WIAW~I Think I’m Eating Out Too Much

Wednesday already and it’s time for another addition of What I Ate Wednesday.  It’s always fun at Jenn’s party over at Peas and Crayons.  Be sure to catch up on what’s going on with everyone over there when you’re finished here.

I have the feeling that a lot of people will be posting Thanksgiving prep photos.  Or maybe that will come next week.  Regardless, you’ll get none of them from me today.  As the title indicates, I’ve been eating out too much.

Last Thursday, Ralph and I went out to lunch at a diner we don’t go to very often.  There were not a lot of vegetarian choices.  For example the Greek Salad comes with chicken mixed in to the salad! I know I could ask for it to be left out, but that doesn’t bode well for the veggie at the table.

The did have a great side salad.

 

Rarely do they come this big.

I noticed they had a veggie burger on the menu and asked for it made as what they called a fajita burger.

 

It had sautéed onions and peppers and cheese on it.  The veggie burger was sort of destroyed in the process, but it still tasted good.  If I had known that the side salad was so big, I would have just asked for that with the veggie burger on top.  That will be my choice the next time we go there.

We also had lunch at a local pizzeria that we don’t go to very often.  We were there last week and I discovered something on their lunch specials menu.

You start with soup…I picked their vegetable which they assured me was purely vegetables.

 

It is very light, garlicy and delicious.

It comes with a grilled cheese sandwich on Texas toast. It’s supposed to come with french fries, but they’re happy to substitute a side salad.  I got mine with balsamic vinaigrette.

This was really good.  It’s not greasy the way some grilled cheese sandwiches are.  Fairly high in Points for me, but very good.

Included in this week’s food was of course a crock pot full of my Weight Watchers veggie soup. But no pictures.   I also think I’ve finally found how to make perfect black beans in the crock pot.  I don’t think I’ve been cooking them long enough.  I need to try it again to see if I’m right then I’ll post about it.

That’s WIAW for me for this week.  Be sure to check out all of the fun over at Peas and Crayons.  You’ll find lots of great food and fun ideas there.

Happy What I Ate Wednesday!

Strange But Good~That’s A Weird Breakfast!

It’s been a few weeks since I joined in on Strange But Good hostessed by Laura at Sprint 2 The Table so I thought I’d join the party!  There are always so many crazy good food ideas there.  Be sure to check it out.

I started out the week making a crock pot full of one of my favorite things…Lentils.  Everything was going smoothly.  After that I started on a pot of my Weight Watchers Veggie Soup.  In the midst of making the soup, I suddenly realized that I’d made a mistake with the lentils.  Usually, I put in a cup of dried lentils into my small crock pot with onion, garlic and seasoning.  As I was throwing scraps into the trash can I noticed the bag from the lentils…I had put in the Entire Bag!!

I ended up having to move the lentils from one crock pot to another, which in the end was almost too small.  I also ended up with a huge amount of cooked lentils.  I use a cup of them each time I eat the soup which is not usually a problem but I was left with double my usual stash.  I had to think of other ways to use them

Often on BCDC I talk about foods that are not attractive but tasty.  This dish certainly fits into that description.

 

To my usual mixture of egg substitute and egg whites, I added a quarter cup of my cooked lentils.  I also added in some Mrs. Dash and crushed red pepper flakes.   Not pretty in the measuring cup.

 

Not pretty when mixed in with the egg substitute.

 

Not really all that pretty as a finished omelette.  I added some shredded 2% cheese inside and on top.   Not photogenic, true.  But really, really good!  Almost more importantly, it was also extremely filling.  When I have a regular omelette, I start to feel hungry in a couple of hours.  This kept me satisfied almost until lunch time.  I eat pretty early so this was an accomplishment.  It also gave me a nice protein boost of 4.5 extra grams over the regular omelette.  I’m pretty excited that I tried this and I’ve tried it again since I first figured it out.  Sounds weird I know, but give it a try!

Be sure to check out all of the wonderful strangeness over at Sprint 2 The Table today.

