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Steel cut oats: a FILLING breakfast!

If you're looking for a hearty breakfast to keep you full all morning, then you should definitely consider some steel cut oats. They do take a lot longer to cook than those instant packets I'm used to, but I've been trying to eat less processed, less sugar filled foods these days and these definitely do the trick. The brand I purchased (Bob's Red Mill) also had more fiber and protein than even traditional, old fashioned oats. Probably why this kept me full ALL MORNING!

Just like any oatmeal from scratch, its going to taste pretty bland unless you spruce it up. I cooked my oats according to the package, using water and a bit of salt. Once prepared, I added a dash of vanilla extract, cinnamon, 1 tablespoon of unsalted sunflower seeds, a banana and a drizzle of honey. YUMMY. All of this for 5 Points. I also had a full glass of skim milk, which added 2 points.

The batch I made yesterday was enough for 4 servings, so I put the rest in a pyrex so that I could enjoy the rest of the week. This morning, I portioned out my 3/4 cup (6oz) serving and added about an ounce of skim milk before reheating in the microwave. It came out creamy, just like yesterday.

So even though it took about 30 minutes of cooking time yesterday, I was able to enjoy this satisfying breakfast again today in less than 3 minutes.  It's worth the effort to help me stay on track the rest of the week.

Give it a try and let me know if you have any other ideas for enjoying steel cut oats!

In other news, the month of April was pretty bad for my weight loss goals. I wasn't really tracking and didn't workout at all. It was gross. The last couple of weeks have been much better and I'm kicking myself back into gear. In the last couple of weeks, I've earned more activity points than I have in A WHILE. We went hiking for a few hours, I've taken BodyPump and Cycling classes, and I've run a few times. Yesterday, was a huge accomplishment for me because I was able to run a complete mile, without stopping to walk!!!! It took me 14:21, but I was so proud of myself. I seriously used to struggle with just running for 30 seconds at a time, and yesterday (in the rain!), I did a full mile! And I know I had more in me -- I was just so excited when I saw that I had completed the mile, that I stopped and then my leg caught a huge cramp haha! Tomorrow, I'm not going to stop and try to do 1.5 miles. I have a 5K in less than a month, and I REALLLY want to run the whole thing.

Okay, time to get back to work!

XOXO,
SMP
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Who says you can't be Puerto Rican AND eat healthy?

Yes, I really did have a fried egg (with a perfectly runny yolk!), fried sweet plantains, and some avocado for breakfast. AND it was thebomb.com. AND it was guilt free!

How you may ask?

Well its simple:

1.) Measure everything out and practice portion control

2.) Instead of frying in lots of oil, I did more of a saute in olive oil cooking spray

Why it's healthy:

AVOCADO
- 1 oz = 1 point
-They have good fat and all sorts of good for you stuff that promotes heart health and anti-inflammatory benefits, just to name a few

EGG
- 1 large egg = 2 points
- Good source of protein and despite the bad wrap that they used to get, they are actually good for you
- Something I learned recently: Eggs are an excellent source of choline which can boost brain health!
- I "fried" my egg in cooking spray and covered the pan so that the steam/heat cooked the top of the egg yolk without flipping. I enjoy a runny egg so I keep a close eye on it. I sprinkle a little salt, pepper and ground cumin. So delicious.

PLANTAINS
- 2 1/2 oz = 2 points
- Good source of fiber, vitamin C and A and actually have more potassium than a regular banana!
- When you have SWEET plantains (AKA yellow with dark spots) on your hands, there is NO NEED to pan fry in a bunch of oil. Just a couple of cooking sprays to ensure they don't stick to your pan and you are good to go! You can enjoy the amazingly sweet medallions without the slipperly/oily mess.

Here's the proof:
No oil in that pan! Just about 5 sprays of Olive Oil Cooking Spray

- Outside of boiling and baking GREEN plantains, the only other way to enjoy green plantains is to double fry and make tostones. The double batch of oil PROBABLY takes away all of the health benefits but its worth the treat every now and then. (Mark loves them, by the way!)

