Catch Up

It's been a day of playing catch-up. I woke up at my 6:30 a.m. "Florida exercise time" -ugh! I spent a few minutes blog reading(still not caught up - you all have been so busy!!), then geared up for a workout. It never happened though because the rations were low, so I needed to head out to grocery shop instead. My shopping list was a mile long with veggies and fruits. I am craving them like crazy and would have bought every fruit and veg in the store! Who knew a week of staring at chicken nuggets, fries and hot dogs would cause such PMS-ish cravings!

Along with my produce desires, I was really missing Ezekiel english muffins. Thankfully, I had one lonely Cinnamon Raisin guy left in the freezer. I did a quick toast and topped with 1 tbsp. lite cream cheese for a yummy 3 POINT breakfast before the grocery shopping marathon...


Another item on my list was greek yogurt. The lovely folks at Stonyfield Farm sent me some coupons to try out their Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt (thanks, Kristina!) and I was really looking forward to tasting it. I was able to find 2 flavors of nonfat - Vanilla and Blueberry. I decided to have the Vanilla for lunch today...


This 5.3 oz. container has 110 calories, 0 fat and hello--15 gr. protein!!!! The ingredients are all natural, organic and contain no artificial sweeteners. As I was scooping it into a bowl, I noticed it had a rich and creamy consistency unlike the nonfat yogurt that I usually buy. I topped it with some beautiful strawberries and 1/4 c. Grape Nuts cereal for an "unusual-for -me "4 POINT lunch...

This was so rich and filling! I loved the consistency of the yogurt; even though it was nonfat, it had a "full fat" feel to it. It wasn't very sweet tasting and I didn't pick up much of the Vanilla flavor, so this was a very different yogurt experience from the artificially flavored type that I have become accustomed to. Overall, I really liked it! I am excited to try the Blueberry flavor to see if there is a bit more sweetness to that. I don't normally think of yogurt as a "meal", but this was so filling that I was good to go until way late in the afternoon! Can't say that about my other yogurts :)

After lunch, I headed to Trader Joe's for the remainder of my list. I also got a million and one things that weren't on my list! That store is just impossible to get out of without finding a bunch of yummy new items. One thing that caught my eye was this...

I love Tabbouli! My mom first introduced me to it; she used to make it and I always enjoyed it, especially with pitas! I had 2/3 c. (3 POINTS) for a snack today with TJ's flax and honey flatbreads (1 POINT). So delish...

I finally got everything put away and prepped some veggies just in time to make dinner! No Friday night pizza; the husband and daughters ordered it last night when we got home from the airport, so I made Philly Cheesesteaks and Fries. I decided to make mine into a wrap using a La Tortilla Factory Smart and Delicious Tortilla, 1 Landis sliced Beef Sirloin Sandwich Steak, slice 2 % cheese, sauteed mushrooms, onions, a squirt of ketchup and a couple pickles. Instead of regular fries, I nuked a 7 oz. sweet potato for a couple of minutes, then diced and pan-fried them in 1 tsp. olive oil. An awesome 8 POINT dinner...

I did have a couple of chocolate covered almonds for dessert but forgot to take a pic - oops! I am out of practice!!!! A week off will do that to ya!

So glad to be back!

Catching Some Zzzz's

Hey, everyone! Sorry I missed posting last night. Little daughter and I were on our own last night; the husband was chaperoning big daughter's school event which was from 5 p.m. till midnight! So, I spent the evening with little daughter playing "hairdresser" (she gave me some interesting do's!), making brownies (YES, THERE ARE BROWNIES IN THE HOUSE - AAAHHH!), and snuggling in bed watching TV. I was doing everything I could to keep my eyes open while watching her TV shows and after I put her to bed at 9:15, I put myself to bed, too! My original plan was to post after her bedtime, but I was out for the count! Sorry! So, here's my quick food update...

After sending everyone off to school, I popped in The Shred - still Level 1. However, I noticed that I felt much stronger this time: my jumping jacks, jump rope and anterior raises were all stronger. Maybe I'm ready for Level 2?! Shakin in my boots...we'll see...maybe I'll watch it today to see what I'm in for !!

Breakfast was an egg, bacon and cheese muffin sandwich ( a Mickey D knockoff!). I used 1 egg white, a slice of center cut bacon and slice of 2% cheese on a lite english muffin. I also had a sliced pear for a total of 4 POINTS...

For lunch, I had a cup of black bean soup, a Dietz and Watson gourmet lite beef frank on a light hot dog bun and a serving of Trader Joe's Rice Chips - this time I got the Sour Cream and Onion flavor which was AWESOME!! A yummy 5 POINT lunch...

