Hungry Halloween

Our whole family is going to be food tonight!
Here's a sneak...

Weekend Weigh In 5

A little late but here is the weekend weigh in. Here's what you might have missed this week...

Jogging Again

Sushi Shoutout

Workouts for the Terrified

Low Cal Classic

So on to the goals...


LIVE AN ACTIVE LIFE 
This week in addition to starting Ease into 5K all over again, we also picked up some bikes. I'll blog about it at a later date but I'm sure somewhere there was an important note about bike seats that I missed...ouch!

EAT DELICIOUSLY
Oh we ate deliciously. We could have made much better choices this week. I'm not sure how badly this will effect my weekly goals since the battery on our scale went out this week and has yet to be replaced.

READ FOOD LABELS  
Yeah...about that....

NOT BLOW OUR RENT AT THE GROCERY STORE
We stayed under our two week at a time budget and even grabbed some extra treats. I bought the ingredients for that red velvet poke cake that's all over pinterest. I'll let you know how that goes.

Week 5 of Cajun in California...a giant leap for active living! Yay!

Shamelessly Jacked Kids Menu - Grilled Cheese

When I decided to start this blog I wanted it to be about how we are fitting in here in Cali but also how I cheat the system into eating what I want by making the things I love with better ingredients.

I hate to say this is a "recipe" because it's not. What it is really is a combination of low calorie ingredients that you can use for an easy lunch or dinner. Plus, I write about things that taste good and this certainly qualifies AND it's a dinner for two so win-win. 

Last time I was in San Diego I was there for work and flew in early. I was at a swanky hotel and starving so I made my way down to the hotel's restaurant to eat alone. Because I either have no fear or my shame button was turned off, I ordered the most bizarre lunch: a glass of wine and a grilled cheese sandwich.

Now before you judge me: it was grilled cheese month AND that's a real holiday I did not make up AND if you're eating alone you better do it like a boss and have a glass of wine. I don't care if you've just ordered off the kids menu.

The PTA meeting at the table next to me was in full judge mode and I can tell you I did not care one bit. That grilled cheese was DELICIOUS.

It was so good I went home and started ordering grilled cheese everywhere. I can tell you that in Baton Rouge one of my favorite grilled cheese sammys is from The Bread Box on Essen. It's called the "Grown Up Grilled Cheese" and it's like a heavenly cheese explosion. 


So a week or two ago I started to crave it again and just knew that I'd be tossing it a lot of calories between the cheese, butter, and bread. Add to this I also wanted tomato basil soup. I'm greedy like that!

If you want a low cal Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup option pick up these ingredients:

4 slices Sara Lee 45 calorie bread
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter (or less)
2 slices low calorie Pepper Jack
Campbell's Harvest Tomato with Basil 

(DO NOT get their tomato soup...you want this one! Trust me. It's delicious and I could have pretended it was homemade and Husband would have never known the difference!)

This will not, I repeat will not, taste as good as the grown up grilled cheese at The Breadbox. Lower those expectations...

Basically you make the grilled cheese sandwich the same way since the dawn of grilled cheese time and you heat the soup on the stove.

This makes two sandwiches and the soup has two servings (real servings, not pretend ones that food companies put on packaging that do not reflect what a normal person would eat. I'm talking to YOU Girl Scouts of America!)

With these options your grilled cheese AND soup will come out to be around 350 calories. That's absurdly low. And it's pretty filling. I mean I could eat another sandwich cause it is delicious, but I never have. 

I made it this week because I was sick and I couldn't bare the thought of cooking or eating chicken noodle soup. I have to say it was a winner!


If you have any other cheats to a lighter, delicious, easy meal - let me know!

XO,
Andrea

5 Scary Workout Visuals

Halloween is ONE WEEK AWAY. It is one of my most favorite holidays. Why? Because dressing up is awesome y'all! Also, I met Husband on Halloween so it's like Valentines Day for us weirdos...

As previously discussed in another post, I have irrational fears when it comes to workout machinery.

I am, however, a big believer in workout visualizations. While I can be quite content to listen to music or watch tv while in the gym, what really gets me motivated is visualizing that I'm somewhere else. Visualizations for me are usually being a part of a competition or being chased. Plain and simple.

My all time favorite workout visualization is that I am competing in a Real World/Road Rules Battle/Duel/Do any of those people have jobs outside of these competitions?

