Week In Review~10/26/15

Another Week…Another Week in Review hostessed by the lovely Meg at Clean Eats, Fast Feets.  I was all organized last week and had things planned out for my review.  This week I’m flying by the seat of my pants trying to remember what the Heck I did with SEVEN DAYS!  Guess we’ll Both find out!!

1. My Gym time was cut short this week.  I worked out 3 times as opposed to 5 last week.  As much as I enjoy the gym and I know the benefits I get from it, some days life gets in the way and I just don’t get there.  Next week will be tricky too because we’re going to be away, but I’m going to try to do my best to get activity in even though I’m not at the gym.  I’m in control of my activity level and I need to make the most of it.  A friend of mine started a FitBit challenge last week and it’s great to be competing against others.  It makes you keep going.  I’m going to suggest we do it again this week!

2. For many years I’ve been collecting antique dresses.  I haven’t done much with them over the last 10 or 15 years.  They sat in storage boxes.  About a year ago I had contacted someone who buys and sells antique clothing.  I wasn’t ready to get rid of them at the time but this week, I decided it was time.

I took photos of all of them (believe me, this is just a few!) and sent the info to the lady interested in buying them.  Hopefully in the next few weeks I’ll have them all packed up and shipped off to her.  As I said on Instagram, it’s like parting with an important piece of my youth.  But I’m doing this to raise money for our move to New Mexico.  To me it’s worth it.  I’m trying to sell anything I can.  Next is my pottery collection!

3. I’ve been doing a lot of reading.  Started and finished Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter.

Really enjoyed this.  It was one of those books that starts slowly but once you’re into it you can’t put it down.  I like that.  I’ve enjoyed all of her books.  Only problem is that since the beginning of the year I’ve read ALL of her books.  This is her newest one and now I’m finished.  She better get writing so that I have something to read!

4.  I thought I was doing a good job on Weight Watchers this week but I had a gain anyway.  At this point in my life I don’t really worry (well not TOO much) if I have a gain.  I’m 14 pounds under my Weight Watchers goal and I pretty much stay there regardless of what I do.  I’m pretty good at writing down all of my foods and staying on track.  It’s just frustrating and I guess it always will be when I have a gain and I can’t pinpoint the reason.

That’s my week.  Not very interesting but that’s the way it is sometimes.  I’ll try to make next week more Exciting.

Don’t forget to check out all of the other listers over at Clean Eats, Fast Feets.  It’s always a lot of fun!

Happy Monday!

Week In Review~October 19, 2015

I have received a Welcome Home blogging gift.  Meghan at Clean Eats Fast Feets has reinstated Week In Review.  I’m really excited about this because for me WIR was always a good way to start the week and get things going both in my blogging life and real life.  Meghan’s contention is that we don’t give ourselves enough credit for what we do in the course of a day or a week.  This allows us to see what we’ve been doing with our time.  Meghan is a great list maker and I’m trying to emulate her.  My list making was a little hap hazard as I try to settle back in from three weeks in my happy place (New Mexico!) but I think I’ve done a decent job.

1. My first focus on my return had to be getting back on track with Weight Watchers.  There are no WW meetings in Silver City, the town where our house is in New Mexico.  The closest is an hour and a half away in Las Cruces.  When we move there I’m going to have to figure how I can get to a meeting there at least once a month.  I’ll work on it.

First thing I did was put in a pot of black beans to soak and go into the crock pot the next day.  Then I wanted to get everything I needed to make my WW veggie soup.  I never thought of this before, but I prepped the soup on Sunday night and was able to just plug in and turn on the crock pot when I got up Monday morning.  Believe me, I’ll be doing it that way from now on.

I had put on about a pound and a half while I was away.  I didn’t think that was too bad.  I wore the same clothes I’d worn the last time I weighed in so that any difference was weight, not clothes.  I weighed in Saturday morning and in spite of the fact that I was wearing jeans because it was too cold to wear capris, I lost 2.2 pounds!  I had worked really hard, journaled all of my foods and tried to stay focused.  That and the availability of the  veggie soup did the trick.

2. I went to the gym 5 times.  I know that those visits also helped with my weight loss and getting myself back on track.  Being in Silver City for such a short time, I didn’t try to sign up for a gym there.  Plus the 3000 miles of riding in the car didn’t help.  I started out pretty stiff the first two days but by mid-week I was feeling back in control.  Again, I was happy with my focus and dedication.  I feel much better now and I’m going to do my best to get there as often as I can this week.

