The sweetest surrender of winter, She put up a flag it is waving. The thunder of summer is rumbling in.

March seems to be flying by and when we moved our clocks forward this past weekend, the days are finally getting longer. Although this is great for the evenings when the sun doesn't set so early and I can walk home from work or feel more productive with my day, it also means the mornings are darker so it is much harder to get up for Bar Method! But spring and summer will soon be here and hopefully it will bring beautiful sunny days (after this next prediction of cold and snow for this week of course)!

March has been very busy. Every weekend we seem to be going out, eating out, staying out late and not sleeping as much. As fun as everything is, I can feel it in my body and the effect it is having. The first weekend of March we ate the 16 course meal at Eleven Madison, This past Friday we had burgers and fries before the Avett Brothers concert in Brooklyn, Saturday we went out to dinner with my parents and this coming weekend we have dinner plans Friday with friends and Saturday we are going to our favorite pizza restraint, Nizza, which now serves gluten free polenta crust before going to see Bryan Cranston in "All The Way." I love the excitement of being busy, seeing friends, having fun and living every minute of this month to the fullest, but eating out every weekend is not only expensive, but my body feels it as well. I feel the salt in the meals, the extra larger portions that I am not in control of, the appetizer, entree and desserts that I am eating and the tiredness I feel from being out late and not being able to wake up early for a Bar Method class the next day. Living a healthy lifestyle is about control and moderation though. I can't not go out with friends or to dinner with Ryan just because I don't want to eat badly. There are healthy options on all menus including salads, grilled chicken and fish. But it's also good to indulge and not deprive otherwise it does not become fun to live a healthy lifestyle because you end up resenting everyone else.

Because we have also been so busy on weekends, I have made it a point to cook meals at home for dinner that has plenty of leftovers for lunch the next day! We have done a few Fresh Direct orders and have purchased pre-marinated meats that require little effort other than to put them in the oven and create a side dish! Last Sunday (after our filling meal at Eleven Madison) I made peppercorn petite filet with a side of sweet mashed yams (Fresh Direct 4 minute sides in a snap) and a brussel sprout and red onion salad on the side. The meat cooked in the oven for 25 minutes and was a perfect medium rare. The meal was so simple and it came with 3 filets so we cooked 2 and froze 1. I was able to make steak salad for lunch Monday and Tuesday from the leftovers! It saved a lot of time, money and energy! And the meat was delicious!

Wednesday night I made one of Ryan's favorite dishes, tilapia with a balsamic butter sauce. Tilapia is really easy to make and does not produce a fishy smell when cooked which makes it the perfect protein! The sauce is really light and flavorful and the butter is so decadent! The sauce is made by melting 2 tbsp of butter in a sauce pan and letting it brown. You then add 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar and let it simmer for a few minutes, stirring occasionally until it thickens. Pour it over the fish (or any protein or vegetables) and enjoy! Our meal (half a pound of tilapia each) was 7 points and we served broccoli and carrots on the side. Another easy meal to make at home. The fish took about 10 minutes to cook!

I also made a lot of Quest Bar desserts this past week. The protein meal replacement bar served as a great dessert because it kept me full later at night and helped energize me to get through morning bar classes. My stomach wasn't rumbling and I felt like I could go longer without eating between dinner and breakfast the next day. But rather than eat it as a protein bar, I tried to get creative.

My first dessert this week was a Quest Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough cookie - it is cookie dough after all! I cut the bar into 4 even sized and rolled them into balls to form cookies. I baked them in the oven (350 degrees) for 10 minutes and served with ice cream and frozen bananas! The bar tasted even better baked than it did raw!

The second quest dessert was strawberry cheesecake cereal. I cut the quest bar into small chunks and rolled them into balls. I baked these for 10 minutes in the oven and served with almond milk!

