Shrimp, Zucchini & Tomato Bake

Get ready for an easy, peasy, low in points, big in taste treat.  

Since it was just me for lunch today I decided to scale this down a bit.  You can decide how big you want to make it and adjust the points accordingly.  

My leader, Nancy, told us about this one.  She handed out recipes that I unfortunately lost but I remembered the basics and thought I'd give it a try.

You get a nice, large and strong piece of aluminum foil and spray it with cooking spray.  

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  

Cut up one medium to large zucchini and 4 oz of cherry tomatoes.

I had beautiful shallots I had on hand from the farmer's market so I used those in lieu of onion.  

Either will work.  Chop them up into a fine dice.  

Put the zucchini, tomatoes, and onion onto the foil.

Add 1/2 lb of thawed small shrimp, deveined with the tail off.  

Next add Pappy's seasoning blend to your mix and stir gently.  

Take a second piece of foil and place it over the top.  Grab two pieces of foil on one side and fold over tightly a couple times.

Repeat on all the other sides.  

Place onto a baking sheet and cook for 25-30 minutes.

Let's talk points~

The shrimp is the only thing that counts in this one and it's really low in points.

How cool is that?!

1/2 lb of shrimp is 3 pts and that's it for the whole thing!

Woo hoo!!!

This recipe is summery and light.  You could easily put it on the grill too or add other 0 pt veggies to bulk this up.  I think mushrooms would be good and maybe a splash of white wine.  

I'm picturing enjoying this out on the back deck with a glass of white wine as a way of savoring the end of summer.

However you eat it I hope you enjoy every bite thoroughly.

  Happy Cooking!!!

Spinach Lentil Pasta with Alfredo Sauce

Since I liked the Birds Eye Zucchini Lentil pasta so much I thought I'd try their Spinach Lentil Pasta in Alfredo sauce.  

This is 5 pts per serving.  There are 2.5 servings in each bag.

All you have to do is microwave it to make it and it tasted GREAT!!!  

But, see that bowl at the top?  That's a normal cereal bowl.  I poured the WHOLE bag into that bowl and it didn't even fill it up.

So that's 12 pts shown above.  I ate and tracked all of that and it did fill me up but had I had only one portion it's doubtful I would've.  

When I told my husband he said "Geesh, so that means what?  you get like 2-3 spoonfuls per serving?".  

That kind of cracked me up.  ;)

So if you're going to buy this remember to either bank points to eat the whole bag(or at least two servings) or make sure you have sides to bulk it up so you can feel full.  

US NATIONAL PARKS LIFETIME PASS!

This just in-

My mom just informed me that the US National Parks are offering senior citizens a $10 Lifetime Pass.

This ends in August at which time the cost will go up to $80.

I've included this link that I've found but you can also research it for yourself and pay in person at a park office, which is what my mom chose to do.

That is one heck of a deal!

Too good to pass up!!!

Plus, you can get all sorts of Fit Points and Ahhh time in our beautiful National Parks.

Happy Hiking!

Growing in Heart & Mind

You know I've been in such a place of mindfulness about what it means to be in maintenance.

As you know I've been praying to be open to guidance and looking for ways to be new in this experience.

Recently as I was meditating some new thoughts and ways of looking at this came to me.

I was struck with the analogy of love and marriage.

We all remember the first time we fell in love and how exhilarating it was.

Probably most of us also remember what it felt like to fall out of love, whether that manifested as a divorce, break up or a fight.

You sit back and remember the good times when you were flying high with all the promise and hope you felt in that new relationship and all the milestones you met together.

You recall the first holidays and birthdays and festivals together.

Then, somewhere along the line the "shiny and new" wears off.

Things start to become monotonous and you wonder if you're still really in love any more at all.

While most certainly there are situations where it is most appropriate to gently end things, move on and say good bye, there are also times to stay.

When you stay you start seeing things that you didn't see before.  Sometimes the little things you didn't notice or thought were cute become annoying.

But, if you persevere things change yet again.

You start seeing things in a completely new way and what you begin to understand is that the both of you are seeing and bringing out the whole person in each other, both light and dark.

