Tea, Tea, and MORE TEA!

Hello all!
I am writing you from a cozy nook at my favorite Starbucks, drowning myself in tea to try and get rid of this unfortunate head cold I've contracted. Dayquil doesn't hurt either, of course, but I really do feel better than I usually do purely from medicine...I'm definitely giving credit to the soothing nature of tea! My Starbucks favorite is the Passion Tazo tea! YUM! When I'm not sick I opt for the unsweetened iced version, but today the steamy hotness is doing the trick! :)

I got this cute new mug in hopes that it would also aid in my recovery ;)

Other than being a little under the weather, everything has been going really well in this neck of the woods! My mom had surgery on Monday after tearing a ligament in her hip (OUCH!) so I've been back and forth between Iowa City and Cedar Rapids alot this week. It's been really nice to see her more, PLUS my aunt (her sister) flew up from Texas to stay with her for the first week of recovery and I rarely get to see any of my Texas family!
The first night post-surgery, I cooked for everyone, and was really pleased with the results! A low-cal, high-YUM factor comfort-food dinner!

Wild rice-stuffed pork chop with brussel sprouts!

I bought the pork chops pre-stuffed from HyVee, but they are actually pretty easy to do homemade as well! (Since I had limited time I went for the meat-counter option). Spray non-stick vegetable oil on baking sheet and set pork chops directly on pan, "slit" side down (where the two ends of the chop meet to close the stuffing in). Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, although this depends on how well-done you enjoy your pork!

For the brussel sprouts, wrap baking sheet in tin foil. Slice each sprout in half and toss in olive oil and seasonings mixture*. Lay the brussel sprouts out on pan, flat side up, and bake with chops for approximately same amount of time. Disclaimer: these are hard to get right time-wise because one minute too long and they're wilted, but if you take them out too soon they're still too hard! Experiment with timing by having a designated "test" sprout, and slide a knife into it every couple minutes. It should slide right in to indicate being ready to eat!

*Olive oil and seasonings mixture: olive oil, sea salt, and steak seasoning!

For the whole meal: 405 Calories! (8 ounce chop and 1 cup brussel sprouts)

My mom pre-warned me that she wasn't a big fan of brussel sprouts, so I wouldn't be offended if she didn't like them, but she was a HUGE fan! In her opinion, what converted her was that they were baked instead of boiled or steamed.

Have an amazing day and weekend!
♥MK

Bye Bye Calories!

Hello! WOW have I had a positive week :) I hope you all can say the same!

Even through the snow storm, I managed to workout for an hour every day, and chose to walk home in addition to that instead of waiting for a bus! I think what helped me the most was choosing a different type of exercise every day.

Monday- 20 minutes running at 6 mph on treadmill, followed by 30 minutes of brisk walking at 4 mph.

Tuesday- Long walk home from the other side of campus (about 40 minutes).

Wednesday- Legs day! Lifting lifting lifting. Squats, RDL, Bar-wiper abs. 30 minutes of 4mph walking on treadmill, followed by 30 minute walk home feeling like I had no legs!

Thursday- Hot yoga (to try and revive my screaming legs)

Friday- Day off (my aunt was here from Texas!)

Saturday- Insanity Plyo Cardio circuit

Sunday- Lifting with John! (yay his day off!)

Here are a couple of new things I ate/cooked this week!

Orzo pasta with ground pork sausage and chopped cherry tomatoes!

Brown sausage in a pan on low-medium heat

Put orzo in boiling water for 9 minutes, drain if necessary (mine cooked just like rice)

Mix sausage into pot of orzo...then add veggies, cheese or whatever else looks good to you!

(I also tossed mine with a tiny bit of olive oil)

Egg, tomato, cheddar cheese, and spinach omelet!

The preparation is mostly preference, but I whisk my eggs (2) with a little milk in a bowl, add the tomatoes to the pan (medium-low heat) first, then the whisked eggs, flip everything to thoroughly cook egg, add cheese and spinach...and VOILA! Yummy breakfast for one.

I also made John an omelet, but his was meat and cheese vs. my veggies and cheese.

