Happy September all! I can’t believe summer is already over, but, I am ready for the fall.
I woke up this morning feeling so much better than yesterday. I LOVE that the weather is cooling off and it’s getting fall like. This is one of my favorite times of years and I LOVE looking forward to all the upcoming holidays (oh & VACATIONS!)
This morning I was up at 5:00 AM to get in my Upper Body Workout.
5 minute Warm-Up on the treadmill
Chest
Barbell Bench Press
12 reps at 50 #
10 reps at 55 #
8 reps at 60 #
6 reps at 60 #
Pec Flies
12 reps at 15 #
12 reps at 20 # (high point)
Shoulders
Seated Dumbell Press
12 reps at 10 #
10 reps at 15 #
8 reps at 17.5 #
6 reps at 20 #
Front Lateral Raises – next time go 5 lbs heavier
12 reps at 15 #
12 reps at 17.5 # (high point)
Back
One Arm Dumbell Rows
12 reps at 10 #
10 reps at 17.5 #
8 reps at 20 #
6 reps at 25 #
Lat Pulls
12 reps at 35 #
12 reps at 40 # (high point)
Triceps
Tricep Press
12 reps at 10 #
10 reps at 15 #
8 reps at 20 #
6 reps at 25 #
Cable Extensions
12 reps at 10 #
12 reps at 15 # (high point)
Biceps
Alternate Dumbell Curls
12 reps at 10 #
10 reps at 15 #
8 reps at 20 #
6 reps at 25 #
Hammer Curls
12 reps at 15 #
12 reps at 20 #
I did a few minutes of stretching after. My entire workout took 46 minutes ~ right on target & it totally rocked – yahoo!
I waited an hour before whipped up a delicious EggWich for Meal #1 @ 6:45 AM.
1 Thomas Double Fiber English Muffin ~ all toasty & crunchy!
1 THICK tomato slice (definitely adding basil next time too!)
2 slices of Trader Joe’s Lean & Healthy Canadian Bacon
1 Tbsp sprinkle low-fat cheddar cheese (waste b/c I couldn’t taste it)
1 Egg Beater Fluffy seasoned with sea salt, pepper & hot sauce
This is such an easy go to breakfast in the morning because it only requires a microwave & a toaster.
My morning flew by at work and I didn’t get a chance to eat Meal #2 until 10:06 am. I was starving by snack time so I ate this in a matter on minutes 😀 (snort, snort!)
1 Voskos Fat Free Blueberry Greek Yogurt
1/2 c low-fat cottage cheese (to boost the protein –it’s awesome, you should try it!)
Sprinkle of Trader Joe’s Fiber Worms
YUM! I NEED to have yogurt every day – it’s just so good!
My co-worker and I headed out at lunch to walk around the Farmer’s Market & Target. Can you believe I didn’t buy a thing?! Shocker, huh?? I really wanted too but it was just so nice to be out of the office and chatting it up 🙂
When I got back I had Meal #3 @ 12:30 pm a little early but I was starving yet again. What gives – today I am the bottomless pit! The Husband put together a Leftover Turkey Meatball to-go lunch for me to take last night too ~ LOVE him!
* 3 TJ’s Turkey Meatballs in his “secret sauce”
1/2 c Multi-Grain Pasta
Sprinkle of Parmesan cheese
I was STILL hungry so I had a 100 calorie pack of raw almonds. Awwww ~ my stomach was finally done trying to eat itself.
All day long I have wanted chocolate! I think it’s my co-workers handing out DOVE Dark Chocolates and Trader Joe’s Chocolate. Oh and then there was the chocolate chocolate cake yesterday *sigh* I refrained and got REALLY excited for my Meal #4 @ 4:15 pm ~ a Chocolate Crunchy Almond Milk Shake. I promise to branch out in other variances soon, but, I am digging this combo so much. I was tempted to add my Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter but I know that isn’t challenge friendly. I need to have natural/raw nut butters…..maybe, I’ll add Artisana Chocolate Coconut Butter next go round!
On my way home, I stopped at Trader Joe’s even though I didn’t really need to! They had THE COOLEST sample out that smelled amazing. It was a Dump Tortilla Soup. You pretty much dump all the ingredients you see here in one pot, heat, and top with crushed tortilla chips ~ YUM! I plan on making this soon and making my own BFL approved chips while giving The Husband the real deal. I’ll be sure to post the “fancy recipe”. Oh and I also left with the 96% lean ground beef I went there for 😀 The Husband wanted to have beef tonight versus turkey.
Meal #5 @ 7:05 PM is one of my FAVORITE meals to make ~ it’s fast, easy, tasty and MEXICAN FOOD! Here is everything I used to whip up our BFL Taco Salads.
1 lb 96% Lean Ground Beef or Turkey Breast
1 red onion, chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, minved
1 red tomato, chopped
Garlic Salt
3 Tbsp of Veggie Terrain’s Fabulous Taco Seasoning (I double this recipe and keep it on hand for spicing up everything ~ it rocks!)
