WAFFLES!

Hi Y’all- I can’t believe I’m saying this but welcome to the last blog until October.  This year has flown by.  The good news about October is that it means Halloween is just around the corner.  I don’t know if y’all know this or not but Halloween is my FAVORITE holiday of the year.  It looks I have the potential to dress up at least 2, maybe 3 times this year so I’m so excited and the wheels are turning fast for ideas.  I was moderately behaved this weekend but I have been better.  When I weighed on Saturday, I was down a couple from the prior week so at least I’m headed in the right direction.  It’s a nasty battle I’m in because I’m hovering between 6-8 pounds ABOVE my lowest weight.   If I could get rid of those ugly extras, I’d feel better about my little plateau.  It’s not easy with football season and the holidays coming up but I’m pressing onward quite fiercely with exercise and I’m still at 75-80% on my dieting habits.  I’m working hard.

This week is apparently waffle week and I have a myriad of waffle inspired food that you can make.  The first is your standard waffles with syrup.  I know that I’m not exactly reinventing the wheel here or anything but if you like waffles and have a hankering, the Nutri-Grain, Low Fat waffles from Eggo are delicious, especially topped with butter spray and light syrup.  I’m an advocate of breakfast for dinner.  I have it two or three nights a week since I don’t get breakfast for breakfast very often and these waffles are low in fat and calories and pretty filling, too.

This recipe came from The Hungry Girl and I love it. It's called an In Your Face Breakfast Waffle. If the text is a little small, I think you can click on the image to enlarge or Google the title of the recipe.  I used the pre-cooked bacon that you can microwave in 20 seconds and is only 70 calories for 2 slices.  I also opted for egg substitute rather than cooking a whole egg (this dropped the calorie/fat count) and I also used a bit of fresh salsa rather than the sliced tomato.  This recipe had great flavor, whole grain and good protein.  I would definitely make it again.  It was also especially easy because I took the shortcuts with the eggs and bacon. 

The Hungry Girl is representing again with this recipe.  It is essentially a grilled ham and cheese sandwich that uses the frozen waffles as the bread.  I used butter spray on  both sides after I toasted them and then added the ham and cheese.  If you wanted, you could even add a bit of light or fat free syrup on the inside to give it the  feel of the McGriddle from McDonald’s (which is AWFUL for you by the way).  It is yet again something simple and low in points that I can just whip together and enjoy on a weeknight.

Last up on the waffle train is actually not a waffle…as you can see…but a waffle cone.  See what I did there?  I bought waffle cones awhile back for a recipe and a ton of them came in a box.  The kind I got are great because they are only about 15 calories a piece so I’ve been trying to come up with different ways to use them.  In this picture, I had mixed together Cool Whip Free with cinnamon and placed it in the cone like it was ice cream. It was quite good.  As a tip, putting cool whip in the freezer makes it smooth like ice cream.  If you do that, you can mix it with cinnamon, fruit, maybe a few chocolate chips or anything and eat it from a bowl or cone to trick your  brain into thinking you are having ice cream.  Sometimes, I eat it right out of the container like I used to do with Ben & Jerry’s pints. 

I have another busy week ahead but if I play my cards right, I may get a Sunday of mostly rest which is something I haven’t had in quite some time. 

I want to give a shout out to my Oma who had a birthday last week.  We celebrated last night.  Happy Birthday, Oma! 

Also, Roll Tide y’all! Alabama is 4-0 after their win against Florida Atlantic on Saturday.  They play Ole Miss this Saturday and hopefully that will kick off some more interesting games.  Not to complain but Alabama hasn’t really had much of a challenge yet this season.  I certainly don’t want really close scary games or losses but jeez, let’s amp it up a bit.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Peace out!

Bye!

  

“But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.” I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For-U2

Where did the meat and noodles go?

I’ve had quite the social life since I last posted.  I’ve had a great time going to concerts, football games and parties.  I posted some pictures below.  Unfortunately my “gallivanting,” as my mom would call it, has caused more strife on the scale.  I’m back at it today and as usual went crazy with exercise last week so I will press forward.  I’m disappointed that a downfall here and there with what I eat can determine so much of what the scale says but that is just the way it is.  I should have a good week and weekend so hopefully that combined with my gym work will help peel back some of the gained pounds. 

