Meatless Monday, Week 3

Hello all! After a busy Saturday and an extra lazy Sunday, we start our week off with another edition of Meatless Monday. It's just me and The Kidlets today, since The Mister works at both of his jobs today and won't be home until around 10pm. I threw a quick, simple dinner in the slow cooker late this morning. Cheesy potato & vegetable chowder is what we'll be enjoying tonight on this fall like day. The Big One promised to try it, even though I can almost guarantee he will not eat it all, he isn't much of a soup eater.

Since I had a slow go at waking up this morning, even after my two cups of coffee, I didn't take any pictures of the soup before I threw it together, but I'll be sure to take one of the finished product. Here is the lineup of ingredients and nutritional information. Hope ya'll try this one out for your Meatless Monday and enjoy! Be sure to let me know what you think!

Cheesy Potato & Vegetable Chowder

Serves 4, large portions

1 package Green Giant "steam in a bag" Vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots in cheese sauce)

1 cup organic vegetable broth

1 large russet potato, skin on, diced

1 can fiesta nacho cheese soup (this is where the majority of the calories come from)

4 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

1 tbsp dried basil

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp black pepper

2 cups water (I just eye balled this)

1/2 cup 1% milk (add 30 minutes before serving)

Place all ingredients (except the milk) in slow cooker and set to low for 6 hours. 

Calories: 224

Carbs: 28

Fat: 8

Protein: 10

Fiber: 5

Meatless Monday

Two weeks ago, I decided I would get in on the crazy trend of meatless Monday's. I figured, since The Mister generally works at his second job until at around 10pm, that it'd be much easier to do on a day I was completely on my own. I didn't know how "on board" he'd be with the whole thing, since he's a meat and potatoes type of guy. Well, since today is a holiday (Happy Labor Day) I told him he was required to participate. He agreed and made himself a huge veggie omlet for breakfast.
My meatless breakfast was a 110 calorie bagel thin with Weight Watchers cream cheese and a delicious blueberry green tea smoothie. Doesn't that sound amazing? Well, you're in luck. I took pictures of how to make said awesomeness, in which time The Mister made fun of me for taking pictures of my food...little does he know, that will be a regular thing for this blog. He'll just have to get used to that, cause I'm not going to stop.
For dinner, we're trying a new recipe for lentil tacos from The Curvy Carrot (I found the recipe on Pinterest)...so far, it smells amazing! Here is the link to the tacos, in case you're interested!  http://www.thecurvycarrot.com/2011/08/30/lentil-tacos/ Now....feast your eyes on this!

Gather your team of ingredients and get ready to have your socks rocked!

Throw everything in your handy dandy, brand new, personal smoothie maker...or a blender if you aren't as cool as me.

Ta Da! It tastes better with a bendy straw, I promise :)

Ingredients:

1/2 mug of a Green Tea K-Cup

1 cup frozen unsweetened blueberries

1 cup baby spinach

1; 6oz container light mixed berry yogurt

Calories: 183
Carbs: 34
Fat: 1
Protein: 9
Fiber: 5

Blend until smooth & enjoy!

Welcome!

I'm so excited to start this new blog. Here, I'll be taking you through my life as I get serious about weight loss and eating better, along with venturing into my life as a stay at home mom to three boys and a husband that has two jobs. There won't be any sugar coating here, what you see is what you get. I'll post about The Big One starting preschool, playing sports and being crazy. I'll post about The Twinks being little blobs of cuteness. And I'll probably post about my husband every once in a while. All the while (hopefully) losing the baby weight by eating better, counting calories, posting recipes and more than likely, the struggles that come along with it all. I can't wait to get started and for everyone to get a glimpse into my crazy life! :)