St. Patty's Day Aftermath....

How as your St. Patty's Day?  Mine was pretty awesome!  I spent the day with some of my grand daughters roller skating. It was fun having them together.

Brianna, Teresa, Katie and Lexi

By the time I got home I was exhausted. I was really glad that I had put my corned beef and cabbage in the crock pot before I had left with the kids. All I had to do is dish it out when it was time to eat. It turned out pretty good. I only make this once a year on St. Patty's Day, so I decided to make it the 'old fashioned way' instead of looking for ways to trim points.  

When I got up this morning I was starving. I decided that the little Weight Watcher Berries and Cream Oatmeal cups weren't gonna do the trick, so I got out the leftover corned beef and the potatoes and cut them up to make a hash. I added some diced onion and red bell peppers and cooked it up in a little olive oil. Add a couple of eggs on the side and viola'....hash and eggs. It was scrumptious .  High in points, but scrumptious. 

Then I was off to church. It was a wonderful worship service. I love going to my church. It's the same one that my Grandmother went to since the early 1970's until she passed away in 2005. Most of the older folks who knew her have passed away too, but there are still a few left and it's like sitting with my Grandmother during those services. I can feel her presence sitting there with me. While I was listening to my pastor talk this morning I looked at my black boots that I was wearing and I swear I heard Grandmommy whisper in my ear "Sweetie, you need to get some white shoes soon. You know you need white shoes after Easter". It made me smile. I love you Grandmommy and for you...no white shoes after Labor Day...and no black shoes after Easter. Strange how some things stay with a person.

But I digress......

When I got home from church I cleaned up the kitchen and started some laundry.  Lunch was pretty much non existent. Amanda, Ernie and girls showed up...and I got caught up with the kids and didn't eat. By the time they left I was feeling a bit peckish....so I whipped up a WW chocolate smoothie with a dash of instant espresso powder, a pear and a few of those Quaker cheddar popcorn bites.  Not the best lunch...but it will hold me over til dinner. 

(source)

The other day I went through my freezer and cupboards to try to figure out a menu for the week using what I had on hand. I was pretty impressed that I made a menu for 7 days and even a "lazy day meal" in case I didn't feel like cooking one day. I only needed a handful of fresh veggies from the store to get everything together. I really do need to pay more attention to what I am buying. Things are getting so expensive and it may help me to stretch a buck by planning better.  Plus, it will help me to use up what I have on hand (in the freezer) before summer veggies come into season. If I don't use it up soon...things will end up in the freezer longer than I would like. So..use it or loose it...as they say. (Sometimes I wonder who "they" are, don't you?)

So, on the menu tonight is beef enchiladas. I've made the chicken ones with salsa verde the last few times. Jim asked me a while back when was I gonna make the quote/unquote "regular" ones. So, guess what Jim...tonight is that night. I used a ton of points for breakfast this morning, so I probably shouldn't make these, but it's what's on the menu...and I'm trying to stick to the menu. 

All it needs is cheese....

 And now...into the oven 

Yummo!

Tonight the Baltimore Orioles are playing the New York Yankees on the MLB station and I can't wait.  It's only Spring Training, but I don't care...it's baseball and that's all that matters.  So, getting the enchiladas done and in the oven makes things a lot easier for me since Jim doesn't get off until the game is well on it's way. It'll be "Microwave City" for him when he gets home, but that'll be ok...he doesn't mind. He'll be happy it's the "regular" enchiladas, and I'll be happy that he's happy.  

Hope everyone has a wonderful evening...and Goooo Orioles!

What I ate Wednesday #5

Ok...I'm getting a little better at remembering to do this post about What I Ate Wednesday...but I did forget to take a picture of my lunch.  *sad face*

Breakfast was pretty usual. It was the Weight Watchers Harvest Berries & Cream Oatmeal with 1/2 cup of fresh blueberries mixed into the cup. Yummo...I mean really...yummo!  It is fastly becoming my favorite oatmeal. It doesn't fall into the "Green" category...maybe we'll do a" WIAW goes blue" one day...who knows?

So good that I forgot to take the pic before I ate it

Lunch was with my daughter and granddaughter at the Waffle House...or "Waffle Place" as Katie Bug calls it. I was so into sitting with her that I totally forgot to take a pic of my meal until after it was gone. I guess I could have taken a pic of the empty plate...but what would that serve?  We've all seen empty plates before. 

