SNOW DAY!!!!

I will do my monthly update later but this is way more exciting. Here's the view from my front door after I did a little dance for no work today! And now I go back to bed.... :)

Workout: Crunch Cardio Dance Blast

I'll do my month update tomorrow night, but suffice to say I have not done well this week. Working out, eating well, all of it seems to have flown out the window. I think it had something to do with the training we were forced to endure at work Wednesday through Friday this week. Whatever the reason, even though I already met my January goal a week ago, I may not meet it when I weigh in tomorrow. 

When I'm dancing I want to look like this....

As a last ditch effort to try and make the weigh in tomorrow morning, I'm drinking as much water as possible today, eating under 1200 calories, and decided to do a different workout from the Wii Fit. The Wii Fit has been fantastic for motivation and getting used to exercising regularly (and for strength training, which I almost never do if I go to the gym), but I hardly ever feel like I'm breaking a sweat while using it. I felt like dancing!

But I always end up feeling like this.

I turned to Netflix instant streaming, which I absolutely LOVE by the way, to see if there was a fun workout video to do that would really get me going. I've tried the Bollywood dance videos and even the Carmen Electra striptease workout (my all time favorite solely based on the hilarity), but nothing really sticks since I always felt silly flailing around my living room trying to follow the instructor. I love to dance with my iPod on, but with the choreographed moves and looking at the girls on the video, I always end up feeling like an idiot. On the other hand, sometimes the instructor moves too slow or the dancing is too basic and I end up bored. I can only do so many grapevines, people. 

Netflix had a large selection of workout videos to stream instantly and I picked the Crunch: Cardio Dance Blast. It's a little under 40 minutes long and it looked like the most fun out of all the videos, so I figured I'd give it a shot. So glad I did! This workout had me sweating, kept me entertained and, bonus, it didn't make me feel like an uncoordinated freak. Finally, the instructor is actually kind of fun and encouraging instead of the usual annoying screeching stick figure, saying things like "Uh oh, who's bad, I dunno, it's us!" and "Look out J-Lo, we comin' up." Who wouldn't love that?

Here is the first ten minutes of the workout; if you have Netflix instant streaming, I highly recommend putting this in your queue and trying it out. 

Lasagna Roll-Ups with Turkey Sausage

I'm so mad at myself for not taking pictures until I rolled these up. Sorry! Next time I make them I'll document properly. We had training all day at work and I was focused on getting these in the oven as soon as possible. This recipe takes a little under an hour to prepare but it is so, so worth it. And it freezes great, so I make six at a time for lunches and quick dinners.

Yield: 6 roll-ups (can be multiplied/divided easily to make more or less)

Ingredients:
6 lasagna noodles
1 lb turkey italian sausage
1/2 10 oz pack of frozen spinach, thawed, rinsed, and squeezed dry
22 oz (2.75 cups) part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese
1.5 cups fat free cottage cheese (or ricotta, whichever you prefer)
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
24 oz jar pasta sauce (I used Newman's Own Sockarooni)
Italian seasoning blend


Preparation: 
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Bring a LARGE pot of water to a boil, cook the lasagna noodles until al dente and then spread them on a piece of wax paper. I like to cook a few extra noodles since I inevitably break some or they stick together; you really need them whole to make this recipe work.
3. Brown the sausage in a skillet until crumbled. Divide into 6 portions.
4. Mix spinach, 2.5 cups mozzarella (reserve 1/2 cup for topping), cottage cheese (or ricotta), and parmesan together in a large bowl. Divide into 6 portions.
5. Spread a layer of cheese, a layer of sausage, and a thin layer of sauce onto each noodle, in that order. This is the fun part! It gets messy, but don't be afraid to use your hands! Sprinkle Italian seasoning blend over the noodles.
6. Spray a large baking pan with cooking spray. Quickly roll up each noodle and put it in the pan. If anything falls out while you're rolling, just press it into the sides of the roll.
7. After all the noodles are rolled and arranged in the pan, top with the remaining sauce and then the reserved mozzarella cheese. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Serve with a side salad! Yum!!

January Goal Met!

I'll still post a January update, but I met my January goal today!! Officially down 9.6 pounds since the beginning of the year. My reward was supposed to be a necklace from Nordstrom, but I went shopping for groceries at Target today and they had an amazing clothing sale, so I got a camisole, a cardigan, a short sleeve v-neck, and two long v-necks for $60. Just bought my spring wardrobe!

I still get to pick an extra reward since I met my goal early (by a week!), but I haven't decided yet. Debating between a Starbucks card and a new hairbrush. I still have $35 on my current card, so I'm thinking I can wait until next month. My flat hair, not so much.