3.  My long hiatus from blogging came to an end.  I wrote and published 4 blog posts in the past week.  I do enjoy the link-ups like Week In Review.  I still haven’t decided if I’ll have a hard and fast schedule or if I’ll just go free style.  For now, I think I’ll see how I do and work from there.  It seems that my readers have not forgotten me and for that I am very grateful.

4. Here is where the whole list making idea is going to be helpful.  I really, Really want to get things on track with our move to New Mexico. I’ve started trying to list what I have to accomplish in order to make that happen.  I’m also trying to give myself alternatives so that if one thing doesn’t work, I have a back up plan.  Lots and lots to do regarding this.  This is important to me and I will be focusing on this.  Let the Listing Begin!

Be sure to stop over to Clean Eats, Fast Feets to check out what accomplishments are on everyone else’s lists.

Don’t Forget to…

WIAW~Surviving Thanksgiving

Can’t believe it’s Wednesday already and time for What I Ate Wednesday, the fun and drool worthy link up hostessed by Jenn at Peas and Crayons.  But it is and here I am again going on and on about what I ate.  I love to see what everyone has been eating, especially after a Holiday.  Here’s my contribution!

Of course it was Thanksgiving.  So many people dread this Holiday, it seems.  Probably because more than any other Holiday, it revolves around food.  Other members at my Weight Watchers meeting on Saturday were so worried about how to approach it.  That’s actually always seems to be the topic at WW on the week before Thanksgiving: How To Cope With Thanksgiving.

Believe me, I’ve been through many Thanksgivings where I was over the top, over indulged and over stuffed.  I know it’s an issue for a lot of people.  I felt in control and on track this year and I was proud of myself.

I started with a regular breakfast of an egg substitute omelette which always keeps me full for a while.  Dinner was planned for 1 pm so I knew I’d be Ok until then.

My sister Ele and I always work on the dinner together and we had a really good time.  One of my jobs is making the succotash.  It’s not something that everyone likes, but almost everyone in our group likes it.  Personally, I LOVE it!

I joked that this was mine and I didn’t know what anyone else would be eating. I probably could have eaten the entire thing if given the opportunity but I didn’t!

There were pies, yes, but I was restrained with them.

 

I had a piece of the apple, home-made by our friend, Jim and just a tiny sliver of the coconut custard.  Both were yummy.  There was also a pumpkin but I passed on that…had to pass on Something!

The main attraction…

 

Dinner:  mashed potatoes with vegetarian gravy, green beans, Ele’s home-made cole slaw (From Grandmom’s recipe) and of course, Succotash!!  At the top is a piece of the cranberry orange jello mold I make every year.  Also a favorite.  It was all delicious and I have to confess that I did have seconds on mashed potatoes, second time around topped with Succotash!  I’m starting to think I should title this post “WIAW~Succotash!”

It was a great day and we had a lot of fun as we always do.  That’s my Thanksgiving, now let’s go see what everyone else had on their favorites list.  Be sure to check out Peas and Crayons to see what’s going on!

Happy What I Ate Wednesday!

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~So How Was YOUR Week?

How do we always seem to get back around to Wednesday so Quickly?!  Well, here it is again and that means it’s time to gather where all the bloggers are friendly and all the food delicious…Peas and Crayons…the crazy domain of Jenn the gracious hostess and creator of What I Ate Wednesday!  Be sure to check out all of the fun over there when you’re finished here!

This was a fun week but not one I’d necessarily confess to my friends at Weight Watchers.  Regardless, it was an interesting mix of things.

 

I give you a Tower of pumpkin pie yogurt.  Aldi had these two weeks ago and I bought 2 because it sounded good.  You can never be sure with these specialty flavors…sometimes they’re good, sometimes not so good.  This is delicious and the next time I was there, I had my fingers crossed that there would still be some left.  Yes!!  I’ve been going through these pretty fast.  It’s very tasty!

 

Another pumpkin shot.  Ok, I realize that it looks like an empty IHOP coffee cup.  It is.  But where there’s IHOP…there’s pancakes…and for me this time of year it had to be pumpkin pancakes.  I did ask for them with no whipped cream and I used the sugar-free syrup.  They were also delicious! I’m so glad there’s Not an IHOP closer.  That would be dangerous.

