Fat Free is bad???

A friend of mine just made me aware that they now are saying that fat free dairy is actually bad for because they add chemicals in order to make it taste better!

I guess you should actually just stick to low-fat rather than fat free. I had not heard this before so I am glad that she told me! I guess I need to get rid of my skim milk and fat free cottage cheese and stick to 1% milk fat from now on!

I could not find an online article confirming this, but it makes enough sense to me to switch. I will continue to look for an article to share with all of you and will post it when I find it!

MIA!

Hi Everyone!

SO sorry I have been so absent! First of all during the Winter holidays I totally relapsed and starting gaining all of my weight back! No I am 9 weeks pregnant and have definitely reached my highest weight again! booooo :( I am so excited to get right back on track after the baby is born in February though, and I know I can do it! I have been doing my best to eat healthy during the pregnancy. I cannot diet or count points, but I can of course eat healthy foods. So I will be doing my best to post some healthy recipes for everyone! How are you all doing? Staying on track?


By the way you can following my pregnancy progress on my pregnancy blog: Brightly Blessed

Just a little WW hint...

I have a couple of little surprises that you might find interesting! On my quest of counting points I discovered a couple of items that are surprising low in points and wanted to share them with you!

The first one is Fritos:

Most chips of any kind are very high in points and I unfortunately usually have to avoid them. It may come as a shock to you, as it did to me, but Fritos are actually very low in points! If you look on the back of a regular sized bag you will see that the serving size is one ounce or 32 chips, and if you calculate the points for this serving it comes out to be only 4 points! I have seen bags of chips that are this amount for like 10! This is a great snack for a salty craving and add a little bit of hot sauce or salsa to make it even better for no added points!

The next one is:
Having a fast food craving? Especially for FRIED goodies? Well you will be surprised to know that some items at Long John Silvers are actually not that bad! I have not had this for a long time because I assumed that it was horrible since it was fried. Well I was wrong! I am not talking about their healthy menu which includes things like grilled salmon, rice, and veggies. Those items of course are healthy, but I am talking about something a little more shocking on their regular menu and that is the Chicken Plank! This fried succulent goodness is only 3 points! If you want two, that is only 6 points! Not too shabby! :)

I hope you find this info useful, I know I sure have! :)

Cucumbers

Cucumbers are one of the best versatile and low cal snacks! Not to mention that they are ZERO Points Plus Points! Even though they are wonderful they can get pretty boring. This is why I am going to share 3 great cucumber ideas with you!

Cucumber Chicken Sandwich




















For this sandwich I used:

• About 5 slices of cucumber
• 1 Slice of Oroweat Potato bread (pic)

• 1 wedge of Laughing Cow Original Swiss (pic)1 Morning Star Grilled Chicken Pattie (pic)And a little bit of pepper.

I toasted the one slice of bread and then cut it in half.
While the bread was toasting I heated up the grilled chicken pattie in the microwave according to the directions on the box.
I spread the cream cheese on top of the chicken pattie and placed the cucumbers on top.
Then I sprinkled the top of the cucumbers with a little bit of pepper.

I had this nifty little sandwich for lunch and it was delicious! The potato bread is only 80 calories, the chicken pattie is only 80 calories, and the cream cheese is only 50 calories!

All together this sandwich comes to only 5 Weight Watchers Points Plus Points!


This brings me to the next great snack with cucumbers which is only two ingredients that I already listed above.

Cucumbers with 1 wedge of Laughing Cow cream cheese, delicious and only a 1 Point snack! :)

The last cucumber snack I will discuss is one that I have been doing for quite a while and absolutely love it! All it consists of is cucumber slices doused in vinegar and oil! I prefer to use red wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. The points for this snack will depend on how much oil you use. 1 tablespoon of evoo is 2 points depending on the brand you use. I usually use more vinegar than oil in order to offset the points. I also sprinkle them with a little salt and pepper for added flavor making this another great low cal low point cucumber snack!

Enjoy! :)

Chicken Recipe #1 - Mexican Chili

I mentioned on my Chicken Noodle Soup blog post about saving about 5 cups of the chicken for other recipes that I would post later on. Well this is one of them!