Photo Credit Ciaran Griffin/Stockbyte/Getty Images 

As much as I wanted to order the waffles, eggs, hash browns and bacon I was a good girl and ordered the chicken breast sandwich.  It was just breast..no breading on a bun with sauteed onions, lettuce, tomato and a dab of mayo that I added myself. I figured around 12 points but when I looked up the info at Livestrong.com and ran it through the Weight Watcher online calculator it came up with 5 points. Can you say "Amazed"?...I knew that you could.  I checked the Waffle House site..and a few others just to make sure I had the correct info and it's true...5 points. I am more than thrilled because I thought that it was going to be higher so I only ordered the sandwich with a cup of coffee...not fries, no hash browns, nothing...just the sandwich. Can you see me smiling from where you are...I bet you can!  

Dinner is going to be my favorite turkey burgers. Actually, they are a take on Rachel Ray's Adirondack Red Wing Burger. I don't use the blue cheese or buns, but I do put provalone cheese on top of mine and eat it on the plate with some ketchup and mustard on the side. Today's side will be brought to you courtesy of Stay at home Sunday's roasted mixed veggies. I think it's a perfect meal especially the day before weigh in. 

So, that's about it for today...except for maybe a piece of home made pumpkin spice cake sometime tonight while watching some television. 

I hope you all have had at least half as wonderful a day as I have had. The temps are in the low 80's and for March that is just outstanding...to say the least. 

What did you eat today? Write me and let me know...I'd love to hear from you.

Coming Home To Laurens Meetings....

During the winter months I had been going to the Greenville office of Weight Watchers to do my weigh ins after my Zumba classes. It was easier to do that because I didn't like driving at night after the Laurens meetings.  But spring is just around the corner and the days are getting longer, so I have decided to come back to my Laurens WW group. Besides, I missed them. They are the group of people who live close to me and I have made some good friends in this group. My leader Eunice is the leader of both groups, which is a very good thing. She does the craziest things in our meetings to get our attention. She definitely goes above and beyond....for sure!

Eunice as our Fairy Godmother

I have been stagnant in my weight loss since the holidays, but I guess that's better than putting on the 10 to 15 pounds I usually do in the winter months. However, I did put on almost 5 pounds within a couple of weeks 3 weeks ago. I was not a happy camper...but it was my own fault. I wasn't tracking. I was eating junk, and by junk I mean jelly beans. I thought that the Thanksgiving/Christmas holidays was gonna be tough, but  Valentines and Easter with the chocolate and Starburst Jelly Beans...all I have to say is "Be afraid-be very afraid".  I went through 2 bags of jelly beans in the course of 2 or 3 days. (Can we say "addiction"?  I knew that we could!)  So now when I go to the grocery store, I make a conscious effort to steer clear of the Easter candy isle.

So after I weighed in last week and was given the floor dropping news of my 4.8 pound gain...I went to Eunice and told her I needed help. She knows that I track online...so I gave her my log in info and password so she could check my tracker during the week. It's amazing if you know someone is looking at what you're putting in your mouth how much you'll change. I know I did. The good news is that when I weighed in last night I had lost 3.6 of that 4.8. I'm still behind...but I am determined to work the program to the max and get going in the right direction again.

One of my love...love...loves is peanut butter in my oatmeal. I discovered how much I loved it by trying the overnight oats in a jar (OOIAJ) recipe. The only problem with eating peanut butter in my oatmeal is the points. 5 points for 2 tbsp. plus 4 points for the cooked oats is a grand total of 9 and that's just a little more than I want to use for oatmeal...no matter how much I love it. So, I have decided to do the OOIAJ for special occasions (like when the jar is actually empty instead of plopping a heaping blob of pb in my bowl) and use PB2. Eunice offered to ordered some for us and I finally broke down to give it a try. It wasn't bad. It's not the same thing as real pb...but it was 1 point instead of 5, and that I can live with.

(source)

I have also decided to use the Weight Watcher Harvest Berries & Cream oatmeal as my 'To-Go' meal on my Zumba days.  It's quick, easy and delicious. I add about a half cup of blue berries to it after I microwave it to give it some more volume. And if I'm running late to class...I can nuke it, mix it and take it with me and eat it on the way to class. Very cool.

