A Taste Of Summer

I felt much better today!  Thanks for all the well wishes!  I was still a bit dizzy this morning, so I decided to ditch the gym for some outdoor activity later.

I was starving as soon as I woke up and couldn’t wait to make breakfast.  Eggs sounded good, so I whipped up and open-faced omelette with ham, spinach and Cabot’s 75% reduced fat cheddar…

Most of the morning was spent catching up on all the things I couldn’t do yesterday (blogging, cleaning, grocery shopping).  I finally got around to lunch quite late because breakfast had been such a filling meal.  I decided to use up some leftover fridge items for lunch – chickpeas and butternut squash.  Hmmm…an interesting combo, right?!  I thought it might be good with some whole wheat couscous and grated parmesan cheese.  It was a good call!

When the daughters got home from school, I decided it was too nice a day to stay inside.  It was beautiful and close to 70 degrees!  Unfortunately, big daughter had too much homework to finish, but little daughter and I got to go for a nice 30 minute walk around the neighborhood.  I would have loved to walk longer, but little daughter wasn’t having it!  But, we had a great time soaking up some vitamin D anyway!

For dinner, I took advantage of the beautiful weather to bring back a bit of summer with burgers on the grill.  Regular ones for the family and a Gardenburger Portabella Veggie Burger for me.  I snazzed up my burger with a topping made with my favorite goat cheese…

Chavrie goat cheese is the best!  It is mild and really creamy.  For my topping, I mixed 2 tbsp. of Chavrie with 1 tbsp. of sundried tomatoes (in oil).  I spread it on the veggie burger and put it on and Ezekiel Sesame Hamburger Bun…

I went with shoestring fries and a nice green salad on the side…

Mmmm…I taste summer!!!

I ended the night with the new Cooking Light…

Ah, so many great recipes…so little time :)

Enjoy your day, everyone!

Question of the Day:  What is your favorite magazine?

Treading Lightly

Another beautiful day;  can’t ask for a better holiday weekend!  I woke up without a spring in my step;  more like a hobble.  But, I wanted to get my exercise done first thing, so I headed to the basement and hit the treadmill.  Lightly.  I didn’t want to do any further hip damage, so I decided to just walk on the treadmill.  To beef up my walk, I put on my weighted vest and wore 18 lbs. while walking at a mild pace for 40 minutes.  The extra pounds help it feel like a better workout.  Here I am in my vest  (looking quite scary, I might add)…

Next up was breakfast.  I went with an Open Faced Mushroom Cheese Omelet.  Very filling …

Big daughter wanted to rearrange her room, so we all helped her out with moving furniture and de-cluttering.  It took quite a bit longer than we expected.  The girl’s got some stuff!  We finally decided to take a break for lunch.  I took out a new soup to try from Trader Joe’s – Latin Style Black Bean…

Great nutritionals (except for the sodium – yikes!)…

To go with the soup, I heated up some leftover Chicken Fajitas…

The fajitas were good, the soup…eh, not so much.  It wasn’t bad, it was just okay.  There was a strong black pepper taste that kept hitting me in the back of the throat and I wasn’t digging that.  I ended up leaving a bit in my 1 cup bowl, too.

Then, it was back to the de-cluttering.  Since, I was on a roll, I worked on some of my own downsizing, too.  I love chucking things out!  I also had a pile of recipes and scraps of recipes written on paper here and there, so I gathered them together and worked on organizing some of them.

I took the task outside to take in some of the beautiful day.  All that looking at recipes made me hungry!  I snacked on a Chobani Nonfat Peach Greek Yogurt while soaking in the sun…

The dinner plan tonight was PIZZA!  It’s been a while since I’ve had some.  I made some regular dough for the husband and daughters and found a whole wheat crust in the freezer that I had pre-baked a million years ago, so that worked out for me!  It was a pizza party for 4.  Everyone got their own just the way they liked it…

I used the leftover Grilled Veggie Salad from last night to top my pizza.  I used a bit of marinara and lite mozzarella.  It was delish, even though part of the crust broke off from bending in the freezer…

I made a spring mix salad dressed with balsamic to go with it…

and had a little more pizza…

After dinner, we all went to a local trail for a family walk.  Here’s my peeps…

It was a great way to end the night!

Hope you all had a great Saturday!

ONE GOOD THING:  After a frustrating phone call with a family member, I really wanted to eat something.  Anything.  I was tempted to just shovel something, but instead, I acknowledged the feeling, had a big glass of water, a deep breath and got out of the kitchen.  Phew!

