In Case You Haven't Heard, NTTC has MOVED!

Hi Folks -


Adding a quick post to let you know that I've moved my little blog over to a new address:   http://www.nothankstocake.com/.


I'd love to have you join us at the new location.  There's a whole lot of exercising and cooking going on! :) 


Please update your bookmarks and blogroll so your clicks are redirected accordingly and get updates as to all of the new posts.


Click HERE to zoom over to the new and improved No Thanks to Cake.  I hope you love my new place as much as I do...


xoxo -
Kelly

A New Place - No Thanks to Cake Has Moved!

Please make sure you've updated your pagelinks to reflect the new address.  See you at my new site!

Me Against the Treadmill

This morning, I got a wake up call that I didn't really expect.  A phone call that no one wants to get at 3:59am.

The good news is that the police went out to check on my place, and there was no sign of entry.  Apparently, Colorado is having yet another one of our SUPER windy days, which sometimes can set off alarms and blow open doors and such.

The bad news is that once I woke up, there was no going back to sleep.

I laid there for a few hours.  I checked my Twitter and FB accounts, reviewed email, and finally got myself out of bed.  Ugh.  It's going to be a long day.  PS.. Do you know there's a new NTTC Facebook page??  Click here to "Like" it!

After some brief laptop work, I decided that since I was up I should probably hit the workout room here at the hotel.  While there are a lot of people who work out in the mornings, I am not one of those people.  I like to wake up naturally... and not be stunned by sweat and loud music from my iPod.

When I got downstairs there were plenty of people and just one treadmill available for my use.  I remember that treadmill... it's where the infamous workout injury took place.  Keep in mind, this workout room is just plain dangerous.  Monday night, I was flung from the treadmill... sort of like a slingshot I flew to the ground.  AWESOME. (Not awesome at all.)

I'm stil trying to get myself in shape for the 5K in June, so I decided I would do a short workout this morning from a time commitment yet high intensity.  Couch to 5K was my workout of choice.

Keep in mind, this is where I'm running.

This morning, my breathing was my biggest challenge.  We all know that the Mile High City has me at least 5,280 feet above sea level, but here in SLC surprisingly I'm just at 4300.  It felt like I was at about 11,000.  So hard.  My legs can handle the running, but my lung capacity really needs to build up if I'm going to be able to run Jodi's Race in June.

Repetition and training will get me there, I feel confident.  This morning there was a lot of crazy out loud self-talk too... "Come on!"  "You Can Do This."  It took every bit of verbal encouragement to get me through it.

That and Stronger by Kelly Clarkson... once again when I was thinking I'd just walk the last interval, the song came on my iPod....

AND... I WAS RUNNING!!!

If you read my blog much, you may have noticed that I travel pretty often so you probably aren’t surprised that today’s topic is travel.

Today has been a record travel day.  I arrived at the airport ON TIME (early even!), lines were fast, my bag was under 50 lbs, and people are actually friendly!  Best travel day ever, even if my alarm went off at 4:40am!

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section here at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

FMM: Travel

1.  Where did your most recent trip take you?  My last trip happily brought me home from Salt Lake City on Friday, and I'm actually heading back there this morning.  I really should take up residency in Utah somehow...

2.  Is there a place that you’d like to visit that you haven’t yet?  If so, where?  Greece is on the list, as is Spain.  I'd like to do some serious travel in the Caribbean as well - - Turks and Caicos, Bahamas, Jamaica, Bermuda (that may be more Atlantic), St. Thomas, St. John... all are targeted for future vacations!

3.  Do you travel lightly, or do you cram as much into your luggage as possible?  Negative on the light bags.  I travel pretty heavily.  Like Kenz, I checked in this morning with 46.2 lbs of luggage.

