Baked Macaroni

For dinner last night I just shopped at home and made this one up as I went. I also plugged all of the ingredients into the Weight Watcher's Recipe Builder (of course) to see how many points my meal was. :) This dish to me is total comfort food. I grew up with my Mom making the best Italian food and one of my favorite dishes that she makes is Baked Ziti. This is my version- just a bit healthier. lol :)

Baked Macaroni

I box 14.5 Ronzoni Smart Taste Rotini pasta
15 ounces Part-Skim milk ricotta cheese
13 ounces reduced fat mozzarella cheese- shredded
1 ounce parmesan cheese (plus more to top servings)
4 Cups fresh chopped spinach
1 egg
Salt/pepper

Sauce- You can use a pre-made jar sauce or make your own marinara sauce. :)

Cook pasta according to directions- I like to cook it al dente. Put aside. In a large bowl add ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, egg- mix well. Add in chopped fresh spinach- mix. Add in cooked pasta, again mix well. In a 9X13 pyrex pan add a couple of ladles of sauce, top with pasta/cheese mix then more sauce. I like to reserve some sauce to top my serving with after it bakes. Because I wanted to be exact with servings I cut the pan into 8 pieces for 8 points each. Topped with extra sauce and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Makes a nice dinner! Served with a side salad. :)

The finished product:

This was my afternoon snack- Persian cucumbers, tomatoes, 1/2 cup Fiber One cottage cheese w/ pepper. YUM!

Today I am getting ready to go hang out with my Mom. She is still not feeling well and I think she has everything at her house for me to make Chinese Chicken Salad- so I will pack my camera and tell you all about that dinner soon! :) Hope everyone has a nice weekend! :) ENJOY! BYE!

** If you missed my post yesterday I mentioned a Bay Area Blogger Meet up- email me (tjbooboo@gmail.com) if you live in the San Francisco area (Sacramento too! I have a couple of people from that area who said YES!) Not sure of the date yet-just wanted to see how many people would wanna join in! :) It will be FUN! :)

Friday Tid Bits

Hi guys! I went to the pool this morning and was slow moving when I got there...but now I am even slower. Bad pain day but, I am happy that I got a little exercise this morning. :) I loaded up some pictures and realized that I forgot to share a dinner that I whipped up for just me the other day. Sean is gonna be MAD- he would have liked this! Cajun shrimp, couscous w/ peas, and steamed broccoli. Not bad for a last minute dinner!

A couple of weeks ago I won a giveaway over at Margo's blog- 10 Easy Pieces I was so excited when I saw the box delivered so soon! I won this fabulous sweatshirt- Picked a color that I thought I should try-Lavender Buzz. I had nothing in my closet this color so I said, WHY NOT! :) I also got a great book that helps you pick clothes depending on what your body shape is- something that I need serious help with! Here is my loot- oh and I got a $25 gift card to shop for more great Jockey attire- here is a link to Margo's shop- Check out the great stuff here!

Other cool news- Bay Area Blogger Meet Up! Recently started to follow Danica who lives in the area, and we would like to host a get together for us CA/Bay Area bloggers. I love the idea of meeting local food and or weight loss bloggers in person! So if you are close to the San Francisco Bay Area, or are willing to drive over to see us, email me- tjbooboo@gmail.com -let me know! We would like to see how many of us there are and then set up a date/time to meet. :)

As I am typing the wind has picked up and the lights flickered a bit! Yikes! I hope we don't lose power- I have macaroni to bake! lol

Happy Friday Everyone! :) BYE!

Wednesday :)

Hi Everyone! :)

Breakfast today -or this week, since I made a whole pan for myself!

Baked Oatmeal
2 Cups Rolled Oats
2 Cups Milk (I use vanilla unsweetened almond milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup dried cranberries
-you can add nuts to this recipe too! Or dried cherries or raisins. :)
- for a sweeter version add honey, agave, maple syrup, or splenda if you like. :)

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, add to baking dish sprayed w/cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes uncovered. To re-heat this I pop a slice in the microwave for 30 seconds then stick it in my toaster oven to get it crispy- YUM!
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Today was one of my pool days...man am I sore! This is the 5th workout, and by far the most sore I have been. I kicked it into high gear. So I was explaining to Sean that one thing that gets my heart rate up and makes me feel that I am getting a workout, is when I go down to the deep end and hang on the ledge- then I kick my legs back and forth. I told him it feels like I am on the elliptical machine! lol Really! My legs are feeling it! I also use a noodle to float in the deep end and these plastic things for resistance in the water and make figure 8's with my arms and kick my legs at the same time. I am beat today, but in a good way. lol Came home, showered and when I looked at the clock it was only 11:30 but I was HUNGRY! So I had a couple of those Persian cucumbers I mentions the other day. YUM...I grabbed the last 2! Sean and I went through a HUGE bowl of those in 4 days! Love them! Then I made lunch a bit closer to Noon. I had one of these-chicken burgers from Costco on a bagel thin w/ mustard and a bean salad. The bean salad is a re-make of a salad that Sean's Mom makes :) I love it and was craving it last weekend so I made it up. I used what I had at home and didn't even ask her for the recipe and Sean said it tasted pretty good. SO this is kinda a STOLEN recipe! lol :)

