Watch me cook up some time!

 

This time of year, my every free moment is savored. I live for each one. It’s hard for me to sit down in front of a computer when that is what I do all day every very long summer day. However, this blog is important to me. You guys are important to me. I care about your stories, your comments, your blogs…all very much. I need to make time for this. This is why my Unlikely Success Story is exactly that. Without this blog and without the wonderful blogging community I’m pretty sure the name of this blog would be “Watch Tonyne Booze and Eat herself into coma” or something equally as lame. So, that being said, while I may not have the amount of time to spend here as I do Fall-Spring, I will do my best to set aside blog time during the week where I can write and read until my little heart is content. That way I can hopefully stay an Unlikely Success Story and maybe I can give you a few hints, tips or tricks on how you can become one too.

I made another trip to the library for another cookbook, oh a whim I got  Slow Cooker Favorites made Healthy by Better Homes and Gardens. I happen to  think that the crock pot is the most underused kitchen appliance I own. It’s ridiculous. I mean, really. Do basic prep work like chopping, etc. before bed, go to sleep, wake up, dump said stuff with some more stuff in crock pot, turn it on, have dinner ready when you get home.  This is yet another way I can make time. For blogging, for running, for whatever! Be on the lookout for an increase of crock pot recipes. I’m going to search the internets for recipes like Jacques Cousteau searched for sea life because honestly, who couldn’t use more time? Think about having an hour saved because dinner cooked itself? Why do we under utilize this genius crockery so much? Also, by using the crock pot I’m not heating up my house with the oven making the A/C work twice as hard. Always a bonus.

I used the crock pot on Monday to make sesame chicken lettuce wrap.  Tonight, I made Lentil Taco Salad. A meatless wonder of a meal, chocked full of protein, vegetables and yumminess. Sorry to post a picture of the recipe, but my not retyping it…guess what I saved? TIME! :) If you click on it, it will get big and you can read it, I promise. I did take the time to punch the ingredients into WW Recipe builder to find out that if you serve this as 6 servings (that’s what I did, it says 8, but you know I like big portions) it’s 3 points per serving, without taco chips, sour cream, etc. Not bad at all! Tomorrow I plan to wrap it in a sandwich wrap like a burrito! Very tasty and all I had to do was chop and dump. Love it!

Don’t be scared to try lentils if you haven’t before. They are a wonderful meat substitute or they go great with meat! You can cook them in stews or soups, make burgers with them, anything. They are so versatile. They are also very inexpensive and go a long way, saving you a buck or two! In a meal like tacos, they work great because they have a meaty texture and consistency. They hold flavor well too, so the chili powder and garlic really stand out.

What is your favorite slow cooker/crock pot recipe?

A Giveaway and way to save!

 

The Unlikely Success Story turns 1 year old on Thursday. I can’t believe it’s been a whole year! In honor of this milestone, CSNStores.com contacted me and asked if I would like to give away a $60 gift certificate to one of my readers! I was very excited, especially when I learned that CSN sells everything from Cookware and Fitness Equipment to Track Lighting! I took a look around there websites, they really do have it all people!

 

All you have to do to win the $60 Gift Certificate from CSNStores.com is do one or more of the following leaving a comment for EACH ONE:

1 - Become a follower of my blog or if you already are…LEAVE A COMMENT

2 - Visit CSNStores.com and tell me what  you're interested in. LEAVE A COMMENT

3 - Post about this giveaway on your blog or Twitter account. LEAVE A COMMENT

4 – Share your best money saving tip when it comes to shopping, doesn’t have to be grocery related, but shopping in general. LEAVE A COMMENT

Enter now through Wednesday May 12th! Winners will be selected by a random number generator and announced on Thursday.

4 ways for each of you go enter! I am going to be totally jealous of whoever wins! $60 can buy you some sweet stuff! :)

Ok, onto normal Monday hub-bub, here’s my meal plan for the week:

• Meatless Monday – Baked Sweet Potato with Warm Black Bean Salad
• Tuesday – Lemon Apricot Chicken
• Wednesday – Roasted Veggie Pizza
• Thursday – Baked Coconut Shrimp on a spinach salad
• Friday – Ranch Chicken & Sunday Sweet Potato Salad

This menu was planned using my local grocer’s sales circular. You can get these online from your local grocer usually on Tuesdays. When I meal plan, I took at what proteins and produce are on sale for the week and then base my menu around it.

