P3 Day 16 (LDW -1.6 WHOA DUDE!)

OKAY SO... no cali kicker for me today! After a 3lb loss overnight, I'm um like really close to going UNDER my 2 lb limit! No clue what's up with that. My only thoughts are: Cali Kicker, getting stuff off my chest and actually being able to sleep, and getting in all my calories after 2 days of lower end cals. Whatever it was, I'll take it! Now I just hope I don't GAIN 3 lbs tomorrow.

So for the 2nd time this P3, I added in Greek yogurt and flax seed. I did ok with the almonds I added in yesterday, but I left them out today so I could experiment with the yogurt/flax combo. Hopefully I'm ok since I'm nearly done with P3 - just 5 days left!

Breakfast was a flax pancake with greek yogurt on top, zucchini hashbrowns, and 2 chorizo patties. Yummmm. Oh and of COURSE there was coffee with coconut milk involved!

After breakfast I did some housework, then ran over to the old apartment to finish picking up my stuff and check the mail. I also ran by Sprouts while I was down there, since we don't have a Sprouts this far north yet. Well there is one, but it's all the way over at I-35, which is like a 20 minute drive! Crazy. Grr. Haha. Ok so where was I? Oh yeah. Got back from doing that and cooked lunch - I used my MB again to make mashed cauliflower. Put that on top of chicken with mixed veggies and voila! Shepherd's pie. It was sooooooo good!

Oh, while I was at Sprouts I discovered that all vitamin section products were 25% off, so I picked up a bag of Vanilla Whey protein powder by Jay Robb's. Instead of $21 for 12oz, I got it for $16. Sweet! So my afternoon snack today was a peppermint mocha frappuccino, as promised! I made an extra bit of CD this morning with peppermint in it and crushed it into my frapp so it gave it that java chip kindof bite to it. Delicious! Can't decide what kind I'll make tomorrow (if I need to, that is). I really like having that extra little snack in the afternoons - I actually seem to be hungrier for dinner when I have a protein snack after lunch.

Speaking of dinner - tonight's was amazing. I love that I have time to cook dinner again. Back before P2 I was training in Krav every night from 4-8, so dinner usually consisted of a chicken breast baked the night before or something, and I usually ate it on the road on my way to Krav. Having evenings to cook and enjoy dinners has really been nice - I'm getting back into coming up with recipes and using new spices/seasonings and making new flavors. I love cooking! It's so therapeutic for me.

For dinner tonight, I made a spicy cinnamon chicken. It was SOOOO good - definitely one for the recipe cards! :-)

Tomorrow is a work day, so I'll be up about 2 hours earlier than I was today (yeah - didn't even make it to 8. I was up and wide awake at 7:15! Haha.) Wondering if that will affect my weight? I'm trying to figure out how to balance that so it's even-keel. I'm thinking getting 7-8 hours of sleep, plus making sure I'm done eating dinner 12 hours before I will be weighing has a lot to do with it. As far as the rule of how long to wait before going to bed - when I eat something VERY light like egg whites or just veggies, I can go right to bed and not see an increase. If I eat any meat or any fat of any kind, it seems, I have to have 4 hours after my meal before I go to bed or it shows on the scale the next morning. But that's what this is all about - figuring out how my body works!

So today was pretty productive... I actually got some homework done and feel refreshed, even though my heart is still heavy with all the issues I've got going on right now. All I can do at this point is pray.

We shall see what tomorrow brings! It's a short day at work, so hopefully I won't be too tired when I get home and I can blog. :-)

Spicy Cinnamon Chicken (P3/P4)

8oz chicken breast

1/4 onion, sliced thinly

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tsp Bragg's or tamari

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

little bit of salt (opt) & black pepper

cinnamon

2 cups fresh spinach

Start cooking the onions in enough chicken broth or water to soften them. Add the garlic and let cook a minute or two. While the onion is softening, season the chicken with the braggs, red pepper, salt and pepper, and enough cinnamon to cover the chicken on both sides, lightly. Place the chicken in the pan and add a little bit more broth/water, and cover. Reduce heat to simmer and let cook until chicken is cooked through, turning over several times to cook evenly. Takes about 10-12 minutes to cook through. 

At the very end, place spinach on top of the chicken and replace the lid to the pan to wilt the spinach. Remove to plate, and serve! Serves 1.