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!!!!!

Making It Through

I ended up making it through the day fairly well. Thankfully, the way my body was feeling was a constant reminder to stay on track.

For a snack today, I decided to try one of these bars that I had picked up a while ago...



This bar was actually developed by a weight loss surgeon! The package says to eat a Fullbar with glass of water, 30 minutes before your mealtime and you are supposed to want to eat less and be satisfied at your next meal. Hey, I'm game! The nutritionals were pretty decent for this fairly large bar: 150 cal., 2.5 gr. fat and 5 gr. fiber = 2 Points. Here it is, up close and personal...

This bar was o.k. It was a little chewy and had a strong cinnamon flavor. This bar flavor was supposed to be cranberry almond, but there weren't many almonds, mainly sunflower seeds. Not sure I would buy these again. Not sure if I could say I wanted to "eat less" at my next meal either, but I didn't follow the directions exactly since I had this more like 1 1/2 hrs. before my dinner. In any event, it did o.k. as a snack bar.

Dinner tonight was chicken cutlets for the family. I am so glad I found a way to make these so that I can enjoy them, too. My main trick is to "pan fry" my breaded cutlet first in just cooking spray. Then, I fry the rest for the family in olive oil. My breading is the same for all, so it's just as tasty and a 4 oz. cutlet comes to only 5 Points this way! I also made some roasted cauliflower which I loved and could have eaten the entire batch of. I decided to have the last 2 tbsp. of white bean dip with a few carrots and some New York Style 96% fat free garlic mini bagel chips. It was a filling dinner, all for 10 Points...

I had 2 Points left for dessert and these guys were calling my name...

I used a half serving of them to top my 1/2 c. Breyers Fat Free Double Churned Chocolate Ice Cream...

It was yummy and very sugary, which scared me a little, but I seemed to have survived without incident! Yeah, one day down. I made sure to journal/track everything I ate and I even got in a little extra exercise on the trampoline with the daughters. All in all, a day I can feel good about. Hopefully, my body will get the message and I won't feel so yucky tomorrow!

See you in the a.m. =)

Still Not Cranky

I will proudly announce that I am still not cranky from lack of sleep. At least I don't think I am; I'm not asking the family since they may beg to differ and that will make me cranky;) I am pretty tired though, so I'll give a quick run down of my meals today.



Lunch was a wrap using my new La Tortilla Factory Smart and Delicious Tortilla, 2 oz. honey ham, slice of 2 % cheese, lettuce and a squirt of dijonaise (a mix of dijon mustard and mayo). Along with that came my carrot cranberry salad and some Kettle Baked Potato Chips. A filling 7 Point lunch...





A snack probably wasn't necessary today. I wasn't really that hungry, but I fear if I don't eat something then I will go off the beaten track for dinner or after. Also, I think it dawned on me today that eating a little something even if I'm not feeling like it, does help keep my mood even and my energy up. Hence, no crankies! I saw the yummy hummus that I made the other day in the fridge and decided that would be a good snack. I paired it with a couple carrots and a half serving of New York Style 97% Fat Free Bagel Chips. I forgot about these guys; they are so good with hummus...

For dinner, I made the family stuffed shells. Lots of delicious cheese. I didn't want to go there; it would not have been pretty. So, I made myself a serving of Ronzoni Smart Taste Pasta. A serving is a measly 2 oz. which is why I don't eat pasta very often; it just doesn't "look" like enought food for me. A 2 oz. serving of this pasta is 180 cal., 1 gr. fat and 6 gr. fiber. which is 3 Points. I added to the volume by sauteeing some mushrooms and spinach; mixed it all together with a bit of my homemade pasta sauce. I sprinkled on 1 heaping tsp. of parmesan and spread the pasta out onto my plate instead of using a bowl. It "seems" bigger that way. Yes, I am that easily fooled! Very tasty...

I finished the night with some decaf Chocolate Tea (which does not taste one bit like chocolate, but it sounds good) and a Gingersnap cookie from last night's party...

Going to crank out some sleep =)