Lucky Charms… why do you do this to me? This morning I decided to pour myself a bowl of Lucky Charms instead of having a bowl of oatmeal as planned. I poured myself a bowl of cereal and enjoyed every ounce of that sugary goodness. I enjoyed it so much that I served myself another half bowl.
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As mentioned yesterday in my weekly plan, I am tracking my calories this week with MyPlate, so I realized that I had to measure out my cereal to see how many portions of Lucky Charms I had just consumed. My brain likes to think, “well you had two bowls of cereal so that’s two servings”, but SEVEN 3/4 cups later I realized that I had just consumed 770 calories worth of Lucky Charms. On top of that, it’s only 6:15 in the morning. After milk, I had consumed 930 calories in my first hour of the day.
It was a HUGE eye opener for me. I can’t even imagine how many calories I’ve consumed on certain days if that’s how many calories I just consumed with Lucky Charms.
Yesterday I consumed 1813 calories and burned 433 calories at the gym.
- Breakfast – 450 calories
- Lunch- 445 calories
- Snack- 480 calories
- Dinner- 440 calories
My other eye opener occurred yesterday when I went to Starbucks for a mid afternoon cocktail. I decided to order a Grande Skim Pumpkin Spice Latte with no whip thinking it would be somewhere between 150 and 200 calories. 330 calories later, I realized that I need to plan out my Starbucks trips a little better.
Today is going to be tough, as I have already consumed half of my calories, but I know that I can plan out a low calorie dinner and can get a great workout in at the gym. Although I had planned to take the day off today, I’m thinking a 30 minute workout would be well work it at this point!
Last night for dinner I made a variation of What Katie Said‘s Mexican Turkey Meatloaf…. and it was FANTASTIC!
Ashley’s Mexican Turkey Meatloaf
1 pound lean ground turkey
1 jalapeno, chopped
2 yellow or sweet onion, chopped
1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped
1/2 cup salsa
1 cup dry oats
1 egg
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
After chopping your onions, add onions to a hot pan with 1 tbsp of oil. Saute the onions for about 15 minutes or until they are translucent and/or lightly browned. Set the onions aside, allowing them to cool before adding them to the meatloaf mixture.
Put all other ingredients in a large bowl. Mix until well combined. After the onions have cooled, slowly add them to the meatloaf mixture, mixing well.
Place mixture evenly in greased 9×5 loaf pan or in 4-5 individual loaf pans (disposable ones can be found at your local grocery store). Cook meatloaf for 50 minutes, or until a meat thermometer inserted in the center of the loaf reads 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Let sit 10 minutes before serving.
This meatloaf is absolutely amazing! I loved it so much that I sent Neal the following e-mail…
“I made the most amazing dinner tonight. If you haven’t eaten and want some you’re soooo welcome to come over. I made Mexican Meatloaf. Seriously, it’s amazing. Love you — Ashley”
Before I knew it Neal was over and enjoying this moist (I hate that word) and healthy dinner. Neal even said it was the best dinner I’ve ever made for him. He gave it 5/5 stars! Pretty good for someone who hates mushrooms! It’s all about hiding the vegetables.
Well, it’s hard to believe it’s only Tuesday but I’m up and off to the gym. It has been a busy week so far and I still have a lot to accomplish before Friday, but I always get my work and my graduate work done. No reason to stress.
Have a wonderful Tuesday!