Coupon Savings!!!

I have to post about these deals I got at Rite-Aid! I am so pumped. This is how I keep my fingers and mind busy. Below I had a ton of coupons to use with my transaction!

Deal #1
Lysol Cleaning Pourable solution
Renpure Organic Shampoo
Dove Dark Chocolate Bag
Dove Milk Chocolate Bag
4 Packs of Dixie Paper Plates 30 ct.

Final Cost = $7.48


Deal #2
2 Snickers Bars
1 pack Trident Layers Gum
6 bottles of Johnson's and Johnson's Baby Products
2 bottles of Old Spice Mens Body-wash

Final Cost = $5.34

**Now, I am going to be getting back $3.00 for the shampoo and $1.00 for the Dove Chocolate. So, all in all I only spent $8.82 on all this.

**I have one more trick up my sleeve.....next since I bought $6.00 dollars of Procter and Gamble (P&G) I am going to submit that recp. towards a $100 coupon book for spending $50.00 on their P&G products.

Week #6 Weigh In

Ok, so I am a little behind on this posting. This is from last Monday! Yikes. Well, I lost 2 pounds last week so I am at a totally of 13 pounds! Yay! That is only 1 more pound to go till I meet goal at the end of the month!

Success

{Picture Source}


Successful people do what unsuccessful people don't dare.
~ anonymous ~

Only 1 Day Till S-Day

So, I only have 1 more day till I have to weigh in. I am pretty nervous this week, b/c I messed up not just a couple days.........BUT, the whole week! LOL! The scale never lies. I will have to exercise like a maniac tomorrow night!

Steamed Out

So, I pretty much steamed everything but the kitchen sink. Well, nope, can't say that b/c I steamed that too! LOL. I really liked this steamer. I did all my furniture and it just seems so clean and fresh. I especially liked it on the dog bed. However, I do like this little piece of machinery, and I really haven't used it on any heavy duty messes yet, but I do not think that it is worth the price of $79.99! So, I can't decide if this purchase is a win or a lose.

Push Yourself

{ Picture Source }

Your only limits are self-imposed!
~anonymous~

FREE Taco Bell Fresco Taco Coupon

So, apparently to honor the Drive-Thru diet, Taco Bell is offering up a coupon good for a FREE Fresco style taco. Go Here to print your coupon. Also, make sure your paper is loaded and you do a test print before printing, b/c it is only one coupon per computer! Let me know if it worked or not. I'm excited about this coupon! You don't normally come across these! AWESOME!

Never

Shark Steam Pocket Cleaner

The other day I bought this Shark pocket cleaner. According to the box it is supposed to work like a miracle! HAHA! We will see. I'm excited to use it because I'm sort of a germ-a-phoebe person. It says that it will work on furniture and upholstery, sinks, toilets, counter tops, the range of the stove, and pretty much any where. I need to clean my blinds but I have been really to lazy to take them down and put them in the bath tub. So HOPEFULLY this little gadget will help me with that. I haven't used it yet but I'm anxious to plug it in and start steam cleaning everything! I hope it doesn't disappoint me!

Cupcakes - Made and Tried!

So I got all my supplies together and I made these cupcakes from Hungry Girl's free daily newsletter. (Go here for the recipe that was posted earlier) They turned out pretty good. I forgot to get vanilla extract so I didn't use any, but they still tasted good. The only thing that happened was that they caved in after they cooled. Not sure why. The frosting was different. I will have to get used to it. I had to add a little extra pudding mix to the cool whip to give it a little flavor. But, I'm just not sold on them yet. Yes, they are good, but I don't understand the calorie count. In the recipe it makes 9 and I made 12 cupcakes but still 164 calories per cupcake with all reduced everything in it. Not really buying it. I'd rather eat a frosted Lofthouse sugar cookie with 180 calories in it.

Ruby

Do any of you follow the show Ruby on Style? Tonight I watched an episode that was about her being in denial. I am not a follower of the show, but they really talked about some valid emotional points associated with weight loss and weight gain. I wasn't so much dazzled by Ruby or her attitude (haha! play on words) but I really enjoyed the speaker that was talking at her support group. It is nice to know that other people share most of the same thoughts as you do. Let me know if you watch and what you think about the show!