I also recently invested in a scale...I honestly wonder how I ever survived without it! It is SO helpful, and really interesting to see what foods I was over AND underestimating.

I have reminders EVERYWHERE about how close to spring break we are (John and I are headed to FLORIDA woo hoo!) and so far so good at keeping on track. As always, my biggest vice is alcohol... But keeping myself away from the "bar scene" has been actually pretty easy, as we're trying to save for Florida. This weekend consisted of workouts and family time for this 21 year old :). I love to have a beer or glass of wine with dinner after a long day and relax with John and Bear, but I have been tracking those Calories like crazy to keep myself on point.

Have a great week!

♥MK

V-day Temptations...CONQUERED!

Wow, time FLIES if I don't remind myself to post! Whoops
Hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day, mine was magical ;) Especially because I ignored my chocolate cravings and stayed strict with my cal-counting. John gave me the classic heart-shaped chocolate box, which is still sitting pretty on the kitchen counter (next to my beautfiul roses, so I'll have to forgive him for the temptation). Wednesday night we went out for sushi (my ultimate vice), and I was actually pleasantly surprised with some new rolls that had no sauce or high-cal add ons. My guilty pleasure is not looking so guilty anymore! Thursday night John had to work until 9, so we had a late dinner at home. Here's a breakdown and how-to of what I made!
Bacon wrapped bay scallops:
-pre-heat oven to 450 degrees
-cut bacon strips into thirds, place scallop on each strip, wrap around and use toothpick to secure. I evenly spaced these on a foil-covered baking sheet lightly brushed with olive oil.
-season with whatever you'd like! I used lemon pepper and garlic and it was to DIE for.
-bake for 20 minutes and BOOM...you have finger food that every seafood lover will crave.
As a side I sauteed some bell peppers in olive oil for about 5 minutes :)

(in the top right corner of the plate are scallops that don't have bacon)These last couple weeks have been really good and HEALTHY for me :) On average, I am under my calorie goal 6 out of 7 days a week, and definitely further towards my weight goal than last post.

I also have to give a little plug for my new hair salon...I've been looking for a place as good as the one I had back home, and finally found a keeper! I don't think the name does its professional nature justice, but Groovy Katz Salon will now be getting my regular business. It is an Aveda salon, and my hair looks and feels amazing! They accidentally scheduled my appointment for a time that didn't work, so I had about a half an hour wait...but because of that, the whole thing was FREE. Including a deep conditioning treatment that usually runs for about $15, scalp massage, cut and style. I saw Tarra, and would highly recommend her, for any of you in the Iowa City area.

 

 

I'll leave you all with a picture of my dog, Bear, who has apparently decided to join in our fitness journey!

 



♥MK

Fitness Buddy!

Hello everyone!
I hope you are feeling as good as I am today!

Yesterday was HORRIBLE, as I suffer from migraines and got possibly the worst and most debilitating one I've ever had...but it makes the pain-free day that is today feel SO AMAZING! (Trying to see the glass as half-full :)) Long story short I didn't get a workout in, but did keep with my diet plan.

Since John and I moved into the new place last week, I've been very busy, but in a good way! "Good stress" if there is such a thing.. haha. Another positive of the new environment, John has decided to join me on my healthier journey! He is also a previous competitive athlete (high school and college), and has decided he would like to increase muscle mass and, in turn, gain some weight. Our diets are not going to be identical, obviously, since I am not trying to gain weight... but some things like cutting way down on carbs/sugars are on both of our radars.
I really think this is going to make my life a WHOLE lot easier. John is that guy that all of us love to hate, he eats whatever he wants, whenever he wants and essentially loses weight. He has the metabolism of an adolescent boy. Finally, I won't be looking over and craving his Doritos while working on my salad.

Another awesome tool I've discovered recently is a new app/website called: My Fitness Pal
(here's the website: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/).
It is a great tool if you have trouble keeping track of your Calories and Macros throughout the day, like I do. It even has brand names, and an option to scan bar codes to find your foods.

Well I'm off to the rest of my classes, then to meet John at the rec!
♥MK