Checking in

I thought I'd report back on how my goal is going. Today is day three and I am pleased to report that I have managed to not eat passed 9 for the last two days. On the flip side, I've been hungry by the time I go to bed. Of course, if I went to bed before 1 am that might help a bit with that :p lol

Tonight I had 4 points after dinner. I should have used them more wisely, but I spent them on a brownie. I was a bit shocked and disappointed to see the brownie would be 4 pts, but I ate it anyway. After it was gone I thought of a lot of other things I could have eaten for 4 pts that would have been more satisfying for hunger pains. Oh well.

Mexican Spaghetti Sauce

Mexican Spaghetti Sauce 4 pts 10 servings (3/4 c. sauce)

Made April 27th. I was afraid this sauce would end up being too spicey for the children, but they actually liked it and there wasn't too much of a bite. I did hold back on the salsa and only put like 1/4 c. in (I ran out). I think that some grated cheddar cheese on top would make a really great addition to the flavor and help tone down the spice if one thought it had too much bite.

Other variation from the recipe - I didn't rinse the meat with the hot water. I have never even heard of doing that before, plus there was so little grease that I didn't even need to drain it (I happened to use venison).

While putting the sauce together, I was a little concerned about how far the sauce would stretch. The recipe says it would yield 10 servings (which is why I made it), but I wasn't convinced. Once I added the meat though I was glad I reused the big pot I cooked the noodles in. There is no doubt it would serve a large group.

I am curious how the flavors will set over night and look forward to the leftovers!

Fruited Chicken Salad

Fruited Chicken Salad 7 pts for 1 cup

Made April 26th. We really enjoyed this recipe!! I was really surprised when I inputted the recipe to see it total 7 points. The nutritional info as written is only 4 points. I'm not sure where the 3 extra points came from, but my guess is that it is because I used 5 of the Tyson teriyaki chicken filets. The other change I made to the recipe was using 1 c. of raisins instead of 1/2 cup of raisins and 1/2 cup of dates. Whatever the cause, it was worth the 7 points!!

This salad was really good on a bed of lettuce (like a lettuce wrap), as an open face sandwich, and also in a pita. In fact, I went to the store today just to buy pita bread to finish off the leftovers!

Aaron refused to eat it last night, but he tried my pita sandwich and liked it. He asked for his own and suprised me when he was able to pick out all the ingredients, well all the fruit ingredients at least. While I went to take a nap, Aaron made his own snack size version of his sandwich:

Pineapple Salad

Pineapple Salad 1 pt for 1 cup

Made April 26th. The salad was pretty good. Next time I'd choose to either cut the pineapple into chunks or just buy the chunks or tidbits. The slices made it more uneven in the getting.

I served this as a side to the very yummy Fruited Chicken Salad.

Crepes

Crepes 1 pt each

Made April 25th. This recipe is for strawberry crepes, but we're out of strawberries and Jared wanted crepes. This recipe is slightly different than the other crepe recipe so I figured I'd try it just to see the difference.

The recipe calls for 3/4 egg substitute, but I don't have egg substitute. 1/4 egg substitute = 1 egg. So, basically it calls for 3 eggs. I planned on using 1 egg and 4 egg whites, but I only managed to get two egg whites in. When I went to do the third one the yolk plopped in so I ended up using 2 eggs and 2 egg whites. It all works out.

The crepes were good. We used homemade Greek yogurt, raspberry freezer jam, frozen blueberries and powdered sugar as filling/topping. YUM!

Cheesy Broccoli Casserole

Cheesy Broccoli Casserole 4 pts for 1 cup

Made April 24th. This poor casserole. I had been planning on making this for three days. I started putting the ingredients together on Wed, but didn't get it finished before piano lessons started. Since it takes an hour to cook, I made the chicken sandwiches instead. Then Wednesday we tried again and Matthew finished putting it together but through a miscommunication didn't put it in the oven to cook. So, I made the pancakes. Then Friday I'd planned to get it in the oven, but I was gone all day and we didn't have the hour to cook it so we had Papa Johns. FINALLY Saturday it made it to the oven. Unfortunately it had had all the wet ingredients mixed in so the stuffing was pretty soggy. We really liked the flavor, but the texture left something to be desired. Oh yeah, I burned the bacon on top too. Oops.

I may try it again without all the oops. It has great potential.

Hearty Oatmeal Pancakes

Hearty Oatmeal Pancakes 1 pt each

Made April 22nd. I'm not sure how accurate the points are. I've been making yogurt and strained the whey out of it. I substituted the whey for the buttermilk and I can NOT find nutritional info for whey. So, there's a possibility that these are really 2 points a piece, but oh well. They whey worked really well. The pancakes were a little runnier, but this recipe is one that is a bit touchy anyway. I used to make these pancakes almost every day, but it's been a while. If you use buttermilk, these are very thick and require heating for longer at a lower temperature. With the whey they cooked pretty quickly. Still a pretty yummy variation on the traditional pancake.

