WDYET??? *** Friday ***

Yup, Im an early bird again!!! I am finding it much easier to plan my meals ahead, I am sticking much better to it that way. It's pay day YAY (Why am I already broke again? hehe)... so I need to go grocery shopping tonight and stock up. I have a ton of meat so just need to get mostly veggies and snacks for work. -------------------------------------- Breakfast: 3/4 of a Ham & Cheese whole grain Lean Pocket. (158 Calories) Snack: Yoplait Light Yogurt (100 calories) Lunch: Pork stew & 4 Triscuits-- yup stew yet again...LOL (206 Calories) Snack: PJ (Pepperjack) Cheesestick & An Apple (172 calories) Dinner: Im making a pasta dish (Using very little pasta). It will be full of Emerils Chicken & Apple sausage, onion, mushrooms, squash, garlic & brocolli. I am learning to cut back on the pasta portions I cook, so Im going to do a lot of vegetables, and just put a very small amount of fettuchini noodles in. (190 Calories) That brings me to approx 830 calories for the day... not a bad day at all. I don't always calculate all the teeny calories in things, just the main stuff, so I'll probably round that figure up to 900 calories for the day.

The Emeril's chicken and apple saugsage sounds really yummy! I'm going to look for it the next time I'm at the store. I think reducing the amount of pasta is a good way to get that starchy goodness we love without blowing our diets. Do you use regular pasta? Low-carb? Whole-wheat? Just curious. I like planning my menus ahead of time as well. Generally I plan a week at a time. Since I've been on medical leave I haven't, but will be making my food plan for next week later today. Happy Friday! Laura

The Emeril's Chicken & Apple sausage is really good... but not as low calories as a chicken sausage should be in my opinion. I think it's 190 calories for 1 sausage, I eat 1/2 a one-- they are a reasonable size. Whole Foods makes really awesome tasty chicken sausages-- it's just so expensive so I haven't been back to whole foods in a while. Pasta was my fav thing pre surgery. Im really happy cause Im learning to cook far less, and just have a few bites and make more meat/veggies instead. tonight it's regular pasta, im using some that i had left in the pantry, but normally i buy whole wheat pasta. Ive tried planning for the week, but things didn't turn out so well-- so im planning the whole day ahead... I find if I have a plan for dinner, im less likely to get frustrated cause I don't know what to make, and go buy something.

only breakfast so far Breakfast: 1 cup special K cereal with splenda and milk, but I dont drink the left-over milk. (lactose bothers me) 110 calories Lunch: I will probably have 2 cheese sticks Dinner: Whatever my mom makes. My son is really fussy about food though, so if she makes something he wont eat, I make something gor the two of us. My daughter eats anything, so she eats the same things they do. Night Snack: I usually have crackers, or a handful of chips, 1/2 cup sf pudding with SF cool whip, or a SF root beer float with diet root beer.

OH! I forgot about the chicken and apple sausage! It is tasty.. double hot choc/coffee protein drink B: 3/4 spicy black bean and corn Morningstar patty w/ sour cream double hot choc/coffee protein drink L: 1/2 cup of ham/broc/cheese quiche S: later, probably 1/4 of a pear and give the rest to my daughter D: thinking of making talapia with a shrimp sherry cream sauce on top. I'm in the mood for something shrimpy! another double hot choc/coffee protein drink before bedtime

Lu Lu, I'd love to have your talapia with shrimp sherry cream sauce recipe. I bought some talapia on sale and have no idea how to fix it! Thanks! Laura

Hi Laura! I don't really use measurements but I melt 4 or 5 TBS of butter and wisk in 3 or so TBS of flour, cook it for a minute (though not til browned) and slowly wisk in a can of evaporated milk and add in salt/pepper/splash of sherry. Keep stirring until it looks almost thick enough and add the shrimp to cook for a couple of minutes. While the sauce I cooking, I broil the talapia with PAM and Paul Prudhomme's Seafood Magic seasoning on it. The sauce is basically a bechemel with a little sherry in it. Yum! For a variation, instead of adding sherry, you could add sharp cheddar and a touch of nutmeg for a creamy cheese sauce to put over steamed broccoli/cauliflower or pasta for your family.

Happy Friday everyone! It is freezing cold here and a winter storm is on the way! Yesterday it was 55...today the high didn't make it to 20! Breakfast: Quaker Weight Control Oatmeal with 3/4 c Hood Calorie Countdown fat free Lunch: Grilled chicken salad from a local restaurant. I asked for a small plate and moved what I was going to eat to that plate. I estimate I ate 3 oz. cookedchicken breast, 1/4 c lettuce, 1/8 c diced tomatoes, 1/4 c shredded cheese, 2 TBS bacon bits. No dressing. Snack: 1 oz reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese and 1/2 c grapes Dinner: Stuffed bell pepper Snack: 1/2 c fat free cottage cheese with Splenda and cinnamon I figured 4 oz. of uncooked chicken in my totals. 863 calories; 94 grams of protein I'm so excited to be over 800 calories for the day. The difference between today and the rest of the week was the amount of calories I ate at lunch. Of course, I could only estimate what I ate, but I think I came fairly close. Have a good weekend everyone! Laura

wow 2 early days in a row, hope you're not setting your alarm for this Laura your calories and protein are up good for you! heres my day.. drive to work, drinkable yogurt breakfast, 3 quiche cups snack, 3 more quiche cups and achievone with 1/2 scoop of protein lunch, sashimi and pickled ginger mmmmmm still full from lunch but I'll have some val's chicken for dinner going to the movies tonight planning to bring carb slim bites (little chocolate milk dud looking balls that have protein in the middle) 118 calories, 4gr protein, 0 sugar went food shopping for tons of fruits and veggies! I think Im going to do the fat smash diet starting monday.. Its a 9 day detox, I did it a few months ago and lost 6.5lbs in the 9 days. I'll be 10 months out tomorrow and have only lost 4lbs this month. Really shooting for 13-17 lbs by or around my 1 year mark (2 months away )!

Stylz, let us know how the fat smash is going. Several months ago I had set a mini-goal to be at 200 lbs by my one-year anniversary, but I'm not sure now I will make it. I was at 224 as of yesterday afternoon. I don't know whether to re-evaluate my goal or to keep it the way it is and work my butt off for the next two months. I did lose 2 lbs between Monday morning and Friday afternoon, and I lost 6 lbs between the previous Tuesday and Monday morning, so that is encouraging. Laura