Because You Can

Okay, we just have to get through two more days of chilly weather and hopefully we will break free from what has seemed like the longest winter in history.  I was listening to the radio last week and a local station was having a “Half Way to Halloween” party and I felt like yelling “it still FEELS like Halloween weather!”  Right now at 7:15 in the morning its only 35 degrees.

I still had leftover pumpkin buttermilk pancakes from last week, so I brought them but made a banana apple syrup.  Just cooked a diced apple in about 1/4 cup of water for about 5-7 minutes, just until the apple gets tender.  Add more water if necessary.  Then I sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of brown sugar, a couple pinches of cinnamon and then added a sliced banana and 1/2 cup of sugar free syrup.  That was split between me and my boss.

This was super filling.  I didn’t even go to work out until almost 1:00.  I decided to go swimming.  My knees have been hurting a bit lately, so I ended up swimming for 40 minutes.  I like it better when its sunny because the water seems more welcoming!

Next to the lap lanes there were a bunch of 3-4 year olds learning to swim.  Not going to lie that I was taking some tips to get to be a better swimmer from that swim coach!

It is still most definitely soup weather.  And guess what?  33rd time is a charm!  Yep, I have made Suzie’s Lasagna soup now 33 times.  I love all the links in the comments section from my blog pimping out her soup!   Seriously, this soup is so easy to make – I don’t even make the cheezy goodness because I think its awesome without it.

I had marinated a chicken breast for dinner.  I used 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the juice of a lemon, 1 teaspoon Greek seasoning, salt and pepper.  I left the lemons in the bag with the marinade.  My plan was to grill, but it was raining, so I just did it in my cast iron skillet.  At the end I added 1/3 cup of chicken broth to make a sauce and it was delicious.  I ended up splitting one chicken breast in half and we each had a skinny piece of chicken.

You can’t see it really, but I sauteed a whole zucchini which is under my chicken.  I made some cheezy rice (just added some cheese to leftover rice, and 1/2  a pita with tzatziki sauce.  While both pieces of chicken were the same thickness, Tony’s piece was undercooked, so he mainly ate rice.   He was talking to his son during dinner so when I asked him if he wanted it cooked some more, he said he was okay.  But mine was delicious and that’s all that counts, right?!

Yesterday I was on Autumn’s blog, Good Eats Girl’s, (oops!  I forgot to add the link before!) and had made a family favorite of garlic focaccia bread that looked amazing.  I told her “I have everything to make that – like tonight!”  Around 8:00 last night I realized I still had time to make it.  The hands on time is only like 5 minutes.

You make the dough in your stand mixer.  Let it sit for an hour in an oiled bowl.  Form the dough on parchment paper and let it sit for another 30 minutes while your oven gets to temp.  Poke indentations with your fingers, and brush with olive oil and top with cheese.  She used mozzarella cheese, but I used my blended cheese ends.  Bake for 20 minutes – done!

So light, flaky, I love the crunchy cheese bits on the side.  Today I am going to make me and my boss a roast beef, cheddar horseradish cheese and spinach panini with veggies and fruit.  Is it lunchtime yet?!

And today is WI Wednesday.  Y’all, I am not going to lie that I did not want to get on that scale.  I didn’t work out as much as I should have, I didn’t track a single thing I ate over the weekend.  So imagine my shock today:

Last week:

This

This week:

I maintained!  Whoop!  So glad I didn’t cross back over to the 170’s, and just a reminder that I need to get my ass  in gear.  I plan on doing a spin app today at lunch.

Check out Lisa’s latest post about working out – I found it very interesting!   After I read it, it actually lit a fire and I went and worked out even though I wasn’t 100% feeling it, of course felt great afterwards.  That’s just the thing, I’ve never once exercised and said “that’s a waste of time” so why is it so hard for me to get up the mojo to go workout?  She also posted this, which I loved – I may have to print it out and put in on my bulletin board at work!  Thanks for your post Lisa!

So get out and move today – because you can!