Happy Friday!

WIAW~Along For The Ride

Another What I Ate Wednesday and I feel like I’m just along for the ride.  I have nothing really exciting to share but of course that will never stop me from sharing.  One time I had NO food pictures and still linked up! We are of course talking about the fun link-up hostessed by Jenn at Peas and Crayons. Be sure to stop by there today.

It’s been a weird week in a lot of ways and I’m trying to get myself into a better, healthier routine.

Getting my protein in with an omelette with white beans.

 

Sounds a little strange and I did use if for Strange But Good on Friday.  It was tasty with a good boost of protein.  I like that in a breakfast!  I’ll do this again!

As is almost always my way, there was a crock pot full of Weight Watchers veggie soup cooking on the counter at some point.  This was a particularly good batch.

 

It was good to the last drop.  I had mentioned that I’d never cooked the white beans specifically to use them in the soup.  It was a great idea and I will doing it again.  My favorite meal!

My sister, Ele took a little break on Sunday afternoon.  We went to one of our favorite places, Barnes and Noble.

 

It was an iced passion tea lemonade.  They have an option of having it half sweet, which I’d never heard of before but I took advantage of it.  It was tangy and a little sweet and very refreshing.  I’ll do it again!

I’ve been eating a lot of eggs lately for breakfast.  I do that mostly because I feel that I stay satisfied longer with them.  It’s been a long time since I’ve thought of overnight oats in a jar.  I actually thought in advance yesterday and put some together.

 

Oats, fat-free Greek Yogurt, almond milk, unsweetened apple sauce, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice.  Also added a little Truvia because I forgot to add it when I put it together.  I like mine warm so I heat it in the microwave for about 2 minutes.  I know that’s probably considered sacrilege but that’s the way I like it.  You’ll probably take note of the crock pot in the back ground.  Yes, that’s This Weeks batch of Weight Watchers veggie soup. I’m nothing if not predictable.

That’s What I Ate Wednesday for me for today. Be sure to check out the link up at Peas and Crayons for some good ideas.  I always do!  I promise more interesting food next week!

Happy What I Ate Wednesday!

Strange But Good~Extra Protein

It has been a VERY long time since I joined in on Strange But Good.  That’s the link up hostessed by Laura at Sprint 2 The Table.  This is where we share our strange obsessions with food and our unique ways of combining and preparing it.  I’m glad to be back.  I love being Strange with these crazy people!

As a vegetarian, I’m constantly on the look out for ways to get extra protein into my meals.  I try things.  Sometimes they work, sometimes. they don’t.  Breakfast has recently been my guinea pig…strange for a vegetarian to use that analogy, but it works!

Yesterday, I had cooked up a batch of white beans in the crock pot.  I use them for a lot of things but never thought of using them for breakfast.

 

I use a mix of egg substitute and egg whites plus lots of Mrs. Dash.  Since I had the beans there and ready, I decided this morning I would add a quarter cup of the beans into the mixture.  No Idea how it would turn out.

 

Looks pretty much like a standard omelette.  I sprinkled a little dried basil on top to give it a little color and a little shredded 2% cheese inside.  The beans have a very mild flavor and the next time I might use a bit more spice.  I got 4 extra grams of protein so that was good.

The amazing thing is, it was Extremely Filling.  When I’m finished eating an omelette, I usually feel satisfied.  After this I felt Full.  Such a minor change and it made such a difference.  For me on Weight Watchers it only added one Point so I was pretty happy about this all around.

Be sure to stop by at Sprint 2 The Table to see what other strange things you’ll find.

Happy Friday!

WIAW~She Must Have Eaten Something

Good Morning and welcome to the type of What I Ate Wednesday post that happens once in a while.  The type where I have little or nothing to show in the way of actual food because…I’ll tell the story as I go…which seems to be my routine of late.  Be sure not to miss the chance to visit Jenn and company over at Peas and Crayons!

