An Exercising Fool

Happy Monday! I hope everyone enjoyed the Superbowl festivities! I can't believe how many commercials there were; some funny, some not so much. I thought Jennifer Hudson's version of the Star Spangled Banner was absolutely amazing. She is so talented!

Well, today I was an exercisin fool! I don't know what got into me; maybe the beautiful weather. I did my normal morning workout on the elliptical for 30 minutes before getting little daughter off to school. Breakfast was short and sweet; a Weight Watchers Strawberry Yogurt (1 POINT) and a Cran Bran Vitatop (1 POINT)... and a ray of sunshine...



Then, I was off to grocery shop. It's usually an all-day affair because I go to 3 different stores. First stop is always the produce market, then I headed to Trader Joe's. I came home to drop off this stash and since it was so nice outside (50 degrees!), I decided to head over to a hilly trail nearby and go for a run. It was AWESOME! I was able to run 2 hilly miles without stopping. I can't believe how much I enjoyed doing this! Between the beautiful weather, great tunes and some strong motivation, I managed the 2 miles without hardship! I felt so good afterward.

I came home and made some lunch before hitting my last grocery stop. I broiled some breaded eggplant cutlets (3 0z. = 2 POINTS) and put them on a lite english muffin. I topped them with sliced tomato and 1 oz. lite mozzarella cheese, then ran it under the broiler until cheese was melted. YUM! I had a sweet golden delicious apple on the side for a delicious 5 POINT lunch...

During my travels, I found a new cracker at Trader Joe's - Flax and Honey Flatbread...

Isn't the packaging pretty?? I'm an advertiser's dream - a total sucker for things in cute packaging!! These are only 80 cal. for 3 flatbread which is 1 POINT! I had to break into these right away! My afternoon snack was 3 of these yummy guys, 2 tbsp. hummus and a few carrots for 3 POINTS...

The husband and daughters danced a jig when I told them it was tacos for dinner tonight. They are so easy to please....NOT! That's okay, I'll take all the non-complainy days I can get ;)

I decided to make a giant taco salad for myself with lots of lettuce, tomato, 3 oz. 96% lean ground beef, 1 0z. Cabot 75% Reduced Fat Cheddar Cheese, 2 tbsp. guacamole and 1/4 c. salsa. I crumbled 1/2 of a taco shell over the top. I also had a side of broccoli - I'm pretty sure I got in all my fruits and veg servings today!! This was a very filling and delicious 7 POINT dinner...

And because I made the goal for February to Shred every day, I shredded it up with Jillian and her girls after dinner. Whew! I better lose some damn weight this week after all this exercise and good eating! Just gotta keep the lips zipped with the snacking.

After the Shred, it was dessert time! I had a serving of Breyer's Fat Free Double Churn French Chocolate Ice Cream and a Weight Watchers Peanut Butter Cookie mixed in. A 2 POINT deal...

Well, I may be bedridden tomorrow after all this exercise! I hope I didn't overdo it :0

Maybe, I should take an ice bath like the football players! Brrrrrr.......

Snow Day!

Whooo Hooo! It was great to have a snow day! We slept in a little (til 7 a.m.) and lounged around in bed. Such laziness :) I didn't do my normal early morning workout, but knew I would have time to fit it in later. I ended up spending the morning helping the daughters with homework projects, but I made sure to get in a good breakfast before I got busy with them. I made Whole Wheat Pumpkin Blueberry Pancakes(they were huge!) with a few slices of banana on the side. Delish and only 4 POINTS...


I finished helping little daughter with her project, so she and I took the opportunity to "Shred" before lunch. Brutual! I hate Jillian today ;) My legs are sore and I suck at push-ups, but she says" nothing is for free" so I have to keep on keepin on. Ugh! Little daughter, on the other hand, rocked this workout! As if she needs it; she weighs all of 43 lbs.!

After "Shred", I shakily made my way to the kitchen to make some lunch. I decided to go with another big salad since I really enjoyed the one from yesterday. Today, I used a bunch of lettuce, 2 oz. lean ham, 1 light string cheese sliced, 1 hard-boiled egg white, tomato, carrots and 2 tbsp. Marie's Lite Chunky Blue Cheese dressing. I looked at the bottle today and realized that this is the "proper" name of the dressing !! Lots of bites for 5 POINTS...

