Tuesday, February 19, 2013

I Deserve It.

Do you get to the end of a long day or a long week and look at wine / pizza / cookies / brownies / cheese / crackers / etc and think, "Yep, I worked my ass off. I deserve this"? 

I do. 

But I'm working on this.

Because I also deserve to go up a flight of stairs while chatting with a coworker and not huff n puff.

I deserve the chance to carry a baby.

I deserve to shop at Macy's.

I deserve to learn to ride a horse without worrying I will hurt it.

I deserve to provide emotional support to my family and friends without being physically exhausted at the end of the day.

I deserve to buy sexy stuff at Victoria's Secret.

I deserve to breathe better, even with stupid ass-mar.

I deserve to be the person I see in my head.

And hopefully all of that outweighs deserving to have cookies. 

(Like I said, I'm working on this...)

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Smoky Black Bean & Sweet Potato Chili

We are NOT snowed in here in Atlanta - hahahaha Mom & Dad - but even so, Sundays are my favorite days to put something in the crock pot regardless of the weather.

Last weekend I made a version of Weight Watchers veggie soup - chicken broth plus all my leftover, soon-to-go-bad veggies in the fridge.

This weekend I'm trying a recipe from Fitness magazine...it smells sooooo good....can't wait to eat it for lunch this week!

Smoky Black Bean & Sweet Potato Chili

Makes 6-8 servings...7 servings is 7 Points Plus Values

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp chopped canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
1 oz unsweetened baking chocolate, chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 15-oz cans low sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1-1/2 cups frozen corn
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
maybe a little water if everything looks too dry

Coat the inside of the crock pot with olive oil.  Combine everything, stir, and cook on low for 8 hours.

You can top it with cheese and fresh cilantro (1PPV) if you want.  YUM!



Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Vacation Planning

I have the Travel Bug!!!  One of the great benefits of working for an airline...you can fly and vacation pretty last-minute.

We haven't taken advantage of the travel perks that much this past year, since we have been camping and hiking, and hanging out in our camper-investment (hello, we do not have infinite disposable cash-ola!).

But...sometimes you just gotta get outta town...and now that Mom and Dad had their grand adventure in Hawaii (!!!) it's really gotten me jealous...and wanting to go somewhere!

I think the Tulip Festival in The Netherlands countryside / Amsterdam in early April is on the docket, but probably as a full Kienow trip (even AMY! possibly. maybe. although I haven't asked her yet.).

But where else should we go?  NOT domestic.  NOT Mexico.  NOT too cold.  NOT too far (less than 9 hours flight please).  DIRECT from Atlanta. 

My initial thoughts - 1) Madrid; 2) Turks & Caicos; 3) Costa Rica; 4) Belize; 5) Other suggestions?

What do ya'll think?  Or should we go somewhere else in Europe (in the winter (brrr))...maybe London?  This does look wonderful though, huh?...

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

What to NOT have

I'm trying something a little new.  I believe I have come to rely a bit too much on pre-packaged foods...even though I was tracking points, etc, I have NOT been seeing the results I wanted.  And I'm not just talking loss, I'm talking overall more awareness of healthy-ness!

And - since we are trying to increase our fertility, I'm being a lot more sensitive to all of the added toxins, hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, obesogenic, estrogen dominant environmental factors, and anything else that might help me out...

So I am going back to "mostly" whole foods:
- Soy Free
- Gluten Free as possible, aka Limited Gluten
- No artificial sugars
- No added colors, especially Red #40
- No MSG
- BPA free water bottles
- BPA free rubbermaid storage containers (for all my leftovers!)
- Glass or tetrapak containers of packaged stuff when possible (especially "canned" tomatoes)
- Organic Chicken
- Organic, Free Range Eggs
- Organic, Grass Fed Beef
- Sustainable fish, if possible, and pouches of tuna
- Organic "Dirty Dozen" produce (and Non Organic for all other fruits & veggies)
  • Apples
  • Celery
  • Bell Peppers
  • Peaches
  • Strawberries
  • Nectarines
  • Grapes
  • Spinach
  • Lettuce
  • Cucumbers
  • Blueberries
  • Potatoes
I'm actually REALLY surprised how easy this has been so far.  Although the list is kind of long, it's not that much more expensive to swap out a few items, and is being offset by saving on a lot of the prepackaged stuff I was having.  I think these guidelines will also encourage me to eat more whole foods, and hopefully cook more at home as well, as that's how I truly know what I am getting.

We'll see how it goes!