Starbucks Addiction: My Top 5 Low(er) Calorie Drinks

The first step is admitting that you have a problem. Hi, I'm Renee, and I LOVE STARBUCKS.

I am not a person who goes to Starbucks every day because (1) I cannot afford that and (2) now that it's not right across the street within walking distance, I have to plan to go before work since it's out of my way. I usually go about once a week or maybe once every two weeks.

All that being said, I love Starbucks. I love when the red cups come out for the holidays and I can finally get my peppermint mocha with the chocolate shavings on top. I love reading on the porch, enjoying an icy frappucino in the summer. Most of all, I love when fall begins and the pumpkin spice lattes (PSLs) become my exclusive order for the next 3 months. Two years ago, I called Starbucks on the first day of fall and asked when they would start making the PSLs. When they told me that it was that day, I told the guy on the phone I'd be there in 5 minutes. He laughed because he thought I was kidding. When I showed up 5 minutes later and told him that I was the crazy girl on the phone, he laughed again, but there was fear in his eyes. This year, they came out early, so when I went through the drive thru and saw the sign, I squealed excitedly to the girl in the speaker that I needed to change my order to the PSL. Seriously, I love it.

So I couldn't do without it on my diet. Starbucks has a lot of great options for my Sparkpeople, calorie-counting lifestyle. You just have to be careful which ones you choose (and check what the barista wrote on the cup to make sure they didn't give you that whipped cream or full fat milk when you asked for no whip and nonfat). My top 5 low(er) calorie drinks are listed below.

NOTE ON SIZING: I refuse to order coffee in anything less than a grande based on the pricing; I can't pass up the 30 cents more for an upsize. Some of the drinks below I order in venti also. The sizes are listed where I put the nutrition. For those who don't know, Starbucks will let you order a "short" (kids size) that is 8 ounces, which I sometimes do for hot chocolate, but for the coffee drinks, I just don't think it's worth it.

They make this sign for the crazies.

#1: The PSL (seasonal)
If you couldn't tell, I am CRAZY about this drink. I've tried to recreate it at home, but it just doesn't work. Since it's only available in the fall, I allow myself to splurge on this one even though it's a bit higher in calories than the other drinks, but I only order a grande. It's so worth it. To order, say "Grande nonfat, no whip pumpkin spice latte WITH magic spices." They will know what you mean when you say magic spices, but they may also laugh at you. Consider yourself warned.

Calories: 260, Fat: 0g, Carbs: 50g, Protein: 14g, Calcium: 50%, Caffeine: 150mg

The sprinkles.

#2: Peppermint Mocha Latte
This is advertised as a holiday drink, but you can get it year-round, it just won't have the dark chocolate sprinkles on the top (which are pretty much the best part). I try to get this in grande because it is higher calorie. To order, say "Grande nonfat, no whip peppermint mocha latte...WITH sprinkles."

Calories: 280, Fat: 3g, Carbs: 59g, Protein: 12g, Calcium: 35%, Caffeine: 175mg

#3: Skinny Cinnamon Dolce (Hot or Iced)
I order this year-round, either iced or hot, in a venti size. It's sugar free cinnamon syrup and steamed nonfat milk with espresso. To order, say "Venti skinny cinnamon dolce latte" or "Venti skinny cinnamon dolce iced." Fun fact: the iced version has more caffeine because Starbucks brews their iced coffee double strong.

HOT Calories: 160, Fat: 0g, Carbs: 24g, Protein: 15g, Calcium: 50%, Caffeine: 150mg

ICED Calories: 110, Fat: 0g, Carbs: 17g, Protein: 10g, Calcium: 35%, Caffeine: 225mg

#4: Mocha Frappucino Light
I order this in a grande because a venti is too much frappucino (life lessons). It's not the full fat version with whipped cream on top, but it is yummy and really hits the spot on a hot summer day. To order, say "Grande mocha frappucino light."

Calories: 140, Fat: 1g, Carbs: 34g, Protein: 4g, Calcium: 10%, Caffeine: 95mg

#5: Skinny Caramel Macchiato
I order this in venti, and it has sugar free vanilla syrup, nonfat milk, espresso, foam, and a caramel drizzle. It's so rich and you're being so good, but it feels so bad. To order, say "Venti skinny caramel macchiato."


