We have never changed our tires over to snow tires. This year I feel that we really should do it. I never realized the significant safety differences but after reading articles on this issue I am now convinced that putting snow tires on is the way to go- especially as we drive little ones around all the time.
Just wondering if any (if there are any!!) of my readers use snow tires, and if so what type or do you have any recommendations on brand, place to go etc...
Wednesday, 15 December 2010
Wednesday, 8 December 2010
Tips and Tid bits
Since starting on Weight Watchers in January 2010 and losing close to 25 pounds lots of people have been asking me to share my "secret". I first want to make it clear that it is no secret. I tell anyone who comments or wants to know how I did it the absolute truth. I joined Weight Watchers, followed the plan and it worked. They then often want to know what it is I eat, so I thought I'd just share it here and give them my link rather than explaining over and over again...
here is a typical day/week of meals
Breakfast 7:15 am
28 grams all bran buds stirred into one source yogurt, banana
or
54 grams of Kashi Honey Puffs Cereal with 1/2 cup 1% milk, banana
or
one PC Thins Cinnamon Raisin Bagel with 1 tablespoon light peanut butter, banana
or
one packet of weight control oatmeal (any flavour) made with 1/2 cup %1 milk,banana
Snack 10:30 am
Coffee with milk and sugar ( won't ever give up sugar for sweetener in my coffee!!)
AND
6 almonds
or
carrot and celery sticks
or
one apple
or
2 triangles of Laughing Cow Cheese
or
All Bran Bar
Lunch
7 cups of salad consisting of either spring lettuce mix, romaine or spinach AND 1/2 diced cucumber, 1/2 of a pepper (either yellow or red), cauliflower, 10 grape tomatoes cut in half, and either 1/4 of an avocado, 1/2 cup of beans/chickpeas or 20 grams of cheddar cheese or can of flavoured tuna or 2 oz diced cooked chicken AND 1 tablespoon of dressing-any type.
Sometimes I'll bring left overs for lunch but usually stick to my salad. and very rarely I'll do the food court lunch in which i choose either a chicken skewer from the Greek place with salad or a turkey sub no mayo from Subway.
Dinner
I find dinner to be the hardest meal to plan for. As most working mothers this is the most challenging time of the day. After coming home from a busy day at work, the kids have been at daycare/school and are really tired- need to fix dinner, entertain the kids and get a whole ton of chores done around the house to boot it can be so difficult to make healthy choices the kids will like.
I refuse to eat a different meal than the one I cook for the rest of the family so I just have to be careful about portion control. Since I do have a food scale this is easier than if i didn't have one. I weigh and measure almost everything.
Since the usual reaction from my son lately for whatever i make is UCH...YUCKY, we decided to plan our weekly meals together. This has been so helpful and has seen us through the last 3 nights with no complaints and crying fits-and the kids have had more than just peanut butter on bread for dinner!
Some examples of dinner;
3 ounces chicken breast, steamed cauliflower, 1/2 cup of rice
1 cup of pasta 1/2 cup vegetarian bolognese sauce
3 ounces tilapia cooked any way (this is about 1/2 of a HUGE fillet from the fish counter) steamed carrots, small baked potato with 1 tsp of becel
2 oz of beef with sauteed vegetables and 1/2 c rice
I find that buying prepacked foods makes life a lot easier and I am able to count my points easier too. A family favourite is fish sticks, and sweet potato fries.
I also make a lot of vegetable soups. My favourite is cabbage soup which also happens to be the most healthy and least caloric of them all. The slow cooker is really helpful for this!
I eat cheese but really limit it to one serving by weighing it, (shocking how little cheese one serving is!!) or just stick to Laughing Cow Light. For 2 triangles it is only 1 point. I have also had to cut out my snacking considerably. I used to eat chocolate chips from the bag before bed...don't do that anymore, and I could eat a whole bag of mini rice cakes in one sitting (still CAN do that-but choose not to) I also no longer eat cereal out of the box while watching TV.
The whole trick is making the right choices and learning what works and doesn't work for you. I remember commenting at one WW meeting about eating the same thing everyday-I am totally good with that-but most people there groaned and said they couldnt' do it- but that totally worked for me-and i try to stick to it!
here is a typical day/week of meals
Breakfast 7:15 am
28 grams all bran buds stirred into one source yogurt, banana
or
54 grams of Kashi Honey Puffs Cereal with 1/2 cup 1% milk, banana
or
one PC Thins Cinnamon Raisin Bagel with 1 tablespoon light peanut butter, banana
or
one packet of weight control oatmeal (any flavour) made with 1/2 cup %1 milk,banana
Snack 10:30 am
Coffee with milk and sugar ( won't ever give up sugar for sweetener in my coffee!!)
AND
6 almonds
or
carrot and celery sticks
or
one apple
or
2 triangles of Laughing Cow Cheese
or
All Bran Bar
Lunch
7 cups of salad consisting of either spring lettuce mix, romaine or spinach AND 1/2 diced cucumber, 1/2 of a pepper (either yellow or red), cauliflower, 10 grape tomatoes cut in half, and either 1/4 of an avocado, 1/2 cup of beans/chickpeas or 20 grams of cheddar cheese or can of flavoured tuna or 2 oz diced cooked chicken AND 1 tablespoon of dressing-any type.
Sometimes I'll bring left overs for lunch but usually stick to my salad. and very rarely I'll do the food court lunch in which i choose either a chicken skewer from the Greek place with salad or a turkey sub no mayo from Subway.
