A Few Days To Recoup!

Since my last post I have happily taken a few days of rest!  Yes I have still worked, and yes I still had some craziness to deal with Wednesday and Thursday….but a biggie, I have NOT COOKED since last Tuesday!

Ahhhhh….that in itself is kind of relaxing!

Wednesday, as promised, I took the Fabulous Preteen and her BFF to see New Moon.  Okay…I now completely and totally understand why all these 40-something women have gone Jacob crazy.  I so get it!   Hmmmm…

OH!  Excuse me…back to blogging!  On the way home, since we were near Whole Foods I decided to drop half of my Christmas money I had saved for gifts for the kids and get a few things I can’t seem to find on my side of the city (unrefined coconut oil…spelt flour…organic kabocha) and some things I was just out of and needed to get (rolled oats, quinoa, broccoli, ginger, and more!)…and while we were there I fed them.  I just didn’t want to cook when I got home!  I was burned out.

They had Whole Foods pizza which my FPT declared was the best pizza.  I had been craving sushi!  Easy!

Thursday was spent working….and then hanging out at FPT’s school for her Xmas class party.  I took advantage of every minute I could with her because after school her dad was picking her up and whisking her, along with FabTeen, to Canada for a week where they will be spending Christmas with him and his family.  I know they have to go….but even after 12 years of these alternating weekends and holidays I still get a huge knot in my tummy every time they leave me. 

So focusing on the positive….this week I am not driving anybody anywhere!  And I am doing my Christmas shopping ALONE…or with FabHubs.  But I warned FabHubs that if he got grumpy on me and started complaining I was going to LEAVE HIM HOME!  Now I know for most husbands that would be a threat they would be happy to have made good on them…and FabHubs usually falls right into that category.  But he is enjoying his alone time with me (and I with him!)…something we don’t get much of.

And with no kids around, he and I have been able to be lazy in the cooking department.

Thursday night I did make him cook!  I printed him this recipe for Mama Pea’s curry which looked really good, and adapted it to what we had on hand.  I then proceeded to take out all the veggies I wanted to go in it.  The tofu was already waiting for him, marinating in the juice of one lime, 2 TBS honey, a big ole spoonful of jarred garlic (out of my yummy organic!) and 1 TBS of soy sauce.

I took out the brown rice (and asked him to make that first), then took out whatever veggies I had on hand that might go well with curry…broccoli (which I had picked up from Whole Foods, none left in my produce box), one each of white and sweet potatoes, a huge handful of green beans, and some carrots, as well as the garlic and ginger!

  

One of the things that is really great about FabHubs is if I give him any recipe and the ingredients, he will make it.   He even took these pictures for the blog while he prepped and cooked!

   This is the tofu broiling. 

  On the other hand…sometimes he really takes his time when cooking……

I think we finally had dinner around 10 p.m.!  But boy was it goooood!

He put the chopped cilantro on top (I adore cilantro!) and additionally I topped mine with raw cashews and golden raisins.  This was/is one of my absolute favorite dinners!

And it was a large amount.  So we ate it Friday night too.  And he ate it Saturday for lunch while I was out.  And there is still some more!

Saturday night for dinner we went out for a treat, to Houston’s.  I have never been there before! 

I was starving and over-ordered a bit..I had only had a shot of wheatgrass juice at Jamba Juice during the day, and a giant glass of home juiced carrot/apple/ginger/beet juice when I got home.  I was going to get a juice at Jamba, (another place I had never been but I really wanted a shot of fresh wheatgrass juice!) but when I saw the menu I really didn’t want a smoothie type drink which is what they mainly have, and the only juices they had there were straight carrot or orange.  No combo juices!  And I wasn’t going to pay $3.00 for a small glass of carrot juice when I could make it at home!  So that is what I did.

But by the time we sat down for dinner I was ravenous! 

We decided to share two of their specialty sushi rolls as an appetizer, the Thai Tuna roll and the Shrimp Macadamia roll.  Both were really good….I had never had nuts in my sushi before!  But I have to say, next I would stick with the Thai Tuna roll…it was sweet, crunchy, and it rocked!

I had never had sushi wrapped in the rice paper either…I have always had it wrapped in nori.  Of course the rice paper didn’t add any flavor to it, but it was pretty!

The shrimp macadamia roll:

My beef lovin’ husband took advantage of eating out and ordered a hamburger.  Yes…in the past I would have gotten that too!

But I settled for the best veggie burger I have ever had!  This didn’t even look like a veggie burger when it was served…and it was moist and flavorful!  I am going to have to hunt this recipe down for FabHubs to make for me. 

     

We shared the sides of the spinach and fries.  My only complaint was that the menu didn’t mention the mayo on the burger and I hate mayo!  That was an unpleasant surprise and I wished it would have come on the side.  It had never even occurred to me it would be on there.

I was only able to eat half my burger and took the other half home.

Hubs wanted dessert!  So we split a dessert of their yummy brownie…..

I haven’t been that full in a very long time!  I was uncomfortably full.  We were both so full that the next day we weren’t hungry!  We had an Amazing Grass Green Monster around noon….and that was it until around 2ish when I had my leftover veggie burger and he had his homemade calzone….and that was it for the day.

Later on we snacked on some dried mango and chocolate covered pomegranate from Costco….and I did snack around some of the Costco food booths too while we were there.  But that was it.

