For The Love Of Leftovers

This kitchen wallpaper removal/painting prep/nasty cold is not leaving me with much creativity in the food department.  The kitchen is a mess, so minimal “cooking” is going on.  So, I thought this is a good opportunity to stress the importance of “being prepared” with respect to staying the healthy eating course.  As the saying goes, “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail”!

During the weight loss journey, I have heard many people (including myself) say that they didn’t have time to cook healthy foods or didn’t have the right ingredients in their pantry, fridge or freezer.    This lack of time and staples makes it all too easy to opt for takeout, especially when you’re getting in late from work, activities or when your kitchen is a huge mess!  It is so important to have a basic stock of pantry staples, so that you are able to throw something together at a moments notice.  I always keep some canned soups for quick lunches or dinners paired with salad or grilled cheese.  Also, cans of diced tomatoes make great quick pasta toppings;  just saute with garlic and extra virgin olive oil, pour over some whole wheat pasta and finish off with some grated parmesan.  Canned beans are a good option, too.  You can add some chick peas or cannellini beans to a pasta dish for an extra protein punch or just add them to your salad for more staying power.  Some of my fridge/freezer staples are bagged salads ( I make my own by cutting up romaine hearts and placing them in large zipper bags), tortillas, baby carrots, apples, cheese, eggs, yogurt, veggie burgers (homemade or store bought), soups, precooked taco meat (turkey or beef), chicken cutlets and frozen veggies, just to name a few.

But, I have to say that my saving grace many days and especially during this kitchen project has been having leftovers in my fridge and freezer.  I used to balk at leftovers.  Why eat the same thing over and over??  Unless, it’s brownies, of course.  However, there probably wouldn’t be much of those leftover!  Now, I look at leftovers in a whole new way.  Leftovers allow me to have a quick and healthy option with minimal effort or fuss.  Knowing that I had those meals and fridge/freezer items made it easy for me to make good choices during this tiring project;  just heat and eat!  Gotta give props to the microwave!!!   Having these options, besides being a real time-saver, allowed me to “plan” to stay on track.  Failure was not an option!  Love it when a plan comes together :)

Onto the food!  Warning:  prepare to bored out of your mind.  Not much creativity here, just necessary eats!

Thursday

Started the day off with a hearty bowl of leftover oat bran.  I have to say, I wasn’t quite sure how precooked oat bran would translate, but it was just fine with the addition of a little extra water to thin it out while reheating.  I morphed it into PB&J Oatbran with a bit of grape jam and PB2…

Lunch was a Cedarlane Beans, Rice and Cheese style Burrito with a side of POPchips and a peach…

After tons more wallpaper scraping, I decided I needed a break.  I couldn’t shake another Starbucks craving!  The crack is back!!!  This time, I went for a Pumpkin Spice Light Frappuccino…

OMG!  Loved it and a Grande is only 150 calories, .5 grams fat and 3 grams fiber.  Heeeelloooo!!

Scrape, scrape, tape, tape, paint the trim.  UGH!

Dinner was a Dominex Eggplant Burger topped with leftover Hot Artichoke-Cheese Dip and baby spinach on a deli flat, a side of carrots and a Chobani nonfat strawberry yogurt for dessert…

Wallpaper on…

Wallpaper off ---thank, gawd!!!

Now to choose a color….

Friday

I felt a lot better this morning!  Still stuffy, but no fever and head throb.  Since I was on the mend, I decided to make a quick run to the gym.  The Arc Trainer was calling my name!  Brought my breakfast to-go…

The Arc Trainer whipped me good for 30 minutes which was all I had time for since I had a late morning doctor’s appointment.  On the way to the appointment, I munched on a Blueberry Apricot Oat Bran Muffin (from the freezer)…

I went for a routine physical and all checks out, except for my hip which the doc thinks is bursitis and wants me to consult with a Sports Medicine doc for it.  Yikes!

I made it home for a “leftover” lunch before running out the door again to pick up paint and supplies.  I went with Chickpea Croquettes and the ever easy side of carrots and apple…

Later, a Peanut Butter Cookie Larabar was needed to help with the paint color choosing…

And dinner was leftover crock pot chicken with a side of sweet potato fries (pre-cut from Trader Joe’s)…

Thanks for hanging in there with this marathon post!!!  Hope you have a great weekend!  I’ll see you tomorrow for the “reveal” :)

ONE GOOD THING: Leftovers!!!!!!

