Parties And Birthdays And Friends, Oh My

This has been a fun weekend! Yesterday, the weather was beautiful, so I went for a 5K run in the morning. Then, it was off to big daughter's basketball championship game which was so exciting! Mom, Dad and Gram came to cheer her on and we were jumping out of our seats, yelling and cheering! They won and had a celebratory pizza party following the game, which I ducked out of to take little daughter to a friend's house to play. I headed home to make ESPRESSO BROWNIES to bring to the neighbor's St. Patrick's Day party that night. No pics. Trust me, you do NOT even want to see these!!! They sprout instant devil horns, tempting you to do the unmentionable. Pretend you NEVER heard of these - *fingers in ears* lalalalala :0) I was so busy getting everything together and everyone where they needed to be, that before I knew it, it was time to go to the party and I hadn't eaten dinner first as planned - DARN! It was a great party; lots of fun and FOOD, but I was so chatty that I ended up only DRINKING MY DINNER - haha!!! Mmmmm...margaritas are VERY nutritious ;)

It was a late night, but I felt pretty good this morning...considering. I started my morning with a non-liquid breakfast of a Kim's Light Bagel topped with a Laughing Cow Light Cheese Wedge and 2 hard boiled egg whites for 4 POINTS...



I did a measly 30 min. on the elliptical. Soon after, I was ready for lunch. I went with a Buffalo Turkey Burger cooked on the George Foreman Grill, served on an Arnold Sandwich Thin with lettuce and 1 tbsp. Marie's Lite Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing. Delish! I had a side of Kettle Baked Hickory Barbeque Potato Chips and a Fuji apple. An awesome 8 POINT lunch...


I spent the rest of the afternoon prepping for my friend, Coleen's birthday dinner. Her daughters came over to play with the daughters and I had them all stay for a Birthday Celebration! I made Spinach Artichoke Stuffed Chicken in a white wine sauce. To make this, I cut a pocket in boneless chicken breasts and stuffed it with my Spinach Artichoke Dip (this dip is one of C's faves), then browned the chicken, covered and cooked it through. Then, I made a white wine sauce with a bit of light butter, flour, garlic, chicken broth and white wine and poured it over the cooked chicken. Yummy! I served this with roasted sweet potatoes, roasted asparagus with lemon zest, leftover cheese stuffed zucchini, garlic and thyme roasted mushrooms and amazing Italian bread. A happy 12 POINT dinner...

The birthday cake was a homemade angelfood cake topped with strawberry syrup and fat free whipped topping. I made the strawberry syrup using 1/2 c. of Smucker's Sugar Free Strawberry Jam melted down in a saucepan and added fresh sliced strawberries. Amazing! A "berry friendly" ;) 2 POINT dessert...

It was a great weekend! Lots of fun with family and friends. I'm coming down from the excitement now and fading fast! I'm going to clock out and get some sleep, but look forward to catching up with everyone's blogs tomorrow! Hope you all had a rockin weekend :)

Changing It Up

I woke up this morning to a little snow! Much to the daughters' dismay, it was not enough to get out of going to school! Awwww. More is supposedly on the way tonight, so they may get their wish tomorrow. Frankly, I would love to sleep in a little, too. I've been awfully sluggish the past few days.

This morning, I waited until the daughters were off to school to do my workout. I wasn't in the mood for the normal treadmill or elliptical workout, so I decided to pop in some DVDs. First, I did an 8 minute Tae Bo. Remember that blast from the past???! Boy, I forgot how sweaty and huffy you can get in just 8 minutes! ( Minds out of the gutter, people!) Then, I moved on to Pilates for Dummies. Yes, that is the name and yes, I could be classified as a dummy in this area :) It is pretty tough; there are some exercises that I can't do at all because of my sensitive lower back, but I followed through with the rest. It was a nice change of pace!

After my workout, I made the yummy egg sammie on a Weight Watchers petite bagel with egg white, baby spinach, slice of center cut bacon and slice of 2% cheese. I could eat this 3 POINT breakfast every day!



