Fun In The Sun

What a gorgeous day! The weather is so perfect; I'm really enjoying this summer :) I woke up feeling "normal" with no dizziness, so I was looking forward to my long run. It was great! I was able to crank out an hour and felt strong the whole time; no need to pep-talk myself through it.


I was starving after that and couldn't wait to eat breakfast. I went for another Quinoa Cranberry Bran Muffin and a sliced white nectarine for 3 POINTS...


It was too nice of a day to do anything other than swim! The daughters and I packed up lunches and headed over to my parents' pool to swim.

Lunch was a poolside picnic. I packed a salmon and egg salad wrap, carrots and some sweet watermelon for 6 POINTS...

We swam for another 3 hours! I tried to do some laps. Again, try being the operative word- no swim team for me anytime soon :( I also did walking laps back and forth in chest level water for about an hour total, and a few sets of bicep curls with the pool dumbell weights.

All that exercise called for a snack. More watermelon for 1 POINT...

I finally dragged the daughters out of the water and headed home. I planned on a quick pasta dinner for them, but decided to make a frittata for myself using 1 egg, 2 egg whites and leftover roasted potatoes with green beans for 6 POINTS...

I couldn't resist a piece of baguette on the table (2 POINTS)...

I was in the mood for chocolate for dessert, so I had a 1/2 c. serving of Breyers Fat Free Double Churn French Chocolate Ice Cream with a Hershey's Extra Dark with Pomegranate(the BEST!) crumbled on top for 2 POINTS...

That sure hit the spot!

Now, for the best news of the day. I paid a visit to the scale this morning. I wasn't going to. Remember HERE when I decided that summer would be maintenance and I wasn't going to worry about counting perfectly? Well, getting on the scale this morning showed a 3 lb. loss from my last weigh-in! I was so psyched to see that number back again. I have been doing my best to continue to make healthy choices and I do count POINTS when I can, but don't worry if I'm out somewhere. So far, so good! I think taking that stress off myself for the summer has made it easier. I'm just not thinking about losing constantly. I know I will eat this way for the rest of my life, so in a way, nothing has changed except for the pressure I put on myself to get to goal and be a "perfect" Weight Watcher. Now, I'm just doing what I can do and hopefully, it will get me to where I want to be. Whenever that may be. And I'm totally okay with that :)

Have a great night!

Water Works

I woke up ready to go this morning! I put on the kicks and headed right to the treadmill. I got in another strong 40 minute run. I was wondering if I would be feeling strong running 2 days in a row and it seemed to work out. I like when I don't feel like my feet are dragging through the whole run. I'd like to push myself into an hour long run once a week to see if I can increase my endurance. Baby steps right now....

I didn't feel like much breakfast after that, so I just had a Quinoa Cranberry Bran Muffin with a 1/2 tsp. smear of light butter for 3 POINTS...


I liked these even better today. They are definitely a hearty muffin with lots of texture. The cranberries are a great addition along with the hint of cinnamon. The husband "forgot" to try them this morning, so no review from him. Maybe, I can talk him into a guest review tomorrow!


After breakfast, the daughters and I donned our bathing suits, packed a lunch and headed to swim at my parents' pool. The water was perfect for me - 82 degrees! We splashed around a little, then got out to eat our lunch. It was PB+J all the way around! I made mine with 2 tbsp. PB2 and 1 tsp. jelly on Arnold Whole Grain White. Alongside, I had 1 cup of Trader Joe's Organic Lentil Soup and some watermelon. It was a satisfying 6 POINT lunch...

After lunch (no, we did not wait an hour!), we got back in the pool and did lots of exercise. I did some pool weight lifting (biceps and triceps), jogging and leg exercises. I also tried to swim a couple of laps which are so hard because I am not Dana Torres, but even my lame way is a great cardio workout!


When we came home, I started on dinner. But first, I needed a snack...

White nectarines are so good this time of year! I also grabbed a string cheese and a cracker, but made sure to stop there. Whew, it was a close one, though.

