Zucchini Chips

Last night I saw a recipe on Facebook for Zucchini Chips and since I had all the ingredients, I made them!

Zucchini Oven Chips

2 1/2 C. (1/8 inch-thick) slices
1/4 C. ground almonds
1/4 C. grated fresh parmesan cheese
1/4 t seasoned salt
1/4 t garlic powder
1/8 t black pepper
2 T milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425*  Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk.  Place milk in a shallow bowl.  Dip zucchini slices in milk, and then coat in dry mixture.  Place coated slices on an oven proof wire rack coated with cooking spray.  Place rack on a baking sheet.  Bake at 425* for 20 minutes or until browned and crisp.  Serve immediately.

I had a huge zucchini so I just sliced up the whole thing and doubled the dry ingredients.  They were pretty good!  If I were to do it again and double the recipe like I did, I would put only half in the bowl that you are coating in.  Dipping the milk coated zucchini slice into the dry mixture started to make the dry mixture wet after awhile and it was impossible to coat the zucchini.  I ended up just dipping it in milk and sprinkling some of the coating on top of the zucchini slices before baking.  It was still good that way, though.

My mom called while I was making these and said something about a chip maker she bought from Pampered Chef... then I remembered I bought one, too!  I haven't even used it!!  Since I cut up an entire big zucchini, I decided to make some on the chip maker, too.  Those were really good!  All I did was sprinkle a little salt on them.  My girls liked them, too!  ...well one liked the baked ones and the other liked the microwave ones.. haha

Starting Shakes

The other day I didn't want to wait any longer for my blender to arrive so I decided to make a Body By Vi shake without the blender.  I still have blender bottles from TSFL so I used one of them.  I mixed 1 cup of Silk with 2 scoops powder and 1 T. of PB2.  The PB2 didn't get mixed in very well but it was still pretty good!  The bad part was I didn't feel satisfied afterwards... I know it was all in my head but it didn't stop me from going to the fridge and getting some leftover mashed potatoes from supper the night before.  At least I got some nutrients, right?!  My blender arrived yesterday!  So, for lunch I made a shake.  I tried my friend, Jodi's, recipe.  I used 1 cup of Silk, a splash of OJ, 2 scoops of powder, strawberries, blueberries, and banana.  All of my fruit was frozen.... even the banana!  A few days ago I noticed we had one banana left and it was just starting to get brown spots on it (have you noticed how fast banana's ripen!?... seems faster than before!) So, I peeled the banana and cut into 1 inch slices, put it on a plate and into the freezer.  After they were frozen I tried one... banana's are really good frozen!  Anyways... I added ice to that mixture and blended it until it was smooth.  Here's the funny part of the story... Jeremy was sleeping and I had read in reviews that it's pretty loud so I walked it out to the garage to blend it up! haha!  Whatever works, right?!  I threw it in a glass, loaded Annika up and met up with a friend to head to the city to get supplies for the house she and her husband are building.  It was a really good shake and left me much more satisfied than just the milk, powder, and PB2 (although, I do plan on making that again but with ice in the blender.)  I couldn't help but to make the same shake tonight as I did yesterday...

YUM!!  It's soo good!!

Post Baby Measurements/Pictures

Today Annika is 2 months old.  I figured today would be a good day to take some measurements and some pictures.  I decided to compare them with some pictures from last year.  I really don't want to post these pictures but I have to.  I have to start somewhere... even if that means starting over.

I also took took measurements...

Neck: 16

Arms: 19 1/2(R) 19(L)

Thighs: 33(R) 33 1/2(L)

Calves: 20 1/2(R) 20 1/4(L)

Chest: 62

Upper Waist (smallest): 52 1/2

Lower Waist (at belly button): 65

Hips: 60

Symphysis to Sternum: 32

Some of those measurements are the largest I've seen.  I'm going to try to not be too hard on myself.  The good thing is, in a month when I remeasure myself, it will feel really good to see the changes.  My measuring tape is only 60 inches long so I hope in the next month or two I can measure without having to figure out where the end of the tape is to measure the extra space.

My Body By Vi stuff came today!  I'm still waiting for a blender but I should have it the beginning of next week.  

