Healthy Meal Options I’ve Been Loving

It’s been almost a year since I started my weight loss journey. I did fall off track a bit in the fall (by off track I mean I wasn’t consistently eating healthy, and more or less ate anything I wanted on the weekends), as the holidays were just way too full of delicious meals, treats, etc… But lately I’ve been doing much better and even entered myself in a “biggest loser” challenge between some co-workers as added motivation. I thought I might as well share some yummy dishes I’ve been eating lately that taste great but are great for you! Some are to be made, while others are just products you can find in stores!

1. Morningstar Farms Veggie Burgers
I absolutely love these. My favorites are the Original Grillers, Tomato Basil Burgers, and the Roasted Garlic Quinoa Burgers. I was never too keen on the idea of veggie burgers in general. Several years ago I tried a Boca burger and was far from impressed with those. Luckily a co-worker had me try a bite of her Morningstar Farms griller and I was surprised to find that I liked it! Liked it a lot, actually. I usually will pair them with some ketchup, onion, and a whole grain wheat bun.

2. Taco Salad
This is something I came up with using taco leftovers one day, and ended up being obsessed. I know taco salad is not something that’s never been done before, and is done several different ways, but this is just my way. I start out with lettuce and add in other veggies (usually for this salad I only add onions and red bell peppers). I then top it with fat free or reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese, fat free or light sour cream, some low-sodium taco sauce, and I sprinkle a bit of taco seasoning over the top. SO GOOD! It tastes seriously just like a taco. To bulk up the salad I’ve also added some grilled chicken, or even leftover ground turkey that was used to make actual tacos.

3. Lettuce Wraps
I literally just ventured into using lettuce as a bread substitute like a week ago, but I am hooked. I use heads of iceberg lettuce and carefully pull the leaves off in big enough sheets that I can fill them and wrap them up. I add different types of veggies depending on my desires of the moment, a lean meat such as chicken or turkey breast, and then use either low fat cream cheese or hummus as a spread. I was worried that it would more or less taste like a wrapped up salad since that’s basically what it is (and after eating salad SO. MUCH. I have a tendancy to get sick of it every now and again), but I was pleasantly surprised and this has become one of my favorite lunches for work.

4. Spaghetti Squash
I am a hardcore pasta/spaghetti lover, so I use spaghetti squash to help curb my cravings. I bake it with a bit of olive oil and garlic powder, scrape it, and top it with my favorite pasta sauce (which at the moment is a Tomato Vodka Cream Sauce by a brand called Paesana.)

5. Zucchini Pizzas/Lasagna
Another pasta substitute! To make the pizzas I cut my zucchini in long planks, reminiscent of the shape of french bread pizzas. I top them with spaghetti sauce, a little big of garlic powder (I’m a garlic fiend), and low-fat mozzarella cheese. Stick them in the oven until the cheese is melted and the zucchinis are a bit tender, and enjoy! For the lasagna I like to cut the zucchini in medallions, and slice a tomato as well. I then get an oven-safe container and start layering…zucchini (laid out so they cover the entire surface), sauce, tomato, garlic powder, cheese, sauce, etc… Bake it for about an hour or so at 375 and serve!

6. Special K Cinnamon Pecan Cereal with Vanilla Almond Milk
This is amazing. The cereal is amazing, and the milk is so good even my 9 year old loves it. It’s a not-so-guilty way of satisfying my sweet tooth.

7. PB2 and Oikos Vanilla Greek Yogurt
Another dessert favorite of mine lately. I like the Oikos brand vanilla the best out of the few I’ve tried because I find it to be more vanilla flavored and a bit sweeter than others. It’s delicious on it’s own, but to really take it up a notch I like to add a 1/2 serving (1 TBSP) of PB2 powdered peanut butter. It’s super addicting.

