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Tag Archives: Meal Planning

And The Bass Keeps Running, Running

18 Jun

Only a few more days til my 25th birthday and one day until I got home for a few days.I feel like the past few months have been crazy for this chick here. I haven’t been the best blogger, but I hope y’all just bear with me. My training schedule for work has been crazy. I’ve mostly been working nights, so I am quite tired. But when I can, I manage a workout or two, even at 1:00am!You guys are awesome at being patient with me. Totally appreciate it. Like this weird picture I forgot to show you from Saturday. My friends and I went to an art festival in downtown Beverly, MA. Free Greek froyo? Yes please! So that’s the weird white thing you see. It was yummy.I promise myself I need to get better with meal planning. I seriously just have to stop being a, pardon my french, lazy ass mofo. I bought some asparagus from Trader Joe’s. I really didn’t care for the flavor, but I am just going to heat it up and “pan fry it” in some olive oil and garlic. That should do the trick. And I’ve been making my own trail mix; bought some chips, crans and the cashs. Mmm, love this combo.I also gotta stop with the dairy. I just feel icky, but oh my gosh, why is dairy so good? I had this pomegranate Greek yogurt with blackberries and the Q’ia cereal. Damn, it was tasty!I hope everyone is doing well! I am finishing this post to you at 2:00am… only four more days until my birthday! You know next week’s WIAW is going to be awesome.

Question: I’m sure I’ve asked this before but I also love people’s ideas! How do you get yourself back on track, whether with exercise or meal planning?

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Posted by on June 18, 2013 in Meal Ideas Made Simple, Tidbits On Healthy Living

 

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Grocery Haul Monday

29 Apr

Normally, when I was a good little blogger, I was doing meal planning Monday. Well I sort of have that for you today, but more in a grocery haul style.

Yesterday I had a fun day with my mom. Yes, we have fun going grocery shopping. Too much I think. We first went to have lunch at the Burger Joint in Cross County Mall in Yonkers. The burger is so yummy and I love that they use hormone-free cows!943774_643506328996264_220329088_nWe walked around the mall and got some fun goodies. Of course, we had to stop in to get some froyo from Cups. I got a mix of vanilla, original, cheesecake and white chocolate macadamia. I topped it with honey, strawberries and pumpkins seeds.IMAG1172On to the groceries! Now as usual I have some eggs, rice, protein powder and organic cheese at home. I needed some more beans, milk, spinach and fruit. 941090_643675198979377_1316549275_n (1)And I found this awesome honey almond gluten-free find from Nature’s Path. It’s really good and tastes just like their regular granolas. I’m happy they did this; go Nature’s Path!943580_643675212312709_291758444_nAlso got some oats and nuts…578857_643675208979376_959531861_nOh and some delicious plain 2% Chobani. I am trying to cut down my sugars and going from 22g (most  flavored ones) to 7g (the plain ones) is a huge difference.577502_643675232312707_942040734_nI just added two tsps of agave to the Greek yogurt and added a little granola and pumpkin seeds and it was delicious. Plus a side of grapes for some extra sweetness.575438_10101555469653210_699461404_nMeal wise; I will be doing eggs, beans, rice and salads. Some chicken or beef here and their. Snacks is usually nuts, cheese and/ or fruit. Breakfast is some form of oats. That’s just how I roll. To conclude this food filled post, I hope everyone has an awesome Monday and rest of the week!

Question: How does this week look for you? Normal, stressful, extra busy or all the above? This week is busy for me. I start work this Wednesday and another new client on Friday. Woot!

 
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Posted by on April 29, 2013 in All About Sabrina

 

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25 Before 25 Change: A Paleo Week?

18 Feb

Instead of doing a week vegan, I am deciding to do a week Paleo.

Why? Well I have been doing a ton of research the past few days on soy and the Paleo Diet after watching the movie “In Search of The Perfect Human Diet.” It goes into great detail about food during the time of our ancestors and how they didn’t suffer with any food related problems until the introduction of grains, soy, dairy and, of course, processed foods.

Soy Products

 If you haven’t seen it, I definitely recommend you check it out. I know for my New Year’s Resolution I opted not to eat meat and do Vegetarian. But like the weather in Massachusetts, I always change my mind. Now, doesn’t mean I am going to grab any piece of meat I find. I still stick to the “buy organic, humanly raise, grass-fed antibiotic and hormone free” mantra I declared last year. Easier said than done, I know.

