Another Saturday, Another Weigh In

I stepped on the scale on Saturday morning and I was pleasantly surprised that I was down another 1.3lbs and earned my 5lb badge.  So, I lost 6.1lbs in January. Not great, but encouraging. I was so exhausted from working out so much, that I hadn't worked out in four days. I got back on the bike today and lifted some weights for a hour and then napped for two hours! I've decided to do 60 minutes every other day instead of daily. My body isn't bouncing back from workouts like it use to.

I made, with Matt's supervision, two recipes: Weight Watchers Shells (11 point plus) and Weight Watchers Oatmeal Banana Bread (5 point plus).

Here are pictures from the shell recipe:

The shells were good! Very filling, but I would put less oregano in it bc it was super strong!

Here are pictures from the bread:

Bread was decent, but a little dry. My 1 pp butter took care of that though!

It was super icy this past week and we basically stayed in with the dogs.

I have one item to review and that is the Hungry Girl: The Official Survival Guides on two CDs . I got it for about eight bucks on Amazon and I think it was worth it. It had some really great tips and she really isn't annoying to listen to. I will say that I thought she was condescending in some spots and when she mentioned some "bad foods" she made it seems like you were a disgusting person for even wanting fair food or anything considered unhealthy. I'm sorry but a lollipop isn't going take the place of cheesecake on a stick at the state fair. Listen, I'm all about eating healthy, but I'm a firm believer in eating treats every so often.....even if they have fifty grams in it. I'm not saying everyday, but I'm saying everything in moderation. If I want to plan a meal where I eat four pieces of pizza from Pizza Hut, I'm gonna. Most of the time, I plan and get all excited from a cheat meal and then boom! I don't even want it anymore or maybe instead of the four I planned, I'll only eat one or two. I might be full, maybe I don't  even want it, maybe I want a healthier meal or maybe I am actually thinking of all the fat I'm eating. Anyway you want to look at it, it's my choice! My choice is moderation and nothing is considered "bad food", it's just food. If you label it as bad and say that you can't have it....you'll want it! Instead of saying, "I can't have it" say "I don't eat (insert food) much anymore" or "I don't really want that". To me, it makes it seems like MY choice. I don't want to eat it bc I don't really want it, not bc I can't have it. That food becomes forbidden or the Bad Boy, if you will. Whatever we can't have, we want....badly.  

Anyway, that's it for now! Hope everyone has a great week! 

*All opinions in the blog post are my own and I was not in anyway compensated in any way.*

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Bloody Confusing

It has been another nice and relaxing weekend here. We got all our grocery shopping done, watched some hockey, tried some new recipes, worked out and I actually slept in til 10am. I think maybe I was super tired bc I'm usually up by 7:30am on weekends.

We tried recipes this weekend: Cashew Chicken, Chocolate Marshmallow Fudge and Red Velvet Cake. 

The Chocolate Marshmallow Fudge was the most memorable and most confusing.  First I got condensed milk instead of evaporated milk and Matt had to help me figure out how much to decease the sugar measurement to keep the point level the same. It was super confusing and I was pissed that I didn't get the right thing, so I decided to make a second batch and went out to the store to get evaporated milk. There were eight different types of evaporated milk and I bought them all! I was so worried that I'd get the wrong thing again, so I figured better safe than sorry. I started my second batch while Matt was cleaning up and then....blood everywhere. Matt cut is finger on the can of condensed milk and there was spatter on the counter, sink, floor.....yuck! It bled for while and I was worried that he would need stitches, but it looks ok now.

Anyway, both batches of fudge came out completely different! The first batch with the condensed milk came out how I pictured it.

The second batch, made just like the recipe, came out like chewy candies, not like fudge.

I liked both batches, but the 1st one was actual fudge. So, who knows! 

Last night we tried Cashew Chicken  and it was ok. I do not think it was worth 10 points and we replaced the white rice with brown rice. It did have a great flavor and I tried bamboo for the first time! 

