Fast Food

Yay for Friday! Where did the week go?? Time is really flying. Unfortunately, my weight is not "flying off" as I had hoped. I took a peek at the scale this morning and it looks the same. I guess, I can't expect much since I had a pretty good loss last week. Besides, I haven't been perfectly staying within my POINTS. Too many BLT's. Not the sandwiches, more like the chocolate. We'll see what the scale says for my last BLBE weigh-in tomorrow.

No time to work out this morning. I had a coffee date with my pregger friend, Rosemary (who is due this month!), so I had to get out the door early. Before I left, I had a quick bowl of Quaker Crunchy Corn Bran (3/4 c.) with 1/2 c. unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze and strawberries for 2 POINTS...


While coffee talking, I had a tall nonfat iced latte with sugar-free white chocolate syrup for 2 POINTS...

Our morning coffee ran into lunch time (we're so chatty!). I had to stop at the store on the way home and by the time I made it home, I was so hungry and shaky! I grabbed the quickest thing I could find in the fridge - salmon salad. I spread it on an Ezekiel Bun and had a side of TJ's Sour Cream and Onion Rice Chips and carrots for a body fueling 7 POINTS...

Then I did the happy dance because my shipment of Vitatops arrived!!!! I was down to my last one. I ordered these the other day and chose the Mother's Day Pack which allowed you to choose from a list of your favorites. I chose Deep Chocolate (my #1 fave), Fudgy Peanut Butter Chip and a new one to try - Banana Nut! I am soooo excited to try that one! Mmmm... a box of goodies....

With this Mother's Day promotion, I got this "Gift of Health" for free...

A box of 12 heart shaped chocolate muffins! How cute...

I couldn't contain myself. I had to try one right away....

I feel sad. I didn't like it that much. I KNOW!!!! Can you believe I just said that about my beloved Vitas! Well, I think the issue with these hearts is that they are pretty thick, therefore a bit on the dry-dense side. I like "dense" if it's moist, but not "dry dense". Dry cake sucks :P However, Vitatops are not as thick, so that's why I haven't had the dry issue with those guys. They are the best! I think I'll pawn these hearts off on the daughters. I'll ice them up with a frosting of their choice and they'll love them. No, they will HEART them. Sorry, it's Friday and I'm tired ;)

Dinner was homemade calzones for the husband and daughters. I didn't have time to make whole wheat dough for myself, so I went for some leftover pizza that I had in the freezer. This pizza was made with spelt pizza dough which is awesome! I had this veggie pizza and 2 super sweet clementines for another quick meal of the day. Delicious for 9 POINTS...

I was tempted to have another Vitatop for dessert, but I felt pretty full. A little later, I had a spoonful of the daughters' Cookies and Cream Ice Cream. No chocolates followed. That's progress!

Have a great night =)

Recovery Run

Thanks to all for your nice comments about my friend's Dad. I feel sad for her and I have been moping around the house all day, not doing much of anything that I should be doing. Well, except eating. I always manage to get that in. I think that even if I had my jaws wired shut, I would find some type of food that could fit in between that labyrinth of wires :)

I decided to try out a treadmill run this morning since the last of my stitches fell out yesterday. I think I am pretty well healed, so I cranked up the treadmill and did my 40 minute run. Yay! It felt so good! I can't believe how much I miss it when I don't run! I threw in 20 tricep dips and 15 wall pushups, too!

After that, I fixed a quick breakfast of an Ezekiel English Muffin with a wedge of Laughing Cow Light for 3 POINTS...


I fiddled around on the computer and did a little cleaning (very little), then it was time for lunch. I made a salmon salad wrap with a side of carrots and TJ's Sour Cream and Onion Rice Chips for 5 POINTS...

I still felt a little hungry, so I had 2 very sweet clementines -YUM for 1 POINT...

Before taking little daughter to dance class, I broke out a snack...

Another great Gnu Bar! I crumbled it onto 1/2 c. nonfat Greek yogurt for a filling 3 POINT snack...

