What I Ate Wednesday #40

Hello, little gumdrops!

So sorry I haven't posted in a week! I can't believe how fast time flies during the school year!

Some updates:

• I got a new theme and banner! Yay, spring-y colors!  What do you guys think?! Likes? Dislikes?
• My last WIAW was my most popular post and WIAW to date! That makes me SO happy!!!!
• A big review of Arctic Zero is coming up! They were lovely enough to send me some of their products for a simple review in return... and let me just say, WOW. Those products are mindblowing-ly AWESOME. TOTALLY worth any penny they are.

And, now, it's time for some EATS! Like last week, I'm gonna post a bunch of eats, but just highlight the extra green ones. The descriptions for the rest can always be found on my Instagram!

3/13/13 - Breakfast

3/13/13 - Dinner: actually amazed by how awesome these pancakes turned out! On-the-spot recipe super fluffy apple pie oat protein & flax pancakes topped with peanut butter + cinnamon roll-infused Greek yogurt + a drizzle of maple syrup + PB2 fudge sauce + warm cinnamon apple slices, and a spicaaay egg white protein & green scramble!

 3/13/13 - Dessert/Snack

3/14/13 - Breakfast: hey... those apples look kind of green, no? It counts, it counts! 

These look and tasted too scrumptious not to share!
Pumpkin egg white & flax oatmeal layered with clean chocolate fudge + PB2 fudge + apple & banana slices + pumpkin flax granola inside a nearly-empty cinnamon raisin granola peanut butter jar.

It ain't my OIAJ if it ain't overflowing! 

 3/14/13 - Dinner: yes, brinner two nights in a row. What could be better?!
Strawberry shortcake protein & flax pancakes topped with Biscoff + milk chocolate protein-infused Greek yogurt + chocolate PB2 fudge + banana slices + melted frozen berries with a spicaaay egg white, green & turkey scramble on the side!

3/14/13 - Dessert/Snack 

3/15/13 - Breakfast & Snack (my first cake-pop! I LOVE!)

3/15/13 - Dinner: work bento; tuna salad with lots of vegetables, two rice cakes with turkey, and some "magic munch" my manager made us... That stuff is literally like crack.

3/15/13 - Dessert/Snack ft. my first scoops of Arctic Zero!

3/16/13 - Breakfast & "Snack"

Look at those pancakes. Just. Look.

Those are peanut butter protein pancakes topped with, not only PB2 fudge sauce, but strawberry Arctic Zero protein ice cream. Ummmm... I'd like 5 more servings, please!!

3/16/13 - Dinner: homemade (by me!) cobb salads for the family!

Bacon, cucumber, hardboiled eggs, red & yellow peppers, grilled chicken (by me! On our George Foreman... hehe), corn & tomato on a bed of romaine & spinach! I also added some sweet potato to mine.

 3/16/13 - Dessert/Snack

3/17/13 - Breakfast: this was actually incredible. Even my mom loved it! (I made her her own. No food of mine gets shared!! Hehe... Kidding... Maybe.)

Homemade post-workout protein Shamrock Shake for St. Patrick's Day!

Mint chocolate chip protein-PACKED post-workout ice cream/smoothie bowl using Arctic Zero mint chocolate cookie protein ice cream... and some spinach because what's a green monster smoothie without a green!? Also, I topped it with my clean chocolate fudge + melted Biscoff + gluten-free brown rice cereal + broken up natural mini double chocolate Italian Pizzelle cookies.

 3/17/13 - Dessert/Snack

 3/18/13 - Breakfast

 3/18/13 - Dinner: another work bento! Sweet potato stuffed with leftover corned beef & cabbage (not Irish, but we still celebrate St. Patrick's Day since my grandma was born on that day), and a corn & jalapeño side salad topped with plain Greek yogurt + honey mustard. Plus a side of some Food Network magazine!

 3/19/13 - Breakfast & Snack

3/19/13 - Dessert/Snack/Heaven

Workout {Pictures} of the Week:

...Awkward posing, CHECK!  (I'm bending back a bit in the second picture)

But but but... Look at them baby muscles coming in!! I obviously don't look like either of these pictures ALL the time, but I'm happy I do sometimes! (When food goes into my belly, it obviously changes shape from time-to-time depending on what kind of food, how much, etc.! It's normal, I promise!)

... ALSO, I JUST NOTICED I BURNED THE SAME AMOUNT OF CALORIES BOTH DAYS! SO WEIRD! (Not really, Alissa. It's really not that weird... BUT IT IS... IN A WAY!!)

Welllllllllll, that is all for now! I hope you all are making the most of your week and your Wednesdays! Can you believe March is already nearly over?? What EVEN?!

... At least we're getting closer and closer to the holidays! 