I find this a super easy way to save money since healthy eating can get expensive. The only format of grocery store circulars are usually very similar. I happen to shop at Food Lion and this week I’m getting sweet potatoes, shrimp, strawberries, roma tomatoes and asparagus on sale.

I use several websites to find recipes, some of which have an ingredient search, so if you know that chicken breast and asparagus are on sale, you can search for recipes calling for those ingredients! Some that I use:

AllRecipes.com

EatBetterAmerica.com

WeightWatchers.com

Sometimes I just Yahoo! or Google search for recipes too, it takes a little looking around, but it’s well worth the time investment to preplan. I just thought I would let you guys into my process a little bit. Hope you found some of the information helpful!

Let’s make this week count!

Major Tom to Ground Control

5'ish something o'clock wake up, Day 2: 5:40am.

I've been awake approximately 15 minutes. Today is not as smooth as yesterday. It's not bad. I just feel a little spacey. I didn't go to bed early enough last night, I may have hit snooze 3 times this morning. I'm going to try and stick with it though, on my work out days at least. I get to have coffee twice this way.

Weigh-in, 164.2, +2.3

It's bad news this week kids. I kind of saw it coming. First there was the food and booze festival that visiting my family always turns into and this week I couldn't get control of the snack monster. He sat on my shoulder almost every night this week "You know you want pudding, a graham crackers, and chocolate oh and don't forget some granola and yogurt!"

You know what though? I made a lot of positive changes this week, so I don't mind, I'm just going to focus on those.

1. I ran over 8 miles while visiting my family, I didn't quit my exercise just because I was on a mini-break.
2. I cooked some amazing food this week.
3. I found that waking up earlier means a better run!

So, I refuse to look at this as a bad week, even with the gain.

I have another recipe to share with you guys! Last night I made a Turkey Sausage & Lentil Pasta Stoup. It's stick to your ribs hearty and yummy! It's not very pretty to look at (I think that was this week's theme!) but it's comfort food to the MAX!




Turkey Sausage & Lentil Pasta Stoup

POINTS® Value: 8
Servings: 2

Ingredients

4 oz Louis Rich Smoked Turkey Sausage, chopped
1/8 cup(s) onion(s), diced
1/8 cup(s) carrot(s), chopped
1/3 cup(s) canned diced tomatoes
2 tsp garlic clove(s), minced
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 tsp table salt
3 oz Barilla Whole Grain Rotini
1/2 cup(s) dry lentils, rinsed and drained
2 cup(s) fat-free chicken broth, save 1/2 cup for later!

Instructions

Brown sausage in a sauce pan, add onion and cook until translucent. Add carrot and garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes.

Add chicken broth, rinsed lentils, diced tomatoes and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover, allow to cook for 40-45 minutes or until lentils are fork tender.

Add pasta, remaining 1/2 cup of chicken broth and cook for an additional 20-25 minutes until pasta is tender.

I served with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. So tasty!

It's my last official weekend off and I think the husby and I are going to be lazy. We may go see Alice in Wonderland in 3D and I know some rented movies are on the plan. I will also FINALLY go to the grocery store! I miss fresh fruit and produce! However, as of tomorrow I will have made it 2 weeks without a single trip to the grocery store. I feel like I need a tee shirt. :)

I guess that's all she wrote! I have a date with some weights.

What are you big plans for the weekend?

Rare Saturday Post

Ok, I know I don't normally post on Saturdays, but I'm having a "Holy Crap" moment.

My husband randomly said "Let's go to the thrift store". That alone was the shock of my day, he hates shopping, until I got to the store and found this really cute coat when I first walked in. I was bummed to see a "EXPRESS (already not usually my size) 7/8" on the label, but I wanted to try it on anyway thinking "One day, it might work". Well, guess what?



It totally fits. :) *happy dance*

Everybody's Working for the Weekend!

It's Friday AND they are calling for snow here at the beach! That makes it a crazy day in my world! I love snow, so I don't mind!


