HAPPY LONG WEEKEND, almost Memorial Day everyone!!!!  As requested, I am bringing back  my Healthy Memorial Day Recipes and Menu ideas.  I thought it would be fun to browse my recipe section and give you all a bunch of ideas you could make to kick off the Unofficial First Day of Summer, Memorial day!  I picked out everything from appetizers to healthy salads, beans, grilling options and, of course, dessert!

The best part about these Weight Watchers Memorial Day Recipes ~ they are all points+/calorie friendly, easy to make and deeeeliciooouuus!!!!

COCKTAILS!!

* All you NEED are these Summer Berry Pomtini’s ~ with or without alcohol, 3 points+

GRAB ~ N ~ GO

TWO things I highly recommend that EVERY Weight Watcher have at their parties in addition to any of the treats below are BIG POWER FOODS TRAYS!!

These two options give you something you can go back to over and over again!

VEGETABLE TRAY ~ Mix Fat Free Greek Yogurt with Ranch for a quick dip

FRUIT TRAY ~ Use your FAVORITE flavored Chobani Greek Yogurt for dip!

My favorite EASY appetizer of all time ~ BRUSCHETTA and a fancy one too

*  Pesto & Sun Dried Tomato Cream Cheese/Pesto Spread, 1 Point+ for 2 Tbsp

* Janetha’s Healthy Stuffed Mushrooms ~ 5 MUSHROOMS for only 2 Points+

* Spicy Buffalo Chicken Meatballs, 1 Point+ each

* Gina’s Skinny Baked Jalapeno Poppers, 1 Points+ each

* Marisa’ Breaded Cheese Stuffed Zucchini, 2 HALVES for 3 points+

* Better than Shrimp Cocktail ~ Shrimp Scampi, 6 shrimp for 3 points+

* Holly’s Garbanzo Guacamole 2 Points+ per 1/4 cup

* Susan’s Simple Salsa, 0 points+

* Party Bean Dip with Baked Tortilla Chips, 4 Points+

HEALTHY SALADS

* A Healthier Potato Salad, 3 points+ per 1/2 cup

* VEGAN Pasta Salad, 5 points+

* Harvest Grain Salad, 4 points+

* Creamy Dill Macaroni Salad, 4 points+

* No Cook Summer Garden Pasta Salad

* Crunchy Feta, Bacon & Pecan Salad, 4 points+

* Sunomono, 1 Point+ per 1/4 cup

BEANS!

* Slow Cooker Molasses Baked Beans

* Quick & Easy Slow Cooker Baked Beans

* Slow Cooked Chipotle Beer Baked Beans, 4 points+

GET YOUR GRILL ON

* Have a Grilled Pizza Party!

* Bacon Inside Out Cheeseburger Sliders

* Bacon Cheeseburgers with sweet potato fries

* Bacon, Maple Turkey Burgers with Zucchini Fries

* Grilled Chicken Sausage & Veggie Skewers

* POM Infused BBQ Chicken with Fresh Corn Salad

* Grilled Chicken Fajitas

* Grilled Fish Tacos

* Shrimp Skewers with Tropical Brown Rice

* Grilled Tri Tip Carne Asada Steak Salads

* Grilled Eggplant Lasagna

* NO GRILL ~ You can still “BBQ” ~ Crockpot Spicy BBQ Brisket with a Healthy Asian Slaw

* Don’t forget, you can always COOK with BEER & drink it too!

EASY DESSERTS

* Nectarine Raspberry Sorbet, 3 points+

* Meyer Lemon Sugar Cookies, 1 points+

* Nectarine Crisp with Low-Fat Vanilla Frozen Yogurt, 5 points+

* Watermelon Bomb!

* 3 Ingredient Berry Cobbler

* Easy Rocky Road Squares, 3 points+

* Just for fun ~ A RAINBOW CAKE OR CUPCAKES!

If you would like to print any of the above recipes and it is not noted on the page you open up, head on over to My Recipe page to find the recipe and print (they are all in alphabetical order).

Q’s:

What are you all "fixin’" this Memorial Day?  If you have any ideas to share with everyone, leave a comment and/or post the link below.  After all, you can never have enough recipes!

Happy Friday Eve everyone!

Happy Wednesday all! I think it’s awesome you all go nutty for nut butters of all types.  I do have to confess that I love Biscoff and Nutella, but, I have never managed to use either like a nut butter.  They pretty much go from spoon to mouth or maybe on a cookie first…..although I’ve always thought Biscoff would be fantastic with apple slices.

