Losing Weight with Rita

Meal Plan for the Week

2010-03-28T14:56:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts last week. We went on a little mini vacation! We had to eat all of our meals out and I'm glad to say I was happy to get home and cook again.

Sunday (today): salmon, steamed broccoflower (something new for us), and Anne's Mac n Cheese (I know, but I have been wanting mac n cheese so bad!)

Monday: grilled chicken, smashed red potatoes, green beans

Tuesday: grilled shrimp, grilled pineapple, and pineapple fried rice

Wednesday: pan grilled pork chops with grilled pineapple salsa

Thursday: whole wheat pasta w/ chicken Italian sausage

Friday: Parmesan-crusted tilapia, steamed broccolflower, and whole-wheat pasta w/ alfredo sauce

Saturday: Pizza Night! pizza, salad

Recipes:

Marinade for the chicken/shrimp this week:
Paula Deen's Marinade
Ingredients:
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c. brown sugar
3 T. Dijon mustard
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
6 T. olive oil
juice of 1 lime
juice of 1/2 lemon
dash of cayenne or ground black pepper
Mix all together in a plastic ziploc bag, add protein, and stick in the fridge overnight. I do reserve some for brushing on the meats during grilling, so be sure to take that out before you add the meat.

Pineapple Fried Rice
Ingredients:
1 c. basmati rice
1 can (20 oz) pineapple tidbits
3 green onions, chopped
1 lg. red chili, finely chopped
3 sprigs cilantro, coarsely chopped
3 T. oil, divided
2 c. fresh shrimp, cleaned and deveined
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. fish sauce
2 T. soy sauce
1 tsp. sugar

Prepare rice according to package directions. Set aside. In a bowl, combine pineapple, onions, chili, and cilantro. Mix and set aside. Heat 1 T. oil in skillet, saute shrimp until done. Remove shrimp from skillet. In same skillet, over medium heat, add remaining oil. Satue garlic until golden brown. Add cooked rice and stir. Add fish sauce, soy sauce, and sugar. Stir and heat thoroughly. Fold in pineapple mixture and shrimp. Heat through. Garnish with cilantro. Serves 6.
From recipe guide for Mahatma Basmati Rice

Pan-Grilled Pork Chops w/ Grilled Pineapple Salsa
Ingredients:
4 (4oz) boneless center-cut loin pork chops
1 T. plus 2 tsp. fresh lime juice, divided
4 slices (1/2 inch thick) pineapple
1 medium red onion, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
1 T. minced jalapeno pepper

Combine pork and 1 T. juice; let stand 10 minutes. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan w/ cooking spray. Add pineapple and onion; cook 4 minutes on each side or until onion is tender. Coarsely chop pineapple and onion; combine in a medium bowl w/ remaining 2 tsp. lime juice, jalapeno, and 1/8 tsp salt. Sprinkle pork with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Heat grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add pork; cook 4 minues on each side or until done.
Yield: 4 servings, 1 chop and 1/2 c. salsa
215 calories, 7 g. fat, and 1.4 g. fiber
From Cooking Light, March 2010

Throw it Together Night

2010-03-18T16:38:00.000-07:00

Tonight I made an easy dinner that used up some of the things we had on-hand. We had burgers on Tuesday night, so I had some leftover cooked ground beef and turkey so I crumbled that up in half a jar of pasta sauce to make a meat sauce. I added that to a few servings of cooked low-carb pasta, a 1/2 cup of ricotta, a 1/4 cup of cottage cheese and put it in a baking dish. I sprinkled with a bit of shredded mozzarella and baked it. Easy baked ziti! I paired it with a salad and slice of garlic bread and had a wonderful dinner with lots of leftovers for another day. :)

I really like to try to use up opened packages before they go bad, so tonight I was able to use the last of the ricotta and most of the cottage cheese. We usually package the ground meat in a way that allows for 1-2 meals when thawed. We are going to be making the switch to ground turkey completely very soon, so I'm trying to combine turkey and beef to use up what beef we do have on hand.

fish tacos

2010-03-18T16:34:00.000-07:00

This recipe is from Everyday Food, Jan/Feb '05. It was one of their "light" issues, so there are several recipes in there I'd like to try out. I thought the tacos were good, but we had a few issues. We only needed two servings, so we decided to half the recipe. I made a mistake and forgot to use only 1 T. of lime juice, so our sauce was very strong with lime flavor. We also found out that our cast-iron grill pan is not seasoned well enough to handle a fish as delicate as tilapia. It was still good, but next time we make it we'll fix those few problems for a better result!

Fish Tacos
Ingredients:
1/4 c. reduced-fat sour cream
2 T. lime juice
salt and pepper
1/4 small red cabbage, thinly shredded (~2.5 c.)
4 scallions, thinly chopped (~1/2 c.)
1 jalapeno chile, halved lengthwise, one half minced
2 T. olive oil
1 lb. tilapia fillets (or other firm white fish), cut into 16 equal strips
8 tortillas (6 inch)
1/2 c. fresh cilantro

Preparation:
In a large bowl, combine sour cream and lime juice; season with salt and pepper. Transfer half the mixture to another container; set aside for serving. Toss cabbage, scallions, and minced jalapeno with remaining sour cream mixture. Season again with salt and pepper. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil and remaining jalapeno half over medium-high heat; swirl to coat bottom of pan. Season fish on both side with salt and pepper. In two batches, cook fish until golden brown on all sides, 5 to 6 minutes. Discard jalapeno. Meanwhile, warm tortillas according to package instructions. To make tacos, fill tortillas with slaw, fish, and fresh cilantro leaves. Drizzle with reserved sour cream mixture. Serve immediately.

Serves 4: 399 calories, 11.5 g. fat, 3.7 g. fiber

2010-03-15T14:44:00.000-07:00

Only a .4lb loss for me last week, but at least it wasn't a gain, right? Jason lost another 2. He's been awesome about getting his exercise in and I'm so proud of him!

Here's our menu plan for the week:

Monday: Jerk-rubbed catfish with spicy cilantro slaw (recipe to follow)
Tuesday: Hamburgers (made with free-range beef), fries?
Wednesday: fish tacos, black beans (I'll post that recipe on Wed)
Thursday: low-carb pasta w/ meat sauce, salad, maybe garlic bread
Friday: leftovers
Saturday: pizza night

Jerk-Rubbed Catfish w/ Spicy Cilantro Slaw

Ingredients:
3 c. cabbage and carrot coleslaw mix
2 T. chopped fresh cilantro
3 T. canola mayonnaise
2 T. fresh lime juice
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1 to 1 1/2 tsp. finely chopped habanero or serrano pepper
4 (6 oz) catfish fillets
4 tsp. jerk seasoning

Preparation:
Combine first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl; toss well to coat. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle fish evenly with jerk seasoning. Add fish to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove from heat; serve fish with slaw.
Yield: 4 servings (1 fillet, 1/2 c. slaw)

