Thanks for all your comments yesterday about our insurance.  I’ve got a call into our insurance broker to make sure that I am on the right plan.  I pay an extra $100 a paycheck for this particular insurance plan based on how much medication both Tony and I take.  When I called the insurance company directly yesterday, they are telling me that I have to pay retail prices until I hit my $2500 deductible, which is just insane to me.  Hopefully I’ll have some answers today. Open-mouthed smile

When I was doing South Beach (that I stuck with for all of about a week or two!), one of my favorite go to recipe sites was Kalyn’s Kitchen.  She had all sorts of great ideas for Phase I, etc.  I saw a recipe not too long ago for a zucchini and green chile breakfast casserole

My recipe isn’t anywhere near hers, but I have to give her credit for inspiring my breakfast casserole – which I am calling a Green Monster because it has lots of spinach, Chobani and almond milk in it.

Green Monster Breakfast Casserole

  • makes 4 servings:  278 calories, 18 fat, 6.25 carbs, 2 fiber and 20 protein

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of cottage cheese
  • 1 can (4 oz.) diced green chiles
  • 6 eggs
  • 1 container plain Chobani Greek yogurt
  • 1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 4 cups baby spinach, rough chopped
  • pinch of crushed red pepper
  • salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 375.  Spray an 8×8 pan with Pam.  Combine all the ingredients in a bowl until the eggs are combined.  Pour into casserole dish – bake for 40-45 minutes or until browned and the eggs are set.

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I jokingly asked Tony if he wanted me to leave him a piece for his breakfast and surprisingly he passed on it.  Huh. Open-mouthed smile  It was super light too.  Later I had some raspberries and almonds as a morning snack – no pic of that though.

It was only 68 degrees out when it was time to hit the gym – a bit too chilly to swim outside.  I went on Pinterest and found this workout:

lunch workout

I wasn’t sure I’d get through 3 rounds, so my goal was to do the 2.2 mile run (.2 was a warm up) and get through 2 sets – I ended up doing the burpees down to the squat hold (except I held that for a minute) then repeated the set a second time.  It took me just over 44 minutes.

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I have to say that the hardest part was the one minute of jump roping – that’s tough! When I got back to the office, I sent an email to my sister and brother with my workout.  This was my brother’s workout at lunch:

Charlies workout

And check out my brother’s latest post – he posted in August – woop! 

Lunch was easy – a ham/mozzarella/baby spinach low carb wrap with carrots, strawberries, blueberries and grapes.

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And later in the day I had a low cal café mocha – for some reason I had a sweet tooth!  This is just a 25 calorie pack of cocoa mix with coffee and a splash of coffee creamer.  Jenn (cooking aweigh the pounds), I brought out the snowman cup you gave me! (I’d link to her blog, but it’s private now) Sad smile 

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With the roast we had over the weekend I had plans to make beef sandwiches and I paired that with my copycat Panera broccoli soup.   I wanted really thin pieces of meat, so I stuck the roast in the freezer for about 15 minutes – made it much easier.  On the stove I had 1 can of beef broth with 1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning.  Bring that to a boil, remove from the heat and then add the shaved beef for just a couple minutes.  You just want to heat the meat enough but not cook it so it gets tough.

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These are 150 calorie french bread rolls – I put them under the broiler with an ounce of mozzarella cheese and when that was all toasty and melty, I added in the 4 ounces of beef – I like a “wet” beef – so I poured a ladle full of au jus over the top of mine.  I like how the top part of the bread is all crunchy, and then the bottom of it is all soggy.

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The only thing missing?  Hot giardiniera!  I am completely out.

Last nights Insanity workout was Core Cardio & Balance, which is only 40 minutes long and it does slow strength moves.  I am happy to say I was able to do it 100% with no modifications – even all the leg work and shoulder work at the end!

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And my blog friend and reader Katie sent me this on Facebook which is hilarious – if anyone has done Insanity you’ll find this so funny – thanks Katie!

24 Things That Happen To You When You Decide to do the Insanity Program

I am to the first to admit that I do say “this shit is bananas!” when Shaun T says it.  Of course, he doesn’t swear, but I have a potty mouth. Open-mouthed smile

And I’ve been telling Heather for days (weeks?) that I would do a handstand and send it to her.  While she does hers freestyle (I will too soon!) I posted this to her in Instagram last night:  (and Skippy – note the snowman picture to the right that stays up all year!)

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She replied:  Whooooo!  You go girl!  #strong

Stats for the Day:

  • 1581 calories, 61 fat, 147 carbs, 29 fiber and 111 protein
  • 38% of calories from carbs, 35% of calories from fat and 27% from protein
  • 45 minute lunch workout run/circuit
  • 40 minute Insanity core cardio and balance

And I am happy to say that my friend NIcole’s cookbook is ready for purchase!  We met each other through our blogs years ago – only to find out we went to the same high school, except, ahem, she may have graduated about 15 years after me. Open-mouthed smile

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Check out her husband’s vlog about making one of my recipes that made it in the book – my baja fresh grilled salsa, although I know she puts onions in hers.   You can check it out on page 17 of her book, which is also available at Barnes & Noble.  Thanks for the shout out Mr. P.!

Not sure if I’ll hit the outdoor pool today – when I woke up this morning it was only 49 degrees – feels more like October than August!  Time to get his show on the road – make it a great day!