Fruity Slaw

I really did drop off the planet for a while. I have been so crazy, between the stomach flu, a Hawaii trip, coming back from the Hawaii trip, getting ready for Christmas that I literally have had nothing to say about weight loss. I "vacation ate" while I was gone, but I was ok with that. You have to be flexible. Since I have been back, I've been pretty good, eating wise. It really was easy to get back on track. Like I've said before, lifestyle-not diet. I haven't weighed in in a while, and I need to get to a meeting. I will be happy if I am maintaining this month.

Now I would like to post a yummy recipe. I made Taco Soup for dinner last night and tried to think of a side that would go with it, besides a green salad. I get sick of them. So I came across this recipe and it was really good - light and fruity.

Fruity Slaw (Sorry no picture)

6 Servings/1 Pt. each

Salad:

3 C cabbage, grated
1 C tangerines, sectioned and thinly sliced
1 C grapes, quartered
1/2 C celery, thinly sliced
1 lg. apple, cored and diced

Dressing:

1 C nonfat plain yogurt
1 t freshly grated lemon zest
1 t lemon juice
1 1/2 t honey

Mix together salad ingredients. Mix dressing ingredients. Chill seperately till serving, then mix all together. Makes 6 servings - about 1 C each.

Think I Lost a few Pounds Yesterday

A quick but definitely not fun way to lose weight. Was it worth it? I would say no.

Yes, you guessed it, I was down and out yesterday with the stomach flu. Am trying to recuperate today; I think it has passed. Thank goodness! We leave tomorrow to go to Hawaii for a long weekend, and I was afraid that we would have to cancel the trip. That would have really sucked.

So as I lay in bed trying to regain my strength, I thought I would check on my blog. Much to my surprise, I was nominated for an award!

Thanks so much, Diva on a Diet! This really made my day.

The Fabulous Award Rules:

1. You have to pass it on to 5 fabulous blogs.
The WW Chick
Liz Rosenbaum Fitness

Back to the Fridge
A Veggie Venture
Bitch Cakes

2. You have to list 5 of your fabulous addictions:
Blogging, Family, Cooking, Reading, Friends

3. Make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them.
Diva On a Diet

Weekend Reflections

Fell off the wagon on Friday night, had a binge day on Saturday, but reigned myself in yesterday. Hopefully today is successful too. I wish eating well on weekends wasn't so hard. I feel like it is pretty easy to stay on track during the week, but Friday night hits, and we usually go out. Then we usually go out a lot on the weekend. That is probably my biggest problem. I grocery shop weekly, and don't seem to plan meals for the weekend. Maybe I should start. But in the past, when I do plan those meals, the food ends up going bad when I eat out anyway!

I feel like there aren't enough Weight Watcher friendly options for eating out. Maybe there are and I just don' t think about them. My staple places seem to be Mexican, and sometimes you just get burned out on that stuff.

Any ideas?

I have decided that I will continue to do my best through the rest of the holiday season, eat good most days, but I am not going to be so hard on myself if I eat some holiday treats. If I can get through the next 3 weeks without gaining, it will be a victory. If I lose any weight at all, it will be a HUGE victory. This is the best I have eaten (during the holidays) in years. PROPS!

What are your goals during this month? Would you be happy to maintain, or are you planning to lose?

Lifetime of Habits are Not Easily Broken

Today I got up and did not want to exercise. We were heading out to Disneyland so I knew that we would walk a ton. (Not a good excuse)

Disneyland was ridiculous today. It was sooo crowded. We mistakenly thought that it wouldn't be crowded the weekend right after Thanksgiving, but it was awful. No more Friday Disneyland trips. So with the crowds, the long lines and a cranky toddler, we left early. As we were leaving, we stopped for lunch in Downtown Disney. We went to the Rainforest Cafe, because we thought it would be fun for Emily, my daughter.

It was a great atmosphere but the food was disappointing. I ordered lettuce wraps, trying to be healthy. When they arrived, I realized that they had a certain seasoning in them that I can't eat. Every time I come across it, it almost makes me nauseous. So I asked if I could order something else. There was nothing on the menu that looked remotely good to me, except for the most fattening items, like a big juicy burger. Which I almost ordered out of desperation. I finally chose a thin crust margarita style pizza, thinking that I would just eat a couple of slices. So the pizza came, and I ate a few slices and it wasn't even that great! ( I also munched on my husbands bruschetta) I didn't over-eat, but I know that I ate way too many points due to my food choices. And it wasn't even that good. What a waste. So I drove home, thinking about how tired I was, and how I really should burn off those calories.

Here I am, and I still have not worked out. I have an elliptical machine, and it is as easy as walking in the other room and getting on it. I am really trying to get the motivation. I also just grabbed a couple of handfuls of m&ms from the fridge out of my daughter's potty training stash. Great.

Or not so great. But I just read Roni's daily post and she said something that struck me. She said that the habits that brought you to your current state (of a higher weight than you want to be) evolved over time, and you didn't gain the weight all at once. Likewise, changing these habits is not going to happen overnight either. It might even take as long to get back to where you want to be.

