Seriously though, FitBloggin’ is shaping up nicely. The schedule is working out, the speakers are simply inspirational and you got to check out the Who’s Comin’ list. What an amazing bunch of bloggers!

Besides the conference I’ve been spending a lot of time in the kitchen recently. In the last week on GreenLiteBites I’ve posted. . .

• Curried Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
• Slow Cooked Top Sirloin with Rosemary and Thyme
• Homemade Almond Milk the Video
• Produce Pick: Kale
• Chocolate Cherry Almond Vita-Loaf

And to think I thought I was losing my creative juices. Apparently all I needed was trip to the grocery store before a big snow storm. :)

All this cooking and experimenting has me eating a bit more then I normally do and I’m feeling quite… bleh. The lack of running isn’t helping either.

The snow is really crimping my running style. Remember my 2010 Running goals? Well my February run has been rescheduled due to snow and and I’m supposed to start my half marathon training tomorrow! Umm yeah.. with 2 feet of snow on the ground and more on the way, I’m not sure when THAT will happen.

I’ve gotten a few requests to post my training schedule and I will. When I’m able to start it! I promise. :)

So besides shoveling snow and a bit of dancing around the house with the little guy I’m doing nothing in the exercise department at the moment. I don’t think it’s that big of a deal. I’ll get back in the grove again but I definitely notice a difference in how I feel when my activity level decreases. And when I say feel, I mean not only physically but also mentally. I’m so much happier in my skin when active and moving and challenging myself. What a crazy turn of events for the girl who declared her self an exercise hater not that long ago.

Let’s see… what else is going on? Not much really. I updated a few short posts on SkinnyMinnyMedia. I’ve been battling SPAM again on BlogToLose and I have a few initiatives I want to get started but they are all going to have to wait until post conference. Here’s what I’m thinking…

• 2010 will be the GreenLiteBites cookbook year. I’m tired of giving myself excuses. I just need to do it already. I have to stop being so scared of it!
• I haven’t had time to record any new Ask Roni video/podcasts and I miss doing them. I’m seriously considering doing a weekly or monthly Ask Roni live chat on USTREAM or BlogTalkRadio. This way I have sessions scheduled and I can do them live instead of taking time to pre-record, edit and upload. Anyway just something I’ve been pondering.
• Redesign! It’s time for a change. I really have an itch to redesign Roni’s Weigh and make it simpler. There are too many things going on on this page! I really want to streamline the whole layout and create a new simple theme.

Ok, I think that’s it. That’s enough, right? :) Right now my inbox is jam packed but I don’t care. I want to cuddle with the hubz, watch a little TV and get some sleep. That’s the only think on my agenda at this very moment. :)

Hope you’re week is off to a great start!

After making some Almond milk and cookies (which are now all gone) it was time to get outside and start the shoveling.

The snow was still coming down pretty hard and it was already noon.

The Little guys was LOVING it.

We were making some progress. :)

I was responsible for the sidewalks.

Then I helped clear the plateau out of the driveway. :)

Seriously. It was A LOT of snow!

After we were done, it was time to play.

I got a little stuck. (Yes that’s my entire leg in the snow.) lol

Little guy felt awfully big on top of the snow mound.

And so did mom. :)

The sun finally came out and it was simply BEAUTILFUL!

Little guy was light enough to crawl on top.

Dad wasn’t so lucky.

We aren’t in a hilly area but we still got to go "sledding." :)

We ended our romp in the snow by diving off the back door. Hey, when will get this opportunity again?

It was a great.. GREAT.. day and this pictures says it all.

After we came in and warmed up I made some stuffed peppers for dinner that I can NOT wait to tell you about on GreenLiteBites. I just don’t have the energy in me to do it right now. I wonder why? ;~P

Click on the image for the few view and then click again depending on your browser.

Back of the house from the driveway

front of the house from the front door

Who else is snowed in?

The flavors intrigued me. Something besides chocolate or BBQ or cinnamon or sea salt or cheddar or. . . ok so there are a lot of flavors out there but when was the last time you saw a chip like snack in blackberry pomegranate?

Very cool.

Anyway, I really these. They are sweet (maybe even too sweet), super crunchy, and chock full of whole grains.

However, their ingredient list does leave something to be desired. . .

While grain oats, sugar, whole flour, whole grain corn, whole grain brown rice, maltodextrin, polydextrose, oligofructose, salt, natural and artificial flavor, sunflower oil, soy lecithin, natural mixed tocopherols, sucralose, acesulfame potassium, citric acid

All the "extrins" and "oses" are sugars, I’m guessing. Not to mention acesulfame potassium is an artificial sweetener. I’m all for a sweet crunchy snack but considering sugar is the second ingredient isn’t that enough? What do these other sweeteners really add? Do the help preserve? I’d really like to know why this product’s ingredient list couldn’t look like this…

While grain oats, sugar, whole flour, whole grain corn, whole grain brown rice, salt, natural flavor, sunflower oil.

