Creating order | Margene's Lean and Greens

Howdy peeps!!  

Happy August!!

Dang, that came fast (August).  

I'm back again (on my blog here) and working at our new schedule and how life is changing for us with older kids.

As of today, we have 3 working kids!!  And only one of them can drive.  It gets tricky.  But I love having older kids and all the fun that comes with it.  I feel like I'm more one of them (at least inside I still feel juvenile), plus I get to be their mom.  There's truly no better job.  And it's been WAY FUN to have the hubs around more and working together with him.  Life is in a process of changing.

LIFE IS ALWAYS CHANGING.

It's like we put things in "order" and then chaos comes.  Then we adjust and put things in "order" again and then chaos comes.  I'm learning that the KEY to this is being GRATEFUL for success of creating ORDER, even though it may be briefly lived, it still happened!  Then things fall out of order OR change, it gives me a new chance to step it UP A LEVEL into a new level of ORDER!

The problem comes when I expect things to stay the same.  To stay clean, to stay organized, to stay unbroken, for relationships to stay just right, for kids to stay obedient and happy, ETC.  But WHY am I unhappy about that?  The world is constantly changing and NOTHING stays the same.  The earth itself is always in a state of change.  It's adjusting to that change and STILL CREATING ORDER that builds character.  It's gratitude for the opportunity to create order.

I AM A BEING OF ORDER.

Even if it's just my bookshelf.  Or a small area of my desk.  Or one shelf in my fridge!  I'm learning to start small and NOT be discouraged when chaos comes.  But see it as an opportunity to go to the next level. 

OKAY - so that's what brings me back to my blog.  I am a being of ORDER.  I can adjust to changes in my life.  And with those changes, I can adjust to KEEP EATING HEALTHY, and Being ACTIVE!

I've rebuilt my website:  Margene's Lean and Green's  - which I am MUCH happier about.  It's mostly for the visuals.  When you click on the pictures of the food, It will link you back to the corresponding post on THIS BLOG that either describes that dish or gives the actual recipe.  Hopefully, that is helpful to those who want ideas for lean meals. :)  I'm excited to be adding to it more as well.

There are also some cool links on the side like I have on this blog, AND my top videos - which is super nice to have easy access to.  :)

So... I'm off to creating ORDER today.  I will not look at everything OUT of order, but just focus on one small thing at a time, and get that in order.  And I will find joy in every little thing I create order with! 

LIFE IS GOOD!!!

XoxOxoX ~Margene

Cup Cake RUN

Good Day Friends!!

This morning I got up way early and went to run a Cup Cake 5K.

(And no, I didn't eat any cup cakes! :)

I didn't really train much for this run and boy was it cold this morning.  And of course I had a way late night because I'm smart like that! ;)  With my most awesome hubs there supporting me, I started off at a faster pace than what I normally run... but I slowed down into a pace that was good for me and didn't pressure myself to go faster than I should.

It was a nice, cold run and I finished at 36:12 and 5th in my age group which I'm way happy with, 

especially for not training much!

Tomorrow will be the end of WEEK 1, back on plan.  

So weigh-in will be fun for both me and Brent.  It feels good to be back on plan!  

One of my new fav Medifast foods is the Cereal Crunch!  

They didn't have these back the first time around.  Yum!  And I love the choc. chip pancake!

A couple lean and greens I made this last week was an egg beaters scramble and a taco salad with light ranch dressing.  I always love my lean and greens!

.  

I've had some dealings this week that have also been VERY HUMBLING concerning the specific personal struggles I've been going through.  Sufficient to say, I've been sufficiently reprimanded which I'm sure I probably needed but wasn't easy. :(  

So I got my work cut out for me and I know the direction I need to go.  I know I'm being vague, but just wanted to express that I am grateful for opportunities to do better, even though the means can be painful.  I know I can do hard things!  Just thinking how much I've changed my life in the last two years shows me that I can overcome way difficult situations in my life, especially with the help of my Savior.

Life is GOOOOOD!  

Seize the day, life is short too!

Much love, 

~Margene XoxOxoX

It's TONIGHT

Tonight is our BIG GAME.  Women's Church Basketball!!  I am already feeling anxious butterflies.  Probably because I want to do really well and I really want our team to WIN.  If we win, we play our next game right after!

And if we win the 2nd game, we play a 3rd game right after!  Crazy!  I will need to bring my energy drink.  Good thing I did a 3 mile run yesterday and not today - I'm trying to save my energy!

My hubs and at least some of my kids will come to watch.  This is just so fun.  What a dream to be able to do this after so many years.  We had two practices this week and it was fun!  We practiced our zone defense and had some small scrimmages.

