In addition to this issuance being a bit late, you will also see that it's not coming from the Verizon Business email address. Monday started off great, and it all went to hell shortly after that. I did survive month end close this month, after putting in 50+ hours by Thursday. Note to self: No more working till 10:30 on a weeknight. Not good for the sleep cycles, or the morale, for that matter...OK...I digress. Long story short, I didn't want to do anything on the work PC this weekend, if I could help it!
So, how about that sleet, ice and snow and snow???? The thunder-sleet and thunder-snow came as expected on Tuesday morning. The temperatures dipped to the low-teens, and any precipitation that hit the ground froze and froze. It was quite the ice rink out there. Friday the snow gods came out again, just to add a little insult to injury. Yes, it did snow twice up here in Denton. By the time all was said and done, we ended up with about 6 additional inches, and quite the mess. Our temperatures stayed at around 16 - 18 degrees from Tuesday - Friday. This morning the sun came out and did its work melting the ice rink and drying out the roads. Most roads are now very passable, and only the shady spots may still have some ice. We will thaw just in time for snow again on Sunday and perhaps Wednesday too. Does it end? I am thinking NOT.
The schools and daycare centers were also closed from Tuesday to Friday. So...that meant that I was working from home, Steve was working from home, and we had both kids home. By this morning, I had to get out of the house, before I did something stupid, like say...listing the kids on Craig's List (which I know is not right, but it would get them out of my hair! LOL...). I usually attend my meetings on Wednesdays now, but with the weather, I have been literally iced in all week, and the centers were actually closed for a couple of days. I finally got Steve to get us out of the house this morning so that I could go and weigh in. I was the only one at the Denton Town Center location, so I had the staff's entire focus! I made it worth their while, because I LOST 3.6 THIS WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I told you that something good had to come from all this!
The meeting topic for the week, appropriately, was 'From Feedback to Success'. This means that you should take cues from what goes well in your week, and learn from what may not have gone so well. This week, ironically, I happened to have an incredible week. I jotted down a quick punch list of those things that helped contribute to this loss.
So, what did I do different this week? Let me list some things for you:
- I did really well at tracking!!! Even though I was incredibly busy, I still made time for this. It IS important for me to track. I lose when I track--not so much when I dont.
- Month end close kept me busy so that I didn't snack unnecessarily
- I made a large pot of chicken taco soup and we ate soup for dinner a few nights
- I had bananas and oranges on hand for healthy zero-Points-Plus snacks
- I made sure that I had a nice afternoon snack. This week's concoction was my Greek yogurt/pumpkin parfait, for a total PointsPlus value of 1!!! (quickie recipe: 6 oz fat free Greek yogurt (I have The Greek Gods nonfat in the house); 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree; dash pumpkin pie spice; 1/2 tsp vanilla extract; 1-2 packets of Truvia (or any non-calorie sweetener you like) for sweetness. Filling, and YUMM-O! Like pumpkin pie in a bowl. I really think that this simple snack helped in a big way--especially during my hungries that strike around 3pm or so.
- I actually ate a 4 oz bagel (from Boopa's) with 2 oz Boar's Head 42% lower sodium ham and a 2% single each morning, and that kept me full most of the morning. The bagel was 7 PointsPlus and the ham and cheese came in at 2, so breakfast was 9 plus what I had to drink (either water or 1/2% milk).
- I climbed the stairs several times. Not as easy as it looks! But it was good safe activity. Apparently, so was fussing at the kids...
- The biggest thing was that I didn't blow through much of my Weekly Points Allowance. Maybe there is something to that? We'll see.
One other thing I wanted to throw out there to you all is this website: Franklin Publishing - Nutrition in the Fast Lane This site has the publication Nutrition in the Fast Lane. I have been buying a copy of this probably once every year or other year. This is a publication that has nutrition information on about 59 popular restaurants and about 3,000 food items. I keep a copy of this with me, either in my glove box or my tote. This gives you a smart way to make good choices when faced with limited dining options. You can use this guide in conjunction with a Points calculator to figure out how these counts will fit in with your plan. They run $6.95 per copy, which is well worth it. Again, just my 2 cents, but I like to give you guys help where I can!
As a closing quote for this week, I go back to an earlier one that I love!
"Whether you think you can
or think you can't….
You’re right!."
-Henry Ford
RECIPES - This week I was on an Asian kick...so enjoy!!!