P.S. I am TOTALLY not putting all my time into this post just so I can procrastinate on Pre-Calculus homework... DEFINITELY not the case here!

What I Ate Wednesday #37

Hello, hello darlings!

In this week's What I Ate Wednesday, I'm sharing my weekend's-worth of eats!

The rest of my eats can be found here and on my Instagram!

Thanks to the beautiful Jenn for always hosting this little web foodie part-aaaay! 

2/22/13 - Breakfast: super fluffaaaay chocolate protein egg white & flaxseed oats with defrosted frozen berries + PB2 Greek yogurt + banana slices + peanut butters + a wittle bit of marshmallow Fluff!

Such a delicious combination!

2/22/13 - Lunch: as Cassey Ho would say, Friday was a “YOLO” meal day… And I have no regrets! We raised more than $300 for the American Heart Association at Rite Aid, so we got LOADS of FREE SUBS! I was soooo hungry and I treated myself to white bread and mayo-filled sammiez and I don’t even care. I can’t even tell you the last time I had mayonnaise(!) or white bread(!). I had my two favorites — pepperoni & CHEESE(!), and turkey & cheese. Sooooooo yummy and WORTH IT!

2/22/13 - Dinner: went to Friendly's with my family for my little sister’s 12th birthday!

"YOLO" meal #2 for the day! Haha. Breaded honey barbecue chicken sandwich on white bread(!) with American cheese(!) and regular ol’ french fries(!), plus lots of ‘loaded’ waffle fries(!)! I didn’t feel overly full, or sick, which is a good thing, but if I could pick another entree to treat myself to, I would! But, the night overall was nice. There’s only so many opportunities to enjoy with my family as a whole. Food and all, no regrets should follow! (The food with (!) means it’s a “fear food”.) ❤ Treat yourselves.

2/22/13 - Dessert/Snack: chocolate peanut butter protein & flaxseed mug cake stuffed with pieces of chocolate brownie flavored Quest bar & topped with peanut butters + plain Greek yogurt + more peanut butter, melted + snowflake sprinkles ❄ + a mint green vanilla mini marshmallow bunny, on top of a diced small apple mixed with healthy/organic cereals, with half-frozen strawberry Greek yogurt topped with chia fruit clusters & whole flaxseed on da side!

2/23/13 - Breakfast: chocolate-pumpkin protein & flaxseed pancakes stuffed with sweet maple Greek yogurt + crunchy gluten-free brown rice cereal & topped with melted peanut butters + my new favorite thing >> clean caramelized banana slices + a sprinkle of shredded coconut + small drizzle of maple syrup! Around 300 more/less (if y’all are concerned) & over 40g of protein. These smelled and tasted AMAZING! Though, pumpkin pancakes are my least favorite to make and flip...

2/23/13 - Lunch: giant 'powerbowl' for lunch after food shopping & such with mommy and sissy! Also had some almonds and grapes beforehand because I was feeling faint.

This bowl consisted of steamed fresh vegetables + 3/4 of a sweet potato + sliced tomato + banana pepper + marinated mushrooms + roasted red peppers, all topped with 1 egg plus egg whites, scrambled & garlic/oil sautéed turkey slices with a wittle bit of blue cheese crumbles! Super spicy mustard added post-picture.

2/23/13 - Dinner: made my family our own clean burrito bowls (Chipotle-inspired since we have none around here)! Mine was finely chopped lettuce + homemade teriyaki grilled chicken, shredded + corn + a bit of sweet potato + banana peppers + tomatoes + roasted red peppers + marinated mushrooms + jalapeños + brown rice & the most delicious Chinese-inspired cauliflower rice + a ~toasted pita broken up into chips & a few multi-grain tortilla chips! With cottage cheese + Greek yogurt & salsa on top!

2/23/13 - Dessert/Snack: fluffy banana bread (in honor of National Banana Bread Day!) protein & flaxseed mug cake topped with peanut butter + Greek yogurt + milk chocolate casein/whey protein cream sauce + more PB, melted + sliced almonds + a mini pastel pink vanilla marshmallow bunny on top of a diced apple mixed with healthy/organic cereals, with blueberry Greek yogurt topped with chia fruit clusters on the side! I actually did Insanity Cardio Abs + some cleans & squats not too long before this... Though Saturdays are usually a rest day, I wanted to do something after looking and feeling incredibly bloated all night. It felt so good to get a mini workout in! ANYTHING is better than NOTHING! That’s for sure! 

2/24/13 - Breakfast: made some sweet potato protein pancakes (and added flaxseed) post-workout!

They came out small since I just a small-ish potato, though, so I had them with cinnamon-vanilla egg whites & some chocolate protein Greek yogurt topped with melted creamy peanut butter + banana slices + slivered almonds! So fluffaaaaayyyy! (Yes, I do use that phrase too much.)