I ordered the most basic package.  It comes with one bag of the shake mix and a few flavor mix in's.

It also comes with this challenge bracelet.  You can move the little tab along as you lose weight.  Plus I figure it serves as a visual reminder of my goals.

I'm excited to start!  I plan on having one shake a day.  I'm bringing in my knowledge from Take Shape For Life and will have 5 small "meals" and a lean and green.  One of my small meals throughout the day will be one of these shakes.  I also have been eating the Special K Protein bars and drinking the Slim Fast shakes.  The nutritional facts on them were comparable to a TSFL meal.  I'm still breastfeeding so I want to make sure my diet is well rounded so I'll have fruit, cheese, oatmeal and other things that I feel appropriate.  I'm not following a specific plan but putting together what I think will work for me.  After following TSFL and losing weight... then regaining weight... I decided I definitely need to do something that I could easily follow long term.

Family Walk

Tonight was such a nice night.  I asked Jeremy if he wanted to go for a walk after supper.  The whole family went for a walk, including one of our dogs.  Well, the girls rode their bikes... but we were all out.  Instead of going on the route I had planned this morning, we took a different path.  We went down by the convenient store and Jeremy got a pop for himself for the morning.  Then we walked down by a house that had been torn down.  The kids thought it was pretty cool seeing a big hole and no house.  It was so nice outside and it was nice going on a walk with Jeremy and the kids.  We will have to do that more often!  I mapped out the route when we got home.  Jeremy was surprised that we went only a little over a mile.  He thought we had gone farther.  I guess you don't realize how far a mile is until you walk it... especially when you have two little girls on bikes trying to run you over!  haha  Here was our path!

I still have to do my Ab workout for today.  I can definitely tell I've been working them!  They are a little sore but that kind of sore is always nice.  :)

Walking Route

I completed Day 2 of the Ab Challenge last night.  The sit ups were more difficult than they were the night before but I did them all!  I was able to do the plank all at once.  The only thing is, my chest (or boobs- haha) was touching the ground.  It was still difficult for me, so I decided that I would accept it and maybe by doing it everyday this month, it will get better.  I can't expect to do it perfectly right away!

I found a picture from when we were at the Iowa State Fair last week.  My girls were in the twins contest and received 4th in their age group!  (I, of course, thought they deserved 1st!)  They had so much fun and loved wearing their dresses that my mom sewed for them.  She also made them purses to match, which they thought were really neat.  They spent the day putting treasures in their purses... then eventually got sick of carrying them (typical woman... or maybe I should say, like mother, like daughter!)  Anyways, this picture shows my new capris and new shoes!  It also shows the weight I've gained... fortunately, I'm working on that!

I almost always walk the same route in town.  I started a long walking route when I was in high school.  I lived on a different block in town but when I moved back to town, I just tweaked the route a bit and still use the same one.  That route is a little over 3 miles long and covers pretty much ever street in my little town.  Since I've only been walking 1 mile at a time, I've just shortened up my regular route.  I decided this morning I need a change of scenery today.  I went to runningmap.com and plotted out a new route.  I might have to do this more often!  It's kinda fun :)  Here is where I'm going to walk today.  Pretty much just a big loop.  There are a couple hills in there to add a little difficulty.  Hopefully the rain will hold off for a bit so I can get it in!

Ab Challenge Day 1

I just did Day 1 of the Ab Challenge.  The part I was most nervous about was the Sit Ups and I actually could do a sit up fairly well.  I helped myself just a little bit by putting my hands under my thighs in the middle of the sit up, I didn't have to pull myself up, just a little tug and then I touched the couch (cause I had my feet under the couch).  I could do the crunches and the leg lifts pretty easily.  Then there was the plank... I could barely get myself into a plank pose!  It pulled on my lower back so much and was kinda painful.  I went up into what was as close to the pose as I could get and counted to 5 (quickly).  Then I took a second and talked myself into getting up into it again and counted to 5 (again, quickly).  Hopefully, this portion of the routine gets a little easier.

