Baked Oatmeal..but Still SICK!!

I think I've been sick for the entire month a March..and the last part of February.  It is not something I'm used to.  I rarely get sick and when I do, I'm back to normal after a few days.  This year has not been good to me as far as my immune goes.

That being said, I'm still making healthy choices in the kitchen for myself and my daughter.  I'm down a couple of pounds too.  I weighed in this morning at 149lbs! YEAH!

One big choice I made this week was baking oatmeal instead of cupcakes.  I'll post the recipe below but first let me tell you a little about them.  I enjoy Oatmeal.  Always have.  However, I do know quite a bit of people who don't like it...AT ALL!  The texture is a little weird, I admit.  Baked oatmeal is a little different.  I made individual oatmeal cups instead of a large casserole dish of it.  They've come in very handy in the mornings when I'm running late and can't have breakfast before work.  They freeze well and take less than one minute to reheat!

The best part....NO SUGAR! Well, no refined sugar.  There is applesauce and stevia in it.  Making them individual sized means that you can personalize them to different tastes in your home.  I highly suggest making them even if you aren't a fan of oatmeal.  You might find this an easier way to get some oatmeal in your diet! Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!!

Baked Oatmeal Recipe from Sugar Free Mom

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 2 cups applesauce, unsweetened
• 5 cups, Old Fashioned rolled oats
• 1 banana, mashed
• 2 3/4 cups milk (I used Soymilk)
• 1/4 cup flaxseed meal
• 1 1/2 teaspoons stevia powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 3 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Optional toppings: raisins, walnuts, chocolate chips

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix eggs, vanilla, applesauce, banana and Stevia together in a bowl.
3. Add in oats, salt, baking powder, flax and cinnamon and mix well with wet ingredients.
4. Finally pour in milk and combine.
5. Spray a 12 and 6 capacity muffin tin with cooking spray or use cupcake liners.
   Pour mixture evenly into muffin tin cups.
6. If using toppings add them onto the tops of muffins now. If using fresh or frozen fruit, drop it right into the batter.
7. Bake 30 minutes until a toothpick in center comes out clean. Cool and enjoy or freeze them in gallon freezer bags.

This recipe comes from www.sugarfreemom.com

Still Sick??

What is going on?  Last time I posted, I was just getting over being sick and was ready to get back to work. Well, the very next day, I woke up sick again. Fast forward one week and I'm STILL SICK!!  So, though I am still motivated to live a healthy lifestyle, I'm still not eating normally and definitely can't breathe well enough to be able to walk down the hallway without losing my breath. Working out is out of the question.  Hopefully, my doctor will have some answers for me tomorrow!

Til next time...

Getting Back On Track

Well, I'm just getting over being sick.  It knocked me on my butt and my lungs still don't feel 100%.  I was really starting to feel strong and motivated and then I got sick.  My diet was under control, my fitness level was steadily increasing.. I now feel like my body is toxic again and I need to start over from the beginning.  I did it before, I can do it again.  I'm headed back to work tomorrow so it's the perfect time to get back to my regularly scheduled program.

Here's to starting over!

An Easy Startup Workout

I found this cute weightloss blog.  It's a little young for me but it has some cute workout plans to get anyone started.  I'm going to post the "Level One" workout plan below.  Along with my current plan, I think I'll add this in as well.  For example, Day One is 20 Jumping Jacks and 10 Crunches.  That can be done right when I wake up to get my day started.

downtownn

Something else I found today was a love of CUCUMBER WATER!  WHAT!!!  I know...  It's pretty self explanatory but I never thought about adding cucumber to water the way I do lemon.  I saw the always cute, Jamie Oliver and had to check it out..

Flavored Water

Adding a few slices of cucumber really was so refreshing.  I definitely suggest trying it out!




Time to sign off for the evening and get my human to bed.  Until next time, take care!!

Does This Count?

So, who isn't slightly obsessed with Pinterest right now?  lol..

Does it count as part of a workout if I just repin some motivational fitness pins?

Yeah, I didn't think so..  

But, if you are on Pinterest, feel free to follow me there -->Pinterest




In other news...  I'm down 2 pounds!  Totally awesome. =)



2/28/12
Current Weight: 151 lbs
Current Real Age: 25.5

My Plan

This probably should have been post #1 but it'll have to be #3...

My Current Weight: 153.2

Weight Loss Goal: 15 lbs by May 1, 2012

Plan: 

1. Cut out the empty calories in drinks!!  No more sweetened coffee!  I do enjoy iced coffee with 2 sugars in the afternoon and it keeps me feeling more awake than the flavored coffee drinks with make me feel gross afterwards even though they taste soooo good!
2. No more fast food!  The stuff isn't real anyway.  I've already cut out most fast food anyway but I do occasionally find myself in the taco bell drive through when I forget my lunch...  I've decided that if I do forget my lunch, I can drive a few extra miles and stop at Starbucks for one of their Bistro Boxes.  The protein bistro box is one of my favorites.  It contains a hardboiled egg, muesli bread, peanut butter/honey spread and some apple slices and grapes. Love it!  Gives me energy needed to get through the last part of my work day.
3. Stay active!!  Unfortunately, my hours got cut back pretty far at work so until they go back up or I find a more stable job, I can't join a gym.  BUT, I can play with my 3 year old and dance the evening away with our Just Dance 3 game.  It really is quite a cardio workout!

I know it all seems very straightforward but actually making these choices habits is where it gets more difficult.  When you're used to being on the go and grabbing a quick bite here and there, it becomes normal. Not anymore!  The easy road ends now!!!  

Now, I do have to say that in addition to these fairly simple ideas, I signed up with www.realage.com and am excited to finally put my real age plan into practice.  If you haven't signed up and found out your real age, you should.  You may be surprised to find out how old your body thinks it is... Below is the screen shot of my results and I must say that I am very proud of it but ready to get it down even lower!

Cant wait to share my results!!

It Is Just a Video Game...Right?

I recently got my daughter the Just Dance 3 game for Xbox Kinect.  Since she's only 3, I have to turn on the songs for her so she could dance.  I usually do this while doing other chores.  A few days ago, I decided to play along with her.

OH MY GOODNESS!

Talk about a workout!  I almost didn't make it through one song. ONE! ONE 3 MINUTE SONG!  This is not ok.  Since then, I've been playing along with her and sometimes play even longer than she does.

This afternoon, I took a break from chores to dance one song with her and ended up playing for an hour.  HELL YEAH!  I'm getting better (as far as stamina, not coordination...)

Just Dance 3 has definitely become part of my weight loss journey.  I need to make it a habit and do it every evening.

I'm also thinking of getting Zumba for kinect.  I don't have a whole lot of time to head to the gym being a single parent but that shouldn't be a reason for me to not work out.  I think this has been something that I've struggled to get over.  I need to make the time.  I need my daughter to see that I'm taking time to take care of myself so she develops that habit as well.

Well, speaking of my daughter, I do need to sign off so that we can eat dinner.




In my next post, I will lay out a more detailed action plan for everything.

Till then...