Speaking of addictions, I have fallen back into my routine of staring my day with a Healthy Egg Rolls.

For those wondering how I make them, I “fry” up an egg and a Mission Extra Thin Yellow Corn tortilla in nonstick cooking spray.  When I flip the tortilla, I top it with cheese and sriracha cooking until it gets all melty….add the egg and tadah ~ breakfast in 5 minutes or less for 4-5 points+ depending on the type of cheese you use.

Keeping up with my May goal to have a fruit and/or veggie with every meal or snack, I added in a 1/2 cup of fresh organic blueberries.

Breakfast kept me going all morning long and by the time I noticed my stomach talking to me it was lunchtime.  I started with my salad of the week ~ Organic Mixed Greens, red cabbage & carrots (all for different flavors & textures), sweet dried cranberries (chewing power) and nutty/salty sunflower seeds with a Tbsp of Bolt House Ranch drizzled. 2 points+

Then, I moved on to that BBQ Pulled Pork from last night!  I had pondered putting it on a salad or waiting to have it for dinner, but, in the end, I decided a bunch is where it belonged.

Have you ever noticed there really isn’t a good way to take a picture of pulled pork on a bun that looks appealing? Every picture I took I kept saying ~ it’s all bun….but, it’s not at the same time LOL. (7 points+)

See what I mean?

I totally planned my day around having Dry Roasted Salty Sunflower Seeds for snack today.

I told you all yesterday, I am totally have a sunflower addiction going on lately. This cute little container holds exactly a 1/4 cup which is really a lot of seeds. 5 points+

Followed up with the last of our watermelon.

On my drive home, I dreamt about two things….Chipotle Chicken Tacos and Homemade Turkey Tacos.  Both would require about the same amount of time and effort (by the time you drive/wait/eat/drive back or cook and devour)…..

In the end….it was my favorite Mission Tortillas that won!

Oh and this Trader Joe’s Cowboy Caviar that I picked up awhile back.

If you all have not tried this yet, you NEED to ~ it’s delicious!  It smoky with just a little heat from the Chipotle Peppers, but, packed with sweet corn, black beans and red bell peppers.

1 points+ a serving

I browned up some ground turkey with red onion and bell pepper.  Then, drained off the water, sprinkled with homemade taco seasoning and a few generous scoops of Cowboy Caviar.

I wonder if that means I can now officially call these Cowboy Tacos?

1/2 cup Turkey Taco Meat,2 Tbsp reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese, a sprinkle of lettuce, tomatoes, green onion and 1/8 AVOCADO….better than any Chipotle run any day!

Only 4 points+ per taco

STATS: 27 Daily Points+, 1 WPA used, 21 WPA remaining

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

What do you put on your tacos?  Do you have any must have ingredients?

Night all!

Happy Tuesday all!  Thanks for sharing all you cooking with coffee ideas ~ good and not so good recipes.  I have only baked with coffee once making Tiramisu Cupcakes and I remember that it took a lot of work.  I have always wanted to use coffee in making chocolate cakes or cupcakes because they say it enhances the chocolate flavor. 

After putting dinner in the crockpot to slow cook all day, I whipped up a super cheesy Healthy Eggroll for breakfast.  5 points+ because I used a higher points+ cheese.

Paired with some sweet, crispy organic blueberries

Several cups of coffee were consumed while making all of this….ok, just two before I left the house.

Since I knew today was going to be busy, I not only packed up lunch to take with me, but, I snapped pictures too.

Organic Mixed Greens with 1 1/2 tsp. sunflower seeds, 1 1/2 tsp.. dried cranberries and 1 Tbsp. Bolthouse Classic Ranch drizzled on top.  (2 points+)

I doubled my “sunflower power” today by pairing my salad with half a Sunflower Butter and Raspberry Jam sandwich. (5 points+)

My midafternoon snack ~ A Chobani Key Lime Flip (4 points+)

There is something so amazing about those mini white chocolate chips, graham cracker crumbles and key lime…..I didn’t take my time dipping them today, instead, I dumped they all in at once.

I could not wait to get home tonight to dive into the Slow Cooker Pulled Pork and Kale Chips! 

Served up a toasted sesame bun. (1/2 cup = 4 points+ and the bun = 3 points+)

Serve up a little BBQ Pork on each side of the bun or put the hat on and dive right in….