So today, I really enjoyed my Puerto Rican breakfast and enjoyed it even more knowing that it was only 5 points and full of good for me stuff.

Any other Puerto Ricans (or Cubans or Dominicans or Ecuadorians or Colombians or Mexicans, etc) out there that continue to enjoy traditional Latino foods but have cut down some of the fat/calories without losing the flavor? I love new ideas!
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Hulk: SMASH!

...one of my favorite lines from The Avengers movie AND the first thought that came to my mind after blending my first GREEN SMOOTHIE!

I've always wanted to try this and really didn't believe people when they said that you couldn't taste the dark, leafy vegetables in the smoothie. This morning I decided it was the day I was going to give it a try. I have to admit, I was overwhelmed by the zillion different recipes out there for a "green smoothie." So I decided to make my own version -- taking ideas from a couple different recipes.

Here are the ingredients:

1 banana
1/2 cup of frozen peaches
1/2 cup of frozen mango
1/2 cup of unsweetened almond milk
1 tbsp of ground flax seed
2 generous handfuls of raw spinach

I started with blending everything except for the spinach:
Then, I added the spinach, one handful at a time. I made sure to blend REALLY well. I wanted it to be as smooth as possible with no trace of any spinach leaves. Outside of the color of course!

I thought it looked beautifully green! And it turns out to be pretty tasty! You REALLY don't taste the spinach at all as I tasted more banana than anything. I probably will add a touch of vanilla extract or some honey next time as I feel it was missing something -- but it was definitely a good start!


Considering how amazing spinach and other dark, leafy vegetables are for you, I am going to try to incorporate at least 1 green smoothie everyday. And for the record, to reap all of the health benefits, you MUST drink it through a hot pink flexi-bend straw ;)

What are your thoughts on green smoothies? What are some of your favorite combinations?

XOXO
SMP
green smoothie, recipe
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Threw a bunch of stuff together and called it DINNER!

Wow, three posts in one day. I must be on a roll.

Tonight I struggled with what to make for dinner. I had about 15 points left and I debated on getting some take out or trying to come up with something in the kitchen. Since Mark is working until 11pm tonight, there wasn't too much pressure to present a wonderful meal. Some times on these nights, I settle for PB&J and call it a night!

After staring at my pantry for a good 5 minutes, I decided to get creative. I had black beans, diced tomatoes with green chilies, and whole berry cranberry sauce. Hmmmmm. Could that taste good together? What if I threw that all in a wrap and called it a burrito?

And that's when I started throwing a bunch of stuff together and calling it dinner!

I have named this Black Bean & Cranberry Chicken Chili?
 I started by making the black beans as I normally do: some sofrito, sazon, dash of cumin seeds, oregano, black pepper, drop of olive oil, etc.

I then added about 10 oz of already cooked chicken breast, roughly chopped.

After a minute or two, I added the whole can of diced tomatoes with green chilies (slightly drained) and the whole can of whole berry cranberry sauce. I let that simmer for a few minutes.

Lastly, I added a small bunch of fresh cilantro (straight from my little herb garden!), a dash of salt, and 1 oz of pepper jack cheese. I stirred until the cheese melted into the mixture and let it simmer for another 5 minutes or so. The pepper jack cheese added a nice little kick plus thickened up the mixture a bit (without adding too many points!)

The mixture came out kind of like a chili, and was tasty enough to eat on its own. I measured out 10 - 1/2 cup servings at about 4 points each. I had enough points to go with the full cup, which was more than enough. I did end up pairing it with two small wraps and a side salad:

the more plates you use, the more you think you're eating!!

I have to admit that the cranberry sauce added a lot more points than I had originally expected, but the hint of sweetness  in the dish complemented the spice of the green chilies and the pepper jack cheese! I would definitely make this again.

And since I mentioned it - here's my little herb garden! Growing strong!

Italian Parsley, Rosemary, and Cilantro

It is so convenient to have fresh herbs at your disposal! I would love to expand to grow basil, oregano, thyme, and sage in the near future. And I have to say that these herbs smell and taste so much stronger than when you buy them in the store! All I have to do is slightly touch the rosemary and my fingers smell for hours. It's crazy!

