Speaking of fresh ingredients.

Zucchini slices. Not those silly courgettes I've been hearing about in the UK

Green onions

Mushrooms

More mushrooms. I love the texture of these when cooked. They are slightly crunchy

and so fun to eat!

Fresh basil from my momma's garden. Basil is my favorite herb. I love the taste and the smell of basil!

Asparagus

Caramelizing onions

Seafood delight

Everything is coming together nicely...

Today's secret ingredient is..... FISH SAUCE! Not so secret actually. It makes asian food taste yummy!

I kept tasting it and saying "something is missing" and my mom finally figured it out after it was plated. GARLIC! She re-tossed it with the missing ingredient and this made it SO much better.

Waiting patiently for scraps. Sorry baby girl but you ain't getting any this time!

Let's sit down and feast!

Dessert: I made use of my breakfast cookie by crumbling it into my ice cream sundae. It added a chewy peanut butter texture that was droololicious. I will definitely do that again. uhm.. after my four letter word thang I'm starting on Monday. Yep.

Word of the day: Grateful. Grateful for family, food, friends, love, and everything else that this wonderful life has to offer each and every one of us.

DA BEARS

Pizza and a Bears win.. Life is good. I'm going through a Hawaiian pizza phase in my life. Clearly.

Plus wings.

I wouldn't recommend these from Dominos because there was too much fat getting in the way of the actual meat. Blah. Who wants to eat wings that are rubbery. Shoulda gone w. BWW!!

All this food must have made me sleepy because I took an unintentional nap. Rest and relaxation. Couldn't ask for a better Sunday.

I'm starting a diet tomorrow.

I'm using the term diet VERY loosely as I don't like the word. I plan on eliminating desserts and eating more cleanly. No more pizza, burgers, fried foods, and white foods. Just good, fresh from the earth, vegetables, and perhaps organic eating.

Speaking of, can we just cancel football season so I'm not tempted to eat my weight in wings and pizza!? :-D

This little piggy

went to IHOP this morning.

Aye carumba. This is good on eggs.

They have a back page in their menu dedicated to healthy eating options- I felt like I hit the jackpot! No guessing, no researching. I ordered the scrambled egg substitutes w turkey bacon and buttermilk pancakes with sugar free syrup. My breakfast came to about 400 calories.

I came home and snacked on half of my breakfast cookie. This little piggy like I said!

It hardened more this time around and was just as delicious. It tastes like a peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookie (or at least the raw version of it).

I got up nice and early this morning and did a 4 mile plus run on the treadmill. I did some ab work afterwards.
I'm doing this ab workout:
http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/get-rock-solid-abs

As I was doing the side plank on the step, I saw this woman watching me. As I was finished, she came up to me and said she couldn't imagine doing that. I've been getting comments like that from the women at this gym. While I was doing my bozu exercises, a couple of women commented on how they couldn't fathom balancing on a bozu and lifting weights at the same time. Little do they know, I couldn't have done the same at the start of the year with my personal trainer. It takes practice and technique but I assure you anyone can get there.

Bears vs. Cowboys today!!

BEAR DOWN!!