Is the weather spectacular where you are???  It is so gorgeous in Philly right now… mid 80’s, breezy and no humidity!  Perfect running weather, but I just wasn’t feelin’ it this morning.  My back is a little janky (yes, it’s a technical term ) and in need of some stretching, so I went with this instead …

Ah, yoga…I’ve missed you!  Chris Freytag is one of my favorite instructors on Exercise TV and when I saw her yoga workout, I was looking forward to trying it.  I was so stiff in the beginning and could barely downward dog, but by the end, I felt stretched and much more limber.  It was a good workout, too!

Today, it seems I’m over eggs for breakfast!  I went with a beautiful yogurt bowl instead …

• 1 cup homemade greek yogurt 
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 1 small peach, diced
• 3 drops NuNaturals Liquid Vanilla Stevia
• 1 tbsp. unsweetened reduced fat shredded coconut

A big 4 PP bowl…

After breakfast, I got to work in the kitchen making Lentil Veggie Burgers.  I’ve been needing more lentils and veg in my life!

I served one up for lunch on a sandwich thin with lite mozzarella and mixed greens (8 PP)…

Along with the worst watermelon I’ve ever had …

It was stringy?? and had a weird taste like it had been previously frozen or something!  From now on, I’ll only buy watermelon halves instead of whole.  That way I can “see” what I’m getting before I buy it!

The Doritos made up for the bad watermelon …

I did manage to get out in the beautiful weather this afternoon.  Little daughter was swimming with a friend, so big daughter and I went for a 1.5 mile walk with Rocky.  He was thrilled! 

Not like this day ….

That was a sad, sad day.

Dinner was super easy – a reheat of leftover grilled chicken topped with salsa cruda (recipe coming soon!) ( 8 PP)…

And a summery greek-style cucumber salad using our cukes from the garden and this new Trader Joe’s find …

The cheese is already diced and seasoned which makes it a breeze to mix with the cucumbers for an instant salad …

A simple and fast 12 PP dinner …

I’ve been able to string quite a few good (i.e.  no excessive snacking) days together since I’ve been close to home this week.  I’m hitting up the home scale tomorrow (I’ve switched to WW online for the summer) and hope to see something happening there!  Regardless, I’ve had a nice week so, I’ll celebrate the healthy choices!!

Have a great day, everyone!

Totally random question today:  How do you feel about emoticons?  Do you like seeing them in a blog post or does it get on your nerves?  I get a little emoticon crazy in my posts sometimes and now that I’ve updated Windows Live Writer there are even more to choose from!  HA!  Since I don’t think of my blog as a serious piece of literature (hey, move over Shakespeare!), I think emoticons are kind of a fun way to emphasize a point or inject a little extra humor.  I could see how it might get annoying, though.  What do you guys think?

Hi guys!  Did everyone have a good weekend?  I had another weekend of whooping it up!  It was big daughter’s birthday, so we had lots of fun and family time.  Here’s a quick recap on Sunday’s birthday dinner…

For those of you who have been reading for a while, you’re probably used to the standard birthday spread – pasta, chicken cutlets and bread!  It’s hard to get this family to deviate

But I did throw them one curve ball – Tortellini with Spinach Sauce!

I tried to recreate the spinach sauce that the husband and I had at our Valentine’s Day dinner last week.  I came pretty darn close! 

Then, the standard…

My eats…

and dessert – Oreo Cookie cake and a taste of Cannoli Napoleon!

All PointsPlus used and tracked

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This is a little tough to look at first thing the morning…

Yeah, let’s just pretend we never saw it…

Who needs it right???

Right.

Okay, so instead of eat cake for breakfast, I ate a lovely egg white scramble…

Egg whites, baby spinach, 2 oz. diced ham and cheese (4 PP)…

Way better than cake.

Nothing goes better with cake egg white scramble than a piping hot cup of press (1 PP)…

The love is back!

After breakfast settled, I was ready to pump some iron.  No gym since the daughters were home from school, so I got my Exercise TV on with my new favorite workout – Jackie Warner’s Total Body Conditioning.  I was actually still sore from doing this on Saturday, so my quads were really screaming today!

Lunch was a yummy Taco Salad ( 7 PP )…

• romaine lettuce
• shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup taco seasoned lean ground beef
• 1 oz. cotija cheese
• 1 oz. guacamole
• fresh salsa
• 3 crushed tortilla chips

So much flavor that no dressing is needed!

