Recovery

I have to do better today. That was my first thought when I woke up this morning. I knew I had to curb the overly-overeating or I will not be feeling great at the end of this vacation. Unfortunately, the bike ride didn't happen due to some early rain and by the time it cleared up, it was time to take Rocky for another long walk before we hit the beach for the day. At least it was movement and I enjoyed taking in the sites and sounds.

I came back and went right to breakfast- 1/2 c. plain greek yogurt, 1 c. strawberries and 2/3 c. Trader Joe's High Fiber Fruit and Nut Medley for 3 POINTS...


I made everyone's sandwiches for the beach, but decided to make an orzo bean salad for myself...

• 2 cups whole wheat orzo, cooked
• 1 can Trader Joe's Marinated Bean Salad, drained
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 3 oz. light feta cheese, crumbled
• 4 basil leaves, chopped
• s + p to taste

This made about 5 , 1-cup servings for 5 POINTS per serving. It was a great tasting salad and filling due to the addition of the beans. I also added a few extra tomato chunks leftover from the husband's sammie...

We spent lots of time in the ocean again. The water temp was a nice 76 degrees! The undertow was pretty strong, too, so I'm thinking there was a good bit of strength training going on while I was in there ;P

After the ocean "workout", I had a nice, ripe nectarine... Later, we headed home to get ready for dinner. The husband chose a restaurant on the island which, incidentally, has great pizza. Imagine that!

We started with a deadly bread basket including the daughters' favorite - garlic knots...

Of course, I couldn't resist such fabulous bread...

I ordered two appetizers for my dinner. A salad with pear, cranberries, walnuts and fried goat cheese with a raspberry vinagrette...

and a calamari dish in a spicy tomato sauce with peppers served over crostini...

Both dishes were huge for an appetizer portion. Unfortunately, my calamari dish was bad. Not quite sure what the deal was, but it smelled terrible (like dirty socks - and I'm being nice by saying that). I noticed the smell as soon as the server put the dish on the table. At first, I thought it might just be me, so I tasted the calamari. Brave, I know. Hope that doesn't come back to haunt me, if you know what I mean! Although, it tasted okay, I couldn't feel good about eating it. It just smelled awful. The husband almost gagged and called the server to take it back. I hate doing that, but I hate eating bad food more. No need to end up in the hospital on vacation! Anyway, that kinda ruined my appetite, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I did eat about 2/3 of the salad which was quite tasty, but nothing to write home about. I nibbled on some of big daughter's pizza crust, too. At least the pizza, their veggies (delicious string beans with garlic) and house salad was good!

When we got back from dinner, we went on a leisurely walk with Rocky to soak in the last bit of the day. We all ended the night with a Lil' Drumstick...

I chose the Cookie Dough flavor. It was delish; the perfect little something for 3 POINTS (130 cal, 7 grams fat)...

I'm ready to hit the hay! We have an early morning boardwalk bike ride on tap tomorrow; it should be a fun time!

Have a great night everyone=)

Sluggy McSluggerson

Sorry I missed posting last night; I was too pooped to post! Frankly, it wasn't the most stellar eating day anyway. You know it always starts off fine ...

I picked up a box of my old favorite when I was at Trader Joe's the other day...

A serving is 2/3 cup (90 calories, 1.5 gr. fat and 7 gr. fiber =1 POINT) which doesn't sound like much, but when you load it on top of 1/2 c. nonfat greek yogurt and 1 c. sliced strawberries, it becomes a mountain of food that was so filling and almost too much to eat for only 3 POINTS...

This bowl held me over for the longest time. I wasn't ready for lunch until almost 2:00! That was a good thing since I was out running some errands and didn't get home until almost that time. I couldn't decide exactly what I was in the mood for, so I went with some random things: a bowl of TJ's organic lentil soup, 3 flax and honey flatbread crackers, 2 tbsp. hummus, carrots and a Mott's Healthy Harvest Peach Medley applesauce. A nice 5 POINT tasting plate...

But, then for some reason, I continued to eat a bunch of junk. A couple of cookies, a couple of chocolates and handfuls of those stinkin' Cheez-Its. I don't know why I must eat nonstop handfuls of those suckers. Really, isn't that ridiculous?? Who the heck cares about flippin' Cheez-Its?? Not like they are the food of the gods or anything. More like food of the devil; at least for me, lately. They need to be off the shopping list for a while; sorry daughters!


