This one was so wildly anticipated… that I forgot to take a picture. 😦 There are some foods that are all the rage with Weight Watchers members. Fat free Greek Yogurt, Overnight Oats, and even VitaTop Muffins are ones I totally get behind. PB2 has not wowed me… Essentially, the oil is removed (by magic?) from peanuts, and they are then pulverized in to powder. You can reconstitute it with water for a “peanut butter like spread.”
I put 1tbsp in this smoothie, blended it, and headed straight to the cupboard for the real deal. The beauty of this program is being flexible, and making things “work” in your points budget. I think I’ll continue to make room for as many real foods as possible! Nom nom nom.
It’s. So. Humid. Last night I went out for a short run, and felt like I was running through a wool blanket. TOO HOT. Went out for drinks and delicious food after the run, and had a few drinks. All of this has added up to drinking water like a fish today. Can’t get enough!
1 medium peeled cucumber, 0PPs
1 cup chopped melon, 0PPs
1 ripe banana, 0PPs
1 cup unsweetened almond milk 1PPs
2-3 ice cubs 0PPs
I made a few adjustments to the recipe, which calls for cucumber, melon and mint. I didn’t have any mint, regrettably. I ended up chopping up the melon and cucumber on Sunday and freezing them because the melon was almost too ripe. I set them out to thaw while I had my oats, so they were on the soft-ish side, but still icy.
The consistency of this, because it was frozen, was a little more slushy than creamy. I added the banana to get some more sweetness. I think that mint and a little honey would have been good added in here too, but all in all, it was incredibly refreshing and I really liked it!
After yesterday’s stormy weather, we seem to have caught a bit of a break. Last night’s run, while a little warmer than I like, was nothing like last week’s humidity fest when we ran under a heat advisory. It’s still hot, but not humid.
My fruit supply is getting a little low, as is my bank account… I didn’t order a Fresh Picks box this week, put I did do a little planning ahead and have some frozen fruit if needed. Today’s smoothie is another “Green Monster.”
Blueberry Banana Green Monster Smoothie
Blueberry Banana Green Monster
1 cup blueberries, 0PPs
1 medium banana, 0PPs
1 cup spinach, 0PPs
1 cup unsweetened almond milk 1PPs
2-3 ice cubs 0PPs
A pretty basic, and very tasty smoothie. I think this one could be improved with some almond extract, and maybe a little honey, but it was pretty delicious!
Woke up to a monster thunderstorm today! It was thundering and lightening and pouring down rain, and this was just the kick I needed to get out of bed! Today’s smoothie was strawberry/banana/spinach!
Strawberry Banana Spinach Smoothie
Strawberry Banana Spinach
1 cup unsweetened almond milk, 1PPs
1 large handful of spinach, 0PPs
1/2 cup (or more) chopped strawberries, 0PPs
1 ripe banana, 0PPs
2-3 ice cubes, 0PPs
1 Points Plus total, if you’re just looking at ingredients going in*.
The Green Monster has been claimed as a movement HERE, but I have a feeling folks have been putting spinach in smoothies for much longer than 2009. I decided to give it a whirl (blender pun intended) a few weeks ago. Everyone has said it, but I’ll reiterate… YOU CAN’T TASTE THE SPINACH! It is very good! And incredibly diverse in terms of what you can do with the flavors. There are millions of recipes out there!
What is YOUR favorite Green Monster?
* To clarify, one of my (only) issues with WW’s recipe builder is that it is based off of nutritional information, so even foods that, according to the Points Plus plan have 0 points (most fruit and vegetables), will still add up when put together in a recipe. If I eat a handful of spinach, 1/2 cup of strawberries, a banana and almond milk SEPARATELY for breakfast it’s 1 point. If I track them together in the recipe builder, this is a 5PPs smoothie. I’m sticking to my de-constructed tracking for now, and that works, but be aware that my recipes might not be exact!