256 calories, 12.6 g. fat, 1.5 g. fiber

Today's Foods

2010-03-08T12:44:00.000-08:00

Breakfast:
Quaker Oatmeal w/ dried cranberries 3
whole wheat toast 1
coffee w/ 1 T. FF half-and-half .5

Snack:
1 c. organic FF milk

Lunch:
Egg sandwich on whole wheat bread 3.5
14 grams Goldfish crackers 1.5
1 c. grapes 1

Snack:
hot chocolate 2
whole wheat toast w/ 1 T jelly 2

Snack:
1 oz. cheese 2

Dinner:
2.5 ounces wild salmon 3
steamed mixed veggies in butter sauce 1
sweet potato casserole*
sweet tea 1

Snack:
100-calorie popcorn 1

Traditional Sweet Potato Casserole
**I cut down on the butter, sugar, and pecans and omitted the vanilla and marshmallows.** To prepare this a day ahead, cook the sweet potatoes; combine with brown sugar, butter, and vanilla. Before baking, stir in half the pecans, place in a baking dish, and top with the remaining pecans and marshmallows.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans, divided
Cooking spray
2 cups miniature marshmallows

Preheat oven to 375°.
Place the sweet potatoes in a Dutch oven, and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and
simmer for 15 minutes or until very tender. Drain; cool slightly.
Place potatoes in a large bowl. Add sugar and next 3 ingredients (through vanilla). Mash sweet potato mixture with a potato masher. Fold in 1/4 cup pecans. Scrape potato mixture into an even layer in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup pecans; top with marshmallows. Bake at 375° for 25 minutes or until golden.

Yield: 16 servings
CALORIES 186 (27% from fat); FAT 5.5g (sat 2g,mono 2.3g,poly 0.9g); IRON 0.7mg; CHOLESTEROL 8mg; CALCIUM 23mg; CARBOHYDRATE 33.1g; SODIUM 272mg; PROTEIN 1.6g; FIBER 2.5g
Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2007

Weigh In

2010-03-08T12:38:00.000-08:00

Woo Hoo!
2.6 pounds lost last week! I did 3 days on the treadmill, but only 30 minutes each time. Maybe just getting up and moving around helped? :)

Jason did great too. He lost 3 pounds and did his 3 days of exercise. He's trying to do the Couch to 5K program and I'm proud of his efforts!

Meal Plan for the Week

2010-03-07T18:42:00.000-08:00

Menu Planning:

Monday: salmon, mixed steam veggies, sweet potatoes

Tuesday: chicken Parmesan, pasta w/ Alfredo sauce, garlic toast

Wednesday: beef tacos, black beans, rice

Thursday: ham/pineapple pita pizza, sweet potato fries

Friday: sausage, eggs, toast

Saturday: (anniversary!) Pizza

Sunday: Out for dinner to celebrate

2/1/10

2010-02-01T10:44:00.000-08:00

29 Weekly Points, 35 WPAs

Breakfast:
Fiber One Honey Clusters, 1/2 c. 1
fresh blueberries 1/3 c. .5
fat-free organic milk 2
coffee w/ 1T. half/half .5

Exercise! 20 minutes treadmill: 1.055 miles

Lunch:
egg sandwich 3
Sun Chips (.5 oz) 1.5
Tropical mixed fruit 1/2 c. 1

Snack:
Apple 1
Reduced-fat cheese 1 oz 2

Dinner:
2 slices pizza 12

Snack:
100-calorie bag popcorn 1
dried cranberries (20 grams) 1
coffee w/ 1 T. half/half .5

Weekly Menu Plan

2010-02-01T08:47:00.000-08:00

This week is a tricky one for sure! I need to plan good meals for the week that will keep us on track so we can have our extra points for the Super Bowl. Some exercise to help earn more points would be good too.

Monday: pizza, fruit or salad

Tuesday: salmon, rice, steamed veggies

Wednesday: meatloaf muffins, mashed potatoes, broccoli

Thursday: Ham & Cheese Omelet

Friday: soup/sandwich

Saturday: Chili

Sunday: In Progress...anyone have some healthy appetizers to share??

I suck at photographing food, but the pizza Jason made last week was so YUMMY so I thought I'd share.

2010-02-01T08:35:00.000-08:00

Weigh-in day...

I was down 1 pound this week, which puts my total for the month at 5.6 pounds. I am happy with that. My goal was to lose at least 5 and I did. I knew it would be a rough month for me, one full of emotional ups and downs. I won't say I did great following my plan every day, but I never ventured too far off my path. I wish there was an easy way to stop or even get control of emotional eating. I think it will be something I'll have to work on for the rest of my life.

I am finally away from those 4-5 pounds I kept gaining and losing. Now that I'm over that hump, I hope things get better.

My goal for the week is to get in some exercise. I was a big fat blob on the couch most of last month. :(

2010-01-28T15:19:00.000-08:00

Ahhh...I totally suck at posting lately! I'm staying on track and logging everything in to WW Online, but I am not always making it over here to post my daily plan. I've been in a weird mood with my eating this week. I've wanted hot beverages more than food for some reason. It has been hot outside, so I'm not sure why that's going on. I have been saving a few points to have a hot chocolate most nights. YUM!

I found this list today and wanted to share it on here so I could come back to it. I really want to cut out as much of HFCS as possible from my diet and it is great to have a list! Companies tend to change up ingredients without any warning, so always double-check!

1/25/10

2010-01-25T11:30:00.000-08:00

New Week: 29 daily points, 35 weekly points

Breakfast:
1/2 c. Fiber One Honey Clusters 1
w/ 1/2 small banana, 1/3 c. blueberries, 1 c. fat free milk 3

Lunch:
Chick-fil-A chicken noodle soup 3
Chick-fil-A sandwich on wheat w/ lettuce, tomato, no butter or pickles (YUCK) 8

Dinner:
2 slices homemade pizza 12
salad 2

Snack:
Hot Chocolate 2

Weekly Menu Plan

2010-01-25T11:23:00.000-08:00

Here's the dinner plan for the week:

Monday: homemade pizza, salad

Tuesday: open-faced roast beef sandwiches, steamed veggies

Wednesday: Deep-dish Pizza Casserole, fruit salad

Thursday: Chili

Friday: leftovers

Saturday: homemade burger, fries

Sunday: Chicken Meatball Soup and sandwiches

Choices for breakfast: oatmeal w/ fruit, turkey sausage/egg on English muffin, cereal w/ fruit
Choices for lunch: PB&J or ham sandwiches, canned soup, grilled chicken pitas, salad

Weigh In

2010-01-25T09:14:00.000-08:00

Okay...I'm back. The campaign and voting are over and we managed to stay in 6th and win $100,000 for SMA research. Well worth the effort last week.

I still managed to lose .4 lbs week, so it wasn't a total loss. I thought I'd lose a bit more than that, but we had a bit of a high sodium dinner last night and then popcorn for a snack.

That puts me at 4.6 for the month I think? Not too bad. Hopefully I can make my 5 pound goal and earn my prize!

