Chicken & Strawberry Spinach Salad with Lemon-Poppyseed Dressing

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Hey y'all. Just a quick post to tell you about one of my favorite summer recipes. This will be great for any end of summer get togethers you might be having this holiday weekend. I love to eat it all summer and it comes in at a whopping 4 Weight Watchers Point+ Points, 5 if you add a tspn of toasted almonds to your serving. It's actually under 4 because that number is based on 1 tblspn of Oil and this will yield enough dressing for about 4 salads.

Every time I make this for get togethers, I bring home an empty salad bowl. :)

Chicken-Strawberry Spinach Salad with
Lemon-PoppySeed Dressing

Here's what you'll need-
Chicken Breasts (I cook 4)
Spinach (I used the pre-washed bag kind because it was just the easiest)
Fresh strawberries (about 1 1/2 cups, but really I just get a large strawberry basket, and use most of them)
Cucumber- medium 1/2 -1

For the dressing-
1 Lemon
2 tspn White Vinegar
1 tblspn Vegetable Oil
1 tsp Poppy Seeds
Splenda to taste (I usually just add a few packets. I used to make this with sugar, but it's just as good if not better with the Splenda and it stays mixed up better and not as gritty)

This recipe is really so simple, you won't believe it!
Here's what you do-

Grill your chicken breasts. I used my Foreman because it was quick and easy.  While they're cooking, clean and slice your strawberries and your cucumber. I usually wash and spin my spinach even though it says it's pre-washed. I'm a little OCD about clean spinach.

Then mix your dressing-
Roll your lemon around on your counter to soften it up. If it's not particularly soft you can nuke it for 10-15 seconds and it'll juice up for you like crazy. Grate your lemon gently so you have peel and not pith (no-one wants a bitter dressing). Cut your lemon in half and juice it. I used Pampered Chefs Mix and Pour dressing container because I used to be a consultant and I love how it keeps dressings fresh and mixed. To the Lemon Juice add your Vinegar, Oil, and Poppy Seeds. Mix well and then add Splenda to mixture until you have reached your desired sweetness. I put a lot in the picture but I really only used a few.


Once your Chicken has finished cooking, Cube it into bite -sized pieces. Put your Spinach, Chicken, Strawberries and Cucumbers in a large bowl and toss gently until mixed well. Place onto individual plates. Mix your dressing and pour onto the individual portions. Top with Slivered Almonds if desired.

Next is the best part...Enjoy! This is a fresh, bright, tasting salad that gives you protein/meat, fruit, and vegetables all in one serving. You could even add some cheese like a Blue Cheese or Gorgonzola and get a little dairy in as well. Just know that will increase your Points Values.

I hope you give this salad a try. I'm sure you'll enjoy it! If you try it I hope you'll let me know what you thought. If you'd like to +1 or Pin this recipe I've put the buttons here on my blog for your convenience. Followers are always welcome too!

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated! Till next time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Take Care,
Shan

*Recipe adapted from Pampered Chef.*

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Mid-Week Motivation / State of Grace

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Hey y'all. Happy Wednesday. I hope you're having a great week and that if you're in Isaac's way that God keeps you and yours safe.


Last week's Mid-Week Motivation  was about finding beauty not in perfection but in imperfections. This week's post is along similar lines. Earlier this year, as I was going through my reader feeds I saw a piece of framed artwork on one of the sites that spoke to me. I put it as my screen saver so I would see it everyday and be reminded of it's message. It seemed very simple and I thought I could probably do something similar on my own. Here's what I came up with-

What a great thought, don't you think? I don't remember the name of the stamp set in MDS2+, if you're interested let me know. I totally forgot about the whole project list feature or I would have added it. :( 

I don't know about you, but this is something I struggle with constantly. I thought this might be a way to remind myself Perfection is not necessary, in a pretty way. :)

Here's the original-

What do you think? I think it's pretty close to the original. Maybe I'll add some little pearls to the inside of mine for a little extra something.


