59 Days (Jennie)

August 1st already! This year is really flying by at a breakneck pace, it's crazy. A family friend once said that the years pass by quicker as we get older since each subsequent one is less of a fraction of our total life. It is amazing to me, I remember the school year feeling sooooo long when I was a kid- now it rushes by, summer rushes by. My oldest baby is getting ready to start 3rd grade, yet it feels like I was just taking her to kindergarten the other day.

I'm baking cookies tonight, peanut macarons with chocolate ganache filling.

Hi gorgeous!

I absolutely love baking, which is one of my biggest challenges for trying to keep weight off. It is a great stress reliever for me, and makes me lots of friends at the office too. I do try to sub in healthier items whenever the opportunity presents itself, some work beautifully and others, not so much. Subbing coconut flour in for regular flour was a disaster.

A few friendlier substitutions:
- Substitute 1/2 the oil called for in a recipe with applesauce or plain yogurt. It keeps the moisture in baked goods while reducing fat and calories naturally.
- Pumpkin puree can be added to many baked goods, it's low in calories and high in fiber.
- Unsweetened almond milk for whole milk (unless you're using it for whipping)

These are suggestions that have worked well for me and not had a detrimental impact to the final product. I look forward to finding more to share! I am a self-professed baking snob in that I want what I eat to be delicious, if it tastes "low cal", it's not worth it. I don't substitute where there would be a big noticeable difference to the taste of the item, such as removing butter or replacing all sugar with a substitute. I'd rather have a tiny bit of the full-fat wonderful thing then a bigger serving of the overly-substituted artificial counterpart. Food is fuel, but it's also enjoyment. And one forkful of something amazing is better than a plateful of something so-so.

Food for the day
Breakfast: post-workout smoothie with waaaay too much spinach (it was starting to turn and I didn't want to waste it- so dumped it all in the mixer!), vanilla protein powder, unsweetened almond milk and a banana
Morning snack: running late for work, so I grabbed a Greek yogurt from the fridge (fruit kind) and a handful of almonds
Lunch: salad with grilled chicken and ranch dressing, granny smith apple
Afternoon snack: granola bar
Dinner: cheeseburger- caught me a bit by surprise that hubby wanted to go out tonight, but he had a rough day at work and we both got home late. Our usual stomping ground (Chipotle) had a line wrapping around and out the door, so we went a few doors down for a burger instead. Thankfully I had a good workout this morning, so still under my calories for the day!
Dessert: nothing really- although I did sample tiny bits of macaron batter and chocolate ganache as I was baking tonight. So add a few calories there- but they were worth it!

Total calories in: 1930
Calories burned: 2500
Workout: P90X Plyo and a 2 mile walk