Inspiration can come from all places...Thank you Walk MS.

Inspiration can come from all places, but no matter where it comes from, it's always so amazing.  This weekend was the Walk MS 5 mile walk in Manchester, NH.  A very good friend of mine, Casie, requested that all her friends and family do this walk with her for her 30th birthday, which was the same day as the walk.  She doesn't have MS, but someone close to her does, much like many others.  Kristi and I signed up to do the walk, along with a good group of our friends.  We did a little fundraising (thank you to those who donated!), and we did a (VERY) little bit of walking to prepare. Sunday was the day of the walk and it was a hot (80 degrees) and very sunny day.  The walk started at noon, and we started our 5 mile walk around Manchester.  The route was mostly scenic, but quite hilly.  The walk started downhill, which unfortunately meant the end was up (quite a big) hill.  We walked a bit along the canals, which gave off a very nice breeze, and then headed up to downtown, walking by all the delicious restaurants and awesome bars...what a tease!!  The walk then wound up through neighborhoods and up a nice big hill just before the finish.

At the beginning of the walk, I was worried about finishing, but as we continued walking, we saw people of all ages, from babies to grandparents, with varying disabilities.  If they could do this 5 mile walk, so could I.  I sometimes think that being so overweight is a disability in itself at times, but even if it is, at least I have the option to make a change.  I don't have to be this overweight. I don't have to worry about fitting in an airplane seat, or worry about weight restrictions for different activities.  There is no reason that I should be limited to where I buy clothes, or how I look in them. The people with MS have no choice, they cannot change their diagnosis, much like people with other disabilities and illnesses.  Why should I live with a "disability" that I created for myself?   Time to make a change.  Thank you Walk MS for continued inspiration to continue on my path to a healthier and better life.

So, yes, I finished the walk.  I completed 5 miles in 2 hours and 20 minutes. Yes, 8 minutes longer than it took the winner of the Boston Marathon to complete 26.2 miles today.  But you know what? That's okay, because every mile I walk is a step closer to getting my health, weight, and life under control.

Yesterday's Walk MS event was very inspirational, and I'd like to thank my friend Casie for putting her team together as her birthday wish.  What a great idea. Thank you Casie. :)

I did it!

"Join The Movement" as it says on my bracelet.

Yesterday after the walk we came home, had some lunch, rested for a bit and then decided to go out to dinner in Nashua with some friends.  I picked Shorty's in Nashua, NH because Kristi really wanted a burrito.  Unfortunately our meals were less than great, but it was still a fun dinner with some friends that were able to meet us there! I love when we randomly want to be social and are able to make it happen within an hour. Thanks for joining us friends! :)

Today was very hot and humid and we stayed inside for most of it.  I woke up very sore from the walk yesterday, but by early evening I was feeling good and so I decided to go for a little walk around the neighborhood.  Kristi and our pup, Samson, came too.  A nice family walk. We went about 1.4 miles, in about 30 minutes.  And it was crazy hot.  Then I made dinner on the BBQ grill that Heidi has on the back porch, and it was delicious!

14 Points for dinner, using low fat hot dogs, light buns, fat-free feta, and fat-free dressing to save points!

Saturday night was our friend Jess' birthday party. and we went candlepin bowling and then to the bar at the bowling alley, where some of the party people entered a karaoke contest.  It was a good time, aside from not getting to sleep until about 2am, which was not the amount of sleep I wanted to get before walking 5 miles. Oh well!  Overall, it was a very successful and enjoyable long weekend with lots of activity, friends, and successes.  

This is a picture of me and Kristi, my wonderful fiancee, before our bowling birthday party outing on Saturday! :) 

Have a great week everyone, and don't let anything hold you back from doing what you want to do! 

Hungry Girl!

So a couple of weeks ago my roommate, Heidi, and I were watching Dr. Oz and his guest that day was Hungry Girl.  She made several dishes on his show but the one that stood out to me was a healthy version of chicken parm.  I knew I should try it since one of my fiancee's favorite meals is chicken parm, but it can be so awful for you, especially when you order it at a restaurant. I decided to try this recipe tonight and it came out deliciously.

I cooked it with a mix of whole grain and Smart Taste penne pasta, as I'm not 100% on board with fully whole grain pasta yet.  Each serving of pasta was 6pts (about 2.5oz dry pasta).  The only change I think I'll make to the below recipe is forgoing the tomato sauce part and just do my own sauce, because the one I make is better than using just a can of sauce.  Oh well, it was worth a try.  The actual chicken cutlet was fantastic though and the cereal I used was Fiber One Bran Cereal which is actually pretty good by itself, and very high in fiber (which was this week's focus in our Weight Watchers meeting - so this recipe was perfect...as a reminder - 25g of fiber for women, and 38g of fiber for men, is the advised daily intake).

