I just don't understand the "Extreme Couponing" thing.

While at a, fabulously sweaty, Ali Campbell, workout session today, an interesting topic arose. We got to talking about eating healthy and trying to 'live the lifestyle', when Ali, our trainer, said she has a problem sometimes with companies trying to get her to endorse their shakes, or supplements, or whatever, because of how she looks (She looks incredible, and I can see why companies would flock to her). She said she always declines because the best advice she can give her clients, when looking for ways to be healthier, is to eat whole, unprocessed foods. I loved that she said this because Mike and I had just had this discussion and I totally agree, 100%!

Mike and I try as hard as possible to stick to the rule, "If it can't go bad, we don't buy it." We mainly stick to the outside perimeters of the grocery stores because that is where you find the foods that will do the most beneficial things for your body. There are some exceptions to this, yes, but mainly the produce section, meats, and eggs win my vote. Sometimes I meander down the chocolate isle, but shhhhh. The downside to this may be a bigger dent in the wallet, however, the bigger picture is worth the extra dollars. This is where my problem with the whole "Extreme Couponing"thing comes into play.

I was channel surfing the other night, and happening to come across TLC's show, Extreme Couponing. It details the lives of these people who make it their mission to not buy one thing in the grocery store at full price. They have coupons for everything! They build these 'stock piles' in their homes that look like they could survive the coming of WWIII, but no matter how much stuff they get, it is never enough. The amazing part comes when they take a bill that would originally cost upwards of $2000, and pay only $6. This may be amazing, which I will admit, shocked me at first, but then you take a second look at what they bought, and understand why only women who are severely overweight and don't work, seemed to be featured. 90% of their haul is boxed, processed foods that your body doesn't know how to breakdown. I think the show could be called "Yakisoba Promotional Ad," with the amount of those boxed noodles they buy.

Crap, crap, crap, toothpaste (86 tubes), and more crap. What makes me sad is their pride in what they have managed to buy, and wanting to pass this skill down to their children, breeding more bad eating for the future. Yes, you are saving money, but nothing will pay for the rebuilding of your child's self esteem when they end up 200 pounds overweight because of their bad eating habits. It is not all bad, though, and those who do it to donate to local shelters, and military, I commend you on such a selfless act. As for most of it though, I cringe when I see 8 flats of Coke being wheeled out of the store to be enjoyed by naive kids. I would rather spend a little more money on whole, fresh, unprocessed, foods that my body will thank me for into old age, hopefully. It also gives Mike and I a reason not to spend money eating out so much, because all of our food will spoil eventually and I wanna enjoy it while it's fresh!

Onto tonights meal adventure. Mike had to work, so I got a little creative in our, mostly packed up, kitchen. I rarely eat pasta, but when I saw these bad boys in 'Earthfare' the other day, I had to get them. Plus, their nutritional stats were acceptable, and the ingredient list had actual food listed.

These raviolis were in the frozen section, and they had many different varieties, but these sounded wonderful. Before I tell you what I mixed them with, I'll let you know that Mike and my favorite 'Tomato Sauce' is the simplest thing to make, along with being super healthy. We normally just grab a can of crushed San Marzano tomatoes (must be San Marzano, they taste the best!), chop up some fresh basil to add, mix in some minced garlic, and then add a little salt and pepper to taste, and voila! Super yummy, tomato sauce. We normally store it in an air-tight container in the fridge and use it for everything, from pizza sauces, to a makeshift sauce for my little raviolis. 

Laughing Cow cheese wedges kick bootay!

Once the little raviolis were cooked, I just threw in some shredded rotisserie chicken (another must have in my fridge),our famously un-famous tomato sauce, a laughing cow cheese wedge (only 35 calories, and they melt perfectly into the sauce) and a splash of Unsweetened Almond Breeze, and you have a perfectly tasty, makeshift creamy tomato sauce! 

Served with Asparagus, of course.

It tasted wonderful! I recommend these little raviolis to anyone in need of a quick dinner, they only take 8 minutes! Add some extra protein to amp the nutritional value and it made for a great dinner!

 Mike and my last rule, that we try and stick to is, "If you eat healthy and whole 90% of the time, and haven't drank your calories, the last 10% can be whatever you want....within reason of course." 

Earthfare has the BEST carrot cake!!!

Don't worry, my "within reason" is only a 1/3 of this slice of cake....maybe 1/2, I kicked butt at the gym today :) I'm off to watch some terribly desperate mothers exploit their little girls on Toddlers and Tiaras! It's kind of like a crash you can't take your eyes off of, you don't want to watch...but you have to! Goodnight!

Schools out....FOREVER!!!!

Yes ladies and gentlemen, that day has finally come. After much frustration with weird kids who bring cartons of eggs to class, and others who are probably a little drunk, I have finished the last class needed in order to graduate from Florida State University! woooo Go Noles! I am feeling a whirl wind of emotions right now from excited, to anxious, to just plain tired. Anxious, primarily due to our move to Dallas coming up in a week. A WEEK! I know; it is so close I can smell the wonderfulness that is Cowboy land!

