Chubby Chipmunk

I've recovered nicely from my oral surgery. Thank you all so much for the well wishes! I really didn't have any pain last night, but took the Advil just in case. I have some swelling today which is making me resemble a chipmunk or squirrel with a big nut in the side of it's mouth, but it doesn't hurt so I can put up with it.

I didn't want to do any hard core exercise this morning because of my stitches. I decided that the elliptical wouldn't be too bouncy, so I did 40 minutes wearing my weighted vest. I kept it at a slower pace and it was just fine. I with a quick, easy breakfast after my workout. A banana date breakfast cookie and 1/2 banana was the perfect 3 POINT choice...

It was beautiful weather today, but I didn't spend much of it outdoors. Most of the day was spent still getting the house in order, mountains of laundry and other mundane chores. Drudgery! I enjoyed the quiet in my house though. I didn't even turn on the TV until lunchtime. I was feeling pretty hungry, so I thought I would give a "normal" lunch with crunch a try and see how my mouth could handle it. I had a chicken taco wrap (basically a repeat of last night's dinner - I added extra lettuce, tomato and a squirt of light ranch) along with some grapes and soy crisps for a hearty 8 POINT lunch...

It went down just fine ;)

I came across these guys during my last supermarket trip and decided to have them for a snack...

There are 4 dried apricots in this little bag. Ridiculous, right?? I can't help it; I'm a sucker for packaging! Advertisers should love me! Anyway, these are super good for you, chock full of antioxidants, fiber and potassium. One package is 70 cal., 0 gr. fat and 2 gr. fiber for 1 POINT.

I really wasn't in the mood to make dinner tonight. We got home late from little daughter's dance class, so I just did some heat and eat for everyone. I bought one of these Kashi frozen meals that were half price and thought I would give it a try...

I liked the nutritionals...only 5 POINTS...

I have to say, I didn't have high hopes that I would like this. I don't like many frozen dinners, but this one was pretty good. The lasagna noodles were whole grain, there were nice diced veggies throughout and even lentils! I didn't love the sauce, though. It's a little too zesty jarred Ragu-ish for me. I'm picky in the sauce department. Other than that, I thought it tasted good for a "dinner in a pinch". I served mine with some steamed asparagus for a filling 5 POINT meal...

With such a low-POINT dinner, I had plenty of room for dessert! I was excited to try these...

Yummmmm....

These are terrific! Think "frozen Snickers bar"! Only downside is they are a little POINTy for the size. To give you an idea...

I think you can get a lot more from other desserts for 3 POINTS, but if you have the POINTS to spare, give these a try! You won't be sorry. Unless you eat more than one. Which I definitely wanted to do :)

The husband just got home from work travel, so I'm signing off to catch up with him. Have a great night, everyone!!!!

Shopping Escapades

What a day! I have been running around since early this morning. I had to be at big daughter's school by 7:45 for a presentation that she was giving on "Women I Admire" and she chose me! Very sweet and I was very dorky and teary the whole time. I am retaining a copy of the essay and making extra copies, laminating them and wallpapering her room with them when she turns 16. Just as a reminder for when she is banished to her room for saying, I hate you and the classic, You're soooooo mean! Not that I am expecting any of that to happen with her - she is very sweet and will remain so I'm sure. But, you always gotta have backup ;)

Anywho, I brought a Banana Date Breakfast Cookie with me since I knew I wouldn't be coming home for a long time after the presentation. A good portable 2 POINT breakfast...

After the presentation, I headed straight to one of the million stores I had on my list for the day. I needed to shop for summer clothes/bathing suits for the daughters and myself. I don't think I mentioned this yet, but we are going on a family trip to Florida and we all need updated summer things. I am thankful and happy that not many of my clothes fit from last summer. Some shirts are fine, but no bottoms fit. But for some reason, shopping was not a joyous event. I don't know what has happened to me, but I seriously dislike shopping. I KNOW! It's crazy! The only logical explanation I have is that the husband has been hypnotizing me while I sleep, chanting...you hate shopping...don't spend money...shopping is baaaad. If you knew him, you would know this could happen =] In the midst of my shopping torture, I stopped for an apple snack that I had stored in my handbag...

Two pairs of capris, a skirt, a shirt and two bathing suits(not mine) later, I was able to head home for a late lunch. I toasted a Kim's Light Bagel and topped it with baby spinach, roasted peppers and 3 sliced mini mozzarella balls. A side of carrots and a wonderfully ripe plum made up this terrific belated 5 POINT lunch...

