A Great Find & Some Tips for the Weekend

 I recently bought some frozen fruits and vegetables (Great Value brand... only about $2 for a bag!!). The veggies were the ones I posted with the rice a couple of days ago... and I thawed some fruit to have with breakfast this morning.

DELICIOUS! I'm definitely going to keep buying these!

And yes, that's a Domino's pizza box under there in the 2nd pic LOL, and YES their new pizza is amazing!! 

I've really been worrying about this day "off" that I have planned for Saturdays. I know that I need it to keep me sane during the week, but I DO NOT want to ruin my entire week's work on one day. Someone on 3fc posted THIS article, which has tips for staying in control over the weekend. The tips I'm going to try this weekend:

• Track all my food METICULOUSLY
• Workout
• Eat breakfast & weigh in before and after (already do these)

Thoughts on the article? What helps YOU stay on track over the weekend?

Today I'm getting the 2nd bedroom all cleaned out. The BF's best friend is coming to stay with us over the summer. I think I'll go ahead and clean the whole house while I'm at it! Have a good weekend everyone! :)

as always,

Carissa

Low-fat Cheeseburger Pie

Low-fat Cheeseburger Pie

Ingredients:

1 lb extra lean ground turkey
1 cup Nonfat Cottage Cheese
1 Egg
1/2 Cup Chopped Onion
1 Clove Garlic (chopped)
3/4 Cup Kraft 2% Shredded Cheddar Cheese
2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup of Heart Smart Bisquick (mix only)
4 Slices of Tomato

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Brown Turkey Onion & Garlic in a pan. While turkey is browning mix Bisquick and water to form a dough. (add water gradually as needed for dough)Roll dough flat enough to cover a pie pan with rolling pin. (may have extra dough). Place dough in pie pan. 

Mix Worcestershire Sauce in with turkey mixture. In a separate bowl, mix cottage cheese with egg. Pour turkey mixture into pie pan.

Pour Cottage Cheese mixture over turkey.

Top with Shredded Cheddar Cheese.

Then place Tomato Slices on top and bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.

Makes 8 servings, 164 calories each.

I MADE THESE CHANGES:

*Substituted 1 lb turkey with 1 lb 97/3 hamburger

*Left the onion out because we forgot to get some.. but onions definitely would have been good in it!

*Substituted Bisquick with 1 roll Pilsbury Reduced Fat Crescent Rolls

*Left out the tomato

*Added seasoning to the meat.. actually could have used a little more, so we're remembering that for next time! :)

***The changes we made added about 30 calories & 2g of fat per serving.

Since it was the only thing I ate for supper, I had more than just one serving. The meat was a little too much for me but probably would've been better with more seasoning & onions. Otherwise I really liked it! The boo loveeed it :). It's very easy to make and doesn't need a WHOLE lot of crazy ingredients.. so yeah, a winner for sure!

Source: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=458851

Crispy Ranch Chicken

Crispy Ranch Chicken

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 oz pkg ranch dressing mix
2 cups crispy rice cereal
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 egg whites (beaten)
2 tablespoons light butter (optional)

Directions:

Mix rice cereal, ranch mix and Parmesan cheese together in bowl. Dip chicken in egg whites, then in the cereal mixture to coat evenly. Arrange chicken on greased baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees F until golden - 30 to 35 minutes. Makes 4 servings.

 

~

Okay, not kidding, this chicken is delicious!! It's crunchy and has plenty of flavor... yummmmm.

Each serving has 245 calories, so you can add a veggie and maybe some potatoes like I did (yeahhh, I love pepper, haha) or bread and you've got a full, low calorie meal! :)

 

Source: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=447376

Delish or Dull: Cajun-Spiced Mashed Sweet Potatoes

I was looking for a new and different recipe to try.. and I came across this. What do you think? Delish or dull?

·······································
Cajun-Spiced
Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2" pieces
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/3 cup milk
Cajun seasoning to taste
salt to taste

Directions:

1. Place the sweet potatoes in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring the potatoes to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer about 20 to 30 minutes, until the potatoes are done. Check by piercing with a fork; there should be no resistance. Drain well.

2. Mash the sweet potatoes with a potato masher or fork, or use a food mill.

3. Add the lime juice and stir well. Add the milk and stir. Add Cajun seasoning and salt, to taste.

Makes four 1/2 cup servings.

Nutrition Info (per serving):

Calories » 171

Fat » 1 g

Sat Fat » 1 g

Carbs » 38 g

Protein » 3 g

Sodium » 91 mg

Fiber » 5 g

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Source: http://www.foodfit.com/recipes/recipe.asp?rid=12

Baked Okra

I guess I never did put that recipe up for the baked okra. It's really simple - just mix about a cup of cornmeal with some salt (not too much!) and coat 1 1/2 pounds thawed okra with it. Baked at 450 degrees F for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. The first picture (above) is the fresh okra gettin' ready to be coated, the next is the okra right before it went into the oven (I didn't make the full bag), and the last is the finished product! I might not have cooked them long enough, but I was starving! ;]

Mmm!