To go with the pasta and chicken parm I decided to cut up 2 fresh zucchinis and let them marinate for about an hour in a little oil drizzle with some vegetable seasoning I like to use. I then steamed the zucchini for 2 minutes in a tupperware steamer that my roommate has for the microwave, and then I put them in the oven to bake for about 10 minutes.  They came out the perfect texture and taste.  See below for a picture of our final meal!  The point total for the whole meal is 13, which is 6 for pasta, 6 for chicken, and 1 for the small amount of oil on the zucchini.

After dinner I had some Newtons Chocolate Fruit Thin Cookies which are absolutely delicious, and you can have 3 for 4pts, or 6 for 7pts. I had 13 points left for the day so I had 6 of them, along with one of the small 2pt banana pudding chocolate cupcakes from last week, and then split both an apple and a pear with Kristi. Lots of variety and a delicious, semi-healthy dessert.

To go back in time a bit, I wanted to share my delicious 14 point lunch that I had today too.  Today was a good food day, 3 good meals, 1 snack, and dessert. I ended the day with 3 points left over but I just wasn't hungry and with 55 points a day, sometimes I just can't fill them.  I also had 10 glasses of water today (80oz) so I feel really good about how I did today.  Anyway, for lunch I made a huge salad, with about 4 cups of salad (lettuce, carrots, cherry tomatoes, celery, cucumber, red pepper), 2oz of fat free feta cheese, 4oz of grilled chicken, and a delicious basil parmesean light dressing.  I topped the salad with about 10grams of sliced almonds, for a little extra crunch.  The entire salad was 10 points, so to bulk it up a bit I added 1oz (30g or 15 crackers) Sundried Tomato and Basil Wheat Thins, which are 4pts per serving.  So I had the below lunch, which was filling, nutritious, and delicious, for 14 points!

Overall, I think today was a very successful food day, and I'm feeling good about this week so far.  Tomorrow I am determined to go for a walk in the mid-afternoon.  I hope I can convince Kristi to go too but she is getting up for work at 5:30am, working all morning then she has class in the afternoon, so by the time she gets home she may be exhausted.  Either way, I will be going for a walk tomorrow at some point, at least with Samson, our 9yr old yellow lab and shar pei mix.  It's supposed to be 59-60 tomorrow which is plenty warm, and perfectly cool, for a nice walk!  I am doing a 5 mile "Walk MS" walk on 4/15 for one of my Bridesmaid's birthdays, so I need to get myself moving if I'm going to make it through that!

I hope everyone reading this had a great day and if you're interested, you can follow the recipe below, or tweak it however you want!  I made it with the egg substitute, and not the regular egg, just FYI. I've added some comments where I made changes to try make it easier.

Hungry Girl's Pan Fried Chicken Parm

Ingredients

Makes 2 servings

1/2 cup bran cereal (Fiber One Bran)

1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning, or more to taste

1/8 tsp salt, or more to taste

1/2 tsp garlic powder, or more to taste

1/2 tsp onion powder, or more to taste

1/4 cup canned tomato sauce with Italian seasonings

1/4 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute or 1 large egg 

2 (4 oz) raw boneless, skinless chicken breast cutlets, pounded to 1/2-inch thickness

1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Optional seasoning: black pepper

Directions 

In a blender or food processor, grind cereal into crumbs. Transfer to a wide bowl and mix in Italian seasoning, salt, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, and 1/4 teaspoon onion powder.  (I put the cereal in a sandwich bag and just pounded it until it was ground down into fine crumbs, and then I put the seasonings into that to save a dish.)

In a small bowl, mix tomato sauce with remaining 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder and remaining 1/4 teaspoon onion powder. 

Place egg substitute in another wide bowl (or beat egg in the bowl). One at a time, using tongs, coat chicken cutlets with egg, shake to remove excess, and coat with crumbs. (I used another sandwich bag for this, put each cutlet into the bag, made sure each one was coated and then put them into the crumb/seasoning bag to coat with crumbs, no need to use bowls.)

Bring an extra-large skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat. Lay coated cutlets in the skillet and cook for about 4 minutes per side, until chicken is cooked through.

Evenly spread sauce over chicken cutlets, still in the skillet. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

Reduce heat to low and cover skillet. Cook until cheese has melted, 2 to 3 minutes. Enjoy!

Nutrition Information

Per serving:

1 cutlet (made with egg substitute) - 6 Weight Watchers Points Plus

258 calories, 6g fat, 684mg sodium, 16.5g carbs, 7g fiber, 1g sugars, 38.5g protein

1 cutlet (made with egg)

279 calories, 8.5g fat, 663mg sodium, 16g carbs, 7g fiber, 1g sugars, 38.5g protein