Taco Stew? Ok.

I worked a lot on Monday, therefore I have no exciting "Adventures of Julie" stories for the day. I oddly, did not eat much, but what I did eat, was really yummy.

I will say the best part of my day was the chilly walk I took in the afternoon, and the cup of coffee I enjoyed on the deck outside afterwards. Have I mentioned, I am ready for Fall???

Breakfast
Vanilla Almond Luna Bar
French Vanilla from the Kuerig
5 PPV




Lunch
Leftover Roasted Veggies.....still great 2 days later.
5 PPV




Grapes
0 PPV




Dinner
One Rotisserie Chicken
1 1/2 C water
And these............tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, black beans, fat free refried beans, taco seasoning, ranch dressing.

I'm calling it Taco Stew. I don't usually put the refried beans in it, but they really THICKENED it up!
Taco Stew!
1 C = 4 PPV





Seriously........Stew.




Topped with One Crushed Taco Shell (1 PPV) and WW Mexican Style Cheese (2 PPV).




Perfect Fall Night Dinner! (yes, I know it is not technically Fall yet!)






Refresh...I can eat 26 points a day.
I can earn Activity Points by doing exercise.
I have an allowance of 49 points that I can dip into if I chose.
I should drink a minimum of 6 (8 oz) glasses of water each day.

The food I ate today and it's PPV.

Breakfast = 5
Lunch = 5
Dinner = 7

Total = 17

Activity Points Earned Today = 2
Remaining points from my 49 Points Allowance = 0
How many glasses of water I drank today = 8

This cracked me up, because as hard as I always try to say the right thing, sometimes I can really mess up!






"love the life you live, live the life you love"

Trader Joe's Shopping Day!

I have several items listed in the post. Everything from 1 PPV to 5 PPV. I hope you find something new that you LOVE!


Cookie Butter
Dangerous and Delicious!
1 T. = 2 PPV
Eat on toast, waffles, pancakes, apples, pears, or tortilla!
Eating right out of the jar, NOT RECOMMENDED!






Sprouted Wheat Bread
1 slice = 1 PPV
This bread is super dense and full of flavor. Love it! Makes the best toast and egg white sandwiches!






Chicken Meatballs
4 Meatballs = 4 PPV
Sure, you can eat these with pasta and sauce, but how about chopped up in you salad? Or on a low calorie wheat bun and make your own Grinder?








Banana.....Flattened
Ingredients: Bananas
0 PPV
I think you just eat them out of the bag? They have a chewy texture much like a raisin. I love bananas and was super curious when I saw them on the shelf.








GoLean Crunch
1 C = 5 PPV
This is not a Trader Joes only product, but I did buy it there, and I buy it all the time. I don't buy cold cereal anymore. It's one of those foods I had to give up. But I use this in an way I would use Granola. It's high in fiber and high in protein! I like to eat it dry in a baggies for a snack, on top of smoothies for a little crunch, or on apple slices with peanut butter.







Cliff Kid Z Bar
Honey Graham = 3 PPV
Chocolate Brownie = 4 PPV
Iced Oatmeal = 4 PPV
You just EAT em!








Luna Bar
1 bar = 5 PPV
Eat em up!








White Corn Tortillas
1 tortilla = 1 PPV
I prefer these over flour tortillas when eating tacos.








Lite Mozzarella Cheese
1 oz = 1 PPV
It was awesome on the pizza and I only had to use 4 oz. for the entire pizza.







Unsweetened Vanilla Milk
1 C = 1 PPV
It is a great milk alternative.
I like to cook my oatmeal in it for a little extra flavor and creaminess.







Honey
1 T = 2 PPV
Honey is great on a lot more things than just a biscuit!
Waffles, toast, PB sandwich, in your tea or oatmeal!







Better n Peanut Butter
1 T. = 1 PPV
I love this stuff and it has come my complete Peanut Butter replacement.
This is the Low Sodium, and I love that I have that option!








Steel Cut Oats
1 C = 4 PPV
Not Trader Joe's brand, but it's where I buy this.
Check out this recipe for Crockpot Oatmeal.







Those are just a few of my favorites! I would love to know some of your favorite Trader Joe's finds!

"love the life you live, live the life you love"

EASY Beef Stroganoff

1 lb lean ground beef (16 PPV)
1 onion, chopped (0 PPV)
2 T flour (1 PPV)
1 can beef broth (10 oz) (0 PPV)
1 can sliced mushrooms (4 oz) (0 PPV)
6 oz fat free Greek plain yogurt (2 PPV)
Salt and pepper

Egg Noodles....or Brown Rice....or Mashed potatoes or a Baked Potato!






Cook beef and onion together. Sprinkle flour over the beef mixture and stir.






Add beef broth and stir. Add mushrooms and stir. Turn off heat and add yogurt and stir.




Add Egg Noodles and stir. Or pour over Brown Rice or potatoes, or even a Baked Potato!

It looks like Hamburger Helper! Dontcha think??





4 servings = 5 PPV
(This PPV does NOT include the noodles, or rice, or whatever you decide to put it on top of!)

"love the life you live, live the life you love"

Luna Bar

This one is the Lemon Zest flavor. I try to not eat these too often, and honestly I have never tried any other flavor, but I have heard great things about them!

This one is 5 PPV.






Makes a perfect breakfast when you are rushing out the door...or if you are looking for something to take to your WW Meeting to eat AFTER weigh-in! :)




"love the life you live, live the life you love"

Pumpkin Pancake

I keep playing with this recipe. I really want to perfect it without using my packets of instant oatmeal, but I just can't seem to get it sweet enough. So here's the way I made it this morning. I was very pleased.

1 packet Cinnamon Swirl Oatmeal (4 PPV)
2 egg whites (1 PPV)
1/4 C canned pumpkin (0 PPV)






Combine all. Pour onto a heated griddle coated with cooking spray. Best results come from cooking this on medium low heat.




Wait about three minutes and flip. I like to divide it into 4 parts for easier flipping. I have tried to just pour 4 cakes, but they don't seem to cook as evenly on this particular pan for me. Do what works for you. Cook about 2 more minutes.




I topped mine with 2 T Lite Syrup. (2 PPV) Drizzle, it goes further.




"love the life you live, live the life you love"

Tzatziki Chicken Salad

I LOVE this sauce on just about everything. Dip veggies, or pretzels, or crackers in it! Spread on a whole wheat tortilla and add your favorite fillings for a roll-up!

Today? I mixed 1 T. of Tzatziki sauce (1 PPV) with 4 oz. of rotisserie chicken (3 PPV) and put it on a toasted piece of Lite Italian Bread (1 PPV)! I love to have something crunchy to eat with my sandwiches, so lately I opt for some 0 PPV crunchy veggies. This time I chose red bell pepper. I love the sweetness they have.

The orange gave me a little something sweet for desert and it helps me to avoid the sweet cravings later in the day.

This was great and filling 5 PPV lunch!

5 PPV Breakfast

I have a lot of favorite breakfast foods, and this is certainly one of them! Easy and delicious. I like the steel cut oats, and I like the Quaker quick cooking oats, but sometimes I'm in a hurry and go for quick and tasty. This is a bowl of Quaker Instant Oatmeal (cinnamon and brown sugar), topped with half of a chopped apple that I had previously topped with cinnamon and put in the microwave for one minute. The other half of the apple I dipped in 1 T. of Better N Peanut Butter. The oatmeal was 4 PPV and the Peanut Butter was 1 PPV. And of course, the apple was ZERO!