Soooo I got 0 comments on my last post and I lost a follower to boot lol I guess I'm still finding my groove in terms of what to write about here and trying to come up with valuable things to say (and the time to write posts)
On that note, I'll kick this post off with a very informative statement:
Christmas is a brutal time of year for weight maintenance/loss!!!
Ok, so that is not news. Lots of people find it rough but I will step up and admit I am struggling! I was doing well but this weekend I fell off track a little. Because of the obvious - there are goodies EVERYWHERE: home, work, parties...etc. It's also a different Christmas than I've ever had. My family traditions seem to changing and with my new job, I don't get any Christmas vacation for the first time in my life (aside from Christmas eve and Christmas day)
Not complaining just struggling to deal. And to NOT take my emotions out on food. My goal is to turn back to some of my slow cooker favourites and have lots ready and available to eat to make sure I'm satisfied with my healthy meals so that I can cut down on the treats as much as possible!
I want to make some more chili because I found this to be a weight loss super food - lots of protein and fiber, low fat and low salt I had a very successful week when I ate this chili for lunch all week.
I also want to make lentil soup again because again it is packed with protein and it was absolutely delicious.The recipe is at the end of this post :)
My fitness goal is to hit the treadmill or do the shred at least 3 times this week, starting tomorrow. Hopefully putting it out there will give me the kick I need to not be lazy after work.
Thanks for hanging in with my blog despite the change, I hope I'll get into the swing of things soon! Have a wonderful holiday everyone :)
LEMON LENTIL SOUP
2 cups lentils (called for red but I just used regular)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 tsp salt
8 garlic cloves, minced
3 carrots, diced
1 tsp dried rosemary
2 tsp dried oregano
2 bay leaves
8 cups vegetable stock
juice of 2 lemons
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1. Rinse lentils thoroughly in a colander under cold running water. Set aside to drain. Heat oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat and saute onion with 1/2 tsp salt until translucent. Add garlic, carrot, herbs, bay leaves and 1/2 tsp salt. Stir well and saute until the carrots are just tender. Add rinsed lentils and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, partially covered, until the lentils are soft and falling apart.
I adapted for the crock pot and took it off the heat after adding lentils and bringing it to a boil. I put in the crock pot and put it in the fridge until the next morning. Then cooked it on low all day. When it's done, you can puree all or half but I didn't. I would only bother with this step if you were serving to fussy kids (or any picky eaters).
2. Season the soup with lemon juice and more salt and pepper to taste. Before serving, top with the feta cheese. Enjoy!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Ok so the new title sucks...
But I really need a new title. Why?
1) Because, when I thought about it, focusing on the number on the scale (i.e. the last 10 lbs) was totally the wrong way to approach the situation of figuring out how to end my weight loss journey. And I'm not just saying it because in the 10 months I've had this blog I only lost 5 of the last 10 lbs (yes, I will openly admit that I only lost 5 lbs in 10 months). I just realized that being obsessed with a number was becoming unhealthy for me. Am I going to look or feel any different at 110 than I do at 115? Probably not. What my priorities are now:
-Eating great, clean food (and treats in moderation, of course)
-Working to maintain the weight loss I worked so hard for
- ENJOYING cooking, eating just leading a generally healthy life
My next step for the long run is to learn to embrace exercise. I'm still not there yet. I love to be active and go for walks but when it comes to painful, push yourself, sweat like a pig exercise, I just can't get motivated. But I know it's a huge part of a balanced life so I am still pushing myself to stick with it.
2) I feel like this blog is taking a new direction. It's not really about my weight loss journey. I like writing about navigating a full time job, extra vounteer stuff, leading a healthy, vegetarian life and cooking for a family of four. I think it's good for me to keep track of what I'm doing and I hope proving reviews of what does and doens't work for me in terms of making things ahead will be more helpful to others than just musings about my life and my food.
That being said, I am uninspired on a title. So any suggestions would be great. Or I'll just keep thinking about it.
Coming soon, I will post the lentil soup recipe, it was a HUGE hit. Yes, lentil soup might sound gross, it might even look gross but my recipe was phenominal and everyone loved it! The WW peanut stirfry was pretty darn good too. So I will post back later in the week to my old blog that is moving in a new direction.
Till then happy eating and have a great weekend!
1) Because, when I thought about it, focusing on the number on the scale (i.e. the last 10 lbs) was totally the wrong way to approach the situation of figuring out how to end my weight loss journey. And I'm not just saying it because in the 10 months I've had this blog I only lost 5 of the last 10 lbs (yes, I will openly admit that I only lost 5 lbs in 10 months). I just realized that being obsessed with a number was becoming unhealthy for me. Am I going to look or feel any different at 110 than I do at 115? Probably not. What my priorities are now:
-Eating great, clean food (and treats in moderation, of course)
-Working to maintain the weight loss I worked so hard for
- ENJOYING cooking, eating just leading a generally healthy life
My next step for the long run is to learn to embrace exercise. I'm still not there yet. I love to be active and go for walks but when it comes to painful, push yourself, sweat like a pig exercise, I just can't get motivated. But I know it's a huge part of a balanced life so I am still pushing myself to stick with it.
2) I feel like this blog is taking a new direction. It's not really about my weight loss journey. I like writing about navigating a full time job, extra vounteer stuff, leading a healthy, vegetarian life and cooking for a family of four. I think it's good for me to keep track of what I'm doing and I hope proving reviews of what does and doens't work for me in terms of making things ahead will be more helpful to others than just musings about my life and my food.
That being said, I am uninspired on a title. So any suggestions would be great. Or I'll just keep thinking about it.
Coming soon, I will post the lentil soup recipe, it was a HUGE hit. Yes, lentil soup might sound gross, it might even look gross but my recipe was phenominal and everyone loved it! The WW peanut stirfry was pretty darn good too. So I will post back later in the week to my old blog that is moving in a new direction.
Till then happy eating and have a great weekend!
Sunday, November 29, 2009
More make ahead meals
Last weeks meals were wonderful! They were quick and easy to prepare and made for lots of healthy and wonderful leftovers for lunches.
The fajitas were delicious. The chili worked great! I was a bit nervous about using fresh tomatoes but it all cooked up perfectly in the slow cooker. I added on hot sauce and sour cream to mine and I really enjoyed it.
This weeks menu:
Monday- Stir Fry
I washed, peeled and chopped my way through broccoli, peppers, onions, carrots and snow peas so they are ready and waiting to be stirfried, tossed in some sauce (I'm making peanut sauce, the recipie is in a WW cookbook) and served with noodles.
Tuesday-Lentil soup, pita and hummus
Another recipe that I'm adjusting to make in the crockpot. Cooked the first few steps and then put it in the fridge. Tuesday morning I will pop it in the crockpot to come home to warm homemade soup :)
Wednesday - Chicken, broccoli, cauliflower and pan fried potatoes.
No prep required for the chicken - just stick some real and some soy chicken into the oven. The broccoli and cauliflower is chopped and ready to be steamed and the potatoes are boiled so I will just chop and toss in some evoo on the stove.
Thursday- Left overs! There's always a lot of food left in the fridge by Thursday and everyone is running out to other commitments and stuff so leftovers work for us.
I will post back how it all went and include some recipes for anything that works out particularly well.
Back to the grind tomorrow morning :( Have a great week!
The fajitas were delicious. The chili worked great! I was a bit nervous about using fresh tomatoes but it all cooked up perfectly in the slow cooker. I added on hot sauce and sour cream to mine and I really enjoyed it.
This weeks menu:
Monday- Stir Fry
I washed, peeled and chopped my way through broccoli, peppers, onions, carrots and snow peas so they are ready and waiting to be stirfried, tossed in some sauce (I'm making peanut sauce, the recipie is in a WW cookbook) and served with noodles.
Tuesday-Lentil soup, pita and hummus
Another recipe that I'm adjusting to make in the crockpot. Cooked the first few steps and then put it in the fridge. Tuesday morning I will pop it in the crockpot to come home to warm homemade soup :)
Wednesday - Chicken, broccoli, cauliflower and pan fried potatoes.
No prep required for the chicken - just stick some real and some soy chicken into the oven. The broccoli and cauliflower is chopped and ready to be steamed and the potatoes are boiled so I will just chop and toss in some evoo on the stove.
Thursday- Left overs! There's always a lot of food left in the fridge by Thursday and everyone is running out to other commitments and stuff so leftovers work for us.
I will post back how it all went and include some recipes for anything that works out particularly well.
Back to the grind tomorrow morning :( Have a great week!
Sunday, November 22, 2009
recovering
Time flies. Despite my best intentions, it's been two weeks since I last posted. Just after I wrote that last post I got hit with a really bad cold/flu which just took it out of me for more than a week. Eating was not great in that time - did not feel like cooking. I ate a lot of popsicles but aside from that, I hardly ate. I guess what I'm trying to say is that there wasn't much to report.
But I'm back. And trying to eat healthly to stay healthy. Today I spent 4 hours in the kitchen tonight doing prep for the week. First I started this recipe from the National Post but instead of cooking it I just cooked the onions and mixed the other ingredients and plan on popping in the slow cooker on Tuesday morning. I hope it works ok...it doesn't really look like chili at the moment...I don't really know anything about chili so I found choosing a recipie difficult. I wanted one that was just beans, no TVP because of all things, I don't think chili needs added protein when it's got plenty of beans. I will update and let you know how I found the recipe.
I also cooked some chicken (for the fam) and chopped peppers for fajitas so tomorrow night's dinner just needs to be popped in the frying pan and we're good to go.
It was a lot of work to make the chili, the fajitas, tonight's dinner and tomorrow's lunch and I was disapointed to miss out on any time to relax on a Sunday night but it will be well worth it all week when meals are ready. Next week, I'll start earlier!
For now I'm totally beat so I'm off to bed! Have a great week!
But I'm back. And trying to eat healthly to stay healthy. Today I spent 4 hours in the kitchen tonight doing prep for the week. First I started this recipe from the National Post but instead of cooking it I just cooked the onions and mixed the other ingredients and plan on popping in the slow cooker on Tuesday morning. I hope it works ok...it doesn't really look like chili at the moment...I don't really know anything about chili so I found choosing a recipie difficult. I wanted one that was just beans, no TVP because of all things, I don't think chili needs added protein when it's got plenty of beans. I will update and let you know how I found the recipe.
I also cooked some chicken (for the fam) and chopped peppers for fajitas so tomorrow night's dinner just needs to be popped in the frying pan and we're good to go.
It was a lot of work to make the chili, the fajitas, tonight's dinner and tomorrow's lunch and I was disapointed to miss out on any time to relax on a Sunday night but it will be well worth it all week when meals are ready. Next week, I'll start earlier!
For now I'm totally beat so I'm off to bed! Have a great week!
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Make Ahead Meals
Where does the weekend go?! After my first week back to work my much needed weekend just seemed to fly by! Friday night I went rock climbing, Saturday I did some volunteer work and then Jeff and I spent the afternoon going for a walk in the beautiful weather and then headed out to dinner to celebrate our first weeks of work :)
Today was spent mostly relaxing, another long walk, some tv....a pretty relaxing day! I also spent some time tonight getting tomorrows dinner all set to go. I am really appreciating how far a little prep work can go to making life easier for the week. By the time I got home from work last week, helped cook dinner, ate and cleaned up there wasn't a whole lot of time to make lunch for the next day, do errands, chores...etc let alone keep up with all my tv shows :P
Sooo i am planning on doing prep work on Sunday as often as possible. Every time I used to read people suggesting to do work ahead of time, I'd think - well isn't it all the same in the end? But today I found spending a couple hours on a lazy Sunday seems a lot easier than on a dark night when your starving and rushing!
This afternoon I threw together a Weight Watcher's macaroni that is all ready to throw in the oven tomorrow and enjoy! (I will let you know how it works although I'm not expecting problems...) I didn't add the tomatoes or broccoli like Mary suggested because to be honest the idea of the cherry tomatoes didn't really appeal to me and I wasn't sure what everyone else would think of the broc. So instead I washed and chopped some broccoli that's all ready to be steamed and served on the side. Pretty excited to try it all and skip out on the clean up tomorrow...
Starting with just one meal this week but if it works well and I get more ideas, I would love to start making two or three meals ahead to save even more time during the week.
What are you favourite things to prep ahead so they are ready quickly while you're busy? (How do you like my first ever question? Thought it was worth a try...)
Have a great week!
Today was spent mostly relaxing, another long walk, some tv....a pretty relaxing day! I also spent some time tonight getting tomorrows dinner all set to go. I am really appreciating how far a little prep work can go to making life easier for the week. By the time I got home from work last week, helped cook dinner, ate and cleaned up there wasn't a whole lot of time to make lunch for the next day, do errands, chores...etc let alone keep up with all my tv shows :P
Sooo i am planning on doing prep work on Sunday as often as possible. Every time I used to read people suggesting to do work ahead of time, I'd think - well isn't it all the same in the end? But today I found spending a couple hours on a lazy Sunday seems a lot easier than on a dark night when your starving and rushing!
This afternoon I threw together a Weight Watcher's macaroni that is all ready to throw in the oven tomorrow and enjoy! (I will let you know how it works although I'm not expecting problems...) I didn't add the tomatoes or broccoli like Mary suggested because to be honest the idea of the cherry tomatoes didn't really appeal to me and I wasn't sure what everyone else would think of the broc. So instead I washed and chopped some broccoli that's all ready to be steamed and served on the side. Pretty excited to try it all and skip out on the clean up tomorrow...
Starting with just one meal this week but if it works well and I get more ideas, I would love to start making two or three meals ahead to save even more time during the week.
What are you favourite things to prep ahead so they are ready quickly while you're busy? (How do you like my first ever question? Thought it was worth a try...)
Have a great week!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
My favourite things
So I lied...I said I would post some good stuff soon and then I didn't. BUT I've been busy the last bit because I got a job! After 3 long month I'm finally back to work. The office is only about 10 minutes away from home so the commute is great but getting used to a full work day again is taking it out of me!
I'm maintaining STILL! But hopefully working will help me get back into a routine and back on schedule. I am finding it hard to find time and motivation to exercise after work (I don't think morning is an option for me) but hopefully once I get back into the swing of it I can develop some kind of plan.
