A Taste Of Summer

I felt much better today!  Thanks for all the well wishes!  I was still a bit dizzy this morning, so I decided to ditch the gym for some outdoor activity later.

I was starving as soon as I woke up and couldn’t wait to make breakfast.  Eggs sounded good, so I whipped up and open-faced omelette with ham, spinach and Cabot’s 75% reduced fat cheddar…

Most of the morning was spent catching up on all the things I couldn’t do yesterday (blogging, cleaning, grocery shopping).  I finally got around to lunch quite late because breakfast had been such a filling meal.  I decided to use up some leftover fridge items for lunch – chickpeas and butternut squash.  Hmmm…an interesting combo, right?!  I thought it might be good with some whole wheat couscous and grated parmesan cheese.  It was a good call!

When the daughters got home from school, I decided it was too nice a day to stay inside.  It was beautiful and close to 70 degrees!  Unfortunately, big daughter had too much homework to finish, but little daughter and I got to go for a nice 30 minute walk around the neighborhood.  I would have loved to walk longer, but little daughter wasn’t having it!  But, we had a great time soaking up some vitamin D anyway!

For dinner, I took advantage of the beautiful weather to bring back a bit of summer with burgers on the grill.  Regular ones for the family and a Gardenburger Portabella Veggie Burger for me.  I snazzed up my burger with a topping made with my favorite goat cheese…

Chavrie goat cheese is the best!  It is mild and really creamy.  For my topping, I mixed 2 tbsp. of Chavrie with 1 tbsp. of sundried tomatoes (in oil).  I spread it on the veggie burger and put it on and Ezekiel Sesame Hamburger Bun…

I went with shoestring fries and a nice green salad on the side…

Mmmm…I taste summer!!!

I ended the night with the new Cooking Light…

Ah, so many great recipes…so little time :)

Enjoy your day, everyone!

Question of the Day:  What is your favorite magazine?

Super Simple And Shopping

Hey All! First I want to say thanks to all who entered my Larabar giveaway. It was so cool to see all you "lurkers" come out to comment! I am so glad to be able to share my favorite Larabar flavors and I wish I could send them to all of you! Unfortunately, there can only be one winner this time. I won't make you scroll all the way til the end! Random.org says the winner is..... Dee from My Journey! Yay, Dee! Finally, a win for the Canadians!!! Dee, send me your address and I'll get these babies out to you. Okay, let's get to the food...


Today was a day of simple foods. No fuss. Stress free. Mostly made by others, which is extremely simple for me! I started off with a 30 min. run on the treadmill, then a breakfast of blue balls. Heheh. I know that's not nice. It was another beautious bowl of blue (better, right?) for 3 POINTS...


Then it was out the door to pick up Gram for a day of mall shopping. Yippee! Sounds like fun, right? Wrong. I hate shopping. I'm not sure why. I used to love it, but now it seems like torture. I think the husband brainwashes me while I am sleeping. He must repeat over and over in my ear, you hate shopping. shopping is torture. spending money is baaaaad. So now I am brainwashed and the joy of shopping has been sucked out of me. I digress. Food. Oh,yeah. Gram and I stopped the super shopping for a quick lunch at Subway. I had the turkey on wheat with veggies, no cheese, no condiments and a bag o' apples for 6 POINTS...

When I got home, it was snack time! Uh, I mean drink time! Another Chocolate Strawberry Crackshake for 2 POINTS...

Dinner was from good old Trader Joe's...

Here's the facts ( and the ingredients aren't too "scary" either!)... click to enlarge...

I had 1 c. of the Mandarin Orange Chicken with sauce (added another POINT), 1 c. whole wheat coucous and broccoli for 9 POINTS...

I ended the night with 2 of these for 2 POINTS...

I was going to do some strength training tonight, but honestly, I have no strength for strength training tonight. It's early to bed for me ! That 81 year old super shopper whipped my butt today! Guess I'm no whipper snapper after all ;)

Nite everyone!

Here's Johnny

I'm starting to feel a little like Jack Nicholson in The Shining; cooped up and going stir crazy! I have not crashed through any doors, saying, "here's Johnny", but it was getting close! A little too much togetherness with little daughter, plus she's feeling better, so she was extra nudgy :) In honor of her "last day" home, I made her breakfast in (my) bed. I sat next to her with my breakfast of 3 scrambled egg whites topped with fresh salsa and 1 oz. lite mozzarella and a toasted Thomas' Light English Muffin; all for 3 POINTS...

We did some schoolwork after eating and I got in some laundry. Before I knew it, it was time for lunch. I found something new for me at the grocery store that I have been wanting to try...

I found these store brand Soy Crisps on the shelf with the rice cake-type items which was probably the right place as that would be exactly how I would describe them. I chose the cheddar flavor which I liked; it was a mild cheddar, not too overpowering. They also came in a ranch and barbeque flavor which sound good, too! A serving of Soy Crisps is about 19 chips and come in at 120 cal., 3 gr. fat, 2 gr. fiber and 7 gr. protein! They are transfat free and cholesterol free, too! A great "chip alternative" for only 2 POINTS!

Along with the Soy Crisps, I made a white bean hummus melt which was inspired by Cooking With Anne , a wonderful blogger who amazed me with her "from scratch" cooking and food budgeting skills for a family of 9! My version of this open faced sammie was made with 2 tbsp. of my homemade white bean hummus spread on a Weight Watchers Pita and topped with sliced tomato and 1 oz. Cabot's 75% Reduced Fat Cheddar and run under the broiler to melt the cheese. I had a sliced apple to round out this yummy 7 POINT lunch...

This was a nice filling lunch and really didn't leave me wanting much in the way of a snack this afternoon. I did have a cup of coffee with fat free half and half for 1 POINT as a warm treat, but no munching. I feel the munchiness from the past few days beginning to subside (thankfully), so I should be completely back on track this coming week!

For dinner, I decided to make myself something special that I KNOW the rest of the family would NEVER eat!! SHRIMP! Eeewwww, they say. I told them that something is wrong with their mouths ;) So, my faaaaabulous dinner was Salsa Shrimp with Feta over Whole Wheat Couscous! I sauteed 8 oz. large shrimp in a nonstick pan with cooking spray, added about 1/2 c. fresh salsa until heated through. I poured this over 1 c. whole wheat couscous and topped it with 1 oz. lite feta cheese. An amazing 8 POINT dinner...

I ended the night with another No Pudge Brownie iced with PB2. So rich and decadent tasting for 3 POINTS...

So, tomorrow little daughter is back in action and so am I! I am really looking forward to a nice outdoor run in the morning! Gee, never thought I would hear myself say THAT! Strange, but true =)

Have a great night! Oh, and stay tuned for my first ever giveaway this Friday!!!