Boring Entry About What I Eat

I am a creature of habit. Weight Watchers for me this time has been all about finding things that are low point that I like to eat, and eating them every day. I am lucky enough to have a grocery store three blocks from my workplace, and I go there every Monday and stock up for the week. If I run out of anything, it's easy enough to pop over there on a lunch break.

So what do I buy? I get a loaf of Orowheat Light bread (two slices for 1 point) and a banana. Every morning I slice or mash up a banana and eat it on the bread. (People find this weird, but my mother picked it up when she was a child in South Africa, so in fact it is a reflection of my multicultural heritage! Which, if you know my mother, is a heritage of weirdness.) I've actually been eating this breakfast every weekday for months, and I haven't even begun to get tired of it.

I also buy some kind of deli thing for lunchtime sandwiches. I enjoy Safeway's tuna salad (I put a couple of scoops on my Orowheat bread and call it 6 points) and sometimes I will get deli meats such as turkey or chicken. As my friend Laurie Mac pointed out to me, though, there is a lot of sodium in those deli meats. You have to choose your battles and all –which is why I generally choose to disregard sodium as an issue—but I try and alternate the tuna (more fat and uncertain nutritional values) with deli meats (very lean and low point but less filling, high sodium). Six of one, half dozen of the other.

I also buy five containers of light yogurt, and I usually eat them with ¼ cup of "Nutty Nuggets," which are store-brand Grape Nuts that are only 1 point rather than 2. I know that Fiber One would be way better, but I love Grape Nuts so much that it feels like a real treat. I look forward to eating my light yogurt (usually key lime) with the Fake Nuts every day. Plus, the yogurt is supposed to be good for the gastritis, which is why I started making this a habit in the first place.

The other stand-by 2-point snack I have is Quaker Oatmeal Instant Light Maple Sugar for 2 points per package. It's not very good, but it's a snack that doesn't go bad, and it's sweet, and it's there if I need to eat something, and I am in no danger of binging on it.

Those are my staples. I also buy fruits and vegetables (yesterday I had a nectarine) to snack on or some lettuce, tomato, onion, etc. to put on my lunchtime sandwich. Those 100-calorie packs of Doritos are pretty good too, but I have a hard time eating just one pack. I love the 100-calorie packs of cookies (especially the fudge stripes), but I will eat the whole box if I buy it, so I have to stay away. I buy soda sometimes, too—either diet root beer (my new addiction) or yesterday, for the first time, Cherry Coke Zero (yum).

I also have to give a shout-out to Ian for making the most awesome dinner last night. He often cooks, and he will be very careful about making sure I use the right number of points and get some nutrition in. Last night we had whole wheat pasta with garlic, oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper, and steamed broccoli. I think it was the perfect meal; so delicious. He also makes the best salmon I've ever had. I think the secret ingredient is rosemary.

Anyway, if you have any other suggestions for things to eat, I'm all ears!