Books, Bloggers And Brainless

The husband and I had a movie/date night at home last night. We got a movie for us and a movie for the daughters. They watched upstairs and we had our "date" downstairs. It was fun and no babysitter needed! Anyway, it got too late and I was too tired to blog, so here's my update from yesterday...


I woke up to some beautiful weather and was really itching to go for a run. My cheek is still a bit chubby and my stitches are still intact, so my gut was telling me to wait until everything was healed totally. Instead, I headed to the basement for a 40 minute stint on the elliptical with my weighted vest and did 20 tricep dips and 20 wall pushups. Good enough!

Breakfast was an open faced omelette with spinach, salsa and 1 oz. Cabot's 75% reduced fat cheese. Mmm... I love salsa on eggs! I had a slice of TJ's Sprouted Flourless Wheat Bread, all for only 3 POINTS...

I was really jonesing for some coffee this morning, too, but wasn't in the mood for something warm. I decided on a Vanilla Frappuccino with whip! I used unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze this time and some sugar free vanilla syrup and topped it with 1 tbsp. lite whip. This was a great 1 POINT treat!

After breakfast, the daughters and I went to a Used Book Sale over at little daughter's school. I was so excited for this! What a dork, right?? I could have spent hours there and lots of cash! Although, everything was priced at either $1 or $2, so you can't feel bad about spending with that bargain price. I scored some cool cookbooks...

And some summer beach reads...

The daughters picked up about 4 books each, too. It was a great time!

It was such a beautiful day that we ate most of our meals outside. So relaxing! My lunch was a Boca Bruschetta Burger topped with 1 tbsp. hummus (thanks to Kate for that AMAZING idea!) and roasted peppers on an Arnold Sandwich Thin. I had some soy crisps and a fuji apple on the side. A delish 6 POINT lunch...

Later, for a snack, I couldn't wait to dig into this....

Ever since seeing them on Kelly's blog, I had to have them! I have been searching high and low and finally came across them in Target. I chose the chocolate cookie caramel pecan flavor. Nuggets of goodness...

I think Kelly described these as "crack" and I would have to agree! Definitely leave you wanting more. Don't know if I could buy these again due to danger potential :) But, they are a fun and tasty 2 POINT treat.

After cleaning out my car, cleaning out the garage and running an errand, I wasn't in the mood to make a grand dinner. I pulled out a serving of Rigatoni(actually Ziti) with Three Cheeses from the freezer and heated that with some leftover asparagus. I made a side salad of tomato, cucmber and red onion dressed with a little olive oil and balsamic. Another outdoor dining 7 POINT meal...

Before we settled into our movies, I grabbed a Weight Watchers Candy Bar Ice Cream for a melty 3 POINT dessert...(sorry for the bad pic)

I won't embarass myself by telling you the brain cell deteriorating movie we watched! We had some good laughs, so it was worth losing a few brain cells :)

I just want to say how great it is to be part of this blogging community! I have gotten so many awesome ideas from you all and have tried things I might not have come across otherwise! Thanks so much for all the inspiration!

Enjoy the day and I'll be back tonight :)

Dentally Challenged

I had my gloomy dentist appointment early this morning. Last night, I read up on the procedure that my dentist was going to perform and I got freaked out. But, I managed to buck up and went anyway. Thankfully, everything went well even though I felt skitzy and super anxious half way through the oral surgery and had to sing songs to myself to distract me from jumping out of the chair and running out of there looking like Dracula with blood dripping down my chin! Such a baby!

Before I went to the dentist, I made a big breakfast just in case I wouldn't be able to eat after the procedure! Lord knows, I wouldn't want to go without food. That would only be adding insult to injury! I had an open-faced omelette with 1 oz. diced ham and chives, a slice of TJ's Sprouted Flourless Wheat Bread and 1/2 banana for 4 POINTS...


Despite the fact that I had facial paralysis on the entire right side of my face for hours, I still managed to get some food in! My thought was to go with softer foods, so that it wouldn't be too rough on my stitches. I decided a big bowl of this soup would fit the bill...


And it was green in honor of Earth Day! I had the whole can of soup for 3 POINTS...


I also made a PB2 and Sugar Free Grape Jelly sammie on an Arnold Sandwich Thin(2 POINTS)with a side of sliced fuji apple(1 POINT)...

The sandwich went down o.k., but the apple was a little too jarring for my mouth, so I skipped eating it and saved it for the daughters' snack.

After running the daughters around to some afterschool activities, I sat down for a soft snack of Oikos Nonfat Greek Yogurt and a BlueBran Vitatop for 3 POINTS...

