Dinner: Enchilada Stuffed Peppers

 A few weeks back I had been looking for something new to throw into the eating schedule.  I had found this amazing website through one of the Weight Watchers girls I follow on Instagram.  Her photo looked amazing and I wanted to make them for dinner.  So I ended up picking up all the goodies needed to make this and when I told my boyfriend our menu I had mentioned the fact a dish was vegetarian.  That was my first problem (LOL) my boyfriend is not a fan of vegetarian dishes.  He literally looked at me like I had just kicked a puppy.  So I said “uh, do you want me to add hamburger or turkey to the recipe?” and he said “Yes…” so into the freezer I went and I pulled out a pack of lean hamburger and let it defrost.  I basically followed the entire recipe (see recipe here: http://www.laaloosh.com/2012/09/04/stuffed-pepper-enchiladas-recipe/) except I added meat into it and I mixed all my ingredients in a bowl and then filled the peppers.  Since my boyfriend does not like cheese I ended up putting cheese on half of the peppers and no cheese on the remaining.  I will say it’s a completely different twist and unlike anything I have ever had.  I did enjoy it and I ate it for lunch and dinner a few times.  I did enjoy them and will be making them again at some point in the future.

BzzReview: Unreal Candy Bar

 

 

 

Being a BzzAgent I received a coupon for a free Unreal candy bar, but I decided to get a few of them to share with my boyfriend and to try out.  I picked up the following bars: Unreal 77 - Reese Peanut Butter cup dupe, a Unreal 8 Snickers dupe and an Unreal 5 Milky Ways dupe and Unreal 41 a M&M’s dupe.

Unreal candy bars are supposed to be a “healthier” alternative to sweets by eliminating some of the processed ingredients that typically go into candy bars. For instance there’s less sugar, there’s no corn syrup in the candy, no partially hydrogenated oil, no artificial ingredients, no GMOs, no preservatives and it has a low glycemic index.

I will say out of the four I (and my boyfriend) tried we both agreed the Unreal 77 (peanut butter cup) was the grossest.  It just was weird and had a funky aftertaste.  Maybe it’s the fact that Reese Cups are one of my all time favorite chocolates, but this just wasn’t comparable.  I realize it’s not made to be an exact “duplicate” but it was just … not yummy.  I wouldn’t buy this again, heck, I wouldn’t even pick it up for free if I had to again because I just plain did not like it.

The Unreal 5 was hands down my favorite.  It was nice and mildly sweet and I liked that the caramel wasn’t sickeningly sweet as most caramels in chocolates tend to be.  It had a nice flavor, it was smooth all around and just a yummy candy bar.  This was definitely my favorite out of the batch.

The Unreal 8 was my boyfriend’s favorite.  I found it was alright, but it wasn’t as good as a Snickers (at least in my opinion).  My boyfriend thought it was a nice, healthier alternative.  It was nothing spectacular to shake a stick at, but it wasn’t horrendous either.  I just wasn’t a huge fan but my boyfriend enjoyed it, more-so than the Unreal 5.

Now the Unreal 41 (think M&Ms) was the most surprising.  The color is very bland but that’s because there’s no artificial colorings in it.  But I felt these tasted like Cadbury eggs (you know the ones with the crunchy shell).  They had more “meat” to them in comparison to say an M&M but I think I like these more than M&M’s.  They were just yummy and I liked how they reminded me of Cadbury (one of my favorite chocolate companies!)

Disclaimer: I received a free coupon from BzzAgent to test out the new Unreal candy bars which market was “unjunking the junk”.  I purchased one bar for free, used a buy 1 get 1 coupon to buy the other two and while at CVS was given a coupon (from CVS) for a free Unreal candy bar – so I ended up with four to try out.  Please do note that even though I received these items for free, it in no way alters my opinion of the product as my opinions are nothing but my own.

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Oven “Fried” Mushrooms

I found this recipe on laaloosh.com (see here: http://www.laaloosh.com/2012/08/22/baked-breaded-mushrooms-recipe/) and decided to make them as a side dish to the hamburgers we were having for dinner.  Now my boyfriend doesn’t eat mushrooms so I made enough for two servings and I ate half a serving at dinner and the remaining serving as little snacks with my lunch/dinner the remaining 2 days.  I enjoy fried mushrooms (particularly with a side of marinara sauce) so I figured I’d give these a shot and I was surprised as how good they tasted!  The parmesan and garlic really help boost up the flavor category and it gives them a nice crunch, while the mushrooms get softer in texture (as it would if it were fried).   I did follow the recipe exactly as described so I can’t offer any tips on how to alter, but I will say if I were to make them again I’d be following the same directions.

QUESTION:

Do you like fried mushrooms?

ActiveLink – WW’s version of the FitBit!

I purchased myself an ActiveLink at my Weight Watchers meeting this past week.  I’ve been wanting one for weeks but I was in an excuse mode where I wasn’t going to the gym and I’ve since screwed my head back on straight, so I picked one up for myself.  Before I go into explaining what this is, it’s Weight Watchers version (that they teamed up with Phillips to create) of the Fitbit.  The device measures all movement and aids in helping the user to push themselves to get a certain level of activity per day, while also helps push the user to reach higher activity goals over time.

According to Weight Watchers:  ActiveLink is an integrated activity experience consisting of a monitor, a personalized website, and tips and motivation brought to you by the experts at Weight Watchers and Philips. You wear the small ActiveLink monitor in your pocket or clipped to your clothes, and it tracks all of your activity throughout the day, Whether you’re walking the dog or working out at the gym, ActiveLink will let you know how many activity PointsPlus values you’re earning. The personalized site creates an activity goal for you, and provides information and motivation to help you achieve your goal over a 12-week period. And when you reach one goal, it will help you set, and reach, another.

Right now I am in an 8-day assessment phase where I wear my monitor all day and it measures a baseline of activity.  This baseline will be used to assess as to if my activity is lower and/or higher than what it was during that assessment phase.  Unfortunately during that assessment phase you’re not able to see the cool graphs that come with the ActiveLink but after the assessment is over I’ll be able to see my movement on my screen.  It’s super easy to use, you just plug the link into the USB portion of the computer and it charges and reads all your information.

I work with a few people who have an ActiveLink and they’ve enjoyed it thus far.  I’m hoping this will be the little push I need to help me continue to be honest and will help push me into continuing maintaining my healthy lifestyle – workouts included!

I paid $39.95 for the device itself and it’s a $5/monthly charge for the service.

Weight Watchers Salted Caramel Smoothie

I picked up a box of Salted Caramel smoothie mix at my Weight Watchers meeting at the end of last week.  I had seen this on the table as being one of the new products Weight Watchers came out with.  By the way if you’re interested in this product it’s sold exclusively at Weight Watchers locations not grocery stores.  The smoothie mix itself can be mixed with 1 cup of water or 1 cup of milk.  I have made a few smoothies with this mix using water, then tossing it in a blender with some ice and a banana.  The smoothie mix is quite tasty – it tastes similar to a drink you’d get at say, Starbucks.  I particularly really like this one because it’s filling, tasty and has a nice, smooth caramel taste.  I’m sure with milk it would be even more filling – but for right now I’m content mixing it with water.