Lemonade, in the form of an Elliptical machine

I went over to the Y expecting to go to spinning today, after waffling over spinning or running, having missed my run yesterday. Well, long story short, they lost my laundry. This would not be so bad, except that I only have one sports bra over there and the prospect of doing spinning or anything else without hurt just thinking about it. So, I waited for 20 minutes while they searched everywhere. In the end, they found it right where it should have been, but under something else. Unfortunately spin class was already started and too full to enter once I was ready. So, I did an interval workout on the Elliptical. Surprisingly, my quads are really sore! Yea! I love being sore after a workout because it means that I worked!!

Now, I can go through my afternoon knowing that I burned at least 300 calories and that I am back on track after a bit too much celebrating for Mother's Day!

The Ice Cream Monster

I am the person that loves ice cream so much that I can and will eat the entire container, no matter the size. If you were to give me a 2 quart Dreyer's container of Drumstick flavor, I will have it finished by the end of the evening. If you give me a pint of Ben and Jerry's Americone Dream, I will have it finished by the end of the show that I am watching. The same is true for my favorite Haagen Dazs, Midnight Cookies & Cream. The only ice cream that I can truly refuse is Butter Pecan, which I find quite revolting. Hence, it is usually the only ice cream that might have in our freezer for any given period of time. This is also because Brad has impeccable will power and can eat 1/2 - 1 cup and be satisfied. The Ice Cream Monster inside of me will not be satisfied unless I consume the entire container of whatever I am eating. I have tried stopping, but I usually end up back in the kitchen, sneaking bites whenever I get up.

So my solution has been to not keep ice cream in the house. Occasionally, we will buy the coveted pints, but not more. Otherwise, we head to DQ or Braums for their portion control. Now that we are experiencing a little bit of the summer like weather in Texas, my cravings for ice cream are ramping up. It is a hard craving to deny. What usually happens is that I deny myself for a good while and then all of a sudden, I don't just fall, I plummet, off the wagon and into the depths of ice cream goodness. This not only derails my weight loss efforts, it also wrecks havoc on my bank accounts.

In the spirit of trying something new, I came across the Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches last night at Tom Thumb. They have changed their packaging so that each sandwich is individually wrapped, just like Weight Watchers. Each sandwich is 4 points plus, just like Weight Watchers. But, they are $2 cheaper per package! And, they have a few different flavors. I have always liked Blue Bell Cookies & Cream ice cream, so I was hoping for the best! I knew that Skinny Cow had a great product because I used to eat all 6 sandwiches in one sitting. But now, with the additional step of unwrapping each sandwich, somehow I am tempted by them a little less. It is not the actual unwrapping is what keeps me from eating them. It is the fact that my husband would see the wrappers in the trash and *might* say something. He is not the food police by any means, but he would make a comment and I would feel like that 6 year old who stole Daddy's drumstick from the freezer and got found out.

Last night I had my one and I was satisfied, not going back for a second. I hope that I can keep this up!

The Loss of an Energy Bar

Tonight I am mourning the discontinuation of my favorite "energy" bar, The Twisted by Premier Nutrition. I had recently found this bar to be a good meal replacement when added to a fruit for a quick post workout lunch. I had trouble finding it at the retail locations indicated on their website, so I ordered 36 bars from their website and had them delivered just last week. Tonight, as I was looking at their website, trying to give my sister some of their nutrition information, I noticed that they had discontinued the entire line of bars. Travesty!!! And I cannot find out why they have been discontinued. I hope that this is only a temporary discontinuation. Maybe there has been a run on pretzels or nougat?

My nutritionist, Meridan, has said that it is only a glorified candy bar and of course, as I type this, she is on the Channel 11 news! Oh goodness! She's after me!!! Her argument is based on the ingredient list. It is not all natural as compared to the Clif bar.

After I get through my current stash, I might just go back to the Snickers Marathon bar. The only place that I have ever found them are at 7-11 individually. I only really like the Multigrain bars and Sam's carries them in the variety pack, but I am not a big fan of the taste or the points plus values of the other flavors in the pack. Or, I might just have to find myself a more natural bar that I like...and that has chocolate.

