So I’ve been pretty MIA with school starting, apologies. 

For some reason, even though I was eating really well and dancing 3-4x per week, I actually GAINED 5-6 pounds in September! I feel really terrible and have had a hard few week because I didn’t even feel like I fell off the wagon, healthy-living wise. It makes it hard to make myself feel better but I guess all I can do is be 100% committed for a few weeks (no snacking, no junk food, 1200-1500 cals ONLY) and see if I can make a dent in my weight. The BF and I are having an October competition to see who can lose the biggest percent of their body weight so I have some immediate motivation.

Ugh its the weirdest thing too, it all went to my midsection. Gross gross gross. I actually thought I was preggers but thank god, no.

Anyway, giant derailment—I broke my toe on Friday! Its insanely swollen and painful too. No dancing for a couple weeks either, and running is out of the question.

what to do, what to do…. Swimming?

So I recently discovered the Starbucks Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate. It is unbelievable and delicious, but after I had it I realized that a grande was 450 calories, and I am spending about $40 per week on Starbucks/coffee house specialty drinks!

Last year I bought myself a $30 espresso machine from Target (I highly recommend it!) but this school year I haven’t been using it, so I decided to cut some spending and some calories and whip up some specialty drinks!

Salted Caramel Hot Cocoa (Grande):

2 cups skim milk (or light soy/almond milk to cut more calories)

1 oz Sugar Free Torani Salted Caramel syrup (about $7 for a large bottle at World Market)

1 Tbsp unsweeted cocoa powder

Warm milk/cocoa mixture in microwave on 30 second intervals, stirring in between and ensuring the milk does’t get hot enough to burn. Stir thouroughly to mix in cocoa (a whisk helps) and add syrup; enjoy! Top with light Redi-whip and a drizzle of sugar free caramel syrup for extra flair and about 20 calories.

Total: 180 calories (about 120 with light soy/almond milk)

Salted Caramel Mocha (Grande):

Same as above, but use only 12 oz of milk and use 1.5 oz of syrup. Add 2 shots of espresso after heating milk/cocoa mixture.

Total: about 120 calories, (about 90 if you use light almond/soy milk)

A pound of coffee is about $8 and will make about 65 shots of espresso (32 mochas!)

A bottle of syrup has about 30 oz of syrup and is about $7

An espresso machine is about $30 and lasts a few years

A gallon of milk is about $3 and has about 10 mochas worth of milk

All together, the per-drink cost is about 70 cents, with an initial investment of $30. Over the course of 6 months of daily use, that averages to 76 cents per drink, even factoring in the espresso machine. A WAY better deal than $5 or $6 drinks at Starbucks!

Is:

Apartment deep-cleaning.

Ballet class.

Advertising class project meeting.

Yoga class.

Nap time.

S’mores & apple cider around our firepit with good friends. :)

Seriously, I love fall.

I just finished my third week of my senior year of college (YIKES)

So far, I have surprised myself with not falling into my old habits of eating junk whenever I had a moment to eat. I have had hardly any time to eat because my days are SO packed, so I am just eating when I get a spare moment and have been mostly choosing hummus, string cheese, and salads. And a LOT of lattes. Thats DEFINITELY my downfall in the winter….an unsweetened grande iced latte is only like 90 calories, and a hot grande latte is like 170.

Gotta get my butt back to the gym…ballet is giving me a workout that is so exhausting that I’ve been too sore for the gym! Tomorrow though, I’m hitting up Pilates at the campus gym :)

Apparently bison meat is crazy good for you, compared to ground beef and even lean ground turkey. Anyone had them? What did you think? Is it a lot more expensive than ground beef or ground turkey?