I found this recipe for oatmeal cookies in the ivillage Healthy Living Program recipe database.  It impresses me when a recipe for homemade cookies can boast 72 calories, 1.06 g fiber, and 1.88 g protein per cookie.  So I made these cookies this past weekend and gave them a shot.  My review would be that they are great, if you like a very moist and chewy cookie. 

My idea of an oatmeal cookie is that they are better when crispy so, I was a bit disappointed.  This is not a recipe I will make again, unless my daughter tries them and loves them (she hasn’t done her taste testing yet, and this girl is p-i-c-k-y!).  But like I said, if you love a chewy oatmeal cookie, these are for you!  So I wanted to paste the recipe just in case you chewy cookie lovers are out there.  Here you go and look for the rest of the nutritional info below the recipe!

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Can a salad really be this easy to make?  Really?

That’s what I was asking myself as I compiled the ingredients for my lunch salad today.  I’ve always imagined making a salad as being a very time consuming, arduous tasks.  At least that’s how it looked from my view on the couch.  But today, I made the simplest yet, yummiest salad I could have asked for!  And it was SO easy!

Here’s what I did.  And I’m warning you, this is the EASY way to make salad, not the cheapest (although it’s not like I broke the bank). 

Lettuce:     I bought some pre-washed romaine lettuce leaves.  Everyone has their own favorite lettuce, right?  So pick your favorite type of lettuce and buy the pre-washed version.  (Check out the photo to see the brand I got.)  Grab the cutting board and chop up the lettuce.  Romaine is so easy to chop (chop it length-wise for perfect bite-sized pieces of lettuce).  I love it.

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One of the thing that really helped kick my weight loss into high gear this time around has been smoothies.  Everyday for lunch I now have a protein/fruit packed smoothie and that has seemed to make a very big difference overall.  My favorite smoothie is here.    The only change that I made was to use a whole banana instead of just a half.  And I must say, this is a delicious way to have a 350 calorie lunch!  I have a major sweet tooth and I used to crave something sweet everyday after lunch (probably because for years I had a Starbucks white mocha everyday after lunch!).  This smoothie has enough sweetness to wipe out any desire for something more after. 

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