133.6

Hey there!!! So I really liked last night's chili. I used the recipe for 10-Alarm Turkey Chili from Hungrygirl.com.

I followed the recipe almost exactly (even putting 5 chipotle peppers in) except that I left out the chocolate. It didn't sound good to me so I omitted it. The title is no joke....it was spicy!! I didn't add even a drop of Cholula even though I had the bottle open and ready to go.

A little later in the evening I wanted something crunchy and sweet so I went with Special K granola and some chocolate almond milk.

I could really taste the chocolate in this and it was beyond delicious. Then I finished watching American Idol and went to bed.

I knew exactly what I wanted when I woke up: waffle and almond butter. This is the chunky almond butter from Trader Joe's and it's awesome. I cut open a new cantaloupe and was good to go.

I went to Lisa's for the Yoga X video from P90X. It's so exciting to see how much stronger we are getting. We can do poses that we laughed at the first time we tried. I held the crane pose today for at least 5 seconds. :) I promise we'll take a picture soon and post it....now that I can hold the pose long enough!!

I came home and had the last of the Mac & Cheese:

I gave the fourth serving to Lisa to try. I had mine with more broccoli and the leftover veggies I sauteed a few days ago. Really great lunch. I'll have to make that mac & cheese again!

Hey....check out what Lisa did to my heart rate monitor:

She blinged it out. You want one now right? :)

I've been craving chocolate like mad lately. But not just any chocolate....chocolate in the form of baked goods. Before all this Weight Watcher and P90X stuff, I baked a ton of goodies every weekend. I gave a lot away but ate a lot too. So...I'm trying not to bake and it's killing me. I found a recipe for No Pudge Brownie Clone and decided to try it out.

I've made the No Pudge Brownie mix from the box before and for "healthier brownies" they aren't bad. They aren't my beloved Ghiradelli brownies but oh well. These brownies I made today tasted just like the box. I had one warm out of the oven:

It did the trick....chocolate craving eliminated....for now, I'm sure.

And that is where I will leave you. I'm waiting for the hubby to get back from Vegas...I'll pour some wine and we'll enjoy some leftover "blow your head off" spicy chili. Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend!

134.4

Happy Saturday everyone!! It's been raining here all day....I'm enjoying just sitting at home in sweats with a glass of red wine....more on that later....

Last night's dinner was a recipe for Cauliflower Macaroni and Cheese from February's Shape magazine:

I put some broccoli on the side:

I liked this recipe. It was more cauliflower than macaroni but it didn't matter because the cheese sauce was good. I altered the recipe a bit, so here's my version:

Cauliflower Macaroni & Cheese
Serves 4

1 small head cauliflower, cut into 1-inch florets
1/2 cup whole-wheat macaroni
1/2 small onion, diced
2 cups nonfat milk
1 bay leaf
2 T unsalted butter
2 T all-purpose flour
3/4 cup grated Gruyere, divided
2 tsp chopped chives
1 tsp Tabasco
1 tsp grated nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Cook macaroni until al dente. During the last two minutes of cooking time, add the cauliflower. Drain and set aside.

In a medium-size pot over medium heat, bring milk and bay leaf to a simmer. In a medium heavy saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add onion and sautee until translucent. Mix in flour and cook for 2 minutes. Remove bay leaf from milk and whisk milk into flour mixture; cook for 10 minutes more or until mixture comes to a simmer.

Add half the Gruyere and stir until melted. Add chives, Tabasco and nutmeg. Add salt, pepper and Worcestershire to taste. Spread macaroni and cauliflower evenly in a 10x12 inch ovenproof dish, pour sauce over bothy, and sprinkle with remaining Gruyere. Bake for 20 minutes.

Serving size: 1 1/2 cups
Calories: 267
Fat: 14g
Saturated fat: 8g
Carbs: 24g
Protein: 14g
Fiber: 3g

After dinner, I got the kitchen cleaned up, put the kids to bed and went to bed myself.

Breakfast was a new cereal that I bought at Jimbo's the other day: Graham Bumpers:

I put some raspberries, blackberries and vanilla almond milk on it. Verdict: I love this cereal! It reminds me of Cinnamon Toast Crunch butt less sugary and cinnamon-y. Hopefully it's a tad healthier too! :) I also had coffee with chocolate almond milk. I'm not really tasting any chocolate so I don't know if I'll repurchase this one.

