Challenge Week 3

At my Weight Watchers meeting, we actually stayed and sat through the entire meeting, with Scarlett in tow no less. Here's how we stand:

LoLo: -1.8 lbs., Total lost: 1.8lbs

Jake: -3.0lbs., Total lost: 3.0lbs

Not a bad start huh?

I've finally got my WW app on my iPhone working, along with the WW barcode scanner, which is REALLY cool to use! I'm horrible at tracking when I have to write everything down, but the app makes things so much easier to track because it does all the calculating for you, along with telling you how many activity points you've earned and/or used for the week.

Things I've discovered so far this week during my challenge:

1. Mission Wraps! tortillas are oh-so-yummy, but are costly when it comes to points. Anyone have any healthy alternatives?

2. Those rotisserie chickens you can get at the grocery store make convenient shredded chicken for wraps and salads. Jake and I are hooked!

3. Arrowhead water tastes better than Brita treated tap water (yes, there's a taste difference).

4. We got "lost" in Tilden Park this past weekend, and ended up walking around trying to find our car for 3 hours. I know without the walking we've been doing in the mornings, I would've been dead after the first hour.

Kale Chips

I don't know if you've heard about the phenomenon of kale. Growing up, kale was always that weird, curly-lettuce garnish on plates at restaurants. It turns out that it's one of the healthiest foods you can have. I never really knew what to do with it until my neighbor said "I LOVE kale chips!" So I turned to Google and found a recipe and decided to simplify it. It's the easiest thing to make! When they were done, Jake was a little apprehensive but after me convincing him to at least try it and THEN say he didn't like it, he tried it. After that, I couldn't keep him away from the bowl. So here you go...

Enjoy!

Kale Chips
Prep Time: 10 mins, Cook time: 20 mins, TOTAL TIME: 30 mins
Recipe and Photo by: Me!

1 head (or bunch) of fresh Kale with ribs removed and cut/torn into 1.5 to 2 inch pieces
2 tbsp of olive oil
1 tsp of kosher salt

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

2. When you wash your kale, make sure it's completely dry before performing this recipe. I apparently had some extra water in there somewhere and some of the kale turned out steamed and a little limp.

3. In a bowl, lightly massage kale with the olive oil to make sure it coats completely. Place kale evenly on a large cookie sheet. Sprinkle lightly with the salt.

4. Bake for 10 minutes in preheated oven. After the 10 minutes, flip the kale over and bake for another ten minutes.

Challenge Week #2

Last weekend Jake and I weighed in at WW (Weight Watchers) and both of us were 3lbs over the weight we were when we initially signed up in January. Bummer!

Tomorrow is weigh-in day and I have to admit...I'm nervous.

We've been alternating days where we walk and I've already noticed that my endurance is coming back. When I was in high school, I could do long distance walking like no one's business. I used to run during PE and almost went out for the track team but my knee crapped out in 7th grade and had never been the same since. So walking was a good gray-area for me. I could walk for MILES and not get tired. But of course, after HS and with working I stopped exercising and started gaining weight. I've never been a skinny girl, but I did notice that my endurance started dropping and I'd get winded VERY easily.

This morning, I was walking in the hills by my house and I noticed that when I started walking 2 weeks ago, I was sooooo tired by the time I got home. This morning, I only got winded towards the end after walking up about 4-5 upward slopes. It was an amazing feeling. I know waking up at 5:30 in the mornings isn't fun, but I find myself WANTING to go out early and walk. I am starting to really love it.

So I'm a little nervous that I haven't lost anything at the weigh-in tomorrow. Wish me luck!

30 Before 30 - Go karting with Jake

Growing up, my uncle Fred (or Ferd, as the family endearingly calls him) used to race go karts. Every time we'd go to his house, I'd see his go karts in the garage and wonder what it would be like to race them.