4.  Do your eating and exercise habits change when you travel? If so, how?  Because I travel about three weeks a month, I'd say my eating and exercise habits change when I'm at home and have access to a refrigerator full of food and a stove!  I really try to stay on program when I'm on the road, and do my best to get to the hotel gym on each trip.  Here's some of my best travel tips for eating healthy, and where to find healthy snack options in the airport.  Avoid the temptations!  You can do it!

5.  Tell us about a place you’ve been that you’d like to go back to.  The Caribbean.  I just love how beautiful the water is down there.  I literally felt like I was swimming in a screensaver.  I long for that feeling again.

6.  Do you prefer to travel at a certain time of year?  Well, there's a few times of year I wish I could avoid:  1 - The holidays and 2 - Spring break.  Spring break through Denver and/or Salt Lake City are brutal.  Lots of people with skis and no clue where they are going.  For a frequent traveler, it slows me down...

7.  If you had to choose, would you go to the beach or the mountains?  I live near the mountains, so I choose beach EVERY TIME.

Turks and Caicos... Also on the list!

8.  Have you ever needed a passport to travel?  Yep, I have one and it's ready for a trip at any moment!  I've been to Europe a few times + the Dominican Republic.

9.  Do you collect anything in your travels?  Just frequent flier miles, and LOTS of them! :)

10.  Where do you plan to go next?  I fly to SLC this morning, and next week is Missoula, Montana.  The following week, I'll be in Vegas.

They're all work trips, but guess which one I'm looking most forward to??

New Recipe: Hungry Girl's Sweet 'n Sticky Sesame Chicken

Two recipe posts in a row???  How excited are you??  And how excited was I to get to eat all of this lovely food??

I wish I could tell you that I ate this last night, but I'm blogging to you from the Marriott in Salt Lake City, Utah.  I had this tasty dish over the weekend, and thought it really hit the spot!  

Today when I go to asian restaurants, I order the steamed chicken and broccoli with no rice, but there was a day where I just LOVED the Orange Chicken... and the Sesame Chicken.  Any fried chicken bites in a sticky sauce, we were BFF.  So, when I caught HG on the TV a few weeks ago making an innocent version of my favorite treat, I had to try it.

Now, there's a LOT more ingredients than my usual recipes in this one.  However, you very likely have them in your cupboard.  I had everything but the onion and the chicken - - seriously! 

Hungry Girl's Sweet 'n Sticky Sesame Chicken

From Hungry Girl 

Weight Watchers Points Plus: 7

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

10 oz. raw boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into nuggets

1/8 tsp. each salt and black pepper

1/4 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)

1/4 cup whole-wheat flour

1/4 cup fat-free chicken broth

1 tbsp. cornstarch

2 tbsp. sugar-free pancake syrup

2 tbsp. seasoned rice vinegar

1 tbsp. ketchup

1/2 tbsp. reduced-sodium/lite soy sauce

1/2 tsp. sesame oil

1/2 tsp. crushed garlic

1 tsp. sesame seeds

2 tbsp. thinly sliced scallions

Optional: red pepper flakes

INSTRUCTIONS

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray.

2.  Place chicken in a quart sized ziploc bag and season with salt and pepper. Top with egg substitute and toss to coat.  Put flour in wide bowl. One at a time, shake nuggets to remove excess egg and coat with flour.

3.  Evenly lay on the baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

4.  To make the sauce, combine broth with cornstarch in a nonstick skillet; whisk to dissolve. Set heat to medium low.

Add syrup, vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce, sesame oil, and garlic. If you like, add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. Mix well. Cook and stir until thick enough to coat a spoon, 2 - 3 minutes.

5.  Remove skillet from heat. Add chicken and toss to coat.

6.  Plate and sprinkle with sesame seeds and scallions. Add a plentiful side of steamed broccoli.

ENJOY!

