077. February Goals + More Kashi Goodness

As promised I've worked out my February goals. Yesterday, I spent some time thinking more about my goal-setting (why I stopped, how to make it better), and I’ve come to a couple conclusions.

First, I think part of the reason I stopped was because it was getting to the point where I was setting too many goals for myself. It’s hard to manage 15 goals in a month! A lot of them were simple things I was doing anyway. This made them less than meaningful and tedious to track. I drink water like the earth is going dry so it’s silly for me to set a goal to get my 8 glasses of water. Second, my goals, while not completely arbitrary, weren’t really working towards anything long term or any greater goal outside of “lose weight.”

So what does this mean for my February (and future) goals? First, I’m keeping it simple. I’m going to have 5 goals for February (though one of those five does have “mini-goals”). Second, most of them directly correlate with and help me achieve items on my 10 in 2010 list.

So without further ado…my February goals.

• 5lbs lost. – I want to finally reach my goal weight of 135lbs. (This is really still flexible for me. I’m not sure what my ideal weight is, but this seemed like a good starting point.) Ideally I’d like to do it by June so that I’ve lost all my weight prior to ordering my bridesmaid dress for my brother’s wedding. I don’t want to worry about losing weight once it’s been ordered and having to have additional alterations made. This means I need to lose 5 – 6 pounds a month. This is totally doable; I just need to frickin’ focus already!


• Track daily – I’ve been really terrible about tracking my food lately. I’m not even talking calorie counting (though that is my actual goal); I’ve been bad just documenting what I’m eating. How many foodie posts have you seen around herelately? Exactly my point. Obviously this is going to help me achieve the reaching my goal weight goal.


• Cardio 5 days a week
  a. Swim 2 days
  b. Spin 1 day
  c. Run 2 days
  d. Yoga 2 days
  Obviously, this is the goal with mini-goals. I found a sprint distance triathlon on June 27th that I would like to do. Final details don’t become available until March (I believe it’s a small park district run event.), but right now I’m planning to sign up. The mini-goals provide me a skeleton for triathlon training and will help me reach my 10 in 2010 goal of competing in a sprint distance triathlon. And of course, we all know cardio is good for us anyway.


• Strength training 3 days a week – This is the one goal that doesn’t directly correlate with any particular 10 in 2010 goal, but it’s one that will improve me over all. I always slack off when it comes to strength training. I need to work-out a more concrete plan, but I will make it happen.


• Create weekly meal plans and go grocery shopping weekly – Like tracking, this is something I used to be really good about doing and then it sort of fell by the wayside. Creating weekly meal plans will help keep me organized, help keep me on track to meeting my goal weight and properly fueling my body for my work-outs and triathlon training, and help me save money (10 in 2010 #10).
  

So, in keeping with my goal to track everything. It's time for today's morning snackies and my lunch!

My morning snack was two mandarin oranges. I took a photo, but it's stuck in my iPhone right now. I'll post that when I get home.

Lunch was a new adventure. When I was at Jewel last night, they had a display of Kashi frozen entrees complete with coupons. I've been wanting to try some of the Kashi frozen entrees. I don't eat a whole lot of frozen meals, but I do think they're nice to have on hand just in case. I grabbed the Black Bean Mango entree, and brought it for lunch today.

Now, to be perfectly honest, I've yet to find a Kashi product I don't like. There's a few things I haven't LOVED, but everything I've tried so far I've liked enough to finish eating. For example I wasn't horribly impressed with the Dark Chocolate Coconut bars, but I liked them enough to finish the box.

I really enjoyed this lunch. As far as frozen meals go, Kashi does a top-notch job. This tasted more like reheated leftovers than a frozen entree.

I'd heard it was spicy so I was a bit scared (my spicy tolerance maxes out around mild salsa.) It wasn't as bad as I expected at all. There was definitely a kick to it, but it was balanced out by the sweetness of the mango and the rice.

It was also a perfect, filling portion. I ate it all without feeling stuffed or starved. Usually, I need to add something frozen entrees (e.g. Lean Cuisine), but this was plenty. It's been nearly two hours and I'm still feeling satisfied.

Overall, two thumbs up to Kashi on making a great frozen entry. I will definitely be keeping my eye our for coupons and sale so I can buy a couple more of these.

072. On a Roll

I've had a very productive afternoon, but I've got a lot of slacking to make up for so here's how I've done so far.

• Shower
• Laundry
• Clean my house
• Blogs, blogs, blogs,
• Meal Planning
• Grocery Shopping
• PetCo
• Kohl's
• Pick Chris up at 5

I headed to Orland because I could hit all 4 stores I needed without having to go far between them.

