Good Morning! More Cup cake cards, Fast and Healthy Lunch, Journey

Today I going to share with you two more Birthday cards using the new Cupcake stamp set and Cupcake Punch, show you a fast and healthy lunch idea and share some life tips!

Yesterday morning I had an appointment in Grand Rapids, Michigan which is 1 hour north of us. I had an appointment with my doctor who did the surgery for my Gastric By Pass. I had three other appointments with the Dietitian, Exercise Therapist, and the Behavioral Therapist.

I was there until 11:30 am. With the drive home, it made a long time from breakfast to lunch.  I planned ahead and took a protein bar and  two bottles of water. I always take water with me where every I go. It's less expensive than stopping and buying water and it's great to have on hand if I feel hungry . I drink some water and it helps me feel satisfied  until I can get home and fix a healthy snack or meal if it's meal time.

I ate the protein bar..it tasted so good. It was chocolate...yummy, my favorite. I never met any kind of chocolate I didn't like.

I needed some healthy foods so I stopped at Wal Mart on the way home. The dietitian suggested I try "Greek Yogurt". I bought 4 containers and man oh man, she was right...very yummy! I bought strawberry and blueberry. The yogurt is thicker and I felt like I was having a high calorie dessert. Each cost $1.00, has 130 calories and 11 grams of protein!! No fat. 11 grams of protein...that's twice as much as regular yogurt. I will definitely be buying more Greek Yogurt. You should be able to find it in the dairy section of your grocery store.

By the time I arrived home it was 1:30 p.m. I was feeling a little hungry...I've learned the hard way...not to let too much time pass between meals. There are times when I don't feel hungry but it's been 4 or 5 hours since I've eaten. I used to wait until I was really hungry and then I didn't take the time to prepare a healthy meal. I would grab something fast and easy. Now I eat before I feel like I could eat anything that wasn't nailed down!

Yesterday, I was tired, and hungry so I fixed a quick and healthy lunch. A grilled cheese sandwich, dill pickles and Greek Yogurt.

The sandwich and pickles filled me up so I waited for about a half an hour to eat the Yogurt.

Here is what I had for lunch yesterday. Be sure to check out the size of my plate.

Doesn't it look yummy? I cut up two large dill pickles, Used 2 slices of Kraft 2% milk cheese slices, 2 slices of Whole Grain bread.

Since of first of the year, I've been using Smart Balance instead of butter.  I love rye bread and this brand is whole grain so it has more fiber and it's better for me than white bread.

My mouth is watering right now when I look at those dill pickles. Dill pickles are great because they have almost no calories and add some good flavor to my sandwich meal.

Grilled Cheese Lunch Breakdown

        Calories    Fat   Protein

2-pieces for Rye Bread           180              2g       6g

2-slices Kraft 2% Milk          90         5g        8g

cheese

Smart Balance 2-tsp.             27          8g        0

Dill Pickles                             0           0          0

Greek Yogurt                       130          0         11g

__________________________________________________________________________________

Totals for Lunch                  427          21        25

This might seem a lot for one meal, but remember that a regular cheese burger from McDonald's has 300 calories!  My lunch is much more satisfying, less fat, much more healthy, and it filled me up.

Protein is the key to feeling satisfied not only at the time it is eaten but it keeps me satisfied longer and as a result, I don't have that feeling to go to the cupboard and look for "something" to eat. I've been using a lunch plate for my meals. It looks like I have more food and using my china makes me feel better than an old paper plate. I used to use plastic silver ware, paper plates and bowls, now I take the time to use my nice things. I feel that I'm worth it. Give using a smaller plate a try. It's all in the details....

Okay...on to other things...More Cupcake Cards

I used my favorite  In Color, Cherry Cobbler as the card base and to highlight section where the cupcakes are, and tied it all in with one Cherry Cobbler cupcake liner and the cherry on top of the very top cupcake. For this card, the only stamping was for the sprinkles on the cupcakes. I used Pear Pizzazz card stock and Pear Pizzazz seam binding .Chocolate Chip and Regal Rose card stock add interest to the card and Chocolate Chip sprinkles. To give the 3-D effect. I used Stampin' Up! Dimensionals on each layer. I used the new stamp set Create a Cupcake for the sprinkles,and the punch Build a Cupcake Punch from the Occasions Mini. Both the punch and the stamp set can be found on page 22 of the Occasions Mini.

For this card I toned it down a little and wanted it to be appropriate for a little girl's first birthday. Card base is Not Quite Navy, the first layer is Very Vanilla that I ran through the Big Shot using the Texturz Plate, Perfect Details. I used Blushing Bride for the Top Note, I ran it through the Big Shot using the Textured impressions embossing folder, Square Lattice, Very Vanilla  5/8" Satin Ribbon, Regal Rose and Pear Pizzazz card stock. I added a Blushing Bride Glimmer Brad from the In Color collection.

I really like how both cards turned out. It's always nice to have a couple of birthday cards on hand.
Check back and see what's happening...Tomorrow is Blog Candy for the month of January! Don't miss out on the chance of winning this!
I hope you found some ideas or hints or just enjoyed reading my ramblings..remember if you have any questions, email me at:
janegiggy@comcast.net
Happy Stamping!
Jane