This morning, weigh-in day though, I am UP a pound!  BLECH! 

Oh well…it will come off and I know I will not be eating like that again for a long time!

Today I do have veggies to make before they go bad so it is back to cooking for me.  But with no kids to be driving all over the place this week, thankfully this week will be much easier going as I sit in my house and work, and cook and shop….alone!

Weighing In On My Morning

Exhausting!   That is what it was!

First, after doing the camping/tenting/canoeing thing Sat and Sun, we got home last night shortly after 9 p.m. and FabPreteen still had work to do on a project, due, of course, today! 

So I took the opportunity to blog about my trip some (still more to come there) while she worked on the project.  We didn’t go to bed until  2:30 a.m.

Bright and early the alarm went off at 6:05 a.m.  If I thought getting up Saturday was bad, today was worse!  I was am tired.  And I have a jam-packed day too!

Speaking of which, it started out, well, very frustrating.   First…FabStepson was dawdling today and we missed the bus.  Only we didn’t know we missed the bus because she usually comes between 6:35 and 7:45 a.m.  I finally called her at 7:50 and she said she had been there at 6:30 and thought we might be on vacay today!  BIG SIGH!  FabStepson is the only kid at this bus stop so I always call her if we will not be there so she doesn’t have to make the stop.  And his school is not close.  And FabPreteen was still finishing up that project this morning!  I was frustrated that she didn’t call me!  We must have missed the bus by less than 30 seconds because we were there by 6:31.

While waiting for the bus that never came, FabTeen kept calling, looking for my Costco card to get gas.  But my wallet was nowhere to be found.  So he left without it and I came home to look for it.  Nope!  I had put my stuff in big ziplocks for canoeing and it wasn’t in my big ziplock.  And it wasn’t in the car.  And that was frustration #2!  BIG SIGH!

So now we pile into the car and are on our way…to FPT’ school first, then FSS next…without my wallet so I have my fingers crossed I don’t cross paths with any police types this a.m.   And then I realize…I don’t have my phone either!  By now the kids are in peals of laughter making fun of my day!  BIG SIGH!

As we pull up to FPT’s  school, the convenient little  side gate is still open…we are actually early for her and the side gate usually stays open for another 10 minutes.  And, luckily enough, there is a nice little parking spot for me right in front of that convenient side gate.  So I pull and park and the kids are talking about that good thing that happened…when the side gate is closed from inside just as we are getting out of the car!   Helloooo! What is going on here????  This is getting ridiculous!  BIG SIGH!

The kids on the other hand are loving this!  We make our way to the front of the school to find a space there instead.   Thankfully there is one open, waiting for me!

I am not really frustrated, more in shock.  And hoping the rest of the day goes better.  I have a produce delivery to sort and a ton of transcription to do…plus kids to pick up later and we need to get our Christmas tree tonight!  I like us to all do it together and FPT is with her dad this weekend so we have a small window of opportunity this week.

None of that can go wrong, especially the work things.

On the bright side however, traveling across town, traffic was more go than stop, so FSS was just a little late to school, and after digging out all of my camping gear, I found my wallet,  FabHubs had tossed it into another giant ziplock while cleaning out the car last night.  My phone was waiting for me on the kitchen counter…with no missed calls even.

AND (drumroll)….Weighing on the scale this morning for my official Monday Morning Weight Watchers weigh-in, after Thanksgiving, extra family dinners, and weekend  travel eating I stayed the same as last week.  Progress in my book!  (Okay..I cheat weighed last night, at night, after dinner, and in jeans and was in a panic at the 4-pound gain the scale showed…so when I weighed this morning and was back down to what I was last Monday, staying the same was a huge relief!).

Scrambling for groceries for my breakfast this morning (the cupboard is bare!) I found a little yogurt to which I added half of a really really really ripe banana, 1/2 TBS of almond butter, and 1/2 ounce of granola.  

Now I am craving an Amazing Grass but we have no almond milk! 

I am off to start work…have a FabDay!

A Power Breakfast and Lunch For My Boys

Today my two sons, 18 yo Fabteen and 12 yo FabStepson, (along with a few hundred other Boy Scouts) walked 13 miles, from downtown to the southern portion of our county.

Getting off this morning was chaotic…we were given tickets last night to the NASCAR championship races at the Homestead Speedway and got in rather late…..then the boys had to leave the house by 6 a.m.

I got up at 5:45 (YUCK) and in 15 minutes worked like a maniac to make them a satisfying breakfast that would support walking, and get them a filling and healthy lunch.

I was pleased that I was able to draw on a lot of the good nutrition practices I have learned over the past few months to to help fuel them.

First came breakfast (no time for pictures this morning!).   Breakfast was 1/3 cup of oatmeal cooked with 1/3 cup almond milk and 1/3 cup water.  I also sliced up a banana, splitting it between the two bowls.  I micro’d the oatmeal (they loved the bananas cooked…I do too!) and put it in a to-go cup for each one of them.  I knew between the time they left the house and the time they started walking, they would have time to digest the oatmeal so it wouldn’t be sitting like a lump in their tummies….but at the same time it should stave off the hungries for a while.

