Weigh Watchers Update!

I had another weigh in yesterday (Saturday January 29th)...and..I was down 3.6lbs! For a total of 10.8lbs gone!! YAY ME! Only 89.2lbs left to go!

I only have 2 more pounds to go before I get to my 5%. So as a treat to myself I bought the bigger Weight Watchers Cookbook that you can purchase at Walmart for $21.57.

So keep watching this week. I have 6 new recipes....(well 7..because I didn't do the Coconut Shrimp one last week I am going to do it this week) that I am going to post. 5 dinner ones and 2 lunch ones!

Happy Cooking!

Creamy Fettucini with Asparagus & Mushrooms

Pasta! Who knew that pasta could taste good, and still be good for points on Weight Watchers? My favorite is a BIG bowl of Spaghetti & Meatballs, with a side ceasar salad and garlic bread....TONNES of garlic bread! (can you see the trend that led me to my round fluffy body type?..lol)

It was Tuesday....I loath Tuesdays....*sigh*....Tuesday means that I am home all day and all night alone....I know, I shouldn't complain but seriously sometimes a Stay-At-Home Mom needs a bit of a break; and on Tuesdays I don't get it. During the day I watch 2 other little boys...the youngest just turned 1 and the other one will be 2 in May. So with my 2 kids...yes that equals 4 boys....all aged 5 and under....well...5 1/2, 2 1/2, 1 1/2 and 1.....ya I needed some carbs tonight..lol.

Tuesday also means that my Hubby goes out and either plays darts or he heads over to his Buddy's house to play Final Fantasy on the computer. He usually goes right from work, with about a 10 min stopover to get the laptop from home. (Thus leaving me home all day and all night...because he never comes home before midnight!).

So since Hubby wasn't going to be home, and he absolutley DETESTS Mushrooms...he also won't eat Asparagus or Whole Wheat Pasta. What a perfect night to make myself a dish that has some of my favorite foods in it. Mushrooms & Asparagus!..lol (yea...I think I need to get Hubby to try these foods again, I love to cook them) The kids aren't to excited about Mushrooms or Asparagus either....they wanted KD...and KD was what they got!.. (I wasn't in the mood to make them anything fancy either..lol....it had been a looooonnnnnggg day!)


This recipe was easy! The longest part was chopping the mushrooms and waiting for the noodles to cook! It smelled wonderful and was great as leftovers for lunch this afternoon! I paired it with a gren salad and creamy cucumber dressing! It's definatley going to go on my make again list (but only on a Tuesday...lol).

Here is the recipe:
Level: Basic
Prep: 25 min
Cook: 20 min
Serves: 4

6 oz whole wheat fettuccini or spaghetti
1 bunch of asparagus trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces (I just used the frozen asparagus and left them whole...why not...I was the only one eating..lol)
2 tsp Olive Oil
6 shallots thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 lb cremini mushrooms sliced
1/4lb shiitake mushrooms, tough stems removed and sliced
1 Tbsp reducde sodium soy-sauce
2 tsp all-purpose flour
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup fat free half & half
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
3 Tbsp shaved Parmesan (I'm not a big parmsean fan, and since this is just grated ontop after I omitted it)

1) Cook pasta according to package directions; adding asparagus during last 3 minutes of cooking. Drain

2)Meanwhile, heat oil in large non stick skiller over medium-high heat. Add shallots and garlic and cook, stirring often, until shallots are softened, 2-3 minutes. Add mushrooms and soy sauce and cook, stirring occationally, until tender, about 6 minutes.

3)Add flour to skillet and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Gradually add broth, stirring constantly, and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring often, until mixture is slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Add half-and-half and cook until heated through. Add pasta mixture and thyme and toss to coat.

4)Divide pasta among 4 shallow bowls: sprinkle evenly with Parmesan.

Per serving: 1 1/4 cups
356 Cal, 5g Total Fat, 1g Sat Fat, 0g Trans Fat, 3mg Chol, 242mg Sod, 66g Total Carb, 9g Total Sugar, 11g Fib, 17g Prot, 149mg Calc.


PointsPlus per serving: (1 1/4 cups) 9
Happy Cooking!

Roasted Garlic-Beef and Vegetable Stew

So I've weighed in...I was up by .2 of a lb this past week. Time to buckle down and get this scale moving. I have 93 more pounds that need to be shed off before I reach my goal. I have found tonnes of insipration on the Weight Watchers Canada Facebook page. There are women and some men on there that have lost over 100lbs! There is one lady who has lost 143.5lbs! Can you believe it? That's a whole person!!! So inspiring, not only because they are older and are doing this. But because THEY DID IT! If these people can shed the weight this way, so can I!!