I tried (and did pretty well without them last week), but I couldn't stay away from the chips for too long! So glad I found these guys. They have the same nutritionals as the Sea Salt and Pepper flavor with the exception of an additional .5 gr. fat which didn't change the POINT value, so they are still coming up 2 POINTS for a huge serving! YAY! My new chip fave...

I know this is weird, but I was pondering how I could fit hummus into my day. I have no idea why I am so obsessed with it; not like it's BROWNIES, but it is so good! I figured hummus would be a nice snack option today, so I used 2 tbsp. smeared on 3 TJ's flax and honey flatbread crackers (I love these, too!) and a handful of carrots. 3 POINTS of goodness...

An easy dinner with little daughter was 2 TJ's Stir Fry Vegetable Egg Rolls, strawberries and blueberries and another handful of carrots for 5 POINTS...

And did I mention, there were BROWNIES!!! Little daughter wanted them and I obliged. Only minor infractions to report. I licked some batter, ate the crunchy edges off some of the baked ones (you can't leave the crunchy edges on, noooooo) and ate a piece of one that "broke apart" - uh, huh - it did, too! I'm counting it as 8 POINTS from my Weekly POINTS Allowance and that's all I'm using of those because if I use too many, I don't lose and I HAVE to lose next week - don't want that .2 lbs. dangling out there!

Little daughter got her brownie and I grabbed one of these and headed upstairs to cuddle and avoid further disaster...

I missed my Vitatop dessert, but I had to get out of the kitchen FAST. So, how am I gonna handle this today? I know they are down there, in the kitchen, wanting to firmly plant themselves on my hips, but I MUST resist. Short of throwing them out, which would surely cause a riot, I'm at a loss for ideas on how to avoid them today. Maybe put them in the laundry room or freezer? Maybe get the husband(who was already excited this morning to see "real" brownies) and daughters to eat each and every one of them with every meal today?? I"m open to any solutions to this great dilema of mine, so please let me know if you've got one!!

Well, it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, so I'm going to take my 5K Saturday to the great outdoors. Then, it's Shred and duct tape for my mouth until the brownies are gone ;)

Have a great day... see ya tonight for our regularly scheduled program :)

Calling All Shredders!

My goal for February is to do the 30 Day Shred every day. It's a butt kickin workout in 20 minutes and we all can find 20 min. right??? I know many of you have tried it already, so now I'm calling all "shredders" to join me in my February Shred Challenge! C'mon peeps, you know ya want to look like Jillian and her girls, so LET'S DO THIS!!! I read some great reviews from some first-time shredders today; check out Kari's "picture that says a thousand words" and Heather's most hilarious review that I have ever read! You will pee your pants; we did =0D


Okay, let's get to the food...
I did my normal early morning elliptical workout for 30 minutes. Got the daughters off to school and had a quick breakfast of Puffins with 1/2 c. milk and sliced strawberries (3 POINTS)...



Lunch was a cup of black bean soup (1 POINT), hummus wrap with roasted pepper and lettuce (3 POINTS) and an apple (1 POINT). Notice the lack of chips, lately?? I'm "trying" to cut back!


Afternoon snack was the most delicious snack, ever! I used 3 TJ's flax and honey flatbread crackers, spread them with 1 Laughing Cow Light Cheese Wedge and topped with 1 oz. smoked salmon. An amazing 3 POINTS...

I loved that snack so much that I saw more salmon in my future =) Future came fast, dinner was....Salmon! Trader Joe's makes these great Salmon Roulettes that are stuffed with a spinach filling for 4 POINTS. Best part is that you can microwave them without it making them gross or dried out. Three minutes later, it's on your plate! I paired it with 2 0z. whole wheat orzo and a salad dressed with 1 tsp. evoo and vinegar. A fantastic 8 POINT dinner...

A bit after dinner, I headed to Shred it! Still Level 1; don't foresee getting to Level 2 anytime in the near future! I haven't even watched it; not even going there!

I was feeling for a dessert tonight. I know this isn't news as I have dessert every night! It was a tough decision tonight because I am out of my luscious Vitatops. I placed an order from their website for a special Valentine's Day package (they emailed this to me) which I'm really excited about because they are including a limited edition Banana Fudge flavor. Wowza! Can't wait!!!!!
Until then, I had a graham cracker topped with PB2 and a bit of Smucker's Sugar Free Grape Jam for 2 POINTS...

So, what do ya think, Shredders?? Are you in?? Let me know and we'll check in on each other to keep us going! C'mon...let's get shredded!!!

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.......