To supplement the oatmeal, I also made them each an Amazing Grass Amazing Meal shake.  I have had two huge unopened tubs of the Amazing Meal, which has more protein than the Superfoods, which is what I normally use…but today I broke out the big guns and opened the tub thinking that the extra protein would help fuel their muscles. 

I made them each an Amazing Meal shake with one scoop Amazing Meal, one cup almond milk, half a banana, and a few huge handfuls of spinach.  The spinach also adds a lot of staying power to the shake….I know it keeps me full for a while!

They had to drink these on the go too!

Lunch and snacks were PB&J on Arnold Sandwich Thins (one for FabStepson, two for FabTeen).   Two little crimson apples for FabStepson and two large organic Honeycrisps apples for FabTeeen.   One of Oh She Glows Glo Bar for each as a healthy energizing snack.  And of course plenty of water.  Our troop had a water truck that met them at certain points along the way for refills.  I was so glad I packed them lunches…those that didn’t got the opportunity to buy hot dogs, hamburgers, and sodas. 

Both of them said the food carried them through the day very well and they were very happy with their lunches….I think the junk sold didn’t appeal to them at all. 

Both of them completed the whole walk and I am very proud of them.

Next year I want to do the hike with them!

Eating Healthy In A Junk Food World…Odd Woman Out

First, look what I made this morning! 

We have had these pomegranates and nobody wants to deal with them.  FabPreteen and I ate some of them….but I hate swallowing the seeds and hate spitting them out, although I love those beautiful ruby gems….they look so pretty and taste so good.

At any rate, I couldn’t let them go to waste, so I cut and peeled and seeded and blended and strained, and after about half an hour of work I ended up with this!

Tastes great….but lots of work.   When I get more pomegranates in my produce box I will juice them….but I won’t go out of my way to buy them to make juice!  Good thing I work at home.

The Healthy Eating Part

Tomorrow at this time I will be leisurely cruising down the Peace River in a canoe.  (FabHubs does most of the paddling…it sure is leisurely for me!)

We will be sleeping pulling over and setting up camp tomorrow night somewhere along the river, and then  putting in again the next morning.  

This is one of my favorite trips, an annual trip our Boy Scout troop makes.   Only thing is, this is my first major campout since I have been transitioning our eating habits and it really opens my eyes to just how cocooned my food world has become.

I surround myself with organic produce boxes, healthy eating blogs and lifestyles, nutritional books to read, and the organic section of the grocery store.  And that has become my world!  And when I step out of the cocoon reality sure hits hard!

What do you mean the rest of the world still eats junk food and artificially processed crap!  Don’t They Know????? (Gee…I sound like a reformed smoker, don’t I?!?!)

So this weekend the “troop cook” will be bringing along muffins and cereal with milk for breakfast, hot dogs for lunch, and spaghetti with meat sauce (jarred!) for dinner.  Kool-aid type stuff for drinks (I have never been a drinker of that stuff….I do have some healthy roots!) 

I asked for some veggies and fruits…and he said maybe, he would try.  (He proudly proclaims that he doesn’t eat anything green!  Never has, never will!)

And when I asked about healthier, meatless options for lunch and dinner, he said he would bring some lettuce for me.  Or that I was on my own.

So, while FabHubs and FabSS will be happy to eat the hot dogs and jarred spaghetti sauce…..FabTeen and I will be paying $18 a piece for food (everybody pays that) but still packing our own.  Sigh…..

This morning I am off to Whole Foods to get some fruits, veggies, garden burger type things, packets of almond butter, and other yummy snacky and meal things for us.  The bottles of water are already in the freezer so I am prepared there.

I will be getting some individual packs of almond or rice milk and packing along some Amazing Grass to make some shakes.  No blender, so no Green Monsters…but all will still be good.

I guess I have to take that Boy Scout motto to heart….I will Be Prepared!

But seriously, whether camping, or going out to dinner, or to a party, or on a school field trip, I have found that in order to have delicious satisfying meals out in the real world, I have to do a lot of planning, preparing, and packing. 

Eating consciously sure is a lot of work….and as I peeled and seeded and blended and strained my pomegranates this morning, all for a little shot of juice, I can see how easy it is for someone who is not committed to this lifestyle to succumb to the speed and ease of processed packaged foods.  

I am glad I have the mindset, and the time, to be committed!

If I don’t get back on today, have a great weekend everybody and I will back with some beautiful river and camping pictures!

Today I Am Glowing!

I just can’t believe it!  I am sooo excited!  When I logged into my email this morning I received this comment on my blog:

Oh She Glows has left a new comment on your post "English Muffin Recipe":
Check out my blog tonight...have a surprise for you!

First I felt surprised and honored that Angela was writing on my little blog!  And then I wondered what she was going to write about English Muffins…after all, this was on my English Muffin page.

So I clicked on through and read today’s post and was astounded to find out that I won all this!

Among all of the fantastic, organic new treats our tastebuds are in for over here…I am really excited that she is putting some of her own Glo Bars in there!  I have wanted so much to try those for a while now.  YAY!

I can’t believe it!!! I know…I said that before…but I have never won a blog giveaway before…and my comment was waaaaaayyyyy down the list too!

Now if you have never read Beautiful Angela’s blog, Oh She Glows  before, it is so worth taking some time to go through it and make sure you read her story.   I only found her a couple of months ago…but since then it is one of the three or four blogs I check religiously, daily…sometimes several times a day!