Another quick and easy dinner that we made last week was sesame chicken with stir fry vegetables. The plate was so colorful and vibrant with the mixture of vegatbales and the chicken was coated in a sauce made with 2 tbsp honey, 3/4 tsp rice wine vinegar, 3/4 tsp cornstarch, 1/4 cup water and sesame seeds. For 3 servings (Ryan had double what I ate), it was 6 points! The chicken cooked for 10-15 minutes on high heat and then I added the vegetables for another 2-5 minutes. The sauce I made while the chicken cooked and added to the pot with the chicken and vegetables and mixed well. I added sesame seeds at the end for garnish.

I went to Bar Method Tuesday morning, Wednesday morning and Thursday morning! I took Monday off because I wasn't feeling well and Friday I took off because we were going to Barclay's Center for the Avett Brothers concert and I wouldn't be able to bring my huge backpack with me inside.

Friday morning, I cooked breakfast with Ryan...egg white and oatmeal pancake with chia seeds, topped with chocolate pb2, coconut flakes and hemp seeds (5 points). I love this breakfast because it keeps me full and energized all morning long!

For lunch I had a salad from Just Salad so that I could keep my points low since I knew we would be going out to dinner before the concert! I had kale and spinach chopped with artichoke hearts, broccoli, banana peppers, asparagus and egg whites with a serving of honey-dijon herb dressing. I had 2 cups of Chia Pop Aged Cheddar (2 points). It was so flavorful and filling. I had never had it before, but will have it more often now. It was so delicious and was a perfect side to my salad!

For dinner, I can honestly say I had the best burger ever! We went to Pure Bistro on 5th Avenue only a few blocks from Barclay's. It was exciting to be back in Brooklyn, but we both really did not miss the long commute on the subway! We didn't even realize how long our daily commutes were until we now can walk to work! I got an 8oz. beef burger cooked medium rare with swiss cheese and portobella mushrooms. It was served with a small salad and pickle on the side and I ordered a baked sweet potato on the side. They are known for their gluten free breads and I can tell you that this was the best roll ever, gluten free or not. It didn't fall apart like a tapioca rice bun but was crunchy and hard on the outside and soft and moist on the inside. The burger was so filling and I could only eat half of my baked potato! Ryan got the western BBQ burger with beef cooked medium well, american cheese and bbq sauce! We will definitely be going back to Pure Bistro the next time we are in Brooklyn. I was so full the whole night and I was dreaming about that burger all weekend!! There were also some amazing looking entrees on the menu like a pineapple mango salsa salmon! As delicious as it sounds though, I want, no I need, another burger from there soon! I ate way too quickly and forgot to take a photo (which I'm sure Ryan was happy about since he is always embarrassed when I take pictures of my food), but I found a few online to show the wonders of the burger! They even had a juice bar making fresh juices and smoothies!

After this amazing dinner, we headed to Barclay's Center! The show started at 8pm and featured Old Crow Medicine Show opening for The Avett Brothers! The show was incredible. There was so much energy and happiness and Ryan and I could not stop smiling and singing along. We were dancing and singing and screaming and we loved every minute. The Avett Brothers had an amazing setlist which featured rock songs that transitioned smoothly into their softer ballads and then back again to the faster songs. The buidlup was incredible and we all stood in anticipation for what was next! The music was beautiful too! They had a double bass, drums, cello, banjo and guitars and during instrument switches, the cello played beautiful melodies that I could have listened to all day! The show's encore featured both bands on stage which had 2 fiddles, 2 banjos, 2 double basses, a cello, drums, keyboard...ahh it was so beautiful. I have been listening to Avett Brothers nonstop the rest of the weekend!