Let the mass chaos begin!

First things first, weigh in - 164 lbs. -2.2lbs this week. Recycled weight loss as I was down to 163.4 a few weeks ago. It is a loss though, so I will take it!

With Valentine's Day this weekend everyone at work is handing out candy! My husband has a severe nut allergy, so I avoid most chocolate and anything that might contain nuts on days that I will see him (my husband works nights, I work days most of the week) and the owner's of the company I work for and some coworkers know this. So they got me Conversation Hearts! Less caloric for me and safer for the husband. I promptly figured out the points valves and wrote them on the back of the packages, so I wouldn't mindlessly snack.



I did my meal planning last night and here is what we have so far!

Sunday - Roasted Veggie sandwich on Ciabatta bread with Sweet Potato Fries (this will count as my meatless Monday meal, I will eat the leftovers for lunch on Monday)

Monday - Shrimp and Quinoa, my take on Shrimp and grits

Tuesday - Chicken Sausage with Spinach in the crock pot over rice, a recipe from the current WW Magazine

Wednesday - Little Lasagnas, also a recipe from the current WW Magazine

Thursday - A Chinese application of chicken...not exactly sure what application yet.

Friday - A pizza made with leftover whatever from the week that would be good on pizza crust! :)

Since I started planning my meals out, my grocery list is much shorter, I have significantly less food waste and I never get tired of my leftovers because I only make 2 servings. One for dinner and one for lunch the next day. I know I've said this all before, but I am really shocked by the difference meal planning has made for me. As always, I'll share the best recipes! :)

Last night, my meal plan was for taco salad! I love taco salad! I made my own tortilla chips using the Mission Corn tortillas, I used ground turkey instead of beef and reduced fat cheese and fat free sour cream. I packed up the leftovers for lunch today. I like everything to stay divided until the last minute, so I package my salad and cheese in the bowl, put sour cream, salsa and meat in little snack baggies and lay on top of the salad in a large bowl. I use a recycled whipped cream bowl. I heat up the meat in the bag and then mix it together. Super easy and tastes fresh! I let my tortilla chips go a little too long...don't let them get this brown if you make them at home.



I hope you all have very wonderful weekends and very Happy Valentine's Days! I think the husband and I are going to stay in and watch a movie...no great shakes, but it will be nice to just have some quiet time together.

Anyone have any romantic Valentine's Day plans?

Way Back Wednesday

To start, I would like to take a moment today for Capt. Phil Harris of the Cornelia Marie. I love the show The Deadliest Catch, my husband and I watch it all the time. He died yesterday from complications of a stroke. He was 53 years old. So sad, he was young.


I'm writing this entry to "If you leave, don't leave now...I won't waste one single day..." you know the 80's song? When I was growing up a radio station would do "Way Back Wednesdays" on the radio and play only 80s music. I loved it! I don't know what I was reminded of that right now, but for some reason I was and I thought I'd share it with you!

Last night for dinner I had Crispy Italian Chicken with tomatoes and I tried something new.



At 1 point per serving, I was really excited to try this. It was...ok. Great in a pinch for a last minute side dish, but not something to write home about. I find the flavor sort of bland, the vegetables a little too soft and not very appealing to look at. I brought the leftovers for lunch today, so it wasn't inedible. Just not as great as I'd hoped.

My chicken turned out alright, you basically coat the chicken in a mixture of Panko breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese, cook it in a skillet for 3 minutes per side and then throw it in the oven at 450 degrees to finish off. Then, in the hot skillet you just let 1 cup of cherry tomatoes cook until they begin to pop. It was a pretty good dish, but again, nothing spectacular.



Meal planning is going really well for me though. I plan all my meals for the next week on Friday night (I know, I live a CRAZY life!) and make my grocery list. I reduce all recipes to 2 servings (since I cook only for myself) and then I have dinner and leftovers for lunch the next day. I'm not getting tired of anything and I'm saving a lot of money at the grocery store. I'm also succeeding in Battle Operation Freezer. I think this is a habit I will stick with. Tonight I'm making (for a 2nd time) Roni's Dried Herb and Yogurt Marinated Pork. I made it before and loved it!

What's your favorite 80s tune? If not the 80s, what's your favorite "Way Back" song?