The End Is Near

Only 1 1/2 days left of school. It's a good thing and a bad thing. I love having the summers with the daughters. I know this time is fleeting and I cherish the time I get to spend with them. On the other hand, I will miss having part of my days to myself. I like being able to exercise in the morning without interruption and I really like running errands by. my. self. It's so much quicker and less irritating ;P



I was in a mad rush to get out the door this morning. I had to be at big daughter's school for her honors award ceremony, so there was no time for exercise and barely time for breakfast! I went with another quick cereal bowl topped with 1 c. blueberries for 3 POINTS...







After a long ceremony (2 hours!), I ran some errands (by myself ), then ran home to eat lunch. I was starving by 12:30! I decided to use the leftover taco- seasoned tofu and morphed it into a Taco Tofu Burrito. I layered the tofu, shredded lettuce, tomato, 1/2 oz. shredded 2% cheddar and 2 tbsp. quacamole on a La Tortilla Factory Smart and Delicious Wrap and rolled it up burrito-style. This was so good and only 4 POINTS! I had 1 cup of watermelon for an additional 1 POINT....

This was filling, but since I ate it so fast, I still felt like I wanted a little something more. I grabbed half of a Peanut Butter Cookie Larabar (aka the BEST Larabar ever!) for 2 POINTS and headed out the door for a hair appointment...

When the daughters got home from school, I donned my workout gear and headed to the basement for a 40 minute run on the treadmill. It was hard, but I forced myself to keep with it and I made it to the end!

Then, I slid through snack time by drinking. I drink away my afternoons. Drowning my sorrows of not making it to goal yet with lots of iced tea. Decaf, or else I'll be up all night. I'm old that way;) Along with drinking, I chopped away the afternoon prepping for dinner. I had lots of fresh veggies in the house and I had visions of a big bowl of roasted veggies. I chopped and roasted zucchini, eggplant, carrots, red pepper, red onion, asparagus, broccoli and sweet potatoes. Hmmm... but, what to go with it??? I chose this box of goodness that I got from Danica ...

I cannot believe how seriously good this Annie's boxed mac and cheese tastes!!! It is a sure winner. It has a light, creamy cheese sauce that has a delicious real cheddar flavor. No chemical or fake cheesy taste. I had a 1 c. serving (and a few extra "tastes") along with a heaping cup of roasted veggies for 7 POINTS...

I could have eaten another entire plate of both! So good! But, I controlled myself , quickly cleaned up, then sat down with the husband and watched the daughters put on an "after dinner"show. Later, I had some dessert - Fudgy Peanut Chip Vitatop with PB2 for 2 POINTS...

I'm off to hang out with the husband and then get some sleep! Have a great night :)

Totally Tofu

I peeked at the scale this morning. I was scared that it might ruin my day. As much as I say to myself that the scale doesn't matter, it does. A lot. It dictates my day. Good number = good day, lots of motivation and general happiness. Bad number = bad day, sometimes overeating and most definitely overall bitchiness. Lucky for my family members, a good number appeared. Not a great number, but I'm showing a teensy loss which makes me feel good about my approaching official weigh-in on Saturday at WW. Hopefully, I can get back to wear I was before this last few weeks of "on and off trackness" :)


After my visit with the scale, I headed to the treadmill for another 35 minute run. I've been really into running this week! I know it's not the best to do it everyday, but so far my hip has been cooperating, so I'm going with it! I've also been going with cereal for breakfast. I'm finding that it fills me up and is very satisfying, especially bulked up with lots of berries. Today was 3/4 c. TJ's High Fiber O's, 1/2 c. unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze and 1 c. of blueberries for 3 POINTS...



Lunch was a bbq baked tofu sammie on spelt bread with lettuce, tomato and a slice of 2% cheese. I added in some more red superfoods with 1 c. watermelon and a fuji apple for a 6 POINT lunch...

Baked tofu... up close and personal...