Then you are truly at the threshold of love because only then do you truly take each other for better or worse.

And what I can tell you is that, even though it can be really hard sometimes, that is the deepest, purest kind of love there is.

You're no longer in love with the idea of what you are, he is or you both are together.

You're not in love with a fantasy.

You're in love with a reality, with a real and whole person.

And that, friends, is a beautiful thing.

But it's not for the faint of heart.  There are trials and tribulations and you don't reach a simple pentacle and finish the journey.

You begin to realize that it never ends, that there will always be hardships but there will always also be great joy.  But through the process of it all you fall more deeply, you love more deeply and you move more deeply into love.

And that is magical, and it's worth the fight.  It's worth all the ups and downs and all the learning that takes place and the knowing that it never ends.

So that is how I now see my maintenance journey.

There is no end.

There will always be struggles and there will always be joys to celebrate but the living through them and learning from them will deepen every good thing in me that is ready to support this dynamic life.

In Joy,

~Carrie

BULK It Up!

I mentioned that I LOVED my leader, Nancy's, Cashew Chicken Casserole right?

If you missed that post you can check it out here.

As per my usual, I'm always trying to find ways to cut points and get more food for each point.

So I made the UN-Cashew Chicken Casserole again but this time I added pre-cooked mushrooms, diced red bell pepper and 2 tsp of oyster sauce(0 pt).  

The result was really yummy with even bigger portion sizes without added points!

Yes!  Another win!

So this is what I'd say to you if you're hungry- 

ADD MORE VEGETABLES to like, everything.

That's definitely another thing I've done to try to stretch a point.  

Lately I've gone back to basics, doing the things I did that helped me be successful when I first started WW.

For one, I keep a big pot of 0 pt veggie soup on hand.  

When I get home from work I have a bowl of that and a large slice of watermelon.

I wait an hour or so before I think of having my next small meal and then I wait another hour before having another snack.  

Don't let yourself get hungry.  In WW there are tons of 0 pt or extremely low point food options.

Find your favorite recipes and start changing it up, make them work for you.

I think you'll find by adding veggies you don't lose any flavor and you gain a lot more nutrition and a nice feeling of fullness, not stuffed, but satisfied.  

So BULK IT UP!

WW Broccoli & Sausage Casserole

I believe this is the fourth time I've made this WW recipe.

It's just absolutely delicious.

The only problem I've had with it is that I usually want to eat more than the one serving.

So, this time I'm going to change it up a little and add pre-cooked mushrooms to bulk it up.

Hopefully it won't be too wet.

I'm also going to throw in some cauliflower to help bulk it up.



Ingredients

4 cups broccoli florets

1 cup cauliflower florets

1 lb lean turkey breakfast sausage

1 cup chicken broth

6 oz of part skin mozzarella(the original recipe uses all reduced fat cheddar but I only had 1 oz on hand)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp black pepper

12 oz of Italian bread

2 cloves of garlic

8 oz of sliced baby bella mushrooms


Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 F.  Spray a foil lined baking sheet with olive oil spray.

Slice the bread in half length-wise and rub insides with a fresh garlic clove.  Place bread, open-faced, on one side of a baking sheet.  Spread the onion on the other side.

Place broccoli & cauliflower on another baking sheet. Spray the veggies with cooking spray.

Bake both baking sheets of bread and veggies for 20 minutes, stirring veggies halfway through.

I liked my onions cooked well done so I transferred them from the pan with the bread to the pan with the veggies to cook them longer.  That is optional.

Remove the bread from the pan.  When it's cool enough to handle cut into 1/2 in cubes.

Reduce the oven to 350 F.

Brown the ground turkey in a non-stick skillet, using extra broth if needed to prevent sticking and scorching.

After it's browned add in the mushrooms and cook until well done.  Add in all the spices, veggies, bread cubes and the 1 cup of chicken broth and stir well to combine.

Coat a 9 x 13 Pyrex dish with cooking spray.  Spoon half the mixture into the pan.  Then top with half of the cheese.

Spoon the remaining mix into the Pyrex dish and top with the remaining cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes uncovered.