So to help get you in the mood to run like the wind (even on a treadmill if you are so brave) are some of my favorite "Scary As Heck" visualizations to scare the elastic out of your norts:

Ohhh...I'm already freaked out!

1. Being chased by Zombies.

(via zombie junky)

I know there is "an app for that." I also know people are totally into the Walking Dead. But I'd like to put it to you that the scariest of all zombies are those featured in the movies 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later. WHY THE HELL CAN THOSE ZOMBIES SPRINT!?!? Isn't it a rule that they move slowly and drag their legs like mummies? No? Can we make it a rule? Imagine "the infected" chasing you and I'm sure you're heart rate will get right where you need it.

2. Saw Challenges

(via tvtropes)

These movies are dumb. We all know it. They are kind of like the "Crocs" of the horror genre. No one really understands why they are so successful yet you know like 20 people who have seen them all. What are we on like Saw 37? Anyway, pick a move you hate (go ahead and say planks cause only the crazies love those). Imagine that weird like clown is going to saw you in half if you don't hold those planks longer! You'll hold it. Why? Cause clowns are scary as heck. Fact.

3. Swimming for your LIFE!

(via fanpop)

I do have a fear of water I can't see the bottom of, so the odds of me swimming in any ocean are very low. Pools are where I like to pretend I can swim. Pools are also where I like to pretend that killer sharks are out to get me. Jaws is the go to, but what about Deep Blue Sea y'all? Spoiler alert: the shark ate Samuel L. Jackson. Sharks clearly have zero respect and thus should be feared...

4. Scary Spins

(via google images)

Y'all know there is only one truly terrifying bike moment in cinema: The Shining. Hop on that stationary bike and pedal yourself away from those two scary little girls. Need I say more?

5. Halloween Hiding Spots

(via cinema strikes back)

My favorite scary movie collection has to be Halloween. I even like Halloween H20 (maybe I shouldn't admit that). Michael Myers is the best villain. He doesn't say anything. You don't REALLY know what he looks like and he doesn't care who you are...ya dead! I like to imagine that I'm poor Jamie Lee Curtis (in her young and fabulously 70s days) hiding out in the closet. Hold those wall sits as long as you can without screaming bloody murder.



Hopefully this inspires you in your workouts. I love a good workout visualization and if you have a good one I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to hear it! That and I'd love to know what you're going to be for Halloween... TELL ME!

XO,
Andrea

Dreams of Sushi

Yesterday morning I woke up feeling miserable and I still managed to get my jog on. I don't know if that was a good idea or a bad one but mentally I felt better while physically I just wanted to curl up into a ball and watch Netflix which is EXACTLY what I did. 

Husband and I watched a documentary we'd been wanting to see for a while called Jiro Dreams of Sushi.

We both love sushi and initially I thought it would be just a documentary about one of the greatest sushi chefs in the world, Jiro Ono. 

It was so beautifully done. 

The visuals of beautiful works of sushi art set to brilliant music. 

I don't want to tell you the whole story because the simplicity of it is the best part. But I will tell you that people reserve 1 of 10 seats in his restaurant a month in advance...and that restaurant is in a subway station in Japan. Unreal.

At the end I had what I expected, a greater appreciation of the skill of sushi chefs. So much meticulous skill and care goes into sushi and if you enjoy trying new sushi restaurants you know it's true. 

I also got something I didn't expect. More than just an appreciation, I felt a great admiration for this man. He works hard. He expects nothing. He doesn't believe you should ever complain about your job. All he wants is to never stop trying to improve himself. And the best part is that he practices what he preaches. He's also 85 years old and terribly precious.

There's no spoiler alert but if you have netflix and you want to have an evening or afternoon of beautiful images set to classical music you should watch it. It's all subtitles but the message is so sweet you won't even care. 

While we're on the topic of sushi...

Last week Husband and I ventured to Little Tokyo for dinner at Kula Revolving Sushi. 

You may have seen restaurants like this in movies (like Jiro Dreams of Sushi) and it's as fun as it seems: your sushi is delivered to your table on a conveyer belt.

Also, how precious is Little Tokyo? 

After watching the artistry of Jiro, I don't know how I'll feel the next time we go to Kula but for the price and the taste it's worth the little drive into Little Tokyo and the little wait that is almost guaranteed. 

Most conveyer belt sushi places have a system. Certain color plates are certain prices and at the end a waiter tallies your used plates and you pay that amount.

Kula is great for the mathematically challenged because every plate is just $2. What. A. Steal.