I planned on grilled lean burgers for dinner. I decided to go bunless (don't I wish) and just topped my burger with a slice of Asiago cheese, ketchup and a couple pickles. I made roasted potatoes with green beans for a side. It was a flavorful 9 POINT dinner...

I almost didn't have dessert. Almost. I'm pretty sure I could have gone without it, but I think it's another habit I have created. I'll need to work on that one. Baby steps :) After all, what would life be like without dessert?! This little harmless scoop of Breyers Fat Free Double Churn French Chocolate topped with some sliced almonds and a teensy squirt of chocolate syrup surely can't be all that bad.... it's only 3 little POINTS :)

I'm off to get in my 10 minute strength routine. Hope everyone had an easy Monday!

Water Logged

Still no sun at the shore! I decided to take advantage of the bikes here and went on a 3 mile bike ride this morning. I enjoyed being able to do something different, but those bike seats are brutal! My butt is sore!

I came in and helped myself to a breakfast of Fiber One yogurt and 1 c. blueberries for 2 POINTS...


and a light english muffin (1 POINT) to go with it...

Despite the weather, we had a great day of swimming planned. My friend and her daughters came to spend the day with us at the pool. We packed a lunch to eat poolside and after lots of swimming, we sat down to a turkey hummus wrap with baby spinach on a La Tortilla Factory wrap, carrots and a cup of watermelon for 4 POINTS...

For dessert, a Blueberry Apricot Oat Bran Muffin for 2 POINTS...

Then it was back in the pool. I think we set a record for most hours spent in the pool! We didn't want to get out because the pool was heated and felt so toasty and it was freezing if you did try to get out. We even stayed in during the intermittent rain showers! Talk about die-hards! We did lots of pool exercises, so I'm sure we burned some major calories today. Hmmm... 5 hours of pool exercise have to count for something, don't ya think?!

Finally, we forced ourselves to get out (aaaaahhhhh...brrrrrrr), got cleaned up and said goodbyes to our friends. Then, the daughters and I settled in for a pasta dinner made by Mom and Gram. I had 1 c. rigatoni pasta with meat sauce for 5 POINTS...

and salad for 2 POINTS...

I left the table not long after that so I would not indulge in more pasta. Believe me, that was a major accomplishment! The pasta was so tasty and for some reason, I never feel very full eating a portion of pasta, so it's difficult to keep from eating more than one serving!

I ended the night with dessert inspired by my dark chocolate dipped pineapple treat from yesterday. I used 1/2 c. Breyers Fat Free Vanilla Ice Cream and topped it with pineapple and a squirt of Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Syrup. A yummy 3 POINT treat...

Now, I heard that the sun may come out tomorrow. Could it really be true??? I'll let you know tomorrow =)

Have a great night!

Lost In Leftovers

I did not want to get up this morning. I felt like I could have slept for quite a few more hours. But, only 1 more day to get through before I get to sleep in until 7 a.m. - yay! It's way better than 6, that's for sure!

I decided to do a quick Shred this morning for something different. Jillian still continues to kick my butt, even on Level 1. One day, I will be shredded ;) After huffing and puffing, I had a cereal breakfast. Are you guys sick of seeing this breakfast?? I know, but it's been really filling me up, so I'm sticking with it for a while. Today was 3/4 c. High Fiber O's, 1/2 c. unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze and 10 oz. of strawberries! Yes, you read that right! Ten ounces of strawberries (300 grams) is only 1 POINT. If you're not a "weigher", it works out to 1 1/2 cups. That is an awesome POINT bargain! It was a great 3 POINT bowl...



After breakfast, I went to visit my friend, Rosemary who just had her first baby. He is sooooo adorable. I got to hold him and get my baby fix! He is the cutest! On my way home, I got a little lost (duh) and it ended up taking me almost an hour to get home instead of 30 minutes :( Needless to say, I was more than starving when I got home. The first thing I saw in the fridge was my bbq baked tofu, so I went with that on a whole wheat bun with lettuce, a slice of 2% cheese and BACON! Way to make something un-vegetarian ;) I had some carrots with 2 tbsp. hummus to go with it. It was a quick 6 POINT lunch that I promptly munched down...


