Happy {Healthy} Halloween

I love Halloween.  It is such a fun day for the kids and adults alike.  It is a great time to let loose and have some fun.  Halloween was also my grandmother's birthday..rest her soul.  We used to always tease her and call her a witch.  All in good fun though.  She got a kick out of it.

Along with these fun holidays, comes lots of treats.  We can still treat ourselves while being healthy.  Here are some ideas to indulge a little...

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Tonight I will take my little goblin out trick or treating and will refrain from having too many treats.  What are your plans?

~Jessica

Weekend Recap

What a great weekend!  Saturday evening I went to a Halloween party. We wanted to dress so that nobody would know us and we succeeded.  So much fun!!

The only bad thing was that I indulged in a few adult beverages which led to some unhealthy food choices.  A late night frozen pizza is not what I should have gone for but what do you do.  Sunday I baked some cookies for my family and of course I had to have a sample. Back on the wagon today!  I had a chef salad for lunch.  Check it out over there -----------> on my Instagram feed. :) Follow me (jessicads81)!

Can't forget this....Friday I did Week 1 of 30 Day Shred.  I have never been so sore! I hobbled around on Saturday and Sunday.  Oh my goodness gracious.  Have you done 30DS?  Did you feel like you had been kicked by a mule 50 times in legs?  Stairs were a killer! 

My thoughts and prayers to all of those on the east coast in the path of Sandy.  Stay safe!!

~Jessica

So Delicious

The other day I shared some recipes that I wanted to try.  You can find them here.  That evening I decided it was a fine time to make a couple of them for us to try.  It was kind of a disaster.  Not the recipes, they were great.  And the food turned out wonderful.  It was a disaster because in the middle of everything, our power went out.  For about 3 hours. I had baked oatmeal in the oven and eggs for Copycat Egg McMuffins waiting to be made in to the sandwiches.  I was quickly losing daylight and my kitchen is one of the first places to get dark.  I had my son hold a flashlight for me so I could get the sandwiches put together and in the refrigerator (which is funny because the power was out but at least they would get some refrigeration from the cold in there).  Now I had half baked oatmeal muffins to deal with. This was Wednesday evening which means it is religion night for the boy. And my bf was out hunting.  Complete chaos is what it was.  Good thing my sister-in-law lives right down the road.  I packed everything up, including a pound of ground beef I had just started frying, and took it to her house to finish cooking.  As least it all turned out good!

The first thing I tried was the Copycat Egg McMuffins.  I made some with canadian bacon and some without.  I had one without and loved it. It was filling and delicious. The bf had one with canadian bacon and enjoyed it. I will definitely be making them again.  I didn't have a jumbo muffin pan or large enough ramekins to cook the eggs in like Monica at The Yummy Life did and I am not one to go out and buy something just to try a new recipe (most of the time anyway).  Here is what I did....I have two round cake pans.  I cracked 6 eggs in to each pan and baked them.  It ended up working just fine. I cut each pan into 6 sections like a pie and put them on the sandwiches.  They don't fit perfect and don't look as nice as the round ones but I made do with what I had and they taste just as good.

Warning: Crappy phone picture!

I was so excited to try the Personal Sized Baked Oatmeal that I took a couple to work with me and had it for lunch.  I made 3 different kinds.  This recipe made 24 muffins.  I made 6 with blueberries, 6 with raspberries and 12 with mini chocolate chips on top.  For lunch I had a raspberry and a chocolate chip. Delicious!  The bf and son loved them too.  In fact, I believe they both had them for breakfast again this morning.  We ate ours plain but I imagine a little milk over the top would be delicious. I wish I had a picture to share with you but unfortunately the power was out and pictures were the last thing on my mind at that point.

Give these 2 recipes a try.  You will not be disappointed!  Let me know what toppings you use on your baked oatmeal.

~Jessica

Liebster Award

I have been nominated for the Liebster Award by Jayelle from Jayelle Getting Fit.  Thanks,  Jayelle!

Here are the rules:

- Each person tagged must post 11 things about themselves.

- They must also answer 11 questions the tagger has set for them.

- They must create 11 more questions to ask bloggers they have decided to tag.

- They must then choose 11 bloggers to tag with less than 200 followers.

- These lucky bloggers must be told.

- There are NO TAG BACKS

11 Things About Me

1. I was born and raised in Minnesota.  I have no desire to leave even though I get tired of our long, cold winters.  My family and friends keep me here. 

2. I have a 10 year old son who is my world.  He keeps me super busy.

3. I needed to get glasses when I was 3 but when I was 11, my eyes were better and I no longer have to wear glasses.  Now I have great vision.

4.  I am in the process of looking into going back to college. Nervous and excited!

5. I have a lot of blogs in my reader.  Probably 100 or more.  Can't get enough.

6. I have to have a cup of coffee when I get up in the morning.

7. I am not a morning person.  I don't sleep late but I like to get a slow start.

8. I have run three 5k races. The last one was a couple of weeks ago and my time was 30:10.  After I saw my time I wished I had pushed just a tad bit harder to get under 30 minutes. There is always next time.

