Tasting Is Believing

Before we left for vacation I got a package from Weight Watchers asking me to try out their new Red Velvet Crème Cakes.  Long time readers will know that Weight Watchers was how I lost 70 pounds back in 1999-2000.

Weight Watcher’s new campaign “Tasting is Believing.”

Each cake is 90 calories and has 4 grams of fiber, or 2 WW points.

The verdict?  These are delicious.  I actually like the size of it – two bites and your sweet tooth is satisfied.  It’s not overly sweet and I also like the fact that they are individually wrapped so it helps with portion control.  Thanks Daniel for letting me sample these treats!

Breakfast yesterday was a Biz McMuffin, this time with goat cheese, egg whites and baby spinach with fresh fruit.

I thought I had planned my insulin perfectly – look at all that fruit!  I was shocked when I tested my blood sugar before working out that it was 127 – while normal, too low for me to work out.

On my last Sam’s Club run I thought it was a good idea to buy 10 pounds of carrots because they were only $2.98!  The bag was so big it hardly fit in my vegetable drawer!  So I decided to find out what the hell I could do with carrots.  Have you ever had carrot soup?  Me either.  I found inspiration from this blog.  The only changes are underlined below.

Carrot & Ginger Soup

4 servings: 1.5 cups each:

• with heavy cream added:  262 calories, 12 fat, 32 carbs, 5.3 fiber and 3.6 protein
• without heavy cream added:  160 calories, 1.9 fat, 31 carbs, 5.3 fiber and 3.6 protein

Ingredients:

• 8 medium-large carrots, peeled + chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped  (nope!
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon Earth Balance (or olive oil)
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 32 ounces vegetable stock
• 1 tablespoon raw sugar (I used a teaspoon)
• salt + pepper to taste
• I added 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
• I added 12 ounces of cooked potato with skin on
• I added 1/2 cup of heavy cream at the end

Since I made this before work, I just chopped up the carrots and added everything in the pot except the heavy cream and cooked over medium heat for 30 minutes.  Off the heat I used my stick blender to puree and then stirred in the heavy cream.

I had a basil, baby spinach, roasted red pepper and goat cheese panini on the side.  Holy yum!  I really really liked this soup.  The red pepper balances out the sweetness of the carrots, and I think the potato gave it some more texture too.

I had on our dinner menu cauliflower pizza crust pizza.  Um, turns out I didn’t read all the directions and the cauliflower crust had to bake longer than I expected, so I just went with my go to no rise pizza dough:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt

Mix together and roll it out.  No need to rise.  Although its been so long since I’ve made my own thin crust pizza, I forgot two important steps – one, to pre-bake the crust for about 5-7 minutes, and two, taking the pizza off the pizza stone and putting it directly on the oven rack for the last 5 minutes to crisp up the crust.

So while this is good, it wasn’t great.  Oh well, can’t win them all.

We had storms last night so I had to keep the computer turned off, so I am not sure about my calorie stats for the day, but my guess is around 1600.

We have more storms in the forecast today, although right now at 7:30 in the morning it’s sunny and 65.  So I decided to make crock pot tacos for our work lunch today with cilantro rice and my baja fresh salsa and chips.  I was actually able to grill the tomatoes before the storms came through last night.

I never met my 100 mile goal for May, although I will follow through and announce a winner of my salsa tomorrow for all those who joined in my challenge.  Also, new June goals will be posted tomorrow!  (hint: insanity may be in my future!)

Make it a great day!