oz. honey vanilla greek yogurt
2 TBSP slivered almonds
Dash nutmeg

I did the elliptical for 30 minutes after work.


DINNER (7:30 pm)

Lentil and Feta Cheese Salad with Confetti Rice:

1 cup fresh spinach, 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper, and 1/2 cup chopped zucchini (sauteed)
1/2 cup Trader Joe's cooked confetti rice (not whole grain, but so delicious!)
1/4 cup cooked lentils plus 1/4 cup feta cheese
1 TBSP olive oil for veggie saute
Lemongrass, garlic, ginger, white pepper, and tumeric in the rice

This dish was sooo yummy! I might try to make the confetti rice next time and use whole grain brown rice instead.

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!