I sailed through snack time with no troubles since I ate such a late lunch. I had no specific plan for dinner other than wanting to use up some leftover ground beef from tacos the other night. I thought about making a beef stroganoff with it, but realized I didn't have all the ingredients on hand. I finally came up with a take on an old recipe called Barbecue Beef Cups. Instead of the biscuit dough, I used my Cornbread recipe as the base. I mixed up the cornbread batter, divided it evenly in a 6 cup muffin tin, topped it with the leftover cooked ground beef ( only used 1/2 oz. per cup) and baked it for about 15 minutes. Then, I topped it with shredded 2% cheese (about 1/2 oz. per cup) and put it back in the oven for another minute until melted. I topped the Beef Cornbread Cups with shredded lettuce, tomato, salsa and 1 tbsp guacamole. Good and hearty ! I paired it with a heaping cup of leftover roasted veggies for a terrific 6 POINT dinner...

For dessert, I broke out another freeze dried fruit find - BANANAS...

The nutrition facts are good, too...

I used 1 POINT worth as a topping for 1/2 c. Breyers Fat Free French Chocolate Ice Cream...

A super sweet 2 POINT treat. These banana slices are VERY sweet, even though they are unsweetened. They remind me of those crunchy little meringue cookies. They kinda stick to your teeth as they melt in your mouth, too. My dentist would NOT be happy.

I must go brush and floss ;P Have a great night!!

Totally Tofu

I peeked at the scale this morning. I was scared that it might ruin my day. As much as I say to myself that the scale doesn't matter, it does. A lot. It dictates my day. Good number = good day, lots of motivation and general happiness. Bad number = bad day, sometimes overeating and most definitely overall bitchiness. Lucky for my family members, a good number appeared. Not a great number, but I'm showing a teensy loss which makes me feel good about my approaching official weigh-in on Saturday at WW. Hopefully, I can get back to wear I was before this last few weeks of "on and off trackness" :)


After my visit with the scale, I headed to the treadmill for another 35 minute run. I've been really into running this week! I know it's not the best to do it everyday, but so far my hip has been cooperating, so I'm going with it! I've also been going with cereal for breakfast. I'm finding that it fills me up and is very satisfying, especially bulked up with lots of berries. Today was 3/4 c. TJ's High Fiber O's, 1/2 c. unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze and 1 c. of blueberries for 3 POINTS...



Lunch was a bbq baked tofu sammie on spelt bread with lettuce, tomato and a slice of 2% cheese. I added in some more red superfoods with 1 c. watermelon and a fuji apple for a 6 POINT lunch...

Baked tofu... up close and personal...

The daughters declared it to be Taco Tuesday, so it was tacos for dinner! I joined in the taco festivities, but with a twist. For me, it was Tofu Taco Tuesday! Don't say eeewww! It's great. Really. First, I took 1/2 block of Nasoya Lite Firm Tofu, squeezed between paper towels to remove excess water and crumbled it in a nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray. Next, I sprinkled 1 tbsp. homemade taco seasoning over the tofu and mixed in. I let the tofu crumbles "brown" for about 10-15 minutes until the tofu dried out and resembled "ground beef/turkey" (it does, TOO!!!)....

I ended up only needing half the mixture, so I saved the other for another time. I assembled my tacos using 2 yellow corn taco shells, 1/2 oz. grated 2% cheese, lettuce, tomato and 2 tbsp. guacamole. I paired the tofu tacos with a cup of organic black bean soup and carrot sticks for an amazingly delicious (and messy) 6 POINTS...

Seeeeee??? Not so yucky right?!

I had plenty of POINTS left for a beefed- up (haha) dessert, but I ended up wanting 1/2 c. Breyers Fat Free French Chocolate Ice Cream with 1/2 Peanut Butter Cookie Larabar crumbled on top...

