Recovery Run

Thanks to all for your nice comments about my friend's Dad. I feel sad for her and I have been moping around the house all day, not doing much of anything that I should be doing. Well, except eating. I always manage to get that in. I think that even if I had my jaws wired shut, I would find some type of food that could fit in between that labyrinth of wires :)

I decided to try out a treadmill run this morning since the last of my stitches fell out yesterday. I think I am pretty well healed, so I cranked up the treadmill and did my 40 minute run. Yay! It felt so good! I can't believe how much I miss it when I don't run! I threw in 20 tricep dips and 15 wall pushups, too!

After that, I fixed a quick breakfast of an Ezekiel English Muffin with a wedge of Laughing Cow Light for 3 POINTS...


I fiddled around on the computer and did a little cleaning (very little), then it was time for lunch. I made a salmon salad wrap with a side of carrots and TJ's Sour Cream and Onion Rice Chips for 5 POINTS...

I still felt a little hungry, so I had 2 very sweet clementines -YUM for 1 POINT...

Before taking little daughter to dance class, I broke out a snack...

Another great Gnu Bar! I crumbled it onto 1/2 c. nonfat Greek yogurt for a filling 3 POINT snack...

While little daughter was in class, my friend ,Coleen and I went for a walk around the parking area and solved all the world's problems. We walked at a pretty good clip, so I got in an extra 30 minute exercise today! I love when bonus exercise happens :)

I was not into providing a creative plan for dinner that no one would appreciate anyway, so I gave the husband and daughters sandwiches and fruit and I had my leftover Polenta with Smoked Gouda and Mushroom Sauce for 8 POINTS. I added some roasted peppers to it to change it up tonight...(sorry about the pic; hard to make it look "pretty")

Here's the recipe for this full flavored dish:

Polenta with Smoked Gouda and Mushroom Sauce

• 24 oz. tube of prepared polenta
• 1 tbsp. butter
• 1 tbsp. flour
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 3/4 c. skim milk
• 2 oz. lite smoked gouda ( or lite smoked mozzarella), grated
• 1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
• 8 oz. container of baby portabella mushrooms, sliced

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray a 11x7 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Slice tube of polenta into 1/2" slices and layer in baking dish.
3. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in salt and pepper. Sprinkle flour over butter; whisk quickly and cook for about 1 minute. Whisk in milk and cheeses. Stir in mushrooms.
4. Pour sauce over polenta slices and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Makes 3 hearty servings at 8 POINTS each.

I ended the day with some Righteous Rounds for 2 POINTS...

And a handful of little chocolate eggs and bites, licks and tastes of Cookies and Cream Ice Cream. Ugh! Glad I took that extra walk today ;)

Looking forward to getting in bed early. Have a great night =)

Which Came First???

It still feels like winter out there! The sun was shining, but it was freezing. There was no running outside; I'm just too cold! I've been trying to change things up a bit this week, so I planned on working out later in the morning and eat breakfast first.

I went with another open faced omelette this morning. I made a mexican inspired one using 3 egg whites with chopped green pepper, 1 oz. Cabot 75% Reduced Fat Cheddar and salsa. Yum! I also had a toasted Ezekiel english muffin with some I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray. An eyeful for 4 POINTS...


A little while after, I headed to the elliptical for 45 min. of heart pumping and brain numbing TV watching! I wore my weighted vest with 15 lbs. which amped up the workout. I'm really enjoying watching TV while doing my workout. I was switching between Rachel Ray and The Real (Idiotic) Housewives of New York! Gripping TV! I love it!!!

I ran to the produce store to get some much needed fruits/veg; then came home and chopped up a bazillion carrot sticks. I buy the 3 lb. bag, chop them into sticks and put them in ziploc bags in the fridge so that I will chose carrots instead of cookies :) Sounds like a good plan, right???

I assembled a big salad for lunch. I used green leaf lettuce, carrots!, tomato, chicken and 1 oz. Cabot's 75% Reduced Fat Cheddar Cheese(again). For the dressing, I mixed 1 tbsp. Kraft Light Three Cheese Ranch with 2 tbsp. salsa (again). A delicious 5 Point combo...

