NO!!

"It is worth every single NO that you will say.”

This is a quote I stole from one of my favorite bloggers. And let me tell you it has been SO fitting these last couple of days. Yesterday especially...

First, my boss brings in her homemade chocolate chip cookies and (pretty much does everything but shove them down my throat) waives them in my face. But I said NO!

THEN my 2 besties call me up for a lunch date at our FAVORITE Mexican food joint. OMGOMGOMG! You see, Mexican food has my heart. We used to have quite the love affair back in the day...we still haven't broken up completely. We still have a fling every now and then. It was painful, but I said NO! Passing on my absolute favorite food AND two of my favorite people was H.A.R.D.!

THEN a co-worker brings in the best cupcakes in the world. And I'm not exaggerating a bit. These are THE.MOST.AMAZING. things ever! Aside from Mexican food, truly one of my top faves. I had to stay out of the break room at this point. And I said NO!

THEN this morning a customer brings in delicious FREE BBQ from his restaurant just because he loves us :) Thanks! My thighs feel the love too. But I said NO!

AND we also have a customer that drives a Little Debbie truck and he brings us SACK fulls of Little Debbie's all the time, so we're in constant supply of those little devils too.

People need to stop showing love with food!!!! They're killing me!!

Seriously though, it would have been so easy to give in to any of those temptations (or ALL of them as I would have a couple of years ago) but at the end of the day it felt so good to say NO!

And not to mention...the scale was nicer to me this morning because of it :)

So I leave you with another quote "Nothing tastes better than skinny feels."

~Laci

Getting out of this Slump.

Will I ever get back to where I was? Before December I was doing SO good...no bad food during the week and workouts were good and often. I fell into a slippery slope of mistakes and laziness through the Holidays and snowy winter weather. Recently, my workouts are getting back on track FINALLY, but my diet is still not where I want it to be. After a year of eating healthy my body ACTUALLY started craving healthy food and I wasn't craving the greasy food nearly as much as I once did, even on the weekends (my splurge time) I didn't feel like I HAD to have it. But through the Holidays, I gave in too many temptations and in no time my body was back to craving the junk again. I think it was Dr. Oz who said "You crave what you eat." Boy that statement couldn't be truer. I'm sure it will take SEVERAL months for my body to stop craving the junk again. If only I would have known the sabotage I was doing to all the hard work I had done. UGH! :/

Restaurant Wars!
Yesterday I had to go to Fort Smith on my lunch break to run a few errands. Well, I LOVE sushi and don't get it as much as I'd like, so when I have to make a run to Fort Smith on my lunch break I usually get some to go. There's tons of it to choose from...there's healthier options of course...but I just couldn't resist my favorite, the Spicy Shrimp Roll, which includes shrimp TEMPURA (Tempura means fried!). In the back of my mind I'm thinking ah I'll work it off at the gym later...HOWEVER I'm never gonna lose weight at this rate!!!!!

Also, if my friends ask me out for lunch, I'm always game! Those lunch dates are the highlight of my day! And those lunch dates are also never healthy! The mass quantities of unhealthy food are 1/2 the fun. They usually involve pizza, Mexican food, or something else fried AND HUGE portions of it.

"Hello, my name is Laci and I have NO control when it comes to eating out!"

I'm here to admit it...they have to grease the door jams and roll me out the place by the time I'm done :) I get my monies worth to say the least. It is SO hard for me to order something healthy. I mean what's the point in eating out and paying too much for food you don't enjoy? I used to just try to avoid eating out during the week and just save that time for the weekends. BUT I want to be able to eat out with friends during the week and still remain healthy. It just seems so hard to find something that's healthy AND worth eating. Normally the stuff you think is healthy (salads) has the highest calorie count on the menu. And if the only option I have is an overpriced dried up chicken breast, then I'd rather not even go. I guess what I'm saying is that if I have to eat healthy at a restaurant than it's not even worth going to me. How sad is that? I need to learn how to eat out healthfully and enjoy it. I guess this is just something I'll work on and hopefully get better at over time...

P.S. Sorry my posts have been lacking pictures recently...I need a new camera like whoa!

~Laci

Throw in the Towel?

Ok I'm at a loss for what to do?! Preschool is making me crazy (along with Derek and Alexis)! Lexi has been going for 6 weeks now (2 days a week) and is still having mega meltdowns in the morning (however the vomiting has ceased "for the most part" YAY!). She comes home and talks a big game like she liked it, but when it's time to go back she freaks out! A friend of mine told me it took her daughter 6 weeks to adjust to daycare (she was also going 2 days a week) so I've rode it out this long, but I don't see it getting THAT much better :(

In a perfect world, Alexis would stay with her grandma 5 days a week, but that's not possible anymore. Grandma can only watch her 3 days a week. So daycare or a private in home sitter are my only options. I don't even know if she'd do much better with an in home sitter? And finding THE RIGHT babysitter that I can trust may be impossible...and it may take her a few weeks to adjust to that...would they deal with a crying kid all day? I don't know if we should just continue to ride the daycare thing out and hope for it to get better or just throw in the towel now?! I like the structure and social interaction she gets through daycare, but if she is really THIS unhappy with it, is it worth it? Then on the other hand, am I just giving in and letting her have way? I don't know what to do!!

