Hot Diggity Dog!

Happy Sunday!
So, school started last week, which means "So long, sweet summer" and back to the grind. Luckily, I love my job and was totally pumped to get back into my classroom and start up year two! Last week was crazy though, because I wasn't as completely prepared for the craziness to start up again, so I had some late nights trying to get stuff done. I don't think I went grocery shopping at all, and I ended up "picking" at most of my meals- "Picking" is defined as making meals out of snack foods, that calorie wise total what a regular meal would, but the combination of smaller foods is not very satiating and is not considered smart eating. I had gotten into a bad habit of doing this for awhile, and I am much better about it, but I need to start planning better to make sure that I am eating better lunches at school! BTW, a lunch for me that consists of "picking" might have a Chobani yogurt, some goldfish, a piece of fruit and maybe a string cheese. You know I'm stressed when I pick. So, this week I will plan my lunches ahead of time.

That being said, Saturday night's dinner was fabulous! J.J had requested "Healthy Chili Dogs", so we walked around the Price Chopper in Dunmore at 11pm on Friday looking for the right ingredients. Here's what we got:

Chili Dogs:

• Hormel Turkey 98% fat free chili (this was higher in sodium than I care for, but considering I was only putting about 1.5 tablespoons on the hot dogs instead of a whole serving, it wasn't too bad

• Ball Park Fat Free Franks- 50 calories. No fat. Awesome.
• Sara Lee Soft and Smooth Whole Grain White Hot Dog Buns- this was the best kind I could find, Hot Dog Bun wise.

The SIDES!!!

• Corn on the Cob- The Senior Class at my school sells Corn as a fundraiser every fall. Summer is the only season I like to eat corn...I usually try to eat leafy green stuff, but who can resist some Corn on the Cob with Old Bay during the summer?

• Kat's Healthy Nachos!!!! We found a new cheese (J.J wasn't crazy about the wiz stuff that I got him, too Jalapeno-ey). We got Kraft fat Free Cheddar. 45 calories per serving. Dig it.

Yum, Yum. I got the boyfriend stamp of approval, so I guess we can add this to my greatest hits list.

  Today, when I woke up, I really, really wanted some French toast. Haven't had it in awhile. Decided to put a fun spin on my french toast today...


Chocolate-Peanut Butter French Toast Breakfast Sandwich

• 2 slices of high fiber bread (I used my Lite R loaf)
• Beat 2 eggs, with a little bit of skim milk, add cinnamon for taste
• Dark Chocolate Dreams PB

  Slap some PB between the two french toast slices, and you're good to go! Good source of carbs and protein before my running/walk cardio session this morning. I ran 1.5 miles and walked about 1.5. Thinking about doing some Abs later.

Until next time!
Kat

Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay

Hello!

'Twas a wonderful weekend in Baltimore...Haven't been down there in a long time. We were actually in Essex, which is about 30 minutes outside of the city. J.J's Uncle lives in probably the most beautiful house I have ever seen, right on the bay.  These wonderful people provided a feast that could have fed a third world county, including some delicious appetizers, a ton of clams, a few bushels of crabs, and some delicious, delicious desserts. I think this may have been my first time eating crabs (I know I've eaten king crab legs before, but not the whole she-bang). They are a LOT of work. I think I ate three before I gave up and threw in the towel in lieu of eating more baked beans. Here are some pics!

Throwing those crabs in!

I kinda picked at stuff while I waited for the main seafood event...a greenbean type salad, THE MOST DELICIOUS BAKED BEANS I HAVE EVER HAD (don't worry, I'm getting the recipe), and some type of couscous grain...very yummy. 

Crabs are delicious but a little bit too much work for my taste! Maybe if I had a personal assistant to do it for me!

Sadly, I did not get any pictures of the desserts, but there was a lot of really awesome stuff...That awesome willpower that I was talking about (yeah, right) got the best of me and I may have overindulged on the sweets just a tad. It's not everyday I see a no-bake cookie, so I accept my moment of weakness and move on with my life.

Sunday was kind of an eat on the run day, we went to the Baltimore Zoo before making the 4 hour trek home. J.J and I were both ready for a snack by the time we got back to Scranton, soooo I made my famous nachos (the recipe will go under the Recipe tab). We like to call these my "healthy" nachos. I got a new cheese sauce for J.J's birthday food basket, and for looking like legit terrible-for-you cheeze wiz, this stuff only had 30 calories per serving and was nice and zesty. Oh yeah, and fat free. Can be found at Super Walmarts. Highly recommended.

All ya need is Baked Tostitos, Some type of healthy cheese, and some salsa....Other add ons as you see fit!

Alrighty, school is back in session this week and I am BEAT already! Until next time!
-Kat

Happy Birthday to ME!

Hello! Yesterday was my 23rd birthday, and it was a wonderful day at that. My 22nd birthday absolutely STUNK, because I had just moved up to NEPA and I didn't know a soul, so I ended up going to teacher orientation and then sitting in my apartment alone all day. Needless to say, this year was much better!!!

