Hey girls!  It’s that time again….step on those scales because it’s Think Thin Thursday!

I know that most of you are not actually from New Orleans, but I wanted to share with you that the Got Milk? Mustache Mobile Tour will be rolling into the French Quarter Festival on April 18th and 19th.   The tour will be focusing on the wellness benefits of milk and each event will have a Wellness Beverage Center where people can sample local processor milk and lowfat smoothies.  Families can also take a picture with Milk Mustaches!

Here is a great lowfat recipe using milk!

Vanilla-Banana Soothie Smoothie

Ingredients

• 2 cups lowfat or fat free milk
• 1 cup lowfat vanilla yogurt
• 2 large bananas
• Dash vanilla extract
• 1 cup ice cubes
• Fresh mint leaves for garnish (optional)

Directions

• In a blender container combine all ingredients,   except mint
• Blend until smooth, about 20 seconds
• Pour into glasses
• Garnish with a fresh mint leaf if desired

Serving Size

Makes 4 servings, 4 ounces of milk per serving.

Nutrition
180 calories; 4.5 g fat; 1 g saturated fat; 10 mg cholesterol; 7 g protein; 28 g carbohydrate; 2 g fiber; 85 mg sodium; 200 mg calcium (20% DV). Nutrition figures based on using fat free milk.

Visit whymilk.com for more recipes ideas!

Ok, down to business!  The winner of the YoPlait Prize pack was LeAnna!

This week’s task:

Make sure you blog about your goals for the week and include a link back to The Not-So-Blog!  Describe your favorite low-calorie smoothie/drink and include a recipe if you like!

Make sure you sign the Shrinky Linky if you accomplished your goals this week!  Try to visit the other participants and offer encouragement and kind words!

I hope you all found your way to my new site!  How do you like the new look?

I figure since my blog has a new look, so should I so….I am officially back on the bandwagon.  I didn’t take a picture of my scale this week, but let me tell you, it was NOT pretty.  I am trying not to let it get me down because I know that I have lost the weight before, I can do it again!

My friend April at Just Typical Life and I have preordered this book and I wanted to share it with you!  Right now, Hungry Girl is taking preorders for the April 14th release of her new book, “200 Recipes under 200 Calories.“  I am so excited to get some more recipes that will help me reach my goal.

This week’s task: Make sure you blog about your goals for this week!  Do you have a favorite cookbook or magazine where you find new healthy recipes?  Where do you find your cooking inspiration?

Did you achieve you goals last week? Make sure to sign the Shrinky Linky because I have a GREAT prize for you this week!  One winner will be selected from the Shrinky Linky to receive the Yoplait prize pack described in this post!

The winner of the Clorox Wipes was:

Teresa

Please send me your shipping address and I will make sure to get those coupons to you soon!

Good Luck this week!!

Party week is OVER! The balloons have been popped, the cake has been eaten, and the presents unwrapped. It is time to get serious again, ladies. In my spare time (ha ha!), I am a Dance Instructor and my studio has picture day in less than 3 weeks. This means, I must put on a costume and tights and actually take pictures…..of myself……in the costume…..alone…..yikes.

So, my goal for the week is to cut back on the fast food. I will take my lunch to work 3 days this week in order to cut down on the temptations.

Task of the Week: Go to the website of your favorite Fast Food restaurant and tell me a healthy alternative sold there. What do you order if you HAVE to eat out?

Did you accomplish your goals for the week? If so, please sign the Shrinky Linky below in order to be eligible for a chance to win 2 FREE boxes of Clorox Wipes!

Let me start by taking care of some business: Vickie won the Tyson coupons from last week! Please email me at notsoblog@gmail.com! CONGRATS!

All these birthdays are KILLING me! Aubrie’s party is on Sunday, so once the last piece of cake is gone, I am getting back on the weight-loss bandwagon. Really. I mean it. If you could only see the dance costume I have to wear for pictures at the end of March, you would realize the desperation! LOL!

Task of the week: Find me an inspirational quote! It doesn’t HAVE to be weight loss related, just something that inspires you and keeps you motivated. Also, make sure you are BLOGGING about your goals and LINKING back to my site.

Next week, come back and tell me about your success! Sign the Shrinky Linky for a chance to win a coupon for a FREE box of Clorox Disinfecting Wipes Decor Canister!

Ok girls, I am so sorry for being MIA on Think Thin Thursdays! If you follow my blog, you have probably read the mishaps of the last 2 weeks. But, I am BACK! I hope you are all sticking with me!

As a reward for those of you that have stuck it out, I have a great prize for you! Did you read the Tyson edition of Think Thin Thursday? They have some really great healthy and EASY recipes! If you have been sticking to your weight loss plans and would like to continue with Think Thin Thursdays, go ahead and sign the Shrinky Linky no later than Saturday, February 28th at 11:59pm CST. One winner will receive TWO coupons for a free Tyson product! Just take it to any grocery store to redeem!

Task for the Week: Give me an update! Enough about me, I want to know YOUR successes over the past weeks! It’s time to toot your own horn!

I plan to weigh in next week and face the music. I will get back on track!! Good Luck, girls!

I will be a little late posting TTT. It will go up tonight, I promise (things have been a bit crazy here)! And I have a great prize for those that sign the Shrinky Linky!

Is it Thursday ALREADY?? This weeks Think Thin Thursday post is brought to you by Tyson Fully Cooked Chicken Breast and Steak Strips!

