Morning everyone! How are you? I’m so glad I took a little tiny break from blogging yesterday…I just needed to enjoy the day with Nate at Winter Park and then relax when we got home. So let’s start over, shall we?
Lunch on Friday was a sandwich thin with a slice of provolone, some steamed spinach, marinara, and a Boca mushroom patty. On the side I had some carrots, and there may or may not have been a spoon of almond butter eaten with them 🙂
During the afternoon we ended up leaving to go check out next year’s line at the company showroom, and I left from there to go home. There was enough daylight to take the dogs to the dog park right by our house, and I was so excited they’d get a chance to run! Turns out when snow melts it turns to water, which can create this phenomenon called “mud” when it’s mixed with dirt…who knew? Well, Bunker and Keira did indeed sprint ALL OVER the dog park and got so unbelievably muddy. I knew the second I stepped out of the car that they’d be getting baths, which is something I dread because it’s something that THEY dread! When we got home, I had to leave Keira in the garage while I dragged Bunker (all 100 lbs of him) upstairs for a bath. When it was her turn you’d have thought that I was hurting her! I’m tellin’ ya, there are a lot of people who pay good money to have someone rub them down and tell them what a good boy/girl they are. Just sayin’ is all!
By the time I finished bathing the dogs my legs were worn out. It was basically 30 minutes of standing in a squat with a constant leg adduction squeeze to hold them in one place. Thus, I did not complete the 30-day shred I had on the schedule for the HPJ workout today. I did, however, walk around the dog park (in the mud mind you) for an hour before the shower fiasco. I felt that it was actually WORK, and therefore I didn’t feel bad eating the cheese side of the small pizza Nate brought home:
AND he brought one of my favorite beers home too! This is a local beer from Tommyknocker Brewery in Idaho Falls, CO:
That was dessert and then I fell asleep on the couch. Yes, I am a lightweight, and yes, Nate knows this 🙂
We got to Winter Park around 8:30 and were too impatient to wait for a bus from the parking lot, so we hiked with our ski boots, skis, and poles to the main lift. I’d say it was probably around 3/4 of a mile from our car, but all downhill, so it wasn’t too hard. We skied for a good 2 hours before stopping for lunch at the lodge. I got the vegetarian curry with extra veggies instead of tofu (I’ve decided that I really don’t like the texture):
It was actually really good! I ended up eating about 3/4 of the bowl and then stopping because the white rice at the bottom was grossing me out since it was really soft and gooey. Blech. But the flavor was actually really good! Nate got a slightly healthy chicken burrito and then de-healthed it with an astronomical amount of orange cheese sauce:
Now, I love my fair share of overly processed products, but cheese sauce is NOT one of those. Thankfully he scraped most of it off and only ate what was left on the tortilla! We skied for another couple of hours, but towards the end my legs were shaking from exhaustion. We decided that we were also too impatient to wait for the bus BACK to the parking lot, so we hiked up the huge 3/4 mile hill with our ski boots, skis, and poles to the car. At 9,000 feet. My lungs were pretty upset with me for that one…but I figured I needed to make up for the lack of intense exercise on Friday!
When we got home I had a Rogue Mocha Porter:
‘Twas perfect! I sipped on that while I made some pita chips (which is now a new favorite recipe…thanks Ellie!):
And GUACAMOLE!!! Oh boy, do I love me some good guac:
2 ripe avocados- 1/4 cup salsa (your choice; we used 365 brand medium)
- salt/pepper/garlic powder
- twist of lime
Mash. Plate. Savor. YUM!
And while that was being consumed, I also made my actual dinner, a piece of vegetable lasagna (Kroger store brand) and a Morningstar Farms Tomato Basil Burger:
This was good, but the flavors actually clashed a bit. Next time (read: tomorrow’s leftovers) I will just do the lasagna since I’m sure there’s plenty of fat and protein in the cheese 🙂
Finally, this morning was a bowl of simple whipped banana oats:
I know there have been good and bad foods integrated into the past couple of days, but I fully plan on getting back on track with healthful eating today. Besides, it’s the weekend, and I feel like it’s OK to splurge a bit!
What are your thoughts on “cheat days” or “cheat meals”? Do you feel like you need those to stay on track, or do they do more to just derail your healthful eating habits? I know that I usually need at least a meal where I can eat whatever I want, but sometimes I do find it hard to get back on track again!
It’s always an ordeal to wash our dog – we have learned to take him to a doggie wash though – the first time we did it at home the dog hair was unbelievable!
I definitely have cheat days or meals, but I can usually jump back on track pretty easily. Hence the hot dog and cheese fries I had yesterday – yum!