Brown your meat in a little nonstick spray with your onion, garlic and meat until cooked through. Season with a little garlic salt, your taco seasoning and add your tomato. Reduce heat to low and cook for about 3 minutes or until everything is blended.
Makes 4 – 4 oz servings!
While your meat cooks, prep all your veggies.
I LOVE having crunch in my salads so I whipped up some homemade “tortilla chips”. This recipe honestly works best with corn tortillas as I feel flour toast up best in the oven. To keep with my BFL requirements, I used a La Tortilla Low Carb Whole Wheat Tortilla.
Homemade “Tortilla Chips”
1 La Tortilla Low-Carb Whole Wheat Tortilla (I used the 50 calorie ones)
1-2 tsp olive oil
sea salt
Heat your oil over medium heat in a nonstick spray. Slice your tortilla into little triangles, about 8-10. Cook on each side until crispy & brown. Remove from heat and immediately sprinkle with sea salt. SO GOOD!
Assemble your taco salads with tortilla chips and enjoy!
2 cups shredded organic romaine & mixed greens
1/4th of the taco meat recipe
1/2 oz finely shredded low-fat cheddar – it looks like you get more if you use “finely shredded”
Red/Green Bell Pepper
Red/Yellow Tomato
2 Tbsp AVOCADO – LOVE healthy fats!!!
Sprinkle of cilantro & green onions
1 Tbsp TJ’s Tomatoless Chile Corn Salsa
Hot Sauce!
Tortilla Chips!
I LOVE Trader Joe’s Tomatoless Salsa ~ I added a small dab to spice it up!
Salty, crunchy flour tortilla chips rock for “scooping” your salad or eating them straight up. This totally satisfied my craving and I wasn’t jealous of The Husband’s organic corn chips on his salad at all. In fact, he stole 2 of my “chips” 😀
I had a Perrier Fizzy water on the side and relaxed in front of “Cash Cab” with The Husband!
After my pictures, I sprinkled my salad with some Big S Farms Tennessee Lightning Hot Sauce ~ super, spicy, hot and GOOD!
I am not sure if I’ll be awake for Meal #6 but if I am I plan on trying a Key Lime Protein Smoothie! If I do, I’ll be sure to post again to share the recipe and let you know what I think.
STAT RECAP!
Calories Consumed: 1,539
Calories Burned: 2,539
Steps Taken: 7,206
Ratios: 36% Protein, 36% Carbs, 28% Fat
I am off to read one of the books from my book stack 😀 Not sure which though!
QUESTION OF THE DAY: What is your favorite topping to add to Taco Salad?
That’s a tough one for me because I am not sure if it’s the cheese, the avocado, the spice or the crunch – I LOVE it all!
Nite all!
I’m jealous! It’s still 108 degrees in Arizona 🙁
Great job on that early workout! Your taco salad looks delicious. My fave addition is guacamole 🙂
Even though your meals look really good, I’m not much of a Mexican food girl. I’m not too sure why either, but I just never have. Oh my gosh! For a second those Trader Joe’s fiber worms freaked me out because I didn’t know what they were in the picture.
Um best salsa ever! Except I go crazy with it and eat half the jar at once. Whoops! And I think I had that same tortilla soup sample last time I was at Trader’s. It was beyond good!
I am wishing like mad I had a Trader Joes in Vancouver.. sigh.
cottage cheese + yogurt is amazing! 🙂 i like it with blueberry yogurt, and fresh blueberries! haha
I have a recipe for vegan cottage cheese, that I have yet to make!
My fav. addition to taco salad is salsa!! Definatly 🙂 I love it!!
That taco salad looked amazing and so healthy! Great job!
WOW your egg-wich and taco salad look fab!! I think I’ll have to steal both of them 😉
You’re doing great!
xo
K
Your salad looks great! I am sooo hooked on emerald cocoa almonds. I picked some up on sale at Target a few weeks ago and returned the next day to buy more!
Looking forward to the soup recipe. I <3 TJ's and I'm a huge Mexican and spicy fan, I'm sure it'll be great!
Do you make your shakes in the magic bullet? Is that the cup I keep seeing?
Alicia ~ Yes, I LOVE my Magic Bullet. I carry it in a bag in my car so I always have it at home or work 😀
this is too crazy, i was reading my logs from my first challenge and i ate that “eggwich” thing EVERY. SINGLE. MORNING. for like the first 4 weeks. i was like dang i need to make that again soon! and here you are eating it. now i really want it! i love your healthy taco salad and those chips look great. mmm, mexican will always be #1 for me! favorite taco salad ingredient is avocado for sure.
Your taco salad looks great and I’m all about the avocado. Thanks for the tortilla chip recipe. I’m not a big chip person because I know how most are prepared but this is a great alternative.
Also, yogurt and cottage cheese? Genius!
mmmmm I’m hungry! That salad looked delish…. and I am SO going to try the low carb tortilla chips… my favorite topping for taco salad is really cold pico de gallo… love the hot temperture and hot spice with the coldness of pico!