Banana Island

So After several hours of research on the mono fruit diet I decided that it was right for me. The idea behind mono fruit is to eat 1 type of fruit for several days. Bananas, grapes, persimmons, and melons are the most frequently chosen fruits. I chose bananas because I love bananas. Well, I loved them. It has been 2 days and I have felt terrible all day today. The first day was not bad. I consumed 15 total bananas. It is recommended that you eat anywhere from 25-30, but there was no way that was happening. 

I started out with the goal of detoxing my body and proving to myself that I could eat only bananas for 3 days and be okay with it. Well today, half way through my 3 days and I am already wanting to quit. I am trying super hard to push through but the fat girl in me wants to throw in the towel SO bad! 

I am trying not to go bananas.............. {pun intended}

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       ~Swimbikerunfuel

Fleet Feet Sports 3.17 Run Lucky

Sunday was a great day! It was supposed to be a rain out but we turned out with a cool breeze and light drizzle for our run.

Here are a few pictures from the awesome day! 

My little guy ran the half mile fun run and KILLED IT! He finished in 4:03. I am super proud because a few months ago he decided he didn't want to run anymore which of course broke my heart. I think he is getting back into it now! {fingers crossed}

 This last picture is just perfect! My friend Lori is the best. Her face. HA

My last 3 5ks have all been sub 32 minutes! This is BIG. I’m super excited about getting stronger! 

Cheat Day is the Best Day!

Oh what a cheat day it was! 

We had a great time at the "Wearing of the Green" parade in Baton Rouge to start the day off! 

After the parade we had an amazing lunch at Kona Grill, I had a Pepperoni Flat bread.....Pizza is a cheat day staple. My husband had a giant stuffed burger. Which of course I ate some! 

After lunch our cheat day adventure led us to the most delicious famous bakery in Baton Rouge, Ambrosia. They are famous for this incredible Strawberry cake with delicious whipped icing. I am partial to their petit fours and cake balls. We ordered a hodge podge of items and enjoyed them all! 

The glorious cheat day then headed out to a FABULOUS party put on by Robinson Brother's Ford. Our good friends work there and they invited us. So where's the cheat day part of the party? Oh that would be in the cranberry and vodkas and the amaretto drinks I consumed! 

We were for sure "ON TOP OF THE WORLD!"

It has been several weeks since I have had a cheat day like this. It was worth every second! I am a big believer of living your life to the fullest and not missing out on good times because of the foods that are not so good for you. 

                  ~Swimbikerunfuel

I was so exhausted last night I couldn't even stay up to blog. It was my normal meal prep Sunday but I tried a few new things.

Before the meal prep madness began I enjoyed this yumminess

NUTELLA FRO YO! 

Then It was on to my 10 mile bike ride.

obligatory post work out selfie 

I ate some of these gems last week and they were so good! texture was somewhat like crispy rice cake. They are potato based so not too good on carbs but they are loaded with protein and were a welcome change from bars and shakes. A co-worker found them at GNC and I will be going to buy more. 

 I have been eating a lot of fresh berries for snacks. I decided to add pineapple to the mix. I LOVE fresh pineapple especially the juice! I bought the pineapple cutter and it saves a lot of time.

I threw out the chicken and fish this week and sauteed some shrimp to go with my quinoa and asparagus. I just put a little EVOO in a pan and some Tony Chachere's to season. Tony's around Louisiana is a staple. I put it in everything and my husband seasons all of his food with it. 

I loved my last batch of protein bars so I tried out the cake batter recipe. They are so yummy! 

2 cups oat flour

2 scoops vanilla protein powder

3 tbsp PB

1/4 cup almond milk

a tiny squirt of agave nectar

Mix it all up and then press it into a wax paper lined brownie pan. Put in fridge over night. 

I also made some more of my simple PB cookies this time I added dark chocolate chips. (See the catching up blog for recipe.)

Race for the Cure

Today was an amazing day that started off emotional. I have run the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure twice before but this time was different. I was running in celebration of my Aunt who is a survivor. Before the race they do a survivor parade, which would make any one teary eyed. To add to the emotion they played the song Hero by Mariah Carey! Here is my beautiful aunt and her friend in the survivor parade.

So after that emotional beginning was the 5k race. I wanted so badly to PR but I was 2 mins off.

I still did well and enjoyed my bling! 

~Swimbikerunfuel 

Catching Up

I had a fabulous training day on Thursday and that's about all I have to brag about for the past 4 days. I ran for 2 miles on the dreadmill then I swam 1000 meters. It was GREAT! As a wife/mom/teacher, my training time is limited so when I have time for a brick I get excited.

