Taco Spaghetti Squash Boats

My cousin sent me this recipe and it sounds great.  As written the total is 34 points and if you served as is it for 4 servings it would be 9 points per serving.  I think you could cut the turkey in half and find a lighter version of the cheese and shave 9 points total.  I want to try this because it is packed with yummy ingredients.

1 spaghetti squash cut in half
1 can black beans 15oz (7pts)
1 lb ground turkey 16oz (12pts)
1 roma tomato
5 mushrooms
5 sweet peppers
1/2 cup spinach
Taco seasoning packet
1/2 cup pepper jack cheese 4oz (12 pts)

3 t. olive oil (3 pts)
Spices to taste

Preheat oven to 400. Cut and shell out the seeds of the squash. Drizzle some olive oil over the squash and bake for 45 min.
Put ground turkey in a pan with a tsp of olive oil and brown. Throw in all veggies, drained and rinsed black beans and taco seasoning. Sauté  until veggies are tender and meat is cooked through. 

Once squash is done, fluff the edges of it pulling the strands away from the sides but not removing it. Load the turkey mixture into each boat and top with even amount of cheese. Bake for another 10 min and serve hot. 

Weight Watcher Windfall Show Notes

Here are the products I purchased at Wal-Mart today.  I did not deduct coupon value or employee discounts. The YouTube can be seen here: http://youtu.be/YxRtKu6vHGY

Weight Watcher Red Velvet Chocolates $3.48* (3pts per pouch)
Weight Watcher Pecan Crown Chocolates $3.48* (4pts per pouch)
Great Value Pineapple Tidbits, 4 pk $1.88 (0pts)
Great Value Reduced Sodium Chicken Broth 32 oz $1.86
Pillsbury Perfectly Pumpkin Cake Mix $1.12
Skinny Cow Heavenly Crisp Peanut Butter $3.64 (3pts per bar)
Weight Watcher Frozen Yogurt Blueberry Swirl Bars $4.48* (2pts per bar)
Great Value Light Honey Mustard Tangy Dressing 16oz $1.48 (1pt per T)
Thomas Bagel Thins Cinnamon Raisin $2.98 (3pts)
Thomas English Muffins Pumpkin Spice $2.78* (4pts)
Jiff Reduced Fat Peanut Butter 40oz $4.98 (5pts per T)
Jimmy Dean Flatbread Breakfast Sandwiches $6.48 (4pts per sandwich)
Great Value Light Sour Cream 16oz. $1.68 (1pt per 2T)
Quaker Oatmeal Weight Control Packets $2.88 (4pts per pkt)
Smart One Breakfast Wraps $2.88
Sargento Ultra Thin Provolone Cheese $2.98 (1pt per slice)
Great Value Sugar Free Strawberry Preserves 13oz $2.12 (1pt per T)
Great Value Seedless Raisins 6-1oz boxes $1.48 (2pts per box)
Weight Watcher Smoked String Cheese $3.74* (1pt per stick)

*Denotes coupon was used

Weigh In Show Notes

Yes I did it and actually the total loss is 238.4 pounds.  The numbers moved when I went to take the picture.  So my loss for last week was 2 pounds and the total to date is 60.6 pounds. 

This is what our meeting was about.  We had to test our Thanksgiving meals points knowledge.

These were the recipes that at our Weight Watcher meeting today.  I will be making the Broccoli Cheese Rice this evening for dinner.  My review to come.

This is the time limited newest Fiber One bar, Gingerbread.  It is yum, yum, yummy.  Becky said she found them at Costco.  We do not have a membership to Costco.  I will check out Wal-Mart.

My last video made reference to my Cannibal from the next Island costume.  Here you will see me taking a bite out of one of my dear co-worker.  I have no idea how many Weight Watcher points she was so I didn't write it down. 

God Bless!

