Egg Xactly

I am the master of the cheap-point breakfast. Unfortunately, skimping on points in the morning has a tendency to lead me to over-eat after 8pm while I try to get in the 3 or 5 (or sometimes 9) points that I have left over at the end of the day...

(My current favorite low-points breakfast is Fiber One cereal, 1/2 cup skim milk, and 1/2 cup sliced strawberries. 1 point.)

So, while I do eat the Twigs and Berries breakfast a few times a week, I also have made it an unofficial rule for myself that I have to eat 4 or 5 point breakfasts at least three times a week. Thought I'd share one of my typical breakfasts with you today.

I make a lot of omelets.

You've got egg, cheese, and vegetables all right there, and it's a good way to get in several of your 8 (9?) healthy guidelines in a single bound...

This particular omelet is a pizza omelet, because let's face it, everyone loves pizza, right?

Ingredients:
1 egg
2 egg whites
1 slice low fat cheese
2 slices pepperoni, diced
1/2 cup mushrooms
2 tablespoons pizza sauce
garlic powder
oregano



Instructions:

1 - Mix egg, egg white, garlic powder and oregano together in a bowl. (I usually just sprinkle from the jar, if you need measurements, start with 1/2 tsp each and adjust to taste.)

2 - Coat frying pan with a little bit of cooking spray. Heat on medium high for about two minutes, then pour in the egg mixture. While eggs are cooking, prep your fillings.


3 - (Obviously, you can use any fillings you want, this is just an example.) I divide the cheese in half to better fit in the omelet and dice anything else that I'm going to use, then lay it out on a plate or my cutting board.


4 - when the egg mixture is mostly cooked through on top (not liquidy, and slightly bubbled up from the bottom, turn off the heat and add your stuffings to one side of the egg. Squeeze on the pizza sauce. Use a small spatula and fold over the second half. Cover for a minute to let cheese melt.


This omelet is 4 or 5 points, depending on how much pepperoni you used. For variety, try any of the below mixes:

Spices that work well in eggs:

Dill
Cilantro
Smoked Paprika
Oregano
Rosemary
Tarragon
Chili Powder
Cumin

Vegetable Options:
Tomato
Asparagus
Broccoli
Mushrooms
Diced Onions
Bell Peppers

Cheese and Meats:
Diced chicken
Diced Sausage
Turkey Bacon
Pepperoni
Ham
Low Fat Cheddar
Mozzarella
Cream Cheese
Pepper Jack
Provolone
Swiss

Mix and Match to your taste!

It's all Greek to Me

I'm going to try to post recipes a little more often. I love to cook, but recently I've been a bit BLAH about it. I've often found that, when I'm feeling snarky or unpleased with my own activities, showing them to someone else is a great way to rekindle my interest, so, at least for a while, I'm planning to post a few recipes once a week...

After I decided what I was going to make for yesterday's dinner, I posted about it on Twitter and a few people tweeted back at me, so I thought I'd make this the first set of recipes...
Spanikopita; a pastry stuffed with spinach, cheese, and spices. It's Greek, from the words spanaki (spinach) and pitta (pie).

Ingredients

- can of non-stick spray (will use quite a bit of this!)
- 1 tsp exvirgin olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 (16 ounce) bag of chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed
- 4 ounces reduced fat (or fat free) feta cheese, crumbled (about 1 cup)
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh dill (or if you're lazy like me 3 tablespoons dried dillweed)
- 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped (ditto on 3 tablespoons)
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg, ground
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp pepper
- 8 sheets phyllo dough, thawed according to package directions (you can get this in the freezer section of your grocery store near frozen pie crusts and whipped cream, usually)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a large baking sheet with nonstick spray.

Make filling: heat a nonstick skillet over medium high. Swirl oil, then add onion. Cook until soft 4-5 minutes. Add spinach and cook another 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat, cool 5 minutes. Stir in feta, dill, parsley, egg, nutmeg, salt and pepper. mix well.


Place one sheet phyllo with the long side facing you on a work surface. Cover remaining dough with plastic wrap to retain moisture. (You MUST do this, otherwise the stuff cracks and breaks all over everything!) Lightly spray dough with nonstick spray. Top with a second sheet of dough and likewise spray it. With a sharp knife, cut the layered sheets into three equal strips down the long side. (You will end up with three, double stacked strips, about 4 inches wide and 17 inches long)

Place ~1/3 cup of the filling in the center of the bottom end of one strip of dough. Fold up one corner around the filling to form a triangle. (Flag-style)



Continue folding flag style to the top of the strip.