8. Frozen Breakfast/Dinner Favorites
Now I know there’s some controversy over frozen meals. That they’re not really that good for you, that there’s too many preservatives, etc… but sometimes I’m running late and don’t have time to make breakfast or even put together my lunch, or I get home after a day of work and am too hungry and tired to wait for something to cook, so these are ideal. I usually grab either the Lean Cuisine brand or the Weight Watchers’ Smart Ones brand. For breakfast my favorite is the Smart Ones English Muffin Egg and Sausage sandwiches. The canadian bacon ones are pretty good, too. As for lunch/dinner favorites I like the Lasagna Bake with Meat Sauce from Smart Ones, and my favorite Lean Cuisines are Four Cheese Cannelloni and Sesame Chicken.

So there are some of my favorite current healthy eats. What are some things you like to eat when watching your weight?

*NSync 30 Day Challenge- In One Long Post

A while back I came across this *N Sync 30 Day Challenge. I haven’t had the time to do it properly, but since I’m throwing back a couple of beers tonight (long, stressful week + 4 day weekend ahead = I deserve these beers!) and I’m still high off of their 120 second reunion performance with Justin at last weekend’s MTV Video Music Awards, I figured it’d be fun to do right now. 😉 *N Sync is seriously my all-time favorite group, and even though I’m 28 years old now, I still blast their music in my car, know all the words (and choreography- don’t hate), and hope for a comeback tour that’ll likely never come. (For the record, if they do ever tour again I’m totally taking a leave of absence from work and following them on tour. I’ll pull Tyler out of school, too, because dammit he deserves to grow up knowing the glory that is *N Sync, lol.)

1. When and how did you become a fan?

Hmm, it all goes back to when I was 13. My best friends and I had somewhat of an obsession with calling our local radio station for a summer and trying to win a CD through their nightly Top 8 at 8 contest. (Basically they played the top 8 songs of the day, you call and try to be caller #8 as the number 1 song is playing and if you can name what song was at what number on the countdown you win a CD.) One night my friend won, and she got *N Sync’s first album. We listened and listened and listened to it and loved it, so I ended up buying my own copy. When I saw their concert special on the Disney channel a few months later I was hooked. I literally got baby blue bands put in my braces (because that was Justin’s favorite color, of course) a week later… it doesn’t get more hardcore than that, lol!

2. Favorite group picture?

I honestly can’t remember a certain picture of them that I liked so much more than any others… so I just browsed through google a bit and found this one. I think they all look so handsome here, aside from Chris’s glasses (pretty much make him look like he has 2 black eyes…wtf?) which I can look past for now. I almost wanted to post a recent one of them from last week’s VMA’s, but I figured for the sake of nostalgia I’ll keep everything old school. 🙂

3. Favorite member?

Justin, hands down. He was my favorite from the very beginning. Shortly after my obsession began I realized EVERYONE loved Justin, and being the little rebel that I was I decided Joey was my favorite for a while (his red hair was freakin’ awesome!) and I went through a JC phase for a while, too. But seriously, Justin has always been my favorite. He’s the closest to my age, his dancing is ridiculous, his voice makes my heart melt (hello falsetto!), and obviously he is just gorgeous. I’ve long dreamt about touching his curly, blonde fro back in the day… he needs to bring that back. For reals.

4. Favorite era?

No Strings Attached. Absolutely. It was their best album (and best selling album EVER to date), their live show was amazing, and it was just so much fun to be already invested in a group and have them blow up that much more success-wise. And as tacky as the whole marionette thing might’ve been, at the time it was the shit, lol.

5. Favorite voice?

I think JC has the best technical singing voice, but Justin’s is so unique and his range is huge. I’ve always appreciated his voice, especially his high notes.

6. Favorite music video?

I Drive Myself Crazy! It’s a cute song, yes, but the video is great. I think it kind of showed how they didn’t take themselves too seriously, by making a humorous video to an otherwise sweet, sentimental ballad. So funny.

7. First merchandise/product you owned?

Hmm, assuming their first album doesn’t count, I honestly don’t know what the first would be. I had a shit load… shit. load. While I can’t remember my first piece of *N Sync memorabilia, I do remember my dad coming home from work with their Christmas album and their official book the day they were both released, and being over the moon about it!

