Happy Holidays!

I wanted to wish all of you a very happy holiday season, whatever you celebrate at this time of year. Best wishes to you and your families.

I had a lovely Christmas. My mother and her husband came last night and stayed over for a visit. Traditionally, we celebrate Christmas early morning on the 25th and then have a big breakfast of blueberry pancakes, hot Italian sausages, and orange juice. I had made a promise to myself to be on track for today, but I wasn't going to miss my traditional breakfast! Of course, I didn't have to. I made myself a pouch of Nutrisystem Blueberry Pancake Mix and added 1/2 serving of blueberries to them and had some sugarfree maple syrup with them. I also cooked a dairy/protein serving of turkey sausage and had a glass of orange juice. I find most juices are too sweet for my taste but if you add a little water, not only does it taste better but it stretches farther for the same calories.

Then I had a normal NS lunch- I put the Chicken Salad on a Flatout wrap with lettuce, tomatoes, and green onions, and saved my extra protein serving for dinner. We had a traditional Christmas dinner with all the fixings- turkey breast, mashed potatoes (made with fat free milk and margarine), mashed plain sweet potatoes, garlicky green beans, stuffing, gravy, and cranberry sauce. We tend not to add much to our side dishes except for seasoning, so it's OK to indulge in my green beans! I kept myself to a small portion of mashed potatoes and stuffing, and for dessert I made my cheesecake recipe. I thought about making apple crisp but I just love cheesecake!

So it's been a good day and I feel like despite enjoying a holiday meal, I stayed pretty close to where I wanted to be foodwise. And I still got to enjoy time with my family and a yummy meal without feeling bloated!

Again- happy holidays and I hope Santa brought you something special this year! Even if he didn't- YOU brought yourself something special. Confidence, determination, and the willingness to make a change. Those are gifts worth treasuring.