This really made me think. Over the past 8 1/2 years, I have for the most part, eaten whatever I want, and not made exercise a consistent part of my life. I have had intervals where I did ok but it was not my lifestyle. That is a long time. Before those years, I didn't really need to watch what I ate, so really my whole life up to now I have developed habits that I now want to break. Ouch. No wonder it is so hard to change.

I am now going to give myself props for the changes I have made. For making this goal and really giving it my best effort. I hope all you readers do the same.

Now I am going to get off my butt and go exercise.

Exercise Motivation

I notice that if I don't exercise first thing in the morning that most likely it wont happen. However, today, I actually exercised at around 3 in the afternoon. Which is a miracle because usually that is the time that I hit an energy low. I put my daughter down for a nap, and I usually spend her naptime either blogging, checking my email, reading a book, cleaning up around the house, or sometimes I even nap. But today I was motivated.

Why? I ask myself. Why am I motivated to exercise 5-6 times a week? I am not an exercise lover, per say. The answer is food. When I exercise, just knowing that I burned that extra 400-500 calories a day allows me a tiny bit of leniency in my daily food intake. With weight watchers, I am allowed 20 points a day at my current weight. The plan does allow me to use my exercise points, but I find if I do that, then I don't really lose the weight easily. So I don't use the points. What I do instead, is allow myself a half teaspoon of butter on that roll, or a tiny handful of chocolate chips or whatever. It makes up for not being perfect with my eating. This is the only way. I am learning that I need that tiny bit of leeway.

What are your exercise motivators? I would love to hear from you.

Product Reviews

1. Alpine Valley Breads and Rolls


I first discovered this company when I lived in Arizona, where their factory is. This delicious whole grain bread (usually 1 point per slice) quickly became a staple at our house. They use simple ingredents, and the bread is soft and amazingly tasty. My mother-in-law came to visit once and came back to California determined to find out where they sell it here.

Made a trip to Costco yesterday and found their organic whole wheat dinner rolls. Super hearty and delicious for only one point.

They have a great selection of different types of whole grain breads. Just go to their website to find out where to purchase - they sell in about 8 states currently.

2. Kahiki EasyCrisp Egg Rolls


Get daily emails from Hungry Girl and this was one of her product finds. The vegetable ones are 1 point each, and the ones with chicken are 2 points each. Each eggroll comes with a little sauce packet. I gobbled one up for lunch today. Quite good. My only complaint was that there was not enough dipping sauce for my taste, I need to pick up a jar of sweet chili sauce so I can dip to my hearts content. I found mine at Vons, in the special/health foods freezer department. You can click on the link and find out where to get them near you.

3. Delallo Vodka Pasta Sauce


Found this little gem when I was shopping for a quick Saturday night meal. Amazingly, it is only 80 Calories per half a cup, compared to a lot higher in most other creamy sauces. Comes out to 2 points per serving, which isn't bad paired with a high fiber or whole wheat pasta. We've had it twice this week because it was so good! I found it at Albertsons, but you can order it off their website, too.

P.S. This photo is not exactly the one I bought, mine didn't say cheese and cream underneath. So not sure if its the same one but I wanted a photo!

Great Blog and easy breakfast idea

Thanks to Roni, I came across an awesome blog today. The name of it is Dani Spies, which is the author's name. She has great healthy recipes, cooking videos and other great tips. I just learned the truth about white whole wheat flour, and how to properly chop an onion. Check it out if you have a few minutes!

Yesterday I make the yummiest breakfast. It was also super quick to make. I call it the
Easy Microwave Omelette. What I did was chop some veggies (I used bell peppers and tomatoes) and put them into a microwavable plastic container (sprayed with cooking spray) with lid.

Then I put about 1/2 slice of cheese over the veggies. I topped it off with 1/2 C of liquid egg whites, salt and pepper. Then I loosely topped it with the lid, (not on tight) and put it in the microwave. I cooked it until the egg whites were firm.

Wa la! In five minutes you have a great healthy breakfast! For only 2 points!

Lean Crock Pot Roast Idea and a Cool Contest

I was shopping for my Sunday dinner, thinking about what I wanted to make, and had an idea. I thought about my beef stew recipe, and how the flank steak just fell apart like pot roast. Since roasts are so fatty, I thought I would try a pot roast with flank steak, which is super lean, and only one point for each ounce, cooked.

I cut up onions, potatoes, and mushrooms, and lined the bottom of the crock pot with half of the onions. I put the trimmed flank steak on top, and put baby carrots and the rest of the cut up veggies on top. I added one can of golden mushroom soup, which is like 80 calories a serving, and 1/2 packet of onion soup mix, and about 2 T Ranch seasoning mix. I also added about 3-4 cans of water. However, for seasoning, you could do whatever you wanted.

I turned the crock pot on low for 8 hours and it turned out great! Since the meat is so lean, it does need a bit of the gravy on top, but the meat just falls apart. Great lean option for a nice comfort-food dinner.
(Sorry about the blurry photo, I turned the flash off to get the right color.)

Contest:

I entered the Mary Lou's Weigh Platform Giveaway!

Check out Roni’s Weight Loss Blog for more information.