She has been a great motivator for me to transition myself and my family to this healthy lifestyle and I have learned a lot from her.  Her writing is very real and down to earth, and even though I am a 45-year-old mom with three kids, not a 20-something, she is one of the few younger healthy living bloggers I feel I can relate to.   She has taken healthy living to a different level, an overall balanced level, and includes a lot of inspiration not just for taking care of yourself physically, but mentally as well.  She shares from the heart and shows she is human…and how hard work and passion can lead to great success.

And…for all of you who always comment how awful my yummy Amazing Grass drinks look…they come from Angela!  Yep…the inspiration for adding spinach came from her Green Monster website.

Thanks Angela!  You made my day!!!

A Healthy Cooking Frenzy

Sunday lots of cooking went on in my house….and luckily for a change I didn’t do any of it!

FabHubs traditionally has cooked weekend breakfasts and for those he goes all out!  Bacon, sausage, waffles, eggs, grits, pancakes, english muffins, omelets, homemade biscuits and sausage gravy…you name it, he would make it.  Is it any wonder I had weight issues????

To his credit, he is at least open to trying a healthier way of eating…and this morning asked if he could make me us whole wheat pancakes.  And I said YES (even though I am not a huge fan of pancakes) and I asked him to add bananas and superfood walnuts to them.

And so that is what he did and what we had!  With no smoked meat in sight either!  I had one and a half pancakes, and a cup of my yummy daily espresso.  I also had a small sugar seckel pear while I  waited for my brekkie….I hadn’t eaten much protein the night before and I was starving!

A little while after that, I made everyone a Green Monster!  So far everybody is a fan around here except the FabPreteen…who was at her dad’s this weekend..and who is the president of the “Judge A Food By Its Cover” club.  Yes…she completely judges everything’s taste by how it looks and is the most difficult eater I have in my house….in a sea of difficult eaters (with FabStepSon and FabHubs being next, in that order). 

Now…no pictures of breakfast….but I was good about the pictures the rest of the day and boy do I have some gorgeous meals to show you!

After working  for a while, (yes…catching up with work  on a Sunday…one of the other sides of self-employment) I realized I still hadn’t had enough food at breakfast and I was hungry! 

I  made myself a snack of tomatoes, carrots, and tzatziki I had made for dinner the other night.  It was good, but didn’t hold me over.

So I pulled out the juicer and made everybody and myself a glass of my usual healthy yumminess….carrot/apple/beet/ginger.  Again…everybody loves it except for the FabPreteen, although FabHubs complains that it is not cold enough for him and I won’t let him stick it in the fridge to chill down (you have to drink it right away or it loses a lot of its vitamins and health benefits!).

After juicing, the real cooking began! 

FabHubs decided to re-create the English Muffin recipe for my camping website, in pictures.  I will be loading that up today and will come back here and make the link live for the recipe as many of you asked me for it.

FabTeen decided he was going to make some healthy cookies!  AND….he told me this weekend that he would start doing more of the cooking for dinner.  Since we have switched our way of eating our cook (FabHubs) has gone on cooking strike!  He will eat it but he won’t cook all those funny things I bring home now! 

So, all I had to do was pretty play director last night and the food appeared!

Starting with the cookies.  These are a recipe from my kids’ dad’s side of the family called “Special Cookies.”  They are a really rich and yummy chocolate chip cookie.   What?  What do you mean there is one missing???

FabTeen decided to doctor up the cookies and make them healthy by substituting ground flax meal for the egg and for the 1/3 cup of shortening.  shortening.   By far, he is the one who has taken the most to this healthy way of life! There was still 1/3 cup of butter left in the recipe and we decided that next time we sub flax meal for that too and see how it turns out.  We also used semi-sweet chocolate chip cookies and I would like to check out a healthier alternative for those as well, or at least organic.

The recipe ended up making 33 cookies at 2 Weight Watchers points each and lots of added health benefit from the flax meal.  Flax seed, should be ground to get the most benefit from it.  I remember my ex-MIL making us Red River cereal and adding extra flax seeds…which would come out looking the same as how they went in!  Now I have been researching and I see why!  Our bodies do not break down the husk, so you need to grind it before using…and you need to store it in the fridge so the nutrients and oils do not break down.

Flax is very high in dietary fiber, which helps to relieve constipation (but make sure you drink your water with it!), high in vitamins E and B, and is the richest source of Omega-3 fatty acid, you know, the one they tell you to eat salmon and other fish to get in order to help prevent heart disease.  Flax meal is also high in lignans, which are antioxidants, and can help reduce your cholesterol.   This little seed sure is a power house!  I put a tablespoon in our daily Green Monsters to make sure we get some…but this sure is another painless way!

If you want to read more on the mighty flax seed,  this dietary fiber site has some great information.

Boy these were GOOD!

Now on to dinner…yes!  We made the cookies before we did the dinner!  And sampled too :)

I will put dinner in a Part 2 as this is getting long!

Heading In The Right Direction

Both scale-wise and family-wise I think!

Okay…..no pictures in this post and I am soooo disappointed!  I was so rotten about remembering to take out the camera at all when we ate!

Friday we went to Naples overnight, about two hours away.  The FabTeen was giving a speech for a Toastmasters convention.  18 years old and he got up and gave pretty much a flawless, motivating, incredibly inspirational speech that ROCKED THE ROOM!  This in front of hundreds of strangers….many professional speakers, many others the best of the best in their speaking clubs.  I was so proud of my son!

