Great Value Friday

 I'm behind again this morning. I stayed up too late and didn't get up when I should have. I've also been continuously sidetracked since I did get up.

Yesterday went smoother, it seemed more relaxed. I was more relaxed anyway. I had a Great Value cinnamon waffle for breakfast with Planters creamy peanut butter and GV syrup. I normally get light syrup, but they were out. I'm not sure GV has light syrup. I usually buy syrup from Aldis.

I just used a little syrup. I don't like to use much anyway. The peanut butter tones down the sweetness of the syrup.

The waffle was pretty good. I think I could have eaten two, but I didn't and I was fine with just one.

For lunch, I added two slices of GV white American cheese and some chopped broccoli to the leftover potato soup. It was good.

A great leftover makeover.

I did have to cook it for a bit to soften up the broccoli even though it was chopped small, but next time I will precook  the broccoli.

I had a cup of green tea with lemon juice and coconut sugar, I actually had two. I had one after lunch because I had a sinus headache and I was hoping the hot drink and bit of caffeine would help. I ended up taking an ibuprofen and a nap. The other cup of tea, I had later before dinner.

I had pizza for dinner, which I made, but not from scratch. I bought GV refrigerated pizza dough, which comes in a can like biscuits, cinnamon rolls, etc. I rolled it out into a pan that was a little longer than the suggested size for a thinner crust. I used a small can of tomato sauce with added pizza seasoning, rosemary, garlic and a little salt for the sauce. I topped it with canned mushrooms, onion slices, chopped bell pepper and broccoli, then I sprinkled it with a shredded Italian cheese blend.

The dough is suppose to go in a greased pan, so I used olive oil, but the dough wanted to draw up away from the edges of the pan. I was using up the last of my fresh broccoli to avoid having it go to waste.

I wasn't too impress with the pizza. I used pizza seasoning in my sauce instead of plain oregano and it just didn't have the flavor I was going for. The top of my pizza was getting done quicker than the bottom for some reason and the crust was soft like a biscuit instead of slightly crispy. I like homemade better, which I may do next time. I had spring mix/spinach salad and spicy ranch dressing to go with the pizza.

It made 8 slices; I had 2. I may freeze a few slices for later, so that I'm don't wind up eat pizza for several days.

I was late getting started last night, sorting and uploading photos. I also got interested in tv, etc. while I was doing the photos and later getting it done than I had planned. I read some before going to bed as well. I am at an interesting part in the book (One for the Money, Janet Evanovich). On top of everything else, I didn't sleep well. We're planning to walk today. I am going to do better today. Happy Saturday!!

Learning To Stop When I'm Full

This morning I got up and started cleaning....before breakfast. I don't know what got into me lol. I finally came to my senses and fixed me a bite to eat. I finished off the fruit salad, that I was suppose to have help eating, by piling it onto one of the pumpkin waffles I'd made the other day. I did add a few chopped walnuts, but I skipped the shredded coconut today. I ate all of this no problem and I wasn't stuffed.

 

 

 I had a big day of cleaning planned......change of plans......Mom called and she and my Aunt Lynda invited me to go with them. Well, I go every chance I get, so I went. I did get a load of clothes in and the floors vacuumed and mopped before going. That was my good deed for the day.

While we were out we had lunch at Monterey's Mexican restaurant. I had Tilapia with rice. The rice had pico de gallo on it and all came with lettuce, tomato (pink), lemon and avocado. I am not a big fan of avocado or guacamole (wokamole...private joke, lol.) I don't hate it, but I don't want it. There were also warm flour tortillas. I ate one big piece of fish with 2 flour tortillas, lettuce, tomato and salsa. I also ate half the rice and saved the other big piece of fish and rice for later. I kind of wish they only served half as much for half the price. I don't know how anyone could eat that much at one sitting, without exploding. I think I can eat a lot and I couldn't begin to do it. This wasn't a plate, it was a platter. Maybe next time, if were going to order that same, we should just get an extra plate and split it. I used to try and eat it all, but usually wound up miserable with not enough left for leftovers. I was also 20 pounds heavier.

