I got to use White Albacore Tuna again, and that really makes the sandwich!

Here are my veggitizers.

And my wrap…that was so stuffed with spinach I could not wrap it! Hey, this Green Monster Girl has to get her spinach somewhere when it’s not a GM Morning!!

It was a “beaut”.  Avocodo Tuna Salad, Swiss Cheese, Spinach and Tomato on a wheat wrap!

And for dessert-Cantelope:

See you later!

Jean

She had no idea that her comment put me on cloud 9.  I had just come from the gym, doing 30 min on the EFX, I felt really good and strong, and then I loaded up my cart with cart with natural lean meats (just a little, I’ll have two dinners this week that have meat in them), lots of organic produce, almond milk, yogurt, Mojo and Clif bars, and my “treats” are coconut milk chip organic icecream and organic dark chocolate.  It was a healthy cart!

Anyways, I dashed home and got ready to go to Little York Tavern to meet my two best friends from grade school, Molly and Jennifer, and Jennifer’s husband, Jason.

Me and Jennifer

Molly, Jason and Me

I have known Molly since the second grade and Jennifer since the eigth. Old friends really are the best…there is just a bond that is unbreakable once you’ve known someone for years and years. I love these girls!

Little York had the BEST pizza.  I got a small Sicilian Pizza…which they claim is their healthiest pizza.  It was a thin crust pizza brushed with EVOO and topped with mozzarella, tomato, yellow peppers, capers, and feta. It was awesome! Probably my favorite pizza I’ve ever had!  I enjoyed it with a glass of Cabernet.  So good!

My pizza! Sorry about the picture quality...it was so dark!

I promise that is my glass of wine peeking through in this picture!

So that was my night.  I got home at 11pm and washed my face, brushed my teeth and promptly fell asleep!

*************sleep***********sleep**********sleep********

When I got up today I was excited for my breakfast!  Nope, not a green monster!  I stared at cereals at the grocery for about 10 minutes and decided to try Natures Path Optimum Omega 3 Cereal-Blueberry Cinnamon Crunch.

I topped a big bowl of this stuff with organic blueberries and cherries and almond milk.

A close up of my bowl!

This was an awesome combination!

Off to start my work day.  Matt and I have bowling tonight because on Wednesday we are driving to Cleveland for a Dave Matthews Band concert.  So, we are meeting Joe and Becca tonight to pre-bowl for our league–that way we don’t get docked precious pins for not coming on Wednesday night for Mixed League.

No exercise today, but I will be bowling, so at least I’ll have an active evening!

Have a great day!

Jean

Lunch was ok…it should have been awesome, but I tried a different type of tuna and I didn’t like it as well….and my veggies were on their last leg, so they weren’t anything to write home about.

My plate had celery sticks, cantelope, and a whole wheat wrap with swiss cheese, tomato, and my avocado tuna salad (made with EVOO, lemo, avocado and tuna).  See what I mean about the healthy fats….avocado, olive oil, Omega 3s. I think I covered all my bases!

Since lunch left a little something to be desired I grabes out 1 section of Hershey’s special dark from the freezer…..and instantly lunch got better!

Anyways, now I’m off to the gym! Then the grocery! Then home to get ready for my evening out with friends at Little York Tavern!

The Blend:

1 cup Stonyfield O’Soy Chocolate Yogurt

1/3 cup Vanilla Almond Milk

2 T ground Flax

1 packet Chocolate Amazing Grass Green Superfood

1 T Maranatha creamy PB

4 Chunks Frozen Banana

2 big handfuls spinach

And all blended up!

It was good.  A bit tangy from the soy yogurt and peanut butter.  But it did have a chocolate taste and it filled me up!

Off to church, the gym, and then back home to pull weeds.   One of my very best childhood friends is in town with her family.  She moved to Florida a few years ago and it will be so nice to see her tonight! And have some pizza!  We are meeting at Little York Tavern and they are well known for their good pizza! I’m excited to try it tonight!  Looking at the menu, I’m leaning towards the Sicilian!

Rebecca encouraged me not to be embarrassed to take pictures, and I’m going to try!  Every time I don’t take pictures I seem to fall off the wagon.  So this week, I’m challenging myself to photograph EVERYTHING and see if it makes a difference in my eating.  I’m fairly certain it will!  That’s my goal for this week, no real eating restrictions but BITE IT/BLOG IT.   I realize when I am not blogging about my food, my thoughts of nutrition and food quality go out the door. 

So, due to lack of food pictures from last night I decided to write about an amazing homemade body polish. This beauty tip was featured in this month’s issue of Self Magazine.

(Excerpt Found in Beauty Flash on Page 54)

Get Even  For skin that’s hit a rough patch, smooth scaly areas with a natural concoction from Hema Sundaram, M.D., a dermatologist in Washington, D.C.  Mix a cup each of sea salt (to cleans), cornmeal (to exfoliate) and olive oil (to hydrate), then rub it all over your body. 

