Trim The Fat: July 2009

Monday, July 27, 2009

Recovery

I have to do better today. That was my first thought when I woke up this morning. I knew I had to curb the overly-overeating or I will not be feeling great at the end of this vacation. Unfortunately, the bike ride didn't happen due to some early rain and by the time it cleared up, it was time to take Rocky for another long walk before we hit the beach for the day. At least it was movement and I enjoyed taking in the sites and sounds.

I came back and went right to breakfast- 1/2 c. plain greek yogurt, 1 c. strawberries and 2/3 c. Trader Joe's High Fiber Fruit and Nut Medley for 3 POINTS...

I made everyone's sandwiches for the beach, but decided to make an orzo bean salad for myself...

2 cups whole wheat orzo, cooked
1 can Trader Joe's Marinated Bean Salad, drained
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
3 oz. light feta cheese, crumbled
4 basil leaves, chopped
s + p to taste

This made about 5 , 1-cup servings for 5 POINTS per serving. It was a great tasting salad and filling due to the addition of the beans. I also added a few extra tomato chunks leftover from the husband's sammie...

We spent lots of time in the ocean again. The water temp was a nice 76 degrees! The undertow was pretty strong, too, so I'm thinking there was a good bit of strength training going on while I was in there ;P

After the ocean "workout", I had a nice, ripe nectarine...

Later, we headed home to get ready for dinner. The husband chose a restaurant on the island which, incidentally, has great pizza. Imagine that!

We started with a deadly bread basket including the daughters' favorite - garlic knots...

Of course, I couldn't resist such fabulous bread...

I ordered two appetizers for my dinner. A salad with pear, cranberries, walnuts and fried goat cheese with a raspberry vinagrette...

and a calamari dish in a spicy tomato sauce with peppers served over crostini...

Both dishes were huge for an appetizer portion. Unfortunately, my calamari dish was bad. Not quite sure what the deal was, but it smelled terrible (like dirty socks - and I'm being nice by saying that). I noticed the smell as soon as the server put the dish on the table. At first, I thought it might just be me, so I tasted the calamari. Brave, I know. Hope that doesn't come back to haunt me, if you know what I mean! Although, it tasted okay, I couldn't feel good about eating it. It just smelled awful. The husband almost gagged and called the server to take it back. I hate doing that, but I hate eating bad food more. No need to end up in the hospital on vacation! Anyway, that kinda ruined my appetite, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I did eat about 2/3 of the salad which was quite tasty, but nothing to write home about. I nibbled on some of big daughter's pizza crust, too. At least the pizza, their veggies (delicious string beans with garlic) and house salad was good!

When we got back from dinner, we went on a leisurely walk with Rocky to soak in the last bit of the day. We all ended the night with a Lil' Drumstick...

I chose the Cookie Dough flavor. It was delish; the perfect little something for 3 POINTS (130 cal, 7 grams fat)...

I'm ready to hit the hay! We have an early morning boardwalk bike ride on tap tomorrow; it should be a fun time!

Have a great night everyone=)

Sunday, July 26, 2009

The Fat Fest Begins

It was a beautiful morning! I took Rocky (our dog) for a 2 mile walk with a quick pit-stop for some fresh bagels. I put a whole wheat one to work for breakfast, topped with a wedge of Laughing Cow Light and 1 oz. smoked salmon...

Then, it was time to pack up and head to the beach. For lunch, I made up a Chicken BLT Salad using 2 oz. roasted chicken, 2 slices center cut bacon, romaine, tomato and light ranch for 5 POINTS...

Along with it, I packed one of these new crackers...

This was a dud. First, the ingredient list is a mile long with lots of bad-for-you ingredients like partially hydrogenated oils, corn syrup and a really funky one called resistant corn maltodextrin. I have no idea what that is, but it doesn't sound good! Secondly, it had a fake cheesy flavor; very artificial. Lastly, it is way too POINTy for a cracker. Each filled cracker is 130 calories, 7 grams fat and 3 grams fiber which comes in at 3 POINTS. Not worth it...