Dinner
I find dinner to be the hardest meal to plan for. As most working mothers this is the most challenging time of the day. After coming home from a busy day at work, the kids have been at daycare/school and are really tired- need to fix dinner, entertain the kids and get a whole ton of chores done around the house to boot it can be so difficult to make healthy choices the kids will like.
I refuse to eat a different meal than the one I cook for the rest of the family so I just have to be careful about portion control. Since I do have a food scale this is easier than if i didn't have one. I weigh and measure almost everything.
Since the usual reaction from my son lately for whatever i make is UCH...YUCKY, we decided to plan our weekly meals together. This has been so helpful and has seen us through the last 3 nights with no complaints and crying fits-and the kids have had more than just peanut butter on bread for dinner!
Some examples of dinner;
3 ounces chicken breast, steamed cauliflower, 1/2 cup of rice
1 cup of pasta 1/2 cup vegetarian bolognese sauce
3 ounces tilapia cooked any way (this is about 1/2 of a HUGE fillet from the fish counter) steamed carrots, small baked potato with 1 tsp of becel
2 oz of beef with sauteed vegetables and 1/2 c rice
I find that buying prepacked foods makes life a lot easier and I am able to count my points easier too. A family favourite is fish sticks, and sweet potato fries.
I also make a lot of vegetable soups. My favourite is cabbage soup which also happens to be the most healthy and least caloric of them all. The slow cooker is really helpful for this!
I eat cheese but really limit it to one serving by weighing it, (shocking how little cheese one serving is!!) or just stick to Laughing Cow Light. For 2 triangles it is only 1 point. I have also had to cut out my snacking considerably. I used to eat chocolate chips from the bag before bed...don't do that anymore, and I could eat a whole bag of mini rice cakes in one sitting (still CAN do that-but choose not to) I also no longer eat cereal out of the box while watching TV.
The whole trick is making the right choices and learning what works and doesn't work for you. I remember commenting at one WW meeting about eating the same thing everyday-I am totally good with that-but most people there groaned and said they couldnt' do it- but that totally worked for me-and i try to stick to it!
Tuesday, 7 December 2010
changes....
well my commitment to working out in the morning has been more challenging than I thought it would be. I have however been getting on the elliptical in the evenings instead. I do like watching my favourite programs while working out but I used to feel so much more productive when working out in the mornings...i guess I can't have it all!
Friday, 3 December 2010
Pre-New Years Resolutions
Last January I resolved to take the bull by the horns and get my butt in gear to lose the baby weight once and for all. I managed to lose 25 pounds but was really really good about eating well and not so good about exercising diligently. I did start out the year getting on the elliptical 3-5 times a week at first but as time went on that slipped down to 1-2 and lately it's been nil.
During the late summer and early fall I started running. Again it wasn't that regularly and usually only when FP kicked me in the butt to get off the couch. I did complete one 5k and felt awesome about it but then only ran once after that.
Now that it is December and the New Year is coming up fast and furious, I decided I want to get back to the basics of exercising right and of course eating right too.
Since working out the evenings just doesn't work for me (I'm just too tired and honestly I have so much to do around the house-as I've discovered the house doesn't clean itself and meals don't get cooked on their own!!!) I have committed to waking up at 5:30 and getting on that elliptical for 25-35 minutes a day. It is a great way to start the day and gets me up to do other things before the rest of the family is up. This morning for example i was able to load (and turn on) the dishwasher, throw in a load of laundry and tidy the kitchen a bit all before the chaos called morning started! (and of course help get the kids ready for their 7:20 departure AND to top it off I was able to shower in the morning-which i love to do but normally don't because of time restrictions. (and morning showers really do wonders for my hair)
I'm crossing my fingers that I'll be able to keep up this commitment to myself for daily exercise!!
During the late summer and early fall I started running. Again it wasn't that regularly and usually only when FP kicked me in the butt to get off the couch. I did complete one 5k and felt awesome about it but then only ran once after that.
Now that it is December and the New Year is coming up fast and furious, I decided I want to get back to the basics of exercising right and of course eating right too.
Since working out the evenings just doesn't work for me (I'm just too tired and honestly I have so much to do around the house-as I've discovered the house doesn't clean itself and meals don't get cooked on their own!!!) I have committed to waking up at 5:30 and getting on that elliptical for 25-35 minutes a day. It is a great way to start the day and gets me up to do other things before the rest of the family is up. This morning for example i was able to load (and turn on) the dishwasher, throw in a load of laundry and tidy the kitchen a bit all before the chaos called morning started! (and of course help get the kids ready for their 7:20 departure AND to top it off I was able to shower in the morning-which i love to do but normally don't because of time restrictions. (and morning showers really do wonders for my hair)
I'm crossing my fingers that I'll be able to keep up this commitment to myself for daily exercise!!
Wednesday, 1 December 2010
Some Things I want to try...
I saw a commercial recent for these Goody Spin Pins. I think they look amazing. Just wondering how well they would work on really thick hair. My experience with these products in the past hasn't been that great but I'm willing to give them a try...now off to try and find them in stores!
This product from Sephora looks interesting too. I have been trying to grow out my hair and as a result have been putting it up in ponytails a lot lately. Hercut perfect ponytail might just help me get the perfect pony...okay might go a try this out today...and if the result is great, I'll buy!
Still searching for the best eyeshadow for me I am looking to get something like this.
I love Sephora!
This product from Sephora looks interesting too. I have been trying to grow out my hair and as a result have been putting it up in ponytails a lot lately. Hercut perfect ponytail might just help me get the perfect pony...okay might go a try this out today...and if the result is great, I'll buy!
Still searching for the best eyeshadow for me I am looking to get something like this.
I love Sephora!
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