The daughters declared it to be Taco Tuesday, so it was tacos for dinner! I joined in the taco festivities, but with a twist. For me, it was Tofu Taco Tuesday! Don't say eeewww! It's great. Really. First, I took 1/2 block of Nasoya Lite Firm Tofu, squeezed between paper towels to remove excess water and crumbled it in a nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray. Next, I sprinkled 1 tbsp. homemade taco seasoning over the tofu and mixed in. I let the tofu crumbles "brown" for about 10-15 minutes until the tofu dried out and resembled "ground beef/turkey" (it does, TOO!!!)....

I ended up only needing half the mixture, so I saved the other for another time. I assembled my tacos using 2 yellow corn taco shells, 1/2 oz. grated 2% cheese, lettuce, tomato and 2 tbsp. guacamole. I paired the tofu tacos with a cup of organic black bean soup and carrot sticks for an amazingly delicious (and messy) 6 POINTS...

Seeeeee??? Not so yucky right?!

I had plenty of POINTS left for a beefed- up (haha) dessert, but I ended up wanting 1/2 c. Breyers Fat Free French Chocolate Ice Cream with 1/2 Peanut Butter Cookie Larabar crumbled on top...

That was an awesome 3 POINTS!

So, I technically was able to go without a snack this afternoon again. I did have a couple of bites, licks and tastes which probably added up to a POINT, maybe 2. I tack those on at the end of the day, just in case. I feel like I have a good groove going now and I am happy without all the afternoon snacking. I've been talking myself through it when I feel like I might grab something and I realize that I am not hungry. It's just that whole habit thing of wanting a snack when the daughters get home. Breaking that habit will take some behavior modification and I know it won't happen overnight. But having these last few days under my belt make me feel assured that it IS possible :)

Have a great night everyone!

No Fooling - It's A Larabar Giveaway!

My scale is roadkill. I have run over it with my vehicle until it resembled something like a smashed aluminum can. Okay, daydream over. But, it was a lovely thought. As you can guess, the scale was not my friend this morning. I got on and sirens wailed and red lights flashed, warning of self-destruction. No fooling that thing. You can fool yourself but, the scale will always yank you back into reality. The reality is that the whole 80/20 rule that I seem to be unintentionally practicing lately, is not working. If you do the program 80% of the time, but the other 20%, you are shoveling cookies, snacks and chocolate, it's gonna catch up with you. No doubt about it. Exercise, schmexercise. If you don't eat right, you will not lose weight. I spent the morning giving myself this lecture and, well, throwing a pity party, too. You know the drill, you've heard me crying about it in many other posts. So, *in my best Forrest Gump voice* that's all I have to say about that :D

Breakfast was a repeat of the other day: smoked salmon with Laughing Cow Light on a Thomas' Light English Muffin for 3 POINTS...

More cheesiness for lunch. I was dying for a good old grilled cheese! I made one using 2 slices of Arnold Natural Whole Grain White Bread and a slice of American and a slice of Asiago. I paired it with some sweet cherries for a quick 7 POINT lunch...

After lunch, I headed to Trader Joe's to pick up a couple of things. While I was there, I noticed they had all of my favorite Larabar flavors! I eyed up the Peanut Butter Cookie right away and broke into that as soon as I got home...

A most delicious 4 POINT snack!


I chilled out with the daughters this afternoon, then made some dinner. Pepperoni and Cheese Strombolis (made with whole wheat crust) and orzo soup for them and eggplant for me! I love the Dominex Eggplant Cutlets and since I had some left in the freezer stash, I thought it would make a good dinner tonight. I topped them with a bit of light mozzarella. Plain, simple and delish. I went with some watermelon slices for a light tasting 7 POINT dinner...

No dessert tonight. I'm full. Of fat. That's all I have to say about that.


So, since TJ's had only my favorite Larabar flavors (Cherry Pie, Apple Pie, Cashew Cookie and Peanut Butter Cookie), I thought I would get them all to giveaway to one lucky winner!!!!!



All you need to do is leave me a comment with this post telling me which flavor you would like to try. One winner will get all 4 of my faves! I'll choose the winner, using random.org, on Thurs. June 4. Be sure to check back Thurs. night when I'll announce the winner. Open to all, since I'm doing the shipping :) Good luck!!!!