Roni’s Weight Watchen Page(s) - Take 2 (the rebuild)

Posted on March 28th, 2007 8:17 pm

It’s been warm so I thought I’d give a cold salad a try.  Honestly, it came out better then I expected! I can definitely see serving it at summer BBQ this season!

• 4 oz whole wheat pasta
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• About ¾ cup ff chicken broth (sperated in ¼ cups)
• ½ cup spinach leaves (I packed leaves into the measuring cup)
• 1 tbsp dried basil leaves
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• ½ each of a red, yellow and red pepper chopped
• Handful broccoli florets raw (forgot to measure)
• 1 medium zucchini chopped
• (I wish I had some cherry tomatoes) :)

Cook the pasta according to the package. Waiting for the pasta, add the olive oil, spinach leaves, garlic, basil and ¼ cup of the chicken broth to a blender or small food processor.  Blend for a few minutes until you get a nice green sauce.

Add the sauce to the 4 oz of cooked drained pasta.  You may have to use a spatula to get the sauce from the sides of the blender/processor.

In a large bowl add all the veggies, pesto pasta mixture and ¼ of the chicken broth to help coat the veggies. Chill in the fridge for a few hours until ready to serve.

If the salad is a bit dry after the chill, add the remaining broth.

Pasta and oil are the only points I worried about and they total 10. It’s a HUGE salad and can easily serve 4-6 as a side dish. 

Labels: SaladIdeas

Originally Posted on March 22nd, 2007 12:45 pm

I’m creating a new category for posts called, weight loss tips. I used to have a static page but I wanted the ability to post a tip now and then and have it showcased on the main page instead of being hidden. Below were the tips archived from my old site.

…

I have tried to lose weight for as long as I can remember. Why did it take me so long to figure it out? What made me successful this time around? Why did I fail so many times before? I’m not quite sure but I decided to jot down all the things I did this time around that helped me successfully lose 70lbs. Here are a list of weight loss and diet tips I hope help you on your journey. If you have any tips of you own please add them with the comment feature at the bottom of the page.

1. Rearrange your Refrigerator. I now keep all produce, fresh veggies and yogurt on the most predominant shelves. Everything else goes in the drawers, like breads and Bill’s junk food! This way, when I’m hungry I see the good stuff first. I also found that by doing this food doesn’t go bad as quickly. I haven’t thrown a bag of lettuce out in a LONG time.
2. Get more volume for your calories. For example, I buy shredded mozzarella. I use it for everything! Tacos, pizza, salads. I weigh out an once and it’s exactly 2 points. Perfect. Well, one day, I bought the fancy shredded kind and when I measured out an once I was SHOCKED! It look like so much more! To me more is better even if it really isn’t more. Now I only buy the fancy shredded kind. This is a mind trick example but you get the idea. If you think you are eating more you are more satisfied. Bulk up burgers with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, green pepper slices or add tons of veggies to homemade pizza. Anything that tricks you into believing it’s way more food but adds only minimal calories.
3. Bring tons of stuff with you. When I go to work I don’t worry about lunch anymore. I bring a ton of 1-3 point (50-200 calorie) snacks and literally eat ALL DAY. I’ve become a gazer and it’s worked for me.
4. Not everything needs extra cheese or cheese at all. This is one that is pretty personal to me but I’ve learned that everything doesn’t need cheese and if it does 1/2 ounce is usually enough. Gosh, I look back before weight watchers and I must have been eating at least 25 points worth of cheese a day!
5. Eat more veggies. When I have dinner I’ll usually have about 4 ounces of protein, a small starch and then seriously about 3-5 servings of whatever veggie I make. Normally broccoli, green beans, snow peas, sugar snap peas or zucchini. It fills me up and makes my plate look like there is enough food to feed an army.
6. Weigh everyday. I don’t count it towards my weekly weigh in and I understand there will be ups and downs. But it keeps me motivated and in check. I know there are different philosophies on this but I’m sharing what worked for me.


