At Home Italian Dinner

I love Italian food but man oh man is it a lot of points.  My favorites are lasagna, chicken parmesan, and fettucine. 

I spotted some breaded chicken patties in the freezer section at Walmart and was pleasantly surprised when I used the barcode scanner in my WW app one patty was just 3 points on my Personalized Points plan.  What was even better is that it was a nice sized patty for 3 points.  I knew instantly I could make it into chicken parmesan at-home.

 

Since I love fettuccini too, I also picked up a WW frozen meal that was 7 points to go along with my chicken parmesan rounding out a delicious Italian dinner with a fraction of the points. 

 

I have made this twice so far and really enjoyed every bite.  The entire plate is just 10 points on my plan which doesn’t break the bank.

 

Enjoy.

 

 

 

New Downtown Experiences

A new whiskey bar opened in Boise and we met up with Phoenix and Stacey for a date night before Valentine’s Day weekend to check it out.

 

The James Whiskey & Cocktails is an indoor/outdoor establishment that will be great place to visit during the warmer temps with the open garage doors and rooftop outdoor seating.  It is small with limited seating and an even smaller parking lot.  We were able to find street parking and snagged the last table for four.  We also made it in time for happy hour which meant good pricing for food.  As a Beer Buddies member, we get happy hour pricing on drinks all day as The James is the newest Beer Buddy Hub.

 

I tried one of the happy hour drinks, The Cobbler’s Mule, and Stacey tired the other, The James.  This allowed us to at least try them both in one visit.  While the others aren’t discounted on happy hour the entire drink menu looked amazing.  We will have to come back.  We shared the meatballs and the burger, both $8 on happy hour about half off the regular price.  Both were exceptional and you can’t beat that price.

 

Since I had a random Friday night off and we had a DD (thanks Kenyon) we attempted to visit the new Mother Earth Brewing downtown location but it was packed with no parking so we continued to The Handlebar, another Beer Buddy Hub.  This was a really fun bar with a great atmosphere.  There is pool table, bike races, popcorn, and THE BEST pizza that delivers inside the bar.  YES!

 

With a hop, skip, and a jump we were at our third Beer Buddies Hub for the night, Hops & Bottles.  This is always a fun place with great atmosphere.  The only downside is they allow dogs.  No Thank You.

 

We decided to venture back to Meridian and found our first two stops packed with absolutely no seating.  We found a table at Pauly’s but since the food was limited, we had our one drink and moved on.  The final stop was Firehouse Pub & Grill, which I have not been to.  We ordered some food and one more drink and then headed home.

 

What an epic night but oh man…I am not as young as I once was and all the fried food at the end of the night tore me up.  Oh well, we had fun.

Is There Such A Thing As CA: Cruisers Anonymous?

I had no intention of abandoning you for so many days.  It was my last three-day weekend off from work and the next few weeks…er…from now until April 1^st as basically life is going to be packed and so very busy.  In turn, I appeared to have turned in to slug on my days off.  Oh, and I stand corrected.  I had to work four hours of overtime on Thursday but not too bad.

So, what have I been up to lately?  Not much!  I cancelled social plans Wednesday night partly due to wanting to stay committed to my WW plan and eat at home.  I had such a great weight loss last week that I didn’t want to mess it up.  We also had planned to maybe celebrate a belated Valentine’s Day but again, opted to eat at home as Kenyon has also been noticing a positive effect on the scale for him too. 

Since I knew I would be working on Thursday, we ran errands and had a belated V-Day lunch at Tucanos.  Oh so delicious.  With plans to meet my gal pals for lunch on Saturday, I opted for a home dinner on Thursday.  Friday was also in check and much to my surprise and pre-planning, I navigated my lunch out with my friends still earning a blue dot for the day.  WIN:WIN

 

I’ve been watching a lot of cruise videos on You Tube.  I tell ya, I am addicted.

 

On the same day I celebrated 365 days until my next cruise, we made an impromptu decision to book an Alaska cruise in May.  WhoooHoooo!

 

We are only 11 points away from earning Platinum status with Norwegian Cruise Line and the currently Latitude Rewards for booking certain cruises is double points plus you already get one point per night which works out to triple the points.  A five day cruise would be enough to earn Platinum status and Alaska is one of the offerings.  The only bummer is the ship stops in just two ports, Ketchikan and Victoria, BC.  I am looking forward to visiting Victoria again.  We also had to book an inside room as Alaska prices are ridiculously expensive.  In the meantime, prices dropped allowing us to upgrade to a balcony which is even better.  Oh boy are we are looking forward to this next cruise.  We also love flying to Seattle because we can book first class through Alaska Air and the flight is non-stop.  We decided this trip we won’t spend extra time in Seattle pre or post cruise but do plan to book a return trip for just Seattle at some point.

 

So…to recap…Hi my name is Lindsay and I am a cruising fanatic that probably needs an intervention.  If you need me, I’ll be watching more cruising videos on You Tube.

Weekly WI: A BIG Loss

 Hello and Happy Tuesday. 

After being in tears last week over the number on the scale, I re-committed and saw a BIG loss this week.

I think some of this loss was hormonal.  The other part was eating at home and having a couple days of boosted activity.  I also managed my planned social situations.  It was a really good week and thankfully the scale paid off.  I was able to get my employee weigh-in done and am back down to the weight I was in October when I became an employee.  It is a huge relief.

There is more to focus on with two upcoming vacations so I must stay the course.  I feel a renewed energy but also some fear of eating, which happens when I don’t want mess it up!  Weight loss is stressful at times.

