Well, it's started again, well-intentioned parents are descending upon the school office with food. Today's take? A dozen Einstein bagels with cream cheese. At least this mom brought both regular cream cheese AND low-fat cream cheese. Not soon after that, one of the moms who brought us a fruit basket last year came in and asked me flat out, "are you still dieting?" OUCH. But I thanked her, as this was one of the main reasons I went in on the Sun-Sentinel's weight-loss challenge. To be kept to a higher standard, and to be accountable.
Yes, I did succumb to a plain bagel - the WHOLE bagel :-( with low-fat blueberry cream cheese, but I also ate a lovely banana (from Costa Rica) and another wonderful pear.
My plan now is to get back into it hardcore and be accountable. So, for breakfast today, I dined on Jimmy Dean's D-lights turkey sausage on whole grain muffin. What I like about this breakfast sandwich is the muffin is whole grain, and the egg portion is the egg white ONLY. No nasty egg yolk. It works out to about 5 Weight Watchers points and keeps me full until lunch.
Nutrition Facts Serving Size: 1 sandwich (145g)
Amount per Serving
Calories 260
Calories from Fat 70
Total Fat 7g
Saturated Fat 3.5g
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 35mg
Sodium 740mg
Total Carbohydrate 30g
Dietary Fiber 2g
Sugars 3g
Protein 17g
Est. Percent of Calories from:
Fat 24.2% Carbs 46.2%
Protein 26.2%
Going back to school this year is putting a new "dent" in my budget.
I work at a private school, and with that, my two children attend the private school as well. While the discount I get on tuition is nice, I get nothing off on the cost of school lunches. Now that the cost of a full lunch has gone up to $4.50, I've decided it's time to get creative. My daughter is going into the 3rd grade and is finicky about her food. Our school offers an amazing hot lunch menu, but some of the fare is geared towards a more "mature" palate (chicken stir fry, sausage & peppers, homemade meatloaf). If she doesn't want to eat the main entree, she can choose a baked potato, the cold cut sandwich of the day, or PB&J. But I have a hard time having her lunch card punched the same for a full hot lunch, as if she chooses the potato.
So, I'm taking a page from Oscar Meyer and making my own "Lunchables". I call them "Crunchables". I buy Water Crackers, organic cold cuts and cheese, 100% juice , and slice up an apple. I've found some great plastic containers that have 4 square compartments, or you can purchase a great bento set at www.laptoplunches.com.
I have a cute cookie cutter and cut the cheese and cold cuts into cute shapes and pack them into the box, just like a lunchable, but healthier, and more environmentally friendly by using reusable containers (including the juice container).
It's just my way of getting over the new sticker shock of the new cost of lunch, but in the long run, it will save me oodles.