Place triangle seam side down on the baking sheet.

Repeat with other 2 strips, then with remaining phyllo sheets. This will make approximately 12 triangles (unless you drop one, which I have done.) Spray the entire batch with non-stick spray.


(Folding the triangles is the really tricksy bit, and I'm afraid it's a LOT easier to SHOW you how to fold than to explain it. Here's a site so you can watch. He's using a different mixture, but it's the same folding technique.)

Bake triangles until lightly golden ~20-25 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

(NI: 2 triangles: 160 calories, 6 g fat, 3 g Fiber. WW info 3 points per 2 triangles. Less if you use no fat cheese, but not much less...)

Make ahead tip! These triangles freeze. Prepare as directed until you get ready to bake, then freeze entire sheet. Transfer frozen triangles into zip-lock baggie, seal and freeze for up to 3 weeks (that's officially. unofficially, I've baked these things after being in the freezer for almost 6 months and didn't have a problem with them!) Do not thaw, just bake as directed, increasing cook time to 27-35 minutes.

Cool 'n Creamy Fruit Soup

Ingredients:

- 3/4 cup red grapefruit segments (I used mandarin oranges which seemed fine)
- 5 strawberries
- 2/3 cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt
- 1/3 cup skim milk
- 3 tbsp. Splenda
- 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions:

In a blender, combine all ingredients except for the yogurt. Puree until smooth.

Add yogurt and blend on low speed until just mixed.

Refrigerate until chilled, or until you are ready to serve. Pour into bowls and enjoy!

NI: 115 calories, 0.5 g fat, 1g fiber, Points ~2

Dinner; 6.5 points...

Recipes adapted from: Weight Watchers Take-Out Tonight! and Hungry Girl emails.

Recipe (Stacked Vegetables Tilapia)

I adore this recipe, and it works well with all kinds of fish. You have to be careful not to let the bottom layer of vegetables burn, and if you don't want to bother with fresh herbs, you can use dried, but decrease the amounts to about 2 teaspoons of each.

Stacked Vegetable Tilapia

Ingredients

4 Tilapia Fillets
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup chopped dill weed
1 large onion, chopped
3 large potatoes, sliced
3 large bell peppers, sliced in strips
4 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup white wine (or 1/2 cup vegetable broth with 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar added)
Salt and pepper

Method

Use a 12" fry pan with a cover. Add olive oil to pan and heat. Add onions; cook on low heat, covered, about 5 minutes. Add peppers, layering them on top of the onions. Cook 10 minutes. Layer the potatoes on top of the peppers; add half of the wine on top of the potatoes and some of the chopped herbs. Cook another 10 minutes. Then add the fish fillets on top. Pour on the remainder of the wine and chopped herbs, salt and pepper; cook for 20-30 minutes on low heat, until fish is done.

This recipe comes from Better Recipes, and has been adapted slightly to be a little more Weight Watcher's friendly. 4 points per serving, or, again, completely core!

Recipe (Chicken Terrine)

This recipe makes a great appetizer or side dish for something mostly vegetable, served with an herb and oil dressing (get your daily oils in!) or with mustard on thin crackers/light bread or whole wheat wraps. I've found a good wrap recently that WW counts as zero points as long as you only eat one per day; FlatOut children's wraps, 60 calories, no fat, and 6 grams of fiber!

Chicken Terrine

Ingredients

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons chopped shallots
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 egg whites
1 small red bell pepper, chopped (1/2 cup)

Method

Heat oven to 350ºF. Line loaf pan, 8 1/2x4 1/2 inches, with aluminum foil. Sprinkle parsley in bottom of pan.

Remove fat from chicken. Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces. Place chicken in food processor. Cover and process until coarsely ground. Add remaining ingredients except bell pepper. Cover and process until smooth. Mix chicken mixture and bell pepper. Spread in pan.

Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil. Bake 1 hour; remove foil. Bake uncovered 20 to 30 minutes longer or until meat thermometer inserted in center reads 180º F. Cover and let stand 1 hour.

Refrigerate at least 3 hours but no longer than 48 hours. Invert onto serving platter. Remove pan and foil. Slice thinly.

This recipe comes from Betty Crocker. Generally speaking, when I make this, I make it on the weekend to snack on throughout the week.