I was hooked when I read this! I had all the ingredients in my kitchen to do this, and the results….AMAZING!!!!  I thought a cup of each ingredient was too much….I did a 1/4 cup of each and that worked better for me.  This stuff made my skin feel so smooth. I even put it on my face and that worked really well…it was a great exfoliant!

It lookes like an expensive sugar scrub!

Give it a try and let me know how it works for you!

This morning I got up and had 1 slice of wheat toast with Maranatha PB and Organic Raspberry preserves.  I also had 1/2 c. of Almond Milk.

Which totally fueled my body for ZUMBA Class at the gym!!!!

Such a fun fitness class, all Latin dance moves and shimmy shakes! I love it and it felt soooooo good!

When I got home I made the best Green Monster of my life with AVOCADO!!!!  Yep you heard right! You could not taste avocado in my mix, but the end result was extra green, extra smooth, and extra creamy!

Avocado Green Monster

1/2 cup vanilla almond milk

1/2 cup organic pear nectar juice

frozen banana

frozen pineapple

2 T ground flax

1 scoop Amazing Meal

1/2 avocado

2 big handfuls spinach

***********Now on with my recap!***********

Thursday:

King’s Island was a lot of fun! We spent the whole day going to shows, riding the coasters, eating good food, and enjoying watching my sweet nephew and Godson, Jack, enjoy his first veiw of an Amuesment Park.  Here is a short picture recap!

Jack and Me hanging out away from the coasters...at least until he got used to the loud sounds!

My Dad, Jack, and my brother--3 generations of men in my family!

The Family! (Matt was taking the picture!)

husband, bro-in-law, sister-in-law to be, and bro on the swings.

My favorite pic of the day. Seriously, this kid just makes my heart so happy.

I didn’t take pictures of food during the day.  I was embarressed! Not a hard-core blogger yet! I stated to take a picture of my Sprite and when my sister saw me and asked me what I was doing I kind of deflected the question…and my sister is my best friend and a food blog reader herself, so she’d be the first person I’d tell when I’m ready.

Eating wise I did pretty good, here is the Thursday Breakdown:

2 slices wheat toast with smart balance butter and organic preserves

1/2 c. organic pear nectar juice

small McDonalds Organic Fruit and Yogurt parfait

32 ounces of sprite

serving of potato works fries with vinegar, ketchup and alittle cheese

1 slice of cheese pizza

1 blue Smurf  Soft Serve on a cake cone

1 arbys curly fry (like literally 1 french fry…I stole it from Matt on the way home!)

So I know this is a lot of technically unhealthy foods, but I don’t think it is a terrible day for the activity we did. Hey they don’t have salads at Kings Island!

Friday:

Friday was also a lot of fun!  I worked and then met my parents, sister and some family friends for Harry Potter.  Oh my, was that movie good.  Two and a half hours passed like a snap and I was in Harry Potter land all night last night and I’m pretty psyched to read all 7 books again. I just love them!

I really love Luna Lovegood. I love the girl that plays this part! Such a sweet, unassuming, and complete kooky girl!

Eats for yesterday included the following:

Breakfast of Champions!  A Green Monster!

spinach, amazing grass, pear nectar, almond milk, frozen banana, and frozen pineapple

Then for lunch I had the following spread at work:

Organic Carrot and Celery Sticks

Tuna Avocado Salad...1 packet white tuna, 1/2 avocado, 1 t EVOO, sprinkle sea salt and sqeeze of fresh lemon....mooshed together. AMAZING!

kashi crackers and amy's bunnies for dipping and scooping!

1 small slice of my boss's wife's wifes homemade strawberry cake with blackberries! I'm totally getting this recipe, it was so good!

For dinner before the movie I joined my parents for MOW, or Meals On Wheels!  MOW means they get fast food before the movie, park their mini van in the shady part of the theater parking lot and eat before heading into the movies. It’s simple and fun!

We only had time for McDonalds and I got a cheeseburger and small fry!  I haven’t had McDonalds burgers in a very long time, but whoa mama are they so good….and the fries.  Yum Yum.  My dinner wasn’t bad…530 calories total.  Did you know McDonads puts the nutrition info on their wrappers?  Pretty cool, I think!

During the movie I did have some Dark Chocolate M&Ms that our friend smuggled in hidden in her purse!

Only about 3 handfuls during the movie!

Well, that’s all for now! I’m off to clean the house and get ready for a cookout at my father-in-laws tonight!  Have a great Saturday everyone!