I have been on a MEGA smoothie kick recently. I don’t know what prompted it, but it has been a lot of fun. It has also prompted me to start having second breakfast, just like a Hobbit. Usually, breakfast #1 is overnight oats. I found my perfect blend, 1/3 cup rolled oats to 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk. I add fruit in the morning.
I try to prep my smoothies as much as I can the night before, by washing and chopping the fruit I want to use. This week I have planned out a “menu” based on the ingredients I have. I ordered the Smoothie Kit from Irv and Shelley’s Fresh Picks, a WONDERFUL Chicago produce delivery company. Having fresh ingredients on hand is key, and having them delivered makes a world of difference.
Mango Peach Coconut Smoothie
Mango Peach Smoothie
1/2 medium mango, sliced 0PPs
1/2 medium peach, sliced 0PPs
1 packet Weight Watchers Coconut Smoothie mixture 2PPs
1 cup water 0PPs
2-3 ice cubs 0PPs
This one comes out to a 2 point breakfast.
Substitution options: Use coconut milk instead of smoothie packet, almond, soy or dairy milk instead of water, add spinach, bananas or berries for more nutrients. (May change PP values).
Over the past few weeks, possibly because I have reached my goal, I have been a prepping, planning machine. I am making time to shop, freezing leftovers, and still keeping variety in my meals. This has led me to believe that perhaps 99% of healthy eating is mastering the ability to keep a well stocked kitchen and pantry. Today’s example:
Impromptu Garden Frittata
1tsp olive oil
1/4 cup diced onion
1 cup fresh spinach
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
2 eggs
1-2 tbsp unsweetened almond milk
1oz shredded cheese
Preheat oven to 425°
Sautee onions in olive oil, 5-7 minutes
Add spinach to pan, cover and reduce heat to low
Allow spinach to wilt down
Crack 2 eggs into a small bowl, and add almond milk
Season with salt and pepper
Spray medium sized skillet with no-stick cooking spray
Add spinach/onion mixture
Add tomatoes and spread evenly on bottom of skillet
Pour eggs over mixture, stir to cover bottom of skillet
Top with cheese
Bake 12-15 minutes until eggs are set
Frittatas are great because you can put ANY vegetable in that you have on hand. I had a lot of stuff that I wanted to use up, so I threw this little recipe together. I also ended up having whole wheat toast with an AMAZING curried lentil spread that I ordered from Fresh Picks, a great organic produce delivery company. They have been keeping me really happy with food recently!
What foods do you keep on hand to stay successful?
What we have here is the biggest victory to date. The movies have been an epic downfall for me in my weight loss. I might even say the Bane of my existence (yeah, I did that). I have a weakness for buttered popcorn, M&Ms, Cherry Coke, Twizzlers and Gummy Bears. And Swedish Fish. And Peanut M&Ms. And… you get the idea.
What you’re seeing here is clearly NOT a lot of “OP” (on plan) foods. But what you do see is a really serious attempt at CONTROL. All of these treats have been weighed, measured and tracked for my outing tomorrow. I have vegetables sliced, and two healthy meals planned out in the day time, and I am letting myself have this (k)night.
2oz Smartfood Popcorn: 4PPs
0.5oz Kettle Corn: 2PPs
2 Snack Size Kit Kats: 4PPs
2 Resse’s Peanut Butter Cups: 4PPs
5 Rainbow Twizzlers: 4PPs
1 Coke Zero Big Enough to Swim In (Not Pictured): 0PPs
In light of full disclosure, we are meeting at the grocery store and probably buying some wine to take in too. And I will track that as honestly as I can. But currently, I have 11 Daily Points, and 49 Weekly Points to fit that in to my splurge too. I got this.
For some reason, I was convinced that I didn’t like raw spinach. Or any spinach for that matter. I spent months avoiding anything with spinach in it. The thought would turn my stomach. But I got on a Green Monster smoothie kick and wanted it to be accurate, so I bought a bag of baby spinach. A few nights ago, I decided to use it in a salad. Behold, the dinner I thought I’d never eat:
Greens! Nom nom nom!