I still required some more crunch (and salt!), so I grabbed a handful of pretzel sticks for 1 POINT...

Later in the afternoon, I had the urge to exercise. HUH??!! I know, I thought that was bizarre, too! But, I rode the wave since I need to make up for some cals, so I hit the elliptical for 30 minutes. My legs were not thrilled with this decision. Still shaky and kinda burny. Tomorrow should be REAL fun; hope I can get out of bed !

I almost went without a snack, but suddenly I felt ravenous and still had an hour until dinner, so I didn't want to chance a pig-out session. I had a Weight Watchers Vanilla Yogurt and a serving of Cinnamon Puffins for 2 POINTS...

For dinner, I made Chicken Cacciatore with a side of Gram's green beans. I also had a half slice of some delicious whole wheat bread that little daughter and I made earlier in the afternoon. This was a big hit at dinner; she was so proud!! A delicious 7 POINT family favorite...

And, of course, there had to be a dessert for me. I debated about letting it go since I have weigh-in tomorrow and I'm thinking it's not gonna be so hot. But, my sweet tooth got the better of me! I had a Weight Watchers Peanut Butter Cookie with PB2Fluff icing. Oooohs and ahhhhs for 2 POINTS...

I have to admit that, although I was excited for a hang-out snow day with the daughters, I was secretly worried about being stuck in the house all day with lots of food! I was hoping the munchies wouldn't surface and cause me to blow this whole week out of the water. Thankfully, I kept busy enough and I made it through unscathed:) We'll see what tomorrow brings...

Hope everyone had a great day =)

The Pursuit Of Saltiness

I craved the saltiest food today! This TOM is really a pain; literally. I felt like a blob this morning and too tired/achy to do my exercise. I knew I would need to find a way to do it later because I need to burn some of the calories from yesterday's sabotage snacking! I may have sabotaged myself this week, but I AIN'T quittin'!!!! There is a show of progress; my former self would have quit trying to eat healthy after binging like that. I would have felt defeated. But, I have come too far now, so no quitting. Onward!

For breakfast, I wanted to try one of these new (to me) Vitatops...



I love corn muffins, so I was excited to try these. I can't say they really taste like a corn muffin. I think they are more on the "wheaty" side, but still taste good, especially for 1 POINT! With my Golden Corn Vitatop, I made an egg white omelette with a handful of baby spinach. I let loose with the salt shaker ,too! It was more like a salt omelette with egg white!!! eeewww - but, it tasted really good to me today...


I finally dragged myself out of the house to do some grocery shopping. I was starving when I got home and I fixed a quick lunch while putting the food away. I looked for the saltiest things I could find. I went with a bowl of Tabatchnik Vegetable Soup, a Dietz and Watson Gourmet Lite Beef Hot Dog on a light bun with mustard and dill relish and a serving of crunchy, super salty pretzel sticks!!! Salt, salt and more salt!! I am probably going to weigh 14 lbs. more tomorrow with all this salt!!!! But, boy did it taste goooood! All for 5 POINTS...

I felt like something sweet afterward, so I had a Weight Watchers Peanut Butter Cookie for 1 POINT...

I tried to have something with a little more protein for snack to get me to dinner without an oversnacking incident. I went with a hard-boiled egg white (with salt!!), light string cheese and half an orange...

The husband and daughters had an early dinner tonight, due to big daughters basketball practice. While they were eating some leftovers, I put on my sneakers and headed to the basement for a treadmill run/walk. My Dad gave me a Polar heart rate monitor that he is no longer using and I have been excited to try it! I put it on (it's a chest strap and a wrist watch) and watched my heart go! I decided to run and walk to get more of a high intensity interval-type workout. It was good, but quick. I clocked out in about 30 minutes because I had to tend to little daughter, but I'm glad I fit it in.

I made myself a heat and eat dinner of this...

I know, more salt! I try not to eat frozen dinners because of this, but I had this in the freezer and thought I should use it up. Glad I did; it was awesome! I don't usually say that of Lean Cuisine dinners, but this one is a keeper. It is parmesan crusted fish with penne pasta, veggies and a tomato sauce. The fish was delicious and moist with a crispy coating and the pasta was al dente and had a nice flavor. I would definitely buy this again! I paired it with a salad dressed with Kraft Light Three Cheese Ranch. A yummy 7 Point meal...