Since this is hap hazard at best, I’ll at least try to do it in order.  Saturday is always Weight Watchers day around here.  You wouldn’t know that I’ve ever even heard of WW if you saw some of the things I’ve been eating, but trust me it is! I’ve been lonely all summer because my two best friends, Gail and Alice have been away in Maine.  They’re back and we’re back to our routine.  Weight Watchers and then breakfast at the local diner.

 

Obviously, I was too hungry to wait for the photo! Egg beaters and fruit. Gail had a great idea.  We all really wanted pumpkin pancakes.  So we ordered a short stack (3 pancakes) and shared!  We got the taste of pancakes but stayed in control.  We used the sugar-free syrup.  I didn’t have any toast so that made it even better! Pumpkin Everything, Please!

If you’ve visited BCDC before, you know that I am the Crock Pot Queen.  I use them year round, but Fall and Winter is when they get the most use.  Trying to keep myself on track, I was up bright and early Monday morning chopping up the goods for a batch of my version of Weight Watchers veggie soup.

 

Going along with the pumpkin theme, WaWa pumpkin coffee in the wonderful cup sister Ele gave me a few years ago.  I love how they are color coordinated!  Yum to both!

To be perfectly honest and show that I’m not kidding about eating things I shouldn’t…

 

Eggplant parmesan sandwich from the local pizza place. Should I have? No.  Did I? Yes.  Sadly, I also ate way too many french fries along with this.  It’s gone now, it can’t hurt me anymore. I’m back on track.  I promise.  No, Really!!

Being back on track is proven by this next photo.  If it was a piece of art it would be titled White Beans In White Crock Pot.

 

To go along with the WW veggie soup, I started a crock pot of white beans.  Thank goodness I remembered to soak them last night.  I realized I’m down to almost NO dried beans in the pantry.  I have to correct that.  A girl needs her protein!  These will be added to the veggie soup but measured for each serving.  Much easier to track the Points value that way and Boy do I need to get back to tracking the Points value!!

There you have it, What I Ate Wednesday for me this week.  I’m hoping that next week will be much better, actually showing food that I cooked and looking like I’m just the tiniest bit on track with my Weight Watchers plan!

Be sure to stop over to visit all of the fun at Peas and Crayons, you’ll be glad you did!

Happy What I Ate Wednesday!

Step By Step

Good Morning! I’m back again…on my irregular schedule, you never know when I’ll show up.  Eventually, I will get on a schedule, but a the moment, that doesn’t seem to be happening.

I’m moving step by step toward the big event on July 23rd.  I’m trying to get a few small projects completed around the house prior to going into the hospital.  Some things I have to take care of because I won’t be home for at least two weeks because I’ll be staying with Gail when I get out of the hospital.

Tuesday was a trying day.  It was my day for several pre-surgery appointments.

 

I started out with a physical with a medical doctor.  Because of our infrequent trips into Philadelphia, we left early and got to the appointment about an hour too early.  However, we only waited about 15 minutes before we were into the appointment.  That went well.

Then I had to give blood.  This is one of the things that Rothman Institute does just in case it’s needed during surgery.  I think it’s probably a good idea.  I am NOT a fan of needles, but it went well.  I filled my bag in 7 minutes.  The phlebotomist was impressed.  Probably because of all the water I drink.

After that was pre-admission testing where I had my blood pressure taken for the third time  that day.  I spoke with a nurse practitioner, then had more blood taken (for testing this time) and gave a urine sample (that’s always fun)  It was all very orderly.  This entire organization is so organized and efficient.  I continue to be amazed.  My only issue was that the three appointments were in three different buildings.  They were only about a block apart but for me at this point, that’s like having to walk a couple of miles.  I was truly beat at the end of the day.  But…step by step, this will all be better.

I am starting to feel a bit of anxiety related to all of this.  I think it’s causing me to go a little off track with food.  I’ve always been an anxiety eater.  But fortunately after all of these years on Weight Watchers, I know ways to handle that.

