I love, love, love Greek yogurt.  I’ve tried to get Tony to like it, but whenever I’ve made him fruit and yogurt in the past, after the first taste, his comment is usually “this tastes like ass!”

But I love the tanginess of it, but I do think I have a sour palate to begin with – give me sauerkraut, vinegar, etc. I am a happy girl.

4 Point Breakfast Parfait – 1 serving

  • 6 ounces 0% Chobani yogurt (mixed with 2 tablespoons sugar free pancake syrup (0)
  • 1/2 cup sliced strawberries (0)
  • 1 kiwi sliced (0)
  • 1/2 an apple, chopped (0)
  • 1 small banana, chopped (0)
  • 1 tsp. brown sugar (0)
  • 1/4 cup Kellogg’s Vanilla Almond Cereal (1)

I mix the yogurt and pancake syrup together.  In a small sauce pan I saute the apple and banana with the 1 tsp. brown sugar – for some reason in parfaits, I don’t like raw apples.  I am weird like that.  I only cooked it for about 4 minutes, then put it in a container and brought it to work.

Then assembly time!  Strawberries, yogurt, kiwi, vanilla almond cereal, yogurt, banana apple mixture, more yogurt, vanilla almond cereal, then strawberries and kiwi on top.

I should have taken a picture of the spoon I used to eat this – an ice tea spoon!  This was filling and delicious.  And as love as I love my egg and cheese sammies, this may soon become a regular breakfast.

32 and sunny, but feels like 23.  Done.  If it’s sunny, I don’t give it a second thought not to go outside.  Only one slight problem.  My blood sugar was 106.  Perfect, yes, but too low for me to work out.  So I drank a 10 oz. bottle of orange juice (even though Tony warned me about the orange juice recall!) and 15 minutes later it was up to 150.

So no running for me – just walking for 45 minutes – when I got back to work my blood sugar dropped back down to 62.  🙁  So let’s just say I moved for 45 minutes – the last 10 minutes was pretty sluggish.  I just hate to have to eat something in order to exercise.  No need to call “What Not To Wear.”  I am already a slave to fashion and don’t need their help. 😀

Here’s something you don’t see very often on My Bizzy Kitchen:

When I was trying to figure out what to bring for lunch, I saw that Hannah had a bunch of Lean Cuisines in the downstairs freezer.  She takes them to work when she works during dinner.  I borrowed the Chicken Fried Rice, which is 7 points.  But I know how tiny the portions are.  My boss has a Lean Cuisine every single day.

So I kicked it up a notch:

  • 1 cup broccoli (0)
  • 1/2 cup shredded carrot (0)
  • 2 tablespoons of Kikoman stir fry (1)
  • 1 package tofu noodles (0 – only 20 calories!)

Before I left for work I sauteed the broccoli and carrots for about 5 minutes.  I emptied the tofu noodles, gave them a good rinse, dried them off with a paper towel, stuck them in a ziploc with 1 tablespoon of the stir fry sauce.

I know some of you think the tofu noodles taste like worms.  I find you have to REALLY rinse them well, dry them and then toss them in some sort of sauce or marinade, otherwise they really don’t taste like anything.

So here is my giant (and I mean GIANT!) bowl of Lean Cuisine, kicked up – all for 8 WW points.

Tony’s appetite comes and goes, so we play it by ear as he is healing.  Last night he just wanted chicken noodle soup.  So guess what I made for myself?  Spicy Food!

Here is what I knew I had on hand:  shrimp, green pepper, buffalo chicken sausage (from the freezer), chicken broth, garlic, parsley.

Like a puzzle once I moved the ingredients around I thought: GUMBO!

I’ve actually never made it, or not that I can remember.  After seeing Emeril and John Besh’s shows, I know that the base to a good gumbo is the brown roux that takes time to develop.  I didn’t have that kind of time, so I found this recipe that I adapted to make it a bit more WW friendly, and using what I had on hand.

Spicy Shrimp and Chicken Sausage Gumbo (makes 4 servings – 7 WW points each)

  • 1/8 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 green bell pepper, diced
  • 2 stalks celery, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 2 teaspoons Emeril’s Essence **
  • 3 cups chicken broth
  • 2 buffalo chicken sausages (mine are Dietz & Watson brand – just use 3 point per sausage for the same points)
  • 1 pound of shrimp, cleaned and deveined
  • 1/2 cup chopped parsley

In a saute pan, brown the sausage slices, remove and set aside.  Add the oil and flour, stirring on low heat until you achieve a dark, almost chocolate color.  This took about 5 minutes.

Add the bell pepper, celery, and garlic and cook until softened.  Sprinkle the veggies with Emeril’s Essense.  Add the broth, stirring until smooth.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes.  Adjust seasonings with salt, pepper, more essence.

Finally add the shrimp, reserved sausage and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the shrimp are done.  Garnish with fresh parsley and serve with rice or crusty bread.

** Emeril’s Essense:

  • 2.5 tablespoons paprika
  • 2 tablespoons salt
  • 2 tablespoons garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder (no thanks)
  • 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Oh.My.Gosh.  This was delicious!  Just the right amount of heat in the broth.  You get 3/4 cup of the broth mixture, 8 slices of sausage and 13 shrimp for 7 points.  Um, I may have had 6 points of crusty bread to soak up this amazing sauce – luckily I had the points for a 13 point dinner!

Alright, gotta jump in the shower peeps – make it a great day!