What we both love about Kula is that Husband eats all the crazy stuff while I just eat the moderately crazy stuff. We can both get exactly what we want and as much as we want and only that. They even have the "starter rolls." 

Sushi isn't always bad but and it isn't always healthy. 

You really have to pay attention to what you're ordering because a delicious roll filled with cream cheese isn't necessarily going to be a problem unless you find yourself eating roll after roll after roll. We usually run into the trap of eating more sushi than we are hungry for because we order too many rolls. It's a deadly trap.

Husband was very proud of his work...

This night we didn't go completely off the rails which is very easy for us to do at a sushi restaurant. 

Next time we have sushi I'll certainly be thinking about Jiro and how much effort it takes. 

Maybe I'll even chew a little slower and try to hear classical music in my head. 

If you watch Jiro Dreams of Sushi let me know what you think!

Workout Reboot: Ease into 5K

Last week and the subsequent weekend was amazing. One night in Vegas was just enough time to see my sister, bro-in-law, and friends. It was wonderful, exciting and glittery. We will definitely be going back.

Yet, as I return back to my efforts at a lifestyle change I can't help but feel...uninspired. And here comes a little dose of too much talk:

I need a workout REBOOT!

I don't know what will work. What I do know is that I'm not going to sit on this blog all day every day and pretend to the four of you that read this (hi mom!) that it's all sunshine and roses. I feel bored, like a little hamster on a treadmill. 

App Screen Shot (via Ease into 5k)

In the interest of honesty I think it's important to note that being surrounded in a city of health nuts doesn't a health nut make. 

SO...This morning I am restarting Ease into 5K, a workout I've attempted a few times and completed at least once. 

I wish I loved working out.

I wish I enjoyed changing my clothes into workout clothes.

I wish I enjoyed sweating.

I wish I personally understood what the hell Elle Woods was talking about in "Legally Blonde" about the euphoria of endorphins. 

But I don't. And maybe you don't either.

Just because you don't LOVE to workout doesn't mean you can't ever meet your personal fitness goals OR that you won't ever love working out. 

I stopped running because my 27 year old knees started to sound like they belonged to an old lady. 

But I can JOG into a 5K, can't I?

Of course. Who cares how fast I'm moving. All I care about is MOVING!

Easy Peasy Ease into 5K

I believe in Ease into 5K (the artist formerly known as Couch to 5K). I watched it turn many a friend into a LEGIT runner. Like signing up for 5Ks legit. 

If you don't know how it works then you've missed a big memo on interval training.

Ease into 5K is a program/app/way of life that takes people who have never run before and "eases" them into it with an 8 week program. You run 3x a week with a plan of run-walk-run-walk where each week the running time gets a little bit longer. 

It works. 

It doesn't matter what you think. 

If you are huffing and puffing one week while running for only 90 seconds you will still be able to make it a whole 8 minutes and then eventually 30.

So today I take the first step, again, out the door and down the road. Blasting Kanye, who I know writes all his songs in the gym, and hopefully beating the midday socal heat. Wish me luck. Reboot and restart is always, ALWAYS better than REGRETS.

Happy Monday!

Andrea

Weekend Weigh In 4

So we are currently in Vegas and heading home later today. I wasn't joking about the one night only. But I still have a recap from this week:

First, what you may have missed:

Bethenny's Booze & Butts

Building Plans for a Rainbow Masterpiece

The Horror of Treadmill Runners

Adorable Picture of Husband Eating a Burger

Star Wars Neighbors and Religious Experiences




The last one is my favorite. Onto the goals I set when I began this blog:

LIVE AN ACTIVE LIFE  
One thing I've started doing is tricking myself into thinking I'm living an active life. How am I doing this? By wearing workout clothes every second of the day. Seriously, on Wednesday I looked down and thought, "have I taken these tennis shoes off?" Maybe I'm on to something...

EAT DELICIOUSLY
Done and done. Had some great low calorie dinners this week but we also splurged and went to one of our favorites: a revolving sushi restaurant. I guess I'll get into Vegas food at a later date...


READ FOOD LABELS   
Did I mention I had icing for "brunch" this week? Oy...Some things should not be brought into the house. I question how I continue to meet my fitness goals with these grenades hidden everywhere. 'Tis a miracle!


NOT BLOW OUR RENT AT THE GROCERY STORE 
Jokes on you grocery store...we didn't have to go this week! Shout out to expert meal planning. :)

Week 4 of Cajun in California...let's hope what happens here stays here!