Almost Back to Where I Was

I was sooo close!  The past two weeks I'd gained 3.4 lbs.  This week I lost 3.2 lbs!  I'd still like to consider it a wash.  What do you think?

Disco Groove is still my favorite Rockin' Body workout so far.  My calorie burn dropped below 300 on my HRM so I need to mix it up with another workout.  Because I'm not following the recommended schedule I'm probably going to go ahead and do Rockin' Body through the end of February.  Today I had heartburn and didn't want to do too much.  Somehow the Hard Core Abs made that all go away!  I heated up right away and wanted to do more but there wasn't any time.

I'm exited about the new program coming out next month - 21 Day Fix.  From what I've seen it's kind of a mix between Weight Watchers' portion control and a 30-minute Beachbody workout.  You can lose 10-15 lbs in just 21 days with daily workouts and food portioned out in the containers that come with the kit.  Our team has a webinar tonight with one of the coaches that went through the program during the testing phase.  Register here if you're interested in attending the webinar.  I'm considering the 21 Day Fix for my March program.  Anyone want to join me?

I relaxed too much this weekend and stayed off the computer so I didn't get those recipes typed up.  One night I heated up the little bit of leftover clementine salsa with my dinner.  It was totally gross!  That's a leftover I don't want to have again.  BLEH!

This afternoon's the next round of fillings at the dentist.  When this all started I could've sworn they only said 2 appointments for fillings.  Last week he said there'd be two more appointments - tonight and whenever we schedule the next one!  I'm so confused now about what the dentist is doing.  Part of tonight he's supposed to sand down (I think) the bone spur that's formed out the side of my gum where the one tooth was pulled.

Something I've noticed since last week is that my teeth on my left side (both upper and lower) have become sensitive to both heat and cold.  I drink warm tea or ice water on that side of my mouth and it hurts.  Something to ask the dentist tonight I guess....

Healthy Dinner Recipes - Tasty Tuesday #4

Have I scared people away?  Not many have linked up again this week.

My Favorite

Please let me know what I can do to make this linkup better!

Please share your favorite healthy dinner recipes from your blog.  Please visit at least one other recipe that's linked up.  I've enabled likes on the linky so you can select your favorites. Your likes and my favorite recipes will be pinned on my Tasty Tuesday board.  Those not highlighted the next week will be pinned on one of my other recipe boards (provided there aren't an overwhelming number of entries).

Next week's theme:  Desserts

THERA°PEARL Sports Pack Review

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

Compact and portable, the Doctor Designed Sports Pack is soft and pliable to adhere comfortably to your body. Drip and mess-free, it beats a melting ice pack or soggy hot towel any day! It’s hypoallergenic, non-toxic and, best of all, reusable. For durability, cost and effectiveness, disposables can’t match THERA°PEARL’s value.

Chill it in the fridge or freezer for analgesic cold, or pop it in the microwave for penetrating heat. The pack holds its therapeutic temperature for a full 20 minutes so you get fast, soothing relief. It’s perfect following any strenuous activity or accidental run-in with a table leg.

The dentist has been having a heck of a time with my teeth.  The broken tooth didn't want to come out during the extraction.  They gave me a reusable ice pack and pain meds for once the numbness wore off.  Too bad I didn't have the THERA°PEARL Sports Pack then to try out the cold.

With the first round of fillings the dentist seemed to struggle with it all.  I never knew there would be pain from fillings!  It wasn't nearly as bad as the extraction but it did hurt for hours after the numbness wore off.  Thankfully I had some pain meds leftover to take care of it.  The THERA°PEARL Sports Pack had arrived by then so I decided to try heat to eliminate the leftover dull aches.

After dinner that night I heated up the THERA°PEARL Sports Pack.  I'm not sure what the wattage of my microwave is so I just went with the shortest time - 30 seconds.  I lay on the couch with the pack on my face with a washrag in between thinking it would be too hot for direct contact but it wasn't.  I'm not sure if it was the washrag or not enough time but the heat didn't last very long and didn't do anything for me.

At bedtime I decided to give it another shot.  This time I heated up the THERA°PEARL Sports Pack for the longest time - 40 seconds.  There was much better heat emitted from the pack this time.  Although I didn't feel any relief from the heat by my teeth, I think the warmth of the pack soothed my mind and helped me to sleep.

Purchase the THERA°PEARL Sports pack - Rectangle Bag on Amazon

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

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Do you prefer heat or cold to soothe pain after dental procedures?

