Turkey Leftovers

Wonderful night, just relaxing watching the Labyrinth <3 Within You is one of my fave songs. I still don't have satellite! The guy came to install & you know it's not going to be good when you hear him mumble, "oh s*!t." So still no sports for me . Unpacking has been slow because I've been sick. I was able to get enough energy to bust out Cardio Max this morning... & passed back out for a bit haha.

What do you get from a big bird & only five people... leftover turkey! My Grandma sent me home with some & randomly pico de gallo popped into my head today. So I decided to make my own instead of buying pre-made.

Pico de Gallo
Adapted from Oh She Glows
15 min (prep time)
About 4-6 cups

2- Large FIRM tomatoes
1- Bunch of cilantro (stems removed & roughly chopped) (approx 1/2-3/4 cup)
1- Large sweet onion
2- Jalapeno peppers (if you don't like things too hot, remove the seeds)

I didn't use salt or lime & it still tasted good, but if you want to use it - 1 Lime & use Kosher salt or Sea salt, to taste. I may do this next time.

- Finely chop the onion, tomatoes, jalapenos. Remove thick stems of the cilantro & roughly chop. Mix the onion, tomato, hot pepper, & cilantro in a bowl. (If you wanted to use lime squeeze fresh lime juice on top). Stir well, season with salt to taste if you'd like.

- Seal in an airtight container to keep it fresh.

Tasted just like the store bought kind my Dad use to buy for us. My only issue was chopping the cilantro... definitely not pro at cilantro chopping.

Here comes the turkey! So for dinner I layered some mixed greens, warmed up 2 oz of leftover turkey, 2 Tbsp of my fresh pico de gallo, almond cheddar cheese, & drizzled with a Tbsp of balsamic vinegar. Yummerz! Made my belly very happy! I tend to make one serving dishes because well... I'm serving one haha. I really should start making this stuff enough for leftovers. Save some time.

I went to Sandy's & all I got was this crappy cupcake

Dang good crappy cupcake at that!  I will explain the origin of the "Sandy crappy cupcake" later.

I have part of my extended family coming for a visit tomorrow; my Broseph, Sis-in-law, & L. So a request was made for "Sandy crappy cupcakes". After talk of shellfish cupcakes, a decision was made on Lemon LEMON!

Duncan Hines Lemon Supreme Cake Mix
1 cup water
1/3 cup Mott's unsweetened NATURAL applesauce
3 egg whites
1 container of Lemon icing

Yes this wasn't a "clean" recipe, nothing special. But they were low fat & tasted great. Everyone loved them, even my Grandma & Grandpa! Of course they did, they were made with love. Bee-tee-dubs decorating is my favorite part... can you tell?

“Can’t” can no longer be in my vocabulary

So say bu-bye & kick that negative word to the curb ya’ll.
The “I can’t” statement has ALWAYS caused issues with my progress whether it was a diet/exercise regimen or self-development. It most likely came from the words I use to hear a lot growing up, “You Can’t.”

Negative words I’ve used on myself:
“I can’t”
“You Slob”
“Oh yeah, eat another fatty”
“You’re such an idiot”
“You’re worthless”

Oh yes, I’ve mumbled these to myself, actually more than what I have listed. But I thought about it; did saying those things push me harder to succeed? Give me motivation? Make me love myself? Um that’s a NO. They caused me to lose faith in myself & my goals. What did I do? I simply gave up & hated myself.

If you don’t have confidence in yourself mentally it won’t reflect on you physically. How do you expect to reach a certain life ambition? If it’s for exercise/weight loss; how do you expect to have progress? How do you expect your body to change? Without positive reinforcement how do you expect to succeed? Hey, I had to learn… being hard & doubting yourself is a tough habit to break! I’m with you! I was the poster child for “I hate myself.” I had to work very hard on my mental state of mind & finally take myself out of a very negative environment to get where I am right now…. three months & I’m still learning! You need to take it one day at a time & you can’t just expect it to happen overnight! If it does, then you’re lying to yourself.

The first time I actually said anything positive to myself was when I participated in The NJ Marathon in Long Branch, NJ 5/1/11. This was my first race ever, & I was running a Half! The non-profit I work with was getting participants together to raise money for the organization, so I figured why not. I trained (I will train a lot different next time) & I was ready to go. It was a very emotional weekend. I found out the day before I was leaving for the marathon my Uncle Ben had passed away (My Dad’s best friend from HS & my godfather). While running my mind was on my Grandma, Uncle & my Dad, but I knew I needed to stay focused. At mile 9 I started to lose it & started to cry. Then the words I never thought I would ever say to myself, “You can do this Sandy… Keep going you’re too close to give up now!” The tears immediately stopped & I had this blast of energy come over me & I finished… 2:27:05.96. When we filled out the paper work we had to say what we thought our time estimate would be, I put 2:30. I don’t think I have ever been more proud of myself in my life. I worked hard… I pushed through the pain & sadness… end result… I accomplished something truly amazing.

You need to surround yourself with positive vibes! Never forget that! You know how it feels to see the sunshine after a cold dark day… it makes you feel good right? Well that’s what positive thoughts can do. They will help you feel whole & stay focused on your goals whatever they maybe.