Friday 08/26/11 - The final day of the Week of Accountability!

Today's weight:  198.0


*sigh*  Well, at any rate I should be down at least 3 lbs this week for weigh in tomorrow morning.  I'm pretty disappointed in the back and forth I've had the last few days, but like I said, that's why I don't weigh myself every day normally.  It's too discouraging.

Wall push-ups - 5 sets x 12 (arms were still feeling noodle-y from Wed. so I had to break it up a bit)
Tricep dips - 150 dips, Week 1 Day 3 - 10/13/9/9/13
Bicep curls - 5 lb dumbbells - 2 sets x 15
LOTS of IT band stretches

I wanted to run this morning but my hip was really bothering me.  Aching and popping with nearly every step.  First the lateral knee pain, now the hip on the same side is making me think I may have an IT band issue.  I'm going to keep stretching the heck out of that thing and buy a foam roller this weekend if they have them at the local running store.  I've been icing a couple times a day, but I might up the ante and try some ice massage.  I should have known better than to think there'd be no repercussions from running over 7 miles without stopping when my longest prior was a run-walk that was only a bit over 5, and it was nearly a month ago.  :(

Today was not stellar food wise.  I didn't eat breakfast, and Mom has Friday's off work so she always wants to go out to lunch.  We went to Macaroni Grill.  They've recently changed their menu so sites like livestrong and myfitnesspal don't have their nutrition estimates for the new dishes as of now.  I checked there because the restaurant doesn't give full nutritional info, but they do give calorie counts, so I estimated roughly 40 calories per point to come up with my numbers.  I do appreciate that they now offer whole wheat pasta, and I believe they have a gluten-free option as well.

As I said in the title, this is my last day of daily posts with my tracker and whatnot.  I imagine I'll do it again sometime in the near future as a way to renew and refresh my healthy habits, but I'm not sure how many people want to read me babbling about boring stuff every single day!  There was some interest expressed on my facebook page in continued postings of my daily food log, so I'm going to continue to list my meals there.  If you want to follow me on fb, there's a link in the upper right of this page.  :)

Thursday, 8/25/11 - Day 6

Today's weight:  197.6


Back down a little.  I think I need to be drinking more water, as odd as that may sound.  I already drink a gallon a day, but I've been working my butt off and sweating A LOT.

Treadmill - speed work - 3.67 miles in 45:00 (12:16 pace)


My knee was just okay.  It was twinging a little in the beginning but felt fine after a while.  I guess my body compensated for it subconsciously because my hip on the same leg was aching afterwards.  Ah well, ice is my new best friend.

It seems to be my week for minor running casualties, because I have a raw spot on my second toe on the right, and a blister on my big toe on the left.  Must have missed some spots with the BodyGlide!

Wednesday 8/24/11 - Day 5

Quick recap of yesterday since my day somehow got away from me and it was bedtime before I knew it!

Wednesday's weight:  198.0


^That^ is why I generally do not weigh myself on a daily basis.  You're bound to see gains at some point during the week.  I'm blaming this one on the Tuesday night Taco Bell visit.  Sodium is not my friend.

Treadmill - 30 min (not sure how far I went - alternated running and walking, and my knee was hurting on the runs...boo)
Zumba class - 1 hr
Wall push-ups - 3 sets x 20
Tricep dips - 150 dips, Week 1 Day 2 - 8/10/8/8/9
Bicep curls - 5 lb dumbbells - 2 sets x 15


Elisa invited me to go to the gym as her guest so we could get some treadmill time in before Zumba.  Class itself was tough, it's been a while since I've attended...and somebody standing near us had some near-fatal gas issues.  Good lord.  If you are feeling some rumbly in your tumbly and you know it's gonna be nasty, please save yourself and everyone around you some agony and embarrassment and do not attend a super crowded exercise class!

Tuesday, 8/23/11 - Day 4, halfway there!

Today's weight:  197.2


Still on the way down!  I've made up for last week's gain, and have less than 2 pounds to go until I'm back where I was before I left for vacation.


Amazingly, I have no muscle soreness in my legs after my long run yesterday, but my right knee is bothering me when I go down stairs.  I wanted to run again, but didn't want to exacerbate whatever problem I'm having, so I stuck with a fairly easy ride on the bike.

