Life Is Like A Bag Of Chocolates

Hey guys!  I’m a little off my blogging schedule – not enough hours in the day, ya know?  I’m faltering with my “to-do list”!  I started off great but, I got side-tracked with other things and now my list is a mile long again.  Pffft!!

The morning began with the growl of my stomach.  That is one annoying alarm clock ;P  Breakfast was definitely in order before gyming it.  I munched down a Thomas’ Light Multigrain English Muffin with homemade almond butter and a pear…

Almond butter is so good.  And sooo hard to control!  I could eat gobs of it, but I have to keep reminding myself:  A serving is 2 tbsp., a serving is 2 tbsp.  Yes, I chant this as I spread it :)  I have received some requests for this recipe, so here it is…

Homemade Almond Butter

• 1 cup whole almonds, roasted
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. honey
• 1 tsp. olive oil (not extra virgin)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place almonds on a baking sheet and roast for 7-10 minutes. Watch closely to not burn.
2. Place nuts in food processor and pulse until nuts are fully chopped.  Add salt, honey and oil.
3. Continue to process until creamy;  this may take 5-7 minutes.
4. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.
5. Try not to eat the whole thing.
6. Good luck with that :)

Then, I drug myself to the gym.  I know that’s not a word, but it is when you don’t want to go to the gym.  Drug is way worse than dragged ;P  I usually like the gym, but since I’m restricted to the recumbent bike  til this dizziness goes away, I’m less than thrilled.  For some reason, the bike just doesn’t do it for me.  It’s boring and I don’t feel like I’m doing much of anything  for a workout.  I did try to pump up the resistance, which definitely was a challenge, but it’s still just “meh” to me.  Maybe, I’ll learn to like it??

I was ready for lunch after my non-exciting gym experience.  I couldn’t wait to get some food.  It was one of THOSE days.  Lunch was a Health is Wealth Chicken Free Patty on a deli flat with guacamole, chopped tomatoes and spinach.  Some soy crisps and carrots filled up the rest of my plate…

But not the rest of my stomach!!!  No, really my stomach was full, but my brain did not get that memo.  It was too focused on these Halloween candies…

My favorite…

A close second…

What I thought I should have instead…

What I did have… all of the above.  And CHEEZ-ITS!  I hate those friggers!

Dinner, as if I needed it, was a delicious bowl of Cheesy Polenta with mushrooms and asparagus…

I used this Polenta recipe from Everyday Food …

 

It was a beautiful thing.  So is chocolate.  I know it so well :)

ONE GOOD THING:  I did not eat 105 pieces of chocolate :D

Question of the Day:  What is your favorite exercise machine at the gym/home?

Who's That Porker

Hey All! I'm not up for much chatting tonight. I found out today that a friend has cancer and it has made me very sad. For me, very sad = lots of afternoon snacking. Yep, I'm a full fledged emotional eater, no doubt about it. Today, I don't care so much. It's inconsequential to the battle that my friend is undergoing. So, here's my day for what it is. No excuses, no pity party, no "why oh whys". It is what it is and that's how I dealt with things today :(


I started off strong with a weighted 35 minute elliptical workout. I tore it up this morning! While on the elliptical, I pushed hard and kept yelling out loud (very Jillian-like), So you want to eat cookies??? You want to eat cookie dough??? Nothing's for free!!! The husband was working out with me and he kept egging me on saying, "yeah, I saw you eat lots of cookie dough!" It was funny! I was dripping in sweat and cursing like a truck driver the whole time! After 35 minutes, I got off and finished up with a 15 minute treadmill run. My HRM said I burned 450 calories. Um, okay. That probably covered about 2 cookies and a lick of cookie dough. Oh well. Better than nothing ;P

I wasn't hungry for a while after that beating, so I waited for an hour before I settled into a cereal bowl of 3/4 c. High Fiber O's, 1/2 c. unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze, 1/2 c. blueberries and a couple chopped dried apricots for 3 POINTS...


Lunch was a hummus wrap with Laughing Cow Light Cheese, cucumbers and baby spinach in a La Tortilla Factory Smart and Delicious Wrap. I went with a side of good old soy crisps and an apple for a tasty 7 POINT lunch...