For the drive I packed tons of yummy healthy snacks.  I was trying hard to prevent a McDonalds stop!  And succeeded. 

Dinner was at the banquet Friday night….of course I forgot my camera in the room….I don’t know what I am going to do try trigger my memory when I am out of the house! 

I ordered the fish but ended up giving one-third of it to FabHubs.  I ate all my veggies though!  He ordered the pork though….sigh…..

I did eat the dessert, a small cheesecake, dome-shaped type thing…and I really didn’t feel guilty at all for that.  I had eaten so healthy the rest of the day I knew a small treat would be fine.  I also had coffee with it, and a couple of glasses of Merlot later on in the evening.

Breakfast was a first for me….we went to the hotel restaurant and it was the first time I have ever ordered oatmeal in a restaurant.  I have always been a bacon and egg type girl.  If you had told me six months ago I would be ordering oatmeal for breakfast in a restaurant I would have asked you what you were smoking!!! 

I wished FabHubs would have ordered healthier.  He ordered an omelet and bacon and potato and toast.  BUT at least in his omelet he ordered all of the veggies, even mushrooms, along with cheese.  He didn’t have ham or extra bacon in it!  It is the small steps that count towards the long journey, right?

My oatmeal actually turned out to be rather disappointing, especially for the price.  It was to come with mango and berries.  I knew the mango was out of season locally, but I figured it would be imported and ripe at least.  It was hard, crunchy, and SOUR!  My oatmeal was mushy!   The berries were a little sprinkle of blueberries…and there was nothing to sweeten it up.  There was nothing at all served on the side….I had expected a little tray of fun toppings to put on it.   At home I use a little peanut or almond butter, agave syrup, bananas…but here all that was on the table was the sugar envelopes from the coffee  and I didn’t want to use that.  I was surprised it didn’t even come with a side of brown sugar! 

I decided after that, from now on when we travel I am going to be packing our breakfasts too….oatmeal packets, granola packets, almond milk, almond butter, fruit.  Most hotels now have mini fridges in them….otherwise we usually stay in places with kitchens and take a cooler anyway.  I will not be paying $6 for lousy oatmeal anymore!

I was also sorry I hadn’t packed my miniblender and the ingredients to make a Green Monster.  I really really missed one of those!

But very impressive to me is how my tastes are starting to change.  I can’t say I will never eat eggs and bacon again, although I would like to never eat them again, but at least for now I have no taste for it.  My body is starting to naturally crave, good, whole, clean foods! 

For the drive back we stopped at Fresh Market…I don’t have one close to me so I had never been.  It was great and I sure wish there was one close!  FabTeen and I had some brown rice sushi.  FabHubs had an Italian wrap.  He will be a hard one to change, that guy!!!!  I also got us each a square of Ghiradelli chocolate, mine dark chocolate, okay to eat in moderation, and filled with antioxidants.  Oh Yeah!

Finally, off to my mom’s  for dinner before we take FabSS trick or treating.   Mom made tater tots and salad, and we were to pick up chicken wings.  I was torn because I kind of didn’t want to eat the wings.  I ended up adding an order of sweet potato fries to the order of wings…fried, not baked, but better than tater tots!  I also ransacked mom’s fridge for veggies and came up with a red pepper, cauliflower, carrots, purple cabbage and celery…not bad!   So I went to work chopping and dicing and dressed up the plain lettuce with some colorful and crunchy veggies.  I put aside the salad bowl and piled a ginormous amount of salad on my plate, leaving very little room for anything else.  Then I took a generous amount of sweet potato fries…and only two wings.  One honey garlic and one coconut.   I couldn’t even finish the second wing.  I think I did okay there!

After that we ran home so FabSS could change and I got a nice hour and a quarter walk around the neighborhood.   I know I need to get out walking more!  It felt great!!!!!

I filched one dark chocolate mini bars bar from the candy bowl….and was sorry!  It was yucky sweet! 

Overall I think I did great this weekend!  Especially with all of the obstacles…banquet, Halloween, traveling.   I sure hope I can stay on this path!

Not Quite Pumpkin Pie

By 11:30 I was starting to feel a little hungry but I didn’t want to stop working quite yet for lunch  so I had my Green Monster of the day.  

Since I had an open can of pumpkin in the fridge I decided to experiment a little and turned this into a Superfood bounty!  Into the blender went the Almond Milk, 1 TBS ground flax seed, 1 scoop Original Amazing Grass Superfood, big handful of raw spinach (from the organic box!), some crushed ice, and I dumped a whole bunch of pumpkin pie spice into the blender as well.  I had brought out a banana for sweetness, but decided to save the extra point and didn’t add it in.

Not bad!  Not quite pumpkin pie filling, but sweet and very good as far as these green powersmoothies go.

Best of all, full of super health goodness with pumpkin, spinach, and cinnamon (in the pumpkin pie spice) all from the Superfoods list…plus the big benefits of the flax seed and the Amazing Grass. 

All for only 1.5 points!

Speaking of pumpkins…while the rest of the country seems to be breaking out into fall, here in South Florida we are SUFFERING through a heat wave this week!

