Parmesan Broccoli

Lately I have been trying to get more green foods into my life. I wish I could say I could eat them plain but I just can't seem to stomach them, therefore that leaves me trying to come up with creative ways to eat green foods. 

This is my family's new favorite way to eat broccoli. We love oh so much that we actually bought another big bag of broccoli for this week. 

On a side note - Nothing was truly measured for this

What you need:

Broccoli 

Tin filo (makes cleaning easy)

cookie sheet 

Cooking spray

Olive oil 

Parmesan cheese 

Gallon size ziplock bag

Instructions: 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1. Since our broccoli came with such big floats I trimmed them up and made them smaller. Than I placed all my broccoli in a gallon zip lock baggy. 

2. Add olive oil (just to coat the broccoli), Parmesan cheese, and whatever other seasonings you may like. We've tried Ms. Dash southwest chipotle and extra spicy. 

3. Line your cookie sheet with tin filo and spray with cooking spray (broccoli won't stick this way). Once you have mixed your broccoli with everything you want - lay flat on cookie sheet. Make sure not to double stack otherwise it could burn some of the broccoli. 

4. Bake about 30-40 minutes depending how you like your broccoli. Check frequently and flip over. 

5. Enjoy! 

Zucchini stuff with Mexican chicken mix + broccoli 

Let me know what you all think when you try it! 

Happy Monday Ya'll! 

What A Week + Blog Hop

Look at that.. Friday is upon us! We survived another week. My week was a usual week. Lots of work and running. The only one I truly enjoy is running but who does enjoy working?

Monday: It was back in the gym for me after having such an amazing weekend with my friend. I also started my 10 days of No Sugar detox . 

Work snacks.. I am thinking of maybe doing a post of what I eat. Would it be helpful to some?

Tuesday - Thursday kind of blend together. I worked and gym. Lately though I have been so tired, it's been a real struggle to get moving in the morning. 

This is my new go to drink besides water. Super amazing and only 1g of sugar. 

We finally tried Quinoa pasta and I can honestly say I liked it. It wasn't as bad as people made it sound but than again I have been eating whole wheat pasta for some time so it was no big deal to change it up. I honestly can't remember the last time I had white pasta

My sister made Chicken Pad Thai from Dashing Dish. It was super yummy. I made baked Parmesan broccoli (recipe to come) I ate that chicken dish for the next 2 days for lunch & dinner that is how much I loved it. 

Love snapchats from the hubby.. Don't I have the sexiest husband ever? 

Something about these songs and running = the best ever! I am learning the older I get the more I realize what a true friend is and how to be a true friend. 

and I can't end a post without announcing my birthday is 99 days away ( I took this yesterday). My goal is to lose my weight by my birthday so it's time to buckle down and get to it! It'll be here before I know it! 

Happy Friday ya'll!! 

don't forget to link my facebook page for my fitness journey

Don't forget to link up below and hop around too! 

The rules are simple. All you have to do is:
1.) Introduce yourself and follow atleast 3 people (remember the more people you follow and introduce yourself to, the more people will follow you and introduce themselves).
2.) Don't forget to leave the people that you are following a comment on their page so that they can follow you back you can be buds!
3.) Let others know on your page that you are linking up at the Cupcakes & Crossbones Blog with Cohost Wifesticated (and paste our cool cupcake mascot with linkup name into your post) so that others can join in on the fun as well.
4.) We would love you bunches, ok, we already do, but we would totally appreciate it if you follow the Cupcakes & Crossbones Blog as well as our Cohost's blog Wifesticated so that we can follow you back too!
5.) Also be sure to include your bloglovin, Instagram, twitter, and Facebook links in your post that you are linking up so that when others go to your page they can follow your bootay all over the place and you can follow them too!
Now Lets Party!

1. Cupcakes & Crossbones

2. Kerry @ Till Then Smile Often

3. Fitness Blondie

4. Lara@Cookies Cardio and Clothes

5. Chick Gettin Fit

6. After Eleven Blog

7. Summer Style: Baby Blue | Girl in Betsey

8. Leather & Lace & Kiki Smith: dearest darling

9. Jessica @ Wifesticated (Co-Host)

10. Makeup and Modifieds

11. tabitha @ a hundred tiny wishes

12. Raising The Roof's: OOTD: Pastels and Stripes

13. The Lives of Just Miss C: Friday Favorites

14. Natalie Patalie

15. June Gloom | Simple Accents

16. holymamamoly: Weekly Weigh-In & Instagram Update

The collection has closed. Let other people know about it through twitter.

