Meal Planning Monday

Monday:

Breakfast: Cheerios, coffee, banana

Lunch: bologna sandwich, pretzel sticks, apple, carrots

Dinner: 1/2 chicken breast, 1/2 baked potato, salad

Tuesday:

Breakfast: Chocolate peanut butter banana smoothie 

Lunch: Chicken salad

Dinner: 1/2 peanut butter sandwich, grapes, pretzels (Parent Orientation Night - then Boot Camp! I need a quick dinner that will keep me from getting hungry, but isn't too heavy)

Wednesday:

Breakfast: Scrambled egg burrito, banana, coffee

Lunch: Bologna sandwich, grapes, pretzel sticks
Dinner: Chicken wrap

Thursday:
 Breakfast: 2 slices cinnamon toast, 2 scrambled egg whites
Lunch: Egg salad sandwich (apparently I love eggs!)
Dinner: Chicken Helper, green beans

Friday:
Breakfast: Granola, banana, coffee
Lunch: Chicken Helper leftovers, apple
Dinner: Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, broccoli and cheese

Saturday - Monday:
Kitchen closed! We'll be at my parents for most of the weekend with my sister and her family

Weight Watchers Weigh In Week 3

I went to Weight Watchers again today and lost 0.2 pounds! Some might take that to be disappointing; I, however, take it to be a success! When I first did Weight Watchers in 2004 this was how my weight loss journey was then - slow, and small increments. But I'm always OK as long as I'm not gaining anything back. I'm still loving being on the new Points+ Program, and am really happy with how the last three weeks has gone for me :)

Giveaway!

A couple of months ago while at our Summer Ladies Bible Study my friend Katy told us about this awesome deal she came across to get an Erin Condren life planner for about 65% off retail cost! She showed us the youtube video and I thought it looked awesome! Unfortunately, the deal ended that night and I was too lazy to buy it at that time. However, now Katy  is doing a giveaway to where one lucky winner will win their very own Erin Condren planner, and I really hope that winner is me! Feel free to join her giveaway!

Meal Planning Monday

My challenge this week will be to NOT eat the treats that they give us at school - they especially feed these to us the first week back, and while my taste buds love the tasty treats, my waistline does not! However, I have found the most awesome snack that I'll be packing in my lunch daily: it's the Special K Snack bars - the chocolate peanut butter ones are delicious! It really tastes like I'm eating a candy bar, so I'll take that for my chocolate fix :)

Monday:

Breakfast: Yoplait Light yogurt with granola, banana

Lunch: Southwest chicken wrap, pretzel sticks, apple, carrot sticks

Dinner: Baked Hawaiian chicken on a bed of brown rice, broccoli

Tuesday:

Breakfast: Scrambled egg burrito, coffee, banana

Lunch: Tuna fish sandwich, grapes, Ruffles Light, carrot sticks

Dinner: Chicken fried rice, green beans, milk

Wednesday:

Breakfast: Strawberry-Banana-Oatmeal Breakfast smoothie (this is a new recipe for me!)

Lunch: Southwest chicken wrap, pretzel sticks, apple, carrot sticks

Dinner: Last night's leftovers

Thursday:

Breakfast: Granola, coffee, banana

Lunch: Tuna fish (no sandwich), grapes, carrot sticks

Dinner: Chicken salad wrap, pretzel sticks

Friday:
Breakfast: Scrambled egg breakfast burrito, coffee, banana
Lunch: Ham and cheese sandwich, pretzel sticks, apple, carrot sticks
Dinner: Meat loaf, mashed potatoes, salad

Saturday:
Breakfast: Yogurt with granola, banana
Lunch: Dating Group with the Hoopers and the Hanks
Dinner: Sandwiches and chips

Sunday:
Breakfast: Cheerios, coffee, banana
Lunch: Meatloaf and mashed potatoes I forgot this Sunday is last Sunday lunch with ABF
Dinner: Every man for himself!