Later, I started prepping for dinner. The husband invited his parents over for the "unveiling" of our first tomato from the garden (*cue choir of angels*)...

When I tell you he has been talking non-stop about this tomato for the past 2 days, I am not exaggerating. He is so proud of his tomato-growing skills and has been nuturing this guy like it is a newborn baby! We had a "slicing ceremony"...I know, we need to get out more...

I must give him props; it was delicious! Nothing like homegrown:) Great job, hon!

To go with our tomato, I made cheese calzones, pepperoni and cheese strombolis and, in an attempt to be a little healthier, barbecue chicken calzones for me. Here's some of the "bad" guys...

I also made a grape tomato(not ours), red onion, cucumber and mozzarella salad dressed with a little evoo and vinegar...

For the barbecue chicken calzone, I used ...

• 1/2 of premade Trader Joe's whole wheat dough
• 4 oz. leftover roasted chicken breast
• 1/4 c. honey barbecue sauce
• red onion
• 2 oz. part skim shredded mozzarella cheese

This made 2 decent sized calzones for 9 POINTS each.

I had a one with a side of tomato mozz salad...

Then topped it off with a serving (um, yeah right!) of Breyers Cookies and Cream Ice Cream...

Notice that there are no words like "light, reduced fat or fat free" in the aforementioned brand of ice cream! So good going down....so bad landing on the hips ;P

Oh and to add insult to injury, there was no exercise to be had today either. Stop the insanity!!!!

See ya tonight for a hopefully much better day!

Behind The Times

I feel a bit messed up from the time change. I got a late start this morning since it is now dark again. I never feel like getting out of bed when it's like that! I did some things around the house and read a little and before I knew it, it was almost 11 a.m.! Time for breakfast! I wanted another one of the grocery goodies my Mom brought me...







Another low POINT bagel! These are called Kim's Light Bagels . They are made by a woman named Kim Bensen who has lost over 200 lbs. on the Weight Watchers Program. Her story is so inspiring and her bagels are delicious! My Mom picked me up the Everything flavor which is 110 cal., 1.5 gr. fat and 4 gr. fiber which is 2 POINTS. She does make other flavors that are only 1 POINT, too. I had mine toasted and topped with 1 Laughing Cow Cheese Wedge and a sliced orange for 4 POINTS...

For lunch, I made a veggie tofu scramble. Don't say, "eeewwww"! It was really good! I made good use of leftover veggies, too. I took a 1/2 block of Nasoya Lite Tofu , crumbled and sauteed it in a nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray. To that, I added some leftover chopped grilled zucchini and leftover roasted potato, peppers and onions. When everything was heated through, I mixed in a slice of 2% cheese until it was all melty. Sooooo veggie-licious for 4 POINTS...

If you're scared of tofu, try it in a scramble. It takes on the consistency of a scrambled egg and really doesn't have much flavor on it's own, so it takes on the flavor of whatever you season it with. A few years ago when I "dabbled" in vegetarianism, I had tofu scrambles all the time for breakfast or lunch. It really is yummy!

I fit in another favorite snack this afternoon: Weight Watchers Strawberry yogurt and THAT Trader Joe's cereal for 2 POINTS...

I finally got around to doing my exercise. Instead of another 5K, I hit the basement for a pumpin 35 min. on the elliptical while reading, Intuitive Eating. I began reading this book a few weeks ago and I have been enlightened by the principles in this book. So eye-opening! My sister from another mister, Angie is currently reading this book also and has been doing some great recaps and self-discovery posts. Check it out; it's so interesting!

Dinner was a family favorite: Philly Cheesesteaks! I made some homemade baked fries ( I love my mandoline!!) and a big salad with Kraft Light Three Cheese Ranch to go with it. A yum-o 9 POINT din din...

After dinner, I "un-intuitively" (it's a word now!) ate 2 Hershey's kisses and another small chocolate that I, um, "forgot" to take a picture of ;D. So, to finish out my dessert, I had some tea and a Weight Watchers Chocolate Chip Cookie ( 1 POINT)...

Not too shabby, today. I feel a little off kilter with the time change, but I like that it is light longer in the evening! I'm off to catch up on that whopping hour of sleep that I lost; hey, every bit counts right?! Have a great night and good zzzz's!!

