It’s Day 3 of the Enjoy Your Food Challenge and I’m still going strong!  Even though it has only been three days, I can already see the benefits of this challenge.  Most notably, my satiety level is met at almost every meal.  I feel very excited about this!

I was excited about breakfast, too!  I brought back my old pal, Chobani for a mini yogurt bowl…

I usually steer away from the flavored variety due to the added sugar, but I had a taste for the strawberry banana flavor this morning.  One way to keep the added sugar to a minimum is to scoop out the top half of the yogurt (which is usually plain) and leave the fruit flavor on the bottom.  It’s hard to keep it completely separate, but it definitely reduces the amount.  Then, I added my own fresh kiwi to the mix.

It was mighty hard to make this last a good 20 minutes, however I did get to around 13 minutes.  Nothing but good…

I did a home workout (mix of cardio and The 100 Workout), then cleaned up for my lunch date with my friend, Rosemary and her toddler.

We decided to try a quaint little neighborhood restaurant, Fresh Thymes…

We both loved that the focus is on local, organic and seasonal food …

I started off with fresh brewed iced organic green tea infused with real lemongrass …

And decided on the day’s special which was Kale, Cheddar and Tomato Crustless Quiche …

Served with a small side salad …

Healthy and delicious! 

My “date” liked his, too  …

Lunch was easy to linger over.  Between chatting with Rosemary and playing trucks with my “date”,  the meal itself lasted a good 25 minutes.  I may have even left a few bites on the plate.  <—what???

The afternoon went by quickly and my stomach let me know it was time to get dinner prep on.  I had White Turkey Enchiladas on the menu, except subbing out the turkey for the original chicken.  This is fast becoming a family favorite!  Such a great use for leftover chicken or turkey!

Served with a dose of mixed veggies …

And I was the last woman sitting standing at the table again.  I was done in 16 minutes, but made myself sit for the remainder of the time to let everything settle.

For me, it’s not necessarily the 20 minute time challenge that is important.  It’s really just a tool to become more aware.  I’m not so much a stickler for the time;  it’s mainly a gauge to help me slow down overall and not eat on auto-pilot!  So far… it’s working

How about my challengers?  Are you still taking it slow?  Let us know how it’s going for you!

Have a great day, everyone!

What veggie always tastes better when someone else makes it?  I have made kale quite a few times with less than exciting results, but when someone else makes it, I love it!

How was the weekend, everyone?!  Good, I hope   Mine was filled with home improvement projects!  We finished up painting and accessorizing big daughter’s room, painted the deck and planted the garden.  Tedious work, but all worth it when it’s done!

Today was a rest day from scheduled exercise (got in a 3 mile run early Saturday morning!), so I slept in a bit then made a luscious breakfast – Protein Pancakes with Strawberry “Syrup” ( 5 PP)…

Topped with a dollop of plain nonfat greek yogurt.  Who needs IHOP ?

I washed my cakes down with a big cup of press ( 1 PP)…

Do you see the C ?  Haha!

Sorry.  You know it doesn’t take much to amuse me.

The rest of the morning went like this… lounge on the chair in the family room… lounge on the chair upstairs and read blogs… lounge on the bed… go back downstairs and lounge on the sofa.

All that lounging made me hungry.  Time for lunch!  I put together a simple wrap using this Joseph’s Lavash Bread that I won as part of  Shannon’s giveaway (Thanks, Shannon!)…

A whole sheet is only 3 PP …

I stuffed the wrap with 2 oz. turkey, 2 slices center cut bacon, lettuce and light ranch  ( 7 PP) …

The lavash bread is very thin, but doughy and chewy.  Love them!  I used to be able to get them at BJ’s, however I haven’t seen them in quite a while.  They are available online and you can also check the website for store availability, if anyone’s interested.

Along with my wrap, a perfectly ripe red pear and carrots …

The husband declared we had done enough lounging.  Time to get outside!  We drove to a neighborhood park and took a family walk.  I brought along something new …

Walking poles!  Think “ski poles” but used during walking.  The premise is that you burn more calories (claims up to 48% more!) without additional effort.  By using the poles, the walk becomes more of a total body workout. 