 

I cooked up a batch of Weight Watchers veggie soup.  It’s so filling and it always serves as an avenue to get me back on track.  It doesn’t take that much work-maybe 15 minutes to put it together.  Then my trusty crock pot does the rest of the work.  It’s so comforting to have a big bowl of that for dinner.  I usually add some beans either canned or home cooked, but that gives me a big boost of protein which I’ve been told is a good thing to add in prior to surgery.  I even add in some cottage cheese.  Some people think that sounds disgusting, but I love the gooey cheesiness that it adds to the soup.

So that’s where I stand at the moment.  I’m being positive about the whole thing and I look forward to being up and around like a regular person again soon.  I hope to get my blogging schedule worked out as well.

Until then, I’ll see you when I see you.  Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Happy Friday!

WIAW~True Confessions and a Recipe!

I have been among the missing for a bit and I do apologize for it.  No real explanation except life gets in the way sometimes. But I wanted to get back for What I Ate Wednesday because I missed playing along with Jenn and all of the fun kids over at Peas & Crayons.  So Here Goes!

Well, it is the week of St. Patrick’s Day so I’m using this logo.  Since I wasn’t around to say it…Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

First the true confessions part.  I have been off track with my eating and I would be truly ashamed to show some of the things that I’ve wolfed down in recent weeks.  No one’s fault but my own.  However, I always have a safety net, a trick in my back pocket that works wonders for me.  Weight Watchers vegetable soup.  With all the updates to the program, I’m not even sure what the current “Garden Vegetable Soup” recipe looks like.  Over these many years (almost 27 years) of being a Weight Watchers member, I’ve made some changes and made it my own.  This is my current version.

Weight Watchers Veggie Soup

1 large onion chopped (or more if you Like)

2 or more tbsp of chopped garlic ( or more if you like)

4 peeled, chopped carrots

3 celery stalks

3-4 cups of chopped cabbage

1 large jar ( think it’s 12 oz but it might be larger) salsa of choice

I have for a number of years made my veggie soup in a crock pot.  I like it because I can make it and then it takes care of itself.  All of these veggies can be adjusted as to amounts depending your preferences.  I sometimes add others depending on what’s in the fridge, but this is the basic.  That’s one of the best parts of this soup, you can make it your own as I have.

When it comes to spices, I vary that again depending on my whim. Right now my spices are cumin (liberally sprinkled), turmeric (good for me for anti-inflammatory purposes, so I’m told, also liberally sprinkled), a dash of cayenne or several, depending.  I also like to add a few teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce.

I cook in the crock pot for usually about 4-6 hours on High.  You can cook as long as you like depending on how crunchy you like your soup.  I like mine still a little crunchy.

This soup as it is counts for 0 Points on Weight Watchers.  For anyone who is following Weight Watchers and want to make this, I have a suggestion.  If you want to add something else to it, pasta, rice, quinoa, beans or meat if you are a meat eater, I suggest that you make the basic soup.  Then take out the portion you want to eat.  After you’ve done that, then measure and add whatever else you want to add in.  That way your big pot of soup stays “pure,” it still counts as 0 Points.  You can then calculate the Points for whatever you might be adding to your portion of soup.  Just makes life simpler and you’re left with a pot of 0 Point soup in case you have a day when you’re Hungry and need something that counts for 0 Points.

The finished product…

 

It is so delicious and so versatile.  It’s a great tool for helping me stay on track.  Even if you’re Not a Weight Watchers member, it can be a help.

That’s it for me today for WIAW.  Be sure to join in all of the fun over at Peas & Crayons.  Have a great day!

Happy What I Ate Wednesday!

Week In Review~March 10

I can’t believe that it’s time for another Week In Review.  That’s the great link up hostessed by the lovely Meghan at Clean Eats, Fast Feets.  I also can’t believe that it’s another week when I Didn’t write my post on Sunday so here I am Monday morning scrambling to get it written.  We WILL correct that next week.

So here goes.

~Last Monday was another and hopefully our last snowstorm.  I am so sick of snow and any of you who read BCDC on a regular basis know that and are also sick of hearing me talk about it.  I’m seriously hoping that this will be our last.  I thought that if I approached the snowy day with a positive attitude, I might get some spiritual or real world reward out of it.

