Fast Food

I was a fast food junkie today, paying tribute to those fast food restaurants of the past.  I used to love those places.  McDonald’s, Wendy’s, pizza places;  they were all former stomping grounds.  I have always loved good food, too.  Real, wholesome, made from scratch meals, so I got the best of it all!  But, when I decided to seriously embark on my weight loss track, I slowly realized that these fast food places were not the best options for me.  Yes, there were menu items that I could eat at many of them that were better choices than what I would normally go for (i.e. quarter pounder with cheese and supersized fries!), but I would always leave feeling a bit empty and deprived.  The better choices that were available were usually salad and grilled chicken items, but often times the nutritional facts for these were still on the high side and I knew that if I had eaten at home, I could have eaten something much more filling and satisfying without having to spend the money and the calories.

My menu today reflects how I have been able to find similar, but healthier options to those favorites.  I started off with a take on the Egg McMuffin.  How I used to love those!!!  I can easily make it at home now, using a light or whole wheat english muffin, reduced fat cheese, egg whites and canadian bacon.  When I first began Weight Watchers in 2007, I probably ate this version everyday for the first 6 months.  It was a filling breakfast and would hold me until lunch.  My newest version changes it up a bit by using Eggo Nutrigrain, lowfat waffles.  My bacon, egg and cheese wafflewich uses 2 Eggo waffles, 3 egg whites cooked in nonstick spray with 1 slice of center-cut bacon crumbled into it and a slice of 2% cheese.  So good…

For lunch, it was off to the local pizza place.  Really local – my kitchen!  I had made an Eggplant Parmesan Pizza on Friday nite when Gram joined us for dinner.  She likes everything eggplant and whole wheat, so she and I shared some of this pizza…

I made this using Trader Joe’s whole wheat pizza dough, Dominex Eggplant Cutlets that I prebaked in the oven, homemade marinara sauce and part skim mozzarella cheese.  It was delicious and just as good reheated for lunch.  I also reheated some leftover Zucchini and Beans to have with it.  Can’t get that at the local pizza place…

After a fun family afternoon at the park, we were all hungry for dinner.  That fresh air really works up the appetite!  The husband and daughters got Italian hoagies on the way home, but I decided on a good old hot dog.  I really love the Applegate Farms Organic Uncured Beef Hot Dog that I bought recently.  They are low in calories and fat, but have that traditional hot dog flavor.  I put mine in a whole wheat bun and piled on the sides- carrots with chipotle hummus and barbeque POPchips…

A little later, the ice cream man came to town.  He lives in our freezer actually;  the husband and daughters love ice cream and eat it almost every night.  I’m not too tempted by ice cream, but these guys were shouting at me from the freezer!  Mmmmm….

And thanks to this, I sang the commercial jingle all night long!  *What would you dooooo, for a Klondike bar? * The advertisers who made that one up would be happy :)

ONE GOOD THING:  I was able to include some fun fast foods into my day and still feel like they were healthy choices.  Yeah, even the Klondike:  ice cream = calcium and peanut butter = protein.  Okay, I know that’s a stretch, but everything in moderation, right? :)

Question of the day:  Do you have a favorite fast food item that you recreate at home?

Good Things To Go

Wow everyone!  I loved all your ONE GOOD THINGs from yesterday’s post!  Thanks for sharing those and let’s keep spreading the positive vibes!

I’m gonna be quick tonight, so I can hang with my family.  My first order of business this morning was to register for FitBloggin ‘10!  I dropped by Roni’s site and saw that registration is open, so I jumped on it!  The tenative schedule is up and it looks like a great time;  so looking forward to it!

After much dilly-dallying, I ate some breakfast.  I was pretty shaky at this point, so I grabbed the first easy thing I saw in the fridge – Smoked Salmon and Parmesan Omelet Muffins.  I heated up two and had some honeydew on the side…

It’s good to have some “go to” stuff hanging out waiting for you!

I came across an old Weight Watchers Member Board (no idea who the poster was –sorry) recipe while looking through some of my recipe binders this morning :  Cuban Black Bean Patties.  They sounded great, so I decided to make them for lunch with a few of my own twists to it…

• 2 cups rinsed and drained canned black beans
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. dried cilantro (or 1 tsp. fresh)
• 1 large egg white
• 1/2 c. reduced fat monterey jack or cheddar cheese (pepperjack  would be good, too)
• 1/8 c. diced red onions
• 1/4 c. cornmeal

1. Place 1 1/2 c. beans in a medium bowl with garlic, cumin , cilantro and salt.  Mash with a fork , slightly to break up beans.
2. Place remaining 1/2 c. beans in a food processor with the egg and puree for 30 seconds.
3. Add bean puree to mashed beans and stir until combined.
4. Add cheese and onion;  combine well.
5. Form bean mixture into 4 patties about 1/2 inch thick.
6. Place cornmeal in a shallow dish and carefully dredge each patty in cornmeal.  There will be some cornmeal leftover.
7. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
8. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Coat with cooking spray, add patties and cook for approximately 4 minutes per side. 

