New Oatmeal Find

I found a new oatmeal at the grocery store that is pretty tasty.  It isn’t really new as I’ve seen it around.  I’m just glad I tried it!

For ease of convenience I picked up some instant oatmeal to make at work.  I sautéed an apple in olive oil, brown sugar, and cinnamon and then re-heat it before I make my oatmeal in the same Tupperware bowl.  And of course I always top my oatmeal with peanut butter and honey.  It is a tasty breakfast for those early morning hours before I get off shift.

The photo is kind of dark and the box is open which puts the opening right across the front.  The oatmeal is called OatFit.  It is 100 calories and only has 1 gram of sugar. 

That is the part that is amazing…the maple and brown sugar taste amazing for only being 100 calories and 3 SPV.  I compared this box to the Quaker Oats maple and brown reduced sugar oatmeal and OatFit is a smaller portion for 100 calories vs Quaker Oats which is 120 calories.  But OatFit also had less sugar so I decided to try it.

The first day I put in the recommended 8 ounces of hot water using our Keurig at work.  Ummmm…oatmeal soup!  So the next night I only put in 4 ounces of hot water and it was the perfect consistency.  Having the sautéed apples helped amp up the portion size.  I also considered adding some Chia seeds but I have not yet tired that.  I might need more water with Chia seeds.

My total bowl of oatmeal with the apples and peanut butter is 9 SPV.  Obviously you can make this less points but altering your recipe.

Oats: 3 SPV

Brown sugar for apples: 1 SPV

Olive oil for apples: 1 SPV

Peanut Butter: 3 PSV

Honey: 1 SPV

Weekly WI: 59 Pounds Still Gone

I went to the Monday night WW meeting at the center in Meridian this week.  The leader, Gretchen, has a ton of energy so that is exciting.  I knew one member from my time years ago attending that meeting location and time.  There are lots of new faces but all just as welcoming.

I lost a pound.  Yippie!  As I was waiting to do my WI, I could hear the leader talking to a group of family members all doing their WI.  (Eavesdropping is a big no-no as a WW member but unavoidable as a police dispatcher).  She was really positive and giving out high fives and it started to make me nervous about my WI.  When I don’t know a leader really well I start to get anxious about my re-gain.  I’m pretty aware that I am fat again so I don’t know that I need to talk about it.  The fact that I used that sentence probably says I do.  Anyway…

After I collected my one pound loss I saw Gretchen doing the math from the numbers on the screen.  I was worried that she was going to write down how many pounds I am from my goal weight of 175.  Instead she was calculating how many points I have lost since my start weight of 304.  She wrote down -59 and said “That’s wonderful.  I’m impressed.”

Wow, that sure made me feel good.  I shared in the meeting later and am always glad when I share.  WW is my therapy and the members know my struggles.  After I entered my weekly weight into the WW app I looked at the weight chart.  I am very happy about my six-month weight chart numbers.  I consider 253 that weight that I will now collect my 5 pound stars from.  While I’ve not yet gotten my 10 pound star over the last six week, my weight is still down six weeks later.  So I’m very proud of my accomplishments.

I have a really busy week with planned social events and Saturday Kenyon and I start our Vegas/Disneyland/Los Angeles vacation.  I’m super nervous and yet also trying to get a plan in place.  Mostly I need to stay strong mentally.  Vacation doesn’t have to turn into a free-for-all.  Yes, I do still want and plan to have fun.  But I don’t need to go overboard every day.  I need to chose my indulgences wisely and make them worth it.  I know alcohol is on the agenda…it is Vegas after all!  When I am drinking I’ll nix the sweets/desserts.  That is one easy way to cut extra calories.

Before we leave town though, I’ve still got five perfectly good days ahead of me.  I will get my activity in and I will balance my high point social meals/drinks with some low point meals.  I can do this!  It just means I have to stay focused!