The last thing I made was the Red Velvet Cake  from LaaLoosh.com . I haven't tried it yet, but it was pretty easy to make, even for me. It has Diet Dr. Pepper in it, and I'm not sure how I feel about that bc I don't like soda and feel that it is unhealthy, BUT it was only 8oz. 

I also tried Vita Muffin Tops and they are really good. They are three points apiece.

I guess that's it! I'm going to watch the Pats kick some ass! GO, PATS! 

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CIMT

My day started out with panic bc I was almost to Clayton and realized I had almost no gas in my jeep. As many know, I don't pump gas. The only other time I pumped gas, I got it all over myself....that was in 1996. I stunk like gasoline all thru Thanksgiving break. Awesome. Luckily, I made it to work (barely) and Kelli filled my tank.

Anyway, I was in Clayton today to finally get my CIMT (Carotid Intima-Media Thickness) done. It will show if I have blocked arteries. Given my family history, high cholesterol, weight etc, it was probably a good idea. It was basically like an ultrasound but on my neck. It took about 10 minutes, if not less. I should get the results in a week or two. 

I had a pretty busy day, but I planned ahead this time. I sucked it up and got my water and tea from endo's water cooler. I ate breakfast, and had a lunch I looked forward to. It was a combo if my baked ziti, chicken and peas.

We went to the grocery store and stocked up on healthy foods and recipe ingredients for the week. My plan is to make Weight Watchers Slow Cooker Chipotle's Barbacoa Beef Recipe, Weight Watchers Frozen Butterfingers Pie and Oatmeal Banana Bread Recipe this week. 

After shopping, Matt made my favorite potato cheese soup, I had 2 cups topped with cheese and it was 12 points. It was so good! 

Alright, off to relax! Here's to a great weekend! 

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Just a Few Reviews

I made some Weight Watchers recipes and bought a few new snacks, so I figured that I would review them.

The first recipe I tried was Mini Ice Cream Cakes from Hungry Girl. They were easy to make and worth  the three points. Perfect dessert for me bc I love cake, ice cream and whipped cream and it's completely satisfying!

The second recipe I tried was Watch Watchers Baked Ziti. I liked it but I didn't enjoy making it. Granted, I don't cook at all, so I'm not familiar with....well, cooking. Matt said that is was easy to do though and he does all our cooking in the house. It was good and I would probably make it again, but it wasn't amazing. It was 8 points a serving.

As for snacks, I tried five new items and they were all pretty good. My absolute favorite, no question, was Quaker Quakes Rice Snacks Cheddar Cheese. They are perfect for my Cheeto cravings! They are so light and fluffy and I found them to be very satisfying for a 3 points a serving. 

I tried it's sweeter sibling as well, in caramel corn. They were decent, but definitely not as good as the cheddar. A serving of this snack is 3 points as well.

I tried Weight Watchers Chocolate Chip cookies and they are 2 points per cookie. They were nice with my tea, but I think I'd prefer to splurge on a Chip Ahoy instead. They were kinda dry, but like I said they were good with my tea. 

I have been having these Weight Watcher Chocolate Creme Cakes after my lunch in place of about 20 pieces of mini candies. I was pleasantly surprised by this 2 point snack. It is moist and satisfies my sweet craving after lunch.  

Finally, while we were visiting Denise and Roy over the holidays, they pulled out these Trader Joe's Apple Snack Sticks. They have a nice flavor and are light and airy, but they aren't very filling for 3 points. 

All in all I liked everything pretty well, but my favorites were the Mini Ice Cream Cakes and the Quaker Quakes Rice Snacks Cheddar Cheese. 

Weigh in tomorrow! Wish me luck!

Recipe for Mini Ice Cream Cakes

Recipe For Weight Watchers Baked Ziti

*All opinions in the blog post are my own and I was not in anyway compensated in any way.*

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