Wordless Wednesday

Tasty Tuesday

Now, I have decided that I would share some yummy recipes with you on Tuesdays. I have been trying hard to eat clean and watch my sugar intake so I am always looking for healthy recipes that I can share with my family.

With Fall in the air I have been planning to start making some yummy oatmeal for breakfast again. I love oatmeal because it makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside and it keeps me full for a long time. Don't take my word for it... here are 10 reasons to try Oatmeal for your breakfast, according to THIS WEBSITE:


Over 40 studies show that eating oatmeal may help lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. According to Quaker, all it takes is 3/4 cup of oatmeal each day to help lower cholesterol. The soluble fiber in oats helps remove LDL or "bad" cholesterol, while maintaining the good cholesterol that your body needs. In January 1997, the Food and Drug Administration announced that oatmeal could carry a label claiming it may reduce the risk of heart disease when combined with a low-fat diet.

The soluble fiber in oatmeal absorbs a considerable amount of water which significantly slows down your digestive process. This result is that you'll feel full longer, i.e. oatmeal can help you control your weight.

You probably already have oats in your kitchen. It's estimated that eighty percent of U.S. households currently have oats in their cupboards.

New research suggests that eating oatmeal may reduce the risk for type 2 diabetes. In fact, the American Diabetes Association already recommends that people with diabetes eat grains like oats. The soluble fiber in these foods help to control blood glucose levels.

With the exception of certain flavored varieties, the oats found in your grocery store are 100% natural. If you look at the ingredients on a canister of rolled oats, you will usually see only one ingredient... rolled oats.

According to recent studies, a diet that includes oatmeal may help reduce high blood pressure. The reduction is linked to the increase in soluble fiber provided by oatmeal. Oats contain more soluble fiber than whole wheat, rice or corn.

Oatmeal contains a wide array of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants and is a good source of protein, complex carbohydrates and iron.

The fiber and other nutrients found in oatmeal may actually reduce the risk for certain cancers.

Oatmeal is quick and convenient. Every type of oatmeal can be prepared in a microwave oven. Even when cooked on the stovetop, both old-fashioned and quick oats can usually be made in less than 10 minutes. And what about instant oatmeal… a hot breakfast in under a minute... incredible!

Oatmeal can be absolutely delicious! Whether instant, cooked on the stove or baked in the oven, the combination of flavors you can fit into a serving of oatmeal is limited only by the imagination. Visit Mr Breakfast's Oatmeal Collection to see just 60 of the ways you can start to enjoy oatmeal today!

Here are some of my favorite ways to have oatmeal and some new ways that I plan on trying this Fall:

Strawberry Banana Blast Oatmeal
(1 serving) Thanks to MR BREAKFAST

1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup milk
1 small banana
1/2 cup strawberries
Bring the oats and milk in saucepan to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the oatmeal has reached the desired thickness. Meanwhile, chop up the strawberries and bananas into small pieces. When the oatmeal is done mix in the strawberries and bananas and pour everything into a serving bowl.













Deluxe Crockpot Oatmeal
(7 servings) Another Mr Breakfast recipe

1 C quick cooking oats
2 C milk
1/4 C brown sugar
1 T butter - melted
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
1 C finely chopped apple
1/2 C raisins and/or dates
1/2 C chopped walnuts or almonds
Grease the inside of Crockpot. Throw all ingredients inside Crockpot and mix well. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 9 hours (*please see notes below). Stir before serving.

Great served with milk.


What could be better than waking up to the fresh aroma of a hearty morning meal wafting through the house? With aid of a Crockpot, it's easy to give the entire family a hot breakfast, regardless of when they drag themselves out of bed.


Mr Breakfast would like to thank Oatmeal Man for this recipe.