After my unsatisfying cracker, I dove into these peanut butter filled pretzels...

Yes, dove ...head first. Drowned myself in them. Handfuls were eaten with reckless abandon:( Boo!!!

After lots of ocean play, I waddled home from the beach and got ready to go to dinner. We decided on a Mexican restaurant that we haven't tried yet called La Hacienda.

Our friendly server started us off with a plate of their house tortilla chips...

and salsa...

I had a small plate ...

The husband and I decided to 'live it up' with some margaritas. I chose the Mango Margarita and it was divine...

The husband ordered Nachos Grande with beef for an appetizer. It was soooo good. I had a plate... kill me now...

I should have stopped there, but I had already ordered my entree, a Vegetarian Burrito. It came with the most wonderful chicken soup. It was made with shredded chicken, rice, potato and carrots. The broth was amazing. I had a few spoonfuls, then shared the rest with the daughters...

While waiting for the entrees, little daughter snapped this picture of the husband and I before we fell into our fat-laden coma...

The entrees came out. Kill me again...

The veggie burrito was the size of my arm. Okay, not that big , but big enough! I ate half. I have no idea why. I was stuffed and past the point of even tasting anything anymore. I asked our friendly server to take it away and box up my remaining dinner. We sat at the table for a while after, basically unable to move due to a fat induced stupor.

We finally peeled ourselves off the chairs and headed home. I will sleep like a log tonight. I am looking forward to a bike ride in the morning. I may have to pump up the tires a bit more ;P

Hope the weekend was great for everyone!

Saturday, July 25, 2009

On The Road Again

Greeting from the shore again! We took our sweet time getting here today which enabled us to avoid lots of traffic. After another great night sleep, I felt much better and more energetic this morning. I took advantage of the energy and headed straight to the elliptical for an easy 30 minute workout.

I was much more decisive for breakfast, too. I went straight for a savory wafflewich made with 2 Eggo Nutrigrain waffles, 1 egg white and a slice of Weight Watchers American for a great 3 POINT breakfast...

I made some iced coffee with fat free half and half (1 POINT) to go with it...

I took my time packing and reorganizing everyone's bags. I'm bad at packing and tend to bring the kitchen sink, but I did better this time:)

It was slim pickings for lunch since I scaled down all the fresh produce and perishable items. I dug out a Chickpea Spinach Almond Burger from the freezer, topped it with asiago cheese and put it on an Arnold Sandwich Thin. I chose some applesauce for my side; I forgot how good applesauce is!

But, I still needed some crunch, so I went with a 1/2 serving of Kettle Baked Potato Chips...

It was a tasty and satisfying 7 POINT lunch!

After an errand or two, it was time to hit the road. We made it to the beach house in record time! Don't worry, Mom, we weren't speeding ;P I unpacked the goods and had a little snack of peanut butter filled pretzels (2 POINTS) to tide me over until we decided on dinner...

The daughters voted for Chinese food. The husband ordered and I headed to the supermarket to pick up a few things. While there, I came across these Kahiki Vegetable Egg Rolls...

One egg roll is only 70 calories, 2 grams of fat and 1 gram fiber- 1 POINT! I decided to give them a try so that I wouldn't be tempted by the "other" egg rolls from the restaurant. They were terrific! The egg roll was as crisp as if it had been fried due to the special packaging that's used during microwaving and it was filled with the traditional veggies. The only complaint I would have is that there was a little too much black pepper seasoning on the veggies for my taste, but otherwise, they are a fantastic alternative to the restaurant fried egg roll.

I ordered Shrimp with Broccoli for my dinner. I paired it with the Kahiki egg roll for a tasty 8 POINT dinner...

I had to see what good fortune I would have...

After our filling dinner, we went for a brisk family walk on the beach for about 30 minutes. It was a beautiful night :)

Ice cream was on the agenda for dessert! I bought some Breyers Fat Free Double Churn Vanilla Ice Cream while at the supermarket. I'm trying to keep the vacation damage to a minimum!! I decided to liven it up by topping it with one of these guys (1 POINT) brought from home...

and a teensy squirt of Hershey's Special Dark Syrup for a decadent 3 POINTS...