Laughing Burns Calories

Totally Messed Up

Yesterday, I totally messed up. I ate so much bad stuff. I had chicken tenders, popcorn, Applebees Chicken Fajita Roll-up, and a side salad. I just couldn't stop eating. I was just so hungry. So, now I have to work on getting back on track. I feel like it is good for my journey to not avoid foods that I love and crave, but then in return it is so hard to get back on track after I mess up. It takes me about 2 days to get back on my eating routine again. Then, I feel like I have totally lost those days that I could have potentially lost. For example, today I have totally done horrible. I have not consumed as much calories and fat as yesterday, but I have still ate way too much.

I googled the nutrition facts for the roll-up and it wasn't as bad as I thought, but it is not good. It weighs in at 642 calories and 11 grams of fat. That does not include the sides of sauce I ate or the portion of French Fries I ate that came with the meal. YIKES! Now, onto the side salad. Jeez, I'm scared to know. Ok, well according to this website the dressing is included in the nutrition facts. So, it weighs in at 302 calories and about 16 grams of fat. Actually that isn't totally bad. Because their house salads are pretty big and you get a hearty portion of veggies, dressing, and toppings. Oh Well, it was good! I will just have to work harder!

Week #5 Weigh In

Only down 1 pound this week. But, I'm really happy with that. So far I have lost 11 pounds and I only need to lose 3 pounds for the month of February to hit goal. I know I can do it. I have to just keep motivated and keep my goal in mind!

Dole Salad Coupon!

Yay! It is not very often that you come across salad coupons. Go here for a 75 cent off/one bagged salad coupon! You will have to put zip code 77477 in to print. The coupon only covers Dole blend, Complete salad kit, or Distinctively salad. This would have been nice about a month ago when Meijer was running that 10 for 10 sale on Dole! That would have only been 25 cents per bag!!

Special K Fruit Crisps

Where can you go wrong with these little fruit flavored pastries you ask? The answer is NOWHERE! These Special K Fruit Crisps are so good. When I saw the box, it sort of took me by surprise because the picture and the word "crisp" made me think of a cracker. So, I wasn't expecting a lot out of these little wafers. Especially because I am not a fan of the Special K line.

When I opened the first pouch I was surprised that you got two crisps for 100 calories, I didn't read the box, and they weren't wafers like I thought. I take my first bite and my palette was pleasantly surprised. These taste just like a strawberry poptart. And, believe it or not there is quite a bit of filling in them. They are not really dry, sort of a chewy texture. So far I have only tried the strawberry, because I am not a #1 fan of blueberry. Eat Up!!

Go Here for $1/1 coupon! Yay!

Sick :(

The past couple days I have been sick with congestion, sore throat, runny nose, coughing and sinus pressure. (Ok, so I sound like the side effects of one of those pharmaceutical commercials!) I have been so miserable. But, the best part of it is that I don't have much of an appetite. For the last 2 days I have hardly ate anything. WooHoo! Do these Tylenol pills have an anti-hunger suppressant in them? If so, I need to buy these little miracle babies by the bulk. Ha! No, I'm just kidding. But I do want to say that they work very well. I was surprised. They helped me get through a couple long, hard, days at work. And the best part is that all my symptoms were listed on the box. I didn't buy a pill that treated symptoms I didn't have.

To make this even better, I found a $2.00 off coupon on the box! YAHOO! The box in return only ended up costing me about $2 buck-a-roonies.

*Awesome* Frigo Coupon

A while back I posted about some string cheese and a recipe to make low fat cheese sticks. I came across this awesome, awesome coupon. Go here for $1/1 package of Frigo Cheese Heads String Cheese. YAY!

Not All Brownies In This Pan

I was talking with my friend, Emily, the other night and we got to talking about this Perfect Brownie Pan. Ever since I saw them I thought they were just the cats meow, and I wanted one. But, I never bought one thinking that I am going to go on a diet and not eat brownies. Plus $20.00 just for a brownie pan seems a little steep for me. So, were chatting about how they work and stuff and she informs me that they can make anything that requires a pan. Not just
brownies. I got really excited! She said they could make cake and rice crispies, and breads. Instantly when she said cake this recipe came to mind. The miracle cake. The cake that just requires a box of cake mix and any 12 oz. can of diet soda. PORTION CONTROL......How Cool!!

