Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Is it ever going to stop raining??? I began to build an ark today. If I see zoo animals walking down my street, I know we're gonna be in trouble :)

No outdoor activity due to the weather. I'm not one for running in the rain, so I'm waiting for the sun to cooperate so that I can get out there. The elliptical was my workout of choice this morning. I wore my weighted vest and bumped up the resistance for a nice sweaty 40 minutes, then did 30 tricep dips and 15 wall pushups. After my workout, I experimented in the kitchen. I wanted something different for breakfast and I searched through one of my old recipe binders and found a recipe for bulgur cereal. I decided to make a version of that which included these two powerhouse grains...


What developed was Apple Cinnamon Bulgur Cereal. It was so filling and delicious! I am not a big fan of oatmeal, mainly because of the consistency which seems "gluey" to me. This hot cereal recipe is reminiscent of an oatmeal bowl, but with a much better texture. I enjoyed this big 3 POINT bowl very much...

Great texture...

Here's the recipe:

Apple Cinnamon Bulgur Cereal

• 1 c. water
• 1 small apple, grated
• 3 tbsp. bulgur
• 1 tbsp. oat bran
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. salt

1. Place all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil.
2. Cover and cook on low for about 15 minutes or until thickened.

I added a bit of Splenda for sweetness. It was perfect and kept me full for hours. I'd love to experiment with this more and try banana and/or some dried fruits next time!

While I was out running some errands, I bought a new pair of sunglasses and proceeded to wear them the rest of the afternoon. In the rain. I am willing the sun to come out by wearing my new glasses. So far, not working:(

I drove home, in the rain, wearing my new sunglasses and started on some lunch. I went with a Dr. Praeger's Tex-Mex Veggie Burger on an Ezekiel Bun with a little salsa. I had some grapes and a serving of Baked Tostitos with salsa. Another filling 8 POINT lunch...

More volume for a 1 POINT snack...

Dinner was a Cinco de Mayo celebration - tacos! I made beef tacos for the husband and daughters. They were doing the happy dance; they love tacos! I decided to celebrate along wiht them in a "healthier" way. My personal menu was shrimp tacos with mango salsa and black bean soup. I tried this black bean soup from TJ's...

It's organic, vegan and only 2 POINTS per cup. Very tasty!

For the shrimp tacos, I pan-fried 4 oz. shrimp in nonstick cooking spray. I seasoned them with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder and fresh lime. That's it! So easy. I added the shrimp to 2 small La Tortilla Factory Tortillas (50 cal. each) with shredded lettuce, tomato. I topped it off with mango salsa that I made using 1 mango, red bell pepper, red onion, cilantro and/or parsley and fresh lime juice. Muy delicioso 7 POINT dinner...

As you can imagine, I was pretty full from all this. I couldn't help getting in a little sweet, though. TJ's Righteous Rounds hit the spot for 1 POINT...

And a nice cup of coffee with unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze...

I feel good about my eating today. Everytime I was tempted to mindlessly reach for something to snack on, I snapped myself out of it and kept saying...goal....goal....goal....

I gotta get there!

Have a great night and don't forget to enter my fun Dogtoys giveaway!

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 =)

Making It Through Day 2

I woke up to another nice morning. I was tempted to go for an outdoor run, but my ankle has been bothering me a little, so I opted for the elliptical instead. I did a weighted 35 minutes and 20 tricep dips. The weighted vest makes a big difference. I don't realize how heavy it is until I take it off! And it's only got 18 lbs. in it right now!


After the workout, I made a quick bowl of cereal: Kashi Go Lean Crunch, Fiber One, strawberries and 1/2 c. skim milk for 3 POINTS...

I was in the kitchen after that doing some "cook ahead" meals. I was in the mood for some coffee, but after I made it, I decided I would rather have something cold. I dug out the blender and made a "frappucino". I used 1/2 c. skim milk, 1 c. brewed coffee, 1 tsp. instant espresso powder, 1 tbsp. sugar free caramel syrup and lot of ice. This was definitely a big serving - like a "venti" ;) All for only 1 POINT...

Lunch was al fresco since it was so nice. I had a hummus sammie made with 2 tbsp. hummus, baby spinach, tomato and pickles on an Arnold Sandwich Thin. A sweet fuji apple and barbeque soy crisps were great sides for a 6 POINT lunch...

After lunch, we headed to the movies. The daughters each wanted to see something different, so the husband and I decided to divide and conquer. The husband and little daughter went to see Monsters vs. Aliens and big daughter and I saw The Hannah Montana Movie. I enjoyed the movie, although her "twang" seriously gets on my nerves. And once again, thanks to Disney for making yet another movie where the mother is dead! Sheesh! Anyway, there was no out of control popcorn shoveling thanks to the fact that big daughter wanted Twizzlers instead of popcorn. I'm safe with Twizzlers, so it was all good :) By the time we got home, I was ready for a snack. I went with 1 oz. Penny Sticks honey wheat pretzels and a lite string cheese for 3 POINTS...

An hour later, my stomach was growling! Seriously growling, not just "hmmm... I feel like eating something". I drank a bucket of water, but that didn't help with the growling, although it did help me stay out of the kitchen because I was spending loads of time in the bathroom!

I got dinner going before any crazy snacking could occur. I made garlic thyme chicken thighs on the grill (technically, the husband is grill master!) and sauteed kale and white beans with hearty Italian bread for the family and a slice of Trader Joe's Sprouted Flourless Wheatberry bread for me. What a delicious 7 POINT dinner...

I wasn't in the mood for a big dessert, but I still wanted a little sweet. I decided on these...

I love these little chocolate chip cookies! What I think is neat about them is that they are very crispy, but yet have not been baked! They have not been heated to more than 75 degrees which helps keep the nutrients intact. I think because of that, they can be considered a "raw food". They are made with soy protein and fruit and vegetable concentrates made up of apple, broccoli, carrot, cranberry, orange and tomato.. All I taste is sweet yumminess! A serving is 5 little cookies for 130 cal., 4 gr. fat and 3 gr. fiber which is 2 POINTS...

Perfect with a cup of tea which I did not feel like making! Just as perfect on their own :)

Well, I made it through Day 2 of my "fresh start"! My stomach is having the nerve to growl right now! I guess it got used to having tons of crappy snacks shoved into it, so now it's complaining. But, *fingers in my ears* la la la la la, I can't hear you!!!!!!!!

Going to bed to dream of ..... six pack abs =)