Then came the sad news, a trip to the library with the daughters and back home for afternoon munching. If it wasn't nailed down, I ate it.

Dinner was leftover Pineapple Luau Pork (from the freezer) served over brown rice for 6 POINTS...

Speaking of pork, who's that porker...

The daughters found that picture of me with the hubby (isn't he cute!)while rummaging through some albums down the basement. They ran up to show me saying they couldn't believe that was me. They don't remember me looking that way. Nice to know they have impaired long term memories. That may serve me well for the many "mom crimes" I have committed! LOL! Although, they'll probably remember ALL those incidents that "ruined" their childhood ;P Anyway, here's a pic of the "mom they know" taken by little daughter (excuse my hideous lack of makeup )...

Sometimes I still see that person in the first picture. It's good to know that you all don't, though :D

Have a great night!

Rise And Shine, It's Scale Time

My first official Saturday of summer vacation started with me getting up and hitting the treadmill by 7:30 a.m.! It was earlier than I wanted, but I planned on going to the 8:30 WW meeting and I needed to get in my workout first. I did a 30 minute run, cleaned up and went to the meeting. I was happy to be down 2.6 lbs. I am back to where I was before the snack-a-rama weeks. I feel good about my "new" way of counting POINTS, but what I think may have made the most difference is not having a snack in the afternoon. It kept me from overeating in the afternoon because I never started to begin with. I'm going to continue this for another week and see how it goes.


My breakfast was a sample bar that was given out at the meeting. It was only 1 POINT and very yummy...


I had to run a bunch of errands after that, so I didn't have time to come home for a more substantial breakfast. I decided to wait it out for a bigger lunch. But, that turned out to be a rush job, too. My Dad wanted to take us to the movies to see UP at 12:30, so I packed up lunch to take with me. I went with a roasted veggie hummus wrap made with leftover roasted veggies and 2 tbsp. hummus rolled into a La Tortilla Factory Smart and Delicious Tortilla for 3 POINTS...

And I took some carrots and soy crisps for munching during the movie (2 POINTS)...

The daughters got popcorn and I did indulge in some of that. Why is movie popcorn so hard to resist?! I looked it up when I got home and I'm guessing I ate about 5 POINTS worth.

I relaxed to the max the rest of the afternoon and watched some mindless tv - The Real Housewives of New Jersey. Those women are nutty! While watching, I started on making dinner. I had planned on burgers and I was dying to try and recreate those Greek Lima Beans that friends brought to our last bbq. Here's the recipe I came up with...

• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1/4 c. diced onion
• 1/4 c. diced carrots
• 1/4 c. diced celery
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 16 oz. frozen fordhook lima beans
• 1/2 c. canned petite diced tomatoes
• 1 tsp. oregano
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 c. water or chicken broth

1. Saute onion, carrots, celery and garlic in olive oil until translucent.
2. Add beans, tomatoes and seasoning. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
3. Transfer to baking dish. Add water, cover and bake in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.

Serves 5 (about 1/2 cup). 2 POINTS per serving.

It was very good! Not exactly like the original, but I think that had way more olive oil involved than what I used. I also made some of Gram's green beans, too. Altogether, a great tasting 8 POINT dinner...

I went for my traditional dessert - Fudgy Peanut Chip Vitatop with PB2 for 2 POINTS. It tasted extra good tonight....

I'm looking forward to snoozing now! Have a great night!

A Snack Intervention

It was another sunshiny day, today. I thought I would go for another walk at the trail. Before I left, I had quick breakfast of Banana Fudge Vitatop (1 POINT) and a mango crackshake (2 POINTS)...



Then, I hit the trail. I walked 4.2 miles in about an hour. I tried to really keep my arms pumping to burn those calories. I wonder if I am burning as many calories as when I run. I run at a pretty slow pace, so maybe walking this way is doing a better calorie burning job? I don't know. I guess I have to save up for a Body Bugg to know for sure!

For lunch, I made a wrap with 1/4 c. Spinach Artichoke Hummus, cucumber slices, lettuce and a La Tortilla Factory Wrap. I went back to soy crisps and carrots for a side. A tasty 5 POINT lunch...