Slice into 8 pieces.   Each serving is 7 points making it this way.  

The points are a bit different on the WW website.

I'm pleased to say this did not turn out too wet with mushrooms.  In fact, next time I may add even more!

Cooking them first really helps.  I also really loved the cauliflower in there too.

But the best part?  BIGGER PORTIONS!!!!

That's what veggies do for you.  I worried that the bread would be lost or sparse in here but it wasn't at all.

This was still, absolutely delicious!!!

I hope you give this gem a try.

 

Happy Cooking!

Nancy's Crab Salad

This summery, fun recipe comes from my awesome WW leader, Nancy.  

It's super easy and light, perfect for hot summer days when you don't want to run the oven or spend forever slaving over the stove.  

Ingredients

12 oz imitation crab meat, cut into cubes

1/4 cup diced celery

1/4 cup diced red bell peppers

1/4 cup light mayonnaise or salad dressing(I used reduced fat vegenaise)

1 tsp dried cilantro(use more if fresh)

Instructions

Combine all ingredients.  Chill.  Serve over salad greens, in a pita half or in a wrap.

Or if you're name is Carrie you eat it straight from the bowl!  lol

How easy is that?!

 This makes 2 cups.  1 cup = 7 pts.

True confessions folks...

I ate the WHOLE BOWL!!!  

But, I tracked it!  ;)

This was delicious!  

Happy Cooking!

Enlightened Bars!

Check out the yummy marshmallowy bits!  Yum!

This is another goody I heard about from a fellow WW member at my weekly meeting.

Since I heard about it I was on the hunting all over for it.  

Finally, I found them all the way across town at Hy-Vee.  

This is the Hot Cocoa flavor for 3 pts!  

Some of them are only 2 pts!!!  

Most Yasso bars are 4-5 pts so this is really good!  

Woo hoo!

Who says you can't have your ice cream and eat it too? ;)

UN-Cashew Chicken Casserole

So, I've been dying to try a recipe my leader, Nancy, handed out.

It's for Cashew Chicken Casserole.

Let's just say it looks and sounds heavenly!

My only problem was that it's 10 pts for 1/4 recipe and it's made in an 8x8 pan.

So, for that reason I actually decided to cut the cashews(2 oz=11 pts) and olive oil(1 Tbsp=4 pts).  I know it's kinda sad because cashews are so yummy but I know I want to be able to eat more of this.

Since brown rice is an additional 1 point per cup, and I had Jasmine on hand, I used that instead as well.

I also left out the green onions and added in more regular diced onion.

Why? you ask.  Because tonight I'm just too lazy to go to the store so I just used what I had on hand.

You remember my last posts right?

I'm a chow hound!  I love food and lots of it!

So, I generally slim things down so I can get more volume in.

I have to be careful with casseroles.  If they're too good I want to eat way more than one portion so sometimes I just make ones that are much lower in points so that I can have more.

Hey, it's just the way it is.  I'm a really hungry girl!


Ingredients

1 yellow onion diced

2 cups canned, chopped chicken breast, drained(I used Wal-Mart's Great Value brand)

1 1/2 pre-cooked Jasmine rice(to be honest, Jasmine is my favorite!)

3/4 cup thinly sliced celery

5 oz of diced, drained water chestnuts

1 (10.5 oz) can 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup(5 pts for the entire can)

2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce

1/2 cup chow mein noodles

broth of choice to cook with in lieu of oil


Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Spray an 8x8 pan with cooking spray.

Saute onion and celery in a skillet sprayed with cooking spray.  Use broth as needed to prevent sticking or scorching.

Cook until tender.

Combine onion, celery, chicken, rice, water chestnuts, soup and soy sauce in a large bowl.

Pour into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes uncovered.

Remove from the oven and top with chow mein noodles.

Bake an additional 5 minutes.

Here's how my changes change the points~

I set this to serve only 2 so I get to eat a whole half of it!!!  Woo hoo!

With my changes, half of the pan is only 11 pts!


And the result...

OH MY GOSH!  SO GOOD!!!!

This, my friends, is a keeper!

I definitely wanted to chow down on this one.