What You Need:

2 quarts of tomato juice
8oz of sour cream
1 and 1/2 to 2 cups of saved cooked chicken
1 15oz can of black beans
1 24oz jar of picante sauce

What You Do:

Pour entire amount of tomato juice, black beans, chicken, and picante sauce in a large pot (like the one shown in the picture) and put on high until boiling. Cover and simmer for 20 min. Stir in the sour cream and add chili powder and garlic salt to taste if desired. Cover and simmer for another 10 min. Top with shredded cheese and/or Fritos if you like and serve.

I am not going to post points because it will depend on the brands and fat content of ingredients that you use. Just make sure to use my Points Plus Calculator to figure it out. :) ENJOY!

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Meals for 1/28 and 1/29 & Weigh-In

A little late posting this time, but I am doing my best to keep up!

For Friday's breakfast I had a D'Light sandwich that I had posted previously which is 6 points.

For lunch I had a piece of Valentino's Veggie Pizza which had mushrooms, green peppers, green and black olives on it. It was delicious and 8 points. I also had a salad with lettuce, pickles, banana peppers, and Great Value Light Honey Dijon Dressing which is only 3 points for 2 TBSP.

That evening I went to Fazolis and had a really yummy Chicken and Artichoke Salad with Lemon Basil Dressing. It was a little bit higher in points - 6 for the salad and 3 for the dressing, but it was still very healthy. I also had a breadstick and a half which was 6 points.

THEN we went to this amazing new frozen yogurt place called Red Mango. If you do not know, Red Mango has delicious frozen yogurt which contains healthy bacteria called probiotics and they have tons of toppings including lots of different kinds of fruit. I had a small cup loaded with fruit and it was 4 points.

For Saturday's breakfast I went to a restaurant in town called Bread and Cup and had 2 poached eggs, a few small slices of bread with a little bit of apple butter and sliced tomatoes. The eggs were 4 points and the bread was 3.

For lunch I had the same thing as Friday and later had a Skinny Chicken Taco from Amigos which was only 3 points.

For dinner I had some Butternut Squash Soup from Trader Joes which was 2 points for a cup and then I had the same salad I had on Friday which was 3 points.

I also had some snacks these days of lots of fruit and some 2 point Weight Watchers Yogurt.

This week went pretty well I would say because I lost 3.4 pounds! I think I will treat myself to a little Red Mango this evening to celebrate. :) I will post my meals from today later this evening or tomorrow.

Dinner 1-27-11/Chicken Soup Recipe

Tonight for dinner I made homemade chicken noodle soup and had bread and a diet IBC root beer on the side.
My recipe for chicken noodle soup is what I like to call a gem or a recipe/food that has the "it" factor which means it has all of these qualities: Cheap, Healthy, Easy, and, Delicious.
Here is the recipe:

What you need:

-A whole uncooked chicken (usually on sale at Hy-Vee for like .88 cents a pound)
-A can of mixed vegetables
_A package of no yolk soup/egg noodles
-Two envelopes of chicken boullion
-6 cups of water

What to do:

Take out the innards of the chicken and discard and drain the chicken of any blood. Place the chicken in a slow cooker with two cups of water and set on low for 8 hours.

When the chicken is done remove it and transfer it to a separate dish. Let the chicken and the excess broth in the pot cool for a little while and then put both in the fridge for 4 hours or until completely chilled.

When the broth is chilled use a spoon to remove and discard the fat floating on top.

Add the bouillion and the other 4 cups of water to the broth and set on high.

Put in the can of veggies, about 1/4 to 1/2 bag of noodles (as much as u prefer) and little pieces of chicken.

Cook until noodles are cooked. Add sea salt, parsley, thyme, and sage as desired for added flavor.

This recipe adds up to 2 Weight Watchers Points Plus Points per cup.

I think this recipe is very easy because I let it cook overnight and let it cool in the morning so the dinner prep is really easy.

