Fire pizza

If something could go wrong this week, it did.

JB got sick. The contractor working on our bathroom remodel messed up our shower. AM's dog allergy flared up and her eye swelled shut.

So what does this have to do with Weight Watchers? Oh yes, because our oven also caught on fire.

The day before JJ left on his week-long business trip, we noticed sparks coming from inside the oven. (AM was cooking her Eggos.) After realizing the coil was flaming and it clearly was an electrical fire, JJ pulled the plug on our oven. That stopped the issue, but it rendered me oven-less for the week - a repairman said he couldn't come by for four days AND he had to order a part.

This threw a big loop at my already-prepared weekly cooking list! So what's a Weight Watchers girl to do? Get creative!

JJ plugged the oven back in so I would have my stovetop. I also had the grill, microwave and crock pot. The pantry boasted one of my favorite products - Flat Out Bread - and the farmer's market gave us lots of fresh veggies. I decided we would grill individual pizzas for several nights.

Except it rained - all week long.

Turns out, you can carefully "grill" pizza on your stovetop and it's pretty good. Pre-cook your veggies, and keep a low temperature so your bread and cheese slowly heat up. Your bread will be a bit crispy, but that provides some support to add more veggies!

Here's what I used to make my stovetop pizza:

1 Flat Out bread 

2 tablespoons pizza sauce

Portobello mushrooms

Zucchini

Onion

Green pepper

1/4 cup 2% mozzarella cheese

This felt like a huge meal for 5.2 points plus. And it was really tasty.

I'll probably even make it again, but have to admit I'll be glad to cook it in the actual oven - now that it's fixed.

(P.S. My picky kids opted to have only turkey pepperoni and cheese on their stovetop pizza. I had a bite and it was also yummy.)

Stress cone

It's only Tuesday.

And yet it's already one of those weeks.

I came home from work tonight, fixed a healthy dinner for the family, topped it off with a piece of sugar-free and low-points chocolate cake, and journaled my food. A few hours later, the kids are in bed and I want a treat. Now. 

Yes, I know, we shouldn't reward ourselves with food. This fosters bad habits. Got it. But it's one of those weeks, and so maybe just this one time it will be ok. 

(See, even wannnabe Weight Watchers leaders have "off" days.)

The good news is there isn't much in my kitchen that can be classified as "bad."

I can choose from low-fat popcorn, baked chips and salsa, a bowl of Lucky Charms (my vice!) or frozen yogurt.

Here's what I selected:

A frozen yogurt cone - which feels so scandalous - cost me only 3.7 points (3.3 points for 1/2 cup of yogurt and 0.4 pints for the cone). And I cherished every single, tasty, creamy bite.

(And here's a message to my kids...)

Now, I'm ready to face Wednesday!

Found: World's Best Lean Cuisine

I was about to hang "Wanted" posters all around town, complete with reward money for the person who could help me find it.

Stouffer's managed to get me addicted to their Butternut Squash Ravioli Lean Cuisine - the world's best frozen dinner - and then suddenly it was nowhere to be found.

Let me tell you how much I love this Lean Cuisine. 

I am a faithful Walmart SuperCenter shopper. The prices can't be beat and if I shop early enough in the morning to beat the crowd, the experience is fantastic. As a "Mom CEO," (I love this popular, new demographic - it makes me sound powerful!) I appreciate the ability to buy everything in one place.

That said, the Butternut Squash Ravioli wasn't available at my SuperCenter. So I was making special trips to a Neighborhood Market to buy some. When the NM stopped carrying it, I found it at Target - and literally only went there just to buy my favorite frozen meal.

Then they disappeared. 

I had one stuffed in the back of the freezer for a special occasion. Imagine how much I cried, when JJ and I came home one night from a date and our babysitter was munching away on the last Lean Cuisine. (In all fairness, I always tell her to "help herself to anything in the kitchen.")

Months went by - and every week, I crossed my fingers as I walked down the frozen foods section of the grocery store. Every week, there was only disappointment.

But finally it happened: the world's best Lean Cuisine has reappeared - and at my SuperCenter nonetheless!

I can't tell you how many I bought, for it would be embarrassing. It would've been worse if we owned a deep freeze, trust me.

Just know this: those seven WW points are worth every single bite.

If you can find them! 

Flat out awesome

Action Alley at Walmart is my enemy.

You know what Action Alley is - the shelves of goodies that are stuffed in the middle of the aisle.

Why is it my enemy?

1. Because those shelves are taking up precious space that I need to push my overloaded cart with two monkey-like children hanging off of it.

2. The product on those shelves entices said monkey-like children to gasp and shriek "MOMMMMMMMY! Can we get THIS?!?!" In other words, the featured products are usually not on our grocery list.

You get the picture.

This week, though, during my Saturday grocery trip, it was me who was shrieking as a result of an Action Alley product display.

Individual sized serving of Flat Out bread?! Flat Out bread in individual servings featuring olive oil and rosemary?!

I can make pizza... or turkey sandwiches... or breakfast sandwiches... or toast them and cut them up to eat with my avocado and orange salad...

I was so excited, I almost started weeping.

And then I realized: where are the monkeys?

Gotta go.