In my house we have not had A/C since last fall.  Not so bad when it was cool last winter but this summer in our house was brutal for our family.  Since right now we don’t have $$ means to replace it, we have eagerly been anticipating the arrival of October, which, while we don’t cool down as much as the rest of the country, is when the humidity breaks and normally we get some relief from the brutal hot and sticky temps in the 90s. 

Yes…normally in October we make it down to the 70s, but all this week will be record highs for South Florida.  OH JOY!

Twas The Night Before Weigh-In

Yessiree!  Tomorrow is a BIG DAY in Loserville…our first weigh-in!.

I personally have had a pretty crappy last two weeks and when I checked this morning (tsk tsk..I KNOW!)  I am up from Monday, which was up from last Monday.  Not good!

But I am really excited to see how great my fellow Losers are doing and looking forward to seeing the results.

Yesterday was overall a pretty good day point-wise, until we got to the potluck scout Court of Honor.   I had a plan…but you know what happens when you plan don’t you!

My good intentions were to take a piece of chicken (they always have chicken) and then load up my plate with a ginormous pile of salad.  They always have a great selection of salad.  Well guess what….NO SALAD AT ALL…and a paltry selection of veggies at that!

So I took a piece of chicken (ummm….a fried thigh) and a small taste of Shepherd’s pie.  And I took a nice helping of fruit, green beans (with nuts), and some carrot soufflé that I thought was sweet potato, but was still really good.  Although I am sure it was not as healthy as regular old carrots.  And that was going to be it.   I wasn’t going to have dessert.  No, not me!  But of course I caved…BIG TIME!  My daughter brought me back a dessert plate and I ate it all.  I had a brownie (a little one), and a cookie, and (gulp) a piece of carrot cake.  So much for good intentions.

Now today was a different story.  Today I ate really really well…and still came in with half a point leftover.  That was even after half of a Take Five bar I decided to taste since I had all  those extra points.

Today I decided to try and  forgo most meat and really load up on some nutrient  dense foods, especially veggies.   I kicked off the day by lugging out the juicer and making a glass of fresh juice before breakfast  while I was still getting kids ready to go (carrot/granny smith apple/a slice of beet/a slice of ginger).  That was so incredibly refreshing and energizing.  A great way to start the day…and I halved the amount from yesterday so I could enjoy it and not compromise my points.

When I came back from the school run I had a cup of Kashi  U with currents and walnuts (YUM!) with some almond milk.  About an hour later I had an Amazing Grass Green Monster.  I hadn’t had one with spinach for a while and I have been craving this.

Lunch was meatless and fabulous.   (It was pretty too but I was in a hurry and forgot to take a pic!) I put a bunch of spinach leaves in a bowl, cut up some red pepper, threw in some  grape tomatoes, 1 ounce of crumbled feta cheese, 1 tablespoon of walnuts, 1/2 cup of chickpeas, and 1 ounce of hot pasta.   I tossed this with a simple dressing of balsamic vinegar and a little olive oil.  This was so filling and so good and other than the fact it was a few more points than I had bargained for…it was really healthy so I felt good after eating it.

And then I decided for dinner to try to go meatless totally and cut up a half of an eggplant, sautéed that with some red pepper and Adobo seasoning, and my three corn tortillas that I love so much.  I made chicken Caesar salad wraps for  the rest of the family…and then I caved and stole 1 ounce of chicken tenderloin to add to my eggplant mix. 

After that I still had 3 points left and debated some almond butter…but went with the half of the Take Five.  It was just okay…I am glad I used the points on that so I know I don’t want one anymore.  There are plenty of other things I would much rather have.

So that is my day, part of yesterday, and look ahead to tomorrow.  Still failing in the photo journal  department.  I do have pictures of the juice but I will add those maybe tomorrow as it is almost midnight now and I am tired…and the computer is running kind of slow.  One day I hope to manage that much better.

So What Happens When You Run Out Of Week?

It was bound to happen…I have been on WW now for 7 or 8 weeks (I can’t remember exactly!) and I have never run out of points yet. Two or three times I have had 1 or 2 leftover at then end of the day…but that is all. And once or twice I have had a couple of my WPA left at the end of the week…but again very rarely. I try to make sure I use up all my dailies and weeklies. I have even dipped into my activity points on a couple of occasions…although I am content to not use all of those.

BUT THIS WEEK…OY!

Starting off with Labor Day on Monday, we had a neighborhood block party and I used a bunch there.

Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday I stayed on track.

And I planned on staying on track today….saving what I had left for the weekend (because we have plans this weekend…stay tuned further down).

But today at the last minute we decided to stop at one of our favorite pizza places and everyone else wanted the family special, which is one XL pizza (pepperoni for everyone), one dozen of the most delicious garlic rolls on the planet..soaking in garlic and oil and UMMMMM, and a pitcher of Coke. I was really irritated I had left my camera at home to share this fantastic looking pizza with you too!

So…I had ONE garlic roll and ONE slice of gigantic pizza and ONE glass of Coke. It was hard to estimate points…but I think pizza was 7 and garlic roll was 5 and I put down 3 for the Coke…and ended up finishing my points for the day and dipping into my diminished bank of weeklies I was hoarding for the weekend!

Then later on as we packed for our campout this weekend (yes…we are camping..Girl Scout training…not that we need to be trained we are old pros at this…but we have to take it anyway as leaders)….hubby poured us our weekend vino. Another 6.5 points.