Festival Of Trees

I love this time of year not because of the snow…

…but because of the holiday lights.  There is something so magical about Christmas lights and I really enjoy seeing houses and trees all lit up.  I also love to attend the St. Alphonsus Festival of Trees each year and this year was no exception.  I put together a small group and attended on Sunday afternoon.  I wanted to attend specifically on Sunday afternoon so we could see the “Fables and Fantasies Come To Life.”  This is one of my favorite events and it isn’t always something you can see each year.  There are actors/actresses that act like animatronics and complete about a 30 second “show” before they go to “sleep” and start the show again.  It is just amazing the talent of pretending to be a robot.

  There was an abundance of trees to see as well as wreaths.  I took photos of some that I liked.

There was also a Lego section where you could see scenes put together of just Legos.  That was impressive!

Phoenix, her kids, and I did some kids crafts and Phoenix and I also completed a letter to Santa.  We made sure to put it into the mailbox right away so he would get it.

I was in a festive mood and started getting out our Christmas tree and décor.  I hope to get our house decorated later this week.

Healthy Eating Feels Good. Moving Your Body Feels Good.

When I actually get my act together and plan my meals, I easily have a more successful week at staying OP (on program) and getting closer to my weight loss goals.  I got frustrated a week ago when I thought I would show a loss and didn’t.  I’d like to say I then stuck to moderation over Thanksgiving (and the day after) but instead I indulged quite a bit on both high point foods and lots of sweets.  The only saving grace of being so off track is that it takes just a few days of low point planned meals to make me feel better.

A couple of weeks ago I planned chopped veggie salads for lunches at work.  Basically instead of lettuce salads it is just a bunch of chopped veggies (your choice but I usually use carrots, celery, bell pepper, and cucumber).  Then you add a protein (I like canned beans) and your salad dressing.  Viola…a salad that isn’t a salad.  The only problem with this chopped salad is I get the volume and a lot of chewing but not very much hold over.  So, I decided to add some whole wheat pasta.  Not only did it hold me over better but I loved the texture of the pasta and the crunch of the veggies.  I also started dressing my salad with Trader Joe’s light champagne vinaigrette.  It adds a really nice tang.

Yesterday I swing by the store for some grocery items so I had meals to get me through the rest of my work week.  And I needed a break from all the high calorie/point food and sweets I’ve been consuming.  I did some meal prep and had enough veggies cut up to make four chopped salads.

 

Other meals for the week:

I cooked some chicken sausage with red peppers, cabbage, and garlic powder in some olive oil.  It is a low point and very tasty meal.  I was able to get two servings of that. 

I sautéed some chopped pink lady apples in some olive oil, cinnamon, and brown sugar.  I plan to make instant oatmeal at work (for convince) and am adding the apples for bulk and to add some flavor.  I’ll top it with peanut butter and honey.  I have two servings of apple ready to go.

I bought some blackberries on a fantastic deal that I plan to put into yogurt.

And lastly I bought some Jimmy Dean Lite turkey sausage breakfast sandwiches.  I have at least one day where I can use the convenience of a grab-n-go breakfast and I find these sandwiches mighty tasty.  I bought some oranges and apples so I can easily add a fruit to my on-the-go meal.

I was just writing in my WW journal about the reflection on my week last week.  I wrote: Remember healthy eating feels good.  Remember moving your body feels good.

Starbucks Espresso At-Home

Say hello to my little friend…

I’ve been eyeing the new Starbucks Verismo V, an at-home espresso brewing machine.  They were just released a month or so ago and retailed in my area for $149.  I kept kicking around buying one in hopes it would keep be out of the Starbucks drive-thru lane as much as I already frequent it.  I was hesitant because if the espresso didn’t taste as good, well…now I’d have an expensive machine at home and I’d still be spending $4 a day (or more if I visit more than once) for my favorite Americano drink.

I got an email that the machine was on sale for $99 for a select few days.  It also came with some sample pods as well.  I was killing time at the mall and stopped into Starbucks to ask more about the Verismo.  The gal I talked to is a 14-year Starbucks veteran and says the espresso is the best she has tasted from an at-home machine.  So, the Verismo followed me home.