It is also very cheap. It adds up to roughly $6 depending on the size of chicken you get. If you have some freezer bags or good air tight containers you can save all the excess chicken and make about 4 other meals. It is a very economical way to cook and I do it all the time. I will share the other meals I make with the leftover chicken later on. Enjoy! :)

Lunch for 1-27-11

Had a great lunch today! Decided to go out to Runza after my dentist appointment and splurge a little. I was hoping they would have their vegetable beef soup since it is very low in points, but they didn't so I had to improvise. I ended up getting a new salad they have now called the Aztec Chicken Salad. It has mixed greens, a salsa with corn and black beans, tomatoes, and fat free ranch dressing. It is 390 calories and only 5 grams of fat and adds up to 9 Weight Watchers Points Plus Points. Check it out sometime and let me know what you think!

Sorry I couldn't find a picture of it, I think it is too new to be circulating on the net and I forgot to take a picture before I ate it! ;)

Dinner to come soon along with a recipe, woohoo!


Jessica Jeannine Clark

I'm Back!

Hello!

Back again after a little bit of an absence and finally back on track! I started the Weight Watchers Points Plus program again and am doing pretty good so far! I am so glad that they offer free fruit as well as free veggies, that really helps a lot!
I have decided that I am going to post every day about my meals just for fun. Even if they are not self-created meals (I will get back to recipes soon, I promise!) I still want to post just to make sure I am posting every day and so that you all can give me feedback on what I have been eating. :)
I will also post pictures of my meals starting tomorrow and will post the Points Plus points along with them as well.
I will also start posting weight updates every week.
I started the program again 4 days ago and my weight was 140. This is a 9 lb. gain since the last time I was on it, yikes! I know I can melt it away again though!

Thanks for reading!

Jessica Jeannine Clark

Sorry!

WOW! I have been absent for quite sometime! I have had SOOOO much going on! I know that is not an excuse, but it is my reason.

Now that the holidays are almost over, it is time to get back into shape and shed those extra pounds! I have done pretty good with maintaining, but I have been slacking on diet and exercise since the new Weight Watchers program has started. I am not sure if I like the new program and for me its a little more difficult to stick to.

I am putting a hold on recipes for now until I can get a better grip on the new program, but I will continue posting and keep you updated.

What do you all think about the new Weight Watchers Points Plus Program? Give me your feedback!


-Jessica Jeannine Clark

Planning is Key

Hello Everyone!

It seems like I have not posted in a long time! I apologize for my absence! I will definitely be posting some new recipes soon. :)

This post is all about success with planning. I find that when I plan out my meals I do a lot better with weight-loss. Lately I have been buying very healthy and point-friendly items from the store to make lunches and dinners. I plan all my meals for the next day the night before and go ahead and record the points. This has been working very well for me. I also plan out meals that I am going to have before we go out to eat, which is a lot less stressful than trying to pick an item from the menu while everyone else is waiting.

Try planning out and recording your meals ahead of time and see how much easier it is to lose! :)

Love Always,

Jessica Jeannine Clark

Picture Update

After such a successful weigh-in yesterday I decided that it is time to post a new picture! The "before" picture that is posted on my first ever blog post was from 11 pounds ago and the picture of when I was heaviest was exactly one year ago! I feel amazing!
My little puppy Sammi decided to be in the picture too. :)

Now all I need is a tan! haha

Destination

As you may have noticed, the title of my blog is no longer "My Weight Loss Journey" and is now "My Weight Loss Destination". I decided to change the title after reading a quote in my 3 month Weight Watchers tracking journal. The quote is: "Remember success is a journey, not a destination." Well I feel like I have already been through my journey and the destination of my ultimate weight loss goal is near. It will always be a journey, I mean after all life itself is a journey, but I feel like I finally made it to the top of the hill and I can see the mirage ahead. As I come closer to that mirage (my goal) I will see that it is not a mirage at all, it is in fact a solid oasis!

I want to thank you all for your continued support throughout my weight loss dream. it is no longer a dream and has become reality and I don't think I could have done it without everyone's encouragement!

Last week I had gained a pound, but I didn't let it get me down. I felt very confident this week and decided to weigh myself a day early.