Wish me luck!!!

I thought I'd post some of my eats lately.  I've taken pics and now I'm finally getting around to posting them for those who like food ideas.  Nothing fancy but yummy for me!  These are some of my maintenance lean and greens! :)

Costco Fish and sauteed yellow squash ~ Roast pork, carrots and salad (on my OR trip)

 Two Morningstar Veggie Patties w/ sauted red peppers & mushrooms ~ Rotisserie chicken w/ sauteed zucchini & mushrooms

Fish w/ various veggies & low fat ranch dip ~ Fish with sauteed red cabbage

We can finally do this...

It only took 22 years of marriage and now Brent can pick me up like this.

It's so funny because he grabs me now when I least expect it and picks me up and we just laugh.  I love all the new found attention I get from my hubs.  I don't care if we look like immature dorks... I mean, that's what we are so why fight it?  At least we amuse our kids.

It really is a CRAZY week.  Our front room is torn up, and we're leaving for a quick trip to Utah and flying home on Sunday.  Then it's one more week until my hubs is flying out there for work.  We've never been apart for that long.  I feel a little heartache for him already and he's not even gone yet.  And the list of "to do" is so astronomically long.

We had a quick date night last Saturday and went to Panda Express and then a movie.  Here is what we ate:  We both had the steamed veggies, and I had mushroom chicken (on right) and Brent had two other entree's that I can't remember the name of... beef something and spicy chicken.  It was so good.  Higher in calories, I'm sure than our regular lean and greens.

  

A couple other lean and greens this week was:

Costco salmon and salad with Bolthouse Farms yogurt dressing (left).  And 1 Costco chicken patty cut up on salad w/ 2 ounces low fast shredded cheese and Walden Farms dressing (right).

(The lean was split between the cheese and chicken - my hubs loves that)

I LOVE my lean and greens!

We got new Android phones on our T-mobile account and I was up until 4am adding contacts and getting it all set up.  Sheesh... that doesn't help my weight loss!  It's all going to be good and work out.  It'll be fun having all the options and apps on our phones, tho.  I can even post from my phone!   I'm trying not to sweat the small stuff but right now, nothing looks small.  Life is good.  Sending my love and prayers to all my blogger friends!!  XOXO ~Margene

Week 53 - I survived!

I literally have not had two minutes to myself until just this moment since I last posted!  It's been crazy.  Mostly good crazy.  I lost 3 pounds!!!  Brent gained 2 pounds.  (bummer).  So net loss is 1 pound, I guess. I am less than 10 pounds from goal!  Woo Hoo!

First of all, my son's Eagle Court of Honor was FANTASTIC!  Over 130 people showed up to support him.  Wow!  Two of Brent's three brothers were in town and came, as well as his father - who is my son's only living grandparent.  That was pretty sweet.  And also Brent's sister from Arizona was in town and my oldest brother came as well as my nephew and his family from Washington.  We had wonderful family support there.  I even gave a mothers tribute speech!  I tell ya, I prayed long and hard not to be nervous, and I wasn't.  I was able to just focus on what I wanted to say about and to my son.  I got to put his Eagle pin on his scout shirt and it felt pretty good.  So proud of him because I know what it took for him to earn that!  After we got it all cleaned up - my girls and I even got to run to a late movie with some friends.  That was nice to relax and let the boys take everything home and unload.

Then last night, Brent and I DJ'd  an adult valentine's dance.

As you can see by the picture, I brought our lean and green and we stayed ON PLAN even when working.  It was Hawaiian theme and they were serving pulled pork and haystacks with white rice and lots of cake and fondue.  We didn't touch any of it but enjoyed our own food.  Felt good, ya know!

Here's a lean and green I had this week.  A Morningstar Garden burger with sauteed mushrooms and red peppers and 3/4 cup cottage cheese (my lean was split between the cottage cheese and garden burger).  And on the right are zucchini chips!!  Wow, I love these even MORE than Kale Chips.  So good!  I got the recipe from Sandy's Blog here!  I took them with me to the movie as my snack and loved them!

Thanks for the wonderful comments on my last post.  I really appreciated every single one of them.  It's weird because I know we have such wonderful support (like at the court of honor)... but so often I struggle feeling completely alone and friendless.  I struggle with how I perceive things and really wish I could get a break from it.  I am so thankful that Brent is there to stick by me and comfort me in all my fluctuating emotions.  Life is so good, ya know?!!  Take care my friends XOXO ~Margene

I think I'm turning COUNTRY!!!

I have been loving my new ipod play list that I have listened to through most of our Utah trip.  Now I can't stop listening!  

