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 =)

You Said Let's Shred!

The February Shred Challenge is on - thanks so much for my buddies who decided to join me! You guys are awesome and you know misery loves company!! So here's what I'm thinking, how about we take our measurements now and then, again at the end of the Challenge? That way, we can really document the difference in our bodies (hopefully, along with the weight loss, too!) At the end, we can post our results(only if you feel comfortable doing that). I took measurements of the following body parts: arms, chest, waist, hips (lordy) and thighs (double lordy). After that information, I should Shred morning, noon and night ;)

Now for the food...
The daughters had a snow delay this morning, so we got to fiddle around this morning before getting to school. I ate breakfast with little daughter while she read her books to me. I had a lite english muffin topped with 2 tbsp. PB2 and a tsp. Smucker's Sugar Free Grape Jam and 1/2 sliced banana for 3 POINTS...



When everyone was off to school, I headed to the basement for a 30 min. treadmill run. Then, I went straight into The Shred ("no resting "as Jillian would say). Whew, my legs were burning! But, after seeing those measurements...ugh...I got some work to do!!!

The rest of the morning was spent cleaning myself up and then, the house. I was sprucing up the kitchen when my delivery of Vitatops came! Oh JOY, look at this stash...

I ordered 4 different flavors: Triple Chocolate Chunk, Double Chocolate Dream, Deep Chocolate and Banana Fudge. A chocolate extravaganza!!! I can't tell you how badly I wanted to dive into that new Banana Fudge flavor, but I exercised great restraint and decided to save it for dessert :)

Although, chocolate was on my mind for lunch, I went with a Boca Burger on an Arnold Sandwich Thin, topped with a slice of 2% cheese, lettuce, tomato and a squirt of ketchup. A side of carrots and a giant pear took the place of my beloved chips, but I seem to be doing o.k. without them! A "filling foods" 5 POINT lunch...

My afternoon snack was a chocolate Vitatop a Weight Watchers Strawberry Yogurt topped with 1/4 c. blueberries, 2 strawberries and 1/4 c. high fiber cereal for 2 POINTS...

The husband and daughters were having hot dogs and mac n' cheese for dinner tonight. Real low-cal ;) I took the opportunity to have something that would completely gross them out. I made an omelette using 3 egg whites, 1 Laughing Cow Light Cheese Wedge and 2 oz. smoked salmon. I had a side salad with Marie's Lite Chunky Blue Cheese and a mini ciabatta roll (2 oz.). A scrumptious 7 POINT dinner...

And NOW, the best time of the day....DESSERT!!! I had to try the Banana Fudge. OMG!! It did not disappoint! Great banana flavor with yummy chocolate chips. If you love banana bread with chocolate chips but hate the calories, this is your new friend! I had to up the ante and top mine with some PB2. Holy Guacamole...

Since I have a vault filled with Vitatops, I'm fairly certain that I will be having this for dessert every night. Makes me happy, although you may be sick of seeing it after a while ;D

Thanks again, Shredders! Shred Count - only 24 days left!

Dinner In Advance

No time for a fancy snack since I had to run little daughter to dance. I ended up bringing this bar with me to eat in the car...




This is the best Kashi bar, well, bars -there are actually 2 in the pack. The flavor is mellow, but tastes great. A good 3 POINT treat.



Since tonight is a late night with dance class, I made dinner earlier in the afternoon so it would be ready for when we dashed in. I'm trying to use up some of the things in the fridge and freezer before they expire. We had some ham and salami that was about to go, so I used it to make strombolis for the husband and daughters. I decided on some chili for myself. I got creative by using these instead of ground beef or turkey...

I had these in the freezer and I must say that I do not love these. I have tried them twice so far and they have not impressed me. They are really bland and weird in texture. But, I decided to reinvent them one last time by crumbling them up for chili with onion, green and red peppers, canned tomatoes, chili powder and some kidney beans. I let it simmer for a bit til the flavors came together. I had a bowl of it topped with 1 oz. Cabot 75% Reduced Fat Cheddar Cheese and a side of carrot sticks. And I couldn't resist having a slice of the stomboli! I guess that took the place of my brownie dessert tonight!!

No, I can't miss dessert 2 nights in a row! I ended the day of eats the same way I started -with a Vitatop! I had my good old standby - Deep Chocolate Vitatop with PB2...

Gotta love a decadent dessert that's only 2 POINTS!

Off to do some weights - gotta hit my 45 min. -a -day exercise goal!