Saturday my parents came over in the afternoon to see the progress we have made on the apartment now that the desk and dining room table were built. Ryan hung photos which added such personality and flair to the bare walls and now it feels so homey! We went to Frank's on First for dinner where we went the first night they came over to help us unpack! I had the veal special with mozzarella, roasted red peppers and a putenesca sauce! I was so full and definitely felt this meal the next morning. It was delicious, homemade, salty and savory and after a long night out the night before, this meal was a good way to end the weekend! Sunday was relaxing - the weather was warm and sunny and we hung around the house - listening to the Avett Brothers of course. Fresh Direct delivered in the morning everything we need for the week to make salads, a few dinners (rotisserie chicken, pulled chicken, and maple mustard glazed pork). For dinner we had Maple Mustard glazed pork (which I will be having as a salad for lunch today) with mashed potatoes and asparagus. It felt good to be able to weigh my food, know the ingredients that I am cooking with and know the points! I gave up a lot of control the past 2 weekends and had fun and don't have any regrets, but it felt good to be back on track (at least until Friday when the craziness starts again).

Work has been busy and great, and I am having a positive attitude about everything. I feel good, I am working out, eating right (cheat meals on weekends) and am loving life right now. I had a great Bar Method class with Brittany this morning - my glutes were shaking the full hour - and I plan to go to class Wednesday and Thursday morning and hopefully Spin at Pablo Thursday night - I have to sweat off some of this delicious food I have been eating! Dinners will be Fresh Direct prepared meats (pulled chicken) with fresh vegetables and lunch will be salads with the premade rotisserie chicken! I hope the week goes by fast because I can't wait for this weekend! It makes everything so exciting when we have something to look forward to. We have been so busy though that it will be nice in April to relax a little when it's warmer out and enjoy the city!

XO

Ride With Pablo!

"You control your body. You control your speed. You control your power!"

Those are the words Pablo kept repeating last night and it really was motivational. Spin is hard, spin is tiring, but spin also forces you to go within yourself and find out how hard you can push yourself. And when you think you have pushed yourself far enough, go a little more. Spin makes you use your own body to build resistance against the bike - you control your ride and, just like Pablo said, you control your body. It's all mental. When the heat in the room is getting to be too much and the music is just too loud, and your muscles are sore and you can't climb that hill any higher (and you can't actually see the hill they want you to climb), you just have to remind yourself that there is an end, and the longer you push, the quicker the end will come!

Last night's class was hard and great! I hadn't been to a spin class since October so I knew this would be hard. I knew I would not be able to push myself as hard as I wanted to, but as long as I was there and moving my legs and sweating, I knew everything would be okay. I love that moment when Pablo gets on his bike and says "Hello! How is everyone doing? Tonight's going to be easy" because you just know, there is no such thing as easy when it comes to Pablo! When the lights dimmed and the music started playing, I lowered my head, turned up my resistance and just rode my bike. I rode the hill that Pablo told me we were going to ride and I got up out of the saddle when it became really tough, and sat down and pushed my legs faster to go downhill. The music was loud, emotions were strong and I was loving it! I couldn't think about anything at all. I sang along to the music in my head and just went with the flow. I love that Pablo rides with us and then he walks around the room and makes sure that everyone is doing okay - I love that he locks eyes with you and moves side to side standing in front of you while you move side to side on the bike. It's motivational and it's fun!

I had a lot of Weight Watchers Activity logged from the ride (5 points), but the fitbit did not do a good job. From the chart, it looks like I was barely moving during the 45 minute class, whereas the activelink tracked high activity levels. I only hit my steps goal on my walk home. I am glad that I use both to track my activity because sometimes the tracking does not make sense. Obviously last night's spin class was more activity than the fitbit shows since it is showing my walk to the class as more activity than the class itself.

I got home last night and made a quick dinner of a rice cake topped with avocado and maple ham. Dessert was what I was waiting for, but I needed some quick protein and fiber and good food right after my ride to refuel and help my muscles repair! Dessert was a baked chocolate cookie dough quest bar with arctic zero chocolate peanut butter ice cream! It was heavenly. And it kept me full the rest of the night - I didn't go into the kitchen once to snack and I didn't take a bite of Ryan's cereal for his late night snack! Tonight, I plan to make the quest banana boat! We have plenty of bananas at home and chocolate powdered peanut butter and so many flavors of quest bars to choose from! I am going to leave out the chocolate chips and only use half a quest bar to keep the points lower. Bananas are 3 WW points when you cook with them, so it makes the dessert an extra meal if I used a banana and a full quest bar. By only using half a bar, and using powdered peanut butter, my points are lowered, but the taste is still just as great (I hope)!

