It was so nice to cook dinner last night and it was still light out. Now I just can’t wait to bring out our gazebo chairs and be able to sit outside – that’s one of our favorite things to do at night. 😀
Yesterdays breakfast was a favorite, and each time I have it I wonder why I wait so long between eating it. Two tostadas, 3/4 cup egg beaters (still 2 points the same as a 1/2 cup!), 1/3 cup refried beans, 3/4 cup cheddar cheese and salsa – a very filling 9 point breakfast.
I made beef stew over the weekend, hoping that the tender meat and veggies might be something Tony could eat – he ended up eating about 1/2 a cup with some rice on Sunday. My store didn’t have beef stew meat on sale, so I bought this roast and chunked the meat myself. I adapted this recipe from Once Upon a Chef – lowering the meat amount by half to save on calories, adding more carrots and potatoes and, or course, leaving out the onions.
Beef Stew with Potatoes & Carrots
- makes 6, 1 1/2 cup servings = 8 PointsPlus
(adapted from Once Upon A Chef)
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds of boneless beef chuck (or other marbled meat)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
- 7 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (love the addition of this!)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 cups dry red wine
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme
- 5 large carrots, peeled and cut on an angle
- 1 pound potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 1 1/2 cups frozen peas
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 325.
- Pat beef dry and season with salt and pepper. In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat and sear the meat all over – about 5-8 minutes – don’t overcrowd the pot – do in batches. Transfer meat with juices to a bowl.
- Add garlic and balsamic vinegar (making sure your face isn’t over the pot!) and stir, scraping bits off the bottom of the pot. Add tomato paste and cook for a few more minutes. Add beef with juices back into the pot, sprinkle with flour and cook until the flour is dissolved – about 2 minutes. Add wine, beef broth, water, thyme and stir to combine and bring to a boil. Cover pot with tight fitting lid and braise in the oven for 2 hours.
- Remove pot from oven and add carrots and potatoes, cover and cook an additional 45 minutes. Add in frozen peas and cook an additional 15 minutes.


After two hours – your house will smell wonderful!
I had a bowl for my lunch yesterday – but prior to working out – one of my co-workers brought me some cranberry walnut bread – it was the perfect pre-workout snack – thanks V!

For my workout I did 35 minutes on the treadmill – 24:40 was my two mile time yesterday 😀 and then I did a 3.3 mile bike ride on the new machine they have – its just like the regular bike machine with the scenes you can pick, but it was recumbent. I actually thought it would be easier – but turns out you can’t stand up when you have a hill climb on a recumbent bike! It was a nice 50 minute workout.
The apple side salad was so easy – 1/2 a diced peeled apple, some baby spinach and 1 tablespoon light Italian dressing – as my co-worker called it – a palate cleanser after the stew! 😀 Lunch comes in at 9 points.
My local library is small, but I am lucky that it is a lending library – only problem is that it may take weeks (or months!) to get a book in. I got two over the weekend – first up was America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook and Ellie Krieger’s So Easy. Last nights dinner was adapted from So Easy. I rewrote the recipe to serve 2 and left out the THREE CUPS of onions.
Tri-Colored Pepper Steak
- Makes 2 servings – 6 Points Plus per serving (not including brown rice)
(adapted from Ellie Krieger’s So Easy Cookbook)
Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon canola oil
- 1 1/2 cups sliced peppers, any color
- 3/4 pound top round, London broil or flank steak, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3/4 cup beef broth
- 1/4 cup red wine
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- cracked pepper to taste
- 3/4 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1/8 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the beef and cook until browned on all sides – about 5 minutes. Transfer the beef and juices to a bowl.
Spray Pam and add the peppers and cook for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another minute, making sure not to burn the garlic (which I almost did!). Return the beef to the skillet and add the broth, wine, soy sauce and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. Stir in the dissolved cornstarch and cook an additional 2 minutes. Serve over perfectly made brown rice. I had 3/4 cup cooked brown rice – so dinner was 10 points.


Stats for Monday:
- 38 points (including 6 points of wine)
- 8 activity points earned
- average blood sugar was 112
Have a great Tuesday!
I’m in Singapore & it’s 90 degrees today…and I still want beef stew!
I love beef stew! I recently made some apple cider beef stew from Debbi’s blog and it was just. so. good. I couldn’t keep out of it!!
Ahh it’s supposed to get warm in KC tomorrow. Hopefully it will be nice in Chicago too! I have my sandals all lined up. I’m convinced that 65-70 degree weather is warm enough to wear them. As long as the little snot noses keep their fingers away from my toes, we will be in business.