- Stationary bike - 5.5 miles in 30:00


I had a quesadilla for lunch and Taco Bell for dinner.  I seem to be really good at picking the type of cuisine for lunch that my mom decides she wants for dinner.  Oh well.

I realized I hadn't met my oil requirement by dinner, so I went all Macaroni Grill on that thing and dipped some delicious bakery bread in olive oil for a snack this evening.  Much tastier than eating it on my salad, but then, I'm a ranch or bleu cheese dressing girl at heart.

Monday 8/22/11 - Day 3 of the epic Week of Accountability

Today's weight:  198.2

Whaaa?  I'm starting to feel really silly for not getting back on track right when I got home from vacation...I've already nearly made up for my 3.4 lb gain from Saturday.  

Wall push-ups - 2 sets x 25

Tricep dips - Week 1 Day 1, 150 dips program - 6/6/5/5/8

Bicep curls - 10 lb dumbbells - 2 sets x 10 (too heavy for good form, I'll be using 5 lbs next time)

Treadmill - 7.86 miles in 1:45:00 (13:21 pace)

I will admit I got a little teary-eyed after the run.  I ran over 7.5 miles without stopping to walk.  It finally really hit me that I am actually a runner, no matter how slow I may be.  I mean really, what percentage of the population can say they have *ever* run that far?

Seems like a really long time to spend on the dreadmill, but I was watching Beetlejuice so I was thoroughly entertained.  I LOVE that movie!  "What are your qualifications?"  "Ah, I attended Julliard. I am a graduate of Harvard Business School.  I travel quite extensively.  I lived through the Black Plague and had a pretty good time during that.  I've seen 'The Exorcist' 167 times, and it keeps gettin' funnier EVERY SINGLE TIME I SEE IT.  NOT TO MENTION THE FACT THAT YOU'RE TALKING TO A DEAD GUY!"  Ahh, good times.  And of course there's this classic scene:

I tried to do the dance along with them while I was running...it didn't work very well.  Does anyone remember the Beetlejuice cartoon show?  ...I digress.

I had my post-run nausea thing hit me again (it's been a while), and I'm fairly sure I'm going to be very sore tomorrow (I'm icing my knee as I type this because it's pretty achy), but I am pleased as punch with myself.  23 Activity Points in one go!  I also discovered that BodyGlide might be necessary on long runs on areas that I hadn't even considered...

As for the food log, I went a bit over my daily allowance on points today.  Weight Watchers gives you 49 extra points for the week that you can use if you so choose, and considering I burned off well over 1000 calories today, a little more food isn't gonna hurt me!

Dinner was really point-heavy.  Mom asked me to finish off the chicken salad, but I still had another dairy serving, both oils, and 3 fruit/veg to meet my healthy checks, so I ate a lot (not that that's a hardship or anything).  As for lunch, I had a Morningstar Farms Veggie Corn Dog for the first time, and was pleasantly surprised!  I honestly couldn't tell the difference between that and a "real" corndog, and even when I ate some of the "meat" by itself the taste was very close.  Thumbs up!

Sunday 8/21/11 - Day 2!

Today's weight:  200.2


Not too shabby!  Glad to see things moving in the right direction.  Seeing numbers above 200 when I told myself I would never be there again is definitely a lesson in humility.

- Treadmill - 1.5 miles in 20:00 (13:20 pace)

I know I said I'd be getting up early for a long run today, but when my alarm went off this morning at 5 I found myself with stuffy/runny allergy nose and a headache.  So I went back to sleep and attempted it on the treadmill this afternoon, only to have my stomach go absolutely nuts (HIGHLY unpleasant, I'll spare you the details), so I only managed my '30 Day Challenge' requirement of 20 minutes.  Better than nothing, but I'm very annoyed...my bod was just totally against a run today it seems.  Pushing the long run back to tomorrow.

Here's the food.  I meant to continue the trend of taking a picture of dinner throughout the week, but I forgot today.  I'm sure you can imagine what a baked potato and some grilled steak look like.  :P

Right on target and met my all my healthy guidelines again.  I did make a discovery today that dairy servings are not always equivalent to the serving size on the container, so I actually have not been getting enough dairy on most days.  I posted a note on my facebook page if you're interested to see all the stuff that's equivalent to dairy serving/glass of milk.

And so it begins...