Recipe (Mediterranean Meatloaf)

Mediterranean Meatloaf

Ingredients:

1/4 cup diced canned tomato (fire roasted is particularly good)
1 (10 ounce) package frozen, chopped spinach thawed and drained
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup crumbled fat-free feta cheese
1 1/2 lbs ground turkey
1/2 cup uncooked quick oatmeal or cooked brown rice or cooked cous cous
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sage
1 egg

Method:

Preheat oven to 375. Mix all ingredients together in large bowl - I find it generally helps to mix ground meats by hand, which is cold and somewhat uncomfortable, but very effective! (Just remember to wash your hands before and after!)

Shape into a loaf and drop in casserole dish. Bake for 30-45 minutes, until center is set (I usually have to cut my meatloaf open at least once, mutter, and put it back in the oven for 15 minutes... never can quite figure that part out.)

(I'd thank someone for this recipe, but honestly, I can't remember where I got it from... Anyway, again, it's all Core, and 4 points for two slices)

Recipe (Chicken with Caramelized Onions)

Here's one of my favorite recipes, easy to make, but slightly time consuming and involves a lot of standing over a skillet... Special thanks to my best friend, Carol, who introduced me to this recipe several years ago. (2003, as a matter of fact!)

Chicken and Caramelized Onion:

1 onion, cut into large pieces
1-2 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tsp. butter or oil
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1/2 - 1 tsp. basil
salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet over med-high heat, add the onions to heated butter/oil. When onions are beginning to become translucent (cooked through, about 5-10 min) add the chicken broth. Cook, stirring, until the broth has fully evaporated. (about 10 min) Add the vinegar, and continue to stir until vinegar has fully evaporated. (another 5-10 minutes) The onions should be dark brown and limp. Remove onions from a pan to the serving plate.

Add the chicken to the skillet (do not clean it - broth/vinegar residue flavors the chicken) and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and basil. Cook until chicken is cooked through. If onions have cooled, you can add them back to the skillet for a minute or two to re-heat them. Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.

Note - the vinegar in the onions makes them VERY sharp. I highly recommend a fairly bland vegetable or something like cous cous/brown rice on the side to cut it.

Nutritional Information: If you are on Core, this is a Core recipe. If you are on Flex, this is 4 points. (Or, about 230 calories... ish.)

Middle Eastern Lemon Meatballs

I'm told by my Turkish friend, who gave me this recipe, that it's considered a very special dish, and in her home village, is only made for weddings and important celebrations like that.

I make it more often than that, but thought you should know the history...

Lamb and Lemon meatballs

1.5 pounds of ground lamb
1-2 cups rice or couscous (I used brown rice), cooked and hot
one onion, minced (very, very small pieces)
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 eggs
parsley, coriander, cumin, salt, white or red pepper to taste

mix the ingredients together immediately after the rice is cooked and drained for the best results. Use a spoon to stir (hot rice is HOT) until well mixed. Once well mixed, allow to cool for about 5 minutes. Remove your rings and spray your hands with cooking spray (or use a little oil to grease your palms). Shape into small meatballs about the size of an egg yolk. Your hands will get really really fatty during this process as the cooked rice will 'melt' some of the fat out of your ground lamb. Keep paper towels on hand to wipe your hands from time to time.

Place meatballs close together in a deep sided baking dish.

Sauce:

1/2 cup lemon juice
1 egg

whisk together firmly and quickly... be careful, the lemon juice can curdle the egg. Pour this mixture over the meatballs until the liquid comes up to about halfway up the meatballs. (If you packed your meatballs close enough, you may have to shift them around a little to get the sauce in between all the meatballs... this is good, you want your meatballs close!)

If you don't have enough sauce for your meatballs, make more. You can always make more, but if you play around with the sauce too much, it will curdle, so you want to make it in small batches.

Cook in preheated oven, 375 degrees for ~30-45 minutes. Meatballs are done when the lemon-egg sauce looks like custard and meatballs are browned on top.

Meatballs can be served hot or cold... if you eat them hot, I recommend eating the custard sauce *with* the meatball. If eaten cold, I recommend removing the meatballs from the baking dish and scraping off most of the sauce. (It gets fat in it from the cooking process and can make the custard taste really weird and sort of grainy when cold)

Hungry Caterpillar's Party Cheesecake

Well, I promised y'all this recipe, so here it is... please have a cheesecake, if you're here for the party.