Well, that's all I have for you today. I hope you liked it and I hope it inspires you. I love hearing from you, so if you have comments or questions about today's project, I hope you have just a moment to leave a comment. I read them all and they really do make my day. If you'd like to +1 or Pin it, I've put the buttons on my blog for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome too! :)

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated! Till next time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,

Shan

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Weekly Weigh in

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Hey y'all. It's Tuesday and for me that means another week has passed and it's time for an update. Before I do that though I just want to say my thoughts and prayers are with everyone dealing with Hurricane Isaac.

This has been a tough week for me. After getting new shoes and running in them last week for a total of 2 hours I am barely able to walk. I went back to the running store I bought them at and was re-fitted and given a new pair, but the most I have been able to walk was 11 minutes today and I'm paying for that now. My arches hurt so bad, the entire arch from the ball of my foot to the front of my heel pad, that if I had the money I would actually go to my Orthopod and request Cortisone Shots in both arches. I don't know if you've ever had cortisone shots before but they hurt bad enough when it's just in a joint, but when it's in a spot where there's simply no space for the fluid they're injecting it's absolutely excruciating and I have a high pain tolerance. I once had Cortisone shots in both heel pads a week before going to Disney so my bone spurs wouldn't bother me as much. I spent almost the whole weekend with my feet up. I didn't even go down in to the studio to stamp. You know I'm hurting when I don't want to take a flight of steps down to stamp. :(
I have a Medrol Dose Pack (steroid pack) at home that I'm going to try. I meant to start them last night and forgot till it was too late. I wouldn't have slept a wink if I'd taken them when I finally thought about them. It's been a full week now without exercise and it's making me nutz on top of the pain.

At any rate I was hoping to be down more this week and was hoping to hit 20 by this coming Sunday (3 months), but that isn't going to happen now. :'(

Here's this week's numbers-

As you can see, only 19 exercise points but at least I didn't use any of my extra points. I'm going to have to be extra careful with those the next few weeks.

Here's the tale of the scale- (Ha! I'm a poet and didn't know it! LOL)

Down another 1.2 for a total of 16.8. Now if I could just get some exercise in.

That's all I have for you today. I hope you'll come back tomorrow. I've got a new Mid-Week Inspiration for you.

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated! Till next time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,

Shan

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Mid-Week Motivation / Letting Go of Perfection...A Constant Struggle

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Hey y'all. Happy Thursday! Just one more day until the weekend. Woo-Hoo!!!

If you follow my "main" blog you probably saw this on Monday. I thought it would be a good fit for this blog's "Mid-Week Motivation" as well. I don't know about you, but I often feel the need to be "perfect" or if not "perfect" than at least as close to it as possible. I know this is not a realistic goal and yet that still seems to be the underlying motivator in just about everything I do. Stronger, Harder, Faster is not just an Olympic idea. Once I decide to do something I'm all in. The frustrating part is when I'm not able to do things to high caliber I set for myself. This blog for example. I started it with the goal of a few entries a week. For the most part I've managed to stick with it, but there have been a couple of "missed" posts. This is very frustrating to me and drives me nutz! Even though I realize, rationally, that working a full-time job, having not one but two home-based independent business on top of that (daily work) and having 5 blogs (yes 5) that I contribute to, one that's 5-7 times/week and the others as often as possible, is a lot for anyone. It still frustrates me when I'm unable to get everything done, to the standard that I wish it done to. Lets not even think about just Me-Time.

Sometimes I need to just stop and remind myself that I don't need to be perfect. If I don't run for 2 hrs/day I'm not going to suddenly be fat and unattractive. If a blog post doesn't get written, I'm going to lose whatever followers I might have. Truth be told the blogs are for me. They're a creative outlet and a stress reliever. It's a good thing that's how I choose to look at them because if you've ever had a blog you know that even a quick, simple post will easily take you 30-60 minutes. A friend of mine had a picture on their FB page a few months back and the beauty of the image struck me. What struck me the most was how beautiful it was for the simple fact that it was not "perfect". It was in fact a mutation, an imperfect specimen. I knew then that I wanted to do something with a similar type image. Here's what I came up with-

I created this with My Digital Studio and simply added the photo. I think I'm going to have it printed and hang it where I can see it often to remind myself of this simple fact.