Eventful Saturday!

 

First off, I did GREAT at the movies last night! I snuck in two 100 Calorie bags of popcorn (one for me, one for Kelly) and a bottle of Diet Peach Snapple. Kelly snuck in some “fun size” (aka – evil size) chocolate candy!

I almost got busted at the concession stand when my dear friend Kelly, who forgot her drink and had to buy one, badgered me in front of the guy at the register about why I wasn't buying a drink. I had to give her the "giant eyeball are you serious stare-down" before she realized what she was doing. I ate my bag of popcorn and 1 evil size Snickers bar. My snacks were better than the movie “Dear John” I’m afraid. I just was not impressed at all. We rented “Whip It” to try and redeem the evening and it did! That movie was fantastic!

This morning I took Chaser to the Vet. He’s such a happy dog, no matter where he is!

 

However, after his appointment he was not too happy. I got home with him and he began panting heavily and broke out in terrible hives. Having been a Vet Tech for a few years I recognized the signs, he was having a vaccine reaction and took him right back to the Vet. They gave him some IV Meds and stopped the reaction. I’m very happy to say that he is doing much better but tonight he is a very tired pup!

After our eventful morning, The Husband and I headed out to get groceries and supplies for the Super Bowl party at the bar tomorrow. While I was out, I picked up this!

I’m sad to report that it appears my Wii Fit has been correct on my weight, only off by about a pound.  However, I am happy to have this new scale and have set up a weighing area in my laundry room along with a graph to track all the body analysis this crazy scale does! Remember, there’s a $5 off coupon at Coupons.com for WW Conair scales! I ended up paying $24 for this after the coupon.

 

Once home, I was famished, the yogurt I had eaten at 10am was gone. So I whipped up a quick Tuna Salad and ate it on tostadas with some spinach. YUM!

My Tuna Salad is simple!

1 package of tuna

2 Tbsp Miracle Whip

1 Tbsp Dill Pickle Cubes

1-2 squirts of lemon juice

Salt, pepper, garlic & onion powder and paprika to taste.

The whole shebang, with 2 Mission Corn Tortillas (baked until crisp to make a “tostada”) ended up only being 7 points.

So, it’s been a very eventful day here! I’m relaxing with a beer watching Iron Chef with the husband. We plan to watch some movies tonight and rest up for tomorrow.

I hope you are all having fantastic weekends!

Weekend Update!

(FYI - those are my broom stick of a husband's ski pants by the way...mine no longer fit me, way too big!)

Hi Everyone!!!


I had a fantastic snow weekend! I went sledding (that may be the most fun cardio exercise EVER), shoveled cars out of driveways (not as much fun) and did my 30 Day Shred! I also made poor food choices all weekend, but at least I had lots of activity to go with it! I weighed in on Thursday evening (before getting in the car) at 163.4lbs, that may have gone up a bit over the weekend, but I refuse to weigh myself again until next weigh-in day! That's a loss of 3.5lbs last week and a 5.5lb loss since beginning WW Online!

On Friday we spent the whole day thrift store shopping, we found such great deals! Every store we went to had tons of stuff for all of us! I love a day like that. I got pants, shirts, sweaters for Jeff, shoes, bags, a painting...and most importantly, I got these boots!


For $6 they were my best investment in years, they kept my feet warm and dry and almost as soon as I put them on, it began to snow! I'm really glad we left on Thursday night because it started to snow Friday evening right about the time we would have began our 3 hour drive. It was nice to be there and enjoy the first flakes.

As always, I enjoyed every minute spent with my family and friends. I hate living 3 hours away, but when I look at the amount of food and alcohol I tend to consume when in their vicinity...the distance may not be such a bad thing. :)

Today is Monday, and as more often than not, unfortunately, I feel like I'm here to do my penance and start the week with a fresh slate. So, here we go!

Be sure to check out TJ's lunch box and snack giveaway over at TJ's Test Kitchen! I want this so bad!

Be sure to check back tonight for my Meatless Monday post, Stuffed Acorn Squash!

I wonder if my lead foot adds to my weight.