Bean Salad

1 can garbanzo beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can cannellini beans
1 can pinto beans ( ALL BEANS RINSED AND DRAINED)
4-5 stalks of celery w/ leaves- diced small
1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
1-2 bell peppers- any color- diced small
Fresh Italian parsley- 3 tablespoons- chopped small
fresh lemon juice - we used 5 or 6
LOTS of fresh cracked pepper

Mix everything well in a large bowl, serve cold. :)


Out running errands and getting MORE cucumbers HAHA! I came home kinda hungry so I looked in the fridge and saw a bunch of vegetables leftover from our won ton soup night- so I mixed them all up and stir fried them- topped with a tablespoon of peanut butter. Are ya proud of me Kristin? Lol I always see Kristin make yummy meals with peanut butter and I was inspired! Go check her blog out-EAT OXYGEN- She always has great ideas and fabulous giveaways too! :)

Just found out I am alone tonight for dinner. *sigh* I never know what to make for JUST me. I could still make pancakes- I cheat and use the Fiber One mix anyway so it would not be too much work. lol Not sure really what I am gonna have- we shall see! Let ya know tomorrow! :) Off to pop some advil and grab the ice pack for a little break. Hope everyone had a GREAT day! :) BYE!

Weigh In

Today was my weekly Weight Watchers meeting with weigh in. I had 10 weekly points remaining and I did my water exercises 4 times this past week. I was hoping to see a loss but I was up .4 :-/ I am a little discouraged, but I think my NSV of getting into a routine of going to the pool and ENJOYING IT makes for a great week. If I look at the big picture I am a loser. lol I sometimes wish I could just use a monthly weigh in but I know that is not how WW works. But I feel like I am doing what I can to see results and although they are slow I am seeing them. :) Yeah me! :)

Another NSV that happened this week...well last night to be exact- I skipped the nachos at the Bon Jovi concert. Not that I was GOING to order them, we went with full bellies from dinner at HOME, but when you get there and start smelling all of the good foods AND see everyone around you eating- man you WANT those treats! I was literally drooling at the girl next to Sean eat her chili cheese nachos. I also noticed how much smaller I was then her...made me realize I was making the right choice by eating at home & skipping the nachos. :) I think Sean was surprised that I had a hard time with the nacho craving- but when I struggle with stuff like that I feel it is important for me to tell him when I am having a weak moment. Took out my pack of trail mix and munched on some of the nuts instead of licking the cheese off of my fingers. lol

Speaking of the concert...WOW! We had BLAST! We had great seats and I loved that every time I looked over, Sean was singing louder than me! lol :) It was fun!





Today is a cold rainy day...bllaahh! I think it will be just an easy dinner night. I have a little bit of leftovers from Sean's parents, some fresh broccoli, and a couple of frozen dinners that we might just end up picking on later. Today happens to be national pancake day and I was going to make them for tonight but Sean is working late- so maybe tomorrow??!! :) Hope you all have a great day! BYE!

Check Out My Loot!

Yesterday was cold and rainy-boo! We decided to grab lunch early and I ordered breakfast. We went to Mimi's and the have a Fit and Fresh section of the menu, and have what I usually order when I get breakfast out-2 egg beaters, bacon, tomato slices, & dry wheat toast. YUM! We went over to a store called Ranch 99 after. It's not a 99 cent store-to confuse us- but a HUGE asian market with LOTS of great produce. Also stopped by Trader Joe's on the way back- here is my loot from the 2 stores-
Wanna see my veggie snack for the week? Persian cucumbers! YUM! You can eat the skin on them and they are nice and crunchy! YUM!

Came back and cooked up some Won Ton Soup and edamame. Had a trip over to the local frozen yogurt shop for some fat free-sugar free fudgesicle. YUM! We had a new episode of Spartacus to watch. Anyone else watching that show? Man is it BLODDY! Yikes! Just a lazy Sunday, it was nice! :)

Hey head on over to Tricia's blog for her Shitz n Gigglez Giveaway! She is giving away some good SH*T! :) hehe

Tonight we are headed to see Bon Jovi!!! Yipeeee! We got tickets what seems like an eternity ago and now it is finally here! I am very excited (and so is Sean!) should be a fun night!