Monday 1/18/10

2010-01-18T15:35:00.000-08:00

29 Daily Points, 35 WPAs

Breakfast:

1 c. Multigrain Cheerios 2

small banana 1.5

1/2 c. milk 1

coffee w/ 1 T. creamer .5

Lunch:

2 fajitas 10

beans 3

chips/salsa 4

(estimated)

Snack:

coffee w/ 1 T. creamer .5

Dinner:

4 oz. salmon 4

Crashed Red Potatoes (made with less oil than recipe)

steamed broccoli 0

2010-01-18T15:10:00.001-08:00

Sorry about the lack of posts lately. We have a HUGE voting campaign going on over on Facebook. One of our SMA foundations has a chance to win some money from the Chase Community Giving campaign so I've been messaging and urging friends to vote through blogs, emails, and Facebook messages. It is taking up a lot of my time.

On a good note, I lost 1.6 pounds last week! Woo Hoo!

1/16/10

2010-01-16T16:06:00.000-08:00

29 daily points

Breakfast:

English muffin w/ 1 egg and 1 turkey sausage patty 4

coffee w/ 1 T. half-and-half .5

Lunch:

Chicken Sandwich 5.5

1 serving oven fries 3

Snack:

coffee w/ 1 T. half-and-half .5

Hostess 100-calorie lemon cakes 1

Dinner:

tilapia (w/ breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese) 2.5

1/2 c. mashed potatoes 2

green beans (w/ 1 tsp. butter) .5

Snack:

100-calorie bag of popcorn w/ 20 g. cranberries, 1 tbsp chocolate chips 4

raspberry tea 1

1/15/10

2010-01-15T10:11:00.000-08:00

Okay...the last two days were off for me. I just didn't have the mental ability to think or track points. I think the fog has lifted a bit and I'm back today. I don't think I went over too much, but I'm going to say I've used all my extra points for the week and stick with my daily points for the next 3 days.

Daily Points 29

Breakfast:

coffee w/ 1 T. half-and-half .5

English Muffin w/ 2 slices of bacon and 1 egg 4

2 c. fat-free milk 3.5

Snack:

coffee w/ 1 T. half-and-half .5

Lunch:

Pizza Sub 4

Baked Ruffles 2

Dinner:

Grilled Cheese Sandwich 4

1 c. minestrone soup 1

Snack:

1 small slice taco braid 3

2 T. 7-layer dip 3

1 oz. tortilla chips 3

(all these are estimated; I had them at a party I went to!)

1 piece of chocolate

1/12/10

2010-01-13T07:45:00.000-08:00

Sorry I missed posting yesterday! It was a busy day!

Daily Points 29, 35 WPAs

Breakfast:

1 c. Multi-grain Cheerios 2

1 c. fat-free milk 2

small banana 1.5

Snack:

Grande Skinny Latte from Starbucks 3

Lunch:

Olive Garden salad w/ 1 T. dressing 3

minestrone soup 2.5

1 bread stick 3

Andes Mint 1

Dinner:

Club Sandwich (ham, turkey, swiss cheese, avocado, lettuce tomato) 10.5

homemade fries 4.5

raspberry tea 1

Snack:

banana 1.5

banana oat muffin 3

coffee w/ 1 T. half-and-half .5

It was a high point day, but the food was great and I had a nice time with Jason. I do okay staying on track most days so I figured I could splurge and use up some of my WPAs and still be fine for the week. I keep ending my week with too many of them left and I don't want to lose weight on too FEW calories or else I'll mess myself up when I try to eat normally later on.

1/11/10

2010-01-11T17:52:00.000-08:00

New Week! Daily Points 29 WPAs 35

Breakfast:

1 c. multi-grain cheerios 3

1 c. fat-free milk 2

1 small banana 1.5

coffee 1/ 1 T. half-and-half .5

Lunch:

Lean Cuisine Pizza Bread 7

1/2 oz. Bake Cheetos 1.5

Raspberry Tea 1

Snack:

100-calorie Hostess Lemon Cakes 1

Dinner:

2 oz whole grain pasta w/ 1/2 c. pasta sauce 4

4 oz. chicken w/ bread crumbs 3.5

1/2 piece lite garlic bread 1.5

Snack:

apple 1

Yo Plus Vanilla Yogurt 2

Dove chocolate 1

Plans for dinner had to change for today. The avocado for our club sandwiches is not ripe yet so we had to figure out something else. I hope it is ready tomorrow and I'll just mark hot dogs off the meal plan for this week. I haven't bought the buns yet so that would save us some money.

I worked on cleaning out the pantry some today. I threw away a ton of old candy and half empty boxes. I just wish I could get the freezer cleaned out because it is a MESS!

2010-01-11T08:08:00.000-08:00

Weigh in today: -2.6 pounds

Yay me! I can almost smell my new Philosophy body wash. :)

Meal Plan for the Week

2010-01-10T19:40:00.000-08:00

Meal Plan for this week:

On hand for breakfast: oatmeal, turkey sausage, eggs, English muffins, cereal, fruit

On hand for lunches: lunch meat, peanut butter, soup, Morningstar products, Lean Pockets

Monday: Club Sandwiches (whole grain buns, turkey, ham, avocado, low-fat cheese) with sweet potato fries

Tuesday: Hot dogs (Ballpark Turkey Franks, Whitewheat buns, turkey chili) with oven fries

Wednesday: turkey, roasted sweet potatoes, corn, and stuffing

Thursday: turkey noodle soup with sandwich?; making a turkey casserole for Jason's lunch

Friday: leftovers

Saturday: BBQ Chicken pizza, spinach salad

Sunday: spaghetti w/ homemade meat sauce

This is a bit of an easy week. This week is the anniversary week of Eli's death so I didn't want to make anything too complicated. The turkey will be a bit of work, but it needs to be cooked and we should get several meals from it. I am determined to get my outside freezer cleaned out so I can defrost it and start over!

I am hoping to do a fish or shrimp recipe that includes pineapple salsa next week as I've had that in my head forever.

