Gratitude and Grande Americanos

I changed it up this morning for Breakfast and decided I’d give these Barbara’s Cinnamon Puffins a try. I was always a sucker for Cinnamon Toast Crunch and so I thought these would be a healthier version. I have to say, they were DELISH! They were soooo crunchy and good! 2/3c is around 100 cals. I was all out of milk, so I had it with Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze and I think I’m just about converted to the stuff now. I didn’t miss the milk at all. I only used about 2/3c of the almond breeze so the cereal and the almond breeze together were only about 120-130cals. I had my coffee with cream and sugar free syrup of course and since I was lacking on the protein front, I added a few big spoonfuls of Mocha Liberte No Fat Probiotic Svelte Yogurt topped with some fresh blueberries. It was still not enough protein though, because I got hungry for a snack around 10:00. But it was delish!:

So talk about perfect timing! I was just about to enjoy another Deep Chocolate VitaMuffin Vitatop when I got a comment from Marisa on my post from last night suggesting that I smear some PB2 on top of the Vitatop! I pretty much salivated right then and there at the mere thought of it! lol Here’s exactly why I love PB2 so much – you get a satisfying amount without taking a huge fat and calorie hit. This little guy only had about 3 seconds before I devoured it, you’re lucky I got a pic! :-D:

I actually missed the regular PB2 a little bit because lately I’ve been all about the Chocolate PB2:

So then I was off to the doctor for my follow up. She said that since I’m still only about 80% cured from this chronic sinus infection, that she wrote me a prescription for another 2 weeks of it. She said if in one week I’m 100% I can stop taking it, but if in two weeks, I’m still not 100%, she’s referring me to an ENT specialist. She said that it is a lot of antibiotic to be taking (if I do these 2 more weeks, that’s about 6 week’s worth in total), but the infection seems to have taken a strong root, so she doesn’t want it to come back if I stop to early. So that’s that. At least I no longer have those awful sinus migraine headaches and I’m no longer completely overthrown by it. I can deal with the level that it’s at now.

So after the doc, I swung into Subway which I hadn’t been to in FOREVER and it used to be at least a three times a week Lunch for me. It was my staple for the majority of my weight loss I would say. Today I had a 6” chicken strips on whole wheat, toasted with monteray jack cheese, lettuce, onions, tomato, green pepper, hot pepper, light mayo, BBQ sauce:

I got the Baked Lays and fountain pop with the deal, but I didn’t eat the chips, and am saving them for another day. It was a treat to get the fountain pop though! I lurrrve diet fountain pop for some odd reason. I stay away from the aspartame for the most part now because it gives me a headache, but now and then I have it.

Since I was just around the corner from Lululemon and today is the the hem was ready on my new pants, I swung by there to pick them up and decided I’d take the opportunity to grab a grande americano from starbucks since I was there. I had a few shots of sugar free hazelnut syrup and some half & half. I still had lunch pop left and I ended up going back to the office double fisted:

Maybe it was the extra dose of caffeine this afternoon, but I felt a big wave of happiness come over me for some reason. Do you take the time to reflect on your life every now and then and to be grateful for all of the things that you have and are fortunate to have in your life? I do. I think it’s important. I did not come from a life of “haves” and I take time out now and then to remember that you can accomplish whatever you want in your life if you make it happen for yourself. We set limits on ourselves without really realizing sometimes that they are limits that we have set for ourselves and not limits set by anything else. This afternoon was one of those days where I took a few minutes driving in my car to appreciate every single thing in my life and you guys are a part of that because you support me every single day :-)

[Meanwhile back at the ranch….] And later in the afternoon, I was feeling the hunger for another Snack so I had a vanilla mini Liberte with a package of fresh raspberries – all my awesome raspberries from Pete’s Frootique are all gone now :-( I wonder if they are still on sale – Les? Not likely:

And again, I was starved by the time I got home. I had to stop at the pharmacy to get my new prescription, so I was late getting home so I had a little piece of this multigrain foccocia loaf smeared with baba ganouj – I loooooove fresh dense and chewy breads:

Supper tonight was a toss up between fresh haddock and steamed green beans or a bella burger with a salad. I was in a bread kind of mood today I guess, so I had the bella burger and a side salad. I cannot emphasize enough how much I love this meal! This time it was extra good because I splurged on a bottle of aged balsamic vinegar and used that to marinate the bella mushroom (+EVOO, S&P, dried oregano & basil) and what a difference a GOOD bottle of balsamic vinegar makes!

The burger consisted of (from bottom to top):

• bottom half of multigrain bun
• handful of arugula
• marinated & grilled portobella mushroom
• thinly sliced red onion
• fresh basil
• half of a roasted red pepper (from a jar in water)
• 1 square of kiri goat cheese spread (the secret creamy ingredient)
• top half of the bun

The salad consisted of:

• mixed organic salad greens
• red onion
• english cucumber
• light feta cheese
• homemade balsamic vinaigrette (EVOO, balsamic, S&P, grainy dijon mustard) drizzled on top

I just loved it! The only thing I consider a con about this meal is that it is rather lacking on the protein side. Next time I think I’ll throw a handful of chick peas on the salad or some other kind of high protein bean:

While I was at the grocery store, I ran into a lady I knew and I was peeking around the ice cream/fake ice cream section considering buying some frozen yogurt that I have been purposely keeping out of my house. She suggested I try these because they are fairly tiny in serving size and hit the spot. She can’t eat dairy and these are dairy free. I have to say, I would never have guessed in a taste test that this was not real ice cream! They are delish, portion controlled and hit the spot :-) They are about 120 cals each I think:

I figured I was better off getting these than a tub of anything because I almost never only take a 1/2c serving of ice cream or frozen yogurt etc. Who does??