Banana Nut Oatmeal and weigh in

Happy Halloween everyone!!

Today is my weigh in day and I lost one pound! I'm very pumped for that one pound since the past couple weeks I have not been working out. Even though I have not been working out I have been tracking all the food I've eaten, even though I have been eating a lot (probably because I haven't been working out) I went way into my extra weekly points this past week. I did however work on getting my 5 cups of fruits and vegetables in every day. Most of the days I get in about 4 servings. I feel better when I eat more fruits and vegetables, so I am going to continue to work on getting all 5 servings a day!

Here is an easy and tasty way to get a serving of fruit in...

Banana Nut Oatmeal (inspired by Banana Nut Bread)

Ingredients
1/2 c  dried oatmeal
1 c water
1 banana (sliced)
1 tbsp almonds (or nut of choice)
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
dash of ground ginger

Cook oatmeal as directed on package, then add your banana slices, almonds, brown sugar, cinnamon and ground sugar. Stir well and Enjoy!

I love making my oatmeal this way, so fast,easy and fills me up! I like that I get a fruit serving in and some protein for only 5 points! I hope you enjoy your Banana Nut Oatmeal.

Have a safe and Happy Halloween!

Products that Help with Weight Loss

There are a lot of products that can help with weight loss. I'm not talking diet pills and magic potions, but different tools to help you have a healthier lifestyle.

Here's a list of some my favorites that I use all the time (I've linked these to Amazon to give you an idea, but obviously any brand works)



Food Scale- I use my food scale all day long, it helps with getting the right portion and sometimes if you weigh out your food you get "more" than if you had measured it out!

Measuring Cups- kind of obvious but measuring cups make sure you are getting the correct portion of food.

Scale- Your scale doesn't have to be a fancy one, just one that you can use to weigh in each week so you can see how you're doing. Please don't obsessed with what your scale says, sometimes the best way to measure if you're losing is with how your clothes feel on you.

Salad Spinner- Seriously I love this thing! You can clean your lettuce with out having to wait forever for it to dry. I also find it stays fresh longer, which saves you money. Every couple days I clean up more lettuce so that when I want a salad I can just grab some quickly. I buy whole heads of romaine instead of those salad bags, its cheaper!



 



A Notebook- I track all of my points, my exercise, how much water I drink and how many fruits and vegetables in a notebook. It helps hold me accountable and keeps me on track.

 

 

Hope these help you as much as they help me. Tell me in the comments about your favorite products!

Weigh In Day!

Today is weigh in day. I'm still 168 lbs this week.

I'm very glad to have maintained this week! I had been mentally preparing myself for a gain.

I've had a nasty head cold this week which has made it hard to workout. My throat has been sore as well so its made it hard to say no to ice cream!! Thank goodness for Blue Bunny Sweet Expressions Ice Cream its made with Splenda and tastes so good!

Anyways I struggled this week, and went way into my weekly points, but I tracked and tracked and tracked all my food and drinks. Just another reminder to myself why I love Weight Watchers so much, you can eat what you want and as long as you keep track and stay with your points you can at least maintain if not lose!

Healthy Mexican Lasagna

I love recreating recipes to make them healthier but just as delicious. My mom has always made Mexican Lasagna, its layers of tortillas, ground beef with salsa, sour cream, refried beans and lots of cheese. It’s amazing!! I don’t even want to think of how many points it would be! It’s one of my favorites and when I was younger I would have my Mom make it for my birthday dinner almost every year.

I had seen on Pinterest  (if you're on pinterest you should follow me...if not you should join its addicting) to use cut up zucchini instead of noodles in traditional lasagna. That got me thinking, what if I did that instead of the tortillas in my mom’s Mexican lasagna?  So I tried it!

Instead of sour cream I used nonfat Greek yogurt, instead of refried beans I used kidney beans and I switched out the ground beef for ground turkey.  It came out phenomenal! Just as good and for a large portion only 6.5 points!!

Ingredients:
2 Zucchinis
1 can kidney beans (rinsed)
1 cup shredded reduced fat cheese
1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1lb ground turkey meat
1 jar of salsa (I accidentally grabbed one that had corn and beans in it, normally I just use mild salsa)

First thinly slice your zucchini, either in circles, or in long strips, I’ve done both but it’s easier to do circles I think. 