I'm off to cozy up with the husband. Have a great night, everyone!!!

Friday, July 24, 2009

Salads And Swirls

I had a great night sleep, yet I woke up feeling blah. It was slow going for a while, then I started doing some much needed house cleaning. My legs and hip felt really sore today. I think I stirred things up when I went on an outdoor run at the shore. It's been a while since I hit the pavement and I think it was harder on my body than the treadmill runs. So, I thought a day of rest might be in order. It felt weird to skip exercise, but I moved around so much today that I think it could count for something.

I had no ideas for breakfast this morning. I wasn't very hungry and could have totally skipped it altogether. Nothing was enticing me. I finally settled on a bar that Carol sent me ...

I generally don't think of a bar as a meal, but no other food seemed very appetizing to me. These One Organic Food Bars are 180 calories, 4.5 grams fat and 3 grams fiber. They are very chewy and I detected a slight bitter taste at first, but then it grew on me. Could've just been my weird taste buds this morning. Overall, it was a fine 3 POINT breakfast...

The daughters and I ran a few errands after breakfast. On a whim, we decided to pay a visit to my Gram at her retirement community. We surprised her and took her to lunch at one of the restaurants in her community. I was craving a salad and ordered the Cobb salad with light Italian dressing...

It was a nice portion of salad with grilled chicken, bacon, tomatoes, egg and dotted with blue cheese. It was very good; I ate it all!!! I also stole a few of Gram's chips and a few bites of big daughter's taco salad; also very good.

Gram had a turkey sandwich on sunflower seed bread. She wanted to show hers off, too...

We spent a little more time with Gram doing puzzles and chatting, then headed home. I spent the afternoon doing more running around, then got some dinner going. It's pizza night for the husband and daughters, but I was still craving salad. I made a plain green salad with cheese and garlic croutons (store bought) dressed with evoo and vinegar. A slice of cheesy(asiago) toast went perfectly with it...

Then it was time for something sweet! First, I cracked open this new find...

"Crack" being the operative word! Holey moley, this is scary good stuff! I see very bad things happening involving this Cinnamon Raisin Swirl PB! For example, I present to you, Exhibit A...

Cinnamon Raisin Swirl PB smeared on a dark chocolate square. Deadly, I tell ya. In case you were wondering, it is NOT a lowfat peanut butter. It is to be eaten in moderation. Do not eat half the jar...with a spoon...digging to the bottom where all the raisins reside. You have been warned =)

Okay, I'm sure you don't want to hear that I am packing for the beach...AGAIN. Yes, we are going on our family vacation. I will be blogging all the fantastic overeating that I will be doing since the husband generally starts our vacation off with a trip to the most amazing bakery at the shore. And continues to go EVERY morning bringing back fabulous breads, pastries and NY crumb cake. He believes they are food groups. UGH!! And the worst part? We will come back from vacation , he will weigh himself and tell me he lost weight. I will try to resist, hardly eat any of that crappola, exercise my rear end off and come back 15 lbs. heavier. Men! Pfftt!

Have a great night!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Yacking And Snacking

Hey, everyone! I'm back from the shore. Internet access was dicey and although, I did try to post a few times, it never made it to publish because I would lose the connection :( Anyway, it was a great time with my friend, Coleen and her daughters. She invites us every year and we really enjoy spending time with them; our daughters love hanging out together and we yack the days and nights away! She is also a trooper about following my "healthy lifestyle" as she affectionately calls our stay with them, Fat Camp;P She allows me to play chef, plan our meals and get in my exercise. It's so nice having that support and helped me stay as focused as I could. I did do quite a bit more snacking than I wanted to, but overall, I stuck with healthy choices.

I'm looking forward to spending some QT with the husband, so here's a quick photo recap of our eats. Enjoy and I'll be back tomorrow night for my regularly scheduled programming!

Banana Date Breakfast Cookie on the run...