No Pain No Grain

Happy August y'all! School starts back in a few weeks and I'm totally ready! Jk. I'm going to be scrambling around last minute like always. I'm proud of what I've accomplished this summer but, of course, wish I'd done more. In terms of my life sentence of weight/body image issues, I used my own scale to weigh last week and it was quite different than the scale at Weight Watchers. It worked in my favor because it showed I was down around four pounds in the past couple weeks and I would bet money that's not true. Having said that, I'm totally going with it and I'll probably use my scale from now on. It's a mental battle as you know. I used all of my "extra" points over the weekend enjoying my 15 year high school reunion (oh, boy!) and the required amount of comfort food on Sunday. It's been a decent week but I'm a bit deflated in terms of motivation (surprise, surprise). Having said that, I have branched out a bit this week with the food I make at home and changing things up always makes me happy.

Ian and I have this routine where he grills a meat and then we throw together our own sides. He pretty much eats instant mashed potatoes and frozen mac and cheese every night and I usually have a bland vegetable with frozen hash browns or French fries. As convenient and "fine" this food is, I was going a little crazy eating the same thing over and over. This week I decided to make something different that Ian and I could both agree on to have with our grilled pork chops. Ian likes two vegetables other than the iceberg lettuce and onions he drenches in ranch to have a "salad." Those two vegetables are tomatoes and spinach. I am not a huge fan of tomatoes unless they are cooked to a pulp so I tried to find a recipe using spinach. Of course, Pinterest didn't disappoint. I made a spinach and brown rice recipe that was delicious and different from our norm. Just sauté some onions and garlic in a tiny bit of olive oil and then add 1-1/4 cups of brown rice. I found some garlic flavored Uncle Ben's that said it would be ready in about 10 minutes. Just follow the instructions on the bag for how long it should take. I let the rice toast in the oil, onion and garlic for a few seconds. Then, I added 2-1/2 cups of low sodium chicken broth, salt and pepper to the rice. I stirred it all together and brought it to a boil. I gave it one last stir and covered it for about 6 or 7 minutes. I stirred it again and then let it go about 2 or 3 more minutes. Y'all, for the first time EVER, I didn't burn the rice. Not one grain stuck to the pan. I think it was in part due to the olive oil I used for the onions and the fact that I used the copper chef skillet. Either way, it was monumental. Once the rice was all fluffy, I added a whole bag of fresh spinach that I roughly chopped. It looks like a lot but cooks WAY down. Once it was all incorporated, I added "1/4 cup" of shaved parmesan. Can I just go ahead and admit that I have a problem with shaved parmesan? Like, if there's a support group out there, let me know because I can't seem to quit eating it. Once the cheese was added, it was done. I added more shaved parmesan (obviously) and it was creamy and delicious! I usually refrain from eating pasta and rice because it's hard for me to wrap my head around the portion sizes so I saved up quite a bit of points to have a bit extra. It was yummy and something Ian and I could both eat so it was a win!

In order to change up breakfast a bit, I made polenta with poached eggs. I have eggs every morning. Usually I eat two "fried" eggs on top of low cal toast. I'm OK with that but saw the polenta in the store and thought I'd try it. I'm so happy that I did! If I've made polenta, I don't remember. All I did was spray a skillet with non-stick butter flavored spray and add two half inch slices of polenta that I seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder and smoked paprika. I cooked them about 3-4 minutes per side on low-medium heat. That serving of polenta was only 70 calories! Once the polenta was done, I topped each slice with poached eggs. This wasn't my best poached egg effort. I lost most of my whites but the yolks were still in tact and I was able to get the runny yolk I love. I topped it all with a tablespoon and a half of real bacon bits. Y'all, this was so rich and decadent and the whole thing was under 250 calories. I highly recommend it. I may try the polenta some other ways while I have it. I'll let you know.

That's all y'all!

Enjoy your week!