That was an awesome 3 POINTS!

So, I technically was able to go without a snack this afternoon again. I did have a couple of bites, licks and tastes which probably added up to a POINT, maybe 2. I tack those on at the end of the day, just in case. I feel like I have a good groove going now and I am happy without all the afternoon snacking. I've been talking myself through it when I feel like I might grab something and I realize that I am not hungry. It's just that whole habit thing of wanting a snack when the daughters get home. Breaking that habit will take some behavior modification and I know it won't happen overnight. But having these last few days under my belt make me feel assured that it IS possible :)

Have a great night everyone!

Red Superfoods

I'm seeing red today! There is so much beautiful summer produce available. I am loving all the red fruits and indulged in them at every meal. Deep red fruits contain phytochemicals such as lycopene and anthocyanins which are not only heart-healthy and cancer-fighting, but also help boost the immune system. I made sure to get my antioxidants today!



I started off with a breakfast of 3/4 c. Quaker Crunchy Corn Bran, 1/2 c. unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze and 1/2 c. sliced strawberries for 2 POINTS...




Then, I got in a great 35 minute treadmill run despite being a tad bit sore from moving furniture yesterday. My friend and I were two tough chicks yesterday; we have the bruises to prove it!



I got cleaned up and headed out for some errands. I'm trying to get in as much as possible before the daughters are finished with school this Friday. I stopped home for some lunch. I made a turkey and hummus sammie with baby spinach on organic spelt bread. Delish! I had a cup of Tabatchnick Barley Mushroom soup and some red grapes to round out this filling 6 POINT lunch...

More errands after the daughters came home from school, which included a stop at Trader Joe's ( my home away from home :) I managed to get through the afternoon without a snack! Miracles can happen :)

Since the husband was away for work this evening (we miss you!!), the daughters requested hoagies and I pulled out my favorite Lean Cuisine dinner - Parmesan Crusted Fish. This is the best frozen dinner! I added more red - watermelon. It was a great quick 7 POINT meal...

Doesn't the fish really "look" like a fish???

I ended with a serving of Breyers Fat Free French Chocolate topped with 1/4 c. freeze dried strawberries (yum-more red!) for 1 POINT...

I did pretty well overall today! I did nibble a little on big daughter's hoagie and had a bite of little daughter's ice cream dessert. So, maybe a couple extra POINTS tacked on to the day. Not too bad!

Hope you all had an easy Monday! Have a great night :)

Just Say No

What a crazy weekend! We've been partying it up with all the graduations, so it's been a whirlwind couple of days. Yesterday worked out o.k. I ate fairly decent and only really caved with some jelly beans and a couple chocolates at the party. Not too horrible, but I did end up eating a bunch of Cheez-Its when we got home. I didn't count POINTS, but I think I may have still been in the ballpark.



Today, I took my time waking up and decided to have breakfast before working out. I was craving a sandwich, so I made an egg and cheese on TJ's Organic Spelt bread for 4 POINTS. It was so good...





After watching some E! True Hollywood Story, I got the urge to run! I headed to the treadmill and pumped out a good 35 minutes. I kept my pace faster today; it was a nice push.





The daughters had some friends over to play and we decided to grill for lunch. They had hot dogs and I went with a Ranch Turkey Burger with a slice of Weight Watchers Pepperjack Cheese. I opted to go "bunless" (oh, how I wish ;) and had a side of the Crunchy Curls, grapes and carrot sticks for 7 POINTS...

Then I headed out to help my friend move some furniture. She rented a UHaul and we cracked up about it the whole time because we are both princesses, yet we were bouncing around in this UHaul determined to show our brawn by moving this heavy furniture into her house. We were grunting and sweating like we were doing some crazy challenge on the Biggest Loser Ranch. It was hilarious. And a nice sweaty, strength training workout!

Since I knew I would be getting home close to dinner, I had prepped ahead with a crockpot dish. I saw a recipe for Pineapple Luau Chicken on Bev's blog, so I thought I would give it a try. The only change I made was to use pork tenderloin instead of chicken since I had some on hand. I threw in some broccoli, green onion and served it over 1/2 c. brown rice for a great 6 POINT dinner...

