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The Spinny Bookworm Mama

80 Miles in June

I always do so much better when I am keeping active.  Why not join me and Amy get 80 miles in June?  That seems like a lot but I know that everyone can do it.

When you get your steps or mileage in use the hastag #80milesinjune and tag myself @fitnessbyalicia and my dear friend Amy @atthepinkofperfection  We can't wait to get the mileage in!

6/1 – Walk 1 mile or 2,000 steps

6/2 – Walk 2 miles or 4,000 steps

6/3 – Walk 2 miles or 4,000 steps

6/4 – Walk 3 miles or 6,000 steps

6/5 – Walk 2 miles or 4,000 steps

6/6 – Walk 1 mile or 2,000 steps

6/7 – Walk 4 miles or 8,000 steps

6/8 – Walk 2 miles or 4,000 steps

6/9 – Walk 2 miles or 4,000 steps

6/10 – Walk 3 miles or 6,000 steps

6/11 – Walk 5 miles or 10,000 steps

1612 – Walk 1 mile or 2,000 steps

6/13 – Walk 2 miles or 4,000 steps

6/14 – Walk 2 miles or 4,000 steps

6/15 – Walk 3 miles or 6,000 steps

6/16 – Walk 5 miles or 10,000 steps

6/17 – Walk 1 mile or 2,000 steps

6/18 – Walk 3 miles or 6,000 steps

6/19 – Walk 3 miles or 6,000 steps

6/20 – Walk 2 miles or 4,000 steps

6/21 – Walk 4 miles or 8,000 steps

6/22 – Walk 2 miles or 4,000 steps

6/23 – Walk 2 miles or 4,000 steps

6/24 – Walk 3 miles or 6,000 steps

6/25 – Walk 4 miles or 8,000 steps

6/26 – Walk 5 miles or 10,000 steps

1627 – Walk 3 miles or 6,000 steps

6/28 – Walk 2 miles or 4,000 steps

6/29 – Walk 4 miles or 8,000 steps

6/30 – Walk 2 miles or 4,000 steps

Egg, Bacon, and Cheese Muffins

I am a huge fan of breakfasts that I can prepare ahead of time.  These Egg, Bacon and Cheese "Muffins" are perfect for prepping ahead of time.

Yields:  12 Muffins

Serving: 1 Muffin

Weight Watcher Smart Points:  4 points

Calories:  114

Ingredients:

12 Eggs

3 Slices of Bacon

1 1/2 cups of Fat Free Shredded Cheddar Cheese

1 Green Onion

Cooking Spray

Directions:

Preheat the over to 375.

Cook bacon until crispy.

Once bacon is cooked remove from skillet and use a paper towel to eliminate the grease.  

Chop bacon and place in a bowl.

Add eggs and green onions and stir until well mixed.

Spray muffin tin with cooking spray.

Fill each muffin tin with the egg mixture (about 1/2 cup).

Top each muffin tin with 1/8 cup of cheddar cheese.

Bake eggs for 12-15 minutes or until firm.  

Let muffins cool and serve in an airtight container.  Can heat for 30 seconds in the microwave to eat during the week.  

SkinnyTaste's Crock Pot Sesame Honey Chicken

I found that this dish is a healthy option for when you are craving Chinese food.  It is simple and really delicious.

Yields:  8 Servings

Serving Size:  2/3 Cups

Weight Watcher Smart Points:  5  *Does not include the rice

Calories:  185.5

Ingredients:

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast
black pepper, to taste
1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce (tamari for gluten-free)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup tomato paste
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp water
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp onion powder
1 heaping tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup water
1/2 tbsp sesame seeds
2 medium scallions, chopped for garnish

Directions:

For directions check out SkinnyTaste's blog.  

Instant Pot Boiled Eggs

Do you struggle with peeling your boiled eggs?  Well you will no longer have that problem if you have an instant pot.  This eggs are perfect and peel without any issues.

Ingredients:

Instant Pot

Eggs (how ever many you want to cook)

1 Cup Water

Directions:

Plug in your Instant Pot

Pour one cup water in the bottom of the stainless bowl

Place in a stainless strainer/steamer basket 

Place your desired number of eggs on top of the opened steamer basket

Put the lid on

Power on and press the MANUAL button

With the “-” button adjust it to 8 minutes on the display

Close and lock the lid and make sure the vent on top is closed

Let the Instant Pot do it’s magic and then do the quick release valve

Let cool slightly and vent completely before opening lid

Transfer eggs to fridge or allow to cool slightly before eating right away

SkinnyTaste's Slow-Cooker Banh Mi Rice Bowls

This dish by SkinnyTaste is great.  The fresh vegetables give it the prefect flavor.  When making again, I would add more sauce to the bowls although it will change the point value.

Yields:  4 Servings

Serving Size:  1 Bowl

Weight Watcher Smart Points:  8 Points

Calories:  353

Ingredients:

For the pork:

1 pound pork tenderloin

• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 3 cloves crushed garlic
• 1 jalapeno, sliced
• 1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce*
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 
  

For the pickled carrot:

• 6 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 2 radishes, cut into matchsticks
• 
  

For the bowls:

• 3 cups cooked brown rice
• 1 cup shredded red cabbage
• 1 cup thinly sliced English cucumbers (about ½ small)
• 1 small jalapeno, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves

Directions:

Check out SkinnyTaste for directions.