Today's P90x video was Back & Biceps as well as the Ab Ripper. I don't find the Back/Biceps video to be super hard but I do try to challenge myself each time by doing more reps or upping my weights. The Ab Ripper was hard as usual.

For lunch I had leftovers from last night. It tasted even better today!

Then I did laundry, caught up on email, and put tonight's dinner in the crock pot: Chili. Perfect for a rainy night!

I had a snack of strawberries, raspberries and blackberries:

Then it was time for some Merlot:

And now I'm just reading blogs and relaxing with my wine. I'm in the mood to do absolutely nothing tonight. Have a great evening!

133.2

I had a great time at last night's Ladies Night! I went with Chardonnay as my drink of choice:

The first of two glasses. :) Every Thursday, the club's menu has a theme and right now it's "Bistro Night". There are three appetizers, three entrees and three desserts to choose from. You pick one from each group obviously. There wasn't anything on the appetizer list that I was interested in so they were nice enough to make me a beautiful mixed greens salad!

Check out all the veggies! I put a little olive oil and lot of balsamic vinegar on it and ate the majority of it. For my entree, I went with the salmon. It came with some sort of butter sauce but I requested that on the side and didn't eat it.

I went off the menu again for dessert and ordered sorbet. I love sorbet!

I had such a good time catching up with friends and just relaxing with good wine and food!

I wanted almond butter this morning so I put in on a waffle with a side of strawberries. Delicious!

I took the kids to school, ran a quick errand and then came back to my son's school because I was volunteering at an event they were having. Afterwards I ran into the grocery store to grab a few things for the weekend and then headed on over to Lisa's house for my most hated P90X video: Plyometrics. I was so glad when it was over! I almost burned 600 calories again!

Forgot to show you a picture of the apple with cinnamon I had before I worked out:

After our workout, our friend came by with our lunches: tuna salad on greens from our club. I love this salad so much! Of course I poured the balsamic all over it. Mmmmm

Then it was off to get my nails/toes done and come on home. I got the laundry started, got everything set up for tonight's dinner (new recipe) and decided I should have a snack. I decided to put the rest of the zero point soup in the blender and try it that way:

I kept a little texture to it and really liked it this way!! It tasted richer and yummier!! That was the last of that soup...guess I need to make more!

Hubby is gone for the weekend at his friend's bachelor party in Vegas so we are just going to chill this weekend. It's supposed to rain like crazy starting tomorrow so it will be a good weekend to stay in! I have to take the kids to get haircuts now! Have a great evening!

133.0

It was leftovers again for last night's dinner. This one was the Layered Fiesta Casserole from earlier in the month. I sauteed some bell peppers, onions and carrots to serve with it as well as some fresh salsa I bought from Jimbo's.

Of course it wasn't complete until I poured the Cholula all over it. It may look like a pile of stuff, but it was delicious!!

This morning's breakfast was Fage yogurt with raspberries, blackberries and Fiber One cereal:

I put some of the unsweetened chocolate almond milk in my coffee but I couldn't really taste any difference from the vanilla. Maybe because I don't use very much? I'll have to try it again....maybe with cereal?

I took the kids to school and went to Zumba again. I burned about 450 calories. I decided to try an experiment. I don't usually go to Zumba on Thursdays because I have P90x that day but I decided to try both. Hmmm....let's just say that I don't think I'll do that again. Today's P90X video was the chest, shoulders and triceps one as well as the Ab Ripper. I burned almost another 450 calories and was exhausted. I forgot to mention that I had a handful of peanut butter pretzels before I left for Zumba.

When I got home I had some more peanut butter pretzels before I fell on the floor from hunger. :) I made a quick turkey and low fat cheese sandwich with some zero point soup for lunch:

I headed back over to the mall to pick up my husband's jeans. I looked for pajamas but I couldn't find anything I liked. Plus I was too tired to try anything on. I think I'll just look online.

We have our Ladies Night tonight...yeah!!! It's at our club down the street this time so we don't have to go very far. I'm really looking forward to some wine and to see my friends! I hope everyone has a great evening!

