WW Week 1 = success!!

Well, I had my first weigh-in at WW today and it went VERY well!! I was quite surprised to see the number she wrote down; I know I’ve worked hard but wow, yay!! I know most, if not all, was water weight, but whatever, I’m keeping my “win.” That said, I guess it’s time to start planning my 2nd week … even though my WW weeks are Thursday-Wednesday, I still plan Monday through Sunday. Tonight we’ll be celebrating my loss with turkey burgers and healthified mac n chz (with broccoli, cauliflower and carrots mixed in), tomorrow we’re having Swedish meatballs over whole wheat egg noodles with green beans and Saturday is ricotta gnocchi in a brown butter sage sauce over baby spinach.

The Super Bowl really doesn’t mean much in my world; my team’s not playing in it so it might as well be any other day. This year, we’ll be out of town for the Super Bowl visiting my new (perfect) little niece Miss Mallory. Buuuuut since the Super Bowl is here in Dallas (technically Arlington) this year, I’ve decided to do a SB inspired menu. Sunday, Sunday, Sunday will be the start of our (almost) weeklong SB inspired menu: WW version of chili cheese dogs (turkey dogs, turkey chili and reduced fat cheese in wheat rolls). The rest of the week pretty much follows suit, I’ve healthified up some traditional tailgate foods and/or foods I’d normally serve if we were having a Super Bowl watching party:
Monday – BBQ baked chicken fingers with oven fries (mixed red/sweet potato fries)
Tuesday – tomato and basil flatbread pizzas
Wednesday – turkey tacos
Thursday – straying from the theme and serving up a healthified chicken & dumplings with LOTS of veggies added; it’s more like a chicken veggie stew with dumplings on top

Then we’re off to Portland, OR to smooch and love on Miss Mallory and enjoy a nice visit with my brother/sister-in-law!!!! I’m going to tell myself that I will be good and not over indulge on my wee-mini-vaca but well, I won’t be angry with myself if my week 3 weigh-in isn’t as successful because at least I will have had fun. I’m getting a bit ahead of myself, that’s two weeks away … back to tonight; here is my mac n chz recipe, most recently updated to fit my points allowance:

Healthilicious Mac n Chz
8 servings; 6 PP
12 oz uncooked whole grain pasta (macaroni, penne, anything you want)
½ bag of frozen veggie mix
½ cup light sour cream
1 ½ cup fat-free half-and-half
1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
Salt & Pepper
1 cup low-fat shredded cheddar cheese
2 tbsp panko (optional)

- Boil water and add pasta and frozen veggies; cook until pasta is done, drain then stir in the sour cream while it’s still hot
- Whisk together the half & half, mustard, garlic and salt & pepper in a small saucepan and bring up to almost simmering over medium heat; reduce to low and add the shredded cheddar while continuing to stir until cheese is melty (note: low-fat cheese doesn’t melt as well so make sure you keep stirring so it doesn’t form a big blob in the middle; also, it’s ok if it doesn’t melt all the way since you’re going to bake it)
- Pour the cheddar sauce over the pasta and mix well; pour into casserole dish
(if cooking ahead and freezing, you would cover and freeze the dish in this state then defrost and follow final direction)
- Top with panko and bake for 30-40min at 350

Enjoy!!