But here I am ready to share some good eats with you:
I'm maintaining STILL! But hopefully working will help me get back into a routine and back on schedule. I am finding it hard to find time and motivation to exercise after work (I don't think morning is an option for me) but hopefully once I get back into the swing of it I can develop some kind of plan.
But here I am ready to share some good eats with you:
First of all my new favourite salad topper is sun dried tomatoes. Hardly any calories and now less sodium they really add to the same old salad for lunch. They are a brand you can only get at Metro stores but I'm sure there's probably some similar products out there...
The next recipe is courtesy of Rachael Ray - I can't decide if I like her or I hate her! Somes I find her easier to watch than others but she does make good food. This recipe for broccoli, cauliflower and ricotta pasta was easy and a crowd pleaser. Instead of choosing between broccoli and cauliflower I just used both! It was a great way to bulk up the recipe and you could hardly notice all the veg. We did find the chili pepper a bit overpowering so I would cut back next time. But I would for sure make this again!
Finally a favourite of mine for fall and winter that I have loved since I was a kid and something that just so happens to be super easy: Spud Spectacular!
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
4 cups potatoes, washed and diced
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup each of onion, carrot and celery, washed and chopped (I usually add more)
2 cups of broth (I use veggie)
2 cups of milk (I use skim)
Seasoning to taste
Cheddar cheese for garnish
-Heat the oil in a large pot, then add butter and melt
-Add garlic, onion, carrot and celery and saute until clear (around 5 min)
-Add potatoes and stock, bring to a boil and then simmer until veggies are cooked (around 15 min)
-Add salt, pepper, parsely to taste
-Stir in milk, heat until warmed throughout - do not boil!
- Serve with cheddar for topping and some fresh bread
Makes generous 5 cups
I usually double it so there is lots because its great and awesome to heat up in the following days.
Well I should be getting to bed but hopefully I will blog again before a few more weeks pass...
Happy Friday, have a great weekend!
The next recipe is courtesy of Rachael Ray - I can't decide if I like her or I hate her! Somes I find her easier to watch than others but she does make good food. This recipe for broccoli, cauliflower and ricotta pasta was easy and a crowd pleaser. Instead of choosing between broccoli and cauliflower I just used both! It was a great way to bulk up the recipe and you could hardly notice all the veg. We did find the chili pepper a bit overpowering so I would cut back next time. But I would for sure make this again!Finally a favourite of mine for fall and winter that I have loved since I was a kid and something that just so happens to be super easy: Spud Spectacular!
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
4 cups potatoes, washed and diced
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup each of onion, carrot and celery, washed and chopped (I usually add more)
2 cups of broth (I use veggie)
2 cups of milk (I use skim)
Seasoning to taste
Cheddar cheese for garnish
-Heat the oil in a large pot, then add butter and melt
-Add garlic, onion, carrot and celery and saute until clear (around 5 min)
-Add potatoes and stock, bring to a boil and then simmer until veggies are cooked (around 15 min)
-Add salt, pepper, parsely to taste
-Stir in milk, heat until warmed throughout - do not boil!
- Serve with cheddar for topping and some fresh bread
Makes generous 5 cups
I usually double it so there is lots because its great and awesome to heat up in the following days.
Well I should be getting to bed but hopefully I will blog again before a few more weeks pass...
Happy Friday, have a great weekend!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
I'm alive!
I promise! Life has been funny but I am still here and I haven't given up on Weight Watchers.
That being said, I am up. I realized I haven't posted my weight in a while...I haven't wanted to admit it...but here I am being accountable...I am currently weighing in at 116...about 4lbs+ from my lowest. I find during the week I do alright, but I let my weekends get the best of me. But now that I have put it out there, I am committing, right this minute that I will finish those last 10 lbs. When I started this blog I never ever imagined it would take me this long! HAHA but I guess it's a good thing - when I get to 110 do I have to quit my blog? lol
Well I have some product reviews I want to share and some wonderful new recipes but it's pretty late. So I will get back here asap and share with you to hopefully motivate us all!
Tomorrow is hump day - hope you week is going fast!!
That being said, I am up. I realized I haven't posted my weight in a while...I haven't wanted to admit it...but here I am being accountable...I am currently weighing in at 116...about 4lbs+ from my lowest. I find during the week I do alright, but I let my weekends get the best of me. But now that I have put it out there, I am committing, right this minute that I will finish those last 10 lbs. When I started this blog I never ever imagined it would take me this long! HAHA but I guess it's a good thing - when I get to 110 do I have to quit my blog? lol
Well I have some product reviews I want to share and some wonderful new recipes but it's pretty late. So I will get back here asap and share with you to hopefully motivate us all!
Tomorrow is hump day - hope you week is going fast!!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Recipes!
September seems to have flown by!
September is always a challenge for me when it comes to eating because my brother, my mom, my dad and I all have our birthdays withing 16 days. Then my grandmother's birthday is 8 days after that! So it's a loooot of dinners and a looot of cake. With that in mind, I've been doing ok..although not great. I've had a few victories and new discoveries though:
Tripe Chocolate Bunt Cake: I made this for my mom's birthday as an alternative to a rich cake covered in icing. I added a bit of vanilla frozen yogurt on the side and it was soo great!
*I got this from Jamie's Kitchen - I love her recipe site because it has pictures, point values, and honest reviews of all the recipes and most of them are vegetarian!!
Booty Camp Falafel: A few people have posted this on thier blog so I wanted to try it. Soo when the recipe showed up in the "Lunchbox Revival" colum in the post, I knew it was a sign I had to make it. For some reason I envisioned this to be a quick, throw together meal and this it was not! It took more than an hour for me to get it all together and cleaned up. But I have to say it was worth it. It was really good and flavourful. I had mine with half a pita, tomatoes, cucumbers and some plain yogurt. I made the tahini sauce but I didn't love it so I left it out.
Roasted Portabello Mushrooms: Yes, I made a recipe I found on ehow.com haha but it actually worked out well. I had some leftover portabello's that I roasted (although I used way less oil in the marinade) and put over some salad with a little goat cheese.
Those are the ones I really wanted to share right now. Being home job hunting all day is rough. I have good days and bad days and it's hard not to eat on the bad days! But I'm trying to get exercise and fresh air and take advantage of the free time I have to try new recipes :)
One last thing, Allie's blog, is one of the blogs I read the most and she's having a contest! So check out her contest and check out her blog, it's worth a read :)
September is always a challenge for me when it comes to eating because my brother, my mom, my dad and I all have our birthdays withing 16 days. Then my grandmother's birthday is 8 days after that! So it's a loooot of dinners and a looot of cake. With that in mind, I've been doing ok..although not great. I've had a few victories and new discoveries though:
Tripe Chocolate Bunt Cake: I made this for my mom's birthday as an alternative to a rich cake covered in icing. I added a bit of vanilla frozen yogurt on the side and it was soo great!
*I got this from Jamie's Kitchen - I love her recipe site because it has pictures, point values, and honest reviews of all the recipes and most of them are vegetarian!!
Booty Camp Falafel: A few people have posted this on thier blog so I wanted to try it. Soo when the recipe showed up in the "Lunchbox Revival" colum in the post, I knew it was a sign I had to make it. For some reason I envisioned this to be a quick, throw together meal and this it was not! It took more than an hour for me to get it all together and cleaned up. But I have to say it was worth it. It was really good and flavourful. I had mine with half a pita, tomatoes, cucumbers and some plain yogurt. I made the tahini sauce but I didn't love it so I left it out.
Roasted Portabello Mushrooms: Yes, I made a recipe I found on ehow.com haha but it actually worked out well. I had some leftover portabello's that I roasted (although I used way less oil in the marinade) and put over some salad with a little goat cheese.
Those are the ones I really wanted to share right now. Being home job hunting all day is rough. I have good days and bad days and it's hard not to eat on the bad days! But I'm trying to get exercise and fresh air and take advantage of the free time I have to try new recipes :)
One last thing, Allie's blog, is one of the blogs I read the most and she's having a contest! So check out her contest and check out her blog, it's worth a read :)
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
September begins...
I'm so bad at updating! I always think of things to say and then I always get distracted through the week!
But last post I said I was experimenting with mashed cauliflower and it worked out beautifully! I steamed some cauliflower in some veggie broth and tossed it in the blender with a bit of olive oil and couple big handfuls of spinach (inspired by the green monster). It looked like bright green baby food but it was yummy!!
In other news, I went to WI with my mom tonight and she got LIFETIME :) She hit goal 9 weeks ago but missed 3 weigh in's because she was taking a course but regardless she made it tonight! I'm so happy for her! We celebrated with a take out dinner - fresh falafel and hummus from a local Mediterranean place. It was awesome. We also picked up a tub of Bacio (hazelnut and chocolate) gelato from our corner bakery/deli. It was 100 cal/ half a cup and sooo tasty!
So now that I'm job hunting and home days I reallly need to get my eating under control and get into an exercise routine. I picked up a brochure for the rec centre fitness facilities and am hoping to take some classes there. Hopefully I'll have a job soon and I'll still have to worry about fitting in exercise but eating won't be so tough when the kitchen isn't calling my name all day!
Hope you enjoyed labour day weekend!
But last post I said I was experimenting with mashed cauliflower and it worked out beautifully! I steamed some cauliflower in some veggie broth and tossed it in the blender with a bit of olive oil and couple big handfuls of spinach (inspired by the green monster). It looked like bright green baby food but it was yummy!!
In other news, I went to WI with my mom tonight and she got LIFETIME :) She hit goal 9 weeks ago but missed 3 weigh in's because she was taking a course but regardless she made it tonight! I'm so happy for her! We celebrated with a take out dinner - fresh falafel and hummus from a local Mediterranean place. It was awesome. We also picked up a tub of Bacio (hazelnut and chocolate) gelato from our corner bakery/deli. It was 100 cal/ half a cup and sooo tasty!
So now that I'm job hunting and home days I reallly need to get my eating under control and get into an exercise routine. I picked up a brochure for the rec centre fitness facilities and am hoping to take some classes there. Hopefully I'll have a job soon and I'll still have to worry about fitting in exercise but eating won't be so tough when the kitchen isn't calling my name all day!
Hope you enjoyed labour day weekend!
Friday, August 28, 2009
Week in Review
So this week has been the same as the past few weeks - no great progress yet I don't feel like I'm completely off track either.
I've been eating out a fair bit but making decent choices (mostly) I don't have pics - I have to say I admire those bloggers who are comfortable taking pictures of their food in public - I'm just not there yet! But I did make this <<< Black bean and corn salad with tomatoes and yellow pepper tossed in some lemon juice, olive oil and hot sauce. It was good, I used fresh corn right off the cob which was awesome. I didn't love the yellow peppers in it...the texture didn't quite fit so when I make it again I'll leave them out. I had it with a bit of mozzarella and the space on the plate I left for some bbq roasted potatos that wern't quite ready. Yum!!
I also have been enjoying a lot of fresh peaches, usually with a bit of vanilla frozen yogurt :) For some reason, the picture is getting inserted roated wrong, I'll try and fix it later.
I'm not sure if this is common knowledge but I just learned the best way to peel a peach is to run it under hot water for a few seconds...the skin just peels right off! It works so well!
Tonight, I'm trying an experiment with mashed cauliflower, I will report back :)
I've been eating out a fair bit but making decent choices (mostly) I don't have pics - I have to say I admire those bloggers who are comfortable taking pictures of their food in public - I'm just not there yet! But I did make this <<< Black bean and corn salad with tomatoes and yellow pepper tossed in some lemon juice, olive oil and hot sauce. It was good, I used fresh corn right off the cob which was awesome. I didn't love the yellow peppers in it...the texture didn't quite fit so when I make it again I'll leave them out. I had it with a bit of mozzarella and the space on the plate I left for some bbq roasted potatos that wern't quite ready. Yum!!
I also have been enjoying a lot of fresh peaches, usually with a bit of vanilla frozen yogurt :) For some reason, the picture is getting inserted roated wrong, I'll try and fix it later.
I'm not sure if this is common knowledge but I just learned the best way to peel a peach is to run it under hot water for a few seconds...the skin just peels right off! It works so well!
Tonight, I'm trying an experiment with mashed cauliflower, I will report back :)
Friday, August 21, 2009
One step forward, two steps back
So I've been checking out Goodlife and considering joining for the Fall. I've been attending the various classes with my friend Lauren to see if I think it's worthwhile.
Last night we tried step class. I liked the class but didn't really enjoy the instructor. She was trying to be helpful but she kept singling us out. I would have preferred she just let me struggle through the patterns on my own. I would try it again though, it was definitely a great work out!
So as we were about to leave we noticed the storm that we'd been hearing about in the Toronto area has hit us full force, lighting and heavy rains - the power was even flickering on and off. So we decided to stay for another class and wait it out and off we went to Zumba. I've mentioned before that I've tried Zumba and really enjoyed it and last night it was good still - although I was pretty pooped at the end.
By the time I got home it was after 8...and I came home to find out that the rain had cause my family's dinner plans of BBQing to fall through and they just ordered pizza instead. Well, I was starving - too starving to make a good decision. So I had a little more pizza then I normally would. But it was delicious, that's for sure!
Then today, my mom and I went for lunch at a really amazing little place called Stoney's. We got turned around and parked the car about a 10 min walk away, which was great for a little extra exercise. Then, we had the most wonderful goat cheese salads! Unfortunatly, we just happened to park the car across the street from a Gelato place, so we decided to try it out and split a small cup of 1/2 ferrero and 1/2 Baccio gelato. It was waaaay better than ice cream! So amazing.
So, the point of all this is I've had some victories in these past couple days and also a few set backs...but I'm going to stay on track this weekend and keep up tracking as best I can - I'm not giving up!
Have a great weekend everyone!
Last night we tried step class. I liked the class but didn't really enjoy the instructor. She was trying to be helpful but she kept singling us out. I would have preferred she just let me struggle through the patterns on my own. I would try it again though, it was definitely a great work out!