7. Carrot Sticks! I know they aren’t free! But they are a life saver. I will host parties and when everyone else is eating chips and dip, pretzels, and candy. I keep munching. I’m completely satisfied and I don’t even notice that I’m not eating what everyone else is. I’ll usually count 1-2 points for them.
8. Fruit! I know it has points but I don’t stress about how much I am exactly eating. I normally just count a point for everything except bananas. I figure no one got fat eating too many strawberries. Sometimes I eat less then a cup, sometimes more, I figure it all evens out so I just always count it as a point.
9. Stay Active. I don’t really have a regular exercise routine but I do stay active. I have the 5 story rule, I take the stairs if it under 5 stories. I dance with my son at least once a day and I when the weather is nice I walk in the evenings. Other then that I try to get in workouts when I can. In the summer I’ll go for hikes and in the winter I’ll try and do a 1/2 hour of a video of something but I usually never keep it up for long.
10. Don’t stress about parties, or special occasions. I didn’t get fat because of one meal. I go and make good choices then come home and calculate my points. I will then adjust the amount of Flex points I use the rest of the week.
11. Write everything down and be honest. I have every food journal since I started. If I know what I’m making for dinner I will subtract it in the morning and then know how many points I have left for the rest of the day. The night before work I will grab all the snacks and my lunch add all the points and then know what I had left for breakfast and dinner the next day.
12. Have faith in your plan. My chosen plan was weight watchers but I truly believe any healthy diet plan works. There were weeks I didn’t think I did good, I’m not sure why, I stayed within my points, but I could have made healthier choices. Those weeks I still lost! Why? Because I stayed in the points range. This gave me the faith to stay on plan! If you follow the plan you WILL lose. I believe that of almost any diet plan! It’s just that this one I can stay on forever.
13. LOVE appetizers? I used to go to restaurant with friends and get mozzarella sticks, potatoes skins or anything fried! Then a salad AND a whole main entry. Of course I would rarely bring anything home. I don’t even want to think about how many calories I was consuming. Now I go and get a soup instead of an appetizer. Soups I choose are generally chicken noodle/rice, vegetable, black bean, beef with barely, minestrone basically anything "brothy". Then I eat half of my meal and bring the rest home for dinner. This way I still feel like I got an appetizer but the soup is generally only 1-4 points!

Labels: Tips

If you are anything like me you LOVE cheesy quesadillas. You would think now that your are trying to lose weight you can’t enjoy their cheesy goodness! Well you are wrong!! (I know that sounds corny but it just came out of me that way)

With a couple of healthy tortillas (or even one folded over on itself you can create crunchy restaurant style quesadillas filled will all healthy low point fillings, like fat-free refried beans, diced peppers, an ounce of low fat cheese, diced tomatoes, anything you want really.

Here’s the deal… put your quesadilla in a non-stick frying pan. Fill a pot of water just big enough to fit inside the frying pan and place it on top of your quesadilla. I work over medium heat as to give the center enough times to get warm without burning the outside of the tortilla, usually about 2 minutes. Then flip and place the pot of water on top for about another two minutes.

That’s it! Give it a try and let me know if it works for you.

Labels: Tips

Originally Posted on March 18th, 2007 8:44 pm

Tortillas have become a staple in my diet, I use them for wraps, tacos, quesadilla, pizza, you name it.  For me, they are a very versatile bread substitute.  From my experience, the low carb brands normally equate to lower points.  Here is a list of 1 pointers I’ve found.  If you have any to add, please leave a comment for those who may be in your area.

Trader Joe’s Reduced Carb Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas

These are little a very similar to traditional flour tortillas.  Only 50 calories a piece!  My husband even loves them. They are my favorite for taco night!

La Tortilla Factory - Low-Carb/Low Fat Large Size

These are HUGE! Perfect for lunch size sandwich wraps.  In the summer I fill them with my veggie filling, spinach leaves, a little cheese and  salsa! MMMmmm MMMmmm

La Banderitas Low Carb tortillas (this product not on their web site yet)

I only found these once and I can’t remember where.  They were good but fell apart rather easy.  

Mama Lupe’s Low-Carb Tortillas

I found these online.  Haven’t tried them yet.  Anyone?

Casa Rica’s Low-Carb Tortillas

I found these online.  Haven’t tried them yet.  Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Weis Canyon River Low Carb

These are my absolute favorite, they work for everything.  I actually go to Weis just for them and get so mad when there are out of stock! They do not have them listed on their site but you can find them next to the deli sections in the store.  Be careful only the low carb style is 1 point.

That’s what I’ve got.  Like I said, if you know of any others share them below.