Weight Watchers Weigh In Week 2

Good news and bad news. The good news: I didn't gain any weight!! The bad news: I didn't lose any weight. However, I am TOTALLY OK with this because from last Saturday until today I've been out of town all last weekend eating very little food that was good for me (biscuit with jelly, pork sausage, chicken wrap, wedding cake, pizza, an all-you-can-eat buffet which consisted of chicken fried steak and fried chicken and dessert). Oh, and we bought some fudge from Buc-ees (to die for!!). Then it was back to school this week where we were fed sandwiches, pizza on two different days, chocolate chip cookies almost every day that we were there....so really it's amazing that I didn't gain 50 pounds! I wasn't upset at all by the non-moving scale numbers, and am just looking forward to really getting my focus back this week :)

Meal Planning Monday

OK, scratch what I said last week about planning my meals Saturday - Friday, rather than Monday - Sunday. Weight Watchers' online e-tools tracks points values Monday - Sunday, so I will too so that it's in line with what I'm eating that week. Also, I have no idea what lunch will look like for me since this week is all about eating out. I'm planning on eating out with my friends and co-workers, just making as healthy a choice as possible :)

Monday:

Breakfast: Pick-me-up smoothie (this turned out to be SOOO delicious when I tried it last week, and it really filled me up!)

Dinner: Homemade hamburgers and French fries (Michel said he would cook me ANYTHING I wanted in celebration of my first day back at work - sweet, huh?? :)

 Tuesday:
Breakfast: Coffee, banana, scrambled egg breakfast burrito TO GO forgot to buy tortillas! Going to McDonads for fruit and maple oatmeal and a non-fat vanilla iced coffee

Dinner: Tuna salad sandwich, chips

Wednesday:
Breakfast: Granola, coffee, banana
Dinner: Hamburger Helper, green beans, applesauce

Thursday:
Breakfast: Healthy Aveena shake
Dinner: Hamburger Helper leftovers, salad

Friday:
Breakfast: 1 c. Cheerios, coffee, banana
Dinner: Chick-Fil-A and shopping with former roommate :)

Saturday and Sunday are yet to come....maybe something with fish?? We have nineteen pounds of it in our freezer :-/ I don't even like fish that much.... 

Weight Watchers Weigh In Week 1

My first week of doing Weight Watchers was a HUGE success! I'm down 3 full pounds! Btw...I had to weigh in today rather than my usual meeting, Saturday morning, because we'll be out of town all weekend. But back to WW...I love the new Points Plus program! I feel like I get to eat so much food whereas on the old Points program I felt like I ate next to nothing!

I know I posted my meal plan, but here's some of the food that I ate this week that was NOT on my meal plan. Last Sunday we went to Jason's Deli for lunch and I ate fairly healthy. I stuck to the salad bar (which I actually really like, so I didn't feel like I was missing out on the "good" food), then we went to Cracker Barrel for dinner where I had a biscuit with jelly (however, my 3-year-old niece was sitting next to me and kept asking me "May I have bite please?" which of course I said "yes" every time she asked!) and I had a steak with green beans, corn, and apple sauce, and a Dairy Queen blizzard for dessert. Does it sound like I deprived myself of food?? I love how Weight Watchers is a  non-restrictive diet...I ate foods that I loved this week (including some junk food) and still lost 3 whole pounds! This is very encouraging, and I can't wait for next week's meeting :)

CVS Savings!

I went to CVS today to take advantage of some great deals and I am pretty happy with what I got for the money that I spent! I bought 2 Herbal Essences conditioners and 2 Cover Girl mascaras, and a birthday card (not pictured):

I did my deal in 2 transactions. 

Transaction #1:

Herbal Essences 2/$4.97 = $1 ECB

- Used FREE Herbal Essence product coupon

- Used $1/1 Herbal Essences coupon

Birthday card = $3.49

Total after coupons = $4.99

- Used $5 ECB that I already had

TOTAL OUT OF POCKET = $0.00!!!!

Earned $1 ECB

Transaction #2:

Cover Girl Lash Blast mascara 2/$14  =$4 ECB

- Used 2 $1/1 CG product coupons

= $12

- Used $2 ECB that I already had

- Used $1 ECB from transaction #1

TOTAL OUT OF POCKET = $9.74!

So for $9.74 I walked away with 2 Herbal Essences conditioners, 2 Cover Girl mascaras, and a birthday card. Without coupons or Extra Care Bucks (ECBs) I should have paid: $22.14! That's a savings of 56%!

Meal Scheduling Saturday

Now that I'm back at Weight Watchers, I plan my meals to be Saturday - Friday (because the meeting that I most frequently attend is on Saturdays) rather than Monday - Sunday. Therefore, I can't use the title "Meal Planning Monday" as my weekly meal planning, but I'm not sure I'm sold on the name "Meal Scheduling Saturday." I like the semi-alliteration of Meal Planning Monday, and tried re-creating that using Saturday as the day of the week, but I can't decide if I love it or not, so if anyone has any great ideas I'm definitely open to them!