133.2

I was really in the mood for penne pasta last night. Usually I don't like penne for whatever reason but I really wanted it last night. I cooked up some veggies to go with it: zucchini, spinach, onions, green bell peppers and mushrooms:

It hit the spot!!!

Breakfast this morning was almond butter on a low fat Nutrigrain waffle and delicious strawberries:

I took the kids to school and went to Zumba. I love Zumba....it's so much fun and you don't feel like you're exercising at all!

I came home, changed and the hubby and I went to Cheesecake Factory for lunch. I LOVE this place. Unfortunately, 99% of the meals there are a diet disaster. I tried a new salad that was point friendly: Fresh Vegetable Salad with Chicken:

This is an appetizer salad.....it was HUGE. In it: asparagus, cucumber, radicchio, asparagus, green beans. apple, edamame, romaine, white cheddar and chicken. It also comes with beets but I didn't have any of those purple nasty things. I got the low cal mustard vinaigrette on the side as well as some balsamic vinegar. I really liked this salad and would get it again....I'd rather have salmon instead of chicken next time.

We had a coupon for a free slice of cheesecake so we went with the Oreo cheesecake.

I was able to control myself and take only about 5 yummy bites. I stopped before the "ugh, I'm sick" feeling set in. It was delicious.

We then went to Nordstrom to get him some jeans and shirts. He is in desperate need of casual clothes. He used to wear suits every day and now that he mostly works from home, he needs some clothes!! I wanted to buy some new pj's but we ran out of time. My pj's are all too big!! It's like sleeping in a potato sack...not comfy. I have to go back tomorrow to pick up his jeans that are being altered so hopefully I'll find some then.

I ran into Jimbo's to get some veggies for the Zero Point Veggie soup I wanted to make:

I think it needs some more broth but other than that it was fine. It's not the best soup in the world but for zero points, it does the trick.

I also found unsweetened CHOCOLATE almond milk finally and I can't wait to try that in my coffee tomorrow!! Ok....I need to get dinner ready now. Good night all!

133.6

My freezer is getting really full again so I think it's time for "Operation Clean it Out." :) I pulled something called "Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti" out of the freezer and defrosted it for dinner last night. I can't recall right now where I originally got the recipe but I'm sure you can search for it on my blog. I heated up a little extra marinara to put on top. I also decided to roast some veggies (zucchini, mushrooms, red bell peppers, onions, dried rosemary & thyme, a little balsamic vinegar and olive oil at 475 degree for 35 minutes) to go on the side:

It was an excellent and extremely filling meal! Even though it was filling, I decided to have a little treat a couple of hours later with the two points I had left:

Whole wheat toast with Peanut Butter & Co's Dark Chocolate Dreams. Perfect!

This morning's breakfast was Fage yogurt with Fiber One cereal and strawberries, blackberries and raspberries. I got all these beautiful berries at Costco yesterday and was very excited to use them this morning.

I took the kids to school and it was off to cooking class at Great News! You know I'm a happy girl when I get to go to cooking class! Today's topic was Italian Style Cooking with my favorite instructor, Phillis Carey. I loved EVERYTHING today. Such awesome recipes!

First up was Scampi topped Polenta with Prosciutto and Fontina:

This was so delicious and comforting. I could eat a big bowl of this easily!

The next plate has different recipes. On the left was Vegetable Stuffed Flank Steak Rolls with Tomato Wine Sauce. On the right was Eggplant Cannelloni with Spinach Pesto Filling:

Both were amazing. I was especially in love with the Eggplant Cannelloni. Phillis used the eggplant as the pasta and it was a fabulous idea. I can't wait to make this one soon!!

And yes.....I'm STILL reading The Time Traveler's Wife. I can't really seem to get into it so it's creeping along for me.

But I digress....the next recipe was Fresh Herb Crusted Chicken Breasts with Lemon Piccata Caper Sauce:

OMG. This was to die for. Amazing. I loved it. AHHHHH!!!! I could have licked my plate!

Dessert was a Cappuccino Torte with White Chocolate Espresso Sauce:

This was pretty good. Very rich and decadent. I love all things brownies so this made me happy!

Now after all that food, I have to go over to Lisa's for P90X time. Wish me luck!

134.4

Happy Monday!! I had such a nice time at my parent's house!! So yesterday, I brought my own breakfast. :) Light English muffin with Barney Butter and strawberries. I had some chai tea as well.