   

I'm sensing a theme here for my breakfasts....It's kinda strange since I used to be a 'Bacon & Eggs' type of a girl.

Today's lunch was salad greens, mushrooms, cucumber, grape tomatoes, walnuts and Marie's Blue Cheese Yogurt Dressing (2 points for the dressing) and a Weight Watcher Chocolate Smoothie with a good helping of instant espresso powder for good measure.

It was a little overcast this morning....but it wasn't raining. So here is a pic of Me & Charlie. He's my new walking bud. Every time we head out I hear Miranda Lambert's song "Me & Charlie Talkin'" go thru my head...but I change the words to "Me & Charlie Walkin'". Hahaha!

What do you do for exercise? Do you walk? Zumba? Do you do it alone or go with a pal?  I'm trying to find fun ways to get in some exercise....any suggestions?

What I ate Wednesday {#4}

For some reason I seem to have a problem in documenting what I eat on Wednesdays. But, today I was on the ball. I made a conscious effort to take pictures and make sure that I got this written down right away. So, without further ado...

Breakfast was a WW Harvest Berries & Cream Oatmeal with 1/2 cup of fresh blueberries mixed in. Totally delish!  

I had gone through a total craving of oatmeal with peanut butter mixed in with bananas...but the points were very high. One cup of rolled oats and 2 tbsp of peanut butter = 9 ppv, which isn't too bad "occasionally" but it is kinda high to have it on a regular basis.  My WW leader and others have been raving over PB2, so I thought I'd give it a shot in my oatmeal to cut the points way back. I'll let ya know how it is when it arrives next week. 

Lunch was some left over sauteed veggies. A combo of zucchini, yellow squash, roasted red peppers, onions and garlic. Along with some turkey kielbasa and a couple of those little "Cutie" oranges. I also made myself a smoothie from one packet of WW Vanilla Smoothie mix, 1 cup of FF milk and 1 mango.  

Dinner was a Rachel Ray recipe that I made some changes to. It was a Marsala Chicken and Mushroom Casserole. I took out the butter and heavy cream and substituted them with olive oil and fat free half & half. I also added some leeks to the recipe.  I thought it was totally awesome.  I served it with green beans. I forgot to take a picture of plate. But here is a pic of the casserole dish.

What I Ate Wednesday is going "Green" this month...so I guess you could say the green beans and the zucchini at lunch were my "green things" for today. I'll try to remember to do better next week.

What I ate Wednesday

This is my second Wednesday of the "What I Ate Wednesday" challenge. I was a little afraid that I might forget to take pictures so I made sure I put my cell phone in my pocket this morning so it would be handy.  Good thing I did.

The theme of this month's WIAW is Veggies!

Breakfast was just a little boring....Cheerios, but not the regular Cheerios....it was the peanut butter ones. I also used Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla Milk on them so I could save a WW point instead of using non-fat milk. Besides, I like Almond Breeze better than regular 'ole milk. Maybe it's the sweetness, I don't know...but I do. Anyway, here the pic....

Lunch was a little better. Well, actually it was a lot better. I took the few left over peppers from the fajitas that I made the other night and added them to some sauteed zucchini, roma tomato and a portabello mushroom. It was pretty awesome...even if I do say so myself.  Once the veggies were sauteed, I just dumped the peppers in and let it heat through. There was enough of the fajita flavoring in them to go thru the rest of the veggies. I thought about eating it on tortillas...but I didn't want to use the points. So it was fajita flavored veggies sans tortilla and some Greek couscous I made the other day. I topped the veggies with a couple tablespoons of plain Chobani and a few shreds of 2% cheddar cheese.

The next time I make the Greek Couscous I'll post the recipe with pics. It's really very good. 

When I made the veggies for lunch I made so much I had plenty left over for dinner. So dinner was a repeat of lunch. Usually I don't do that, but it was so good...and Jim wasn't going to be home for dinner tonight, so why not?

For dessert I couldn't resist the Chobani calling my name....especially since there were so many in the fridge shouting I had to cave in. So my dessert was the Strawberry-Banana Chobani with some Bear Naked Vanilla Almond Granola sprinkled on top.

Any flavor of Chobani with the stuff on it has become my latest obsession. It's better than the milk and cookies that have been tempting me since Christmas....much better.