When The Plan Works

Weigh-in went well today! I was down 3.4 lbs. from my BLBE weigh-in last week. Whew, that was a good feeling! Actually, I felt pretty relaxed when I got on the scale this morning; I really wasn't worrying about what it was going to say because I felt satisfied with all I did this week. I knew that if it didn't show up this week, it would later, so I was o.k. either way. Buuuuut, I LOVE IT when a plan comes together like today!!!



I also headed to my WW meeting this morning. Before I went, I got in a 45 minute treadmill run. After a quick shower, I rushed out the door, so I only grabbed this to munch on after the meeting...







I knew this 2 POINT bar wouldn't last long. I was ready for lunch early. I decided on a Buffalo Turkey Burger. I cooked it on the George Foreman Grill and put it on an Arnold Sandwich Thin topped with lettuce and 1 tbsp. Marie's Lite Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing. Mmmm.... I love this burger! On the side, I went with a serving of Kettle Baked Potato Chips and some carrots with another tbsp. of dressing. Yummy 7 POINT lunch...


I went with a big snack today since dinner was going to be late. I had a Weight Watchers Strawberry Yogurt with 1/2 c. blueberries, 2 strawberries and a serving of that long named Trader Joe's cereal that I like ;) A big 3 POINT bowl...

I was really looking forward to my dinner tonight - BAKED TOFU!!! I have been craving this after seeing different versions all over the blogosphere! I even dabbled in it a little a couple of years ago when I was "vegetarian" for a few months. So, I decided to feed my craving tonight since the husband and daughters were going to have ravioli for dinner and I don't like to spend the POINTS on those. To make the baked tofu, I used a seasoning of 1 tbsp. brown sugar, 1 tbsp. chili powder, 1/2 tsp. garlic powder, 1/2 tsp. cumin, 1/2 tsp. onion powder, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/8 tsp. pepper, 1/2 tsp. molasses and 1 tbsp. ketchup mixed together and rubbed onto slices of lite firm tofu and baked on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray for about 30 -40 minutes at 425 degrees. It comes out crispy and slightly chewy. I love the "meaty" texture! I can't wait to eat the leftovers in a sandwich :) Using the lite tofu made this so low POINT - the entire recipe is only 4 POINTS!

To go with the baked tofu, I had a bunch of broccoli and a couple small sweet potatoes. A very "veggie -tarian" 7 POINT dinner...

And you know, I can't help myself...

A luscious 2 POINTS!

So, I've been working the plan this week and the plan has been working. I am 2.4 lbs. away from the 150's!!!! HOLY CRAP! I have not seen those numbers in................ever??? I'm sure I weighed that at some time or other, but I think I was in my teens. I'm going to try to keep focused as best as possible so that I can get there. I need a "self-sabotage free" couple of weeks to get me there. Here goes.....

White And WINNERS!!!

Boy, did it snow today- everything was WHITE!!! I was thrilled to sleep in a little and putter around the house. I got in a bit of laundry and made some "freeze-ahead" meals. Time flies when you're having fun ;) Really flies. I'm embarassed to say that I am still in my pj's! Well, no use changing now!



Even though, it was a cold morning and I should want something warm, I was in the mood for cold cereal! I think it's because I am addicted to this TJ's High Fiber Fruit and Nut Multigrain Medley. If I am going to keep eating this, I will have to come up with a shorter name cuz this is ridiculous!!! I ate my cereal (how's that???) with 1 c. blueberries and 1/2 c. unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze for 3 POINTS...





Lunch was a roasted pepper, spinach and cheese sammie on whole wheat tuscan pane with a side of split pea soup and a handful of grapes for 6 POINTS...




I felt like having a snack this afternoon, mainly because I was bored moreso than hungry. I realize this is not in accordance with Intuitive Eating, but at least I was able to recognize that instead of going into an eating trance like I normally do. I guess it's all part of the journey;) So, I gave in to my snack attack with a Weight Watchers Strawberry Yogurt topped with a crumbled FiberPlus Chocolate Chip Bar for 3 POINTS... Can you tell I'm trying to "use up" my "bar stash"??!!

I also ended up grabbing a few other snacks; a couple chocolates and some bites of this and that. I wasn't too worried because I haven't used any of my extra Weekly Allowance POINTS, yet this week. Hmm...seems I say this and then, the next day I go haywire, but I really am committed this week, so there will be no "haywire behavior"!!

