On a roll?

No, not a roll with butter and jam. ;) I've successfully completed my fourth straight day on-plan.

OK, I admit to not getting any exercise today. I slept in until noon and then had to make lunch and get ready for work. I was going to head home for my lunch break at 6:30 so I could sneak in a short walk before it got dark, but didn't manage to leave until 7.

Still, today's food choices couldn't have been much better. I'm allowed 25 Points and I ate 25 Points ... unless I head home and make myself a small after-work snack. Even then I'll be at about 27 Points.

For dinner, I tried something new. I had leftover butter beans in the fridge, so I made some whole wheat penne, then sauteed some garlic with the beans. I added a tomato (seeded and chopped) and some basil.

It was delicious — and filling. It's amazing how much better I feel when I'm eating good, healthy foods. When I'm eating crap, I eat a lot more and don't feel nearly as satisfied.

Anyway, here's the recipe. Sorry the picture turned out blurry.



Garlicky Beans with Pasta

2 oz. whole wheat penne

1/2 cup butter beans, with juice

3 cloves garlic (I love garlic)

1 tomato, seeded and diced

sprinkle fresh basil

1 Morningstar Farms Italian Sausage link

2 tsp RF Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain.

In same pan, heat beans and garlic. Cook for a couple of minutes, then add the tomato and basil. Stir pasta back into the pot. (It should absorb the bean liquid pretty quickly.)

While beans are cooking, cook sausage link according to microwave directions. Cut up and add to pot.

Serve in bowl with cheese sprinkled on top.

Serves 1. 8 WW Points.

Delightful dinner

Last night was the first time in I don't know how long that I planned ahead and made a healthy dinner at home. I hit the store in the morning and knew what I wanted for dinner.

Fish tacos. That's right — and they were both delicious and easy to make. I remembered seeing a recipe somewhere (though I have no clue where), so I improvised.

Here's my recipe:

1 can Bumblebee lemon-pepper tuna (3 Points)

3 corn tortillas (3)

shredded cabbage (0)

1/4 cup Greek yogurt (less than 1)

1/2 tsp ranch dressing powder (o)

Heat tuna in microwave for 30 seconds; heat tortillas for 20. Put tuna in center of tortillas. Top with cabbage and yogurt mixed with ranch.

Great breakfast & a new blog

I know, I know .... I usually don't post until the end of the day. But since I had something to share, I figured, "Why not shake things up a little?" Blogging more than once today won't hurt me!

The Boyfriend called right before 9 this morning, so I was actually up early enough to make myself that French toast this morning. I'm psyched, because it turned out delicious.

Psyched? I haven't said that since about sixth-grade. Ah, let's not take that trip down memory lane.

Anyway, it couldn't have been simpler to make.

1/4 cup egg substitute

pinch each of cinnamon, nutmeg & Splenda

1 Sandwich Thin

Spray a small skillet with cooking spray. Mix egg substitute, spices and Splenda. Dip bread into egg. Cook on each side until as brown as you like it.

Yum! And only 2 Points. (I added half an apple and a drizzle of SF syrup, making my total for breakfast 3 Points. Same number as a bowl of Special K w/ 1/2 cup milk, but a nice change!)

On to the blog. Thanks to Tonyne over at The Unlikely Success Story, I discovered a new blog this morning: T.J.'s Test Kitchen. T.J. has lost about 70 pounds on WW (which is where I'll be when I finally hit goal). Right now, she's doing a giveaway ... a great lunch bag filled with some of her favorite snacks.

And now I'm entered to win! :D (I never win this kind of thing, but it's always fun to try.)

One thing I ate right this weekend

I dusted off an old idea: Cider Stew. My mom made this when I was younger, and it was delicious.

But instead of making it on the stovetop, I decided to do it in the Crock Pot. The result was just as delicious as I remember ... and fairly healthy, too. It was the one decent thing I ate all weekend! :D

I hope you like it as much as I do. Here's the recipe:

1 cup onion
2 cups carrot
3 cups potato
2 apples
3/4 pound stew beef
1 Tablespoon thyme
2 cups apple cider
salt, pepper to taste

Chop veggies and apple into smallish pieces of approximately the same size to ensure even cooking. Put all in a lined slow cooker. Stir to mix well. Put beef on top. Sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper. Pour in cider.

