Eat Teach Blog

How To Make a 4 Point Salad (Weight Watchers)

Create a bed of spinach or lettuce of your choice. Use lots of colorful veggies (I also included cucumbers and tomatoes):

Bellpeppers of all colors (yellow is my favorite!), cabbage, and onions

Grill a Jennie-O Lean Turkey Patty.

Add some seasoning salt – it really makes all the difference!

Put everything in a ziploc bag. Pour some of this lovely mixture on top (yes, it’s calorie-free, but don’t get crazy!)

Walden Farms Thousand Island mixed with Sriracha

Shake it up real good. And you’ve got yourself an amazing, filling, 4-point salad.

Amazing. It seems pretty ridiculous that this is 4 points. But the majority of this salad is vegetables (I know – what a concept). And because fiber isn’t absorbed by the body, Weight Watchers doesn’t allot any points to vegetables (excluding a few like corn, peas, and avocado). Once again, have some portion control and don’t get crazy. But don’t hesitate to fill up on the veggies. It’s delicious and filling! =)

Happy Saturday! =)

Woke up really early this morning to make sure I got a nice breakfast in before the WW meeting. Peanut butter and toast – a nice 10 point breakfast. I could have made a wiser decision by having eggs and veggies for 3 points. But sometimes, I just really crave the PB.

Went to the meeting and found out those lovely 2 pounds jumped right back onto my body. It was definitely the wine…and the “skinny margarita” (the name is so deceiving…) and the chips and salsa. Gotta make healthier choices this week and not tap into the extra 49 points they give us. Mom lost 3 pounds – without even trying. Lovely. She also won a prize today – MINT. The prizes were baggies of herbs we could use in our salads. Mom chose mint. And then the team leader asked her what she was going to do with her mint and she said she was going to make chutney. Which obviously got everyone interested, so they all asked her for the recipe. And my seemingly outgoing mother was so SO shy. Her face turned red and she was so quiet and nervous to talk in front a group of people. I loved it (only cause I rarely ever see that side of her).

Came home and made some oven-roasted cauliflower for 0 WW points – it was DELICIOUS. There are several ways to roast cauliflower – some people use breadcrumbs or Parmesan cheese. But I wanted to stray away from anything that would add points to my snack, so I stuck with simple spices.

Spicy Oven-Roasted Cauliflower

1) PAM Spray a cookie-sheet. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

2) In a large mixing bowl, mix cauliflower florets with garlic salt, paprika, red pepper, and lemon pepper.

3) Spread onto the cookie sheet in an even layer. Put in the oven for 35-40 minutes.

The end result is this perfectly seasoned, moist cauliflower snack that is so addicting and guilt-free! The picture does not do justice…

Oven-Roasted Cauliflower (0 WW Points)

So the Irvine Weight Watchers Saturday crew has a 5K monthly walk they do around the Irvine Lake. I dragged Sister with me and we met up with a few of the members. It was an absolutely gorgeous day outside and I’m so glad we did it. It’s just really nice to be around people who are going after the same goal – to live a happier, healthier life. There were lifetime members who showed up (members who have already reached their goal weight) and new members – but everyone was just there, enjoying each others company while getting a good workout in. It was super. And so pretty.

Irvine Lake

I got hissed at.

At the end of the walk, we all got this really super cool 5K charm. OK, I know I’m crazy, but I really think I need to be treated like one of my students. I reinforce my students when they’re exhibiting positive behaviors and ignore their more challenging behaviors. I used a token economy in my class and once the kids filled up their individual charts, they were allowed to choose from the prize box. I am my students. I need to be praised, I need to be rewarded, I need a sticker that says GOOD JOB. Because even though it’s a sticker or a cheap-o charm, it makes me feel like I can continue being good, I can continue working hard, and I can reach my overall goal.

Then, Sister and I went to the gym and did a mini-workout. And then went to Bev-Mo to buy some stuff for Hema’s POST-GMAT Celebration! And I ended up with………………….