Well I am glad I did because I discovered that I lost 3 pounds! So much for that stinkin' one pound, it can pack its bags and never come back!

I now weigh 133 lbs.!
That is a total of 35 lbs. lost!
My ultimate goal is only 8 lbs. away! I am so excited!

I am so proud of my accomplishments. I honestly never thought I would get this far, but I have and it feels great! Thank you so much again for supporting me throughout everything! :) You guys rock!

Love Always and then some,

Jessica Jeannine Skinny Clark (hehe)

PS: A Sweet Feats post is coming soon as well as new pictures!

Sweet Feats - Key Lime Cups & Banana Crumble Parfaits

As promised here is this weeks Sweat Feats Series recipes!
I thought I would do two, just because! :)


Key Lime Cups
What you need:

4 4.5 oz. clear cups or 2 9oz cups (use half)*
1 14 oz. can of fat free sweet condensed milk
1 low fat honey graham cracker1/2 cup of lime juice
4-8 tbsp. fat free cool whip
Lime zest

What to do:

Crumble the graham cracker between the 2 or 4 cups evenly on the bottom saving a corner or two for the topping later.
Mix the sweet condensed milk and lime juice in a bowl until blended together and pour evenly into all of the cups.
Let cool for about an hour.
Top each cup with 2 tbsp. of fat free cool whip.
Crumble the saved graham cracker corners on top of each dollop of cool whip.
Top each dollop with a little bit of lime zest and serve.

*If using the 9 oz. cups, each serving equals 1/2 a cup so 4.5 oz. total.

Each 4.5 oz. serving = 6 Weight Watchers Points and about 309 calories and no fat.

Compare to a slice of Key Lime Pie: 450 calories and 22 grams of fat!



Banana Crumble Parfaits
What you need:

1 banana sliced
1/2 low fat honey graham cracker
2 tbsp. fat free cool whip
1 9 oz. clear cup

What to do:

Fill the 9 oz. cup with all of the banana slices.
Crumble the 1/2 of graham cracker all over the top of the bananas, shaking the cup a little so the crumbs fall all over the slices; saving a corner for the topping later.
Top the bananas with the cool whip and crumble the saved graham cracker corner on top and serve.

Serving size: 1 9 oz. cup = 3 Weight Watchers points and about 162 and 0 grams of fat.

Compare to a slice of Banana Cream Pie: 360 calories and 15 grams of fat!

ENJOY!!! :)

Sad Face

Well I suppose there is a first for everything! In one of my previous posts I said that there have been times that I haven't lost anything on Weight Watchers, but I had never gained. Well.....that has changed. :( I am up one pound this week and I am not exactly sure why. I suppose I could have counted things little better or exercised a little more (which I did a little more than last week already). I could blame it on my annoying little monthly visitor which mostly likely could be the cause, but that's OK. I am honestly not even that upset. This just gives me the little extra push I need to do better next week.
My goals for next week include exercising EVERY day even if it is just a little bit including trying to walk more. I am also going to try to eat more veggies and lower fat items and lay off the carbs! We shall see if this will help me to lose that poundage! I have heard that the last few pounds are the hardest to lose and I am proof of that this week!
I know I can do it! I refuse to be discouraged! :)

I will be posting some Sweat Feats recipes later; Key Lime Cups and a SURPRISE! So look out for those! :)

Thanks for letting me vent,

Jessica Jeannine Clark

Lower Abs

I discovered a new ab video! I have still been doing the workout from the other video, but I wanted to do something that would really target my lower abs because that seems to be where I collect the most fat.

This video has a couple of really good lower ab workouts that I think should work really well!

http://www.5min.com/Video/Lower-Ab-Workout-145279620

I will be posting new pictures of how my body has changed throughout my journey very soon! :)

Love Always,

Jessica Clark

Not Long Now!

Well it is Sunday, and if you have been following my blog posts you will know that this is the day I weigh in. On my last weigh in day I mentioned that I have been having to eat less Weight Watchers points now that I am in the 130s and I was not sure how that would go for me. Well it hasn't gone too bad at all! I've been doing good with staying within my daily points and not using up all of my extras! :) Here is this weeks weigh in results:

I lost 3 lbs.!
I now weigh 135 lbs.!
A total weight loss of 32 lbs.!
I am only 10 lbs. away from my goal!