So off I go on this campout with only 7 points in my point savings account…to make it through to Sunday!

I have never gone over before!!!! I don’t want to. But realistically I know I will. I will watch myself and track…but I will not starve and totally deprive myself either.

Breakfast tomorrow is at home…and while I know hubby will be cooking eggs and bacon for all…I will stick with a Green Monster shake. It is filling and should keep me until at least 10 a.m.

I brought an Odwalla energy bar for when I get hungry before lunch.

Lunch will be homemade pizza in the Dutch Oven and fresh fruit (the pizza sounds so good when our group planned it last week…not so much after my pizza today!)

Dinner will be hubby’s World’s Best Grilled Chicken (not too bad…but we did get thighs), caesar salad ( bought light dressing), baked potatoes on the fire with reduced fat cheese and reduced fat sour cream, and dump cake in the Dutch Oven for dessert.

Breakfast on Sunday will be Rocky Mountain Eggs in the DO again…I pulled for bacon instead of sausage as it is far less in points, English Muffins (hubby’s homemade…NOT Thomas’s), OJ, and coffee.

At least I was in charge of buying the groceries for our group so I could sneak in a few lower fat items.

I will also bring my almond milk and some Green Superfood with me in case i get hungry between lunch and dinner and can’t wait. I also think there is a good chance some of the fruit from lunch will be left over and I can snack on that.

BUT…I still think I will not make it through Sunday night in points. Oh well….It was bound to happen but I am not happy about it….and at least I will be somewhat active at camp this weekend.

Until Sunday then…have a great weekend all!!!

YUM and EWWW

So as not to gross you out and lest you think I don’t eat real food (how do you think I got into this situation to begin with!) I will first show this absolutely delicious, definitely repeat recipe I made for dinner last night.

Aside from having to buy a few ingredients I have never bought before (a tube of anchovy paste and a bottle of clam juice…which I hid from Hubby as he would never have eaten it had he seen those!) it was incredibly easy to make and was such a treat.

Plus big bonus points for being low in points! I love those!!!

This is Drunken Shrimp from Gina’s Weight Watcher recipes. If you haven’t been there, this is a goldmine of delicious recipes that everyone in the family can eat too. Just because I am on Weight Watchers doesn’t mean I am going to cook to separate meals…everyone else can eat healthy too. But I do like to find yummy recipes they will enjoy.

This was perfect with a piece of Hubby’s homemade “Just Like Macaroni Grill But Better” bread to sop up that garlicky wine sauce. Definitely a keeper.

BREAKFAST

Now on to this morning. First was a cup of espresso with a tsp of sugar. Next was getting the kids off to school. Once that was done I was home and ravenous so I grabbed a few fresh figs.

I couldn’t decide between a bowl of cereal with the blueberries I bought on Sunday or the Green Monster…but since I am loving the energy I am getting from these Amazing Grass products I decided I really really wanted a shake. This time I did take pix…but they really do look gross. Believe me....it tastes much much better than it looks!

I used 1 TBS of flaxseed meal, one packet of Amazing Meal Chocolate Infusion, half of a frozen banana (not in photo, already in blender), 1 cup of Almond Milk (I like the sweetened, only 1 point), and a few big handfuls of baby spinach.

Yea…that looks just gross.

But it is amazing how filling it is and how well it keeps me going. I am on Day 2 of not feeling sluggish and draggy and having to fight going back to bed. That makes it completely worth it!

Finished blend…..

And I am sipping now as I blog. Today’s is a little “spinachy” but not overpowering.

Biggest Loser 2009, Day One

I have signed up, sent in my $$, sent in my scale picture and today is Day One for the BL challenge.

Since I have been following Weight Watchers now since July 20 I don’t feel like it is a Day One sort of thing…like I did my first day on WW. But I am excited for extra motivation to push to lose some weight. This has really been going slow for me….especially with the two 1-pound “up” weigh-ins.

Now the scale picture…that was hard. Not even Hubby knows how much I weigh! I have never shared that with anybody…except the doctor…and then only ‘cuz I have to! Besides…he still has to read the chart to know.

Funny thing about that scale…when I am sneaking onto it for my weekly weigh-ins, that digital number seems to take forever to disappear once I get off…and I am always sure Hubby is going to walk in and see. But today..when I was trying to get my scale picture…with the pen and without my feet….that number would disappear as soon as I hit the camera button. I tried repeatedly…until I finally gave in and took while still standing on it….feet and all!

Sorry…that picture will NOT be posted here!

Finally, I am loving this Windows LiveWriter except for including pix on the blog…that has been a real ordeal. I am trying to figuring out the uploading….Help! Is there an easier way???? Anyone?????!

A Hungry Day

After my delicious and energizing Green Monster this morning, and a walk (in 90+ degree heat and 60% humidity…YUCK) I was pretty good until around 10:30 a.m.  I held myself off until about 11:30 when I finally had a package of dried pear crisps….0 points but I never believe it when something is 0 points.  It has to count something. 

I was hoping the pear crisps would hold me off until at least 12:30 but no such luck.  The hunger monster was driving me nuts!  So I fixed a veggie burger (4 points) on one of the 1 point Arnold Sandwich thins.

