Day 177 - Buffalo Chicken Sausage?!?!?!?! Yes Please!

I have to share my awesome find with you all!

I was perusing the meat section of my grocery store, contemplating getting some Italian sausage for my boys dinner and I saw this great colored package peeking out at me from the top refrigerated shelf...

I have had al fresco's products before, but I haven't had them since beginning to count 'points' with Weigh Watcher's so I picked up the package to do some calculating. They are only 3 PP (Points Plus) each!!! Yes, I said 3!  and they are the same size as a regular sausage, more bang for your PP buck. Wow! And Buffalo chicken flavored to boot, a taste of home : )

Add a whole wheat hotdog bun and you have the star of your dinner plate at only 6 points (by my calculations). Lot's of room to add a fresh salad and balsamic dressing on the side. Or perhaps a nice fall soup! Like the one I'll be sharing with you on Friday (Roasted Butternut Squash soup to be exact). In the meantime, consider picking up a package of al fresco all natural sausages... They're yummy.

Day 142 - Why Planning Daily Meals Is Good

Yesterday was a rough day. I woke up late (no thanks to again trying to stay awake late to watch Pirates of the Caribbean, I've never seen them; I know, I'm really behind) which lead to being unable to pack my typical snacks and lunch to take with me to school. It also created a bad choice for breakfast.

Usually I have protein (egg whites), veggies and fruit for fiber, skim milk for dairy, and oats. This is a big breakfast, but it gets my metabolism going first thing in the morning but leaves me completely satisfied. So satisfied, in fact, that I don't get the munchies throughout the day, especially if I time my snacks and lunch properly. This is great for preventing over eating and feeling ravenously hungry (which inevitably leads to bad choices and me whining to my husband about what I shouldn't have eaten).

I failed to do all of this, and an eclair (which was planned) and a giant shortbread cookie (which was not planned) wound up in my mouth. I tracked everything and accounted for it, and it's completely within my eating plan but I just want to set myself up for success and to NOT fall into these food traps.

Well, needless to say I came home and was famished! So I talked with the hubby and we created a fun southern-style salad with what we found in the pantry and icebox.

BBQ Chicken and Corn Salad... yummmmmmmmmmmm!

Let's analyze what we see here, shall we?

Salad: a bed of fresh mixed greens, 1/4 cup sweet corn, 1/4 cup Pico de Gallo, 4oz. BBQ chicken breast.

Sides: 2oz wedge of garlic and herb focaccia bread; 2 tbsp. each Jack Daniels Original BBQ sauce and sour cream. (I can't help myself, I love sour cream with BBQ and chicken!)

This was packed with flavor and had 2 servings of veggies in it (1/2 cup between the corn and pico de gallo, and 1 cup of mixed greens). You can easily knock down this 11 PP meal by skipping the focaccia and the sour cream, but I think it's too dry without the bit of extra BBQ on the side. Still need a Heart Healthy oil for the day? Drizzle a teaspoon of safflower oil over the greens, it has no flavor or aroma like olive oil and only your happy heart will know it was there!

Tomorrow - Snacks: morning, afternoon and early evening. Yup, there's time for all of them!

Day 138 - Weigh In Day (DUN Dun dun...) and Last Night's Dinner

Feelin' good! Dropped 2.6 lbs this past week! *Happy Dance! Happy Dance!* For a total loss of 41.6 lbs since April 3rd.

It actually felt good to get back in the swing if things last week. I felt out of control the week before--in every way, not just eat and weight loss. Having that sense of control can be empowering and motivating. I like it. : )

And in other news... My dinner last night was delicious! Nothing crazy or out of the ordinary, but I did make the meatballs that my boys had been begging for all week. I was sad because I didn't think they would be point friendly enough for me to really indulge. But since I love pasta and marinara anyways, I didn't fret too much.

See below for exact meal amounts. The Riesling is St. Urbans-Hof.

So I made them the way I normally would, just used all egg whites rather than whole eggs, and didn't free pour the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. I plugged the recipe into my magical little Weight Watchers calculator and it said 2 points... 2 POINTS!!! This made my tummy grumble.

Yup. That's it. Right there. I had a little glass of Riesling with it--and yes, I know I'm supposed to have a red wine with the red sauce and red meat. But the sauce was marinara, not my traditional heavy red sauce (that I can't live without in the winters) so to me it was light. Which called for a light wine. And I always seem to have a bottle of Riesling available for these situations.

