Starting Over....Menu Plan Monday

Here I go.....Starting my Weight Lose Challenge Again! I need to stay motivated and to my Weight Watchers Program!


I think a major key is to stay on top of the whole menu planning thing. It sure will make evenings more enjoyable for all of us. There aren't too many events better than sitting down to eat a home cooked dinner with my family!

So, here we go....Menu Plan Monday

Monday: Chicken Cacciatore (7 points), Green Salad, WW Diet Soda Cake with a Dallop of Fat Free Cool Whip (3.5 points)

Tuesday: Chicken Salad for lunch (3 points), Mexican Slow Cooked Pork Carnitas

Wednesday: Pasta with No Cook Tomato Sauce (4 points), Green Salad with Strawberries

Thursday: Baseball Game

Friday: Beer Soaked Beef (6 points), Grilled Aspargus, Baked Sweet Potato

Saturday: Chicken Fingers with BBQ Sauce (4 points)

Menu Plan Monday on Wednesday

How's that for a title? I'm starting the week behind......lol.

Wednesday: Leftover Buffet

Thursday: Banana Pudding

Friday: Order Out

Saturday:
Breakfast: Baked Blueberry-Peach French Toast

Dinner: Beer Soaked Beef, Broccoli, Baked Sweet Potatoes

Sunday: working on it

Changed up menu a bit last week

Well, I changed things up a bit with the shock of the weather and everyone being sick. We had the gumbo twice.....that's how good it was.

Than for Valentine's Day, my sweet honey brought steaks home since no one felt well enough to go out to dinner. So, I decided to start a new tradition....We had a romantic family dinner. (I borrowed this idea from another Mom on my Mom's board) I mean Valentine's Day is about sharing the love you have with the people that you love.....so why not all of my Valentine's?!

We had grilled rib eye, baked sweet potatoes, whole grain baguette bread and the Green Bean Recipe from our menu. We ate by candle light and played smooth jazz in the background. We exchanged Valentines and learned that the first Valentine's were introduced in the 1840's. It was AWESOME!

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

Wow, Wow.....this recipe is fabulous! We all loved it!

The only alterations I made were: added some tobasco to spice it up, used precooked chicken to save time and used chicken stock vs broth. Increased the flavor so much. We also served the gumbo over brown rice.

Highly recommend!

Menu for the week

Monday: Chicken and Sausage Gumbo, sandwich thin, brown rice

Tuesday: Layered Mexican Chicken,



Wednesday: Tuna Noodle Casserole,



Thursday: Italian Turkey and Spaghetti Squash Pie



Friday: Beer Soaked Beef, Green Beans with Caramelized Onions



Saturday: Tri-Colored Pesto Rotini

It's offical...

My blog was excepted into the "Foodie Blog Roll!" The littlest things get me going these days. Check out my widget to the right. Take a minute and go visit some of the blogs listed. Who knows you may find some great recipes to supplement our Weight Watchers journey. Don't forget to come back and share!

Chili Cheese Mac Review

Another thumbs up according to my family. Thanks, Weight Watchers!

I did make a few changes. I added ground cumin. We love the smokey goodness of ground cumin in anything with a mexican flare. I also added a couple tablespoons of tomato paste to thicken it up and give more of a rich tomatoe flavor.

I served it with a yummy salad and 1 point corn muffins.

My family goobled this up! Will keep in our rotation....Go for it! Give it a try and let me know what you think or if you made any changes. Make mine better!

Baked Ziti Review

This was a huge hit! The entire family gave it a thumbs up! I have to admit...it was super easy to make and easy on the pocketbook.

I subsituted whole wheat pasta for regular ziti as that is what I had in the pantry.

The Pear Salad is a second go around and everyone gives it high marks. We love the dressing that you make with it. It's great on broccoli or with plain chicken. I like to measure some out for when we go out to eat or I have a networking event. Great stuff!

Menu for the Week

Wednesday: Cheese Chili Mac (5 points), Green Salad

Thursday: Baked Beef Ziti (5 points), Spinach Salad with pears, almonds and cranberries (4 points)

Friday:

Saturday: Date Night

Sunday: Grilled Chicken Breast Marinated in Italian Dressing, Barley Asparagus Risotto with balsamic vinegar (3 points), Mediterranean Bean Salad (2 points)

Monday: BBQChicken with Grilled Sweet Potatoes , (5 points),


Lunch Ideas:
Leftovers of course
Pot Luck Pasta Salad (3 points) I think I'll add some grilled chicken breast one day. Will increase points but soooo worth it.

Make Ahead Breakfast:
Bacon,Egg,and Spinach Breakfast Stacks (3 points) These babes look so yummy!
Bacon Egg and Hash Brown Stacks (4 points) These look yummy too.

I think this will be a great week! The recipes all look like things my family will eat without complaint but also have food that will help me during the day.