Headed over to the pool this morning! I am going to do another M, W, F schedule this week! I love it! :) Hope everyone has a great day! :) BYE!

Cooked up a STORM! No really, we are expecting rain today. lol

Saturday was filled with cooking. I wanted to help my Mom, who is sick, by doing what I do best- cook! So I started out by making a frittata and a salad for us to enjoy for lunch. I saw this recipe in my Weight Watchers handout but then I just recently saw that Linda over at Diva Weigh made this and made the same changes to it that I had thought to do! Great minds think alike! :) hehe So here is Linda's version- Came out good!

Spinach-Cheese Frittata the Diva Weigh

1 1/2 cup egg beaters
1 cup chopped spinach
2 TBLS chopped scallion
1/2 cup chopped green chile (or any chile pepper you prefer)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup grated low-fat cheddar cheese

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Spray a 12 inch oven-proof skillet with cooking spray.
Mix everything except the cheese in a bowl.
Pour mixture in skillet and cook over medium heat until partially set, 5 minutes.
Sprinkle 1/2 cup cheese over top.
Put skillet in oven and bake for 5 minutes.
Remove and let stand for 1 minute.

Cut into 8 wedges.
yields 2 wedges per serving
(1 point per serving! the original recipe was 3 points per serving!)

Linda's pictures came out much prettier than mine! But here they are anyway...


Next up (after I had a full belly from a yummy lunch) was to make some meatloaf muffins so my Dad had lunches all set for the week. These are handy little guys- they are easy to freeze and defrost nicely too! I have two different recipes one with stuffing mix and one without. For my Dad I make it with stuffing.

Meatloaf Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

1 package lean ground turkey
1 box Stove Top stuffing mix
1 cup water
2 egg whites
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium green bell pepper, diced
1 cup grated zucchini

Mix together and divide into 12 muffin cups that have been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

I doubled this recipe and wrapped them up in pairs in foil and put a baggie of them in the freezer for my parents. When I make them and know I will be eating them for lunch I just take a pack out and leave it on the counter- by lunch time they are defrosted. Handy and yummy! :)



This is another version (the one I make for myself w/o the stuffing mix)
1.25 pounds lean ground turkey
1 red bell pepper-diced
1 yellow onion-diced
handful of mushrooms-chopped up
1 egg white
1 cup shredded carrots
salt, pepper
shake or two of onion and garlic powder
a few splashes of worcestershire sauce

Mix throughly and make 12 meatballs. Add them to a cupcake pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
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Dinner was a recipe from Weight Watchers that I have been DYING to try. I love comfort food and consider myself to be a pot pie connoisseur lol :) I almost did not want to make this in fear that it would not be good and make me want to run out and go order it at a restaurant to get my craving fulfilled! BUT, this was delicious and everyone, Mom, Dad, & myself included enjoyed it.



I made this in a larger dish and changed SOME steps but it came out really good! Here is the original recipe-

Old-Fashioned Chicken Pot Pie
Serves 6 (5 points)

2 serving(s) butter-flavor cooking spray
1 tsp butter
1 small onion(s), chopped
2 cup(s) mushroom(s), sliced
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp dried thyme, crushed
1/2 tsp table salt, or more to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 cup(s) frozen mixed vegetables
1 cup(s) canned chicken broth
3 cup(s) cooked chicken breast, chopped
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 cup(s) fat-free evaporated milk, divided
4 roll(s) reduced-fat crescent roll dough, unrolled

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375ºF. Coat a 10-inch round shallow baking dish with cooking spray.

Coat a large pot with cooking spray. Add butter and melt over medium heat. Add onion and mushrooms and cook, until tender, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Stir in paprika, thyme, salt and pepper. Add vegetables, broth and chicken. Cover and simmer 15 minutes.

In a small cup, combine flour and 1/4 cup of evaporated milk; stir into chicken mixture. Cook over medium heat until thickened, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/4 cup of evaporated milk and cook until mixture is slightly thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes more.

Spoon chicken mixture into prepared baking dish. Unroll crescent rolls and arrange dough around inside edge of baking dish to form a border (there will be a hole in the middle). Bake until rolls are golden brown and filling is bubbly, about 15 minutes. Cut into 6 pieces and serve.
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After all of that cooking yesterday I was TIRED! I went to bed early and had 10.5 hours of sleep! WOW! lol I plan on doing NOTHING today. lol Here's to a LAZY Sunday! whoohoo! :) Hope all of you have a great day! :) BYE!