On Wednesday night, J.J and I went to the Harford Fair (which is a big deal up here, BTW), and I slept at his house, so I would be closer to the mall and the other shopping centers I wanted to hit on my way home. J.J had to go to work around 9, so we parted ways, and I was en route to Wegmans to get some breakfast. Now, I thought maybe I'd be a little bad since it was my birthday and get a donut, because, hey, it's my birthday, why not? Well, wouldn't you know, I stood in front of that donut counter for a few minutes and finally just said to myself "I don't want this. Don't even have a taste for it. Where's the yogurt?" So off I walked to the dairy aisle, picked out an Oikos Greek Yogurt, grabbed a raisin bran muffin, and out to the car I went.

Now, I don't really know why, but I was proud of myself. I'm not saying that I never eat junk food. J.J and I go out for ice cream usually once a week. In general, I have just lost my taste for a lot of junk food. I was telling one of the guys at my gym about it, and he said I had amazing willpower. I feel like a different person than I was a year ago...make that even 6 months ago.


Soooo, anyway about the yogurt.

I hate to say it, but I didn't really enjoy the Oikos. Birthday bummer. I love greek yogurt because of it's thick texture, and this was kind of runny, and there wasn't a lot of flavor. I just crumbled a few pieces of the bran muffin into it to help me get the yogurt down (I have issues with yogurt sometimes, but it is a very important part of a balanced diet, so I do eat it everyday- putting something solid or crunchy in it definitely helps). Wegmans doesn't sell Chobani yogurt for some reason. Oh well. Better than a donut!

Scranton is home to Cooper's Seafood, which has this great deal where they give you a free entree on your birthday. I rounded up my boyfriend, my roommate and a handful of friends and off we went. I decided to have lobster because it was FREE and I don't really get to have it very often. J.J and I split a cup of alligator soup to start (delicious) and we each had a nice side salad.

The lobster was pretty good. I love seafood, but lobster definitely is not my favorite of the ocean variety, but it was delicious nonetheless. It came with the LARGEST baked potato I have ever seen in my life, which I think I ate less than half of. I tried to rip off the skin and eat some of that, because that's where the fiber is. I used the butter dip sparingly and I was pretty full when all was said and done!

The guys!!!

And that was my birthday! I am very thankful for all of the blessings and wonderful people that have been brought into my life over the past year. Special shout out to my boyfriend, J.J- today is his 24th birthday!

J.J and I celebrating our back to back birthdays with his family last weekend!

Becky Home-ecky I am!

So, when I was in college, I used to be a disaster in the kitchen. Everytime I would try to cook, I would make a mess, skip an important step or ingredient, and just get flustered. Plus, I lived by the "eat on the run" mantra, so most of my groceries consisted of things that could easily be shoved into my purse, most of which were devoid of any nutrition whatsoever.

But guess what? College is over, and I am growing to LOVE being in the kitchen! I am a way better cook than I thought! Yesterday I was in a baking/cooking type of mood, so I decided to make a whole grain banana nut bread to surprise my roommate, and I also bought stuff to make a vegetable lasagna for dinner tonight...needless to say, I impressed my roommate, and myself!

Recipes for both items were found on KERF, my favorite food blog site!

Choco-Walnut Banana Bread 

 All the ingredients in the bowl...

 Ready to go in the oven...

 Voila!

 We had it with a little bit of my Turkey Hill no sugar added ice cream for dessert....yummm.

 And then I had some leftovers for breakfast. Nice, healthy twist on a old favorite! Practically guilt free @ 150 calories per slice, with added fiber from the whole grain flour!!

Vegetable Lasagna!!! A first (and very successful) attempt!

The cheese blend...16 oz low fat cottage cheese and a 1/2 cup of grated parmesean.

 The veggies....zucchini, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, and spinach. Yumm!

 Ready to go in the over! 60 minutes at 400 degrees.

 The mess in the sink...good thing we have a dishwasher.

 The finished product. Very delicious!!!!

I guess the moral of the story is that I can cook! One of my new favorite pastimes is taking some of my favorite recipes and finding ways to make them healthier.

Until next post!

-Kat

Hola!

How's it going?

Welcome to my blog! After a few months of deliberation, I have decided to create my own blog dedicated to being healthy and happy! If you click the "Kat" tab at the top of this page, you will read my life story...err, I mean my weight loss story that began in September 2008. I have followed a few food and fitness blogs over the past few months, and I decided to create my own to share with my family and friends. On my page, you will read my musings about food, fitness, and the like, as well as a few of my favorite things (links, recipes, etc...) My goal is to create a support system and a place to share comments and ideas dedicated to living a healthy and happy life!

Please excuse the appearance of this page for a while as I am still learning how to start and manage a blog...And please leave comments and let me know what you think!

Happy Reading!
Kat