Afternoon snack…

Kidding!!!!

Real afternoon snack…

Only 1 PP instead of 850.  Pretty good, eh?

The husband and daughters were having birthday leftovers for dinner, but I had been craving soup all day so I decided to make some for my dinner.  This soup is super easy and came together in less than 30 minutes!

Harvest Grains Vegetable Soup

• 1 small onion, diced fine
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 medium zucchini, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 4 cups fat-free chicken broth
• 1 cup Trader Joe’s Harvest Grains Blend
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1 oz. piece of parmesan cheese rind (hard edge of cheese block)

Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat.  ( I used a seasoned olive oil)…

Add the onion, carrots, celery and garlic…

Saute until onions are soft…

 Then, add zucchini…

Sprinkle with salt and pepper;  cook about 3 minutes…

Next add the tomatoes…

The broth…

The grains…

And the secret ingredient…

*This is a trick I learned from my Mom.  The cheese rind adds so much flavor.  It basically stays intact during the cooking, but imparts that cheesy, nutty taste to the soup.  Delish!*

Bring to a boil;  reduce and simmer about 25 minutes…

Makes 4 hearty servings (2 cups per serving) at 6 PP.

I served it with some cheesy garlic toast for a filling 11 PP dinner…

I still had cake on the brain, so a while later, I whipped up a quick dessert – Katie’s Single Lady Cupcake…

I used whole wheat pastry flour, applesauce, whole milk (sorry, Katie!) , 1/4 packet of NuNaturals NuStevia and baked it in an espresso cup which worked perfectly!

Every cupcake needs icing, so I topped it with PB2 and 1/4 tsp. sprinkles (4 PP) …

We can have our cake and eat it, too

Before I go… a big shout-out to gluten-free.tv for the mention in their recent video about Falafel Republic!

Have a great day, everyone!

Do you request a special meal for you birthday?

I’m on the other side of being sick.  The better side.  I think!  This sinus cold has really knocked me for a loop.  I haven’t been benched like this in a long time! 

I’m still feeling really sluggish and tired, but I couldn’t stand the thought of not exercising another day.  My mind wanted to run, however, I knew my body wasn’t quite up for it.  Instead, I had a wonderful yoga session with Stacy McCarthy on Exercise TV.  I did the 60 minute Yoga Lean Body and absolutely loved it.  Stacy is by far my favorite yoga instructor.  She does tons of hip-opening flows which are very helpful for runners with IT Band issues. 

I always feel fantastic after yoga!  I need more of it in my life!

I also need to get back to tracking my food!  Being sick has thrown me off a little.  Not in a big overeating way;  I just haven’t been eating well.  I haven’t had actual meals, mainly snacks and soup!  For some reason, I have been craving salt like crazy.  Soup, crackers, chips and pickles!  Weird, right?

Today I was determined to get fruits and veggies back in my life.  Breakfast was a heat and eat from the freezer -  Cheesy Ham and Veggie Quiche  (6 PP)…

One of this week’s lunchtime salad kits is Chinese Chicken Salad with Asian Vinaigrette (8 PP).   I found the recipe in one of my recipe folders and thought it sounded good!  Unfortunately, I have no idea what cookbook it came from:( 

In the bowl…

• 3 oz. shredded chicken breast
• 1/4 cup shredded carrots
• handful snow peas
• 2 handfuls romaine lettuce
• 2 tbsp. sliced green onions
• 1 tbsp. peanuts
• s + p

The vinaigrette  …

• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp. peanut butter
• 1 tbsp. finely chopped fresh ginger
• 2 tsp. lite soy sauce
• 2 tsp. honey
• 1 tbsp. sesame oil

(4 servings – 1 1/2 tbsp. per serving for 2 PP)

I had high hopes for this salad, however it was pretty bland tasting.  The flavors were too mellow and the vinaigrette is too thin to coat the salad with only a 1 1/2 tbsp. serving.  Maybe with some tweaking, it would turn out better. 

After a disappointing lunch, I’m always in the mood for a snack!  A salty, crunchy mini bag of microwave popcorn (3 PP)…

Dinner was strange for me – oats!  I was seriously too tired to make anything, so I dug into my freezer stash of Crockpot Steel Cut Oats .  Popped in the micro and topped with banana, blueberries and milk (7 PP)…

I’d be lost without my microwave.  And hungry, too

Off to drown myself with Nyquil.

Have a great day, everyone!

What is your favorite salad dressing?