I finally found the Honey flavor! It was delicious! Probably the sweetest of them all. And the BlueBran Vitatop, well.... it's a Vitatop! How can you go wrong??!!

I had planned ahead for dinner, just in case I was incapacitated somehow from my dentist appointment! Gee, so much for positive thinking, right? Anyway, I yanked out the crockpot this morning and put in 1 lb. frozen chicken breasts, some seasonings - salt,pepper, cumin, garlic and onion powder, chili powder and 1 cup salsa. I cooked it on low until done, then shredded the chicken (didn't need much help -it basically falls apart) and added in 2 tbsp. lite cream cheese. Stir until melted. It is soooo good and 4 POINTS per serving (4 servings total)! I used it to make chicken soft tacos. My plate was 2 soft tacos made with 1 cup shredded chicken, 1 La Tortilla Factory Smart and Delicious Tortilla -cut in half to make 2, half ounce of Cabot's 75% Reduced Fat Cheddar and some lettuce. To go with it, I had some leftover kale with white beans. A fabulous 7 POINT dinner...

I was able to get this down pretty well. Normally, I would have went crazy with the toppings/veggies for the tacos, but I didn't want to push it since the anesthetic was wearing off and I wasn't sure if I would be sore or not. So far so good! Yay!

After dinner, I took the daughters to a Health Fair at their school. It was interesting and fun. I spent quite a bit of time talking to a registered dietitian there. That was cool!

We got home a little too late for dessert. I had planned on some ice cream, but I'm more tired than anything, so I'm gonna let it go for tonight. I'm popping some Advil, antibiotic and I'm off to sleep. Nite :)

This Is My Last Night Blogging

But, only until next Thurs.!!! Sorry, you can't get rid of me that easily! I've become addicted to boring the pants off of you all with the food diary of my life! However, we are going to Florida (Disney) on a family vacation and I don't think I will be able to fit in blogging amongst all the craziness. So, I will look forward to catching up with all of your blogs when I get back !

I have a million more things to do to get ready, so I'll make this quick. Breakfast was an open faced omelette using 3 egg whites, 2 slices of canadian bacon, handful of baby spinach and a slice of 2 % cheese for a delicious 3 POINTS...


Even though I had a ton to do, I wanted to make sure I fit in my exercise. I did a 40 weighted (18 lbs.) minutes on the elliptical and 20 tricep dips.

When lunch rolled around, I wanted to make sure to use up some of the leftover chicken. My first thought was Heather's BBQ Chicken Salad. It was so good! I used a little less chicken so, mine came to 6 POINTS...

I also had some Kashi TLC 7 grain crackers for 2 POINTS...

For an afternoon snack, I had a bowl of yummy strawberries (1 POINT)...

While I was sprucing up the house, I did grab a handful of Peanut Butter Puffins, too!

Dinner was easy tonight: hot dogs and whatever veggies left in the fridge! I decided to have a lonely Spinach, Fontina and Roasted Garlic Chicken Sausage from the freezer instead of a dog. I sauteed a side of baby spinach and topped with some pine nuts and made a side of "baked tofu fries", too. A tasty 8 POINT dinner...

I felt pretty full, so no big dessert tonight. I actually took out a Vitatop and was ready to defrost it, but then realized it wasn't necessary. I decided to just go with a "taste" of something sweet...

It was perfect! Well, I'm off to finish packing. I have to say that I will really miss blogging and reading all of your wonderful blogs this week! If I have some time, I'll try to check in mid-week, but if not, I look forward to seeing you all on the 9th for a recap of my trip. I'm going to try my very best to make healthy choices while I'm there. Hopefully, there will BE healthy choices! I'm counting on all the walking to be my saving grace!

See you all next week!!!! Stay healthy =)

I'm Really Trying

I'm really trying hard this week. Trying hard to be On Program. Trying hard to eat as many "whole" foods as possible. It's going pretty well which always makes me feel better and more positive that I can get to goal :)

I woke up to a yucko day outside, so no 5K outdoor run. I decided to do some cleaning instead and save my workout for later. I finally got around to breakfast which was another open-faced omelette. This combo was 3 egg whites, 4 thin slices canadian bacon, 1/2 c. leftover chopped broccoli and 1 oz. Cabot 75% Reduced Fat Cheddar Cheese. A yummy 3 POINTS...



This didn't hold me as long as I thought and I was ready for lunch earlier than I expected. I went with another Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Bun topped with 2 tbsp. homemade hummus, roasted peppers and baby spinach. Yum! With it, I had a fuji apple, some carrots and another 1/2 homemade Larabar. A very filling 7 POINT lunch...