I felt like something sweet after, so I had one of these Sunsweet Prunes ; they are individually wrapped which makes them feel more "special". As if prunes could be special. Well, I guess if you're having bathroom "issues", these could be very special :) Anyway, 4 of these gems are only 1 POINT...

When the daughters came home from school, I made a snack of savory rice crackers with Laughing Cow Light and 3 strawbabies for 2 POINTS...

Then, I snacked on a handful of goldfish, a chocolate and 2 Righteous Rounds cookies. What can I say? Same old, same old. I need an intervention. A snack intervention. Anyone care to stage one for me? I promise I'll go to rehab; really, I will! I won't bore you with my lamenting about my snack issues. Moving on....

Dinner was carb-arific and quick. I combined 2 oz. of Ronzoni Smart Taste elbow macaroni with 1/2 c. TJ's marinated bean salad from yesterday. What a terrific combo! This bean salad is a great topping for pasta; no other seasoning, sauce or oil needed! I topped it with a tbsp. grated parmesan cheese. A delicious 6 POINTS...

I also had some whole wheat naan for 2 POINTS...

Then I ended the night with a 1/2 c. Banana Split Froyo for 2 POINTS...

Hope you got to soak up the sun today! Have a great night =)

Today I Suck

Today I suck at the Weight Watchers program. I suck at eating healthy. I suck at making good choices. I suck at exercising. I suck at intuitive eating. This has caused me to have to suck in my gut to button my pants tonight. Yes, I'm having a pity party. It's my party and I'll cry if I want to ;) Sorry. I know tomorrow will be better. But, today....I suck.

I won't even go into the massive amounts of snacks and cookies and cheese and pretzels I ate this afternoon. Ugh, believe me, I don't want to relive it all. And I decided I am going to stop pychoanalyzing to figure out the "why". It just happens. Sometimes you just feel like eating like there is no tomorrow. Then, there are other days when you feel like you got this whole healthy eating/weight loss thing in the bag. I'm not going to dwell on it. I think I realized today that "this day" will not be my "every day" like it used to be. I don't want to go back to being that 234 pound girl. I can't even imagine it. So, I'll write this day off and get back on track for tomorrow. My goal (ugh - there's that elusive WORD!) is to have more ON days than OFF. I can do that :)


Alright, I am going to now be Polly Positive and show you all the healthy eats I had today!
I am feeling an addicition brewing for Becca's milkshakes! This morning, I made one with 2 oz. fresh mango, 1/2 banana, 1 tbsp. sugar free, fat free vanilla pudding dry mix, 1/2 c. unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze and ice. So delicious for 2 POINTS...




A while later, I had a Banana Nut Vitatop for 1 POINT...


Lunch was a Dr. Praeger's Tex Mex Burger with lettuce and Laughing Cow on a honey wheat bun. Gotta have the soy chips! And some grapes rounded out this tasty 8 POINT lunch...

Here's where things went awry, but I'm not talking about that, remember ;)

And dinner was boneless pork chops with a light mushroom cream sauce, pan-fried potatoes and Gram's green beans for 8 POINTS...

No dessert because...well, you know;) If you can't button your pants, it's not a good idea. But, speaking of dessert..... I won the BSI challenge this week with my Chocolate Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Glaze! Thanks, Lara for that exciting news; it really made my day!

That's all for me, tonight. Hope you all have a great night and don't forget, there's still time to enter my FitNutz giveaway! I'll be back tomorrow night with the winner :)

Dance The Day Away

Whew, I am so tired tonight, so I'll try and make this quick! I woke up at 6:00 a.m. this morning (on a weekend!) so that I could make an early WW meeting. The husband wanted to take my mother-in-law out for a "surprise" Mother's Day breakfast(how cute is that!) and I needed to get back in time. I went to the 7 a.m. meeting which was surprisingly packed with members! I'm happy to report the scale was my friend and I am down 2.2 lbs.! Only 4 pounds til goal! Whoo hoo!

I rushed home after the meeting (which was all about positive self talk - very good topic!) and went straight to the elliptical. I watched really bad TV that kept me entertained during my 40 minute weighted workout. After that, I was ready for some breakfast. I went with an old favorite - Mock Egg McMuffin for 4 POINTS...