Some of the groups I've been enjoying are:  Sugarland, Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband, Rascal Flats, Carrie Underwood,  Billy Gillman, Alison Krauss, Steve Wariner, Alan Jackson, Shania Twain,  Collin Raye, Diamon Rio, Brad Paisley, Dixie Chicks, and Kenny Chesney.  

Who knew I'd love this music?

And best of all:  I got me some cowboy boots from my wonderful sister-in-law.  Yee Haw!!

Hey... I think I'm country now!  Don't I totally look like a cowgirl?
(or ... sort of - I need a cowboy hat!)

I also made a yummy new veggie last night for my lean and green.  Here is my plate:

I had my chicken patty (caramelized onion chicken burger) I love from Costco and 1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese.  Those items were my "lean" and the "green" was 1 cup of sauteed red cabbage, and 1/2 cup mashed cauliflower.  Wow, was it so delish!!

The only fresh veggie I had was the red cabbage - which I actually only had on hand for a science experiment for my daughter - but I found this recipe on line from Rachel Ray and I loved it!  (note - I used 2 T spenda instead of the sugar in the recipe) I love red cabbage now!!  It was so flavorful.  The hubs even liked it, although I gave him more of the cauliflower and I put some light laughing cow cheese on his cauliflower.

Hey, maybe country folks love red cabbage?!!  I bet that's it!  (tee hee)

I am working on my 2011 goals - BOTH of us are.  I will be posting it soon.  I'm excited for the new year!    We have some set backs (again) but we are charging forward and gonna make it rock.  Who is with me?   Life is good!!

On the 3rd Day of Christmas...

My new friend gave to me:

3 fluffy socks
2 scented candles
And a cookbook with delicious recipes

And I LOVE my new pink and black fluffy socks.  I will enjoy wearing these around the house and to keep my feet warm.  Thank you Fabulous Mom!

And for some food pics.  This was my dinner (lean and green) last night:

Salad (romaine lettuce, spinach, cucumbers, peppers & tomatos) with Bacon Ranch Walden Farms dressing (fat free/sugar free/calorie free) and some baked "marinated wild Alaskan salmon" from Costco.  Salmon took 30 minutes to cook - no preparing other than that.  Salad was already made.  This is like "fast food" to me, yet look how much more delcious and healthy it is?  Loved it!

Today for my lunch, I had the Medifast Beef Stew.  I have soup at least once a day and my favorites are the chicken noodle, Chicken and rice, and beef stew.

So my meals each day go something like:

8am -   Pudding (fav is coconut banana & chocolate cake pudding)
11am - Soup (often with crackers & light laughing cow cheese)
1:30pm - Chocolate Mint Bar (my favorite!)
4pm -   Honey Mustard Pretzels
6:30pm -  (lean and green) - lean meat (or protein) & 3 veggie servings
                     (favs are  chicken or salmon with salad or roasted veggies)
9:30pm - Hot Chocolate.

I drink about 24 oz. water with each meal and chew gum often in between meals as well as nibble on my yummy knox blox.  I love to have my knox blox at the end of the day with my hot chocolate too.  Hubby loves the Medifast muffins I make as well as the Medifast brownies and the shakes.  On Sunday mornings, the hubs makes us both waffles from the Medifast pancake mix.  That is our special Sunday Morning Breakfast drizzled with Walden Farms sugar free/fat free/calorie free syrup! 

I also slipped on something new today.

Who is wearing size 12 jeans?  Yup, that would be ME!  (okay, they are stretchy somewhat but they fit and they are size 12).  Can you believe just 10 months ago I wore size 28/30?  I tell ya, no cookies or fudge can possibly taste as good as size 12 feels!! My final goal will be size 8.  I think that's where I'll be my most healthy, fit self.  And I will be there sometime next year... stay tuned.  Life is good!

BFF for an hour and 12 Days of Christmas Swap

I’ve joined a 12 days of Christmas Swap hosted here.

Check it out. You have until Friday night to join if you want to. I’m excited!

