Indoor Fun For Kids = Mama's Workout Zone!

A while back, my kids won gift cards for Cosmic Adventures, and Monday was the day we chose for our adventure to get cosmic! It is the best place for kids to burn off bucket loads of energy and have a great time doing it!

Off we GO!

It is also an amazing place for parents to get their sweat on. We chase after our excited kids, climb with them through the miles and miles of tubing, swim through big ball pits and struggle through obstacle courses. We dance to loud music under disco balls, sprint up many sets of stairs, and scream down the slides.

Let the workout begin!

It really is a great workout for parents and kids alike! Plus - when kids see their parents being active, it inspires them to keep active too! We are their fitness role models!

There was one BIG downfall about Cosmic Adventures. It was a very noticeable one to a mother who has changed her eating lifestyle for the better and is encouraging her kids to have healthy habits as well.

Their menu.

Pizza. Soda. Nachos. Burgers. Sugary juices. Pogos. Hot dogs. Fries. Deep-fried chicken fingers.

Yuck.

And because they want to get every dollar out of your pocket keep their facility peanut-free, they refuse to allow you to bring your own foods into the center. So the nicely prepared strawberries, oatmeal-flax banana-blueberry muffins, applesauce and WATER that we packed were not allowed to be touched while we were there. If we really wanted our kids to eat or drink there, we were stuck with the deep-fried, refined-sugar laden foods that the Galaxy Grill sold.

Yuck. I'm thinking of contacting them to see if this can be changed ..

Fun in the ball pit!

That aside, we all had a great time. Lots of laughter, lots of playing and TONS of fun!! We just left a little earlier to avoid having to eat their food!

Boy Lego was definitely in his happy place :)

I highly recommend taking your kids there. It's a safe environment where kids can have a great time (okay, and parents, too!). There is a lot to do and hey, getting your kids active is all part of encouraging a healthy lifestyle! ... Just avoid going during meal times ;)

Baking While Losing Weight

LF Chocolate Mousse Cupcakes (recipe here!) 

It's pretty much no secret that I LOVE to bake. Nothing smells better than a house with cookies baking in the oven!
Or cake. Or muffins. Oh, and bread!

One thing I'd said when I started on my lifestyle change was that I would have to stop baking for all the obvious reasons (my favorite baked goods were too high in fat / sugar / calories, they weren't all that nutritious, I couldn't stop myself at just one cookie ...)

But now I reflect back on that mindset. By stopping myself from doing something I truly loved to lose a few pounds, was I really setting a positive light on my new healthy lifestyle? Nope. That and I was bound to rebel against my new "no baking" rule, bake fourteen recipes in one day, and have a great big ol' all I could eat sugar buffet. The next day I would get mad at myself for losing control, become depressed, and dive into the leftovers.

Cindy's Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips and Walnuts

And so .. I learned, that it isn't about entirely cutting out things that I love just because I had made bad habits out of them. It was about conditioning myself and changing my behaviors.

Here are some baking lessons I've learned along the way, both from myself and from other incredible people:

Dark Chocolate Chip Banana-Oatmeal Muffins

1. Try modifying your old favorite not-so-healthy recipes into new favorite not-so-terrible ones! Daddy Lego and I have become almost obsessed with "healthifying" full-fat recipes and making them into diet-friendly treats.

2. If you find having an entire batch in the home too much temptation for you, then half the recipe and bake that. That way if you do slip up and eat the whole thing, at least it was only a half-batch instead of the whole!

3. Another suggestion if having a full batch in the home is too hard to control yourself around: give some to a family member, a friend, or a neighbor. Trust me, they'll be all too happy to take a container of homemade oatmeal raisin cookies off your hands!

4. Put your freezer to good use! Wrap up your baked goods individually and freeze them. That way they're out of sight and out of mind, but still there if you need a treat. And because they're individually wrapped, you won't have to thaw out the entire bunch to have just one cookie. The rest of the tempting goodies will still be frozen and away from your mouth!

Christina's Double Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread (recipe here!)

When faced with extra temptation, ask yourself these questions: What is more important to me, that second muffin or my health / fitness goals? Is this the ONLY time I'll get to have a piece of chocolate cake ever again? Did I already have a treat today?

Remember, if you do happen to slip up and eat one cookie out of each batch that comes out of the oven to "quality test" it .. (ahem. I totally do that) ... Brush yourself off and get back to your healthy habits right away. You've worked too hard to get where you are today to let one bad decision ruin your progress!

Do you have any tips on how to control your after-baking urges? What do you do to keep your goals in check while still enjoying your baking hobby?

Happy healthy baking! :)

SNT - Week Four!

So this will be the last "weekly" edition of SNT .. From September onward, it's going to be a monthly feature! (the last Thursday of every month will be SNT!) That way, it gives you more time to try new things and to share them with us!

Keep in mind that trying new foods and recipes is FUN! It's a great opportunity for you to get creative and give your taste buds a treat! Get your regular meal plan out of the rut and eat something different. It helps SO much in keeping myself on track with my lifestyle and dietary changes. If I get bored with what I'm eating, I won't stick to my plan - I'll eat just about anything that comes into my eyesight and it WON'T be pretty!

If you do try something new, brag about it!! Send me a picture at mama_lego@yahoo.com :)

Christina made this homemade mushroom soup .. I'm a huge sucker for creamy soups and this looks AMAZING!

Daddy Lego and I made this BLT pizza (well, BST .. bacon, spinach and tomato!) sssssoooo very good :) Recipe to come!