Now, I make the recipe slightly differently, as far as presentation and serving sizes go. Go to your local party store (Ours is actually called The Party Store, but there was one in our old city called Paper Factory) and buy disposable wine glasses. These 'plastics' hold about 4 oz, and then when you have a party, you'll have 1) more parfait to spread around and 2) less worry about someone breaking a super tall glass. Recipe makes six regular sized parfaits (as pictured) or 12 small ones.

Ingredients

1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 TBSP Splenda granular
1 1/2 TBSP butter or margarine, melted
4 oz tub-style light cream cheese
4 oz non fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup fat free sour cream
1/4 Splenda granular
1 cup light whipped topping
2 TBSP sugar free raspberry topping (or chocolate) (Walden's farm makes a great selection of 0 calorie ice cream toppers) (optional)
1 1/4 cup fresh fruits (strawberries, melon, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, watermelon, cantaloupe, etc.)

For a decorate approach, cut slices of melons and use small cookie cutters to punch out shapes. You can also garnish with various decorations (spiral cut orange peel, springs of mint, cocktail umbrellas, small plastic 'glass charms' and the like. have fun with it!)

In small bowl, mix graham cracker crumbes, 2 TBSP splenda, and butter. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat cream cheeses with a mixer until creamy. Add sour cream, 1/4 cup splenda and stir until smooth. Fold in light whipped topping.

Divide graham cracker mixture among your glasses, covering the bottom of each glass. (for hollow stem plastic wine glasses, you may want to make up more graham cracker mixture. This will fall into the bottom of the stem and your guests will not be able to get it out, so it won't change the calorie count, unless they are very very determined, and really, if they are, they probably shouldn't be on WW anyway) Press down firmly. Divide the cream cheese mixture in half, then use divide that half into the number of glasses you intend to serve (six large, or a dozen small; this is about 3 tablespoons of mix for a large glass, and 1 heaping tablespoon to small ones)

Add plain berries to each cup, enough to fill a 'layer'... blueberries, raspberries, etc. Add a like amount of the cream cheeses on top of this berry layer. Top with 0 calorie raspberry or chocolate and decorative cut fruits and melons. Garnish as desired. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving. (Do not put fat free whipped topping on, unless you're going to do so immediately before serving. That stuff melts unattractively VERY quickly.)

Nutritional Information:
For Six servings:
185 calories/8 grams fat/Fiber 1 gram (4 WW points)
For Twelve Servings
93 calories/4 grams fat/Fiber .5 (2 WW points)

---

I'm in a strange mental place today, and not just because there's all these party people wandering around on my blog (Hi, Y'all!).

Do you ever do your visualization and then realize you've completely messed it up? Or something happens that makes it all a moot point?

As most of you know, I haven't been telling my best friend that I'm on Weight Watchers. Honestly, I didn't expect it to go on that long (either the lifestyle changes, or the not telling her, don't ask me which one, because the answer wouldn't be flattering to either of us!) And then her oldest child ended up with Type 1 Diabetes, and we just haven't seen each other at all this year.

The last time I saw her, or her husband, was when we were visiting their daughter in the hospital. Before that was about a week prior, when Anne was first starting to develop the symptoms, only no one knew what was wrong with her, and Carol was not paying the slightest attention to anything else that was going on, only that she had a hungry infant and a sick pre-schooler.

While I doubt that any amount of time will ease their anxiety about Anne, they are in a better mental place about it. I had thought we would be seeing them next week for the first time since January... and as every knows, I have lost a good amount of weight, as well as taking myself down a few pants sizes. So... my quandary has been this: what now? Bad: What do I say if she asks me about my weight loss?

Worse: How do I feel if she doesn't notice?

And I'd thought I had a whole extra week to prepare for this, since we're co-hosting the Early Bird cookout next weekend. I hadn't gotten an invitation to Pearl's birthday party (Pearl's mother tends to forget we exist because she doesn't see us often) and thought we weren't going to be going. But we got the invite in the mail two days ago, and since I was so mad about not being invited, it would be really shoddy of me not to go.

So now I have to face everyone for the first time in quite a while. I haven't seen Pearl's mom in... oh, since Darcy's birthday party, back in October, and even then I didn't get to talk to her much, trying to keep a half dozen pre-schoolers from running amok in the Build-a-Bear shop...

And I am sooooo not ready for this.

HYC and Comfort Foods

Hello fellow challengers,

After doing my new workout, I dragged my very sore ass into Weight Watchers last night. (Ok, my ass is actually sore. We did glute work, as well as reverse lunges, which absolutely TORE UP the front of my thighs...)