I ran some errands after that and also headed to Target where I picked up Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. I've been reading about it on all the blogs and since it was on sale for 13 bucks, I decided to give it a whirl. I came home and made lunch which was a ginormous salad. I used 3 big handfuls of lettuce, 2 oz. chicken, 1 hard boiled egg white, 1 light string cheese sliced up, tomatoes and carrots. I topped it with 2 tbsp. Marie's Light Blue Cheese Dressing. A colorful 5 POINT lunch...

For snack, I had a Weight Watchers Vanilla Yogurt with 1/4 c. blueberries and 3/4 c. Puffins for 2 POINTS...

I have been craving meat (along with salt!) so I made an Italian Meatloaf for dinner. The husband and daughters had tater tots along with their meatloaf, but I just stuck with Gram's green beans for a side. OK, I DID pop a couple tots in my mouth, so I'll count a POINT for those! Did you know that only 8 tater tots are 3 POINTS???? Who eats just 8 tater tots??? Unheard of! Anyway, this was a super tasty 8 POINT dinner...

After dinner, I thought I would give "the Shred" a try. Holy Crap! I can tell Jillian and I are gonna have a love/hate relationship! It's not an easy workout, but it's only 20 minutes! My legs were shaking when I was done! But, I NEED to work off those calories - I took a peek at the scale this morning. I was prepared for the worst; it wasn't as bad as I thought, but still not good (up 1.4 lbs.). Weigh -in is Thurs; I'm not looking good for my A-Team :( We'll see - maybe I can exercise for 6 hours tomorrow!!!!

I decided to have a post-Shred dessert. I heated a CranBran Vitatop in the micro and added some sliced strawberries and a dollop of fat-free Cool Whip. A great 2.5 POINT finish. Mmmmm....

OK, I'm off to give the Biggest Loser my full attention! Hope you all have a great night =)

Run, Eat, Read

Hi Everyone! I'm going to try to make this post quick, as I am deeply into reading Twilight and can't put it down! I got this for big daughter for Christmas. She has already seen the movie, but hasn't had a chance to start the book. I decided to read it to "check it out" and see what all the hubub was about and now I know!!!! It is very enticing, dark, but romantic at the same time! It's neat because I get to a certain part and then ask big daughter about it and she tells me what happened in the movie. We're sorta having our own book club! Fun ! Okay, so let's get with the food...



This morning, I headed to the basement for my "5k Saturday" treadmill run. I think I will definitely try and keep this routine. I was hurting a little from my outdoor run yesterday. It affected me differently than the treadmill; I guess the impact from the asphalt is a little rougher. Anyway, I powered through which felt good afterward. For breakfast, I made the same egg sammie as yesterday. I was actually salivating when I was on the treadmill, thinking of this breakfast! It is a very yummy 3 POINTer...







For lunch, I morphed the Crispy Buffalo Chicken Tenders leftover from the other night into a yummy wrap. I reheated the chicken in the toaster oven to recrisp/reheat them and placed them in a La Tortilla Factory Smart and Delicious Tortilla with some lettuce, shredded carrots, chopped celery and 1 tbsp. Marie's Light Blue Cheese Dressing. Wow, this was amazing! Just went with a side of Kettle Baked Potato Chips for a terrific 7 POINT lunch...




A little after lunch, I made some Coffee Cocoa...

Before going to big daughter's basketball game, I had a snack of 3/4 c. Puffins, 1/4 c. high fiber cereal, 3 strawberries and 1 c. Soy Slender...

After the basketball game, we came straight home and I got started on dinner. I was making Shrimp Scampi over Linguine for myself and just straight-up spaghetti with marinara sauce for the husband and daughters who would not touch shrimp with a ten foot pole. Oh, the horror! It was terrific, they don't know what they are missing :) I made a side of sauteed spinach with garlic. This was a nice 8 POINT dinner...

Unfortunately, during the dinner making process, I started noshing on some crackers, pretzel rod and hummus. I shut it down pretty quickly, though. However, I didn't think until after I had already done the deed, that I should have employed my "gum trick" from last night! DUH! That would have worked. I did recognize while I was noshing that I wasn't hungry, just feeling a little anxious(those games do that to me!); so maybe next time I'll be able to talk myself out of what I am recognizing!!!