Today something fun happened. I went shopping, alone as usual, and found myself wandering into a nearby Fashion Bug store. I have shrunk out of my thrift store pants and I’m down to two pairs of pants that fit me (size 16). So I thought I’d just see if any pants were on sale. So I grabbed several size 14/16 pants to try on and an associate of the store offered to take my clothes into the changing room, and she added “you do not look like you wear size 14’s or 16’s”... I patted my belly and nodded a ‘yes I do’. So as I was trying on the pants, I found that the 16’s were quite roomy. The same associate came by and asked me how I was doing and she ended up running and grabbing me some size 14 and size 12 pants. She was so nice and helpful and interested in my weight loss, and oohed over my before and after pics that I keep in my purse. She got even more enthused and brought me all kinds of stuff to try on, camisoles & sweaters & pants, which was so awesome since I really have no fashion sense. She told me what tops would look good with leggings and what pants are best for my body shape. She was like my BFF for the hour I was in the store. I loved it! She made me feel so good and seemed to genuinely be excited for me in my journey. And guess what? I totally fit into size 12 now!!! Yes, they are tight, but they fit! I was smilin’ so big in that changing room - I even did a little Margene Happy Dance which I’m sure the angels watching got a giggle from! And I walked out with 2 new pairs of pants (yes, I paid for them first). She even ran to me as I left the store to share something else with me. To her I’m sure I was one of her many customers but to me, she made my day!

Also, another NSV happened yesterday was when I ran into my old HS Life Skills class I used to work with just a few months ago. As I was approaching one of the teachers I had worked closely with, she looked at me with confusion. She was like... “I know you somehow...” Then she recognized me and she went on to be astounded at my weight loss. She really made a big deal about how much thinner I look. I haven’t had anyone notice to the extent that she did... it was so cool because all the teachers I worked with there knew I was on a weight loss program, and then to run into her after having dropped over 115 pounds just amazed her. It’s fun to be successful... finally!

I have been making Roasted Veggies again. Dang, these are so good!

This batch I have chopped up cauliflower, broccoli, zuchini, yellow squash, red and green peppers, and mushrooms. Then I drizzled some olive oil, salt, and a dash of garlic powder and mixed it up well. They smelled and tasted so good before I even put them in the oven. I roasted them at 425 for 12 minutes, then turned and another 5-10 minutes. I shake just a bit of balsamic vinegar on them after they are out of the oven. Soo good!

Here’s a couple of my Lean and Green’s lately. Using a mixture of ground turkey breast and lean ground beef, I made these patties on the left with some Walden Farms sugar free BBQ sauce and a dash of grilling spices. They were tasty without needing any condiments. I had them with roasted veggies.

Upon finding that the only vegetable I had left were tomatoes, I made the meal on the right with left over turkey and 3 Roma tomatoes and a wedge of light laughing cow cheese (tomato and basil flavored). Very satisfying actually!

Here's to making healthy food choices even when temptation is all around us. I learned today in that changing room that feeling good about myself and my body feels SO MUCH BETTER than giving in to eating a ton of cookies or fast food or other foods that really aren't healthy for me. Life is GOOD.

Week 36... already??

These weeks are flying by. I am always thinking of what I want to blog and before you know it, a week has flown by. Last week I lost 2 pounds! And the hubs lost 1 pound. Woo Hoo... he finally dropped into ONEDERLAND with me!!!

I went to the Great Wolf Lodge last Thursday night with my kids. It is a big indoor water park hotel in Washington. We had these discount tickets for one night that we had booked over a month ago. I found a swim suit on eBay that was size 16, and it fit - maybe even a little bit big on me. (The last swim suit I had was a size 28.) My man could not get work off. I was so bummed!! But he did get off a little early Thursday night, and found a cheap car rental and zoomed up the 2 hours it took to join us! Then, the next morning he left at 5am to rush the 2 hours back to work. Is he awesome or what?

And I am SO glad he could be there for those few hours because it was so Amazing!! There wasn’t a ride, inner tube, pool, or water slide that we could not do!! I myself, haven’t been down a water slide (due to obesity and embarrassment) since I was a teenager. It was so fun!! My man carried me on his back around the wave pool, threw me around, rode with me on on the tubes... it was like we were teenagers. Having lost the weight that we have just opens up the whole world to us. I wonder, why aren’t all “skinny” couples just thriving on life and enjoying each other to the max?? I can not soon forget all the things I couldn’t do and how horrible I felt being bigger. Maybe one has to be obese to truly understand the freedom and joy of escaping it!! And I am still escaping as my BMI is still just over 31, although I started at 49.

I do have to say that it was hard at times to see all the food, pizza, fudge, ice cream, cookies, etc. for sale and everyone eating around me at the lodge. I indulged in a few moments of self-pity again before I got my mind off of it. I was well prepared with ALL our family’s food, though, so we bought no food there. My kids had beef hot dogs, salad, fruit, fiber one bars, and peanut butter cookies. The hubs and I had Morning Star sausages, veggie salad, and cottage cheese. And we worked up an appetite with all our running around! I also had plenty of my yummy knox blox to snack on, and Medifast crackers and laughing cow cheese wedges, as well as my Medifast puddings, bars, pretzels, shakes, and muffins. We were loaded with variety so that really helped not give in to all the junky food around.

