The Project And New Food

I spent the morning "washing that gray right out of my hair". Anyone remember that old commercial?? What a freakin project to do this every 4 weeks! I didn't even exercise this morning. I think I got in enough yesterday for today, though! When the hair project was completed, I had a leisurely breakfast - 3/4 c. Puffins, 1/2 c. unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze and a ton of blueberries for 3 POINTS...


I got some fun mail delivered today! Carol from Uncovering Food randomly chose me as her July "Follower of the Month". How cool is that?! No giveaways to enter, just follow her blog and she could choose you as her Follower of the Month! She sent me this package of goodies; well, not just me, she added something for the daughters, too! That sure won them over!


Not long after putting away our goodie bag, I was starving! Maybe knowing I wanted to try these new Dominex Eggplant Burgers for lunch made me extra hungry...

The nutritionals are terrific...

Only 1 POINT per patty!

I followed the skillet method of cooking using nonstick cooking spray...

All burgers must have cheese! My new fave as of late...

One slice is only 1 POINT and full of flavor...

I put my eggplant burger between 2 slices of Pepperidge Farm Light Style Wheat and added additional toppings of baby spinach and roasted red pepper. The usual sides came along - Kettle Baked Potato Chips and a juicy sweet plum...

It was a terrific 6 POINT lunch! The eggplant burger is very similar in texture to a Boca veggie-type burger, but the flavor is definitely bumped up a notch. Some of the veggie-type burgers can be bland, but not these eggplant burgers. They are a great find!

I had some errands to run late in the afternoon and started to feel hungry again. I decided to have a small snack to tide me over. And I do mean small. These mini Clif Bars are itty bitty...

Not sure they are worth the 100 calories! It was an o.k. 1 POINT snack :(

Dinner was a homemade "frozen dinner" of Chicken and Broccoli with Garlic Sauce for 5 POINTS...

and a side of these "heat and eat" veggies...

The whole package is only 90 calories and 1 POINT...

I was in the mood for a big fat dessert! But, I chose a skinny one - Deep Chocolate Vitatop with a scoop of Breyers Fat Free Double Churn French Chocolate and a tiny squirt of light whipped cream for 3 POINTS...

I think I won't be a total slug, so I'll do the 10 minute strength training tonight!

It's almost Friday.......... =]

An All Day Affair

Shopping was an all day affair today. I had lots to do to prep for little daughter's birthday tomorrow, so I was up and out of the house by 9 a.m. The cupboards were pretty bare, so I grabbed a bowl of Puffins with unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze and Trader Joe's Freeze Dried Strawberries for 3 POINTS...


I hit the produce store, regular grocery store and Trader Joe's before rushing back for lunch. I was really hungry. I've been noticing that I get "the shakes" if I go too long and I hate that feeling. So strange since I remember those old days when I used to go the whole day without eating anything and then, eat a big meal at night. It never bothered me then, but what a great way to screw up your metabolism! I wouldn't even think of going that long without food now! Anyway, lunch had to be quick since I was starving, so I went with a hummus and cucumber sammie on an Arnold Sandwich Thin, a serving of Trader Joe's Sea Salt and Pepper Rice Chips and 1 c. of.... can you guess what those yellow cubes are? If you said, yellow watermelon, you're right! I have never seen yellow watermelon before coming across it at Trader Joe's today. Looks like a regular watermelon on the outside, but it has a lemon yellow color on the inside. Interesting! I thought the flavor was sweet, but mild. Almost a honey-like flavor. I liked it, but red watermelon remains my favorite, especially when it's super sweet like candy ;P
Altogether, a yummy 6 POINT lunch...


I barely finished my last bite before I was out the door again. Do you believe, I had to hit 2 more supermarkets (each one carries something that I needed that the other didn't - Pfft!)? Then, a final trip to Target and Five Below. I felt my stomach rumbling, but it was getting too close to dinner for a snack, so I decided to give myself an afternoon jolt to get me through....

I heart Mocha Light Frappuccinos! (2 POINTS)

I planned a light dinner for the husband and daughters tonight : Annie's Shells and White Cheddar with some mixed veggies ( on the side - of course! No way would they allow those two things to TOUCH ;)) I picked up a new single serving frozen meal at Trader Joe's today and thought it would be a good opportunity to try it....

This Filet of Sole with Butter Beans and Fresh Spinach looks delicious, doesn't it??? And the nutritional facts are phenomenal - only 3 POINTS!