Kale (0PP)
Spinach (0PP)
Grape tomatoes (0PP)
Carrots (0PP)
Zucchini (0PP)
1 tsp olive oil
Balsalmic vinegar (0PP)
6 kalmata olives
1 tbsp fat free feta cheese (0PP- Reduced fat feta has 0PPs for 1tbsp, so I’m assuming that fat free feta is the same. It’s just a sprinkling for taste)
Black Pepper (0PP)
Spice House Lake Shore Drive Seasoning. (0PP- This is a local spice shop blend. I don’t know exactly what is in it, but I do know they offer a salt free version, so I’ll have to check it out some time!)
Such a fantastic dinner, and all for 2PPs. I want it again and again!
What foods have you recently tried that you thought you didn’t like?
Time: 56:55 ~ 8k 11:29/mile pace. Added 4:13 on to my time, but it was HOT. and I felt better than I did after the Shamrock Shuffle (until I crashed in the evening and had to crawl in to bed).
This race had some pluses, and beacoup minuses (see what I did there? En Francias…). Let’s start with the pluses! A lovely friend of mine told me about this race, so I decided to sign up and do it too. Her experience last year sounded great, and since I don’t tend to do many evening races, I thought I would join!
Me & A! Happy Bastille Day!
Since May, my runs have only been between 2-5 miles. I got up to 5.5 run walking last week, but my motivation has been somewhat lacking. So I was intimidated by a 5 mile run. It was also HOT. Warmer than I’ve been used to, especially since all last week I cowered inside in the AC on the track at Urban Active in Grandview while visiting my parents!
The first mile felt really good. Although this race was pretty crowded, I never really felt like I was crowded in by other runners, nor was I being constantly passed by faster runners. I managed to stay with the same people practically the entire run.
I could feel myself getting overheated after about mile 2, so I had to talk myself down and walk a bit. I will get in to the lack of water on the course in a moment, but… there wasn’t enough water on the course. I am curious to see my post-race/finish line photos because I’m sure I look like a sweaty tomato! After my finish, which I knew was slower than last time, I circled back to watch the finishers. This has become one of my favorite things to do post-race is to watch everyone else cross the finish line.
I had my water bottle with me, two bottles of water at the finish, plus a coconut water, and felt fine until I got home. Around 11:00, my head was pounding and I was totally nauseous, so I think the day caught up with me. Finally feeling rehydrated now, though!
Pre-race pick-up: I was out of town and had to wait until Wednesday evening to pick up my race packet. The pick-up volunteers were… less than friendly. I got my number and went to the bib/t-shirt pick up table to be handed a bib and told there were no shirts in my size. Apparently, they ran out of small and medium shirts and were not offering replacements. The person who gave me my bib scrawled initials on the back and told me I could get a shirt on race day, then I was apparently dismissed because he started helping someone else. Ok, no big deal. I’ll pick it up after the run tomorrow…
The race was held at the Notebart Museum. I did the Jingle Bell Run from there, and I am now going to just straight up avoid races that start from there. It is a disaster! In this case, gear check was upstairs, and being run by one poor frazzled lady tagging and bagging for everyone. I wanted to be sure to drop off my stuff and use the bathroom before racetime, so I didn’t get my t-shirt before the race. <–My BIGGEST mistake of the day!
So, pre-race was just a little annoying because there were so many people. One benefit The only benefit of having a race start from here is a bathroom with running water! No pre-race porta-potties! Anyway, headed out to my start corral, and the race started pretty uneventfully and right on time.
