Hi Guys!

Today went a lot better food wise! It started off with a surprisingly satisfying breakfast – of a Kashi Go Lean Crunchy Protein & Fiber bar!  The type I had today was a Chocolate Almond – and it was 170 calories, 5 grams of fat, 27 grams of carbs, 5 grams of fiber and 8 grams of protein.

The bar kept me going until lunch with no problem! I was surprised.

I do not know what I was thinking at lunch – but I forgot my camera! But I had a great lunch! I enjoyed a cup of Amy’s Organic Black Bean Vegetable Soup which I heated up in a glass Pyrex travel bowl.

As I was preparing my lunch today, one of my colleagues asked me, “Why did you only put half of your can of soup in the bowl?” to which I answered, “Because half a can is the serving size!” I replied.  I think that is one of the real tricks when it comes to having soup for lunch. Most people think that a can of soup is a serving size. But you have to look at the lable on the can to see what the actual serving size is – it’s probably a lot smaller than you think!

A lot of people will eat a whole can of Progresso Soup for a meal… but one can of Progresso soup is actually 2 1/2 servings!  While soup is low in calories, and a lot of times it is low in fat – often soup is really high in sodium.  I really do try to pay attention to the amount of sodium I consume in a day, so that is one reason I try to stick to the serving size when I am having soup for lunch. Another bonus is that you get two lunches out of a can of soup instead of one!

Of course I added some “mix ins” to the soup which really made it awesome! I added a table spoon of low fat sour cream and a palmful of TJ’s lite Mexican cheese which melted nicely on top of the soup.

With the help of the add ins, the soup really kept me going most of the afternoon! It was not until 3:45 that I paused long enough to have my afternoon snack.  The snack was carrots, whole wheat crackers (I had about half my crackers with lunch, by the way!) and two tablespoons of hummus.

It was snowing all day today. For about the third time this season, I saw some of the first flakes of this snow storm. Ben has told me that if you see the first flakes of a big snow, it is good luck. I guess I’m pretty lucky! 🙂

I did a bunch of shoveling when I got home today – I am counting that as my workout today because the roads are a bit too slick to go to the gym. I’m really missing the gym so far this week – but I’m definitely going tomorrow. I’ll be ready for a run by then, for sure!

When I got in from shoveling, I had a six ounce glass of Minute Made Pomegranate Blueberry juice.   Normally, I am not a huge fan of juice – I get most of my fluids by drinking a ton of water (at least two liters a day!). But I really enjoy this Pom juice. It is a blend of five juices: pomegranate, blueberry, grape, apple and raspberry! It is a great combo and really refreshing. An 8 ounce glass of this juice has 100% of your vitamin C for the day, another bonus.

Ben made dinner tonight! We had a great salad of mixed greens, croutons and ginger dressing. After that we enjoyed whole wheat pasta with a Dr. Praeger’s veggie burgers and tomato sauce.

It’s another snowy night in the neighborhood… I’m signing off and going to read one of my new books – sounds like a great night to me! See you all tomorrow.