Fiesta chicken!

I'm behind on my blogging again.  I ate some cajun roast beef Sunday night and got glutened.  So basically I've been dealing with bloating, fatigue, and general ickiness this week. Anyhow, Sunday was obviously Mother's Day.  I got my mom a Mary Higgins Clark book and a shirt.  I'm lucky enough to have a really awesome mom, she's nice, funny, and would do anything to help me! 

My daughter got me a penguin necklace!  I LOVE penguins.  I think they are the cutest things ever! :) Plus this necklace is interchangeable so it matches everything! 

Anyhow on to the food!  I recently tried Orville Redenbacher Natural salt and lime popcorn. I really liked it.  I usually don't like popcorn much, so that's saying something.  On the other hand my husband is huge into popcorn and didn't care for it.  Go figure! 

I've been trying to get more veggies into my lunches.  The past two days I have had this salad.  Contents are: shredded cabbage, shredded carrots, tuna, a sprinkle of shredded cheddar, and Annie's Tuscany dressing. Strawberries for dessert.  Pretty tasty.  

Dinner tonight was very yummy.  I had some chicken breast thawed and wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it.  I decided to make it fiesta style!  First I cooked some brown rice (not the quick kind).  When it was done I stirred in cayenne pepper and a pat of butter.  I then stirred in a bit of salsa verde.  For the chicken I sauteed some garlic in olive oil then added the chicken.  Sprinkled with cumin, cayenne, and paprika.  I cooked this in my cast iron skillet.  I love cast iron!  I topped the rice with organic pinto beans, the chicken, a bit more salsa verde, a sprinkle of cheddar, and a dollop of light sour cream and guacamole.  Wow, so good!  I'm actually really excited to eat this for lunch tomorrow! 

Well better get back to watching Dexter.  We found out season four was on Showtime on Demand so we added Showtime promptly.  I am crazy addicted to this show.  Someone has ruined the ending for me, but I'm enjoying watching it anyhow.  

Kickboxing night!

I've been lazy and slacking in the kickboxing department lately. I love going and I'm always glad afterwards, it's just hard to get motivated to show up.  The class is at 6:30 which also happens to be my dinner time.  I'm a grumpy beast when I'm hungry!  So I snacked on a Think Thin bite.  I don't really like the fakey ingredients but  for 100 calories and 8 grams of protein I'll take it.

Surprisingly this held me over through class, dinner preparation, and a shower!  These are also gluten free.  Always a plus!

Dinner was baked chicken legs, breaded with Hol Grain gluten free breading mix,  homemade cinnamon apple sauce, and steamed green beans.  Easy and delicious! :) 

As for dessert, I had my most favorite chocolate candies.  While visiting with my cousin in Ohio I visited a Malley's chocolate shop.  On an impulse I grabbed a box of  Himalayan Pink Salt caramels.  I don't usually care for caramels but the pink salt lured me in!  Well they are the best EVER!  Sadly they were a limited time only and could not be ordered online.  So my fabulous cousin went back and got me seven more boxes.  I did give a couple away to avoid temptation.  I've got to savor the rest for as long as possible.  I limited myself to two this evening! 

Project jogging...yeah I still suck at it!

I am determined that I will be able to jog a reasonable distance by summer's end! Of course knowing me a reasonable distance may be a mile. I don't have a lot of ambition! :)  Seriously I think it's cool when other people run marathons but as for myself I see no need.  I can't envision a scenario where I'll be required to run that far, plus I know other people of all shapes, sizes, and ages have done it so I don't feel the need to prove I could.  So yeah, basically these are justifications for being lazy and unmotivated! ;P  Anyhow I do feel the need to be able to run some without falling over gasping with a side cramp.  I could be chased by rabid dogs or something , you never know.  So I am taking the walk/jog approach.  This worked last year and I was able to jog a decent bit, and then I got mono.  Back to square one.  Tonight I walk/jogged two miles.  More than I was able to do Friday night, so it's a start.  Afterward I continued my new lifting routine with biceps and chest.  I love lifting.  If I didn't have excess pudge I'd skip cardio all together.  One of the best thing about lifting is getting to snack on protein shakes afterwards! 

  


This is my favorite recipe.  Mango banana!  1/2 cup of vanilla unsweetened almond milk, 1/2 a small banana, 1/3 cup frozen mango, 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder (I used Kroger's Naturally Preferred), sprinkling of clove and cinnamon.  Blend and enjoy!  175 calories and 19 grams of protein! 

Dinner tonight was an all-American classic!  Burger and fries! Healthy style!  These were ground buffalo, sauteed portabellas, and swiss on Udi's whole grain gluten free bread.  Served with baked Parmesan fries.

I'll close out with a couple of random pictures.  This is Buttercup letting me hold her like a baby!  I do this when she's being super pushy and needs attention. 

  Finally here is a nice spring picture of the New River in Hinton, WV.  This is the area right beside the Bluestone Dam.  Very pretty and peaceful! :)