Thanksgiving Stuffing!

Sorry, no pic for this one! I'm trying to stop using images from the web.. I think I might need to go through and delete any I've already used, idk. Anyway, here ya go!

Ingredients:

1 tbsp light butter
14 oz stuffing bread (such as pepperidge farm
or mrs cubbison)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup diced mushroom
2-3 cloves of garlic
2- 2 1/2 cup chicken broth
poultry seasoning to taste ( I usually use 1-2 tsp)
pepper to taste around 1 tsp

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees

-Heat a large saute pan once heated add butter and spray with cooking spray add carrots and saute add celery, onion, garlic and mushroom add additional cooking spray if needed continue cooking until veggies are tender remove from heat transfer to bowl and allow to cool slightly

-In a large bowl add bread stuffing and veggies toss together season with pepper and poultry seasoning add chicken broth mixing until moist but not soaking taste and adjust seasoning

-Spray casserole dish with cooking spray add stuffing mix and cover with foil bake 20-25 minutes uncover and cook additional 10 minutes or until slightly crispy on top


Makes 16 half-cup servings

Source: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=442203

Guess what I ordered yesterday!!

MY TOMS!

I can't wait until they're here! I'll make sure to take pictures when they arrive! :]

Yesterday I went swimming for my workout.. 1 hr.. it didn't really feel like a workout at all. DEFINITELY what my legs needed though - a break from that elliptical! My legs feel SO much better than they usually do today.. so I think I might start swimming on Wednesdays.

EXCEPT I found out today that I wont have access to the gym or pool during winter intersession or during the summer unless I take classes during those time periods. I don't have a way to pay for classes during intersessions, so I guess I'm gonna have to figure out a way to make exercise work at home. :[

I've been feeling bloated so much lately. I think it's been my whole life actually. But I wonder why? Do any of you experience it/what do you do to help it?

If you haven't tried Smart Ones frozen dinners, I suggest you do so :]. They're perfectly portioned, and perfectly delicious. One of my faves is the mini veggie pizzas.
They taste even better than they look. Only 270 cals for all 4, and each box comes with 8.


I think that's about it for now.. if I think of more later I'll edit ;].

-Carissa ♥




*EDIT*
oh yeah - the crunch (not the candy bar) challenge is over I think.. I keep forgetting to change the countdown, so I never know! I don't think I hit quite 1500, and my stomach looks exactly the same. Oh well!

Yoplait Smoothie

Okay, first of all, I absolutely LOVE smoothies. So the frozen Yoplait smoothie mix was pretty much gonna win either way. BUT as it turns out, it really is delicious!

Each bag (about $3) makes 2 servings. There are 2 different flavors, I got Triple Berry. All it is is frozen strawberries, blueberries, and yogurt chunks. The directions call for 1 cup of nonfat milk.

Aaaaaaand blend for a few minutes, mixing when needed.

Oh gosh, it was so good! Even the boyfriend loved it! It wasn't all watery and it wasn't too thick. Not to mention it was EASY EASY EASY to make! And with only 110 cals per serving (yeah, that's right. 220 calories for the entire bag. that's even including the milk!) I don't think I'll ever leave the grocery store without this again! :)

Sample Meals

My morning class was canceled :]! So you're getting an early bonus post! Ha. I received an e-mail about what food I've been eating, and I wanted to give you guys some ideas of what a typical meal is like for me. Hopefully in the future I can get into the habit of posting my daily menus, but for now I'll show you a few meals I've had over the last week or so.

Grilled Zucchini & Spinach Wrap
To start, I cut up one medium-sized zucchini and browned them in a pan with some pepper...

...they came out pretty good!

The spinach wrap was easy: 1 wheat tortilla w/a thin layer of ranch dressing, filled with fresh spinach leaves.

All together now:

-296 calories, 12 grams of fat

Bread w/peanut butter, peaches, and milk
This is a really easy breakfast for me. 1 slice wheat bread, thin layer of peanut butter, 1 cup of nonfat milk, and fruit (here it's peaches).

-367.6 cals, 11.1 gof

Scrambled eggs and a banana
Pretty self-explanatory. Took 2 large eggs, added pepper, and scrambled. Good source of protein & potassium!

(that's ketchup on my eggs - is that weird?)
-304 cals, 11 gof

Beans & Rice
Sorry for the crappy picture. This is about a cup of brown rice covered with approx. 2 cups of ranch style beans. My grandma used to make this (except with white rice and a whole bunch of meat and spices in the beans) so it's comforting. Also very filling!