Back in the Saddle

Rally went great and I did pretty well staying on program! I was so worried about it. I mean, come on girls....you're sitting in trainings what is our natural response.....to snack on anything we can get our hands on. The vending machines all of a sudden start talking to you. And the coffee shop pastries and bagels feel give me a feeling of panic when I go up to get my "skinny latte." I got one and couldn't go back. So, I tagged onto another jeweler who was being called by "The Shop." It was okay, she was so skinny she could afford to grab a bagel and even add the real cream cheese & jelly. Wow, I'm weaker than I thought.....bread and sweets are the death of me! I'm working on it!

I weighed in the Sunday evening after I got home and lost weight! Woot, Woot!!! Down from 212lbs to 208.7lbs. Let's keep swimming, let's keep swimming! We can do this!!! Did you do your weigh in or journal your thoughts? Add them here if you need to.....let's be each others shoulder to lean on and cheerleader!

Putting Snacks together

I'm getting ready for our Regional Rally for my Premier business and now that the unhealthy snacks will be flowing. I need to be intentional about my planning or I will fall off program and feel yucky!

Here's what I've found so far....
1. I'm going to pop some grapes in the freezer and take them for a cool snack. The conference room can get stuffy so this will be freshing instead of the ice cream available. I have a refigerator with little freezer in my hotel room so will pop them in there.

2. Prebag some air popped popcorn with the 1 point seasonings.

3. Buy a couple single serving bottles of V8. This will give me a serving of veggies and fill me up. I think I'll stop at the hotel bar and grab a lime & piece of celery. Yummy!

4. Carry some of those one time use toothbrushes. When I get the urge to snack, I'll excuse myself and go brush my teeth. I hate to eat after brushing...it ruins that fresh taste in my mouth. How's that for manipulating myself?

5. Buy some mini pretzels and premeasure out some snack bags.

6. Meals are served buffet style so I'm going to give myself a taste of non diet things and more of the good stuff. Like fell most of my plate with salad. Get it....

7. I found some great muffins and brownies that are one point each.

8. Making some Roasted Chick Peas. These sound yummy! These are full of fiber and a great snack. Here's the recipe I use.....
1 can of chick peas, drained
olive oil spray
cumin
salt & pepper
chili powder
garlic powder
paprika
curry powder

Preheat oven at 375 degrees. Drain and dry chick peas.

Arrange chick peas on cookie sheet in single layer. Roast for 30 minutes shaking the pan about every 10 minutes. They'll be golden brown not moist. Watch close as your oven may vary from mine.

Combine spices in bowl. Spritz chick peas when done with olive oil than toss with spices while warm. Eat when cooled.

These are so good! I found the recipe on Gina's WW Recipes but couldn't get my computer to link to her blog. She has a great blog!

Do I really want that Candy Bar?

Do I really want that Mars bar? Can you believe this???? I had an incredible dream about eating a Mars bar. I can't remember the last time I had a Mars bar? Why now????

Now, I'm like any other women......I love a good candy bar or dessert that is of course, loaded with empty calories and unnecessary fat. But did you know....when I eat "this dreamt about candy bar" it would take me an HOUR of POWER WALKING to even begin to work off the calories. You read it....not anything leisure, high sweating, fast walking!

So, I don't know about you but I think I'll keep that candy bar in my dreams!

Back from Miami

We just got back tonight from Miami. Michael was presenting at a critical care conference so I tagged along with the little ones in tow. I was thinking the weather was going to be gorgeous so the kids and I could break out the stroller and walk the beach....Nope! Can you believe they had the coldest weather in 20 years and it had to occur while we were there. Hello.....don't you know I needed the exercise?!

I did pretty well on my WW program. I found some great secrets to add to my favorites list! We stayed in a suite hotel so I was able to cook and have better control over our meals.

My biggest score.... Sliced bread just got better with Arnold Select Sandwich Thins! They've keep the calorie count down and fiber up. So drum roll...these gems ring in at 1 point on program! They pack so much flavor! Try them with turkey, put your turkey patty on them, make peanut butter and jelly or even replace your high calorie garlic bread for pasta dishes. I did all of the above this past week and loved them with each combo. I think I'll put one in a baggie when we go out to eat to keep me from the high calorie buns or bread served at resturants. Go fast and grab a pack before everyone finds them!

Hoping to see LESS of Me Soon!

Well, it's official....I need to get my buns in gear to loose this baby/10 years of in vetro fat! I'm tired of asking Michael, "Honey, does this make me look fat?" Okay, what man in his right mind is going to tell you, "Yes, Honey that makes you look fat." Not my husband...so I'm not going to put him or anyone else in that awkward position anymore!

I started back to Weight Watchers! It's been over a week now. Weight Watchers and I have a love hate relationship. But this is the last time and I will not fail or quit! I need to do this for my children, my husband and myself! I want to be able to sit on the floor comfortably to play legos with the kids. I want to be able to breath freely and not have to mess with my asthma meds constantly. I want to feel sexy again for my husband and myself. I mean, it's right in Genesis, "The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame." Genesis 2:24-25 At this point, I am so embarassed to even change clothes in front of him let alone be romantic.

So, I'm going to change the focus of my blog to healthier eating and Weight Watchers recipes. I hope I can help even one person as I work along to help myself. I'll not only post recipes but tips and results of what "the crew" thought of the recipe.

Now, let's shed it together....Here's to seeing LESS of ME!