Dropping my points from 38 to 35 really doesn't seem like that much, but in the weight watchers world it is huge. lOL I have found this out. I am still doing ok on WW and on my points, I just need to be more concious of what I am eating and how much they count for. All I can say is thank goodness I didn't eat much yesterday because I ended up eating Taco bell for dinner, but amazingly I had just the right amount of points leftover....Yay

FOOD DIARY MAY 26 2010

Breakfast: Oatmeal 3pts
Coffee 1.5pts
Turkey bacon 3 pieces 2pts

Snack: Bagel thin with cream cheese, light 2pts

Lunch: Progresso light chicken rotini soup 2.5pts

Snack: small bag of baked lays 3pts

Dinner: 2 Fresco Tacos 6.5pts
Nachos Supreme 10pts---didn't realize these were so much until I came home and looked it up....

Weight Watchers Points used....33.5/35


Here is another great idea for your Memorial Day BBQ and this is only 2pts

**PEACH AND BLUBERRY COBBLER**
Serves 8

What you need:
nonstick cooking spray
4 ripe peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of granulated Splenda
3/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon of Bisquick heart smart baking mix
1 Teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup skim milk
2 Tablespoons sugar in the raw

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees, Spray 7 by 11 glass baking dish with spray, set aside
2. mix together peaches, blueberries, 1/4 cup splenda and 1 tablespoon of bisquick. pour fruit mix into baking dish
3. Combine remaining splenda, bisquick, ginger, cinnamon and milk. Stir until mix forms soft dough. Drop spoonfuls of dough evenly oever fruit mix. Sprinkle raw sugar over dough.
4. Bake unitl fruit is tender and biscuits toppin is golden brown about 30 minutes. Let rest for 5 min. before serving.
~Thanks to Roccos Eat this cookbook for this fab recipe

Weight Watcher points per serving: 2 pts

Nutrition
Calories 96
Fat 1g
Protein 2g
Carb 22g
Chol 0mg
Fiber 2g
SOd 158mg

Great Day

The days are going by so quickly, but I can't wait for summer to start. I have an outdoor activity packed summer planned for the kids. I know if they are outdoors running around having fun, so will I.

FOOD DIARY MAY 25 2010

Breakfast: Oatmeal 3pts
Coffee 2pts

Snack: Banana 2pts
Pretzels 1pt

Lunch: Bagel thin with Cream Cheese 3pts
Salad 5pts

Snack: Light Kettlecorn 3pts

Dinner: The husband surprised me with a subway sandwich, not realizing how many points one is.....oh well its the thought that counts
foot long Black forest ham sandwich 14pts

Snack: pretzels 2pts

Total Points: 35 due to the weightloss I also had to drop my points from 38 to 35 so I did perfect yesterday.


Memorial day is coming and that mean bbqing. So for the next couple of days I will post some great healthy recipes that can go with the bbq theme.

This is a great dip for anything from pita wedges to veggies
**RED PEPPER HUMMUS**
Makes 2 cups

What you need:
1/2 cup chopped roasted red bell peppers
2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablesppon tahini (sesame seed paste)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (19 ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans)rinsed and drained
1 garlic clove, quarted

Directions:
Put all ingredients in a food processor; process until smooth.

Serving size is about 1/3 cup

Weight watchers points 1 pt per serving

Nutrition:
Calories 94
Fat 3g
Protein 3.7g
Carb 14.1g
Fiber 3.7g
Chol 0mg
Iron 1.3mg
Sod 290mg
Calc 30mg

Once dip is made store in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Drum Roll Please>>>>

So yesterday was my second week on Weight Watchers which also means my second weigh in. I struggled just a bit last week so I was not expecting great numbers at the scale. Weighing in once a week is great, although I tend to cheat and weigh myself every other day. my husband is threatening to throw away our scale. haha. I think maybe he should. I just think being able to see my weight makes me more concious of what I eat and when I eat it. Enough of the jibber jabber, here is my results for the weigh in......last week I was 300.2.......this week 295.8.....that is a 4.4lb loss.

FOOD DIARY MAY 24 2010

Breakfast: Oatmeal 3pts
Coffee with cream .5pts

Snack: Apple 1pt
bagel thin 1pt
cream cheese 1pt

Lunch: 6 inch ham sandwich from subway loaded with veggies and mustard 5pts
Baked lays 3pts

Dinner: Spaghetti 7pts
bagel thin garlic bread 1pt
Salad 2 pts

Snack: pudding 2pts


Here is a fab recipe for the bbq days. Instead of macaroni salad try this

**TUNA PASTA SALAD**
Makes 4 servings

What you need
1 cup small shells
1/3 cup finely chopped red onion
3 tablespoons light mayo
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 can water packed tuna drained and flaked
1 tablespoon of water (optional, use this only if you want a thinner dressing)

Directions
1. Cook shells according to package. Drain and rinse with cold water. Add onions to shells and rinse again.
2. Combine mayo, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a large serving bowl, stir in tuna. Add the shell mix and water if being used. Let sit for a few minutes

This can be stored in an airtight container for up to a day. Great healthy and easy on the pocketbook.