Notice the period.

Period.

I’d really like someone from Quaker or any company for that matter tell me why all this stuff is in there products. Inquiring minds want to know! :)

But I digress. Overall the Quaker True Delights Multigrain Fiber Crisps taste good. They are a yummy 2 point snack. Oh! I forgot the nutritional information for a 1oz serving (3 servings in a bag)…

110 cals, 1.5g of fat, 3g of fiber, 2WWP

Notice I couldn’t find a picture of them. So I thought I’d snap a few shots on the web cam to show you what they looked like. . .

Of course I had to eat that one. :)

The only place I could find them online was Amazon and they only had the blueberry.

Has anyone else tried them or any other flavors? Did you like them?

Full Disclosure: Quaker did not compensate me in anyway for this post. I purchased the product myself. Food finds are just that, things I find in my local grocery store. I do however have an Amazon affiliate account. That means if you do choose to order them from Amazon I will make a small commission.

Anyway, I had a busy day. Woke up to a few inches of snow, shoveled, ate breakfast with the little guy and then headed to work. After work I had a hair appointment (I went a little red!) then I had to clean up, make lunches, read with the little guy, and ummmm, I don’t know relax and maybe talk to the husband a little bit??

Of course I also have to EAT during the day. Not that I mind or anything. I really like to eat. :)

When I was in my yo-yo dieting phase these busy days would have me skipping breakast and then binging on a big lunch out and an even bigger dinner. I was either starving or stuffed. There was no in between.

My days now are very different. Now, I always eat breakfast. If I don’t have time to sit down I grab a granola bar or a piece of fruit. Lunch is something I packed the night before. But it’s not a typical lunch I eat all at once. It’s a handful of "snacks" that I can eat when I get hungry during the day. Dinner is usually something I whip up (unless we go out), on the lighter side, and then I have a snack or two before bed. Today’s food journal is pretty typical (if not on the low side). . .

Table provided by Roni’s Food Tweet, Eat, Post Generator. Follow live @RonisFood

My definition of "a meal" has drastically changed since starting this journey. This change didn’t happen over night. It evolved over time much like my overall diet did.

I’m approaching my 4th Anniversary at goal and by eating this way I’m way more satisfied (without being stuffed) have more energy and feel a lot better about myself so I’m not gonna change a thing but I’m wondering, what is your definition of a meal? Do you stick with 3 squares a day? Are you a grazer? What works for you?

As I say in my GreenLiteBites post, last night I cooked for myself. After work I hit a yoga class so I was late getting home. I let the boys fend for themselves and then relaxed in the kitchen experimenting with some quinoa and bell peppers. The result? What you see above.

MAN! I love a pretty meal. I really think it helps keep me satisfied. And what I’m finding is the healthier the meal the prettier it is. The colors, different textures, even the shapes (like the little pepper bowls) add so much visual interest making the meal really satisfying and fun to eat. Call me crazy but I do believe… healthy food CAN be fun!

Anyway, I’m writing this post Wednesday morning because after writing up the Curried Quinoa Stuffed Peppers idea on GreenLiteBites I decided to unplug and watch Lost with the husband sans-laptop. We cuddled on the couch and enjoyed our favorite show. It was nice. :)

Other news…

• FitBloggin’10 is seriously starting to take over my life. 43 days left until the big event and I have a LOT of work to do. At least it’s fun work. :)
• SkinnyMinnyMedia has seen busier days but I did recently post about a twitter tool called Klout that gives you some interesting statistics.
• I skipped my normal early morning Wednesday gym trip today. It’s now 6:30 and I have to dig out of yet another snow storm before heading to work. FUN! :)

Hope you have a great day!

I actually mustered up enough motivation to run after work. I realized that I have my next 5K this weekend and I need to start training for the half I signed up for in May by Feb 9th to get 12 weeks in. All I can say is….. YIKES! I’m glad I set those goals, the are keeping me going.

Chart taken from Nike+ web site after sync. Click here to see how I did it.

Other then the run I have nothing to report accept for the new Fiber One 90 calorie bar I tried. If I had more energy I’d probably write a whole post about them but to be honest, I just don’t have it in me. They are like every other "diet food," yummy and chock full of things I can’t pronounce. . .

