Call me the Cupcake Queen

There are times when I just have this insatiable appetite for delicious baked treat.  Today that craving comes in the form of cupcakes.  I don't know what it is about cupcakes.  They are tiny, and cute, and piled high with frosting and I want to eat gobs of them.  The vast array of flavors available: key lime, red velvet with cream cheese frosting, chocolate with chocolate frosting!  Yum!  See?  Do you see why I love cupcakes?

Yet, in my oven right now I am baking six precious little 75 calorie a piece Pillsbury Brownie minis in a hope that will cure me of my cupcake need.

You'd think after all this talk about cupcakes I would likely have had a terrible calorie intake day.  Not so bad though, really.  I had a Kashi bar for breakfast= 120 cal.  For lunch I had a 4oz steak, 1/2 a potato, and 2/3 c. mixed veggies= 352 cal.

I haven't had supper yet, but I'm planning on eating a cajun turkey sandwich on wheat with Lays Baked Southwestern Ranch chips, a fruit cup, and baby carrots= 490 cal.  Plus the two little brownies I'll have to eat= 150 cal and the small bowl of cereal I had for snack= 160 cal, if I control myself I'll finish this day of rest and cupcake longing having eaten a whopping total of=1272.  That's right only 1272 calories and that included brownies!

I may not get my cupcakes today, but I'm pretty proud of how well I did.  Stay tuned for more calorie counting fun!  If you have a meal you'd like me to try fixing a "slimmed down" way, shoot me your idea.  I'll take it as a challenge!

Good night calorie counting friends!

Adventures in Healthy Eating Days 1 & 2

     So as you're all well aware it turns out that I'm a terrible blogger.  I've decided after much thought that it has to do with the fact that I'm not sure what to blog about.  Well I WASN'T sure until a stroke of genius hit me!
     Since Christmas time Spencer has been trying really hard to watch what he eats.  He's been carefully cutting down his portion sizes and began working out at the beginning of January.  He told me that he does much better with this sort of thing if I participate to encourage him.  Knowing that I have a few pounds to lose and a lot to gain by choosing healthier foods, I jumped on board!
     So that's what I've decided to blog about, my great low-cal finds, easy substitutes we've found when cooking, and our adventure in healthy eating.
     We've been doing this for 2 or 3 weeks now and I think I'm starting to get the hang of things.  Last night we were both craving a good burger.  Unfortunately for the burger, we've cut out red meat all but one time a week.  So we had to get creative.  We enjoyed a fantastic supper of Garlic Herb Turkey Burgers and oven french fries.  SO GOOD!  Calorie Count= hamburger bun (120 cal), turkey burger (160 cal), oven fries (140 cal) TOTAL: 420 calories.  I added ketchup, Spencer added mustard.  We both loved it!
     After our delicious meal we each worked out.  We've been doing the P90X program.  I'm working on the lean program and Spencer's working on the fit program.  We each work out for an hour a day 6 days a week.  Usually I'm toast by the end, but feel so good when I'm done that it's worth it.  I should probably mention I spend half the time working out mouthing off to the guy on the videos.  I hate being told what to do!  :)

     I rewarded myself for my good caloric intake and workout ethic by treating myself to a FAB new find: Pillsbury Brownie Minis.  I paid more than I should.  But here's the deal, I've got a terrible sweet tooth and living without sweets just isn't an option, so I find great ways to work them in.  These Pillsbury Brownie minis are 50 calories a brownie.  The best part is, they're good!  Overall, I'd say Friday night was a success.
    So today, (hang in there with me, I won't normally blog two days at once), we had to get up and go clean the church with our small group.  I had a bowl of cereal w/ skim milk.  For lunch I had a pesto turkey panini on wheat (super good), a tropical fruit cup, and a glass of water.  For supper we had spaghetti.  Spaghetti usually has a lot of sugar, sodium, and calories.  That's because most of us buy spaghetti sauce in a jar.  Spencer and I decided to save calories and money by making our own.  We just added a palm full of this and a palm full of that till it tasted good to us.  (Lg. can crushed tomatoes, small can tomato paste, 2 cloves garlic minced and toasted, 1/2 white onion minced and sauteed, 1 c. water, 2 T. sugar, a palmful of oregano, a palmful of garlic powder, a palmful of basil, and a sprinkle of parsley.  We let this simmer on low for 2 hours.)  Of course instead of ground hamburger we subbed in ground turkey.  Total calories for this delicious new meal? 2 (dry) ounces of linguine= 210 cal, 1/2 c. homemade sauce= 209 cal, 2/3 c. green beans cooked= 30 cal.  TOTAL= 449 calories!
   Thought you should know, I snacked on two brownie minis= 100 cal and 1 Crystal Light Popsicle= 15 cal.
     I hope you'll follow me as I blog along in my adventure of healthier eating!