Also...I'm trying a TON of new recipes! I'll let you know if they turned out good or not :)

 Saturday:
Breakfast: NutriGrain cereal bar, banana, chocolate milk
Lunch: Whole bologna sandwich, apple, carrot sticks
Snack: Skinny Cow candy (it's really good btw!)
Dinner: Tuna Helper, broccoli w/cheese, yogurt, Weight Watchers giant fudge bar

Sunday:
Breakfast: Cheerios, coffee w/milk and creamer, banana
Lunch: Jason's Deli with the in-laws! 1/2 Club Lite Sandwich w/strawberries; frozen yogurt
Dinner: Cracker Barrel to celebrate my sister's 30th birthday!

Monday:
Breakfast: Pick-Me-Up Smoothie
Lunch: Pizza w/Julie Gober
Dinner: Tuna Helper leftovers, salad

Tuesday:
Breakfast: Nutri Grain waffle w/peanut butter and lite syrup, coffee, banana
Mid-Morning snack: Yogurt
Lunch: Leftover Jason's Deli Club Lite Sandwich
Dinner: Pineapple Shrimp fried rice and salad

Wednesday:
Breakfast: Chocoalte peanut butter banana smoothie
Lunch: Ham and cheese sandwich, grapes, carrot sticks
Dinner: Grilled Chicken and avacado sandwich, baked chips

Thursday:
Breakfast: Cheerios, coffee, banana
Lunch: Ham and cheese sandwich, grapes, carrot sticks
Dinner: Leftover Shrimp fried rice

Friday:
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs w/ham and cheese, coffee, banana
Lunch: Sandwich and apple
Dinner: KITCHEN CLOSED!

Saturday:
KITCHEN CLOSED!

We'll be traveling to Madisonville on Friday afternoon (near College Station) for my cousin's wedding!! We're not coming back until Sunday afternoon! Our last vacation before the start of school :(

Weight Watchers!!

I am so excited to start Weight Watchers again today! I will be attending 10:30 meetings every Saturday morning, and am so ready for it! I watched my weight go up 10 lbs this year. While that's not a lot, it's uncomfortable in my clothes. I tried losing weight on my own, and though I know the original Points Program from when I joined it in 2004, I felt like I really needed the accountability of going, weighing in, and the benefits of going to the meetings. I can't wait to share my progress! My goal is to lose about 12-14 pounds :)

No-Bake Cookies!

NO-BAKE COOKIES!!

I LOVE chocolate! And I LOVE desserts! I like cookies, cake (sometimes), brownies, but I really LOVE ice cream! I can easily pass up cookies, cake, or brownies for a bowl of ice cream...

....unless that cookie happens to be the no-bake cookies pictured above. These are my all-time, most favorite cookie in the whole world! They're like a drug to me! I find it hard to stop at just 1...or 2....or even 5! Yeah, they're that amazing! 

For the last 3 days, Michel and I took a mini-vacation to Broken Bow Lake in Oklahoma. We rented a cabin so that we could make our own food, and just enjoy some time away without breaking the bank. We took hamburgers and hot dogs for our meals, and I knew that we needed something sweet to eat, so I whipped up a batch of these decadent cookies the day before we left. 

Sadly, they're all gone. But I know I'll whip them up again - usually around Christmas. I love them so much that I can't keep them around very much or I would devour them every couple days. But I wanted to share the recipe. Many people make these, and have their own variations of the recipe, but this is my all-time favorite (what's sad is I have this recipe MEMORIZED!!):

In a medium-sized sauce pan on the stove, put in: 

2 c. sugar

4 T. cocoa powder

1-1/8 stick butter/margarine

1/2 c. milk

In a large mixing bowl, have ready to go: 

3 c. quick oats

2/3 c. peanut butter (you can do this as all crunchy or creamy, but I like doing 1/3 crunchy and 1/3 creamy)

Pinch of salt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Turn heat on under saucepan to medium/medium-high, stirring constantly! Bring ingredients to a FULL, ROLLING BOIL!

Pour ingredients from saucepan into mixing bowl and mix everything together. Drop by spoonful onto wax paper, or aluminum foil. Let cookies stand for approx. 1-2 hours to harden before transferring them to refrigerator. Let cookies refrigerate approximately 2 hours, or overnight before eating for best results! 

Take little bites to fully enjoy the deliciousness of these oh-so-amazing cookies!