week 5

Can I just say how much I love Weight Watchers? The eTools feature works! You type the food you ate, and it looks up the points for you. You put in the ingredients for a recipe you are going to cook, it figures out the points for you and stores the recipe online. I am logging EVERYTHING I eat. That itself is miraculous. The official weigh-in this week is:

194.0

Hurray! It is working! I have been falling behind on the running schedule, probably because of a whole bunch of excuses, but also because my babies have been throwing up now for two weeks straight. Can't get much done besides cloroxing everything and bathing the little ones. But, that is exercise too, right? Let's hope so! No recipe today. Benson needs me to do a puzzle with him, and so. . . till next time!

Um, Yeah. . .

So, where was week 3? In all fairness, I was out of town, where I ate high-fat, cream-soup based casseroles all week- delicious, and hugely bad for me. I've been home for many days, however, so I have no good excuse for not posting, but I do have some news. It is this: I totally broke down, bit the bullet and RE-joined WEIGHT WATCHERS! After the cream-soup week, I was feeling like I seriously needed some help (in out-of-control land) and I know weight watchers works for me. SO- for anyone that is interested, I found that the Monthly Pass is definitely the best deal. It costs $39.99 a month, which is the cheapest rate you'll find, but it also cuts out the joining-fee, AND it includes eTools. And, eTools is amazing! It is allowing me to still cook and know the points EASILY of what I am eating! LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! I can't really describe how helpful and easy it is, or how much it is working for me-even better than weight watchers worked for me before! My weight, after a crazy week, but then a couple of days on weight watchers is:

196.8

Here is a yummy and easy recipe that I got off of the Hungry Girl website. Check the site out if you've never been. It is full of awesome, healthy or changed up recipes. Some of them are full of artificial sweeteners and fat-free cheese, which I am not a huge fan of, but there are tons of good ones with more normal ingredients. A huge resource, one way or the other. I made this meal last night with some roasted potatoes, and it was really good. The barbecue sauce is on the mild side of things, which helped the 3 year old to love it. Happy and Healthy Eating to all!

Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken

1 1/2 lbs raw boneless skinless lean chicken breasts

1 cup canned tomato sauce

1/2 cup ketchup

2 tbsp plus 2 tsp brown sugar (not packed)

2 tbsp plus 2 tsp cider vinegar

2 tsp garlic powder

Optional: red pepper flakes to taste

Place all ingredients except chicken in crock pot. Stir until mixed. Add chicken adn coat well with the sauce.

Cover and ocok on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 7-8 hours until chicken is fully cooked.

Remove all the chicken adn place it in a bowl. Shred each piece using two forks. Return the shredded chicken to the crock pot, and mix well with the sauce. YIELDS: 7 servings

NUTRITION FACTS: 1/2 cup serving equals: 149 calories, 1 g fat, less than .5 g fiber, 22.5 g protein-- POINTS value: 3

Week 2

Well, after a lovely weekend of, once again, too many treats (are we seeing a theme here?) my official weigh in is:

196.9

So, at least it is down from last week. Seriously, I have had a hard time stopping the shovel towards my mouth. I have done better at planning meals, which is huge for me. My running, however, has not been so good. . . I have used the snowy weather as a great reason to not get out. So, I am going to do this week of the Couch to 5k program over. That is, the run 5 minutes, walk 3 minutes, times 3. Definitely not ready to move on yet.

I made one of my favorite crock pot recipes this week, that helps you have Cafe Rio at home, or at least a healthier version of the same thing. This recipe is totally Core, and if you choose wisely, the entire salad can be. Hope you enjoy.

Shredded Chicken, Cafe Rio Style

4-5 chicken breasts

2 cans Ro-Tel tomatoes (I use mild)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp cayenne (or to taste- I use just a pinch)

dash Tabasco sauce (Cholula is our hot sauce of choice)

Place all ingredients in a crock pot; cook on low 5-8 hours, or for 4 hours on high. Before serving, shred chicken and put back in crock pot to soak up juices. Serve with tortillas, salsa, rice, beans (pinto, chili or black), lettuce, guacamole and grated cheese.

( I mix a can of beans with a scoop of fat free sour cream and some good salsa, mix it and heat it, and use that for the beans. It adds great flavor and moisture. Also, I just use baked tortilla scoops, to save on fat, etc. A squirt of ranch mixed with salsa does it on the top!)

Enjoy!