So as we were about to leave we noticed the storm that we'd been hearing about in the Toronto area has hit us full force, lighting and heavy rains - the power was even flickering on and off. So we decided to stay for another class and wait it out and off we went to Zumba. I've mentioned before that I've tried Zumba and really enjoyed it and last night it was good still - although I was pretty pooped at the end.
By the time I got home it was after 8...and I came home to find out that the rain had cause my family's dinner plans of BBQing to fall through and they just ordered pizza instead. Well, I was starving - too starving to make a good decision. So I had a little more pizza then I normally would. But it was delicious, that's for sure!
Then today, my mom and I went for lunch at a really amazing little place called Stoney's. We got turned around and parked the car about a 10 min walk away, which was great for a little extra exercise. Then, we had the most wonderful goat cheese salads! Unfortunatly, we just happened to park the car across the street from a Gelato place, so we decided to try it out and split a small cup of 1/2 ferrero and 1/2 Baccio gelato. It was waaaay better than ice cream! So amazing.
So, the point of all this is I've had some victories in these past couple days and also a few set backs...but I'm going to stay on track this weekend and keep up tracking as best I can - I'm not giving up!
Have a great weekend everyone!
Monday, August 17, 2009
Weekend Tracking
I am ashamed to admit I didn't track this weekend. Which isn't a huge deal except I only recommitted to tracking last week lol But I was in Waterloo and things came up...I actually think I did pretty well, it's not like I totally blew it but I probably should have tracked it all.
That aside, I'm doing really well. It's nice to have some time to plan and cook good meals.
Tonight's dinner (sorry, no pic) was Worth Every Penne from Eat, Shrink and be Merry - you can get the recipe off their site.
It was whole what penne with mushrooms, onions, spinach and tomatoes in a pesto, balsamic sauce. I left out the chicken the recipe calls for (naturally) and bulked it up with extra veggies. I did, however, chop up a strip of bacon to top everyone elses plate - they said it was a nice touch. They also suggest to top with parmesean or feta and today I used parmesean. Next time, I would use feta to add a stronger flavour (I think the bacon accomplished this for everyone else) All in all, it was good and light enough. Definatly would make this again as we all enjoyed it.
Thats it for now. Going to my mom's WW meeting tomorrow night but not weighing since I already did for Aug. I need to pick a weigh in day for my records to start keeping track again. I'm not sure which one I like best....
That's it for now - take care everyone!
That aside, I'm doing really well. It's nice to have some time to plan and cook good meals.
Tonight's dinner (sorry, no pic) was Worth Every Penne from Eat, Shrink and be Merry - you can get the recipe off their site.
It was whole what penne with mushrooms, onions, spinach and tomatoes in a pesto, balsamic sauce. I left out the chicken the recipe calls for (naturally) and bulked it up with extra veggies. I did, however, chop up a strip of bacon to top everyone elses plate - they said it was a nice touch. They also suggest to top with parmesean or feta and today I used parmesean. Next time, I would use feta to add a stronger flavour (I think the bacon accomplished this for everyone else) All in all, it was good and light enough. Definatly would make this again as we all enjoyed it.
Thats it for now. Going to my mom's WW meeting tomorrow night but not weighing since I already did for Aug. I need to pick a weigh in day for my records to start keeping track again. I'm not sure which one I like best....
That's it for now - take care everyone!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Whole Foods
Yesterday, I was not in the best mood after a frustrating trip to the dentist (where I wait for 45 minutes!) So I decided to treat myself to a trip to Whole Foods since it was nearby. Most often, when I visit Whole Foods, I don't even buy anything. I just like going and looking at all the wonderful food they have and all the different types of products available. But yesterday I did walk out with a few items.
First, some candied walnuts and some fig goat cheese that I put on a strawberry balsamic salad for dinner. Yummm!
I had this with some stuffed zucchini and some bbq'd potatoes that my brother made.
I also bought a couple of bars I had seen on various blogs:
I'd heard of Larabar and Jocalat before. They are made of fruit and nuts and are all natural. I figured these would be a good substitute for granola bars (although a very pricey one!) I havn't tried them but I will review when I do!
Note: I just realized the Larabar I bought is chocolate chili! Now I am scared to try it!! Has anyone else tried these??
I also picked up The Simply Bar because it's made of soy crips and therfore it's very high in protein - the whole bar has 160 calories and 16g of protein! I've read vegetarians who eat balanced don't really need to worry about protein but I figure it never hurts to be sure. I tried it for breakfast and it was pretty good. The soy crips had an interesting texture and a bit of an aftertaste but all in all it wasn't bad. I would try it again for sure.
So I managed to limit my spending damage to those few items, I'm sure when I have more disposable income I'll be trying a few more interesting new products!
Since I typically started my WW week on Thursday, I've decided to start taking tracking seriously this week and see how it goes, wish me luck :)
Almost Friday!
First, some candied walnuts and some fig goat cheese that I put on a strawberry balsamic salad for dinner. Yummm!
I had this with some stuffed zucchini and some bbq'd potatoes that my brother made.I also bought a couple of bars I had seen on various blogs:
I'd heard of Larabar and Jocalat before. They are made of fruit and nuts and are all natural. I figured these would be a good substitute for granola bars (although a very pricey one!) I havn't tried them but I will review when I do!Note: I just realized the Larabar I bought is chocolate chili! Now I am scared to try it!! Has anyone else tried these??
I also picked up The Simply Bar because it's made of soy crips and therfore it's very high in protein - the whole bar has 160 calories and 16g of protein! I've read vegetarians who eat balanced don't really need to worry about protein but I figure it never hurts to be sure. I tried it for breakfast and it was pretty good. The soy crips had an interesting texture and a bit of an aftertaste but all in all it wasn't bad. I would try it again for sure.
So I managed to limit my spending damage to those few items, I'm sure when I have more disposable income I'll be trying a few more interesting new products!
Since I typically started my WW week on Thursday, I've decided to start taking tracking seriously this week and see how it goes, wish me luck :)
Almost Friday!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Back Again!
Alright so I'm back, I hope for good! School got crazy but now I am all finished and into the "real" world - hopefully I can find a job.
The combination of stress and summer activities has caused me to put on about 2 lbs so I'm hovering around 115 and determined to get down to 110!
I have discovered I'm not a very good food blogger. When I do remember the pictures they are never pretty like everyone elses.
Here's what I mean:
But I guess that's not entirely the point. This is today's lunch. It's left overs from last night. It's Marinated Fall Salad- a recipe we got from Chatelaine. It's got cauliflower, beans, olives and peppers, it's super tasty! Since it's all I was having for lunch, I crumbled in some feta...it's a nice addition but I'm not sure it needs it. I think I'd rather save the calories for one of these:
Also from Chatelaine, The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie with dark chocolate! We would normally never make cookies but my mom has a guest this week. They are wonderful. Not too big, crispy on the outside and soft on the middle. I will be keeping this as my go to cookie recipe for when I need one.
In exercise news, I tried Zumba last week and will be going again tomorrow - I love it! It is so much fun, it doesn't feel like exercise!! It's a good way to work myself in to exerciseing on a regular basis again!
That's all for now! I will be back sooner than later :)
Have a great week!
The combination of stress and summer activities has caused me to put on about 2 lbs so I'm hovering around 115 and determined to get down to 110!
I have discovered I'm not a very good food blogger. When I do remember the pictures they are never pretty like everyone elses.
Here's what I mean:
But I guess that's not entirely the point. This is today's lunch. It's left overs from last night. It's Marinated Fall Salad- a recipe we got from Chatelaine. It's got cauliflower, beans, olives and peppers, it's super tasty! Since it's all I was having for lunch, I crumbled in some feta...it's a nice addition but I'm not sure it needs it. I think I'd rather save the calories for one of these:
Also from Chatelaine, The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie with dark chocolate! We would normally never make cookies but my mom has a guest this week. They are wonderful. Not too big, crispy on the outside and soft on the middle. I will be keeping this as my go to cookie recipe for when I need one.
In exercise news, I tried Zumba last week and will be going again tomorrow - I love it! It is so much fun, it doesn't feel like exercise!! It's a good way to work myself in to exerciseing on a regular basis again!
That's all for now! I will be back sooner than later :)
Have a great week!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Home for a Rest
My eating is getting out of control. Not even so much calorie wise but nutrient, healthy, clean food wise.
So I'm committed to tracking this week. And motivated to do it...at least for now.
I only have one paper left and then I'm done university. So I am slowly moving home since I don't have a job yet....I'm looking forward to being home because it means built in support from my mom, an opportunity to cook for everyone instead of just myself (and an opportunity to get meals cooked for me once and a while, which I'll admit is nice!)
So that's the update for now. This week will be a good week. I will be accountable. I can do this.
Happy August~
So I'm committed to tracking this week. And motivated to do it...at least for now.
I only have one paper left and then I'm done university. So I am slowly moving home since I don't have a job yet....I'm looking forward to being home because it means built in support from my mom, an opportunity to cook for everyone instead of just myself (and an opportunity to get meals cooked for me once and a while, which I'll admit is nice!)
So that's the update for now. This week will be a good week. I will be accountable. I can do this.
Happy August~
Monday, July 27, 2009
Sick!
Confession: No posts recently because I have been verrrrrrry sick! Hit with a horrible cold :( I have to say, I'm a terrible eater when I'm sick. I'm not hungry so I usually just eat no great food - lots of carbs! I also ate out twice this weekend. It was DBF's bday which meant a few dinners out with different groups. Sunday I took him to the Jays game and then to The Old Spagetti Factory for dinner. I had goat cheese agnolotti. It was wonderful. Not the best choice but I enjoyed every bite :)
Fortunatly, having a smaller appitie because of this cold has meant no weight gain. But nutrient wise I know it's sooo bad! So now that I'm slowly feeling better so today's menu was:
B: Oatmeal with 2 tsp brown sugar
L: 3 pieces soy chicken, 1 piece swiss cheese
D: Village greek salad with chickpeas, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and feta
S: 1. c Smartfood popcorn
On another note: As of tomorrow I am done all my classes in university! I'm totally a type A personality so not knowing what I'm doing with my life scares the crap out of me. On a positive note, if I am jobless for a [short, I hope] while, it will give me some time to focus on exercise and trying new healthy delicious recipes. So I am going to think about that and not the scary fact that I need to figure out my life!
That's all for now. Hopefully some food pics to come soon this week.
Take Care
Fortunatly, having a smaller appitie because of this cold has meant no weight gain. But nutrient wise I know it's sooo bad! So now that I'm slowly feeling better so today's menu was:
B: Oatmeal with 2 tsp brown sugar
L: 3 pieces soy chicken, 1 piece swiss cheese
D: Village greek salad with chickpeas, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and feta
S: 1. c Smartfood popcorn
On another note: As of tomorrow I am done all my classes in university! I'm totally a type A personality so not knowing what I'm doing with my life scares the crap out of me. On a positive note, if I am jobless for a [short, I hope] while, it will give me some time to focus on exercise and trying new healthy delicious recipes. So I am going to think about that and not the scary fact that I need to figure out my life!
That's all for now. Hopefully some food pics to come soon this week.
Take Care
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Clean Eating
Two posts in one day! This is crazy lol
As part of her 15 week challenge, Amy challenged everyone to eat clean for a day. I'm not part of the challenge but I thought I'd participate in this one. I usually try to eat clean as much as I can so my days weren't drastically different but I did rethink a few treats here and there. Here are some of my deliciously clean meals:
Greek salad on a bed of whole wheat couscous... yum!
Black bean soft tacos (I guess technically tortillas aren't "clean" but these were whole grain...)
The picture doesn't do it justice but this was black bean and rice salad with tomatoes and cheddar
And finally, not clean (or even a little bit low calorie) but a taste of PC Loads of Peanut Butter Ice Cream. I use my little measuring cup as a bowl to make sure the portion is right...everything in moderation :)
Monday Morning is going to come to soon! Have a great week everyone xo
As part of her 15 week challenge, Amy challenged everyone to eat clean for a day. I'm not part of the challenge but I thought I'd participate in this one. I usually try to eat clean as much as I can so my days weren't drastically different but I did rethink a few treats here and there. Here are some of my deliciously clean meals:
Greek salad on a bed of whole wheat couscous... yum!
Black bean soft tacos (I guess technically tortillas aren't "clean" but these were whole grain...)
The picture doesn't do it justice but this was black bean and rice salad with tomatoes and cheddar
And finally, not clean (or even a little bit low calorie) but a taste of PC Loads of Peanut Butter Ice Cream. I use my little measuring cup as a bowl to make sure the portion is right...everything in moderation :)
Monday Morning is going to come to soon! Have a great week everyone xo
Back!!!
I have been totally MIA! I have been reading blogs but to be honest, I haven't posted because I haven't been doing well! Which is stupid, because really, those are the times I need this blog the most. I read so many blogs and I wish I had the discipline to post on a regular basis! So I'm going to try to post more often.
Here's my update. My parent's anniversary party was a blast! I did end up over eating and I paid for it the next few days. I just felt gross! But I filled up on lots of water and fruits and veggies and felt much better. Right now I'm not doing horrible, but I'm not losing. Just maintaining, which isn't terrible...but I would love to kick these last 3 pounds and see 110! More importantly though, I am really just going to focus on eating well. I finally took some pictures of the wonderful things I've been eating....I'll post them tonight :)
So this is just to say I am alive and still doing the best I can day to day! So don't stop reading. I'm back, I'm promise and I will try and get lots of great recipes and pictures up!
Hope you're having a great weekend.
Here's my update. My parent's anniversary party was a blast! I did end up over eating and I paid for it the next few days. I just felt gross! But I filled up on lots of water and fruits and veggies and felt much better. Right now I'm not doing horrible, but I'm not losing. Just maintaining, which isn't terrible...but I would love to kick these last 3 pounds and see 110! More importantly though, I am really just going to focus on eating well. I finally took some pictures of the wonderful things I've been eating....I'll post them tonight :)
So this is just to say I am alive and still doing the best I can day to day! So don't stop reading. I'm back, I'm promise and I will try and get lots of great recipes and pictures up!
Hope you're having a great weekend.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Exciting News!
Today, my mom who has been recommitted to Weight Watchers for just over a year hit goal! I am so excited for her :) This time around she's lost around 25 pounds! I'm so proud of her and happy for her!