1/10/10

2010-01-10T15:44:00.000-08:00

29 daily points, 25 WPAs, 2 APs

Breakfast:

Amy's Steel-cut oatmeal bowl 5

-1 tsp brown sugar, 20 grams Craisins

coffee 2/ 1 T. half-and-half .5

Lunch:

2 slices pizza 12

spinach salad 1

-1 T. raspberry vinaigrette, 10 grams Craisins

Snack:

decaf coffee w/ 1 T. half-and-half .5

Hostess 100-calorie lemon cakes 1

Dinner:

Hamburger (4oz 93/7 ground beef, Nature's Own Whitewheat bun 5

Oven Fries (2 servings) 5

Snack:

Hot Chocolate (made w/ 1 c. milk) 3

Quaker Peanut Butter Dipps bar 3

Snack 2:

1 c. milk 2

banana 1.5

1/9/10

2010-01-09T10:27:00.000-08:00

29 daily points, 27.5 WPAs, 2 APs

Breakfast:

1 c. Multigrain Cheerios 2

1/2 c. fat-free milk 1

Lunch:

3/4 Chick-fil-A grilled chicken sandwich 3.5

Chick-fil-A chicken noodle soup 3

Snack:

popcorn 2

20 grams Craisins 1

Dinner:

2 slices homemade pizza 12

Snack:

Hot chocolate made w/ 1 c. skim milk 5

piece of chocolate 1

Confession time: I went through the drive-thru today to grab something that wasn't totally healthy. I usually have one "cheat" meal a week where I eat something that I don't consider healthy. I still stay within my points, but just have a bit of a splurge to keep the binges away. While I was sitting in the drive-thru, I saw a very morbidly obese man come out of the restaurant. He was walking with a cane and was obviously on oxygen to help him breathe. It was a HUGE wake up call for me and I ordered something healthy instead of the chicken strips and fries I was planning on getting. We are having pizza for dinner tonight so I'll consider that my splurge for the week. :)

2010-01-08T09:41:00.001-08:00

Here is an interesting article I found today. I admit I used to eat too many frozen meals back when I was working. It was easier to grab one of those than try to plan out something. I actually don't like them very much now, maybe because of all the sodium, but they did serve a purpose at one point in my life. I just seem to be sensitive to salt and find most things have too much sodium for my taste buds now. I have to say, 20% is HUGE to those of us trying to lose weight and eat better!

************************

Weight Watchers, Lean Cuisine Meals Have More Calories Than Advertised

By Meg Marco on January 8, 2010 11:42 AM

If you're a fan of using frozen Weight Watchers, Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice and South Beach Living meals to control your caloric intake -- you might be interested to know that a news study says the dinners have eight per cent more calories than the labels said.

From the AP:

“
The researchers and other experts aren't accusing restaurants and food companies of trying to deceive customers. They said most of the discrepancies can be explained by variations in ingredients, portion sizes and testing methods
”

In addition to the frozen foods, the study showed that restaurant meals had calorie counts that were much more inaccurate -- an average of 18% higher than advertised.

Domino's thin-crust pizza actually had 1/3 fewer calories, while the restaurant chain Denny's is objecting to the study's claim that their grits have 3 times as many calories as advertised.

The FDA allows a 20% margin of error. Is >20% either way a big deal to you?

Why I like Weight Watchers...

2010-01-08T09:24:00.000-08:00

(yes, I was in love with my new toy!)

...I know it works!

What doesn't work is thinking it is a diet. I am promising myself that I will not go back this time. Life was cruel to me last year, but that doesn't mean I must punish myself with food. Being fat sucks and nobody can honestly say they are happy being that overweight. I can't wait to get back in my jeans that didn't come from the damn plus-sized department. It was so amazing to try them on and buy them....why did I left myself forget how good that felt?

1/8/10

2010-01-08T09:09:00.000-08:00

29 daily points, 28.5 WPAs, 2 APs

Breakfast:

egg 2

Jimmy Dean turkey sausage patty 1

Nature's Own Double Fiber bread 0

coffee w/ 1 T. half-and-half .5

Lunch:

Chicken fajita 4

-low carb tortilla, avocado slices, onions, 2oz chicken

1/2 c. black beans 1

Snack:

2 cups fat-free milk 3.5

Oikos Blueberry Greek Yogurt (fat free) 2

Dinner:

Pulled Pork Sandwich 4

Sweet Potato Fries 3

Snack:

decaf coffee w/ 1 T. Coffeemate creamer 1

Nutragrain bar 3

Snack 2:

Sugar-free Jello pudding cup 1

1 oz. Baked Cheetos 3

I know, I know... how many more times can I eat fajitas and black beans? They just taste so good to me right now. I'm just glad it is not cookies or brownies I'm stuck on!

I will NEVER buy Nutragrain bars again. I think I got them on sale ages ago when I wasn't really paying attention to labels. The first ingredient listed is HFCS! Ugh. I hate that stuff.

To Try: Tomato and Basil Topped Bruschetta

2010-01-07T13:06:00.001-08:00

I have been wanting to make this forever! Jason doesn't like tomatoes so I'll have to wait until we have company over.

Tomato and Basil-Topped Garlic Bruschetta

Ingredients:

6 (1-oz) slices Italian bread or peasant bread

1 garlic clove, halved and divided

4 tsp. olive oil

3 c. finely chopped seeded tomato

1/4 c. finely chopped red onion

1 T. balsamic vinegar

2 tsp. capers

3 T. thinly sliced fresh basil

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425. Arrange bread slices in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 425 for 8 minutes, turning after 4 minutes. Rub one side of toast with cute side of 1 garlic clove half; set toast aside. Mince remaining garlic clove half. Heat oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add minced garlic to plan; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add tomato and onion to pan; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Remove pan from heat. Stir in vinegar and capers. Cool completely. Stir in basil, salt, and pepper. Spoon 1/3 cup tomato mixture onto each toast slice. Serve immediately.

6 servings: 128 calories, 4.2 grams of fat, 2 grams of fiber

To Try: Three-Cheese Baked Penne

2010-01-07T12:47:00.001-08:00

I'm always looking for some good comfort food recipes and this definitely looks like one to me!

Three Cheese Baked Penne

*Quick and Easy*

Ingredients:

2 1/2 c. uncooked whole wheat penne

2 4-oz links sweet turkey Italian sausage

1 c. finely chopped green bell pepper

1 1/2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning

1 tsp. crushed red pepper

1/8 tsp. black pepper

dash of salt

10 grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

1 garlic clove, minced

1 (8-oz) can garlic-and-herb tomato sauce

3/4 c. shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1/2 c. crumbled goat cheese

1/4 c. grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and keep warm. Coat a nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat to medium-high. Remove casings from sausage. Add to pan; cook 2 minutes, stirring to crumble. Add bell pepper and next 6 ingredients to plan; saute 6 minutes or until bell pepper is tender. Stir in tomato sauce. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Add pasta to pan, tossing gently to coat. Spoon pasta mixture tin an 8-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Stir in mozzarella and goat cheese; sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake at 350 for 7 minutes or until bubbly and top is browned.

Makes 6 1 1/4 cup servings. 326 calories, 10.9 grams of fat, 4.9 grams of fiber.

From Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2009

No wonder we are all fat...

2010-01-07T12:16:00.001-08:00

We all know that there are tons of new diet fads that come out each year. This time of year is filled with advertisements for new exercise products, weight loss supplements, and great new diets that promise great abs with barely any exercise. The newest ad I've noticed is for the Drive-Thru Diet that Taco Bell is currently promoting. It reminds me of the KFC ads that were trying to promote their fried chicken as something healthy and the Subway Jared campaign that has been running for years now. I can appreciate and thank restaurants for having low-fat, semi-healthy options for those times when you really can't make dinner at home. It is always good to see more options out there, but to promote them as a diet plan is going a bit far. I hope people who do eat out for lunch every day can switch to some of the healthier choices and maybe that will make a bit of a difference for them. Most people have no idea how many calories or how much fat and sodium is even in fast food. It is scary folks!

