Profound statement, I know. Since my last post, I have completed a massive task for work, moved to a new house, and begun the semester. I feel no particular pride in saying as much, I only do so to assuage the guilt I have felt over my inability to maintain the same careful habits of eating which I had begun several weeks prior.
And yet, despite my occasional stress-eating binge and dessert indulgence over the last three weeks, I must have learned something about portion control because when I finally got back to WW to weigh in this past Saturday, I was down on the scale. Must have been all those fit points from moving boxes around.
This post will primarily focus on the past week, my first honest attempt to get back on track and the recipes which helped me do so. However, I'll throw in a couple extra recipes and lessons learned along the way.
Breakfast
I can unfortunately give no new insight into breakfast. I made the choice to buy sandwich thins, greek yogurt and eggs at costco which means that for the next several weeks I will be alternating between yogurt with cereal and a soft boiled egg on a sandwich thin.
Lunch
Likewise, I've been sticking to the tried and true. Still a fan of the sandwich roll-ups with hummus and either kimchi or some protein rich deli meat.
Snacks
I bought a bag of Snikiddy "Eat Your Vegetables" chips (http://snikiddy.com/product/jalapeno-ranch-veggie-chips). These were about four points per serving. They were yummy, and it was fun to eat chips again since my weakness is chips, but I am going to be on the lookout for lower point options that satisfy the same craving.
Dinners
While, as I said above, I was all over the place over the last few weeks, I did make a few choices that I was proud of.
1. In a new house without a kitchen set up, the ability to actually cook is limited, and my entire household agreed to get take-out. While Pizza and Chinese were eaten over the last few weeks, I ended up gravitating (and getting others to gravitate with me) towards a local kabob joint. While all the fixin's on a kabob can add up, what I realized was that most kabobs are primarily meat and vegetables. That is a pretty WW friendly take-out meal. While I have no idea how many points I actually did consume in take-out, I believe in the future this will be my first place to go when cooking is an overwhelming concept.
2. We have a new roommate who wants to help out with the cooking. While this is so so so nice as it means I will be doing less work on a day to day basis, I was apprehensive about how to ask him to provide me with ingredient lists and portion sizes etc. I am still a bit insecure about my attempts to monitor my eating, and so it took a lot of courage, but I explained my situation to him and I've been able to figure out the point value of the meals I'm not making as well as those I do make.
And now, my new recipes:
Shrimp pasta pesto: http://diethood.com/pesto-zucchini-noodles-and-shrimp-recipe/
Originally, I had planned to follow this recipe very closely with my favorite quirky kitchen gadget, my spiralizer. However, I realized I needed to make food not just for Jake and I, but also for Benji (new roommate) and my mom (moving helper). So instead, I diced the zucchini and made some actual pasta (https://www.barilla.com/en/products/pasta/proteinplus/proteinplus-farfalle) I found this high-protien pasta in the grocery store, and I figured, "why not?" I mean it is definitely still pasta and the protein doesn't change that, but I feel better knowing there is more protein in my pasta. Even with the alterations, I got about 7 servings out of the pasta each worth 8 points. And that was a fairly satisfying meal.
Stuffed Bell peppers: http://www.primaverakitchen.com/ground-turkey-sweet-potato-stuffed-peppers/
These, folks, are not your average stuffed peppers. There is ground turkey and sweet potato and all around deliciousness in it. Really, actually this recipe was a keeper. All of the ingredients are low points, and the end result is still very satisfying. Each stuffed half of a bell pepper was 6 points.
Shepherd's pie: http://www.skinnytaste.com/shepards-pie-lightened-up/
I know, I don't think of shepherd's pie as exactly a healthy eating option either! However, this version managed to keep points down without affecting taste (and that isn't just me speaking, all of the hungry 20-something men who ate it said it was delicious and had seconds.) I really like the skinnytaste blog because it gives you points right there! 6 points for 1/6 of this recipe was a very satisfying amount of food.
Shredded Korean Pork: http://www.slenderkitchen.com/recipe/slow-cooker-sunday-shredded-korean-pork
Here is another blog I've found which gives me the smart points. Thank You! I followed this recipe pretty closely and was impressed with the results. 5 points for 1/8 of the recipe is plenty of meat. I ate it on a sandwich thin for an 8 pt dinner along with some salad on the side. I made the mistake with this recipe of referring to it throughout the day as "pulled pork" and when my husband (a man with an open mind about new food, but set-in-stone expectations about classic dishes) sat down to eat it, he took a bite and said "this isn't pulled pork!" No, it is not exactly a bbq pulled pork; it definitely has an Asian cuisine zing to it, but if you can hand ginger and garlic, give it a shot.
The BEST Chicken Marinade: http://www.momontimeout.com/2016/05/the-best-chicken-marinade-recipe/
Ok, despite the hubris in the title which had me inclined to be critical, this really was pretty good. I used chicken thighs instead of breasts and got about 14 thighs for the 3.5 lbs the recipe calls for. The marinade is high in oil and sugar. I think next time I make this, I'll decrease both and see how it turns out. As it was, it was yummy. Each thigh comes out to roughly 7 points.
I served a 5 pt per portion WW pasta salad on the side (pasta, tomatoes, basil, light may) and ended up with a 12 pt Sunday dinner.
Wrap Up
Well, that's it for this week, folks. I am continuing to try to stay on track now that a regular schedule has emerged for the semester. My cat has mostly stopped trying to hide in her new environment and so I figure if she can adjust to new surroundings I can give it a try as well. Off I go to menu plan for this week.
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