An Apple A Day

An apple a day does in fact keep the doctor away. I am very lucky to be thriving through this cold/flu season. I have continued to take my vitamins (a multivitamin, Cooper Complete Elite Athlete and Omega 3 Supplement) in addition to eating 2-3 fruits per day. Of these fruits, at least one is an apple. This helps maintain a healthy GI system and healthy teeth. I have found that I really like Honeycrip Apples that are in season from November - January. You might see them at Whole Foods or Central Market a little later than this but it is rare and they are usally quite expensive at that time. Another favorite is the Pink Lady apple. It is very similar in flavor profile, crisp and sweet, to the Honeycrisp, but it has a longer season. Recently, the prices on Pink Ladies has risen and I have found that Gala apples are particularly sweet this year. I have found them at Kroger mostly and occasionally at Walmart. So, how do you determine if an apple is ripe? I smell them. If they smell "Apple-y", then I know that they are ripe. So, munch on an apple today! You will be glad you did!

Tasty Afternoon Treat

Over the past two weeks, I have become overly disenchanted with my afternoon snacks. In addition, I have been ravenously hungry as soon as I get home, spurring me to eat a lot of snacks while waiting for dinner to cook. So, I have been on the search for a high protein, low carb snack. Today, I tried edamame in pods that I found at Sam's. They are in small, individually portioned packs and come in right at 1 WW points plus per pack, with 8 grams of protein. The fact that there were so many to eat helped with my chew factor. In my mind, the more I chew, the more satisfied I become. It took me approximately 30 minutes to eat the entire pack as I did it while reviewing a spreadsheet. The true test will be the 6:00 test. Am I ravenous or am I doing okay? They come with seasalt to put on them after you steam them (you steam them right in the little packets). I wonder if I could boost the flavor by adding other seasonings...maybe a trick to try on the weekends!

Broccoli, Beef & Potato Hotdish

Tonight we tried our second new item of the week. This time it was a new recipe: Broccoli, Beef & Potato Hotdish (casseroles for everyone NOT from Minnesota). I had received it in an email from Cooking.com earlier in the week. It was originally published in the Eating Well Magazine, so I had high hopes. After that, i figured out that it only had 10 points plus based on the products that they used. With a few adjustments, I was able to cut it back to 9 points plus, which, for me, is reasonable for dinner.

One of the best things about this dish is that the broccoli tastes absolutely delicious! You roast it before you add it to the casserole. On top of everything, you envelop everything in a cheese sauce that is absolutely delicious! I personally always use full fat cheese because it is also full of flavor. So, I cut back on the milk to fat free skim.

This takes a little bit of time (2 hours total) but is great for a weekend dinner. I love casseroles because once you put it in the oven, you can clean the kitchen, set the table, and just relax, waiting on dinner. This is all I served because it had veggies, protein, and a wee bit of starch.

Here is the link to the recipe on Cooking.com: http://www.cooking.com/Recipes-and-More/recipes/Broccoli-Beef-Potato-Hotdish-recipe-12552.aspx

Enjoy!

Five New Things

This week at Weight Watchers, our fearless leader, Sandra, charged us with trying 5 new things over the course of the next week. I feel I must follow this advice closely because last week, she said track, I did, and I lost 3.4 pounds! So, I will follow this advice, in addition to tracking and hopefully we can lose one or two more pounds this week.

The first thing that I am trying is to grow something different. I had to give up my beloved ivy, Fred, when I left Cooper two weeks ago as I downsized from a nice sized office to a cubicle. Scoobie and Max would eat Fred, so he could not come home with me. Yesterday, we found a cute little jade plant at Lowe's. I bought a Notre Dame inspired (of course!) pot, some cactus potting mix, and now we have Freida:



After watching many Gardening by the Yard shows featuring Paul James, I have been inspired to grow succulents, but have never found a place for them in our landscape. This is my first step and I am really pleased. Who knows? I might have Hens and Chicks someday!