I decided to get busy.  I’d heard about the storm in advance and was ready.  That preparation and readiness allowed me to put at least my morning to good use.  Commence the tale of the Three Crock pots.

 

Yes, you see three, count ’em three (how many times can I use that?) crock pots all at work at the same time.  Beef stew for Ralph, lentils for me and Weight Watchers veggie soup for me.  I felt pretty excited about this whole thing.  Ralph thought it was pretty funny.  We have relatively little counter space so this was an accomplishment.  During the cooking process the veggie soup was actually working on a tray on top of the stove.  All worked out well.  It was a first time for the beef stew recipe and Ralph really likes it.  With a few seasoning adjustments, it will enter the rotation.  Love my crock pots and I think they’ll be working today later on.

~I worked on my morning pages for The Artist’s Way every day.  Again, I have to say, that I’m amazed that I have continued with this routine.  I love writing my pages and can’t imagine allowing myself to miss a day.  I actually completed my very first notebook.  That’s a lot of writing!!  I’ve started a new one and I plan to keep going.  I can’t believe that there are only three sessions left.  Twelve weeks seemed so daunting when I first started.  It’s been great and I’ve met some interesting people who I think have become friends.  I’m happy that I joined.

~I also meditated every day.  Each day I do it, it becomes more and more natural.  I love the music apps that I’ve downloaded to my phone.  They’re great and I have several so that I can switch them up.  Have I said that before?  If I haven’t, now I have.  If I have said it before it’s still true.  I keep trying to fit in an evening meditation.  That hasn’t worked out yet.  I’ll keep working on it.

~As I look at this Week In Review, I see that I’m not accomplishing much else other than my usual routine.  I was actually writing about that in my morning pages today.  I need to get some real projects accomplished.  Now that the weather is better, it’s warmer and there’s no ice and snow outside, I think I can do that.  My goal for this week is to get together all of the thinks I’ve been gathering (in different parts of the house…) that need to go to the thrift store, get them out of the house and into the car.  Then make the trip to the store.  That’s a good goal.  If I get the stuff out-of-the-way, then I’ll have a clearer idea of what to do next.  I also have a LOT of papers that need shredding.  Tomorrow the recycling goes out.  Perhaps that would be a good goal for today.  Then it will be out-of-the-way for real and can go to live in recycling land.

I’ll let that be my two goals for this week.  Something is better than nothing.  Usually, once I get myself started, I’m more likely to keep working.  Everybody has to hold me to those two projects now.  I’ll let you know next week how I did!

Be sure to check out the Week In Review link up over at Clean Eats, Fast feets.  Meghan is my inspiration.  I want to be her when I grow up!

Happy Monday!

WIAW~New and Old Edition

Good Morning and welcome to the umpteenth edition of What I Ate Wednesday here at BCDC!  So many of the people who link up with Jenn at Peas & Crayons seem to know how many WIAW’s they’ve done.  I do not.  I just know that I show up Whenever possible and yammer on about food and stalk what other people eat over at P & C.  You should take the trip over there too.  I get such great ideas over there! I know it’s no longer Love your Veggies month but it’s Always love your veggies month here, so I’m sticking with it.

I’ve titled this post Old and New because there are things here that you’ve seen before and some wonderful new things.  First the most exciting new.

 

Ralph and I went to dinner on Friday night with some ladies I used to work with.  It’s always fun but we went to a new place this time.  It’s at a semi-local mall and it’s called Firesides.  I had checked it on-line and knew I’d be Ok for food choices.  I love when I have dinner at a restaurant where I don’t only have one choice.  This was listed as a Veggie Kabob.  Portobello mushroom, red pepper, tomato and red onion grilled on two kabobs.  Half a quesadilla with spinach, pepper jack cheese and something else that I forget inside.  I think that was pesto aioli drizzled around.  It was SO good and I was very satisfied.  I wish the restaurant was closer because I’d go again for this.  Everyone was pleased with their choices.

