I SWITCHED SITES

Hello All:

I switched blog sites because Wordpress has more options for me.  I will try to see if I can get all the archived blogs from this site over to my new site.

http://marlenesmantra.wordpress.com/

Ever Have One of Those Days

Monday.  It was true to its word.  It wasn't one of my better days.  The only good thing about today was our Monday night WW meeting at 5:30 in Concord.  We had a great turnout.  Five new enrollments!  Now if they had been reading this blog, and mentioned it, they would have received a free gift.

I must admit that I am a bit unmotivated right now.  It is so tough trying to cook and eat healthy when you are the only member in the household who wants to participate.  My Oscar Night menu was consumed only by me.  A Turkey/Chicken "meatloaf" all ten servings for me.  Even the No bake cheesecake...

It hurts my feelings, making all this food just for me.  Oh well.  Unfortunately, I can't even muster up enough energy to find a great recipe to post for everyone tonight.  So I am taking recipe ideas from anyone who would like to send one to me.

Signing off...

Great Gadgets

Little did I know how much time I would spend in the kitchen when I decided to start this blog.  Today I want to write about great gadget finds for the kitchen.

Since Sunday is Target day, after we finished shopping at Target, the hubby and I decided to go to Marshalls.  While I was looking for pretty plates to display my food, I discovered a Kitchen Aid "egg slicer".  However, I didn't want to slice eggs, it was strawberries that I wanted to slice.  And guess what?  It works. It really works! 

Let me know what some of your great kitchen gadgets finds you have discovered.

Also, tip of the day, when measuring honey, spray non stick spray on your spoon, or measuring cup, for the honey to slip right off the spoon our out of the cup.

Wow

Wow!  Today's meeting was awesome.  Over 45 people attended.  That's over 10 more than last week's meeting.  The line was out the door.  I love it. Our leader is awesome.  I handed out my Fresh Apple Salsa recipe to everyone.  I hope they all go home and give it a try.

The hubby decided to go hit a bucket of balls at the golf course and I was trying to figure out what recipe I can include in today's post.  So while he was out...

This recipe came right out of my Ultimate 3 Month Tracker.  I love my tracker.  If you don't have one, go out and get one.  I bookmark the weeks that I did well, so I can see what I ate, and try to repeat it to stay on track.

You only use 2 ingredients.  Now that's what I call EASY!.

Cherry Squares 2 PointsPlus per serving

1 package of Angel Food Cake
1 20 oz can of lite cherry pie filling

Preheat oven 350 degrees

Combine cake mix and the pie filling.  DO NOT ADD ANY OTHER INGREDIENTS.
Pour batter into an ungreased 9 x 13 baking dish, bake for 30 minutes.  Cool and cut into 24 squares. Enjoy!

Oh my goodness.  This was delicious.  I want this to be my next birthday cake.

Lazy Friday

Today, I just felt plain old lazy.  I was working from home, but had no motivation whatsoever.  It was pouring rain and I was so cold I didn't want to do much of anything.  I didn't even get on the Wii fit today.

So I took the easy way out and for lunch I reveled in a nice warm cup of

TJ's Creamy Corn and Roasted Pepper Soup 1 cup is 3 PointsPlus

I added fresh cilantro and some crushed red pepper!

I went out to get today's mail and a Netflix movie was waiting to be opened.  So tonight, the hubby and I will be watching The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest.  The last in the trilogy series.  I can't wait.

But what to eat for dinner tonight remains to be seen.  I did not plan anything....

What will You Serve..

Since the Oscar's will be airing this Sunday, I thought I would give you some great suggestions of  food to serve for your Oscar party.  Even if you are not hosting a party or going to a party you can still serve this to you and or your family.  I will be making these on Sunday and will post pictures later.

Cucumber "Sandwiches" 0 PointsPlus

1 cucumber sliced

Salt and pepper

Fage Greek yogurt (1 cup equals 3 PointsPlus)

Sliced roasted red peppers

Salt and pepper your cucumber slices, put a 1/2 teaspoon of yogurt on each cucumber and top with a slice of roasted red pepper. 

You would basically have to consume 96 slices to equal 1 cup of yogurt.

Baby Spinach with sliced Strawberries and toasted Almond Slices 2 PointsPlus

1/3 cup toasted sliced almonds
1 cup sliced strawberries
2 tablespoons TJ's low fat Parmesan Ranch Dressing

Veggie Medley 1 PointsPlus
1 red pepper, sliced
1 yellow pepper, sliced
1 small zucchini cut into bite size pieces
1 red onion, sliced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
pepper to taste
dried basil to taste

Saute peppers and zucchini until tender, about 10-15 minutes.  Meanwhile, saute the onion, garlic, and seasonings in the vinegar.  Stir the cooked veggies into the vinegar mixture until thoroughly coated.

Turkey and Chicken Meatloaf 7 PointsPlus per serving (yields 10 servings)

1 lb ground turkey
1 lb ground chicken
3 eggs
1/4 cup skim milk
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
2 cups seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 medium onion
1 teaspoon garlic powder
non-stick spray

Preheat over to 350.  Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl.  Use a large loaf pan  that's been sprayed with non-stick spray.. Bake for about a hour.

No Bake Cheese Cake  2PointsPlus per serving (yields 20 servings)

Low fat graham crackers
8 oz. fat free cream cheese (softened)
1 cup cold skim milk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 small box instant vanilla pudding (sugar free)
 8 oz. fat free Cool Whip
1 can lite cherry pie filling (or any flavor)

Line the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan with whole graham crackers. Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add milk and lemon juice to the cream cheese and beat until smooth. Stir in pudding mix, then fold in Cool Whip. Spread 1/2 of cream cheese mixture over graham crackers. Repeat with another layer of graham crackers and cream cheese mixture. Spread pie filling over top. Refrigerate overnight for graham crackers to soften.

In the end, if you have one serving of each recipe listed, your total PointsPlus will be 12.

Which movie do you think will win Best Picture? Black Swan, 127 Hours, Social Network, The Kings Speech?

I haven't seen any of these movies, so your guess is as good as mine! :)

Two New Recipes

I was busy in the kitchen.  Today, I tried out two new recipes. 

For lunch I whipped up a Grilled Mahi Mahi Burger (8 PointsPlus)

I broiled one TJ's mahi mahi burger, 4 PointsPlus, toasted one English muffin , 3 PointsPlus and topped it with 2 tablespoons of Guacamole Hummus, 1 PointsPlus, 1 tablespoon dijonnaise, purple onion, lettuce, all 0 PointsPlus, for a total of  8 PointsPlus.  What are some condiments you would add to this delicious burger?

For Dinner I created my version of Chicken Tortilla Soup (1 1/2 cups for 4 PointsPlus)

4 cups chicken broth (low-sodium preferred)
1 container of TJ's Pico de Gallo
2 cups fresh spinach
8 ounces of chopped cooked chicken breasts
TJ's Light Mexican Blend
1 La Tortilla Factory corn tortilla (I heated it to get it crispy then cut into strips)

Bring broth and pico degallo to a boil.  Add the fresh spinach and cooked chicken.  Cover and simmer. To spice it up a bit add some cilantro and a chopped, rinsed and seeded jalepeno

Add 1 tablespoon of the shredded cheese and 1 tablespoon corn tortilla strips to your bowl for a total of 4 PointsPlus

Try one of my recipes and let me know what you think.