On that note, have a good night!

XOXO
SMP
random, recipe
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Yummy French Toast!

 

I love getting new ideas for satisfying and yummy meals. Especially breakfast! Below is the recipe I followed to come up with that beautiful plate of food above. It is adapted from a recipe I found on shape.com. Since I changed it quite a bit, I wanted to document it so I can make it again! AND share it with all of you, of course.

French Toast with bananas and almonds

Ingredients:
1 slice of whole wheat bread (2pt)
1 egg (2pt)
1 banana, sliced
1/2 oz of slivered almonds (2pts)
Dash of: vanilla, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves
Drizzle of honey

1. Heat skillet over medium heat
2. Beat the egg and add a dash of each of the seasonings listed above
3. Soak bread in the egg mixture
4. Place in skillet and pour any remaining egg on top of the bread in the skillet. Cook until browned and then flip.
5. Once cooked throughly on both sides, place on plate and cut in half. (mind trick to make you think you have more food on plate!)
6. Slice bananas over the French toast and add the slivered almonds.
7. Sprinkle with more cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves
8. Drizzle with a tiny bit of honey. (4 grams or less is 0 points)

Eat up!!!
french toast, recipe
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Weigh-In Wednesdays! 4-4-12

Good Morning!

As I stated in my last post, it's been almost two weeks since I've posted about my weight loss journey. Today, I'm going to reflect on the last few weeks and hopefully try to kick my butt back into high gear!

During my weigh-in this morning, I stayed the same. No gain, no loss. I'm actually kind of happy about that, since I was fearing a gain. I splurged a lot more than I should have over the weekend, and due to traveling for work I didn't get any exercise in last week. Terrible, I know. And definitely just an excuse.

As I was plugging in my stats into my Weight Tracker, I started to realize that in comparison to the last couple of months, March was a good month for me! I refocused, started exercising again and tracking my meals. I started blogging and taking pride in making healthy, delicious decisions for each of my meals (and as you know, taking pictures of them!)

MARCH RECAP:
First week of March, I lost 2 lbs
Second week of March, I lost 1 lb (I'm feeling good!)
Third week of March, I gained .8 (TOM - so I wasn't too concerned)
Fourth week of March, I lost 1.4

So for the month of March, I had a net weight loss of 3.6 pounds! That is right on target for healthy weight loss! About a pound a week. Nice.

Although I had a so-so week and a 'stay the same' for my first weigh-in in April, reflecting on the month of March gives me the encouragement that I CAN do this. If I can lose, on average, 3-4 pounds per month, I will be at my goal weight in no time.

Just eat well and exercise! Why do we make it so much harder than it has to be?!


GOAL FOR THIS WEEK:
This upcoming week (weight watchers week 4/4 - 4/10) my goal is to earn 14 Activity Points - an average of 2 points per day.

REWARD FOR REACHING WEEKLY GOAL:
A pedicure! And I need one badly!!


MY MEALS IN PHOTOS:
I personally think that I enjoy my meals more when they taste good (that's a given!), smell good, and LOOK good. Taking pictures of my meals also helps because it gives me a sense of pride in what I've put together.

Here are a couple from over the last week or so:

Baby red potatoes with honey balsamic glazed chicken

Baby red potatoes with rosemary lemon chicken

Two turkey wraps, stuffed with grape tomatoes, spinach and red butter lettuce drizzled with Lite Sweet Onion dressing

Simple salad and orecchiette pasta with turkey sausage and broccoli

Yummm...looking at these pictures is making me hungry!! Time for breakfast!
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Food for thought


"Dear God, Your will, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. Amen." 
~Bobby Richardson

It's been almost 2 weeks since I've written a post. Some of you may be expecting this post to be about my weight loss journey, but it isn't. If you need to know, it's going pretty well. Trying everyday to stay on track. But enough of that for now.