YUMMY….but I was still hungry.  What is going on here????

I waited about an hour hoping to feel satisfied at some point but that didn’t happen.  Finally around 1:30 I fixed another Amazing Grass smoothie.

This time I used the berry Green SuperFood packet and instead of a banana I used half a nectarine that I had salvaged by tossing it in the freezer a couple of weeks ago when it was on the verge of going bad.   I added my yummy almond milk, a TBS of the flaxseed meal, and two more big handfuls of spinach. 

It was good….not as good as the ones with the bananas in them.  The bananas sure do add some sweetness.  Also, I don’t think I will get the berry flavor.  It just doesn’t sing to me!

Still trying to figure out whether to get the Amazing Meal or the Green Superfood.  I called the Amazing Grass people and left a message but haven’t heard back from them yet.

And while I was supposed to be working I downloaded Windows Live Writer which I had read about on another blog as being something to make it real easy to blog.  I had never heard of it before.

The download took forever and sure ate into my work time…but she was right!  This post sure is much easier to edit!  I can already see just by looking at the tools available how much easier it will be to insert links, fonts, and more.  And maybe if pix are not such a pain with this I will start adding some.  I just may be a blogger yet!

Week Seven Begins....BAH HUMBUG!

THE WEIGH-IN

OH this is so frustrating! I THOUGHT I had a really good week!

I walked three days and earned myself 7 activity points

I didn't eat my activity points by the end of the week...and I even had weekly points leftover. While I usually do try to eat all my weekly points, I didn't want to eat just to eat them up.

I finished my TOM early in the week. I even had a smoothie for breakfast yesterday morning...a healthy one! And ate really healthy all day...well except for the Tiramisu I had for #1 son's birthday...but I had plenty of points for that.

AND.........on WI this morning I was UP ONE POUND FROM LAST WEEK!!!

HELLLOOOOO????? How did that happen? Because I didn't eat enough maybe? I am still motivated but this sure is frustrating! Six weeks completed on plan and I have had two with 1 pound gains. Not fair!!!

THE BREAKFAST

So with all my Amazing Grass samples my plan is to try one every day and see what I like the best before I order. Maybe. After two days, I am loving this stuff! And I don't want to run out so I may be ordering today.

This weekend I tried two flavors of the Green Superfood in almond milk with some banana and they were both delish.

This morning I jumped onto the Green Monster bandwagon. I threw some fresh baby spinach in with a packet of Amazing Grass, just the wheat grass packet this time, not SuperFood or Amazing Meal. I also put in the almond milk, a TBS of flaxseed meal, and some frozen banana. It was good...not as good as yesterday's Green Superfood smoothie, but still good.....BUT...

THE WALK

Was it because I rested my muscles for four days?

Was it because I had a good sleep?

Was it the flaxseed meal?

Was it the fresh spinach?

Was it the wheat grass powder?

I don't know what it was but let me tell you...as I started to walk I could feel some incredible energy that I have not had in a long time! I was amazed! I felt so good! I am going to keep taking the Amazing Grass products and see if this keeps up.

I personally have never been so in tune with my body so as to be able to follow the nuances in energy I have throughout the day that other people seem to be aware of. For me I am hungry, I am not. I am tired...I am...well I can't say I am not here because for the past couple of years it seems I am always tired.

I have been so fatigued, sluggish, and lethargic for a long time....it had gotten to the point where I was kind of frightened for my future, I could barely move. This is why I have started Weight Watchers and am pushing myself to walk.

But today's walk was something else. It was the best I have had in years. I was so energized, I could move, and I felt powerful. Powerful for me anyway.

Right now I am sold. I will order some Amazing Grass today and keep track of what I eat and how I feel over the next 30 days. I sure hope this wasn't a fluke...but I am thinking not.

Amazing Grass

I recently was looking at wheat grass juice and I stumbled upon this product called Amazing Grass. I started to research it a little bit more and apparently I am the last to know about it...it is all over the healthy blogging world!

It looked good...and I am looking to revamp our diets now and take it to another level while still following Weight Watchers of course, so I decided to order their sample packets.

This morning I made myself a "smoothie" and I am going to try to keep track of the different flavors so I can decide which I want to order. Too bad they don't have a combo pack as I sure wouldn't mind a variety and they are a little pricy.

First up this morning was the original flavor Green SuperFood. Into the blender went a chunk of frozen banana, the packet of SuperFood, and a cup of sweetened vanilla almond breeze. Later on I will try it with unsweetened...but I was not that brave yet!

This was really good! It went down with no problem at all and I could definitely have this often.

DH, shockingly enough, was disappointed I didn't split it with him....and it was gone already, so I made him one as well, only I used the chocolate flavor Green SuperFood. Right now I only have one packed of each kind!

I sipped it and it was YUM-O! He liked it as well and said he could drink this daily too. I am kind of surprised he is showing an interest...after he drank it he started asking questions about growing wheat grass and juicing it. For now though I think I will make us these as I have had wheat grass juice and it is YUCK-O!

So...thumbs up on both the original and chocolate Green Superfood flavors.

Later this week I want to add spinach and starting making some Green Monsters for breakfast, but today (A) I didn't have any spinach, and (B) I want to try the flavors on their own first to see what I like.

Now if only I can get the PreTeen to drink the kids version we are in business.

Great nutrition here we come!!