….MARGARITA POPS. Or Tequila sticks. Or Margarita in a Tube. Or JOSE Suckers. Whatever you wanna call it, it’s amazing. We were at the checkout line and then Sister had finished paying for the bottle of champagne (cause she’s way classier than I am) and the cashier said, “Can I interest you in a Margarita in a Tube?” And Sissy started saying no. But I’m clearly easily convinced. So we went back in line to buy 3. These things are not cheap (2.99 a pop!) – do not be fooled by the flimsy plastic tubing. But I needed to invest in some Tequila Poppers.

THEN, after our wonderful trip to BevMo, we needed to eat (I did. I think Sissy could have lasted another few hours). So we went to Panda Express (no, not to eat) and got Diet Pepsi. And then to Subway for the usual (Subway only has Diet Coke. So we have to go to Panda Express or Taco Bell or KFC for our D-Peps cravings).

Now Ive gotta hurry up and shower so we can start heading to LA. Tequila sticks are in the freezer, ready to go. Don’t even worry ’bout it.

Few things happened today -

1) Got an interview with Palo Alto Union School District! Well, that happened yesterday. But forgot to mention it. I’m interviewing with them on Monday, so I’ll be heading up north tomorrow afternoon! =) Crossing my fingers!

2) Went to the Weight Watchers meeting – lost 2.4 pounds (but I already said that!). Probably made a complete fool out of myself because I told Jason (the team leader) that I only came today because I love listening to him speak.

3) Farmer’s Market!! I went to the one in Corona del Mar – I’ve never been there before! It’s on PCH and Marguerite – not too big, but nice for the vital fruits/veggies. Picked up some strawberries, kale, asparagus, and blueberries. Yum!

Farmer’s Market Goodies! =)

4) Made a delicious stir-fry salad (only 4 WW points). Love using salsa as a dressing!

Salad: Spinach, Bellpeppers, Onions, Turkey, Cabbage, Asparagus. Topped with incredible Pico de Gallo. AMAZING!

5) Finished up my HCA scrapbook (did I mention that it was started approximately 6 years ago?!)

6) Made some Kale Chips – had to throw half of them away on account of too much salt. But despite that – they are my new obsession.

7) Spent the rest of the day on my computer getting my life license. Oof. No pictures please.

Going to get ready for bed soon……..less than 24 hours til I get to see Jen! =)

Down 2.4 pounds since last week! =) The best part about it was that I didn’t feel like I was doing anything different. I still went to Brew Co and had two Long Island Iced Teas (although I’m still feeling guilty about that!). I went out with Lynsey and had spinach-artichoke dip from Yardhouse. Yet I still came out negative on the scale. It’s great – the feeling that I don’t have to deprive myself. But more importantly, that I don’t have to go into hiding if I want to lose weight. I can go out to dinner with friends without feeling anxiety that I’m going to deviate from my meal plan.

It’s only been a week since I’ve started Weight Watchers, but already I can see the positive affects it’s had on the choices I make. Because fruits and veggies don’t have any point values, I find myself wanting to snack on those rather than something else. When I first heard that they were a 0 point value, I was a little shocked to be honest. Eating 4 bananas as a snack seems ridiculous. But, I think they expect you to have a little common sense on the plan (yes, they’re forcing me to think and be logical and rational). I know that 4 bananas as a snack is probably not the best idea. But when my tummy’s grumbling, it’s nice to just be able to grab a banana and say, “Hey. This is 0 points. I’ll be satisfied. I didn’t reach for chips and M&M’s, GO ME!” rather than “UGHHHH. This banana is 70 calories. I might as well just eat 15 M&M’s. It’s the SAME THING.”

It’s like a game. That I play against myself. Or rather, my iPhone. To keep my points to a minimum by choosing the best, most nutritional options. I love it. BRING IT ON, FAT. I’LL BEAT YOU.