8. Favorite song on *NSync?

I Want You Back. Easily. Not because it was their first single, or a widely popular song, but because it’s awesome even to this day, lol.

9. Favorite song on Home For Christmas?

It’s a toss up between O Holy Night, Under My Tree, and of course, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays.

10. Favorite song on No Strings Attached?

Either It Makes Me Ill or I Thought She Knew… it’s too hard to even pick 2 from that album, though. They were all so good!

11. Favorite song on Celebrity?

Probably would have to be Gone. Love singing that song in my car, by myself, lol.

12. *N Sync merchandise you still own?

Well, I have a lot of it stored away in my attic right now. I do plan on using a lot of it when I buy a house someday. Seriously, I’ve already told Jon that I’m sorry, but the basement will be turned into a pop culture room, rather than a sports/game room. I have a couple t-shirts floating around my current circulation, and all 5 of the marionette dolls are staring at me from the top shelf in my closet as we speak. Oh, and there’s a magnet on my refrigerator, haha!

13. Have you been to a concert or performance?

Hell yes, I’ve been to 11 *N Sync shows! I’ve also seen Justin once per solo tour, including this summer’s Legends of the Summer tour, and I’m seeing him again this December for his 20/20 Experience World Tour. They were the best shows EVER!

14. Favorite tour or concert?

I think show-wise the No Strings Attached tour was by far the best (and my favorite concert DVD to rewatch, lol) but my favorite would have to be their first tour(s) for their first album. They were just becoming big so at first, the venues were a bit smaller (and did I mention a virtually unknown Britney Spears as their opening act?!) and it was all so new and exciting for me and my friends! I saw their earliest tours 5 times alone thanks to my dad willing to take my friends and I to several, as well as them having several legs of the tour.

15. Favorite choreography?

I think Bye Bye Bye’s is the most commonly known and therefore fun to do in public with others (lol, don’t ask), but I love the moves in It’s Gonna Be Me. Probably because they were somewhat fast-pasted and intricate, and I was still able to learn them and impress people, lol. The dance for Tearin’ Up My Heart is a classic, too.

16. Favorite costumes/outfits?

I’m going with these Tommy Hilfiger jerseys they wore during one of their earlier tours, and let me explain why. They came to Pittsburgh on March 8th for a show. For my birthday, on March 21, my mom bought me the same exact baby blue basketball jersey Justin wore in the show. Earlier that year for Christmas my dad bought me 6th row tickets for their show in Colombus, OH on March 26th. At the Colombus show, I wore the jersey, and because I was so close, I was able to get Justin to see me and notice I had the same shirt on as him, so he pointed at me, pointed at his shirt, and smiled. Ugh… it was amazing, lol.

17. Favorite song performed live?

Hmmm…. always the opening songs. Like No Strings Attached, or even Crazy For You. The opening songs are always so full of excitement and therefore the best!

18. Favorite lyrics?

I’m going to go real soft on you all here and quote a lyric from one of their Christmas songs, Loves In Our Hearts On Christmas Day. It really is a an adorable lyrics, whether they wrote it themselves or not. 🙂

“A snowflake melts in your eye and turns to a tear. But your cheek it stays dry, with your warm smile so near. I have no fear, we’re gonna make it.”

19. An *N Sync reunion has been announced! Make your ideal set list.

Oh dear God…pardon me while I pee myself at the mere thought. This is really hard, because I would really love nothing more than to sit there for hours and watch them perform every song they’ve ever recorded. But I’m going to try this… as best as I can. I’ll assume they’d do a typical 20-22 song set. OK, 22 it is. Not including their Christmas album, because that would be just too, too hard. And these aren’t really in any particular order, because it’s easier for me to go through each album and pick some songs. 🙂
1. Pop
2. Gone
3. Girlfriend
4. See Right Through You
5. The Game Is Over
6. Tell Me, Tell Me Baby
7. I Want You Back
8. Crazy For You
9. God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On You
10. Here We Go
11. You Got It
12. I Drive Myself Crazy
13. Tearin’ Up My Heart
14. Space Cowboy
15. Just Got Paid
16. It Makes Me Ill
17. No Strings Attached
18. Digital Getdown
19. This I Promise You
20. I Thought She Knew
21. It’s Gonna Be Me
22. Bye Bye Bye