-424 cals, 7 gof

Ham n cheese Sandwich & Broccoli
A simple but tasty lunch, this is a pretty common meal for me. 2 slices wheat bread, thin layer of mayo, 1 slice cheddar cheese, 2 thin slices ham, spinach leaves, and onions. I also usually have a little ranch dressing to dip my broc in.

-728 cals, 38 gof (Note: You can save 225 calories & 21 grams of fat by getting rid of the cheese and the salad dressing. This meal, including those, fit into my calories for that day, so it worked.)



I'm not much of a chef, hah. But there you have it! Hope this helps :]. Love you all!
-Carissa ♥

Grocery List < $50

Hey! I just got back from the grocery store... and I wanted to share with you what I got, all under $50:

• 1 box instant oatmeal
• 1 box instant brown rice
• 1 box 100-cal kettle corn
• 3 pkgs muffin mix
• whole wheat linguine
• 1 container brown sugar ham
• 24-pack water
• 1 pkg frozen corn on the cob
• 2 small cans tomato sauce
• Yoplait fruit smoothie mix (I'll do a review on this at some point.)
• 1 pkg frozen okra
• 4 yogurts
• fresh broccoli
• 1 small apple
• bananas
• 2 med zucchini
• 1 pkg mild cheddar slices
• 1 pkg sliced almonds
• Weight Watchers Peanut Butter Sundae (frozen)
• WW Lasagna Florentine
• 1 dozen large eggs
• 1 loaf whole wheat bread
• 1 small orange juice
• 1/2 gallon nonfat milk
• 1 red onion
  

Apparently I also bought asparagus (I really didn't - the cashier just charged me for it on accident?). Anyway, that's groceries for about 2 weeks for me. I also bought the love some things he requested & other things we needed (so the total was a bit more than $50 ;] - but everything above came out to almost $50). Be slow to criticize me for not getting enough fruits/veggies or whatever else... I'm still working on my healthy lifestyle! And on getting the most for my money.

What things are always on your grocery list???

Carissa

Pumpkin Pie!

Weight Watcher's Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:
- 4 sprays non-fat cooking spray
- 4 sheets phyllo dough
- 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1/8 tsp table salt
- 1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin
- 1 1/2 cups fat-free evaporated milk
- 1/2 cups fat-free egg substitute
- 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly coat a 9-inch round pie pan with cooking spray.
Cut phyllo sheets in half. Place 1 sheet in prepared pan and lightly coat with cooking spray. Top with another sheet of phyllo, placing corners just to the right of the previous sheet’s corners. Repeat with remaining sheets to form a circle. Press layered phyllo into pan and roll in edges. Bake until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
Whisk together brown sugar, spices, cornstarch and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together pumpkin, evaporated milk, egg substitute and vanilla in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk wet ingredients into dry ingredients.
Pour filling into crust. Bake until set, about 50 minutes. (Cover crust edges with foil during baking if they are becoming too brown.) Cool completely before cutting into 8 slices.

Makes 8 slices/servings
Each serving = 3 WW Points

Source: http://www.laaloosh.com/2008/12/10/weight-watchers-pumpkin-pie-recipe-for-christmas-3-points/

Til Payday Casserole

I think this recipe is very fitting for this week :)! And there are only 268 cals/serving! This recipe makes approx. 10 servings, so you may need to adjust it a little.

Ingredients:
96% or greater lean ground beef, 1lb.
3 small cans of low sodium or no sodium tomato sauce, try to make sure it has no added sugar.
8oz pkg of 2%, 1% or fat-free cheddar cheese or part-skim mozza.
1 reg sized box of whole wheat/plus pasta
1tbsp of lowfat margerine or unsalted butter, depending on what you're watching (salt/fat intake)
paprika
cayenne
oregano
basil
rosemary
savory
black pepper
garlic
onion

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a good sized pan, boil the water for the pasta, once boiling add pasta. While pasta is cooking to desired tenderness, brown the seasoned ground beef in a skillet. In a third med-sized pot, add tomato sauce, margerine, about 1/8 cup of water, seasonings, onion, and garlic, cover and allow to simmer. Drain pasta and rinse, then place it in a large casserole dish. When meat is brown add it to the pasta. Add the sauce after it has simmered at least 15 mins. Mix all the ingredients together thoroughly. Cover with cheese. Place in oven and cook until cheese is golden brown. Since everything is done when it goes into the oven you can cook it at a higher temp.
-----

I think I might try this with some veggies mixed in rather than the meat - but really you could put both! :)

Source: http://www.sparkpeople.com/myspark/mysparkstart.asp

Mozzarella Sticks

I've recently discovered my love for mozzarella sticks, and today I was looking online for a healthier recipe for them. Thought I'd share :).

