It wasnt pretty.

It’s not pretty but it’s totally what I wanted. Grilled onions, 3oz chicken breast, lettuce, corn tortillas topped with salsa. Completely filling and full of flavor.

Today was weigh-in day. This morning at 3:58am I get my weekly message from WW, the title of the email is “How to handle a gain”. That should have been my first clue. I gained 0.4lbs. No biggie. I figured as much. I haven’t ran or done much activity wise since Thursday. I have eaten pizza, cheeseburgers and my fave grilled stuffed shrimp. I stayed on plan and completely under my WP but I do admit that I indulged in too many BLT’s (bites, licks& tastes). I’m back in action and looking for some new ideas to keep the plan fresh and re-motivating myself to see the bigger picture. Attendance was light today at the meeting. Our leader said that the resolutioner’s have fallen off the wagon and the place will be packed again after Easter when everyone realizes that summer is right around the corner. I have got to stay focused so that I don’t fall into the same pattern. It’s so easy to burn out and revert to old eating habits and do what is easy.

Tonight we had turkey tacos. 99% fat free turkey meat is 1pp per oz., top that with salsa, grilled onions and lettuce and you have a fresh and fun meal. We paired ours with ranch style beans 3pp and rice pilaf 5pp.



I have been eating the same breakfast for a few days. I eat ½ of a light English muffin with 1/2T PB, and a bowl of oats, with 1 fruit. It’s an easy and filling 5pp breakfast.

I have found dark cocoa and it’s my new love. I use cocoa for so much and dark chocolate is my very fave. I took a few almonds and dropped them into a bag with a teaspoon of the powder and tossed. They were little chocolate covered pieces of goodness!

Now I’m off to get back on that treadmill and burn off my gains!



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Bacon...yum.

Weigh-in day! Sound the dramatic music…..I lost a pound! YAY! I really was stunned considering how many meals we ate out. But I think that is what the great thing about WW is. You can live life normally, eat normally, celebrate normally and as long as you maintain your points the rest of the week and workout harder to account for those lost points you may be alright. I stayed within my WP and used my AP. I was shameful in my wine and late night almond munching. I’m so very glad to have fruit back in my house so that I can keep my hand out of the almond jar.
I made it to my step class and tried to run today. I say tried because after the first mile I wasn’t feeling it at all. So instead of making myself miserable or hurt, I called it quits and reasoned to try again this evening. I’m happy with that. I burned it up in class today, it felt great!

I didn’t find the meeting particularly inspirational except that one guy made lifetime today which ROCKS! I did however enjoy talking to a group of women that I sit with. I realized in talking with them today that the program is about what I make it. I have been on every diet known to man other than the cookie diet, because well, that just sounds like a dumb idea to a carboholic like me. Literally my entire life I have been on a diet: the baby food diet (I know it’s a stretch but stick with me here) , the processed food school age diet ( The “lunchable” came out when I was a kid and I couldn’t get enough of this crap), the all rice diet (seriously I ate 1C rice at every meal) I was thin but so unhealthy. The diet coke and cigarettes diet (this one is just nasty), the Adkins, the cabbage soup, the beer and curly fry (this one was actually fun, until your liver gives out), the South Beach, LA Weightloss, calorie counting, slim fast, carb counting….the list could go on forever. Not to say that anyone of these diets doest work. They just left me feeling out of control. But I have control of this. I ate everything I wanted to this past week, I tracked, made good choices, bad choices and swapped choices, but every choice was mine. I didn’t have any rules or restrictions, no induction phases, no testing, I control myself. This may actually work for me. Last year I was so discouraged. I worked out like mad, I calorie counted and finally went to a nutritionist and I did every single thing I was told to do, and I lost maybe 5 pounds over 6 months. Who knows how my time on the program will change, I know every week cannot be a loss. I’m okay with that, I’m human; I know it will get harder to lose weight. But right now I’m losing. At a healthy pace, with exercise and determination, I’m losing and it seems like it’s the healthiest choice I’ve made yet.



I’m back on the cooking bandwagon! YAY! Last night was spaghetti; I needed a quick dinner since we went out to a movie with the little me. Tonight was bacon & mozzarella stuffed chicken breasts with brussel sprouts. I’m glad that we actually decided we like brussel sprouts, lol. I’ll post pics and recipes soon.
Chicken breast-7pp
1oz mozzarella- 2pp
2 slices cooked bacon- 3
Slice chicken breast as to make a pocket, add crumbled bacon and cheese, close the seam and tie up, roll lightly in 1T flour and brown, place in a oven safe dish with 1/4C water and bake for 20 minutes at 350.