PB & J Oatmeal. I'm so completely addicted. You can see the recipe here!

Alana tried a kumquat! She said it was nothing special, just like a small orange :) And it's so cute!

Christina made this roasted beet, onion and carrot salad (she said the beets were sweet like raisins!) I really want to try golden beets now!

Cindy made this delicious-looking Looneyspoons Copabanana bread and added walnuts, cinnamon and nutmeg. Apparently it's the best banana bread she has ever had!

Thanks so much to everyone who participated and made SNT special for me (and everyone else!) and thanks to you all for reading :) 

100-Miles On Foot .. Challenge Defeated!!

It's done.

My first monthly fitness challenge has been completed.

And I'm actually sad about it!!

One of the gorgeous paths I get to run down

It was so much fun to keep getting myself out the door, going for runs and walks as much as possible. It was almost addictive, to see the numbers climbing higher and higher on my pedometer, and pushing myself to get more miles in than the day before, the week before. It was exciting to blow my daily goals out of the water!

I've decided I'm not going to stop. I'm going to keep wearing my pedometer every day to make sure I get in at least 10, 000 steps every day! It's fun and keeps me active!

Hulk decided to come on one of our evening walks :)

This week I walked / ran for 40.79 miles!!

Making my total for the month 126.87 miles!! Holy crap!!

I achieved my goal of getting 100 miles on foot in one month. I am SO proud and really excited. What a great feeling! 

Another view of the same path. Just a beautiful walking / running trail!

My goal for September is to work on my core strength. I cannot do a proper sit-up or a proper push-up .. And so I've challenged myself to be able to complete 25 non-stop reps of each by the end of the month! I'll also be doing my best to take the 300 Ab and Core challenge .. But my main goal will be the sit-ups and push-ups. And I really do think I've got my plate full with this challenge!

September, here I come!!

BLT Pizza! (well, kind of!)

As you are well aware by now - Daddy Lego and I have a pizza problem. We just can't get enough of the stuff. If I go listing the reasons why, I'll start to want one .. And that's a craving I just don't want to deal with (at least not today!)

Anyhow, in order to use up some ingredients we had in the fridge (bococcini and chicken bacon!) we decided to make a pizza. And I LOVE BLT's .. So we decided to combine them! Well, sort of. We certainly didn't load it with mayonnaise.

We started with a PC whole grain thin crust (we normally make our own dough but we were running low on some ingredients which would have cost us more than a pre-made crust!), then added a layer of pizza sauce (we accidentally put too much on this time .. Next time will be different!). We topped our pizza with (not in this particular order) a layer of thinly sliced tomatoes, seven (small) pieces of sliced up bococcini, two pieces of chopped chicken bacon, and spinach. (see?! Bacon, lettuce and tomato!)

Then we grated a tiny 2cm cube of light old cheddar over top, sprinkled on some chopped fresh basil, and threw it into the oven for 20 minutes on 425.

O ... M ... G!!

The bococcini melted SO beautifully and gave our pizza that gooey, stringy cheesy feeling without the added fat. The old cheddar added that little extra flavor that this pizza wouldn't have been the same without. The saltiness of the chicken bacon perfectly matched the low-salt flavor of the bococcini and the tomato added so much taste to the pizza. Every bite was a little piece of heaven.

And get this. Because we used thin crust and lighter toppings, each QUARTER was eight points!!

This pizza is definitely on our "must make again" list!

PB & J Oatmeal

I simply adore oatmeal. It's such a comfort food for me! I remember always eating it on those cold winter days before my short walks to school. As an adult, I've come to appreciate it not only in the fall / winter, but the spring / summer season as well. It is a nutritious and filling breakfast that can be made with just about anything!

I'd been thinking about this "recipe" for a while and decided to give it a go.

I took 1/4C of one-minute oats and soaked it in 1/4C of boiled water for (you guessed it!) one minute. Then I mixed in 1/2 tbsp of triple-berry jam and topped it with 1/2 tbsp of whipped peanut butter. Then I stirred it all together.

That's it!

This amazing bowl of PB & J delight is only four points. It's worth every one!

Who doesn't love peanut butter and jam?!

I SO love it. I could eat it all day!

Have a great day, everyone :)

I'm seriously addicted to this. So.Freakin.Good.

Provolone Cordon Bleu Turkey Burgers

My husband and I love turkey burgers. They are so moist, juicy, and flavored ... But the best part about them is how lean and guilt-free they are.

We love to experiment with different variations of turkey burgers. This week we invented a Cordon Bleu with Provolone turkey burger.

Mix one pack of lean ground turkey with one egg white, 1/4c oats, 1 tbsp hickory-smoked BBQ sauce, finely chopped red onions, garlic, sea salt and pepper all together. Then thinly slice extra lean deli ham (about four slices) into strips and work them into the mix.

The ham really added that extra bit of flavor. So delicious!

Use a 1/2 cup to measure out each portion and mold them into burger patties. Cover them and let them sit in the fridge for about two hours.

Fry them over low heat on the stovetop until they're browned lightly on both sides, then put them onto a baking tray and put them in the oven for about 20-25 minutes at 350. Then top each burger with a slice of light provolone cheese.

Each patty with cheese is 6 WW+ points! Not bad vs beef cheeseburgers, right?!

We had them one night as burgers for dinner, and then had leftovers for lunch the next day. To save on points (and carbs!) I had my turkey burger without a bun. I topped my patty with spinach, tomato and a slice of light cheese. Yum!

Enjoy :)

My bun-less turkey burger leftover lunch!