Today starts my Week of Accountability!  I will be posting every day with my food log/points tracker, my daily activity, and a weigh in.  I don't recommend weighing daily, but this week I really need to make sure I'm on track.

As I said in my last post, I'm putting on my noob hat.  For the first few months on Weight Watchers, I was absolutely obsessive about tracking accurately and making decent choices...I need to get back there.  So the paper tracker is coming out, and the online tools that have been neglected as of late will be put to good use.  The measuring cups and spoons will get a workout, as will my WW pocket calculator.

And so, without further delay...my weigh in from today's meeting.

Weigh in:  Saturday, 8/20/11 - 201.2 - 3.4 lbs gained 


My daily point allowance went *up*...how terrible does that feel?  Ugh.  That gain is since last Saturday's out of town weigh in, for a net gain in two weeks of 5.8.  Yeesh.  That's not to say that I'm surprised - I've been off track for a while now, and this past week especially I was NOT eating like a mentally sound individual.  It actually could have been worse, and it was when I checked Friday morning, so I did make up a little ground by getting back on track yesterday.

After a much needed trip to the grocery store, I came home and got in my activity for the day.  I follow FitnessGetzEasy on Facebook, and a challenge has been issued to be active for at least 20 minutes EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. for 30 days.  Today is my Day 1.

I also found an interesting set of training programs that are designed to increase your strength and get you doing insane amounts of body weight exercises in 6 weeks.  I decided to start on the 100 push-ups and 150 tricep dips programs...but then I realized I can't even do a decent push-up from my knees (my arms barely move, it's pretty pathetic really).  So I'm going to do wall push-ups for now and just try to increase my strength enough to move to the bench or floor versions.  Tricep dips I can do though!  Today was just my 'initial test' day, so I'll start the actually 150 dips program on Monday.

- Wall push-ups - 50
- Tricep dips - 13
- Stationary bike - 3.9 miles in 20:00 


I did some intervals on the bike - 30 seconds at max effort, 1-2 minutes recovery.  Max for me ended up being around 16-17 mph, and recovery was 10-11.  It amazes me that folks can maintain my interval pace for hours on end...I think I would die.  I went to walk up the basement steps when I was done and almost yelled - glutes made of pain.  Not sure if it was sitting on the bike seat, or the effort.  Ouchie.  But it felt good to sweat and have that wobbly-limbed sensation again!

Here are some screen caps of my tracker today!

I have 34 points per day right now, so I was right on target today!  I got in every single one of my healthy checks, which are 2 servings of dairy, 5 of fruit/veg, 2 tsp of healthy oil, and a daily multivitamin.  Weight Watchers recommends at least 6 8oz glasses of liquid a day, and it doesn't have to be water.  When I track, though, I check off a box for every 16oz I drink since my personal goal is to drink a gallon each day.

Here's a pic of dinner!  My mom was super considerate and asked how I wanted my porkchop cooked since she and Dad were having them breaded and pan fried.  (She knows I'm really stressed about gaining, I about had a breakdown yesterday morning talking to her about it.  Blargh.)  She seared mine with some olive oil and then baked it in the oven for me.  :)  I may have defeated the purpose by putting a little gravy on it.  Oh well.  And yes, I know, I know - two starchy vegetables!  Corn and mashed potatoes are my dad's preferred dinner sides...those, plus green beans, are about all the veggies I ever had growing up!

That's today done!  Tomorrow's plan is to get up super early and hit the pavement - 1 hr 35 min run scheduled, which for me should be around 7 miles.  I'm gonna stick close to home in case I need to refuel, I've never run much more than an hour!

Cheeseburger Casserole

Check out this recipe from the Curvaceous Cook for Cheeseburgers in Paradise.

I made it for dinner tonight, it was very tasty!  The PointsPlus value is 8-10 (depending on the nutritional info on your specific ingredients) for 1/8 of the casserole.  I used 80% lean/20% fat ground beef because I'm cheap, but of course ground round or sirloin, or even turkey or chicken, would lower your calorie or point count considerably.

I couldn't find the appropriate sized can of soup, so I used a 10 oz can, and then used a full cup of fat free sour cream to make up for the lack of volume in the mixture.  Other than that I followed the recipe.

As is the general rule with casseroles, it doesn't look like much, but with a nice salad on the side it was a very satisfying meal.  Tater tots, hamburger, lots of cheese, and sour cream?  What's not to like?