Cook at least 8 hours, until beef is fall-apart tender.

Makes 6 servings of about 1 1/2 cups each.

On the nutritional front, it stacks up pretty well: 268 calories, 5.1 g fat (1.8 sat.), 36.8 g carb (5 g fiber, 17.4 sugars) and 19.5 g pro. That gives it a WW Points value of 5.

P.S. I'll try to add a picture later, after I heat some up for dinner.

Successful experiment

I've had a busy, busy morning. Not only did I manage to get up early (thanks to a call from the Boyfriend) and eat a healthy breakfast, but also to take a 50-minute walk AND bake a loaf of chocolate-pumpkin bread.

I saw the recipe over at Carrots 'N' Cake this morning and knew I HAD to try it. But I didn't want to make it as it was written, because it had a lot of sugar in it. We all know "limit added sugar and alcohol" is one of Weight Watchers' 8 Good Health Guidelines, and since I'm trying to be good this week, I

didn't want to blow that on Day 1.

So I set out, using my knowledge of healthy cooking, to improve on the recipe. Here's my version:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup Splenda
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 can (7.5 ounces) pumpkin
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 325*F. Spray loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray (butter flavor would be nice, but I'm out and had to use regular).

2. Combine all ingredients in large mixing bowl; blend well.

3. Once mixed, pour batter into loaf pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until top is firm and a toothpick comes out clean.

I must admit, the result doesn't look like much, especially after I cut it into 16 pieces, the way it is in the photo above. And I was nervous because the batter was so darn thick. Take my word for it: It tastes better than it looks. It was so delicious I'm having to fight to keep myself from having a second piece. But since 1/16 of the loaf is about 3 Points, that's not an option right now.

I'll take one with me to the write-in tomorrow morning. Work on my NaNo MS is coming along — up past 13K. Since I'm aiming for 40,000, I'll be halfway when I hit 20K ... and I'm about to take my characters off to Alaska, where there'll be plenty of opportunities for madcap adventures (and, finally, some lovemaking. They still haven't done it, and I'm 20+ chapters into it! Nothing like building the tension, eh?).

I'm thinking about taking a few slices to work to share, and freezing a few more. I also promised the Boyfriend I'd bring him one next time I see him (though if that's not til Monday, he may be SOL.) The fewer I have in the house, ready to eat, the better. :D

Forgot to take a picture of breakfast

I made pumpkin pancakes from Green Lite Bites this morning, and they were delicious. Unfortunately, I forgot to snap their photo before I snarfed them down.

They looked a lot like the ones Roni photographed, though. They were slightly cakey and just a bit sweet. Yum! And three pretty large pancakes had just 4 WW Points. (I added some sugar-free syrup for another 1 Point.)

Even better, they were a great way to use up the leftover pumpkin in my fridge before it went bad.

After breakfast, I hit the sidewalk for a 22-minute walk.

More later. I'll remember to take pictures for the rest of my meals. Promise!

Inspired

I love Roni's Chicken Surprise. I've made it at least a half-dozen times and always eat all the leftovers before they go bad.

For dinner tonight, I let that recipe inspire me to try something new, but similar. I made a skillet meal with lean ground beef, beef-flavored rice mix, corn, green beans and salsa. It turned out pretty well — if a little spicy. (Not sure why I found it spicy. The salsa I bought said it was "medium" and I'm usually OK with medium salsas.)

I wish I'd remembered to take a picture of it, but I'll try to remember to snap one next time I reheat the leftovers.

Here's the recipe for what I'm calling Mexican-style beef and rice:

8 oz. 93% lean ground beef

1 box reduced-sodium beef-flavored Rice-a-Roni

1 1/2 cups water

1 cup salsa

1 cup corn with red and green bell pepper pieces

1 can green beans

Brown beef in a good-sized skillet. Add rice and cook according to package directions, subbing 1 1/2 cups water and 1 cup salsa for the 2 1/2 cups water called for on the box. When you have about 5 minutes of cooking time left, add the corn and beans.

Makes 4 servings, each with 6 WW Points. (I know Roni's Chicken Surprise is 3 servings with 7 Points each, but when I tried to do 3 servings, it came out to 8 Points ... and that was too pricey for one meal.)