Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Homemade Pineapple Raisin Bread Pudding

So, the family wanted something sweet to eat and I felt like using what we had at home. I preheated the oven... walked over to the pantry and grabbed some bread, golden raisins and sugar... grabbed some 2% milk, eggs, light butter and freshly cubed pineapple from the fridge... some cinnamon, vanilla, salt (and some extra secrets) from my spice cabinet and made a pineapple & raisin bread pudding! Why spend the extra money? Just be creative and watch your portions :-)

When I get in this type of creative mood, I seldom measure anything.  I just go with what looks good and it always turns out perfect!!!  Here's a made up recipe from the top of my head that should give you similar results :-)... ENJOY!!!



~Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

INGREDIENTS:
~2% milk (2 1/2 -3 cups depending on the thickness of your bread... use 3 cups for thicker bread)
~3-4 tblspoons of Butter (I use light butter or margarine)
~Golden Raisins (about 1/2 cup)
~1/2 cup of Pineapple (I cut up my own fresh pineapple, cube it and dice it up)
~3-4 tblspoons of sugar (you don't need much because the fruit will make it sweet enough)
~1 tsp of Vanilla
~1 tblspoon of Cinnamon (i like cinnamon so I may have used a little more)
~3-6 cups of bread (depending on how large your pan is)
~2 eggs

Directions:
~Melt your butter in a mixing bowl
~In a separate baking dish, slice/cube/tear your bread into the size you desire (toss it into the bottom).  It should come up a little higher than your dish.
~add your eggs, cinnamon, vanilla, sugar, milk into the mixing bowl with the melted butter... whisk them together
~stir in your pineapples and raisins
~pour the wet mixture over the bread and push it down until every piece is saturated
~let it sit for about 15 minutes
~sprinkle more cinnamon over the top (about 1 tsp) OR you can sprinkle on some brown sugar
~place a lid or foil over the top and let it bake for about 45 minutes
~remove the lid or foil and let it bake for an additional 15-20 minutes until it's golden brown
*it should be light and fluffy and spring back if you touch it with a spatula/spoon or whatever :-)*
~Let it cool for about 20 minutes before scooping out a serving

While it's cooling you can make a vanilla glaze/icing to put on top of each serving (i like to put it on top of each serving so that I can monitor the quantity).

Vanilla Glaze:
~Confectioner's sugar (about 3/4 cup)
~2% Milk OR Heavy Whipping Cream (liquid)... about 2 tblspoons
~a splash of Vanilla
~a little cinnamon
*Use a whisk to blend it together and make sure there are no lumps.  Feel free to add more milk or Confectioner's Sugar until you get it to the consistency that you'd like.

-You can add nuts (walnuts/pecans) and/or the fruit of your choice (Pineapple, Peaches, Strawberries, Raspberries, Cranberries, Blueberries, Bananas and etc...)

Let me know how it turns out!

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

My motivation for today's workout...


It's soooooo hot outside that it's enough to take you out!! After dropping the girls off at their coaches house to go swimming, I decided to get in an outdoor workout before INSNAITY. Well, 2 miles in I thought "what in the world did I get myself into??" OMGOSH!!! I wanted to cry, quit, or roll into the lake with the ducks! I pushed for 1 hour and then went straight home and completed INSANITY and nearly died. I burned 987 calories doing 115 minutes of INSANITY Day 51 (Max Interval Plyo) & 4.25 miles (jogged 2, powerwalked 2.25). No weight lifting today because I can barely lift my legs. I.AM.DONE!!!!!  Keeping this quote in mind while grinding it out REALLY helped to push me until the end :-)

Saturday, July 21, 2012

MOTIVATION!!!!


Just one of my motivations for burning 1096 calories doing 110 minutes of INSANITY Day 49 (Cardio Core & Balance), 2.35 mile sprints and 40 minutes of strength training today! Ahhhhh.... I promise you i'm on my way to this! Just watch :-)

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Truth Is...

Stumbled across this today on Pinterest and it couldn't be more true!!  Love this!

Monday, July 16, 2012

Showing the girl's some TLC...

I finally had a moment to show the girls' hair some TLC!!!  Life has been soooo hectic and on the go that I just couldn't find the time to just sit and play in my daughters' hair.  I really enjoy playing around with it and they enjoy it as well.  After my intense workout today (INSANITY, Strength Training and 2.25 miles on my treadmill) I decided to shampoo, condition, detangle and style their hair.  I kept the style simple and I plan to do a more intricate style in the days to come.  Here are a few quick pics of their hair...



