Happy Monday-after-Super-Bowl, everyone! LilSis is still in Big D, and without Big T’s influence, we wouldn’t have watched the Super Bowl at all. We were watching “Death at a Funeral” during the game, so we recorded it. Our plan was to forward through the plays to just watch the commercials, but it became clear that the Saints had showed up! We ended up watching most of the 4th quarter, and were actually more impressed with the game than with the commercials!
So congratulations to the New Orleans Saints this morning! It’s always fun to see the underdog prevail, and it’s especially nice to see New Orleans get a much-needed boost!
This week’s update is going to be short and sweet because I’m in Texas visiting my family and I’m trying to make the most of my time with them. Just a quick update:
I wasn’t able to weigh in yesterday but I feel like I’ve maintained my weight or maybe lost a little this week. We have already had Mexican Food twice and are meeting up with friends today for lunch at another favorite Mexican restaurant but I’m trying to make better choices for my entree and just cut back on the chip eating. I had already decided that I was going to allow myself a treat, or two, while here as long as I could keep up the daily workouts.
I’ve had a great time exercising this week. First, I visited the Y with BigT and convinced him to ride an Espresso bike next to me so we could chat. Then one day BigSis took me to her health club as a guest and we got in a great cardio workout on several new machines.
I’d have to say, though, that the most fun I had working out this week was yesterday when we all took turns doing different exercises on BigSis’ WiiFit Plus.
I’ve never been crazy about video games because I don’t like sitting still for very long, but the WiiFit really does make exercising a lot of fun! I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time. 🙂
We already have the WiiFit at my house but I’m going to order the WiiFit Plus as soon as I can! These new exercises will make you laugh and get your heart pumping!
I hope everyone had a great week and have a fun-filled Super Bowl Weekend!
This Super Bowl is going to be a little different for me since I’m in Texas visiting my family this week. If I was home, I’m sure I’d be cooking for a bunch of hungry, meat-eating, football-watching guys.
BigSis, BigT and I will probably still end up watching the game just for the halftime show and the commercials, but we won’t be going “hog wild” with the snacks since we’re all trying to eat a little healthier this year.
So, instead of Sliders, cocktail weinies and Velveeta dip, how about a nice bowl of soup or chili for the Super Bowl? Rather than grazing on nothing but appetizers all day, you could make a couple of big crockpots of soup or chili and just put out the fixins for everyone to help themselves whenever they get hungry.
And, this soup doesn’t have a photo but we’re including it since there are all kinds of germs going around and this soup can help fight off the little buggers.
Did you watch the Grammy Awards last night? I’m a big fan of Pink, so her performance blew me away, as usual! It also made me want to run for the gym! Can you imagine being in front of all those people in that *outfit*? Wow!
I like watching awards shows, but the Red Carpet is my favorite part by far. Here are some photos from the Grammys Red Carpet 2010. As you might imagine, it was not a boring evening!
The Ten in ’10 Healthy Challenge officially began on January 2, 2010 so in just a couple of days it will be a month since I started the challenge. I weighed in yesterday and I’ve lost a total of 6 pounds in the four weeks so I’m feeling pretty good. Not a lot has changed since my update last week, I’m just really trying hard to stay focused and keep myself motivated.
Here are a few things that have really helped me stay on track.
Writing down my weekly workout plan and keeping my food log every day.
Getting up earlier, having breakfast earlier and doing my workout first thing in the morning.
Planning meals for the week and doing all the grocery shopping on Sunday.
Always keeping healthy snacks on hand! (I’ve actually had to start hiding a few things so the guys don’t gobble them up.)
This past week, I started getting a little bored with the same elliptical machine that I had been using and I knew I wasn’t getting as good a workout as I could so I broke out of my comfort zone and tried a new machine. If you happen to see one of these Matrix Elliptical Cross Trainers at your gym, hop on it and see what you think.
This machine will kick your fanny, but I absolutely love it! 🙂
You have all sorts of different programs to chose from, but so far I like the Fat Burner a lot and the Glute Training is my favorite. It feels like a stair climber but is much easier on the knees.
This machine really boosted my cardio workout this week!