BLTs!

No, I'm not talking about the 'Bites, Licks, and Tastes'...those evil little downfalls of all who are watching their food intake.

I said I'd try to keep posting meals, so here's one.  This was dinner a couple nights ago.  A regular ol' BLT, but rather than mayo I used a Laughing Cow wedge, and rather than regular toast I used a Thomas Bagel Thin.  I obviously got excited and had a couple bites before it occurred to me to take a picture.

Weight Watchers PointsPlus:  13

Thomas 'Everything' bagel thin - 3pp
3 slices of bacon - 4pp
Laughing Cow garlic & herb spread - 1pp
lettuce & tomato - 0pp

baby carrots - 0pp
lite ranch dressing, 2 Tbsp - 2pp

Chip'ins - 3pp

And now I've reminded myself to tell you about Chip'ins by Popcorn Indiana.  They look like Doritos, they're made from corn, with a taste reminiscent of buttered popcorn.  They're decent on PointsPlus values, at 3pp for an 18 chip serving.  I like the Hot Buffalo Wing flavor best.

Why is everything breaking?!

The cable was out from Monday morning to Thursday afternoon.  My tv (old school tv, not flatscreen) has gone wonky in one corner, and the color is all off.  And, the worst...the treadmill is broken again!  The belt seems to run smoothly, but once someone gets on it, it's all you can do to stay on and not be thrown when it jerks randomly.  Repair guy is coming tomorrow.  We already did this back in March for the exact same problem!  Replaced parts and everything.  I need my treadmill!

Okay, done whining.  Workouts for this past week:

Saturday, 6/18/11 - 10k plan, Day 11 - 3.14 miles in 45:00 (14:19 pace) - 5 min warmup/cooldown walk @ 3.5, tempo jog - 10 min @ 4.3, 15 min @ 4.5, 10 min @ 4.3

15 minutes at 4.5!  Still slow, but I'm getting faster!!  And another 5k distance in under 45 minutes.

Sunday, 6/19/11 - Zumba+Abs class, 1 hr


There were only 5 people in class.  Only reason I can come up with:  it was raining and no one wanted to leave their house and get their butts to the gym.  Ah well, it was fun anyway!  The ab workout was killer though...I really cannot do planks to save my life.

Tuesday, 6/21/11 - 10k plan, Day 12 - 4.78 miles in 1:10:00 (14:38 pace) - 10 min walk @ 3.5, 45 min run @ 4.3, 10 min walk @ 3.5, 4x100m strides @ 5.1


45 minutes!  My longest one yet.  And I jogged in between my strides rather than walking.  Progress!

Rather than drinking water, I tried some G2 since this was a "long" run.  I didn't have any nausea issues, so maybe that helped.

It was Tuesday that I noticed the treadmill was really starting to jerk.  I noticed it before, but tightened the belt and it got a bit better so I wasn't terribly concerned.  But I told my dad about it, and went to show him the issue and practically got thrown off the thing.  So no more treadmill this week...

Wednesday, 6/22/11 - 3.2 miles in ~44:40 (13:57 pace) - lots of alternating walking and jogging


Went to the local park which has a running/biking path of 1.6 miles.  I did 2 loops.  This should have been 30 minutes straight of jogging on my 10k plan, but I really failed to pace myself and just couldn't keep it up.  I ended up alternating walking and jogging each time a new song started on my mp3 player after the first 10 minutes of jogging.  Whenever I decide to regularly run outdoors, I'm definitely going to have to get a Garmin or something of that nature that can tell me my pace.  On this run, my pace was faster than ever, even though I walked half the time, so I was definitely jogging way too fast.  Not maintainable at all for me.

Funny story...I used G2 during my park run.  Seemingly unrelated:  I'm a mouth-breather when I work out.  Yucky dry mouth + bright blue sports drink = blue teeth.  I didn't realize this until I was in the car to head home.  I smiled at almost everyone I passed on the running path.  Whoops.

No workout yesterday or today because the repair guy was supposed to come today for the treadmill and I figured I'd be able to use it by now, but then he rescheduled.