The hard part of weight loss for me is keeping it off. Diets don't work. Lifestyle changes work. You have to change your eating in way that you can live with for the rest of your life. If not, you will gain it back. I did. We stopped putting in the effort to plan meals and cook at home and here I am, fat and miserable yet again. Our circumstances were a bit out of the norm, but we stopped doing what worked and now we have to start over. I am going to forgive myself because losing Eli was hell and I don't think meal planning and cooking were even possible when living under the extreme burden of grief. We are still grieving, but at some point, I have to say enough. Enough eating out, enough drowning my sorrows in junk, ENOUGH. So here I am, trying. If I don't, I'm going to continue down the path of early death and a miserable lifestyle.

That's my bit of a soapbox speech for the day. :)

1/7/10

2010-01-07T05:15:00.000-08:00

Daily Points 29, 30.5 WPAs, 2 APs

Breakfast:

Quaker Oatmeal 3

-1/2 cup blueberries, 1 tsp brown sugar, 1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 cups fat-free milk 3

coffee w/ 1 T. half-and-half .5

Lunch:

Ham Sandwich 2.5

1/2 oz Baked Cheetos 1.5

Snack:

1/2 oz Baked Cheetos 1.5

Raspberry Tea 1

1/3 c. Craisins

Snack #2:

decaf coffee w/ 1 T. half-and-half .5

Nature Valley Crunchy PB Granola Bars 4

Dinner:

2 Fajitas (chicken, avocado, onions, low carb tortilla) 6

1/2 c. black beans 1

Snack #3:

Multigrain Cheerios w/ 1/2 c. skim milk 3

-1/2 c. blueberries .5

I had old-fashioned oatmeal this morning. It is amazing how much more you get when you compare it to the oatmeal packets! I could barely finish it all. I have been bored and restless today, so that leads to snacking. :( I've done okay with keeping it within my points, but it did take some effort. I am going to have one more snack later but make it cereal w/ fruit and milk.

1/6/10

2010-01-06T14:02:00.000-08:00

29 daily points, 30.5 WPAs, 2 activity points

Breakfast:

1 cup Smart Start Cereal 3

1 cup fat-free milk 2

coffee w/ 1 T. creamer 1

Lunch:

Ham and tomato sandwich 2.5

1/2 ounce Baked Cheetos 1.5

Snack:

1 cup fat-free milk 2

Jello Vanilla sugar-free pudding 1

Dinner:

Chicken Fajitas (2) 8.5

- carb balance tortillas, grilled chicken, peppers, onions, sliced avocado

1/2 cup black beans 1

(can I just say...double YUM on this dinner!)

Snack:

Dove Miniature Peppermint Bark 1

100-calorie Popcorn w/ 1/3 c. Craisins 3

I am guessing the cereal must have been more filling than usual. I didn't find myself hungry for lunch until almost 2 today. For a positive change, I decided to try to replace my coffee creamer with half-and-half. I'll start it as soon as I use up the last bit of creamer and hope I like it! The creamer has some ingredients that I'm not a big fan of so I hope I can make the switch! My veggies/fruit are a bit low today. We were out of bananas and had no berries for my cereal. I got both today at the store so tomorrow should be better.

1/5/10

2010-01-05T16:41:00.000-08:00

29 daily points, 34.5 WPAs, 2 activity points

Breakfast:

Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage patty 1

Egg 2

Nature's Own 100% Whole Wheat toast 1

coffee w/ 1 T. creamer 1

Lunch:

PB & J sandwich 5

1/2 ounce Baked Doritos 1

2 cups milk 3.5

Snack:

Cascadian Farms Vanilla Chip granola bar 3

coffee w/ 1 T. creamer and 1 tsp. sugar (to help my headache)

Dinner:

3.5 ounces sockeye salmon 4

1/2 cup wild rice 3

steamed broccoli 0

Snack:

1 cup tropical fruit 3

I found myself still hungry tonight, so I decided to use some of my WPAs and have another snack before bed. I've been having trouble sleeping and I knew going to bed hungry would just add to my issues. I had some oatmeal for 3 points!

I got all my water in today! I have made 1,000,000 trips to the bathroom, but I drank it!

*****************

We went to the movies today and did great. We took our own bottled water and had granola bars as our snack. I don't even like the popcorn at the movies, so it is never too big of a challenge for me. I would totally recommend going to see Avatar!

1/4/10

2010-01-04T08:36:00.000-08:00

Here's my daily tracking:

29 points for today, 35 WPAs for week

Breakfast:

1 cup Fiber One Honey Clusters Cereal 3

1 cup fat-free milk 2*

1 small banana 1*

coffee w/ 1 T. creamer 1

Lunch:

2 oz ham on 2 slices whole wheat bread w/ baby spinach 2.5

1 cup Minestrone soup 1*

apple 1*

WATER

Snack:

Blueberry Non-Fat Greek Yogurt 2

Dinner:

5 ounce t-bone steak, cooked & trimmed 9

1 tsp olive oil on steak 1*

steamed broccoli, cauliflower, carrots 0*

Betty Crocker 3 Cheese Potatoes 1/3 cup 1

Snack:

decaf coffee w/ 1 T. creamer 1

Quaker Dipps Chocolate Chip Bar 3

100-calorie bag popcorn 1

Activity:

15 minutes Wii Fit

15 minutes treadmill

Just as a refresher....

2010-01-04T08:26:00.001-08:00

Weight Watchers Healthy Guidelines

1. FIVE servings of fruit and vegetables each day. Each 1/2 cup is a serving, except leafy greens which require 1 cup. A single piece of fruit is also one serving.

2. Choose whole grains when possible. Replace that white bread and pasta with some better for you brown stuff! (Check the labels; enriched flour is a no-no)

3. TWO dairy servings a day. Each serving should contain at least 30% of the RDA of calcium. 1 cup of milk is a serving, as is 1 ounce of cheese.

4. DRINK 6 to 8 glasses (1 glass = 8 ounces) of water each day.

5. Two servings of healthy oil each day. (1 teaspoon = 1 serving) What counts as a healthy oil? Olive, canola, safflower, sunflower, or flaxseed.

6. Two servings of lean protein each day. Lean meat, fish, skinless poultry, and eggs all count towards this requirement.

7. Limit sugar and alcohol. (GROAN, right?) If you must have a drink, stop at one and try to make it a low calorie one at least.

8. Vitamin! This is the easy one. Take your multivitamin each day and you can check this one off.

I'm going to attempt to follow these again; I do lose better and FEEL better when I follow the plan correctly.

I'm back with my head hanging low in shame....

2010-01-04T08:17:00.000-08:00

Well....the holidays are behind me and that's all I'm going to say about that. Back to the behaving better. Being an emotional eater does not work well with weight loss efforts, especially when you are spending your first holiday without your beautiful baby boy. The first anniversary of his death is coming up in 10 days so we'll see if I can stay on track....the rest of the month is going to be a big challenge for me. If I can lose at least 5 pounds this month, I will reward myself with new bottle of Philosophy body wash!