Thanksgiving Dinner and a Stellar Week on Plan

There is so much to be thankful for.  God has blessed me with abundance in every avenue of my life.  Every day is Thanksgiving in my life.  This is my Thanksgiving dinner I made for my wonderful husband and myself.

 

 

Olive Garden Style Pasta e Fagioli Soup

http://www.skinnykitchen.com/recipes/make-olive-gardens-delicious-pasta-fagioli-at-home/

Crustless Pumpkin Pie



 

 http://www.hungry-girl.com/newsletters/raw/1363-hgs-crustless-pumpkin-pie-and-the-meat-swap-411

Turkey Sausage Dressing



http://www.theprettyyouproject.blogspot.com/2013/11/homemade-holiday-sausage-stuffing-2.html

This is my version of the Cranberry Jell-O Salad.  The recipe is below.

This week's Weight Watcher meeting was about taking our activity up a notch and how to sneak it into our everyday activities.

Cranberry Jello Salad

 

Cranberry Jell-O Salad

 

2 pkgs Sugar Free Cranberry Jell-O

2 cups of boiling water

1-20oz can of Pineapple chunks in natural pineapple juice

1-15oz can of Del Monte Mandarin Oranges, no sugar added

1 apple cut into chunks with the skin on

½ cup walnuts, chopped into pieces

1-14 oz can of Jellied Cranberry Sauce

 

Drain juice from pineapple and oranges.  Break up cranberry sauce into small pieces, small enough to dissolve fairly quickly.

 

Pour Jell-O powder into a bowl, pour in boiling water and stir until the powder is dissolved.  Mix in cranberry jelly and stir until most is dissolved into the Jell-O mixture.  Stir in the oranges, pineapple, apple and walnuts. Refrigerate overnight or until firm.  Stir it up before serving and enjoy.  This is so wonderful.

 

I figured 27 points for the entire bowl.  16 points for the jellied cranberries and 11 points for the walnuts.

 



Weigh in and How we see ourselves Show Notes

 

Fake it until you make it show notes

Recipe I will be making tonight.  The potatoes/onions are 5 points based on 4 serving size.  I will weigh my chicken breasts before I serve dinner for the remainder of the points.
http://roxanashomebaking.com/slow-baked-potatoes-and-chicken-skillet-recipe/ 
Review:  This was disappointing.  I cooked it as directed and it was not done.  I wasn't really impressed and threw the whole thing out.  I may try it in the slow cooker.  I think that would be perfect.

Review of Yoplait Greek 100 calorie Apple Pie Yogurt:  I really enjoyed it.  It was a fresh flavor and I think I will try it in the recipe published by Weight Watcher Girl. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3BuIOz01R0&list=PLGydKfiYcHj37KMdZW4U3LH8cC3JTF8Bn&index=93

This is a recipe that was hanging on the wall in the meeting room today.  It sounds wonderful.  I would make it with ground turkey.

 

This is a self serving selfie photo of me in the meeting room.



Mind Over Food Notes

You Tube episode: http://youtu.be/QrtBO5l7Mzw

Chicken, Rice and Vegetable Skillet Recipe: http://diethood.com/chicken-rice-vegetable-skillet/

My changes to that recipe were, 1 cup Weight Watchers Mexican Shredded cheese instead of Monterey Jack; 2 tablespoonsful of olive oil instead of 3; 12 oz of chicken breast cubed instead of 4 chicken breasts;  Aldi's instant brown rice 1½ cups instead of white rice.

I arrived at 4 servings at 10 points each. 

This was a delicious and filling recipe and I will make it again!  Here is a picture I took with my little ol' camera:

Here are the notes from our Weight Watcher meeting 10/18/14:

 

Best Deals Magazine

Here is the link to Best Deals Magazine.  I purchased a year's subscription to Weight Watcher's Magazine for less then $4.00.

http://www.bestdealmagazines.com/

I love this woman!

http://youtu.be/BefRC2CPocY

http://youtu.be/iTjjZDwxae4

It's been a while...

