I hope you all had a fantastic day and know that I LOVE you all for all the motivation, support and friendship you provide each day. I honestly do read every comment and always look forward to hearing about your journeys. I have to admit, I am kinda digging the random questions too ~ your answers ALWAYS make me smile and The Husband is always asking what you all said too 
I was up probably too early today to make a run to Panera Bread for our work Valentine’s Day celebration.
I am pretty sure I bought like everything in the store because it all sounded so good.
Bagels & Smears, Assorted Pastries, Muffins, Scones….
Plus a BIG bowl of berries for in Valentine’s Day colors 
Juice & Freshly Brewed Pete’s & Starbuck’s Coffee to wash it all down.
I figured the “reward” for being the gopher at 6 am was getting first dibs on my all time FAVORITE BAGEL at Panera…..it’s not just any bagel……
It’s the Cinnamon Crunch Bagel! That top you see is a buttery, crunchy, brown sugar cinnamon topping….
It has cinnamon and vanilla chips inside too!
Topped with the BEST spread ever made & it’s low fat too! (2 points+ for 2 Tbsp – DEAL!)
MMM…13 Points+ and worth every single bite. If you are going to get a bagel, I say ~ Go BIG or GO HOME! Seriously….this is the highest calorie bagel in the pack, but, once you have one bite, you will totally see WHY you NEED to pick it
We made up big bowls of Candy for everyone too ~ I totally resisted it all, but, did save some hearts for later. (For those wondering, they are 3 points+ for the entire box, not bad!)
Lunch today was determined while rummaging through the freezer this morning. I pondered Crockpot Split Pea Soup, but, changed my mind when I saw this.
Thai Chicken & Rice Noodles are my FAVORITE Weight Watcher Frozen Dinner out there. WW is getting better about their ingredient lists too – mostly recognizable (not perfect) but definitely better.
It’s now 7 Points+ which isn’t too bad. Most frozen meals went up about 2 points+
I think it even looks pretty before you cook it and I LOVE the mass amounts of carrots even though I have a WW friend who picks all of hers off
Sticky, peanutty rice noodles ~ You know I dumped Sriracha all over this 
Spicy Asian Slaw on the Side (1 Tbsp Trader Joe’s Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette with 1 1/2 cups Organic Broccoli Slaw) (1 point+)
Dessert!
I didn’t have a snack this afternoon, instead I tried a new tea that I LOVED….if you are a tea person, try this. It’s slightly sweet, but, not too sweet and still 0 points+
When I walked in the door, I found this card from The Husband sitting on the counter….I actually resisted opening it because ummm, I still had to write mine out
I was actually surprised when he told me to cook the Turkey & Spinach Manicotti over the fancy steak dinner I had planned.
I pretty much followed the recipe with the following exceptions":
* Added 2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes to the filling
* 1/2 tsp sea salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper to the filling
* Topped with 2 oz finely shredded part skim mozzarella
* I used the entire jar of marinara over the top so all noodles were covered and didn’t get dried out.
9 points+ for 2 stuffed shells….This was pretty tasty and fairly simple to make. The longest part is stuffing the shells and making sure that they don’t break. I make up extra shells in case some break ~ The Husband eats the extra with butter. I bet it will be even better tomorrow.
Simple salad with 1 Tbsp Fat Free Italian (0 points+)
Just a few more hours to ENTER TO WIN ANNIE’S NEW LITE 1 POINT+ DRESSINGS!
NEW AT FRIENDS FOR WEIGHT LOSS
* New Delicious Featured Recipe of the Week ~ 4 Point+ Cheesy Black Bean Polenta courtesy of Carbzilla
Q’s
What is your favorite Bagel or bagel combination to have?
I usually LOVE Noah’s Blueberry Bagels, but, I will always grab something with cinnamon or cinnamon chips if given the option. As far as smears go ~ I tend to go for the honey or raisin walnut or fruit spreads over plain.
Night all!
OMG those cinnamon crunch bagels are crackalicious!!!! I must say they are hard to resist. I never feel full after eating it though.
Can’t wait to try that bagel it looks yummy, can’t go wrong with cinnamon
Danika, Your blog is just the best out there! I look forward to every post!! Who knew about Panera’s lite cream cheese, I’m sooo there…and where the heck do you work? Seems like a great place. Love ya! G.
Ohhhh heavens! Those Cinnamon Crunch bagels are incredible!!!!!! I swear there must be crack in the batter. 😉 Glad you had a great V-Day!
I <3 the Cinnamon Crunch bagel and so do my kids. I usually buy the "bakers dozen" and they don't last long with the six of us. Sometimes I have it sliced the other way and eat it plain just so I can make it last a bit longer, LOL!
Judging by your recommendation and all the comment, I think I should be glad that have have not discovered the taste of “crack bagels” yet.
