Crack

Pin It I read a blog called Chocolate-Covered Katie.  Someone I know introduced me to it, but I can't recall who...whoever you are, I thank you!  I have not made a lot from her site, but I do love reading it.  This afternoon I struck gold!  I made her No-Bake Coconut Crack Bars.  Once you try them, you will understand why they are called "crack" bars.  These little gems are AMAZING.  The recipe said it made 6-8 servings.  If I cut them into 8 servings, they work out to 3 pts+ each - 6 servings makes them 4 pts+ each.  I decided to bring them to share at WW tomorrow, so I cut them into 16 pieces at 1 pt+ each (or 2 for 3 pts+).  It took me about 5 minutes to make (and that included searching my cupboards for a pan small enough for this recipe).  Super easy, super amazing!  Certainly a 5-star recipe in my books.  The only thing I might do differently next time is to drizzle a bit of melted dark chocolate over them... this is not a criticism of Katie's recipe...just a thought :)

I am having my two small bars tonight with my other addiction...flavoured coffee from my Keurig.  These are two addictions I am not interested in overcoming...

Two down, two to go (plus something for Fiona)

Pin It well...two to go until I'm free at WW again :)  I'm totally back in the game, so I am confident that this will come off soon!  Two more pounds after that to get me back to my goal weight and then another 5 that I'd like to lose before Christmas (it'll be nice to have a bit of a buffer when I go away for the holidays!)

One of the things I need to concentrate on this week is planning my lunches.  Last week I had turkey chili a couple of days, but it's not something I really want to eat every single day - no matter how good it is!  I picked up a new cookbook at WW this morning and also picked up the new magazine, so I am hoping for some inspiration.  Stay tuned - you know I'll review and post pictures of whatever I happen to make :)

Fiona, this one's for you...my salad picture as requested!

Happy Saturday everyone!

If I had a million dollars

Pin It I'd still eat Kraft Dinner...I'd just eat MORE!  haha I heard this song on the radio tonight on the way home from work and had a WICKED craving for KD!  Thankfully I a) had none in the house and b) had a salad pre-made and ready to go.

Speaking of salad (yes, again!)...I've decided something - two things actually.  First of all, I don't need salad dressing - from now on it's balsamic vinegar and olive oil (flavored or not) all the way...and maybe salsa.  Second thing I've decided is this - if you feel you NEED salad dressing on your salad for flavour...you ain't doin' it right!  My salad has SO much flavour that I think salad dressing might ruin it :)  Tonight's combo was cinnamon pear balsamic and the last (sadly) of my chipotle olive oil.  SOOOO YUMMY!  It was one of those salads I didn't want to end.  I topped it with a bit of leftover rainbow trout that I'd cooked with dill, cherry tomatoes and red onions - just tossed the leftovers over the salad (cold) and enjoyed.  Did I mention the feta??

That's it...no more salad talk.  Must go get some KD....errr, I mean...must go ZUMBA!

I love salad

Pin It I don't think that's a secret to anyone who knows me :)  I'm not talking a plain o'le garden salad - I like EVERYTHING in my salad - lettuce or spinach, peppers, mushrooms, mandarin oranges, craisins, onions, mushrooms, zucchini (green/yellow), cauliflower, broccoli, cucumber...you name it, I'll throw it in a salad!  Usually I top my salad with salsa rather than salad dressing or maybe even some turkey chili.  Tonight I decided to try something different.  Before I went on vacation, my friend Karen and I went to a place called Liquid Gold.  They sell flavoured olive oils and balsamic vinegars.  For tonight's salad I used chipotle infused olive oil and maple balsamic vinegar....OH MY!!!  My new fav...a way to get in my healthy oils and FABULOUS taste!!  I have some other vinegar flavours to try - mango, lemon, cinnamon...oh the combinations....stay tuned!  I'd show you a picture of tonight's salad, but...um, I ate it THAT quick!

Reality Bites

Pin It I know I've been among the missing for the past month or so.  I've wanted to bog, but just wasn't sure what to blog about to be perfectly honest.  My first weigh in after hitting lifetime status at WW saw a 2 pound weight gain.  This was OK though - I was nearly 2 pounds under goal when I reached lifetime, so I had a couple of pounds to "play" with.  A couple of weeks ago I went on vacation...and things went further south.  Don't get me wrong - I had a GREAT vacation and enjoyed spending time with my family.  What went wrong was ME.  I have always struggled with social eating, but I really let it get out of control this time.  I weighed in today for the first time in a month and was (regrettably) up 5.9 stinking pounds.  I had to pay the piper today at WW...literally.  I have to pay the weekly meeting fee until I get to within 2 pounds of goal again.  Not only that, but my free eTools is no longer free :( 

So here I am.  Humbled by the cockiness that I seemed to have developed once I reached lifetime.  I've always "preached" that this was not a diet that I did - that it is a new lifestyle.  Apparently I need to listen to my own advice and learn how to LIVE that lifestyle...all the time. 

Here's my plan: track, track, track; exercise as much as I can; stick to the diet lifestyle that I know works.  I have 4 months until my next vacation and I really want to get a handle on this before then.  I'm going somewhere where I love the food, so it will be difficult, but completely doable.  One thing I did do right on this past vacation was to stick with my usual breakfast (oatmeal, fruit, peanut butter).  I'll do that on the next vacation as well.  I think if I control snacking between meals I will do fine - that seemed to be a problem for me this time...not sure why - I'm usually just an evening snacker :)  Groceries (healthy ones) are bought, turkey chili has been made and I may just make another recipe tomorrow (turkey burgers maybe?).  I have a plan and I'm on a mission...wish me luck!

Humbly yours,
Tanya