Me on the other hand....struggling still a bit. Last week my anticipated STS turned into a 0.4 gain...and I'm still hovering in this region so this week will probably not be a loss again. I did however just realize that WW prefers that you have a BMI of 20 (many sources say 18.5 is fine) so I can only go as low as 109. I'm only 4 lbs away so I'm not going to stress about how qucikly I get there. I'll probably discuss my best weight with my doctor when I see her in Aug.
My challenge for this week: Anniversary party. I'm throwing a party for my parents 25th Anniversary. I know I'm in charge so really I should have all WW friendly food. But since we are having 30+ people I just didn't feel like making ONLY WW food was going to work. I am making WW guacamole, hummus and having lots of veggies and fruit. I'm also making a light version of a taco dip, it's a family favourite and no one misses the sour cream or the cream cheese.
Here's our recipe:
1 container cottage cheese
1 packet of taco seasoning
chopped lettuce and tomato
shredded light cheddar
Blend the cottage cheese with the taco mix and top with veggies and cheese. Very low pts if you dip veggies or baked chips.
So hopefully I wil be too busy hosting to munch on the spinach dip, cheese ball or other unhealthy treats and won't taste too much when I'm cooking.
Hope you have a great Canada Day everyone!!
Me on the other hand....struggling still a bit. Last week my anticipated STS turned into a 0.4 gain...and I'm still hovering in this region so this week will probably not be a loss again. I did however just realize that WW prefers that you have a BMI of 20 (many sources say 18.5 is fine) so I can only go as low as 109. I'm only 4 lbs away so I'm not going to stress about how qucikly I get there. I'll probably discuss my best weight with my doctor when I see her in Aug.
My challenge for this week: Anniversary party. I'm throwing a party for my parents 25th Anniversary. I know I'm in charge so really I should have all WW friendly food. But since we are having 30+ people I just didn't feel like making ONLY WW food was going to work. I am making WW guacamole, hummus and having lots of veggies and fruit. I'm also making a light version of a taco dip, it's a family favourite and no one misses the sour cream or the cream cheese.
Here's our recipe:
1 container cottage cheese
1 packet of taco seasoning
chopped lettuce and tomato
shredded light cheddar
Blend the cottage cheese with the taco mix and top with veggies and cheese. Very low pts if you dip veggies or baked chips.
So hopefully I wil be too busy hosting to munch on the spinach dip, cheese ball or other unhealthy treats and won't taste too much when I'm cooking.
Hope you have a great Canada Day everyone!!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Updates and Ice Cream!
Admittedly, I have been slacking at updating this blog in the last few weeks. My weigh in is tomorrow so let me get you up to speed:
- Two weeks ago I had a pretty exciting loss of 1.8
- Last week I gained 0.6 for a two week loss of 1.2...not too bad
- I am on track this week to STS...so that's not great but it isn't horrible either
- Tracking is not perfect...but it's not totally off the table either and for the time being, that's fine with me. I'm just doing my best I can while still living my life
- In terms of upcomming challenges, I'm heading home both of the next two weekends - this weekend for a belated father's day and next weekend to throw my parent's a 25th anniversary party! So should be fun although maybe tough at times - I'll have to make sure I boost up the exercise these next two weeks.
Ok on to the fun stuff... I was recently taught that you can very easily make your own ice cream! Jeff and I were skeptical so we decided to try it out - and it worked well :) And I'm told it works with any kind of milk/juice making it pretty point friendly.
Here's how we did it:
Mix the ingredients in a small ziploc bag:
1 cup of skim milk
2 tbsps of sugar or sweetener
1/2 tsp of vanilla
*this is for 2 servings 1/2 c. servings, you can easily half it to just make one
Fill a large ziploc bag with ice and 5 tbps of salt (table salt works fine), then add the small ziploc bag and shake, shake shake! It takes about 15 minutes so you'll get some exercise!
Note the oven mits...it gets super cold so you'll need something to protect your hands. It tatsed great! It's not the consictency of ice cream, since it's made with mik it's icier but still really good, I'd definatly like to try it with other ingridients...we were thinking maybe chocolate milk next time.
That's it for now, I'll update soon with this weeks weigh in and maybe some menus :)
Happy Wednesday!
- Two weeks ago I had a pretty exciting loss of 1.8
- Last week I gained 0.6 for a two week loss of 1.2...not too bad
- I am on track this week to STS...so that's not great but it isn't horrible either
- Tracking is not perfect...but it's not totally off the table either and for the time being, that's fine with me. I'm just doing my best I can while still living my life
- In terms of upcomming challenges, I'm heading home both of the next two weekends - this weekend for a belated father's day and next weekend to throw my parent's a 25th anniversary party! So should be fun although maybe tough at times - I'll have to make sure I boost up the exercise these next two weeks.
Ok on to the fun stuff... I was recently taught that you can very easily make your own ice cream! Jeff and I were skeptical so we decided to try it out - and it worked well :) And I'm told it works with any kind of milk/juice making it pretty point friendly.
Here's how we did it:
Mix the ingredients in a small ziploc bag:
1 cup of skim milk
2 tbsps of sugar or sweetener
1/2 tsp of vanilla
*this is for 2 servings 1/2 c. servings, you can easily half it to just make one
Fill a large ziploc bag with ice and 5 tbps of salt (table salt works fine), then add the small ziploc bag and shake, shake shake! It takes about 15 minutes so you'll get some exercise!
Note the oven mits...it gets super cold so you'll need something to protect your hands. It tatsed great! It's not the consictency of ice cream, since it's made with mik it's icier but still really good, I'd definatly like to try it with other ingridients...we were thinking maybe chocolate milk next time.That's it for now, I'll update soon with this weeks weigh in and maybe some menus :)
Happy Wednesday!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Weekend Update
Down 0.4 this morning! Which is soo slow and painful but it's the right direction. I guess even if I maintain for a while that wouldn't be the worst thing I could do. But ideally I want to keep losing!I know what I need to do....I NEED to exercise more. But everyone says you need to find what you love or you won't stick to it. And that is completely true for me! I'm not a gym person - way too intimidated! I started the 30 day shred and C25K but I struggle to keep them up.
I love to walk and I walk as many places as possible so it isn't like I don't get any exercise but I need to get more intense cardio and some strength training.
So I'm throwing it out there - help me! What do you do for exercise?
ALSO I am going to give myself a tracking challenge. I used to be so good at tracking and now I am doing it a few days a week and then not doing it the rest. So I'm challenging myself to track everyday ALL week. I challenge YOU too....let me know how it goes and I'll update next week :)
Sunday, May 31, 2009
This Week's Update
Well as you may have read I have been in a bit of a slump lately and have seen a plateau. Let me tell you, it is still going strong. Last week I was up the 0.2 which I had been down the week before...hence, plateau. However, I refuse to be discouraged and here is why:
1) I was home this weekend and despite a lack of tracking and a couple pieces of a fantastic coffee cake from the bakery around the corner (no, not in the same day) I feel like I made good decisions. I know I eat healthy but it just feels like making good decisions are ingrained in me now...well most of the time :)
2) I cleaned up my life today! Cleaned out my closet and threw out some old clothes to make room for the new things I bought. Despite spending more than I intended on my weekend shopping trip, it was so nice to get some new clothes I'm exited about wearing (including size FOUR jeans!!) I also cleaned out my kitchen cupboard and found I have a ton of granola bars and ww 1 pt bars. Why is this a good thing? Because it means I am eating them sparingly. I'm happy to have them because I don't want to cut them out entirely - they are just too handy when I'm running out the door for school some days - but knowing that I move through slowly means I'm not relying on them for most of my sustinance, which I think is a pretty good thing.
3) On that note I had an amazing shopping trip today at the grocery store. You know those days where you put all your stuff on the checkout counter and think "damn, look at all this wonderful, healthy food"? And then beam with pride? It was one of those. Or maybe that's just me...
4) Finally, I was at church today and as I only get there every couple months when I'm home visiting, I get so many compliments on how much weight I've lost. Which is always motivating, despite being a little bit concerning (if you think I'm so thin now, how fat was I before??).
Alright, I ramble but the long and the short of it is I'm here and I am determined to not let a few weeks of (minor, really) set back knock me off track.
Hopefully I can try some new recipes this week and post for you - pictures included, I promise :)
Have a great week xo
P.S. Check out Ashley's Blog and the contest she's running!
1) I was home this weekend and despite a lack of tracking and a couple pieces of a fantastic coffee cake from the bakery around the corner (no, not in the same day) I feel like I made good decisions. I know I eat healthy but it just feels like making good decisions are ingrained in me now...well most of the time :)
2) I cleaned up my life today! Cleaned out my closet and threw out some old clothes to make room for the new things I bought. Despite spending more than I intended on my weekend shopping trip, it was so nice to get some new clothes I'm exited about wearing (including size FOUR jeans!!) I also cleaned out my kitchen cupboard and found I have a ton of granola bars and ww 1 pt bars. Why is this a good thing? Because it means I am eating them sparingly. I'm happy to have them because I don't want to cut them out entirely - they are just too handy when I'm running out the door for school some days - but knowing that I move through slowly means I'm not relying on them for most of my sustinance, which I think is a pretty good thing.
3) On that note I had an amazing shopping trip today at the grocery store. You know those days where you put all your stuff on the checkout counter and think "damn, look at all this wonderful, healthy food"? And then beam with pride? It was one of those. Or maybe that's just me...
4) Finally, I was at church today and as I only get there every couple months when I'm home visiting, I get so many compliments on how much weight I've lost. Which is always motivating, despite being a little bit concerning (if you think I'm so thin now, how fat was I before??).
Alright, I ramble but the long and the short of it is I'm here and I am determined to not let a few weeks of (minor, really) set back knock me off track.
Hopefully I can try some new recipes this week and post for you - pictures included, I promise :)
Have a great week xo
P.S. Check out Ashley's Blog and the contest she's running!
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Life Updates
Alright I didn't post after WI this week so here's the update: Thursday I was down 0.2. Which was fine considering it was the week after the long weekend. Truthfully, I have to confess that I am really struggling with the start of summer. I am consistently doing poorly on Thurs, Fri and Sat - not tracking or even really trying. Then I pull it together the rest of the week and control the damage. It could be worse but I don't think it's a very good way to treat my body and I also know if I tried harder all week I would see better results.
Summer is doubly hard because there is so much social stuff going on and so many opportunities to go out and eat and drink. But for me this difficulty is compacted by the stress of seeing everyone else in summer clothes. You think it would be motivating but mostly it's just the opposite.
I think it's because I don't feel 114 lbs. I still feel like 140. I don't think I look any different or can dress any differently. It's frustrating. I look at the number and think how much lower could I possibly go? But I still feel like I look as though I have another 30 lbs or more left.
I haven't been formally exercising either. I've done a ton of walking and play softball twice a week but I know I should kick it into high gear.
I realize I am not struggling with anything special and it's hard for lots of people - I just wish it was easier! lol
Alright - on a positive note I am far from giving up and have had a good day so far and planned out the rest. Here's today's menu:
1/2c Kashi Go Lean
1c mixed berries
1/2c skim milk
1 whole grain wrap with:
1/2c chick peas
15g skim mozzarealla
chopped peppers, carrots and mushrooms
1 pt of 70% dark chocolate
1egg + 1 white omlette
1 oz goat cheese
sauteed mushrooms, onions and peppers
1 piece whole grain bread with 1 tsp oil and 1 tsp vinegar
hopefully some exercise and lots of water!!
Hope you are all doing better than me and enjoying the beautiful weather coming our way!!
Summer is doubly hard because there is so much social stuff going on and so many opportunities to go out and eat and drink. But for me this difficulty is compacted by the stress of seeing everyone else in summer clothes. You think it would be motivating but mostly it's just the opposite.
I think it's because I don't feel 114 lbs. I still feel like 140. I don't think I look any different or can dress any differently. It's frustrating. I look at the number and think how much lower could I possibly go? But I still feel like I look as though I have another 30 lbs or more left.
I haven't been formally exercising either. I've done a ton of walking and play softball twice a week but I know I should kick it into high gear.
I realize I am not struggling with anything special and it's hard for lots of people - I just wish it was easier! lol
Alright - on a positive note I am far from giving up and have had a good day so far and planned out the rest. Here's today's menu:
1/2c Kashi Go Lean
1c mixed berries
1/2c skim milk
1 whole grain wrap with:
1/2c chick peas
15g skim mozzarealla
chopped peppers, carrots and mushrooms
1 pt of 70% dark chocolate
1egg + 1 white omlette
1 oz goat cheese
sauteed mushrooms, onions and peppers
1 piece whole grain bread with 1 tsp oil and 1 tsp vinegar
hopefully some exercise and lots of water!!
Hope you are all doing better than me and enjoying the beautiful weather coming our way!!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Pampered Chef!
Just wanted to let you know about a contest Amy is running over at Amy's Quest To Skinny! She'd giving away a pampered chef cook book and some yummy looking spices. I have to say I LOVE Pampered Chef so I am pretty excited about her give away, make sure to check it out :)
That's it for today, WI tomorrow, I'll post further about my week then :)
That's it for today, WI tomorrow, I'll post further about my week then :)
Thursday, May 14, 2009
WI!
Weighed in this morning and I was down 1.4 :) Of which only 0.6 of it was "real" since a lot of my weight last week was water...but on the books -1.4 so wheeeeee!
I am suffering a bit in the motivation department. There's a lot going on with school starting and meeting new people and being out and thus I have been slacking a bit on writing things down (although I've still been tracking in my head). And since its the start of a new week I did track today :) I'll do my best to keep it up!
I know your sick of hearing this but I tried a great recipe tonight and didn't take pictures! HAHA when will I learn? I'm too intent on eating my dinner.
Well it wasn't rocket science but I adapted it from a recipe in my tracker and it was simple and yummy!