Ingredients:

1 box any kind/flavor dry cake mix
1 can of any kind/flavor diet pop

Directions:

Combine dry cake mix and one can diet pop. Mix well. DO NOT ADD any other ingredients such as water, oil, or eggs!! Pour batter into greased 9x13. And Viola!!

Number of Servings: 12


Just the cake alone has 180 calories, 2.5 grams. fat, and 0 fiber. Your supposed to top this cake with fat free cool whip and a little powdered sugar. They are saying the weight watchers are between 3 and 4 points depending on your toppings. Also, I was thinking that you could probably take that icing recipe from Hungry Girls Vanilla Cupcake and put it on here. You would just have to make sure that you count the nutrition facts of your ingredients.

I have made this before a while back and it was pretty good. Of course it isn't going to taste like cake that we are used to but it is really light and has a good taste to it. Let me know if you like it or try it in the Perfect Brownie Pan!

Vanilla Cupcake Snydrome!

Ok, so doesn't this look absolutely devine??!! Hopefully, weather permitting, I can go get the ingredients and try to make this recipe. I can't wait to try and share it with everyone! Hungry Girl's newsletters are so creative. Go here to check her out. Enjoy Em'!

Ingredients:

For Frosting
1 1/4 cups Cool Whip Free, thawed
1 1/2 tbsp. Jell-O Sugar Free Fat Free Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix

For Cupcakes:

Half of an 18.25-oz. box (about 1 1/2 cups) moist-style yellow cake mix
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1 cup Sprite Zero (or another diet lemon-lime soda), room temperature
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup liquid egg whites or (about 4) raw egg whites

For Topping
3 tbsp. rainbow sprinkles

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To make the frosting, combine Cool Whip with pudding mix in a bowl, and mix until smooth. Cover and refrigerate until cupcakes are ready to be frosted.

In a large bowl, combine cake mix with baking powder and stir until free of lumps. Add soda and vanilla extract, and stir or whisk until batter is smooth. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whip egg whites with a handheld electric mixer set to medium speed until fluffy, about 1 - 2 minutes. Gently mix egg whites into the cake batter until thoroughly combined.

Line 9 cups of a 12-cup muffin pan with baking cups and/or spray with nonstick spray. Evenly distribute batter among the 9 cups. Cups will be VERY full -- this is okay!

Bake for 15 - 17 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out fairly clean. Set aside and allow to cool completely.

Once cupcakes have cooled, top each evenly with the frosting and 1 tsp. sprinkles.

MAKES 9 SERVINGS

Serving Size: 1 frosted cupcake with sprinkles
Calories: 164
Fat: 3g
Sodium: 293mg
Carbs: 30g
Fiber: 0g
Sugars: 16g
Protein: 2.5g

POINTS® value 4

Week #4 Weigh In

YES!! I have officially lost 10 pounds! Down 1 pound from last week. YAY!! So now I am 4 pounds away from my monthly goal of 5 pounds for February.

Weight Loss Blogs

I was browsing and I came upon this really awesome website called Prior Fat Girl. Their before and after pictures are amazing and I hope that I can achieve that same goal soon! Go here to check it out.

Quote

Take Twice As Long To Eat Half As Much.

~Anonymous~

Time ~ Sure does fly away!

Wow! I really can not believe that this up coming week will be week #4. I have never lasted this long on a diet in a really long time. Can not believe that this Wednesday it will be 1 month that I have been watching what I have been eating. Right now it is really hitting me that this is it. It has finally clicked and something is working. Just realizing that I am coming upon week #4 has given me even more motivation to lose.

This Month (February)

~ Have a fear that I will not meet my goal of 5 pounds, but excited to take on the challenge!

~ Will get into a pair of sweatpants that I wanted to wear but they are too tight. Isn't that horrible. A pair of sweatpants that are too tight! (I'll post them tomorrow)

~ Will exercise 30 minutes 5 days a week, at least.