Yesterday, I read the short and sincere prayer that I quoted above and I haven't been able to get it out of my head. As you may or may not know, I'm a pretty talkative person and that doesn't change when I have my conversations with God. I regularly remind Him about how awesome He is and how grateful I am for what He is doing in our lives. I tell Him about our struggles, our hopes, our desires. I pray for our family and friends. I also like to remind God that we trust Him, above all else and that we want Him to continue to be in control of our lives. Now, I don't think there is anything wrong with having a friend-like conversation with God every day (in fact, I encourage it), but there is something about the simple prayer above that really struck me. 

Your will, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.

Wow. If that's not wholeheartedly trusting in God than I don't know what is.

I wonder what would happen if for just one day, I put aside all of my desires and simply asked for God's will and His will only. Is there really any need to say anything more? anything less? or anything else? 

Probably not.
Faith, Hope
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Because sometimes you just want some rice!!!

When you are watching your weight, carb loaded sides like rice and pasta are usually a no-no, or at least you need to seriously eat them in moderation. Personally, it's easier for me to practice portion control when eating pasta than when eating rice. Maybe because its so delicious or I was just used to eating it almost everyday growing up in a Puerto Rican household. And it was NEVER just a cup of rice. More often than not, 75% of my plate was rice with a little meat and beans. Just how it was. So, I try to make rice only once in a while - more like a treat - than a staple. And today, I was craving me some spanish rice! And I know I can substitute with brown rice, quinoa, etc,  which I definitely do more often than not. But when you crave some fluffy, comforting rice, you have to go with white rice!

As most of you know, I try to be creative in the kitchen based on the ingredients I have on hand. Let me present to you the newest creation:  
Spanish Style Rice with Turkey Italian Sausage and Bell Peppers!
If my marriage with Mark was a dish, this would be it! (Spanish Rice + Italian Sausage = Love)
Basically, I made yellow rice (white rice, sazon, sofrito, salt, tomato sauce, etc) and added 4 links of turkey Italian sausage (removed from casings and cooked in pan before making rice) as well as some red and green bell peppers! Not gonna lie, this came out really good!  Based on the WW Recipe Builder, my pot made 10 servings of about 6 oz each. Each serving is only about 6 points! Luckily, I have enough points left to eat a second serving! (which according to the recipe builder, only equals 11 points! sweet!)

So for all of you skeptics out there -- healthy eating can be DELICIOUS! (Are you noticing a theme?) And you don't have to give up the traditional foods of your culture! Just do what I do: make them a little LESS FREQUENTLY, find a few ways to make them LIGHTER in calories without losing FLAVOR, WEIGH your servings, serve yourself on SMALL PLATES, and SAVOR every bite! If you house down your meal in front of your television you are bound to never even taste your food - plus it will be gone before you know it. If you take the time to eat slowly and experience your food (a la Enrique Iglesias on How I Met Your Mother), you are bound to enjoy it more and EAT LESS! 



Hasta luego!

recipe, rice
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A Week in Review and a BIG SHOUT OUT!

It's been over a week since I've written a post and I don't want to lose the momentum! Last week, I was traveling for work, which is always challenging. I did run one day while away and tried my best to stay on Point. Some days were  better than others, but I did lose 1 lb this week, despite some of the fast food choices while driving! Yay! I do have to admit that I didn't expect a loss this week - but I'm grateful for achieving it!

Running wise, I moved on to Week 3, Day 1 of the Couch to 5k program this morning, and it felt great. I had a cup of coffee before running, which I think really gave me some extra energy to push through those last intervals! I might have to make that a habit! Plus the gorgeous weather makes it so much easier to enjoy.

My goal for this week is to at least run 3 days and do another activity (swimming/hiking/something) an additional 2 times. The weather is beautiful -- no excuses!!

Below are a few pictures of some healthy and delicious meals I have had over the last week:
Smart Taste Rotini Pasta with Roasted Chicken Breasts and Balsamic Peppers and Onions
 Spaghetti Squash with Meatloaf (extra lean beef), goat cheese and 2 thin slices of french bread 
(Saving the points on the spaghetti allowed for the bread!)
 Homemade pizza with green peppers and onions

 Spicy Mango Chicken



I would also like to give a BIG shout out to one of my bestest friends, Stephanie, who had an awesome weigh-in this week! Keep it going! 
xoxoxo







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