Meg: My Daily Struggles

I'm a night owl and because of that there are a few obstacles I face on a daily basis when it comes to eating.

1. Breakfast. I'm just NOT hungry when I wake up. In fact, I used to wait until about 1pm to eat my first meal but by then I was so hungry I would pile down everything on my plate. Looking back I probably ate an entire days worth of calories in that first meal alone. And by 9pm I was hungry again!

2. Midnight snacks. Even when I do eat consistently throughout the day I am always hungry after 8:30pm. Every single time. I try to save a snack for after 8pm but very rarely does it squash the feeling of hunger. I pretty much stay hungry until I go to sleep.

3. Bed Time. If I fall asleep BEFORE 9pm it is almost guaranteed that I will be wide awake before 1am and unable to fall back asleep before 4am. If I fall asleep before midnight? We are looking at a 3am wake up time. I'm a trooper for most of the day but I usually collapse from exhaustion by 4pm. A nap at that time will reset my night owl status the same day.

What I'm trying to say is that everyone has their own level of weightloss struggles. I battle these obstacles on a daily (or nightly) basis and sometimes it just doesn't work out for me.

However, recognizing them and trying different solutions has helped me in many ways too. I feel a sense of accomplishment when I work for a perfect day. Of course not every day is perfect but when I wake up tomorrow I know that I can start all over again.

I'm trying out a new "solution" this week. I've set my Reminders app to alert me during my meal and snack times.



A quick breakdown of how I allot calories:

Breakfast: 200
Snack: 100
Lunch: 200
Snack: 100
Dinner: 500
Snack: 100

Total: 1200

You should probably see a doctor if...

Meg: Chipotle Chicken Bowl

One of my favorite low calorie, incredibly filling, and über tasty dine out meals is the chicken bowl at Chipotle. The fresh ingredients ensure that every dish is flavorful and packed with only the best stuff.

Organic, grass fed, locally grown, blah blah blah aside there is honestly something there for everyone. Even my vegan friends love all of the options available!

You can check out the calorie counts online or in store. A meal without drink will set you back about $7.00 but it's guaranteed to fill you up or feed you for at least 2 days.

My chicken bowl is made with: Brown rice, (no beans), chicken (although sometimes I will get the steak), mild salsa and extra lettuce.

Occasionally I will order my sour cream on the side.

By omitting the beans and cheese I save a couple hundred calories. Same goes for the tortilla.

The estimated calories for my bowl range between 500-600 and I always walk away full. Balanced with 2-3 200 calorie meals throughout the day it is my all time favorite plan and I look forward to it at least once a week.

Meg: 10 Minute Sweet Potato Recipe

10 minute Sweet Potato

Are you ready for an awesome "Recipe" that just screams Autumn Seasonal Holiday Time!

Go to the store and buy a Sweet Potato. Actually might want to buy 5, this is seriously THAT good!

• Wash it.
• Stab a few holes in it with a fork. Flip it over and stab a few more holes in it.
• Grab a paper towel and put it in the microwave.
• Put your sweet potato on the paper towel.
• Microwave for 5 minutes.
• Flip it over and microwave it for 5 more minutes.

That's it!

Slice that delicious, vitamin packed, sweet potato of goodness in half and add some light butter and pumpkin pie spice. Or sweeten it with a few marshmellows. Or maybe a little brown sugar and some pecans? Oh Yum!

Here is even better news: It's important to have some fat in your sweet potato-containing meals if you want to enjoy the full beta-carotene benefits of this root vegetable. Recent research has shown that a minimum of 3-5 grams of fat per meal significantly increases our uptake of beta-carotene from sweet potatoes. So go ahead and use that butter or olive oil, just remember to do so in moderation.

Sweet Potato Nutrition Facts  (for one medium size sweet potato)

Calories 130
Fat 0.39 g
Protein 2.15 g
Net Carbs 31.56 g
Dietary Fiber 3.9 g
Calcium 28.6 mg
Sodium 16.9 mg
Potassium 265.2 mg
Folate 18.2 mcg
Vitamin C 29.51 mg
Vitamin A 26081.9 IU
Source: US Department of Agriculture

Meg: Dieting & Desserts

There are just so many things right about the Skinny Cow Strawberry Shortcake ice cream sandwiches. They are sweet, creamy and only 150 calories which makes them a great treat for those special occasions.

I am also a big fan of the Weight Watchers ice cream bars. My favorites are the Toffee Crunch and Chocolate Raspberry.

If you are ever looking for a portion controlled serving of your favorite dessert, I highly recommend these options.

What splurge do you like to give into on occasion? How have you incorporated it into a healthy eating plan? Share your tips and tricks in the comments below!

Meg: Coffee & Mondays

Homemade Italian Croutons for Under $2

My family eats a lot of spinach salad on a pretty regular basis. One of the tricks to getting my 6 year excited about this frequent side dish is the promise of some crunchy seasoned croutons on top. It doesn't matter if we've already eaten salad every night that week, all I have to do it pick up a bag of packaged bread cubes and she's all in.

With that being said, those little bags of croutons are kind of expensive. If you are a smart shopping, frugal momma like me, you probably pay $1-$3 per bag. That adds up when you have a husband like mine who uses half that bag on 1 little side salad.

I digress...

Seeing as how school is starting Monday and I've switched into some weird "nesting" syndrome I decided to make a batch of homemade croutons to go with some of the dinners I am planning this week.

It was super easy and took about 20 minutes. 

Recipe:
1 Loaf Texas Toast Bread
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 white wine
1 packet Italian Seasoning

Cut the texas toast bread into bite size squares. Mix the oil, white wine and seasoning. Drizzle mixture of squares and bake at 350 degrees for 10-20 minutes.


I added some fresh oregano too :)


Tip: I put the squares in a tupperware container and then drizzled the oil/wine/seasoning mixture over it, closed the lid and shook the whole container until everything was perfectly coated.