9. I will not eat chicken from a fast food place (I try not to eat any fast food). It creeps me out.

10. If I see a mouse, I will scream bloody murder. I know it can't hurt me but they freak me out.

11. I am trying to give up Diet Dr. Pepper but I like it so much. I only have a couple a week but I know I should stop. Help! :)

Questions From Jayelle

 1. What is one thing you know about Canada? And do not use Google!

They have great hockey teams. My son is a hockey player so I know these things :)

2. What do you wish you could really be when you grow up?

I work in the accounting field but would like to get my degree and become a CPA.

 I know, real exciting.

3. What is one reason you want to be more healthy or lose weight?

To show my son that being healthy is so important. I want my whole family to live a 

long, healthy life.

4. What is your favourite television show?

Right now I think it is Revenge.  

5. What is one thing about yourself that you are proud of or love?

I am proud of myself for owning up to the unhealthy life I have been living and 

wanting to change it.

6.  If you could have a super power, which would you want and why?

I would want to make it so calories don't count! :)

7. What is one of your best childhood memories?

Family vacations!  We didn't go on many and never out of the state but we had fun.

8.  What is your favourite beverage (alcoholic or non)?

Water Diet Dr. Pepper or Coors Light-can't decide

9.  What is your current method of torture exercise?

Running and strength training. My gym has a new machine called an Adaptive Motion Trainer and I am enjoying it.  The signs says it is there for a trial but I hope they keep it. 

It is nice for cross training days.

10.  Do you have any pets? If so, how many and what kind.

I have a dog named Libby.  She is a rat terrier and we love her.

11.  What is your all time favourite movie?

I'm not a big movie watcher. I see one here or there but never until they are really old so I'm not so sure about this one.

Questions From Me

1. Do you have any children?  

2. If you could describe yourself using one word, what would it be?

3. If your spouse/significant other would describe you using one word, what would it be?

4. What is on your Christmas wish list?

5. What kind of climate do you live in?

6. Where have you traveled to?

7. What would you do if you won the lottery tomorrow?

8. iPhone or Android?

9. What is your current occupation?

10. What is your favorite food?

11. What is your band/song artist?

I think that all of the people in my reader have been tagged for the Liebster Award so I'm not going to do that.  If you haven't been tagged yet, please accept this award from me.  Otherwise, answer my questions in the comments!

~Jessica

I Love Food!

One of the biggest challenges for me in this journey is food. As I'm sure it is for many others.  I love food.  Plain and simple. It is everywhere.  Our society has become obsessed with food.  Take a look at Pinterest.  I absolutely adore Pinterest.  I waste hours on there if I'm not careful. But tell me that you can scroll through there and look at all of those wonderful food pictures, especially the desserts, and not crave them. I just have to keep telling myself....food is not the answer.  It may taste good when you eat but being skinny (healthy) is way better. Now don't get me wrong, I am always on the lookout for good recipes and will continue to be but now I am looking for healthy ones.

Here are some that I am planning on trying soon....

Roasted Cabbage

Roasted Green Beans and Mushrooms

Hummus Melts

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Squares

Personal Sized Baked Oatmeal

Healthy Egg McMuffin Copycat

I'm hungry just thinking about them!  See what I mean :)  At least they are all healthy recipes.

Have any to share?

~Jessica

Change

I am a 31 year old with a boyfriend (9 years!!) that I adore and a 10 year old son that is my world. When I was a child, I was always very thin. Almost too thin. I ate junk and never gained a pound. When I graduated high school, I weighed 108 lbs. When I was 19, I started to put on some weight but nothing major. When I got pregnant with my son in 2001 at 20 years old, I weighed about 140 lbs.  That was a pretty healthy weight for me but I felt a little chunky.  I gained almost 60 lbs. during my pregnancy, giving birth at just about 200 lbs. I was devastated when I saw that number on the scale.  I lost some of the weight but was still overweight. When my son was 1, my husband and I divorced. This was the spring of 2003.  Soon after I lost a lot of weight but probably not the healthy way.  I didn't set out to lose the weight but it just happened as a result of the stress from the divorce. When I started dating my boyfriend in the fall of 2003, I probably weighed about 135 lbs. I felt great but was not healthy.  I definitely didn't eat healthy but I just didn't eat much.  Over the years since, I have slowly put some weight on.  I decided a year ago at 175 lbs. that enough was enough.  I started running.  I did it on and off for a while and lost a little bit of weight but I didn't exercise on a regular basis. I did some Zumba, some running, etc. but didn't change my diet. Over the last few months I have really upped my exercise.  I am running on a regular basis.  I started weight training this week.  I also track all of my calories on My Fitness Pal. So here I am today at 163 lbs. and invite you to follow me on my way to a healthy life.

via fitsugar.com

~Jessica