That's all I have for you today. I hope it speaks to you like it does to me. If nothing else I hope you enjoy the  simple beauty of it.

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated! I hope you'll come back soon. Till next time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,

Shan

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Weekly Update

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Hey y'all. Happy Humpday! I hope you're having a great week so far! Just wanted to check in real quick. Sorry I missed yesterday's weekly check in. Gonna get you caught up though.

Here's the numbers for last week. See that "0" weekly? Those are my "bonus"  points, freebies if you will. Normally I try not to use them at all and if I do it's only a few of them. I have never used them all! That's called being taken out to dinner at The Olive Garden and eating leftovers for 3 days. Lol! Not only that, but for the first time since I started I used some exercise points. (Do you ever want to spell exercise "excercise"?) I do it all the time. What, am I in 4th grade? *SMH* Anyways, I don't believe in denying myself so I enjoyed the food and sucked it up. I am running 2 hours/day 5-6 days a week. I should be able to enjoy myself on occasion right?

So, I was worried about the weigh in -

Check it out... down another 1.2 for a total of 15.6 lbs since I started 10 weeks ago. Woo-Hoo! Just 4.4. more for 20 lbs down and 10% loss. I was hoping to have that knocked out in the next 2 weeks but now I'm not so sure. I got new running shoes last week and after 2 days of running can barely walk. So disappointing. It's the first time I've ever had Nike's that I didn't like. Also a shame to pay $136 for shoes and not be able to wear them. Luckily, I got them at a running store and I went back and was fitted with some different shoes yesterday and after $10.00 more have my first pair of Asics. I remember they used to be called "Tigers" when I was selling them a bazillion years ago. Hitting the Advil hard today and no running. Hopefully tomorrow I can get in a few short runs. We'll see. Maybe I can hit the elliptical instead for the next few days.

That's all I've got for you today. Hope you have a great one and hope to see you back here soon. I'll be back tomorrow with my Mid-Week Inspiration.

Till next time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,

Shan

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A Tasty Treat For You

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Hey y'all. Happy Wednesday! I hope you're having a great week!

Just wanted to share a recipe with you real quick. Do you "Pin"? I do. One of the things I love to Pin  is yummy things to eat. Even better if they're yummy and healthy or at least a healthier version. I saw some cupcakes on there the other day that I just had to try. Now I know that not everything on Pinterest comes out like they say it will, but on the off chance that this would work, I had to try.

Here's what I made-

Vanilla Funfetti Cupcakes 2 W.W. Points+

Yum! I wish I had some more. They were so good. They almost flew out of my Cupcake Carrier and no-one could believe they were only 2 W.W. Points + points.

Here's the original Pin-

I'm not sure how they got their frosting to look so white, because mine was definitely more yellow in color, but Ooooohhhh were they delish!

You can tell I'm not a food blogger, because there is invariably something I forget to take a picture of. This time it's of all the ingredients and of the frosting. *SMH* Sorry. I normally blog cards. :)

This is so simple and takes a whopping 4 ingredients. Yep, I said 4. So make sure you run by the store tonight on your way home and you'll have yummy cupcakes in no time that you won't even feel bad about eating.

Here's what you need- 1 Package of Funfetti Cake Mix, (just the mix not all the other stuff it says you need), 1- 12 oz can of Sprite Zero, 1 tub of Fat Free Cool-Whip ( I used the generic brand because it was on sale) and 1 Package Fat Free/Sugar Free Vanilla Instant Pudding. That's it. You're probably pretty skeptical right about now. I know I was, but I figured the worst that could happen was I'd be out a few bucks so why not try.

Now I had seen plenty of other posts with soda cakes and the like but even though they were on sites like Cookies and Cups (which I totally love) I just hadn't been in need of one of these when I saw it so it kinda got pushed tot he back of my mind.