I can't believe I am almost there! Wait, YES I CAN! I have been working my butt off (literally) to lose this weight and it has paid off, so why shouldn't I believe it?! :)

I only have 1 more pound to go for me to have lost 10 lbs. since I started this blog so when that happens, which will probably be next week, I will post new pictures.

Also stay tuned to next weeks Sweet Feats. I will be making Key Lime Cups, yummy!

PS. I haven't been mentioning my exercise lately so here is an update: Today I will finish up week 4 of C25K and I am loving it! It is really changing my body and it feels great! I also have been trying to do my ab workout when I have time, but I really just need to make time and get going on it!

Love Always,

Jessica Jeannine Clark

Sweet Feats - Crimson Cocoa Cake

Crimson Cocoa Cake

What you need:

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups splenda
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
3 egg whites
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup fresh cherries chopped
2 cups boiling water
1 tsp. vanilla
1 oz. sliced almonds
1/4 cup shredded coconut
14 oz. can of fat free sweet condensed milk
20 oz. can of fat free cherry pie filling
8 oz tub of fat free cool whip

What to do:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Combine the first 8 ingredients in a large bowl.
Pour in the boiling water little by little and keep stirring.
Add the vanilla and stir in.
Smooth into a 13 X 9 cake pan sprayed with non-fat cooking spray or sprinkled with a little bit of flour to prevent sticking.
Cook for 35 min. or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, then let cool for about 20-30 min.
Poke holes all over the cake with a round-ended wooden or plastic spoon.
Pour the whole can of sweet condensed milk and then the whole can of cherry pie filling all over the top of the cake. The liquids will seep into the holes you made giving it a molten effect.
Cool the cake in the refrigerator for about 30 min.
Top the cake with the fat free cool whip and sprinkle on the almonds and coconut.
Cool an additional 20 min. if you like, then cut the cake into 16 even pieces and serve!

Cake serves 16
Each serving is about 7 Weight Watchers points and about 300 calories.
Omit the almonds and coconut for a 6 point and 272 calorie serving.

Compare to regular cherry chocolate cake: Betty Crocker Chocolate Cherry Cola Cake = 11 points and 480 calories and 19 grams of fat!

Sweet Feats! (NEW Blog Series!)

I have so many recipes up my sleeve that I decided to do a weekly Blog Series all about my healthy recipes! Each week I will post a new recipe that goes with the current category. I am starting out this series with desserts! I will be making a bunch of new healthy dessert recipes that I know you will enjoy! Here are some of the other categories I will be doing:

American Classics
Snacks
Breakfast

And many many many more! (let me know if you have any ideas! :) I think I might do a Viewers' Favorites category too!)

I am starting this Sweet Feats blog series out with my Crimson Cocoa Cake. YUM! Stay tuned for the recipe! :)

Potato Casserole

Here is a new healthy recipe that I created! I hope you like it! :)

What you need:

6-7 small red potatoes
1 14.5 oz. can of french style green beans
1 10.5 oz. can of 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup
1 10.5 oz. can of cheddar cheese soup
1 lb. of ground turkey
About 1/2 cup chopped onions
Garlic salt to taste
Rosemary to taste

How to cook:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Slice all of the potatoes into little wedges and boil them until they are mostly soft, but not soft enough to mash. Drain, and set aside.

Brown the turkey adding the chopped onions for flavor. Cook until there is no pink and the onions are soft. Add garlic salt to taste then drain.

Layer the turkey in the bottom of an 8 X 11 glass pan. On top of that spread the cheddar cheese soup all over. On top of that layer the green beans (drained). Next place the potatoes on top of the green beans in a nice layer and add garlic salt and rosemary to taste. On top of the potatoes spread the cream of mushroom soup all over.

Place pan in the oven for 10-15 min. and enjoy! :)

Serves 6.
Each serving contains approximately: 277.5 calories, and 8.5 grams of fat.
Each serving is only 5 Weight Watchers points!