Mmmm…those cinnamon crunch bagels are delicious! They taste just like a fresh cinnamon roll when heated :-).
I love “everything” bagels from Noah’s or Posh but frankly, since they became 8 points or more with the Points Plus, I opt for my oatmeal when bagels are brought to work. Would rather have 3 English Muffins if I really need a carb fix for the same points!
A friend brought the cinnamon bagels and the walnut honey spread to work (pre WeightWatchers for both of us) and I resisted for awhile. They just didn’t sound good to me. Finally, in search of something for a snack, I caved. OMG! The VERY best bagel/spread combination in the world! I like that thai chicken frozen meal, too. One of my favorites, although I’m still hungry afterwards. I usually add a large vegetable side dish of some kind. Kudos for sticking with just one bagel, BTW.
My son is actually a manager at Panera .. it KILLS me that their food is so bad for you and so high in points. I haven’t been able to eat anything from there, and it’s sure hard to resist having my son bring home a goodie or two (he brought home Valentine’s cookies for his little sister yesterday .. but I resisted!). Cinnamon crunch bagesl are TO DIE FOR! I agree!
The Manicotti looks so scrumptious and a perfect valentine meal. I love that your hubby wrote this is probally for you on your card. I love asiago cheese bagels with onion & chive smear. I also love that WW meal and I was so excited when I found it . I love the flavors!
Oh my, those Panera Cinnamon bagels with that same spread are my favorite too. They are so good!
A trick I learned when making canneloni that makes it soooo much easier is to put the filling into a big zipper bag and cut the corner off, not too small, then just pipe it in the pasta. It will cut the filling time and mess by quite a bit.
I forgot to say I also love to mix crunch almond butter & lite cream cheese to make my own bagel smear , really Great!!
I love seedy, nutty bagels with veggie cream cheese. YUM! Texture is the best.
love the cinnamon crunch bagel..my kids get them every Panera trip…I am addicted to the asiago cheese bagel with sun dried tomato cream cheese…OMG!! so amazing!!
I’ve been reading “The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite” by David A. Kessler. In his books, he specifically mentions the Cinnamon Crunch bagel from Panera. This particular product from Panera, like already mentioned, is the most caloric. But what Kessler concentrates on in his book is what the food industry is doing to manipulate people into craving these kinds of high fat, salt and sugar foods. What’s amazing is these foods are not just created to appeal to us by the right combination of fat, salt and sugar but also texture and an inability to feel satisfied. Anyway, I don’t want to sound preachy (too late!) but I’m very intrigued as to why I’m “addicted” to these kinds of foods. It’s not just ME it’s also the food industry. Now that I understand these things, I feel like I’m in control of me and what goes in my mouth… not the food industry.
My favorite combination is bagel and lox, for sure!! Smoked salmon FTW! 🙂
All I can say is that gawd there isn’t a Panera Bread in NYC. That cinnamon bagel sounds DANGEROUS!!!
hahaha jay never fails to get a laugh from me “this is probably for you”–LOL. i saw my card from marshall before i had written his out, too!
I went to the Vitamin Shoppe today, which is next to Panera Bread. I am sooooo glad I didn’t see this blog first. That cinnamon bagel sounds amazing.
:::: testing my gravatar and wondering if it will show up :::::
Hey- I just found out that my medical insurance covers Weight Watchers fees. I didn’t know that! Gotta make a call!
Ooo, I do love Panera’s bagels! They used to have a trail mix bagel that was really tasty! I love their Asiago Chese one as well! I’m a plain or veggie cream cheese kind of gal.
I wish we had Panera’s here….but maybe not because I’d be there every day for that bagel. Sounds heavenly.
I just like my everything bagel with ff cream chese.
By the way, went to Trader Joe’s on Friday night and loaded up with some of your yummy ideas from your list. WOW is all I can say on the Pub cheese. Gotta hide it from the boyfriend because he tried some of it and said it was really good. Lol. I also like the egg salad and the broccoli slaw. Heck I like everything I got there. It will be a store I go to more often. Thanks for all the info.
OMG I forhot about those yummy bagels!! My favorite is a toasted onion bagel with butter and whipped cream cheese with scrambled eggs on top and if I have bacon that too!! God knows it’s pry a month worth of points and I have not had that in almost a year!! I was craving a bagel sunday am too!! Guess I may have to have a bagel soon!! LOL
Oh my goodness, that cinnamon bagel looks divine!!!
I like blueberry bagels with cream cheese. I like all bagels, actually! lol
OOOH…what a great Valentine’s spread. YUM!!! And how lovely to have dinner cooked for you!!! Have a great rest of the day Danica!
Hi Gail,
Thanks for the compliments and comment! I work at Annie’s ~ it is a great place to work!
Danica