After adding some Wickles of course!  The salad was his since he wont’ touch kale chips or admit it when he steals a few.

Yes, I know I am totally weird, but, I crave these crunchy green “potato-like” chips.  1 points+….and I totally ate an entire bunch of organic kale this way…I can admit it

Finger lickin’, lip smackin’ good!

STATS: 24 Daily Points+, 0 WPA used, 22 WPA remaining

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

What do you prefer? Peanut Butter, Almond Butter, Cashew Butter, Sunflower Butter or ?

I have to say I go through phases, but, I love them all…with Sunflower being my favorite at the moment ~ it tastes just like honey roasted sunflower seeds.

Night all!

Happy Monday all!  I had no idea so many of you were big Sophia Kinsella fans.  I absolutely love her books with my favorite to date being “Can You Keep A Secret?”  I think my “taste” in book reading has evolved over time with it all beginning with Ralph the Mouse!  I was an avid Steven King Fan and John Grisham fan before I moved onto Nora Roberts then, pretty much all the chic lit authors ~ Love Jane Green, May Kae Andrews, Meg Cabot….I could go on and on with who I like and why, but, today was such a tasty day, let’s get on with the food!

This morning I gave The Husband a choice of Flapjacks or Protein Pancakes….any thoughts on what he picked?! LOL…

Kodiak Flapjacks of course!

Served with a big bowl of berries on the side….

1 Tbsp. melted whipped butter and a drizzle of 1 Tbsp. Pure Maple Syrup

Turns into a berry flapjack “mess” that is completely delicious! 10 points+

The only thing about having all carbs for breakfast for me is that about 2 hours later, it never fails…I am always hungry.  Enter 1/2 oz. of Mixed Nuts (2 points+)

Served up with a side of watermelon.

2 hours later, I was ready to dive into lunch ~ nothing fancy, but, it totally hit the spot.

Simple Salad topped with 1 1/2 tsp. sunflower seeds, 1 1/2 tsp. dried cranberries and 1 Tbsp. balsamic. (1 points+)

Plus an Egg Salad Sandwich on Oatnut Bread.

• 1 egg plus 2 egg whites (2 points+)
• 1 Tbsp. low-fat mayo (1 points+)
• 1 tsp. mustard
• sea salt & black pepper to taste
• 2 slices of your favorite bread (5 points+)

Yes, you could pick light breads and save on points+, but, the real deal is worth it to me.

I totally invaded my co-workers Starburst Jelly Bean jar today….I made sure I counted out 20 of the flavors I like (no funky green Starburst flavors for me!) 2 points+

When I walked in the door today, my May K-Cup Ambassador Promotion was waiting for me. 

This month involved one of my favorite flavors when I need some coffee with a little kick from Barista Prima Coffeehouse.  It comes in 4 flavors and every single one is rich and satisfying.

This month they are challenging all of us to create our very own unique recipe using the Barista Prima Italian Roast…..for a little motivation, they sent us this amazing Tiramisu Brownie Recipe….

Plus, everything we need to whip up our own Tiramisu…..must ponder ideas using coffee ~ Ok!

For now, you call can save with this month’s promotion.  You will not only save 15% off everything you order at www.GreenMountainCoffee.com , but, you will get FREE SHIPPING when your order includes at least one of the K-Cup® pack of Barista Prima Coffeehouse® packs.  Just enter “BARISTA8128” when you check out.  This code is good from now until May 31st.

Dinner tonight came together in under 15 minutes with hardly any dishes to wash ~ just another reason to love your grill!

I started with my Mixed Green Salad base plus 1/2 cup Healthy Potato Salad (SF+ 1 WPA) – 3 points+.

Wickles ~ the sweet & spicy pickles that I ate like half a jar when I first tried them in South Carolina.  Plus, a new BBQ sauce we tried this week called Rufus Teague which is pretty darn tasty ~ a little smoke, a little sweet, a whole lotta BBQ goodness.

While I prepped my salad, I grilled up a Vegan Don Lee Farms Veggie Patties ~ they taste like “fried’ egg rolls when you let them get crispy on the grill and they are only 4 points+ each.

Drizzled with BBQ sauce for my “dressing.”

Finished with Toppers ~ Wickles! and fresh cherry tomatoes.

