Mmmmmm.... Shepards Pie!

I am in love with this Shepard's Pie recipe. Its fantastic, and all the boys gobbled it up! I have been on track now for 3 weeks and am down 5 pounds. I am pretty happy with it, but I need to make sure I am keeping up my momentum, or I will gain that back REALLY quickly. So, here is my recipe...
1 large sweet potato
1 large potato
1/4 cup fat free milk
1.25 lb ground turkey
2 tbsp all purpose flower
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 1/4 cup beef broth
1 small onion (choppped)
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp thyme
salt and pepper to taste on potatoes and turkey

Peel and cube sweet potato, cube regular potato. Put in a sauce pan and cover with water. Bring water to a boil then bring it down to a simmer and cook until fork tender. Drain add milk, salt, pepper and mash. Set aside
Preheat oven to 425
Meanwhile heat oil in pan, add onions and cook until golden. Add turkey and cook until browned.
Add flower and mix in until absorbed. Then add broth and tomato paste. Simmer until slightly thickened.
Spray 2 quart baking dish with non stick spray. Add turkey mixture and top with potatoes. Bake for 15 minutes or until warmed through.
Yeilds 6 servings...

The best thing about this is that its only 4 points!
Enjoy :)

Here we goes again... :)

Camp started, and I stopped paying any attention to what I was eating, or how much I weighed. Then I realized I don't fit into my jeans anymore, and I walked my fat butt back into a Weight Watchers meeting. I weighed 168.2, and the guy who weighed me actually said "WOW, you have gained 11.2 since the last time." I wanted to punch him in the face, but it gave me a lot of motivation for the week that came after. I made lots of stuff and took pictures of most of it, I just hadn't posted them up until now! Here we go.
The first dinner I made was a Mahi Mahi with a sesame orange marinade. It was wonderful!

• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tsp dry sherry
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1 Tbsp orange zest
• 2 tsp unpacked brown sugar
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 3 medium garlic clove(s), minced
• 2 tsp ginger root, minced

Mix together ingredients. Place fish in a nonmetallic dish and pour marinade over it. Marinate fish for at least 20 minutes or up to 1 hour. If desired, brush with leftover marinade (boiled for 3 to 5 minutes to destroy bacteria) while cooking.


This came out to be 4 points plus the rice. I also made a little stir fry to go with it! :)
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Next my friend Jojo and I have been making lunches for each other for work. It's been great having a low point lunch we can both count on. This time I made a ham and cheese panini. Its was mighty tasty, and I got really excited when I realized I could make it on the george foreman grill!
(per sandwich)
Sourdough bread
1 oz lean ham
2 oz mozarella cheese
2 tomato slices
4 basil leaves
1 tablespoon dijon mustard

Spread mustard on one slice of bread. Then put half of the cheese, followed by all of the ham. Next put a slice of tomato and then the basil leaves. You will finish with the other slice of tomato and cheese, put it on the george foreman for 6 minutes.



This was 5 points and oh so yummy. :)
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The last thing for today was tonights dinner. I found it on a website called "That's my house". It has all sorts of WW recipes that are easy to follow. I made BBQ Chicken Packets. This was the boys loves and everyone ate it up quick style. The best part about it was that it is easy to clean up since there are no dishes being used.

Everything is divided into 4

4 sheets heavy duty aluminum foil
1 cup barbecue sauce
2 cups frozen whole kernel corn
1 cup chopped green peppers
20 ounces skinless chicken breasts -- (a little over a pound when all trimmed) 4 (5 oz.) each

Center chicken breast on a sheet of aluminum foil. Put 1/2 cup frozen corn on top of each chicken breast.

Put 1/4 cup chopped peppers on top of corn.

Pour 1/4 cup Barbecue sauce over each one. Bring up the sides of foil and double fold, double fold ends to form a packet, leaving enough room for heat circulation inside packet.

Grill 14 to 16 minutes in covered grill or bake 18 to 22 minutes on a cookie sheet in the oven.

Serving size (1 packet)



This is a nice 5 points since all you have to count is the chicken!

After the first week I went back into the WW meeting and I was down 4.8! Lets see whats going to happen next week................