Now, my go-to favourite oatmeal recipe (for which I have NO pics) is the following:

1/3 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup skim milk
3 small chopped dates
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Bring the oats, dates, spices and milk in saucepan to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the oatmeal has reached the desired thickness. Pour everything into a serving bowl and add more milk :)

Have a tasty Tuesday and MAKE it a great day!

Manic Monday

Monday has arrived and the weekend did not go as planned BUT we made the best of it. We managed to go for a great bike ride before Irene showed up... although she wasn't as bad as we had thought she would be. So, on this Manic Monday I am posting pics of the weekend

















Make it a great day!!

Fitness Friday

Borrowing the title of my Friday blog from a friend :)

OK, so my plan is to reinvent my blog a little and make Friday my day to discuss my training for the past week. No longer am I going to do it day by day because do you really want to hear ALL of the details? Didn't think so! So, beginning next week I will attempt to blog on a more regular basis about fitness related stuff that I am struggling with or researching and/or looking for your assistance with. Stay tuned for that!

SO, this week we pressed play everyday and I can hardly walk as a result. Yep! Back to assisting myself with the walls to sit on the throne, cringing when I rise my arms to give a high five and looking like I have been run over by a MAC truck! I asked Mr. Wonderful last night, while laying on the floor in the gym as we had completed the Side Tri Rise, "why do we do this to ourselves?". We start the X, usually get well into round 2 and then take a break - for whatever reason - only to suffer through the pain of starting over???? We must love torture...

Anyway, we laugh about it but we are HURTING! But it feels SO good...

Here are the stats:

Chest and Back: 452 calories
Plyometrics: 653 calories
Shoulders and Arms: 453 calories
Yoga sub'd out for a short run: 367 calories
Tonight is Legs and Back... can't walk already so it is not going to be pretty :P

I had a great week and I am feeling great. I will be seeing my specialists this week, one for a follow up and the other for my treatment. I think that the pain that I have been feeling in my knees will be lessened after next week and I should be able to BRING it even more.

I have been logging my food all week, without fail and I have never ate back all my workout calories... so that should show on the scale in a week or so. I have also been drinking lots of water but could always up my water intake and cut back on the coffee... I have two a day ;o

So, that was my week so far! This weekend we are heading out for a camping/biking/hiking adventure! I will be taking pics and I will post some next week... promise!

Have a great weekend!

Having a supportive partner...

... is worth more than anything!

While Mr. Wonderful is in great shape, he still sucks it up and does the workouts with me. I love that he supports me in the ways that he does because without him I am not sure that I would be disciplined enough to push play everyday. Besides, I LOVE working out with him, he pushes me to work harder without saying a word. Just him being there makes me give it more and try my best.

All this because we had a great workout last night... and looking forward to tonight's workouts too! I will update on Friday with some overview of the week and how we are doing. Starting next week I am adding running back into the program. I will be running on lunch three days a week and managing my P90x schedule at the same time. I would love to get the new P90x2 program that is slotted to come out "Fall 2011"... I think that might be what is in store for us following P90x.

Hope you are all having a great day!

A Birthday

... Mine!

36 years young :P

Summer vacation has come to an end

Let the hard work begin!

I feel rejuvenated! I feel ready! I feel like this is going to be a good year...

Over the summer we biked, we ran, we exercised in trees, we played hard and I *think* we burned a lot of calories... BUT

we ate steak, we drank wine and we had ice cream... AND I did not gain anything... AND I did not count anything! NOPE - nothing. I did not count calories in or out. I ate what I wanted and I played hard all day to make up for it. NOW, I am ready to get back to being accountable because I have not hit a maintenance period, actually I still have a lot of weight to lose.

So, how am I going to do it? I am taking my "before" pics tonight and Mr. Wonderful and I are going to be taking measurements as well. Then we are going to get serious about getting back into our routines of training. We are not far away from March 2012 when I will be sporting a two piece on the beaches of FL (as long as it is not too cold).

SO, I will begin posting again... starting today :P

Make it a great day and I hope you had a fun-filled summer like I did.