Expanding My Horizons

The husband has been having computer issues, so we are all sharing my computer which cramps my blogging style hence no post last night! Here's what my day looked like yesterday...


I tried something new for breakfast. I have a love/hate relationship with oatmeal. I would love to love it because I know it is good for me, but I hate the texture. I also hate that, to make it taste good, I have to add a bunch of extras (toppings, milk, fruit) which puts it way up the POINT (calorie) scale. But, I'm willing to revisit it every once in a while. I came across a recipe for overnight oatmeal in The Perfect Recipe for Eating Great and Losing Weight. All you do is mix oats with milk and dried fruit, put it in the fridge overnight and in the morning, you have "instant oatmeal". You can eat it cold, but I nuked mine for a minute so it was warm. My mix was 1 c. oats, 1 c. unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze ,1/4 c. dried cranberries and a pinch of salt. This made 2 servings at 4 POINTS each... for a measly little bowl... :(



I have to say that I actually liked it. The texture was not "gluey" at all and the taste was great. For me, the volume eater that I am, this just doesn't cut it for 4 POINTS. Plus, it doesn't stay with me long enough. I was starving by 11:30 a.m.!


Needless to say, lunch was a bit earlier than usual. I had a Health is Wealth Chicken Free Patty on an Ezekiel Bun with 2% cheese, lettuce and dijonnaise. To go with it, I had my usual soy crisps, but an unusual-for-me fruit - papaya! I found this little nugget in my produce store and I decided to give it a try. It has many black seeds in the center which I scooped out; not sure if you can eat them or not - anyone know?? It was sweet and juicy. Another fruit I can add to my rotation! Altogether, a delicious and filling (unlike my breakfast) 9 POINT lunch...


Later, I snacked on a Pumpkin Spice Cupcake with Orange Glaze for 2 POINTS...

Then got some dinner going which included this mystery veg... (*in my best Ben Stein voice* anyone? anyone?)

Well, if you said jicama, you would be right! I really had no idea what to do with it, but thought it might be an interesting addition to my dinner salad tonight. I peeled it and cut it into sticks with my mandoline. It has a different taste than I expected. I guess because it sort of looks like a potato, I was expecting a bland taste, but it has a bit of a sweet bite to it. Interesting. I can't say I loved it, but I would like to play with it in maybe some type of slaw recipe. I think it would be good within that kind of preparation. Anyway, I added it to my Grilled Chili Lime Scallops Salad with Guacamole dressing. I seasoned sea scallops with chili powder, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and a squeeze of lime, then grilled them for about 4 min. per side. I arranged them over a mixed salad with red pepper strips and jicama sticks. Then topped with guacamole dressing that I made using 1/4 c. prepared guacamole (I buy Trader Joe's guac) thinned out with a little fresh lime juice and skim milk. I also had a cornbread muffin to go with it. A nice "beat the heat" 8 POINT dinner...

I ended the night with bites of this and that, which included Cheez Its, a couple chocolates and licks of Cookies and Cream Ice Cream! UGH! A way over POINT day, but I did make sure to get in a 45 minute weighted elliptical workout with 20 tricep dips and 30 wall pushups.

Next goal - make better choices!

Have a great day!!!

Forgetful

I was a forgetful blogger today. I ran out the door this morning to my WW meeting (for my first weigh-in *wink, wink) and I grabbed breakfast to eat after the meeting, but forgot to take a pic! Thankfully, I had a whole box at home, so here's my "after" shot...


I found these on clearance at my supermarket. I think I know why! They are just o.k. A little on the dry side and not much staying power. I think you're supposed to microwave them, but I don't know that it would have made a huge difference. I do think they would be nice crumbled on top of some yogurt, oatmeal or ice cream, though. Each muffin bar has 140 cal., 3.5 gr. fat and 4 gr. fiber, but only 2 gr. protein. An o.k. 2 POINT breakfast...

After the meeting, I stopped home to change out of my "weigh-in clothes" and headed to meet up with my mother-in-law and sis-in-law for lunch. Again, I forgot my camera! I ordered a spinach salad with mushrooms, bacon. olives, red onion , hard boiled eggs and tomatoes. No dressing since I brought my own! At least I remembered that. This salad was ginormous! I asked the server to bring me a take-home box before I added my dressing because I knew I wouldn't finish this guy....

Along with my salad, I had a nice sized roll. I had only planned on eating half, but kept picking at it until I eventually ate the whole thing. Altogether, I'm guessing it to be an 8 POINT lunch.

For an afternoon snack, I cut up a beautifully ripe fresh pineapple for 1 POINT...

Then I realized I forgot to take my antibiotic this morning! Ugh! Must be this chubby cheek affecting my brain cells!

I originally planned on having pizza tonight, but decided I would use up the rest of my salad instead. My dinner salad consisted of 3 oz. grilled chicken breast, 1 tbsp. dried cranberries, 1 tbsp. sliced almonds and the remainder of the salad mix dressed with light balsamic vinagrette for another 8 POINTS...

For dessert, I tried a recipe that my friend, Donna sent to me. She just started WW in March and has already lost nearly 20 lbs.!!! You go, Donna!!! The recipe is for Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Orange Glaze. Here's what you'll need:

• 1 lb., 2.25 oz. box of spice cake mix
• 15 oz. canned pumpkin
• 1/2 c. egg substitute

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine ingredients in bowl. Beat with a mixer on low until well blended. Then, beat on medium for 2 minutes. Divide evenly among muffin tins lined with paper baking cups. Bake for 18 minutes. Let cool completely.

For the orange glaze, combine 1 cup sifted powdered sugar with 1/4 tsp. grated orange rind and 2 tbsp. orange juice. Dip cupcake tops in orange glaze.

This makes 24 cupcakes at 2 POINTS each.

I ate mine al fresco with some new reading material...

I think Jil would approve!

Oh, and I almost forgot to say that I lost 4.6 lbs. this week! Not bad for my first week - heheh ;)

Have a great night =)