Chicken Burgers (made w/ turkey)

Its been a while, but I am back on track and have a great new recipe for everyone. I have been stealing stuff off of the WW "recipe of the week", and it has been a hit with Walt and the kids every time. I have just been sucking and forgetting to take pictures of it! I remembered this time though. :)

Feta-Stuffed Chicken Burgers
POINTS: 5
1 pound uncooked ground chicken breast (I used turkey instead)
1 Tbsp fresh oregano
1/4 tsp garlic powder
7 Tbsp feta cheese, crumbled
4 reduced-calorie hamburger roll(s)
1 cup lettuce, romaine, cut into thick strips
2/3 cup roasted red peppers, sliced (without oil)
5 small olive(s), black, sliced (about 4 tsp)

Preheat grill or broiler. In a medium bowl, combine chicken, oregano, garlic powder and feta; divide mixture into four balls and then press them gently into patties. Grill or broil patties until internal temperature of burgers reaches 165°F, about 7 to 8 minutes per side.Serve each burger on a bun with 1/4 of lettuce, 1/4 of peppers and 1 teaspoon of olives. Yields 1 burger per serving.


I have to say this was FANTASTIC. Walt said it was one of the best WW recipes that we have had. Oh yeah, also I have completed my first week back on plan without cheating. Camp is about to start and I think this is going to be a great summer for me and my weight watching buddies. So far I have lost over 5 pounds, so I am on my way down again. (thank god!) Hope all are well!

The drunk munchies won....

Oops. I had a bit to drink with the Kiwi last night, and ended up going on a McDonald's run. :( It ended up not being as bad as I thought, but now I only have 5 flex points left to get me through Sunday night. Keep in mind I have 2 weddings on Saturday, and a very long drive to and from! At least Kate is here and there is a pool where she is so maybe I can get some AP's to get me through.

Darn It!!!

So I made this beautiful turkey burger with blue cheese and red onions and I didn't take a picture! I used Sarah Lee Whole Grain White buns, a tiny amount of crumbled blue cheese and red onion for 6 points. On the side I had a nice little salad for 1, and these wasabi chips that Emma found for 2. One of the best lunches ever, and I didn't take a picture! (It's very happy in my tummy though.)

I am on day two of trying to stay on points this week, and so far I have been doing alright. Yesterday I successfully had dinner at the office, and went to the bar and was able to use exactly all of my points w/o going over! It can be done. Tonight is going to be a bit of a challenge though. I am having dinner at my dads and I have no idea what its going to be. Plus there is always wine involved there. Wish me luck. I have 12 points left in my day, so its going to be a little tough to work with. Hopefully this yummy burger will stick with me for a while. :)

Boy, I really messed up..

In the first week I did this blog I lost 2.5 pounds! I felt better, and everything seemed to be going well again. Then I went on my honeymoon, (a cruise to Alaska) and I gained about 5 pounds which put me back to the weight I was when I started WW the first time. :( After talking with my husband about it we have both decided we are going to use WW and make it work for us in our daily lives. So he is counting, and I will be counting which will make dinners and going out much easier for both of us. This will also help us get more veggies into the kids stomachs. ( I like how I just said kids like their 16th b day wasn't yesterday.) This is the new plan, which is going to be a bit difficult this week since I have a dinner meeting tonight, going to my dads for dinner tomorrow, a dinner date with Jojo on Wed, bar night Thursday, and a road trip to Chico on Saturday to go to TWO weddings! Sunday I drive home, and then the week starts over again. I know I need to start going to meetings again too, but I am avoiding it because I don't want to weigh in back at the original weight I started with. I did plug it into my e-tools though so it there. Wish me luck! I know if I can do it for one week I can learn health habits again, I just need a lot of support to get through the next few weeks. Thanks!