Friday

I made it through my first week of my new pool routine. I really enjoyed it. The place I go to is mainly used for physical therapy for patients with spine issues and/or injuries. The pool is a cozy 92 degrees and indoors. I love getting in, hate getting out. lol While I am in the pool I have to be aware of who is around me. Some of the people need to hold on to the side of the pool for stability and I try to stay clear of them. I can not really swim in this pool since it is being used for therapy purposes but I start out with a 5 minutes hang in the deep end to let my spine stretch out, then I get to the middle section where my feet can touch the floor and walk back and forth- feeling the resistance. I also use those colorful noodles to help me exercise. I have a few tricks that the therapist showed me to help me strengthen my back muscles and then some that help my arms and legs. I came home and looked up some water exercises and saw these-
So I guess me and my noodle workout are not alone! lol I also do what I call water elliptical. I know it sounds silly but I get in the deep end and I hold on to the edge- then I kick my legs back and forth, it actually looks like I am on an elliptical machine. lol It also makes me feel like Im getting a workout! Anyway I feel its better than doing nothing and I am really proud of myself for doing this. I think that the M, W & F pool schedule will be sticking with me for a while. :)

When I first started Weight Watchers I used the message boards that they have online. I quickly learned that some of the people on those boards are trouble makers. lol So I saw a post to be friends on Myspace- so I did. That group kinda fizzled out but I did keep in touch through email with one gal. Tracy and I became email pen pals and she and I would swap foods we were eating, meal ideas, weigh in high 5's & frustrations. When I starred my blog I sent her the link and she followed along with me. I love her support and just the other day she sent me a link to her new blog! I am thrilled she is trying this. I feel like my blog had been a huge support for me along my journey. It is a place that I can come vent and share my struggles. I also enjoy posting my accomplishments to share with everyone who thinks that they can't do this. I feel I am proof that it can be done! :) So we all know what it is like when you first get started blogging, feeling like no one is out there, no one is reading. Please go give my friend Tracy (we have the same name -mine with an added E, same birthday WEIRD!- so we call each other Twinny! oh and her BF is TJ!) a hello! Follow her, and cheer her on along her journey! HERE IS THE LINK Yippee I am so happy for her! :) YOU CAN DO IT TWINNY! :)

Tomorrow I am headed to hang out with my Mom. She is under the weather and I want to help her out a little bit by cooking up a storm! I plan on making a double batch of meatloaf muffins for my Dad to take to work so she does not need to worry about meals this week for him. Maybe a couple of more meals for lunches/dinners for her too, just not sure what yet. :)

Hope everyone has a great Friday! Have a good weekend too! :) BYE!

NEMO

Nemo is my new nickname. lol Thanks to Trina over @ ME SO HONGRY for giving it to me! :) I think it has helped get me motivated and put me in a determined mood! I signed up last week for more sessions at the pool I originally went to therapy at. This pool is indoors and heated to 92 degrees. NICE! :) It feels so good to be in the water for me, my aches and pains disappear! I think when you swim (or do a water workout) with a bunch of old people it makes you feel young! hehe :) So my new name- Nemo feels fitting since I decided to make a routine of Monday, Wednesday, & Friday at the pool. It's only open certain times and I prefer to go in the mornings- so I think this will work out for me. I felt really sore all day after my pool workout on Monday. Then on Tuesday I walked around my neighborhood and over to the library. Right now I feel good...back is a little sore but I enjoyed the exercise. :) Whooohooo!

I took out a frozen serving of the turkey curry I made last week- plan to eat that for dinner with some roasted asparagus. Nothing else going on, just had to share my new exercise routine with you that I am quite proud of. :) Now if I could find a bathing suit that I feel comfortable in. I need to add the one I wore today to the pile for the clothing donations. I had to hold up the skirt as I got out of the pool! YIKES! lol Could have been embarrassing!

Hope everyone is having a GREAT day! :) BYE!

My night off from cooking...

I said in my last blog post earlier that I did not need to cook tonight. But then when I looked in the fridge & freezer I kinda felt like whipping up something. So this post is to show you how easy making a home cooked meal can be. Oh and it is healthy and delicious! :)

I took out these ingredients:

SERVES ONE-
3 ounces Fiber Gourmet Pasta (3) ADDED LINK! :)
2 Light Laughing Cow cheese wedges (2)
1/4 red onion sliced thin (0)
1 cup chopped mushrooms (0)
2 cups fresh spinach chopped (0)
1 teaspoon Molly McButter (powdered butter) (0)
pepper to taste
1 tablespoon parmesan cheese(.5)
1/4 cup water from boiled pasta

Cook pasta according to directions. Remove 1/4 cup water set aside for sauce. In saute pan-spray PAM and add onions; cook until translucent and add mushrooms. Stir, cook for 5 minutes or until mushrooms are slightly tender. Add the Laughing Cow cheese, Molly McButter, and the pasta water- quickly stir to break up cheese and sauce becomes thicker. Add in spinach, pepper and stir for a few minutes as the spinach wilts. Shut heat-add in cooked pasta- toss to coat. Top with parmesan cheese. Took me about 15 minutes to prepare and make this dinner. I am STUFFED and all of that for 5.5 points!

