ugh

i'm back on track but i feel like such a loser.  i should have gone to work, i have so much work that needs to be done.

i'm back!

Too bad I forgot my camera in MN!

it's okay

Bummer, two things happened today that I could have let ruin my day but nope!, they didn't!
Bummer 1 - I gained 2.4lbs.  Seriously, how?  Aunt flo just left (i'm usually at my thinnest right after she leaves), I didn't over eat past any points, nada, none and I started excersizing(other than walking)...uhm, how.  My leader says it's because i started working out...i hope so!  I worked-out 5 out of 7 days last week and I feel great!  I'm going to stay on track and continue to work out, I know it'll pay off in the long run.

Post bummer 1 workout - eliptical cross trainer: 56min; 557cal; 4.4mi

Go See

Uhm, I loved this movie, it was exactly what I needed, at this very moment, right here, right now.

HappyThankyouMorePlease

good day

I can finally cross my legs, girl-style.  Anywhoo...

Eliptical - cross trainer session: 65min; 4.75mi; 665cal.

It was high intensity and moderate intensity at times...low is 6 AP's and high is 15 AP's.  I guess i'll just give myself 6 AP's even though I know I worked much harder than 6 AP's...maybe i'll give myself 9-10 AP's instead.  Who cares, I still worked out!  So far i've earned 15 AP's this week and I'm going to eat all of them, whoo whoo! 

Post Work-Out Meal - Cold Asian Noodle Salad = 10P+
I doubled the sauce bc I was really hungry and needed it to coat the extra veggies.
Measure 2 oz raw soba noodles, then cook per package directions.  Rinse cooked noodles in cold water.
2/3 long cucumber, chopped
1/4 red bell pepper
1 cup spinach, loosley chopped
Sauce - 5P+ (love this!)
2.5 TSP soy sauce
2 TSP peanut oil
1 TSP sesame oil
2 TSP honey
1/2 - 3/4 TSP lime
1/4 TSP crushed garlic
1/4 TSP grated ginger
hot pepper flakes

Mix sauce, and then mix everything together.

This meal is very filling, I love the oils mixed together.  It's a different kind of full-feeling in a good way, it's because of the oils.

Gnocchi, Asparagus, Shrimp & Pesto -

adapted from cooking light

see extra photos here

serves 4; 9P+ per serving (very filling)

Ingredients:
2  quarts plus 1 tablespoon water, divided
1  (16-ounce) package vacuum-packed gnocchi (such as Vigo)
4  cups  (1-inch) slices asparagus (about 1 pound)
1  pound  peeled and deveined large shrimp, coarsely chopped
1  cup  basil leaves
2  tablespoons  pine nuts, toasted
2  tablespoons  preshredded Parmesan cheese
2  teaspoons  fresh lemon juice
2  teaspoons  bottled minced garlic
4  teaspoons  extravirgin olive oil
1/4  teaspoon  sea salt

Preparation:
Bring 2 quarts water to a boil in a Dutch oven. Add gnocchi to pan; cook 4 minutes or until done (gnocchi will rise to surface). Remove gnocchi with a slotted spoon; place in a large bowl. Add asparagus and shrimp to pan; cook 5 minutes or until shrimp are done. Drain. Add shrimp mixture to gnocchi.

Combine remaining 1 tablespoon water, basil, and next 4 ingredients (through garlic) in a food processor; process until smooth, scraping sides. Drizzle oil through food chute with food processor on; process until well blended. Add salt and basil mixture to shrimp mixture; toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Information: Calories: 355 (24% from fat), Fat: 9.3g (sat 1.6g,mono 4.5g,poly 2.5g), Protein: 26.5g, Carbohydrate: 42.7g, Fiber: 3g, Cholesterol: 170mg, Iron: 5.7mg, Sodium: 894mg, Calcium: 108mg.

This was my first time eating gnocchi; the entire dish was really good!  I'll make it again in the future. 

Buffalo Chicken Egg Rolls for One - 12P+

4.5oz cooked chicken breast, shredded

2-3 TBSP Frank's hot wing sauce

2-3 TSP Ranch dip mix

3 wedges laughing cow light swiss

3 Nasoya egg roll wrappers

Mix shredded chicken with ranch dip mix and wing sauce.  Slather 1 cheese wedge onto egg roll wrapper, then place 1/3 of chicken mixture on it and then roll it up.  Repeat two more times.

Lightly spray cooking sheet with olive oil spray, place egg rolls it and lightly spray tops of eggrolls.  Bake for 16-18 minutes at 425 degrees.

Go-To Pad Thai - big serving for 12P+

3oz raw pad thai noodles - 8P+

2oz cooked ground turkey thigh - 3P+

1 cup coleslaw mix

1 TSP oil - 1P+

Sauce mix - 0

2 TSP fish sauce

2 TSP low sodium soy sauce

3/4 - 1 TSP Thai Kitchen garlic chili paste

Cook noodles al dente (SP?) in boiling water, drain and set aside. (you know what I mean, not too hard, not too soft).  Lightly spray pan with olive oil, cook meat.  Once that's done, scoop it up and set aside.  Use 1 TSP olive oil in pan, add coleslaw mix and cook until medium tender.  Then add meat and pad thai noodles, mix everything together and add sauce.  Cook 3-4 minutes.  Garnish with lime, sriracha and cilantro.

rainy

I ate some really good food today.

I had one baked buffalo chicken egg roll - inspired from iowagirleats. 