Weight Watcher points: 4 points per serving (abotut 3/4 cup)

Nutrition:
Calories 175
Fat 1g
Chol 516mg
Sod 20g
Carb 1g
Fiber 12g
Protein 13mg

Monday Weigh in Day

Today is my weight watchers meeting. So tomorrow morning I will have an updated weight..... I didn't do so well this weekend lets hope it doesn't affect me too bad.

FOOD DIARY MAY 23 2010

Breakfast: Oatmeal 3pts
Coffee 1pt

Snack: Small pizza slice 4pts

Lunch: 6 inch blackforest ham sub with veggies and mustard 5pts
Baked lays 3pts

Snack: Apple 1pt

Dinner: Tuna Melt 7pts
Sweet Potato Frys 2pts
Salad 2pts
Snack: Cake Ball 5pts

Total Points: 33points

Great quick and easy brownie

One point Brownie
Makes 1

What you need:
fat free vanilla yogurt (a flavor will work too)
Devils food cake mix or low fat brownie mix

Directions:
In a dixie cup or small microwave safe container mix 2 tablespoons of brownie mix with 1 tablespoon of yogurt. Microwave for 1 minute.

WW points~~ 1pt per serving

Friday is here :)

I love Fridays, they are my favorite day. Not only do we have a weekend off from work and the kids have a weekend off from school I also get to focus and have some me time. Yay for me time. haha. I hope everyone has a great weekend, be sure and do some relaxing.

FOOD DIARY MAY 21 2010
Breakfast: Oatmeal 3pts
coffee 2.5pts

Snack: small cheese sandwich 4pts
pickle 0pts

Lunch: Tortilla casserole 6pts
bagel thin 1pt
light creamcheese 1pt
cake ball 5pts

Dinner: BLT with turkey bacon 4.5pts
extra slices of bacon 1.5
light veggie rice soup 1.5pts
1/2 cake ball 3pts

Total points: 33pts

Yummy desert recipe

LEMON ANGEL FOOD CUPCAKES
Makes 16 cupcakes

What you ned:
2 oz cake flour
3/4 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup egg whites
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
LEMON FROSTING
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon low fat milk
1 to 2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Put 16 cupcake liners in pan
3. Sift together flour and powdered sugar 3 times
4. Beat egg whites and salt on high until frothy, add cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form, then add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time beat until stiff peaks form. sprinkle flour mix over mix and fold in, stir in vanilla and rind.
5. put batter in cups bake for 18 minutes or until lightly browned.
6. Frosting: beat butter on hight until fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar, beat on low until blended. Add milk and lemon juice. beat unitl fluffy. Add lemon as needed for consistency. Spread 2 tablespoons of frosting on each cupcake.

1 serving is 1 cupcake : 3pts for one serving.

Nutrition:
Calories 144
Fat 2.9g
Protein 1.6g
Carb 28.9g
Fiber 0g
Chol 8mg
Iron 0.3mg
Sodium 58mg
Calc 4mg

Keep on Truckin

Motivation is a hard thing to find. I always seem to burn out on the motivation before I actually burn out on the food. This time around I search for things to motivate me. Right now my motivation is trying to keep up with my family. My husband and kids want to play at the park and ride bikes, I love to do those things too, but I am always tired before them. Thanks to them I can keep up my motivation to change my life.

FOOD DIARY MAY 19, 2010
Breakfast: Coffee 3pts
Oatmeal 3pts

Snack: apple 1pt

Lunch: 2 of these sandwich thin with an egg and hot sauce 7pts
Pickel 0pts

Snack:Graham Cracker 2pts

Dinner: Tortilla Casserole 7pts
peas and carrots 1pt

Snack: Popcorn 3 pts

Total WW points:27 pts

RECIPE

GRILLED CHICKEN PARMIGIANO
Serves 4

What you need:
nonstick spray
4 boneless skinless chicken breast (4 oz each)
Salt and pepper
2 cups of Marinara
1 cup drained plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped ( I have used dried also)
1 cup shredded reduced fat mozzerella
1 1/2 oz or 6 Tablespoons of parmigiano reggiano cheese
1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 9 by 13 baking dish
2. heat grill or grill pan on high heat. season chix with salt and pepper to taste. spray chicken with nonstick spray and grill until just cooked through about 1 1/2 min. per side.
3. spread a little less than half marinara on bottom of baking dish. Put chix on top of sauce spoon on remaining sauce, scatter chopped tomatoes over top sprinkle with 1/2 basil, mozzarella, and parmigiano reggiano
4. Bake chicken until cheese melts and begins to brown. about 10 to 12 min. when done sprinkle the breadcrumbs and remaining basil on top
~ Thanks to Rocco Dispirito Now eat This cookbook for this awesome recipe