10 Days Of No Sugar

Let me start this by saying I am not a nutritionist nor am I a professional in any matter of the health field (might in medical billing but that's it). Please consult a professional before doing any of these things I have/do mention. 

On to No Sugar Post... 

I am on this course of making a healthy lifestyle change. I am loving the ability to share my journey with all of you in hopes of inspiring someone even just one person. 

My sister and I met with our nutritionist back on her birthday and did she flip our world upside down for the better.

The next step in our program:
10 day detox of No Sugar 

I am the girl who loves Dr. Pepper, ice cream and cookies. This is very hard for me to give up but I know deep down it was time to break up. The good news is there is lots of support out there to survive the 10 days of sugar. 


pin

The worst part is reading ingredients on something you want to eat and seeing sugar listed more than one time yet it claims to be 0 sugar. 

Here are some of the words to look for on the ingredient list that at the end of the day is just sugar. 

*sucrose    *cane sugar  *Corn Syrup

* agave nectar *maltodextrin  *xylose  *HFCS 

*maltose *Raw Sugar *Honey *Palm Sugar 

* turbinado sugar *brown Sugar ++ lots more sugar

 names. 

I did give up my fruits and yogurt but you don't have 

too. Just try to limit your fruits in a day. Make them in 

the morning. Try to stick to green apples & 

Blueberries. 



So what have I been doing for these 10 days of no 

sugar. 

I am watching what I am eating. I am cooking at 

home a lot more. Cooking at home allows me to 

decide what ingredients I want in my food. Don't get 

me wrong, I haven't gone a full day without sugar. I 

am just limiting myself to about 5-10 grams a day in 

natural sugar.  



There you have it, my next step: No Sugar! 

Would you go 10 days without sugar?

Over Due Wedding Post

Welcome to Wednesday Right?? 

Can I start this post with how excited I am that I ordered the new Lorna Jane cook book yesterday? With that, I am hoping to have new recipes for you coming soon! It was my present for running 3 miles yesterday finally on the treadmill. 

This isn't a fitness post but a rather overdue wedding post. Thanks to Kelly for the link up. (I will one day finish recapping my wedding) Here are some of my favorite pictures/details of the wedding! 

My wannabe wedding shoes. Since I was getting married in grass and a long dress I decided to wear toms instead. 

My dress: The things I would give to put that back on and dance all night again! 

.

My beautiful flowers

First Look with my Daddy 

Alex's expression when he first saw me

The feelings of being a Princess. I loved my dress

It's our ID channel picture

The ceremony

The cake. My baker who was suppose to make my cake actually burned down 3 weeks before my wedding. So she referred me to another lady who made this cake. 

Smash the cake

One last group shot! 

I love my wedding. It truly was a fairy tale and amazing to see it all come together. I really need to finish recapping it all. My advice to brides to be.. make it about you & your future spouse. Keep an eye out for more wedding post as I think this just inspired me. 

Also, Friday I am cohosting an amazing blog hop/facebook/twitter/ and other social media link ups. Make sure to come by and link up and hop around

Happy Hump Day Ya'll

What An Amazing Week: Beach || Reenlistment || Fair || And More

I am sorry that I left you on Friday. Honestly, it was amazing to not stress and just enjoy the day off. If you follow me here , you would know we had a VERY big day.

Now let's back up to Wednesday afternoon. A good friend of mine from Virginia came out to visit, Michele. To say we had a great weekend is a bit of an understatement. I will let the pictures do all the talking. 

I love my new tank! 

Thursday Morning we took a 5 miles walk. The dog was even tired.

Her one of two requests was to put some sand between her toes

I told her, she is always more than welcome to come stay with me but we must go to Barre class.

Friday morning we were up early. Got dressed and headed down to base. Congratulations to my hubby for reenlisting in the Navy for another 6 years and big plans. I am looking forward to what the future holds for us in the military. 

dress: Kik La Rue 

After reenlistment, we went to breakfast. Took a nap. Than off to the Fair we went. Michele and my sister's boyfriend has never been.