Here's what you do- 

1- Preheat your oven and get busy mixing.

2- Mix your Sprite into your cake mix. *Tip* Use a spoon or hand mixer not a wire whisk. Ask me how I know. At first your batter will be very lumpy (it will clump up in your whisk). Just continue to add the Sprite in slowly while mixing and have a little faith. Eventually you will get a nice smooth batter-

I tried not to taste too much, but since it didn't have any raw eggs in it I didn't feel too bad about licking the bowl. :)

 

Next scoop into your lined cupcake tin-

Bake according to the directions. I don't remember exactly but I think it was about 18-20 minutes.

While your tasty little morsels are rising up all fluffy-like, mix your frosting. To do this mix your pudding mix and whipped topping together. I used my hand mixer for this. *Tip* let your topping thaw slightly. It will mix much easier if it's not frozen when you try this.

Once your cupcakes are cool, frost them with your frosting and enjoy. *Tip* Have faith in the frosting. I wasn't convinced it wouldn't run off my cupcakes during the night because of the whipped topping so I didn't frost all of them until the next morning. The frosting had "set-up" by that time and was difficult to spread. It still tasted good, but they didn't look as good as the one I frosted right after I made them to photograph. Next time I will definitely frost them all as soon as the cupcakes have cooled.

 I think next time I try these I'm going to make them with Diet Sunkist (orange). I think they'll be cool for Halloween and I bet they'll taste great too!

I hope you'll give these a try. I know you're going to love them. They came out like and fluffy and super moist. I liked them better than the regular funfetti cupcakes.

Till next time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,

Shan

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Mid-Week Motivation

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Hey y'all. Trying to get back on track with posting here. This is my second of 5 blogs and the 2 of 3 I try to update on a regular basis. Hope you'll stick with me.

Here's this week's motivational thought-

Isn't this a beautiful picture, and a beautiful thought.

My exes have often said I just won't let go of something once I set my mind about it. Guess that's not such a bad thing after-all! LOL!!!

Keep the faith and keep on pushing through. Just think of the Amazing things you might be able to do.

That's all I have for you today. I am really going to try to get back this week with a new recipe for you. I've got a few and I'm baking a new one this weekend. Maybe I can get it posted next week. :) Thanks so much for taking time out of your day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated!

Till next time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,
ShanPin It

Weekly Weigh In

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Hey y'all. Happy Humpday! I'm a day late here but at least I'm here right? I went in for my weigh in Sunday morning and had a very happy surprise. Love when that happens! :)

Here's the run-down from last week-

As you can see, I had a little less exercise this past week. I didn't feel good for a few days, so I was really careful about what I ate.

It paid off, because this is what I got when I stepped on the scale-

Yep. Down 2.4. I'll definitely take that!

I averaged 13,346 steps/day.

Keep the faith in yourself and don't stop trying!

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are appreciated! Till next time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storm to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,
Shan


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Weekly Update

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Hey y'all. Sorry this is late. I've had a busy week and when it would have normally updated this I wasn't feeling good. :(

Here's this week's tracker- (note- this would normally have been posted on Tuesday)

I managed to keep up with my exercise this past week. I was not happy with that .8 loss and wanted to make sure that didn't happen again.

I averaged 14,755 steps/day. Yea Me!!!!

Nothing but the M-F runs for exercise. I need to see about remedying that. I'm sure it will not hold much longer.

Here's the weigh-in- (Remember the dates are always wrong. I weigh in on Sundays but it automatically sets it back to the previous Tuesday which is the day I originally started my weigh-ins on.)

Down another 1.2. I'm really glad because that takes me below a "10" lb mark (the 90's) and gives me a total of 11.2 down.

I hope you all are having a great week and have a fabulous weekend. I'll try and be on time with everything next week. Oh and I've got a few new recipes to share soon too!

Thanks so much for stopping by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated! Till next time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,
ShanPin It