I had some ice cream for dessert tonight. I went with some Edy's Slow Churned Peanut Butter Cup ice cream; this is a light ice cream - 130 cal. and 8 gr. fat. Very good! But, honestly, I like the fat free just as much if not better and it's less POINTS. I also had a pumpkin choco-chip cookie from the freezer...

(sorry for this bad pic)

Well, some noshing continued later with the daughters' Goldfish Crackers, nuts and a couple Girl Scout Cookies. I feel o.k. about it because I have the Weekly Allowance Points to use, but I wish I wouldn't eat just to eat. It's over now and I'm glad it didn't turn into something more. Okay, I already went on longer than I told you I would!!!

Into the Twilight...

Dinner And Dessert!

I spent some time this afternoon perusing WW friendly recipes from my vast array of recipe binders (I currently have 4 binders filled with recipes) and cookbooks. It's a sickness, I know, and one that I have inherited from my Mom who has a roomful of cookbooks, recipe binders and past issue cooking magazines. Sorry I "outed"you, Mom!!! While looking through my binders, I came across a recipe for Baked Buffalo Chicken which looked easy enough so that's what I made for dinner tonight. I put chicken drumsticks in a baking dish sprayed with cooking spray, seasoned them with s & p and baked them at 400 degrees for 30 min. While they were baking, I melted 1 tbsp. light butter with 1/4 c. Frank's Hot Sauce and a dash of celery salt. After 30 min., I poured the hot sauce mixture over the chicken drumsticks and let them bake for another 10-15 minutes. I took the skin off of my little guy before adding the sauce, but left the others with skin which got nice and crispy. The family loved it - hooray!! I served mine with a side of carrot sticks and cucumber spears with 2 tbsp. Marie's Light Blue Cheese Dressing for dipping, and also a 3 oz. serving of baked fries. A fun dinner, all for 6 POINTS...

I had plenty of room for dessert (as always!) and thought I would make something special, but didn't get around to it :( So, I took out my yummy Deep Chocolate Vitatop, mixed up the PB2 and then saw this blast from the past in my kitchen cabinet...

Can you see where I'm going with this???? I added 1 tbsp. of marshmallow fluff ( 20 cal., 0 gr. fat = 0 POINTS!) to the PB2 and heated it in the micro for a few seconds until the fluff got melty and mixed with the PB2! I know!!!! This is the best dessert - Deep Chocolate Vitatop with PB2 Marshmallow Frosting...

* Drooling while posting*...

I'm pretty sure I can save up 2 POINTS to have this every night!

Well, it was a good "on program" day today which is a great thing because the BLBE2 is officially underway! My teammates that have weighed-in today are off to an awesome start; I hope to be right up there with them this Thurs.! GO TEAM ANGIE!

Have a nice night =)

Ton Of Won Tons

I had some won ton wrappers in the fridge and decided I would create my dinner around these guys. Have you ever seen these?






They are usually located in the refrigerated produce section of the grocery store. They are so versatile, you can use them in soups, as a ravioli, and even for dessert dishes. I wanted to recreate an appetizer that I make called Spanakopita. It is a greek dish made with phyllo dough, spinach, feta and a vat of butter! Very low cal ;)


I thought I would fool with the filling to bring down some of the fat and use the won ton wrappers instead of the phyllo. Here's what I came up with for Spanakopita Won Tons...

• 10 oz. box of frozen spinach
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 3 - 5 scallions, chopped
• 1/2 c. crumbled reduced fat feta cheese
• 1 tbsp. fresh dill
• 1/8 c. nonfat cottage cheese
• 1 egg white
• 1/8 tsp. each of salt and pepper
• 21 won ton wrappers

Defrost spinach and squeeze out excess water. Place in a medium bowl and set aside. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in small skillet, add scallions and saute for about 5 minutes. Add the scallions, feta, dill, cottage cheese and egg to the spinach. Mix together and season with salt and pepper.