Most important thing to stay on track....PLAN!

Here's my dinner plan for the week. Breakfast is easy, usually cereal/fruit/skim milk or oatmeal/toast/milk. Lunch is sandwich with either chips/fruit/soup.

Dinner Plans:

Monday - steak, steamed broccoli, potato of some sort

Tuesday - salmon, steamed mixed veggies, rice

Wednesday - chicken fajitas, black or refried beans

Thursday - pizza on pita bread, sweet potato fries

Friday - pulled pork sandwiches, baked fries

Saturday - homemade pizza on whole wheat crust, salad

Let's see how well I can stick to it. I need to make my shopping list now so I can be ready for each day!

Happy New Year.

Dec 9th,2009 Daily Plan

2009-12-09T20:46:00.000-08:00

Last day before Weigh-In!
29 Daily Points, 25.5 WPAs, 5 Activity Points

Breakfast:
Kashi Go Lean Crunch 3
1/2 cup skim milk 1
1/2 cup raspberries -
coffee w/ 1 T. creamer

Lunch:
Grilled chicken salad w/ 1 T. dressing 12?
beer bread w/ butter 5

Snack:
YoPlus Vanilla Yogurt 2
coffee w/ 1 T creamer 1

Dinner
Ham, Cheese, Mushroom Omelet 8
1 slice Nature's Own Double Fiber bread -
Hashbrowns w/ 1 tsp olive oil 2

Snack
Milk 2
Dove Peppermint Bark 1

Thoughts on the week:
I still didn't manage to use all of my extra points. I intend to every week, but I get to the last day and have so many left. I don't want to feel like I'm forcing myself to eat or go on a binge of sorts, so I will just let them go and plan on using 3 extra per day next week, reserving the rest for a dinner or lunch out. I think I have now earned my OPI nail polish that was my 10lb reward, so I hope the scale shows that tomorrow.

I went to the doctor today and she gave me a goal....I will need to lose 10-20% of my current weight before we even think about another child. She said after that amount of weight loss, I should be good to go to make an appointment at an IVF clinic or try to conceive naturally. We still haven't decided what route to go, but a goal is good!

This week's favorite products!

2009-12-08T16:11:00.000-08:00

I am a carb addict! I love bread, potatoes, and pasta but the points can add up pretty fast with those. We have found a few recipes and products that help curb the carb craving in a healthy, good for you way!

Mashed Cauliflower! Done right, it can be a great replacement for mashed potatoes. If you aren't totally sold on the idea, try replacing 1/4 or a 1/2 of the potatoes and go from there. Here is another recipes that looks great; putting it on my list to try!

For the pasta, we try to stick with either Barilla Plus or Barilla Whole Grain pastas. I have heard a lot of negative comments on wheat or whole grain pasta, but I think the Barilla Plus tastes the most like regular pasta.

Bread became the most complicated issue in our weight loss efforts. Once you become a label reader, you will quickly notice that it is almsot impossible to find bread that does not contain enriched flour or high fructose corn syrup (or both). I finally found a bread that does not and I always stick with it or the higher fiber version of it. Thank you Nature's Own for providing some great tasting healthy breads!

Dec 8th, 2009 Daily Plan

2009-12-08T16:02:00.000-08:00

29 daily points, 28.5 WPAs, 2 activity points

Breakfast:
Quaker Simple Harvest Oatmeal 3
Nature's Own Whole Wheat toast 1
coffee w/ 1 T. creamer 1

Snack:
1 cup raspberries .5
YoPlus Vanilla Yogurt 2

Lunch:
Ham/Cheese Sandwich 3.5
apple 1

Snack:
Thomas Light English Muffin 1
1 T. Skippy Natural peanut butter 2.5
hot chocolate made w/ skim milk 4

Dinner:
sockeye salmon 3 oz 4.5
mashed cauliflower 2
yellow squash w/ 1 tsp. olive oil 1

Snack:
100-Calorie bag popcorn 1
Craisins 2
Raspberry Tea 1

Activity:
30 minutes treadmill

Monday Dec 7th, 2009

2009-12-07T12:00:00.000-08:00

Breakfast:
egg 2
bacon 1
Thomas English Muffin 1
coffee w/ 1 T. creamer 1
milk, 1 cup 2

Lunch:
Panera Bread Pick 2
Chopped Chicken Cobb Salad 3
Baked Potato Soup 5
Whole Grain Baguette 2
(I didn't use much of the dressing and took the cheese off the salad, then left a lot of the bacon/egg)

Snack:
Coffee w/ 1 T. creamer 1
Dove Peppermint Bark candy 1

Dinner:
Tater Tot Casserole 8

Snack:
Del Monte Tropical Fruit 2
Betty Crocker Delight w/ vanilla ice cream 3

Activity:
30 minutes Wii Fit

Daily Plan Dec 6, 2009

2009-12-06T15:46:00.000-08:00

29 daily points, 32 WPAs

Breakfast:
Quaker Oatmeal 3
whole wheat toast 1
coffee w/ 1 T. creamer, 1 Splenda 1

Lunch:
bacon/egg sandwich 4.5
Whole grain goldfish, 55 crackers 3

Snack:
Cascadian Farms granola bar 4
Dove Peppermint Bark candy 1

Dinner:
Broccoli Fettuccine Alfredo w/ chicken 8
(Barilla Plus Pasta, Ragu Light Alfredo, grilled chicken, broccoli)

Snack:
apple 1
milk, 2 cups 2.5

Activity:
20 minutes Wii Fit

December 5th, 2009

2009-12-05T14:06:00.000-08:00

29 daily points, 35 WPAs

Breakfast:
Starbucks Skinny Latte, tall 2
Starbucks Reduced-fat Cinnamon Coffee Cake 6 (Ouch!)

Lunch:
Pizza, 2 slices 9
Raspberry Tea 1

Snack:
coffee w/ 1 T. creamer 1

Dinner:
KFC Original breast, no skin or breading 3
Mashed potatoes w/ gravy 3
Coleslaw 4
1/4 biscuit 1

Snack:
Hot chocolate 3

I was a bit shocked to find out how many points that coffee cake was, but that's what happens when you wake up late and run out the door. Planning is such a key part of weight loss. I will count that as a lesson learned and move on. I have enough points left for the day, as well as all my extra points for the week. :)

December 4th, 2009

2009-12-04T13:48:00.000-08:00

I need more accountability, so I'm going to try to start posting my daily menus on here....
29 points per day plus 35 weekly allowance

Breakfast:
Quaker Oatmeal (maple & brown sugar w/ pecans) 3
whole wheat toast 1
coffee w/ 1 T. creamer 1

Snack:
Nature Valley granola bar 3
Skim milk, 1 cup 2

Lunch:
Chicken Noodle Soup, 1 cup 1
Grilled cheese (whole wheat bread, 2% cheese) 2.5

Snack:
Apple 1

Dinner:
Pizza, 2 slices 9
Spinach Salad w/ pecans, cranberries 2

Snack:
Skim milk, 1 cup 2
Jell-0 Sugar-Free Pudding 1

Activity:
Walk/Jog on Treadmill, 20 minues (+2 activity points)

Recipes:
Wheat Pizza Crust

Thanksgiving

2009-11-23T07:19:00.000-08:00

Our Thanksgiving Menu

roasted turkey

mashed cauliflower/potatoes

steamed broccoli

strawberry spinach salad

stuffing (Stove Top)

maple pecan roasted sweet potatoes (recipe below)

corn

gravy

dinner rolls

cranberry cake

Maple Pecan Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:

2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled

1 T. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 T. olive oil

2 T. finely chopped pecans

2 T. maple syrup

1 T. butter, cut into small pieces

cooking spray

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450.