I didn't go to bar method this morning like I had planned. I got really used to sleeping in and having breakfast at home this week so I decided to do it one more day and get back into my routine Monday! For breakfast, instead of my usual egg white and oatmeal pancake, I made an omelette with ham and avocado (5 WW Points). Basically a recreation of dinner last night. And I added chia seeds for some extra "expansion" of the eggs and to make it more filling! It tasted so delicious and kept me full all morning! The avocado melted inside of the egg and became "cheesy." Tomorrow I will have my pancake since I need to be full all day before our 16-course tasting menu at Eleven Madison!

It's unbearably cold again today and I am so ready for this winter to end. It seems to be going on forever! It makes me not want to wake up early, workout, get out of bed, walk, or be outside. I miss going on a walk after dinner with Ryan, but it's too windy and too cold, and not fun! We would much rather stay inside watching TV. And as fun and comfy and warm as that is, it does not help with our activity. I can't wait for the warmer months to show up so we can get our butts moving again! Then we can walk and bike everywhere and then I'll be more motivated to get out of bed in the morning for bar method!

Tonight, we are going to stay in and watch a movie. I am ABSOLUTELY going to bar method tomorrow. It's our 1 year anniversary and I am going to bar to celebrate, just as I did 1 year ago! Then we have our amazing dinner to prepare ourselves for! They say it takes about 4 hours for the entire meal - so we have a reservation at 5:30pm and we plan to be there a long time! I know with a tasting menu the plates are small, and by spacing them out, I know we won't get "stuffed." I am dreaming about the food that we had at our wedding so I am so excited to be going back to Eleven Madison. It is such a treat to eat there and I can't wait to share it with my husband!

XO

Evening Bar Method Workout

Last night's bar method class was great! I got off the waitlist and into Tiana's 5:45pm class which takes place in the smaller studio C. I really like the small studio because the class is small so there is more attention on each individual. My shoulder was really hurting by the end of the day so I did take a few modifications like push-ups against the bar and laying down on the mat during round back. The hardest part of class was during final stretch when you pull on the stretching strap - that seemed to hurt my shoulder the most. We did arabesque for seat work and I was shaking through the whole thing. It had been awhile since I had done it so it took a little bit to get used to the turned out position and having my hips uneven. During foldover it's important to keep your hips squared and not turned out and since I had done so much foldover this month, I had to remind myself that arabesque is different. It works your obliques as well as the underside of your seat. It felt really good!

I got home and made a kale and grain salad. I got the kale and mixed grains from FreshDirect pre-made deli salad. It was made with sprouted mixed grains, including mung bean, letins and brown rice, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, kale, soybeans, cashews and olive oil. I served it with mesclun salad, tomatoes and cucumbers to give it the appearance of being more than just grains in a plastic container! It was delicious and filling for an evening meal (it was 7:30pm by the time I got home so I was eating much later than I was used to). The total was 8 WW Points.

For dessert, I was really excited to bake a quest bar. Since I had a cookies and cream bar before bar method, I opted to only have half of a chocolate chip chunk for dessert. I didn't want too much protein and I didn't think eating 2 protein bars in a short amount of time was a great idea. Tonight though, I prepared to have only 1 quest bar after spin and have 2 hard boiled eggs before the class. The baked quest bar was delicious!! Even more than just microwaving it.

I baked the bar on foil in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. The outside was browned and crispy and the inside was moist and gooey. Even having half felt like such a treat! The chocolate chunks and the gooey cookie made me think I was actually having a perfect chocolate chip cookie, but it was even better! I topped it with chocolate peanut butter arctic zero and some coconut chips. It was only 2 WW points for half of the quest bar and I only had half a serving of the arctic zero for 0 points!