Have a good night =)

Hot Stuff

The sun is shining, but brrrrrrr, what a cold day out there. Definitely calls for some nice hot food today. Unfortunately, I couldn't start with a hot breakfast since I was not eating before weigh -in this morning, which was.......not so hot! Well, I shouldn't say that. It was not my best work, but it was still a loss - .4 lbs. Hey, I'll take it! My new attitude is to be happy for a loss, no matter how small because it all adds up eventually, right?? So, since I don't eat before weigh-in, I brought along to the meeting a BlueBran Vitatop ( I love that these are only 1 POINT!) and a bottle of water...



I came home for lunch and heated up a bowl of this soup...


Along with that another hot food...

I LOVE hot dogs!! I haven't had one in so long. I know they are not the healthiest thing on the planet, but having one every once in a while can't be too bad! Especially when there is a low POINT option like these Dietz and Watson Gourmet Lite Beef Franks. They are only 60 cal. and 1.5 gr. fat which comes to 1 POINT. They taste great! I had this on a light hot dog bun (also 1 POINT) with some mustard and a little dill relish. I decided to pass on the chips today (can you believe it?) and went with a sliced apple, instead. A nice hot lunch for only 4 POINTS...

I'm into my day for only 5 POINTS so far and I feel pretty satisfied. Guess you have those days. Wish I had them MORE OFTEN!! Anyway, I have a good amount of POINTS slated for a nice sized snack or dessert. Yay, maybe brownies........... ;)

And We're Off

To a not so great start. The husband developed bubonic plague or some other flu-like illness during the evening, little daughter woke up a bunch of times during the night and 6 a.m. was a rude awakening for me since during this whole break, my lids could not be pried open before 7:30! Needless to say, coffee was a MUST this morning! I decided to try a fun recipe for Coffee Cocoa that Jenn from eating bender was kind enough to share. She has this many mornings and now I know why! It's delicious and a nice change from the straight up stuff! I used fat free half and half in mine since I had it on hand. Mmm and the coffee part did it's job for me. Along with my Coffee Cocoa, I had a BlueBran Vitatop. I never had this flavor Vitatop before, although I did have this in a Vitamuffin. No comparison, the Vitatops are so much better. More moist and just seem bigger than the muffin for some reason. Both are only 1 Point, which is a steal...

On a positive note, I did knock out my 35 minutes on the elliptical! I tried an interval workout on it by doing a 5 minute warm-up, then alternating slow and fast speed in 1 minute increments. I was inspired to do this after reading an article written by the fabulous MizFit. I bow down to her; so not worthy =) Now, I'm gonna do a little dumbell weight activity for 10 min. so that I can hit my 45 minute -a-day workout goal.

Have a great day!

Jump Around

I was able to occupy myself with lots of cleaning this afternoon, so the munchies stayed away. Also, my parents and Gram came by to see the daughters playing with the gift they gave them...

A trampoline!!! The poor husband spent 4 hours putting this together! It was a job, but I think he was just as excited about it as the daughters! We all tried it out -even my Dad; it's a lot of fun and a suprisingly good workout.

Dinner tonight was.... well, it's Friday you know! Yes, the husband and daughters had pizza. I decided to have some Spanakopita Wontons that I had in the freezer, along with a green salad, some carrots and 2 tbsp. white bean dip that I made this morning...

I wasn't quite "finished" eating, so I grabbed a couple Kashi TLC Roasted Garlic and Thyme Crackers to scoop up the rest of my dip...

I also nibbled on some of the pizza; probably ended up being half a slice total. I guess since I didn't have a snack this afternoon, I should be o.k. with my Points. I have to admit, I didn't "track" my Points exactly today. I know when I get away from writing it down, I tend to go astray. But since this was my day of 'detoxing' from all the overeating, I wasn't too worried about it. Tomorrow, I will be better!!!

I wanted some dessert tonight, so I went with my recent fave - Deep Chocolate Vitatop with PB2/Cool Whip Free icing. Really rich - a good cravings buster...

I am off to relax a little. I have a wicked headache right now (probably sugar withdraw!), so I am ready to chill...

Have a good night =)

Distracted

I got distracted last night with wrapping the last of the gifts and realized this morning that I forgot to post dinner! So, a quick recap...


Whole wheat penne with marinara sauce and a bit of parmesan (mmm) and Gram's green beans. Oh, how I love pasta! I controlled myself though!

I figured I would make an "on program" dessert so that I wouldn't be tempted to eat a ton more cookies and chocolate. I went with a Deep Chocolate Vitatop with PB2 mixed in some Cool Whip Free. Reeaaaallly good!

I'm pretty much all caught up with my wrapping, so I shouldn't be up too late tonight working on that (like I usually do). I'm heading to the treadmill now, so I'll catch up with today's eats later!

