A favorite salad

Ok, this should be considered fairly healthy in that I make the dressing myself ...

Bed of salad greens (whatever you want) with cucumbers, peppers, whatever
bunch of cilantro, chopped or cut with scissors (I like alot)
3 oz of steak (I buy the 100 calorie serving steak when I find it on clearance), cooked to preference and sliced thin, bite size

For the dressing, mix in a jar:
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce (I use this thick stuff)
1/3 cup brown sugar
2- tbs sesame oil
dash of crushed red pepper (cayenne)
fresh minced garlic
fresh minced ginger

Heres how I do my salad (usually for lunch at work!) ... have all salad stuff in bowl, pour on dressing, and put lid on salad bowl. Toss, shake to evenly coat the stuff with dressing. Open. Eat. Enjoy. *Doing the dressing this way eliminates about half the dressing you would normally "need" for your salad!*

6 egg whites equals ONE protein

Uggg. That's a lot of eggs. And as a frugal girl, I hate to toss out 6 egg yolks!! And well, lets face it, I think the yolks are what gives the eggs flavor :)

So here's what I do to make myself feel a little better.

3 egg whites, litly scrambled
1 tbs rotel tomotoes
1 oz mozz cheese
1 1/2 oz of deli ham

Saute the tomatoes in skillet to release some of the liquid, then pour the egg whites over. Gently scramble. Once the eggs are almost set, add the ham & cheese and finish cooking the eggs.

This will give you ONE full serving of protein, 1 serving of dairy and just a touch of veggies for the day. It's actually pretty filling too!

Weighing and measuring food

So the P90X nutrition plan (not a DIET!) specifically says that you need to measure and weigh food in the beginning. Yeah right, like I need to do that.

Well, surprise. I started doing that and you know what? It's freaking amazing what a misconcept you might have on serving sizes.

It all started with the jerkey. I got 9 oz bags from Costco. Has 9 servings. Ok. Easy enough. NOT.

I got the food scale on Thursday and that was the first thing I did was weigh out the jerkey. Whoa nellie!

Same with a chicken breast. 3 oz (not 4 on this plan) is not anything like you thought.

But 6 egg whites equals one protein? Thats too much for me to eat.

2 cups of leafy greens. Doesn't sound like much does it? But it IS! Try measuring it and see just how much it really is!

Same with cheese. 1 oz is a serving. Doesn't sound like much but it is.

If you don't have a scale, I highly recommend you get one. I bought a Salter for $12.99 at Bed Bath & Beyond, and of course, used my 20% off coupon to get $2.50 off. Nothing fancy. Not digital. But has a rather large bowl (instead of just the stand) and a BIG face to see the lines that represent ounces :)

Celsius drinks

Normally, if something "claims" to burn calories, etc., I walk right on by ... I'm a firm believer that you have to work to get what you want.

BUT ... Costco had a sampling going on, tried it, liked it and figured that I could use a BOOSTER drink.

They had it for $16.99 for a 12 pack. Not exactly cheap. By any means. BUT I am pacing myself.

Here's what it says: Burn up to 100 calorie and more in each can. No sugar, aspartame, preservatives, very low sodium (6mg), no high fructose corn syrup or artificial colors or flavors. I'm sold!

Only 10 calories per can (12 oz). 1 gram of carbs.

I drank a can. Within the hour I was a little edgy. Not in a bad, caffine jacked up way ... but more like I couldn't sit still, cleaning the kitchen, folding clothes, etc. I do not remember a crash afterwards either. So far, so good.

I've had the Green Tea Raspberry Acai and the Sparkling Orange. The orange is JUST LIKE ORANGE SODA in my opinion. NOTE: Orange does NOT state carbs so makes me think there are some in there, so just be aware.

Would I buy it again? Yeah. Preferably on sale though. Its like any other energizing drink I suppose but I really like the flavors of these. I am NOT a red bull girl so I have nothing to compare it to ...

Protein Bars

I mentioned the EAS shakes that I've picked up pretty cheap that are tasty (slugged down a strawberry one after yesterday morning's workout!). I also have some protein bars that are down right tasty!

EAS AdvantEDGE Carb Control. Chocolate Chip Brownie flavored. Oh man. It's like eating a candy bar. Publix has these for $1.69. I picked up a bunch when I had the $1 off coupons to make them 69 cents each. I have NOT tried any of the other flavors!

They are heavy and although it's not a recommendation, you could almost eat one as a meal and feel full for hours later. Hubby was snacking on one the other day and I was like "Hey! That's not a snacky type of thing!" ... he thought it was a granola bar, although nothing like that in texture! I keep these in the drawer at the office to offset that craving I get for chocolate (and trust me, there is never ever a shortage of that in the office!) and it works!

Lets see, the stats on these are: 17 grams protein, 3 gram net carbs, 230 calories.

Protein drinks / shakes

I have the powdered stuff. Ick. Still can't get rid of the taste.

Did buy some EAS AdvantEdge Carb Control shakes when Publix had them on sale. Got the 4 packs for $2.99. Strawberry - yumm. Vanilla is so-so. Chocolate Fudge. So-so. Rich Dark Chocolate - yummm. Cafe Carmel, haven't tried yet.

Sonny boy drinks these after school and before working on the bowflex ... skinny kid, has no desire to P90X.

I intend on using these either as breakfast or after workout evening snack.