MPM, Calorie Counts, and Weight Loss

We have had such a wonderful 3 weeks with Tim's family. Everyone left at the end of last week and I'll admit that it was so hard to say good bye. It made me all of the sudden miss the rest of our family and our friends in the States. I have spent some time meditating on all of the GOOD things that God has blessed me with: a husband who loves us 3 gals, wonderful family and friends all over the world, 2 healthy and happy girls, a lovely flat, a strong Christian community here in Scotland, good food to eat etc. etc. It reminded me of the verse I memorized earlier this year (I Timothy 6:8)

But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.

We spent the weekend as just a family of 4 and really did enjoy our time together. I had a wonderful Mother's Day and was reminded to take that special day as another opportunity to savour the joys of motherhood instead of a day that I feel as if everything should be done for me ;) Thanks Suzanne for this blog post  that was wonderful reminder!

My Weight Loss Journey: I'm trying to get back to counting calories and working out hard core now that family is gone (read vacation is over :) I have about 30 more pounds to lose to be at a healthy weight and I want to get to it! So I spent extra time this week finding recipes that are light and writing in the calorie amount to help myself in planning.

*GOAL: I have just a mini goal for myself along these weight loss lines to make sure I get started right. I use Livestrong, my plate to track my calories. My goal is to track everything I eat and stay within my limits for 2 weeks straight (not a day missed, not a meal or a night gone by without tracking) and workout 5x a week (30 min of Jillian Michael Trouble Spots) to see what my results will be if I am VERY consistent. I don't want to start with a weight goal because I feel like that can fluctuate, but I need to start with what I know works - tracking calories and exercising. So here it goes!

Monday~  Spicy Chicken Quesadillas (371 calories). homemade salsa

Tuesday~ Light Chicken Salad Croissant Sandwiches (250 calories) and fresh veggies. I got reduced fat croissants and am using them instead of wheat bread which the recipe calls for for a little fun change. * I'll be adding grapes to mine :)

Wednesday~ Grilled Bruschetta Chicken (200 calories) and salad
* I am substituting Newman's own Italian dressing  for the KRAFT Sun-Dried Tomato dressing

Thursday~  Turkey Meatball Sandwiches (355 calories a sub), grilled broccoli
 *Thanks to my friend Andrea for the recipe. This will be my first time trying it! I'm copying the recipe she wrote out for me below:

Turkey Meatballs

1 lb ground turkey

minced onion (to taste)

parsley (to taste)

1 egg

salt (to taste)

pepper (to taste)

1/4 tsp. marjoram *I'm substituting thyme or basil here because I couldn't find Marjoram

1/3 cup dried bread crumbs

Combine ingredients and form into golf ball size (or slightly smaller) meatballs.

Sauce:

2 15-oz cans tomato sauce

minced onion (to taste)

dash curry powder

dash ground cloves

Mix sauce ingredients in a large pan.  Put meatballs into pan and cook covered on medium heat about 20 minutes, or until meatballs are cooked through.  

Friday~ Homemade Veggie Pizza(200 calories for a 3 oz slice of pizza), salad
* Tim found the Dough recipe that we are going to try :)

Hope you have a great week!
 Do you have any tasty and light recipes for me?
I would love to try some new ones!

Find more great recipes at orgjunkie