20. Favorite friendship in *NSync?

I would have to say Justin and Chris. The oldest and the youngest, and easily the two biggest goofs. 😉

21. Favorite relationship an *NSyncer has or had?

Um, helloooo… Justin and Britney 4 EVA! Haha, but seriously, I miss them together. And their matching denim outfits.

22. Favorite solo/side project?

Obviously Justin’s. Duh.

23. Favorite quote(s)?

Honestly can’t think of one at the moment, so I’ll just go with their overuse of the word “crunk” back in the day, haha.

24. Is it *NSYNC or ‘N Sync? How do you write it?

I personally write it *NSync or *N Sync… as long as the asterisk is there, we good. Haha.

25. Have you met any of them?

I met Joey Fatone in 2010! I was driving in my car one day and heard on the radio he was going to be in town for a few weeks performing in The Producers. Naturally, I called up my dad (who I have a bond with over *NSync… he’s the one who took me to most of the shows and whatnot, and I think he really got a kick out of my obsession with them) and we went down to see the show. We walk in and I see their souvenir stand, and they were selling head shots of Joey for $10 with a sign next to it that said we can get them signed after the show. Seriously?! $10?!?!?!?! So of course we stayed afterwards, and he came out and was so humble I think he may have gotten a little annoyed by how giddy I was. My dad was having some trouble figuring out the camera on my phone (lol, aw) so Joey had to help him out (Joey Fatone touched my phone, people… touched it) and even though the picture came out super blurry, it’s clear as day in my mind and I have his autograph, lol! 🙂 Plus, it was really special I got to meet him with my Dad!

26. Favorite interview?

As much as I said I’d like to keep most of this “old school,” I have to go with Chris’ recent interview on a radio station, post-VMA performance. He’s still so funny… talking about how he wasn’t expecting there to be dancing involved in their performance, etc… so cute, lol.

27. Funniest *NSync moment?

I’m going to go with JC’s dancing… in general. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great dancer. But sometimes when he performs (in their live shows, specifically) he tends to get really, really into it, and therefore over-emphasizes a lot of the moves, leading it to be somewhat humorous. 😉 Gotta love it!

28. Besides a reunion, what do you think each *NSyncer should be doing?

There is no “besides a reunion”… make it happen, dammit!

29. Share any favorite animated gif, picture, or anything random related to *NSync.

Well that is entirely way too broad… so here is one from this year’s VMA’s, and the guys proving they still got it. 😉

30. What you love and miss most about them.

I miss everything. Their fun songs, their originality (as a boy band, at least, I think they were always a bit different and ahead of the game), their concerts, their harmonies, and probably a bit of my youth, lol. There will never be anyone like them, for me at least. 🙂

*NSYNC, BITCHES!

So I’ve been a fan of *N Sync (and when I say ‘fan’ I mean crazy, obsessed, get out my fuckin’ way when it comes to *N Sync type of fan) since I was 13 years old. And in all honesty, my love for them is still pretty intense despite them breaking up about 10 years ago. But earlier this week it was announced they’d be reuniting at the MTV Video Music Awards, and I’ve been on the brink of pissing my pants all week. Now the show starts in 1 hour, and I’m excited beyond words. My boys… even though it’s more than likely going to be at least 10 more years before they’re seen together again (if ever again), I CAN. NOT. WAIT! Eeeeeeek! 🙂 In order for this to be perfect, Justin needs to curl and frost his hair, Chris needs his braces and dreads back, they need to wear reflective, patterned, denim, and leather outfits, and they better be hanging from marionette strings. I mean, go hard or go home, right?