I tooled around on the computer, read some blogs and got myself and little daughter ready for an afternoon of dance! Little daughter had her dance rehearsal and she had to be in full costume and makeup. It took quite a while to put it all together. Before we left, I ate a quick lunch of turkey, baby spinach and dijonnaise on an Ezekiel bun with a side of carrots and soy crisps for 6 POINTS...

The dance dress rehearsal was an all day affair. After little daughter did her dance, she wanted to stay to watch the other dancers. We were there about 4 hours! Good thing I brought a snack (2 POINTS)...

I finally made it home, right about dinner time. I had planned ahead for the family and made Chicken Parmesan for them. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to eat and my stomach was letting me know that I had better figure it out quick. I looked in the freezer and pulled out these guys to try...

Look at the nutritionals; what a POINTS bargain!

A serving is 4 pieces, but I was starving so I went with 3 servings! That's 12 mini wontons and it only came to 3 POINTS. Now, they are little guys, but having a lot of them on the plate helped make them seem more filling. They taste terrific, too. I made a dipping sauce with 1 tbsp. soy sauce, 1 tbsp. water and 1/4 tsp. rice vinegar. I paired the wontons with a cup of fresh pineapple for a delicious 4 POINT dinner...

With plenty of room for dessert, I decided to end the night with a Fudgy Peanut Chip Vitatop with PB2 for 2 most delicious POINTS...

I'm off to bed! Have a great night, everyone =)

Going Bananas Morning And Night

I continued my sunglass wearing conduct today in protest of the weather. It is just gray and dismal with scattered showers and it's getting on my nerves! More rain is called for tomorrow. When, oh when will it end??!!!


Before getting little daughter off to school, I had a quick breakfast. I broke out a Banana Nut Vitatop, heated it in the micro for 20 seconds and topped it with PB2 for 2 POINTS! Oh my greatness...


I found these Banana Nut Vitatops to be very moist. I was surprised at the amount of chopped walnuts on it, too. The only critique I would have is that I think the banana flavor is lacking a bit. More like a hint of banana, not a strong banana flavor. Still an excellent muffin for calories/POINTS.

After school drop-off, I headed to Starbucks to meet up with my good friend, Rosie. HI ROSIE!!!!! We don't get to see each other as often as we would like, so it was nice to catch up. She is such a wonderful person, inside and out! While chatting it up, I had a Tall Caramel Light Frappuccino -no whip for 2 POINTS...


I have to say that these fraps are awesome! I kind of feel that they are too good to be true in the calorie department. I guess the scale will tell!

After Starbucks, I decided to ignore the crappo weather and went for a run at the nearby trail. It was terrific! I ran for 45 minutes and I was in one of those moods that I felt like I just wanted to keep going and going. But, I had some errand to get done, so I called it quits after that and ended with 30 tricep dips using the picnic table. Then came the pain. My left hip gets sore sometimes after I run. Anyone have this happen or know why this happens?? I thought since my hip is attached to my big fat butt that jiggles around the entire time I run that it just may be the way my hip protests to this torturous activity. I know, not very scientific, but definitely a viable explanation ;)


When I got home, I tried this new SoBe Lifewater...

I saw this a while ago on someone's blog; I think it may have been either Kelly's or Connie's - sorry I don't remember! I really liked it. I tried the fuji apple pear flavor and it was a delicious 0 Points!

For lunch, I went with a Health is Wealth Chicken Free Patty in a Weight Watchers Pita with shredded lettuce, tomato and a slice of 2 % cheese. Some soy crisps and carrots rounded out this tasty 6 POINT lunch...




I didn't plan on an afternoon snack, but ended up nibbling on some cantaloupe and pineapple while I was cutting and prepping them(no pic). At least it was a healthy 2 POINT snack!



I haven't been very creative for dinner lately. I decided to try to use up all the veggies I have in the fridge and settled on another tofu scramble. This mix was...

• 1/2 block Nasoya Lite Firm Tofu
• 2 tbsp. chopped red onion
• 1/4 c. chopped red pepper
• 1 c. sliced mushrooms
• 1/8 c. chopped tomatoes
• 1/4 c. baby spinach
• 2 tbsp. salsa
• garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper

And to spice it up, a slice of this...

