Happy December!  I can’t believe the holidays are upon us.  Before Thanksgiving,  there was a local radio station already playing Christmas songs 24/7!  I refused to listen!!!  I just hate the fast tracking of all these holidays.  It seems you can’t even enjoy one without being bombarded with the next.  But, now that Thanksgiving is over, I am ready for the merriment!  Bring on the Christmas music!

Speaking of Thanksgiving, I still have a boatload of turkey left.  It’s been the protein of choice for the past week!  I’m not really sick of it, but the family is beginning to moan.  I ended up “hiding it” in tonight’s dinner which I’ll show you in a minute.

First, let’s talk breakfast! …

Okay, I heard you guys groan.  And I’m pretty sure I heard at least one of you say… “AGAIN!!!!”  No matter how hard I’ve been trying to talk myself into something else, this breakfast sandwich seems to be the only thing I want.  I made it extra special today by using an Ezekiel english muffin.    I started buying them again and I love the hearty, chewy texture they bring to the sandwich!

Lunch was super easy thanks to a new find from the supermarket …

Too lazy to make my own salad kits this week, I bought a few of these and they did not disappoint!  Usually pre-bagged mixes are “meh”, but this one is so fresh tasting.  Bulked up with Thanksgiving diced turkey, of course…

Love all the flavors and crunch from the wontons and almonds!

Dinner was straight from the Pinterest craze.  I kept seeing White Chicken Enchiladas pinned a bazillion times, so I decided to see what the fuss was all about.  Plus, it was the perfect chance to swap in my surplus of turkey!

White Turkey Enchiladas
slightly adapted from Joyful Mamma’s Kitchen

• 10  (6 inch) whole wheat tortillas
• 2 cups cooked, shredded turkey breast
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. chili powder
• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 3 Tbsp. flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup light sour cream
• 1 (4 oz) can diced green chilies ( I only used half a can for less heat)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9×13 pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix chicken, garlic powder, chili powder and 1 cup cheese.  Divide mixture evenly among tortillas, roll tightly and place in prepared pan. In a medium saucepan, melt butter, stir in flour and cook 1 minute.  Add broth and whisk until smooth. Heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly.  Stir in sour cream and chilies. Do not bring to boil, you don’t want curdled sour cream. Pour over rolled tortillas and top with remaining cheese.  Bake 22 minutes,  then place under broiler for  about 3- 5 minutes to brown the cheese.

Devour …

Served with a simple side salad …

I only made a half pan because I wasn’t sure the family would go for it, but they did!  Now, I’m sorry I don’t have leftovers.

Guess there’s always more turkey…

I have just enough time to fit in The 100 Workout before the tryptophan kicks in!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

What is your favorite way to use leftover Thanksgiving turkey?

Hey, hey, hey, it’s National Running Day!

In honor of the day, I decided to get in a run because it makes me feel GREAT!…

No, no, no.  That’s not right.  Let’s try it again.  Running makes me feel GREAT!…

Much better

Truth be told, running does not make you feel great when you have eaten a mountain of cake balls and brownies.  As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, things have gone awry in the healthy eating department.  Running this morning was a reminder of what those unhealthy choices do to both my body and my psyche.  I powered through the run though using 3:1 intervals and finished up 2.5 miles…

And I did feel great…when I was done

Breakfast time!  Still stuck on the Ezekiel english muffin, egg and cheese combo (7 PP)…

Veggies were in order for lunch.  Hasn’t been much going into this body the past few days and it’s screaming for nutrients!  I dodged around my fridge of leftover burger, dogs, pasta and cake, finding the grilled buffalo chicken tenders way in the back!

Buffalo Chicken Salad whipped up in no time  (8 PP)…

•  romaine lettuce
• 3 oz. leftover grilled buffalo chicken tenders
• carrots and celery
• 1 oz. REAL blue cheese, crumbled
• 1 tbsp. light ranch

Bold flavors and lots of crunch…

Dinner was a treat to P.F, Chang’s for my nephew’s birthday!

Isn’t he handsome?

We started with appetizers for the table.  The requisite Lettuce Wraps…

Egg rolls…

Crispy Green Beans…

I went with a little of each…

I ordered the Shrimp and Vegetables in Garlic Sauce …

And ended up taking a spoonful along with Mongolian Beef, sauteed spinach and Lo Mein that was ordered for the table…

I didn’t calculate up the Points yet, but I’m guessing it’s somewhere in the “way over my daily allotment” range.  Those extra Weeklies got a workout this week

Unfortunately, there are quite a few more parties/celebrations in the works this month.  Honestly, I’m having a really hard time staying on plan right now.  It’s not just the parties.  It seems like the overeating at parties and outings have started to flow over into daily life, too.  I try my best to make good overall food choices, but there is so much mindless eating and snacking going on.  Tastes of this and that all over the place.  I’m having a hard time controlling it.  It’s amazing how quickly that habit comes back into play.  I start to not even realize that I’m doing it;  like I’m on automatic pilot.  A munching pilot.

I’ve thought about how to make changes this week to get back on track.  I KNOW what I need to do, but I’m having such a difficult time doing it for a sustained period of time.  I feel like I’m on a carousel – just going round and round – gaining and losing the same few pounds over and over, but not getting anywhere.  Just round and round.

So, what do I do?  Well, you guys have been here long enough to hear me say the same old spiel – Keep on keepin’ on.  I don’t know any other choice.  I don’t really know what “giving up” means anymore, so I can’t do it.  I will keep trying.  Keep making better choices every day.  It will all come together one day. 

Have a great day, everyone!

Hi all!  I’m going to try and make this super short because I’m uber excited to watch The Biggest Loser finale tonight!  I have to confess that I don’t always follow the show in its entirety.  I usually watch the initial episodes, then hop in again toward the end.  I’m not so into the drama of it all, I get more excited to see the transformations!  Okay, see???  I’m already babbling.  Here goes…

Got in a 2.5 mile run this morn.  HOLY HUMIDITY!  It was already 75 degrees and about 90% humidity out there!  I forgot how hard it is to BREATHE during a run when it’s that humid out!  Not the best day to decide to bump up my intervals to 3:1, but I trudged through…

Whew…schweaty …

Breakfast was…. well, you know…

Hey, see ^ ?  I changed it up a little!  Ezekiel english muffin, 2% cheese and hard boiled egg (7 PP)!  Wild, I know

Oh, and I added banana… on the side…

I ran a bazillion errands all morning long in preparation for our Memorial Day picnic this weekend.  By the time I got home, lunch was way overdue and I was starving!  I needed a “grab and slap” lunch.  Grab the first thing you see  in the fridge and slap it together speedy quick!

Turkey and turkey pepperoni on Thomas’ pretzel bagel (5 PP)…

Along with these awesome chips …

Like Doritos, but better!  And you get a big serving for 3 PP …

Inhaled …

Dinner required veg!  I’ve been obsessed with Grilled Chicken with Caprese Salad lately, but I switched it up tonight with grilled shrimp and served it over a bed of butter lettuce!  I coated my shrimp with this new find from the produce section (near the fresh herbs)…

It added another level of flavor with very little calories ( only 10 calories per 3/4 tsp).

A delicious 11 PP dinner…

Time for dessert …

And Biggest Loser!

Have a great day, everyone!

Did you follow The Biggest Loser this season?  Who was your favorite contestant?