 Friday was a food free for all! We had Louisiana themed food at school for all of the teachers and boy was it yummy! Here's a look at what we ate.

My favorites were the mini pecan pies and my shrimp dip. I won't share that recipe it's not too healthy!

We also had our school Mardi Gras Parade, here's Beau :)

Saturday was a "hang with my guys" day. Beau (my son) coughed all night so we took him to the walk in clinic and he has an upper respiratory infection so that canceled our plans. We were headed to Lafayette for 2 Mardi Gras parades but we decided to stay in town and run some errands. We stopped at my favorite place for lunch, The Salad Shop. Its like the subway of salads so delish even Beau loves it!

So all that catching up takes us to Sunday also known as "meal prep day." I am fighting a terrible migraine and trying to keep a rowdy sick little boy resting. It's not looking like I'll get a work out in today but I was able to get my meal prep done and try out a new recipe.

On deck for this week is brown rice and pork chop casserole. 

Super easy!
1 pack thin cut pork chops
1 box chicken broth
1 box Uncle Ben's instant brown rice
1 chopped bell pepper

brown the pork chops in a skillet throw the rest of the ingredients in a glass dish and top with pork chops. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for about an hour.


Then I threw together my favorite stir fry.

4 bell peppers
1 red onion
1 pack mushrooms
2 1/2 chicken breast
2 tbsp Ponsu sauce ( similar to teryaki)
1 tbsp EVOO

Put EVOO in skillet and heat. Chop chicken, and veggies and put in skillet. Add Ponsu sauce and stir fry it up.

I usually just eat out of a bowl but I bought some low carb tortillas so I made a little wrap today.

My last and FAVORITE thing I cooked today were some 4 ingredient PB cookies.

5 tbsp PB ( I used crunchy today)

1 tbsp cocoa powder

1 egg

2 tbsp Tuvia baking blend

They came out fluffy and yummy just like a real cookie! oh and excuse the chocolate chip cookies, those are for Beau.

Now it's back in bed for the little man and myself. Until next time...........

            ~Swimbikerunfuel

More Than Cookies

The controversy of the day would be my binge eating of Girl Scout cookies. Who knew a few cookies could conjure up such a fuss. So let me start out by stating my purpose here:

I am not claiming to be a health guru. I am about as far from perfect as they come. I have fought my entire life with weight issues and finally found sanity in running and meal planning. I LOVE FOOD. There is no denying that. I once weighed 235 pounds. I started this blog because I love to write, run, and eat. 

 If you are looking to read a blog full of good healthy choices, you are in the wrong place. I make several good choices but there are bad ones that get mixed in. If you want to see someone who falls but picks themselves up over and over again, then please continue to read.

So this morning my 5 boxes of Girl Scouts cookies came in. I wait for this day all year. I opened each box and ate what I wanted. Awe who am I kidding, I ate my self sick! I am done now and it was FUN and Delicious! To me life is about making choice and taking chances. I make the choice to live a fun and delicious life. Yes some days I fill my body with junk and others I fuel it for my workouts. Today I chose to fuel with cookies, lots of cookies.

3 dreadmill miles and 10 minutes on this weird new machine called the Nustep and I am exhausted. Came home and made more delicious overnight oats and now I am headed to bed.

Holy legs this thing was tough!

So I'll leave you with image of some yummy overnight oats..............

Strawberry, blackberry and PB on the right and Apple Cinnamon on the left. I chopped the apples and microwaved them in some honey with cinnamon first to soften them. 

The War on Fat

Food battle #1 Our cafeteria has been making wheat rolls for the last several years so you can imagine my surprise when I walked into white roll heaven today! Not to worry, I was not defeated by that warm, gooey, baked goodness! I strolled right on by and enjoyed my zucchini lasagna. #winning

I did enjoy the most delish "proffee" for meal 4.  I have been hooked on cool brew coffee and unsweetened vanilla almond milk with a little Splenda. I make it in a shaker for easy travel so that got me thinking, why not add some protein to this! And voila, the proffee was born! 

Food battle #2 today, the in-laws are passing through in the RV last minute. First thought, oh no! I didn't pack a meal!! Panic sets in. I must stay on track! Just when I finally become okay with eating crap, Subway saves the day! I enjoyed this delish Double Chicken Chopped Salad. Oh my yum, a bowl of sandwich guts! I have recently been in love with the chopped salad, everything mixed together so there's a taste of each ingredient in every bite. 