Tonight I am going to bake the cookie dough bar (5 WW points). I cannot wait to try that.

This morning I slept in again since I had taken an evening bar method class and had breakfast with Ryan. We made egg white and oatmeal pancakes topped with almond butter and coconut. It looked just like a juice generation acai bowl! I even blended some almond better with the egg whites. It was nice to spend the morning with Ryan (and Haley) and commute to work in 10 minutes. But, it is much harder for me to go to an evening bar class so it's easier for me to wake up and go and have it done with. Because you need 12 hours to cancel a morning class and only 2 hours to cancel and evening class, I can always talk myself out of going at night because I'm too tired from work, or I am too hungry, or I just want to see Ryan. But the mornings need much more of a commitment with the cancellation policy so I just have to get myself out of bed and get to the studio and I know I will feel much better afterwards.

I am exciting to spin tonight too. I haven't been to Pablo's class since before Italy! I know I am going to be sore but I am going to bar method tomorrow morning so that will certainly help stretch me out before my muscles know what happened to them! I usually hate spinning - I hate being yelled at, I hate feeling like I am in boot camp, and I hate thinking that I need to burn calories and sweat in order to lose weight. The problem with spin is that, yes you burn a lot of calories, but that is not an excuse to stuff your face when the class is over. People over eat after a spin class because they think they sweat so much and need the "fuel." I also don't want my muscles to bulk up so I don't turn the resistance knob as much as I could, but I need some resistance so that I do get a good workout and my muscles have something to do. Spinning with no resistance is pointless! I also love spin because I usually get 6 activity points so it's great on weeks (like this week) when I need a boost in points, especially with a 16 course tasting menu on Saturday!! Pablo is a lot of fun though. Pablo (and all of the instructors at the studio) are so encouraging and they tell you to ride for yourself and not for them or anyone in the class. They tell you that you don't have to follow the routine and to be at your own pace - make it about you and what you want to accomplish. It's a great 45 minutes where you break a sweat, you get out of your own thoughts and you listen to some really awesome music and just take a ride.

I hope everyone is having a great day! It's really cold out and I know we're all looking forward to warmer weather. Just stay positive!

XO

Quest Bar Addiction

I have a problem...I have an addiction to quest bars. They are the perfect on the go snack / meal replacement and there are so many different flavors, I never get bored. And you can eat them as a protein bar, microwave them so they are warm and gooey or bake them and make quest cookies! You can add filling and roll the bar to make a cannoli or top with peanut butter and almond butter - the possibilities are endless!

GNC is having a special promotion - buy 3 get one free, and I had a $10 off coupon so I bought 12 quest bars for $18. That's an $18 savings! I saved $1.11 on each bar. It's incredible. At $3 per bar, it is expensive (except when you consider that I pay $10 for lunch in NYC and $3 for a meal replacement is not that bad). So I stocked up! And now that I have a few evening classes in the next few weeks, they will definitely all be eaten.

The newest flavor, cookies and cream is my favorite (right now) followed by white chocolate raspberry. The chunks of white chocolate are always huge and make me smile when I think about how I am spoiling myself with a delicious sweet treat, but it is packed with protein (20g) and low carb and gluten free and has no added sugar! It's a great clean snack. Maybe I will replace my ice cream with quest bars at night! Or I can just cut a quest bar in half and put ice cream in the center of them and make a quest bar ice cream sandwich. Nothing wrong with combining my two loves!

Before tonight's bar class I am going to have a cookies and cream (5 WW points).

Slow Cooked Turkey Meatballs

I love coming home to the smells of a home cooked meal. I think it was part of growing up - my mom would cook dinner every night for the family when we got home from school and the smell of it throughout the house is something I will never forget. And she always had fresh baked bread to go with the meal. On weekends, she would even make homemade bagels.