An email went out from the organizers that pointed out the warm weather to all participants. It said verbatim “The forecast is calling for warmer weather, so please make sure to slow down and stay hydrated. We have added additional water on the course to accommodate for the warmer temperatures.” Guess how many water stops there were on this course? TWO. Guess how many of them actually had water? ONE. This actually made me livid. This is SO dangerous! The first water stop was just after the first mile, when folks are realizing just how hot it is. When we made it to the stop, there was an empty table and people attempting to fill one cup at a time from a spout. It was RIDICULOUS. I had my own water with me, but as I have learned, I need to drink way more than most folk. It’s possible that I over-hydrate on just normal days, but whatever the reason, I try to drink as much as I can. I ended up veering off-course to refill at a water fountain on the path, and kept going. This does NOT count as adding a water stop!!!
The rest of the course was rather uneventful. I kept slowing down, and reminding myself that that was ok. My last stop was the CARA trough which was like… feet from the finish line, but I’m glad I did. Because the bottled water at the finish line was HOT. Not just warm, but hot, like it had been in the back of someone’s car in 100° heat for the past week…
Got inside to a literal ZOO. There were lines for bathrooms, criss-crossing lines for beer and food, criss-crossing lines for gear-check. ZERO direction and lots of people just aimlessly standing around, or busting to the front of a line because they have no idea what these masses of people are waiting for. It was just a cluster. After 20-25 minutes, I had my bag, and headed to the restroom. At which point I was chewed out by another volunteer about bringing water to the bathroom. (My bottle was empty, which I pointed out to him… *sigh*).
I just wanted to get out of there! It was totally insane. The “block party” was on the patio of the museum, but it just looked a hot crowded mess. So I went to grab my shirt, even though 2 or 3 people said REGISTRATION IS CLOSED. I found another guy aimlessly wandering around looking for it, and eventually we walked through a set of doors where two gems were waiting for us. The first thing they both said was CLOSED! YOU CAN’T GET OUT THIS WAY. WE’RE CLOSED!
And I said, ok, I just want to get my shirt. To which the lovely woman said “WHY would I give YOU a shirt??” Ummmm hellz naw, lady. How about because I paid a ridiculous entry fee for a madhouse of a race, and I want the shirt to prove it! Instead I said “uh. they ran out at pick up.” “GIVE ME YOUR BIB. This doesn’t say ANYTHING.” Remember, this just has some dude’s initials on it. Which is what I told her… “WELL WHAT SIZE? IT DOESN’T SAY SIZE!!!” OMG Give me a Medium, then get me OUT OF HERE! It was just so terrible! I felt like an inconvenience for every single person working on this race! So uncomfortable and unnecessarily rude!
Oh well! It was fun to have company and also to see Claire on the course, who authors Run Fa(s)t Girl, Run. We met earlier last month at the Do Life meet-up, which was also a total blast! Next race: Big10k. CAN’T WAIT!
Update 7/18/2012
Voiced concern with race organizers and they had a nice response. Also…
I have decided that no matter how much I want to be a turtle, and hide in my shell, I am much better off as a social runner. And thankfully, the Chicago Area Runner’s Association is here to help me with that! I decided to sign up for their Six Summer Nights Series, and if the first run was any indication, I think I will be joining all the Sixes this year. Tuesday was so much fun.
The first meeting was in Wrigleyville, at the Goose Island Brewpub on Clark. We all gathered together and waited til 6:30, and then each group was sent out according to mileage with a group leader. I decided to start with 3 miles this week, feeling a little sluggish.
Met all new folks there, and ran with someone who paces with the marathon group. As a pretty solid 11:30 runner, I knew we were going faster than I was used to, but when we got back it turns out we averaged 10:00 min miles. I certainly don’t think that is a pace I could sustain for longer runs, but it was fun to keep up with someone new!
Headed back to the bar, had a decent spread of appetizers, plus a free beer ticket. The raffle was great too, lots of race and promo gear, entry to a few races, and guess who went home with this little gem:
Lakefront Mile Marker
Yep, I made it home with the 2.5 Mile Marker (which I think is somewhere around Irving Park). Had a good run, but an even better social time! Next week: Navy Pier. Hoping to be up for a 4 mile run!
Running makes me ____________! 