Well, that's it for the day. What did you eat today?  Write me and let me know. Maybe you can give me some good ideas, I get tired of eating the same thing all of the time. I love to mix it up...so let me know. I'd love to hear from you.

Time to buckle down

I will have to admit that I have not been putting my whole heart into the Weight Watcher thing the last couple of months. I'm not sure if it was because of my fear of failure during the holidays...or just me. But I have to do something and soon if I'm ever going to turn this ship around and start heading into the right direction. So this is what I have decided:

1. Track...track...track...it makes a difference and I know that. I just have been doing it sort of half way for a bit.         Time to buckle down.

2. I've joined the "What I Ate Wednesday" club to put out in the blog world what I'm eating. It's one thing to log it into the WW tracker, it's quite another to admit that you've been cramming gummy bears or chips into your mouth all day. (which by the way...I haven't) But I need to be held more accountable about what I am eating. Hopefully this will help too.

3. Join the "Junk Food Free February" campagin whole heartedly. I look at it as being another challenge to myself to keep on track.

4. I have also decided to switch back to my Laurens Weight Watcher meetings. My leader (and friend) Eunice says I have a connection with them and they have helped me get to where I am. So, I'm going back. If I can drive home from Zumba 30 miles away in the dark, then I can drive home from WW in Laurens 7 miles at dusk. So, starting tonight...I'm going back to Laurens. Besides, I miss them. :)

Well, that's about it for now. I'm sure after the meeting tonight the girls will give me more ideas to help me and I'll incorporate them into the plan. By the way...I found something that is kinda awesome.  Well, maybe more than just kinda...

It's a recipe that I tweeked from Janetha @ Meals and Moves blog. Here is the link to her recipe called Apple Pie A La Mode:  http://mealsandmovesblog.com/2012/01/28/apple-pie-a-la-mode/

But here is my recipe:

1 6oz container of Chobani Apple Cinnamon
6 oz Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla Milk
1 packet of Weight Watchers Vanilla Smoothie Mix
Dash of cinnamon
4 or 5 ice cubes
(Fat Free Reddi Whip, optional)

I ran it through the recipe builder (w/o the whip cream) and it came up to 7 points plus. It's pretty filling and an awesome lunch after Zumba. Combine it with a sliced apple or pear or even a small mixed green salad and you have a bang up meal.

Ok, I'm off to enjoy my version of my Apple Pie A La Mode Smoothie. Do you have a recipe for a smoothie you'd like to share? I'd love to hear from you. I am always looking for new and delicious ways to make smoothies, especially in the summer. Thanks!

What I ate Wednesday

I have seen several (well, maybe more than just several) blogs that do the "What I ate Wednesday"  (WIAW) thing and I have been tempted to chime in. The only problem with that thinking is that if I'm gonna do it, I want to be honest...completely honest about what I eat on those days. The thought has occurred to me that maybe I should start next week as my Weight Watcher leader Eunice reads these posts. I don't wanna give her a heart attack...or get the "what are you doing" lecture. But still, it is what it is and maybe this will make me be more accountable to what I'm shoving in my mouth on that particular day.  So here goes....(sorry about the lack of pics for each meal...I didn't decide to do this until now.)

Breakfast:

1 cup of old fashioned rolled oats topped with 1 tbsp. peanut butter and a banana.

2 cups (small) coffee with FF half & half and splenda

Lunch:

Chobani yogurt...Mango flavor with 2 tbsp. of Bear Naked Vanilla Almond granola

16 oz of lemon water (Sams choice)

Dinner:

2 home made beef fajitas made with mushrooms, onions and peppers....lots of onions and peppers. Topped with 1 tbsp. sour cream and 2% cheddar cheese. 

It was a terrible day as I look at what I ate. My veggies came from the fajitas and there was by no stretch of the imagination the right amount of servings for the day. Oh well, tomorrow is another day. (I'm channeling my inner Scarlett O'Hara)

Chobani....The Breakfast (or Dinner) of Champions....

You're probably sick of my zumba antics, but what can I say. I'm addicted.  Totally and utterly addicted.