Local, Grass-Fed Beef? Yes, Please!

Through all my research, the best article I found related to all this was this one from Cave Girl Eats. It summed up information on soy and grains (and their “anti-nutrient” properties) as well as the health benefits from eating a Paleo Diet. How do I feel about Vegetarian diets? Honestly, I still feel like eating Veg gives me the most energy and feels best for my *ehem* bowel movements.

Vegetarian Food Pyramid

When will this occur? Well I do have to finish up my groceries and not having a million dates with people before I leave. To be honest I am tired of labels. I try to stick to what my body enjoys which is mostly vegetarian, eliminating oats and brown rice, and eating dairy products. I also got rid of the scale and calorie counting. Honestly some days I eat 2,600 calories and others 1,600.

Ditch the Scale!

Granted I know more about nutrition then the average American, but I know what works for me. And how I am now seems to work but now I want to try out this challenge of eating a week Paleo. My bile reflux is under control and I am not as gasy anymore with my current diet.

Paleo Food Pyramid

However, I still am a tad bloated so I want to see what this diet will do for me. Maybe it will do wonders. Maybe it will do nothing at all. But I am going to give a go. Oh and check out my meal planning for this week. Yes, I’ve been good. Just click the image to enlarge, will ya?

Looks Like Paleo Week Starts This Sunday!

Looks Like Paleo Week Starts This Sunday!

Question: Have you heard of the Paleo Diet? What’s your take on it? And have you heard any crazy information on soy and it’s “anti-nutrient” properties. Gee nutrition information seems endless.

I’ll just stick to what works and call it a day. (Note: Click images for their original source!)

 
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Posted by on February 18, 2013 in All About Sabrina, Tidbits On Healthy Living

 

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Why Yes, I Am Planning!

04 Feb

Happy Monday my friends! This week is going to be a crazy one. When do I not say that? I guess that’s just a typical day in the world of Sabrina.

As the title says, I am planning for the week ahead! It terms of eats, it starts from yesterday and will end for Wednesday. Four days of the same eats isn’t bad at all.

Since I am going to NY for my dad’s birthday mid week and I don’t want to buy anything that will go bad. I probably won’t use it until Sunday. Here are the eats and please excuse the recycled pictures:

What’s on the menu?IMG_20130124_212059Breakfast: Cinnamon-Raisin Breakfast Cake
IMG_20130112_181025Snack: Light String Cheese w/ Raw Almonds & PearwrapLunch: Brown Rice Wrap w/ Spinach & Cheesy Egg CakeIMG_20130103_183130Snack: Stonyfield Blends (Low-Fat Vanilla)IMG_20130110_145611Dinner: Spinach Salad w/ Sunflower & Pumpkin Seeds, Almonds, Cheddar & Black Beans (use your imagination and remove the raisins and swap the eggs for black beans)cakeSnack: Protein Cake or Yogurt (or a bit of both, hehe)

Now what about workouts?

  • Sunday: Shoulders + Elliptical (20 minutes)
  • Monday: Total Body #2 + Jog (20 minutes)
  • Tuesday: Yoga [+ Cardio]
  • Wednesday: Lower Body + Arc (20 minutes)
  • Thursday: Rest Day
  • Friday: Yoga [+ Optional Cardio] or Total Body #1 + Jog (20 minutes)
  • Saturday: Active Rest Day

Question: What does this week look like for you? I hope y’all have a good week and stay tuned for a delicious cake recipe from yours truly this week!

 
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Posted by on February 4, 2013 in Meal Ideas Made Simple, Snacks For Munching, Tidbits On Healthy Living

 

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Meal Planning & Chocolate Chunk Mini Cakes

03 Dec

I am finally doing meal planning again, but it’s just going to be a quickie. I need to start doing food in advanced again due to the fact that I have a final in less than two weeks. No time to waste and every second counts.