Vegetarian Soft Tacos
1/2 an onion
1/2 cup of black beans, rinsed well
taco sauce or salsa to taste (1-3 tbsp)
1/4 cup cooked brown rice
2 small tortillas
1/2 cup diced tomato
lime juice
roasted & salted pumpkin seeds, lettuce, cheddar and sour cream to top as desired
Chop tomato and mix with some lime juice, cover and set aside. Chop and fry the onion in a bit of oil. Add the black beans and warm. Add the taco sauce, mash about half the black beans with a fork and continue to warm for 5 min. Mix in brown rice. Spread 1/2 the mix on a tortilla and top with some tomatoes, pumpkin seeds, lettuce, cheddar and sour cream.
The pumpkin seed addition was something I learned at a cooking class and love! Adds really nice texture and flavour.
Since it's made of mostly ingredients I typically keep on hand, I think I will keep this one in my rotation. (And possibly convince the meatatarian boyfriend to try it...;)
Almost the long weekend! Enjoy!
I am suffering a bit in the motivation department. There's a lot going on with school starting and meeting new people and being out and thus I have been slacking a bit on writing things down (although I've still been tracking in my head). And since its the start of a new week I did track today :) I'll do my best to keep it up!
I know your sick of hearing this but I tried a great recipe tonight and didn't take pictures! HAHA when will I learn? I'm too intent on eating my dinner.
Well it wasn't rocket science but I adapted it from a recipe in my tracker and it was simple and yummy!
Vegetarian Soft Tacos
1/2 an onion
1/2 cup of black beans, rinsed well
taco sauce or salsa to taste (1-3 tbsp)
1/4 cup cooked brown rice
2 small tortillas
1/2 cup diced tomato
lime juice
roasted & salted pumpkin seeds, lettuce, cheddar and sour cream to top as desired
Chop tomato and mix with some lime juice, cover and set aside. Chop and fry the onion in a bit of oil. Add the black beans and warm. Add the taco sauce, mash about half the black beans with a fork and continue to warm for 5 min. Mix in brown rice. Spread 1/2 the mix on a tortilla and top with some tomatoes, pumpkin seeds, lettuce, cheddar and sour cream.
The pumpkin seed addition was something I learned at a cooking class and love! Adds really nice texture and flavour.
Since it's made of mostly ingredients I typically keep on hand, I think I will keep this one in my rotation. (And possibly convince the meatatarian boyfriend to try it...;)
Almost the long weekend! Enjoy!
Friday, May 8, 2009
My first gain (sort of)
Okk so I actually thought this week I wasn't going to gain after all. But I did yesterday morning I was +0.6. But today I weighed in for May at the WW center and was down 0.2 so I'd really rather use that one. However, I need to be honest and Thursday is my weigh in day so I finally wrote down the gain in my tracker. I know it's a small gain so there's no use stressing over it. It's only disapointing because it's my only gain since new years when I started. Which I guess is still something to be proud of. I just need to recommit to tracking and working extra hard like I know I can.
Today has been a light eating day. I went shopping with my mom and grabbed a salad in the food court now were making warm goat cheese salads for dinner! Yum, I've eaten them all week but I never get sick of them! Havn't drank my water tho, so I am trying to cram it all in!
Should be a good weekend, visiting my grandmother tomorrow for mothers day and celebrating with my mom on Sunday.
Have a good weekend everyone!
Today has been a light eating day. I went shopping with my mom and grabbed a salad in the food court now were making warm goat cheese salads for dinner! Yum, I've eaten them all week but I never get sick of them! Havn't drank my water tho, so I am trying to cram it all in!
Should be a good weekend, visiting my grandmother tomorrow for mothers day and celebrating with my mom on Sunday.
Have a good weekend everyone!
Monday, May 4, 2009
Back from vacation!
Yesterday I got home from my six day vacation to Myrtle Beach! It was a blast but food wise didn't go so well. I must confess, I hardly though about it. Sure, I felt guilty a few times but I hardly made good decisions or worried about them. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing. I did get a ton of exercise swimming, shopping and exploring. And as a result when I checked the scale this morning it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. I will post my official WI on Thursday. Realistically, it could still be gain and I probably won't make my goal of 115 but I don't think I've done too much damage and I'm back on track and good to go. Jeff's Mom even gave me a Weight Watchers "hungry" monster thing, so it is sitting on my dresser as my reminder to be good this week :)
More than the weight thing, the eating reminded my of why I like eating healthy - because I feel crummy when I don't! Today I have been loading up on fruits and veggies and lots of water and I feel so much better already!
I even remembered pictures tonight at dinner!
With that...
Today's Menu:
(slept late and skipped breakfast!)
Lunch: Huge warm goat cheese salad with mushrooms, tomatos, red peppers, croutons and dried cranberries.
Snack: Dark chocolate
Dinner:
Greek couscous salad - couscous, cucumbers, chickpeas, feta, tomatos, peppers, red wine vinegar and olive oil
Toasted tortilla with 2 tbsps of roased red pepper hummus
Dessert:
Chocolate vita muffin and strawberries
That's all for now. Hope everyone had a good week/weekend!!
More than the weight thing, the eating reminded my of why I like eating healthy - because I feel crummy when I don't! Today I have been loading up on fruits and veggies and lots of water and I feel so much better already!
I even remembered pictures tonight at dinner!
With that...
Today's Menu:
(slept late and skipped breakfast!)
Lunch: Huge warm goat cheese salad with mushrooms, tomatos, red peppers, croutons and dried cranberries.
Snack: Dark chocolate
Dinner:
Greek couscous salad - couscous, cucumbers, chickpeas, feta, tomatos, peppers, red wine vinegar and olive oil
Toasted tortilla with 2 tbsps of roased red pepper hummus
Dessert:
Chocolate vita muffin and strawberries
That's all for now. Hope everyone had a good week/weekend!!
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Pepper Review
I have failed you AGAIN on the picture taking. It doesn't help that people think it's totally weird to take pictures of my food. Haha but I also just usually completely forget. So this is a picture from the site where I found the recipe, which was adapted from Homemade in a Hurry by Andrew Schloss. I modified the recipe and just used garlic in place of the spices and feta in place of the goat cheese. It was pretty straight forward and super delishious. I only used 2 oz of feta to make them 5 pts each. It may have even been less because it made too much stuffing!
Today has been a very relaxing "me" day. Went to the spa and got a pedicure, ran some errands and chilled out watching some tv. Then I had dinner with my dad and brother (macaroni and cheese...not great but I measured it, had tons of water and a salad with it and stayed OP today otherwise...besides it was delish!) then watched a movie with my dad.
That's about it. Hope you're having a nice weekend and enjoying the beautiful weather!!
Friday, April 24, 2009
WI and Contest!
Weighed in on Friday again because I wasn't by my scale yesterday. Down 0.4. A little discouraging because I'm losing so slow but I can't complain I guess after the Monday I had! Now I'm finally all done school for this term :) Went for a loooong walk today in the beautiful weather. Now I have four days to relax and pack for my trip on Tuesday!
Tonight I'm making couscous, chickpea and feta stuffed peppers for dinner. Hopefully I'll remember to take pictures and post a review. I'm pretty excited about them :) Yum!
Also just quickly wanted to tell you about Amy's Tommy Europe contest! It's very cool so check it out!
Have a great weekend!
Tonight I'm making couscous, chickpea and feta stuffed peppers for dinner. Hopefully I'll remember to take pictures and post a review. I'm pretty excited about them :) Yum!
Also just quickly wanted to tell you about Amy's Tommy Europe contest! It's very cool so check it out!
Have a great weekend!
Monday, April 20, 2009
Not doing so hot!
Where do the 18 points go? I had been doing okay this week, tracking everything and making pretty good choices. I was using about 5 WPs a day which was okay (I usually use them all otherwise I would be starving alll the time) but then I fell off track a little. Today was pretty bad. I even planned my day in my tracker but didn't stick to it. I was studying for my last exam today so that didn't help but that wasn't even the biggest problem. Normal habits that are second nature to me (like alwyas drinking water) I didn't even do. And I kept justifying the food somehow.... I keep telling myself I'm happy the way I am so I can eat what I want. Here's what's wrong with that:
Anywho, just posting this to be accountable for my not so stellar day. The good news is I stopped eating after a small dinner and don't intend to start again tonight. So at least I have limited the damage. I guess you might call that a NSV.
Monday is almost over! Good night :)
- I am *not* yet happy with myself....I'm not finished with this journey and going bathing suit shopping for my trip on the weekend confirmed this!
- Even if I was happy with myself just as I am now and didn't want to lose any more weight, I still don't want to fill my body with snacks instead of nutritious meals
Anywho, just posting this to be accountable for my not so stellar day. The good news is I stopped eating after a small dinner and don't intend to start again tonight. So at least I have limited the damage. I guess you might call that a NSV.
Monday is almost over! Good night :)
Friday, April 17, 2009
Weigh In!
Another week down. I couldn't WI yesterday because I wasn't by a scale so I weighed this morning and I stayed the same. Which is just dandy :) Better than I expected after Easter and not tracking at all this week. So that is a great way to kick off my new week AND my fresh new 12 week tracker, my last one was full! So I have a new start.
I really need to do very well this week because I'm going on vacation at the end of April to Myrtle Beach :) So I know I won't do super well that week, I want to enjoy my vacation!! I'll do my best but I want to give myself a good start going in. My original goal was to be at 115 when I came back from Myrtle Beach. With the STS I am currently 115.8. Which means I need to lose .8 next week and then maintain while I'm in Myrtle Beach. I think it's doable but I'm not going to beat myself up if it doesn't work out. I'll just get right back to it when I get back!
Other than that I have been enjoying a bit of a break and upping my exercise as I promised myself I would. The beautiful weather makes that sooo much easier!
Today's Menu Plan (haven't done this in a while)
B: Cheerios with 6 almonds and skim milk
L: Leftover whole wheat pasta made in to pasta salad - tossed with sweet peppers, cucumbers, light feta and oil and balsamic, topped with a few sun dried tomatoes.
D: Pita pizza with sauted veggies, goat cheese and balsamic reduction
S: Maybe some frozen yogurt...
Have a great weekend!
I really need to do very well this week because I'm going on vacation at the end of April to Myrtle Beach :) So I know I won't do super well that week, I want to enjoy my vacation!! I'll do my best but I want to give myself a good start going in. My original goal was to be at 115 when I came back from Myrtle Beach. With the STS I am currently 115.8. Which means I need to lose .8 next week and then maintain while I'm in Myrtle Beach. I think it's doable but I'm not going to beat myself up if it doesn't work out. I'll just get right back to it when I get back!
Other than that I have been enjoying a bit of a break and upping my exercise as I promised myself I would. The beautiful weather makes that sooo much easier!
Today's Menu Plan (haven't done this in a while)
B: Cheerios with 6 almonds and skim milk
L: Leftover whole wheat pasta made in to pasta salad - tossed with sweet peppers, cucumbers, light feta and oil and balsamic, topped with a few sun dried tomatoes.
D: Pita pizza with sauted veggies, goat cheese and balsamic reduction
S: Maybe some frozen yogurt...
Have a great weekend!
Monday, April 13, 2009
Easter Review
It's been a pretty good Easter weekend. Yesterday was a nice time with family. Here's my review of the menu I posted:
Spinach Dip - I've had this before but it was really good as always. It better the next day so I made it on Saturday.
I also added Stuffed Mushrooms as an app. I didn't calculate calories but they don't have much in them so they couldn't be very high and they were a hit! I'm thinking they might even be zerio points for one... I will run them through the Spark People recipe calculator and update when I have a sec.
*edit - 2 mushrooms for 1 pt :) very good choice as an appetizer
Candied Sweet Potatoes - They were no sweet potato supreme but they were very good and easy to do! Had a nice flavour without being rich. I would make these again on any night.
Green Beans - Simple but so good. Cooking anything in broth adds so much flavour.
I didn't make the Quinoa because I made a test run Friday night and it was really good but we didn't really have room on the stove to make it yesterday lol But it was delish, just onions and garlic, then quinoa cooked in broth with some chopped spinach added at the end.
Suprisingly I did FAR better at eating yesterday than today. Today, I have eaten through a substantial amount of chocolate. So I'm trying to focus on water and get back on plan tomorrow. It still could well mean a gain on Thursday but it's one week, I will deal with it and move on :) Might need to go back to strict tracking for next week just to get back on track. But it's all good. Happy new week and getting back on track if your in the same boat (I have been reading that many people are :)
Spinach Dip - I've had this before but it was really good as always. It better the next day so I made it on Saturday.
I also added Stuffed Mushrooms as an app. I didn't calculate calories but they don't have much in them so they couldn't be very high and they were a hit! I'm thinking they might even be zerio points for one... I will run them through the Spark People recipe calculator and update when I have a sec.
*edit - 2 mushrooms for 1 pt :) very good choice as an appetizer
Candied Sweet Potatoes - They were no sweet potato supreme but they were very good and easy to do! Had a nice flavour without being rich. I would make these again on any night.
Green Beans - Simple but so good. Cooking anything in broth adds so much flavour.
I didn't make the Quinoa because I made a test run Friday night and it was really good but we didn't really have room on the stove to make it yesterday lol But it was delish, just onions and garlic, then quinoa cooked in broth with some chopped spinach added at the end.
Suprisingly I did FAR better at eating yesterday than today. Today, I have eaten through a substantial amount of chocolate. So I'm trying to focus on water and get back on plan tomorrow. It still could well mean a gain on Thursday but it's one week, I will deal with it and move on :) Might need to go back to strict tracking for next week just to get back on track. But it's all good. Happy new week and getting back on track if your in the same boat (I have been reading that many people are :)
Friday, April 10, 2009
Easter Dinner Makeover
So Easter Dinner is usually at my house...well my parents house, but I still call it home :) Anyway, my mom and I for the last few years have had the same stand by Eater dinner. And let me tell you it isn't pretty! We've both been on WW to some degree for the past 6 years (my mom even a bit longer) but we've never bothered to worry about Easter. There's always a million reasons to make unhealthy food....people like it, it's easy, it's a holiday...etc etc etc but this year we decided enough is enough so now I'm going to share with you our Easter Dinner Makeover!