I made a decadent dessert. I used my cereal brownie recipe but used dark cocoa powder and added 1T water, this created a flourless cake texture. It was decadent.



Cheers to a great week so far!



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Sweet Sticky Bourbon

Oh, I have got to get to the store. I have been following plan, but things are getting tricky. At night I usually enjoy an apple, but with there being none in the house, I have been eating almonds. 4 points per ounce. OUCH! For the first time ever I have no fruit in the house.

Today was and awesome yet crazy busy day. I didn't get my run in. Tonight I chose to eat a dessert, of my own. I knew better, but my husband wanted his own, so instead of bypassing and doing what I knew I should have done, I ate one as well. It was good too, too good, bread pudding with a warm bourbon, coffee rum sauce. OH MY GOSH. Pure sinfulness. Oh it feels slippery, my goal is to get a run in FIRST thing in the morning to get my feet planted firmly. I ended today with 39 points; 10 over my daily. Thank goodness I have the AP and WP but that is a lot to go over in a day. Geesh.

Here's to sweet dreams and new days (without dessert).

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Keep keeping on

I have not been cooking lately. That makes for a bad food blogger. We have been eating at home, but lots of leftovers and repeats. I have got to get my cooking mojo back. Things have been crazy hectic to say the least ad hope that maybe by next week we can have some sense of schedule and order back. But, we have at least been eating at home, which helps to keep the budget and waistline in check. The other night I made pizzas. They were embarrassingly simple. I used 3 corn tortillas 2pp, 2 oz of shredded part skim mozzarella 4pp, serving of turkey pepperoni 1pp, 1/2C seasoned tomato paste 0pp. I placed the pizza on a cookie tray and broiled until cheese was golden.



My husband ate his on a bagel thin, for the same point value, and my daughter at hers on a flour tortilla, for the same point value. I personally prefer corn tortillas and liked having 3 pizzas on my plate.

Nothing new here to report. I’m just keeping on keeping on. Hopefully I’ll be back on the cooking bandwagon next week!



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What I want

"Don’t exchange what you want most for what you want at the moment"

That's an awesome quote. It hits on so many aspects of our life and how we make compromises with ourselves in terms of our financial goals, our fitness goals and so much more. We have become obsessed with the "right now"; the instant gratification of it all that looking at the long term can be so daunting. Especially when its 9pm and you are standing in front of the pantry wanting something sweet and rationalizing how eating your child’s rice krispie treats won’t throw you off track "that bad". It’s so hard to see how you want to lose 40 pounds in the long run when that krispie treat is staring at you in that very moment. Try in that very moment to think about your long term goal, that bikini, those college jeans, that high school reunion? Whatever it takes to make you close the pantry door, DO IT!

Today’s meeting was about hunger signals. Cues our body gives us telling us that we are hungry. Listen to your body’s cues, don’t always give in to them, your body will tell you when you’re hungry, but your mind is the great manipulator. Have you ever not been hungry in the least, until you smell the pizza at the food court at the mall? All of the sudden you become ravenous and decided that it’s a good idea to eat that pizza in the name of your survival? Your mind won the battle, but your body loses.

Woot Woot! Weigh-in day! I was down 1.4lbs.Yesss! I’m super stoked about this. This past week I played with my points a little bit, I ended up with 47 AP and 20 WP. Which means I ate 29 WP. I know it’s just a matter to finding out what balance my body likes best on the program. I’ve been consistent with my running. I’ve been doing 2.5 miles and intend on bumping it up on the next run or so. Today I tried to fluff out of my step class. I don’t know why, but I started talking at church and then lolled around knowing that I was going to be late. I think I was trying to wuss out and skip. Finally I just told myself to get my butt to the class. I was 15 minutes late. I learned my lesson, because I was late, I missed warm up and she skipped the water break, I punished everyone. Yes, I was the one who screwed the curve. I felt the needles in my back.

Not a lot new has been going on. I have tried a few new food-ventures though.



First things first:
I hate cauliflower.