Weight Watchers point for 1 serving: 7 points

Nutrition:
Calories 357
Fat 10 g
Protein 39 g
Carbohydrates 20 g
Cholesterol 91 mg
Fiber 3 g
Sodium 767 mg

AND AWAY WE GO

I think the hardest part of losing weight is just trying to change up your lifestyle. I have become so accustomed to eating what I want when I want. For instance, I never used to eat breakfast, now I eat it everyday. Coffee I drink now is regular coffee with splenda, before I would drink a latte every morning. Oh well its all for a great cause, if this means I get to have a longer healthier life. I am game.

FOOD DIARY TUESDAY MAY 18,2010

Breakfast: coffee 2pts
oatmeal 3pts

Snack: Bagel thin 1pt
cream cheese 2pts

Lunch: leftover Spaghetti 5pts
salad 2pts
sandwich thin for bread 1pt

snack: graham cracker 2pts
popcorn 2 pts

Dinner: subway ham sandwich 12 pts
baked chips 3 pts

Then I broke down, I ate dinner waaay to early I was so hungry so I went to Taco Bell and got the fresco taco and shared a small nacho with my husband. total of 6 pts.

Total WW points: 41 pts. I am allowed 38 so I used 3 of my 35 extra points.


Here is a great drink for those warm spring days

STRAWBERRY AGUA FRESCA
Serves 8 cups

What you need:
4 cups water
1/3 cup sugar
6 cups hulled strawberries
1/4 lime juice

Directions:
Combine water and sugar, stir until sugar is dissovled. Blend strawberries until smooth. Mix sugar mix, strawberry puree and lime juice. Stir well
Makes about 8 cups. Serving size is 1 1/3 cup

Weight watchers point per serving: 1

Nutrition:
Calories 71
Fat 0.4 g
Protein 0.8 g
Carb 17.8 g
Fiber 2.3 g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Iron 0.5 mg
Sodium 4 mg
Calcium 21 mg

MY OFFICIAL WEIGH IN

Hey everyone!!

Last night was my first official weigh in on Weight Watchers and it was ok. I wish it could have been more, but we all need to start somewhere.
I lost 3.6 lbs. which now puts me at 300.2. YAY! I am just going to keep trucking along. Right now I am working towards a 15 lb goal, and once that is done, then I move onto another 15 which will put me at 30 lbs. I know this time I am going to be successful, I can feel it, something in me has changed. I am tired of being the fat one that feels out of place everywhere I go. This is my change, Hopefully yall are making some great changes too.

FOOD DIARY MAY 17 2010

Breakfast: oatmeal 3pts
coffee 3pts

Snack: Bagel thin 1 pt
light cream cheese 2 pt

Lunch: Taco soup 4 pts
sandwich thin 1 pt

Snack: Apple with peanut butter 3pts

Dinner: Spaghetti with sauce that had mushrooms and broccoli 6 pts
Salad with lite raspberry vinagerette 1 pt
bread 6 pts......cheesy bread so it was really bad...lol

Total points for today: 30 pts.....now this is bad because I actually have 38 pts to eat, so I will just do better tomorrow.


Here is a new recipe for Fries

SWEET POTATO FRIES
Serves 4

What you need:
2 medium sweet potatoes (scrubbed)
salt
cooking spray
2 Tablespoons fresh thyme leaves(dried works just as good for me)
black pepper
sweet paprika
cayenne pepper

Directions:
1. Slice potatoes lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick slices, then cut those slices into 1/4 inch wide sticks, sprinkle with salt and let sit for 20 minutes
2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees, put a wire rack on a baking sheet.
3. Pat down the potatoes to take out any extra moisture spray them with coking spray. Sprinkle with seasonings to taste, spread them out on wire rack.
4. Bake until fries are golden brown and tender. 35 to 45 minutes, Serve immediately.