Appetizer:
My all time favorite appetizer in the spring or summer is something my aunt taught me how to make. You take a pizza crust warm it up, add some cream cheese mixed with ranch dressing and top with loads of veggies (peppers, onions, broccoli...) It's amazing but hard for me to resist! So this year we chose Weight Watchers 1 pt Spinach Dip (from the 12 week journal) with lots of veggies and wheat thins and also some fresh pineapple.
Protein:
Alright meat isn't a big one for me as a vegetarian but it's pretty important for my family and also my boyfriend :P Instead of ham we chose pork tenderloin. It's just as easy to cook and has less salt than the ham we usually buy.
I'm also going to make some quinoa with spinach cooked in vegetable broth for me and I'll share with anyone who is interested :)
Potatoes:
Possibly one of my favourite foods of all time is Schwarties Hashbrowns from the Best of Bridge. What's not to like? It's hashbrowns mixed with butter, mushroom soup, sour cream and cheddar cheese. They are amazing. The biggest problem is having a whole bunch left over that I just can't resist for the next few days! So this year we're going with garlic mashed - just your standard mashed potatoes with some garlic, low fat sour cream and skim milk. Not as exciting but I think they will be pretty good too!
Veggies:
Another favourite from best of bridge is Sweet Potato Supreme - mashed sweet potatoes covered in sauce made of brown sugar and butter and topped with pecans. I might have even made this one again and tried to cut down the sauce a bit but I found a recipe for Candied Sweet Potatoes on the Weight Watcher site and decided to give that one a go instead. I'll post reviews next week and hopefully pictures if I remember!
When I found the sweet potaote recipe, I also came across this recipe for green beans that I thought we should try. We've bought pine nuts instead of almonds for something a little different!
Dessert:
Well last year we started with the best intentions. We made angel food cake and proceeded to cover it in real cream we whipped outselves and mixed with chocolate pieces. It was good but not the best way to end a big dinner (tooo heavy) and I didn't feel so great afterward. This year we're going back to basics and having angel food cake again but with some frozen yogurt and fresh strawberries.
I'm also doing a little bit of baking. My dad's mom was a huge baker and she passed away 7 years ago. So I always try and make one of her recipes during the holidays. So hopefully I can keep the tasting under control!!
Well this was a long post! I'm pretty excited about dinner but it also means a lot of work in the kitchen! I know I still won't be perfect this weekend and I'm even planning for a few treats (Peanut buter egss!!) but I'm hoping to keep portions in check and really watch the mindless snacking.
I hope everyone enjoys whatever they are up to this weekend, even if it's just enjoying the extra day off. If you are having an Easter dinner I hope you enjoy it and don't worry too much about the food! If you don't do as well as you'd hoped just move on and get right back to it first think Monday morning. The beautiful weather is coming back so it's the perfect opportunity to get outside and enjoy the weather!
Happy Easter!
Appetizer:
My all time favorite appetizer in the spring or summer is something my aunt taught me how to make. You take a pizza crust warm it up, add some cream cheese mixed with ranch dressing and top with loads of veggies (peppers, onions, broccoli...) It's amazing but hard for me to resist! So this year we chose Weight Watchers 1 pt Spinach Dip (from the 12 week journal) with lots of veggies and wheat thins and also some fresh pineapple.
Protein:
Alright meat isn't a big one for me as a vegetarian but it's pretty important for my family and also my boyfriend :P Instead of ham we chose pork tenderloin. It's just as easy to cook and has less salt than the ham we usually buy.
I'm also going to make some quinoa with spinach cooked in vegetable broth for me and I'll share with anyone who is interested :)
Potatoes:
Possibly one of my favourite foods of all time is Schwarties Hashbrowns from the Best of Bridge. What's not to like? It's hashbrowns mixed with butter, mushroom soup, sour cream and cheddar cheese. They are amazing. The biggest problem is having a whole bunch left over that I just can't resist for the next few days! So this year we're going with garlic mashed - just your standard mashed potatoes with some garlic, low fat sour cream and skim milk. Not as exciting but I think they will be pretty good too!
Veggies:
Another favourite from best of bridge is Sweet Potato Supreme - mashed sweet potatoes covered in sauce made of brown sugar and butter and topped with pecans. I might have even made this one again and tried to cut down the sauce a bit but I found a recipe for Candied Sweet Potatoes on the Weight Watcher site and decided to give that one a go instead. I'll post reviews next week and hopefully pictures if I remember!
When I found the sweet potaote recipe, I also came across this recipe for green beans that I thought we should try. We've bought pine nuts instead of almonds for something a little different!
Dessert:
Well last year we started with the best intentions. We made angel food cake and proceeded to cover it in real cream we whipped outselves and mixed with chocolate pieces. It was good but not the best way to end a big dinner (tooo heavy) and I didn't feel so great afterward. This year we're going back to basics and having angel food cake again but with some frozen yogurt and fresh strawberries.
I'm also doing a little bit of baking. My dad's mom was a huge baker and she passed away 7 years ago. So I always try and make one of her recipes during the holidays. So hopefully I can keep the tasting under control!!
Well this was a long post! I'm pretty excited about dinner but it also means a lot of work in the kitchen! I know I still won't be perfect this weekend and I'm even planning for a few treats (Peanut buter egss!!) but I'm hoping to keep portions in check and really watch the mindless snacking.
I hope everyone enjoys whatever they are up to this weekend, even if it's just enjoying the extra day off. If you are having an Easter dinner I hope you enjoy it and don't worry too much about the food! If you don't do as well as you'd hoped just move on and get right back to it first think Monday morning. The beautiful weather is coming back so it's the perfect opportunity to get outside and enjoy the weather!
Happy Easter!
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Long Weekend Weigh In
Is it Thursday already?
So my experiment went pretty well. I stressed a little less about food this week which I think was really good. That being said, I could have made better choices. I don't have much food in my apartment because I'm heading home for a week! So that made life a little difficult. None the less, I managed to lose 0.6 so I'm not complaining! Still no gains since 2008 - slow and steady is just fine with me!
I pretty excited and confident about this week coming up. Being home can be a bit of a challenge but it also gives me more opportunity to cook and try new things which is always fun. Plus the weather is getting nicer and I have less work so I have no excuse not to up my exercise!
Happy Long Weekend!
So my experiment went pretty well. I stressed a little less about food this week which I think was really good. That being said, I could have made better choices. I don't have much food in my apartment because I'm heading home for a week! So that made life a little difficult. None the less, I managed to lose 0.6 so I'm not complaining! Still no gains since 2008 - slow and steady is just fine with me!
I pretty excited and confident about this week coming up. Being home can be a bit of a challenge but it also gives me more opportunity to cook and try new things which is always fun. Plus the weather is getting nicer and I have less work so I have no excuse not to up my exercise!
Happy Long Weekend!
Thursday, April 2, 2009
WI and general thoughts
Alrighty another weigh in come and gone. This week I was down 0.2. A small amount but I'm still avoiding gaining so I'll take it.
After doing some thinking and also lots of reading of the WW message boards and lots of wonderful blogs, I've been trying to be a little less obsessed with food and so the small loss could be a factor of that. While I want to be healthy and committed to the program I started to feel a little out of control, like the program was consuming my life. Like last week, my mom happened to be in town and asked if I wanted to get some dinner. My first reaction was to be worried about it because I hadn't planned for it and didn't have many points left.
When I did WW the first time I only tracked in my head, never on paper. And I refused to count milk or fruit because I felt like I should be entitled to them. And you know what - I still lost 20 lbs. Maybe it was slower than some people but I got there.
And now since I only have 7 or so pounds left anyway I feel like I shouldn't rush at the cost of being compulsive. I didn't track the last two days but I started again today. I don't want to stop tracking but I'm glad I feel okay about having gone those two days without tracking (on paper that is). Because there was a time where I wouldn't feel I could go to bed without writing it all down.
I'm not knocking what anyone else is doing. I guess my point of all this is you need to find what works for you. But it's worth taking a second to think about it, and not just following what is working for other people. Weighing and measuring and tracking is really important and I plan on keeping it up. But it isn't worth beating myself up over on the days that I can't.
This is a lifestyle....and I can't live my whole life so obsessed. So I'm going to try and be more relaxed for the next little while and if it goes horribly wrong with the scale then I'll reevaluate. I'm actually hoping focusing more on other things and taking the pressure off might have really good results.
I'll keep you posted :)
After doing some thinking and also lots of reading of the WW message boards and lots of wonderful blogs, I've been trying to be a little less obsessed with food and so the small loss could be a factor of that. While I want to be healthy and committed to the program I started to feel a little out of control, like the program was consuming my life. Like last week, my mom happened to be in town and asked if I wanted to get some dinner. My first reaction was to be worried about it because I hadn't planned for it and didn't have many points left.
When I did WW the first time I only tracked in my head, never on paper. And I refused to count milk or fruit because I felt like I should be entitled to them. And you know what - I still lost 20 lbs. Maybe it was slower than some people but I got there.
And now since I only have 7 or so pounds left anyway I feel like I shouldn't rush at the cost of being compulsive. I didn't track the last two days but I started again today. I don't want to stop tracking but I'm glad I feel okay about having gone those two days without tracking (on paper that is). Because there was a time where I wouldn't feel I could go to bed without writing it all down.
I'm not knocking what anyone else is doing. I guess my point of all this is you need to find what works for you. But it's worth taking a second to think about it, and not just following what is working for other people. Weighing and measuring and tracking is really important and I plan on keeping it up. But it isn't worth beating myself up over on the days that I can't.
This is a lifestyle....and I can't live my whole life so obsessed. So I'm going to try and be more relaxed for the next little while and if it goes horribly wrong with the scale then I'll reevaluate. I'm actually hoping focusing more on other things and taking the pressure off might have really good results.
I'll keep you posted :)
Saturday, March 28, 2009
You never know what your going to get...
Another long Saturday of school work! After a super stressful week and a long day of working on projects, I decided to reward myself by taking the time to try something new for dinner. I started off by trying to recreate something my mom told me she ordered at a restaurant and I got this:
Random? Yes. But equally delicious. Here's what I did:
Took one whole wheat pita and warmed it slightly. Added a tsp or two of pesto sauce. Sauteed some mushrooms, onions and green pepper in 1/2 tsp of EVOO. Topped the pita with the sauteed veggies. Then I added 1/2 oz of garlic goat cheese and popped it in the oven at 350.
Meanwhile, I made my first ever balsamic reduction. I looove balsamic vinegar so I have been wanting to try this. It was super easy but I could have left it boiling a little longer (I was worried about burning it after last weeks quinoa disaster) and it would have been a little more syrupy.
Baked the pita in for about 10 min, took it out and topped with the balsamic reduction.
Yum! I would definalty make this again. Lots of opportunity to add/subtract points based on how many you have left! It was delishious and filling.
That's about it for now. Have been staying as on track as possible this week and trying not to stress about being perfect (I have a lot more insights on this that I'll post when I have a bit more time).
I'll leave you with Today's Menu:
1 cup Cheerios
6 almonds
1/2 cup strawberries
skim milk
Grilled cheese on weight watcher bread
Veggies
Walk to TCBY!
Junior 96% fat free chocolate frozen yogurt with warm peanut butter sauce!
Dinner as above :)
Hope you're having a great weekend!
Random? Yes. But equally delicious. Here's what I did:
Took one whole wheat pita and warmed it slightly. Added a tsp or two of pesto sauce. Sauteed some mushrooms, onions and green pepper in 1/2 tsp of EVOO. Topped the pita with the sauteed veggies. Then I added 1/2 oz of garlic goat cheese and popped it in the oven at 350.
Meanwhile, I made my first ever balsamic reduction. I looove balsamic vinegar so I have been wanting to try this. It was super easy but I could have left it boiling a little longer (I was worried about burning it after last weeks quinoa disaster) and it would have been a little more syrupy.
Baked the pita in for about 10 min, took it out and topped with the balsamic reduction.
Yum! I would definalty make this again. Lots of opportunity to add/subtract points based on how many you have left! It was delishious and filling.
That's about it for now. Have been staying as on track as possible this week and trying not to stress about being perfect (I have a lot more insights on this that I'll post when I have a bit more time).
I'll leave you with Today's Menu:
1 cup Cheerios
6 almonds
1/2 cup strawberries
skim milk
Grilled cheese on weight watcher bread
Veggies
Walk to TCBY!
Junior 96% fat free chocolate frozen yogurt with warm peanut butter sauce!
Dinner as above :)
Hope you're having a great weekend!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
WI
Not much to report, school is consuming my life!
However, WI is Thursdays so I wanted to post quick to announce I stayed the same this week. I am more than happy with that. I was totally on track this week but at the same time I wasn't expecting a loss because of last week, I'm just happy I held on to my 2.4 from then :)
Staying surprisingly on plan considering the amount of stress school is bringing. We'll see if I can keep it up. Regardless, I know I'm making better decisions than in the past and it's just one week! I will have time to get back on track as soon as school slows down and I can get back to C25K.
Almost Friday! Have a good day!
However, WI is Thursdays so I wanted to post quick to announce I stayed the same this week. I am more than happy with that. I was totally on track this week but at the same time I wasn't expecting a loss because of last week, I'm just happy I held on to my 2.4 from then :)
Staying surprisingly on plan considering the amount of stress school is bringing. We'll see if I can keep it up. Regardless, I know I'm making better decisions than in the past and it's just one week! I will have time to get back on track as soon as school slows down and I can get back to C25K.
Almost Friday! Have a good day!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Quinoa!
I have been hearing about quiona a lot lately and since it's the grain that is the highest in protein, as a vegetarian I thought I should try it!
So I looked up a bunch of recipes online and then made one up based on stuff I like/have handy.
So here's what I used
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
cucumbers, sweet peppers and mushrooms
1 tsp olive oil
lemon juice
a sprinkle of light feta cheese
I also meant to add chickpeas and then just forgot! It was very good. I really liked the texture of the quinoa, it's comparable to couscous but heartier. The only probelm with it is that it isn't nearly as easy to cook as couscous. You have to rinse it which I found messy with the limited amount of dishes I have here at the appartment and my cooking instructions wern't good and I really badly burnt the bottom (not sure how it's going to clean up!). I'll deffinatly make it again when I have some time and I'll try to find new instructions (let me know if you can help!)
