Phew! Ok, so I'm back. Naturally, I finally decide to start posting actual stuff here and an upgrade hiccup made it so I couldn't. Murphy and all that, I guess.
Anyway, it's been 2 weeks since I had my pity party here over 2 lbs and I'm happy to report that after 3 weeks on Weight Watchers, I'm down 6 lbs. This week I only lost .2, which normally I'd be upset about, but since the week before I lost almost 4, I decided to just ride it out. I'm hoping next week will show more generous results.
Tracking gets a little tedious, but I'm sticking with it. Water consumption is way, way up -- about 3 liters a day, thanks to MiO's new tangerine orange flavor.
I've been cooking a lot -- just about every night . I have several recipes I'll share, some hits, a couple misses (I'll spare you those), but despite hating the mountain of dishes I always seem to have, I'm enjoying cooking. I'd forgotten how much I liked it.
Speaking of cooking, can we talk about kale chips for a minute? I've yet to make them, despite everyone's ravings, not because I'm not intrigued but because Weight Watchers counts them as FIVE points -- at least according to the recipe in this month's magazine (Weight Watchers Magazine, March/April, page 24). I think that has got to be some kind of error.
I understand that vegetables arent "free" when you incorporate them into a proper recipe (another thing I don't get), but if all I'm doing is misting some kale with olive oil cooking spray and roasting it in the oven, how exactly is that FIVE points? How much olive oil mist do you have to consume before it's five points? I tsp of olive oil is 1 point, which is what the recipe calls for per 3 cups of kale. So basically, they're saying they're saying 3 cups of kale somehow equals 4 tsp of olive oil? I call bollocks.
Here's the recipe, as they have it listed:
Weight Watchers Kale Bites
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Tear 3 cup of kale into bite-size pieces, toss with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and a dash of salt and pepper.
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Spread on a greased baking sheet and bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until crispy.
5 Points*
*Pointsplus Values were calculated by adding the nutrition information for each ingredient using the online recipe builder.
I used the recipe builder myself to see if that was accurate and indeed, it shows up as 5 points. If you remove the kale entirely from the recipe, it's back to 1 point. I personally would just use my olive oil mister, but kale is actually four points on its own? Lame.
I realize kale is healthy for you, but I don't really see how five points would motivate someone to go through the trouble of making kale chips when cracking open a bag of beloved baked Cheetos "costs less". Are they 5 points good?
So, I love The Laughing Cow -- don't we all? Just about anyone who is a Weight Watcher is big on The Laughing Cow line of cheeses. I really love to eat it with apples and put it on sammiches.
Though it took a while to find them, I was thrilled when they came out with 3 new Light flavors: Blue Cheese, Sundried Tomato and Basil and Queso Fresco and Chipotle. YUM. I tried them all at BlogHer and couldn't wait to find them in my store.
Recently, they contacted me about participating in their Bring Snackjoy to Life contest. They sent me a container of my assigned flavor and told me to write a 120-character "personality" for my cheese. I received the Queso Fresco and Chipotle, which was totally great because I love anything spicy.
I ate it on Triscuits, I had it in an omelette, I even had it with a bit of apple and just about anywhere I loved it. I was surprised at how good it was on the apple. (I love a sweet n' spicy combo.) The zest is mellow for those who aren't into spicy foods, but the flavor is definitely geared for latin food.
I think my favorite way I've had this new flavor was predictable, but awesome: nachos with grainy tortilla chips. It goes a little like this:
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2 wedges of cheese, melted for 30 seconds in the microwave (some might take longer, some might take less, just keep an eye on it)
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add a tablespoon or so of fresh salsa (or jar, whatever you have on hand)
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stir it up and pour it over a handful of whole grain or other sort of 'natural' or "healthy" tortilla chips (I'm currently enjoying Food Should Taste Good's Jalapeno tortilla chips -- which are kinda spicy, but I dig 'em! I also love the flaxseed ones from Trader Joe's.)
If you want more cheese, throw in another wedge -- just wing it, but don't forget to count the Points if you're doing Weight Watchers.
Could it have been spicier? For me, sure. Definitely. But I think it's a versatile cheese that would be awesome in a Mac n' Cheese or in a Spanish Omelette. I can see a lot of uses for it and not everyone likes the hot n' spicy like me, so in that case, it's just the right amount. I'm a fan -- now if only I can find it at my local grocery store.
If you're so inclined, VOTE FOR MY ENTRY in the Bring Snackjoy to Life contest!
I give this 4.5 donuts.
I'm not a huge fan of salty snacks, but lately I have been craving something crunchy and different than your standard potato chip or dorrito fare. We had a few friends over last week and I told my husband to pick up a few chips and dips for the occasion and much to my delight he brought home Baked Scoops. He also picked up some salsa to go with them, which I happen to hate (no tomatoes please!). We had a jar of Salsa Con Queso Dip, which isn't bad, but I have issues with portion control; even if I scoop out two tablespoons (40 Calories, 2.5 grams of fat = 1 WW Point), chances are I'm gonna go back for more. Afterall the jar is already open and just taunting me with it's cheesey goodness.
Instead of caving, I pulled out a Laughing Cow cheese wedge (35 calories, 1.5 grams of fat = 1 WW point and keeps my portion control in check) and decided to try it out with the baked scoops (15 scoops = 2 WW points). I have to say it was damn good. The baked scoops are light but pack a powerful crunch. I found it hard to distinquish any real taste difference between these and the heftier original. Add a schmear of cheese on top and you have quite a delicious and filling snack.
This combo has now been my favorite snack choice for the last week and a half. Anyone else find a great snack combo and then stick with it for awhile?
I give this 5 donuts.