My Meatless Monday ~ Burger Salad for 8 points+

STATS: 31 Daily Points+, 5 WPA used, 22 WPA remaining

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

Have you ever cooked or baked or made anything with coffee?  If so, what? I’d love ideas!

Night all!

Happy Sunday all! Today has been such a busy, but, fun filled day.  We kicked off the day by doing a fly by at our Weight Watcher’s meeting to weigh in.  I am pretty excited to report that both of us lost 1.8 lbs. this week and I totally kept up with The Husband’s weight loss!  I definitely chalk that up to taking the time last Sunday to prep easy grab and go meals for us all week.

This week I am taking a Simply Filing Break and pointing out my days to mix things up.

I have been craving cinnamon raisin bread lately so I decided this morning that breakfast needed to start with an Oroweat Cinnamon Raisin English Muffin.

Topped with 1 Tbsp. whipped butter melted all over the top….. 6 points+

Rounded out with a big bowl of watermelon….I have a feeling this is going to be my fruit of the summer this year.

After doing a fly by weigh in this morning, we headed over to Starbuck’s to grab some caffeine for the road.  Venti Iced Non-Fat Latte with caramel drizzle on top. 3 points+

Stop #2 for the day ~ The Auburn Antique Fair.

It was located in Old Town Auburn which is actually pretty cute ~ I love the brick and all the old signs.

After the fair, we met some friends for lunch at The Oriental Restaurant.

I think my Chinese Zodiac is spot on for both The Husband and I.

I am a Tiger (roarrrr!)

He is a Boar (ummmm, what sound does a boar make ~ oink?)

Their lunch special is a total deal ~ $5.50 for all of this.

Hot & Sour Soup ~ spicy good! 2 points+

I decided to eat just until I was satisfied which meant half of my Kung Pao (but, I ate all the peanuts!) 5 points+

I think it’s awesome they serve up brown rice ~ I ate half my rice circle too. 3 points+

Then, gave away my eggroll ~ I really only like the fresh ones and the fried ones just are not worth the 4 points+ to me.

The BEST part ~ when they brought our bill out and our server was “The Boss”

Next up we headed over to visit at our friends house helping with a little yard work, then, we were off to spend the afternoon shopping to pass time waiting to meet up with my family to celebrate my sister’s birthday at Casa Ramos.

I love this courtyard downstairs from the restaurant and that you can choose to at inside or out.

As soon as we sat at the table, they put baskets of chips and salsa all the way down the line.

I know I cannot resist the chips so instead, I take my napkin, place 4 chips down, top them with a  salt  and break them into pieces dipping them in the salsa until dinner comes. 

12 chips = 4 points+

I do this 3 times and definitely helps to keep me in check and keep me from eating the entire basket which is so easy to do.

I decided to venture out from my usual Chicken Tacos and get Shrimp Fajitas.

I typically skip the sides with the exception of the guacamole and pico de gallo because it’s all about the shrimp for me.

Spicy, sweet shrimp with caramelized onions, peppers and carrots…..I ate half of this platter and used 1 tortilla. 10 points+

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIS!!! My mom totally made sure they came out singing to her…

Pretty sure she turned as red as her sombrero but she is still adorable and never ages a day.

Dessert ~ a scoop of Dreyer’s Slow Churned Light Caramel Pralines on a sugar cone. 5 points+

Not too shabby of a day for having two meals out with ice cream….glad I didn’t use too much on day 1 for my new week.

STATS: 38 Daily Points+, 12 WPA used, 27 WPA remaining

I can’t wait to dive into my new Sophia Kinsella book I picked up today called “I’ve Got Your Number!”

Night all!

Happy Weekend all!  I am glad you all liked the Sweet Pepper Tortellini Salad as much as I did….we ended up eating for dinner, then, I had it for lunches over mixed greens this week.  I finally think (fingers crossed!) I am officially on the home stretch to having life go back to normal.  I spent all day today getting stocked up and getting our house back in order.

This morning kicked off with a big bowl of cherries and berries.

Then, I moved onto one delicious Healthy Egg Roll savored with a Grande Americano that escaped the picture. (SF + 1 WPA) – 4 points+

Have you ever noticed when you drink coffee with sriracha it makes it even hotter?  Not that it was my goal at all, but, this morning….I actually thought this was HOT.

I spent the morning running around town, stocking up at Trader Joe’s, Target and shopping for my sister’s birthday gift.  There are so many cute things out there, it was hard not to shop as though it was my birthday too

In between stores, The Husband met me at Mary’s to have a Mary’s Pizza Shack Salad….Doesn’t it look awesome?