Here are the links I have been talking about in my You Tube videos:

http://shrinkingonabudgetmealplan.com/MealPlanOpener/MealPlanPortal2.html

http://www.vitalicious.com/

http://www.theprettyyouproject.blogspot.com/

http://www.realfoodkosher.com/kale-chips-recipe-and-tips/

Week 31 Day 6 or I have been SO good!

Well it is Thursday and I have been very good this week.  I am really proud of myself and it really doesn't matter what the scale will say on Saturday.  Yes I want it to say I have lost pounds but I know I have eaten and journaled and even drank my 48oz of water every day except on Saturday.  Life is good, even though the weather hasn't been very nice.  Today it was supposed to get into the 40's and it will continue to warm which is great.  I am ready to walk outside.

There are 2 food purchases I wanted to share.

 

I have been looking for this flat bread forever.  I found it by the specialty cheeses in HyVee.  There are 6 flat bread pieces, each piece is a mere 2 points!  I can't wait to try a pizza on one of these puppies.  The price was $3.28!  

 

 

These are so yummy and a great snack or you could cube them up, they are about 5 inches long and put them in a salad too.  Each stick has 2 points!  Score!!!  The price was $4.47.

 

So that is about it for now.  I will check back in on Saturday.  Until we eat again!

Week 31 Day 2 or Fabulous Food Finds

Yesterday after my meeting I was browsing the cookbooks and I purchased this one.  I found a few that sounded good, such as Pumpkin Buttermilk Pancakes, Beef and Sweet Potato Stew, Honey Citrus Baked Chicken, Crisp Cornflake Chicken, Southern Style Chicken and Dumplings and Asian Sesame Noodle Salad.  There are many more in here.

Fat: 0.5 g Carbs: 3 g Fiber: 2 g Protein: 1 gm  Serving Size: 4oz

Price: $2.69

Points:  0

Notes: I got these to make a recipe on the Hungry Girl web site.  

 

Fat: 10 g Carbs: 15 g Fiber: 0 g Protein:0 gm  Serving Size: 5 pieces Price: $5.99

Points: 2

Notes: I saw these in the Weight Watcher magazine and wanted to try them.  They are a little pricey for 5.5 servings.

Fat: 4 g Carbs: 1 g Fiber: 0 g Protein: 2 g  Serving Size: 1 wedge
Price: $3.99

Points: 1 

Notes: I had been looking for these for a while and found them in the specialty cheese department at HyVee.  Each round has 8 wedges and each flavor has different nutritional numbers, but I believe all are 1 point each.  I gave the nutritional numbers on the Creamy Swiss.

Fat: 10 g Carbs: 15 g Fiber: 3 g Protein: 2 g  Serving Size: 4 cups
Price: $3.88

Points: 2 

Notes: This stuff is good!  I half a serving and take it to work as an afternoon snack.  It isn't real salty but it does have a good flavor and I don't miss the salt.

Fat: 0 g Carbs: 5 g Fiber: 2 g Protein: 0 g  Serving Size: 1 Tablespoon  Price: $2.99
Points: 0

Notes: This jam is seedless and sugarless and is to die for on top of my bagel and cream cheese!  It doesn't get much better then heaven for ZERO points!

 

Fat: 7 g Carbs: 21 g Fiber: 2 g Protein: 1 g  Serving Size: 3oz(about 13 pieces)
Price: $2.99

Points: 4

Notes: I have heard great things about sweet potato fries so I wanted to try them. 

Fat: 1.5 g Carbs: 26 g Fiber: 9 g Protein: 4 gm  Serving Size: 1 muffin Price: $4.99

Points: 3

Notes: I had looked all over for these at HyVee and even Wal-Mart.  Then I saw an ad in the Weight Watcher magazine to look for them in the freezer breakfast food section.  That is where I found them in the health food section.  They are sort of expensive but they are awesome.  I love the Deep Chocolate one.  The Apple Crumb is okay but not as awesome.  They come 4 muffin tops individually wrapped.  Now that I know where they are I am going to look in Wal-Mart for the Wild Blueberry one. 