A little later, I was feeling hungry, so I decided to have a real deal Larabar...

After making my homemade Larabar, I was interested to see how close they were in taste. I ate 1/2 which is 2 POINTS for the real deal and the homemade. Here's what the real Larabar looks like...

It was terrific and basically identical to the homemade recipe. Now seeing the real Larabar, I realized that I processed the almonds too much when I made it- there should be more chunks than when I made it. Since many of you have asked, here is the link to the recipe I used: http://www.cleaneatingonline.comhttp//www.cleaneatingonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=59:larabar-recipe&catid=39:snack-recipes&Itemid=59
Awesome stuff!

Dinner was chicken mushroom stroganoff using leftover chicken from last night. I used 3 oz. chicken breast and mixed it with a mushroom thyme sauce that I made from ...
I put the mixture over 2 oz. whole wheat noodles. It was a huge portion...


add a delicious green salad ...

And it was one filling 9 POINT dinner! But, you know, I always save room for dessert even when I go shopping for bathing suits and have scarred my retinas...

I still have no bathing suit :( Can't commit. But, I DO have chocolate marshmallow frozen yogurt :)

Have a great night =)

Healthy Eats

I was striving for healthy eats today. I think the junk foods trigger me to grab for more, so I'm going to try to focus on as much whole foods as possible. It will take some time, I love my junk and have a house full of it that I don't want to waste. Little by little, hopefully I can get to eating a "clean" diet most of the time. We'll see how it goes! You know I love to try these experiments in eating!

Breakfast was 1/2 c. Fiber One and 1/2 c. skim milk topped with 8 strawberries. I also had a mangled hard boiled egg white. I hate when the shell doesn't want to come off! A filling 3 POINT breakfast...


While I was eating this, I thought for a minute that the milk had gone bad. I had just bought this the other date and it didn't expire until April, but it didn't taste right to me. I had the husband taste it, too. Why do we ask someone to taste something when we think it's bad??? It's that weird? Who wants to taste something bad? But, the husband tried it and said it was perfectly fine. I don't know why it tasted weird to me; maybe I'm used to Almond Breeze now.


I had a hair appointment at lunchtime and some errands to run after, so I ate lunch a little early. I was excited to try these new Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Burger Buns...

They are huge and so hearty! One bun is 170 cal., 1.5 gr. fat, 6 gr. fiber and 9 gr. protein which comes in at 3 POINTS. I went with a Boca Bruschetta Tomato Basil Parmesan Veggie Patty and 1 tbsp. lite mozzarella to go on the hearty bun. I had just enough time for a side of carrots before heading out the door. A yummy 5 POINT lunch...

Lots of cleaning went on around this filthy house this afternoon. It feels so good to have things in order... for 25 seconds. The daughters came home from school. Snack crumbs and spilled drinks found their way back to the floor. Oh well, I tried. After re-cleaning some stuff, I stopped for a snack of 2 small plums for 1 POINT....

Pretty good, eh??? Fruit for a snack. Just fruit. No crunch = no munch. Could this be the secret to keeping from munching away in the afternoon???

And it was pizza for dinner tonight. I had originally planned on making pasta for myself, but it got too late and I was beginning to get a little too hungry. I decided to go with the pizza and a big salad of endive, escarole and radicchio dressed with a little olive oil, red wine vinegar and a drizzle of honey. I took my time eating tonight, trying to really enjoy everything on my plate. I found that one slice and the salad was enough to feel satisified. It was a great 9 POINT dinner...

After more cleaning, I'm calling it a night! I'm posting this while getting a fabulous new hairstyle by little daughter who is VERY rough and yanking out many of my hairs. Hopefully she will get some of the gray ones. YIKES! Ouch, I'm thinking she does not have a future in the world of cosmetology ;) I am also enjoying this Banana Date Breakfast Cookie for 2 POINTS...

Mmmm...works for me! Gotta go "tip" my hairstylist. Have a great night:)

Weigh In Day

Thursday is weigh-in day. I get a double whammy; weighing in for the BLBE2 and Weight Watchers! Thankfully, I did not disappoint my A-Teamers! I am down 2 lbs. this week (also, making up for my gain last week)! Now, what really sucks it that I missed my 70 lb. mark by .2! Can you believe that, .2???!!!! So, I'm at 69.8 lbs. lost; think I should just "round that up"???!!! That's o.k.; next week I'll make it...