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Lightly salt them and let them sit for about 10 minutes, after ten minutes use a paper towel to take off the extra moisture.

 Spread them out onto a greased cookie sheet, and place in the oven for about 10 minutes, the flip them over and cook for 10 more minutes. (I advise keeping an eye on them; mine had some darker spots to them).

While the zucchini is in the oven for the 2^nd time start cooking your ground turkey, I just used a large frying pan with no oil.

Once the ground turkey is cooked add your salsa, mix well.

At this time your zucchini should be done baking and slightly cooled. Cover the bottom of a 13x9 casserole dish with one layer of the sliced zucchini. (I forgot to take a picture of just the zucchini in the pan but just so you know its OK if they are not all touch each other)

Then add a layer of your turkey/salsa mixture (I use about half of each ingredient in each layer)

Then add a layer of beans,

Layer of nonfat Greek yogurt, this is wear it gets a little messy.

Add a layer of cheese.

Continue your layers until you get to the top or you are out of ingredients.

Bake your Healthy Mexican Lasagna in the oven for about 30 minutes.

Once it is done cooking let it sit so that some of the liquid is absorbed. I let this sit for about 15 minutes.

Cut into 6 portions.

I hope you enjoy this recipe!

95lbs lost so far!

I am so excited I can’t even contain myself…

I weigh 168 pounds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That’s 95 pounds since January 2010!

Since high school I’ve been around or over 190, my heaviest weight pre-pregnancy was 235 and my heaviest weight ever was 263 the day I gave birth to my daughter. This is the smallest I’ve been in my adult life, also the healthiest.

I am even more excited about this loss because I was at a wedding this weekend and I did indulge, but stayed within my points and weekly extra points (check out this post for some tips). I used a lot more weekly extra points then I normally do and I figured that I would maintain again this week.

I am so excited for everyone who is losing weight or struggling to lose weight to get to this point where they are so happy and excited with themselves. Losing this weight hasn’t just been about  the physical, yes I like my body more, but I feel that I am a happier more confident person. I want everyone to feel this good!


I am so thankful for all the support I have on my weight loss journey from my fiancé, family and friends. I don’t think I could have done this without them.

Tips for Staying on Track at an Event

Hey Everyone! Hope you had a wonderful weekend, I know I did!

This weekend my fiancé and I went to my friend’s wedding, it was so beautiful and the best wedding I’ve been to yet!  A lot of my girls from college were there, so it was the first time they had seen me since I’ve lost so much weight. Actually this is the first time they’ve seen me at 171lbs…ever! And I’ve known these girls since 2004!

It was so much fun to catch up with all of them. Also not going to lie, it was amazing to hear them all say how great I looked! Huge confidence builder, thanks girls!!

(It's blurry but this is a pic of me showing off my new dress before the wedding)

 

I was a little worried about how I would do points wise at the wedding. Before getting there I knew I would fill up during the day on a lot of veggies and fruit, and at the wedding I would try to have small portions.  I did really well and did not go that far into my extra weekly points. We danced the night away so that helped and of course was a ton of fun.

Tips for Staying on Track at an Event:

• Before the event try to stay low in points.
• But don’t let yourself be hungry, and then you’ll overeat at the event.
• Drink a ton of water.
• At the event try to eat more veggies and fruit.
• Try to remember what you’ve ate/drank during the event so you can track it later on.
• If you can get in some exercise before or after the event, or even during if there is dancing!
• Most importantly have fun, you don’t want to be so obsessed with what you’re eating that you don’t have fun at the event.  Yes you want to stay on track but you also want to enjoy yourself!
• If for some reason you feel like you didn't stay on track, don't beat yourself up. Accept that you did not do as well as you wanted, and learn from it, next time you will do better and move on. Don't let one slip up ruin your whole journey! 

At this wedding I didn’t eat the pasta, or the cake (which was beautiful), or had some of the chocolate fountain (talk about a test of my willpower!!) but I did have drinks and an amazing main course. You have to pick what is worth your points. For me I knew I wouldn’t be having anything sugary (since I don’t do more than 12g per serving) but I also knew it was my first wedding without my daughter in a long time and I was going to have some drinks (all with diet soda of course). All in all I am proud of how I stayed on track and had an amazing time with my friends!