So when I compiled what I wanted to do and experience for my 30 Before 30 list, I KNEW one of the experiences I wanted to have was go-karting. For Jake's bachelor party, his friends took him to a local karting place so I already knew there was a place around that I could go too. When it came to decide what we were going to do for Father's Day, I knew he'd enjoy go-karting. Hey, Father's Day and 30 Before 30 in one - two birds with one stone!

So we went this past Saturday and of course there was a nasty heat wave in our part of the Bay Area. It was 90 degrees inside the track and even hotter outside. I got the "Triple Play" which is three races, but you are racing just to see what your best time is. I knew no matter what I'd be pretty slow since I like to be surefooted, especially when the only thing separating me and certain death is a helmet and neckguard. But all in all, it was a blast. I would go again, but next time we're waiting until it's cooler and I'm well hydrated. Between the hairpin turns and the heat for 30 minutes straight, I was feeling a little woozy when we were done.

Me in all my Large-sized-helmet glory!

Jake with his helmet



Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

After Thanksgiving, my mom usually runs the gamut of the post-Thanksgiving-too-much-leftover-turkey dinners. One of them has been turkey enchiladas with verde sauce. I once tried them with chicken, and it was YUMMO! I'd been on the lookout for a good chicken enchilada with verde sauce and found one a few days ago. It's so good, let's just say the only thing Jake did was close his eyes and give me two thumbs up. Yup, they're that good!

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
Recipe by: teppij from allrecipes.com, Photo by: Me!
Prep Time: 15 mins, Cook Time: 30 mins, TOTAL TIME: 45 mins
(Please note that I used fresh chicken breasts instead of the pre-cooked, pre-cubed kind, so it adds some time to the cook time)

1 tbsp butter
1/2 chopped green onions
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 (4oz) can diced green chiles
1 (10.75 oz) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups cubed, cooked chicken breast meat
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
6 (12 inch) flour tortillas (I used corn tortillas and they were really good too)
1/4 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit

2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and saute the green onions until they are tender (approx 3-4 mins). Add the garlic powder, green chiles, cream of mushroom soup, and sour cream. Mix well. Reserve about 3/4 of the sauce mixture and set aside. To the remaining 1/4 of the sauce in the saucepan, add the chicken and 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese. Stir together until cheese has melted.

3. Fill each tortilla with the chicken mixture and roll up. Place seam side down into a baking dish.

4. In a small bowl, combine the 3/4 of sauce with the milk. Spoon the sauce over the rolled tortillas and top with the remaining cheddar cheese. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly.

Enjoy!

For some reason, Blogger is having issues with my pictures and is rotating them. Please excuse the rotation.

Challenge!

I sit here, writing today with sore thighs, and sore hips...and sore shins (hey, let's be honest).

I had posted a few months ago about wanting to get healthy for the sake of Scarlett and my life. Well, I was all gung ho about it as I usually am when I start planning a big change. But, all to soon, the sparkle started to fade and life got in the way. Soon, I was back to my old ways although I was keeping the "be healthy" mentality in my mind. After a while I noticed that my tummy was starting to grow in a way that was by no means feminine, or healthy. And, no, I'm not pregnant.

So I started to talk to my sister in law, who also has been struggling with her weight since she had her second child. We made a plan where we would walk early in the mornings so we at least got some exercise in. Then Jake decided he wanted in on it, as well as my mother in law. For Jake and I, this posed a problem - the baby. Who would watch her? So we decided to make it work for our little family and alternate mornings, so someone is always with the baby at the house while the other is walking with MIL and SIL. So yesterday was my first at-home day and I decided to try some beginners yoga. It's...interesting.

So far, we're three days into it and I'm hoping along with the walking with my MIL and SIL, that this blog will help keep my accountable.

So our goal (both Jake and I) is to lose 30 pounds each by Christmas. It's totally doable and I feel it's a goal where it's not too aggressive to not achieve, but substantial enough to make a difference. I'll try to check in at least every 7-10 days.

Wish me luck!