Fat: 5 g Carbs: 4 g Fiber: 1 g Protein: 1 gm  Serving Size: 2 Tbsp

Price: $2.78

Points: 2 

Notes: This stuff is so good.  I love it on my bagels with the sugar free Smuckers jam!

Fat: 1 g Carbs: 24 g Fiber: 5 g Protein: 6 gm  Serving Size: 1 bagel  Price: $3.19

Points: 3 

Notes: These are wonderful.  They have the thick middle cut out of them. Love it with cream cheese and Smucker's sugar free jam.

 

So that is about it from the folds of a thinning Lilac Thicket.  Until we eat again!

 

Week 31 Day 1 or Finding passion for losing it!

I suppose I have been feeling defeated.  My head just hasn't been in the game.  I missed my meeting last Saturday due to ice.  So it had been 2 weeks since my last weigh in.  I was dreading the truth, I knew I had gained.  I know I have to really get serious.  I was praying on my way to the meeting.  I told God I needed his strength and help with this long term project.  I stepped on the scale and had lost 2.6 pounds for a total of 36.6 pounds.  I feel like a pretender though, I don't see that I did anything to deserve the loss.  Okay, I don't eat the way I used to and I seem to be enjoying foods I hadn't before like grapes and Greek yogurt and veggie wraps.  That IS progress.

After the meeting I went to Hobby Lobby to look at the Simplicity patterns which were on sale for 99¢.  I think I am finding a passion for weight loss through sewing.  I looked at the spring catalog and not in the plus size section.  I saw such cute things that I wouldn't have bought in the past because they don't make them in the "Big" sizes.  Here are the 10 I bought, I would have purchased more but they limited me to 10.

I did buy the next sizes down and I am so excited about losing more so I can make these damn cute styles for myself! 

Now on the above picture you will see the top 2 patterns are retro styles, vintage styles from the 40's.  I love 40's fashion.

 

Then I went to the thrift shop and found these:

These have not been worn at all!  they are my size and so delicious.  Now I can't wear them yet.  They are Nine West!  The heels are way too high for all this 262.4 pounds to rest on the ball of my foot.  But sometime in the not too distant future I will wear these!  Oh, they were $2.00!

So I am thinking if I start to fill my closets with great buys that I can wear in a year or so, that will help keep me moving down the scale!

I have a lot of new grocery finds that I will share tomorrow.  I took some chicken out of the freezer and I will bake that with some sweet potato fries for our dinner this evening. 

Breakfast was good, 3 scrambled eggs (6 points), one toasted English muffin (3 points) with 2 Tablespoons of Weight Watchers cream cheese (2 points) and Smucker's sugar free seedless strawberry jam (ZERO points).

So with renewed hope and spirit I will bid you all the blessings one can handle.  Until we eat again!


Week 29 Day 1 or Looking ahead

Last week this girlish girl did not post to her blog.  She was feeling deflated and confused.  Week 26 I lost 5 pounds and then when I stepped on the scale last Saturday, Week 27, I had gained 3.6 pounds.  I had been sick for so long I wasn't sure what was going on.  I didn't feel like I had lost 5 pounds the previous week and I sure didn't feel like I had gained 3.6 pounds the week before. 

I called my dear Mother and we talked about it and I think that what she had said made sense.  She said that my body was probably dehydrated from all the illness and that the gain was me rehydrating my body.  That made lots of sense because I just wasn't feeling my clothing was fitting any different.