This morning has been filled with things not going quite right. I was supposed to do Yoga in my living room this morning, I woke up at 6:30am to find that the husband had fallen asleep on the couch. I didn't want to wake him up that early, he worked last night, so I had to put Yoga off until after work. I went back to sleep, only to sleep a little too long and then had to rush getting to work.

While rushing, I was going about 11mph over the speed limit...when I got pulled over. God only knows how fast I was going before he clocked me. 10 minutes later the nice cop let me off with a city citation and a $50 fine, nothing on my license. I get to the office and find out another employee got pulled over by the same cop this morning and also got a citation. He must have been on a mission.

I am supposed to be going out of town this weekend to visit my family and the weather isn't looking very good. Wintry mix and snow predicted, so I can't make a set decision on that yet, therefore throwing off my usually very scheduled life.

I have a something happy and something sad to share, which do you want first?

Ok, sad first wins.

Sad:
I tried the Chocolate Okios Yogurt, I was so excited! I thought it was going to be this wonderful new find. I was so disappointed. I think it's awful. Now, this is just my taste buds talking, but I had 1/4 of the container and that will be all I eat of that. So sad.

Happy:
Since I'm still in the process of losing weight, I kind of refuse to spend money on clothes. The majority of my pants have been hand me downs from friends and occasionally I will hit the thrift stores and Goodwill for items. Last night I hit a new Goodwill store nearby and I made out like a thief, I got 5 sweaters (nice ones, name brands including Tommy Hilfiger) and a pair of Levis for $23. I'm telling you, if you don't utilize your local Goodwill Store you really should! They have great stuff! And the money you spend will be used for good! From their website:

When you shop at Goodwill, you are supporting job training and placement programs for people with disabilities and other disadvantages.

So, get great deals on gently used and new items while supporting a great organization. And if you're like me and still losing weight, you're not spending a lot of money on clothes that may or may not fit next season or even in a few months!

That's it for today folks, we're halfway there. How's your week going so far? Hopefully speeding ticket (or citation) free!

Operation Freezer

 

*cue cheesy mission impossible tune*

The Mission: Clean out my Freezer by trying to actually use the stuff.

The Agent: A healthy eater with a weak spot for sale items.

Mission…accepted.

Here is my freezer:

Absolutely choked full of stuff. I have no idea what is in there! Upon a quick glance I found 97% Fat Free Hebrew International Hot Dogs, half a bag of frozen shrimp, several varieties of Boca and Morningstar products, a steak, some muffins and a couple of my Mom’s absolutely fantastic so good it will make you want to kiss her (or possibly slap her for bringing them into your home because you can't resist them unless you freeze them) Rocky Road cookies.

The husband is the fridge organizer. He can take something like that and make it ready for MTV’s Cribs. He’s promised to organize it for me today (don’t worry, I’ll take pictures!) and I promised to stop stockpiling everything as if the Armageddon is expected next week.

So I’m calling it operation freezer. It will force me to get creative in the kitchen and save us some money. I can’t wait to see what I can cook up! The main portion of my dinners at least 3 nights a week must come from the freezer. I’m going to try and take the Boca patty options for lunches a few times a week until they are gone as well.

For dinner tonight I have some Hebrew International Hot Dogs thawing out (they are only 1 WW Point a piece! I got them on sale for $3!) that I will grill on the foreman and I made a bean salad last night (it tastes best when it marinates overnight) to serve with it.

Since you all are dying to know, here is my recipe for my

Cannellini Beanie Salad (sounds like I’ve had it forever huh? I generally make it up as I go along and what I have on hand, here’s this version!)

1 can Cannellini (white kidney) beans drained and rinsed

1/2 small onion chopped finely

1/2 red pepper chopped finely

1/4 container of grape tomatoes quartered

4 marinated artichoke hearts chopped

1/4 cup Zesty Fat Free Italian dressing

Salt, Pepper, Garlic & Onion powders to taste

Mix all the above ingredients together in a bowl, cover and leave to refrigerate (at least) overnight.

Viola! A fast, easy, yummy bean salad! Kidney beans (any type) are very low in weight watcher points. You can 1/2 of a cup for a single point!

Ok, so, what does your stockpile look like? Are you up for a challenge? Maybe we all should try and fix our food stockpiles!