I bought a boat load of berries at the store today, so I made a Berry Sundae for dessert. I used a serving of sugar-free, fat-free cheesecake pudding topped with 5 oz. sliced strawberries, 1/2 c. blueberries and a dollop of fat-free Cool Whip. YUMMMMMM!

I'm glad I was able to regroup today. Part of that was just eating whatever I was craving (hence, all the salty stuff) instead of eating what I thought would be a better or more well-rounded choice. There's always tomorrow for that.....

=)

Bock, Bock

Hi everyone! Did you enjoy The Biggest Loser last night?? There sure are some interesting characters this season! I love the theme song to the show; it always makes me feel so inspired. Anyone know who sings it? Maybe I can get it on my Ipod to listen to when I begin to run outside :)

I thought I'd replay the non-breakfast breakfast today. I was in the mood for hummus (this is becoming a weird obsession), so I spread 2 tbsp. of it on a Weight Watchers Petite Bagel and topped it with baby spinach and sliced plum tomatoes (since I have a ton ). This was so good and filling. This 3 POINT meal took me all the way to lunch ...



My morning got a little off schedule, so I didn't get to workout until around 10 a.m. I went with the elliptical again for a nice 45 min. workout; I think I'll wait until the weekend to try the 5K Treadmill Run again:)

After a long shower, I was ready for lunch. I have so much lettuce that I opted for a Chicken BLT Salad again. I love this tasty 5 POINT salad; the bacon really makes it!

The need for something sweet surfaced, so I ate a handful of grapes...

The afternoon was busy, running the daughters to and fro, so I fixed some coffee for the car ride. I got home close to dinner-making time, but was starting to feel that gnawing feeling, so I had a snack to tie me over...

I had an interesting idea for dinner that I wanted to try out. Basically another variation of the buffalo chicken that everyone seems to like. This time, I thought I would try the addition of a breading and use chicken tenders instead of drumsticks. To make these Crispy Buffalo Chicken Tenders, I melted 2 tbsp. I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Light Spread in a medium nonstick skillet. I added 1/4 c. Frank's Hot Sauce (enough heat for us - feel free to add more)to the skillet, then 1 c. Japanese Panko Crumbs. I stirred until the crumbs were well coated and kept them toasting in the skillet until the crumbs became dried again. Here's what they looked like...

I transferred the crumbs to a shallow dish to cool. Meanwhile, I lightly beat 2 egg whites in another shallow dish. I seasoned the chicken tenders with s & p, dipped them in the egg whites, then into the crumbs, pressing the crumbs into the chicken. I place the breaded chicken on a baking rack sprayed with cooking spray, then place the rack on a cookie sheet. This method lets the chicken get crispy on both sides. I cooked the chicken for about 20-25 min. at 350 degrees. They were perfectly crisp - YUM! Using one pound of chicken tenders, this recipe came to 4 POINTS per serving (which is about 3.5 oz). Of course, I served the traditional side of carrots/celery with Marie's Light Blue Cheese Dressing (1 POINT). I don't love celery, so I went with a side of broccoli instead...

Well, so far so good. This is day two of better breakfast = no super-snacky in the afternoon. Thrilling! I feel so much better, when I am not fighting with myself all day over whether or not I should eat something! It's exhaaaauuusting :0

I felt satisfied after dinner, but for some reason, it just doesn't feel like a good day without a little dessert! I had the POINTS left (why let them go to waste, sheesh!), so I had a Weight Watchers Peanut Butter Cookie (uh, guess these are salmonella-free cause I'm still here) with 1 tsp. Nutella (<3)...

Speaking of peanut butter, I am anxiously awaiting my shipment of PB2! I was panic-stricken at the thought that it may be one of the salmonella "don'ts", but thankfully, they put out a statement that it is A -OK! Wheeeew! Can't seem to eat my Vitatops without it, now!

Have a great night!

Anxiety

I've been a bit anxious today because tomorrow morning is my 1st "official" BLBE weigh-in!! Aaaahh!! My teammates have had a spectacular start! I have had some ups and downs with my eating, but all in all I have stayed within my alloted POINTS. I did end up using all of my Weekly Allowance POINTS, so we'll see how that all pans out tomorrow.