Dinner was a serving of Italian Meatloaf, sauteed eggplant, tomatoes,chickpeas and a whole wheat roll. Wait, make that 2 rolls. Yep, more Weekly Allowance POINTS! It was a very brown 12 POINT dinner...

And I can't let the day go without dessert. Here's a childhood favorite with a twist: PB2 Smores! Graham cracker, large marshmallow, 1 Hershey's kiss and PB2. A 3 POINT blast from the past...

Before I head to bed, I have to....... (Shred would have fit really well in here, but...) strength train! Yep, that's my new goal for March! I'm gonna switch things up a bit and do a strength training routine from my Exercise Anywhere cards on M,W,F and save the cardio for the other days. I've been doing cardio every day for 19 months, so it feels a little weird to not be doing that today! But, I'm willing to try it out for this month and see what happens with the scale and my body :) Oh, and speaking of Exercise Anywhere cards, I need to announce the winners of my very first giveaway!!!! The winners are Bre and Me, Only Better !!!! Thanks so much to everyone for participating; I hope to have more giveaways in the future!!

Have a great night =)

Sayonara Shred!!!

Whew, the February Shred Challenge is over!!!!!! Holy Moly, that was the longest 28 days of my life! LOL!!! Seriously though, what an awesome workout. I do really like this DVD; it was tough but I loved that it was only 20 min. I think it will definitely remain in my workout rotation, just not everyday like I did for the challenge! Even the husband is hooked and will keep doing it 2x a week. So now for the RESULTS! Was all this Shredding worth it??? Well, I jumped out of bed this morning, popped in the Shred and huffed that baby out for the last time this month, then grabbed my measuring tape for the big reveal. Here's the inches lost list...

• arms - 1/2 " each
• chest - 1/2 "
• waist - 1 "
• hips - 3/4"
• legs - 3/4" each

That's a total of 4 1/4" lost! Hey, not too bad for 28 days! Actually, I can't claim all 28 days; I did miss 2 days and probably had a couple "half-assed" Shreds when I just kinda went through the motions but didn't give it my all. This wasn't my only form of exercise; I still got in the elliptical and runs, but I definitely see the difference in my arms the most. I have developed a nice muscle on the sides of my arms, I'm thinking from all those stinkin push-ups! And my abs definitely feel "six pack-ish" under the 3" layer of fat that is currently covering it. So, even though I am not fully "shredded", I am happy with my results and proud of myself for sticking with the Challenge. To all the Shredders who hung in there with me during this Challenge, please feel free to post your experience or measurement results in my comments or link to your blog if you are posting them there. I'd love to see how everyone made out! Okay, let's get to the food...

After the Shred and measuring, I made a quick breakfast of 2/3 c. TJ's High Fiber Fruit and Nut Multigrain Medley with 1/2 banana and 1/2 c. unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze for 3 POINTS...

Then, I headed to my friend, Rosemary's baby shower. It was a lovely shower; she got lots of cute stuff for her little guy. A nice buffet lunch was served and I was happy to see some healthy choices. I chose a mixed greens salad, sauteed veggies and about 2 oz. of sliced steak. I had my own dressing packet that I keep in my purse and used that for the salad which made it a friendly 5 POINT lunch...


I have to admit, I was a little apprehensive about whipping out my camera at this shower filled with people that I didn't know, but I sat next to the guest of honor and she knows about(and has appeared) on my blog, so I didn't feel as odd to take a quick pic! Ugh, the woes of the food blogger!!!

A little after I arrived home from the shower, I was feeling hungry. Big daughter had a late basketball game scheduled and I knew we would be eating a really late dinner, so I made a filling snack of a Weight Watchers Vanilla Yogurt topped with a crumbled Chocolate Brownie Clif Z Bar for 3 POINTS...


Dinner was very late, so I had planned a soup and "make your own panini" night. I went with 1 c. Trader Joe's Creamy Tomato Soup and a panini made with rustic whole wheat bread, 2 tbsp white bean hummus, 1 Laughing Cow Light Cheese Wedge, baby spinach and sliced tomato. A comforting and quick 6 POINT dinner...