Last night I walked home from work. It was a little bit cold, but since I had been sitting at my desk all day and I hadn't done a morning bar class, I knew I needed a little activity! So I walked home (that got me to a total of 9,000 steps for the day and 1 WW activity point). I got home within 20 minutes and the turkey meatballs I had prepped in the morning were warming in the slow cooker. I love that I was able to cook them for 6 hours, but still keep them warm even though I wasn't home! Slow cooking is so easy and because I slow cook in large batches, we have leftovers for days! I was already thinking about all of the meal possibilities that we could make with left over meatballs (meatball parm or meatball wraps anyone)!

Ryan and I had meatballs with mashed potatoes (FreshDirect Sides in a Snap) and asparagus. I love crunchy, bright green asparagus and it was a nice break from our usual salad. 4 meatballs with sauce were 5 points and 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes were 5 points. The meat was dense, but still moist from having slow cooked for 6 hours. Next time I might even cook it for 4 or 5 hours since the meatballs are so small. Or I could make 12 meatballs instead of 24 so that 2 meatballs would be 4 points. However, eating more is a mind game so having 4 meatballs (small) instead of 2 (large) seems like a lot more to me. And if I think I am eating a lot more, then I stay fuller longer!

For dessert, I had a Yopa greek yogurt with dark chocolate bits that I had put in the freezer. It was just like eating ice cream, and I topped it with a banana.

Tonight I am going to SoHo for a Bar Method class. I really wanted to sleep in now that the upstairs neighbors haven't been so loud and I wanted to have breakfast with Ryan! He made ham and cheese on udi's gluten free bread with eggs over easy and I had an egg white omelette topped with powdered peanut butter, flax seeds and a banana! It was fun to sit around with Ryan, watching the morning news and getting ready on my own time. However, this morning, I am feeling not working out and I feel a little sluggish. I am excited for an evening class, but I am not excited about it being at 6:30pm. It means I won't be home until 8pm. I hope it warms up a bit so maybe I could bike home. It's been awhile since I took citibike since I got so used to the early morning bus/train commute, so it's about time I took a bike ride!

I also plan to go to spin tomorrow night. If I am going to complain about feeling bloated, sluggish, tired and not happy, then I need to do something about it. A good diet is great, but exercise helps get everything moving and sweating mentally tells me that I am doing something good for my body. I sweat a lot more in evening bar classes because the studios are warmed up, people have been in classes all day, and the air is not as fresh (sounds gross, but the morning classes have cold studios from not being used all night, so I don't break a sweat). It's all mental - I am not working any harder in an evening class than a morning one, but sweating makes me feel like I am pushing myself harder. I also am a bit more flexible at night because my body has been moving all day (well, not really since I sit for 8 hours). I feel more flexible, stronger, and more capable of going lower, tucking harder and even taking some of the challenges like raising my legs in flat back or the L shape in round back. I did hurt my shoulder last night, so unfortunately I will be modifying with push-ups at the bar tonight. I am going to have a Quest Cookies and Cream bar before class (my new favorite flavor) and a pre-made kale and grain FreshDirect salad when I get home for muscle recovery protein! Night classes usually energize me, so I hope that I will be able to fall asleep reasonably early. I have been feeling so refreshed lately now that I have been sleeping through the night!

I also worked to work this morning, again, it was cold, but it felt good to get in some activity before I sat around all day since I didn't do a morning bar class!

Below is the Turkey meatball recipe. Skinnytaste recipe can be found here! I used 99% fat free turkey breast and gluten free breadcrumbs. This can be made with turkey, chicken or beef (WW Points will vary). Enjoy.

Skinnytaste Crock Pot Italian Turkey Meatballs
Servings: 6 (4 meatballs)
Weight Watchers Points: 5

Meatballs
1 pound turkey breast, ground
3 tbsp Schar gluten free breadcrumbs
4 tbsp grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
1/4 cup parsley
1 egg
1 garlic clove, crushed
salt and pepper to taste

Sauce
1 tsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, crushed
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large bowl, combine turkey, breadcrumbs, egg, parsley, garlic and cheese. Mix all of the ingredients together.

