Week 2 Done and I'm Still Smiling :)

I just had my weigh in for week 2 and I'm down 1.2 pounds.  I was of course hoping for a bigger number but what with me still struggling with my Vodka coolers I'm not surprised!

I'm using the new app to track all my meals and weight.  It's been relatively easy to remember to track, I even used it at the grocery store last night to scan UPS codes to choose foods with the least points.  I love that feature!  There was such a difference between bacon, the points ranged from 7 up to 12 for just 2 pieces (gone are the days of me eating 6 pieces of bacon for breakfast :o )  Now I can easily find out which is the better choice.

I picked up a new cookbook on the weekend and I'm so happy with the purchase.  'Weight Watchers Family Meals'.  I had a hard time decided what meal to cook from the book so in typical Jo-Al fashion, I cooked for 6 when it was just boyfriend and I eating lol.

I choose the Warm Spinach Salad with Bacon, Chicken and Feta (5 points) with a plate of Sweet & Spicy Drumettes (4 points) along with a side of Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Moroccan Spice (1 point).

Seriously, would you have been able to choose from those three? 

I've always wanted to try roasting a whole cauliflower and it couldn't have been easier!  I tried finding a recipe I can link here for you but they all had far too many steps.  Here's what I did...I just peeled the outer leaves off, cored it, and topped it with a mixture of 1/3 cup of greek yogurt and 2 TBSP Moroccan spice.  I baked it at 400 for just under an hour. Depending on the size of your cauliflower it may need longer to cook, just stick a knife in it to check if it's done.  I mixed the yogurt and spice together and spooned it on top.  You can actually use any spice you enjoy if you don't have Moroccan spice.  

It was so tasty I wanted to share the photo again.

This coming week I'm going to continue working on my water intake and keep up with my meal tracking.  I feel a good Week 3 is coming.  

Weight Watchers Week 1 Complete!

Today was my weigh in day and I'm happy to say I'm down 6.7 pounds!

There's a few things I'm going to work on for Week 2 like drinking more water and less Vodka coolers.
The weather is warming up and I can feel summer is headed our way, to me that means drinks on the patio and BBQs.  I'm still working out how I can make my patio party nights Weight Watchers friendly, it will take a bit more planning but I'm positive I can do it.

I found some great YouTube channels that are amazing and helpful and give me encouragement and support. A lot of my meal ideas this first week came from Overcomingemily, she has some fantastic meal ideas and her videos are full of tips and shopping trips to help you out.

Tonight's dinner is Garlic Chicken and Broccoli

and Roasted Cauliflower with Parmesan Cheese

Doesn't that look delicious!?  And at 5 points a serving how can I go wrong!

3 Months Into 2016

I'm know I'm not alone in deciding to make a lifestyle change in January and wake up one day to realize it's almost April and I'm still waiting to start that change!

Weight Watchers worked really well for me years ago after my son was born so I signed up to get back on the plan.  They have a new program which is a bit different than what I remember but it's still the basic idea of each food being assigned a point value and based on your weight you're given a maximum number of points you can eat each day.

I signed up last week but took the weekend to plan some meals and clear out my fridge so today is my Day 1.  (If I'm honest I actually was waiting to get through Easter and all the good candy before I started!)

My most loved breakfast is Red River cereal which is like oatmeal but has a nuttier flavor. It's a blend of Wheat, Rye and Flax and it's delicious. The reason I like Weight Watchers so much is that I can continue to eat some of my favorite things and I don't feel like I'm giving up all the good stuff.  As long as you count your points you're good!

I took to Pinterest to plan lunch and found Breakfast Scrambled Egg Pizza




By the time I drive home from work and take the dogs out I don't have a lot of time to cook before my lunch break is over and I need to head back to work so this was an easy, quick idea.




Dinner is going to be Moo Shu Beef, another quick easy recipe.  We're still working on our house reno's so anything I can cook fast after work and get out to the new place is what I'm after these days!


Planning meals is a huge things for me.  I've tried to plan on the fly and come up with ideas a few hours before I have to cook but that sets me up for failure.  My goal by the end of April is to be in the habit of having a week worth of meals planned out the Sunday before.  Sounds to me like a good reason to spend more time on Pinterest!

Waiting on the sun

This was how my garden looked in January.  I've been passing the time before planting season going through seed catalogues.   I discovered this site, it lists all the Canadian seed companies.   My list is growing quickly! Stay posted for this year's progress at Maple Springs.  