Cut potatoes in chunks and put in a ziploc bag. Sprinkle with salt and drizzle with oil. Close bag and shake to coat potatoes. Place potatoes on a foil-lined baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 35 minutes or until browned. Put in a bowl and add remaining ingredients. Toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Easy Lunch Ideas

2009-11-12T11:35:00.000-08:00

Jason leaves for work around 6am, so I'm usually half-asleep when trying to put his lunch together at 5:30 in the morning. It does take a bit longer to make a healthy lunch, but not as long as you think!

One easy thing to do is make some wraps using Flatout bread. I drizzle it with honey mustard, add either baby spinach or romaine lettuce, 2 oz of lunch meat, and a slice of low-fat cheese. They look delicious and I haven't heard any complaints. You can also use the bread to make a nice thin-crust pizza and hundreds of other things!

For a snack idea, I am currently having some yogurt flavored with pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, and a little Splenda. It is almost like eating a pumpkin pie!

Recipe and Update

2009-09-17T06:43:00.000-07:00

We've made meatloaf muffins many times in the past and last night we made them and added even more vegetables!

Meatloaf Muffins
Ingredients:
1lb extra lean ground turkey
1/2lb 93% lean ground beef
1/2 box packaged stuffing mix
1 15oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup grated carrots
1/2 cup grated celery
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1/4 cup fresh chopped basil
1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
ketchup
Preparation:
Saute vegetables in a bit of olive oil until soft. Mix all ingredients except ketchup until well mixed. Divide into 16-18 muffin cups; top with ketchup. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes or until no longer pink.

Here's another version that also looks very yummy!

My weight loss is still going... I lost .4lbs last week. My goal this week is to get back to tracking my food more closely and get in some exercise!

2009-09-03T05:24:00.000-07:00

Lost another 1.6lbs!

Weigh In

2009-08-21T11:22:00.000-07:00

I lost 1.8 lbs last week.
Jason lost 3 lbs last week

Still going.... :)

Corn Spoon Bread

2009-08-19T21:25:00.000-07:00

I thought this was pretty good! I'm going to add it to our holiday line-up I think.

Triple-Corn Spoon Bread
Ingredients:
1 cup fat-free sour cream
3 tablespoons stick margarine, melted
1 large egg
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 (15.25-ounce) can no-salt-added whole-kernel corn, undrained
1 (14 3/4-ounce) can no-salt-added cream-style corn
1 (8 1/2-ounce) package corn muffin mix
Cooking spray
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°.
Combine first 3 ingredients in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Stir in onion, corns, and muffin mix. Pour into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until pudding is set and lightly browned.

8 servings: 262 calories, 8.6 g fat, 1.6 g fiber

More favorite products

2009-08-18T16:53:00.000-07:00

Most of us on the Weight Watchers program have a few products that make it much easier to stay on plan and not crave the bad stuff from our past. Here are a few of mine:

Jell-O Sugar-Free Pudding, Dark Chocolate: this is a new flavor in the refrigerated Jell-O puddings and it is AMAZING. I would never guess it was a "diet food" at all!

Skinny Cow Ice Cream: Yum!

Ball Park Turkey Franks, Whitewheat hot dog buns, and Wolf Brand Turkey Chili all combine to make a great tasting hot dog.

Kraft 2% cheeses, Hormel turkey pepperoni, and Kashi snacks are all other favorites that make life better while trying to eat healthier!

To Try: Italian Bean Soup

2009-08-17T14:07:00.000-07:00

Italian Bean Soup

Ingredients:
3/4 c. cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
64 ounces of reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
4 tsp. olive oil
2 onions, diced
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
28 oz. can peeled tomatoes, drained and chopped, 1 c. juice reserved
3 zucchini, chopped
1 box frozen green beans
3 oz. small pasta
1/2 c. fresh basil, chopped
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
Preparation:
Combine beans, broth, salt, and pepper in a large pot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add onions, carrots, celery, and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir the veggie mixture into the bean mixture. Add tomatoes, reserved juice, zucchini, and green beans. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender (about 10 minutes). Add pasta and cook until tender. Stir in basil. Sprinkle each bowl with 1/2 T. Parmesan cheese when serving.

1 1/2 cups soup w/ 1/2 T cheese: 196 calories, 1 g. fat, and 8 g. fiber (3 points)

Does this box make me look fat?

2009-08-17T12:16:00.000-07:00

To Try: Chicken Salad

2009-08-15T18:52:00.000-07:00

Chicken Salad (with grapes and walnuts)

Ingredients:
1/2 c. plain fat-free yogurt
2 T. reduced-fat mayo
1 T. honey
1 tsp. apple-cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
2 c. chopped cooked chicken breast
1 1/2 c. seedless grapes, halved
1/4 c. chopped walnuts
Preparation:
Combine the first 8 ingredients in a large bowl. Add the chicken, grapes, and walnuts and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

3/4 cup: 277 calories, 11 g.fat, 1 g fiber (6 points)

To Try: Tomato, Avocado, and Black Bean Tacos

2009-08-14T14:14:00.000-07:00

Tomato, Avocado, and Black Bean Tacos
Ingredients:
1 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 T. taco seasoning
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
3 roma tomatoes, chopped
6 (6-inch) corn tortillas
2 c. shredded romaine lettuce
1/2 sm. avocado, diced
6 T. salsa
1/4 c. light sour cream
Preparation:
Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over med-high heat. Add onion and seasoning; cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the beans and tomatoes, toss to combine. Warm tortillas. Sprinkle 1/3 c. lettuce down middle of each tortilla; top with about 1/3 c. of bean mixture, 1/6th of avocado, 1 T. of salsa, and 2 tsp of sour cream. Fold tortillas and serve.

1 Taco: 202 calories, 7 g. fat, 6g. fiber (4 points)

To Try: Blueberry-Walnut Oatmeal

2009-08-14T14:09:00.000-07:00

Blueberry-Walnut Oatmeal
Ingredients:
3 c. water
2 c. quick-cooking (not instant) oats
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. fat-free milk
1 1/2 c. fat-free Cool Whip
1 c. fresh or thawed frozen blueberries
1 T. chopped walnuts
Preparation:
Combine water, oats, sugar, and cinnamon in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in milk; fold in whipped topping and blueberries. Sprinkle with walnuts.