This week and using some of the foods my mom got me. I went to Whole Foods and the regular market yesterday to pick up spinach, oranges, bananas and pears. I also got more granola and a little bit of two different kinds of trail mix (all peanut, walnut and sesame seed free!).IMG_20121202_130422I was craving gnocchi, so I got the gluten-free one from Whole Foods. It’s $4.99 for two servings, which is pricey but once in a blue moon it’s okay.IMG_20121202_124936

Here are my eats until Thursday. As you can see, the bottom tells you the things I have left which I will decide how to incorporate into my next batch of meals. Enjoy!MPlanI also have a yummy variation on the chocolate protein dessert cake. I used Chobani’s vanilla chocolate chunk to make it extra moist. It’s easy and very delicious. You can even eat this for breakfast as the whole cake without chocolate chips has about 240 calories. Enjoy!IMG_20121202_132009Chocolate Chunk Mini Cake Ingredients (Makes 2 Mini Cakes):

  • 1 Chobani Vanilla Chocolate Chunk Champions Container
  • 2 Tbsps of Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
  • 3 Tbsps White Rice Flour (Or GF All Purpose works too!)
  • 1 Egg White (from a large egg)
  • 1 Tbsp of Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (Or Your Choice!)
  • 1/4 tsp of Baking Powder
  • 1 Packet of Stevia (*If you want it extra sweet!)

Mix everything very well in a small bowl. Then divide the batter between two small plates, ramekins, etc. Be sure to spray them with cooking spray first. Sprinkle a few chocolate chips on top of both cakes.

Microwave each cake for 1 to 2 minutes, depending on your microwave. Let cool for two minutes then eat! Perhaps you could top with more chocolate chips, whip cream, coconut flakes. Yum!

Question: Are you good at meal planning or have you slacked off like I have? Not anymore, it’s time to get back into it. Plus it helps me save money and use up what I already have.

 
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Posted by on December 3, 2012 in Meal Ideas Made Simple, Snacks For Munching, Sweets and Treats, Tidbits On Healthy Living

 

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Meal Planning: Week of October 28th

28 Oct

Happy Sunday!

Last night I went to hang out with my roomie and the girls in Boston. It was fun and a nice change of pace for me since I am a party girl what so ever. I went dressed up as a “Victoria Secret” Angel. This Hot for Halloween was definitely a challenge for me, but I managed to succeed!

Meal Planning:

I got a little lazy and didn’t feel like doing the meal planning in a chart, so I just decided to do a general break down of the meals into breakfasts, lunches/ dinners and snacks for this week.

Breakfasts:

  1. Maple Almond Butter “Muffin Top” Sandwich (w/ almond butter in middle)
  2. Waffles w/ Raspberries & Almond Butter
  3. Maple Oat Banana Pancakes w/ Almond Butter

Lunches/ Dinners:

  1. Garlic Baked Tofu w/ Veggies & Baked Potato
  2. Fruit & Cheese Platter
  3. “Not So” Chili w/ Brown Rice & Baked Plantain
  4. Trader Joe’s GF Pizza w/ Spinach

Snacks!

  1. Luna Bars (courtesy of a friend)
  2. Stonyfield Organic Yogurt
  3. String Cheese & Almonds
  4. Pears or Apples
  5. Wasa Cracker w/ Hard-Boiled Egg

I’m off to do some ready for homework then possibly going out to lunch with roomie and other peoples. Enjoy your Sunday every one!

 
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Posted by on October 28, 2012 in Meal Ideas Made Simple, Snacks For Munching, Tidbits On Healthy Living

 

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Meal Planning(ish) Monday

08 Oct

Why ish? Because, I only have four days set for the week. Technically I started my meal plan on Friday, so it does make a week. I haven’t been going crazy with meal planning, which is great considering what I mentioned in yesterday’s post. Except that I have a huge thing of blueberries in my freezer and I had no clue what to do with them or what goes well or anything.It was honestly driving me nuts, but I finally found something quick and it was a DUH moment. Make frozen chocolate covered blueberries! I found this simple dessert on Nature Ripe Farm’s website. It’s little frozen blueberry clusters, which I think is great.Mix blueberries with dark chocolate and you have super antioxidant power in a dessert form. I mean come on, how can you not want to eat this! Any who, on Sunday I geared up for a mini jog/walk around my new neighborhood.Checking out the sights.So pretty.Bliss <3This just killed it, in a funny way. I had to do a double take. Ha!I then went to go to run some errands and decided to get into the Halloween spirit. Gotta get ready for Halloween, hot for Halloween that it. Have a happy week :)

 
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Posted by on October 8, 2012 in Meal Ideas Made Simple, Sweets and Treats

 

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Meal Planning: Week of September 22nd

23 Sep

Meal planning is going to be a bit different from now on. I found an awesome meal planning template from Microsoft Office. It’s way easier then just putting what foods I am going to have for each meal. I like that I can just go back and modify it at anytime as well.