Since, I showed great restraint today at the shower by not eating the amazing looking cake or THE BROWNIES that were displayed so seductively on a tray, I decided to treat myself to a wonderful dessert. Okay, who am I kidding - you all know I "treat" myself to dessert EVERY NIGHT!!!!! But, anyway, I tried to make this one special; a " bananas foster - inspired "sundae. I sauteed a medium sliced banana in a nonstick pan coated with a bit of cooking spray then, stirred in Lighthouse Reduced Sugar Caramel Dip to coat bananas and poured this over 1/2 c. Breyers Fat Free Double Churn Caramel Swirl Ice Cream. Mmmm...warm bananas and caramel ROCK! A "better than those brownies" dessert for 4 POINTS...

That's the day! Hope it's been a great Saturday! Nite =)

It's A Great Day For My First Giveaway!

It's Friday! I am so excited to offer my first Giveaway to my awesome blog readers! The uber-cool folks at NuruPlanet recently sent me their Exercise Anywhere cards to check out and I have to say this couldn't have come at a better time! I have been interested in changing up my workout routine and want to incorporate more strength training, but where to start??? Well, this solved my dilema! This deck of 30 cards has fully illustrated exercises for every major muscle group, includes sample weekly routines and even a Cardio Lab that features at-home interval training workouts. This is everything you would find in an exercise book or on a fitness website, but all contained on these portable cards that are small enough to fit in your pocket or purse. How cool is that????




And it's all in the palm of your hand...

So, NuruPlanet has offered to send these Exercise Anywhere decks to 2 lucky winners-USA and Canada only - sorry my overseas friends:( Just leave me a comment to be entered to win; I'll announce the winners on Monday!!!

Now, let's get to the food! I ate an early breakfast this morning; the husband and I had a "workout date" planned, so I ate before heading out. I went with a "mock egg McMuffin" using a Thomas' Light English Muffin topped with egg white, a slice of 2% cheese and a slice of center cut bacon. Better for you than Mickey D's and only 3 POINTS...

The husband and I dropped the daughters off at school and headed out for our "workout date" (with the dog!). We went on a 40 min. hike through the steep and hilly woods. This always makes me feel so out of shape! I am huffing and puffing up the hills like nobody's business! The husband walks so fast, too , so it's hard to keep up! It was nice though and the dog had a blast crashing through the woods! He got an awesome workout. Then, we came home and the husband suggested we do the Level 3 Shred together! He does the advanced moves and I do the scaled down version, but it is still darn hard and I am SO changing my name to "Anita" when I am done with this Challenge tomorrow! LOL!!

After Shred and shower, I went to meet my friend, Jenn ( HI Jenn!!!) for lunch at Cosi. This was my first time at Cosi; it's a neat place. My eyes immediately went to the desserts, but I shielded them like a horse with blinders and settled on a Bombay Light Chicken Salad with fat-free balsamic dressing and 1/2 of their delicious flatbread. A nice lunch for 6 POINTS...

After a nice chatty lunch, I ran some errands. One of my stops was Trader Joe's where I found this yummy High Fiber Fruit and Nut Multigrain Medley cereal...

Seriously, could that name be any longer?????? Anyway, it is a delicious mix of high fiber clusters, raisins, cranberries, almonds and pecans (although, not much in the nut dept.). A 2/3 c. serving is 90 cal., 1.5 gr. fat and 7 gr. fiber for 1 POINT. It was a great snack mixed with a Weight Watchers Berries and Cream Yogurt for 2 POINTS...

That held me over nicely until dinner. The husband and daughters had pizza but, I had a craving for burgers so I made a Buffalo Turkey Burger! I took 4 oz. of ground turkey breast and added to it some finely minced onion and celery, a dash of salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder and 1 tbsp. Frank's Hot Sauce. I mixed it all together, formed it into a patty and pan fried it in a nonstick skillet. Then, I put it on an Arnold Sandwich Thin, topped with lettuce and 1 tbsp. Marie's Lite Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing. So delicious, lots of flavor and a hearty serving! I had a side salad with some additional blue cheese dressing to go with this awesome burger, all for 5 POINTS...

I did have a few nibbles of pizza, but only about 2 POINTS worth. Thankfully, I wasn't that into it tonight. The burger really was satisfying, in flavor and volume. But, I always have room for dessert! My combo tonight was a Banana Fudge Vitatop with 1/2 c. Breyer's Fat Free Double Churn Caramel Swirl Ice Cream and a squirt of fat-free whipped cream for 2 POINTS...

Banana, fudge AND CARAMEL!!! Yes, it's a beauuuuuutiful thing =)

Don't forget to leave a comment here for your chance to Exercise Anywhere!!!!!!

Have a great night!