My Girls Are Coming to TV

Two of my favorite celebrities/musicians/girls in the whole wide world are coming to TV this week. Christina Aguilera is on the 3rd season of The Voice starting Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday night this week, and Britney Spears is on the 2nd season (though her first) of The X Factor starting Wednesday and Thursday night this week. I know that most people usually pick one or the other, Britney or Christina, but I am a rare, neutral party, and absolutely adore them both. (Although, when it comes to the great boy band rivalry of the late 90’s/early 00’s, I’m N Sync all the way. I mean, geez, there shouldn’t even be any competition! 😉 ) I think it’s kind of funny how Brit and X-Tina are being pitted against one another, yet again, when the two of them really don’t have much in common aside from their past on The Mickey Mouse Club and the fact that they’re women around the same age that sing pop music, which is an extremely general and wide-set genre. Their music really doesn’t go hand in hand with one another, and both have different things about them that I love. For instance, Britney has the fun, dance vibe going for her, while Christina has the amazing voice. I could never chose just one, though in all honesty, I see Britney doing a bit better on the X Factor, at least ratings-wise.

This is Britney’s first season, so it’s new to her and her fans, so no doubt people will be tuning in due to curiosity alone. Plus, she has a really, really strong fan base who won’t miss a second of her. A lot of the general public are also probably going to tune in to see how she does, how she looks, etc… just about everyone and their grandmother knows about her rocky past, and everyone can’t deny the fact that “crazy” people on TV makes for good entertainment. I have complete confidence that Britney is on a much better path in life both personally and professionally, and though she’s been doing a great job (going by the segments she has already filmed over the last several months), people will still tune in expecting/hoping to see a train wreck. Oh well, let ’em. That just means higher ratings and therefore more success for Britney. 🙂

Christina, on the other hand, has been doing this for 3 seasons now. People generally know what to expect, know her personality on the show, know the format of the show, etc… Not to mention Britney’s generally warm, friendly personality tends to win people over more so than Christina’s. Christina tends to come off a bit cold, cocky, and at times bitchy to a lot of people. Even as a huge fan, I can see it. I think a lot of it is mostly confidence on her part, which is good, but can often come off really arrogant to others. She’s also been getting a lot of criticism over the last couple of years for her weight, outfits, and just overall attitude and actions, and I think a lot of people are being turned off by her. I still love her, though. 🙂

Both shows premiere this week. I was happy to learn that The Voice was on Monday and Tuesday nights, and the X Factor was on Wednesday and Thursday nights. That way I don’t have to chose one, and can watch both of them. I was super pissed off to hear that The Voice was having a 3-day premiere week, meaning it’s going to overlap with the X Factor Wednesday night, so hopefully this is a one-time thing. However, it turns out I’ll be DVRing both of them anyway. 😦 Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights I work until 8 or later, and I believe both shows air at 8 (maybe 9 for the voice, I’m not sure yet). Even though I’m done working at 1pm on Mondays, and would have the entire night to watch TV, my cable boxes are still screwed up. My mom’s cable still works, but she watches her own shows at night. Luckily hers is the one with the DVR, so if I have to wait a day to see each episode I guess I can deal. I think NBC has an iPad app. that I can download and watch episodes of The Voice, but so far I haven’t found anything for FOX.

Either way, I’m excited to actually have shows to be excited about this fall. I’m usually not much of a TV show follower, especially American Idol-esque shows, but I can’t NOT watch my girls! 🙂

July 18th- Plate

OK, so this isn’t a plate… but still a serving dish… or basket, whatever. 😉 This is from a local restaurant chain around here called Primanti Brothers. In fact, Pittsburgh is somewhat known for these sandwiches. They’ve been featured on several food shows and anyone that comes to Pittsburgh just has to try one. They are SO FREAKING GOOD! You can choose from several meat options for your sandwich, and it’s topped with cheese (usually), french fries, tomato, and a sweet vinegar cole slaw. Might not sound too special, but my god, it is. I usually get the ham and cheese without tomato. 🙂 Now I’m hungry for Primanti’s… dammit.