Unfortunately, this was not as tasty of a meal as I was hoping. The flavor was very bland with just a bit of heat here and there from the poblano and chili seasoning. There were about 2 strands of spinach and the butter beans were very mushy. Boo! TJ's needs to go back to the drawing board on that one. I plated my meal and ended up adding 1/2 c. Annie's Shells and White Cheddar on the side. It was the best part of my meal! That is seriously the greatest boxed mac and cheese I have ever tasted! Love it!

My sad 6 POINT dinner...

After dinner, I prepped a bit for tomorrow night's meal, cleaned up and settled down for some dessert. I wanted something really fantastic, but decided I should finish up these Weight Watchers Chocolate Sundae Cones (2 POINTS) before breaking out some other dessert...

Whew, that's enough shopping for one day! At least I kept moving the whole day, which is about all the exercise I was able to fit in today. I think before I sit for too long, I'll get in my C&K 10 Minute Strength Training Workout, too! I'm determined to do it for the month long challenge. Okay, I'm getting up now....

Have a great night =)

Ride On

Finally!!!! Some sun! We woke up to a beautiful morning. The husband and I decided to ride bikes to go get some bagels for the morning's breakfast. It was a nice 2 mile ride in the sun! While everyone chowed down on giant bagels, I made my cereal bowl of 3/4 c. Puffins, 1/2 c. Almond Breeze and strawberries for 3 POINTS...



After breakfast, I took another 2 mile bike ride to return a movie. I am loving this bike riding! I was thinking during my ride how nice it would be to live in a little town where you could ride your bike everywhere. I would have one of those cruiser-type bikes with a cute wicker basket on the front. I might even wear a big hat with a giant flower on the front! LOL!


Before heading to the pool for the afternoon, I made an easy lunch of leftover roasted chicken breast with lettuce and a half slice of cheese on a small whole wheat roll. I had more carrots and pineapple to go with it. A quick 5 POINT lunch...

We spent the afternoon swimming in the toasty pool. I love heated pools! I took the opportunity to do more pool exercises (about 40 min.) and then goofed around with the husband and daughters in the pool. It was a great time!


We headed home late in the afternoon and I was starving! I dug into some pretzel sticks...

and some Annie's Cheddar Bunnies...

Mom and Gram made another wonderful dinner tonight. I was feeling hungry, but I mentally prepared myself before sitting down. I took a few minutes to "talk to myself" and figure out what my game plan was going to be. I thought about exactly how I wanted my plate to look with the prepared food and told myself to stick with my plan. My plate looked just like it did in my mind...

I enjoyed every bit, passed on the bread, and put my silverware on my dish and pushed myself back from the table when I was finished. I was still engaged in the table conversation, but wasn't tempted to add more food to my plate. I felt good about that =)

And after dinner, guess what I did?? Big daughter and I went for another 2.5 mile bike ride! I'm a ridin' fool today! When we got back, I dug into a bowl of Breyer's Fat Free Vanilla Ice Cream topped with about 1/4 c. freeze dried blueberries and a squirt of Hershey's Special Dark syrup for 3 POINTS...

Another day of sun is on tap for tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to some beach lounging! See you tomorrow; have a great night!!!

Opportunities Are Everywhere

The yucky weather seems to have followed us to the beach. It was an overcast morning and on the cooler side which is not great beach weather, but turned out to be great weather for a run. I headed out early and enjoyed the nice breeze during my 35 minute run. This was an exciting run for me. While I was out, taking in the scenery, I thought back to this time last year. I was just starting to "learn" to run and I was struggling with the whole process. Last year, I could barely make it around the beach block, but this morning I ran close to 3 miles! It was a neat feeling. A sign of progress.


I came in and whipped up my usual breakfast of 3/4 c. Puffins, strawberries and 1/2 c. Almond Breeze for 3 POINTS...



Even though the weather wasn't exactly cooperating, I took the daughters to the pool for some swimming. I took the opportunity to get in a few laps and do some strength exercises using the deep water as resistance. I love this form of "nonsweaty" exercise!

All at once, we were starving, so we headed back to have lunch. I went with a turkey hummus wrap (turkey slices, 2 tbsp. hummus, baby spinach in a La Tortilla Factory tortilla), leftover Asian Slaw and a half serving of Sour Cream and Onion Rice Chips for 6 POINTS...