Those meals look awesome! Skiing sounds fun, too! 🙂
I’m pretty bad, but I don’t put a limit on what I can eat. It’s weird, but by doing that I don’t feel the need to have unhealthy foods often. On the other hand, if I tell myself I can’t eat something, it’s all I’m thinking about and I gorge on it late at night. I’ve found by allowing myself whatever I want whenever, I WANT to eat healthfully and do so 80% of the time. But by doing it that much doesn’t make me feel guilty for having a piece of cake or a beer. 🙂 It’s all mental!
That guac looks awesome!
I don’t really think about cheat meals. I think cheat DAYS are a no-go. You can really blow out a week’s worth of hard work in one day of cheating.
But just a meal? I say they’re ok. I defnitely have cheat meals a lot I guess. I never think “I’m going to have a cheat meal today”, usually I just decide now and then that I want to go out for a burger or something. lol
I guess I don’t put much thought into it as long as I’m not having too many cheat meals.
Hubby and I always get 1/2 cheese and 1/2 pepperoni pizzas, too.
Guac looks delish! It’s quickly becoming one of my favorite dips. Mmm… 🙂
Sounds like you had a great weekend!!! I kind of believe in the 80/20 rule.. 80% healthy, 20% whatever I want. It works for me 🙂
I love chocolate porters, what a great and unexpected flavor combination!!
I don’t know that I really like entire cheat days or meals. I think it can lead to overdoing it and getting completely off track. I’m a bigger fan of just giving myself one little indulgence per day.
I like to have cheat days too. But I have found for me a little “cheat” each day works better!
Ah haha! I love your comment about some people paying good money to be rubbed down and called a good boy/girl. 🙂
I am an emotional eater, so if I have a bad day, I decide I “deserve” to eat a 3rd slice of pizza or 4 cookies…I don’t know if that’s good or bad. I really don’t beat myself up for it afterwards and just try harder the next day, and I don’t let it happen all that often, so I don’t think it’s too unhealthy or side tracks me too much.
Honestly I think your meals looks great. Yes, you had some awesomely tasty foods, but they were all portioned! They looked like a ‘normal persons’ day of eats…. you go girl!!
Lucky for me Eleanor puts up with baths without a fight.
Sounds like a great weekend!
I cannot wait to go skiing when we get there for spring break!!!! I really just can’t wait to get there period and see my favorite sister and brotoher in law!
My take on the splurging is I just listen to my body. If I am having an out of control craving for say….hmm….french fries and a cheese burger (which happens every blue moon) then I’ll just go ahead and get it and I’ll eat it till my tummy tells me its time to stop, then I’ll usually package the rest up and take it home. (I don’t eat my leftovers though….most of the time Chad gets them, but hey, they aren’t going to waste at least 🙂 ) I think cheat days are important to have as long as you don’t over do them, meaning not allowing yourself to overeat because I usually keep craving those foods and eating them all the time because I keep overeating…..if that makes sense?
It looks like you had a fun weekend! And skiing is such a good workout, I bet any “cheats” are all worked out. Plus it seems like overall you were really balanced out! Though I love my share of “de-healthified” food (hehe loved that), orange-y cheese sauce has never been one of them either.
I go back and forth on cheat days/meals. It’s a cumulative thing, I’m considering calorie cycling. Some high days (when I work out more) with some low days…I’m hoping that mixing it up helps the body shed the weight…
Glad you had a fun day!
I don’t believe in cheat meals. I don’t actually believe in cheating at all. I think that the term cheat implies that your lifestyle is something that is temporary and that you plan to go back to your old habits. Now, treating yourself on occasion to something indulgent, I think that is an important part of staying sane. I also think that as you really start to listen to your body, those foods that have the “cheat” quality to them will really lose their appeal without much effort on your part.
Hi! Just discovered your blog! I try to eat healthy as often as possible but totally believe in cheat meals. I would go crazy without them. I try not to do entire cheat days because those can just simply get out of control. 🙂
Mmmm…I LOVE chocolate porters like that! Yum! Looks like a weekend of great eats– no worries about getting off track a little bit!
Sounds like fun! I miss skiing : ) I was born and raised in VT, now I am in VA and the slopes are just not the same – I have not gone in forever. No biggie that you skipped the shread, sounds like you got plenty of other movement in!
As for cheat days…I eat as healthy as I can as often as I can. I don’t have specific “cheat meals” but I do have wiggle room to eat whatever I really want whenever I want to eat it. I feel like if I were to say “this is my cheat meal” I would go all out with it. If I approach it as “this is not the best choice right now but it is what I REALLY feel like I would enjoy” then I tend to enjoy it in more moderation, and maybe even leave a little bit on my plate. And for me I need to have that freedom and flexibility when it comes to my food.
I would say I follow an 80/20 typeish rule. 80% healthy – 20% a little flexy with the healthy : )
I will be attempting to give our 112lb (after her last vet visit) puppy (I say that but she is 12) a bath today…always an adventure : ) I can’t wait for the summer time when we can just put her in the baby pool outside!