Temptations

There are temptations everywhere and not the singing kind :) This afternoon, I decided to get a bit of a head start on tomorrow's "Cookie Day", so I made some chocolate covered pretzels. They came out nice and festive looking! But, did they taste good?? I had to make sure, so I ate one and a half! Then I felt bad about it for a minute. Then I decided not to feel bad, I am just cruising remember, I said to myself. I don't have to "lose" this week; just keep my head above water. It seems like these are the conversations I will be having with myself this holiday! But, I kept it with just those pretzels and did not continue down the slippery slope! I figured I should eat lunch fast before I went for other stuff. I made a turkey blt wrap with 2 oz. turkey, 2 slices of center cut bacon cooked in the micro, lettuce, tomato and a squirt of Kraft Light Three Cheese Ranch on a La Tortilla Factory Tortilla. Some grapes and a serving of Kettle Baked Chips went with it. A great 6 Point lunch...





I went food shopping and then rushed home to take little daughter to another birthday party! Ugh, these dinner time-ish parties are rough on the weight watcher! I ate a Kashi TLC Pumpkin Spice Flax Granola Bar on the way. This is my favorite flavor; so good...





Well, this was an interesting party. It was at a children's salon/party place. They got hair and makeup done, dressed up, walked a runway, then got to go for a ride in a pink limo! It was insane! While the girls were getting all dolled up, a couple of the moms decided we should go to the pub right next to the party place and grab something to eat since the girls were going to be a couple hours. The menu was filled with amazingly good for you choices such as bacon cheese fries, buffalo wings, fried mac and cheese bites, giant cheeseburgers and a jumbo soft pretzel topped with crabmeat and 2 kinds of melted cheese!!! Thankfully, there was a Gardenburger on the menu!! I ordered that and opted for the fruit salad instead of the potato chips that went with it. Funny thing was that the food took so long to come to the table, we ended up having to take it "to go" so that we wouldn't be late for the girls! So, I saved it for when I got home (which was a 30 min. ride-ugh!) Here's my cold dinner to go...

I finished with my yummy Deep Chocolate Vitatop and PB2 dessert...

I still haven't come up with an eating game plan for tomorrow. I'll sleep on it and maybe it'll come to me in the morning...

Good night =)

According To Plan

No need for the coffee pit stop. The Power Pumpkin Pancakes held me to lunch. I love when that happens! I stopped home for lunch and when I walked in the door, I was instantly hungry. I decided to make the quickest thing possible. I went with a turkey and cheese wrap. I used 2 oz. turkey, a slice of 2 % cheese, lettuce and a squirt of dijonnaise all rolled in a La Tortilla Factory Smart and Delicious Tortilla. I also had 2 clementines and a serving of pretzel sticks. A smart and delicious 6 Point lunch...





I've been craving a smoothie, shake or cold drink today, even though it's nippy outside. I used to have smoothies for breakfast, but they just don't hold me long enough. But for a snack, it works out o.k. I was getting ready to pull out the yogurt and fruit, but then I saw my new love, PB2! I thought it would be great in a shake! I was thinking chocolate (of course!) and peanut butter, so here's what I ended up concocting: a PB2 Black and White Shake. These are the top billing stars...

Soy Slender is another awesome product. It is 70 cal., 3 gr. fat and 3 gr. fiber for 1 cup. That is 1 WW Point and it tastes great, even in cereal! So for my shake, I used 1 c. Soy Slender, 2 tbsp. PB2 powder, 1 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder and about 6 ice cubes all whizzed up in the blender! That's it, easy and yum for only 2 Points! I took it "to go" and sipped it while driving little daughter to dance class (she demanded I make her one when we got home!)...

Another quickie dinner tonight. I decided to subject the family to eating the delicious Cha Siu Bao that I really like. They put up a fight, but ended up eating it! It's doughy and soft - what's not to like people!!!! Okay, I'll stop yelling :) I made a salad with cucumbers and Kraft Light Three Cheese Ranch Dressing. It was just right for a late dinner. A good tasting 6 Point dinner...

Now wait until you see dessert! I remembered I had a couple Deep Chocolate Vitatops in the freezer and I thought it should marry PB2!! I am really getting my fill of this stuff today. I defrosted the Vitatop, mixed up the PB2 and used it as "icing" on the Vitatop. I sprinkled with 1 tsp. mini chocolate chips for cuteness. Can you stand this- and for only 2.5 Points (the .5 Point is the tsp. of mini chips)?? Oh my greatness, if you are a chocolate and peanut butter fan, this is your new best friend...

BFF's =)