A Nod Violet Beauregard

I’m currently doing Weight Watchers, and every week I blog a bit about what I’ve learned and experienced, and whether I’ve lost or gained weight for the week. I take notes in the weekly meetings and post them, too.

These are awe-some!

Last week our challenge was to try a new vegetable. I had a fennel and heirloom beet salad with blue cheese at a restaurant, which counted because I’ve never had fennel.

Overall, though?  I’m calling this another lost week.  So lost, in fact, that I declined to weigh in. There are weeks where I feel so on top of Weight Watchers and others where it’s really hard. It’s weird; this week, the week following the one that involved too much vodka and also ice cream cake, is shaping up to be a really good one. I’m trying to figure out what makes such a difference. My leader is good at acknowledging this up and down and makes a point of saying that it’s totally normal. 

Ok, lady.  If you say so.

This week the topic was snacking which made for a fun meeting as we all chatted about our favorite Point-friendly snacks. It turns out that nearly everyone in the meeting started off the day with some sort of food in their bag (I showed up with some brown rice sushi… complete with chopsticks!). Do you keep snacks in your bag, too?

The times I leave the house without one, I wind up grabbing something awful just to stave off the hunger. Not wallet- OR point-friendly.

I have the full list of snacks we shared below the jump, but I have to gush about this one: freeze dried blueberries. The lady in front of mentioned them, so Emily, Jeannette and I headed to the new Trader Joe’s to get some.

You can eat them straight; they have an airy texture like popcorn. I ate them with cereal this morning, and it was SO GOOD. Plus, bonus! the milk, and my tongue, turned a deep blueish purple.

They taste better than they look.

Keeping food in your bag keeps you from binging.

Keeps you eating healthfully or keeps you from getting too hungry.

Getting hungry also makes you cranky.

Bag snacks:
one point bars from WW
fruit
nuts
fage (Greek yogurt) and vita muffin top
chick peas w/ evoo and spices, roasted 15 minutes, get hard and feel like nuts
raw zucchini “fries” with light mayo and horseradish
large carrots cut like chips and light dip
guac cut with black beans to reduce calories
laughing cow cheese
frozen blueberries
Fun new snacks from trader joes (I like the peanut butter filled pretzel nuggets)

Tips:
pre portion foods at the beginning of the day
make little packs of snacks for the week
spend the money on little containers – it’s cheaper than health problems from not doing what you need to do to loose weight

Weekly challenge:

Get 5+ servings of fruits or vegetables in at least 5 days this week.