Soba Noodles & Shrimp
This recipe found its way to me when trolling the recipe sites for any recipe ideas that used shrimp and soba noodles. I happen to keep various varieties of Asian noodles in the pantry, along with a bag of frozen 21/25 count shrimp in the freezer. I was in the mood for stir-fry and wasn't sure what to do with this. The recipe was designed to be eaten cold, but we ate it hot, and I had the leftovers today, chilled. Either hot or cold? This one is a winner. What I loved was the subtle kick that the chili-garlic paste gave to this dish. I prefer Huy-Fong Foods Chili-Garlic Sauce to other brands. It's got the most clean taste. I also took a some artistic license in this one...I added some leftover steamed broccoli from a Chinese dinner.
I hope you enjoy!
Cooking the soba takes about 6 minutes, and you can chop and assemble the remaining ingredients while the noodles cook. Purchase peeled and deveined cooked shrimp, or buy raw shrimp and add them to the boiling water a couple of minutes after adding the noodles. This recipe is easily doubled if you need more than one serving.
PointsPlus Value:9
Servings: 1 very generous serving (approx 2 cups)
Preparation Time: 10 min
Cooking Time: 15 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients:
- 2 ounces uncooked soba (buckwheat) noodles
- 4 cups water
- 1/2 cup shredded carrot
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon chili garlic sauce (such as Lee Kum Kee)
- 1/8 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 cup chopped cooked shrimp (about 3 ounces)
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
- This was where I took my liberties: I added in about 1 1/2 cups of steamed broccoli to this.
Instructions:
Break noodles in half. Bring 4 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add noodles; cook 4 minutes. Add carrot to noodles in pan; cook 2 minutes or until noodles are done. Drain.
Combine vinegar, oil, soy sauce, garlic sauce, and sugar in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add noodle mixture, shrimp, onions, and cilantro; toss to coat. Cover and chill. This dish is good right out of the wok or chilled. I had it both ways, and they were both incredible!
Shrimp and Egg Stir Fry with Napa Cabbage, adapted from a recipe by Tyler Florence
Okay...this dish found its way to me sort of in a backward manner. I was scrounging around the produce section of Kroger looking for inspiration and found these beautiful heads of Chinese Napa Cabbage. I bought one, without a single thought of HOW I would be using this beautiful produce. I did some searching on my favorite sites, but didn't find anything there that grabbed me. I did, suprisingly, find this one on the Food Network site. I usually am cautious here, because not all of the recipes are waistline-friendly, but with a few slight modifications, this one was perfect!
The ginger adds a nice fresh note to the dish, and the stir-fried cabbage is so mild. This one was definitely a make-again, according to the hubbie. Without futher ado, here we go!
Yield: 6 GENEROUS servings at a PointsPlus Value of 7 per serving
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon peanut oil
- 2 shallots, thinly sliced
- 1 (2-inch) piece ginger, peeled and grated
- 1 small head napa cabbage, core removed and finely sliced
- Salt
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten (or 3/4 cup Egg Beaters)
- 4 cups cooked long-grain white rice (I only had 2 1/2 cups leftover from a Chinese food dinner, and this was PLENTY!)
- 1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed in warm water
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/4 bunch scallions, sliced, for garnish (approximately 4 scallions)
- 1/2 cup chopped peanuts, for garnish (I accidentally left these out, and honestly, the dish didn't miss these at all! Add them or save the POINTS and omit!)
Instructions:
Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons of the peanut oil in a wok or a large nonstick skillet over medium-high flame. Give the oil a minute to heat up, then add the shallots, the ginger, and stir-fry for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the cabbage and stir-fry until the cabbage is wilted and soft, about 8 minutes; season with a nice pinch of salt. Remove the vegetables to a side platter and wipe out the wok with dry paper towel.
Put the pan back on the heat and coat with the remaining oil. Add the garlic and to the wok and saute gently until fragrant. Add shrimp and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until pink. Set aside on platter with vegetables. Crack the eggs into the center of the pan. Scramble the egg lightly, then let it set without stirring so it stays in big pieces. Fold in the rice and toss with the egg until well combined, breaking up the rice clumps with the back of a spatula. Return the sauteed vegetables and shrimp to the pan along with the peas and season with salt and soy sauce. Toss everything together to heat through. Spoon the fried rice out onto a serving platter, and garnish with scallions and peanuts (if desired).
Be back with you next week!