After lunch, Mom and Gram joined us for an excursion to a quaint little nearby town. There are interesting shops, restaurants, paddle boats and a couple little rides for the kids. It is a very animal friendly town with lots of geese, customers with dogs, and even some of these guys walking around...

We couldn't resist stopping in a sweet shop with rows of candy and chocolate! I indulged in a dark chocolate dipped pineapple ring for a delicious afternoon snack...

And a frozen cappuccino to wash it down...

That was pretty filling and ended up killing my appetite for dinner. Not a bad thing, since chinese takeout was on the menu and I'm not good at saying no to fried dumplings and egg rolls! I sat with everyone at dinner, but waited until I felt some hunger brewing to eat something. I decided on a leftover chicken sausage and broccoli rabe from Father's Day dinner...

Big daughter and I went for a 20 minute bike ride around the town and then, little daughter and I went for an evening walk to end the night. I really enjoyed the extra "exercise that didn't feel like exercise" today! I'm going to take advantage of as many opportunities for extra activity as possible this week. It's a challenge to keep the eats completely "on program", but hopefully, the additional exercise will counteract some of that! Here's hoping ;P

Have a great night!!

POINTless

Greetings from the beach! I have been busy celebrating, packing and doing lots of eating. I'm not sure what's going on with me, but counting POINTS has been pointless lately. I am disappointed in myself. I have been gaining and losing the same 10 pounds since January. I know I need to buckle down and just do this, but I keep getting detoured. I will never give up, though. I have come too far and still have a ways to go, so I will ride this out and keep trying every day to be a little bit better than the day before. That's all I can do right now. So, I have some catching up to do! Let's start with...


FATHER'S DAY


Breakfast (for me) was 1/2 c. plain greek yogurt topped with 1/2 c. berries and a Blueberry Apricot Oat Bran Muffin for 4 POINTS...


The fresh fruit and veggie stash was dwindled down in preparation for going to the beach, so I dug out a Ranch Turkey Burger ,only topped it with cheese and put it on an Arnold Sandwich Thin. I had it with some leftover crinkle potatoes and an apple for 7 POINTS...

Later in the afternoon, we headed to my parents for Father's Day dinner. The daughters wanted a snack when we got there, so they helped themselves to some fresh raspberries that they picked from Mom's garden...

Then, the food fest began...

Cheese raviolis with marinara sauce...

grilled chicken sausages...

Crunchy Asian Slaw (yay, a low cal dish!). Mom used THIS recipe...

Lots of "Turf" for the guys (ribeye and bbq ribs)...

And yummy "Surf"....

so corny...

My "plates".... ravioli...


and the rest....

Of course, there were desserts...

In an effort to minimize the damage, I made Hungry Girl's Double Chocolate Trifle...

It was really good. Like a healthier version of "Dirt Dessert". The recipe made 4 servings and came to 3 POINTS for each serving.

My 3 POINTS worth...

and I had to taste the apple pie...

It was a great day honoring my 2 favorite guys...

Love you both!!

BEACH EATS

We left early this morning to come to the beach for a mini "School's Out" vacation. Every year when the daughters are finished school, we come to the beach with my parents and Gram to hang out. Before we left, I grabbed a bowl of Puffins with the last of the blueberries for 3 POINTS...

We got to the beach house at lunch time and everyone was immediately hungry. Something about that salt air! Mom brought lots of leftovers from Father's Day dinner, so I had much to choose from. I decided on a Lobster Asian Slaw Salad using a leftover lobster tail and 1 1/2 c. of the Asian Slaw. A delicious 5 POINTS...

Alongside, I had a Blueberry Apricot Oat Bran Muffin and carrots for 2 POINTS...

I spent the afternoon unpacking and grabbing handfuls of snacks here and there. A little Goldfish crackers, half muffin, watermelon. Just stuff.

We decided on a healthy dinner of roasted chicken, broccoli and potatoes. I added a small slice of wheat bread to this plate, too...

Mom forgot the leftover apple pie (thank goodness), so I got to have one of these for dessert...

A smooth and creamy 2 POINTS...

So, since I've been here, I have been drowning myself in water in an effort to curb my appetite that has been majorly stoked by all this overeating. I'm also hoping that it will help the scale come down a little. I got on this morning and it was a hideous sight. I can't believe the number I saw. I'm hoping that I am retaining a major amount of fluid. I'm thinking that might not be the case, though. All this whooping it up is catching up with me. And the scale. This could be a wake up call for sure!

Sorry for the super long post! See ya tomorrow!