I am also super excited to have a Partner in Crime (so to speak) for this journey. I won't mention any names or anything because I am not sure if I can tell anyone else. When I am positive that they will allow me to tell, then I will!!! (sooo excited...lol)

Like I have said before I LOVE COMFORT FOOD! So when I picked up the Weight Watchers Cookbook at my meeting on Saturday and saw this recipe I knew I had to try it. I like stews, my Hubby LOVES stew, and the kids...well they can take it or leave, pretty much typical.

This recipe was pretty easy. I loved the way it made the house smell while roasting the Garlic (yes this was my first time roasting garlic). It was really fast too, it didn't take the hours, and hours of simmering the way the stew was done when Grandma used to make it! And the portion size of only 1 3/4 cups of stew was MORE than enough. I had enough points too that I could have a piece of bread with it!

Please try this one! It's delicous!

Here is the recipe:
Level: Basic
Prep: 20 min
Roast/Cook: 55 min
Serves: 4


2 heads of garlic
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1lb beef bottom round steak, trimmed and cut into 2.5cm pieces
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
2 onions, chopped
12 baby carrots (orange and yellow).....I just used Orange ones...our supermarket didn't have the yellow ones.
2 large parsnips, peeled and diced
1/2 lb small red potatoes, halved
2 cups reduced sodium beed broth ( I also added some water because by the time it had boild for a few minutes, it had reduced quiet a bit)
3 fresh Thyme sprigs or 1/2 tsp dried Thyme
1 cup frozen green peas
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley



1)Preheat oven to 400F. Wrap garlic in foil and roast until soft and fragrant, 50-60 minutes. Let cool. Squeeze out garlic pulp and reserve.

2)Meanwhile, place flour on sheet of wax paper. Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper; coat with flour, shaking off excess. Reserve remaining flour.

3) Spray Dutch Oven with nonstick spray and set over medium-high heat. Add beef; cook, sitrring occasionally, until browned, about 6 minutes. Transfer beef to plate. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 minutes. Add carrots, parsnips, potatoes, broth and thyme, bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.

4)Return beef and any accumulated juices to Dutch oven. Stir in garlic pulp. Remove 2 Tbsp cooking liquid to small bowl; add reserved flour and whisk until smooth. Add to Dutch oven and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, 1 minute. Add pes and simmer 1 minute longer. Stir in parsley



Per serving: (1 & 3/4 cups)565g

443 Cal, 8g Total Fat, 3g Sat Fat, 0g Trans Fat, 88mg Chol, 447mg Sodium, 55g Total Carb, 15g Total Sugar, 10g Fib, 38g Prot, 134mg Calc.

PointsPlus Value: 11 points serving.


Enjoy!
Happy Cooking!

Weight Watchers Update!

Over the weekend I had my weigh in.

And *sigh*....I was up .2 of a lb...I know it's not a lot, and I can get rid of it really easy. I also know why it's up. I was REALLY good all week, and then Friday night rolls around and I am tierd and not really into cooking...so I made Chicken Fingers and Fries...yeah I know not the healthiest, and also not the best for a low sodium meal!

So now I know. This week, NO HIGH SODIUM BEFORE WEIGH IN!! I also have to remember to drink my water. Weight Watchers recommends that you drink 6-8 glasses of water a day. I just carry around a water bottle that is 32oz. I try and drink at least 4 of these a day. You'd be surprised how much weight you can pee off..lol.

Ok, so my commitment this week. Keep to my points. NO HIGH SODIUM MEALS. Drink my water, and exercise everyday for 30-45 mins.

Weight last week: 233.4lbs

Weigh in this week: 233.6lbs

Next weigh in: Saturday January 29th.

Watch this week for 5 new recipes. I bought the Weight Watcher Cookbook that was out at our meeting on Saturday. I am also going to purchase the one that I have seen at Walmart for more inspiration!

Have a good week everyone!

Happy Cooking!

The Pokey Little Pork Chop

Exercise...ugh! Enough said!

I don't mind exercising, although I would prefer this weight to just melt away. I know that the only way to get it to go away is to exercise. At least 30 mins a day. At least that's what Weight Watchers recommends, well what they say is "...the American College of Sports Medicine is that you should get at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise five days per week or 20 minutes of high-inensity exercise 3 days per week to maintain health and reduce your risk for chronic disease" (Mastering the basics page. 83) So I do my bit, I exercise for 30 minutes or more a day. I walk on the treadmill and I use a number of exercise DVD's. My latest favorites are a Jackie Warner DVD, a Bob Harper DVD, and a Biggest Loser Power Walking DVD. I do both the treadmill and the DVD's because I know, that once the boys are in bed I sometimes don't feel like doing anything but parking my butt on the couch and watching TV (this is the exercise that got me looking so sexy and fluffy in the first place..lol). But on those days that I don't feel like doing the extra DVD I can feel assured that I have walked at a moderate-intensity (by this they mean you can't sing and you can only have a very laboured converstation with your walking partner, and you are sweating very early on in the walk) and have gotten some exercise in!