While little daughter was in class, my friend ,Coleen and I went for a walk around the parking area and solved all the world's problems. We walked at a pretty good clip, so I got in an extra 30 minute exercise today! I love when bonus exercise happens :)

I was not into providing a creative plan for dinner that no one would appreciate anyway, so I gave the husband and daughters sandwiches and fruit and I had my leftover Polenta with Smoked Gouda and Mushroom Sauce for 8 POINTS. I added some roasted peppers to it to change it up tonight...(sorry about the pic; hard to make it look "pretty")

Here's the recipe for this full flavored dish:

Polenta with Smoked Gouda and Mushroom Sauce

• 24 oz. tube of prepared polenta
• 1 tbsp. butter
• 1 tbsp. flour
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 3/4 c. skim milk
• 2 oz. lite smoked gouda ( or lite smoked mozzarella), grated
• 1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
• 8 oz. container of baby portabella mushrooms, sliced

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray a 11x7 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Slice tube of polenta into 1/2" slices and layer in baking dish.
3. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in salt and pepper. Sprinkle flour over butter; whisk quickly and cook for about 1 minute. Whisk in milk and cheeses. Stir in mushrooms.
4. Pour sauce over polenta slices and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Makes 3 hearty servings at 8 POINTS each.

I ended the day with some Righteous Rounds for 2 POINTS...

And a handful of little chocolate eggs and bites, licks and tastes of Cookies and Cream Ice Cream. Ugh! Glad I took that extra walk today ;)

Looking forward to getting in bed early. Have a great night =)

A New Member

I just joined Weight Watchers. Not really. I've been a member since July 2007, but when I went to my meeting this morning, I decided that I am going to pretend that I am a brand new member! Goofy, right? Well, remember that feeling you had when you made the solid decision to embark on a weight loss program? Kinda a mix between disgusted, fed-up, overwhelmed, desperate and excited for a new start? Then, you fully immersed yourself in your program of choice, being extra attentive and hypervigilant about following it to the T. You were very "rah rah" and "I can do it". Well, I tried to channel all those feelings from "day one" and went into my meeting this morning like it was my first. I told the receptionist my plan and she played along. Fresh start. I'm not looking at any of the previous pages of my weigh-in booklet and lamenting over it. I'm just starting new. And how ANNOYING am I that I am one of those people that joins Weight Watchers and only has 10 pounds to lose *wink, wink* ???!!!!

I headed out early for my meeting and rushed back just in time to have some toast before taking little daughter to a make-up dance class. I toasted up 2 slices of Trader Joe's Sprouted Grain Wheat Bread and spread them with 1 Laughing Cow Cheese Wedge for 3 POINTS...



When we got home, I did some housework and headed to the treadmill for a 35 minute run and 5 minutes of tricep dips/weights.

Before I knew it, it was after 1:00 and time for lunch. Chips made a reappearance in the form of these...

A big serving is only 2 POINTS...

I also made a salmon salad wrap using a La Tortilla Factory Smart and Delicious Wrap , a handful of baby spinach and the other half of the salmon salad mix - YUM! I paired it with some carrots for a delish 5 POINT lunch...

I will definitely keep that salmon salad in my normal rotation; it is so good!

I spent some time outside with the husband and daughters. What a glorious day! We had lunch outside and it was so nice!

While prepping for dinner, I realized I was getting hungry. I didn't think I could make it an hour til dinner, so I grabbed this for a snack...

I love this bar just as much as the Peanut Butter flavor!!! I think this may be my fave, though. You can taste and smell the banana flavor and the bits of walnut. These are so great and only 2 POINTS! Thanks again to Robyn at Gnu Foods for introducing me to these beauties!

We broke out the grill for dinner tonight! It was perfect grilling weather. I decided on burgers. I used 96% lean ground beef and some seasonings and formed the patties. I served mine on an Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Bun with a side(3 oz.) of sweet potato oven fries and grapes. A summery 9 POINT dinner...

and a good old dessert of Deep Chocolate Vitatop with PB2 "icing"! I paired it with 1/2 c. skim milk for a satisfying 3 POINT dessert...

Wow, this Weight Watchers Program is so easy to follow! I ate all the things I loved, but still stayed within my daily POINTS! This is such a great program; I'm gonna tell all my friends! I don't know why I haven't done this before ; )

Fake it til I make it =)

I'm Just Not Getting It

Everyday I wake up with all good intentions of being on track. I know what to do. I know what it takes to lose weight. I have been doing this since July 29, 2007. I haven't been perfect. I have had detours, but this particular detour that I am taking is especially long, winding and moves treacherously close to a cliff with a steep drop to fatdom come. I don't know why this is happening. Not sure why I can't wrap my brain around getting these last pounds off. I want to. I want to be a Lifetime member. But, apparently I want BROWNIES a lot more...