Hot Swiss Chicken Sandwiches

Hot Swiss Chicken Sandwiches 6 pts

Three Step Taco Salad

Three Step Taco Salad 4 pts for 1 1/2 c.

Made April 19th

FAIL

ok, so I've already failed on my goal on the first day :p BUT, I did have to rush through dinner before calculating points because of a meeting. AND, once I figured out I was missing 3 points I quickly picked something and ate it. This may be harder than I thought....

Plateau

161.6 - same as last week's weigh in. I have a touch of 'indigestion' that I think if resolved would lower the number a few ounces at least. But, it's there and that's what I've got. And even so, it shows I haven't lost enough to make a difference.

Jared and Aaron weighed themselves before me, and Aaron got a message about food eaten late at night not getting digested as efficiently as food eaten earlier in the day. I think that may be a key for me. I tend to use my points sparingly throughout the day so that when Matthew and I have our evenings together I can snack right along with him without overdoing my points. I guess this week I will experiment with curbing the late night snacks. Ok, so here's the goal: All points must be consumed by 9 pm. I know it's not very early, but there have been days when I'm finishing my points up at 11 at night.

Just say 'no'

I just have a moment, but I wanted to comment that I am always amazed at how exercising discipline in my eating habits transfers to all areas of my life. It's a blessing on many levels to be able to say 'no'.

Weigh in

woohoo a whole 2 ounces gone. bah! I was expecting greater things this week because I was eating less and getting 3 activity points a day for my 3 mile walk, but alas I actually feel fatter. Maybe it's the fat loosening up ready to go away, ha ha. I'm thinking I may need to get up at 6 am to do CardioX and then keep my walking routine going too. I really don't like that idea because then I'd have to go to bed earlier :p

Zucchini 'n' Potato Pie

Zucchini 'n' Potato Pie 3 pts in 8 servings

Ingredients
3 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed
1 egg
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt

FILLING:
2-1/2 cups thinly sliced zucchini
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon Crisco® Light Olive Oil or Canola Oil
4 egg whites
2 eggs
3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat Swiss cheese
1/2 cup fat-free milk
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the hash browns, egg, onion, Parmesan and salt. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of a 9-in. pie plate. Bake 400° for 20 minutes.

In a large nonstick skillet, saute zucchini and garlic in oil until crisp-tender. Cool for 5 minutes. Spoon into potato crust. Combine the remaining ingredients. Pour over zucchini mixture. Reduce oven temperature to 350°; bake zucchini pie for 25-30 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before cutting. Yield: 6 servings.

Nutritional Analysis: One piece equals 212 calories, 14 g fat (6 g saturated fat), 119 mg cholesterol, 398 mg sodium, 18 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 14 g protein.
Diabetic Exchanges: 2 lean meat, 1 starch, 1/2 fat.

*******
Made April 18th. The only adaption that I made to the recipe was not using the oil to saute the garlic and zucchini. I simply sprayed the pan with nonstick spray and added a TB of water.

I enjoyed the dish.

Cheddar Potato Chowder

Cheddar Potato Chowder 5 pts for 1 cup

Ingredients
2 cups water
2 cups diced unpeeled red potatoes
1 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup diced celery
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups 2% milk
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
1 cup cubed fully cooked lean ham

Directions

In a Dutch oven, combine the first seven ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until tender.

Meanwhile, place flour in a large saucepan; gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat. Add cheese; stir until melted. Stir the ham and the cheese sauce into undrained vegetables; stir until combined. Yield: 7 servings.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving (1 cup) equals 212 calories, 9 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 29 mg cholesterol, 847 mg sodium, 18 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 16 g protein.
Diabetic Exchanges: 1 starch, 1 lean meat, 1 fat, 1/2 fat-free milk.

******
Made April 17th. This recipe was pretty simple to make. I wondered if I really had to make the sauce in a separate pan though because I've made other sauce recipes right into the soup. I went ahead and did it the way it described though to stay true to the recipe this time. Next time I will probably not dirty the extra pan. I was impressed with how quickly it thickened though. It was the quickest and easiest I've ever experienced. I don't know if it was the 2% milk or the way I blended the flour in that made a difference. Or maybe it was my new pan. Who knows?!

I had a package of Four Cheese Mexican style in my fridge, so I used that instead of taking the time to shred the 2 cups of cheddar.

This recipe was a huge hit with Aaron (and me). It was really good!!

Summer Fruit N Pasta Salad

Summer Fruit n Pasta Salad 3 pts for 1 cup

Ingredients
8 ounces uncooked elbow macaroni
3/4 cup fat-free plain yogurt
3/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
4 teaspoons snipped fresh dill
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash hot pepper sauce
2 medium tart green apples, chopped
2 medium red apples, chopped
1-1/2 cups seedless grapes
2 celery ribs, thinly sliced
1 can (15 ounces) mandarin oranges, drained
2 medium firm bananas, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

Cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse with cold water and drain. In a bowl, combine the yogurt, mayonnaise, dill, salt and hot pepper sauce.