A ginormous one dish meal with an Easy Roll for 6 POINTS...

Later, I went with this for dessert...

So good! A mix of chocolate, strawberry and banana froyo! A serving is 1/2 cup (68 gr.) for 2 POINTS...

Another good eating day in the bag! So far so good. I just keep thinking....GOAL! I'm ready for it, now :D

Just another reminder - there's still time to enter my cool DogToys Giveaway! You can click HERE to enter! C'mon, your pooch really wants those goodies!

Have a great night everyone!!!!

More Of The Same

I was up and out early this morning to make my WW meeting. Not that I was in any rush to get weighed or anything. No big excitement on the scale. It was exactly the same. I can't be upset about it. I haven't been keeping up with my "following the program to the T" strategy. Too much picking going on. But, I spoke with the receptionist while I was there. She has lost 100 lbs. and has kept it off since 1984. I talked with her about my frustration with myself and about getting to goal. I am coming up on 2 years at the end of July and I really hoped to get to my goal and be on the way to achieving Lifetime status. She told me it took her 4 years to get there. Wow. That made me feel a little better. I'm declaring the high end of my weight range for my goal weight even though it's probably not where I would want to settle in at. But, at the rate I'm going, I don't want it to take a lifetime to get to Lifetime! I can see it now. I'll be a real looker when I get to goal at age 90. I might not have teeth, but I'll be the hottest chick in the nursing home ;P In my thong. Eeeewww. Sorry, did you just throw up a little bit?? Okay, in an effort to erase that visual from your damaged mind, I will get to the food...


After the meeting, I came home and made a breakfast wrap with a La Tortilla Factory Tortilla, 3 egg whites, baby spinach, center cut bacon and a slice of 2% cheese for 4 POINTS...


For lunch I tried these new veggie burgers that I picked up the other day...

The nutritionals are great...

These burgers are made with beans, corn, zucchini, string beans, oat bran and a host of other good veggies. They have a nice kick to them and taste a whole lot like the California Veggie Burger also made by Dr. Praeger. I served mine on an Arnold Sandwich Thin with lettuce and a squirt of lite ranch along with a serving of soy crisps and a fuji apple. A healthy 6 POINT lunch...

I took the daughters to see a play this afternoon at little daughter's school. It was very cute and entertaining. When we got back, I made a snack of 1/2 c. TJ's nonfat greek yogurt, 1/2 c. Kashi Go Lean Crunch, 2 strawberries and a tsp. chocolate syrup for 2 POINTS...

Dinner was pasta and salad for the husband and daughters, but I wasn't in the mood for pasta. Well, I was, but not only 1 cup of pasta! It's just too little of a serving to make me happy. I searched around the freezer and came upon this guy...

It has been in my freezer for an eternity. I'm trying to make sure I eat the freezer stock, so since the date was okay, I decided to eat it for dinner. It's a pretty good bargain for 4 POINTS, but I wasn't having high hopes that it would be good!

I made these to go along with it...

Altogether, a 6 POINT dinner...

But, I only ate some. Here's what I left...

That was one yucky frozen dinner. The chicken was rubbery and "fake", the pasta was flavorless and the sauce was weirdly spicy. The flavors didn't jive. Ick. The TJ's Potato Medley, on the other hand, was terrific! I should have just eaten a big dish of that!

I picked on a roll from the family's dinner, then cleaned up and moved on to dessert. I thought I would give the VitaHearts another try. I had the idea of icing them, so I thought that may redeem them. I made a Chocolate Espresso Glaze by mixing 1 tsp. unsweetened cocoa, 1 tsp. powdered sugar, 1/8 tsp. instant espresso powder and 1/2 tsp. skim milk and spread it onto the VitaHeart...

Well, the hearts are still dry, but the glaze was amazing!!! The espresso gave it a prominent flavor making it taste like dark chocolate. So good! I can't wait to try this on the Deep Chocolate Vitatops that I love! Come back tomorrow night; I'll let you know how it is!!

I ended the night with a giant latte made with skim milk for 2 POINTS...

Decaf, of course! Goodnight =)