In order for me to stay on track (which has REALLY been hard the last few weeks), I absolutely MUST be prepared for the week and have EASY dinner recipes on the menu. You know that FAST does NOT always equal EASY, so I struggle to find a happy medium.

Fortunately, Tyson wanted to share with my readers some great new recipes with their Fully Cooked Chicken and Steak Strips that are fast, easy, AND healthy! These recipes were created by Food Network Host Robin Miller exclusively for Tyson Foods. How can you go wrong?!?

Tyson says, “The strips are lean, non-breaded, recipe-ready protein that dramatically cuts down on preparation time, giving busy families a lighter, quicker and more convenient dinnertime solution. Great for time-honored classic dishes and family favorite meals, Tyson® Fully Cooked Chicken and Steak Strips are an excellent source of protein that makes cooking light, delicious meals a snap.“

I thought I would share with you all the recipe that I will be trying this week:

Chicken Parmesan Casserole (serves 4, prep time=30 minutes)

Ingredients

1 pound whole wheat pasta

2 packets (6 ounces each) Tyson® Fully Cooked Grilled Chicken Breast Strips

¾ cup prepared no-salt added tomato sauce (pasta sauce or pizza sauce)

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, regular or part-skim

3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons Panko bread crumbs

Pinch salt and ground black pepper

Preparation Instructions

1. Cook whole wheat pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
3. Arrange chicken breast strips in the bottom of a shallow baking dish. Pour tomato sauce over the chicken and sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the tomato sauce.
4. In a small bowl, combine the parmesan cheese and bread crumbs. Mix well and sprinkle the mixture over the mozzarella cheese.
5. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the top of the casserole is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly, and season to taste with salt and black pepper. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
6. Divide whole wheat pasta among four individual bowls, spoon casserole mixture over the top and serve.

Your Task for the week: Visit Tyson’s Product page and tell me which product you could incorporate into a healthy meal for you and your family!

How did y’all do this week? I can’t wait to visit your blogs and see your success stories! If you accomplished your goal this week, make sure you sign the Shrinky Linky below! Don’t forget to blog about your goals for the upcoming week!

If you accomplished your goal this week, you may choose ANY active contest on my blog and have 5 free entries! Just leave 5 comments on the giveaway post you want to enter (ie…just write Think Thin Thursday Entry 1, Entry 2, Entry 3, etc.)

Good Luck this week!

Let me just get this out of the way: My lack of motivation has continued. I am not even willing to step on the scale this week because honestly, I don’t think it’s good for me today. If it’s gone up, I may just give up and that is not what I want to do. So, please forgive me, but I am skipping the weigh in this week.

I hope you guys have some motivating stories for me this week! Tell me how great you have done and why I should get out of my funk and get with the program! Don’t forget to blog about your success (or obstacles) and include your goals for the upcoming week. If you met your goal for THIS week, please sign the Shrinky Linky so we can all give you a virtual “pat on the back!”

Because Valentine’s Day is coming up, I know it will be hard not to over-indulge on the sweets. My friend, April over at Just Typical Life shared these links with me today and I thought they both looked like fabulous ideas for Valentine’s desserts!

The first link comes from Hungry Girl who has a great way to make a low calorie Chocolate Lava Cake!

And if you aren’t in the mood for baking, try these (almost ready to eat) Betty Crocker Warm Delight Minis. They are only 150 calories!

Your task for this week:
Share your favorite low calorie dessert! What should I be looking for at the grocery store?

My favorite are the Skinny Cow ice cream cones! The little morsel of chocolate at the bottom is worth the wait!

Good Luck this week, ladies! I promise to get back on the bandwagon!

Why is it that BOTH of my children have odd reactions to the McDonald’s logo? Are the Golden Arches really THAT disturbing?
I once wrote a post about the Golden Arches being the universal symbol for “I have to potty.” Every time Lily sees the logo, she MUST stop and potty. It’s like she is writing a book about the best McDonald’s bathrooms!

Every Tuesday is McDonald’s night in my house. Lily has dance class and on the way home, we always stop to order a Happy Meal for dinner. The MINUTE we pull into the drive-thru, Aubrie sees the McDonald’s sign and starts to cry. It’s getting old. Even Lily is tired of hearing Aubrie scream for 10 minutes straight as we wait in line (it’s never fast).

Tonight, as Aubrie was performing her regular banshee yell in line, Lily tried lying to her little sister by telling her that we were actually at Burger King. LOL! It didn’t work. Aubrie’s too smart for that!

Why is it that when I get so close to a goal, I sabotage my efforts? I cut myself a little slack, which turns into a LOT of slack, which turns into swimming in a giant pit of McDonald’s french fries. Ugh.

Here’s the ugly truth….don’t look directly at the scale, or maybe if your squint it will change the numbers somehow….

I gained 1.8 pounds. What is wrong with me?!? I knew it would be bad because this week was insanely busy and I didn’t follow the diet AT ALL. So, I need some motivation. HELP! Somebody give me a “virtual” kick in the pants!

Don’t forget: Place the Think Thin Thursdays button in your sidebar! We are always open to new members, so encourage your friends to join us! Make sure you blog about your weekly goals!

This weeks task: What is YOUR motivation? Is it a pair of skinny jeans, a sexy black dress, a bathing suit, or simply being there for your kids? Blog about what keeps you motivated or better yet, show us a picture!

Did you meet your goals this week? Sign the Shrinky Linky! I am working hard to secure some prizes for the upcoming weeks, so you don’t want to miss out!

Good Luck this week!!
Till Thursday……..