I think what I learned last week is that if you’re getting bored with your workout, then just change things up! I know if I’m getting bored, then the bottom line is that I’m not getting a great workout. Since I’m in the gym five days out of the week, I always go for a really long walk by the beach on Saturday just for a change of scenery.
This next week is probably going to be my toughest challenge yet. I’m leaving on Tuesday to go to Texas and I’ll be there for a week visiting family and friends. Typically during my week long visits, we go to our favorite Mexican food restaurants a few times.
I’ll definitely give myself a treat or two, but it’s going to take a lot of willpower to not overindulge. If I’m not careful, I could easily gain back six pounds in a week of eating tacos, nachos, tortilla soup, chips, salsa, and freshly made guacamole. And, of course, the meal isn’t complete without a really cold Dos Equis. 🙂
I hope you’re all having a good week. I’m having a great week myself, but I have a nagging feeling that I can’t seem to shake, and it’s about the 27,000 exotic animals that the SPCA is taking care of. Last week, I told you about the largest animal rescue in US history that took place in Arlington about six weeks ago. Since then, the SPCA of Texas has been caring for 27,000 exotic animals who were neglected and abused.
I got an urgent email from the SPCA this week, which said that the “people” (I use that word loosely) who owned the company have appealed the judge’s decision to confiscate the animals from them and award custody to the City of Arlington. Until that appeal is settled, the SPCA will continue to care for the animals, at a cost of $8,000-$10,000 per day. They are in desperate need of $150,000 ASAP!
If this situation touches your heart as it does mine, will you please consider making a donation to the SPCA? If I could do another bake sale tomorrow that would put a dent in this need, I would do it. But their need is much bigger than that. They need us all to come together for them, and contribute what we can. Thanks for considering helping these poor little critters!
BigSis added this note January 28 at 1:30 pm: I just found this great video on DallasNews.com, which shows some of the animals and gives you an idea of the lengths the SPCA is going to for these guys. Here’s the link: http://www.dallasnews.com/video/dallasnews/hp/index.html?nvid=412930
It’s short, so please check it out. I’m in love with the Ring-Tailed Lemurs and the teensy turtles.
When there’s a little chill in the air at night, there’s nothing quite like a hot bowl of chili. It’s one of my favorite meals to cook, whether for just the three of us or for a house full of friends or family.
Normally, I would make my own chili recipe and serve it with a bunch of grated cheddar, Fritos, and sour cream, but since we’re trying to eat healthier this year, I decided to make a white turkey chili and eliminate the Fritos and cheddar cheese.
I’ve only made turkey chili a few times and the guys never liked it but I was still determined to keep looking until I found a good recipe. Last week, I decided to try this White Turkey Chili recipe from Ellie Krieger that I found online at Food Network. It’s a healthy, quick and easy recipe and everyone loved it! What more can you ask for?
I did make a few changes for various reasons. I didn’t have hominy on hand, so I used corn instead, I substituted crushed red pepper flakes for the poblano peppers, tripled the garlic and eliminated the celery. I also tweaked the seasoning a little bit to suit our taste, but that’s it.
White Turkey Chili
(adapted from Ellie Krieger online at Food Network)
1 T. canola oil
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 t. crushed red pepper flakes
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. ground coriander
1/2 t. cayenne pepper, plus more to taste
1 pound ground white meat turkey
(2) 15.5 ounce cans low sodium cannelini beans, drained & rinsed
4 c. low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 t. dried oregano
1 15 ounce can sweet white corn, drained
1 – 2 t. low sodium Spike
1 t. Penzeys Shallot Pepper
1/2 t. salt
reduced-fat sour cream
Heat the oil in large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and crushed red pepper flakes, stirring occasionally for about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, coriander, and 1/4 t. of the cayenne and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add the ground turkey and cook, breaking up the meat with a spoon, until the meat is no longer pink, about 2 minutes. Add the white beans, broth, and oregano. Cook, partially covered and stirring occasionally for about 25 minutes.
Add the corn, and seasonings to taste and continue cooking, partially covered for 10 minutes or longer. Ladle into individual bowls and top with 1 tablespoon of sour cream and a sprinkle of oregano.