After the exciting task of scrubbing the bathroom, I fixed a snack for myself and the daughters. They chose fresh plums and hard boiled eggs! Aren't they healthy??? They really surprise me with their choices sometimes. If I were a kid, I would be getting out the cookies! This could be why I am overweight and they are not! They really do eat intuitively; I hope I can continue to honor that about them and not be a food pusher. I don't want them to lose that innate part of them and have food issues when they get older. Sorry for the tangent! Anyway, I wanted to be healthy, too, so I made a bowl filled with Weight Watchers Berries and Cream Yogurt, 4 strawberries and 1/2 c. Fiber One Cereal for a yummy 2 POINTS...

And for dinner.... more chicken! I made baked chicken thighs and drums seasoned with garlic, salt, pepper and onion powder. To go with it, I had 1/2 c. creamed corn and a side of tofu fries - yum! For the tofu fries, I used Nasoya Lite Firm Tofu, sliced it into fry shape and sprinkled it with a mixture of garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper and paprika. I baked the fries in the oven on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray for about 30 -35 min. at 400 degrees (along with the chicken). These were great, especially dipped in ketchup! The daughters even tried ONE and didn't hate :) A protein packed 8 POINT dinner...

I was pretty full after this dinner, but we ate on the early side tonight, so I felt like I wanted a little something later. I went with a nice cup of coffee with skim milk and a Weight Watchers Chocolate Chip Cookie for 2 POINTS...

Another day with not many munching feelings! Me likey :)

Hope everyone had an excellent day!!!

This Little Piggy Went Home

Ugh! You know it's not gonna be good when a post starts with "Ugh"! I just got home from Gram's birthday dinner at my parents house and I am stuffed. Like a pig. Before I get into all that, let's start with this morning...


I woke up this morning and after a bit of paper reading, I headed to the basement for a 45 minute run on the treadmill. I didn't feel like going outside even though it was a beautiful day, so the treadmill and mindless TV worked out great. After my run, I toasted up my favorite Ezekiel english muffin and topped it with 2 tsp. homemade almond butter and Smucker's sugar free grape jam for 3 POINTS...


I spent some time fooling around on the computer and catching up on the blogs; the morning flew by!

I searched around the freezer for something different for lunch and decided to go with these...

These are like mini egg rolls and are filled with a mixture of cabbage, celery and carrots. Very tasty! They would make a great party snack.

The nutritionals...

I ate the whole box (2 servings) for 6 POINTS and a cup of cantaloupe for a nice 7 POINT lunch...

Okay, now comes the piggy part. We went to my parents' house for Gram's birthday dinner. Something about going home evokes the need to eat mass quantities of food!! I certainly indulged to the fullest. Here goes...

My bowl of fettuccine with Bolognese sauce...

A spoonful of pappardelle with Bolognese sauce...

That was just the first course! Here were the rest of the dishes...

Asparagus with creamy bacon ranch sauce...

Perfectly roasted chicken...

Broccoli with garlic and olive oil...

Breaded veal chops (Gram's fave) AND breaded pork chops...

Rustic Italian bread and Gram's homemade whole wheat...

My plate...

There was no counting; all caution thrown to the wind!

After helping with the dishes, I helped myself to an Italian chocolate (which are ALL OVER the stinkin house!!)...

And then, we had birthday cake!!! I forgot my Vitatop, but REALLY, what would be the use at this point! Here was my big honking piece sliver...

Chocolate cake, fudge filling, buttercream icing with white and milk chocolate mini curls. HELLO! If there was a Weight Watchers Police, I would be in jail. No bail granted. But, I have to say, mmmmm....mmmmm....everything was delicious! I was in the "what the heck" mood and had at it! I gotta snap out of it though, because I don't want to try to put my jeans on one day and say "what the heck" when they don't fit! So, I know I've said it before and I'll say it again, time to refocus. I'm going to keep saying it and saying it until I get it. No going back.

