Tasty Chicken Salad

Thought I would post this recipe that I got off the food network the other day.  I made it for lunch yesterday and was very pleased...and the best part, it fits into my meal plan.

1 grilled chicken breast

1/4 chopped granny smith apple

1/4 c. halved red grapes

in a bowl combine the following:

1/2 c. greek non-fat yogurt

1 tsp.  light miracle whip

1 tsp dijon mustard

juice of 1/2 a lemon

(thyme for flavoring if you want - not necessary)

After the creamy sauce has been concocted you add the chicken and fruit and mix until well coated.  Its going to be really creamy.

Once you take a bite of the mixture, its just delicious.  Its funny I never realize this before but the greek yogurt just takes on the flavoring of whatever you put into it.  So it really does taste like miracle whip even though there is barely any in the mixture. 

One thing you should note though, if attempting to follow the meal plan regulations and make a tasty chicken salad:  salt is okay in  moderation, but its best to attempt to avoid it at all costs.  My fiance has been using something called No-Salt for a long time, I don't necessarily think its the best tasting substitution, but the salad does need a little kick.  I would either use the No-Salt (it is high in potassium) or something along the lines of paprika for a little kick.

Personal Training: First Update

So I started working with a personal trainer a couple weeks ago. Its been exactly 4 weeks actually. She is the instructor for the women's bootcamp class I take twice a week and she is insanely ripped. She use to compete as a sculpting model and I think I heard that she won the Orange County division at one point or another. Anyway, point being she's in ridiculous shape and I'm attempting to get in ridiculous shape myself :)

So, we started training 4 weeks ago twice a week for 30-40 min each session. We will do one day of upper body and one day of lower body per week. In addition to these sessions I do a one hour bootcamp session twice a week and attempt to go either running or swimming one time week, which I have like little to know individual motivation, so this happens infrequently.

2 weeks ago my trainer gave me something she calls a "menu". Its basically a meal plan for the day w/ options on what to eat. This is generally how it goes:

Meal 1 (breakfast): 4 egg whites, 1/3 cup old fashioned oats 1/3 cup mixed berries. This gets pretty boring, pretty fast, so she has provided one other option for breakfast w/ basically consists of the same ingredients except add a 1/4 of a banana blend on high on a blender until smooth with a little cinnamon and calorie free sweetener (I like to use Truvia) and cook in a pan - she said to add crushed nuts on the uncooked side (I love pecans) and then flip and cook until done. Its a little pancake, surprisinly tasty for something that has no flour or sugar.

Snack 1 (mid morning): she informed me that its essential to have a protein shake between meals with all snacks, so I follow the rules. With the protein shake you can have a low glycemic piece of fruit like an apple or greek nonfat yogurt w/ some berries. Honestly this is not too hard.

Meal 2 (lunch): 3 oz of some good lean protein, chicken, fish, etc. 1 cup of some delicious vegetables. and some sort of carbohydrate which may consist of 2 pieces of whole wheat low glycemic level bread, brown rice (brown rice pasta is awesome by the way - but don't forget to rinse it after boiling) or something of that nature. I normally make myself a can of tuna w/ a tsp or a bit more of Miracle Whip light spread on 2 pieces of bread and a side of spinach w/ a bit of olive oil and vinegar. Its filling.

Snack 2 (mid afternoon): Don't forgot the protein shake!!! and additional fruit or yogurt.

Meal 3 (dinner): Again lean protein, but a little more this time, same goes for the veggies and the carbs. The other day I made a really good meal, I was excited. I got some preseasoned Talbot (a white flakey fish) from Trader Joe's and pan seared it with a little bit of olive oil. boiled up about 1/3 cup of brown rice and a little side salad w/ olive oil, balsasmic vinegar and salt and pepper. It was honestly, delicious!

Snack 3 (optional or even consider it a dessert!): sugar free Jell-O, sugar free pudding or even something I find very tastey for some reason; a plain rice cake w/ all natural peanut butter spread on it! Yum-O.

Its definitely not easy to follow this, but I'm getting use to it. Last night my family went out to an Italian Restaurant, and being a swimmer my whole life I am dangerously addicted to pasta!! hello --- pasta party central!!! But being on this "plan" it is essential to opt out of the pasta options. But lucky for me I found a good alternative on the menu. A Greek salad w/ grilled chicken and grilled eggplant as a side dish.

Oh yeah and one must not forget to drink a TON of water. I have never in my life woken up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, but since drinking the amount of water necessarily to stay healthily(i might have just made that word up) hydrated, I get up on average twice a night to go.... pee. yikes! but its a good thing I suppose.

So it has been 1 month since I started the training sessions and 2 weeks since I started the meal plans and I stepped on the scale for the first time since my initial weigh in and......drum roll please....I have lost 4 lbs and on the best part is I'm not feeling flabby, my body is building muscle tone again yay!!!