2/24/13 - Snack: experimented with the cinnamon swirl protein bread/cake again, and this time made cookies and cream protein cake & cinnamon-almond swirl protein cake (and, of course, my peanut butter fudge black bean brownies! My family’s as obsessed as I am!), and they were both complete SUCCESSES! Hehe. Well... The second time around! ...I forgot the milk the first time...

2/24/13 - Dessert/Snack: I am obsessed with my new cookies and cream protein powder, omg.

Cookies and cream protein-packed & flaxseed mug cake stuffed with chocolate protein cream & topped with PB2 “fudge” + melted White Chocolate Wonderful + a drizzle of maple syrup + whole flaxseed + a mint green vanilla mini marshmallow bunny on top of a diced apple with some healthy/organic cereals, with a side of homemade banana frozen {Greek} yogurt topped with 1/2 a PB fudge black bean brownie + chia fruit clusters!

Goal check-in: (last weeks goals)

• I actually did eat less salads! YAY for being more creative!
• Multiple new sweet recipes... Need to come up with some savory ones! Ahhh! Think, Alissa! THINK!
• Posted at least one recipe... WOOT!
• Blogged A LOT more!
• Body shaming was a bit less, as well... Not as lessened as I would've liked it to be, but that's okay. It's gonna take time!

Well, I'd say I did pretty good as far as succeeding with my goals this week! 

Goals for this week:

• Continue to be more creative with my meals
• Try to get back into planking! I was the ultimate planker last year until I stopped timing myself and got lazy with them! My ab definition has lessened because of it, I believe.
• Treat myself WITHOUT regretting it, at least once... Maybe to FROYO?!
• Keep up the rapid blogging! I love it and I hope you guys do, as well!!
• Keep trying at the no-body shaming thing.

That's all for my WIAW this week, folks! I hope you're all having a fabulous Wednesday and week thus far! Stay positive, and most importantly, stay YOU!!


P.S. I've been doing Zuzka Light's ZCUT Power Cardio, and holy bananas is it HARD! The workouts are only about 10-15 minutes long or so, yet they feel like they're harder than some Insanity workouts. They feel so good to complete, though! I definitely, definitely recommend trying it out! SO worth the $15!

What I Ate Wednesday #34

This is a totally last-minute WIAW post because I don't wanna miss another week! Pathetic? Psh... No! 

Anyways! February's theme is "love your veggies", wish I absolutely adore! I'm an avid veggie-eater, so this will be an easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy month for me! 

As always, thank you, Jenn, for always hosting this blogger part-aaaay!

Head on over to check out some awesome meals by other bloggers!

Since it is "love your veggies" month, I think I'll dedicated this post to... veggies! Clever, right?

1/23/13 - Dinner... errr, Brinner: SUPER fluffy banana bread protein pancakes with a super spicy egg white, vegetable & protein scramble on da side! 

1/24/12 - Lunch: giant, SUPER FLUFFY sweet potato microwave protein “pancake” filled with proteins & healthy fats, on a bed of fresh steamed vegetables mixed with fresh cold cuts my dad brought home on sandwiches (which I took apart! Haha)! Topped with my FAVORITE spicy mustard and some plain Greek yogurt.

1/25/13 - Dinner: bento at work consisted of loads of protein, vegetables with flaxseed, and a mini slice of semi-"healthy" pizza my mommy got and made for us!

1/26/13: eeeeerm... sweet potato fries are a vegetable, right? 

This was a HUGE recovery "win" for me. Treat meal #1 since Christmas time.

I had gotten a gift card for Chilis two months ago from a secret Santa, and had been DYING for a BIG, juicy hamburger. I wanted their jalapeño burger at first, but opted for this other huge, delicious one because, even for a treat (no, NOT "cheat"! I hate that word!) meal, I’d rather not have America’s #1 ranked worst-for-you burger (it has 2.5 days worth of fat, almost 4 full days worth of sodium… and a days worth of calories... and that's for just ONE meal (or even HALF meal, actually, since it just included the hamburger). I’d rather consume that for numerous meals.) Plus, I had LOADS of breaded jalapeños alongside my legitimately mouth-wateringly incredible sweet potato fries. Chili's food isn't my favorite, but their sweet potato fries are a favorite. Oh, and they also gave me the most fries out of four orders of burgers and fries! Haha! And I was the only one given ketchup on the side, as well, even though I gave it to my mom!

 1/27/13 - Breakfast: surprisingly enough, yes, there IS a vegetable in there!
Blueberry muffin protein & flaxseed spinach smoothie topped with chocolate PB2 sauce + the remainder of my organic Cinnamon Toast Crunch + shredded coconut + frozen blueberries + a spoonful of natural creamy peanut butter.
This actually tasted like a blueberry muffin. So good.