Crispy Rosemary Chicken and "Fries"

Lately, some of my recipe attempts have been a bust, so I was a little apprehensive to try this one. Of course, after reading all the reviews about how delicious this meal was, I knew I had to try it. It's basically 5 ingredients (except for salt and pepper which are needed a little) and super easy to make. So I decided to share it with you! I put "Fries" in apostrophe marks because the picture in the original recipe looks like fries, but they didn't come out like fries when I made it, but still really yummy!

Crispy Rosemary Chicken and "Fries"
Recipe by SANDY WITEK of allrecipes.com, Photo by Me! :)
Prep time: 15 mins, Cook time: approx 1 hour, TOTAL TIME: Approx 1 hour 15 mins

4 chicken thighs (I recommend bone-in with skin on to keep the chicken moist and skin gets crispy)
6-8 small red potatoes, quartered
1/4-1/2 cup EVOO (I used 1/2 cup and it was a little much, but it's good for basting the chicken)
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Farenheit.

2. Place chicken and potatoes together in large bowl. Pour EVOO over them and mix together. Scatter the chicken and potatoes into baking dish or cookie sheet with sides. Sprinkle with rosemary, oregano and salt and pepper (the potatoes especially need salt and pepper - I used Kosher salt)

3. Bake for 1 hour in preheated oven, uncovered. Baste chicken for the last 15 minutes for extra crispness. (When I baked the chicken, I baked it for an entire hour without basting, then basted the chicken, cooked for another 10 mins, then took the chicken out again, basted and baked for an additional 10 minutes - 20 extra minutes total.)

Enjoy!

(Sorry the picture is rotated, but you get the idea)

Catching Up

Wow...a  lot has happened since I last wrote.

Scarlett had her 2nd Easter and we spent it with Jake's grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. We played at a playground and did a small Easter egg hunt. All of the eggs were filled with change that promptly went into Scarlett's piggy bank when we got home.

For a few years, I had been contemplating getting purple highlights in my hair, and was always scared to do it. I met a wonderful and offbeat hairdresser named Betty who owns a salon in Berkeley. She became a client of ours and has done my sister in law's hair for a while. For those who don't know, my sister in law's hair is fire-engine-red with black bangs and it's cut really short and spiky. I figured if she could sport the red rocker hair, I could surely handle a few purple streaks.

Nervously I walked into Betty's salon and 2 hours later, walked out with purple highlights (the color she used is called "Pimpin' Purple") and a haircut with off-the-side bangs. I'd been wanting to get my hair restyled since November when the lady I went to didn't really listen to what I had asked for. Please excuse the poor quality of the picture. It was taken with my phone, the highlights look darker than they actually are and my hair was a little wind-whipped afterwards.

Well, I had Mother's Day #2. I was treated to a shopping day at the Le Creuset outlet in Gilroy and I didn't go too crazy, but having such beautiful pieces to make meals for my family is quite lovely. I love cooking, and even fantasized about going to culinary school for a time until I found out how much it would cost to go and how competitive the market is for chefs...not really for me. So I always look into cooking classes and new techniques for preparing meals. I'm not a gourmet by any means, but I thoroughly enjoy cooking. 

Mother's Day we had a low key BBQ for my mom's side of the family which is a yearly tradition. We were supposed to host last year, but Scarlett decided to make her appearance and we were unable to put the party on, but this year we did it. Everything was great - great weather, great food, great company. There was a small snafu with my Dad almost falling down our back steps and really hurting his arm with a skin tear, but I snapped into "mommy" mode and cleaned and bandaged him up. His arm is fine.

The Friday night prior to Mother's Day, Scarlett decided to try some acrobatics off her changing pad on her dresser and got a hairline fracture in her left wrist. It looked a lot worse than it actually was, and she had to wear a bright pink cast for 2 weeks. I think it hurt Jake more than the baby because he was changing her diaper when she rolled over. She's pretty darn cute though, even with a cast on:

May 19, Jake and I celebrated our 5-year anniversary with a trip to Disneyland. I'll tell the details of that in another post. :)