PER 1 CUP SERVING: CAL: 288; PROTEIN: 37g; FAT: 4g; CARB: 24g; FIB: 2.3g; SOD: 815mg; WW Points Plus 7

New Recipe: KG's Chicken Amore with Roasted Green Beans

I spent Valentine's Day alone, and chose to celebrate with a delicious home-cooked meal.  I think personally-prepared meals can be quite romantic, when you have a plus one. So why not make the same yummy dish when it's just for one?

I hear a lot of people say that they can't cook for just one.  Um, I completely disagree.  Recipes can be cut in half or cut in 4ths fairly easily.  Hungry Girl recipes are some of my favorites, as she often has the recipes prepared for one or two servings, which makes it sooooo easy (less math.)

I actually caught an episode the Hungry Girl cooking show on Food Network this weekend, and HG's fancy Valentine's meal inspired me to create my own version of her HG's Chicken Amore.  I didn't plan ahead, so I just did my best with what I had in my fridge.  It actually was quite delish!

I can imagine there's MANY other combinations that I can come up with to make stuffed chicken... I'll keep you posted!

KG's Chicken Amore with Roasted Green Beans

Inspired by HG's Chicken Amore

Serves 1

INGREDIENTS

1 chicken breast

1 wedge Laughing Cow Cheese

1 piece of roasted red pepper

1 small handful of fresh spinach

2 cloves roasted garlic

salt

pepper

cooking spray

1 small bag green beans

several cloves roasted garlic

cooking spray

INSTRUCTIONS

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Place one boneless skinless chicken breast in a Ziploc sandwich bag, removing excess air.

2.  Pound chicken with a meat tenderizer to a create a thin piece of meat.

3.  Top chicken with one wedge of Laughing Cow Cheese, spread evenly over the chicken.  I used the Garlic and Herb flavor (of course.)

4.  Load the chicken up with fresh spinach, peppers, and garlic.  Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.

5.  Roll this chicken up, and secure with toothpicks.  Place in a baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. 

6.  Spray a jelly roll pan with cooking spray.  Spread out green beans and spray with more cooking spray.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Add some roasted garlic cloves, if you choose.

7.  Bake both dishes at 350 for 30-35 minutes.  Watch the beans to make sure they don't get overly brown.

Yep, I made that!

Roasted green beans have become my favorite... Sometimes, I pretend they're fries. 

Doesn't that look amazing???  There was NONE left.

ENJOY!

Weighing in on Work Out Wednesdays

Peer pressure is great and powerful.  Moreso than I ever imagined actually.

I like the fact that you guys knowing what I'm eating or how I'm working out influences me postively.  I don't like it, however, when I feel like I've let you down, and I'm hard on myself.  I spent years being hard on myself and so mean to myself for not doing what I said I would do in relation to fitness. 

That didn't serve me well.  I'm not sure I want to continue down that path.

With Workout Wednesdays, I'm falling short of the goal I've set for myself (and communicated to all of you.)  And, I feel terrible about it right now. 

While I only worked out 3 times this week, I'm so proud of the time I spent in the gym.  I did a VERY successful round of Couch to 5K on Sunday, running the entire round without whining, stopping, or injuring myself.  That's huge!  

So, I've made the decision to transform my Workout Wednesday posts.  I'm going to continue to tell you about my workouts for the week, but I'm not going to be so hard on myself about the number of days I've worked out v. the number of days I haven't.  I'd rather focus on my time in the gym and celebrate what I've done. I think that's more productive for me right now.

(Source)

I can't even tell you how great I feel when I workout... and how great I feel in general.  At this time last year, I refused to workout and used words like "hate" and "detest" to describe it.  What a difference a year makes!

Ok, I feel better for putting it out there.  I'm down to the last 13 lbs... and I'll get there eventually.  To me, the sprinting is over.  This isn't about racing to the finish line.  This is about pacing myself in a way that makes me feel good about the process and learning that I can maintain what I've started.  It's about building a lifestyle that includes exercise and learning to love what I'm doing at the gym.

In other news, I took a LEAP and I'm officially registered for Fitbloggin' 12!  Who else is going???