Calories: 160, Fat: 1g, Carbs: 25g, Protein: 13g, Calcium: 45%, Caffeine: 150mg

Honorable Mention (Non-Coffee Favorites): Chai Latte (Hot or Iced)
Pretty much the only tea I drink. I used to order this all the time, but since I can get the Tazo chai concentrate in regular and decaf at Target for about $4 (it makes around 6 servings), I never order it anymore. It's still delicious, it just tastes as good at home for less than $1. I listed the calories for a grande size in both hot and iced. To order, say "Grande (decaf) nonfat chai latte."

Calories: 200, Fat: 0g, Carbs: 44g, Protein: 8g, Calcium: 25%, Caffeine: 100mg

Honorable Mention (Non-Coffee Favorites): Peppermint Hot Chocolate
Their hot chocolate is so good. I order a "short" (kids) size for just a taste, and - bonus - it's under $2! To order, say "Short nonfat, no whip peppermint hot chocolate."

Calories: 170, Fat: 2g, Carbs: 35g, Protein: 6g, Calcium: 20%, Caffeine: 15mg




One more hint: PLEASE pay with a registered gift card!! You save about 80 cents on each venti drink, you get a free drink on your birthday, and you can easily reload it online. Why wouldn't you use one??

The Best Recipe Ever: 5 Ingredient Taco Chili

I can't believe it's taken me this long to write a post about one of my favorite recipes ever: my five ingredient slow cooker taco chili. I think it took me longer to type the name of it than it did to make it this morning.

Yield: 4 servings (The pictures are from my mini-crockpot, so I just halved the recipe, I put the half cans of beans in the freezer to use next time I want some yummy chili!)

Ingredients:
1 bag of frozen Morningstar Farms Meal Starter Crumbles, 12 oz (or if you want to use a pound of beef or turkey, that's fine, just brown it first)
2 cans diced tomatoes, you can use the ones with chiles or green peppers, but do not use Rotel
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can chili/red kidney beans with gravy
1 packet of taco seasoning mix

Preparation:
1. Dump everything in your crockpot, give it a stir, and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. That's it!

You can top this with cheese, low fat sour cream, tortilla strips, fritos, put it over a baked potato...pretty much whatever you want. You can also add other canned veggies, like a can of corn or some chopped onions and bell peppers, even some jalapeños. Like I said: Best. Recipe. Ever.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

This was a recipe I made last week and never got around to posting, probably because it just turned out okay. It was a little bit tricky. Next time I make it, I'm definitely going to make some edits, the first of which will be to pre-cook the rice. Mine turned out a little too al dente (can you use that for rice?) and if it was all the way cooked I think it would've tasted much better. Other nitpicks I had include cutting the peppers the wrong way (whoops) and not having any foil to cover them when they went in the oven. That said, this recipe is really low calorie, pretty low carb, and filling!

Yield: 3 servings with leftover filling (I split the "filling" in half and froze it so I only used 3 peppers for this one, so if you don't want to do that, use 6 peppers, and it will make 6 servings. A little confusing.)

Ingredients: 
3 green bell peppers (or 6 if you want to use all the filling)

1 pound ground turkey

1/3 cup chopped onion

salt and pepper to taste

1 can whole peeled tomatoes, 14.5 oz, chopped

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup uncooked brown rice

1/2 cup water

1 cup shredded 2% Cheddar cheese (or you can use Mexican blend)

2 cans condensed tomato soup, 10.75 oz

water as needed

Preparation:

1. Cook rice according to instructions on package (I didn't do this step, but I would use my rice cooker. Remember, brown rice takes MUCH longer to cook than white rice, so factor that into your prep time).

2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cut the tops off the peppers, and remove the seeds. Cook peppers in boiling water for 5 minutes; drain. Sprinkle salt inside each pepper, and set aside.

3. Saute turkey and onions in a skillet until turkey is browned, about 5 minutes. Drain off excess fat, and season with salt and pepper. 

4. Stir in the tomatoes, rice, 1/2 cup water and Worcestershire sauce. Cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. 

5. Remove from heat, and stir in the cheese.

6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a baking dish with cooking spray (pick your dish carefully; you don't want the peppers to fall over, so the dish should be just big enough to fit all the peppers side by side). Stuff each pepper with the turkey and rice mixture and place peppers open side up in the baking dish. 

7. Combine tomato soup with just enough water to make the soup a gravy consistency (if you're only making half the recipe, only use one can of soup). Pour over the peppers.

8. Bake covered (I didn't cover them...next time I would use foil) for 30 minutes.

These made great leftovers and work lunches. As I said above, pack up half of this yummy filling and put it in the freezer. Next time you want this meal, it's as easy as prepping the peppers and popping them in the oven!