Flatout Thin Crust Pizza

I am sure I am not alone in having to detour office treats.  Over the holidays I think there was something new every day – chocolate covered pretzel baskets, candy, and caramel popcorn.  For the record, I’ve already deemed all those things insulin worthy, but I didn’t eat a single thing.   Yesterday’s temptation?  Dunkin Donuts!

I put that photo on Instagram and said “I am imagining all these donuts covered in hair!”  I loved the responses:

• Lara said “There will always be a donut to eat!  That’s what I tell myself.  They’re not going extinct.”
• Melody said “You have such amazing willpower!”
• Heather said “They don’t even seem worth it!”
• and my favorite from my daughter Hannah: “It’s times like these that I wonder if we’re really related Mom.”

I skipped the donuts thank you very much.  I had a delicious breakfast waiting for me anyway – more breakfast tacos!  This time it was egg whites and shredded zucchini and cheddar cheese.  I ended up pan frying them in a teaspoon of coconut oil, then just popped them under the broiler at work to crisp them back up.  I had a cup of grapes on the side.

So crispy and delicious!  (um, I may make the same thing for breakfast this morning!).  As per usual, I took half the amount of insulin at breakfast to give me enough to work out at lunch.  So imagine my surprise when I took my blood sugar when it was about time to work out and I was at a perfect 118.  I was talking to Tony at the time, and I told him I would just eat some fruit and then I should be good to go.  I ate a cup of honeydew melon and a small apple.  20 minutes later – my blood sugar dropped to 111!  I wasn’t going to keep eating in order to work out, so I didn’t work out at all yesterday.

Plan B?  Goodwill!  I got a great deal on Riedel stemware – I got 3 pinot noir glasses for $9.99!   The normally sell for $10 each!

Last week at the store I found new to me Flatout bread – thin crust flatbread!  Each one is only 140 calories!

I ended up making a sausage and veggie pizza.  2 ounces of cooked Italian sausage, baby spinach, red pepper, and some of my roasted vegetable marinara sauce.  I preheated our toaster oven to 350 for 5 minutes, baked it for 8 minutes, then finished it up under the broiler.  Our toaster oven at work has a timer so I can hear it from my desk.

Yep, this was a winner – and the whole pizza comes in at 367 calories!  It was crispy, tasty and filling.  Winning!

I had meatloaf on the menu last night – I always forget how long it takes to cook, but it was worth the wait.  Luckily Tony had a late lunch!  I don’t really have a recipe for meatloaf.  Here’s what I did.  I took 10 Ritz crackers and mixed that with 1/4 cup of fat free heavy cream, then smushed the crackers together to make a paste.  I added 1/2 pound of ground pork, 1/2 pound ground sirloin, 1 beaten egg, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, and generous amounts of salt and pepper.

I bake it on a rack above a cookie sheet.  I spoon 2 tablespoons of ketchup over the top and bake it at 350 for 40 minutes.  I then added 1 cup of prepared mashed potatoes over the top, added some cheddar cheese and put it under the broiler until bubbly.

I may have had a glass of wine while I was cooking!  You know, to test out the new glassware.

This was delicious – I served it with green beans on the side – to kind of off set the cheese!  Actually, the stats aren’t too bad – 1/4 of the meatloaf, or two slices comes in at 389 calories, 18 fat, 28 carbs, 0 fiber and 26 protein.

I have to give a shout out to Shelley for the hat she made me!!  Not only is it soft, but it fits well and I have a place for my ponytail! 

And it looks like I’ll be getting a lot of use of it this winter still.  Yesterday it was 4 degrees when I left the house – this morning?  -4!  We aren’t going to have temps above freezing until February.  Have I told you how sick I am of this winter yet?  Tony is too – he wrote a guest post . . .

I am a lucky man. I live with a woman who loves me. For us the best thing is us being together.

Every year about this time I start to think about retirement. I really have grown to hate Chicago. Not the people, not even the traffic, but the weather. I cannot stand the dreary cold and windy days of winter. Then summer hits and we get to 90 degrees, and 90% humidity. How is this fair? No place should have a 120 degree change in temperature.

I don’t want to live here anymore. Next question, where should we live? I have always loved water, lakes, ocean, and streams. I kind of always wanted to live like Tom Hanks lived in When Harry Met Sally. Live on a boat, but I don’t think that is practical. Boats sink, and there can be nothing worse than waking up to a sinking house. My Son Joey and his lovely wife live in Austin Texas. This summer he had to contend with many days over 100 degrees. That my friends is every fat mans nightmare.

My mom and dad live in Naples Florida. I was in Naples one summer and decided to take a refreshing dip in the pool. The pool was hotter than my body temperature. Also, the threat of a hurricane is always something to consider. Hurricanes scare me, they just don’t care who they kill.

Biz has a blog “friend” (M.J. – that’s you!) who lives in the Northwest. Biz showed me a picture of the waterfront where she lives. It looks so beautiful. I spent some time years ago in that area. I met some of the friendliest people I have known there. Although they did wear shirts that said people don’t die here, they just rust.

Biz and I rented a home in the mountains around Pigeon Forge Tennessee. It was beautiful, everything except the traffic, and 4000 shirt and crap shops.

Any ideas? We need decent medical care, clean and calm waters and topless beaches (Ok that one is for me).

All I really want is a place that I can be with Biz. I reiterate, I am a lucky man!

I love you Tony!!

Stats for the Day:

• no exercise
• 1390 calories, 58 cat, 140 carbs, 79 protein and 12 fiber
• average blood sugar 91

Two more days til the weekend – we can do it!  Make it a great day!