Another Gain but Back to Working Out

I've started working out again but the scale isn't ready to believe it yet.  I was up another 1.2 lbs last night.  Gotta get this body back to losing again!

Exercise
My workouts started last Wednesday with Rockin' Body.  I feel so uncoordinated trying to do these dance moves.  My body just doesn't shake/twist/move/etc the same way theirs do!  Best burn so far was when I made a combo day.

Even though it was before my time (wink wink) I felt better coordinated with the disco days.  This is also the workout that so far produces the highest burn alone.  You can see with how high my heart rate averages (nearly at the max) and maxed out 10 above my max setting.  The average was a little lower the second time I did it.

Rockin' Body has to go back to the library this weekend but I've gone ahead and purchased it so I can continue.  (Shh Benny doesn't know this!) 

Meals
Last Wednesday night I made the Chicken Cordon Blue Bake recipe from Relish.  I didn't think it had enough flavor then but when I heated leftovers for lunch yesterday...OMG it was sooo delicious!  I guess it's one of those recipes that's better the second time around.

Thursday, instead of Relish's Salmon Burger recipe I just did my regular salmon cakes recipe (from grandma)...so nothing really special.  I made the meatballs and sauce for the Swedish Meatballs recipe that night also.  The meatballs baked nicely but I just couldn't get the sauce to thicken.

Friday, I used Relish's Flank Steak Gyros recipe for the meat but my own recipe for the tzatziki.  What they had listed just was missing a little something.  No pictures were taken but Benny said the Flank Steak was the right meat so now I know what to get when we want to go Greek again LOL

I saved the Swedish Meatballs meal for Saturday since Austin said he likes them.  The sauce still wasn't thick so that was blah but the meatballs were wonderful!  Melt in your mouth type meatballs!  I wish I'd at least taken a picture of the steps for them to share.

Sunday I made a modified version of the Slow Cooker Pizza Casserole....modified because we use ground beef not ground turkey, we don't like olives, and I didn't pick up any pepperoni.  I did take pictures of this one and will have a post for it sometime this weekend.  Here's a sneak peak of the leftovers...

 
Monday I made the Chicken with Clementine Salsa.  The recipe calls for it to be grilled but we don't own a grill and it's way to cold to be outside anyway.  OMG it was sooo good!  There were a couple of things I changed with the recipe but it was wonderful anyway.  Here's a sneak peak of my plate...

What workouts or new meals have you tried recently?

Healthy Lunch Recipes - Tasty Tuesday #3

Not so many snacks linked up this time.

My Favorite

Using the nutritional information provided these muffins are 5PP

I didn't see any likes so perhaps I forgot to enable them this time around.

Please share your favorite healthy lunch recipes from your blog.  Please visit at least one other recipe that's linked up.  I've enabled likes on the linky so you can select your favorites. Your likes and my favorite recipes will be pinned on my Tasty Tuesday board.  Those not highlighted the next week will be pinned on one of my other recipe boards (provided there aren't an overwhelming number of entries).

Next week's theme:  Dinner

Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake

Wednesday night I tried the first recipe from Relish Meal Planning Service.  It's relatively simple to prepare but takes a while with cutting everything up.  I see why they classified this as a freezer recipe - make ahead, freeze, and cook later.

Serves 8

Prep Time:  15 Minutes  -  Cook Time:  40 minutes

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

(If you buy the huge breasts from Sam's Club you'll only need two of them.)

2 TBSP olive oil (not listed as an ingredient in the recipe)

Salt & pepper (not listed as an ingredient in the recipe)

1 6-oz package stuffing mix for chicken

1 10.75-oz can cream of chicken soup

1 TBSP Dijon mustard

3 cups broccoli, cut into florets

2 cups cooked ham, chopped

6 slices Swiss cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cut the chicken into cubes.  Heat 2 TBSP olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the chicken cubes and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Brown on all sides for 5-7 minutes until cooked through.  (I forgot to get the picture!)
   
3. Prepare stuffing as directed on package.  Mix soup and mustard in a medium bowl.  Stir in chicken, broccoli, and ham.  (I mixed the cooked stuffing in with the ham, broccoli, soup and mustard together in the bowl.)
   
   
4. (I combined the stuffing mixture in the skillet with the chicken.) Spoon into a 2-qt casserole dish sprayed with cooking spray.  Top with cheese slices and stuffing.
   
