Are you f-ing serious?

That's what I thought this morning when my alarm went off at 5:35am for the gym. I may have over-exceeded myself on my lift session yesterday and every part of my body ached. I knew I had to get up though! Now that it's the mid-morning, I am so happy I did! I didn't have to lug a big gym bag on the bus and train and I can go home after work and just relax before the BBQ.

Also, I have to thank Monster for getting up with me to go to the gym. That motivated me a lot too.

The issue I am having with working out after work is that we don't eat until 8:30pm or 9pm and I go to bed very full. I really shouldn't complain b/c last night's dinner was DELISH! We grilled bbq chicken (Sweet Baby Ray's!) and asparagus (EVOO and s/p) and had my favorite couscous (whole wheat with a splash of EVOO, parsley, dried cranberries and chopped walnuts) on the side. It was a great summer meal.

Tonight we are going to a BBQ with some friends and there is going to be lots of great food there! I made the famous Blue Frog pasta salad again per request and I'm finally getting the hang of this recipe. I have listed it below for anyone interested:

Blue Frog Pasta Salad
1 lb Ditalini pasta
1 Green pepper chopped
1 Red pepper chopped
3 Stalks of celery chopped
1 cup of carrots chopped
1/4 red onion chopped
3/4 cup of green peas
2+ cups of mayo
2 oz. white vinegar
2 T celery salt
1 tsp onion power
1 tsp ground white pepper

1. Cook the pasta and drain - set aside to cool
2. Chop all veggies in food processer and set aside
3. Mix mayo and white vinegar well and add in the celery salt, onion powder and ground white pepper. Adjust the celery salt to taste. If it's too bitter, add a bit more mayo.

Add all ingredients to a big bowl and chill. I think this would be very tasty with chopped bacon in the recipe too!

Have a great weekend!
PK

Still Going Strong

I am on Day 4 of my challenge and feeling good! My foot has been bothering me so I am going to stick with some arm and leg exercises rather than cardio today. Gosh, this bum foot needs to be done. I am excited to go for a bike ride this weekend and maybe try out Zumba on Sunday too!! Working out 7 days in a row = you really need to change it up.

I have a funny confession... I am obsessed with a neighborhood bar and have been two days in a row. It's a little ridiculous, but the food is delish!! I have only tried a few of their items, but my go to is the Cran-Apple Chicken Salad. It has green apples, dried cranberries, grilled chicken, crumbled blue cheese, walnuts and a side of the cran-apple vinaigrette. This salad is super easy to make on my own. Maybe someday :). We also took advantage of the $3.50 appys which is their special every Wednesday. Their hummus is sooo good.

My meal plan for the day:
Breakfast - Egg white scrambler with soy crumbles and soy cheese
Lunch - Leftover cran-apple salad
Snack - Hard boiled egg before I hit the gym
Dinner - BBQ chicken. Yum! I want to pick up some asparagus to grill too :). Oh how I love our grill!

I plan on getting up early tomorrow for the gym b/c we have a bbq to get to after work. Hopefully the foot feels good enough for another cardio sesh.

Have a good day!
PK

Day 2

I debated last night on the train about going to the gym. I was pretty beat from Monday and just wanted a relaxing night. I had also thought about going for a run when I got home, but once the Belmont train stop approached, I decided to stay put and go to Paulina to hit the gym. I'm so happy I did. I realized as I was on the elliptical that I missed the gym and can't wait to beat my 7 day work out challenge!

After the gym, I had a lovely night. Monster is out of town, so I watched lots of my chick shows. I caught the end of Bachelorette and somehow managed to watch the RHOC reunion show part 2. Gosh that was an intense reunion. I hate Tamra.

I also made a tofu eggless salad which I brought to work with me today. It was pretty delish!! Recipe is listed below.

Tofu Eggless Salad
1 Containter of Extra Firm Tofu drained and crumbled
1/2 cup of light mayo - more to taste if preferred
1/4 cup of mustard - more to taste if preferred
2 pickles chopped
2 celery stalks chopped
I also added a few dashes of dill weed, parsley, sea salt and black pepper.
Mix and put in the fridge to chill.

My meal plan for the day:
Breakfast - Egg white scrambler with soy crumbles and soy cheese
Lunch - Tofu eggless salad on salad with veggies and hummus
Snack - Mini Babybel cheese
Dinner - TBD, I changed it up last night so I am not sure what I will go with tonight.

Anyone notice that I am on a huge soy kick? Wow, is that even good for my health??

PK

7 Day Work Out Challenge

I know I know. It's almost been a month, but life has been hectic and I have been slacking on the blog, work outs and healthy eating.

Today is a new day though and I am doing a personal 7 Day Work Out Challenge. Starting today, I am going to work out every day until Sunday. I am really excited to try some classes at the gym and get my butt moving in the right direction again.

My meal plan for the day:
Breakfast - Egg white, soy sausage and cheese stacker
Snack - Light Babybel cheese
Lunch - Garden salad with soy nuggets and veggies with hummus
Dinner - Flounder from T. Joes and steamed veggies

Lastly, I want to share some highlights from the past month :).
Wedding in Davenport
Andrew Bell concert at Lincoln Hall
Moved out of Lincoln Park
Moved in to Roscoe Village
Visit from my Dad, Step-Mom and Nicole
Two cubs games
Birthday celebration for Nate and Hunter
Work trip to Syracuse for 4 days
Girls sushi dinner
Pizza party with the Hulls and Smaziks
Old Town Art Fair
BBQ with friends at the new spot

See!! I have been really busy :).