SkinnyTaste's Chicken and Asparagus Teriyaki Stir-Fry

Although this is not a slow cooker recipe, this recipe is quick and very delicious!  When I made it again I will double up on asparagus and probably serve without rice.

Yields:  4 Servings

Serving Size:  1 1/2 Cups

Weight Watcher Smart Points:  7 Points (not including the rice)

Calories:  302 

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons soy sauce or gluten-free soy sauce

2 tablespoons mirin 

1/2 tablespoon honey

1/2 tablespoon fresh grated ginger 

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 1/2 pounds skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Kosher salt, to taste

1 tbsp canola or grapeseed oil, divided

12 oz asparagus, ends trimmed, cut into 2-inch pieces

4 cloves garlic, chopped

Directions:

Check out SkinnyTaste's website for directions.  

Skinny Mom Slow-Cooker Beef Stroganoff

This Skinny Mom Slow-Cooker Beef Stroganoff is a perfect dish for a cold day.  I love beef stroganoff and this recipe is absolutely delicious!

Yields:  8 Servings

Serving Size:  1 1/2 Heaping Cups

Weight Watcher Smart Points:  7 Points

Calories:  323

Ingredients:

1½ pounds lean stew beef, cut into 1-inch cubes

2 (8-ounce) containers baby bella (cremini) mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 (10.5-ounce) can Campbell’s® Healthy Request® Condensed cream of mushroom Soup

1 small onion, diced

¾ cup low-sodium beef broth (I like Pacific® Organic)

2 tablespoons cooking sherry or low-sodium beef broth

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

12 ounces whole grain egg noodles, dry

1 cup plain 0% Greek yogurt2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

Place the meat, mushrooms, mushroom soup, onion, beef broth, sherry, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, salt, and black pepper in the slow cooker and stir together.

Cook on high for 3 hours or low heat for 6 hours. About 30 minutes before cooking time is up, cook bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the noodles to al dente according to package directions.

Drain the noodles and add to the slow cooker along with the yogurt. Stir to combine and heat through on low heat before serving.

Serve garnished with the parsley.

SkinnyTaste's Instant Pot Easy Salsa Chicken

So I am behind the times and just got an Instant Pot.  Let me say, I wish I had bought it a long time ago.  I have only made 2 recipes but love it so far.  So be prepared for a lot of instant pot recipes.  The first recipe I made was SkinnyTaste's Instant Pot Easy Salsa Chicken.  This recipe was super easy and so delicious.  

Yields:  5 Servings

Serving Size:  1/2 Cup

Weight Watcher Smart Points:  2

Calories:  135

Ingredients:

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 teaspoon cumin

black pepper, to taste

pinch oregano

1 cup chunky salsa

Directions:

Check out SkinnyTaste's Blog for the directions.

What is your favorite Instant Pot Recipe?

Goals for 2017

As I wrap up 2016, I thought I would do a post on my goals for 2017.

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I had a little girl in May 2016.  2016 was good year personally.  I love my little girl to death but I kind of let myself go fitness wise.   Although I started Weight Watchers at the end of October I am still a long way from where I want to me.  So here are my goals for 2017.

1.  Lose the remainder of my pregnancy weight and then some.  I gained 41 pounds while I was pregnant.  Not a ton but more than I had expected.  I am close to my pregnancy weight but I definitely was heavier than I wanted to be when I got pregnant.  My goal is to get to 169 pounds.  Once at this weight, I may re-evaluate and decide to lose more. 

2.  Track what I eat 90% of the time.  I do best when I am tracking my food.  So I want to track my food using my Weight Watchers app most of the time.  There will be times when I don’t want to track and I am okay with that as long as I do it most of the time.

3.  Get my steps.  I also do better when I am being active.  Right now my workout schedule is non-existent.  I have been getting my step goal every day so I want to continue that but I want to do more.

4.  Workout at least 3 times a week.  Along with getting my steps, I want to do some sort of workout 3 days a week.  I am hoping my little one starts napping more consistently.  But currently she does do well during her first nap of the day.  So instead of doing stuff around the house, I plan to use that time to get in a workout.  I am going to start slow with workout videos that I plan to review here on the blog.  Then I will start creating my own workouts.

5.  Start back to running.  I ran 6 weeks postpartum and then I haven’t ran since.  I miss running.  I am planning to volunteer with Girls on the Run again this season so I need to get back into running shape.  I hate running on the treadmill so this will be challenging.  Hopefully if the weather is decent (but cold) I will get out for a run when possible.  Girls on the Run doesn’t start until February so I have a little time to get in shape.  Once Girls on the Run starts I will at least be running twice a week but I would like to get in better shape running wise and maybe run some races this summer. 

6.  Blog more regularly.  As you can see I am really working on blog posts.  I want to get back into blogging.  I want to share recipes and my weight loss journey again. 

What are your goals for 2017?