This weekend has been a bit of an overeating fiasco. Tomorrow is back to counting and sharing my menu. Oh! and made some progress on the blog stuff. I had hubby testing it for me today!

Labels: journal

OriginallyPosted on March 10th, 2007 1:35 pm

• 1 medium zucchini diagonally sliced (on the thicker side)
• Tomato paste
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• Basil
• Black pepper
• 1.5 oz mozzarella cheese
• 1 tbsp parmesan cheese
• 5 slices turkey pepperoni diced in small pieces
• Non-stick cooking spray

Turn on the broiler on high. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Mix the mozzarella, parmesan and diced pepperoni in a small bowl.

Slice the zucchini; smear each slice with about a teaspoon of tomato paste and lay on the cookie sheet paste side up. Sprinkle with spices. Top with even amounts of the cheese mixture, pressing lightly to stick to the paste.

But on the top rack in the oven on broil for 2 minutes. The cheese should just start to get “crusty”.

The points really only come from the cheese so for the whole batch I’m estimating 3-4 points. I ended up with 12 in the batch so 2 - 2 point servings sound right. Then again, I ate the whole batch for 4. ;) The picture shows half of them.

Labels: SnackIdeas

I make these all the time and I’m tired of typing it over and over again.  So here it is, once and for all! ;)

• 1 point tortilla
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• Oregano
• Basil
• Pepper
• Diced peppers
• 4 slices of turkey pepperoni
• 1 oz mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Smear the tomato paste on the tortilla.  Sprinkle with spices, add peppers and pepperoni, top with cheese and bake for about 10 minutes.

That’s it! With a 1 point tortilla I count it as 4.

Oh! and if you have a pizza stone they come out super crispy!

UPDATE: if you want a crispier crust, put the tortilla in the preheated oven for a few minutes to get crisp. Remove and add your toppings!

Labels: DinnerIdeas, SandwichIdeas, SnackIdeas

Here is my new ‘go to’ when I’m craving fried fish.

• ½ cup Fiber One Cereal (or all bran)
• ¼ Parmesan Cheese
• Italian Seasoning
• Garlic Powder
• Salt & Pepper
• 1 egg beaten in bowl
• Non-stick cooking spray

This would work with any fish.  I just happened to have 3 tilapia fillets ready to go.  

Place all ingredients Fiber One Cereal, Parmesan Cheese, Italian Seasoning, Garlic Powder, Salt & Pepper in the blender to make the breading. Dip fillets in egg then dip in breading to coat. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray, place fillets on sheet and spray tops with non-stick cooking spray.

I broiled them 2 racks from the top for about 3-4 minutes a side. They came out nice and crunchy.  Even hubby liked them!

I easily breaded 3 fillets with this recipe and had about ½ left over.  You could probably stretch it to about cover at least 5-6 fillets.  

Labels: DinnerIdeas

Posted on March 4th, 2007 9:27 pm

I had to share this because I can’t believe how good it came out!

• 8oz of light cherry flavored yogurt (I use the Fit & Active brand from Aldi’s)
• Handful of frozen cherries
• 1 tsp unsweetened dark cocoa

Blend together! That’s it!  I really can’t believe how good it came out.  There’s just something about Chocolate and Cherries together for me. This definitely cures my ice cream craving.

I would still count it as 2 points but it may be closer to 3.

Labels: DessertIdeas, SnackIdeas

Yesterday was my 1-year Anniversary becoming a Lifetime Member at Weight Watchers! WOW I can’t believe it! When I went to update my progress page, I noticed. I have all this data on myself so I decided to pull some statistics.

• My average weight over the past year was 138.3, almost exactly, what I weighed today, 138.4 (I was down .6 for the week)
• The year before that (well 7/05 – 2/06) I lost an overage of 2.1 lbs a week
• Highest weigh since joining Weight Watchers was 206.8
• Lowest weight, 134.6
• My BMI went from 30.5 to 20.4 since joining Weight Watchers
• Biggest loss for a week, 6.4 (week 1)
• Biggest gain, 4.2 (Christmas week, OUCH)

Not too shabby! I highly recommend keeping you weigh-in data. Even if you don’t do a weight loss blog like me, it is nice to see how far you’ve come. If you aren’t at goal yet, it’s even more important to recognize what you have accomplished. You can use my excel form if you like. Just fill in your data and it should update for you automatically.

Labels: journal