Happy Friday all! I wanted to start off today by thanking all of you for all the emails, Facebook messages, comments, tweets, etc. supporting me in my Simply Filling Month. Every single message is like a little boost of support that totally makes my day and makes it that much easier to stay on track ~ Thanks for that!
So far I am actually having fun with Simply Filling and I am enjoying the challenge of finding ways to make each meal “work” with Power Foods……like…..
LATTES!!! Did you all know that any latte made with fat free milk or soy milk is Simply Filling? Knowing that doesn’t exactly help with my Starbuck’s addiction…..what can I say, I like checking off my “dairy” box on the check list lol.
I wasn’t super hungry this morning when I left the house so I went for a grab-n-go breakfast. After my latte, I had a hard boiled egg with a banana.
Lunch was another serving of Kale with “Bacon” and Chickpeas.
Paired with a nectarine and lite string cheese.
There were pastries everywhere today and I did a great job resisting all of them all morning long. When afternoon rolled around, I was reminded that there were still mini cinnamon rolls.
After checking the stats, I decided it was totally worth using 2 points (WPA) for one.
Late afternoon is when my hunger kicked in ~ I was suddenly starving (wonder if it was the sugar rush from the cinnamon roll?) I grabbed a Fage 0% with Strawberry to tide me over (1 WPA for the jam).
Awhile back the folks over at Moni’s Naturals asked if I wanted to try out their products. Their products are all family recipes that they have made for years before selling their delicious Italian sauces and dressings to restaurants and to all of their fans.
I picked Moni’s Garlic and Basil Marinara to make up a tasty spaghetti for us tonight.
One of the things that I think makes Moni’s Naturals fantastic is that all of their products are 100% natural and they are made with REAL ingredients you can pronounce and recognize.
The sodium is a little high, but, the sauce is only 2 points+ per serving.
I bulked up our pasta sauce by browning ground turkey with garlic, onion, red/yellow bell peppers and an entire package of mushrooms.
Seasoned with a little Italian Seasoning and crushed red pepper flakes for het.
I cooked up a box of Whole Wheat Linguine (all whole wheat pastas are Simply Filling!)
Then, tossed the pasta with the sauce before serving.
This totally hit the spot. The sauce is more savory than sweet and you definitely get hints of the garlic, sherry wine, basil and tomatoes in every bite.
We had two sides to go with our pasta.
Garlic Toast!!! Worth every single garlicky, buttery points+ (3 WPA)
Plus simple salads topped with Moni’s Natural 0 points+ Light House Italian Dressing.
2 Tbsp = 0 points+
The dressing is pretty darn tasty for a 0 points+ dressing. It is like a savory red wine and tomato vinaigrette that is not sweet. It was a nice change from our usual dressings and you can’t beat that it is 0 points+. I did count 1 WPA for my 1 Tbsp of sunflower seeds.
STATS: Yesterday’s is now up to date ~ here is today’s:
- 2,441 calories burned
- 4,509 steps taken
- 7 WPA used, 7 WPA remaining (28 daily points+)
Night all!
That dressing looks really good!
Danica,
Have you heard of shiritake(I think that is how you spell it)noodles?? There hard to find here in Canada…but I did find a place and am going this week to buy some. Hungry Girl uses them in recipes….So low in calories and Carbs 🙂
Krystal
Hi Krystal,
Yes, I’ve tried Shirataki noodles and not really a fan because of the texture. They are a bit rubbery to me. Make sure you wash them really well to get the smell off of them when you take them out of the package. I’d love to know what you think. I have several friends who are a fan of their noodles.
Danica
I love shirataki noodles for the fact that an etire 4oz pack goes for 0 points. I found them at my local Metro grocery store in the Vegan section of the produce aisle. Yes, the texture is a little strange, slippery with a slight pop under the tooth, but they are so versatile when it somes to flavor, just like tofu (one of the main ingredients, the other being Yams). I make a spicy mac and cheese using the Macaroni shapes with some Tostitos Salsa con Queso, very lovely, and the other pasta shapes lend themselves so well to a stir fry, with a simple low point sauce, or even using them as a base in pan fried zucchini patties.
I like my Shiritaki noodles (made from yams), mixed with a tsp or 2 of peanut butter and some Braggs Liquid amino, which is like soy sauce, some green onions and red pepper flakes. And, yes, as Danica suggested, you really need to rinse these guys before cooking. Thanks Danica for your blog and wonderful photos.
What the name brand of your shiritaki noodles? Your recipe sounds good.
Yvonne, I buy mine at Lucky Supermarket in the fresh Veggie section, in liquid, near the tofu. I believe it is “House” brand. I know Whole foods has them flavored with pesto, or spinach noodles.
I use them too. Caramelize some onions, add some chopped veggies. Shrimp is nice.Rinse noodles and flash them in the fry pan. Take mix out and make a sauce out of flavored laughing cow & milk. Yummy, enjoy
Hi Danica. I love your blog-you’re teaching me a lot about using the SF method! I don’t know where you live, but here in Texas, our Starbucks uses vanilla flavored soy milk, which has added sugar. I’m thinking that might not be considered SF…
Hi Tiffany,
You are correct – the vanilla soy milk would not be Simply Filling because it needs to be unflavored and plain. That being said, you could always determine how many points+ are in the unflavored and plain compared to the vanilla, then, count the difference towards your WPA.
Danica