Happy Friday all!!! I woke up this morning feeling “almost” normal again ~ like a real person that isn’t sick and eats something other than soup & fruit LOL. I was actually really excited for my day today because it started off watching my FAVORITE Weight Watchers Leader share her ideas for having a Perfectly On Program Week. Then, she surprised me by demonstrating how my Taco Egg Muffins using Morning Star Sausages to the group ~ a recipe she tried & loved this week…..so cool!
The quote of the day totally stuck with me too.
It’s not a matter of what you CAN do, it’s a matter of what you WILL do!
The BIGGEST thing I struggle with is consistency ~ I can be great one week, not so great the next, sorta great the next and so on. So, this week ~ I am CONSISTENTLY tracking & focusing on my good health guidelines….no half way tracking.
I still didn’t have much of an appetite though so breakfast was a banana and a big mug of Echinacea tea with honey.
Tracey of TJ’s Test Kitchen & I decided that it has been wayyyyy too long since we have cooked together. We actually brainstormed our menu during our Weight Watchers meetings 
I was actually CRAVING greens (not soup, I know you are shocked!) so we made up big simple salads.
* Romaine, red cabbage & carrots
* 1 1/2 Tbsp Garbanzo Beans (0 points+)
* 1 Tbsp Sunflower Seeds (1 points+)
Plus 2 Tbsp of this new to me Lemon Hummus Vinaigrette that she picked up at Fresh & Easy.
I LOVE the ingredient list ~ the flavors are so fresh & vibrant with the tang of the lemon, creamy garbanzos and bite of cilantro. If you have ever had Trader Joe’s Jalapeno Cilantro Hummus, it tastes just like this dressing.
The BEST part ~ it’s only 1 points+ for 2 Tbsp, 2 points+ for 4 Tbsp if you like a lot of dressing.
Next up ~ Mexican Inspired Stuffed Sweet Potato Skins! We both were talking about how much we loved the stuffed sweet potato skins & Sweet Potato BLTA Nachos. This time we combined the two…We knew Trader Joe’s Peppered Turkey Bacon (1 points+ a slice), along with some delicious low-fat sharp cheddar cheese were a must. We sort of just layered on the rest with fresh veggies, creamy avocado and hot sauce!
MEXICAN INSPIRED STUFFED SWEET POTATO SKINS (Print the recipe here!)
INGREDIENTS
- 2 Medium Sweet Potatoes, about 1 lb
- 4 oz low-fat sharp cheddar cheese, finely shredded
- 4 slices turkey bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 4 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 large tomato, chopped
- 1/2 medium avocado, diced
- 1 Tbsp fat free sour cream
- Hot sauce, optional
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Rinse sweet potatoes, slice in half and microwave for 8 minutes to pre-cooked them. Preheat oven to 425.
2. When cool to the touch, scoop out 2/3 of the sweet potato insides and set aside for use at another time. Spray the insides with nonstick spray, season with salt & pepper (if desired) and bake for 10 minutes.
3. Divide the cheese and bacon among the 4 halves. Return to oven and broil for 1-2 minutes, until the cheese is melted and slightly golden.
4. Remove from oven and add remaining toppings (green onion through hot sauce).
Makes 4 Stuffed Sweet Potato halves, 5 points+ each
Nutritional information per half:
So simple to make…..Nuke it and scoop it ~ then bake it
Add the BEST part ~ Bacon & Cheese!
Top it and dig in! I had TWO Cheesy, Bacon Stuffed Sweet Potatoes topped with hot sauce to compliment my BIG salad (ummm, my appetite is back!)
About 3 hours later I was ready for something “sweet”. I snacked on a big bowl of fruit with some coconut coffee.
After work we headed out to watch our nephew play football. The Husband packed me a snack (the BIGGEST bag of pistachios ever) since we pretty much walked in the door and back out.
FUN FACT ~ You get exactly 16 pistachios for 1 points+.
After the game, we met up with Tracey & Sean again at one of their favorite Mongolian BBQ places, Princess Garden.
The appetizer platter comes with your meal ~ I think it’s pretty cool how you get to cook part of it.
I picked a fancy beef skewer that Tracey “cooked” for us and a fried won ton with sweet & sour sauce.(3 points+)
Then moved onto their soup ~ it was sort of like a tomato beef egg drop soup. As weird as it sounds, it was super tasty. (2 points+)
My MOUND of meat & veggies topped with ginger, garlic, BBQ sauce & honey water.
I pondered adding noodles or not but decided I would when the cook told me he could do as little or as much as I wanted. I had him add about half a cup then topped everything off with a few peanuts and pineapple. I LOVE Mongolian! ( 8 points+ for my bowl)
GIVEAWAYS!
* Shannon of Shannon’s Kitchen Creations is giving away some tasting Talenti Gelato.
Q’s
Do you eat Mongolian BBQ? If so, what is your must have in your bowl?
I LOVE that you can make up a huge bowl of veggies with different sauces plus a few fun extras like the peanuts and pineapple. If you overstuff your bowl with veggies mix it right, you don’ t always need the noodles.
Night all!
I love all the sauces too! I would love any tips you might have on recreating this type of thing at home. I live in a small town area so closest GOOD resturants are about an hour a way. THanks. Glad your feeling better!
Remember…small goals….don’t worry about week to week…make it from breakfast to lunch…then lunch to dinner…then dinner to bed! If you mess up…the entire day is not shot. Just start again. You can do it! One small step at a time.
Everything looks delicious, Danica! Glad you and TJ are having such fun times together! So much easier to stay on program when you have a buddy dining with you 🙂
Glad you are feeling better, too!
Now you have me craving Mongolian BBQ. I love it! I have to have zucchini, sugar snap peas and water chestnuts in mine. And I love topping it with peanuts!