I got ready and drove to Pacific Palisades for my friend's bridal shower. It was at her parent's house and we all had a really great time. When we walked in, there was a delicious champagne cocktail waiting for us:

Lunch was a buffet of salads, salmon, fruit, scones and quiche. I went with the chinese chicken salad, mixed greens and some salmon:

I actually went back and refilled the salad...both salads were delicious! Dessert was either apple pie or lemon meringue. I went with the apple pie and some coffee:

It was warm and so good! Then it was time to say goodbye and hit the road for the two hour drive back home.

Once home, I had about an hour and a half to put laundry away, empty the dishwasher, feed the kids dinner and get ready for the next event: the preschool fundraiser.

Hubby and I drove to downtown San Diego to a place called Vin de Syrah for our preschool's fundraiser. As soon as I arrived a got a glass of syrah and headed straight for the food. :) They had a cheese platter, a lox plate and tons of sushi. I had a whole bunch of sushi.....

That was the only decent picture. The lighting was strange and I couldn't get my pictures to look right. I had a couple of pieces of cheese and some of the passed appetizers. My favorite was the "tuna tappenade". It was tuna salad and olive tappenade on a little roll.

Dessert were mini cupcakes, mini brownies and mini truffles. I had a bite of each and that was it. Yeah, self restraint!

I also had a second glass of syrah and then we called it a night!

Breakfast this morning was an egg beater sandwich on a bagel thin with a Laughing Cow cheese wedge and a side of cantaloupe:

I took the kids to school and then went to Lisa's for P90X fun!! I had much more energy today since I had taken such a nice break! Today's videos were Legs & Back and the Ab "Crapper". I don't mind the Legs/Back video actually. I DID do every single one of the 339 ab moves in the ab video though....the first time I was able to do that! It's only taken like 5 weeks! Ugh!!!

I went with my husband to Subway for lunch:

And yogurt for dessert. :)

Then we went to Costco. I got a few things that I needed while my husband LOADED up on alcohol for a bachelor party he is going to in Vegas this weekend. It was ridiculous...he had one of those flat things (instead of a regular cart) stacked with beer and vodka and all sorts of other beverage necessities. I guess it will be an interesting weekend.......

And now I have to pay bills and clean up my desk. Fun. Not. See ya later!

133.2

Hello from Pasadena!!! I'm at my parent's house blogging away right now, relaxing and enjoying a glass of wine. :)
I was asleep last night at 8:30pm. Out cold. I can actually say that I'm physically exhausted. I think I need a break!! The break came just in time as I was supposed to be heading to my parent's house. Thank goodness! Let's rewind shall we....

Breakfast looks happy doesn't it!?! A light wheat English muffin with Barney Butter and cantaloupe.

I got the kids fed, clothed and loaded them in the car. My husband decided to take them to his mom's house since I was going to visit my parents. After they left, I dragged my tired butt over to Lisa's for P90X. Today's video was the Back and Biceps video (I think....my brain is tired too) and the Ab Ripper. I made it through it and did my best but it wiped me out. I need a day off...and I get one tomorrow...just in time! I won't have time to work out tomorrow so it's a forced day off. :)

I came home, got dressed and jumped in the car for the two hour drive to LA. I had a turkey sandwich on light wheat bread with an apple on the way:

There are two reasons why I'm at my parent's house this weekend. One: we are celebrating my sister in law's birthday. We have a tradition in our family that we all gather to celebrate each other's birthday's. The birthday person gets presents, a cake and gets to pick their birthday meal. Since my brother and sister in law are also on Weight Watchers, she choose El Pollo Loco. Yeah! I love El Pollo Loco!!! I ordered the chicken tostada salad without dressing and didn't eat the shell:

I loaded it with salsa, onions and hot sauce and went to town. It was soooo good!!!! Then, it was time for cake. I couldn't resist. I just love birthday cake!

Then it was present time and wine time!

The second reason I'm here is that I have a bridal shower to go to tomorrow morning over here. :)

Since we ate a late lunch, I'm not really hungry for dinner. I may just call it a night. I may not post tomorrow night...after I get home I have a pre-school fundraiser to go to tomorrow night so it may be a late night. That's all! Good night! Have a good weekend!