Shake It UP

Sorry, I missed last night; things got a little hectic around here and it got too late for me to focus on writing, but I enjoyed catching up on some of your blogs! Also, other than a good 4.2 mile walk, I can't say I was on program yesterday. Lots of snacking went on and not much of an actual meal occurred :( I feel good today though and decided I wasn't going to try so hard, but just let the day come as it may. I wanted to try to listen to my body and take the time to understand when I am hungry and not go by the clock. I've been thinking about making some changes in my program. I haven't come up with exactly what I want to do yet, but I know I need to shake things up a bit! We'll see...


I had a million errands planned for today. We are hosting a family bbq this Sun. and I have lots to get done! I knew there would be no time for my hour long walk or a big breakfast this morning. I went with a simple bowl of Trader Joe's High Fiber O's (3/4 c.) and 2 tbsp. dried cranberries topped with 1/2 c. unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze for 3 POINTS...



I ran to buy some flowers for planting, bought some produce and stopped home to unload the car. Before I ran out again, I made a strawberry crackshake (1 POINT) to go...


Breakfast didn't stay with me very long. I was hungry by 11:30! Normally, I would try to ignore that because it seems too early to eat lunch. I would push it off until 12:30-1:00 and then be famished! Today, I "listened" and prepared my lunch. I was looking forward to it anyway! While getting the daughters ready for school early this morning, I had prepped and baked some tofu to have for lunch. I used a block of Nasoya Firm Lite Tofu that I cut into 5 slices. I dipped 2 slices in Frank's Hot Sauce and the other 3 in barbeque sauce, then baked in a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes. For today's lunch, I decided on the Baked Buffalo Tofu and made a sandwich (inspired by Kathi's awesome Tofu Reuben). I placed the Baked Buffalo Tofu on 2 slices of TJ's spelt bread with lettuce, tomato and Marie's Chunky Lite Blue Cheese Dressing. OMG, this was so good!!! I used a little extra dressing for carrot dipping and had the finally ripened apriums. They are really great. They remind me of a mini peach; I'm not sure if I detect the apricot, but it's been a long time since I've had a fresh one. I enjoyed them, regardless. A most awesome 5 POINT lunch...

Out the door again for more errands. When the daughters came home from school, it was the ominous snack time. I noticed that I was really hungry for a snack today. Most times, I'm not and I eat one "just in case". I know there are different schools of thought on this. Some say to eat to keep hunger at bay and others say, just eat when you're hungry. So, that's what I did today and I tried to keep my snack healthy and well, just a snack! I think I end up making snacks into a meal-sized portion instead of something that's just enough to get me to the next meal. I mean, really, what is a snack?? I think we forget sometimes. I actually looked it up in the dictionary. Webster's defines snack as : a small portion of food; a bite; a share. Hmmm....interesting. My snacks seem to be like buffets lately- lol! So, with that in mind, I chose some cherries (which I shared with the daughters) and a bite - a Larabite! I made these up yesterday. I took the homemade Larabar recipe (click HERE) and put it in a mini candy cup mold that I had gotten at the craft store. They are meant for making homemade peanut butter cups, but I used them to make these fruit and nut bites! I like the Larabars, but I don't like spending 4 POINTS on one and there is something about only eating half of one that makes me feel unsatisfied. So, I thought if I put them in these little cups, they would feel more like an individual serving instead of "just a half". I know it's silly, but it worked for me. The recipe makes 2 bars, which made 8 bites - 1 POINT each. Perfect "snack" ...

And I couldn't resist making another crackshake! This was a knockoff Mocha Frap. I'll call it a Mocka Frap! Gosh, I'm loopy today! I used 1/2 c. unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze, 1 tbsp. instant espresso powder, 1 tbsp. sugar-free fat-free chocolate fudge pudding mix and 7 ice cubes for 1 POINT...

Dinner was burgers and brussels! Can you believe there are no fries on my plate? Instead, I opted for some roasted brussel sprouts which were fantastic! I used 96% lean beef for the burgers, topped it with a slice of Weight Watchers Pepperjack Cheese and served with lettuce, pickles and ketchup on a Honey Wheat Bun. A delicious and filling 8 POINT dinner...

I debated with myself on whether or not to have dessert. I really wasn't hungry. It's okay to not have dessert, I said to myself! But the "horns" came out, so here's what I chose...

How's that for shakin It up??!!! I feel good about my choices today. It was refreshing to listen to my body and just trying to be relaxed about the whole thing. I'm also glad that my body wasn't calling for brownies and chocolate chip cookies! Cuz, I might have listened to that;)

I'd like to leave you with a Question of the Day: Do you eat meals because it's the right "time" (i.e. lunchtime, dinnertime)according to the clock or do you try to eat whenever you are hungry regardless of time?