Quick Update on the weightloss challenge... Well, i'm hanging tough and still seeing GREAT results. I always do insanity plus 2 or 3 additional workouts. I've been doing insanity for 43 days now and i've lost maybe 12-14 pounds... this is a result of burning 2300-2900 cals per day and eating 1250-1600 cals... I lost 2.5-3.5 pounds per week. Everyday i'm learning how diet and exercise go hand in hand.  You have to work hard at maintaining each one in order to be successful.  This challenge ends at the end of the month and I look forward to not weighing in again for a while.  Hardcore half marathon training begins in October.  I will continue to focus on my endurance and strength and learn how to use them wisely during my runs.  I'll continue to update as the time goes by~ 

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Month #2 Pics for the Weight Loss Challenge...

I just wanted to share my month #2 pics for the current weight loss challenge i'm in. I still have quite a few areas to work on but the weight and the inches are coming off and I feel great! I will post comparison pics at the end of the challenge. I have one more month to go and i'm going for broke!!! Pray hard 'cause a sista is working HARD!!!


~Excuse the workout hair.... i'm not trying to look cute when i'm going hard in my workouts.

As many of you know, I went on a family vacation but my health/fitness did not!! How did I lose almost 3 lbs prior to vacation and almost 2 1/2 lbs the week of vacation?? Well, I worked my butt off for the allotted time I gave myself to work out. I stuck to my plan of getting in INASANITY EVERY DAY, I walked for hours at amusement parks and around the resort, I cooked breakfast & lunch in my room EVERY DAY (dinner out was my splurge), I drank tons of water (I splurged with a cherry coke zero every now and then) and I had an average daily calorie burn of 2600... I ate between 1360-1600 cals/day and I documented every single thing that went into my body. There is no quick fix! Weight loss/fitness/health is a life long journey! Hard work & dedication must be implemented and your mindset has to be on point! You cannot allow yourself to deter away from your plans. Surround yourself with those who want to help make you better and just GO HARD!!!! If I can do this, ANYONE can. If you want it, GO GET IT!!!!!
This type of mindset will not happen over night.  It took me years of yo-yo'ing, trying different workouts, changing my diet (off and on), talking myself in and out of things, waivering back and forth and etc... before I finally told myself I was gonna do this and go all the way. It was in November 2011 when I finally decided I was going to make a change.  I started with walking on my treadmill and then I added in "30 Day Shred" by Jillian Michaels.  I then moved on to "Ripped In 30" by Jillian Michaels, P90X and now INSANITY!  I've also competed in two 5k races and I have plans to start to seriously train (in October) for a 1/2 marathon in February. I never would've thought i'd be 50+ pounds lighter this soon in my journey.  Here I am on Day 31 of INSANITY and i'm feeling stronger and stronger with each workout.  I still remember the first INSANITY workout when I was huffing, puffing, sweating and begging for mercy.  I still have those moments but I handle them differently.... I push harder!  
Hopefully by this time next month I will be 10 lbs lighter and posting about how I conquered INSANITY and won the weight loss challenge!  I promise to keep updating about my progress with hopes of encouraging someone to take that step toward a  being a better YOU!!!  
~blessings to you, always!  

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Back from vacation.... quick update



I'm finally back from vacation and i'm soooooo NOT happy about that.  We had a fabulous time and none of us wanted to come back.  My kids begged us to sell our house so that we can live at our resort.  LOL!!  Anyway, here we are back at home.  Hubby flies out to Europe later this evening so you know I have my work cut out for me this week.  Let's see.... i've been working my butt off during vacation.  I stuck to my plan (everything accept for the jogs around the resort).  I am proud to say that I completed week 4 of INSANITY and I had an average daily calorie burn of 2600!!!!! I documented everything that went into my body via MFP and stayed on track. I can't even begin to tell you how many miles/hours I walked but I got it in!!!  Hubby was so proud of me.  On the ride back home, I danced in the car for hours and when we stopped to gas up and eat I walked and did jumping jacks.  I burned close to 500 cals on the ride home doing that!  I plan to kick it up a notch in the following weeks while I press on and complete Insanity and increase my strength and endurance.  I'm going to work on toning my arms and mid section as well.  I can do this!  I'll keep you posted with my progress.

~Vacation pics are on the way.... stay tuned!