Alba Organic Deodorant

http://www.albabotanica.com/

I’ve been using this deoderant for about a month, and when I’m out I’m going to continue my search for another brand that works better for me.   Upon opening this deoderant, I did like the smell, it’s minty and fresh.  It smells wonderful! Alba deoderant is clear and leaves no residue behind.  My only issue with it is that I don’t think it works super well. I never felt fresh at the end of a work day (and that is sitting down all day long).  Wear this stuff to the gym?  You may as well forget about even putting anything on…there was definitely an aroma after a workout!  I do use this everyday, but resort back to my stand-by Sure brand if I have an active day or night ahead of me.

Oh, and my husband ran out of deoderant one day and tried this, let’s just say he couldn’t raise his hands at all by 8am.

I give this product a C and probably won’t try it again.

Derma E Problem Skin Care Line

Check out their mission from their webpage:

Our MissionAt derma e®

We believe that beautiful skin is healthy skin. We strive to develop and produce high quality natural formulas using the most advanced technology and latest research available. Our formulations incorporate powerful antioxidants, vitamins, and herbal remedies to produce therapeutic products that deliver results. We provide honest and in-depth information about our ingredients and our products to help customers make knowledgeable decisions about their skin care. We endeavor to give you the best customer service possible and want you to have a positive experience with derma e®. We believe in healthy skin, a healthy world, and a healthier environment.

For about 30 days I have been using the Problem Skin Derma E Skin Care Line. And I really like this stuff! It smells like grassy noxema, which I like, but my husband thinks smells a bit weird.  I  feel refreshed after I use it, like it wakes up my pores!

The cleanser, eye cream, and moisturizer feel rich and thick. The toner is super refreshing and non-drying–my skin could easily tell that there is no drying alcohol present in this product.

I actually wear less makeup since using Derma E. I have really red, uneven skin, and I feel like that the redness has toned down a bit…and overall the tone of my skin is better.

It hasn’t really cleared up any breakouts, but I haven’t had any new ones, so that is a good thing.  And my skin feels super soft after I use it and super soft in the morning when I wake up.

I give this product a A- and would use again!

Purology Shampoo

Here are some of the stats from their webpage:

Pureology’s Exclusive
Technology and Organic Botanicals:

AntiFadeComplex®
Exclusive blend of potent antioxidants and full spectrum UVA/UVB sunscreens.

ZeroSulfate® Shampoo
Free of harsh colour-stripping sulfates and salts.

Advanced Hydrating Micro-Emulsion Technology
Penetrates the hair fiber to deeply moisturize from within.

Natural Ingredients:

Multi-Weight Proteins of Soy, Oat, and Wheat
Strengthen and repair hair from within.

Organic Botanicals:

Rose, Peppermint, and Green Tea
Deliver natural conditioning.

I love, love, love, love, LOVE the Pureology Hydrate shampoo and conditioner!   This is a VEGAN line of haircare and it is AMAZING!

First off, it whips my hair into submission, making my slightly wavy hair easier to straighten leaving it silky and smooth! Also Purology seems to help protect my strands from the wrath of humidity.

Pureology smells great, like sweet peppermint and when it comes in contact with your scalp it tingles, in a good way!

It is a little expensive, but 1 bottle of each can last about 6 weeks and I usually wash once a day. It’s concentrated…so just a little goes a long way!

I can’t get enough of this shampoo and conditioner and give this a A+!

Hmmmmm……any ideas out there?  Let’s just say I probably won’t be doing Yogi Tea anytime soon.

I did make it through bowling and maybe my pain increased my concentration because I bowled the best 3 games of my short career!

I did eat all my snacks before we bowled and they held me over really well.  And for the record, the Mojo bar is AMAZING.  Sweet/salty/Chocolaty! It was wonderful!

When we got back from bowling I was planning on having leftover mexican from last night, but settled on toast with smart balance butter and organic raspberry preserves due to my stomach issues.

This x 2

Now I’m off to drink more water and rehydrate and also get some rest.  Hopefully my body will be back to normal tomorrow it will be a big day at Kings Island Amusement Park and I want to enjoy it!

Jean

The only thing I do not love is getting home at 9pm and then eating dinner.  My dilemma is that eating pre-bowl is too early and I don’t eat while bowling due to the ickiness factor of the bowling ball…seriously how many fingers have been in those holes……there is no way I’m putting anything in my mouth!

So, I am armed this week with snacks!

My plan is to eat the yogurt and blackberries first and then later (probably on the way to The Bowling Palace have the apple and the Mojo Bar).

I’m really excited about out Mojo…it’ll be my first taste! I’ll let you know later what I think!

-Jean

organic carrots and organic celery

Organic PB and Organic Raspberry Jam on wheat

and Annie’s bunnies and organic honey wheat pretzel sticks (I know, shocking…right?)

This should be the last of this type of lunch! The family is heading to Kings Island Amusement park tomorrow, so no packed lunch tomorrow!

And I have something good planned for Friday!

PS…that yogi tea curbed my appetite and lunch was about 45  minutes later than usual!