I tried to focus on lots of fruits and veggies today. I started the morning with a good 45 min. elliptical workout and then a nice hot breakfast. I made a serving of Whole Grain Cream of Wheat made with water and topped with 3 oz. blueberries and 1/2 banana. Yummy...




Breakfast held me pretty well. I ended up having a late lunch of 2 tbsp. hummus, 1 tbsp. Trader Joe's Red Pepper Spread on an Arnold Sandwich Thin with a handful of baby spinach. This was an amazing combo!! Definitely on my "repeat" list! On the side, I had a HUGE orange...


Sooo juicy and sweet, not to mention pretty and packed with Vitamin C...

For my snack, I couldn't help myself, I HAD to try the other Kashi Fruit and Grain Bar flavor that I bought - Raspberry Chocolate...

OMG, this is by far THE BEST granola bar I have ever had! Good for you and a nice chocolate fix for 2 POINTS!!! These are keepers for sure :)

The rest of the afternoon was crazy and basically spent in and out of the car schlepping the daughters. I didn't really have a spectacular dinner plan for tonight; the husband was working and the daughters opted for different things from the freezer. A-O.K. with me! I was in the mood for a salad. I searched around the fridge/freezer for a topping for it and I finally settled on it being a Cheeseburger Salad! I used giant handfuls of lettuce, chopped tomatoes, 1 oz. Cabot's 75% Reduced Fat Cheddar and a Boca Burger that I micro'd and crumbled on top. For dressing I used 2 tbsp. Kraft Light Three Cheese Ranch and about 2 tsp. ketchup! Sounds strange, but it tasted great - just like a chopped up burger without the bun! It would have been awesome with some bacon crumbled in there, too! Next time...

I had some dessert tonight. Suprise, surprise ;) A decadent, potentially dangerous, Weight Watchers Peanut Butter Cookie topped with 1/2 tbsp. Nutella ...

So, I'm off to bed! I will spend a few minutes "visualizing" a wonderful weigh-in that I can be proud of tomorrow! Then, I will pray :) Is it obvious that I have a scale phobia????? Add that to the "therapy list" =)

No Sleep For The Weary

Last night was another rough night, sleep-wise. Little daughter has sleep issues and was up from 1: 30 a.m. til 4:30 a.m. Ugh! The husband and I were zombies today. I actually went back to bed after sending the daughters off to school - I have NEVER done that before, even if I've been sick. This sleeplessness is getting to me, BIG TIME. But no matter how crappy I felt today, I was determined to not let the stress get to me in an eating way!

I didn't start my day off with exercise. I just couldn't muster up the energy. I did make myself breakfast, though. I had a bacon, egg and cheese english muffin sandwich using 1 egg white, a slice of 2% cheese, a slice of center cut bacon and a Thomas' 100 calorie english muffin. I had a 1/2 c. of unsweetened applesauce on the side...


Lunch was one of these new finds...


A yummy spinach souffle that is only 2 POINTS! Just pop it in the micro; it's delish. Along with that, I had an Arnold Sandwich Thin cut up with 2 tbsp. hummus for dipping and a sliced apple...

After lunch, I got myself moving and did a little grocery shopping. I picked up a bunch of Weight Watchers Yogurts on sale. I love that they are only 1 POINT. I had the berries and cream flavor and an oatmeal raisin mini bar for a sweet 2 POINT snack...

Dinner was tacos for the family. I went a little different route; bean and cheese quesadilla. I spread a La Tortilla Factory Tortilla with 1/2 c. fat free refried beans and sprinkled with 1 oz. Cabot 75% Reduced Fat Cheddar. I folded it in half and pan-fried it in cooking spray until everything was all warm and melty. I topped it with some salsa and a tbsp. of guacamole. Mmmm! I had a cup of lentil soup along with it. What a filling 6 POINT dinner...

I found another Weight Watchers product at the grocery store today that I couldn't resist - peanut butter cookies! I had one for dessert topped with 1 tsp. of Nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread )which is the most amazing stuff in the world! I have to hide this in my kitchen cabinets so that I "forget" that it's there or else! The cabinets were getting a little bare, so it was peaking out at me :) I remained in control, thankfully!

This delicious 2 POINT treat was so yummy. It reminded me of a peanut butter blossom cookie (you know, the peanut butter cookie with the hershey's kiss on top)...

Well, I am going to SLEEP now and hopefully, I get to STAY that way until morning! Nighty nite =)