   
5. If preparing this recipe as a make ahead meal, cover with foil and lay flat in the freezer.
6. Bake 35-40 minutes or until heated through.

per serving: 382 calories; 45 grams protein; 12 grams total fat; 2 grams fiber; 5 grams saturated fat; 23 grams carbohydrates; 111 mgs cholesterol; 1091 mgs sodium; 10 WW points plus

Benny was confused with me cutting up the chicken.  Normally with cordon bleu you're stuffing chicken.  I've tried to stuff chicken before but wasn't very successful with it.  I like this way much better than the traditional preparation.

I don't think there was enough seasoning with this recipe.  Just salt and pepper wasn't enough...the flavor was kind of bland to me.  Benny said there was enough seasoning for him and that he wants me to keep the recipe in my stockpile.  I'll try adding garlic powder when I warm up leftovers to see if that helps any.  What spices would you add to this recipe?

And the Losing Streak is Over

Not really working out for 3 weeks and TOM put a halt to my losing streak.  I weighed in Tuesday night with a 2.2 lb gain.  The last gain I had was November 26th.  If I'd waited until Thursday again would the scale be different?

This weekend I ate my first salad since I was out of bread - ham, cheese wedge (Aldi's equivalent of the Laughing Cow brand), ranch, and a bunch of lettuce (Aldi's artisan blend I believe).  On a sandwich I'd normally have either cheese (the wedge or cream cheese) or ranch not both.  I had to have both for added flavor.

Monday night we went to Aldi's and Kroger.  I got just about everything on the shopping list (less the stuff I didn't want) for the recipes I'm trying.  This meal planning venture doesn't save me money; it costs me more!  That list was for 6 dinners, two being freezer meals.  We spent more than our normal two week's worth of groceries.  What in the world did I do wrong?

There was a bread shortage at both stores. The sandwich slims I buy at either place for under $2.  Aldi's had none and Kroger only had the name brands that were $3+.  I'm not willing to pay double for a regular purchase item!  I got Flatout bread instead.

Week 3 of  Weight Watchers' New Year, New You Challenge is moving more.  Whatever your current activity level is you're supposed to add 5 minutes more per day.  Since the vertigo happened I never settled on what workout I'm doing next.  Pretty much everything I had checked out from the library to try will need to be returned before I have a chance to complete the program.

Things have been so off lately I realized it's time to take my measurements again!  I doubt there's been changes this time around but we'll see.

Healthy Snacks Recipes - Tasty Tuesday #2

What a great turnout for my first Tasty Tuesday!  Here are the favorite breakfast recipes from last week.

Most Liked

Yeah, I know two likes isn't much but it's a start!

Oddest

I've never heard of anyone eating shrimp for breakfast!

My Favorite

Quick & easy, just the way I like!

Please share your favorite healthy snack recipes from your blog.  Please visit at least one other recipe that's linked up.  I've enabled likes on the linky so you can select your favorites. Your likes and my favorite recipes will be pinned on my Tasty Tuesday board.  Those not highlighted the next week will be pinned on one of my other recipe boards (provided there aren't an overwhelming number of entries).

Next week's recipe theme - Lunch

I Survived the Snowpocalypse!

Image Courtesy of John Kasawa / Freedigitalphotos.net

Friday afternoon Benny messaged me saying the back spigot had burst and he had to dig through the snow to find the main shutoff for the house (out by the street).  The home warranty folks said they would have someone call me back within 24 business hours, which meant by Monday afternoon.  There was NO way we were going to sit in a house all weekend without water!  I called Benjamin Franklin Plumbing to take care of it.  The plumber was able to come earlier than expected but it sure took a long time to fix!  There were several long spans of time where it was silent and I'd tell Benny that he must've fallen asleep in the crawlspace LOL

  

We had almost a foot of snow Sunday on top of the 6 inches or so already on the ground.  Then came the arctic temperatures...not as cold as we had 20 years ago but still bad.  School was supposed to start back this week but Austin's district cancelled this week.  The state says they don't have to make up Monday & Tuesday but the school board has to figure out how they're making up the rest of the week.  My work was actually closed Monday & Tuesday.  Wednesday's ride into work was horrible!  My normal 20 minute commute took an hour.  It was like driving on an old country road with all the dips and ruts and everything in between.  I had such a headache and felt so nauseous from the drive!  I'm so over this snow.

I was supposed to see the Doctor on Monday but because of the Snowpocalypse we weren't going anywhere and the Practice Manager called everyone himself to cancel appointments.  I finally got in to see the Doctor on Wednesday afternoon.