So there ya have my NIGHT OFF from cooking. lol :) I really do enjoy making up recipes and this one was a good one!

:)

Finally I am a LOSER! lol

Whew! It's been a while that I got to call myself a loser! :) I am down 1.6 this week. Yipeee! I am happy with that! :) Had a great meeting and I plan on having an even better week! Tracking is gonna be my focus along with going to my water therapy. I went on Monday and I am sore!! Wow...so I think M, W & F will be a good routine for me to get into with that. Skipping a day to let my old spine rest. :) I also hope that all of this movement in the pool helps me see some better scale luv. :) Wishful thinking huh?

Packed my lunch today to eat with some fellow Weight Watcher friends. I had leftovers from dinner. I will get to that in a second...but I had to laugh, I was eating my lunch and Sean texts me telling me that he was eating his (he also got leftovers) and that it was so good he could easily sell them for 5 bucks each. lol Dinner was veggie calzones :
Here they are as I was making them...and my SMALL kitchen- messy!

Each calzone- (6)
4 ounces whole wheat pizza dough ( bought mine from Trader Joes) (4)
2 tablespoons pizza sauce (.5)
1 ounce reduced fat mozzarella cheese (1)
5 sliced black olives (.5)
mushrooms
bell peppers
red onions

Bake for 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees :)

So whatcha think? Would you pay 5 bucks for a Tj's veggie calzone? lol Oh lunch yesterday was good too- I used a spinach dip that I foudn at Trader Joe's- check out those stats-

not too shabby! Had a veggie burger on a bagel thin. Along with a side of vegetables. YUM!

No real cooking tonight or tomorrow planned. Sean won't be home so just easy stuff for me. I just got home so I need to get some stuff done around here- I was out enjoying the sunshine. Loved it! I am wearing capris, a tee shirt, and FLIP FLOPS! Its my first time without a sweatshirt in a long time. :) Whoohoo!

I hope everyone has a great day! :) BYE!

Valentine's Day Photos

It was a beautiful day yesterday! We went to get the salad that I love from my favorite place in Berkeley- Cafe Mattina. I emailed myself the name of the cafe while we ate so I would not forget it! lol Here we are eating and enjoying our salad- This is SO BIG that we split it. :)

Just noticed Sean's finger in that picture...he is enjoying a slice of pineapple, not giving anyone the bird. Haha!

We argued a little bit about what to do next...Sean wanted to go see Avatar. I do too, but it was SO NICE, I did not want to sit in the dark theater for 2 1/2 hours! So off to the produce stand and then to sit out on the deck to soak up the sun! Those apples are HONEY CRISPS! WHOO HOOO! :) Check out the temperature!! So I had to get my flip flops on!Sitting out on the deck....


Dinner- Shrimp that I tossed with cajun seasoning and broiled, mushroom risotto( from Trader Joe's freezer section- I cheated!) and roasted brussle sprouts w/ red onions. :)


For dessert we decided to stop at Whole Foods and pick out something to share.
That was one of the BEST carrot cakes I have ever had, or maybe it was because I seldom eat stuff like that. Funny thing is I had a tummy ache most of the evening. :( lol So much for splurging.

So as far as my food yesterday here is why I LOVE Weight Watchers- My week is starts on Tuesday (my WI/meeting) so I looked ahead- saw that Sunday was Valentine's day, and planned my week accordingly. I saved most of my weekly points to be used that day. So coming into Sunday, I had 27 of my 35 weekly points on top of my daily 22. What I do next is not something I recommend, but I have a hard time knowing just how many points certain foods are. Take that cupcake for example- So instead of going NUTS I cross off all of my points. One reason is , well it works for me! I also have weigh in tomorrow and know that I will eat OP today and not need any weekly points for today. That is SO helpful to me! Knowing how I can plan and look forward to a day/ or meal is what makes my journey so much less like a DIET! I also know that the worst part of my dinner was the risotto that I ate- did you see the package? Not too bad as far as calories go, but it was a treat that we do not normally eat.

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's day! :) Off to get my shopping list completed and start my day! :) BYE!