It looks dry but it's not at all.  The cheese and wing sauce were oozing out of the egg roll.

Buffalo Chicken Egg Roll - 4P+
serves 1
adapted from iowagirleats

Ingredients
1 Nasoya egg roll wrapper -- Nasoya is the best brand for baking eggrolls.
2oz cooked chicken breast, chopped
1 TBSP Franks hot wing sauce
1/2 TSP Ranch dip Mix
1 Laughing Cow cheese wedge - next time i'll 1/2 wedge only

Shred cooked chicken breast, and mix with ranch dip & hot wing sauce. Then microwave for 30 seconds.

Spread Laughing Cow cheese onto egg roll wrapper and place meat mixture on top.  Wrap egg roll and cook 425 degrees for 18 minutes.

I also made Chicken Rollatini Prosciutto & Cheese from Skinnytaste.  I LOVED it!  I almost felt like I was cheating, it tasted like something i'd get at a restaurant.  The ingredients are so simple.  All you need are chicken breasts, prosciutto, reduced fat provolone or mozzerella, bread crumbs, parm cheese and oil.  My photos do no justice, please go to her page for a better view. 

I'm learning that the secret to chicken breast is not overcooking it!  So true.

Eww, i'm embarrassed to post these photos.  My food tastes sooo much better than what you see...

You could have one for 4P+ if you're eating it with other things but to me, one serving is 2 chicken rolls for 8P+.  :)

Finally!

A lot of healthy bloggers I follow love eating and using natural peanut butter or almond butter in their recipes.  I tried peanut butter in pad thai (tasted good but not making it again), made a cold asian noodle dish with it (not making this again), and ate it with oatmeal and bananas.  I haven't had a lot of success incorporating it until today! 

While blog surfing I found Me, Myself, & Pie's Ginger-Peanut Chicken Salad Wraps, calculated the P+ value and made it ASAP. 

Ginger-Peanut Chicken Salad Wraps - Chicken mixture w/o tortilla = 5P+
Adapted from Me, Myself, & Pie
Serves 6
Sauce - 1 TBSP = 2P+

Ingredients:

olive oil spray to cook chicken breasts

6  (4-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast (you can buy Tyson grilled chicken breasts from the freezer aisle or a rotisserie chicken)

1  cup  chopped seeded peeled cucumber (I made 1.5 cups)

3/4  cup  chopped red bell pepper (I made 1.5 cups)

Sauce - keep this in a seperate container from the chicken and veggies.  Only mix when ready to eat.

1 1/2  tablespoons  sugar

1  tablespoon  minced peeled fresh ginger

3  tablespoons  fresh lime juice

1  tablespoon  low-sodium soy sauce

1/4  teaspoon  salt

1/4  teaspoon  ground red pepper

1  garlic clove, crushed

1/4  cup  creamy peanut butter

2  tablespoons  water

3 tablespoons cilantro

Preparation:

Heat olive oil spray in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 5 minutes on each side or until done. Remove the chicken from pan; cool. Shred the chicken into bite-size pieces. Place chicken, cucumber, and bell pepper in a large bowl; set aside.

Place sugar and the next 6 ingredients (sugar through garlic) in a blender, and process until smooth. Add peanut butter and water; process until smooth, scraping sides. Add peanut butter mixture to chicken mixture; stir well. Add cilantro, and toss well. Warm tortillas according to package directions. Spoon 3/4 - 1 cup chicken mixture onto each tortilla; top each serving with 1/2 cup lettuce, and roll up.

Since i'm only feeding myself, I only make 1 serving, and store everything else in seperate containers.
- One 3oz cooked chicken breast, chopped -- 3P+
- 1 heeping TBSP ginger peanut sauce -- 2P+
- 1/4 cup cucumber, chopped -- 0
- 1/4 cup red bell pepper, chopped -- 0
- approx. 1/2 cup romaine -- 0
- One 8-inch flour tortilla -- 5P+
* Totally worth 10P+; I think it's a great, fast and yummy lunch meal.

This was only half the mixture with a 1/2 tortilla

I was craving buffalo wild wings and found a really satisfying crockpot recipe from iowagirleats.

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken
Adapted from iowagirleats
Serves 2
1 serving of meat mixture is 4P+

Ingredients
8 oz chicken breast, raw
1/4 a 1oz package of Ranch dip mix 
5 TBSP or 3oz Frank's hot buffalo wing sauce 
1 TBSP butter

Place your chicken in the bottom of a crock pot then sprinkle dip mix on top. Pour in wing sauce, and lift up each chicken half so it gets sauce underneath it.  Top meat mixture with butter.

Cook on low for 3 hours.  Afterwards, take chicken out of crockpot, shred it, and mix it back into crockpot sauce.

Serve over spinach/lettuce and tortilla.  You could even use a bun.

This was really, really good hit the spot.  There's a lot of sodium, so beware.

Yeah, I counted the points and added 1 oz cheddar cheese & 1 tsp wing sauce to coat cheese.

I also made more Thai Chicken Saute from Cookinglight.com -
serves 4
5p+ for meat & veggie mixture
4P+ for 1 cup cooked rice

On my bday, I had my favorite ice cream  -

 

OMG, I ate the entire thing for 28P+ and it was sooooooooo heavenly.  I love ice cream and cake mixed together, and that's exactly what you get with this.  You also get cream cheese swirls too.  SOOO yummy.