1/28/13 - Lunch: how gorgeous does this post-workout lunch look?!

My first PERFECT fluffy omelet (yes, I used YOLKS. GASP! Haha. I love my yolks!) stuffed with Greek yogurt & salsa + sweet potato + fresh turkey (my uncle and his girlfriend has an over 20 pound turkey sitting in their freezer, and they didn’t want it so they gave it to us!) + feta on top of a vegetable-filled salad with a side of a HUGE plate of steamed fresh broccoli & carrots + a sliced tomato topped with a sprinkle of Parmesan & a squeeeeeze of mustard! I've had this loads of times since, for both lunch AND dinner. Though, I had to sub with just egg whites some of the times because I ate too many yolks...

1/29/13 - Dinner: bento at work; tuna & vegetable side with salsa & mustard & ground flaxseed, a microwave-"baked" sweet potato stuffed with salsa & fresh turkey with a drizzle of mustard, and some pickles & extra turkey on the side! Plus some water, Vitamin Water Zero, and a much-needed energy drink that actually wasn't that bad for you. I'd recommend it! Kinda tasted like a carbonated Capri Sun... (Without all the sugar!)

1/30/13 - Dinner: after getting my license, I was more than happy to reward myself with this beautiful dinner!

Peanut butter banana bread protein pancakes (with a few chocolate chips to celebrate getting my license!) with White Chocolate Wonderful + some plain Greek yogurt, all topped with PB2 sauce & a drizzle of maple syrup + some organic cereal crumbles. Alongside is an egg white protein scramble!

1/31/13 - Dinner: another work bento consisting of vegetables and a mini slice of pizza. Plus some plain Greek yogurt mixed with spicy mustard as a dip.

2/1/13 - Lunch: had such a long, busy day out and grocery shopping with my mom and little sister, so I recommended we stop for some Subway on the way home so we can eat lunch before dinner time! I got my FAVORITE, which is a steak, bacon & mozzarella (not much! Just a sprinkle) salad with all the toppings/vegetables, plus vinegar as a dressing! I also had some steamed fresh broccoli & carrots on the side with a mustard & Greek yogurt mixture to dip, as usual.

2/1/13 - Dinner: *drools* Can I have this all over again?!

Lobster fried rice, boneless spare rib tips, a pork egg roll, some General Pso’s chicken (and loads more beforehand… We got a whole entrée of it free!! Haha), and LOADS of steamed vegetables with some spicy mustard! Second treat meal with no regrets. So proud of myself.

2/2/13 - Breakfast: another hidden vegetable dish!

Reese's (chocolate-peanut butter & banana… Yes, a FULL scoop of protein powder and a WHOLE banana!) protein flaxseed & spinach smoothie bowl topped with almonds/sliced almonds + shredded coconut + some crushed organic cereal + a few peanuts & a scoop of creamy natural peanut butter!

I've really been loving my smoothie bowls as a post-workout Sunday breakfast!

Other meals (including loads of oatmeal!) can be found on my Instagram or Tumblr!

Workout {Picture} of the Week:

The rest can be found on my Instagram and Tumblr, as well!

Well... That's all for now, folks!  I'm so happy I got a new WIAW up! It was about time, right?! 

I hope you're all having the most loveliest of Wednesdays... Mine's been great, but according to my horoscope, it should be getting even better...

OH! P.S.! I got my license and a new tattoo within the past week!

I blame my hair and big chin for the horrible picture. (It was really hot that day, okay?!)

I mean, what is a license without a bad picture? Not a real license! 

I found this tattoo concept somewhere on the computer, and I really loved it. It was pretty simple and plain at first, but my tattoo artist, who’s fortunately one of my dad’s good friends, put some extra detail into it to make it personal… and I love it. And, if you’re wondering why I have a heart fading into the word “yourself”, it actually stands for “love yourself”, and it's on my inner right forearm. After struggling with eating too much, being overweight (basically obese at a BMI of 31), being bullied (A LOT) for being that way, eating way too little and becoming obsessed with every little calorie, dropping too much weight and obsessing over a number on a scale, and now looking to find that completely healthy medium again, this is something I continuously need to remind myself to do. I struggled too long by myself being too insecure to forever live like that. This is the first time I can honestly say I'm starting to love myself. I've never felt as confident before as I do now. But this tattoo isn’t only a reminder for ME, but for every single person who reads it/this. It’s facing outward for that reason — to spread the word to love yourself. The only person you truly need to love to live, is yourself. The only way to succeed, to be happy, to be healthy, is to LOVE YOURSELF. It’s so important to care about yourself and to love yourself. If you love and believe in yourself, even the slightest bit, you can and WILL get FAR. It’s time to stop caring what others think. It’s time to start loving yourself. ♥