Hope everyone had a great weekend=)

Tempting Tea Time

Hi blog friends! I have to make it quick tonight as I promised big daughter she could get some computer time in before bed.

I slept in a little this morning - 7:30 a.m. Funny that I call that "sleeping in". It is still early as all get out, if you ask me! How I wish for the days when my daughters will be cranky teenagers and want to sleep until noon! Yeah, right;) Anyway, since I lollygagged (is that really a word??) around this morning, I got hungry and ate breakfast before my workout. I went with an unconventional turkey sandwich on an Ezekiel english muffin for 3 POINTS...


A little while after, I hopped on the elliptical for a huffy 30 min. I amped up the resistance gauge to toughen up the workout since I knew I only had time for a 30 min. stint. Mission accomplished! I was huffing after 2 minutes!

Then, it was off to shower and dress for a Ladies Tea that the daughters and I were going to this afternoon. I knew there would be lots of tempting goodies, so I decided to eat something before I went so that I wouldn't be starving and overindulge. I had a hummus pita which was 2 tbsp hummus (I revamped the recipe using only 2 tsp. oil, so it is only 1 POINT now), lettuce and pickles (a la Sharon )stuffed in a Weight Watchers 1 POINT pita. I also had a cup of sweet cantaloupe for a nice mini 3 POINT lunch...

The Ladies Tea was held at the husband's old Christian school and sponsored by a ladies group that does fundraising for the school. It is a yearly event and my mother-in-law is always so kind to treat us to this event. The gynasium is tranformed into a "tea room" with fancy tables, antique dolls, clothing, doll furniture and other Victorian-type items. The food is presented on a line of tables that must reach 30+ feet. Here is just half of it...

Many goodies donned these tables including a huge variety of tea sandwiches, brownies, cookies, scones, cheesecakes, iced cakes, nuts, fruit, puddings and candies. It was a bad, bad place. Thankfully, I had my "mini lunch" or I would have went nuts! I ended up taking a cucumber sandwich, fruit, and 4 little bites - 2 brownie, one oatmeal raisin cookie and one oatmeal bar...

Not sure how to count those guys. I'm thinking about 5 POINTS.

And I had a lovely cup of Bigelow Pomegranate Pizzazz tea. Delish....

It was a wonderful time shared with my mother-in-law, sisters-in-law, nieces, the daughters, Mom and Gram:)

After much chatting and a few errands on the way home, we got back just in time for me to make dinner! I made raviolis for the husband and daughters with a side of garlic and oil green beans. I searched around for something low POINT for myself and came up with this...

I blogged about this before here. I am a fan of this Lean Cuisine. The fish is delicious and even the pasta is fairly good (being Italian, I am not one to eat frozen pasta meals - it's a sacrilege!). I paired this with a side of garlic green beans for a fantastic 7 POINT dinner...

I felt like having dessert tonight, so I went with a serving of Turkey Hill Chocolate Marshmallow Frozen Yogurt for 2 POINTS...

Big daughter is giving me the hairy eyeball, so I will relinquish the computer to her so that she can participate in brain cell dissolving IMing with her friends:) Don't ya LOVE technology???

Happy Spring...I Think

Today is the first day of Spring -yay!!! Wouldn't know it by the weather...brrr. I had trouble sleeping last night, too because I was so cold. The husband tried to use his furnace-powered body to warm me, but even that didn't work. He thinks it's all in my head. He actually lies on top of the covers while I am snuggled under 2 blankets wearing sweats and socks. I would wear a parka if it wasn't so uncomfortable to sleep in. I look like I'm in Anartica, he looks like he's on the beach. I'm fairly certain he will spontaneously combust one day. Anywho, I braved the cold outside this morning and went for a lame-o 30 min. run. I say lame-o because I felt weak while I was running. Not sure why, maybe it's the running every day that is doing it. I think I will take a day off from running tomorrow and do the elliptical instead. I'll see what I'm feeling like in the a.m.

After my run, I had a delicious breakfast of a mock egg mcmuffin made with an Ezekiel English Muffin, egg white, slice of canadian bacon and a slice of 2 % cheese for 4 hearty POINTS...