Request #2: Get toe rings from the fair

+

Eat foot long sausages.

Win a goldfish and name it Virginia

Saturday she asked if we could bob around a pool all day with drinks in hand and that is exactly what we did. Thanks to my aunt & uncle for having us over.

Sunday: It was mani/pedicure kinda day + costco for a new waterproof camera. 

Overall my week was amazing with Michele visiting. Now it's time to get back to the grind of work and finding new foods to eat. 

My goal this week is to continue running Monday-Friday. Barre class twice a week. Drink only water. Eat just the food I have planned and no extra snacking. 

How was your week? 

I Am Fearless

As I sit here to write, I started to wonder when have I been fearless. To be honest, I think my whole life has been fearless but lately the one that sticks out the most to me is my new fitness journey. 

Now, I don't have a crazy story of it. I didn't lose 50lbs like Ms. Liz did! Which I am extremely proud of her hard work. All I started doing was moving. 

I would say my journey began last summer. I stepped on the scale and realized I gained 15 pounds from my honeymoon cruise. I immediately started browsing on how to lose those 15 pounds. I came across beach body. 

Beach body sounded amazing. You pick a program, do the workouts, eat a shake, and boom you lose weight. At least that's what I thought, but it didn't work like that. I did ChaLean Extreme during the summer. It worked but the scale didn't move. I was extremely upset. I was mad at myself. I turned to food. I turned to everything else but myself. 

October came and we went on our amazing anniversary/birthday cruise. I gained another 15 pounds. At first I just thought it was because of drinking and I would lose the weight once I stopped and started to drink water. Nope. My body hates me and didn't work like that. 

Now I sit 30 pounds heavier. The heaviest I have ever been in my entire life and it makes me extremely depressed. I have no one to blame. I have no one who can lose it for me. I need to do this for myself. I need to stop being fearful and step outside of my circle. 

This brings me to current, now I am meeting with a nutritionist and learning so much. I started barre classes and running. Running has become my new therapy. I try to run at least 2 miles a day Monday -Friday. Next thing, I am going to really take a look at my food. As they say, "you can't workout a bad diet"

I am going to be fearless to lose this weight. Fearless to find myself. Fearless to find happiness again. Fearless in doing more things for myself. Fearless to share the entire process with all of you in hopes of inspiring just one person just as Liz inspired me to get moving again. 

Next time we take family photos, I want to be able to notice the difference in the above photos and the new ones. 

How are you being fearless? 

I Confess

I confess... Yesterday wasn't really a mental break as it was just blogging wasn't a priority for me. 

I confess... that blue dress up there was only $8 at Ross and Sis bought it for herself but didn't realize it was a junior size 

I confess... I've been trying to avoid the fair all season, but we might give in and go Friday night since I have a friend in town whose never been 

I confess... this whole no sugar thing is HARD. Frickin' hard. I just want to give up 

I confess... I've been on this workout kick for sometime now but haven't lost weight. I am hoping by Beginning of August though I will notice a difference 

I confess... I shop a little too much and need to save way more. 

I confess...sometimes I think about throwing in the towel some days and just sit on the couch. 

I confess... I stole this idea from another blogger. Sorry not sorry. 

I confess...I want to quit the preschool at least until next year. I am over working there. 

I confess...I rather stay home on the weekends now than go out and party! 

I Confess... running is turning into my therapy

Mental Break

Today, I am taking a mental break. After talking with my instructor from my barre class last night, I learned that sometimes I just need to sit on the couch for hours on end watching reality crap and resting. 

For the first time in years, I slept in until 7:15am without even waking up once besides when the hubby left for work. I still manged to make it to the gym (even though I didn't want to). Thank goodness sister got the day off work and convinced me to go! It must of been a sign.

Now, I am going to focus the rest of the day on working at home. Getting my stuff done since I am a month behind, writing up my blog post for #befearless and a post about what I have been thinking about lately. Plus, I want to research more meal planning tips. Any tips would be great! 

Sorry for such a short post but time to go do what I need to do. 

Happy Tuesday!