My leader, Beth, eyed me dubiously while I was (very slowly) taking off my pocketbook (I have one of those backpack type model purses. Made of leather. From Italy. My dad gave it to me for Christmas and I love it. So does my stepmother. She made a habit of offering me money for it, for about the first eight months I had it... No can do, I love this purse. It's the best one I've ever, ever had.)

"New workout," I said, wincing slightly. "I'm a bit sore."

"So I see," Beth said. "Well, you've probably gained, then, just to warn you. Your body tends to cling desperately to its fat when it's sick or in pain."

"Greeeeeeeeeeeeat," I said, stepping up onto the scale.

"Oh, this stupid machine," Beth mutters, pushing buttons and grumbling to herself. "I never understand this, look at all these little lines? Oh, there, it's cleared up. Hang on, now it's looking at someone else - oh, I think you're going to like this... what? Hang on. Click here, drag that, swipe the card. Ah! Here we go."

The little tag prints out, and she sticks it into my wallet folder. "Very good job."

I start putting my things together and then open the folder. "205. -3.6"

"Cool," I said. "Oh, guess what? Darcy, show Miss Beth your dollie."

Darcy turned around in her seat and displayed her baby doll (currently wearing a purple cap from one outfit and the bright orange set of pajamas.)

"Oh, what a nice doll, sweetie," Beth said. "What's her name?" I grin. She's setting the question up just the way I want. People always ask that question about dollbabies.

"Beff!" says Darcy.

"To be fair," I said, leaning over the counter while Thomas got weighed, "the doll's name's been Beth for about a year, but I thought it was cute."

[Thomas was up .6 pounds this week... of course, he also decided he could journal in his head. And he's gone to bed 2 days now, low on points by 6 - 8 points. Learning experience: He cannot skip points, no matter what. And it's pissing me off because I'm trying not to nag him to eat, or nag him to journal... and I'm trying to keep higher calorie foods on hand so he doesn't have to eat so MUCH in order to get his points in, but it is hard.]

[Additional side note: I did my measurements again yesterday, since it was now 2 months into WWs, so here are my new numbers

Upper Arm: 12 1/4 (down 1 3/4)
Waist: 42 (down 4)
Hips: 48 (down 4)
Upper Thigh: 24 1/4 (down 2 3/4)]

The meeting was fun. It's National Nutrition Month (who cares? We all should. We don't. But we should.) so we went back over the 8 HGs (healthy guidelines):

1. 6 waters per day (not having a problem with this, but I always, always drink a lot. It wasn't hard to sub the water in for soda.)
   
2. 2 (or 3) milks (8oz of milk, or 1 1/2 oz of cheese. I eat loads of cheese, so this is easy.)
   
3. 2 oils (here's my big problem, because I'd much rather eat those 2 points. An oil to me is just empty calories. I'm not less hungry after oils. On the other hand, I don't want my hair to fall out.)
   
4. 5 fruits and veggies (Not a problem. I eat berries and tomatoes regularly)
   
5. Some protein (I usually eat a protein with all meals. Eggs in the morning, tuna with lunch, chicken or beef in the evening.)
   
6. whole grain over white (YUCK. But it just means get your fiber in, and I'm doing that with beans and yogurt, so there.)
   
7. limit sugar and alcohol (I haven't had an alcoholic beverage in months, but that's normal for me, I haven't been a heavy drinker in a long time)
8. take a multivitamin (I take a child's multivitamin because adult vitamins give me a massive upset stomach. Altho I must say that taking a multivitamin as a requirement seems a bit odd to me. I mean, if you're following the other 7 guidelines, shouldn't you be getting in all the vitamins you need? If you're not, doesn't that mean something's wrong? Or maybe I just think too much.)

Anyway, we got home after the meeting and I went to the kitchen to make dinner.

My great grandmother (mom's mom's mom, whom we all called Mimi) used to cook for me and my cousins from time to time. And she always made the same three dishes when she cooked. Goldenrod Eggs on Toast (my mother hates this dish, and always called it Rotten Gold Eggs on Toast, which is actually what most of us call it now, as a joke), Ground Beef a la Mimi, and Kidney Beans and Bacon.