Lastly for today, here's my dinner from last night:

• Nature's Own Whole Grain sandwich thin - 2pp
• Boca Spicy Chik'n Patty - 4pp
• blue cheese dressing, 1 tsp - 1pp
• extra hot sauce, red onion, pickle - 0pp
• Ore Ida Sweet Potato Fries, 1 serving - 4pp
• grapes, 1/2 cup - 0pp
• Fanta Zero - 0pp

Weight Watchers PointsPlus total for dinner:  11

Yes I eat on a tv tray.  Don't judge me.  

The big pink thing is my Bubba Keg.  34 oz, filled with water.  I also frequently use a purple Nalgene bottle.  I drink a gallon or more a day usually.

I'm going to try to keep posting meals and recipes from time to time, hopefully the ideas will be helpful to someone!  :)

Yay spaghetti!

I have never liked meat sauce on my pasta...or bolognese like the fancy Italian folks call it.  Call me weird, but it's one of the very few things that I don't like.  Another thing on that list is canteloupe, but I digress.

I make a lot of spaghetti, and this is generally what I put on top of it.  I threw it together again for lunch today, so I thought I'd post it here.  Very simple, super fast, and much more point-friendly than meat sauce.

• Small amount of olive oil in a skillet.  
• Artichoke hearts.  I use canned in water.  Going for convenience here.  Drain off the liquid before putting them in the pan.  I also break up the pieces a little bit before or during cooking.
• Mushrooms.  Again, canned, liquid drained.
• Capers, and a generous splash of the brine because I like the flavor.
• Season to taste.

I don't really "cook" this concoction, just warm on medium-low while I'm boiling my pasta.  I also sometimes add canned oysters or clams if I want to add some protein.  It would look a lot prettier with more colorful veg, but I promise it's good!

After the pasta is done (I use Barilla Whole Grain Thin Spaghetti), I put a little olive oil on that, and season it - usually with lemon pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.  Fresh herbs would be nice too.

Then my veggies go on top and get mixed in.  That's it.  I used about half of the vegetables I prepared...I'll make some more pasta in a couple days to use it up, or maybe mix it with some Eggbeaters for breakfast.

You can of course use fresh ingredients if you wish, and whatever veg you like.  It would even be a decent way to use leftover veggies that have already been cooked.  Bulking up pasta with veg is a good idea in general if you're trying to watch your caloric intake.

Some people think it's not pasta without the sauce, but I beg to differ.

Here's what it looks like when it's done.  On the right is some leftover salmon from dinner earlier this week that I had for my protein.

Weight Watchers PointsPlus (for pasta dish only): 7

2 oz uncooked pasta (about 1 cup cooked) - 5
2 tsp olive oil - 2
artichoke hearts, mushrooms, capers - 0

Santa Fe Chicken from skinnytaste.com

I made this for dinner on Tuesday.  It was delicious and very filling!  Added a small salad on the side and it was a well-rounded meal.  Everyone in the house loved it despite the 'healthy' factor.

Weight Watchers PointsPlus:  11

1 cup brown rice - 5
1 cup Santa Fe chicken - 4
1/4 cup 2% shredded cheddar - 2

I doctored my bowl up a little bit by adding salsa and hot sauce to my brown rice, and then spooning the chicken mixture on top.  Finished with a bit of cheese and chopped scallions.

---
Here's the recipe. (found here) 

Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken

Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes

 

Servings: 8 servings • Size: 1 cup • Old Points: 3 pts • Points+: 4 pts

Calories: 190 • Fat: 1.5 g • Fiber: 5.6 g • Carbs: 23.1 g • Protein: 21 g

 

• 24 oz (1 1/2) lbs chicken breast
• 14.4 oz can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies
• 15 oz can black beans
• 8 oz frozen corn
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 14.4 oz can fat free chicken broth
• 3 scallions, chopped
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper (to taste)
• salt to taste

Combine chicken broth, beans, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, scallions, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, cayenne pepper and salt in the crock pot. Season chicken breast with salt and lay on top. Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. Adjust salt and seasoning. Serve over rice (extra pts).

---
A few personal notes on preparation:

I used canned tomatoes w/ jalapenos instead of the kind w/ mild green chiles.  And I used the whole teaspoon of cayenne.  I like my food spicy, but you could definitely use less if you don't like the heat.

I drained the beans and tomatoes, since it wasn't mentioned either way in the recipe.  I also rinsed the beans to get rid of the some of the extra sodium.