In a large serving bowl, combine the pasta, apples, grapes, celery and mandarin oranges. Gently stir in 1 cup yogurt mixture.

Cover and refrigerate salad and remaining yogurt mixture for 2-3 hours. Just before serving, stir in bananas, walnuts and remaining yogurt mixture. Yield: 14 servings.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving (1 cup) equals 199 calories, 8 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 5 mg cholesterol, 160 mg sodium, 31 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 4 g protein.
Diabetic Exchanges: 1 starch, 1 fruit, 1 fat.

******
Made April 16th. I didn't get to chill the salad for the full 2- 3 hours. I'm not sure how much of a difference it would have made, but the flavors might have blended a little bit better. When we ate it as leftovers the next day the dill wasn't quite so strong. The salad was a brown kind of color after sitting in the fridge overnight. I think it was from the bananas oxidizing. The color certainly didn't take away from the flavor though. It was still really yummy! I did feel like tuna would have gone well in it.

Jared LOVED this salad, and Aaron liked that it had grapes.

Menu Peek

I've had some computer issues that make me feel like posting pictures and updating my menu is a huge ordeal. But, I finally uploaded pictures so I decided to just give a glimpse of what we've been eating this week with their links. I'll go back and post the actual recipes when I get a chance.

Southwestern Broccoli and Cheese Soup 2 pts

Taco Noodle Dish6 or 7 pts

Baked Ziti Casserole

Chicken and Mandarine Oranges

Eat much lately?

I am struggling to eat my 24 points! I never thought I'd see the day when I would understand how my MIL could get away with eating so little. She can eat an orange and be good for HOURS. Yesterday I had 3 points leftover and tonight there were 8. I had to find things to eat, so I enjoyed some chips w/ queso and salsa and still had to find more to eat. By the time I ate my final point (a piece of bread) I felt absolutely full/stuffed. It makes me wonder if I missed something in my food diary.

Put Your Picture Away

Today I faced the challenge of going through my clothes - especially the ones that I'd been given recently so I could find a spot for them. Happily I discovered the ones that didn't fit when they were given to me about a month ago are fitting much better now. yay! I committed to getting rid of the clothes hanging in my closet that I haven't worn in years or know I won't wear. I've bagged them all up and earmarked them for donations to upcoming garage sales.

I pulled the clothes that were size 16-18 (skirts/pants/capris) that are now too big and added them to my maternity box. Four months ago I was packing my box up and saying goodbye to a pregnancy that wasn't meant to be. When I was pregnant and going through my maternity clothes to find ones to wear most of my clothes were too big. YAY! I'd packed away all my size 20W into my maternity box thinking that I might need them to get me by until I needed the actual maternity pants. I had the same thought as I added my outgrown clothes today. We'll see what happens. Who knows, maybe the next time I need the maternity box the size 16 will be way too big too and I'll end up giving those away like I did the others.

20 down, 10 to goal!!

I've been kind of lagging behind here with my posts!

Yesterday was the last day of my sister-in-law's Biggest Loser competition. As of the afternoon when I logged my weight, I was number 2. My usual day difference weight showed itself again. I weighed at 163.8 or something like that, so I didn't do as well as I'd hoped for the final weigh in. BUT, today I was down to 161.8. I did manage to lose another pound for WW. YAY!!!!!

I've lost a daily target point so now I'm down to 24 points a day. I noticed that my WW's plan was set to maintenance mode, so I had to delete all my weights to reset my goal and plan. Because of the way it was set up, I started my day on Jan 3rd which had a weigh in of 182. Before that weight never really played a role in how much I'd lost. Now it is acknowleged and accounted for which means I've lost 20.2 pounds since the beginning of the year!! YAY me!!! Today I got the 10% lost star :) The goal is 150 in my mind, but I reset my goal to 140. The healthy BMI range is 122 - 146. I think I will be content at 150. It is hard to fathom losing that much more weight. But, we'll just see what happens.

As I was choosing clothes from the closet for church today, I was realizing I don't have a lot of clothes that fit anymore for Sunday. I have a few skirts (mostly browns), long sleeves or sweaters(it's getting to be summer) and T-shirts (which I don't want to wear for church). There is a beige top that is my standard 'nice' blouse that can go with anything, but I was noticing it isn't fitting so great anymore. It's a perfect fit for about size 16. I guess my top is closer to a 12 now. The darts are really sad looking. I was given a bunch of clothes (thank you S!) but I think I need to go through them again. Probably if I actually hung my clothes up I'd discover I have a better selection than I thought :p