Although I am not focusing on completing my Apple Watch February Activity Goal, I am still getting in my workouts and earning lots of special awards this month.  Yeah for activity.

I have a three day weekend with no plans other than a belated dinner out for Valentine’s day.  I met my Mom to see the new Jennifer Lopez movie “Marry Me” and enjoyed half priced popcorn.  It was so nice to be back at the movies.

Weekly WI: (A Few Days Late)

Gooooood Morning.  Happy Friday.  I actually have tonight since I am filling in as a substitute coach for a WW workshop early tomorrow morning.  Getting off work at 2am complicates getting up early for my WW duties.

I didn’t check in with my Weekly WI on Tuesday and I am glad I have had a few days to process before posting a blog.  I was pretty down in the dumps on Tuesday and quite emotional.  I’m going to chalk it up to female hormones…man they are brutal!

I had a huge gain and allowed myself to go into a negative space of stress and upcoming events and employee weigh-in and…and…and…ugh it has been rough.  My Virtual WW Workshop was ah-mazing on Tuesday and really energized me to focus on 100% tracking and staying accountable to eating at home more.  I also jumped into activity full force and joined a workout class offered for free through our training staff at work.  Boy was it tough but I showed up for two days of classes and I am still feeling it today.

After making the decision to not focus on my February Apple Watch Activity Challenge, I’ve enjoyed the break but also need to still push myself.  I am feeling really successful this week between my commitment to activity and making meals at home.  I have seen the scale come down a little, which is also why I think some of the bump was hormonal.

On Tuesday, Phoenix and I attended a Wine, Women, and Wealth event at Potter Wines.  I pre-planned and keep everything in check while having a great time and meeting so many new wonderful people.  We had a great time.

I will have a social outing tonight, Date Nite with Phoenix and Stacey, which will be a high point day.  I have not used many weekly points this week and while I have no idea what the evening will hold, I planned accordingly and won’t let this deter my progress.  We are having a Super Bowl party on Sunday but that doesn’t mean I have to partake in the festivities.  I haven’t quite figured out my plan just yet and you never know what type of foods will be offered.  I will for sure plan to have my food packed and prepared so I continue to stay accountable to my WW program and commitment.

Mexican Vegetable Soup With Salsa Verde

 My Mom shared a soup recipe that I tried last week and loved so much, I made it again this week.  Besides the fact it is delicious, my WW Friends also get an added veggie point for each serving.  Win:Win

I added chicken, which was a great idea.  I would have added beans at the time I prepared the soup but since Kenyon doesn’t like them, I added beans in after.  For the second round of soup, I also added frozen roasted corn from Trader Joes, which makes soups and chili taste extra delicious.  I also added the half cup of salsa verde into the recipe instead of as a garnish.  Kenyon requested some green chile too so I put some in for round two.

If you need an easy soup recipe, this is for you.  Search the WW Recipe tab for all the details.

January Activity Goal Met Only To Be Rewarded By A Harder Goal In February

January ended on a high note with activity where I completed a perfect month filling all three Apple Watch circles.

I typically do this in January.  What starts as one week turns into two and then what the heck.  I am able to push through it for that one month but it is just so exhausting that I have no desire to be perfect.  It is funny because that is our weekly technique at WW this week, how to shift perfectionist thinking.  

Imagine my surprise when February 1st rolls around and my Apple Watch rewards my hard work with more hard work.  NO THANK YOU!  

I like to be pushed and at times, it give me motivation to do more, work harder, and change things up.  But burning over 900 movement calories a day is unrealistic and in order to do that, I need to workout at least twice a day if not more.  There was one day last month trying to turn 200% that I had to log four workouts.  That is just not something I desire and it is not something that is enjoyable.

Perfectionist thinking can easily lead me down that unhealthy path and I am deciding right at the start of February that I will not be reaching this goal.  It also means I break my perfect streak of meeting my Apple Watch goal each month for the last three years.  This makes it a very tough decision but also a wise decision.  Pushing through to make January so successful needs to be celebrated, not outdone.  That is how you shift perfectionist thinking.  Celebrate those wins and don’t let the need to be perfect overshadow it.

Weekly WI: A Much Needed Loss

 Good Morning and Happy Groundhogs’ Day.  

Six More Week Of Winter.  I really feel for the east coast.  Ugh.  It would be awful to be under so much snow.  Stay safe out there.

January ended on a high note with activity but not with my food.  

It was a struggle for much of January, which typically is a successful month.  The start of the year is usually really successful so I am determined to get this train back on track and head towards loser-town.  Ha, that sounds funny when you stay it that way.

I saw a loss at the scale, which I desperately needed and worked really hard to achieve.  This week was on track with food, activity and sleep.  It feels really good to see a loss.

I took the assessment again in the WW app selecting potatoes and corn as my Zero Point foods.  It dropped my daily points allowance from 21 to 18.  My morning frozen potatoes at breakfast were 2 points so not really much of a change per se.  I don’t know that I have corn everyday but it also makes popcorn a Zero Point food again.  I’ll see how I feel about 18 points and continue to use my Weekly Points Allowance as needed.

I am also feeling a little bit of the push-pull to relax and have some fun this week but I must re-adjust that thinking.  I have goals that need to be met and while I don’t have to be perfect, I need to stay the course and bring the scale back down.  Even with my loss this week, I’m still up there higher than I’d like to be for my February employee weigh-in sometime this month.

I also have some flexibility this month for my workouts, which I’ll go into more on the next post.

Have a great day.