What would WIAW at BCDC be without a diner omelette.  You’re welcome, Meghan!

 

This was spinach and feta cheese.  I splurged and had the potatoes although I probably only ate a third of them, and an English muffin.  Yummy!

I so sick of saying this but…Monday we had a snowstorm!!!  Hopefully the last for the year.  I was tired of complaining and tired of hearing myself complain.  Since for some reason I woke up at 4 am, I got to work early on some cooking.  I needed to make my Weight Watchers veggie soup for the week and I wanted to cook up some lentils.  I also wanted to try an experiment.  As a very long time vegetarian, I’m starting to lose my powers of cooking meaty things.  I had seen a crock pot recipe for beef stew.  It seemed simple and I could deal with the meat without touching it. All of these things led to this on Monday during the snowstorm.

 

Left is the beef stew, center is the lentils and on the right is the WW veggie soup.  I had so much fun!!  The good news is that Ralph loved the beef stew.  It’s a good thing, too because there is a LOT of it!!  I was excited because it really was pretty simple.

I put the lentils to use for dinner.  I had leftover salad from a big salad I had made to take to my sister’s house on Saturday.  I topped it with lentils, parmesan cheese and some balsamic vinegar.

 

This was very tasty and surprisingly filling.  I love cooking lentils this way.  They go a long way and they are so good.

That’s What I Ate Wednesday for me today.  Not sure I can top that three crock pot trick.  My other big one is in New Mexico.  I only have one other small one.  Guess I’ll have to wait until I get to New Mexico to go Five for Five!

Happy What I Ate Wednesday!!

WIAW~Another day in Veggie Land

It is time for What I Ate Wednesday again.  For the possibly five people in the blog world who do Not know what that is, it is the Fun Food Fest hostessed each week by the lovely Jenn at Peas & Crayons.  When you’re finished here, be sure to visit P&C to see what everyone has cooking over there!

As usual, every month is Love Your Veggies Month here at BCDC.  Let’s see what’s on the menu.

 

One of my favorite meals in the whole world, one because it’s Delicious, and two because it reminds me of the sandwiches my Mom would make us when we were kids.  Pepper and egg sandwich from the local pizzeria.  My change to it is having them use sweet peppers instead of regular and adding some American cheese.  So good!

 

Salad at the diner.  I had forgotten to take my balsamic vinegar with me so I survived using their balsamic vinaigrette, just not much of it. 5 Points for the entire package…No Thank You.

Dinner to go with the salad was this…

 

One of my favorite things to do at the diner is to come up with things I can eat by using what they have on the menu.  They have a sandwich called a veggie cheese steak. It is a big roll with a grilled combo of mushrooms, onions, romaine lettuce, peppers and a bunch of other veggies topped with cheese and it’s delicious. But sometimes I don’t want to eat all if that bread so I decided I’d ask if they would put it over rice.  They said yes and I get a side order of brocolli.  Then I just sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top. So Very Good!

Monday at my house it was Two Crock Pots, No Waiting!

 

The one on the left is my Weight Watchers veggie soup bubbling away.  On the right is Ralph’s country ribs cooking, soon to be topped with barbecue sauce.  It’s one of his favorite meals and it’s easy for me.  He usually gets at least two meals from it and that again, is a good thing!

My finished product…

 

How many different ways can I show you my Weight Watchers veggie soup?  This time it’s cooked.  This is so good and makes the house smell so good as it cooks.  I get so many meals out of it that it’s crazy!  It goes a very long way and it’s very inexpensive.  One of these days, I’m going to try to figure out how much it costs.  Not a lot, I can assure you.  It’s a wonderful tool for me on Weight Watchers because it counts as 0 Points.  Sounds good to me.

So that’s WIAW for me for this week. Be sure to stop over to see what all the fuss is about at Peas & Crayons.  Just be careful, because I usually end up incredibly hungry after checking out all of the blogs over there.  Eat breakfast first!!

Happy What I Ate Wednesday!!