So that's my update as of now, I will update again in the future. Maybe if I have the guts I will post my before and after pictures...and during if I remember to take them. ;)

Wedding Planning

So over the past couple of months my sister, mother and I have been attempting to work together to plan my wedding. The date has been chosen, YAY! April 24, 2010. I'm hoping that Arizona will be rather forgiving that weekend, I know it will be warm when the sun is still up, but once the sun has set and dinner hits the table it will be absolutely perfect weather (knock on wood).

Either way, the entire process has been rather stressful to be honest. The first major steps were to obviously pick a location, caterer and then find a dress.

Location: Living in the Valley of the Sun, its not easy to find the perfect location for wedding. Especially if you want an outdoor elegant event. I did my research, looking at all the top choices there were available in the Phoenix metro area. Once we had chosen a handful of top competitors, we went out to visit them. I was not pleased, to say the least. Castles, mansions, Tuscan Villas in the middle of strip malls, manufacturing plants, homes? I mean c'mon, that is so tacky. I found one location that I was semi-pleased with, it was outdoors and some what remote - but in the end they were too specific. One caterer had exclusive rights to the property and unfortunately for them, we were unimpressed. Regardless of all the disappointing venues in the area we were able to find one that stood out above all the rest. And that location, my friends, is my sister's future backyard. Located near the intersection of 56th St. and Camelback Rd. with roughly an acre of property (previous owner was a landscape architect) you can imagine what a gorgeous local this is. For those of you not from the Phoenix area, Camelback and 56th is like the epitome desirable areas/homes in the valley. The backyard is north facing which means we will have an awe inspiring view of Camelback Mtn., the central point of the city created solely by mother nature. Needless to say at this point, I am very pleased with our decision. Its obviously going to be a lot of work transforming a home's backyard into a wedding ceremony location as well as reception hall, but I have drive, dedication and oh yeah, my sister and mom to do it all for me! :)

Caterers: We actually have not come to a final decision on this particular part of the wedding planning yet. Its definitely very difficult. Looking from caterer to caterer, there is definitely a fine line of mediorce quality and amazing quality. We have found some amazing caterers, but in this day in age with this economy, when someone tells you, "No I'm sorry we will not negotiate on price, but to work within your budget we can use lower grade ingredients", I knod in their direction to acknowledge the fact that they muttered some syllables and laugh in my head, thinking who the hell does this person think they are? Everyone, and I mean everyone is desperate for work right now. No matter how high quality the food and service might be. People are not spending the same amount on weddings anymore therefore companies caterers etc need to negotiate. Luckily amazing caterers are a dime a dozen in this city, of which many are willing to negotiate. Needless to say the woman and catering company that said that to me are no longer in the running to cater my wedding.

The Dress: How stressful can choosing the dress of your dreams for the most important day of your life be? Ohhhhh not stressful at all some people say. Not for me, not for me. Okay so I went to this cute little boutique in Old Town Scottsdale, twice to try on dresses. They had a great little collection of dresses. But being the indecisive person I am, I thought to myself, I can't just go into one store and try on a couple dresses! So I made an appointment with the largest bridal shop in the city and took guess who? my sister and my mom. I never in my entire life, imagined trying on wedding dresses would be that horrifyingly stressful and emotional, in a bad way. If I have advice for anyone out there, avoid the large stores! They are so impersonal and they could give two shits about you and your special day, all they really really want is their bottom line, money. At one point in time I was very thirsty and I asked an attendant for a glass or bottle of water. Oh, there's a bubbler in the front of the store near the entrance - wow is all I have to say. But this was just the beginning. I was being shuffled in and out, next to a variety of different women, practically waiting in line to be able to show a dress to my family! I could not find a dress that I wanted. There were definitely gorgeous dresses, and ones that I liked, but I always wanted to alter it here or change this there. We discussed the options with the manager of the store. "Oh definitely we can do that for you no problem" she said. My mom being the hardass she is wanted to know direct from the person who would be altering the dress. Reluctantly the manager brought her in. "Impossible" she said. The manager of this store, literally was going to have us put $1000 down for a dress that would never in my wildest dreams end up looking like what I wanted it to look like. Are you kidding me? I broke down in tears 3 separate times at that store, that day and not because it was so magical I was trying on such a meaningful dress, but because it was stressful and heartbreaking and I felt like just another girl. That same day spontaneously, we returned to the small boutique I had originally been. They welcomed us in, they offered us waters, mimosas, champagne. We all sat down, I was the only one in the store. The owner of the boutique assisted me with the dresses. I tried on a handful of dresses that afternoon and just like that, we found the one. Measured, ordered, loved all in a matter of an hour. High quality service, period.

All in all, planning a wedding is stressful and I haven't even scraped the tip of the iceberg.

Bring it on, Let's do this thing!!!