2. Form small meatballs and set aside (24 meatballs)

3. Meanwhile, in a small pan, heat olive oil over medium heat.

4. Add garlic and saute until golden, be careful not to burn.

5. Pour crushed tomatoes into slow cooker with bay leaf. Add garlic and oil from pan.

6. Add meatballs to slow cooker.

7. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Serve and enjoy!

Gnocchi Friday and Taco Sunday!!!!

Having a table to eat at makes it a lot more enjoyable to have family dinners. And the dishwasher makes cleanup much easier, so cooking is more enjoyable when I don't have to worry about how many pots, pans and plates Ryan will have to wash later! Tacos were always difficult for us to eat at the old apartment because we used to many bowls to layout the toppings and we couldn't enjoy the meal knowing how much clean-up would be involved in eating the meal. But last night we made tacos and the cleanup was fast and easy and we sat at a real table and not one that folds up and we had a real family dinner - including Haley rubbing on our legs trying to get some meat.

Our taco bar included turkey breast, bison, spinach, tomatoes, salsa, cheese and refried beans. We wanted to purchase items that would be used again for other recipes or snacks so that we didn't have useless ingredients in our fridge that went bad. I hate wasting money on groceries that are not multi-purposeful. And tacos are a great way to use extra ingredients that would otherwise be going bad. We had left over bison meat from earlier in the week and before freezing it and forgetting about it, we cooked it up and crumbled it and added some taco seasoning and had a great addition to our taco bar! We used both hard and soft yellow corn tortillas but we both agreed the hard tacos are so much better - a lot messier but the crunch is so much better than the corn tortilla which is small and just as hard to eat.

My total WW Points for having 2 hard shells, 2 soft tortillas and 4 oz. bison, and 1/4 cup refried beans and 1/4 cup taco shredded cheese and all of the vegetables was 14 points.

We did a lot of other cooking this weekend as well. Friday night we used Cappello's gnocchi and made crispy pan seared gnocchi with chicken sausage and spinach! The serving size for the gnocchi is 2 oz. (5 WW Points) but it seemed like such a small amount so I had 2 servings of gnocchi and half a chicken sausage link. The total WW Points was 14. I love making the gnocchi crispy because otherwise the potato is too mushy. Gnocchi cooks fast and pan searing it also gives me more time to prep the sausage and vegetables and warm the gnocchi up in some olive oil. It was a great dinner, and one Ryan and I have made before - Cappello's gnicchi was really fresh and tasted great. This dish is so versatile - you can use any vegetables, different meats (or no meat) and add spices and herbs to keep it fresh. I want to make this next time with bacon! Bacon with any meal is always perfect! I added broccoli to our recipe Friday night to use up the florets that we had left. Feel free to use any vegetables or leafy greens that you like!

Crispy Gnocchi with Chicken Sausage and Spinach
Servings: 1
Weight Watchers Points: 14

2 Servings (4 oz.) of Cappello's Gnocchi
1/2 link, Applegate Farms Organic Chicken & Apple Sausage, Mild
1/2 tsp. olive oil
1/3 cup spinach
1/3 cup broccoli

1. Boil water in a saucepan - once water is boiling, add Gnocchi and cook following instruction on the box (3-5 minutes). When gnocchi float to the top, they are cooked through! Drain and set aside.

2. Heat a saucepan over medium and add olive oil.

3. Add chicken sausage and cooked gnocchi to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes, flipping both the gnocchi and chicken sausage to brown on both sides.

4. Add spinach (and other vegetables) and cook until wilted.

5. Serve and Enjoy!

We spent all weekend working on the apartment - Ryan installed track lighting in the living room with my dad and my mom and I went shopping at Home Goods - we went twice because they had so much great stuff. I hate having "stuff" but we bought some great pieces that make the living room feel warm and inviting and lived in. We need to hang some photos in the living room and bedroom. The place is really coming together nicely and I can't wait for our dining room table to arrive so we can be "done" for awhile with setting up. I just want to live there and enjoy it without thinking about the next project. Haley seems very comfortable in the new apartment. There is so much space for her to run around. She even wore herself out this weekend exploring the new place!