Happy Birthday

Today is Monday but it's also my birthday!  This Monday has been quite enjoyable!   The boys at work had some lovely color delivered to my desk and tonight I'm going to mom and dad's for spaghetti dinner then we're all headed to the movie. 

Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole

There's nothing nicer to warm up to this time of the year than this hot, quick and easy home made meal.  My Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole will surely become be a favorite as soon as you try it!

I like this recipe because it uses ingredients I always have in the house.  Anything I can make without having to hit the grocery store first is good for me.

1 1/2 c. uncooked Wild Rice - this Lunberg CountryWild rice is delicious!  It smells amazing when cooking and has great colors that will make any dish you're cooking look even tastier.

1 Yellow Onion, chopped
3 Celery stalks, diced
1 Tbsp Butter
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1/3 c Sour Cream or cream cheese, whichever you have on hand
1/2 c Chicken Broth + more to cook your rice
3 Chicken Breast, cut into small, bite sized pieces
Parmesan Cheese to sprinkle on top.
Salt & Pepper
Thyme or Rosemary, whichever you prefer


Cook the rice according to the package but replace the water with chicken broth, it will give your casserole a richer flavor.
With about 15 minutes of cooking time left on your rice you can begin cooking the chicken and the other ingredients.
I use 2 frying pans and get everything done at once.  Chicken cooking in one pan and the rest cooking in the other pan.

Sauté the onions and celery in the pan with the butter until soft, about 12 minutes.

In your second frying pan cook the chicken with a little splash of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. ( if you only have one pan to use, cook the chicken first)

Add the chicken to the celery mixture.  Mix in the soup, sour cream, chicken broth, salt and pepper, and seasoning.  Stir together well.

Once it's all combined, add to your casserole dish.  This lovely orange le creuset dish is our yard sale find from a few years back!  It gets used a lot in the winter.

Preheat the oven to 400

Before it goes in the oven sprinkle the dish with Parmesan cheese.  These cheese petals from Costco are a treat if you can find them.

You can never have too much cheese.





30 minutes later...

Quick, easy, delicious.
Enjoy!

Scrumptious Sausage Rolls

It's Christmas time!  Time to make my world famous sausage rolls (world = my household) 

I could make these any time of the year but the build up to getting these only at Christmastime adds to the incredible deliciousness of them.

These are so easy to make and the recipe doubles and triples very well.

Start by preheating the oven to 425 and line your baking sheets with parchment paper. 
Beat an egg until frothy and add it to the bowl your pork is in.  To the bowl also add your breadcrumbs, onion powder, garlic powder, dry mustard powder and fresh parsley.

 Mix with your hands until thoroughly combined. 

Roll out your puff pastry until it's around 12" x 14".  I just roll it until it looks like I can get three rows of pastry out of it.  

 Place your sausage filling down the center of the pastry.

Brush one side of the pastry with a bit of water to seal the edges and roll the pastry over to make a tube, pressing the edges together to seal well. 

Cut each strip into 1" pieces.

Brush with an egg wash (1 egg beaten well with 1 Tbsp water) and poke two vent holes in the top.  Sprinkle the top with sea salt.
Bake 15 - 20 minutes or until they are golden brown.

This was 20 minutes in (ignore the dirty oven :o) I left them in for a few minutes longer to get nice and golden brown.

They're best served warm.  I put mine in the fridge in a well sealed container and before serving I'll put them in a preheated oven for 5 minutes.  

I've made two double batches already and I have 4 more pounds of pork thawing in my fridge right now to make more!  

This year boyfriend got a local pig and the taste of sausage rolls make from pork that is only 2 weeks old is INCREDIBLE! Buy local whenever you can.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! 

Scrumptious Sausage Rolls

1 egg
1 lb ground pork
1/4 c bread crumbs
1 tsp each of garlic powder, onion powder and dry mustard powder
2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped into small pieces
1 box Tenderflake Puff Pastry
1 more egg for the egg wash + 1 Tbsp water

Preheat the oven to 425 and line your baking sheets with parchment paper.  

In a large bowl add the pork, bread crumbs, garlic powder, onion powder, dry mustard powder and parsley.  Mix well.  

Roll out the puff pastry until its approximately 12" x 14", enough to cut three strips.  Place your sausage mix down the middle of the puff pastry sheet.  Brush one edge of the pastry with a little water to seal the edges.  Roll the pastry over to make a tube and press well to seal the edges.

Cut into 1" pieces and poke two vent holes in the top with a toothpick.  Place on your baking sheets and brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sea salt granules (not ground salt)

Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until they are nicely golden brown.

Comment below and let me know how yours turn out :)