WW points: 1 point for 1 serving

NUTRITION:
Calories 58
Fat 0.1 g
Protein 1 g
Carbohydrates 14 g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Fiber 2 g
Sodium 327 mg

Yesterday was a pretty successful day for me, I exercised for 20 minutes, which in turn made me feel like I had more energy. I love that feeling. I also did a pretty good job of watching what I ate. I think my weigh in days are going to be changing to, I have to decide which weight watchers meetings I want to attend and then I will change my weigh in days according to that.

FOOD DIARY May 7,2010

Breakfast: Oatmeal and coffee

Lunch: 1 cup of taco soup and a salad with fat free catalina

snack: cracker snack

Dinner: Tortilla casserole with salad

Snack: fat free, sugar free chocolate pudding

Exercise: 20 minute dance routine


Yummy Dinner recipe and only 5pts for 1 cup

Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli rice casserole
makes about 12 cups

What you need:
2 cups cooked shredded chicken
4 cups instant white rice
4 cups chicken broth
1 bag frozen chopped broccoli
16 oz Light 2% Velveeta Cheese (1/2 big block)
1 can cream of mushroom soup

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook broccoli on stove or steam in microwave. Boil chicken broth, add rice, remove from heat covered. Let stand 5 minutes or until broth is completely absorbed. While rice is standing, chop velveeta into blocks so melting is easier. Combine shredded chicken, velveeta and cream of mushroom soup. Add cooked broccoli and rice and mix thoroughly. Transfer to casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes

WW points--5pts per serving....serving size is 1 cup

Note~ For a little bit cheaper version use regular rice and just remember for reg. rice you need 2 cups of liquid for one cup of rice. even better would be to use brown rice.

Pushing through the pounds

Starting over always gives me a fresh feeling. I feel as though I am on top of the world knowing that nothing or nobody can hold me down. I have decided to take the leap and join weight watchers, again!! This time I will not quit, I will not quit, I absolutely will not quit. So from this point forward I will have all weight watchers friendly foods and now in my food diary I will count points with it.

FOOD DIARY May 6,2010
Breakfast: coffee--2pts

Lunch:subway blackforest ham sandwich--14pts

Snack:light kettlecorn--2pts

Dinner:Taco Soup with salad--6pts

Snack:light popcorn--2pts

Total pts for the day: 26
I need to work on eating more points than that since I am allowed 36

Great Snack Idea

BAKED SWEET POTATO CHIPS
Makes 4 servings

What you need:
1 large sweet potatoes, peeled
- Non-fat Olive Oil Cooking Spray
- 1/8 tsp Kosher salt, or to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400ºF. Spray 2 baking sheets with cooking spray.
Thinly slice potatoes in a food processor or by hand; they should be no more than 1/8-inch thick. The thinner the better (it gives you more chips for the same amount of Weight Watchers Points!!!)
Arrange slices on baking sheets so they don’t overlap. Spray with a bit more oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake chips until they begin to lightly brown, about 15 minutes. Cool on a rack and serve.

WW points~ 1pt for 1 serving

Phew!!! The move is over and life is slowly starting to get back to normal. I decided I am starting over. Today is day 4 for me. I will still have weigh in days I am counting from sunday to today. Taking two weeks off of watching what I eat will probably take a big toll on me. I will weigh in Friday and see where I am at. This week is the start to my new life.

FOOD DIARY May 4, 2010

Breakfast: oatmeal and coffee

Lunch: sandwich--lettuce, mustard, light mayo, cheese, and chicken lunchmeat all on a sandwich thin

Dinner: 3/4 cup of spaghetti with sauce, salad and sandwich thins made into garlic bread


Lunch and Dinner soup

BROCCOLI CHEESE SOUP
Makes 12 servings

What you need:
•1/2 oz Butter Buds Powder Mix.
•16 oz Kraft Velveeta Light Reduced-Fat Pasteruized Processed Cheese Product.
•1 cup chopped onions
•4 cups water
•4 cups fat-free chicken broth
•1TBSP Mrs. dash garlic and herb
•5 servings of garden blend vegatables
•1 - 16 oz bag of Broccoli cauliflower Garden blend
•1 - 32 oz bag of chopped broccoli

Directions:
1.Chop all veggies
2.Bring all ingredients except velveeta to a boil.
3.Then simmer 1 to 1 & 1/2 hrs until mushy.
4.Mash down veggies (or puree in blender) and put back into stock.
5.Add Velveeta (cubed) stirring until melted.

WW POINTS- 1 cup is 2pts or 1 1/2 cup is 4 pts


EXERCISE TIP OF THE DAY
Start out small especially if you are new to exercising. Make a goal to work out at least 20 minutes a day for 3 days this week. By Saturday you should have 60 minutes of workout. This is a great start.