Oh and that Diet Barq's was an added bonus courtesy of the in-laws 

I feel like my life is a series of battles against food. I am currently winning the war on fat! That said, I choose to live my life and be happy. I will not miss out on a party or the food because it's bad for me. I will indulge and enjoy myself then pick back up at the next meal. Stay tuned for Fridays blog, Louisiana themed food at school. Laissez les bon temp rouler.............

 So here I am.....

Blogging from my trainer. For those of you who are not familiar, this contraption holds my bike and allows me to ride indoors. Brilliant, right? WRONG. This is the worst form of torture, way worse than the "dreadmill". I really really really dislike this thing! I already did not want to get on it at 8pm but had no choice right? Well 8 minutes into my ride the bike falls off the trainer!!! Aghhhhh and this happens

Lovely, just lovely. So I cleaned the shit up and got back on.

Lesson learned today, do not rush to put the bike on the trainer, it will only fall off. 

                                                                              ~Swimbikerunfuel

More Recipes, Zucchini Lasagna and Egg Muffins

Today was a busy Monday! I got up this morning and decided I would not be defeated by a crazy Monday so I wore this super awesome shirt made by my girl @stellarcheri!

#findyourstrong......I am finding mine and I hope this blog will inspire others to find theirs.

I stayed focused and stuck to my 6 meals! #feelinggood. Being a teacher you eat when the kids eat so I have had to make some adjustments to my schedule but it looks like this:

6:30 am: meal 1- usually just coffee

8:00 am: meal 2- oatmeal and egg whites, egg muffins, or sometimes just a protein bar.

11:00 am: meal 3- LUNCH- fish or chicken, with some sort of green veggie and quinoa or brown rice.

2:00 pm: meal 4 (sometimes this one is earlier, its my hungry hour!) protein bar and cool brew coffee with almond milkß my fav!

5:00 pm: meal 5- DINNER- repeat lunch

8:00 pm: meal 6 ( this meal is often skipped, it should not be though because your body continues to burn calories as you sleep and it needs protein to do that.) So I have a protein shake or bar, tonight was different keep reading for that yumminess! 

After work I hit the pool for a 1000 meter swim. Short swim, but I am working on swimming without stopping in between laps. My son comes with me to the pool and of course he tries to talk to me between each lap, but I have to do what I can to get it done. #noexcuses

The cooking craze continued into the afternoon yesterday! Next up was a family favorite that is so simple to prepare ahead of time and makes our mornings easier throughout the week. My husband and my son love to eat these. I put 2 in a Ziploc bag and breakfast for the week is done. You can even freeze them.

Egg Muffins

1/2 cup of shredded Colby jack cheese

12 eggs

12 slices of turkey (or whatever you prefer)

Salt and pepper

Spray the muffin tin first with non stick spray. Then line the pan with turkey, ham, or bacon. (Bacon makes them a little greasy and takes longer to cook.) Then, crack an egg into each cup. Top with seasoning of your choice and cheese. There are endless combinations you can make for these, this is just our favorite.

The nutrition facts vary depending on what you use but these have about 100 calories per cup!

My husband’s favorite meal is lasagna. When we first met I cooked it for him for special occasions but a serving of regular lasagna can have up to 500 calories. We are both working on new lifestyles so that meal can no longer be made in our house! So I found a recipe for zucchini lasagna. The noodles are replaced with zucchini. YUM! I’m not one to follow recipes so I sort of make up my own with the things we like. Anyway here it is……..

Zucchini Lasagna

4 large zucchini

1 jar marinara sauce

1 can tomato sauce

1 lb ground turkey

Turkey pepperoni

Mushrooms

2 bags grated mozzarella

1 16 oz container or part skim ricotta

1 egg

First I brown the ground turkey then add marinara and tomato sauce. I peel the zucchini first and slice them thin long ways. (These are the noodles so make sure they aren't too thick.) Then I mix the ricotta, egg, and 1 bag of the mozzarella in a bowl. Now the layering begins! First sauce, then zucchini, then cheese mixture, last pepperoni and mushrooms and repeat. Once it’s all finished top with the other bag of cheese and cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 350 for about an hour.

Again depending on what ingredients you use and how big your serving the calories can vary but this one has about 230 calories per cup.

I log all of my meals using My Fitness Pal. It’s an awesome app to track food and exercise. You can create recipes and that’s how I get the nutrition facts on the meals I cook.

I have a new obsession and it is cold bananas with peanut butter! Of course my homemade peanut butter! Tonight I added cocoa powder to it and it was so good! 

                                                        ~swimbikerunfuel