I have been trying to increase my exercise minutes, but to be quiet frank..I get bored...lol. I just have to remind myself that I am working towards a final goal and how much better I will feel about myself when I get there. I have only 2 days (since this is supposed to be a Wednesday post) until my next weigh in...dun, dun, dun....here's hoping that the exercise has helped!

Dinner was a Honey-Mustard Pork Chop. It was really, really good. Something different. Not to mention low in points. So I piled my plate full! It looks like in the picture that I'm not eating for being on a diet...oops..I mean "Lifestlye change"...the chop itself is only 4 points! So I had 1 cup of white rice for another 4 points, and then filled the rest of my plate with cauliflower and broccoli ~ 0 points, and my salad and dressing ~ 0 points! I was stuffed! I love it! I can eat everything on my plate and not feel guilty about it...not to mention that I get Activity Points for my exercise (more on that later).

Here is the recipe:

Prep: 5 min

Broil: 10 min

Serves: 4

1/4c Dijon Mustard

4 tsp honey

1 tsp apple-cider or white wine vinegar

1/4 tsp black pepper

4 (5-oz) bone-in loin pork chops about 1 inch thick (I used boneless because that's what was on sale)

1) To make marinade, whisk mustard, honey, vinegar and pepper in a cup.

2) Transfer marinade to large zip-close plastic bag; add pork. Squeeze out air and seal bag: turn to coat pork. Chill, turning bag occasionally, at least 4 hours or overnight.

3) Spray broiler rack with nonstick spray. Preheat broiler. (I used my indoor grill...was soo good)

4) Remove chops from bag; discard marinade. Place chops on broiler rack and broil 5 inches from heat until browned and cooked through, about 6 minutes per side. (It took about 8 minutes on my grill for all 4 to be done).

Per serving: (1 pork chop) 165 cal, 5g total fat, 2g sat fat, 0g trans fat, 59mg chol, 546mg sod, 9g total carb, 5g total sugar, 0g fib, 19g protein, 17mg calcium.

PointsPlus Value: 4

This recipe can be found in the January/February issue of Weight Watchers magazine as well as the Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook (John Wiley & Sons 2011).

Can Baked Mac & Cheese be Weight Watcher Friendly?

I've said it before and I will say it again....I LOVE COMFORT FOOD! I must, really...honestly I didn't get this sexy, fluffy body by eating Celery 24 hours a day!

I remember growing up and living with my Grandma. She used to cook comfort food all the time. It's amazing that I didn't start gaining weight until I was in my 20's. When I was younger and into my late teens, I could eat anything and any amount of it and I stayed slim. When I met my husband back in April of 2001 (Goodness has it been 10 years already?!?!?) I weighed in at 125lbs and had a waist of 27"....*sigh*..lol...yes I know I will never have that again...that's what having 2 kids will do to ya!

Since starting Weight Watchers I have decided that I d on't want to have to eat Chicken and fish every night. It's what made me decide to start searching for more recipes. While doing so I found the recipe for Baked Mac & Cheese. BAKED MAC & CHEESE while on Weight Watchers? Apparently it can be done! I am not a huge fan of homemade mac & cheese...in fact when Grandma used to make it for dinner, I would skip eating or I would make myself something else. I'm not entirely to sure what it is, but it's mostly a texture thing. I can't stand the fact that the noodles are kinda slimy and really soft...lol....ok...that's not how this recipe turned out, so not to worry.

I chose to make this recipe on a Tuesday (because my DH goes out on Tuesday nights to either play darts or to his Buddy's house to play Final Fantasy on the computers...they have a whole set up over there...don't ask!) and DH does not like whole wheat pasta...which this is made with. LOL...HOWEVER when he came home later on he did have a leftover plate full..lol..I'm not sure if he knows it was whole wheat pasta! Anyway, my kids LOVE Kraft Mac & Cheese. So I thought I would give it a try. It was a hit...not a HUGE hit, but the boys enjoyed it. Cole even ate his whole bowl full.

Since I am not really a fan of homemade Mac & Cheese, this recipe was Ok. It needed something more to it though. A dash of hot sauce? Some Cayenne? I dunno something to make it pop a bit more. Also it probably could have used something crunchy, maybe a breadcrumb crust? (this would increase the points which you would have to count). All in all, it was a good quick and easy dinner!

Here is the recipe:

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Prep: 20 min Cook/Bake: 40 min Serves: 6

8oz whole wheat penne

2 Tbsp canola oil (I used Olive Oil...much better for you)

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

2 c. fat free Milk

2 1/3 c. shredded fat-free Cheddar cheese

1/4 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Pepper

1)Preheat oven to 350F

2)Cook penne according to package directios, omitting sale if desired. Drain in colander, then rinse under cold running water; drain.