We actually shared the large salad today, but, most days, I could totally eat all of this.  I have noted which parts are Simply Filling with an SF and which you would have to count points+ for.

• Romaine Lettuce (SF)
• Freshly shredded carrots (SF)
• Tomato Slices (SF)
• Homemade Bean Salad (SF) ~ since it is homemade, canned would not be SF
• Sliced Fungus (Mushrooms! ~ SF)
• Beets (SF)
• Egg Slices(SF)
• The REAL DEAL Ranch on the side used for dipping with my fork. (4 points+ for 2 Tbsp.)

10 points+ for the entire thing or (SF + 4 WPA) plus one of his pesto breadsticks (5 points+)

The afternoon involved doing a lot of laundry, cleaning house and yogurt, fruit, cereal cup ~ the yogurt just happens to be frozen

I am not sure if I have told you all my “trick” for how to know how to count Frozen Yogurt.  There is one good thing about paying by the ounce…..

I start off by layering the bottom with fruit (in this case blueberries and strawberries), then, I have them weigh my cup BEFORE I put any frozen yogurt in the cup.  Then, after adding the yogurt, I go back to the scale and have them weigh it again so I know how many ounces of yogurt I have.

Typically 1 oz. of froyo is about 1 points+ for low-fat and fat free frozen yogurt the fruit is 0. Then, just count any extra toppings. 

Yup, I totally put Captain Crunch with Sprinkles and Yogurt Chips on my Froyo….the Captain Crunch tastes like crunch berries when you have it with the strawberry frozen yogurt.

5 oz. + toppings = 6 points+ (SF + 6 WPA)

Tonight we busted out the grill for BBQ chicken and a few Trader Joe’s Dogs that The Husband threw on (he said for snacks lol).

I started with one delicious BBQ chicken leg (SF) – 3 points+

Plus 1/2 cup Healthy Potato Salad (SF+ 1 WPA) – 3 points+

Salad topped with Bolthouse Ranch (1Tbsp = 1 points+)

All together with melon for dessert!

So, you all know I have to ask….

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

How do you Froyo?  What are you favorite frozen yogurt toppers and mixes?

Night all!

As soon as our weather starts to warm up and the farmer’s market kick back into season, I cannot wait to make salads and take advantage of everything that is in season ~ hello asparagus, my green stalky friend!  Leafy green salads, Kale Salads, Spinach Salads are all delicious and refreshing, but, sometimes, you just want something more than putting the garden on your plate (as The Husband would say…actually, he usually asks me if our salad is the result of me weeding the garden…kinda true lol.)  This Sweet Pepper Tortellini salad brings together cheesy tortellini pockets with nutty chickpeas, tangy sweet cherry peppers and crisp asparagus and tomatoes in a delicious Meyer lemon vinaigrette.  Oh ya….it really is as good as it sounds.

This pasta salad can double as a side salad for you to take to your cookout this summer, but, it also works well as a balanced meatless meal.

SWEET PEPPER TORTELLINI SALAD (print it!)

INGREDIENTS:

• 16 oz. Live Smart Six Cheese Tortellini, about 4.5 cups
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 3 cups spinach leaves, roughly chopped
• 1/2 lb. asparagus cut into 2 inch pieces
• 1/2 cup sweet cherry peppers, chopped, juice reserved
• 16 oz. chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 8 oz. fresh mozzarella balls, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
• 1 lemon juiced and zested
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
• sea salt and black pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

1.  Bring to boil about 6-8 cups of water with 2 tsp. salt in a large soup pan.  Add asparagus and blanch for 2-4 minutes.  Remove immediately and place in an iced cold water bath to stop the cooking.  Add the tortellini to the boiling water and cook for 3-4 minutes.  Drain and set aside.

2.  Combine the tortellini with tomatoes, spinach, asparagus, cherry peppers, chickpeas and mozzarella balls in a large bowl.  Toss and set aside.

3.  Whisk together the reserved cherry pepper juice (about 1-2 Tbsp.), balsamic, lemon juice and olive oil.  Pour over the tortellini salad, toss and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Chill slightly before serving.

Makes 8 servings, 1 heaping cup each, 7 points+

Nutritional information per serving calculated at caloriecount.com

STEP – BY – STEP:

The folks at Schwan’s asked if I would help develop a few recipes using their Live Smart Line of products.  The first item up is their id=66151&c1=11452&c2=10451" target=_blank>Six Cheese Tortellini (SIX cheese ~ yes, please!)

