[367 calories, incl. coffee]

How can it be a bad day with a breakfast like that? Actually, to be honest, I used this Ellie Krieger’s recipe for blueberry buckwheat pancakes yesterday (these are leftover pancakes) and they’re not very exciting… kinda dry actually and very healthy tasting. I don’t like it when my healthy food tastes healthy. You know what I mean? I topped it with some pomegranate syrup (yes, I still have some leftover… it’s in an air tight container and seems to preserve quite nicely) and after snapping a photo I also added a bunch of yogurt as frosting. That really moistened up these babies

I had an eye exam before work, which made me a little queezy. The whole process of changing lenses and making my head spin with all the numbers I had to pick (and hello, most of them looked blurry anyway!) was very uncomfortable. The doctor said I have to get glasses for driving at night. Boo! Anyways, good thing there was cake at work to cheer me up! I cut up 1/2 slices so I could taste both of them. On the left you see a little strawberry shortcake slice and on the right a brownie type thing. Both were awesome!! By the way, this is what I mean when I say I’m trying to be more flexible. Obviously cake was not on my planned eating schedule, but I did bring a slice of my cheesecake brownie which will have to wait until tomorrow for me. No probs. Instead I enjoyed this and am very happy I did. Depriving myself does not work so I’m making other changes to fit everything in, guilt free!

[300 calories?]

[152 calories]

Dirty looking? Maybe. Delicious? Definitely!!!

Lunch was the bomb! This is 1/2 of TJ’s ciabatta roll with laughing cow cheese and 2oz of steak + a simple salad of mixed greens, sauteed grape tomatoes and zucchini balls, dressed in 1T of Annie’s woodstock dressing. Oh yeah, good stuff! That’s a meal to get excited about

[340 calories]

By the way, the steak was leftover from dinner last night. I rubbed it with Zesty’s texas chicken rub (omitting the onion powder of course – we don’t keep that stuff in the house! ) and it was SO flavorful! Spicy but not too spicy – just the right amount of kick And look at the pretty colors of everything in the rub! I saved a bunch for another day when there isn’t enough time for marinading.

And this was my mid-afternoon snack. Sorry it looks so pathetic… this is just a large bowl. I promise it was filling and delicious and did not taste like diet food.

[102 calories]

Finally dinner! I’ve eaten quite a bit throughout the day so if I lived alone dinner would probably be way lighter. The husband does need to eat, though, and I’m in charge of dinner most nights. No worries – this was a great dish that we both enjoyed and now I get to share it with you! I followed this recipe for Rachel Ray’s thai shrimp curry with chopped lettuce and basil lime couscous, omitting the oil (just sprayed the pan), the scallions (again, those are not invited to this house!) and lettuce (just didn’t feel like it). I also used only 1lb of shrimp (all we had) and 1 cup of couscous (because it’s plenty!) to make 4 servings.

[369 calories]

Hmm, where are the mushrooms in that pic? They must be hiding… there were mushrooms in there! This was a great Asian inspired dish.. and very easy to make! Plus, everything except for mushrooms you are likely to have at home any time so it makes for a great meal on days when you’re low on groceries but still want a true home-cooked meal. I’d definitely recommend this recipe!

And now I have lunch pre-packed too. Love it! Ahha, here are those mushrooms

Today’s grand total: 1800 calories. I like to stay under 1650 but I did exercise today so I’m not sweating the slightly higher figure… as long as I don’t repeat it tomorrow

WORKOUT

I took another Rope’n class at the gym today. I literally bounced out of my desk chair when it was time to go… I was SO excited! The class was very challenging in a great way. Lots of cardio with all those jump rope intervals. Loved it! Total calories burnt: 460.  I’m a little lazy to get off the coach and give you the full stats. Please forgive me

And that’s how you do Monday! I’m ready for this week! Bring it on!!!