Alright, so the moment of truth has arrived this week and I’m disappointed to say that my weight has stayed the same. However, this came to me at no surprise so I can’t really be that disappointed about it.

How was this not a surprise you ask? Well, my “cheating” got a little out of hand last weekend and I guess you could say early this week too (late night nut consumption.) Although I’m not cheating on horrible things like chips or cookies, overdosing on nuts and raisins isn’t that much better when you’re on a mission. This is a perfect example of how overeating healthy foods can still weaken your weight-loss efforts. Now, it’s obviously better to be eating foods that have nutritional value, but when it boils down to it nuts have a lot of fat (good fat) and raisins have a lot of sugar (natural sugar) so when you combine those in proportions big enough to cause a stomach ache, the results will not be satisfactory.

To point out the positive angle of all this, I have managed to maintain my three pound weight-loss, kept up with my workout routine and have been eating better-for-me foods overall.  Also, this little bump in the road will motivate me further to not grab that extra handful of peanuts while watching Revenge tonight.

On a lighter note, I finally made my decision on what dessert(s) I want to make for Thanksgiving. The first is a small variation to Martha Stewart’s “Chocolate-Glazed Pumpkin Cookies.” Instead of glazing with chocolate, I’m going to glaze with cinnamon cheesecake frosting made from scratch.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour ( I will probably substitute with whole wheat pastry flour)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin-pie spice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 can (15 ounces) pure pumpkin puree

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin-pie spice, and salt; set aside.
2. Using an electric mixer, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg; beat until smooth. With mixer on low speed, alternately add flour mixture in two parts and pumpkin puree in one, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until combined (do not over mix).
3. Drop dough by heaping tablespoons onto two baking sheets, about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until puffed and edges are golden, 15 to 20 minutes, rotating sheets once during baking. Immediately transfer cookies to wire racks, and cool completely.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

• 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/4 C (half stick) butter, room temperature
• 1 t vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon (add more to taste)
• 2-3 C powdered sugar (add more or less to make it a stiffness that you like)

1. Mix cream cheese and butter well.
2. Add vanilla and cinnamon.
3. Add powdered sugar.

Read more: http://www.cupcakeproject.com/2008/09/cinnamon-cream-cheese-frosting-recipe.html#ixzz1dt0C3HHk

The second is an Ice-Cream Pumpkin Pie. Who doesn’t love ice-cream?!

Ingredients

• 18 graham cracker boards
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar
• 1 pint chocolate chip ice cream, softened
• 1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened
• 1 cup solid pack pumpkin
• Chocolate curls for garnish, optional

It’s Hump Day, hooray!! A quick update on my workout(s) last night. As you know, I wasn’t really up to par yesterday, and I almost let myself get away with it until I received some encouraging messages from George, a good friend of mine.

When I get home from work I’m usually hungry, but I didn’t want to eat dinner right then because I tend to get the lazy-girl syndrome after that, so instead I ate a de-licious Kind Bar – gluten free to boot. If you’ve never had one or heard of it , it’s a fruit and nut bar that’s far better for you than any protein bar (in terms of ingredients.) I had the apple cinnamon and cashew one – so good!! It was just enough food to give me energy for my upcoming three mile run. I ran it outside – as it was around 70 degrees and perfect. As I was running, I couldn’t believe how “fast” I was going and I didn’t even stop for walk breaks. I kept telling myself “you got this” and apparently I was right because I completed the run in 32 minutes – my fastest time ever – averaging a 10:39 min/mile. Usually, I’m around 11:30 min/mile. I went from wanting to go straight to sleep to running my fastest three mile run -incredible how that works. It doesn’t stop there peeps. Somehow, I also managed to make it through an hour of Zumba and abs for a grand total of an hour and 30 minutes of exercise! Yep, it’s possible!

That being said, it’s also pretty amazing how exercise affects your energy. As I stated in my last post – to regain your energy you need to be active (even when you are tired as hell.) True story – today I woke up thirty minutes earlier than usual and had energy prior to drinking some coffee. Miraculous. The moral of this story is that, “a body in motion stays in motion” so get moving!!!

Moving on to the interesting stuff. I came across this recipe last week and practically salivated as I read the title.  As I was reading the ingredients I noticed “Pumpkin Butter” and had no idea what that was or at least I had never heard of it before. Being the curious cat that I am, I researched it and found that it’s incredibly easy to make on your own.

I chose to try this recipe from Eating Bird Food’s Blog.

Maria’s Homemade Microwave Pumpkin Butter

• Scant 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon clove
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups (15 oz) canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling mix)

I don’t really know anyone that’s not a fan of potatoes – in any form. I heard about “mock” mashed potatoes a few years back, but never took the time to try them, so I figured this is a perfect opportunity to share my experience and hopefully get you to try them too!

Basically, in order to create this dish, you replace potato with cauliflower. Sounds like an odd substitute, but I can totally see how this can be delicious. The plus side is the texture/color is similar and it’s much more figure-friendly.

I did some research and decided on this recipe from Foodnetwork.com: (I suggest you watch the video too).

Ingredients:

• 1 medium head cauliflower
• 1 tablespoon cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/8 teaspoon straight chicken base or bullion (may substitute 1/2 teaspoon salt)
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh or dry chives, for garnish
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions:

• Set a stockpot of water to boil over high heat.
• Clean and cut cauliflower into small pieces. Cook in boiling water for about 6 minutes, or until well done. Drain well; do not let cool and pat cooked cauliflower very dry between several layers of paper towels.
• In a bowl with an immersion blender, or in a food processor, puree the hot cauliflower with the cream cheese, Parmesan, garlic, chicken base, and pepper until almost smooth.
• Garnish with chives, and serve hot with pats of butter.
• Hint: Try roasting the garlic and adding a little fresh rosemary for a whole new taste.

I’m going to make this tonight, take pictures and let you know if this was a success. I urge you to try it too and tell me what you think! On the fashion front, I’m really excited about my new purchases (black leather riding boots and a cable knit sweater) there are more, but if I list them all my mother might kill me. So, I’ll stick to these two… for now

Yup, this was taken at work in our conference room.

Leather Riding Boots: Enzo Angiolini $100 from $200

I don’t think I love anything more than a good bargain. It really is a problem. I just can’t seem to justify spending full price on items when I know they will be almost half-off in a few months! There are always a few exceptions to the rule though… for instance, going to Paris and buying a vintage Chanel handbag from a cute little boutique hidden in a secret cobblestone pathway perhaps. Hey, a girl can dream…