I woke up to a beautiful sunny morning! So terrific! I wanted to go on an outdoor run this morning, but ended up getting sidetracked with housework, so I headed to the elliptical for a weighted (18 lbs.) 30 minutes and then did 10 minutes of weights and tricep dips. Before my workout, I had a breakfast from the freezer. I found some whole wheat pumpkin blueberry pancakes that I had made a while back. Luckily, I wrapped them well, so they were in perfect eating condition. I had 2 with some low cal syrup for 2 POINTS...



Then I nibbled on some chocolate covered almonds (no pic). Mistake #1 !

Even though it was such a beautiful day, I ended up spending most of it inside :( Hate that! Did some more house cleaning, then made some lunch. I have been craving salmon again. Last time I was at the grocery store, I picked up this...

The nutritionals are great: 60 cal. and 1.5 gr. fat per serving which is 1 POINT. The bag serves 2, so even if you ate the whole thing, it's only 3 POINTS. A healthy bargain! I decided to make this into salmon salad. I mixed in a bit of onion, chopped celery, dijon mustard, 1 tbsp. lite mayo, fresh parsley and a squirt of lemon. I wish I had fresh dill - it would have been perfect in here! I served the salad on an Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Bun with a side of cantaloupe and 1 oz. Penny Sticks Honey Wheat Pretzels for an AMAZING 8 POINT lunch...

I heart salmon salad...

I spent the rest of the afternoon prepping for pizza night and hanging outside with the daughters. Oh, and snacking. I kept moving back and forth from pantry to fridge. The damage was deep. Pretzel sticks, more chocolate covered almonds, lite string cheese, pepperoni. The stuff cellulite is made of. I felt my hips widening with every bite. Mistake #2.

I made a healthy pizza for dinner. Why, you say? Beats me. Dare I say, to "try to get back on the wagon"??? Yes, I will say it. Not buyin it? Yeah, me neither.

I bought some spelt flour a while ago and thought I would make pizza dough with it. Here's the recipe I used (adapted from www.recipezaar.com):

• 2 c. spelt flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. yeast
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. honey
• 2/3 c. warm water

I mixed all the ingredients in my stand mixer until a dough formed. I did need to add a bit more water to have it all come together. I thought the baking powder was a strange addition , but I did read that wheat -free crusts have a tendency to not rise very much, so I believe this may have helped along with the yeast in that department. I left the dough to rise, which it did quite a bit, then spread it into a well greased (with cooking spray) pizza pan. I always pre-bake my crusts before topping and I did with this one also. I put it in a 450 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Then, I topped it with my homemade pizza sauce, fresh baby spinach, fresh mushrooms and about 1/2 c. part skim mozzarella. I ran the pizza dough ingredients through the Recipe Builder and came up with 4 POINTS per serving (4 servings). With my toppings, 2 slices came to 8 POINTS. I served it with some salad dressed with Kraft Light Three Cheese Ranch for another 1 POINT...

Very filling and very delicious. I really liked the way this crust came out. It was light in texture, yet hearty enough to hold up the toppings. It had a mellow taste; lighter and a bit less bitter than whole wheat crusts come out sometimes. If you're looking for a new pizza dough recipe, give this a try! And if you're gluten-free, this is your dough!


To end my evening, I had this...

Plus another few bites of the "hard, crunchy edges" that no one wants to eat. I totally talked little daughter into making these with me. Mistake #3. I labeled it "an experiment" as I wanted to try to use up some plain nonfat yogurt in the fridge that was on it's last legs (plus I'm not a fan of plain yogurt anyway)and thought I would mix it with a box of regular brownie mix that I just happened to have lying around. This is the way to make No Pudge brownies, but I wondered if it would work for a regular brownie mix. Well, it works. They are good and fudgy. I will call them Fat Ass Brownies. I have no idea of the POINTS; I was too lazy to calculate and not inclined to think that it even mattered at this point. The husband and daughters liked them and wolfed down quite a few which is good for me. Less to look at tomorrow when I "begin again".

This up and down is exhausting me mentally. I'm not sure what to do to get my fires burning again for more than a day or two. I am heading to my WW meeting tomorrow morning; maybe that will do it. I'm hoping after I see the number from the scale on my member book, in black and white, that it will give me the wake up call I need. I peeked on my own scale today and it's not looking good. At all.

Sorry to be such a downer tonight. I know I just have to keep trying. I know I say it over and over, but I don't seem to be getting it. But, I'm going to keep doing it. Keep trying. Keep starting everyday with resolve to stay on program. Fake it til I make it =)