He said it's difficult to raise the HDL.  "The HDL is optimized with regular aerobic exercise, and sometimes by omega III fatty acids, such as fish oil or similar diet, and sometimes with nuts (nuts that grow on trees like almonds or walnuts) in the diet. Red wine has also been shown to raise HDL."  The Dr doesn't recommend the wine option (darn it! LOL) but said to try the nuts.  We have some shelled walnuts and pecans leftover from I can't remember when so I've been eating those.  The pecans definitely have a sweeter taste.

Because I'm on the border with the anemia the Dr suggested taking iron supplements solely around TOM since that's when I have problems.  I haven't picked up anything yet to take.

Now on to the vertigo.  The Dr described a sudden, jarring experience bringing it on (my tooth extraction) hard and then the symptoms lessening over a few weeks.  I thought he had called it a different type than what I've had before but when I messaged for the name he still said it was BPPV.

Last Thursday I weighed in down 2 lbs.  This Thursday I was down another 3.8 lbs!  How in the world am I still losing even though I haven't really had any workout since 12/23?  Am I shivering so much because of the cold that it's making me lose more? LOL

Week 2 of Weight Watchers' New Year, New You Challenge is planning and shopping for a week's menu.  Benny's normally the one to pick out the meats and I usually only get chicken when it's under $2/lb.  I'm supposed to do a review of Relish! Meal Planning Service anyway so I guess there's no time better than now to plan this.  Just have to get Benny on board with purchasing different meats LOL.

Healthy Breakfast Recipes - Tasty Tuesday #1

Welcome to my first Tasty Tuesday!  I hope those of you who're also dealing with the snow and arctic temperatures are staying safe and warm.  I'm going a little stir crazy not having left the house since Saturday.  We haven't seen temperatures this cold in 20 years but I don't remember it! LOL  (This time 20 years ago I was a freshman in high school.)

I'm trying a link up for this first time around.  Please share your favorite healthy breakfast recipes from your blog.  Please visit at least one other recipe that's linked up.  I've enabled likes on the linky so you can select your favorites. Your likes and my favorite recipes will be pinned on my Tasty Tuesday board.  (I'm still trying to figure out how to feature these recipes in next week's post.)

Next week's recipe theme: Snacks

Happy New Year! - Welcome to 2014

Sorry for skipping out on you after completing the Slim in 6 for the Holidays Challenge.  Never got in those after pictures.  It was crazy around here trying to get ready for Christmas with my family in Ohio.  It was the first time we had Christmas BEFORE Christmas so we kind of had to rush everything.

My Slim in 6 for the Holidays Losses

4.8 pounds

.5 inch off my thighs

2 inches off my chest

2.5 inches off my waist

TOTAL WEIGHT LOST FOR 2013 - 62.8 lbs (as of 12/26)

I came across the Weight Watchers' New Year, New You Challenge yesterday.  This 4 week challenge appears to be designed to help you get a jump start on your weight loss goal for 2014.  By committing to the challenge you're vowing to look towards the future not the past.  There are weekly tasks to help you be healthier and successful in reaching your goal.  Tasks are designed to keep you mindful in everything you do and help you navigate your journey.  This sounds like a great idea so I signed up as a participant.

Week 1 has two tasks, one immediate and the other long term.  The immediate task is to try food that you've never had before, preferably whole foods.  Well, I tried almond milk and other lettuces at my grandparents' house during our Christmas and PB2 (love it!) later so I say I'm good for this one.

The long term task is thinking outside the scale.  This involves a separate goal that has nothing to do with your weight or clothing size.  For me I think it would be to participate in some kind of personal development program.  I've been reading books but they're just not clicking for me, not holding my concentration.  Perhaps participating in a program with hands-on activity is the key.  Now to find these programs that won't cost an arm and a leg...

This new year also marks some changes to the blog.  First of all I'm moving my weekly updates to Wednesdays.  It just makes more sense to post the day after I've weighed in at Weight Watchers rather than the Sunday night after.  #WEIGHINWEDNESDAY

The second change is the introduction of healthy recipes on Tuesdays.  Mostly these recipes will be contributed but every once in a while it'll be something I've done (when I felt creative in the kitchen).  So what's the best way to do my weekly "call for recipes"?  #TASTYTUESDAY Non-recipe guest posts will be on Thursdays.

The third change is in the works.  I'm looking at ending Casually Cassi and moving all product reviews here.  It's just not getting the interaction and viewership that I thought I'd have.  I'm actually not getting more opportunities because of that.  Please leave your opinions of this transition in the comments.