Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers Chicken Margherita

This was the first one of the new Cafe Steamers from Healthy Choice that I have tried. I have liked most of the Margherita frozen dinners that are available
so I thought I would try this number for lunch one day.

First impressions - great packaging, the steaming tray is pretty
cool, it looks like real chicken breast strips, the tomatos are soggy

Overall this is a keeper. It had great flavor, the noodles were
tender but not squishy and the chicken was good. If the tomatos had not
been soggy it would have been a really great meal. I still recommend
it and I will be trying some of the other flavors too.

It turned some heads in the lunch room when I removed the steamer tray and poured the contents into the sauce. Some frozen dinners that have similar sauces will have some of the sauce scorch and stick to the packaging. That was not the case here.

Weight Watchers Points = 6 calories 300 grams fat 8 grams fiber 5

Orville Redenbacher's Smart Cakes

It always helps me to get back in the groove when I find good snack food that fits into my diet. This weekend I got reacquainted with my old friend the rice or corn cakes. These puffy, crunchy little snacks are very versatile. There are numerous flavors and brands to choose from so check out a few and find your favorite.

One of my favorites is the Orville Redenbacher's Smart Cake in the Caramel flavor. Each cake is only forty-five calories and if you are on Weight Watchers each cake is only a point.

Serving Size 1 Cake
Calories 45
Fat Grams 0
Fiber 0
Weight Watchers Points 1

As I mentioned above these cakes are very versatile. You can either toast them or heat them in the microwave. The toaster or oven is best as they seem to be lighter and crunchier. You can top them with many different things to add flavor and pizazz to your snack.

My favorite topping is a tablespoon of peanut butter with some banana slices on top. I have also had them with marshmallows on top. Sometimes I even eat them right out of the bag.

So the next time you are looking for a snack give the old rice or corn cake another look.

I Am Back, So Guess What

Since I am back to posting on this blog that can only mean one thing...... I am overweight still and I have to do something about it. Once again I have let myself down and now I find myself weighing more than I ever have and in the worst shape of my life.

The sad thing is knowing that I know how to correct the situation but I have been unwilling to put the work in to make it happen really bothers me. I know the Weight Watchers program works for me. I have lost as much as 55 pounds and kept it off for over a year before. But knowing is not doing nor is it commitment and therein lies the problem.

Am I ready to go back to counting points and writing down what I eat? Heck no! So what should I do? Well, for one thing I am resurrecting this blog. Between the writing and contact with fellow bloggers out there it was a great source of inspiration and information. Secondly, I am dropping fried foods and McDonalds. Thirdly, I am cutting out real desserts. I am also going to increase my water intake.

That is just a start because I know that only those few things will not produce long term successful weight loss. But, I have to start somewhere and right now that is all I am willing to commit to.

Yes, I am still Alive

I know I have been silent for too long, leaving my readers with no explanation to my absence.  I don’t really have a good excuse, I have rationalized my silence in much the same way I deal with my weight issues. But, today I was hit square in the mouth with the reality of my situation. So I will lay out my weak excuses for at least not popping on the blog and letting people know what was going on with me. 

In the first place I had reached the point where I didn’t want to struggle anymore with figuring out what to eat and how much I could eat. I know what types of food and how much to eat to facilitate weight loss but actually selecting and preparing the food is another thing. Needless to say I have been off program since my last post. I have eaten whatever and whenever I wanted not caring how much of it I ate. One of the things I didn’t want to fall into were blog postings of oops I fell off the wagon, but tomorrow is another day. I also did not want to be a hinderance to others with my failures. I have continued to follow the journeys of my fellow weight loss bloggers and I really didn’t want to have a negative impact on the community. 

Secondly, I have been battling something I have never faced before. I began to deal with stress and turmoil with comfort foods. Maybe I have been guilty of this before but only recently did I realize I was sitting in my chair worried about something and I would get up and make me something to eat. One night after Thanksgiving I was sitting in my chair watching TV when I realized I was not hungry but I was continuing to eat anyway and it felt good. That is until I remembered what I was doing before I made me some cream cheese dip. I was worried about my job and the direction it may take in the coming year. 

The other reason I have not posted on my blog is because I don’t like to admit failures. The way things have been lately that would be most all of my posts. If you ask the people I work with they would also tell you that I don’t like to ask for help. One of the reasons I started to blog about dieting and weight loss was to hopefully encourage others to succeed. It is hard to offer encouragement when I myself am discouraged. 

For those of you that have sent me words of concern and encouragement I want to apologize for my silence and thank you for reaching out to me. For those that have continued to visit my blog I want to apologize to you also. Now, what about the future? I am not sure about that right now. I want to lose this weight but I don’t know if I am truly ready to make the daily sacrifice. Will I return to blogging about my weight issues? I am not sure about that either. 

At least now you know what happened to me. I understand if you decide to unsubscribe from my feed or remove me from your bookmarks or blogroll. I wish all of you the best of luck.