If we go with plan B then we'll need sitter suggestions :) So does anyone know of any good sitters in the area? :)

~Laci

Organic Plunge!

So I took the Organic plunge this weekend. I was disappointed to find out that my local grocery store doesn't offer as big of a selection as I had hoped. Here's a few products I bought and what I think about them:

• Horizon Fat-Free Milk - Good! Couldn't tell the difference between this and regular skim milk! BUT it's a little pricey, it was $3+ for a 1/2 gallon.

• Cascadian Farms Cinnamon Raisin Granola Cereal - YUM! Very good!


• Smucker's Organic Peanut Butter - GROSS!!

I am kind of addicted to peanut butter (which isn't a good thing), so I have tried a bunch in the last few weeks. However, I am yet to find one I'm satisfied with. I may end up trying every buttery spread out there before I realize I just need to give it up :/ The following aren't "organic" but they're healthier versions than regular peanut butters.

• Naturally More Peanut Butter - DISGUSTING!
  
• White Chocolate Wonderful - Pretty good, but not Peanut buttery enough.
  


• Nutella - This is just okay in my opinion. I know people that RAVE about this stuff, but I don't care for chocolate on my toast. I tried it on an Eggo and that was pretty tasty.

• Almond Butter - It's not peanut butter, wah! It's thick and not as creamy...definitely not an ideal replacement for my beloved peanut butter. The search continues...
  

On a side note: This snow is absolutely CRAZY! I can't wait to make some snow ice cream tonight :)

~Laci

Skinny Nachos

Can I marry Gina already? Ok maybe not marry, but if I were rich I would make her my personal live-in chef. Dang she comes up with some yummy stuff.
What You'll Need:

4 oz baked tortilla chips (I used Baked Tostitos Scoops)
8 oz 99% lean turkey breast
1 tsp cumin*
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper
1 cup fat free spicy black bean dip (couldn't find, so I used regular black beans)
1 1/3 cup reduced fat Mexican cheese like Weight Watchers
2 cups pico de gallo salsa
1/2 cup light sour cream
2/3 cup fresh cilantro

Preheat oven to 425°. Place 1 oz (about 14) chips on four oven-proof dishes or one large baking sheet.

Heat a large nonstick sauté pan over med-high heat. Add turkey. Season with cumin, garlic powder, salt and pepper and sauté until cooked through, breaking up meat into small pieces with a wooden spoon. When cooked, add bean dip and mix well.

Spoon the turkey mixture over the chips and sprinkle the cheese on top. Bake until cheese melts, about 6 minutes.

Remove the nachos from the oven, top with pico de gallo/salsa, sour cream, cilantro and jalepeños. Serve immediately.

Serving Size: about 14 chips •Calories: 347 • Fat: 9g • Protein: 27g • Fiber: 7g

*I don't like a lot of Cumin, so I used just a tad less than 1 tsp.

~Laci

Going Organic + No Vomit :)

Ok my next mission is to go organic...maybe...we'll see how it works out. I think this is the change my body needs to reach my goal weight and to truly be healthy. One thing I hate about my diet is that I eat WAY too many processed foods out of sheer convenience. I've been hesitant to go from processed to whole foods/organic for a few reasons: it's expensive, usually doesn't taste very good, and it's time consuming...I'm a busy lady.

I plan on making this a slow transition and just introducing a few organic/whole foods into my diet at a time. That way hopefully I won't overwhelm myself...or my tastebuds :)

If you have ANY helpful advice, suggestions, tips, or even just certain organic/whole food products that you particularly like please share them with me!! This is very unfamiliar territory to me.

On another subject...I hate to even say anything in fear of jinxing a good thing, but this morning was the first morning Lexi didn't throw up before preschool!! WOOT WOOT!! Is she starting to get the hang of it?? We like to think so! She did cry, but it wasn't AS bad as usual. Baby steps, YAY!

~Laci

Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili

Another great recipe from Gina!

What you will need:

1 small onion, chopped
1 16-oz can black beans
1 16-oz can kidney beans
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
10 oz package frozen corn kernels
2 14.5-oz cans diced tomatoes w/chilies
1 packet taco seasoning
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
24 oz (3-4) boneless skinless chicken breasts
chili peppers, chopped (optional)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Combine beans, onion, chili peppers, corn, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, cumin, chili powder and taco seasoning in a slow cooker. Place chicken on top and cover. Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. Top with fresh cilantro. Also try it with low fat cheese and sour cream (extra points).

*Instead of rice, I used crackers. And I HIGHLY recommend using just a little less chili powder and a LOT less Cumin (like 1/2 Tbsp.)....they're a little over powering.

This is my favorite part:

Servings Size: 1 1/4 cups • Calories: 204 • Fat: 1.4 g • Fiber: 10 g • Protein: 17 g

It's SO low in fat/calories and high in the good stuff!!