Soy creamer!

Gave this Trader Joe's soy creamer a whirl after reading the list of chemical ingredients in my
regular half n half. Had to have Dave pick this up for me when the Stop & Shop near me didn't have anything remotely resembling an all-natural creamer. The text conversation went something like this:

Me: Can you pick me up some soy creamer at TJ's?
Dave: Ew. But yes.

The verdict? Two thumbs up! It has basically the same consistency as the half n half but with a hint of sweetness. And only 15 calories / 1.5 g of fat per serving.

Can you smell the vitamins?

I made a couple interesting things in the past couple days. Last night's dinner was one I "whipped up": a turkey sandwich with cheddar and avocado, with some yam fries. I dipped them in some plain yogurt with honey. They were awesome, I can't wait to make them again. Then this morning after bodypump I replenished some protein with a breakfast burrito on a whole wheat tortilla with cheese, egg, salsa and sour cream. And coffee.

Not sure how the rest of the day is going to play out. The K-man is with his shooting club, but I'm planning to go to the mall to use my 30% at Gap/BR and participate in the Boston Store Goodwill sale.

Have a great Saturday!

Oatmeal

Hey team. I tried to work some more fiber into my diet this week by having oatmeal for breakfast. Since oatmeal by itself is a little gross, I made some combinations to make it a little tastier.

The first one is Quaker plain instant oatmeal, with a banana and one tablespoon of peanut butter. The second is regular oatmeal (old fashioned) with half a pear, walnuts and honey.



Tonight for dinner I made a veggie wrap - spinach, avocado, red and green peppers, olives and feta on a whole wheat tortilla. I also had some pita chips and hummus, and a cookie.

My workouts this week included the usual routines - Bodypump, yoga, step aerobics, kickboxing and a little treadmill. I'm taking off today and tomorrow from the gym, but plan to be back at 8am on Saturday for more b-pump.

Tomorrow is my weigh-in day, so wish me luck!

Cookie update

I made pumpkin/oat/walnut/raisin cookies over the weekend, but now they are all kind of smooshy and overly moist in the container. Maybe I should cook them longer or something. They taste ok, but the texture got weird.

Do you have a cookie recipe you like that has some combination of healthy stuff without too much oil or butter?

More Sunday!

I have all this free time today! I went to the grocery store for Round 2. Here are a couple things I got: A Kashi frozen meal, whole wheat waffles, ground turkey breast. I wanted extra lean, but they only had lean. I also got a couple things to take to the food drive at work tomorrow.





The pumpkin in the top pic is for these cookies. It's a recipe from Carrots N Cake, with pumpkin, walnuts, oats, raisins and a few other things. They came out really, well, I will post the recipe. When I went to buy the pumpkin, there was only ONE can left, and it was all dented and pushed way to the back. I only needed to use 1/4 c. so I divided up the rest and am freezing it. I will let you know how that goes.

Turkey tacos for dinner, maybe I'll snap a pic of those, too!

Another Sunday post.

Hey team! This week totally got away from me so I haven't posted since last Sunday! I did take some pics, though, so here's an idea of some good stuff I've been eating.




I made some Mediterranean tuna salad: white tuna, spinach, red and green peppers, red onion, kalamata olives, with a little olive oil. This is what it looked like when I packed it for my lunch. I had it on a toasted sandwich thin. Go protein!



On Friday, so the K man could observe Lent, I made a shrimp dish. It doesn't look totally appetizing here (also, my pan looks crappy, ick), but it was a no-recipe adventure containing: shrimp, zucchini, artichoke hearts, shredded carrot, whole wheat pasta, pesto, red onions, red peppers and a little spinach. It turned out well, and was tasty with a little feta on top.



And here are my Quaker oatmeal squares in my gorgeous Fiestaware!



I got a super early start today, so I've already been to breakfast (turkey sausage, egg and cheese on a good grains bagel) and been to Whole Foods. Well, I was already on that side of town! It seduced me into $35 worth again, even though I was only going to get yogurt. Some of my other items: red pepper, avocado (on sale, so I bought 2, even though I said I wouldn't), hummus, feta, canned tuna, yogurt, apples, pears, bananas, Stacy's chips (also on sale), mushrooms, a couple Luna bars. All pretty good stuff, I think. I'll be making some veggie wraps and salads this week, along with oatmeal and chocolate milk.

The scale and I were slightly at odds again this week. Even though I am eating tons of great stuff and working out like a crazywoman, it's hard to get that number to go down. My clothes are fitting slightly better (yes, yes, I know this should be the measure, not the weight number) and I feel good generally, but it's disappointing to not see the number go down. I assume I am building muscle, which is good for many reasons. I have to remind myself that the WW people are smart, and they have told me that if I stick with their program, it WILL work.

So, I'm sticking with it!

Have a great Sunday!

An exercise in moderation.

Well team, after the disappointment of a weight gain and my refusal to record it (don't judge), I am happy to say that I did not consume whole pies in desperation. Rather, I stuck to my guns and managed to enjoy some delicious eats without going overboard. Mostly.

Friday night the K-man and I went out for the traditional Wisconsin Lenten staple: fish fry. Most restaurants now offer a baked option, so I went with Parmesan-crusted walleye. It was very good, and I had french fries and a couple spoonfuls of coleslaw. And a Miller Lite.