The recipe this week is Zucchini Lasagna.  You use zucchini instead of noodles.  This was inspired by multiple recipes that I’ve seen…some on Pinterest.  Many of them called for  ground turkey but I wanted to try the crumbles from Morning Star.  These are meatless bites meant to resemble ground beef.  When I told my mother about them, she winced at me like I had pressed hot coals into her arm.  I know that meat substitutions can often be gross but most people turn their nose up at them without ever trying them.  I would HIGHLY recommend these crumbles for your soups, casseroles and other recipes.  They are low in fat and have good seasoning.  I’ve used them several times since.  The lasagna also included broccoli and cauliflower so it’s loaded with all kinds of fiber.  The low fat cheese and tomato sauce make it even better.  It’s filling and tasty.  I think you should give it a shot!

I made another Pinterest recipe and it was called French Onion Soup Casserole.  It’s simple to make and DELICIOUS.  All you do is mix together sautéed onions with cream of mushroom soup, milk, butter, garlic, soy sauce and a few other spices, top it with slices of French bread and cheese and bake it.  It was a yummy addition to our Sunday night meal.  I think it’d be good for Thanksgiving too.  It was a bit decadent because it was loaded with calories and fat and it made my eyes cry for an hour because I had to slice the onions but overall, I loved it.

Like I said above, I’ve been quite busy.  In the past couple of weeks, I’ve seen 2 concerts that meant I got to see Matt Kearny, Train, Carolina Liar, the Fray and KELLY CLARKSON!!! I’ve been to a Bama game and watched one on TV (The Tide won both) and I’ve attended a bachelorette party for my friend Beth.  The pictures above are a mixture of those events.  I’ve had a great time.  I even counted points and was a good girl at one of the concerts and for the football games so I know I have it in me!  I look forward to a game this weekend and then I have some resting and grading to do.

I hope y’all have a FABULOUS week! Bye!

“Buildings with a hundred floors

Swinging around revolving doors

Maybe I don’t know where they’ll take me but

Gotta keep moving on, moving on 

Fly away, breakaway…” Breakaway-Kelly Clarkson

Sweet Tooth

Hey y’all.  It’s been awhile since I blogged.  I hoped everyone had a nice Labor Day and a fun time kicking off football season.  The last time I weighed, I was up a few pounds from the time before.  I would normally have some sort of emotional breakdown but I decided it was OK.  I know that I’m going 100% in terms of exercise and about 80% in terms of food.  This week, I plan on being even better on my diet so I have nothing to beat myself up over.  It’s just hard right now.  I didn’t weigh last week because I knew that it wasn’t going to be great.  I went out of town to my first football game and there was two parties at work last week and I ate at those.  All of the sloughing off during the week is over though so things should improve.  I will weigh on Saturday for the first time in awhile to see how far I am from that low point.  I am pushing for a particular goal that I have been wanting to reach for months but my weight isn’t budging unless it’s going up when I eat too much.  Oh well, onward, y’all…I just have to keep moving.

I have always been a fan of food in general.  I like junk food, home-cooked food, dessert, snacks…all of it…and I love it equally.  However, I have had the worst sweet tooth the past couple of weeks.  I don’t know where it’s coming from but I’m pretty sure if I put my mind to it, I could eat an entire cake in one sitting these days.  I included a healthy sweet tooth option and also a naughty one.  The first recipe is Hungry Girl’s peanut butter fudge.  It’s really simple to make.  You just mix together brownie mix, pumpkin and peanut butter.  It tasted great.  It had more of a dense brownie feel than fudge does but it was chocolate and peanut butter and I really enjoyed it.  In case you’re wondering, it didn’t taste anything like pumpkin.  My only complaint was that the serving size was quite small but that’s just because I like to eat big servings.

The other recipe was a total indulgence.  I was watching “The Best Thing I Ever Made” on TV a while back and one of the recipes was homemade chocolate chip cookies and milkshakes.  I love cookies, especially homemade ones with giant chunks of chocolate in them.  I made the cookie recipe and they were so yummy.  I could have eaten 10.  I also make milkshakes…they were cake batter flavored.  They were messy and a bit more work than they were probably worth but I enjoyed them.  I still have the sweet tooth but I’m now having to cater to it with sugar free cookies and 100 calorie packs so I’m mourning the loss of buttery, chocolaty sweets.  I’m sure I’ll live.

My Dad and I took the long trip to Dallas Labor Day weekend to watch Alabama beat the pants off of Michigan.  We had a great trip and Alabama is looking pretty good so far this season.  We play the Razorbacks this Saturday in Arkansas.  If Bama plays like they should, there should be no problems so hopefully I will be celebrating a win on Saturday night.

I hope you all have a great week and ROLL TIDE! Bye!

"If you get lost, you can always be found.” Home-Phillip Phillips