And she is right!  It is some delicious espresso.

You do have to buy the espresso pods which are $1 or less per pod.  Considering one Americano costs me $4, I will eventually be saving money.  I love that I can wake up and make an espresso at home instead of thinking about having to make a Starbucks run. 

I am very happy with my purchase.

Weekly WI Check-In & Turkey Day

Happy Day After Thanksgiving!  I meant to check in yesterday.  I was so happy to have the day off and to be able to spend it with my family.  The older I get the more important spending time with family becomes.  I hope you are also spending time with your loved ones.

As for the food…TURKEY!  Thanksgiving is my very favorite day of the year as I love turkey and mashed potatoes.  We are having twice the Turkey Day fun as we are also doing a tradition meal at work later today.  Bring it on….

I was able to pop into my favorite Tuesday AM WW meeting this week.  It was so wonderful to see Leader Donna and all my WW peeps.  I really do love that meeting and I am sad when I can’t be there.  Since we are still waiting to hear about shift bid at work next year (I’m currently sitting second to last for bidding for my shift since I left for six months and was voted off the seniority island) maybe I’ll end up on a shift where I can attend my favorite meeting.  Who knows!

Anyhow, I was feeling a bit nervous about my WI.  My week prior was really good and I ate at home several days as well as brought my lunch/snacks to work.  Last Friday I got on the scale to see how I was progressing and didn’t see much change.  I let that number on the scale mentally control me as both Friday and Saturday I consumed many high point/calorie foods and sweets.  Thankfully at my WI on Tuesday I only gained 0.6 pounds over the last two weeks.  I am mad at myself that I didn’t show a loss after two weeks.  But, I also know that I ate healthy and exercised so I just have to keep doing that…regardless of the scale number.

I go through phases where I feel good in the body I have and healthy eating/activity is not in the forefront of my brain.  Then other days I let myself get sad that I’m not anywhere close to my goal weight.  I know what needs to be done.  The hard part is DOING IT!

Rollin' In The Dough

Good Morning. Sorry about the absence. I hadn't planned to be away from the blog for a few days. I was in a training all day on Monday called Emotional Survival for Law Enforcement. It was a training taught by Dr. Kilmartin, who also wrote a book on the topic. It was a great training and gave me a lot to think about. I already feel like I have a good work-life balance and I think since making the movie to Nampa and then back to ISP allowed me to continue to keep that balance in check. So many LE marriages fail and a big reason is the impact from stress while on the job.

On Monday I got an email from CBH Homes that a pumpkin pie will be delivered to our house in the afternoon as a thank you for being a valued customer. It ended up being a Costco size pie. Holy cow! On Tuesday I had plans to pick up the huckleberry apple pie that my realtor team, Christina & Co, were giving us. I volunteered to take that pie to our Thanksgiving dinner and Kenyon has been eating on the pumpkin pie. I do like pumpkin pie but often just the filling. I'm not sure why but pie crust kind of makes me feel bad after. Maybe all the excess butter? But pumpkin filling is quite tasty. We had my neighbors over for pie (and Cappuccino beer) on Monday night.

On Tuesday the pie give-away was an event at the River Room at Whole Foods in downtown Boise. I have never been to the River Room and so I am glad we went. There were appetizers and drinks (one for each and Kenyon doesn't drink so now two for Lindsay). We also ordered some food to share. It was delicious and a lot of fun.

I'm making my transition to night shift so I am sleeping on/off and unsuccessfuly trying to stay up late. I work an overtime shift until 2am (possibly unless holidy traffic dies down earlier).  

Home Update: The Kitchen

I am way past due for a new home update!  We got the keys to our new house on August 19^th and I can’t believe it is already the end of November.  Time sure does fly.  We love the new house, the area, and the new neighbors.  It has all been wonderful.

Good news is I cleaned my house on Saturday but I didn’t take updated pictures…yet.  Here are some of the kitchen I took last months that I have been holding onto hoping I would have others to share others.  At my snail’s pace, I better get something out!

