Tell me about it, SPUD.

Hello All! It’s Monday again.  I hope your weekend was great.  I weighed this weekend and I basically had no change.  I’m still up around 4 pounds from my lowest weight. This was a bit disappointing but certainly not enough to make me give up.  I will press on this week and weigh again before I head to Colorado for work.  I probably won’t weigh at the end of next week because when I’m on the run with work, my eating habits aren’t great.  What I need is a stretch of time in which I’m eating perfect but I’m having a hard time finding a place in my calendar for this long stretch so I’m going to have to do my best to be more well behaved even when I’m out of town.  My goal right now is to not gain weight and then start losing again later in the summer. 

I know I just recently had a potato-themed blog but as I’ve been going, the potato has creeped it’s way on to my plate in different variations many times over the past few weeks.  This recipe is great if you are like me and you love party food.  Give me an appetizer and I’m happy.  It’s a light version of the fattening potato skins I love to get out at restaurants.  I used the Reduced Fat French Onion Dip on top that I’ve told you about to give it even more flavor.  These are a good, filling and healthy snack and if you were having a low-fat get together, they would be perfect!

I thought there were some interesting facts on junk food on this little chart provided by the Hungry Girl cookbook so I thought I’d share.  It’s amazing how many calories we take in at the movies at ballgames and other places with junk food.  I hate it but the worst foods in life are the ones we enjoy eating the most.  We just have to try and find a balance.  I'm sorry the pages from the Hungry Girl cookbook are always blurry.  I need a better way to do besides using my crappy camera but I will have to wait on that.  If you click on the pictures, though, they become bigger and more clear.

Jordan got me a gift card to Bed, Bath & Beyond for my birthday and last weekend I cashed it in.  Part of what I got is something I’ve been seeing on TV.  This contraption allows you to make chips at home.  You can use apples, potatoes, sweet potatoes and more.  It comes with a slicer (which I’ve already cut myself on) and then you slice them up, put them on the tray, stick them in the microwave for 3 minutes, pull them out, put them on a plate and season them.  Most of them come out super crisp.  The best and worst part about it is that one potato makes a TON of potato chips and you can’t layer the slices on the tray so I made several trips to and from the microwave.  You can stack multiple trays on top of each other so I should probably buy more.  Either way, I love this thing.  I want to try apples next.

I also tried a new frozen fry treat.  These steak fries are really tasty out of the oven, especially with a little salt OR cinnamon sprinkled on them.  As you can see, you don’t get very many in a serving but they are only 120 calories or so and I love the taste of them. They also make the house smell great.  I definitely recommend you try them but try not to indulge on these…stick close to the serving size.

I had a relaxing weekend which was nice.  My mom and I went for our usual walk and took my dog Pacey.  He had never seen a fire hydrant before so she wanted him to pee on it…I don’t think he liked it very much…it was kind of gross.  Also, Jordan came down and we hung out and had a fun time eating things we shouldn’t (which is EXACTLY what I need), watching movies and being silly.  It was nice.

My post next week will be brief because I am headed to Colorado Springs, CO on Saturday for a work trip.  I’m excited.  Please keep me in mind as I will be travelling by plane and car.

That’s all for this week.  Have a good one, y’all! Bye!

“Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living and above all, those who live without love.” Professor Albus Dumbledore-Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: Part 2