Save Money and Get Your Veggies In....

We all know how important it is to get your veggies in. Veggies fill us up, provide us with vitamins and minerals and pack an awesome fiber punch. I love veggie sides for lunch and dinner and even to snack on during the day. This morning I realized I had no fresh veggies to bring to work and snack on. I went to the grocery store across from work to pick up some veggies. Like everything else in NY, even fresh veggies are expensive. To buy veggies to have for the next three days at work would have cost me over $30, seriously, for just veggies! Then I thought, why not just a buy a couple of bags of frozen veggies and keep them in the freezer at work!?!? Frozen fruits and veggies are great because they are picked and packed at their peak nutrition and freshness so why not give them a chance! I bought a FIVE serving bag for $2.00! When you are ready to eat, just nuke them up for a bit and your good to. Seriously, save money on your veggies and buy a bag of frozen veggies.

Snacking.....

Shortly after my wonderful Lentil Salad lunch I went on a snacking fritz. Although I snacked a lot, I still stayed within my points range and chose healthy snacks. I started off by having a half cup of Kashi Heart to Heart cereal with a quarter cup of fresh blueberries. This snack was only 1 point. About an hour later I had my All Bran crackers. This was 2 pts per serving. Shortly after this I had an Oikos yogurt with a quarter cup of cereal. This was 3 pts and my last snack for the day. Now, here is what I'm wondering: if I had a higher point lunch would I have needed to snack as much? I had my breakfast at 9:00am and this was a 6pt meal. I did not have the urge to snack in between breakfast and lunch at all. In fact, this kept me full for 4.5 hours! Sure, if I have a higher point lunch I'll still use the same amount of points as if I have been snacking, but at least I'll feel full and not keep having to go back for snacks. So, here is what I'm going to do tomorrow: I'm going to have a 6pt breakfast, a 6pt lunch and a 6pt dinner. Let's see how this works out. How have you guys been doing today? PS: I was also able to get to the gym and get some activity points earned :-)

***Healthy Snack Ideas***

One of the most important and satisfying things about WW is healthy snacking! This can also be very convenient for folks who are always on the go! Below you will find my most convenient, healthy on the go snacks! Fruits: all 1 pt. Apple Banana (small) Grapes (one cup) Oranges Clementines Dairy: all 2 pts. Low fat yogurt; flavored or unflavored Low far string cheese Babybel light cheese Vegetables: all 0 pts. Carrot sticks Celery sticks Cucumbers sliced with salt and pepper Sliced red or yellow bell peppers Crunchy: Roasted Edamame: 2 pts 100 Calorie Almond packs Dried cereal(Kashi Go Lean Crunch is my favorite!!): 3pts What are some of your favorite snacks to nosh on?

How's it going...

How is your Monday treating you so far? What have you guys been snacking on?

Question of the day...What do you suggest for snacks in the evening?

Question: Hi Kanwal, What do you suggest for snacks in the evening? Answer: I suggest you try to keep all your snacks within 2-3 points. A few snack ideas and their points values are:

1. Light Yogurt: 2 pts.
2. Granola bars: 2-3 pts.
3. Trail Mix: 3 pts.
4. Carrots/Celery and hummus: 2 pts.
5. Jello Sugar Free pudding: 1 pt.
6. Celery and salsa: 1 pt.
7. 1/2 c. of skim ricotta mixed with 1/2c mixed berries: 1 pt.
8. 1 serving of soup, like a Progresso Light: 1 pt.
9. Serving of Air Popped popcorn: 1 pt.
10. Fruit Salad: 1 pt.
11. Sargento Reduced Fat Cheese Sticks: 2 pts.

Guys, if you have any questions that you would like answered, you can email me at kanwal.ullah@gmail.com :-)

***Snack Attack***

So, I promised you all a new Snack Attack. I thank my sister for this find. Im typically not big on cottage cheese, but this was certainly tasty. Now, the snack is tasty, but I have to be honest, when the fruit is mixed in with the cottage cheese, this does not look that appetizing, but tastes great -trust me on this.

This phenomenal find is Rachel's Cottage Cheese in pomegranate orange cranberry. Once you open this up, you need to stir the cottage cheese to bring the fruit up -similar to Breyer's Fruit on the bottom yogurts.

Here are the stats on the snack:

Calories: 130

Fat: 2

Carbs: 12

Fiber: 1

Points value: 3

Enjoy!

What snacks do you guys enjoy?

Falling Off the Wagon

In my opinion, the easiest way to fall off the wagon is by not having the appropriate snack on hand. I think we have all been in the position where we go out to run errands, or meet up with people and completely lose track of time. Hours go by in between meals and soon you are feeling hungrier than ever and everything and anything looks good. Before you know it, your days worth of hard work with eating right feels like its gone down the drain after you've devoured a chocolate chip muffin that you bought at a deli because you were starving! Have no fear, there is a sensible solution to this mess! Keep healthy snacks handy. Keep them in your bag, at your desk at work, even stash them in your gym bag! I definitely need a lil something between breakfast and lunch, and I ALWAYS need a snack a little bit before my workout. There have been times where I have been so hungry for a snack that I would not be able to complete my full workout. Here are a few handy on the go snacks to keep in your bag or at your desk when at work. Granola bars - I like the Curve bars, and even the Fiber One bars Cheese sticks - reduced fat, I like Sargento's Almonds -so good for you and filling, but be sure not to over do it, they do have alot of calories Yogurt - I love Breyer's Light Fruit and Cheese - apples and cheddar, grapes and cheddar, mix and match any fruit and reduced fat cheese I will also be posting a new snack find for my 'Snack Attack' - stay tuned!