Weight Watchers Oven-Fried Mozzarella Sticks

Ingredients:
2 sprays olive oil cooking spray, divided
8 oz canned tomato sauce
2 tsp ground oregano, divided
3 slices reduced calorie wheat bread, torn
1 tsp dried thyme
8 oz part skim mozzarella cheese, cut into 8 finger-like strips
2 tbsp honey mustard

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400ºF. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. In a small saucepan, combine tomato sauce and 1 teaspoon of oregano; set pan over low heat and simmer 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a food processor, combine bread, remaining teaspoon of oregano and thyme; process until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Place crumbs in a shallow bowl. (Tip: Use the ends of the loaf of bread for the bread crumbs since those slices are often uneaten.) Coat cheese sticks with honey mustard. Transfer cheese to bread crumb mixture and turn to coat. Arrange cheese on prepared baking sheet and lightly coat with cooking spray. Bake until golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Serve with warmed tomato sauce on the side. Yields 2 cheese sticks and about 1/4 cup of sauce per serving.


These sound sooo good.. I can't wait to try them! I don't have a food processor, but I'm sure I can figure out some other way to do it. There were lots of other recipes for healthy mozzarella sticks when I googled it, so you might try some of those and see which you like best!
-Carissa


Picture and recipe belong to Weight Watchers, http://www.weightwatchers.com/food/rcp/index.aspx?recipeId=86531

I think I might be addicted..

.. to Subway. Okay - I AM addicted to Subway. And I think that it has been a big help in losing weight over the past month. Just to say, here's what I get each time:

6" on 9 grain honey oat
Ham
American Cheese
lettuce
onions
spinach
honey mustard
occasionally jalapenos ;)

& ohhhh it's sooo good! I've also been playing that scrabble game they had going on.. I've gotten about a thousand letters and plenty of free drinks/cookies/chips (which I haven't eaten, woo hoo!) and then yesterday I won... a 3 month pogo.com membership! Which is cool. They have some pretty fun games..

Anywayyyy I'm hoping to get some recipes & new workouts up soon.. I need to get back into the workout habit myself. Talk to you all soon!

Parmesan Sage Potato Wedges

Ingredients:
1 large (6 oz.) potato, well scrubbed, cut into 1/4" wedges
2 cups cold water
1 tsp. oil
1 T. Parmesan
1/8 tsp. each salt and sage
dash of pepper

Directions:
Bring water and potatoes to a boil, until crisp/tender (4-5 minutes). Rinse with cold water until cool. Pat dry. Heat oil in a nonstick pan. Saute potatoes until lightly browned. Sprinkle with cheese and seasonings.

Serves: 2
Nutrition Info. per serving:
Calories - 2
Total fat - 3
Saturated fat - 1
Protein - 2.5
Fiber - 1
Sodium - 184 mg
Carbs - 12
WW pts - 2



Source: http://www.3fatchicks.com/diet-recipes/parmesan-sage-potato-wedges/

Trail Mix Snack

I loveeee trail mix and having something to snack on in between meals is not only good for your metabolism, but it will keep you from binging at the next meal. Here's a simple mix that you can put into zip-locks & have ready for whenever:

• 1/2 cup air popped popcorn
• 1/3 cup whole-grain cereal (You could even use a cereal full of fiber if you'd prefer that)
• 2 tbs. slivered almonds
• 1 tsp. semisweet chocolate chips (I'd probably even do dark chocolate)

Enjoy!

Source: Women's World magazine

Egg Roll Recipe

Weight Watcher's Vegetable Egg Rolls

(1 point per egg roll)

-1 head Chinese cabbage, outer leaves removed, shredded

-2 medium carrots, peeled and shredded

-2 medium garlic cloves, minced

-2 medium scallions, white and green parts, chopped

-1 Tbsp ginger, fresh, minced or 1/2 tsp dried

-1 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce

-2 tsp cornstarch

-1 tsp sesame oil

-8 average egg roll wrappers, about 1/2 oz each

-4 serving olive oil cooking spray, or enough to coat egg rolls

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray. Place cabbage in a microwavable dish and cover. Microwave on high until wilted, about 4 minutes; drain and transfer to a large bowl. Add carrots, garlic, scallions, ginger, soy sauce, cornstarch and oil; mix well.

Arrange egg roll wrappers on a clean, dry surface. Spoon cabbage mixture diagonally onto each wrapper. Fold over one corner to cover filling. Fold up both corners. Moisten edges of remaining flap with water and roll up wrapper jellyroll style until sealed. Transfer egg rolls to prepared baking sheet and coat with cooking spray.

Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Serve hot.

***

I haven't tried these yet, but I'm looking forward to it! Let me know how you guys like 'em!

xo, BB

Source: http://www.thatsmyhome.com/healthy/weight-watchers/vegetable-eggrolls.htm