As Ellie says, “It’s a breeze to make, satisfying to eat, and the variations are only limited by your imagination.”
Occasionally, all of us girls at the office sneak out for a lunch together, and last Friday, we decided it was time to shake it up a little bit. Sometimes we go for a posh girlie lunch at a fancy place, like Stephan Pyles or Fearing’s at the Ritz Carlton, and other times it’s a cheap delicious lunch at Cafe Brazil. This week, we went raw vegan! The “we” is me; a 15-year vegetarian/3-week vegan, and 3 open-minded carnivores!
I don’t want to say where we went since the restaurant was having a bad day: their chef quit, they were short-handed, and they were having a sewage issue. Probably not the day to give them a fair review!
All 4 of us got something different so we could share. Some dishes were more successful than others. Our favorite was the Coconut Kale Enchiladas. I never thought I’d say those words! Marinated kale was wrapped in coconut tortillas with nacho cheeze, pico de gallo, salsa verde, and cashew sour creme. It was spicy and really tasty, but not sweet at all as you might think it would be from the coconut. I usually find raw kale to be too tough and chewy, but this was perfect. I would order this again.
Coconut Kale Enchiladas
Our second choice was the Greek Pizza. Creamy tahini hummus was topped with a Greek salad of cucumbers, avocado, red onion, capers, fresh tomatoes, Greek olives, chopped parsley, and romaine. The dressing on the salad had a great flavor, and the hummus base was delicious. You had to dig a bit to get to the “pizza” part, but it was delicious digging!
Greek Pizza
In third place was Raw Tacos. Crisp corn tortillas are topped with chipotle flavored beans, guacamole, nacho cheeze, pico de gallo, and salsa verde. This is a pretty dish as the previous two are, and had fresh ingredients on top, but we found the “tortilla” and bean topping to have a slightly bitter flavor.
Raw Tacos
And our least favorite by a mile was the Raw Pad Thai. Kelp noodles are tossed in almond butter and chili sauce, and
garnished with crispy vegetables. This dish was practically inedible, sorry to say! It was bland, watery and had a pretty nasty texture. The kelp noodles were oddly crunchy, and were mixed with slightly slimy zucchini noodles. None of us could eat this.
Raw Pad Thai
In spite of the challenges of the day, our waitress did her best to take care of us, and it was a pretty fun eclectic experience. Maybe we’ll go back after they’ve had time to recover from last week!
Week three in the Ten in 10 Challenge was a good week for me. I feel good; and basically that’s what this challenge is all about; making 2010 a healthy and happy year. Here are a few things I learned this past week.
Before this challenge started, I had a pretty good workout routine, but never had it in writing. Some days I would walk and some days I would go to the gym, but always at different times of the day; whenever I could squeeze it in. Now, I’ve discovered that I really like having my weekly exercise plan written down. I know what I’m doing that morning and I know what time I’m doing it. And, it was pretty easy to stick to it. I just had to organize my work schedule around my exercise schedule. (Luckily, I’m able to do that right now.)
It’s really interesting to try different yoga classes and experience different instructors’ styles. In my class at the Y on Monday, the instructor taught us how to incorporate the use of a tall rattan pole into our practice. Last week, he used straps. Not knowing what to expect in his class makes it more fun! Then on Friday, I was a little disappointed when I saw a sub come into the classroom. I was thinking to myself, is she going to be any good? (Be careful what you think to yourself.) I could barely keep up! She was harder and faster than our normal instructor. I thoroughly got my fanny kicked that day!
I’m really happy about getting back into the routine of making my meal plan for the week, writing it down and doing all the shopping on Sunday. It’s made life a little less hectic when it comes time for dinner. And, I really like keeping my food log. I wasn’t sure if I could stick to it, but this little fitbook is really making it fun and easy to do. I love being able to give myself a happy face when I’ve had a healthy meal.
My family really loves brussel sprouts! I’ve tried a different recipe each week and they love them! Yay! Another green veggie to add to our weekly menu. I had a little obsession about having to eat something green with every meal.