Weigh In Wednesday

It’s weigh in Wednesday, I stayed the same weight this week. I suspected that this would happen since I had such a big weight loss last week. I did workout 6 days a week as I normally do but I struggled to do it.

Support is a big factor in weight loss; at least it is for me.  I’m very lucky, my fiance is eating healthier as well, some of my friends are working on their own weight loss journeys, and my other friends and family that are not trying to lose weight are very supportive and excited for me.

If I’m struggling to work out I’ve found if I call a friend it helps a ton! The other day I did not want to work out at all, so I called my friend. We live 3 hours away from each other so we can’t work out together but what we did do was set up a time where we were both going to do a work out video online (I’m obsessed with www.blogilates.com). After we were done working out we called each other back. It sounds kind of silly but it works, it holds you accountable and you know you’re not the only one working out. For me that makes a workout easier.  If you have a friend nearby that also enjoys working out, set up work out dates. You won’t want to cancel on your friend, thus you won’t cancel on your work out either. It doesn’t have to be some crazy gym session, and you and your friend could go for a walk.

I also call or message my friends if I want to eat junk food or overeat. A lot of the time when I’m having those cravings it’s not because I actually want that food it’s because I’m bored or stressed. By calling a friend I’m able to get over that feeling, instead of eating the feeling. Which when I eat the feeling I end up feeling worse and then want to eat more and then I feel even worse.

Next time you are feeling down, don’t want to work out or you want to eat unhealthy foods call or message a friend. If you feel like you don’t have a friend that would understand, you could join an online community or comment me here!

Hope you’re all having a great day today!

Mental Illness Awareness Week

 

October 7^th marked the beginning of Mental Illness Awareness Week. 

I’ve known four people who took their lives, that’s four too many. Two of them died Columbus day weekend. It will be 6 years since my friend died, he was such a fun loving guy, and friends with everyone. I don’t think many people saw it coming, I think in most cases no one sees it coming until its too late, hind sight is 20/20. I hope none of you have had to experience this kind of loss in your life, or ever will.
Here is a link to a site that I think has a lot good information www.save.org including warning signs, and how to get help.

 

Please listen and take someones cries for help seriously, you could save a life.

Remember mental illness is an ILLNESS! I think there is still a big stigma about mental illness out there, about having it, or getting treatment for it whether it be medication or therapy. Would you think less of someone if they had

Peanut Butter and "Jelly" Oatmeal

Here is another oatmeal creation for you! I'm all about PB&Js, such an easy classic. I was inspired to make this recipe the other morning when we were out of jelly! I hope you like it, I found it really filling.

Peanut Butter and “Jelly” Oatmeal

Ingredients:

½ cup Oatmeal (whatever kind you have)
1 cup water
½ tbsp. peanut butter
½ cup strawberries (I used frozen)
1tbsp. your choice of sweetener

First I defrosted the strawberries since I used frozen, then I made my oatmeal (follow the directions the package). For the oatmeal I used its ½ cup of oatmeal to 1 cup of water. When your oatmeal is almost done add ½ tbsp. peanut butter to the oatmeal and cook for about 30 seconds so that the peanut butter melts.   Once done add your strawberries and sweetener, mix well. Enjoy your big bowl of oatmeal for only 5 points.

Now depending on your peanut butter, and if you use more than ½ tbsp. of peanut butter the points for the Peanut Butter and “Jelly” Oatmeal may be higher. I suggest double checking the points of your peanut butter first.

Blueberry Muffin Oatmeal

I've been on an oatmeal kick recently, only 4 points, it fills me up and there is so much you can add to it to make the oatmeal different each day.

Blueberry Muffin Oatmeal

Ingredients:

½ cup Oatmeal (whatever kind you have)

1 cup water

1tsp vanilla extract

½ cup blueberries (I used frozen)

1tbsp. your choice of sweetener

 

First I defrosted my blueberries since I used frozen, then I made my oatmeal (follow the directions the package). For the oatmeal I used its ½ cup of oatmeal to 1 cup of water. While that is in the microwave I mixed the vanilla extract, sweetener and the blueberries. When your oatmeal is done cooking add it to your blueberry/vanilla extract/sweetener mixture. Enjoy your big bowl of oatmeal for only 4 points.