I found that the 10 hour cooking time was a bit long.  I had it on low for 6 hours, and turned it up to high for the last hour to make sure the chicken was cooked through.  After that I tried to get the chicken out of the pot with a fork and it fell apart, so it was definitely ready for shredding.  I put the shredded chicken back in just long enough for my 5 minute rice to cook and called it done.

There will still be a lot of liquid in the crock pot at the end of cooking.  You could use a slotted spoon to serve it if this bothers you, of course.  I did not, and found the rice soaked up the majority of the excess broth quite nicely.

I definitely recommend this if you're a fan of Mexican flavors!  Very yummy!

Still playing catch-up

I left off at my last weigh-in, which was Saturday morning.

That afternoon was more 10k training.

Saturday, 4/23/11 - PALA 10k plan, Day 4 - 3.94 miles in 60:00 (15:14 pace) - 10 min walk @ 3.4mph, 35 min jog @ 4.2, 10 min walk again, followed by 4x100m strides @ 5.0

35 minutes!  My longest jog ever!  I'll be saying that a lot in the coming weeks if I stick to this training plan.  That's almost 2 1/2 miles.  Getting closer to 5k distance.
As for the strides, those are defined as running strong and relaxed for a short distance.  Not sprinting, but faster than you'd run on long distances.  The plan says to jog for 30 seconds in between each 100m, but I chose to walk at my normal pace instead, since jogging isn't exactly easy for me and I was tired!
I also spent some time on Saturday afternoon potting tomato plants, peppers, and various herbs.  The combination of bending over repeatedly to do this and running 2 days in a row had my hamstrings pretty upset with me!


Sunday, 4/24/11 - Zumba+Abs class, 1 hr

My first time at Zumba!  It was fun, but definitely no joke when you're as out of shape as I am.  I was absolutely drenched by the end of it.  A fair portion of the dance moves involve squatting in some capacity, and I was definitely feeling it since my hammies were already hurting from the day before.  Once we cooled down from the dancing we did a short ab workout on the floor...thinking I may need to get a yoga mat now because I don't really like the idea of using the gym mats - yuck.  I plan on going back next Sunday;  class is $5 at the Gold's Gym by my house, and I don't have to be a member to attend!  Yippee!


Monday, 4/25/11 - PALA 10k plan, Day 5 - 2 miles in 30:00 (15:00 pace) - 5 min warmup/cooldown walks @ 3.4, 20 min jog @ 4.3

It took some willpower to get this one done.  First of all, I had the brilliant idea of not eating anything before working out that day.  I don't know how some folks can work out first thing in the morning without putting anything in their bellies.   I feel like I can't put forth as much effort because I have no energy!  My ideal food+workout combination is to eat something kind of light and then wait an hour or two to do cardio.
Second, Zumba seriously kicked my ass the day before, without me even knowing it.  My entire lower back and my shoulders were screaming when I got out of bed!  I understand the back - lots of hip wiggling while dancing causes all those muscles around the waist to work.  But why the heck did my shoulders hurt?  Soooo out of shape.  Add to that my still-sore hamstrings and it was definitely a treadmill session where the whole time I stared at the clock, wishing to be done.


And so ends the catching up! 

No cardio today - I've done 4 days in a row!  I may pick up my dumbbells and do some arm work later, not sure yet.

My daily scale-jumping is starting to wear on my nerves.  After doing so poorly last week, but staying at essentially the same weight, I've cracked down and have been tracking everything now.  But I'm halfway through my week and I'm heavier than at weigh-in!  Grrrrr...

I'll leave you with a pic of today's lunch:  1/2 teriyaki-marinated grilled chicken breast, grilled veggies (grape tomatoes, red onion, red & green bell pepper, mushroom) & pineapple, and 1/2 cup of chicken-flavored Rice-a-Roni.  This was leftover from dinner this weekend.  So yummy, and only 8 PointsPlus for this giant plate!

Fast food for breakfast

...sort of.

Yesterday I made myself this breakfast sandwich:

Healthy Life light multigrain English muffin - 2 PointsPlus
Oscar Mayer fully cooked canadian bacon, 3 slices - 1 PP
Eggbeaters (used store brand), 1/2 cup - 1 PP
The Laughing Cow light garlic & herb cheese, 1 wedge - 1 PP

It was gigantic!  Twice (or more) the size of your standard Egg McMuffin, and 3 PP less than the fast food version to boot.  Tastes a lot better, too!