I really have given it an honest shot. Seriously, I hate it raw, I hate it boiled, steamed, casseroled, fried (yes they fry this junk). I just hate it. So this is the first and only post in which I will have it listed as a recipe. I thought I “might” like it with butter and milk whipped into a mashed potato consistency. Not me. But it’s a zero point power food and if you like the stuff I suggest that you give it a try. I used 1 head of cauliflower steamed, with salt and pepper whipped in a processor with ¼C milk. Texture wise with was pretty darn similar and I’m sure you could dress it up even more with garlic, cheese and sour cream. I just couldn’t do it. One thing I did love was a new squash I tried. It’s also 0 points; Acorn squash. Oh my goodness. Slice in half place face down in a shallow baking dish with about 1/2C water cook for about 30 minutes, flip and salt lightly then cook for about 5 minutes under broiler. It was so good and will be a regular addition for me. The chicken was okay. It was just marinated in balsamic vinaigrette and baked. It was just a little boring.

Today’s lunch was AWESOME. It was high in points to make one meal, but honestly it should be two meals, paired with a salad. It was unbutton your pants kind of filling. Dice one sweet potato-4pt, dice one sweet onion- 0pts , 1/3C chick peas 3-pts, add to a Ziploc bag, add in 1T olive oil -4pt, salt and pepper to taste and toss the ingredients around to mix together. Pour out onto a baking sheet and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. Tossing every 10 minutes or so for even cooking.



For dinner tonight I made 7 point pizzas, this was the total points for 3 pizzas! I’ll post the recipe tomorrow. Each one of us had it a different way and made them ourselves, it was fun and low point!

Thats is all for now! Have a great tomorrow!!!

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I am my biggest obstacle.

Today was a test. It was only test. Lets just say that it could have been better, flat tire, missed a dinner with some great friends, cold dinner at an alternate restaurant and shopped for a specific item to no avail. GRRR. But we all have them, right? The good news is that I managed to stay on track for the most part, I went a little over today's points with my Venti no-fat, no-whip peppermint mocha. I faced my nemesis, birthday cake. Have I mentioned my love, no lust, for birthday cake? I believe it is its very own food group of awesomeness. I pre-tracked and feel that this was my saving grace. I pre-tracked everything I anticipated eating prior to getting to the party, all portion sizes were already tracked and helped me to feel committed to what I could have. Honestly, it helped. I was accountable to myself and what I knew I was supposed to have. For dinner I felt overwhelmed, I had my eye on a dish that used the words "succulent, fresh veggies" right before I ordered I asked the waitress what exactly the dish was, the caption/description seemed vague. Here's what she said that WASN'T on the menu. DEEP FRIED POTATO PANCAKE with vegetables. Um, hello 50 points. No thank you. Whew, that was almost a close one. I would have been so mad if I had gotten that to eat, especially since I was so good with the cake, lol. I chose the grilled chicken breast, side of wild rice and sauteed spinach.
I ran yesterday and intend to do so tomorrow as well. I went for 2.5 miles. My husband andi discussed our difference in exercise and I wondered what the "norm" was. He said that it wasn't getting any easier for him. I told him that Its never easy until I get past that first mile, then I'm able to talk myself into going further. He approaches exercise with a more positive mantra of "Ill do (usually a high number) of miles today" Yet,then he feels bad if he cant complete them. I start every run thinking a little more negatively "Ill only run 1 mile today, that first mile sucks, but when I get there I think I can do 1.5 and keep doing this until I get to where I want to be. For me it works, it makes me feel successful no matter what. Not to say that it would work for everyone. He says that he is going to try his next run with my outlook and see if it changes his approach. How do you approach your workout routine?
I need to figure out a way to get out of my head. My body can do the runs. I am my biggest obstacle. My legs know what to do, I have finally learned how to breathe, but I cant get out of my head, I feel like I'm just running FOREVER and that fatigues me. I try music, and watching TV, but Id like to try some technique to depend on myself to remove my head from the situation. Any tips? Do you ever feel like you hold yourself back from your true potential?
No food pictures today, probably from lack of cooking. LOL. I need to find some new breakfasts and sweet treat ideas, so look forward to some of those in the upcoming week!
Until then, enjoy the Superbowl!


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Half good, Half bad.

The great thing in this world is not so much where you stand, but as in what direction you are moving. -Oliver Wendell Holmes

It is like the people that I know; just know what I need to hear without even knowing it. Weird. This was on a friend’s FB status today. I asked myself: what direction was I going to move into today? I found myself back at the gym. YEAH! I jogged yesterday, 2.25 but not today. Yesterdays run felt so nice, I may, I said "MAY" move it up to 2.5 tomorrow. Yesssss!