I used Stevia in the Raw as my sweetener, however personally I like Splenda better, but since I bought a big bag of Stevia in the Raw I need to use it up. Stevia in the Raw has an almost bitter taste to it, while Splenda tastes more like real sugar to me.

 

Weigh-in Day!

Weigh-in Day!!!! I lost 3 lbs. from last week, I’m 171lbs!!! I’m so excited.

 

So far I have lost 29lbs since starting Weight Watchers this May. I have lost 92lbs since January 2010! I can’t believe I have been able to lose this much and keep it off.

It hasn’t always been easy, there are days when I want to pig out and say forget about points, I’m not counting today. I haven’t done that yet, and I don’t plan on it. When I am struggling with not overeating or not eating candy (I haven’t had more than 12g of sugar per serving since April 2012) I have a list of reasons why I need to stay on track that I go through in my head…

• I have come so far, it was so hard the first few days, if I have candy now I’m going to have to start all over! (I told myself this when I had first started limiting sugar).
• I don’t want to get diabetes. Diabetes is a very scary disease, so many complications. Just reading this overview of the complications of diabetes makes me want to go workout and put down any unhealthy food.
• I want to be a good role model for my daughter. I want her to have a healthy relationship with food.
• I want to be able to run and play with my daughter and keep up with her. Yesterday we ran a lot and I didn’t get winded.
• If I do overeat or eat very unhealthy food, how am I going to feel after? Gross, my stomach will hurt, I’ll feel tired and rundown, and I’ll feel guilty. Not worth it!
• I want to live a long, happy, healthy life with my family. This is probably the reason that works the best.
• I don’t want food to control me.
• If I’m really, really struggling I’ll make myself do something else for 20 minutes, usually by then the craving has passed.
• Another technique I use is instead of saying “I can’t have that” I say “I choose not have that right now”, it gives me a sense of control and is not labeling any food as “bad”. I don’t know about you but when I label something as “bad” or “off limits” it makes me want it even more!

What are some things you tell yourself when you want to overeat or make an unhealthy food choice?

Chili

I have been trying to figure out different ways to save money; I realized I should be shopping my cabinets before deciding what meals to make for the week. That is how I decided to make chili; we had all of the ingredients already even the chili seasoning!

The seasoning is super easy.

Chili Seasoning

Ingredients:
2 tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Just mix all the ingredients and put it in an air tight container.  I used about a tablespoon of it for the chili.

Now for the Chili…this is also super easy!

 



Low Cost Low Point Chili

Ingredients:

15 oz. can Kidney Beans (rinsed)
15 oz. can Black Beans (rinsed)
28oz can diced tomatoes
10z can of Rotel (or generic equivalent)
1Tbsp. chili seasoning

Put it all in your crock pot on the low setting for 6-8 hours. Then enjoy! 3 points per cup!!

Sorry I forgot to take pictures when I was done.

You can make many variations of this recipe... add ground meat, or add more veggies. If you try anything different with this let me know how it comes out.

Rainy Weekend

It’s been a rainy weekend here; I had plans to do some garage sale shopping, but I didn’t feel like walking around in the rain with a 2 year old, I didn’t need a deal that badly.

So I organized (with the help of my super organized friend, thank you!!) and cooked… a lot. I’m thinking it must be the change of seasons; I’ve wanted to cook all the time.

This weekend I’ve made rotisserie style chicken in the crock pot! It is amazing! So good! Thank you Pinterest and busy-mommy.com. With the leftover chicken I made homemade chicken soup, like my Dad’s although it was good it was not as good as my Dad’s.

I made Mexican Lasagna with Zucchini instead of tortillas, Mexican Lasagna is a recipe my Mom has always made, it’s delicious but not so good on points. I changed some ingredients up to make it healthier and just as tasty.

I made chili with my own homemade chili seasonings. I’ll put up the recipes for the Chili, Chili Seasoning and Mexican Lasagna soon.

I also attempted to make my own fruit snacks with Jell-O (from this blog). KBeaner really likes them, I’m not a fan they have just enough of the Jell-O texture to gross me out.  I don’t plan on making them again unless KBeaner asks for them. However I really love the site that the recipe came from, lots of good idea at Six Sisters Stuff.