My SIL and I hit up the Entenmann’s outlet on Sunday.  I wasn’t going to buy anything, but they had these Arnold Pocket Thins – in Italian herb – each half of a pocket is only 2 WW points.

I decided to make an egg white/egg beaters scramble and stuff it into the pita half.  Um, I must have been really hungry because there was no way my scramble was going to fit into the pita!  Egg whites (1), egg beaters (2), 1 tablespoon bacon bits (1), 1/2 ounce cheddar cheese (1), pita (2), red pepper and zucchini and apple on the side (0).  Breakfast comes in at 7 points.

I tested my blood sugar right before heading out for a run.  It was 220 – right where I want it to be before working out.  I checked weather.com – said it was 33 but felt like 21.  It was sunny, so I decided to go for it.  I only was able to walk for 15 minutes – the wind was so strong!  When I got back I checked weather.com again, no wonder – there were 25-33 mph winds!  I texted Tony and said “I had to abort the run due to wind!”

He texted back, “why don’t you go to the gym after work, I can cook dinner.”   I quickly texted him back and told him I would take him up on that offer.  Then he texted back “what am I making?”  Now you all know I do the weekly meal plan – not sure if Tony listens to me when I throw out ideas of meals like I do.   I also don’t have the most organized kitchen.  At some moments I will have all the lids on the pots in order – other times, I just shove them in the cupboard and slam the door shut before everything falls on the ground.  I also almost never put anything back in the same place.  So if Tony was going to need the rice maker, it could literally be in one of ten places.

I texted “I have red beans and rice with smoked sausage – the sausage is on the left hand bottom side of the fridge, the rice mix is above the coffee maker.  I also have pasta with sauce and Italian sausage – the sausage is in the meat drawer and the canned tomatoes are in the pantry.  I also have steak and potatoes – the potatoes are on the bottom left hand side of the floor of the pantry.”

He texted me back “I’ve made my decision, now back off.” 😀

I ended up having leftover beef stew, this time over chopped baby spinach – I had a very generous one and 1/3 cups – so I am calling lunch 8 points.

So after work I went straight to the gym.  I just changed back into my clothes before leaving the office.  I knew I wanted to run a 5k – um, let’s just say my gym is busy at 5:45 at night!  I grabbed the last treadmill!  I walked for 5 minutes to warm up, reset the treadmill and started out at 5.5 mph.  Every mile I bumped up the mileage, so my last mile was at 5.8 mph and my last .4 miles was at 6.0.

My facebook friends already know this is a PR for me – so close to being 33:__!  My goal is still to do it under 30 minutes.  I know I’ll get there eventually. 😀

So I came home and as soon as I walked in the door it smelled like heaven.  I walked into the kitchen, and there was homemade cornbread!

Corn bread and I go way back.  I have probably told Tony this story 100 times every time I see corn bread on t.v.  Back when I was a poor single momma I worked in Chicago.  My office was on LaSalle.  There was a restaurant called Heaven on Seven on Wabash, which was a good 25 minute walk to get to.  The first time I went was with my boss at the time.  The restaurant is in a funky office building.  You get off on the seventh floor and there is this cajun restaurant with 100’s of bottles of hot sauce on the walls and tables – I knew I was home. 😀  But what got me that very first time was their jalapeno corn bread.

It was a giant square of heaven – slightly sweet, hint of bacon, spicy because of the jalapenos and so tender.  I believe it cost about $2.50 for a square of that goodness, even back then.   So at least twice a week I would walk 25 minutes, get my square of deliciousness and eat it on the 25 minute walk back to my office.  They since opened other locations – one on Michigan Avenue and now in a Chicago suburb in Naperville.

As luck would have it – Tony and I were watching Pioneer Woman and she made corn bread.  Before I even said anything Tony says “I know, you got corn bread from Heaven on Seven!”  On a side note – I love Pioneer Woman’s website.  Her t.v. show?  Not so much.  Is it me or does she not have much of a personality on screen?  I keep wanting to watch her show, but not sure how much time I’ll invest in it.

I digress.  Tony found a recipe for Heaven on Seven corn bread, and when I mentioned red beans and rice and sausage, it turned out to be the perfect fit.

Heaven on Seven Corn Bread (makes 1, 9 inch pie plate – which I cut into 12 pieces – for 6 WW points each

  • 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons ground corn flour (Tony just used corn meal)
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 5 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt (which Tony left out because he added cheese and pancetta)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/3 cup milk (Tony used buttermilk)
  • 5 tablespoons of butter, melted
  • 4 ounces cheddar cheese
  • 1 4 ounce can diced jalapeno peppers
  • 2 ounces chopped pancetta for the top

Since Tony didn’t have corn flour as the recipe stated, he mixed everything together except the pancetta, and let it soak for a couple hours before putting it in a 9 inch cake pan.  He topped it with the chopped pancetta and baked it for 40 minutes at 350.

He cooked the red beans and rice and sausage together in the rice maker.  I think he runs it through two cycles to get it all done so it was basically ready to plate when I got home.

I figured out the points after I ate.  The rice and beans were (4), the 3 ounces of smoked sausage was (7) and my slice of heaven cornbread was (6).  So while I had a 17 point dinner, it was delicious – that’s what my flex points are for, right?!

Thank you Tony for putting dinner together – it was delicious.  And for breakfast I am going to have an egg white spinach omelet (2) with my slice of heaven (6) for a nice 8 point breakfast.  Nothing like staring out the day with jalapenos!

Make it a great day!