4 servings, 1 cup each. 284 calories, 4 g. fat, 5 g. fiber (5 points)

These are a few of my favorite things...

2009-08-14T08:59:00.000-07:00

One of our favorite breakfasts is making our own version of an McMuffin. I buy the Thomas 100-calorie English Muffins (100 cal, 5g fiber, 1g fat) and we top them with a Jimmy Dean turkey sausage patty and an egg. Yummy! A great breakfast for less than 250 calories.

Thursday Weigh-In

2009-08-13T17:37:00.000-07:00

Thursdays are weigh-in days and here are the results:

I lost 2.8lbs last week.
Jason lost 4lbs last week

I think that is a great start on our renewed path to better health.

On the "To Try List"

2009-08-13T17:18:00.000-07:00

This is one of the recipes on my list to try soon. It gets great reviews and sounds good to me. People recommend adding in some extra veggies like mushrooms and zucchini to bulk it up a little.

Bruschetta Chicken Bake
Ingredients:
1 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of visible fat and cut into bite size pieces
1 can (14.5 oz) diced Tomatoes, undrained
2 cloves of fresh garlic, chopped (or 1 tsp garlic powder)
2 T dried basil leaves or Italian seasoning
6 oz whole grain or wheat herbed stuffing mix
2/3 c water
1 c low-fat shredded Mozzarella cheese
Preparation:
Combine tomatoes, garlic, seasoning, stuffing mix, and water. In a baking dish, layer the cubes of chicken, followed by half of the stuffing mix, and half of the cheese. Repeat. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

2009-08-12T09:26:00.000-07:00

PARMESAN CRUSTED TILAPIA
Ingredients:
3 - 4 tilapia fillets
1 T. lemon juice
1/4 c. bread crumbs salt
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese pepper
1 T. Italian seasoning olive oil
1 tsp. garlic powder
Preparation:
Thaw and wash tilapia fillets if frozen. Pat dry on paper towels. Combine breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder on a plate, mixing well. Pour the lemon juice on a different plate. Working one at a time, place a fillet on the plate with the lemon juice, sprinkle with desired amount of kosher salt, black pepper, and additional garlic powder. Turn the fillet over to coat the other side. Dredge fillet in the parmesan mixture, patting it all over to coat. Place in an oiled baking dish; repeat with remaining fillets. Sprinkle a little lemon juice over fillets and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Bake at 425° for about 20 minutes or until they easily flake with a fork and edges are browning.

We had these for dinner last night along with some parmesan rice and steamed veggies. Very filling meal and so good for you!

Sample Daily Plan

2009-08-08T08:25:00.001-07:00

I wanted to post one of my daily meal plans. This is what I had to eat on Thursday. I actually didn't eat enough this day if you can believe that. I forgot how much more food you get when you eat things that are actually good for you!

Breakfast:
3/4 c. Total Cereal
1/2 c. blueberries
1 c. skim milk
1 cup coffee w/ Splenda, 1 T. sugar-free creamer

Lunch:
1 c. grapes
Sandwich (2 slices 100% Whole Wheat bread, 2 oz. ham, lettuce)
1 oz. Sun Chips

Dinner:
Pita Pizza (whole wheat pita, 1/4 c. tomato sauce, 5 low-fat pepperoni, 1 oz ham, 1/4 cup pineapple, red onion, and 1/8 c. low-fat cheese)
"fried" potatoes in 1 tsp. olive oil
1 c. steamed veggies

Snacks:
6 cups air popped popcorn
Fiber One Mocha Bar
1 c. skim milk

Corn and Black Bean Salsa

2009-08-08T08:21:00.000-07:00

This is my new favorite recipe! It is so fresh tasting and goes great with Baked Tostitos Scoops.

CORN AND BLACK BEAN SALSA
Ingredients:
1/2 red onion, chopped
chopped fresh cilantro to taste
1 avocado, chopped
1/4 c. Newman's Own Parmesan and Roasted Garlic dressing
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans shoepeg corn, drained and rinsed
3 sm. Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
Preparation:
Combine all ingredients; chill until ready to serve.

Chili, Sunshine Pie Recipes

2009-03-12T13:46:00.000-07:00

Sunshine Pie
Ingredients
1 can (15oz) Dole Mandarin Oranges
1 reduced-fat graham cracker crust
1 banana, sliced
8oz cream cheese, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tub (8oz) Cool Whip Lite, thawed
2/3 cup flake coconut, toasted, divided
Preparation
Drain oranges; reserve 3 tbsp syrup. Place half of oranges in bottom of crust. Top with banana slices; set aside. Beat cream cheese, reserved syrup, and vanilla until well blended. Gently stir in whipped topping. Stir in 1/3 cup coconut. Spread mixture over fruit in crust. Refrigerate at least 1 hour. Arrange remaining mandarin oranges over filling. Sprinkle remaining coconut over pie.

Chili: My Version!
Ingredients
1/2 lb lean (90/10) ground beef
1 can Campbell's Tomato Juice (low sodium if available)
1 can low sodium V-8 Vegetable Juice
1 can low sodium diced tomatoes
1 can chili beans, drained and rinsed
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 pkg McCormick reduced-sodium chili seasoning
1 onion, diced
Preparation
Brown and drain ground beef; set aside. Saute onion in dutch oven until soft. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer for 30 minutes. (fast and easy!) You can add more veggies if you have some on hand that you like.

Baked Ziti Recipe

2009-03-11T10:14:00.000-07:00

Baked Ziti
Ingredients
8oz Barilla Plus penne pasta, cooked (I know, but I didn't see ziti)
1 jar Ragu spaghetti sauce
1/2 lb lean ground beef, cooked and crumbled
8 oz low fat ricotta cheese
4 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
Italian seasoning
Preparation
Mix first 5 ingredients together. Top with 2oz shredded mozzarella cheese and Italian seasoning. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Serve with salad and garlic bread!

Day 1: Preparing!

2009-03-10T15:10:00.000-07:00

Welcome! Let's get started losing that weight!

Day 1: Sign up or get information together on the program you want to follow! I chose Weight Watchers because I know it worked for me before! I signed up for the online program today! You can do something simple; writing down what you eat in a journal and making a note of your daily activity is a great free way to start!

Start clearing out the pantry/fridge/freezer! If it is not in the house, you can't eat it!! :o) I'm sure the food banks can use any food donations you want to send their way, so it will not be wasted if you donate it!

Work on setting up healthy snacking and dinners. I started this by making fruit and carrots easily accessible in our fridge (see photo!) Jason packs his lunch in a hurry, so I went ahead and bagged up the good stuff so he doesn't have to skip it because it is too much work.
Finally, and yes, you must.... Go weigh yourself so you know where you are starting out! I know, I know. I heard my scale groan too, but maybe it will cheer for me when I lose that first pound!