I feel good

Whoa-oa-oa! I feel good, I knew that I would, now
I feel good, I knew that I would, now
So good, so good...

OK, so what's with the James Brown reference? I just wanted to jump in here and proclaim to the world that ever since I've been working out regularly and eating better I feel like a million bucks! No more tired episodes for me.

So, what have I been doing, you ask? Well, aside from stretching, doing some light weights and running on the treadmill every day, I have cut sugars completely out of my diet and I can't believe what a change it's made! As I have mentioned before, cutting carbs was completely out of the question for me (I'm Hispanic. I'm pretty sure I'd be disowned!). But I've been satisfying my carbs craving by eating whole grain table crackers & such. I figured that's better than reaching for a half-baguette like I used to, right? eeek!



But back to the sugars, I knew this would be hard for me, being the sweets freak that I am, but something had to give and this was it! I read a few articles on the internet, like this one, to help me out with my choices. My first move was to stop drinking Coca-Cola altogether. I did this way back... probably 8 months or so (I think the last Coke I drank was around X-Mas time). Then I gave up coffee drinks... no more spontaneous trips to Starbucks for my Iced Mocha fix. That was really hard! I switched to drinking unsweetened, unflavored iced tea just to get my caffeine fix while I went through the painful withdrawals. But now, I don't even drink the tea anymore... I just drink water with lemon all day! :)

Next up was to give up desserts. I don't keep sweets in the house anymore... well except for the good kind: fruits! This is how the girls and I satisfy our sweet tooth. And let me tell ya that we don't even miss the ice cream sandwiches or Oreo cookies. A cup of mixed berries or a scrumptious fresh mango are just as satisfying!

So, I thought this would be a great segue to a Cook It. Blog It! segment. I'll share with you my typical meals. I went to the World Gourmet Foods and stocked up on some yummies: I found this "all natural whole grain crispbread" from Norway. They are like large crackers but chock-full of good stuff and they totally satisfy my craving for bread. I also got some Raw Natural Almond Butter (don't even get me started on how much better this is, in every way, than peanut butter!), and some organic Blueberry Honey. Don't you just love it when the ingredients panel only lists 1 thing? Almond Butter's ingredients: raw unblanched almonds. Blueberry Honey's ingredients: blueberry blossom honey. No preservatives, no added sugars or salts or oils. Just plain goodness.



So, for breakfast we've been eating a Kavli cracker, with about a teaspoon of Almond Butter and just barely drizzled with the Blueberry Honey (just for a dash of natural sweetness). I eat mine without the honey, but the girls like it with.



For lunch I got creative with some phillo dough cups. I filled them with albacore white tuna and topped them with fresh cubed tomatoes and a sprig of fresh cilantro. I mixed my tuna with just a dash of mustard and a dash of fat-free Italian dressing (no mayo!) Oh, and of course, I squeezed some fresh lemon on top.



I love this close-up:



The girls (and I) devoured them!



For our mid-afternoon snack we had a fresh mango... my favorite fruit. Sorry, we ate it all up before I remembered to take a picture. LOL!

And for dinner I kinda cheated a little but I figured I deserved to treat myself after being so good all day. I decided to try making this Tortilla Española (kinda like a Spanish Frittata) recipe that I found over on this blog from the Cook It. Blog It! blogroll. I used only Olive Oil, which is actually good for you (MUFA), so I didn't feel too guilty. ;)

Again, it was consumed before I remembered to take pictures, so I borrowed this photo off the Home & Cooking blog (mine looked exactly like this!):


OK, so switching gears a little (well, maybe a lot! LOL!) I just wanted to let you know that I listed 2 large lots of my Baby Gassy Gooma modeling samples last night. As some of you might know, Sydney has been a BGG model for the past 2 years, so from time to time I offer her modeling samples up for sale. Her contract is now over, so I won't be offering these anymore.

These lots are PRICED TO MOVE at waaaaay below wholesale value, so whether you are buying these for your little girl to wear or for resale, you will be getting an amazing deal!!

First off, we have a LARGE LOT of 8 pieces sized 2T from their adorable SPOT & KITTY Line (click the photo or HERE to visit the auction!)



Then we have another LARGE LOT of 8 pieces sized 3T from their beautiful YELLOW ROSE OF TEXAS collection. (click the photo or HERE to visit the auction!)



Check out Baby Gassy Gooma's website at http://babygassygooma.com/id110.html for more information on these clothes or to double check retail values and availability!

I also have several items from their upcoming Fall/Winter 2008 Collections but I am not supposed to sell them on eBay until after they have hit the stores, so if anyone is interested please email me and we can "talk." ;) LOL!!

OK, so that is it for this lazy Tuesday afternoon! Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that as part of my "I Feel Good" movement, I decided to refresh my blog graphics. I gave them a bit of a Fall/Winter twist, since it's been in the 70's outside here... a very welcome change. Ya like? I think I might mess with the sidebar graphics a bit but other than that, I like. ;)

P.S. Sorry for the super long post. I guess I'm feeling chatty today. Thanks for visiting!