Saturday we were really busy with my parents and went out for a great Italian dinner. It's called Frank's Pizza and the front part is a regular NYC Pizzeria with no frills but if you walk through a back door, it leads to a beautifully small dining room that feels like you are stepping into Italy. It even felt like we were eating in Italy because the meal was long and you got to rest in between each course and the food was delicious. Ryan and I split the hot antipasto to start which had mussles, clams, eggplant and stuffed mushrooms. For dinner I ordered clams and mussels with a red sauce with a side salad instead of having it over pasta. Ryan had shrimp fra diavlo. My mom got eggplant and my dad got the same meal I did, just over pasta. We had tartufo's to finish the meal. Everything was perfect and it was a great way to end a long day.

Sunday we went to Home Depot early to get parts to finish the track lighting. We decided to take citibike there and the bus back! The bike ride was easy early in the morning ebcause there wasn't a lot of traffic. We got there in under 15 minutes! Before we left Ryan had scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast and I had an egg white and oatmeal pancake. I love cooking in the new kitchen!

We got back from Home Depot and had a quick lunch before we got started working! We made tuna fish salad with spinach, carrots, celery, avocado and "The Real Deal Veggie Chips" for some added crunch. We used Dijon mustard instead of mayo and I weighed the avocados because even though they are healthy fats, they are also a lot of WW Points. I used 30gm of avocado for only 1 point.

This week is pretty busy and I don't think Ryan and I will have much time for meal prep but I did put a FreshDirect order in for tomorrow so we will have some easy dinners to prepare at home like Salmon, Stewed chicken, fresh produce for salads and juices and sweet potato side dishes. I also got everything to make Chicken Parm! Tomorrow is our anniversary, celebrating 7 years since we met at Clark University. Friday is also Valentine's Day so we decided to make dinner together Friday to celebrate everything. Ryan's favorite meal is chicken parm so we are going to make Baked Chicken Parmesan with gluten free breadcrumbs! I can't believe tomorrow is 7 years that we have been together. We have gone through so much and practically grown up together. I met Ryan when I was 19 - I am now 26! My life has become intertwined with Ryan and I could not be happier to have married my best friend. March 1 is our 1 year wedding anniversary and it seems to have gone by so fast! I can't wait to celebrate many more memories together as a couple and as a family!

This morning I took citibike to Bar Method. I went really slow because the roads were slushy from a brief snow last night. It took me 19:57 minutes! It was cold but I enjoyed the freedom of being on my own time and not relying on a bus or subway. I loved working out before my workout too - my calves and thighs are burning!! Bar Method was great too. Because of the move I have only been 3 times in the last week so I was shaking for the full hour. And my already burning thighs suffered more with waterski seat work! Hopefully now that we are more settled in our new location I will pickup my regular Bar Method schedule (M, W, F, Saturday/Sunday). I still have to think about how to commute there when it rains because I am sure I will not want to bike and get wet on my way there. There is a crosstown bus that I can take, I just have to figure out the schedule that early in the morning!

I had an "Amazing Green Acai Bowl" from Juice Generation for breakfast (I ate it too fast to photograph) and have Juice Generation Coconut Ceviche and Daily Detox juice for lunch. I want to limit my spending on food and meal prep more at home so I ordered some great stuff from Fresh Direct that will come tomorrow morning before work! I love the Acai Bowls and Juice and Raw Food though so maybe only on Bar Method days will I get it since that is 3 times during the work week. It's expensive but it is so delicious, filling and healthy.

I have a focus group tonight after work so I brought a cookies and cream quest bar to snack home before I go home. There is a citibike dock outside of the location I will be at tonight so I plan to bike home!

Have a great day everyone!

XO