I made sure to get in my workout this morning. I started with a treadmill run, but , my leg really started to pain me. I tried to push through it, but it was a weird type of pain, so I decided it wasn't worth an injury. I got off the treadmill and tried the elliptical instead. No pain, so I stayed on that for 30 minutes. I followed that up with Level 1 Shred. You know it!! Shred Count - 23 days left!!! I had some baggy sweatpants on and noticed that during the jumping jacks, my thighs were "clapping", too. Eewww, gross :( More shredding is needed...

So, breakfast was a la car because fine dining is not allowed in my WW meeting :) I had a Banana Date Breakfast Cookie and an apple for 3 POINTS...



Lunch was a falafel salad for 4 POINTS...

For a snack, I decided to try one of these Kellogg's Fiber Plus Bars. I have been hesitant to try these because I have had, um... issues, with the Fiber One Bars and they have been banned from my home due to noxious fumes :) These Kellogg's Bars, however, did not have the same effect on me, thankfully. These are very "candy bar-ish" tasting, which isn't a bad thing, but I kinda wondered if they might be a trigger for more sugary treats the rest of the afternoon. I seemed to escape the perils today. Anywho, these bars are 120 cal, 4 gr. fat and 9 gr. fiber (2 POINTS)...

I also, munched on a handful of big daughter's chips, so I counted 3 POINTS for those cuz they were the "real deal"!

It was a rush home night due to little daughter's dance class, so dinner was breakfast! The husband and daughters had eggs, bagels, hashbrowns, bacon and they did manage to choke down a couple of carrots with this cholesterol fest. I have been jonesing for pasta lately, so I made 2 oz. whole wheat cappellini, added some sauteed mushrooms and roasted pepper and "sauced" it with some eggplant dip that I made the other day. I topped it with a bit of chopped parsley and 1 tsp. parmesan. What an awesome combo!!! A wonderful 6 POINT dinner...

Bet you can't guess what my dessert was!!! Yeah, yeah... lovely Vitatops! I changed it up a bit for you though; I had a Triple Chocolate Chunk Vitatop with 2 tbsp. fat-free Cool Whip and 2 sliced strawberries (thanks for the idea, Mom!)...

Mmmmm....good to the last crumb!

A couple quick NSV's today : I made double chocolate chip cookies this morning for big daughter's class and didn't eat any; I made cupcakes for husband and daughters tonight - picked at one -eating half - counted it - threw the rest away; I wrote down every morsel today; I filled my jug with water and drank it all.

Goal for next week: To not sabotage myself - I want to hit that damn 70 lb. mark!!!

Delays And Detours

School was on a two hour delay this morning. Yay! Another day to sleep in for me and the daughters. We got up around 7 and got to take our time getting ready for school. Little daughter and I even did The Shred together again. I don't know why she likes to do this; she says it's "fun". Clearly, she needs to get out more. I still feel like Jillian is kicking my butt all over the place and it's only Level 1! Is it bad that I really look forward to the parts when I get to lie on the floor???!!! But, this butt-kicking is necessary since I got on the scale this morning and only have bad news to report to my A-Teamers. I'm up .8 lbs. I knew the indiscretions from the other day were going to imbed themselves on my hips. However, my hips will not be a permanent home for these snacks! They must move off - they will be evicted, hopefully by next week :) I decided not to freak out about this gain; it's just a detour. I am back on the right road and I will stay the course!!!

After The Shred, I had a leisurely breakfast on the sofa, with little daughter reading books to me. A Banana Date Breakfast Cookie (2 POINTS) and a cut-up pear (1 POINT) was yummy and easy to eat for our cozy book reading...


When everyone had shipped out, I headed to the elliptical for a quick 25 min. workout. I'm trying my best to stick with my 45 min. a day goal for January.

Lunchtime was soon approaching and I have been obsessively thinking of hummus, so I made a fresh batch. I had some hard-boiled egg whites in the fridge and I got the bright idea to combine them with the hummus! This turned into a hummus egg salad wrap. I chopped 3 egg whites, added some chopped celery, grated carrots and mixed it together with 2 tbsp. hummus. I rolled it all up in a La Tortilla Factory Smart and Delicious Wrap with lettuce. A great combo! Could've used more hummus, but that's me - I could eat a vat of that stuff! Next time, I'll fill the egg whites with the hummus, like a hummus-deviled egg! My mom gave me that idea - thanks, Ma! With my wrap, I had a serving of Trader Joe's Sea Salt and Pepper Rice Chips and a sliced apple. A big 7 POINT lunch...

Before heading off to little daughter's dance class, I had a lovely snack of berries and yogurt for 2 POINTS...