 

 Later, on the way home we stopped by The Human Bean and instead of coffee, I tried a orange/peach fruit smoothie. Boy was I disappointed. I really doubt there was any real fruit in it, not that they claimed there to be. It did say, you get a full day's vitamin c. The real disappointment was that it tasted like a baby aspirin. At first I thought sherbert, but the more I drank, the more it reminded me of a very sweet baby aspirin. No thank you, Human Beans, I'll stick with my own. I will have to try an orange/peach version. BTW, there wasn't a hint of peach in that thing as far as I could tell.

For dinner, I had my leftover stuffed mushroom and a salad with iceberg, broccoli, green pepper, tomato, carrots, and light buttermilk ranch dressing.

 

I couldn't eat all of this either, but it wasn't enough to save. I am learning to stop when I am full...well, maybe a little past full, but not miserable.

 I don't think I drank enough water today. I should have gotten water instead of that smoothie, lol. I feel yucky when I haven't had enough water. What tricks do you use to keep from over eating? Are there still times when you over eat or a particular food you always eat too much of? I am a work in progress. I like to think, I'm doing better though.

I'll add the links in the morning, lol. I'm just too tired. I've got to get ahead of the game. I'd love some blogging tips if you have any. Thanks.

Eating Moving & Laughing

This morning's breakfast was carbolicious, but it was good. I was thinking about the fruit salad/ambrosia, when I got up this morning, which reminded me of the pumpkin waffle mix, I got at Aldi's, sitting in my cabinet. The reason it reminded me of the waffle mix is because, when I made these the last time I had fruit salad on one of the waffles and that is what I had in mind this morning.

 

Also, the last time I fixed these, I remembered thinking that they were spicy enough, so I added about 3/4 of a tsp of pumpkin pie spice to the mix. They were a lot better this time. I also figured out that about 1/3 c. of batter is about right for each waffle. Nearly all my waffles had corners or were very close and no of the batter was wasted running off the edge of the waffle iron. I love my waffle iron and I plan to make some homemade waffles the next time I want pumpkin waffles.

 I topped my waffle with a huge dollop of fruit salad, a sprinkle of shredded coconut and a few chopped walnuts. I also added ground flax to the waffle batter.

 

My lunch has looked better. I added a shriveled up Veggie Patch veggie dog to my LO (that's leftover) baked beans and had LO potato salad on the side. I heated my veggie dog in the toasted oven a little too long I think and it shriveled up when it cooled off.

 It tastes better than it looks, but I think I prefer my dog on a bun.

As some of you may know, today was Zumba day for me. My before Zumba snack was a cup of Lemon Chobani Greek yogurt. 

 

It looks kind of lumpy, but that's just real lemon pulp in there. It's so tart and delicious, the next thing I knew, I was scraping the bottom and running my finger around the sides, wishing the cup was bigger. I was eating the yogurt while looking at something on the internet and was very surprised when my spoon came up empty.

 

I think tonight's Zumba class was more about moving and laughing than anything. We did some new songs and some we haven't done since the first class, so the steps were all over and there's one song, I hate because no matter how many times we do it, I can't get the steps right. I don't remember the name, but it is a cha cha cha sort of step. 

After Zumba I was thankful for leftovers because I was ready to eat. I did the other half of my baked ziti with salad and garlic toast, of course, Lucas and Dale haven't eaten their LO ziti yet.

 

My salad was iceberg lettuce, carrot, tomato, and bell pepper with light Caesar dressing and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese over everything.

Zumba may have been about moving and laughing, but the rest of the day was about eating, lol. I guess we need to do all three everyday. Eating & moving are good for the body, but laughing is good for the soul. Have you laughed today? Tell me something funny.