Saturday I made a fritatta, which actually turned out to be scrambled eggs with veggies and turkey sausage mixed in. Not pretty, but tasty. Saturday night was pizza (buffalo chicken) and I had 2 pieces, with big spinach and tomato salad with fat free ranch dressing. It was a good combo, and I didn't feel deprived of pizza.

Today, Sunday, we went out for Mexican food for lunch (my parents were in town), and I had 3 chicken tacos on corn tortillas. I also had a taste of the nacho appetizer, and a Dos Equis Amber. So, despite 3 meals this weekend that I didn't cook for myself, I think I did respectably. I am finding though, that having the points change over on Friday means that I used many of my Allowance points already. I will have to earn some with exercise this week.

I made cookies today. They have tons of healthy ingredients - oats, flaxseed, whole wheat flour, cherries, walnuts.

I also went grocery shopping
Some of my loot: turkey, whole wheat wraps, oranges, peppers, spinach, pinto beans, olive oil, frozen shrimp. I made this salad for my lunch tomorrow


Spinach, grape tomatoes, red onion, green pepper, hard-boiled egg, carrot and a little feta, with low-fat balsamic vinaigrette. I'm planning to have it with an orange and 2 york patties, plus 2 cherry cookies and a Greek yogurt for snacks. Then, BodyPump after work.

Have a great Sunday evening!

Do clementines make you fat?????

Oh. My. God. I worked out super hard this week, didn't eat junk and ended up with 18 exercise points left over. But, this morning, the infernal scale told me that I was up 1.5 pounds. WTF? I am NOT recording that! I better be building some serious muscles in a place where I can't see them yet.

So, team members, this is where you talk me off the ledge by telling me that WW really does work, and I should keep doing it, and that my weight will go down if I stick with it. That this is one of those "challenges" they keep talking about, but the combo of veggies, skim milk and step aerobics will come through for me in the end.

Right??

Gah.

Anyway, I am still gonna put some hurt on some pizza tonight, because I have been planning that all week!

Last chance workout!

I was so tired today, but I dragged my booty to zumba anyway. Tomorrow is my day to weigh myself, and this week I actually ended up with a bunch of exercise points leftover, so I'm feeling pretty good. After the gym I had some egg salad, and made a smoothie with some leftover tofu. It also has frozen strawberries, frozen mango chunks, fat free raspberry yogurt, skim milk and strawberry jam. They are kind of high in points (4) but a cold, fruity treat. I made 2 extras to freeze for another day.


Yesterday after BodyPump and some time on the elliptical I stopped at Jimmy John's for a beautiful and protein-y roast beef sandwich. It was delicious!!!

Hopefully I will sleep well tonight, and be ready for Friday, pizza and movies!

My eats for today.

After 2 whole wheat waffles for breakfast, this is what I'm going to eat while I'm at work.




Morning snack: Oikos honey yogurt, 2 pts
Lunch: Amy's frozen entree (6), clementines (.5), York peppermint patties (2)
Afternoon snack: apple (1), 1/2 c. Quaker oatmeal squares with 1 tbsp. raisins and 1 tbsp. dried cherries (4)

I have to eat a big snack because I'm going right to the gym after work and won't have time for dinner till almost 8:00. I'll have a scoop of Greek casserole and some milk and call it a day.

Bump bump! It's Wednesday!

Who has two thumbs and just OWNED that kickboxing class?

This girl!

First, I want to say hooray for Susan getting back in the saddle and not letting a couple trips to Sonic derail her quest for a healthy balance.

Here are a few thoughts and photos from the last couple days.



This is the Greek casserole I made. A layer of brown rice, sauteed veggies on top (spinach, grape tomatoes, red onion, artichoke hearts, mushrooms) topped with a combo of smashed-up tofu and feta. Kalamata olives, too. 3 points per serving.


This is what it looks like when I take it in my lunch, which I've done the past 2 days. I might have it tomorrow again for dinner.





I made egg salad twice in the past few days, since it's a favorite of the K-man and super easy and cheap. One whole egg, chopped with 1 tablespoon of low-fat mayo on a sandwich thin is 4 points, and definitely satisfying.

Also today I had a turkey wrap for dinner, (no pic, though) and a post-gym snack of chocolate milk and 2 banana oatmeal raisin cookies.

Whew, it's late! Gotta get to bed so I have energy for Bodypump tomorrow. And work. I should definitely also go to work.

No spiffy pictures this time

But I did want to post the butternut squash soup recipe, as promised. This came from Dave's coworker's "Slow cooker Italian recipes" cookbook and it was delicious! SUPER easy to make, and it's all natural. Don't know what the WW points for it are, but with no butter or cream, I can't imagine it's too bad.

(Before you begin: everything gets pureed at the end, so don't worry about your chopping skills!)

1. Chop and saute 1 medium sized onion. After about 6 minutes, add two chopped up garlic cloves and continue sauteing for a few more minutes, until everything is soft.

2. Put the following into your crock pot:

the onion/garlic mixture
approx. 1.5 pounds of peeled, cubed (2 inches or so) butternut squash
two medium potatoes, peeled and cubed (1 inch or so)
three fresh sage leaves
4 cups of chicken broth

3. Let it cook for four hours on low.

4. After 4 hours, put everything from the crock pot into a blender and puree.

5. You're done! Salt and pepper to taste, and some chives or asiago cheese on top would probably also be delish.