I served my Cuban Black Bean Patty over a salad made up of romaine, chopped red and green peppers, diced tomatoes and topped with a squirt of Kraft Light Three Cheese Ranch, guacamole and light sour cream…

The bean patty was so flavorful!  Crunchy on the outside from the cornmeal and creamy on the inside…

And I have 3 more left that I wrapped up and popped in the freezer for another “go to” option.

The daughters and I went shoe shopping this afternoon (for them, not me – boo!) and scored a good deal at Payless Shoe Store.  Love their BOGO’s!

Then, it was back home for snack time.  I couldn’t resist another one of Jaime’s amazing Choco – Cranberry- Almond Granola Bars…

I still felt a hankering for something, so I chomped on an apple, too…

Dinner was Chicken Fajitas seasoned with Homemade Taco Seasoning from the Clean Eating Club site.  It’s way better tasting than the packet stuff.  I served the fajitas with a store brand high fiber tortilla, guacamole and light shredded 3 cheese blend…

More leftovers packed up for another time…

ONE GOOD THING today:  As I was finishing my last bite of lunch, I was still yearning for something more.  I decided to look at my watch and give myself 10 minutes to let everything settle and if I still wanted something when the 10 minutes was up, then I would allow myself to eat it.  I got up from the table and busied myself cleaning and doing other things.  After the 10 minutes, I reassessed and decided I really didn’t want anything else after all=)

* I have myself locked in the home office so that no one would disturb me while I hurried to write this.  Little daughter just picked the lock to ask me something!  Guess it’s time to sign off!   Juvie here she comes…

Have a great night, everyone!

You CAN Have It All

I have spent much of my dieting life saying, "I can't have that" or being asked by someone if I can "have that" when I was on a diet. This is one reason why I loved the Weight Watchers program so much. I was able to have whatever I wanted as long as I fit it into my POINTS allotment. But, what I noticed starting to happen was I would find ways to finagle fitting in less healthy choices just to prove to myself that I could have it. I rearranged my menus often to accomodate that sweet treat at the end of the night regardless of whether or not I wanted it. Or, I would make sure to save enough POINTS for a cookie or chips with my lunch or even to have an afternoon snack.

Years of deprivation diets and skipping meals led me to believe that I wasn't allowed to eat certain things. It became ingrained in me that there are good foods and bad foods. And knowing this , of course, made me only crave those bad foods even more. There the cycle began of killer cravings, caving in to those cravings, eating mass quantities to get my fill for the next however long and then the crescendo of crushing guilt and failure. Massive blows to the self-esteem.

What I am beginning to realize is that there is no good or bad. Well, okay, there are deep fried oreos which I'm pretty sure are bad ;P But, really I look at it as better and best choices. Nothing has to be off limits. If you are commited to living a healthy lifestyle, you CAN have it all. In moderation. Just acknowledging that has been a huge change for me. It has changed how I fill my plate and the choices I make. It has curbed those feelings of deprivation because now if I see a brownie or a bag of chips, I know I can have them. I have been taking half the portion that I think I would want because I know that I can always have more if I truly want it. More times than not, I am feeling satisfied with what I had and don't reach for more. But, I know it's there if I want it and that takes all the pressure away =)


Playin' Pool

More hot, soupy weather today! This called for a pool day for sure! I did some house stuff this morning and settled in to a great breakfast of Post Trail Mix Crunch Cereal (love) with some strawberries and unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze...

Before heading to the parents' pool, I served us up some lunch. I had a turkey hummus wrap with baby spinach and roasted peppers and a side of sweet red grapes...

At the pool, I did a noodle riding workout (so silly looking!), swam a few laps and carried the daughters on my back around the pool. Pretty good strength workout, there!

I stopped for a late afternoon snack: some Triscuits and a plum...

That tied me over until dinner time. Tonight was leftover/ eat the freezer stash night...

The Chicken and Broccoli with Garlic Sauce reheated nicely...

I paired it with a TJ's stir fried vegetable egg roll...

I ended up leaving a few bites of egg roll and brown rice on my plate; another first! I have always been the President of the Clean Plate Club ;)

I might have to send my resignation letter...

Have a great night everyone!