Goldenrod eggs and Ground Beef are pretty much the same recipe: it's a simple flour, butter and spice roux over cooked eggs (or ground beef) served over toast. I'm still fond of both, but Thomas absolutely refuses to eat either (he agrees with my mom on this particular issue), so I haven't cooked them in a long, long time. But Kidney Beans and Bacon is something that he'll eat, and I love it. Kidney Beans and Bacon is right up there with Macaroni and Cheese and Tomato Soup for comfort foods. And I like to eat it because my Mimi liked to cook it, and I loved my Mimi. (She died when I was 13... the summer before she died, she had cataracts and couldn't read anymore. She loved to read. So that summer, in the evenings, we'd go out on the back porch and I'd read to her. I read Wuthering Heights to her. I vividly remember reading the "I am Heathcliff" speech and both of us were crying through it, and I kept having to stop to blow my nose. She put her hand on my shoulder while I read and I felt comfort and strength and love in her gnarled fingers. Anyway, it's one of my favorite books, and it's one of my favorite memories. And if having an old Depression Era recipe for dinner once in a while makes me feel mentally and emotionally closer to a woman who died over 20 years ago, so be it.)

Anyway, the recipe as it was is fairly simple. 1 onion, 1 side of bacon, several cans of kidney beans. Cut the bacon into bite sized bits and fry with the onions. Once the bacon is cooked through and the onions are translucent, drain the kidney beans, add them, and cook covered for about 30 minutes. Serve with buttered bread.

(You can see where this isn't quite Weight Watchers friendly, right? I mean, we're talking about 15-20 slices of bacon.)

I decided to make the recipe yesterday using the turkey bacon that I'd gotten. It turned out quite well, and was 5 points per cup (plus 1 point for 2 slices of bread.) It's still pretty high in sodium, but I don't think I'm going to be able to get around that. Too much stuff has too much salt in it.

It was nice, eating my dinner last night, and thinking back to that long-ago pair, reading a book, as the sun set over the lake, sending spangles of orange darts of light dancing along the walls... I'm glad I can still have it.

If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger: I should not seem a part of it...Nelly, I am Heathcliff! He's always, always in my mind: not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself, but as my own being.

- Cathy, Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë

Commercial Break

I've made some discoveries in the last few weeks that have made this food plan a little more bearable, so I thought I'd talk about them... things I've tried and liked, things I've tried and NOT liked...

The most recent discover is Ronzoni pasta.

I really, really hate wheat products. When I was a kid, I liked Wonderbread - did you ever tear the crusts off a piece of wonderbread and roll the remaining bread around in your hand til you got a little doughy ball? I loved those. My favorite sandwiches were peanut butter and marshmallow fluff or Miracle Whip and banana. (I know, I know. Lots of you are making faces at me at the moment. Or you might be nodding knowingly and thinking of your own weird concoctions... feel free to share, I always love knowing I'm not alone in my bizarre behaviors). My grandparents used to try to get me to eat Wheat Bread, and I just couldn't. I'd rather have no sandwich than a sandwich on wheat. (As a note, my grandparents were also the sort who would force you to sit at the table until you'd eaten every last FREAKING bite of something you absolutely hated, even if it meant you were at the table until 3am. If anyone in my life ever gets fried chicken livers near me again, I promise you, I will punch your lights out.) Fortunately, I only had to sit at the table one day about the wheat bread thing, and after that I got to make my own sandwich, so whatever I wanted was fine.

I don't think that's why I hate wheat bread. I always assumed, growing up, that it was something I'd like more when I was older... an acquired taste that I never acquired. Like American beer. I did eventually come to love raw tomatoes. And lima beans. (I've always loved esoteric "grown up" foods like escargot, sushi, caviar, bleu cheese, and asparagus)

There's just something about wheat bread and wheat products that are unappealing to me. I think it's the smell. If I manage to put enough mustard or tangy sauce or onions on a sandwich, and breathe through my mouth, I can eat a wheat bread sandwich. It's still forcing myself to do it, but I can.

The thing is, I don't want to force myself to eat things I don't like. And I have managed to find some white bread options that I can live with, as far as sandwiches go. Or wheat products that don't quite have the same overwhelming rotten hay smell. The Flat Out light wraps are a favorite around here. Especially the Italian Herb and Sun-dried Tomato ones.

I've tried wheat pasta. Oh, my god, I thought I was going to be sick. The rotten hay smell was not only in my bowl, but it stuck to everything. My fork reeked of it, and my fingers, and I could smell it on my own breath for hours after I ate, even having brushed my teeth. TWICE.

I sighed a lot about it, and had just come to the conclusion that I was going to have to just add in the extra point to have the white pasta, when Ronzoni came in to save the day.