After lunch, I did 40 weighted minutes on the elliptical and 20 tricep dips. I've been slacking on the strength training, but I like doing the tricep dips and Lord knows my "Miss America" wave could use the help!

I was getting a little hungry in the late afternoon, so I grabbed some grapes (1 POINT)...

Who IS this person that snacks on grapes in the afternoon???? I don't know, but I'm feeling like it's the right thing to do ;)

The in-laws came for dinner tonight. I decided to make a nice, healthy meal of roasted chicken, roasted sweet potatoes, salad with olive oil, red wine vinegar and a touch of honey. Of course, we had to have some amazing rustic Italian bread. I did well with my portions; about 3 oz. chicken, 3 oz. sweet potatoes, 2 oz. bread and big spoon of salad, all for 9 POINTS...

Everyone started digging into some cookies for dessert. I was planning on just having coffee, but the cookies were tempting, so I brought out the big gun...

Then, everyone wanted MY dessert! But, I'm not sharing. Nope. It's mine. All mine. muwahh haaa haaa!!!! =)

Hope you had a great weekend!

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!!!

Recoginizing What Works And What Doesn't

My focus today is on getting in more filling foods. Weight Watchers classifies these foods as whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables and lean meats. They are foods that keep you feeling satisfied for longer and keep hunger in control. I think it will also help with my cravings and munching in the afternoon. We'll see! I will keep tweaking and rearranging to get me to goal. I'm looking forward to get to my Lifetime status!



Breakfast was an open-faced omelette. I used 3 egg whites and topped them with canadian bacon, chopped green pepper and a Laughing Cow Cheese Wedge. Leaving it open-faced made it look like more food than it was; a great trick! It was suprisingly filling for 3 POINTS and left me full for hours...







After breakfast, I did a 45 minute weighted walk on the treadmill. I have a weighted vest that can hold up to 20 lbs. and I used to use it all the time when I was walking. Since, I have progressed to running, I haven't been wearing it. My Mom reminded me of it yesterday, so I decided to suit up today! I put in 12 lbs. (so heavy!) and did brisk walking while watching TV. I really enjoyed it. It was nice to do something different. Not sure if I burned as many calories as running, but it was still a good workout. I also realized I have been chintzing out on the workout time lately. I have only been doing 30 ish minutes running and I think I need to keep it at least 45 min. for weight loss.



More filling foods were on the menu for lunch. I went with some Stuffed Pepper Soup that I had in the freezer topped with 1 oz. Cabot's 75% Reduced Fat Cheddar, carrot sticks with 2 tbsp. homemade hummus and a Golden Corn Vitatop. A big lunch for 6 POINTS...



I started feeling a little hungry around 3:30, so I made a Strawberry Smoothie with 1/2 c. skim milk, 4 oz. container of Activia Strawberry yogurt and 1 c. fresh strawberries. Very yummy and very filling for 3 POINTS...

The daughters had dentist appointments (no cavities!) and we got home right around dinner time. They were starving! I fixed them a quick chicken, mac n cheese and peas. I had planned on salmon for myself and also, wanted to try this Shibolim Whole Spelt Couscous for my side dish...

These are the size of Israeli couscous which is more like a pasta. I was interested to try this because it was made with spelt which I have never tried. The nutritionals were impressive with 195 cal., 0.5 gr. fat, 7 gr. protein and 9 gr. fiber for a 2 oz. serving. That's a huge serving for 3 POINTS!

It was the perfect side for my Salmon Roulette and green beans. A wonderful 8 POINT dinner...

The husband and daughters were having leftover birthday cake for dessert, but I had enough yesterday! Well, not really, but I'm telling myself that!!! I did have a Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwich as a sweet 2 POINT treat...

Another realization that I came to today was that I am getting lax with my bites, licks and tastes. I recognized this when I was making the daughters' lunches, cutting off crusts and about to pop them in my mouth. And then again, when I was scraping the peanut butter off the knife and about to lick it off my finger. Yet again, when I was throwing away their plates and about to nibble on what they left on it. I used to not do any of that, but somewhere along the line, I got myself into this pattern of mindless nibbling. I became very conscious of that today and made it a point to stop myself before I ate those things.

Overall, I felt happy and satisfied with the changes made today. I'll try again tomorrow to incorporate the filling foods. I'm taking it one day at a time and I know the changes that I'm hoping for with the scale will come!!!

Oh, by the way, I am way overdue in updating my blogroll! I have so many blogs that I love to read and haven't listed yet. I hope to get to it this weekend; if you would like me to add you, let me know and I'd appreciate if you would add me to yours, too!

Have a great night!!