Another positive thing this week was just last night. The hubs and I have been starting up our Mobile DJ business again - we used to DJ years ago, in fact, that’s how we met as teenagers when my brother recruited my man (at age 16) to be a DJ for us. We became best friends back then. Last night, pretty much right after getting back from Wolf Lodge, we loaded up and went and did our first [paid] dance together in several years. It was so fun - just like old times. I have to say, the man was looking pretty hot and I was feeling pretty lucky to be married to the DJ! We worked together like when we were younger - choosing the music, announcing, doing the lights. It was nice to get some compliments afterwards. I could really enjoy doing that with the hubs on weekends. I wish I had taken some pictures!! Something about getting the system going and doing that sound check and hearing the base really gets my adrenalin going. Brings back so many fun memories of all the dances we’ve done. You could relate it to the excitement you feel when you go to a concert and you’re waiting for it to begin, maybe some of you can relate. I love it!

Some Lean and Greens I made this last week are:

Teriyaki Chicken with peppers, zuchini and mushrooms. So quick to make too. I used Costco pre-cooked chicken with my favorite “Wok with me” teriyaki glaze, and sauteed the veggies and then mixed it all together. Yum.

I also made this Costco salmon (Wild salmon frozen with a mesquite marinade), with butternut squash. The squash I coated with a little mixture of olive oil, garlic powder, parsley, sea salt & pepper, & parmesean cheese and baked it for around 50 minutes. It was SO good... but I learned that it isn’t a veggie that is recommended for phase 1 - the plan I’m on right now. (Oops) But I will def. make this again when it is on plan!

My health goals are to keep working towards my goal weight, keep myself more active and come up with a CONSISTANT level of activity or exercise, and to drink a minimum of 100 oz of water each day.

I keep checking...

...The scale wondering if its tricking me and if this time it will be above that 200 pound mark... and so far... it's always still in Onederland. I can't tell you how victorious that makes me feel!!!

We have been having these YUMMY things: These are from the Medifast Pancake packet.

We take 2 Medifast chocolate chip Pancake packets, add 1/4 cup egg beaters, 1/2 cup water and 1 t. Baking powder... and we get 4 waffles from that (2 each meal). Then we put some heated up Walden Farms SF syrup and it tastes sinful!! What a yummy treat!

Below on the left shows a salad and shrimp Lean and Green I had the other day with fat free tarter sauce. I just sauteed the shrimp to warm it up. Nice.

For the first time yesterday, I had my Lean and Green for LUNCH! I went out with my dear friend, who is moving out of state saturday (little sniffles), and we had our last Gals Lunch together at Applebees. I had the "Peppercorn Steak" above right. I had them hold the potatoes and just give me veggies. I didn't eat the carrots (they are off plan for me right now), but enjoyed the broccoli and zucchini without butter and savored every bite of that steak!!

I quite enjoyed having my L&G for lunch. I ate the rest of my medifast meals throughout the afternoon and my last meal were two waffles my man made. I may do my L&G for lunch more often now. :)

Week 21 - Happy Independence Day!!!

HAPPY 4th of July!!! (tomorrow)

It's the end of WEEK 21, and this last week BOTH my man and I lost 4 pounds!! (8 pounds total). That brings me down a total of 74 pounds and my man down a total of 75 pounds! BOOYA!

In celebration, we walked our first 5K this morning before the city parade. It is called the "catwalk" for Cancer Awareness and Treatment. My girls and I walked in honor of my dear sister who is a breast cancer survivor!! My father and my grandmother both died from cancer so it really gave us motivation to walk as well.

(Seriously... is that really my tushie??)

I got all my kids to join us too, except for my oldest son who was at a youth camp. How's that for a former couch-potato, video gaming family?

(Except wait, we still play video games!)

Look at that gorgeous skinny man!!! Hubba hubba!

My little guy held my hand most the way. When he's 16, I doubt he'll do that anymore so I take it while I can get it!! :)

Afterwards, we enjoyed the parade. We have lived in this town over a decade and have NEVER gone to the parade until today. Our old selves would probably still be at home.. IN BED.. or watching the tube. I don't want to miss out on LIFE anymore!! We saw many friends, clapped and cheered, and felt joy and gratitude for our great country and freedoms!

I hope you find a way to Celebrate Life this weekend!!!

A couple of Lean and Green meals this week:

I found myself completely out of all my veggies one night EXCEPT for cabbage. So I grilled up two chicken burgers with sauteed cabbage and it was yummy!

This was delish: sauteed summer squash, fresh cut tomatoes, and some roast beef (from Costco). Loved it!