Mike and I have slowly started to pack, and have made pretty good headway. I tried to pack Monkey's things last week and that was a total no-go for him. He went into the bag I packed all his toys in, and pulled out every single thing only to play with for a mere 2 minutes tops, and then roll around beside the pile. What a doll. This week will give us a lot more time to pack all the little things we forgot, and get in our last week of workouts at Sweat Therapy. We are going to miss this place so much, from all the teachers who have become fast friends, to just the feeling we get when we leave from an awesome workout. However, in discovering this place, I have discovered a long term goal I want to set for myself, which I truly believe is my calling. One day, I want to open an alternative fitness gym such as Sweat Therapy in a place that is filled with oversized mega gyms. I want to bring the same feeling I have gotten from Sweat Therapy to others who don't realize how much of a family you can start, in a smaller gym facility. I love it! More to come on this later :)

On another note entirely, I have a funny story that Mike didn't want me to tell, but I think is super cute and deserves a mention anyways! So the other day, while we were watching the 'ever so entertaining' America's Got Talent, I was browsing all my usual bloggers I love to read. I came across an  unusual amount who talked about their craving for some warm, ooey-gooey, chocolate chip cookie, and became bitten by the sugar bug that had done them in as well. Also, being economical and all, since we are moving and had some left over dark chocolate chunks in the freezer, I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to not waste good food. 

About an hour later, Mike and I enjoyed some nice, warm, chocolate chip cookies and passed out with wonderfully sweet dream. The next day I promptly told Mike to hide the bag of cookies so I would not gorge myself on their chocolatey goodness, which he did because he knows I have 'some' self control, but let's not kid ourselves people, they are chocolate chip cookies. Later that night Mike was preparing the most amazing dinner of marinated pork loin and roasted artichokes when all of a sudden a terrible 'burnt plastic' smell filled the house. 

Mike forgot that when I asked him to hide the cookies, he tossed them in our over, and he had turned the oven on the preheat for dinner. NOOOOOOOOOOOOO...

The burnt mass that were chocolate chip cookies...

Well, in the garbage those go. I thought it was pretty funny though, Mike felt super bad but I don't blame him at all since he is such an awesome boyfriend anyways, he was just doing what I asked him to do. How can you be mad at someone who makes you this for dinner...

Pork Loin.....so tasty!

and this...

This is a stuffed artichoke! Sorry for the picture quality.

Since Mike and I are trying to be as health conscious as possible, it's stuffed with a mixture of Fiber One bread crumbs (which is just crushed up Fiber One, and tastes just like bread crumb with Fiber and a lot less calories!) and a little parmesan cheese! They were awesome! 

All in all, I thought the little cookie fiasco was funny, Mike did not, and we had a wonderful dinner! Mike also got us Yogurt Mountain afterwards to make up for it, so no complaints here. Since I am done with school now, Mike and I have some errand running to do to get us ready for the move!!

Can't believe I'm moving in 25 days...

I realize it has been a while since my last post but I have good reason I can assure. Moving my entire life from one state to another is something I'm all too familiar with, however, when it involves picking out the place to move into, finding a job in said place, finishing two required classes for me to graduate, AND staying in shape, I am about ready to pull my hair out!!

No, this isn't Monkey :) I promise!

Since I was little, I have moved a total of five times. Born in San Antonio, we then moved to Dallas, onto Virginia, next Maryland,  then South Florida and finally Tallahassee, where I reside currently.  Starting over has been something I love doing,  but I have never had to do all the busy work of finding the house, getting the movers, and dealing with all the rough emotions that come with it. Don't get me wrong, I would run to Dallas right now, if I had no priorities here to finish. I just feel like I have so much to do in such a small amount of time, yet time seems to pass so slowly to the big day, if that makes any sense at all.

Last week, Mike and I flew out to meet my mom in the BIG D, to house (apartment) hunt. I told Mike when we landed, it was going to take a miracle to get me back on that plane to Tallahassee, because Dallas has such a pull on my heart that's hard to describe. I can honestly say, some of my happiest memories had come from growing up in Texas, and it all comes rushing back as soon as you hit the dusty ground. A lot of people ask me "Why Dallas? Why Texas? What is so special about that place?" All I can reply is, "You would have to experience it for yourself to get it." The people, pride, food, rodeos...all of that and so much more makes Texas a state of its' own. My state!

Anyways, back on track...we were lucky enough to receive wonderful hospitality from the restaurants Mike will be working for, find an awesome apartment to move into, and for me to become extremely dehydrated and sick and end up in the hospital for a night, causing us to miss a Rangers game too. I felt so terrible and the worst part is, is this isn't even the first time this has happened to me. I guess with all the excitement, and amped up workouts we've been doing lately, I put 'drinking enough fluids' on the back burner, when that is a definite 'no no' to do visiting "Hot as Hellllo" Dallas. Unfortunately for me, the remaining half of my trip was spent drinking Gatorade, (ick) and trying not to vomit to the sounds of other, normally wonderful, foods. Oh well, we found a place to live, and had a great Memorial Day Weekend with my mom!! She's so awesome, helpful, and funny :)

My dread for coming back to Tallahassee was much warranted though, because all we have been able to do since being been back is put the pedal to the metal and ride. Moving boxes, furniture listings on Craigslist, taking Monkey to the vet. Side note: We even had to put Monkey on kitty Prozac because even he has anxiety!!! Thank goodness for the little time in the morning we get to work out because it is the only time I am not constantly thinking about the next move we need to make. I can't wait until the last box is unpacked, Monkey is purring on my lap, and I have a BIG glass of wine, or maybe a Margarita in my hand relaxing to some of my favorite shows in our new home. By the way, have y'all seen the new show Love Bites? Super funny! Keep 'em coming sitcom writers, I need a bunch of comedy right now! :)