I ended the night with a serving of Breyers Fat Free Double Churn French Chocolate Ice Cream with a topping of freeze dried blueberries!!! This was a great combo for only 1 POINT...

I found these guys (you know where!) recently and they are unbelievably good! They are crunchy and sweet...

Best of all, look at these facts! The whole bag is only 2 POINTS. There are a TON in there and could keep you munching for hours. Note to self: when feeling munchie, grab the crunchy blueberries!!!

I feel like a wad. A whale -ish wad. Just thought I'd throw that out there. I'm retaining a small pond despite my efforts to drink mass quantities of beverages today. I need to stay home now. No more parties. I need to be in control of what I am eating, "make" what I am eating and not be distracted by parties where I have to keep dodging certain "areas" that contain cake, cookies, chocolate and candy. Yep, stay home. And just say no...

One more thing - some cool news! The nice people at Dominex Eggplant ,who make the delicious eggplant cutlets that I love, have offered to send my readers a dollar off coupon to try out their product. Send an email with your name and address to : sales@dominexeggplant.com and write "Trim The Fat Coupon" in the subject line and they will be glad to send that out to you!

Have a great night!

Minefields All Around

Rain drops keep falling on my head. Lots of them. It has been raining all day, nonstop! And it's chilly. This does not feel like June! But, I'm sure it'll be hot enough before we know it. Since the weather was not cooperating, I decided on some indoor activity this morning. For something different, I popped in the Shred DVD and let Jillian whip my butt for 20 minutes. I haven't done it in a while, but I wasn't as weak as when I first started it back in Feb. Such a great workout in a short amount of time!



Then, I dug into some breakfast. Today was a Banana Nut Vitatop with PB2 for 2 yummy POINTS...





I spent the rest of the morning at little daughter's school for a year end picnic. They held it indoors due to the rain. They had their beach towels set up all over the gym and we served them their lunch on their towels. Oh, the temptation! Fresh, hot soft pretzels! Fresh, hot, cheesy pizza! Thankfully, I was serving the pizza instead of handing out the pretzels. Both are trouble, but the pretzels would have done me in. I was able to dodge them. Funny how I watched all the skinny moms digging into the pizza without a care in the world. Can it really be that easy? Can you just eat a slice or two of pizza and let that be it? No triggering a foodfest of grand proportions? Ah, that is the life! While the kids were having sno-cones scooped out for them, I cleaned up and made a bee line out of there and straight home to make a healthy lunch. I went with a big chicken and white bean salad with tomatoes, basil and a sprinkle of goat cheese...

I dressed it with a homemade light vinagrette, all for 7 POINTS...

I still felt like having some crunch after, so I decided on this new TJ's find...

Isn't that interesting? They are made with lentil flour and potato starch. You get 31 curls for 2 POINTS...

I just had a half serving for 1 POINT...

They are pretty tasty. They have a bit of an aftertaste to them that I can't quite describe. Kinda fishy?? I know that doesn't sound appetizing, but I don't know how else to explain the flavor. Maybe more like some of those fried chinese noodles. Yeah, that's it! I'll try them again to see if I can come up with a better description :)

No afternoon snack. I'm "trying" to modify my behavior, so I just had some iced coffee today with REAL sugar for 1 POINT...

Well, the husband would like me to modify my behavior all right. I was a starving, nasty, huffy banshee by dinner time! I picked up the daughters from an afterschool playdate, came in and got all huffed up because the husband hadn't turned on the grill and gotten the burgers on yet! Poor guy! My head was pounding, so I grabbed a couple carrots while the burgers finished cooking. I started to feel better, then and more like a human instead of an animal! I munched down my Ranch Turkey burger on whole wheat bun with watermelon and carrots for 7 POINTS...

For dessert, I went with 1/2 c. Breyers Fat Free French Chocolate topped with Hershey's Sugar Free Syrup for 1 POINT...