Game on,
PK

One more down

Yup! 11.4 is the number. Gosh I get so excited when I lose. It makes the weekend much more enjoyable.

A few successes:
I traveled to Tampa last week for work and was able to stay on my diet.
I went for sushi with my girls on Friday and stuck with miso soup, salad and sashimi (this was so hard!)
As tired as I was on Saturday after WW, I hit the gym for 45 minutes of cardio and abs.

The next few weeks are going to be crazy and I can't wait for June 5th. I will have launched two markets for work and we will be moved in to our apartment. The travel should slow down after this date too. Yippee! I can't say that the gym will be my main priority during the next few weeks, but I hope to get there as much as I can. My goal is 2 - 3 times a week.

I didn't make it to the store yesterday b/c I don't want to stock the fridge until we move. We have plenty of food to get us by. Unfortunately I see a lot of eating out as well in the next few weeks...

My meal plan for the day:
Breakfast - 2 soy sausage patties
Lunch - Salad
Dinner - Taco Salad

I hope you all had a nice weekend! When is it going to warm up outside???

PK

WW Success and Tofu

How about that blog title for today!?!? Ha.

It's been a wonderful weekend and I am loving the weather today. It has been somewhat of a lazy day which is how I like my Sundays.

A quick recap of the weekend:
Friday: Dinner at Public House and Something Borrowed. I got the pulled chicken salad at Public House and I am trying to figure out another excuse to go back and have it again. It was delish!!! Last time I had it (I know) I requested the salad in a wrap. It was tasty, but I am staying away from carbs for a bit so the salad worked out just fine. Something Borrowed was AMAZING!!! I can't wait to for Something Blue to come out!! That was the best surprise during the credits, a quick clip of Darcy in London surprising Ethan!

Yesterday was extremely busy! I got up early and went to WW. The last time I went was after a few weeks of traveling and my mind was in a different place. I am happy to report that I lost 3.5 lbs since then and I am at -10.4 lbs finally!! I gave myself yesterday to have a cheat day, but starting today for the remainder of the week, I am staying away from the booze and carbs. We met friends at Rockit for a farewell brunch for my dear friend Kyle. Post brunch, I came home to relax before going back downtown to meet some friends for drinks at Sable. They have sexy drinks and I highly recommend this spot! We had reservations at Paris Club which was delish! We ordered a bunch of starters and I had ahi tuna for an entree. Yum! I don't need to rush back there, but it sure was good. After a small bar crawl, I crashed hard for the night.

Today I slept in until 10!! I made a healthy omelette for breakfast and then we ran errands around the hood. BBB, Akira, T. Joes and now I'm home. I have a ton of work to do and I am prepping lunches for the week. My friend Emily had a salad a few weeks ago that I needed to try! It had lettuce, brocoli slaw, dried cranberries, edamame and baked tofu! I made this last Sunday and had it all week for lunch. The tofu is in the oven as I type! It's super easy to make and I feel like I won't get sick of it!!

Directions:
Drain the extra firm tofu
Once drained, dice tofu into cubes
Spray a baking sheet and spread the tofu on the sheet
EVOO, garlic salt and pepper and then in the over at 400 for 30 minutes. Yum!

Off to fix my lunches and do more work. I hope you all had a nice Mother's Day and weekend!

PK

Lazy Lazy Weekend

Happy Sunday!!! I can't remember the last Sunday I've had where I have nothing planned. I have a to-do list that is a page long, but I am thinking about tossing it aside and just chillin. I was able to cross off a few of the to-dos early this morning which felt nice, but now I'm going to catch up on some DVR and put my feet up.

Speaking of feet, my left foot is still bugging me. The strap feels great when I wear it, but when I put pressure on the ball of my foot, I could scream! I've been wearing heels most days because it feels much better than wearing flats. I'm sure since it's nice out, my flip flops will make an appearance soon, but as of now heels are my best friend.

My mom was in town this weekend with some girlfriends so I met them for brunch, shopping and dinner yesterday. I also decided to stay out until 2:30 in the morning which is another reason why I feel like I am going to be lazy all day today. I loved spending time with the gals though. Their trip went by way too fast!!!

A positive of having my mom here was using her car!! I picked up some boxes at Home Depot for our move and hit the grocery store(Aldi and Trader Joes.) I stocked up on some healthy items including veggies, chicken, salad plus more!

My meal plan for the day:
Breakfast - Spinach and turkey omelette - yum!
Lunch - Turkey meatballs and a light chedder string cheese
Dinner - Veggie burger and salad

The gym will be happening this week! I am planning on going at least 3 or 4 times. I didn't make it to the gym this past weekend b/c work interferred which is a sad excuse, but I have been getting into the office very early so I can get a lot done before the phone starts ringing. I have quite a bit of trips coming up so I need to get back into my routine...

I am going to work on updating my blog as much as I can. It is on my to do list every day! It just usually gets pushed to the bottom.

Have a great week!
PK

P.S. This just in...T Joes on Diversey will be opened in 5 days! Just in time for our move...bust.