Working with one won ton at a time, place 1 heaping tsp. of spinach mixture in center of won ton. Brush the edges with a bit of water (I use my finger dipped in water) and fold won ton in half. Press to seal the edges. Place on a nonstick cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Repeat process until all won tons have been filled. Spray the tops of the filled won tons with additional cooking spray and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Serve warm.



This recipe makes 3 servings. That is 7 won tons per serving and for only 5 Points!!!

I also had a plain green salad with Marie's Light Blue Cheese Dressing. A great 6 Point dinner...






I put the remaining Spanakopita Won Tons in the deep freeze. I think they will make a yummy, "legal" appetizer for a party.


I had Points left for a nice dessert. I went with Mini Apple Turnovers - A La Mode, again! These turnovers reheated well. And the Breyers Fat Free Double Churn Caramel Swirl Ice Cream is so perfect with apples...





I feel good about my manuevers through the pizza minefield today. Having a strategy and not getting any surprise attacks really helps win the battle...of the bulge, that is... :)

What's In There

I have been really good about eating my meals at home. When I am out most of the day running around, I am tempted to eat whatever is out there. I tend to not make the healthiest choice and I don't usually feel satisfied . My new strategy has been to take a "lunch break" at home. Sometimes it's a royal pain to do this, but I make out better with my healthy eating goals when I follow through with it.



The Power Pumpkin Pancakes stayed with me for a lot longer than I thought this morning. But by 1 p.m., I was starving! Funny how it happens all at once. I headed home for my "lunch break" and tried to figure out what looked good to eat. My first thought was a quick wrap, but then the leftover potato skins jumped out at me. I looked around for something to top them with and I found a Weight Watchers Smart Ones Chicken Sante Fe in the freezer. I don't normally eat these dinners; they aren't usually that great and are super loaded with sodium. Plus, it's just not enough food for me. But, I figured I should eat what's in there before stocking up on more food. See, I'm getting better at not wasting!!! This frozen meal is not too bad taste -wise and it was only 2 Points...





I heated the potato skins in the toaster oven. Meanwhile, I nuked the Chicken Santa Fe for the required time. I filled the skins with the Chicken Santa Fe and topped them with a slice of 2% cheese divided over the 4 skins. Carrots were a nice side...




I weighed the skins before filling and they came to 3 0z. which is only 1 Point! With the chicken and the cheese, these only came to 4 Points! So great and filling.



I packed a snack for the afternoon. I had grapes and a Curves Strawberries and Cream Granola Bar...

Thursday nights are usually breakfast for dinner since we get home late, but I was prepared tonight! Before we left for afterschool activities, I made Chicken Cutlets -a family favorite. I decided I would have the same dinner as the family, so I breaded the cutlets as I usually would except I used egg whites instead of whole eggs. Also, I pan fried my cutlet first and used only cooking spray in a nonstick skillet. Then, I added the oil to fry the rest for the family. It worked out great! I still got the taste of a homemade Chicken Cutlet without all the fat! I used the leftover scooped out potato (from the skins) and made mashed potatoes for the family. I had a bit of leftover butternut squash and we all had salad (mine dressed with Marie's Light Blue Cheese). Awesome dinner...

In my fridge exploration, I also found these biscuits...

I'm not sure why I have these! No one in this family really likes them. I figured I would play with them and see if I could make Mini Apple Turnovers. I peeled and diced(small) one large apple and placed it in a bowl. I added 1/2 tbsp. sugar and 1/8 tsp. cinnamon. I flattened out each biscuit (dust with flour, they can stick) , added about 1 tbsp. of apple mixture and folded over. I crimped the edges with a fork and placed on a cookie sheet coated with cooking spray. I sprayed the tops with cooking spray and sprinkled a little more sugar and cinnamon. They baked for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Here's how they turned out...

I ran these through my Weight Watchers Recipe Builder and they came out to 1 Point per turnover! One of these biscuit tubes makes 10 turnovers.

These tasted fine on their own. They do have that "biscuit taste", but the apple flavor was good. I thought this dessert would be MUCH better, if it was apple turnover A LA MODE!! Since I had the Points, I added a serving of Breyers Fat Free Double Churn Caramel Swirl Ice Cream...

Leave it to me to add more calories... :)

Hope everyone had a great day!