I normally go to Zumba on Thursday morning, but I slept in yesterday and by the time I got up, there was no way I was gonna make it. So, I did 45 minutes on the 'dreadmill' and kinda piddled around the house doing chores and stuff. (That means I was on Facebook alot...hahaha!)  There is a Zumba class on Thursday evenings, but I'm not really an evening work out person...so I don't usually go to it. But, the girl that normally teaches it was sick and Nicole posted that she was gonna do the class instead. So I figured I would give it a shot and make up for my lost class. Come to find out, there were quite a few of my Tuesday/Thursday Zumba gals there last night...which made it even more awesomer. (Is awesomer a word?  Oh well)  I had a blast and was totally exhausted when I got home. Dinner was a Chobani yogurt with Bear Naked granola and an apple. I was too tired to fool with anything else.

Have I told you how much I love this stuff?

Well, at least I got 1 3/4 hours of exercise in for the day...and that is a good thing. 

Twenty Questions

I read Mindy's blog and she did a "Twenty Questions" blog post and I thought it was a pretty good way to get to know more about her. At the end of her post she challenges her readers to try to do the same, either with all of just some of the questions.

So, here goes....

1) What is one of your favorite ways to spend a Saturday?

I love my Zumba classes, then I hit Starbucks on the way home to spend the rest of my day with my boxers.

2) List your top three favorite TV shows.

• Bones
• Fringe
• The Young and The Restless (my one soap vice)

3) Would you rather be in pictures or take them?

For now, I will say I would rather take the pictures, only because I don't like how I look in pictures right now....because of my weight. But I am hoping that as I loose the weight I will become more confident about being in front of the camera.

4) Why do you blog?

I started blogging when I joined Weight Watchers. I used their site to document how I was feeling and what I was going through in hopes of getting support and also inspiring others who may be going through the same thing that I  was going through.  After almost a year of writing I discovered blog spot and I liked the format better because I could add more pictures than the Weight Watcher site.

5) Share five websites that you visit regularly.

• Facebook
• Weight Watchers
• My Bank
• The Baltimore Orioles
• Cherry Suede (I love their music and they offer free downloads from their webpage)

6) If you could have lunch with one person from your Twitter list, who would it be?

@TheRealSambora...The King of Swing

Not sure lunch would be enough...but I'd take it. Bahahahaha!


7) List a few of your favorite snacks.

• Peanuts...dry roasted, spanish, in popcorn whatever...I love peanuts
• Chobani with Bear Naked Vanilla granola
• Popcorn

8 ) Do you have a pet? If so, what kind?

Yes...I have a dog. Well, 4 dogs. 3 boxers and a beagle/bassett mix. 

Dog Pile

9) Which three material possessions would you struggle to live without?

• My car...I wouldn't be able to get to my Zumba classes *sad face*
• My cell...I love the fact that I can take pics with it w/o having to carry my camera with me
• My laptop..For obvious reasons *wink*

10) What’s your favorite drink?

Coffee....coffee....and more coffee,  especially if it's from Starbucks. *shameless plug*

11) Do you enjoy cooking?

Yes...it's the clean up I hate.

12) Do you have children?

Yes. I have 2 of my own and 2 step children...but they are mine...so I guess you could say yes..I have 4. Ernie, Michelle, Kelly and Amanda. 

Me, Amanda and Michelle @ a Bon Jovi Concert....yeah, we roll like that!

Me, my son Ernie and my oldest daughter Michelle @ Thanksgiving

Ernie and Kelly

13) What are your favorite hobbies?

My favorite hobbies revolve around music....playing my bass and listening to music. Anything I can do while listening to music is ok by me too.

14) Would you consider yourself to be shy or outgoing?

I consider myself outgoing. My hubby says I'm a "social butterfly"

15) Who is your favorite actor/actress?

Alex O'Laughlin...Seriously, do you really need to ask me why?

(source)

16) If you could change one thing about yourself, what would you change?

My weight....but I'm working on that.

17) What’s the coolest thing you’ve done this week?

I went and helped my friend Nicole celebrate the one year anniversary of her gym. It was nice to be part of something so positive. 

18) Do you live near your family or far from them?

Both.... Pick a state...we probably have someone who either lives or has lived there.

19) List three of your talents.

• I can play the bass guitar.
• I'm a pretty good cook
• I can remember numbers pretty easily. *It's a weird talent*

20) What is your greatest attribute?

I had to ask my husband for this one....he says I have a big heart and I'm a very optimistic person.*Rose colored glasses syndrome*

Ok...now I've done it. How about you?