February

This last month has been a challenging one for my weight loss. Work is really 'ramping' up with the end of the federal fiscal year coming up at the end of March and I am super stressed because of this. We did however, just get back from our vacation to Florida and though I wasn't expecting to, I lost weight. In fact, I lost 8 lbs during the trip (and a week afterwards as I had misplaced my scale). So I am officially at -11lbs which means, I only have two pounds until I reach my birthday goal of -13lbs. I am definitely heading in the right direction.
The dots exercise, though an excellent idea, fell by the waist-side in the last month and I am hoping we can get it going again, but have no huge hopes for anything solid in terms of exercise until partway into April when my workload becomes reasonable again. I also want to work on some Spring exercise ideas for when going outside for exercise becomes an option again - but I definitely have time to think about that one some more.
Dave and I bought some really good food this past week and have once again started making lunches to bring to work. Though we had been trying to get the best takeout food for lunch, it was still fastfood and not very good for us. We also got some new recipes while in Florida and I have already made one of them for dinner (Lazy Man Cabbage Rolls) which was a big hit. So the food is also heading in the right direction.
Overall, I am pretty pleased with myself and my progress in the last month, especially considering the excuses I could have used for not getting this far. Hopefully I will be able to keep this up for a while longer.

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Tasty Tuesday: Mr. Bow Jangles

Mr. Bow Jangles has been posted on this blog before, but it is so good that I have decided to repost it - this time with photos.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp each honey and lime juice
1 Tbsp each olive oil, Dijon mustard and balsamic vinegar
3 cloves garlic
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cubed
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
8 oz bow tie pasta uncooked
3 cups broccoli
1/2 cup chopped green onions

Directions:
Whisk together soy sauce, honey, lime juice, olive oil, mustard, vinegar and garlic. Pour marinade over chicken cubes and let marinate for 30 minutes.Pour 1 cup boiling water over tomatoes and let soak for 5 minutes - drain, chop and set aside.
Chop broccoli into bite size pieces and cook in boiling water until tender. Prepare pasta according to package. Cook pasta in boiling water until tender.Transfer Chicken and marinade (and onions) to large non-stick skillet. Cook over medium heat until chicken is cooked through. Mix everything together in a large mixing bowl and serve.Notes: I tend to leave the tomatoes out since I don't really like them and it is still very yummy. I also only use 2 chicken breasts and add more broccoli. Make sure the marinade comes to a boil when you are cooking it and the chicken to ensure any bacteria are killed.

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