Warning: It's a little stickier than regular pasta, and somehow it seems wrong to add a teaspoon of oil to the water (why get back the point I just saved??). You'll want to have your sauce ready before the pasta is, so you can just add the sauce straight to the pasta. (And stir it in immediately, instead of leaving the sauce piled on top. makes for a less picturesque presentation, but hey... can't have everything.) And the package is, like every other freaking 'healthy' product out there, more expensive than regular pasta. And only contains seven servings, instead of the typical 8.

That being said, it's quite good. We had spaghetti last night and I was much happier with it. So was Darcy. Thomas says he doesn't care, that the wheat pasta works for him.

The second - and for me, more important - discoveries I've made (or had suggested to me, thanks ladies from the WW SAHM group!) are low point cheeses that are actually edible.

Sargento has come out with two light cheese slices, and light mozzarella cheese sticks that are 1 point a stick or slice.

Now, I love cheese. I have always loved cheese. Take the freaking chocolate if you want, I don't need it, but damn, leave me my cheese. And my god, is it points expensive! Finding low points alternatives have made me very happy. And I must say, the swiss in particular, is very tasty.

I eat cheese in omelets, in sandwiches, on salad, in soups, and on bagels... Which leads me to my other cheese discovery...

Laughing Cow cheese wedges. Very squishy and spreadable, it's got slightly more "bite" than cream cheese. Which makes up, I think, for the fact that my bagels and English muffins have grown slightly less tasty. (Weight Watchers bagels and Thomas 100 calorie English muffins.) Also, these spread nicely on crackers. And at one point for two cheese wedges, these are a great snack.

I have had some bad food discoveries as well. (Not just the above-mentioned whole wheat pasta, which I gleefully threw in the trash this morning!)

Weight Watchers Yogurt. Good in theory, tasteless in practice. I want my key lime yogurt to TASTE like something, not just look green.

Progresso Light Soup. (Just 0 points!) And half your daily allowance of sodium. My christ! Which I might not mind so much, except salt is exactly what it tastes like. I have low blood pressure anyway, so sodium isn't big on my list of concerns, really, except that I don't want my food to taste like a vegetable flavored salt lick. I threw my cans out the other day because I wasn't going to eat them.

Sugar Free Dove chocolate bites. Now, don't get me wrong, a lot of the sugar-free chocolates are pretty tasty. I got rather well accustomed to them on the diabetic diet when I was pregnant. (Keep in mind that sugar free does not mean low calorie, they're only a point or two below regular chocolates... for me, it's all about the individually wrapped chocolate. Portion control!) These... are not tasty. They have a weird, dry - almost crumbly - feel in the mouth, and then leave a weird, waxy aftertaste.

So, those are my recent food discoveries. Feel free to share your own...

Some Asides (And a Recipe... and maybe, just maybe, an actual post)

[I'd like to thank everyone who's dropped by in the last couple of days and left comments, support, encouragement, sympathy, and other goodies... It does help and it does mean a lot to me to find a thoughtful, helpful group of people with whom I can share this Long Walk... Ok, so being on Weight Watchers isn't quite that bad, but those people who have read the story are probably snickering right along with me. (If you haven't read it, it's scary and good and grotesque. Everything a fun read should be... I'd recommend Rage as well, but since there are some tie-ins with high school shootings, that story got yanked from publication and if you find it at all, it'll be in a used bookstore... this distresses me immensely as I am not a fan of the whole idea of 'if you don't know about it, you won't do it' cotton-eyed illusion of safety. Watching people shoot other people on TV has never made me the slightest bit more inclined to actually shoot anyone. Nor did I ever think I could jump off a cliff and survive, or any of the other 'violence in the system' shit that a great number of vocal conservatives seem to espouse. Dungeons & Dragons has not influenced me towards suicidal tendencies; my mom and my high school did that without any help from Gary Gygax.)

As a further note, when you see me talking in brackets like this [] it means I'm talking directly to you, the readers of this blog, as opposed to a generic you, which may or may not refer to anyone in specific, and rather frequently (and with bad grammatical tendencies) refers to me.]

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Lemon Souffle

I made these cakes last night for dessert and wow, they are fantastic. At three points a piece, what a bargain!

4 large egg whites
3 TBSP Splenda granular
1 TBSP granulated sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 TBSP margarine
3/4 cup Splenda granular
3/4 cup lowfat buttermilk
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 TBSP lemon peel
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 4 6 oz ramekins with nonstick cooking spray and place in a large baking pan at least 2 inches deep. Set aside.

