Even though it was 37 degrees when I got up, I put on a winter hat, got bundled up and headed out for a 30 minute walk before work.  It was chilly!  But it was nice to see some grass down by the river.

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But because we had so much rain on Sunday – it was wormpalooza!  Everywhere I looked there were worms!

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I came back, got ready for work and put my own protein plate ala Starbuck’s together.  Half of one of my Nature Valley granola bars, an ounce of mixed nuts, some fruit and a hard boiled egg.

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Work was busy since we are down to two secretaries, but I was happy because I actually had productive work to do other than to make scratch pads out of forgotten printout paper!  I was heading to the gym when my step-son sent me this on Snapchat:

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He burned 1100 calories in one hour on the treadmill – 15% incline the whole time, and this time finished up the last 40 seconds of the workout WALKING 7.0 mph!  He tried to do it for a minute, but couldn’t do it – but holy moly that’s impressive!

I did the “speed skating” machine, because I don’t know what it’s called.  It’s like an elliptical, but your feet go side to side.  Tony would be happy to know that I watched Mac N Cheese Monday on the Chew while working out.  He hates mac n cheese!

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I did it for 30 minutes – 2.24 miles.  My legs were screaming by the time I got done!  I then did 10 minutes of upper body and five minutes of stretching.

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Knowing that it was going to get cold again this week, I decided to make a couple soups.  First up – carrot potato!  This makes 4 servings (about 1.5 cups) 273 calories, 7.7 fat, 37.5 carbs, 5.8 fiber and 14 protein.

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:35]

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This was so good!  I love the orange color of the soup.  I had a low carb spinach and cheese wrap on the side.

So I knew the snow was coming.  It started snowing about three in the afternoon.  By the time I got almost home – it looked like a winter wonderland!

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If this was December 1, I would be happy.  But I am not happy that it’s April 14!  We probably got an inch and a half when it was all done.  Gah.

Tony wasn’t feeling all that well and just wanted plain pasta for dinner.  That meant I could “Bizzify” my dinner!  That basically means making something that Tony wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole.

This was the start of my inspiration for dinner:

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And baby peppers that my co-worker gave me and I finally remembered to bring home!

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I got that creole seasoing on clearance at my Dollar store – I am glad I decided to taste it before adding it to the dish, because 1/2 teaspoon was plenty spicy!

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My recipe was inspired by this one.   Obviously mine is a bit different because I used real noodles and baby arugula instead of kale.  I still can’t get myself to try kale again – maybe someday!  Calories for this dish: 436 calories, 16 fat, 47 carbs, 3.1 fiber and 22 protein.

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:36]

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Winning!  This dish was delicious – not too saucy, spicy, and you get a bit of crunch with the peppers.  I am not a huge fan of arugula in salads, but it was delicious in this dish.

And I got all my steps in yesterday!  It helped getting out for a walk before work.

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I chickened out on my walk this morning – right now it’s 22 degrees but feels like 15.  Um, no thank you!   I’ll just have to do a lot of laps around my office today and do a treadmill routine at lunch.

Stats for the Day:

  • 1569 calories (includes Cheetos I found in the pantry and ate last night!)
  • 156 carbs, 63 protein, 81 fat, 22 fiber
  • 45% of calories from fat, 15% from protein and 38% from carbs
  • average blood sugar 138

Time to get this show on the road – make it a great day!