Tonight’s dinner was twofold. I made broiled cod, no bueno. I also made 1 point crab cakes. I liked them a lot, next time I would make sure I bought lump crab meat instead of the fancy flaked version, but I don’t think it affected the taste, just the texture.
1tsp worcestershire
2tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 T old bay
2 cans flaked crab meat drained
1 stalk celery diced
1 bulb green onion diced
1 egg
2C bread crumbs ( I used Thomas bagel thins to make the crumbs)
Mix together, mold into 11 balls. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to let set up. Before cooking place on a non stick cooking surface, flatten slightly bake for 10 minutes at 350, flip them, bake for another 5-10.


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I'm so cheesy

Ok, I’m pretty proud of myself. Seriously proud of myself. I almost thought of not sharing my latest invention with you just so I could torment you with the thought of how awesome it is. But, I just couldn’t do it. May I present you with CHEESECAKE!!!!


Its good, and at 6 points its totally do able. The best part is that it only takes like 4 ingredients and a hand mixer. AWESOME!
Cream together using one of the whisk attachments on a hand blender.
2 light swiss laughing cow cheese wedges
1/2T sugar
1tsp vanilla
In a food processor combine ½ oz dried dates and 3 light and fluffy wasa crackers. Pour into a small bowl and mold a “crust” with your fingers. Pour the cheese mixture on top and set in the fridge for about an hour to set up.
I hope you enjoy it as much as my husband and I did. To make more just double the recipe. The only problem is that the bottom of the bowl comes way too quickly! Don’t feel bad if you want to lick the bowl, lol.

Tonight is Mexican food night, it’s a good thing too, we missed it last week and we both have been craving it badly. It is supposed to be my off day, but I may be able to get a run in at some point, I hope so. Getting past the 2 mile mark is a huge motivator to me. 2.5 miles is right around the corner; I'll be back at 3 in no time!

If you do enjoy and want to share with others I would be beyond thankful! Please don’t for get to linky back to here. Thanks and hope you all have a great hump day!


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Get up, get up, get up, its the first of the month....

As promised here is the king ranch chicken recipe. It yields about 6 servings and it is 7 points.

1 can rotel
1 can fat-free cream of chicken ( if you can find a low sodium version too, even better!)
3 chicken breasts, diced and browned
6 corn tortillas
4 oz skim mozzarella cheese shredded
Onion- diced & sauteed
1C corn kernels

Add COC, chicken, rotel, onion and corn in a bowl, mix togther. Pour half the mixture into a baking dish that is sprayed with non fat cooking spray. Cut up three of the tortillas and cover first layer. Pour on the remaning mixture and place the remaining three cut up tortillas on top, then spread the cheese over the dish. Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and golden.

The meeting went well today. I was down 1 pound even. Ill take it, I want that 10% keychain fiercely. I REALLY, REALLY want it. Grrr. Eye of the tiger baby. Heres what I walked away with today, not the quote on the board rather something that was said. "is not about when you fall down, it is if you chose to get up". We have bad days, bad weeks bad hair days, bad kid days, bad work days and every day we wake up and get to start fresh, with a new attitude. We should apply this same sentiment to our weight loss goals. We should not scold ourselves for being "bad" or go on a binger because of the potential "damage" we have already done. We should give ourselves a break and start the new day by getting up, starting again with a fresh mind and clear perspective. Every day can potentially be the first of the month.

I went the gym as I told myself I would. I love the gym, and really dont know why I filled myself with excuses as to not go. That was lame. First sign telling me that it was lame when the sweet lady at the door noticed that Id had been gone for, well, a while. She said "nice to see you back, its been a long time!" Yeah, thanks lady. I know. I was planning on going in and maybe getting on the elliptical for a bit, knowing darn good and well my step class was going on at the same time. I went to the dressing room and I hear her....I turn around and there is my super lovely step instructor. Nice, there is no hiding now. She tells me how great it is to see me and that today will be awesome since I'm back in her class, and how she was bummed that the weather was bad but is so excited I'm back...Um..okay. So the next thing I knew I was red faced and sweating like crazy, loving every single one of the those "three knee repeaters". Woot woot. Im back.
I also ran my 2.25 miles today. I feel good, I will become an athlete if it kills me.

And it just may.


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