I finally found a White Turkey Chili Recipe that my guys love. I’ll share the recipe with you later this week.
I actually can survive on the “no beer during the week” rule.
I feel like I lost at least a pound this week, but chose not to get on the scale yesterday. I know myself well enough to know that during this time of the month, the scale is usually up three pounds. (Sorry if that’s too much info.) I didn’t want to get discouraged, so I’ll get back on the silly scale next Friday.
I’ve tried really hard to keep negativity away from me this week. I had a little unwanted drama try to creep in this week, but I finally had to set a boundary and tell that person that I can’t talk to them right now. I have to surround myself with positive people and positive energy this year. We’ve got a lot of changes going on with our business and I’m trying to launch something new which is requiring a lot of time learning some things outside of my comfort zone. In order to be as productive as possible, I’ve decided that I just don’t have time for negative people in my life.
I hope everyone had a happy, successful week! I’m looking forward to week four and to reading all the updates from other participants. Even if you aren’t doing a weekly update on your blog, I’d love to hear from you. So, leave me a comment and let me know about your week!
Last week, several of us who worked on the SPCA Bake Sale had the opportunity to tour the SPCA of Texas’ new facility. We met the Chairman of the Board at our 2008 sale, and he offered us a tour but we never made the time to do it until our 2009 sale was behind us. We expected to see kitties and puppies, and were worried that we’d all leave with our arms full of furkids. What we didn’t expect to see was a facility full of 27,000 exotic animals.
You might have heard about the largest animal rescue ever in US history. A PETA investigator went undercover for 7 months in an exotic animal store, US Global Exotics, who sold to pet stores and chains like Petco and Petsmart. After gathering evidence of the neglect and abuse going on there, the investigator blew the whistle on the business.
On December 15, 2009, Arlington Humane Services swooped into the facility with a seizure warrant, with assistance from the SPCA of Texas and the Humane Society of North Texas. It took these agencies over 14 hours to rescue the thousands of animals. Many were already dead or dying, including over 200 iguanas who had been packed up for a trip to Egypt and then were left for 2 weeks with no food or water when the order was canceled.
Three days prior to the seizure, the SPCA began preparing a facility to receive all of these stressed animals. You can read more about the incredible lengths they went to in this Examiner article.
What kind of animals are we talking about? Turtles, snakes, tarantulas, scorpions, geckos and iguanas and all kinds of lizards, crabs, hamsters, rats, frogs, mice, gerbils, ground squirrels, sugar gliders, ferrets, guinea pigs, flying squirrels, coatimundis, agoutis, chinchillas, prairie dogs, hedge hogs, mini possums, ring-tailed lemurs, sloths, wallabies, and kinkajous.
Here’s SPCA of Texas President James Bias describing the situation in a local news video:
We were overwhelmed by the sheer number of animals we saw. Can you even begin to fathom what 27,000 exotic animals looks like? Then add to that the incredible variety of animals…over 500 species. Then imagine what all of those poor animals went through. It was really too much to comprehend. We were very grateful to have the chance to see all of these animals up close, but extremely sad that they were in this warehouse after this horrible experience, instead of roaming wild in their native habitat. At the same time we were thankful that the SPCA was taking such good care of them.
None of these animals will be available for adoption. They will be placed with accredited zoos, sanctuaries and rescue organizations.
So how can you help?
The SPCA of Texas is currently spending approximately $8,000 to $10,000 a day to provide proper nutrition and habitat for these creatures and it could take months before they are all safely placed. The cost of this rescue will be enormous. You can help by donating to the SPCA online at www.spca.org.
Volunteer if you’re in the area. With so many involved in the care of the 27,000 exotics, volunteer assistance is needed now more than ever. For volunteer information, visit www.hsnt.org or www.spca.org.
Never ever buy an animal from a store! Adopt from a rescue group or shelter.
Thanks to PETA, SPCA of Texas, Humane Society of North Texas, the judge who awarded custody of these animals to the City of Arlington, and to all of the vets, workers, volunteers and everyone else involved in the rescue and care of these animals. God bless all of you!
~BigSis
~LilSis