One afternoon last week, Ralph and I decided to go to one of our favorite nearby Italian restaurants.  Usually, we only get salads or sandwiches. But this was late afternoon and almost dinner time so we decided to have a real dinner.  We were both Very pleased.  I started off with a salad.

 

This was huge for a dinner salad and it was delicious.  I got it with the balsamic vinaigrette.  So good and really very filling.

Part of the “filling” aspect was this…

 

This is their bread with the seasoned oil.  This bread is So delicious, I could go in for just that.  Always crispy on the outside and soft and fresh and warm on the inside.  Yum.

Finally we get to dinner itself.  I’m usually pretty much a pasta girl but their special that night was Gnocchi Siciliano.  This was basically gnocchi, which I’ve never had before, with eggplant, tomatoes, a creamy sauce and CHEESE!  It was amazing.

 

I only finished about a third of it.  I took it home and had it for dinner the next night.  This was so good and so over the top as far as trying to figure out the Weight Watchers Points that I think I wrote down 15 Points for it the first night and 20 Points the next night.  At least I’m honest when I write down my Points…Good or Bad…I write them down.

That’s my WIAW post for this week.  If you want (need!) more just stop by Peas and Crayons…You’ll find what you’re looking for!

Happy What I Ate Wednesday!

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!

Thinking Out Loud #3

Here I am, back for my third try at Thinking Out Loud!  I’ve had so many nice comments on my first two posts.  I truly appreciate all of your kind words.  Again, I haven’t really planned anything out so it’s more Fly By The Seat Of Your Pants time.  Let’s see how this works out.  Be sure to check in with the other posters on Amanda’s blog, Running With Spoons.

My mind is all over the place but then, that’s what my life feels like at the moment.  Trying to get back to normal after surgery while still doing physical therapy and my home exercises is quite an adventure.  Our house is not as conducive to moving around as my friend’s house was so that’s an issue.  I’m working with it.  Also dealing with a stubborn husband who won’t believe me that I can go down the steps to do the laundry.  I’ll even concede to him walking down in front of me so I can get there.  He’s still giving me a hard time.  Hopefully my next Thinking Out Loud will be saying that “I’ve done the laundry!!”

~I think that all of the emotions that should have come out during my weeks of recuperation, have been stored up and are rearing their ugly heads now.  I’m feeling very disjointed, disorganized and not myself in a lot of ways.  I need to focus, which is a story anyone who has read BCDC for awhile has heard before.

~I feel a bit out of control with my food as well.  NOT a good thing.  I’m proud of how I’ve been doing with staying under my Weight Watchers goal for over a year.  I probably shouldn’t be too hard on myself.  I was told before the surgery that you need to eat to heal.  I did that and now I find myself wanting to continue to eat that way.  During recovery, I ate and ate and never gained a pound.  Now I have to be more conscious.  I know the best way to do that.

 

~Those of you who have visited with me before have seen this.  This is my Weight Watchers journal.  If I ever need to bring myself into better focus (not that I EVER seem to be able to get myself completely in focus-not for lack of trying!) I turn to my WW Journal.  This is a tremendous tool in trying to keep myself on track and under control.  I write down all of my foods and (in red) review what I’ve done and give myself pep talks.  At times in my WW adventure, I’ve kept another journal where I tracked my thoughts and discussed my successes and missteps.  I’m thinking I need to do that again.  I’m really feeling a bit out of touch with what I need to do.  I’m still about 12 pounds under my WW goal, but I love the way my clothes feel now and the fact that I have no trouble finding things to fit.  I don’t want to let myself slip on that.  I want to continue to feel this good.

~I have to commit to doing more cooking, not relying on eating out or ordering in.  I can do it, I just need to make myself get back in the routine.  I did do the Best thing in the world for me.  Made a crock pot of my WW veggie soup and a crock pot of beans to go along with it yesterday.  That always gets me back on track.

~As I type this, I seem to me motivating myself into a better mood, a clearer head and a more focused vision of what I need to do.  I’ve always felt that blogging could work that kind of magic for me. Thinking Out Loud is definitely doing it. It’s allowing me to get things off my chest whether it’s about myself or something else.   I like this idea.

Be sure to check out the other Thinkers over at Running With Spoons. Thursday is quickly becoming my favorite day of the week!

Happy Thursday!

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!