But, hey, you can decide on points yourself.  That's the beauty of this plan.

If you want to spend more and can control yourself better than me, and if you don't require as much bulk as I do to get full then more power to you!

You make it work for you!

In whatever quantity you eat it this will be deeeeelicious!!!

Happy Cooking!

WW Citrus & Roasted Broccoli

This is a WW recipe that my leader, Nancy, recommended and handed out today.

Ingredients

1 large head uncooked broccoli, cut into large florets with stem

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce

2 tsp frozen, no sugar added, orange juice concentrate

1 tsp orange zest

1 1/2 tsp ginger root, fresh, grated

1 1/2 tsp minced garlic


Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 F.  Line a large baking dish with parchment paper.  

Toss broccoli with oil; spread on prepared pan.  Roast, stirring halfway through, until lightly browned, about 20-25 minutes.

While broccoli roasts, in a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, orange juice conentrate, orange zest, ginger and garlic.

Immediately drizzle cooked broccoli with orange mixture and serve.

This recipe serves 4 and is only 1 pt per serving!

So, ... if you read yesterday's post you understand now that it takes a lot of food to make me feel full.
I did change one thing when I made this recipe today.  I used olive oil spray instead of 1 Tbsp olive oil.

This substitution changes the points from 1 to 0 however, if you eat the ENTIRE batch as I did, it comes out to 1 point for the WHOLE BATCH!

Woo hoo!

This is how I get full baby!  Yup, I'm totally laughing.  Hope you are too.

Happy Cooking!

Mindful Eating

Today was a GREAT day.

Today I FINALLY got to get back to my WW meeting.  I missed two weeks and was in some serious withdrawals.  

The topic today was mindfulness and we were all sharing what that meant to us in regards to our weight loss journey.

I shared that part of being mindful when eating means knowing what it takes for you personally to be full because, let me tell ya, for me it takes A LOT!

I told my friends the truth- it takes a whole lot of food to make me feel full.

Case in point- One of my favorite things to eat is a homemade pizza made with Flat Out brand Artisan thin pizza crust, turkey pepperoni and ultra thin provolone(total 8 pts depending on which flavor crust you use).

Now I hear people all the time talk about how great it is to have that for dinner.

For me, it's like I swallowed a big gulp of air!

It, in no way, fills me up!

So, I have to plan.  If I'm going to eat that I first eat a whole can of green beans with fat free cream of mushroom soup and bouillon plus a piece of fruit and maybe even a salad, all before I eat that pizza.

I've never been a two bites I'm full kinda girl and I never will be and that's okay.

The lesson is to become aware of what it does take and how you can fill yourself up in a healthy way.
Fortunately I'm not alone!

My awesome and fearless leader, Nancy, shared that she too requires a lot of food to fill up, so she too eats a lot of fruits and veggies first too!

The whole group had a good laugh today!

Who says you learning and losing weight can't be fun?!

Taking Attendance

I've just started listening to some podcasts by fatdag on Connect.

He's a very inspirational fellow who's had a lot of success on WW.

Although I've only listened to a couple of the podcasts I've already been inspired.

He said on one of them that he never went to the gym with the intention of working out really hard.

In fact, he said he didn't rate his success on performance.

He rates his success on ATTENDANCE.

That's right.

If you're showing up that's what counts in the end.

As he said, if you go to the gym and work so hard that you're sore for a week, and can't work out, what good does that do?

So instead he focuses on attendance.

Yesterday I really let those words settle in and used them, along with the "just 10 minutes" rule.

The 10 minute rule simply asks that we only as ourselves to work out for 10 minutes.

When you don't want to work out at all you say to yourself "I'm only going to do 10 minutes".

If you really only do 10 minutes it's better than none but usually you end up doing more and feeling really good about it.

My weight is up around 5 lbs and I realized I needed to get my head in the game and make some changes.

Part of my problem has been work.  It's been insanely busy and therefore incredibly stressful.

After talking with my own therapist I decided to start trying to carve out some "me" time for myself.

Today I did that by setting my alarm 20 minutes earlier than normal.

I told my husband about all these thoughts and he was very supportive.