3)Meanwhile, to make sauce, heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and cook, whisking constantly, 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in milk until smooth. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to boil; boil 1 minute. Remove saucepan from heat; whisk in 2 c. Cheddar, salt, and pepper until cheese is melted.

4)Stir pasta into sauce. Pour into 6 individual baking dishes or 1 (2-quart) shallow baking dish; sprinkle evenly with remaining 1/3c Cheddar. Bake until lightly browned and bubbly, about 15 minutes for individual baking dishes, 25 minutes for baking dish. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Per serving: (about 1 cup) 267 cal, 5g total fat, 1g sat fat, 0g trans fat, 9mg chol, 521mg sod, 36g total carb, 5g total sugar, 3g Fiber, 21g protein, 466mg calcium.

PointsPlus per serving: 7 (I paired this with a green salad and dressing to keep it at 7 points. The salad is 0 points and so is the dressing ~ oil and vinegar)

.

Cheddar Stuffed Burgers

We are off and running at the races....or should I say; We are off and running away from the scale?..lol

So each Saturday I weigh in at my weekly meeting at Weight Watchers. I then take Saturday as a "me" day and I eat whatever I want...ONLY and ONLY if I am down on the scales! Usually sometime during the day I sit down and make up my grocery list for the week, and the meals that I plan on making. Then on Sundays I do my grocery shopping, since this is when the new weekly flyers come out. I have gotten into the habit of Cuponing as well. I can save a TONNE. Adrian is so fascinated that I can go with sometimes only $100 and we can eat 3 meals a day for a week, sometimes a week and a half! I love grocery shopping, and I think this is why Weight Watchers works so well for me. I love to spend the time looking at the products that I am buying and making sure that they will fall into a reasonable points bracket.

Now for those that don't know. Weight Watchers gives you set points that you HAVE to eat during the day. You also get a weekly points allowance. These are points you don't have to eat at all. Or you can save them up and have a splurge at the weeks end. They have them so that if you have something like a wedding you can eat and not have to feel guilty about it.

My daily points are 36. The weekly points for everyone is 49. This has recently changed. Weight Watchers has recently revamped their whole program. Everyone's points have gone up, the weekly points used to be 35! Before you used to have to count points for SOME fresh fruit and Veggies. Now ALL fresh fruit, or fruit canned in its own juices are 0 points, as well as MOST veggies. I LOVE THIS. It gives me so much more to eat during the day. I don't feel deprived or anything. Also what I love is Air Popped Popcorn has gone down in points, this has now become my staple snack. It's 1 point for 5 CUPS....5 CUPS!!! That's a whole freaking bowl!! I will make a bowl and put a little bit of butter (counting the points of course) and sit at night and munch away! (butter is 1 point for 1tsp....1 tsp isn't that much and since the popcorn is only 1 point, I usually go for 3 tsps..lol)

Each new post I will try and give you a new piece of information about the program!

I'm not going to lie...I have been craving a BURGER for days now. I supposed I could have had one for dinner on Saturday when it was my "cheat" day, but the kids wanted Pizza for dinner. So when I opened my new Weight Watchers magazine at the weekly meeting I found a recipe for Cheddar-Stuffed Burgers. Who doesn't love a cheese burger? These looked great! They were super easy to make, although I thought they were a little dry. But that could be because they are made with Lean Ground Beef. What I really liked was they were put on an English Muffin instead of a burger bun!

Here is the recipe:
1lb Lean ground beef
1 small onion
1tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp Black Pepper
8 Tbsp low-fat Cheddar Cheese
4 English Muffins split and toasted
1c thinly sliced lettuce
16 small tomato slices

1) Mix meat, onion, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper in large bowl just ubottoms of until combined. With damp hands, shape into 4 equal balls. With your finger, make a deep indentation in center of each ball. Fill each hole with 2Tbsp Cheddar. Enclose filling by pinching meat together. Shape into 4 (3/4 inch-thick) patties.

2) Spray large nonstick skillet with nonstick spray and set over medium-high heat. Add patties and cook until instant-read thermometer insterted into side of burger registers 145F for medium, about 4 minutes per side. (I just used my indoor grill and cooked them until they were no longer pink)

3) Place bottoms of muffins on 4 plates. Top each with lettuce, burgers and tomato slices; cover with tops of muffins.

This recipe can be found in the January/February 2011 Weight Watchers Magazine. It can also be found in the Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook (John Wiley & Sons, 2011)
Per serving: (1 burger): 343 calories, 12g total fat, 5g Sat fat, 0g trans fat, 70mg, chol, 754mg sodium, 30g total carbs, 2g total sugar, 3g fiber, 30g protein, 257mg calcium.
PointsPlus value: 9
Prep time: 15 min, Cook: 10 min, Serves:4.

Enjoy!