 

We decorated with the same chili pepper we had in our old house.  After living with less during our home selling phase, I really like the cleaner look of less clutter on the counters.  We have a huge walk-in pantry so that make hiding stuff away really easily.

I had an over the cabinet outlet put in so I could put up some fun lights above the cabinets.  My coworker told me about some really great LED lights that are remote controlled and change colors and brightness/dimness.  We ordered them and I climbed up on the counters to put them in place.  I love it.  It is so much fun to sit and watch TV with just the glow of the TV and the lights on the cabinets.

 

I’ll share more when I can get more photos.

Happy Fri-YAY!

Happy Fri-YAY!

It has felt like the longest week this week so I am so happy it is the weekend (a short weekend as we start our transition to new days off and then a new shift).  I am working overtime until 10am and then I am a free bird until Sunday.  Come one weekend…I’ve been waiting for you.

I have fun plans this evening.  My friend Jamie needed a babysitter so I am picking her kids up as well as my niece Hailey.  All the girls love Tucanos so we are having dinner first and then will either go to a movie or maybe take in the holiday light display in Caldwell.  It is going to be cold so I’m not sure if I want a bunch of tweens complaining about the chilly weather.

I think Kenyon and I will spend our Saturday off doing some house stuff.  I do need to actually deep clean my house so many you will get some photos.  I am way past due!

Have a good weekend.  I’ll try and check in.

Pear & Cranberry Oatmeal

Typically this time of year I start seeing cranberries popping up in the grocery store.  There is something about Thanksgiving (turkey) and Christmas (red??) where cranberries are in abundance.  I spotted a bag of fresh cranberries when I was at Trader Joe’s earlier in the week and brought them home.  I love putting fresh cranberries into my oatmeal.  Today I added in one diced pear and a small amount of cranberries to the water and set it to boil.
 

I think the most fun part of cooking with fresh cranberries is they made a noise as the water starts to heat up.  I sort of envision it similar to lobsters making noise when you steam them.  It is almost of it the cranberries are saying “no…please don’t kill me.”  Okay maybe a tiny bit morbid but it is kind of funny when they hiss and pop as they cook. Once the cook down, the cranberries release their sweet and tart flavor and no longer resemble a plump hard berry.  It adds so much depth to my morning oats.

When I was at TJ’s I also picked up some new oatmeal.  I found a multigrain hot cereal (a mix of oats and other grains) and some quick cook steel cut oats.  I’ve been eating the oat bran for a while now.  I like the smooth texture you get by adding in oat bran with oatmeal vs. just straight oatmeal.  I also add cinnamon when I cook my oats.

 

Once the oats are cooked I add in 1 tsp of brown sugar and one packet of Stevia.  I then top my oats with peanut butter and honey.
 

 

Delicious!

You can find cranberries in your produce or fruit section at your local grocery store usually for under $2.00 a bag.  I have also cooked down some cranberries in just water and added them to plan non-free Greek yogurt.  I love that sweet tart taste.

Another Successful Day: I Could Get Used To This

I need to interrupt your usually scheduled blog content to make an important announcement:

This beer is delicious.

 

Okay.  Now, back to the show….

I had another successful day on the WW front yesterday.  The beer mentioned above (5 SPV) was my only indulgence yesterday.  Well, I guess I should also count the eggnog in my Americano also as an indulgence as I’m only allowing myself to get it once a day.  Any other coffee shop visits need to be cream only.  I had all my meals/snacks prepared for work and actually ate them.  And then I made dinner at home.

Despite not feeling like I wanted to go to Curves after work, I had my change of clothes already with me in the car.  I knew I needed to run some errands in the area of Curves so it would be silly to skip my workout.  While tough to get there you always feel good after your workout.

I’ve been sending a friend of mine some positives each day.  She really needs them even if she can’t see the positives that are ahead of you each and every day.  I told her it will either help her or piss her off.

We could all use some positives.  In case you are struggling today….here is your dose of positive!  I also threw in a funny.