More Balls and Almost Famous!

A while back I mentioned that I was being interviewed for Diabetes Forecast magazine.  I talked to the reporter for about 30 minutes about how I carb count, how I handle insulin and exercise.  Well, I got one tiny paragraph – but at least I am number one!

Check out the article here – and pass it along to any diabetic family or friends you have – there are some great tips! 😀

Breakfast was three of my almost buttermilk pancakes with 1/4 cup sf syrup and 2 pieces of bacon – 10 points.

When I was putting my meal plan together for me and my co-workers lunches, I decided to shake things up – while I am a soup and chili whore, even though the temps will barely make it out of the 30’s for a while, I decided to make grilled chicken, pan roasted broccoli and lemon thyme quinoa.

On Saturday I took three bone-in chicken breasts and put them in a ziploc bag with:

• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 of a lemon, sliced thin
• salt and pepper

I marinated the chicken for 24 hours, then grilled them on the gas grill.  (Still can’t wait to use the Weber grill, but it’s got to be a bit warmer for me!).

Then I found a great way to pan fry broccoli.  Heat a large non-stick skillet with 1 tsp. olive oil and Pam – when the pan is hot, place broccoli that has been cut in half in the hot oil.  Don’t move the broccoli for 2 minutes.  Meanwhile, mix 3 tablespoons of water with salt and pepper to taste.  After the 2 minutes, put the water in the pan, cover with a top, cook 2 minutes and you will have tender crisp broccoli.

The quinoa side dish is just tossed in 1 tsp. of butter for the whole dish, juice of 1/2 a lemon, lemon zest and thyme – lunch comes in at 8 points.

I had on the menu Involtini from my new cook book – basically its rolled beef that has been stuffed with mortadella, sage and Parmesan cheese, then rolled and cooked in tomato sauce.  Tony ate a really late lunch and wasn’t that hungry.  Luckily for me, I stopped by Mara’s blog yesterday, and knew I would be making homemade pasta and meatballs!

I scaled my recipe down – this is enough pasta for 3 people:

Homemade Pasta

• 1 cup 00 flour
• 2 eggs
• salt
• pepper

I put everything in a food processor – pulse until just combined, about 15-20 pulses.  Put out on your counter, making sure there is enough flour, then using a pizza cutter, cut your pasta to the size you want.

Weeknight Meatballs

• makes 24 meatballs – 1 point each – 7 points for 5

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces ground sirloin
• 8 ounces bulk Italian sausage
• 2 ounces whole wheat bread crumbs
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• salt and pepper

Heat 1 tsp. of olive oil in a non-stick pan, also spray with Pam.  Over medium high heat, sear the meatballs and brown them on all sides.  In a separate pot, have your pasta sauce over medium low heat.  Once the meatballs are seared, put in the tomato sauce to finish cooking.

My plate: 12 points of delicious goodness 😀

Fresh pasta only takes about 5 minutes to cook – just make sure to salt your water really well before adding the pasta.

Stats for Monday:

• 40 points (including 11 points of wine and sesame sticks, which had way more points than I thought!)
• 38 flex points left
• 10 activity points earned
• 50 minutes on treadmill, walking 3.5 mph at 3% incline tossing a 6 pound medicine ball back and forth
• average blood sugar 90 (I could only walk because my blood sugar was too low to run) 😦

While the temperatures are still crap, it’s nice to hear the birds chirping again.  My mom, who lives next to an expressway, whenever she stays at our house she always comments on how noisy the birds are!

I always thought this bird was the Momma bird because it’s belly is so big – Tony says that the prettier birds are always male!

Have a great day – come back tomorrow for a different take on Chicken Tortilla Soup – only 6 WW points for 2 cups!