It was awkward to use them at first, but after a few minutes, I seemed to get the hang of it …

Then, my family ran away from me.  Apparently, walking with poles is “weird” and no one wants to be seen with you.

Party poopers.

When the family unlocked the car doors and allowed me to get in, we headed home for snacks.  I was in a yogurt bowl mood!

Nonfat plain Chobani topped with strawberries and 1/4 cup Cocoa Goodness Love Grown Granola (6 PP)…

Later, I got to prepping dinner.  I had planned on roasting some peppers to make Cheese Stuffed Roasted Peppers , but decided to rework the recipe and with twist to the roasting.  

 Grilled Cheese Stuffed Peppers

• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 2 tsp. olive oil   
• 3 tbsp. Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 3 oz.  part-skim mozzarella cheese , grated
• 1 egg
• s + p
• 1 pound small red and/or yellow bell peppers

Heat oil in a medium skillet;  add onion and cook until soft.  Add bread crumbs and cook for 1 minute.  Remove from heat.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine egg and cheese.  Add in onion mixture and stir until fully combined. 

Cut peppers in half lengthwise;  season halves with salt and pepper.  Stuff each half with a heaping tablespoon of cheese mixture ( *you may need to use more if your peppers are larger*).  Place peppers on a preheated, oiled grill and cook over indirect flame for about 10-15 minutes.

Serves 4.  Each serving is 4 PointsPlus.

For this recipe, I used these cutesy mini peppers…

Stuffed and ready to grill …

Grillin’ …

Ready!

Although they would be a delicious meal on their own, I served them with some grilled shrimp for extra protein ( 1o PP) …

Time for lounging

Have a great day, everyone!

Do you do anything that embarrasses your family?  I could start a whole new blog entitled “ How to Embarrass Your Family On a Daily Basis.”  I live to make them cringe!  LOL!

Hello! *said in British accent while sipping coffee tea*

Being inundated with news media coverage of every aspect of Will and Kate’s wedding has had an affect on me

Could be that I’m just loopy today, too.  Not feeling that great, but I decided to suck it up and go through the motions of a workout anyway.  I went with a modified weights workout with no rest between …

Better than nothing!

Many of you have asked, so I wanted to give a quick thyroid update.  Good news is the biopsy was benign!  I still haven’t found a new doctor and had more miscommunications with the current idiotic doctor, so at this point, I’m taking a wait and see approach.  Most of my bloodwork has come back normal, although a few of the results were on the higher “normal” side and will need to be retested at some time.  Right now, I’m kinda sick of being poked and prodded.  I need a little break to figure out what the next steps are and whether I want to start on the train of more testing.  I’ll keep you posted! 

Let’s get to eatin’…

The warmer weather today had me craving a yogurt bowl ( 5 PP)…

• 1/2 cup nonfat plain Chobani yogurt
• 6 strawberries, sliced
• 1/4 cup Cocoa Goodness  Love Grown Granola 

Look what was right next to it…

How wrong is that ?!

Uninspired for lunch, I went with a basic turkey and swiss on whole wheat pane  ( 9 PP) …

With a scattering of carrots for crunch …

Afternoon snack was an old running buddy …

I used to eat Larabars all the time as pre-run fuel!  I forgot how much I love them …

I wanted a big bowl of comfort for dinner.  Pasta, to be exact!  I decided to take the plunge and try this interesting pasta that I bought a while back when I was doing the Gluten-Free Experiment …

I won’t lie… I was a little nervous about how this would taste!  I ended up being pleasantly surprised!  It had a nice firm texture and a taste similar to regular pasta.  Not corny at all!

I boiled the pasta according to package directions;  meanwhile I cooked up the toppers – Spinach and Feta Chicken Sausage …

Removed from the casing;  browned and then tossed with some leftover broccoli.  When the pasta was ready, I took a few tablespoons of the cooking water out, added it to the sausage mixture along with 2 tbsp. grated parmesan cheese to make a sauce.

A hearty and comforting 13 PP bowl!

Carb coma achieved

Have a great day, everyone!