week 4 -- back on track

another week down, and i'm feeling pretty good!  much better than last week.  not quite as sluggish and much more intentional about my snacks and food choices.  AND i survived a weekend away at the cabin with my dear friends.  typically, we eat a lot over labor day weekend.  like, a lot.  so i was nervous about being self-controlled while also not being the annoying friend who's always talking about counting calories and eating salad.  i also had a goal of going on one significant hike during the weekend, and thankfully, my husband and daughter were happy to join me.

isla got sleepy a mile or so in :-)

this week's menu:

• saturday, sunday, and monday: labor day weekend feasting... in moderation :-)
• tuesday: sausage and zucchini frittata (which was a combination of this three cheese zucchini frittata and this paleo zucchini frittata)
• wednesday: chicken quinoa lettuce wraps with peanut sauce
• thursday: crispy buffalo quinoa sliders and broccoli
• friday: looking forward to trying this BBQ chicken BLT a with spinach side salad

let's talk about tuesday's sausage and zucchini frittata.  it's not what i had intended to make.  but, having been away all weekend, i didn't have time to go to the grocery store, so i was limited to whatever was in the house -- which happened to include nearly a dozen eggs, a zucchini, some carrots, a few links of turkey sausage, and some cheese.  so i combined two recipes (the paleo one because it had sausage and the three cheese one because, well, cheese) and came up with something awesome.  steve was admittedly skeptical, but ended up loving it!  (and you know he loves it when he hums through his meal.)  :-)  the reheated leftovers were spectacular too!

you start it on the stovetop, then finish it up in the oven (as long as you have an oven-safe pan!)

we ate our frittata with a dollop of low fat sour cream and a toasted ciabatta roll

wednesday's chicken quinoa lettuce wraps with peanut sauce was a repeat meal for us... and it was every bit as amazing as i had remembered!  even isla asked for "more chicken, mama!" which i'm pretty sure has never happened before, like, ever.  for my thoughts on this recipe, feel free to visit my first post about it.


thursday's crispy buffalo quinoa sliders takes the prize for the best meal of the week. possibly the best meal EVER.  well, at least the best quinoa and buffalo related meal.  :-)  if you are as passionate about buffalo sauce as i am, you need to make this meal immediately!

as usual, i ate my sliders sans bread to save a few calories.
plus, i didn't want anything to take away from that delicious buffalo zing!

these cuties are packed full of flavor!

beth's win for the week: i've already mentioned it, but being self-controlled over the weekend was HUGE for me!  my friend kelly always brings amazing treats, so i was pretty impressed at my ability to say no and to only eat when i was truly hungry.

WEEKLY WEIGH-IN: i lost 1.4 pounds!  woohoo, back on track and feeling great!  total of 4.6 pounds lost so far.  slow and steady, folks.  :-)