I really like the stats on this product with a recognizable ingredient list and only  5points+ a serving.

This recipe is so incredibly simple and it goes together in minutes.  For all those wondering what people are talking about when they say to blanch something….this step – by – step is for you.

Simply bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add the asparagus for 2-4 minutes.  You pretty much want to take it out as soon as it turns a bright green color.

I use this fancy strainer so I can drop the tortellini in right after I take the asparagus out.

Scoop the asparagus from the boiling water into the iced bath to lock in the green color and stop the cooking process.  That is what blanching is all about…super easy, yet, it sounds so fancy to say you blanched something

Drop in half the bag of the cheese tortellini and cook about 4 minutes so that it’s cooked through without being overdone…it should be a little al dente (have chew power).

While the tortellini cooks, I build my salad…beans, spinach and tomatoes for color….

Sea salt and peppered fresh mozzarella balls for delicious cheesy surprises in the salad.  I totally count this along with the beans as the “protein” in my salad.

Add in the asparagus and the “secret ingredient” ~ sweet cherry peppers!

Top with the cooked tortellini that I rinse in cold water after draining.

Toss…..and resist picking out the tortellini, mozzarella balls and sweet cherry peppers.

You can use any lemons in making this recipe, but, I used the sweet Meyer lemons one of my friends gave me from her tree (aren’t they beautiful?!) 

Whisk together the dressing (sweet pepper juice, balsamic, lemon juice, lemon zest and olive oil).  If you run out of white balsamic, use the brown balsamic and pretend it’s white

Toss, chill slightly (about 30 minutes if you can manage waiting that long) and dive in!

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

Have you ever made a tortellini salad?  If so, what did you toss in your salad?

Night all!

Happy Monday all!  This morning I was in charge of cutting up the fruit to go with breakfast to keep up with adding fruit and/or veggies to every meal/snack this month.  I have learned that if I am going to cut up fruit or veggies, I need to plan to share half because The Husband always steals it out of my bowl.

1 Mango, 3 organic strawberries and a handful of organic blueberries

I don’t really mind sharing my food since he has mastered making us Healthy Egg Rolls.  Hilarious fact ~ he made a Sriracha heart on his too….then, was like, OMG…this is so spicy hot!

SF + 1 WPA (4 points+)

Before heading into my marathon day of meetings & training, I snacked on a sargento reduced fat Colby cheese stick and a banana (SF) – 2 points+

For our working lunch today, I made sure I requested the veggie sandwich to keep up with Meatless Monday!  Can you believe this is only half the sandwich? It was crazy huge.

Hummus (I always say Hummus Among Us whenever I have hummus ~ in my head of course), cheese, sprouts, lettuce, tomato, red onion, AVOCADO!, olives and 1/2 a whole wheat roll.

(SF + 4 WPA – the veggies & hummus are SF) – 5 points+

A little Edamame Orzo Lemon Grass Salad that I really wanted to love but it really was just ok and not worth the points+. (SF + 4 WPA) – 4 points+

Doubling up the veggies with fruit….

Plus a few sweet & spicy Hawaiian Style Chips.  I had to make sure to get rid of the bag because I could’ve easily eaten all of these. (SF + 2 WPA) – 2 points+

I did have one bite of this cookie but decided I could totally pass on it too.

Mid afternoon I snacked on a hard boiled egg and a nectarine that somehow escaped the picture (just like the pictures of the wines did on yesterday’s post). (SF ) – 2 points+

Tonight’s dinner was the tortellini pasta salad I told you all I made up last night so it would be ready as soon as I walked in the door.

Any guesses on the “secret” ingredient?

Fresh, light, crunchy, cheesy with a little tang and spice ~ this totally hit the spot.

I’ll post the recipe for you all tomorrow night. (SF + 5 points+) – 7 points+

I am totally behind on all your emails, comments, etc., but, I hope to find time to make my way through them and catch up with you all by this weekend.  Thanks for all the welcome back messages and for being so patient during this crazy busy month.

STATS:

• Points+: 26 Daily points+, 49 WPA remaining
• Simply Filling: SF + 16 WPA used, 28 WPA remaining

Night all!