I spent the rest of the morning doing lots of errands and couldn't wait to come home to this yummy Chicken BLT salad...

I used 2 oz. chicken, 2 slices of center-cut bacon (50 cal), lettuce, tomato and 1 tbsp. of Kraft Light Three Cheese Dressing. It is one of my favorite salads and only 4 POINTS!

I needed some crunch with that, so I had a serving of 96% fat free New York Style Mini Bagel Chips for 1 POINT...

I still felt a little hungry after that, so I cut up some perfectly ripe cantaloupe and added a few blueberries for 1 POINT...

I hung out with the daughters for a bit after school, then went through a bunch of old cooking mags and pulled tons of recipes. I'm such a recipe hound! I have 3 binders full and now, I just started a "try-me" folder that I will keep out and hopefully, do some advance meal planning with. I would love to be that organized!!

It was Pizza Night for dinner and I was not fretting one bit! I was really looking forward to my Margherita Flatbread pizza. I used one of the flatbreads that I made the other day and topped it with 1 tsp. garlic oil, sliced tomato and 3 small mozzarella balls sliced and a sprinkle of fresh basil. I put it in the oven for about 10 min. until the cheese was melted. YUM-O! I had some carrots and cantaloupe for a super tasty 7 POINT dinner...

Ah, and finally, an old friend...

I've missed my Vitatop/PB2 dessert!! It is always so filling and hits the spot! Gram's birthday is coming up and we are celebrating this weekend; I think I'll bring my Vita dessert so I won't be tempted to eat the regular cake!!! Hold me to that, okay??????

Have a great night everyone!!!!!

Horsing Around

I've been horsing around. I've been feeling this way all day about my weight loss since starting this BLBE challenge. From the January start date, I have lost 4 pounds. That is very suckish. People have told me that sometimes getting those last 10 pounds off is harder than the entire weight loss to date and may take a long time. I'm feeling a little frustrated about that. Mainly because it's not that I'm plateauing; I'm just horsing around and not putting my best effort forward with the eating part of it. Exercise is still on target. I ran for 30 min. outdoors this morning and plan on doing some strength training tonight. Now, I just have to figure out how to refocus my eating.

I was on the right track with breakfast this morning. I made an egg sammie with an Ezekiel Plain English Muffin, a slice of 2% cheese and one egg white and had a nice steaming cup of Eggnoggin Tea for 3 POINTS...


I was determined to be productive around the house today and tried not to have any distractions like phone, TV and computer! I got in a good bit of laundry and cleaned up the kitchen, only to mess it up again with lunch! I do that all the time! I decided to have a Chicken BLT wrap made with 2 slices of grease- all -over -the- micro center cut bacon, 2 oz. chicken (Perdue Short Cuts), lettuce, tomato and a squirt of Kraft Light Three Cheese Ranch wrapped up in a La Tortilla Factory Tortilla. Some crunchy Creamy Ranch Soy Crisps and a Fuji apple were a perfect side for this 7 POINT lunch...

Neeeeigh. It was a regular horse and pony show this afternoon. I started with a serving of pretzel sticks (I knew I shouldn't have bought these suckers the other day) and a string cheese for 3 POINTS...

And then, I had about 45 more handfuls of pretzels. And then, I had a handful of Peanut Butter Puffins. And ..... then...... I decided I HAD to mess up the kitchen again and make THIS...

If you're thinking brownie, cookie or cake batter, MAN, you have gotten to know me soooo well!! However, I decided to take a different route and created a new evil for myself...Homemade Almond Butter!!!! I have been seeing Barney Butter and other almond butters all over the blogosphere and have been convinced that I must try it. Since, I had some whole almonds in the house, I decided I would make it myself. I did some research and here is the recipe I came up with that I put through Weight Watcher's Recipe Builder for your POINT verifying convenience :) Oh my greatness! It is absolutely delicious. The husband and big daughter took a spoonful and were big fans! I, of course, had to try it by spoonful and then, spread on 2 flax crackers. I "forgot" to get pics of that ;) Don't worry though, you'll definitely be seeing it again!