I also did day two of C25K today! It felt good! Lots of days when I'm busy with school I don't make time to leave the appt at all let alone exercise but I felt so much better being out in the sun getting active, even for just 30 minutes :)
That's about it for now. Here is today's menu:
English muffin with peanut butter
Apple
Egg Salad:
1 hardboiled egg mixed with 1/2 tbsp light ranch dressing and 1/2 tbsp light sour cream
on weight watcher toast
veggies
1/2 oz mozarella
Quinoa salad
and I'm thinking about making some sweet potato fries as a snack for my tv shows tonight, we'll see :)
Have a great week!
So I looked up a bunch of recipes online and then made one up based on stuff I like/have handy.
So here's what I used
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
cucumbers, sweet peppers and mushrooms
1 tsp olive oil
lemon juice
a sprinkle of light feta cheese
I also meant to add chickpeas and then just forgot! It was very good. I really liked the texture of the quinoa, it's comparable to couscous but heartier. The only probelm with it is that it isn't nearly as easy to cook as couscous. You have to rinse it which I found messy with the limited amount of dishes I have here at the appartment and my cooking instructions wern't good and I really badly burnt the bottom (not sure how it's going to clean up!). I'll deffinatly make it again when I have some time and I'll try to find new instructions (let me know if you can help!)
I also did day two of C25K today! It felt good! Lots of days when I'm busy with school I don't make time to leave the appt at all let alone exercise but I felt so much better being out in the sun getting active, even for just 30 minutes :)
That's about it for now. Here is today's menu:
English muffin with peanut butter
Apple
Egg Salad:
1 hardboiled egg mixed with 1/2 tbsp light ranch dressing and 1/2 tbsp light sour cream
on weight watcher toast
veggies
1/2 oz mozarella
Quinoa salad
and I'm thinking about making some sweet potato fries as a snack for my tv shows tonight, we'll see :)
Have a great week!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
WI and C25K
So weigh in was this morning and drum roll please...I am down 2.4 lbs!!! That is my biggest loss since starting up the program this time around so I feel really good about it. Not too sure where it came from because I was about 5 points over this week but I'm guessing it was either catching up with me from last week when I ate fewer WPAs or it's because I havn't been eating enough...I'll hope it's the latter haha.
Yesterday, I FINALLY started C25K - a running program designed to help beginners. I have to say it was a lot more difficult than I expected! I couldn't believe how out of shape I was, it's a real eye opener. So hopefully I will make some good progress with the program although I doubt I'll be able to fit it in the suggested 3x a week until the term is over but I'll do my best. I also figured out how to make podcasts that time the music to the program - it's actually really easy! So I can't wait until I can find some time so I can run to my own music :)
That's it for now. It's going to be a busy weekend - lots of school work to finish up the term! Can't wait until Easter when things will be almost done and I can finally relax.
Have a great weekend!
Today's Menu
Yogurt
Apple with 1 tbsp melted peanut butter
1/2 cup Chili
1/2 oz light cheddar
Almonds
Veggie sticks
Granola crunchers
Whole wheat pasta
Peppers, Onions and Mushrooms cooked in balsamic
1 oz light feta
1 tsp olive oil
vitamuffin and strawberries
Yesterday, I FINALLY started C25K - a running program designed to help beginners. I have to say it was a lot more difficult than I expected! I couldn't believe how out of shape I was, it's a real eye opener. So hopefully I will make some good progress with the program although I doubt I'll be able to fit it in the suggested 3x a week until the term is over but I'll do my best. I also figured out how to make podcasts that time the music to the program - it's actually really easy! So I can't wait until I can find some time so I can run to my own music :)
That's it for now. It's going to be a busy weekend - lots of school work to finish up the term! Can't wait until Easter when things will be almost done and I can finally relax.
Have a great weekend!
Today's Menu
Yogurt
Apple with 1 tbsp melted peanut butter
1/2 cup Chili
1/2 oz light cheddar
Almonds
Veggie sticks
Granola crunchers
Whole wheat pasta
Peppers, Onions and Mushrooms cooked in balsamic
1 oz light feta
1 tsp olive oil
vitamuffin and strawberries
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Prep work
Today I did all my prep for my snacks and dinner this morning. I cut up all kinds of veggies to take to class and some to put in a wrap for dinner. Everyone always says cut up your veggies ahead of time to make your life easier and your snacks healthier but I never actually did it until now. Yes it makes sense, but in practice I just never got around to it. So I think my goal for next week is going to be to keep up with meal planning and advanced preparation. I'm going to need it because life is crazier and it's only getting worse every day.
Other then that not much is new, I am on track this week but still haven't quite worked out how to fit in more exercise but I'm still working on it.
Today's Menu
1 cup cheerios, 1/2 cup blueberries, skim milk and 6 almonds
1/2 cup Chili with 1/2oz light cheddar, 2 pieces weight watcher bread
An apple
Veggie wrap with 1tbsp light cream cheese, chickpeas, loads of veggies and 1/2oz of mozarella
3 pieces of 71% dark chocolate
Other then that not much is new, I am on track this week but still haven't quite worked out how to fit in more exercise but I'm still working on it.
Today's Menu
1 cup cheerios, 1/2 cup blueberries, skim milk and 6 almonds
1/2 cup Chili with 1/2oz light cheddar, 2 pieces weight watcher bread
An apple
Veggie wrap with 1tbsp light cream cheese, chickpeas, loads of veggies and 1/2oz of mozarella
3 pieces of 71% dark chocolate
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Goat Cheese Dip
I'm at home for the weekend and tonight was just my mom and I for dinner and we made the most wonderful goat cheese dip!
The recipe called for 3x this but made 3 cups...so I cut it in 3
75 g goat cheese
2 tsp butter
1/3 cup cottage cheese
1 egg yolk
lemon zest
1 tbsp flour
salt and pepper to taste
colour and texture - i used sundried tomatoes and herbs de province, you could used roasted red pepper, spinach...anything...and any herbs you have or like
The sun dried tomatoes were good but made it salty, I would use less next time.
Mix first seven ingredients with a hand mixer then stir in your colour and texture choice. Bake @ 350 for 20-25 min
Serve with crackers or bread.
It was very good and 25 cal per tbsp = 5 points for half a cup or half the recipe as posted above
If your not in to eating dip for dinner it would make a great appetizer for guests and it doesn't have a strong goat cheese flavour so people who don't like it probably wouldn't be able to tell :)
Another amazing discovery: Compliments balance Fudge Brownie Frozen Yogurt. 120 cal for 1/2 cup...I had just 1/4 cup with some sliced strawberries and it was wonderful!
Tomorrow will be a challenge as Imight be going out for lunch and dinner. I'll just do the best I can even if I have to use all my WPS - I'm getting a lot better at sticking to 18 pts on weekdays so hopefully I can last with very few until Thursday!
Have a great weekend!!!
The recipe called for 3x this but made 3 cups...so I cut it in 3
75 g goat cheese
2 tsp butter
1/3 cup cottage cheese
1 egg yolk
lemon zest
1 tbsp flour
salt and pepper to taste
colour and texture - i used sundried tomatoes and herbs de province, you could used roasted red pepper, spinach...anything...and any herbs you have or like
The sun dried tomatoes were good but made it salty, I would use less next time.
Mix first seven ingredients with a hand mixer then stir in your colour and texture choice. Bake @ 350 for 20-25 min
Serve with crackers or bread.
It was very good and 25 cal per tbsp = 5 points for half a cup or half the recipe as posted above
If your not in to eating dip for dinner it would make a great appetizer for guests and it doesn't have a strong goat cheese flavour so people who don't like it probably wouldn't be able to tell :)
Another amazing discovery: Compliments balance Fudge Brownie Frozen Yogurt. 120 cal for 1/2 cup...I had just 1/4 cup with some sliced strawberries and it was wonderful!
Tomorrow will be a challenge as Imight be going out for lunch and dinner. I'll just do the best I can even if I have to use all my WPS - I'm getting a lot better at sticking to 18 pts on weekdays so hopefully I can last with very few until Thursday!
Have a great weekend!!!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
This weeks weigh in
Weigh In was the morning. Down 0.8 which is good...but then I considered in 3 weeks I have lost 1 pound. But I guess that is better than gaining. I cut down my WPAs this week so I thought I might see a bigger loss however I can't deny I don't exercise enough. I WILL start C25K this week if it's the last thing I do! It's getting nicer out and soon I'll start running outside.
Going home this weekend :) Need to motor through a couple assignments and then tomorrow night I'm heading to Oakville. I'm pretty excited, I need a bit of a break, although I'll be working a lot of the time. I shouldn't have too much trouble staying on plan because it's only a few days and Friday it's just my mom and I anyway :)
Today's Menu
Yogurt
Curves Bar
Tea
Couscous salad:
1/2 c Couscous
1/2 c Celery and onions
1/2 c Chick peas
1 tsp oil and 2 tsps balsamic vinegar
(I took this to school but if I'm home I also add a bit of goat cheese, yum!)
Whole Wheat pasta with peppers, mushrooms and onions cooked in balsamic and light feta on top
Dark Chocolate
Have a great weekend everyone!
Going home this weekend :) Need to motor through a couple assignments and then tomorrow night I'm heading to Oakville. I'm pretty excited, I need a bit of a break, although I'll be working a lot of the time. I shouldn't have too much trouble staying on plan because it's only a few days and Friday it's just my mom and I anyway :)
Today's Menu
Yogurt
Curves Bar
Tea
Couscous salad:
1/2 c Couscous
1/2 c Celery and onions
1/2 c Chick peas
1 tsp oil and 2 tsps balsamic vinegar
(I took this to school but if I'm home I also add a bit of goat cheese, yum!)
Whole Wheat pasta with peppers, mushrooms and onions cooked in balsamic and light feta on top
Dark Chocolate
Have a great weekend everyone!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Sweet Potato Fries
Today I have just been in the house all day working so I decided to treat myself to a real dinner (as opposed to the quick salad or wrap I usually throw together). And even at that, the dinner wasn't anything fancy - frozen broccoli, veggie chicken and sweet potato fries. It was awesome - the sweet potato fries were the best part. And there were pretty easy too - here's all I did:
Peel the sweet potato. Cut into strips. Whisk together 1 egg white and 1 tsp of olive oil. Toss with sweet potatoes and some seasoning (I used garlic salt) Bake at 450 for 15 min, turn and bake for 10 more min. Make sure you use foil because they stick!
This isn't a picture of mine because I forgot to take a pic - I'm still getting used to thinking of doing that! But you get the picture. They were super good and sweet potatoes are really good for you :)
Okay so today's menu:
Cheerios
Milk
Blueberries
Tea
Grilled cheese on weight watcher bread
Minestrone soup
Apple with 1 tbsp of melted peanut butter (try this! it's really good)
Veggie Chicken
Brocoli and cauliflower
Sweet potato fries
Vitamuffin and strawberries
Daylight savings tonight! No too happy about the lost hour but I do enjoy the light so I guess it's worth it! Hope you're having a good weekend.
Peel the sweet potato. Cut into strips. Whisk together 1 egg white and 1 tsp of olive oil. Toss with sweet potatoes and some seasoning (I used garlic salt) Bake at 450 for 15 min, turn and bake for 10 more min. Make sure you use foil because they stick!This isn't a picture of mine because I forgot to take a pic - I'm still getting used to thinking of doing that! But you get the picture. They were super good and sweet potatoes are really good for you :)
Okay so today's menu:
Cheerios
Milk
Blueberries
Tea
Grilled cheese on weight watcher bread
Minestrone soup
Apple with 1 tbsp of melted peanut butter (try this! it's really good)
Veggie Chicken
Brocoli and cauliflower
Sweet potato fries
Vitamuffin and strawberries
Daylight savings tonight! No too happy about the lost hour but I do enjoy the light so I guess it's worth it! Hope you're having a good weekend.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
The good news is there is no bad news...
WI was this morning - a little disappointing, I just stayed the same as last week. Which ruins my 8 week losing streak. BUT its much better than a gain so I will take it. I was on plan this week but it could easily have been last week catching up with me. I'll try and up my exercise this week :) This afternoon I am just drinking as much lemon water as possible and buckling down to get some school work done (except for when I watch Ellen to see Melissa from the bachelor haha!)
Today's Menu/The Plan for now
Curves Bar
Mango Yogurt
Salad (Mushrooms, chickpeas, almonds and goat cheese)
1 tsp oil, 2 tsp balsamic
Apple with 1 tbsp peanut butter
Quiche and veggies
Vitamuffin
Today's Menu/The Plan for now
Curves Bar
Mango Yogurt
Salad (Mushrooms, chickpeas, almonds and goat cheese)
1 tsp oil, 2 tsp balsamic
Apple with 1 tbsp peanut butter
Quiche and veggies
Vitamuffin
Monday, March 2, 2009
Wraps!
Came home starving and wasn't sure what to eat. From the stuff in my fridge that needed eating I came up with this:
Veggie Wrap
2 whole wheat small wraps
2 tbsp low fat cream cheese
2 tsp low cal ranch dressing
30g skim mozzarella
1/4 cup chick peas
Veggies, I used mushrooms, red pepper, carrots and lettuce
Mix the ranch dressing with the cream cheese and spread on to the tortillas. Heat the tortillas and cream cheese in the microwave for 15 secs. Add the veggies and mozzarella (i mixed all mine together first) Quick, easy and 4 pts per wrap :) so good!
So with that here is today's menu:
Whole Wheat English Muffin with Peanut Butter
An apple
Tea
Carrots
Curves Bar
2 wraps
Water
1/2 serving Dove chocolate
which leaves a couple points for popcorn when I watch the Bachelor tonight!! :)
Veggie Wrap
2 whole wheat small wraps
2 tbsp low fat cream cheese
2 tsp low cal ranch dressing
30g skim mozzarella
1/4 cup chick peas
Veggies, I used mushrooms, red pepper, carrots and lettuce
Mix the ranch dressing with the cream cheese and spread on to the tortillas. Heat the tortillas and cream cheese in the microwave for 15 secs. Add the veggies and mozzarella (i mixed all mine together first) Quick, easy and 4 pts per wrap :) so good!