Chicory root extract, chocolate chips with confectioners shellac (chocolate chips [Sugar, Chocolate Liquor, Cocoa Butter, Dextrose, Milk Fat, Soy Lecithin, Ethanol, Shellac, Hydrogenated Coconut Oil]), Rolled Oats, Crispy Rice (Rice Flour, Sugar Malt, Salt), Barley Flakes, High Maltose Corn Syrup, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sugar, Canola Oil, Honey, Glycerin, Maltodextrin, Palm Kernel Oil, Tricalcium Phosphate, Soy Lecithin, Salt, Nonfat Milk, Peanut Oil, Cocoa Processed with Alkalin, Natural Flavor, Baking Soda, Color Added, Almond Flour, Sunflower Meal, Wheat Flour, Mixed Tocopherols Added to Retain Freshness.

Can we get yummy and full of ingredients I actually WANT to put in my body… PLEASE! When will these companies listen. Ugh.. it’s like talking to a brick wall.

Sorry.. I’m just tired and grumpy. Here’s my food journal for the day. I didn’t intentionally keep my points low I just wasn’t that hungry. It’s amazing what happens when I actually listen to my body.

Table provided by Roni’s Food Tweet, Eat, Post Generator. Follow live @RonisFood

But. . .

I’m over it. I needed a few days off. Isn’t that what weekends are for? There’s no sense in beating myself up. I wasn’t "bad". I’m not going to gain back 70lbs because I ate a few too many calories. A healthy lifestyle is about balance. There are no regrets or bad decisions. No need to punish myself for enjoying fried chicken WITH the skin for a change. Nope. Not.Gonna.Do.It.

Remember, I believe in stateless dieting. All of my food choices this weekend were ON PLAN. I didn’t "ruin my diet" or "break it." My next decision is before me. Prepare for tomorrow by packing a healthy lunch OR beat myself up and feel sorry for myself because I ate a couple slices of pizza and a chocolate bar?

Sorry, I’m off to the kitchen. My lunchbox awaits. :)

P.S. Hope you have a great weekend! Besides food, mine was filled with fun. Little guy and I experimented in the kitchen, played lots of games, watched one of my favorite childhood movies, dug out of a surprise snow storm and snapped a few photos. . .

I also worked my butt off at Boot camp, hosted a poker night, played Wii and finished Twilight (FINALLY!)

See… how can I let a few food choices effect my awesome weekend? It’s amazing how focusing on the positive, owning your decsions and looking ahead can affect your mood. I’m totally motivated after writing this.

Ok, now I’m really off to make that lunch and get to bed early. Gotta go to work tomorrow. Have a good one! :)

I am a HUGE spice fan. You should see my spice cabinet it has everything from allspice to… wait a minute… you can see it! Here’s a clip from my Day In the Life video series I did way back when. . .

Please ignore my shaky camera hand and babbling. :)

I’ve moved since that video but my spice cabinet looks exactly the same. Spices are great pantry items. For me it’s about fun and flavor. Food is simply more satisfying when it taste good. Think of a plain old chicken breast…

BORING!

With some simple spices you can make some really fun dishes, like. . .

• The Husband’s New Favorite Chicken with Veggie Couscous
• 6 Spice Chicken Bites
• Curried Chicken with Peas
• Lemon Sage Chicken Packs

These all start with plain old chicken but look how different each can be by simply adding flavor with spices. Ok, ok, so that last one is herbs but I lump them two together.

Oh! and did I mention spices (most of them anyway, as I’m sure there may be a exception out there) are 0 points. That’s ZERO points! :)

Anyway, this is a LONG introduction to the Super Seven Spice Giveaway. Here’s the deal, Maureen from McCormick contacted me and asked if I’d like to host a contest to give away 5 sets of the McCormick “Super Seven” spices in honor of their 30 Day Super Swap challenge.

Of course I said yes! I mean.. FREE spices! Have you seen how expensive they can be? Geesh! Plus, I really do think they are invaluable. So the more people I can give them away to, the better!

So leave a comment on how you use spices for a chance to win a McCormick gift pack containing Cinnamon, Ginger, Oregano, Red Pepper, Rosemary, Thyme, Curry and a calender with 30 Super Swaps giving you some great ideas to use in your kitchen!

The only catch… You must live in the US and have a street address (no P.O. boxes) <–Sorry guys. :(

Ok, so give it up. . . What will you do with the Super 7 if you win?

Full Discloser: McCormick also sent me a set of the super seven to try out. I was not compensated in any other way to write this post.

That’s what happens when you wake up at 5AM and go to the gym before work. Pat yourself on the back and treat yourself right by hitting the hay early NOT eating to simply stay awake (like you normally do.)