"Even if you only stretch, that's still something.  I think it's a really good idea".

So, today I got up 20 minutes earlier and I found I was a little sore from my weight training yesterday so I just stretched.

And you know what?

It felt really good.  Not so much just physically but mentally.  It felt good to put my money where my mouth is so to speak.

Nothing feels worse than when you know you're being a hypocrite and nothing feels better than when you know you're living authentically.

It's a great start to the day.

Now I'm off to work but even if it gets crazy at least I did carve out this small amount of time for myself.

That's extreme self care and self love and it's a mighty life tool.

I hope you carve out some special time for yourself.

~Carrie

BRAINGEAR

This is a product I saw on the Hungry-Girl newsletter.  She touted it as her favorite morning drink so I was intrigued.

As you can see on the box above, it's for focus, clarity and memory.  

The directions say to drink it on an empty stomach, however I tend to get an upset stomach if I consume these types of things on an empty one, so I consumed this after breakfast.

This contains vitamin D3, E, Niacin, Vitamin B6, B12, acetyl-L-carnitine, choline bitartrate, inositol, N-acetyl L-tyrosine, L-theanine, green tea extract, DMAE bitartrate, bioPQQ.  

I had to look up that last ingredient and linked it for you.  

This is 1 pt per serving.  

While I am one of the most open minded people you will likely meet, I'm somewhat cautious when it comes to certain supplements.

Just because it's OTC does not necessarily mean that it's safe or compatible with medications you may be taking.  Always consult your own doctor before starting new supplements.

Certainly, in this case, it would be unwise to take this if you have been told to limit stimulant intake such as caffeine.  

If you have a heart rhythm issue I would avoid this altogether.

This is something I had to order online and I found it to be a quite expensive.

I'm also really sorry to say I didn't really like the taste and I didn't notice any real difference in my mental acuity.  

Of course I could be beyond help!  LOL!

So, I leave this up to you.  I'm not necessarily recommending this one but it's always fun to try new things.  

That's a full glass.  Each bottle contains only 4.5 oz.

0 Pt Veggie Button Soup!

When I feel bloated or yuck, or I've had a night before of unplanned eating, this is what I make to get back on track.

It's a sort of veggie button soup.  

I start digging through my fridge and pulling out every veggie I find.

Ingredients

2 cups cabbage, chopped

1.5 quarts broth of your choice

2 medium zucchini, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

1 onion, diced

8 oz of mushrooms, sliced

1 regular carrot or 7 baby carrots, cut into thin rounds

1 (14.5 oz) can of fire roasted, diced tomatoes(or you can use the plain, diced tomatoes)

3 cloves of pressed, fresh garlic

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1/4 tsp cayenne

1/2 tsp onion powder

Instructions

Using broth as needed to prevent scorching and sticking, saute the onion, red bell pepper, and carrot for 8 minutes or until the onions are done.  

Look at that lovely mirepoix(veggie saute mix)

Add in the broth, tomatoes, garlic, mushrooms, cabbage and spices.  

If you're using fresh garlic(& I really hope you are :) ) then take care when cooking this.

Garlic can actually burn quite easily.  If you put it in with the above pictured veggies on high heat to saute, it's going to burn before they're really done cooking.  

Fresh, sauteed garlic is heaven.  Burned garlic is yuck.  

I've burned it before myself so learn from my many mistakes, won't you?! :)

Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.  

Simmer covered for 20 minutes to let the flavors blend.

Lastly, add in the zucchini and only cook this for 5-6 minutes or so.

I really feel that the zucchini should be cooked like pasta, al dente, meaning it is slightly firm.

Nothing tastes worse than over cooked, mushy zucchini!  

Plus when you cook your veggies to death they lose most of the nutritional value.  

Typically when colors peak they're done.

I will admit that I tend to cook my onions well done but that is because I don't like the taste of raw onion.  

You can really add or subtract about any veggie or spices you like.

That's why I call it my Veggie Button Soup.

Since I don't use oil there are no added points.

It's my detox-and-get-back-on-track soup.  

It's very soulfully nourishing too.  

I hope you enjoy it.

Happy Cooking!!!