I actually had fun shopping the other day! :)  I went with my mom.  I got a pair of jeans and a pair of capris.  Then we went down a few stores and I got a pair of tennis shoes (do you call them tennis shoes?... I usually say something like, Tenna-Shoes haha).  Also, a pair of shoes my mom found and thought were cool... they are like MaryJane Crocks and are pretty comfy.  I'll have to see if I can take some pics.

A few days ago I was invited to a Body By Vi party.  I decided to go because I wanted to see what it was all about.  They started out by making samples for everyone to try.  The first sample was orange julius.  The second sample was butterfinger... pretty yummy.  I can't remember what they called the third sample but it was a lot thicker than the others and was like mango/pineapple/orange type flavored. I really liked it, especially how it was thicker, kinda like sorbet-ish.  The fourth sample may have been my favorite... it was coffee flavored, like iced coffee -so good!  After they had you taste the samples, we watched an informative video.  Then the sales lady talked about her story.  She has lost 92 lbs and went from a size 22 to a size 12 in 9 months.  That's pretty impressive but I was most impressed about the fact that she has 7 kids! haha  I decided to order some.  I ordered the smallest package.  I thought I'd just try it.  I thought if I just used it once a day it would help.  I would have one meal already set out for me, plus I would be getting more nutrition than I might otherwise.  A couple of my friends drink it and seem to like it.  We'll see how it goes and if I want to switch to the two shakes a day program.

Also... since I'm going crazy with everything... I ordered a couple workout DVD's!  I should be getting them in the mail in a couple days, so I'll fill you in on all of that when they come.  I'm pretty excited, though!

30 Day Ab Challenge

I'm part of a group of mommy's on Facebook.  We all had our babies in June 2013 (some a couple weeks before, some a couple weeks after).  Most of us are starting to get ready to get our bodies back in shape.  Since I had a C section, I didn't really know when it would be ok for me to start working out more intensely.  I am really starting to feel motivated to workout and eat more healthy foods.  Most of my concentration has been on Annika (as you can imagine)... by the way, check out how much she has grown!

Several of the other mom's are doing this Ab Challenge... I'm sure there are hundreds of them out there but I'm going to try this one.

I will let you know how it goes.  I haven't really done any form of exercise in a long time, so we will see how it goes.  I'm not sure I can do 1 sit up!

Since I lost so much weight before I got pregnant, I don't have many pants that fit me.  I have one pair of jeans that fit but are ripped so I don't wear them.  All I have been wearing is my maternity shorts.  Yes, 7 weeks postpartum and I'm still wearing maternity pants.  It is depressing.  Since we are going to the Iowa State Fair tomorrow, I'm going shopping for myself today.  I need a pair of pants that fit.  I'm not exactly looking forward to it.  I don't like shopping for myself... never really have.  I usually wear whatever I own until it dies... then I try to fix it and wear it longer.  I don't like how clothes look on me.  I don't even get the luxury of having normal sized feet!  I usually have to wear mens shoes, or women's shoes that don't have the best fit.  Anyways, I'm buying some shorts or jeans today.  I'll let you know how it goes. :)  Hopefully, they won't fit me in a couple months!

Guess Who's been Slacking?

It's been almost a month (where the heck did that time go?!) and I have only walked about 4 miles ...actually probably more but that's if you count all the walking around the fairs that I did.  The first time I went for a walk, I took the kids.  About halfway through the walk my lower back started hurting.  I imagine it's partially because I just had a baby but probably mostly because I'm carrying so much more weight on my front, still.  I still have a month and plan on completing my goal.

Do any of you watch Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition?  I always watch it, and love it!  Chris Powell is so motivating and good at what he does.  ...and in case you missed my last post... good looking!  This week the show was about a girl that hid her size behind fashion.  Her family, friends, and coworkers did not support her losing weight... which is so weird, but it's a different culture, I guess.  Although, they were all proud of her at the finale... probably because she looked amazing!  Anyways, long story short... I got a good idea from the show that I am going to steal.  They had two jars, one of them had marbles in it.  There was one marble for each pound she wanted to lose.  As she lost weight, she transferred the marbles to the other jar.  I just so happened to have jars and little colored stones!

Here is where I start!