So with that here is today's menu:
Whole Wheat English Muffin with Peanut Butter
An apple
Tea
Carrots
Curves Bar
2 wraps
Water
1/2 serving Dove chocolate
which leaves a couple points for popcorn when I watch the Bachelor tonight!! :)
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Last day of the weekend
Why oh why do the weekend pass so fast?
Had a pretty good weekend. Boston Pizza was fun last night. I ended up with Perogie Pizza - very high but totally worth it. So now, I am committed to a very good week. Today was a great start to that. Went grocery shopping and got lots of fresh food to help me. I really wanted some vitamuffins tho. They are so good and only 100 cals, perfect for a chocolate craving! Only every store I've check in the last few weeks has been out of the chocolate ones so I was pretty bummed. But DBF stopped at another store on his way home and finally found some :) <3
Well other than shopping today has just been chores and work, luckily I havn't been too hungry. Here's today's menu:
Special K
Blueberries
Milk
Soup
WW Pita with homade hummus and 1 tsp of EVOO
1 piece dark chocolate
Huge salad with:
Mushrooms
Chickpeas
Warm goat cheese
almonds
1 tsp EVOO, 2 tsp balsamic
yum!
Have a great week!
Had a pretty good weekend. Boston Pizza was fun last night. I ended up with Perogie Pizza - very high but totally worth it. So now, I am committed to a very good week. Today was a great start to that. Went grocery shopping and got lots of fresh food to help me. I really wanted some vitamuffins tho. They are so good and only 100 cals, perfect for a chocolate craving! Only every store I've check in the last few weeks has been out of the chocolate ones so I was pretty bummed. But DBF stopped at another store on his way home and finally found some :) <3
Well other than shopping today has just been chores and work, luckily I havn't been too hungry. Here's today's menu:
Special K
Blueberries
Milk
Soup
WW Pita with homade hummus and 1 tsp of EVOO
1 piece dark chocolate
Huge salad with:
Mushrooms
Chickpeas
Warm goat cheese
almonds
1 tsp EVOO, 2 tsp balsamic
yum!
Have a great week!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
It's the weekend!
This week has been pretty busy with school and March only gets worse before it gets better so I'm happy it's the weekend even though I have a fair bit of work to do!
Didn't get much exercise this week and I'm afraid March could look very much the same but I stayed on plan so at least I'm doing something right :)
I was a few pts over this week because the first half I was still at home enjoying myself but not too much damage. As a result WI Thursday I was just down a little (0.2) however I got out of the 120s so that was pretty exciting. Adjust to 18 points has been tricky but I know I'll get used to it soon.
Today has been a good day so far...
2 pieces toast
1 tbsp nutella
yougurt
soup
1oz mozzarella
but tonight we are going to Boston Pizza. Still havn't decided if I'll splurge and get my all time favourite perogie pizza and use up most of my WP or if I'll behave and get spinach salad...either way I'm excited :)
Alright, I'm off. Hope you have an awesome weekend!
Didn't get much exercise this week and I'm afraid March could look very much the same but I stayed on plan so at least I'm doing something right :)
I was a few pts over this week because the first half I was still at home enjoying myself but not too much damage. As a result WI Thursday I was just down a little (0.2) however I got out of the 120s so that was pretty exciting. Adjust to 18 points has been tricky but I know I'll get used to it soon.
Today has been a good day so far...
2 pieces toast
1 tbsp nutella
yougurt
soup
1oz mozzarella
but tonight we are going to Boston Pizza. Still havn't decided if I'll splurge and get my all time favourite perogie pizza and use up most of my WP or if I'll behave and get spinach salad...either way I'm excited :)
Alright, I'm off. Hope you have an awesome weekend!
Monday, February 23, 2009
Monday Already?
Well Monday is just about wrapping up...hopefully this week passes quickly :)
The weekend was nice. I got a manicure on Saturday morning and then spent the weekend with DBF and my parents until I came back to my apartment at school. I watched what I ate but still ended up a little over points for the weekend. I'm trying to stick to just my daily points but today I was over by 2. Hopefully I can manage a loss or a STS this week again while going just a bit over in points (all on good things I might add)
Being back at school is stressful already, March is going to be a busy month. I know my exercise will take a back seat (I know, I'm bad) but I'm hoping to stay as on track as possible with respect to eating.
So that's about it for today...here's le menu:
Whole Wheat English Muffin
1 tsp light butter
1 tbsp jam
Blackberries
1 pt peanut butter bar
red pepper sticks
water
pasta
1 tsp oil
garlic
a couple tbsps of mixed cheese
1 piece of dark chocolate
whole wheat pita
hummus
green pepper sticks
mmmm carbs <3 haha that's all for today
have a good night!
The weekend was nice. I got a manicure on Saturday morning and then spent the weekend with DBF and my parents until I came back to my apartment at school. I watched what I ate but still ended up a little over points for the weekend. I'm trying to stick to just my daily points but today I was over by 2. Hopefully I can manage a loss or a STS this week again while going just a bit over in points (all on good things I might add)
Being back at school is stressful already, March is going to be a busy month. I know my exercise will take a back seat (I know, I'm bad) but I'm hoping to stay as on track as possible with respect to eating.
So that's about it for today...here's le menu:
Whole Wheat English Muffin
1 tsp light butter
1 tbsp jam
Blackberries
1 pt peanut butter bar
red pepper sticks
water
pasta
1 tsp oil
garlic
a couple tbsps of mixed cheese
1 piece of dark chocolate
whole wheat pita
hummus
green pepper sticks
mmmm carbs <3 haha that's all for today
have a good night!
Friday, February 20, 2009
Weekend
Happy Friday!
Today was my last day of reading week, it was nice :) But also sad lol My parents and I went out for lunch - it was awesome. I had hummus and half a falafel pita. It was fresh and absolutely delicious and I don't even care that it was a little high in points!
Then I made WW guacamole from the 3 month journal and hummus from the Quick fix book. They are both super good!
Then did some more shopping and got a few more nice things. So that felt pretty good.
All in all this week has been pretty relaxing and I'm sad to see it end. But I guess the term will be over in no time and it will be Easter!
Today's Menu
Instant Oatmeal with pure pumpkin stirred in
1/2 Falafel Pita
Hummus
Salad
Warm goat cheese
Dried Cranberries
1 tbsp almonds
1 tsp oil with balsamic
More hummus (homemade)
Lindor chocolate
Total: 22
Have a good weekend!
Today was my last day of reading week, it was nice :) But also sad lol My parents and I went out for lunch - it was awesome. I had hummus and half a falafel pita. It was fresh and absolutely delicious and I don't even care that it was a little high in points!
Then I made WW guacamole from the 3 month journal and hummus from the Quick fix book. They are both super good!
Then did some more shopping and got a few more nice things. So that felt pretty good.
All in all this week has been pretty relaxing and I'm sad to see it end. But I guess the term will be over in no time and it will be Easter!
Today's Menu
Instant Oatmeal with pure pumpkin stirred in
1/2 Falafel Pita
Hummus
Salad
Warm goat cheese
Dried Cranberries
1 tbsp almonds
1 tsp oil with balsamic
More hummus (homemade)
Lindor chocolate
Total: 22
Have a good weekend!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Weigh In!
Thursday is weigh in day. Despite being a tiny bit over this week I am down 0.6 to an even 120! Which means if I am good next week I should be in to the 110's! I have NEVER seen that on the scale in my adult life so I am feeling pretty good.
Today I went shopping in Toronto. Got 2 shirts for $15 and I feel okay about how they look. I also wore my WW pedometer and got 2 activity points. When I came home I was feeling energetic so I did my 30 day shred DVD. I'm on day 3 of level 2 and I am already finding ALL the plank stuff a bit easier. Maybe I just wasn't trying hard enough before.
For lunch I went to Lettuce Eatery and it was awesome! You get to create your own salad...I guess that isn't that exciting but I thought it was cool. They even ask if you want your dressing on the side so I didn't have to feel like a nuisance.
I went to Whole Foods to grab a few things I want to try but they were out. I guess I'll have to wait till I get back home in March some time (I'm home on reading week).
Today's Menu
1/2 12 grain bagel from Timmys, light cream cheese (5)
Tea
Salad from Lettuce Eatery (6)
Water
Tall Non fat mocha from bucks
Left over Tofurky (3)
Left over Smaceroni (4)
Chocolate Pumpkin Muffin (3)
Frozen Yogurt (2)
Tea
Total 23 - 4 flex
I guess once I leave 120's I will lose a point :( But I suppose that is a good thing :)
Almost the weekend! Have a good Friday
Today I went shopping in Toronto. Got 2 shirts for $15 and I feel okay about how they look. I also wore my WW pedometer and got 2 activity points. When I came home I was feeling energetic so I did my 30 day shred DVD. I'm on day 3 of level 2 and I am already finding ALL the plank stuff a bit easier. Maybe I just wasn't trying hard enough before.
For lunch I went to Lettuce Eatery and it was awesome! You get to create your own salad...I guess that isn't that exciting but I thought it was cool. They even ask if you want your dressing on the side so I didn't have to feel like a nuisance.
I went to Whole Foods to grab a few things I want to try but they were out. I guess I'll have to wait till I get back home in March some time (I'm home on reading week).
Today's Menu
1/2 12 grain bagel from Timmys, light cream cheese (5)
Tea
Salad from Lettuce Eatery (6)
Water
Tall Non fat mocha from bucks
Left over Tofurky (3)
Left over Smaceroni (4)
Chocolate Pumpkin Muffin (3)
Frozen Yogurt (2)
Tea
Total 23 - 4 flex
I guess once I leave 120's I will lose a point :( But I suppose that is a good thing :)
Almost the weekend! Have a good Friday
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
The Day Before Weigh In
So I've been a little bit off plan this week. But I decided to just relax a little and enjoy myself. I think I am maybe 10 points over. But that shouldn't be enough to see a gain. I'll admit I've been peeking this week and it's been alright so I am expecting to stay the same and that would be just fine by me :)
Going shopping tomorrow. Hopefully I will get some new clothes (and maybe notice a difference in how things fit!)
Okay so...
Today's Finds:
Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes - 3 points each. I wish I had made 24....I'm not sure why I didn't try and split them this way. That would have made them 2 points. Oh well. They are really good and much more filling than a cupcake. Even my Dad liked them and he isn't always interested in trying new things.
Tofurky - I finally made it! And it was much better than the meatless chicken breasts I tried earlier this week. I would definitely buy this again!
That being said, here is today's menu:
Cheerios (2)
Skim Milk (1)
Blueberries (1)
Tea
Couscous (3)
Chickpeas (2)
1 tsp oil, 2 tsp balsamic (1)
Carrots
1 choc pumpkin cupcake (3)
Tofurky (4)
Mashed Potatoes (3)
Green Beans
Another pumpkin cupcake! haha whooops! (3)
Total 23 - 4 points over!
Have a good day!
Going shopping tomorrow. Hopefully I will get some new clothes (and maybe notice a difference in how things fit!)
Okay so...
Today's Finds:
Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes - 3 points each. I wish I had made 24....I'm not sure why I didn't try and split them this way. That would have made them 2 points. Oh well. They are really good and much more filling than a cupcake. Even my Dad liked them and he isn't always interested in trying new things.
Tofurky - I finally made it! And it was much better than the meatless chicken breasts I tried earlier this week. I would definitely buy this again!
That being said, here is today's menu:
Cheerios (2)
Skim Milk (1)
Blueberries (1)
Tea
Couscous (3)
Chickpeas (2)
1 tsp oil, 2 tsp balsamic (1)
Carrots
1 choc pumpkin cupcake (3)
Tofurky (4)
Mashed Potatoes (3)
Green Beans
Another pumpkin cupcake! haha whooops! (3)
Total 23 - 4 points over!
Have a good day!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
The Beginning
Alright here we go...
I've gotten in to reading weight loss blogs lately so I thought I'd try my hand at one myself. I'm a 21 year old university student. I have been fighting with my weight my whole life. When I was 16 I joined weight watchers and reached my goal of 125 right before I left for university. After many ups and downs I managed to get back to this weight and maintain for a year. Since I am only 5'2 125 is pretty close to the top of my healthy range so I decided to get back on the wagon and lose some more. I'm now at 120.8 and thinking my goal is going to be around 110 which means I'm down to the last 10 pounds!
I've been doing well and track everything since Christmas. This week was a little hairy with Valentine's dinner and being home for reading week but I'm taking it one day at a time just doing the best I can.
Tonight I made Smackeroni and Cheese for my family (minus the bacon - I'm veggie!) it was sooo yummy! I found a 1/2 cup was actually enough to fill me up.
So today's menu:
Cheerios
Blueberries
Tuscan Bean Soup
Weight Watcher Bread and Light Butter
Carrots
Smackeroni and Cheese
Salad with tomatoes and bocconcini, 1/2 tsp oil and vinegar
1 individual cheesecake (I made these from a weight watchers recipe)
Smartpop
That's all for tonight. I'll try and post some more interesting things soon :)
I've gotten in to reading weight loss blogs lately so I thought I'd try my hand at one myself. I'm a 21 year old university student. I have been fighting with my weight my whole life. When I was 16 I joined weight watchers and reached my goal of 125 right before I left for university. After many ups and downs I managed to get back to this weight and maintain for a year. Since I am only 5'2 125 is pretty close to the top of my healthy range so I decided to get back on the wagon and lose some more. I'm now at 120.8 and thinking my goal is going to be around 110 which means I'm down to the last 10 pounds!
I've been doing well and track everything since Christmas. This week was a little hairy with Valentine's dinner and being home for reading week but I'm taking it one day at a time just doing the best I can.
Tonight I made Smackeroni and Cheese for my family (minus the bacon - I'm veggie!) it was sooo yummy! I found a 1/2 cup was actually enough to fill me up.
So today's menu:
Cheerios
Blueberries
Tuscan Bean Soup
Weight Watcher Bread and Light Butter
Carrots
Smackeroni and Cheese
Salad with tomatoes and bocconcini, 1/2 tsp oil and vinegar
1 individual cheesecake (I made these from a weight watchers recipe)
Smartpop
That's all for tonight. I'll try and post some more interesting things soon :)
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