And so you know, you can see below why it starts on the 22nd. I’m not slow, I know my dates. Here are what my eats look like for the week (*click image to view clearer).What’s with the blank box for this Friday? Well it kind of depends on what I have left from the week. It will just be a mash of left overs. You will notice that some days have less total calories then others. The reason for this is, I always end up have an extra snack that’s 200-300 calories.

This will fit perfect with maintain weight calories, which is 1700-1900 depending on my activity level. Some days I do intense cardio, others I do yoga and some days I just rest. You need to have at least one rest day to let your body recover. My rest days are Wednesday and Saturday.

That’s all to report for this morning. Dessert last night was heavenly; vanilla soymilk with a dark chocolate coconut almond butter cookie. You have to try them!Have a great work/school/etc. week :)

 
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Posted by on September 23, 2012 in Meal Ideas Made Simple, Tidbits On Healthy Living

 

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Meal Planning: Week of September 10th

09 Sep

I haven’t done one of these in a week or so. This week I do have a meal planning Monday for you with different foods. The fall season in upon us and my food preference change to more “hearty and comforting.”

This will probably be the food line up for a couple of weeks due to the fact that I bought food for two weeks (except random fruits or veggies). Pretty self explanatory, no?

Breakfast: Van’s GF Waffles w/ Almond Butter & Berries or Maple Almond Butter “Muffin Top” w/ Almond Butter & Roasted AlmondsLunch: Turkey, Mozzarella and Spinach Wrap or Tomato Basil Soup w/ Crackers and Mozzarella CheeseDinner: Chicken w/ Black Beans, Broccoli and Brown Rice or Turkey Burger Patty w/ Steamed Brussel Sprouts and Baked PotatoSnacks:
Vanilla Yogurt
Luna Vanilla Almond Bar
Almonds & Light String Cheese
Bananas, Oranges or Apples
Dark Chocolate

 
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Posted by on September 9, 2012 in Meal Ideas Made Simple

 

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Not Getting Enough?

01 Sep

Am I not getting enough of appropriate food into my system? I’ve been super hungry lately (well again) and everyone is telling me I look thinner but I weigh the same and my workouts are pretty much the same. So what’s the deal? No clue.

But I decided to go to Choose My Plate and do a daily food plan and this was my results:I did my activity level based on just 30 minutes a day, though there are times that I have intense activity for an hour or so. I just wanted something as an average. These are my stats as a 5′ 6”, 141lbs, female at age 24.

I did it for yesterday and I found out that I am short several things. I’m not sure how accurate it is, but maybe this will explain why I am losing fat as oppose to weight (because I pretty much weigh the same). I think I somewhat still have this internal hesitant with eating a lot of calories. When I was losing weight, I went down to 1300 calories per day and now based on this food pyramid, I should have eaten more than 1300 calories by the time dinner rolls around (based on my calculation). I guess it’s mentally difficult for me to grasp that concept.

How am I going to fix this? Well I’m definitely going to be upping my dairy/ protein intake with things like turkey, veggie burgers, eggs, beans, Greek yogurt and light string cheese. We will come back to this next week as I update you on how these changes go.For breakfast today, I had two of these maple almond butter “muffin tops” with a banana. I woke up at 5:00am to make sure I did everything I needed to do. I’m so proud!This was my protein(ish) packed lunch for today. I had a egg sandwich with two slices of bacon and spinach, a sliced up orange, almonds and light cheese. I definitely can sense the difference a bit in eating more protein.For my snack later on I had a Luna Toasted Nuts ‘n Cranberry. Extra protein for a very long drive. Drive? Oh yes, crazy Sabrina went back to the NYC. My boss gave me Labor Day off since I worked on the 4th of July. Yay for more family time and three day weekend(ish)!It’s even more exciting because my cousins, aunt, uncle and grandpa are there. I haven’t seen them in about three years, so it should be pretty fun. Oh and I convinced my mom to join Planet Fitness and I got a free T-shirt for referring her. Yay!

Alright time to rest, I am beat! Enjoy your Labor Day weekend folks!

 
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Posted by on September 1, 2012 in All About Sabrina

 

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