Blech! That sugar free syrup is absolutely gross! It had a strong chemical taste. Yuck. Ruined the ice cream; I had to chuck it :(

Glad I made it through the minefield today! Next up....another graduation party tomorrow!!! Aaaaahhhhh, get me off this party ciruit!!!!

Have a great night =)

Cookies In The House

It was a 2 hour delay for the daughters this morning, so we got to sleep in a bit and start slow for the day. I was able to get in a good 40 min. on the elliptical before getting little daughter off to school, too. Then, I dug into a breakfast egg sammie made with one egg white (the last egg!), baby spinach and a slice of 2 % cheese on a Weight Watchers Petite Bagel. I also had a bit of little daughter's sliced banana, all for 3 POINTS...



After that, I headed out to the grocery store for some much needed staple items (bread, eggs, oj). I'm always on the lookout for something new to try and I stumbled upon these...


After I got home and took a closer look, I seemed to remember trying these before and thinking they were just o.k. I decided to give them another whirl for lunch today. I popped one in the micro for a minute and instead of eating it "burger style", I made it into a wrap. I used a La Tortilla Factory Smart and Delicious Tortilla , cut the patty in half to fit on one side, topped it with a shredded lite string cheese, lettuce, tomato and wrapped it up! The nutritionals for one of these patties is 70 cal., 1.5 gr. fat and 3.5 gr. fiber which is 1 POINT. Can't beat that! To go with this yummy Boca Bruschetta Wrap, I had a serving of Soy Crisps and a sweet Fuji apple for 6 POINTS...

When the daughters got home from school, they requested chocolate chip cookies for a snack so I got to work making some while they did homework. I spent a minute "pumping myself up" for this task because I was a little nervous that I wouldn't be able to control myself with these guys. Not only do I love cookies, but I love cookie batter just as much!!! Big troubles were ahead! But, I decided to make the cookies more "user friendly" for myself by altering the recipe a bit. So, I took the Original Nestle Toll House Cookie recipe and revamped it to make it a My House Chocolate Chip Cookie! They came out great and the daughters devoured them! Here's what you'll need to make these:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 stick light butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup unpacked brown sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Beat the butter, sugars and vanilla until creamy. Add egg and applesauce beating well.
2. Gradually beat in flour, soda and salt.
3. Stir in chocolate chips *( I used the mixture of mini and regular b/c it's what I had on hand)
4. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper
5. Bake at 375 degrees for 9 minutes.
6. Cool and store in airtight container.
7. Makes 40 cookies 1 POINT each or 2 cookies for 3 POINTS

And of course, I had to have one two of these guys...

It felt so good to overcome that potential for disaster by remaking the recipe and the daughters were none the wiser! They loved them and when the husband came home, he commented that the house smelled sooo good :)

Well, good thing I buttered them up with the cookies because I had a very healthy (a.k.a. eeewwww that's gross) dinner planned! I made Tuscan Chicken with Spinach and White Beans and it was delicious! For this, I used:

• 1 pound chicken tenders, cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1 (15 oz.) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 tbsp. sundried tomato packed in oil, chopped
• 3 large handfuls of baby spinach
• 1 cup fat-free chicken broth

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat with cooking spray. Add chicken, sprinkle with thyme, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook chicken until browned.
2. Add beans, sundried tomato, spinach and broth. Simmer for 10 min. or until chicken is done.
3. Makes 4 servings at 4 POINTS per serving.

So much flavor! I love the creaminess of the beans, too. I served this over small pasta for the husband and daughters. I ate mine as is with a hearty whole wheat roll. A fabulous 6 POINT dinner in minutes...

I ended the day with 1/2 c. Breyers Fat Free Double Churn Caramel Swirl Ice Cream and another My House Chocolate Chip Cookie for 2 POINTS...

I also couldn't resist a nice hot cup of coffee with some cream for 1 POINT!

A great On Program day for me!! Yay! I love when that happens =)

Off to watch the Biggest Loser!