~ Fear that I will not be able to fit into my jeans by April.

~ Keep better food journals.

** Snack Ideas **

Here are some snacks that I found. These sound pretty good and something that I would be able to eat.


1.) 1/2 banana rolled tbsp. frozen semisweet chocolate chips. (about 123 calories)

2.) 1/2 of 1.08 ounce container of M&M's mixed with 1/3 cup low-fat granola (about 123 calories)

** I think that these M&M's are the ones that actually come in those little tubes. sometimes found up by the checkout lanes with the candy.

3.) 5 any type of olives (45 calories)

** No way!! We get 5 whole olives. That is like a meal!! I just had to share this one when I came across it in Self Magazine. I hate when these Magazines publish stupid stuff like this example. To me, that is not a snack. I don't even know what that is!

4.) Lean turkey wrapped around a low-fat string cheese stick with a couple of grapes and olives.

5.) Fat-Free Cottage Cheese and fruit (about 160 calories)

Let It Snow! Let It Snow!!

Ok!!...............NOT!! What the heck is this all about. My weekend off and of course it decides to pull this kind of crap! Last weekend it was so nice and sunny outside, now......hahaha not so much!

Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity.

~Albert Einstein~

Inspirational Quote

When it comes to eating right and exercising, there is no "I'll start tomorrow" tomorrow is a disease.

~V.L. Allineare

Little Suzy Homemaker!!

Last night I decided to make the Biggest Loser Baked Ziti recipe I posted about last week. I wanted to see if it was as good as the picture looked. As I learned from the ice cream sandwiches, you can not always trust those yummy pictures. As many of you know I am not a little suzy homemaker. Sometimes my cooking is horrible and sometimes, by a miracle, my cooking is actually tasty. Here is my documentation of my work last night. I am pretty darn proud. The baked ziti turned out great and my kitchen is still in tact.

Step 1: Ingredients. As you can see I am an off-brand buyer. My motto is cheaper the better. Sometimes that can get me in trouble but for the most part everything taste the same as the leading brand. A couple ingredients I did want to put the spotlight on. Number one, is the Great Value Tomato sauce. I substituted it for the marinara sauce that the recipe calls for. This sauce with 2 packets of sweetener taste great and it only has 20 calories for 1/4 cup. The second ingredient is real garlic instead of garlic powder. LoL, this was a mix up on my part. That wasn't planned. But, it still turned out really good.

**With the cheese, the recipe read 8 oz. (4 cups). The package of mozzarella cheese said 8 oz. (about 2 cups) WEIRD!!

Step 2: Egg Whites. I just used two regular and separated them. Easy Peezy!


Step 3: Combine Ingredients!! Be sure to follow directions for the red pepper flakes....key word....TO TASTE! I over pepperized a little bit....yikes! :)

**Look at the steam in this picture from the noodles**

Step 4: Start putting the sauce in the pan then add the ingredients and bake!!!


Step 5: Eat and Enjoy!!

Kellogs Coupons ~ Special K

Here are some coupons from Kelloggs:

$1 off one Package of Special K Low Fat Granola Cereal (19.5oz)

$1 off one Package of kellogg’s Special K Fruit Crisps
(5ct, any flavor)

$1 off any one 4 ct. Package of Kellogg’s Special K Protein Shakes

**Please be aware that a big ad prints BEFORE each of the coupons.

(Thanks, Hip2Save!)

Beautiful

For everything you have missed, you have gained something else;
And for everything you gain, you lose something else.
It is about your outlook towards life. You can either regret or rejoice.

Great Value Sucky Flavored Bars

Today's Daily Bite-Down is........Great Value Vanilla Flavored Ice Cream Sandwiches. (97% Fat Free) *these are the Wal-Mart Brand.

On my last shopping trip I went down the ice-cream isle looking and praying I could find something that would be an inexpensive guilt free treat. I came across these delicious looking ice-cream bars. Looked at the nutrition facts, thought, "not bad" and threw them in my cart.

