Revising the New Year's Resolution

A few weeks back I shared the main New Year's resolution I was interested in maintaining: meeting my weight loss goals for the year in preparation for a surgery slated later in the year. Well, I'm sure you're no stranger to life's little surprises; I can't call it a curve ball, because though it does sidetrack my weight loss plans, it's a welcome surprise: my surgery was moved up. I was starting to worry a bit about the pain my condition was causing me, so I am glad that I'll be able to get this fixed sooner, rather than later, even if I won't be able to do much in the way of exercise for 2-3 months. 

However, I will still be able to at least manage (who knows? maybe lose a few pounds?) my weight through diet. We all know that it's a joint effort: diet and exercise!

I've been googling and pinning some delicious-looking and healthy recipes that I can enjoy eating during my recovery period. Here's a few that look particularly scrumptious!

BLT Bowl

Cinco de Mayo Quinoa Breakfast

Italian Tortellini Soup

Simple Greek Quinoa Dinner Omelets with Feta and Tzatziky

Enjoy them!

Three pounds and seven more to go!

Third week of my weight lost challenge and another pound gone!!This are some   of the delicious healthy and easy to prepare recipes I ate this week along with my exercise routine and lots of water.

Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad

Cucumber, Black Bean, Corn, Tomato Avocado Salad

Strawberry and Avocado with Tuna Salad

Crock-Pot Tomato Soup

Balsamic Chicken with Asparagus and Tomatoes

Teriyaki Salmon with Zucchini

Baked Apple Microwave

I hope you try them, they are really delicious and low in calories. See you next week. =)

Two pounds and eight more to go!

Another week went by and I managed to lose my second pound! How I did it? Exercise, lots of water and eating in moderation. This week I added quinoa to my daily diet, it is a good source of protein, B-vitamins, iron, potassium, magnesium, vitamin E, calcium and fiber. I gathered a few healthy recipes from the web that I find to be very filling and easy to prepare.

Butternut Squash and Cranberry Quinoa Salad

Greek Quinoa Salad

Citrus Chicken Quinoa Salad

Tuscan White Bean and Quinoa Salad

Honey Lime Quinoa Fruit Salad

I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I did! See you next week ;)

Quirky and Cool Handbags

While browsing on the web options for some new handbag ideas, I came across this collection of intriguing handbags which are a great show of creativity and innovation from the designers that dreamt these up.

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Judith Leiber's multicolored crystal studded beehive clutch is just darling. Hand painted and lined in leather; I am specially smitten by the bees!

 

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The Braccialini Tomato Bag is a very original design. A fully lined leather piece with charming details, like the leaves on the stem and the quaint leaf zipper pull.

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Another Braccialini bag! They are just too cute not to catch your attention. This leather made to look like a house made of candy makes me think of the gingerbread houses we see everywhere during the holidays. It looks sweet enough to eat!


 

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This Braccialini bag crafted to look like a flower (daisies!) is just lovely. The rhinestones accents on the golden pollen cut outs makes me think of a daisy covered in early morning dew.


 

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This black and white drawstring Popcorn Bag by Kate Spade is very retro. It makes me want to pop an old flick into my DVD player and curl up on the couch with some real popcorn ;)

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The pineapple coin purse by Kate Spade is too cute for words! Visions of a getaway to a tropical island come to mind. The large gold sequins give the bag a lavish look, but the colorful printed lining screams fun times.

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Another Braccalini bag! The Train Bag is so intricately crafted I just had to included in the post. The little windows, the gold side rods and the adorable little smokestack! It looks just like a little toy engine, only you can pop your date night essentials into this choo-choo!

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This vintage red phone bag is too cute; from the dial pad detailing to the phone cord and the handset handle, this piece is truly unique! It looks like the phones from when I was a kid!

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This chicken purse is quirky for sure. I wouldn't have thought it was a purse had I not seen the handles. I actually looks a lot like those ceramic chickens that are sometimes sold in housewares stores as kitchen decor. Very interesting, though I am not too sure what I would pair this with ;)

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Hula Hoop bag by Chanel. Talk about sustainable fashion! If you have some old hula hoops lying around, you may want to upcycle them into a large and roomy bag like this one. It's creative, to be sure, but I am not all that sold on it's functionality. Can you imagine trying to move through a crowded place with this in tow?

After taking in all these fun bags, I am rather inspired to take on a challenge: a bag a week for a month. It would be fun to create some simple and original pieces with some special detail that would take it to next level. Who knows? Maybe another candy inspired bag is in the works over here!

One pound and nine more to go!

A week went by already, it was not easy for me to stay away from the treats that I like so much, but I managed to lose my first pound. =)  I did it by eating more salads, low calorie dishes, healthy soups and smoothies,  fruits, lots of water and exercising. Below are pictures and links to some of the recipes I found and prepared in the first week of my challenge.

Winter Pear Salad with Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette 

This salad is delicious and very filling, it has your greens, fruit and pecans, a good source of protein.  I omitted the goat cheese for regular feta cheese. ;)

Avocado Strawberry Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

This is another of my favorite salads. Again you've got it all in one plate, including avocado, so delicious! Avocado is rich in vitamin B, K, C, E and Potassium.

Lightened up Chicken Zoodle Soup

I love this recipe, it is easy to prepare, nutritious and low in calories.

Skillet Chicken with Creamy Cilantro Lime Sauce

Super delicious and easy to make. The plus side of it is all your family will eat it. =)

New Year's Resolution.

The beginning of the year is generally associated with resolutions. We've all been party to the New Year's resolution lists and most of the time this lists are meant to help us achieve a goal, a dream we've been holding onto, some form of self-improvement or empowerment. Some lists are small, and some are long, but no matter the length or composition, they are created with real intention, motivation and desire to become our best self. Throughout the year, I'm going to share some of the resolutions  I jotted down for 2016.

A bit of back story for this first one. About two years ago I joined a "Bigger Loser" style boot camp at my gym; the result of gaining a lot of extra knowledge on the pitfalls of being overweight. I'd go three times a week (in addition to other fitness classes like Zumba, the other two days of the week), for two hours at a time. It was brutal at the beginning, but as the session progressed I felt myself getting stronger; I had more stamina, and the reward was seeing the pounds come off (20 lbs!). Unfortunately, 2015 saw me plague by health issues that force me to bow out of boot camp and limited my ability to engage in physical activity. I kept at it, but it was way more reduced, and the numbers on the scale have climbed a bit; the result of less exercise and some poor dietary choices.

So the first resolution on my list: To make a concerted effort (like I did back two years ago) to eat healthy and keep up with my exercises so I can lose those pounds I regained and KEEP THEM OFF! I've got a surgery coming up, and it is essential that I loose at least 10 pounds in the next few weeks. I'm going back to a tested and true method that was really helpful when I was in boot camp: tracking my daily meals and calories using My Fitness Pal (nope, not getting paid to endorse. I just really found this to work for me). In terms of exercise, I don't think I could ever quit Zumba, so I am working that in a few times a week alongside this daily routine I found on Youtube (a great place to find just about any kind of exercise!)

I am currently at 157 pounds, and my goal is to lose about a pound per week. I'll be definitely be blogging about my progress; keeping a written (and somewhat public) record is a great way to hold yourself accountable ;)

What is your New Year resolution?!



Sandy =)