Today I weighed in and on week 28 I lost 0.6 pounds. At our meeting today Casey talked about looking at the overall results from the past 4 weeks rather then week to week.  Your body swings around when you are changing your diet and life style and every four weeks is a better measure.  So I figured it out.  Over the last 4 weeks I have gained 4.7 pounds and I have lost 5.6 pounds.  So when you figure it out, over the course of the last 4 weeks I have lost 0.9 pounds, close to 1 pound.  I do feel better about it now.

So here is my goal for myself.  Today I am going to plan my meals for the week.  There will be some challenges, I have a birthday on Monday and I want to eat at the Fig Tree for breakfast.  My Caribbean Prince wants to eat out for lunch at a chicken wing place.  That is doable, chicken is definitely something I can eat.  Friday evening my best girlfriends are coming over for an evening of stitching and chili.  That is doable too.  Chili is a great dish with good for you ingredients.  Yes this week will be a piece of cake, Weight Watcher Caramel Apple dump cake!  3 points! 

My long term goal is to lose all this weight by the time I turn 60, in 3 years!  That is doable too!  Until we eat again!

Week 29 Day 1 or New food purchases

Fat: 2g Carbs: 9gm Fiber: 0g Protein: 19g  Serving Size: 5.7 oz  Price: $1.19
Points: 3
Notes:  I heard about this at my Weight Watcher meeting.  I found it at HyVee in the dairy case.  I have not tried it. 

Fat: 7g Carbs: 1g  Fiber: 0g Protein: 1g   Serving Size: 2 Tbsp  Cost: $2.18
Points: 2
Notes:  I love the whipped cream cheese.  It spreads nice and easy.  I was in heaven when I had some of this on top of a toasted English muffin.  It would have been even better with some zero calorie strawberry preserves.

Fat:1.5gm  Carbs: 39gm Fiber: 5gm Protein: 9gm Serving Size: ¾ cup  Price: $1.38
Points: 5
Notes:  I thought since these were whole wheat that they would have been a little lower in the points department.  I didn't have my points calculator when I purchased these.

Fat: 3g Carbs: 19g Fiber: 13g Protein: 5gm  Serving Size: 1 tortilla  Price: $4.49

Points: 2 

Notes: I got these tortillas because they were the ones with the lowest calories.  These are so fabulous fixed in different ways, like a pizza.

Fat: 1g Carbs: 26g Fiber: 8g Protein: 5gm  Serving Size: 1 muffin  Cost $3.19
Points: 3
Notes:  I really enjoyed a muffin split in half and toasted.  I put whipped cream cheese on it and it was so wonderful.

Fat: 2.5gm Carbs: 14g Fiber: 2g Protein: 3g   Serving Size: 1 bar   Price: $7.50
Points: 2
Notes:  They gave out a sample of these at our Weight Watcher meeting a few weeks ago.  They are so good.  They are pricey but they are a great indulgent.  Keep one in your bag when you are out running errands to feed a hunger rather then the drive thru.  Take one with you when you eat out for a nice dessert instead of ordering dessert.

Fat: 0g Carbs: 0g Fiber: 0g Protein: 0gm  Serving Size: 2 Tbsp  Price: $3.77
Points: 0
Notes: I was so excited when I saw these in the Health Food area at HyVee.  I was strapped for cash at the time so I didn't purchase them.  Got them Thursday and bought some strawberries.  I opened up the chocolate one last night.  I was not really impressed.  It is the texture of pudding and somewhat grainy rather then smooth and glossy.  The taste was okay but I don't think I purchase this again.  I will try the caramel flavored one but expect the same results.

Fat: 2g Carbs: 12g Fiber: 7gm Protein: 5gm Serving size: 1 wrap  Price: $3.77
Points: 2
Notes:  My receipt from HyVee says Health Food but I found these with the tortillas in the dairy area.  I was so excited to find these.  Weight Watcher Girl had a new video about this wrap she made with turkey slices, spouts, onions, tomatoes and lettuce.  They are easy to make and look delicious.  I thought a splash of low calories zesty Italian dressing would zest them up.