The next day I decide to have a snack so I go to the fridge, couldn't find anything. Open up the freezer, and aaahhh,(heaven sounds) there were my ice-cream bars I bought. I open the box, take a sandwich and rip the paper off. My mouth is watering.... I can not wait. Yum, I'm thinking. I take a bite and my mouth said something else. So, I chew that bite up swallow and think well, maybe my mind and mouth need to taste this again to get a true register of the taste. After all, how can these be bad!! Look at the picture on the box!! Well, I keep taking bites and nothing is getting better. I got so mad that I threw it out. Took the box out, looked to make sure there was a 100% satisfaction guarantee, on them and then returned them. They should not be allowed to sell these nasty bars!

The ice-cream in the bar isn't bad it is just that nasty chocolate whatever it is on the outside that taste so bad. I can't even describe how bad this sandwich tastes!! Lesson learned...........looks ARE deceiving.


Rating: -37
Buy Again: Definitely Will Not!!
Pay Full Price: Would not take them if they were free! If the store paid me I would buy them.

Choc. PB Cookies

Last night I tried the Biggest Loser recipe I posted about earlier. The Chocolate–Peanut Butter Grahamwiches. Let me tell you they turned out really good. They are super easy to make and surprisingly they were awesomely good!! When I started making them I was skeptical b/c the cool whip and PB didn't look that appetizing squished between the graham crackers. So, I popped them in the freezer and about 2 hours later came back to try. I took my first bite, not knowing what to expect, but my taste buds were shocked. This is a must try recipe..........Yummy!!! The only downside is that they are really crumby....literally, you almost need a bib when you eat these. I had graham cracker crumbs all over my shirt when I got done eating one. LOL!!

Exercise

I know this is really bad but I have not exercised since last Wednesday night. It has almost been a week ago. I need to get my motivation back. Also, I have been so tired lately. I can not get up and moving all I want to do is sleep. Is it the weather outside? Hopefully, I get my motivation and I work up a sweat!! LOL!!

Marzetti's 100 Calorie Packs - Cream Cheese Fruit Dip

Today's Daily Bite-Down is.......................Marzetti's Cream Cheese Fruit Dip 100 calorie Packs. This stuff is so good. It taste just like cream cheese fruit dip!! You get a good portion for 100 calories and you can dip many pieces of fruit in one little tub. And, the best part is that they are only around $3.00 a pack!! that is pretty good when you 6 individual little cups. I found these at Wal-Mart in the cooler with the produce by all the refrigerated dressings and dips.

This is a must try. They are easy, convenient, and tasty!!

Outback Deal

YUM!! I love Outback Steakhouse and we eat there quit a bit, so this is an awesome coupon.
Outback Steakhouse has a new coupon available, valid thru 2/28. Just go here to print a coupon good for a FREE Aussie-Tizer (appetizer) with the purchase of 2 entrees!

(Thanks, FrugalistaCafe!)

Game Deals

I thought this would be kind of a good thing to share with everyone since it is winter and many times we are stuck inside. I was on Hip2save.com and I saw these cheap games. I am always looking for different games I could play with friends or family. The following below are @ Target in their travel size section.

Target Game Deals Round-Up:

Scrabble Slam Card $5.24
Use the $4/1 coupon from here
Final cost $1.24!

Pictureka Card Game $5.24
Use the $5/1 coupon from here
Final cost $0.24!

Monopoly Card Game $5.24
Use the $4/1 coupon from here
Final cost $1.24!

Sorry Revenge Card Game $6.99
Use the $4/1 coupon from here
Final cost $2.99!

Monopoly Get Out of Jail Mini game $7.99
Use the $4/1 coupon from here
Final cost $3.99!

Scrabble Board Game $12 (Price-cut through 2/6)
Use the $4/1 coupon from here
Final cost $8!

Scrabble Diamond Edition $29
Use the $10/1 coupon from here
Final cost $19!

(Thanks so much, GiveMeNeither!)

Week #3 ~ Weigh In

WOOHOO!!!! Down 2 pounds this week!! I am only 1 pound away from losing 10 pounds. This is definitely a good start to the month of February. So, by the end of the month I need to be 5 pounds lighter to hit goal!! YAY!! I could jump up and down for joy!!