Happy Sunday all!  So, last week really did end up turning out to be just as busy as I thought it would be.  The good news is that I think this week is the home stretch and I can finally get back in the saddle again with my daily routine.

Starting with….heading back to my Weight Watchers meeting!  I missed everyone the past two weeks ~ there is just something about meetings that personally grounds me.  It helps me find that place to wipe the slate clean and say, it’s a new week, let’s make it a good one.

How cute are these little mini anchors my leader gave us today?!  I am totally pinning it somewhere to remind me every day of why my goals are important to me.

After the meeting we headed over to Starbuck’s for breakfast on our way to the antique fair.

Grande Iced Nonfat Latte with Caramel Drizzle (SF) – 2 points+

Originally when I left I thought I wasn’t really hungry so an iced latte and banana would work just fine.  So, I decided to grab a banana plus their new steel cut oats with blueberries.

You get a bunch of toppings in the bag….the blueberries are SF, everything else you use counts towards your points+.

I opted for just the blueberries and it was just enough. (SF)  – 4 points+

After strolling around the Sacramento Antique Faire for a few hours in the blazing heat, I knew exactly what I wanted for lunch. (The Husband always jokes with me on antique fair days saying…I’d like to take you to lunch (insert name of place I love to eat) that is near the antique fair….it’s total bribery, but, it totally works for me.

Crepeville. I went with the exact same thing I ordered when we went to lunch here a few months back ~ Soup and Salad, surprised? lol….

Half a Caprese Salad ~ Mixed greens tossed with balsamic vinegar and olive oil topped with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and fresh basil.

(SF + 3 WPA for the cheese) ~ oil & balsamic are both 100% Simply Filling! 5 points+

Yep, I am totally one of those people who will order soup on a hot day, when, it’s this good!  Hands down, one of my all time favorite Split Pea Soups and 100% Simply Filling. 4 points+.  I decided to save my bread until the end of my meal and by the time I was finished, I decided I didn’t need it  ~ Success!

I decided that I am making this week a complete success by prepping a bunch of food this afternoon.  I made up a batch of perfectly hard boiled eggs and three types of salads including this new Vegetarian Sweet Pepper Tortellini (recipe coming up this week)…

For fun…I decided to try out a new concept by taking this Cilantro Chutney I picked up on Saturday from one of the vendors are the Farmer’s Market….

I combined it with Ground Turkey, Apple and a few spices to make Homemade Simply Filling Spicy Cilantro Apple Turkey Sausages

The result ~ it’s delicious and it might just be better than the Turkey Apple Sausage I made before.

Dinner tonight was a group effort as we both whipped up a delicious summer BBQ for The Husband’s mom. 

We celebrated my Mom and Sis last night….complete with my adorable nephew making a spaghetti garlic bread sandwich and asking me to take a picture of his food like I do mine

What can I say ~ they are both hams ~ my niece wanted her pic too – LOL!

The Husband made BBQ Ribs with his “Secret Sauce” ~ the best part….he actually asked me if I knew how to grill ribs and make his sauce.  I told him why no….show me ~ funny guy, he still didn’t LOL. (SF) – 3 points+

I doubled the recipe for my Harvest Grain Salad so we can have it for lunches this week.

With dinner, I had a 1/2 cup Harvest Grain Salad (SF) – 4 points+

Plus…salad to go with our salad and keep up with my May New Year’s Resolution to add a fruit and/or veggie to every meal or snack. (SF + 2 WPA) – 3 points+

Corn!  100% SF!

Although I took several pictures of last week’s food and festivities, I am going to just highlight my favorite event of the week ~ The Wine Tasting we hosted for all of the VIPs at our company.

I was in charge of putting together all of the snacks to go with the wine.

I cubed 4 types of cheeses and organic grapes

Thanks to my fabulous friend for giving me this idea ~ Proscuitto Wrapped Asparagus with a Wasabi Soy Mayo Dipping Sauce….this was the first thing to go and it was so easy to make!

I also picked up marinated mushrooms with several types of olive mixes and mini pickles from the Whole Foods Olive Bar….I love these mini plates they are served on!

With Berries, mixed nuts and dark chocolate almond cherry bites to catered to every palate.

The Husband put the finishing touches on by bringing flowers to decorate the table with…..

I am off to browse through the new Weight Watchers Simply Solo cookbook I picked up today. 

I will catch up with you all tomorrow ~ this week’s menu is pretty much the same as last week’s since not much “real” cooking happened.

Night all!