In deep bowl, beat egg whites on high speed until foamy. Beat in 3 TBSP Splenda and 1 TBSP sugar until soft peaks form. In another bowl, beat egg yolks, butter, 3/4 cup Splenda until creamy. Stir in next 6 ingredients and beat until smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl a few times. Fold in 1/4 of the egg whites and stir to incorporate. Gently fold in remaining egg whites. Divide batter among the ramekins (3/4 full). Sprinkle 1/2 tsp sugar over each cake.

Place baking dish in center rack. Pour boiling water into the baking dish until it reaches halfway up the ramekins. (this is harder than it sounds). Bake 25 - 30 minutes or until the center feels firm to the touch. There WILL BE a small pool of lemon custard at the bottom of your ramekin. This is normal. Serve with fat free whipped topping and blueberries if desired.

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So, we're at the grocery store the other day, and I apologized (again) to Thomas about being in such a bad mood. I mentioned some of the things that people have said to me (maybe I'm not eating enough because I'm working out, or whathaveyou.) He rolled his eyes at me. I think it bothers him that I don't listen to his vast store of wisdom, and that it takes extra validation from other people. (yeah, you can hear the sarcasm there...)

I said "Well, you know, that's why I haven't ever been really serious about dieting."

"Hmm?" He's stopped listening to me, looking through the $5 bin of DVDs.

"I don't diet because I'm a miserable bitch to be around while I'm dieting."

"Well, that's not exactly encouraging me to keep going to meetings. Do you think you're going to be like this for the rest of our lives?"

"I don't know. I've never tried... this, exactly. When I was pregnant with Darcy, I was miserable, but I was also stabbing myself in the stomach regularly, having to go to the doctor's twice a week, throwing up with alarming frequency and in pain. All. The. Time." He nods. This isn't anything he doesn't already know. He was - I admit - very good about my pregnancy. He went to almost all of my doctor appointments with me (except one, but he was out of town for business that week, so he can be forgiven) even when he was working night shift and not getting anywhere near enough sleep. A lot of people roll their eyes when a couple will say "We're pregnant," but it really was a team effort for us. "But I had something tangible to look forward to - a baby. And I knew that it wasn't always going to be like this. And I don't think I've been that horrid, really. Just after the meeting for a few hours."

"Um. No. You start keying up a few days before our weigh in - which is, by the way, the weekend, when I have to put up with you all day - getting all moody about it, and then you're hostile and unhappy after the meeting, and most of the next day. Just to start over again on Friday. Spouse, you're being pissed for more than half the time."

I glared at him over the bin of tomatoes. "Hmm. Must be interesting for you to see what it's like."

"What?"

"Living with someone who's stressed all the time."

Silence. It was probably a low blow, but nonetheless, true. Starting around August of last year, all the way through to the first of this year, Thomas was constantly pissed off about workshite. I think I mentioned it earlier, so I won't reiterate.

"I've been making a lot of changes this year," I continued, picking over a few sweet onions. "I'm on a food plan. We're bleeding money like crazy - can't seem to recover from the trip to Georgia -" We went to visit my mom back at Thanksgiving, and the whole trip cost about $800 for three or four days and we still haven't managed to bounce back. There's nothing in savings, and towards the end of each paycheck, we don't have any cushion left in the checking. I hate hate hate living like that. It's always when I can least afford it that the car breaks down, or someone has to go to the hospital or whatever emergency happens. I remember the days entirely too vividly when an extra 8 minutes on the clock could make the difference as to whether or not I ate meat that week. "- I'm trying to keep the house clean because you complained about it -"

"I most certainly did not..." he tries to interrupt me.

"Yes, you did." I override him. "And I'm doing it. My natural tendency is towards slobbery. I hate cleaning. It seems like no matter how much I do, I'm just doing the same fucking thing the next day."

"Well, I didn't mean it that way, exactly."

"And what way exactly did you mean it? You wanted the house clean, and I'm doing it. I hate it, but I'm doing it. I hate watching what I eat, but I'm doing it. I hate not having enough money, and I'm living with that too. Exactly how good of a mood do you expect me to be able to maintain? I am doing the best I can."

Thomas tries to lighten things up. It's probably not good for us to brawl in the grocery store. "Losers always whine about their best. Winners go home and fuck the prom queen." He does the accent with enough drama for Drury Lane, and I laugh.

"Ok, ok. But seriously, you need to cut me some slack. "

"Actually, I was thinking you need to cut yourself some slack."