My first stop was at Kohl's. I got a 30% off coupon in the mail, and since I'm still losing weight, I'm pretty much constantly needing new clothes. Plus there was so much stuff on clearance! Kohl's clearance + extra 30% off = crazy deals! I got two pairs of dress pants for about $10 each, a cashmere cardigan for about $25, and a couple other items. I also bought myself a Chicago Blackhawks hoodie. I'm one of the few people left in my group of friends who shows up to watch games without sporting team gear.

After Kohl's I hit Target. I forgot to add this to my list initially, but remembered I needed a few things when I was browsing my coupons. I got deodorant, Kashi granola bars, a gallon of bleach (If you didn't know, bleach is a cheap alternative to Liquid Plumber or any other drain clearing product. I pour a gallon of bleach down my tub every 2 - 3 months to help keep it clear.), and some Burt's Bees Deep Conditioner.

From Target I went to PetCo for a few items for Hermione. I got her a ball and some vitamin supplements. I'm worried about her getting enough vitamin C. Guinea pigs are really susceptible to scurvy.

Finally, I went grocery shopping at Trader Joe's. I absolutely love Trader Joe's. Living within a mile of Trader Joe's was probably the thing I loved most when I lived in LaGrange. I love that the organic items are really reasonably priced (especially compared to Jewel which is the primary grocery chain in my area.) I think on of my favorite things about the store is that it's not overwhelming. When I go into Jewel (or any chain grocery store), I feel really overwhelmed by all of the options. I mean, do we really need 15 different kinds of ketchup to choose from?! Unfortunately, 2:30 in the afternoon on a Sunday is not the time to go to Trader Joe's. The store was packed! Luckily, they're pretty darn efficient so I was still in and out pretty quick.

I ate a Luna bar in the car on my way home because I was starving! (Don't worry, I was safely stopped at a red light when I snapped this photo.) I'm going to make myself some lunch and get some cleaning done now. I'm also hoping to get a blog or two written before I head out to pick Chris up at 6. (He got an extra hour!)

It's time to make lunch and start cleaning. The kitchen, bathroom, living room, and bedroom are all in pretty dire need. I also need to get Hermione's cage cleaned. I think lunch is going to be a grilled cheese with apples.

Coming soon...

7 Day Vegetarian Challenge Meal Plan

YakTraks Review

Hermione photos!

044. Everything but the...Quiche

So, I ended up making a quiche for dinner. Some of my veggies were starting to look a little sad so I decided to make the quiche tonight before stuff started going rotten. So I started tossing things together and came out with my Everything but the...Quiche

In my quiche was spinach, red pepper, broccoli, Canadian bacon, and mild and sharp cheddar cheese.

While I was making dinner I snacked on some Goldfish crackers.

I've been really hungry all day today. I think my blood sugar is a bit out of control from all of my holiday indulgences. I need to get that back under control, and then I think my constant hunger will subside some.

Also, I apologize for the poor photo quality today. My camera battery was dead so I've been relying on my iPhone for photos today.

043. Back to Work

The first day back to work after a long weekend is always a mess for me. I am really awful when it comes to getting my stuff together the night before (e.g. making my lunch, knowing where everything I need to take to work is located), and it’s even worse when I’ve had a long weekend. Of course this left me running for the bus this morning.

I made the bus though, and overall, I’ve been having a pretty excellent day.

Breakfast this morning was a bowl of Kashi GoLean Crunch Honey Almond Flax Cereal. I think this is hands down my favorite cereal – not counting Cinnamon Toast Crunch of course which I could inhale by the boxful given the change. The cereal reminds me of HoneySmaks which I loved as a kid,

(Notice my little snowman salt and pepper shakers. They were part of my Christmas present from my brother's and Nicki. I love them!)

Lunch was a very boring, and highly unphotogenic, bowl of Campbell’s Chunky Healthy Request New England Clam Chowder. It was unimpressive and not all that satisfying, but that’s what happens when I fail to be mindful of packing a lunch. Tomorrow’s lunch will be better!

I noshed on a pretty tasty Clementine at my desk this afternoon.

Also, two of the small pieces of this Baklava may have found their way into my mouth. How do you say no to puff pastry with honey and pistachios?

I’m currently debating what to make for dinner tonight. The options are spaghetti squash, with sautéed zucchini and tomato basil marinara sauce or a quiche with spinach, broccoli, onion, cheese, red pepper and anything else in the fridge that looks good.

I’m hitting yoga at the gym with my mom tonight. I also want to get in some strength training at home. Angela is starting another Whittle My Middle challenge. I am going to participate and stick with it this time!

Also, I don’t remember if I mentioned this or not, but the Musselman’s gift basket I won over at The Daily Balance arrived on the 23rd. Since I now have an abundance of applesauce, I’m looking for creative things to do with it. Watch for my upcoming post Awesome Ideas for Applesauce.