Pretty Successful Week

I'd say this week was pretty successful...as far as food goes.  I've pretty much accepted that I will never straighten my hair before I go to work and that I should probably invest in a flat iron to keep at my desk...  I had my first official morning of going to work with spittle and spilled coffee on my clothes.  I can't complain, she's beautiful and I love her.

I definitely meant to take photos of my wonderful creations but I forgot...my bad.

Monday:  Sweet Italian turkey sausage with penne and home made sauce and a side of asparagus.
     This was modeled after my favorite frozen go-to:  Bertolli's Italian Sausage and Rigatoni frozen meal.

Tuesday:  Tomato chicken breasts with mixed vegetables
Wednesday:  Cheesy lemon chicken with a side of asparagus
Thursday:  Garlic ranch turkey burgers with green beans

Tuesday-Thursday I got these meals from an iPhone app called Meal Planning by Food on the Table.  It's pretty awesome and it's free.  You can select which grocery store you frequent and it will look up the items on sale that week.  You can also choose what types of things you eat:  chicken, fish, pork, low calorie, etc.  It sorts it's recipes by the foods you like to eat, by what kind of dish it is, ie breakfast, sides whatever and will add the necessary items to a grocery list.  You can also select how many servings you want to prepare and it will adjust the recipe for that particular number of servings.

Another app I'm currently enjoying is Healthy Grocery by ShopWell.  This app will take into consideration your age, sex, and current weight management goal.  You can then scan bar codes and it will tell you whether that food is something you should be buying.  You can also create a list in this app.

It was a pretty good week over all.  There are still some things that I need to change.  I took frozen Michaelina's Lean Gourmet meals for lunch and still drank my coffee with cream and sugar.  Oh well.  It's the little things.  I think that if I tried to change everything all at once and couldn't give myself any wiggle room that I would definitely be setting myself up for failure.  BUT, if I make little changes then I can still feel like the kid at the top of the page when the week is over.

little changes

So I've decided to get back on track.  Whilst discussing losing weight and getting healthy, my husband had me put a number on what would make me happy.  Traditionally, I go with a goal of:  whenever I feel good.  However, he had me put a number on it and that number would be 145.  That's still outside of the ideal range for someone who is 5'3'' with a small frame but it's a place that I haven't seen for a long time.  In fact, I couldn't imagine weighing 145 pounds again.  Aaron's biggest vices are not eating breakfast, fast food for lunch, and beer.  So I'm strong arming him into this as well...I'm tired of hearing about how he should lose weight when really I don't think he does.  He's a strapping young lad and I love him the way he is.  I'm hoping to fade things out and make small changes so I'm not so shocked.  Fast food needs to go and i need start phasing in healthier options for some of the not so good stuff.

SO, it starts.  Saturday we went to the grocery and picked up things to make healthy meals and walked out without his beloved beverage.  I'm definitely looking forward to home cooked meals, fresh asparagus, and green beans.  Sunday, hubby took care of Jess for the most part outside of her feedings which freed up a lot of my time.

1.)  I made his beloved breakfast burritos.  I make a bunch and freeze them so he can take one to work and get some food on his stomach.  These are too heavy for me so I stick to my Special K and fresh fruit.

2.)  I cut up a ton of berries and bell peppers.  We both love some fresh fruit and he loves eating raw peppers with ranch dressing...a bit weird in my opinion.

3.)  I made 4 16 oz jars of home made pasta sauce full of peppers, and minimal salt.  It's delicious.

4.)  For dinner, I made a pizza.  I used a pre-made crust.  There are healthier options out there but I'm still settling into being a mom and trying to cope with the amount of time that I no longer have, plus it was the only type they had at the store on Saturday.  I used 1/4 cup of pizza sauce, fresh spinach, fresh tomato slices, sauteed red onions, and 1/2 cup of reduced fat feta cheese.  It was actually quite delicious and made 8 slices.  As far as Weight Watchers points go, it's about 4 points a slice.  Could I cut it down a bit?  Sure.  Was I happy with the result though?  Definitely.