That was a filling afternoon buffet snack, so I "downsized" my original plan for dinner and just went with 1 c. tortellini with marinara and 1 tbsp. parmesan for 5 POINTS...

And leftover Breaded Cheese Stuffed Zucchini for 3 POINTS...

There will be no dessert tonight! I said that quite emphatically, in case you didn't hear me :) I will distract any further thoughts of kitchen goodies by sitting down with the daughters to watch a heinous Disney movie that will inevitably begin or end with the death of a parent. I am going to write them a letter one day!

Then, it will be time to hit the hay. Neigh.

Feelin Fine Friday

I feel so much better today! Must have been all your well wishes!! My body really fought this cold and didn't let it come out full force thankfully! I even got to stay in bed a little later since the daughters were off from school. Then, I got up and rolling. I had a great strength training session. Today was back and biceps; I worked them pretty hard - my arms were shaking after I was done! I do miss the cardio with this new routine I'm trying. I'm looking forward to 5K Saturday tomorrow! Who knew???!!

Breakfast was a wonderful combo of Ezekiel english muffin (plain ones) topped with PB2 and Smucker's Sugar Free Grape Jam. I have to say that the Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin are much better than the plain which is a bit on the bland side. Both are such hearty muffins and really stay with you; the husband is HOOKED on the Cinnamon Raisin ones! I also had a hard boiled egg white cuz it looked good! A good looking 3 POINT breakfast...


Lunch was a turkey BLT on an Arnold Sandwich Thin. So tasty! Center cut bacon is a bargain; 2 slices are 1 POINT (check the brand - some are more) and add so much flavor. I had a serving of Creamy Ranch Soy Crisps and 1 c. cantaloupe for a delicious 6 POINT lunch...


And I just needed a teensy bit of sweet, so I grabbed 2 Chocolate Macaroons for 1 POINT...

I took little daughter to the library in the afternoon. I LOVE the library! I know, such a dork. I read some books to little daughter, then got a few books for myself. And what do I get??? Yep, cookbooks and diet books!!! It's a horrible obsession. I can't resist new diet books that have recipes in them. I read cookbooks like novels and I wonder why I am preoccupied with food morning, noon and night! I picked up the new Biggest Loser Family Cookbook; looking forward to trying out some recipes:)

Speaking of recipes, I made up a crazy one of my own for dinner! I had 4 beautiful zucchini in my fridge and every time I looked at them, I pictured them stuffed with cheese! I would add cheese to everything if I could!! So, I came up with Breaded Cheese Stuffed Zucchini...

• 4 medium zucchini
• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 c. seasoned Italian breadcrumbs
• 4 light string cheese sticks
• 1 tbsp. grated parmesan cheese

1. Cut zucchini in half, leaving stems on. Hollow out the centers with a pairing knife and spoon.
2. Season zucchini with salt and pepper.
3. Dip each zucchini shell into beaten egg, then into breadcrumbs.
4. Cut each cheese stick in half and place one half in each zucchini shell. Sprinkle top with breadcrumbs.
5. Spray a baking rack with cooking spray and place over a baking sheet. Place zucchini on baking rack and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
6. Bake in 400 degree oven for 15 -20 min. or until browned and cheese is melted.
7. Makes 4 servings - 3 POINTS per serving (2 halves). Serve with marinara sauce for additional POINTS.

Before going in the oven...

and after....

These were really tasty! I ate mine dipped in a bit of pizza sauce. Yep, tonight was pizza night! I indulged in a small slice along with my stuffed zucchini and a bit of salad with Kraft Light Three Cheese dressing. A yummy 9 POINT dinner...

After a serious game of Connect Four with little daughter, I had dessert...

another sweet Banana Cream Pie! This time I used some ground up Trader Joe's Holiday Ginger Cookies for the crust and omitted the butter. I liked this better than the graham crackers! Awesome and only 3 POINTS!

A busy day is on tap tomorrow, so I better get busy on the ZZZ's! Have a great night!