On the way home from dance, the daughters were lamenting how they never get to eat fast food anymore. They are so deprived, aren't they? They were not interested in my dissertation of how I am saving them from future obesity and heart disease and that what I am depriving them of is bad health! Fingers were in the ears and "blah, blah. blah" was being chanted. I ended up relenting. I realized that it has been months since they have eaten that stuff and what I do want to teach them is that everything is o.k., in moderation. So, to the Wendy's drive-thru we went. Yes, they have declared me a Rock Star tonight! I decided to wait until we got home to make myself a healthful meal, however, the fries stalked me and I ended up eating quite a few. No worries though. I counted them and continued on my healthy way :) I reheated the last bit of Chicken Cacciatore from last night(only 2 oz. chicken and mainly veggies left) and put it over 2 oz. of whole wheat cappellini. So delish! FYI, 2 oz. of cappellini makes a huge amount for only 3 POINTS! Very eye appealing if you're a volume eater like me! This worth -the -wait dinner was 8 POINTS...

My grand finale was 1/2 c. Breyers Fat Free Double Churn French Chocolate Ice Cream topped with a half serving of very vanilla mini meringues (2 POINTS)...

Whoa, can't believe tomorrow is Friday! Hope everyone had a great day!

Rush,Rush,Rush!!

I have been running(not in an exercise way) since early this morning! I woke up extra early so that I could fit in my workout - yay, me- before going with big daughter on an all day field trip to a cool museum. I was rush, rush, rushing because big daughter begged that I not be late - I'm trying to get better with that! So, breakfast was short and sweet. A Banana Date Breakfast Cookie and some Eggnoggin Tea - to go...

Before I left, I had to pack my lunch for the field trip. I thought a wrap would be a good thing. I finally found a suitable replacement for the other store brand tortillas that I was using and my store discontinued. These wraps are called La Tortilla Factory Smart and Delicious. They sure are! Each tortilla is 80 cal., 3 gr. fat, and 12 gr. fiber. Also, 1 Point. Yipee...

I made a wrap with 2 oz. turkey, a handful of baby spinach, slice of center cut bacon and a tsp. Kraft Light Three Cheese Ranch Dressing. I also brought an apple and bottle water. Perfect and not too sloppy!

We had to wolf this down in a nanosecond since the teachers had us on a tight schedule. I snapped this picture as quick as I could (people were looking at me strangely, too - the one side effect of food blogging!) and I gobbled it up.

It was nice to spend time with big daughter. She isn't completely embarassed of me yet, and did acknowledge my presence most of the time we were at the museum. We had a good time!

Then, there was more rushing to get home and also, rushing to make some cookies for a Christmas party I am attending tonight. I tried a lowfat cookie recipe from Aimee's Adventures called Caramel Kiss Cookies and regular Gingersnaps recipe that I make often at holiday time. I tried the Caramel Kiss Cookies and they were good! They are cute little guys and only 1 Point per cookie...

Betcha can't eat just one...... :)

Cookie For Breakfast

Nothing beats starting the day off with a cookie! I present to you my Banana Date Breakfast Cookie....



This was a very hearty and big "cookie". It had a muffin or scone-like texture and a great banana flavor. The dates added a nice extra sweet bite. If you like banana bread, you'll like these - they are basically banana bread in a cookie form. Here's the recipe I came up with...

• 1 large very ripe banana , mashed
• 1 egg white, beaten
• 2 tbsp. unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/8 c. Splenda granular
• 1/8 c. unpacked brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/4 c. old fashioned rolled oats
• 1 c. whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/4 c. chopped dried dates

Mix the wet ingredients together in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and stir until well combined. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spray lightly with cooking spray. Using a 1/4 c. measuring cup sprayed with cooking spray, scoop a heaping 1/4 c. and place on sheet forming a mound. Repeat with remaining batter - makes 5. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Enjoy while running out the door:)

These cookies will definitely be freezer friendly - great for "heat and eat" mornings.

Along with my cookie, I had some strawberries that were about to expire and some Eggnoggin Tea. I found this cool product yesterday that I thought would go great in tea or coffee...

This VitaSoy Holly Nog is dairy free, lactose free, gluten free and vegan. Now, don't be scared; it's not flavor-free! This was really good and perfect in my Eggnoggin Tea. I haven't tried it on its own because it wasn't chilled (it comes in those shelf stable cartons in the natural foods aisle of the grocery store). I have it chilling now, so I'll try it as its own beverage later. Best part is 4 oz. of this drink is only 60 cal., 1 gr. fat which works out to 1 Point. Pretty fab.

Just need some Christmas music to go with it...