My daily eats

I'm fresh off a weekend away with my fabulous Mom Mom, Leonard aunts and cousins and I'm jazzed about reaching another 10 pound milestone (90 pounds, woo hoo!) so I'm feeling pretty good even though it's Monday! A family member recently reached out about starting Weight Watchers and asked for some advice and recipes so I thought that would be a good idea for a new post up in here.

The thing for me is that I need flexibility. I can't tie myself down to eating the same thing every day. Most days I do have a protein shake for lunch, but not always and I can't commit to eating one every day. But that's what I love about Weight Watchers...you can switch it up and eat pretty much everything, in moderation, of course. We went to the wonderful Peter Shield's Inn in Cape May on Saturday night and ordered three desserts for the nine of us to share. It was perfect, a spoonful of each one was enough to make me feel like I was really treating myself and I didn't go over my points goal for the week.

Another important thing to note is that I don't worry about eating clean or all organic. I just haven't jumped on that train. I am obviously eating healthier now, but I haven't gone all the way to the other side yet.

For breakfast, I never eat the same thing two days in a row. Right now I'm all about eating anything and everything pumpkin! Here are some of my recent favorites:

-Chobani Greek yogurt pumpkin flip (6 points)

-Quaker pumpkin instant oatmeal, made with a 1/2 cup almond milk (4 points)

-Trader Joe's pumpkin Os, also with almond milk (4 points for 1 cup cereal and 1 cup almond milk)

I also drink a cup of coffee a day, we have a Keurig so I use 0 point K cups, non fat, no sugar creamer (International Delight is 0 points for 1.5 tablespoons) and 2 tsp Splenda (I know, splenda is not the best thing for you but I haven't found another sugar substitute that I like yet). I used to be a Dunkin' Donuts junkie and I've curbed that for the most part. I still will have an occasional pumpkin iced coffee (3 points) with skim and Splenda if I am in the mood.

For lunch, I have a protein shake. I use Nature's Bounty brand which we get at ShopRite. I'm certain there are better protein powders out there, I just haven't really looked into it because I like the convenience of getting this brand at our grocery store, plus it tastes good. This particular brand is 3 points for two scoops and I always make it with 1 cup almond milk (1 point). I blend the chocolate powder and almond milk with a banana, some powdered peanut butter and ice. Or I'll do the vanilla protein powder, almond milk, some canned pumpkin and pumpkin pie seasoning (a little of this goes a long way, I've learned from experience). I usually also have Skinny Pop popcorn with my lunch and a Sargento light string cheese. Not the most glamorous lunch by any stretch, but I like it and it's quick.

I've included some of my go-to dinner recipes below. You should know that I absolutely LOVE my slow cooker. I use it in some shape or form about five times a week. Many of the recipes below are for the slow cooker but you could use a stove top as well. These are Targonski-family approved recipes, which means they are tasty and reasonably easy to assemble. I'm definitely not a gourmet chef by any stretch.

For a dessert, I've recently discovered Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt bars. I have had mint chocolate chip (2 points) and salted caramel (3 points) and they were both ridiculously delicious. They taste way more decadent and fattening than they actually are.

Almost all of the recipes below have the points value included if you're following Weight Watchers, which makes it so easy. Hope you enjoy them and let me know if there are any you love or really don't like!

Dinner Recipes

These are our favorite and we're actually making them tonight. I've made them for parties, too, because who doesn't love buffalo chicken?
http://www.emilybites.com/2011/12/buffalo-chicken-cupcakes.html

http://m.skinnyms.com/slow-cooker-polynesian-chicken/

http://m.skinnyms.com/slow-cooker-balsamic-chicken/

https://www.hiddenvalley.com/recipe/146/salmon-ranch-broil/#M1UrSzQvp9r7uYMy.97

I do this one with ground turkey instead of beef. It's really low in points.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/235997/unstuffed-cabbage-roll/

I make this baked ziti in my crock pot and it tastes just as good as if you cooked it in the oven. I brown the turkey and add the sauce to the pan, combine the cheese in a separate bowl and then layer the sauce, cheese and uncooked noodles in the slow cooker and cook on low for about four hours.

http://www.weightwatchers.com/food/rcp/recipepage.aspx?recipeid=224411

I made this for the first time the other day and we really liked it. It was time-consuming to get the spaghetti squash cut and to remove all the seeds but I had never made spaghetti squash before so I didn't know what to expect.
http://www.justapinch.com/recipes/side/side-casserole/spaghetti-squash-au-gratin.html

I also do shrimp Alfredo with jarred light Alfredo sauce and angel hair pasta. It's super easy and quick.

Now that it's getting cold, I'll be making slow cooker turkey chili. I brown the turkey on the stove and add it to the crock pot, along with a can of diced tomatoes, a can of red kidney beans, a small can of tomato paste and your choice of chili seasoning (I cheat and use McCormick's). I serve it with a tablespoon of fat free sour cream and a little cheddar cheese sprinkled on top.

Making myself a priority

I'm a full-time mom. Listen, I have it good, and I really try not to take our situation for granted. We are blessed to be able to afford for me to be home with the kids rather than working outside the house. But sometimes it's hard to make myself the priority. I've made some changes recently, in addition to the weight loss, to take care of my physical and emotional well-being.

My kids go to school at the same time for 2.5 hours every day so for the first time in five years, I have some consistent time to myself to get things done. That sounds like a lot of time, right? It is the fastest 2.5 hours of my day! I use it to go to doctor's appointments, to go to the gym, to get stuff done around the house and to work a little bit online. Occasionally I get to go to lunch with a friend. Those 2.5 hours make me a better mother. I am excited (most days!) to get my kids off the bus and ready to tend to them without getting annoyed or frustrated. It's such a blessing.

I've also realized that I don't have time for people who will treat me less than I know I deserve to be treated. I have a tendency to hang on to friendships for longevity's sake and I recently shared an article on social media that gave some great advice. "People that come into your life are a blessing or a lesson." Not everyone is a blessing, unfortunately. Or they may start as a blessing and then become a lesson. The lesson is still important for you to acknowledge and take away from the situation, but probably not good to keep hanging around, know what I mean? I am a really good friend. I am loyal, supportive and I think I give pretty good advice. (I'm straining my arm here patting myself on the back.) Friendships are a two-way street, and it's not fair for either party to consistently take and not reciprocate when the other person needs it. We all have stuff going on in our lives that make it hard, and I won't bore you with my issues. I can be the shoulder to cry on, but sometimes I need to cry, too. If we're hanging on to a friendship because it's been X number of years since we first met in middle school scrapbook club, but someone is treating the other poorly, what's the point?!? I refuse to allow someone else to make me feel badly about myself. At least I'm learning to work on that. I know I'm a good person and I work it all out with God, so that's all that really matters, right?

I also recently went a got a massage for the very first time and it was AMAZING. I was too embarrassed of my weight to do something like that before so when I lost a significant amount, I treated myself to a spa afternoon. It was so relaxing and exactly what I needed to recharge. I highly recommend it if you've never done it before. I went to Vir-tu in Washington Twp. and they could not have been more professional. It was pricey but not something I plan to do regularly. It's important to take the time to do these things for ourselves. If you can't get a massage, take a yoga class, or do your nails, sometime to make yourself feel good.

Sunday is national "Give Mom a Nap Day," which I'm sure is totally made up. But what better excuse to snuggle up under a warm blanket and take a snooze to get yourself ready for the week. Doing small things like that will make you a better person, even if they seem insignificant. It will give you the energy and patience to tackle things that come your way.