Classic Macaroni Salad

Thursday, I took the WW advise and made their Classic Macaroni Salad. It was one of the easiest things I have made, and was tasty!
8 oz uncooked macaroni, elbow
1/8 tsp table salt, or to taste (for cooking pasta)
1/2 cup reduced-calorie mayonnaise
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 cup celery, chopped
1/3 cup red onion(s), finely chopped
2 Tbsp parsley, fresh, chopped
1/4 tsp table salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp black pepper, freshly ground, or to taste
Cook macaroni in salted water according to package directions; drain and transfer to a large bowl.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard and garlic powder; stir mixture into cooked macaroni. Fold in celery, onion and parsley; season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm or chilled. Yields about 2/3 cup per serving

It was so tasty that I took it to the bar for my friends to enjoy, and had it as a side dish with these cheese burgers I made last night. (I'll talk about those in a sec.) I have to admit even Daniel (my 15 year old stepson) ate it all up. :)

Now, the cheeseburgers I made, were FANTASTIC. I took 1 pound of 4% fat ground beef and mixed in 1.5 tablespoons of Gorgonzola cheese. I formed them into patties and put it on our george foreman grill for 7 minutes, threw them on sarah lee whole grain white buns with red onion and Dijon mustard. The total for that was a 6.5 points. 2 for the bun 3.5 for the patty, and 1 for the cheese! Very tasty and filling. ( I forgot to take pictures of it though. ) :(

I made the baked ziti last night, and I have to say it tasted wonderful! The only problem is that my dish was to small for it all, (but that was probably because I was out of ziti and used penne instead.)and so it made the pieces looked really small. Thinking about it now too, it was a little dry, but when we had it for leftovers we warmed up a little pasta sauce to go with it, and it was perfect! It was enough to fill you up easily, but since I need to see a full plate in front of me, it was a little sad. It tasted REALLY good though!
Also keep in mind this recipe serves 8.... and it's 5 points a serving.

• 12 oz uncooked ziti
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 medium garlic clove(s), minced
• 1/3 pound raw lean ground beef
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1/2 tsp table salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 28 oz canned crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350°F.

• Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and set aside.
  
  
• Meanwhile, heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat; add garlic and sauté 2 minutes. Add beef and cook until browned, breaking up meat with a spoon as it cooks, about 3 to 5 minutes; drain off any fat and set pan back over medium heat.
  
  
• Add oregano, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper; stir to coat beef. Cook until herbs become fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
  
  
• Spoon a small amount of beef-tomato mixture into bottom of a 4-quart casserole dish (just enough to cover surface); top with half of cooked ziti. Next, layer with half of remaining beef-tomato sauce and half of mozzarella cheese. Layer with remaining ziti and then top with remaining beef-tomato sauce; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake until cheese is golden and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Slice into 8 pieces and serve. Yields 1 piece per serving.

Lunch time filled with oils.....

One of my favorite foods of all time is grilled cheese sandwiches. When I first joined I thought that I was never going to be able to eat them again, until I discovered some secrets. I use sarah lee delightful bread and fat free kraft singles. Then instead of using butter, I put a tsp of olive oil in the pan. I use one piece of bread to spread it around and then grill it up. It comes out wonderfully crispy and its a great way to get in one of your oils in! Paired with a salad or filled with tomatoes, or in this case spinach, you can get some veggies and dairy in too! This meal with the salad dressing and a tsp of oil on my salad as well comes to a grand total of 5 points!

It's time to finally do something!

So, I have been going back and forth on Weight Watchers for quite some time now. I have always had an easy time getting back on plan after falling off, until now. When I was doing well I lost 15 pounds fairly quickly, and I started to feel very good. Unfortunately the stresses of being a student, working and planning my wedding got to me and I have now gained 12 of those pounds back. :( After doing a bit of thinking, and talking with Natalie about her food blog, (http://www.lifeisafeast.com/)I thought this could be a good way to share the good WW food tips and meals I find along the way! Hopefully this will help me stay focused and get to my goal weight of 140! (I'm at 162 right now.) I guess we will see how this goes......

Here are a few little tricks of the trade I learned on my last stint on plan!

Top 5 snacks
1. Veggie with dip (fat free sour cream/ hidden valley ranch packet)
2. Lays Light potato chips
3. Light Popcorn (you can add olive oil and garlic powder too!)
4. 100 Calorie Packs (baked Cheeto's are my fav!)
5. Celery dipped in salsa and fat free cream cheese (great if you need more veggies and are looking for a little crunch!)

Thats all I have for now, but I am trying baked ziti tonight, and I'll let you know how it goes!