Come back tomorrow for the second half of my interview with Matt. Saturday's post with the first half was a big success! See what else Matt confided in me... well, us : )

**1 cup cooked whole wheat pasta, 1/4 cup Franks Marinara Sauce, 1 heaping Tbsp. shredded Parmesan cheese, 2 meatballs (as described above) and 1 tsp. olive oil. This equals 10 PP for my Weight Watchers buddies - but that doesn't include the wine. I dipped into my Weekly Points for that treat!)

Day 136 - Healthy Pizza? Yes - It's Possible!

My love for steel-cut oats pulled through yesterday. I changed my breakfast up a little since I wasn't feeling satisfied throughout the day, and the oats helped today. No ravenous hunger and I cut down on the quantity of food I took with me to school. Good day!

Now for the pizza! I changed my dinner up last night, too, and I would like to share it with you (not the actual pizza, it might go bad in the mail). I was in the mood for avocado all day, but I had already prepared chicken and sauteed zucchini for the whole weeks worth of dinners. I'm eatin' the zucchini--I love it--but it shall remain separate from it's amigo, the chicken.

Avocado Chicken Pizza - made with salsa

        Avocado Chicken Pizza

• 5oz. (1/5 of a prepared package) fresh pizza dough
• 1/4 cup salsa (I like Escabeche style)
• 3oz. grilled chicken breast, chopped
• 1/4 cup mexican style shredded cheese
• 1tsp. olive oil
• Green bell pepper to taste
• 1/2 of a small avocado, sliced

1. Stretch dough to a rectangle 12" x 5" on a greased sheet tray (or silcone baking mat).
2. Spread the salsa evenly over dough.
3. Sprinkle chicken over the salsa, then the cheese over the chicken.
4. Add bell peppers.
5. Bake according to the directions on the dough package.
6. Top with sliced avocado and drizzle with olive oil.
7. Enjoy!

(This makes a large single serving and totals 13 PP if you're my visiting Weight Watchers family! It also provides: 1 serving heart healthy oils, 1-2 servings veggies, and lean protein.)

This is easily one of the best things to have entered my mouth recently. It wasn't planned out, it wasn't a recipe I saw elsewhere. It was just a creative combination of what I was craving, what I had on hand, and what GHGs I still had to get in for the day. And let me tell you... WOW!

Tomorrow: My interview with Matt- a fellow culinary student successfully dropping extra pounds. A guy's perspective.

Day 133 - What's For Dinner

As I mentioned yesterday, I have planned out my meals for the entire week. The only short coming: eating the same things, each meal, everyday. I'm not terribly opposed, but many people would be (I know, it's boring, lacking variety, etc...). So I'm going to let you in on a little secret that makes these plans not only manageable but exciting!

Starting with 4oz. sauteed chicken breast, 1/2 cup of sauteed zucchini, mozzarella and Parmesan (all of which are completely yum-o to begin with) we can gussy it up in a different way each night of the week. Try this:

• Served with cheeses melted, and half of a garden fresh tomato, garnished with a 'just cut' sprig of basil.
•  Tuck a bed of bibb lettuce and tomato slices into two pita halves, add warmed chicken, squash and cheeses, drizzle with light balsamic dressing.
• Prepare 1oz. fresh whole wheat pasta, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and a crushed clove of garlic. Toss with chicken, squash and cheeses.
• Spread basil pesto over a pre-packaged flat bread or pizza crust, top with chicken, squash then the cheeses and make it toasty in the oven for a great take on pizza.
• Top 1/2 cup brown rice with the chicken and squash; for a little extra crunch add half a cup of pico de gallo into the rice.

Each of these variations provides at least 2 servings of veggies, 1 serving of heart healthy oil and 4oz. of a lean protein.Oh! And yumminess,  that's the most important part : )

There are so many other ways to elaborate on this simple combination of delicious and versatile flavors. To make being creative even easier, I prepare all of the chicken and squash on Sunday, portion it (refrigerate some and freeze the rest) that way I only have to figure out the fun part each night for dinner. Doing this saves a bunch of time during the week nights when I would rather be hanging out with my hubby or playing with my boys.

Tomorrow: Hand Over Your Lunch!