Fri. Aug 10th

Whole Wheat Veggie Pizza!

Daily Tidbit:  For me summertime means many things, among them the inability to say no occasionally to creamy cool summer treats like Gelato.  I was innocently planning to forgo dessert (after eating the super yummy pizza for dinner pictured above) but then a friend went and showed up with a sampler of Gelato treats from his girlfriend's Gelato shop.  After trying many delicious flavors I began to wonder:  what is the difference between Gelato and regular Ice Cream?  I was happy to read there is a little less fat in Gelato (particularly since I had many many spoonfuls!)

For a clearer explanation on how they differ, check this out:

http://cookingequipment.about.com/od/icecreammachines/f/gelatovicecream.htm

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Breakfast: Cereal & Fruit

1 cup of Life Cereal

1 cup of Fat Free Milk

1/2 Banana

5oz. OJ

Regular Coffee, black

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Creamy Mushroom Cream Cheese Omelet & Salad

Lunch: Creamy Mushroom Cream Cheese Omelet & Green Feta Salad

Creamy Mushroom Cream Cheese Omelet, 2 Eggs worth (recipe below)

Salad Greens tossed with Green Peas, Carrots, Red Onion, & Fat Free Feta Cheese 

1 tbsp of Trader Joe's Tuscan Italian Dressing with Balsamic Vinegar

Water

Iced Coffee, Regular, black

 

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Snack: 1/2 cup slow cooker Black Beans mixed with 2 tbsp jarred Medium Salsa & 1/2 Avocado, and served with 1 serving of Organic White Corn Lower Sodium Tortilla Chips
Fat Free Milk
 

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Slice of Whole Wheat Veggie Pizza

Slice of Whole Wheat Plain Pizza

Simple Salad with Vinaigrette

Dinner: Pizza Night!
1 Large slice of the Whole Wheat White Veggie Pizza (1/4 of the Pizza)
1 Large slice of the Whole Wheat Plain Pizza (1/4 of the Pizza)
Salad of Greens, Tomatoes, Sweet Onions in Tuscan Italian Vinaigrette
White Wine 


Note:  So I had been dreaming about making a Broccoli Ricotta Cheese Pizza all week and did a search online to find a few recipes to peruse.  I came across this Rachael Ray recipe at the Food Network that sounded interesting, called "The Only Pizza You'll Ever Want Again".  Well I love pizza, so it is hard to imagine not ever having another type of pizza, but this one was awesome!  I added Black Kalamata Olives instead of using Chicken and of course used Whole Wheat Pizza dough, but stuck pretty close to her recipe, using Sun Dried Tomatoes, Broccoli, Garlic, Ricotta, Parmesan & Mozzarella cheese & fresh Basil.  Yum-O!  Check it out here:

www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/the-only-pizza-youll-ever-want-again-chicken-sun-dried-tomato-broccoli-ricotta-mozzarella-and-basil-recipe/index.html 


We had extra family with us for dinner, so we decided to do a second Plain Pizza, using Whole Wheat pizza dough, No Salt Added Marinara and Part Skim Mozzarella cheese, which is always delicious!


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Dessert: Night out with friends!
After all that Pizza I was set to enjoy my Amber Ale as my dessert tonight, but then a friend, who happens to have a girlfriend that owns a Gelato shop, showed up with a sampler of Cookies, Cupcakes & All Natural Gelatos.  How could I say no?!

Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me and the pic my awesome friend took with his Smart Phone, didn't turn out, so you will have to imagine....suffice to say, they were all gorgeous & scrumptious!


Gelato flavors I tried (a spoon or 2 of each!):  Blueberry Marscapone, Mint Streak, Dark Chocolate, Plum Green Tea, & Cantaloupe

Cookie I tried:  Oatmeal Cranberry Raisin (1 bite!)

Cupcakes I tried: Madagascar Vanilla Bean & Dark Chocolate with an All Natural Pink Icing (1 bite of each!)

The Blueberry Marscapone Gelato won hands down as my fav for the night.  Another all time fav from this shop which I didn't have tonight:  Cardamom Ginger - YUM!




This week has been quite extraordinary in terms of extra desserts and treats.  The scale does not lie! It's time to tighten the belt and get back to slimmer living next week!

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RECIPES:

Creamy Mushroom Cream Cheese Omelet Recipe:

In hot pan add 1 tbsp Canola Oil.  When oil is warm add 1/2 cup chopped Mushrooms & 3 tbsp chopped Red Onions and saute until desired softness and brownness.  Add 2 chopped cloves of Garlic, salt & pepper and saute another minute or two.  Crack 5 Eggs on top and scramble together in pan.  As the eggs begin to cook crumble 1/2 cup of Cream Cheese pieces on top and cover.  Allow to cook on low heat for 5-7 minutes, until Eggs are cooked through.  To serve, lift eggs gently out of the pan with a spatula to avoid disrupting the delicious pockets of cream cheese on top.  Enjoy!

 

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