Status Update on My Journey for all of 2018!

I have very few followers, but thought I should update those of you still with me. I was MIA in 2018 because I got a new job that took me out of the house and got me moving! It is a great change of pace. I enjoy it (most of the time)! I became a Shipt Shopper!

It also took me away from meal planning, cooking dinners most nights, counting anything points related, and blogging, social media, etc.

I'm not going to lie....there has been a huge shift in this house due to my absence. A huge struggle actually. My husband is no cook. That still fell to me despite being gone most evenings. The peak shopping times are from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m.--straight through dinner. As a result, there was a lot of not-so-good choices being made in this house for dinner, as well as late-night eating for me anywhere from 10 to 11 p.m. when I got home, but I still lost weight!

The homefront struggles aren't all limited to dinners either. Everything else related to kids and home falls onto my husband in my absence, and it is stressful on him too after working his full day. Twenty pounds in 11 months with a couple of big chunks of time off due to vacation and family emergencies. I'll take it! Hell, I got it and I'm loving it!

Now I am trying to get my organization skills back out and figure out a plan of attack to get things in order here at home for everyone else while I am away and on the run out there and everywhere. I will get it eventually.

This "job" (since I am self employed, as all Shipt shoppers are), requires a ton of walking and pushing heavy carts and a lot of lifting, sometimes up to 40 pounds (think bags of water softener salt pellets, dog foods, and kitty litters, as well as 24-count packs of heavy bottled water). My muscles have made a comeback. I suffer less back problems from strengthening my back muscles in a way working out never seemed to do for me. Overall, I see improvements all around.

I have been injured a few times as well. There are risks involved in this line of work believe it or not and being self employed means you pay the price. This old bird has fallen on an icy driveway and has had an emergency tear-filled doctor-visit day trying to figure out what I did to my shoulder (inappropriate lifting of 2.5-pound jugs of water did the trick), but I am learning as I go what NOT to do as well. For instance, I created a list of orders I will not take again...the lady with 400 pounds of this and the one ordering 40-lb bags of dog food to be delivered in dangerous terrain. Plus, I can overlook a lot of the annoyances that come with this job by simply reminding myself that I am earning money as I lose weight and tone-up my body! Win!

My confession is not eating well throughout the year. By making a conscious effort this year to do so combined with this physical job of mine, I'm interested to see how 2019 ends!

Spicy Shrimp Noodle Bowl for 6 SmartPoints/Serving

This colorful bowl is delicious and not too spicy!  It is only 6 Weight Watchers Smart Points per serving too and just too easy to make!  Packaging it up per serving size is a fast grab option for lunch as well! 

I could not find banh pho wide rice stick noodles as the recipe as written listed, so I went with another rice noodle.  I hope you have better luck than I did there!  I also used precooked medium shrimp since I had some in the freezer and put it into the pot at a point that made sense so as to not overcook!

As you can tell, I am a woman of few words...well, online for sharing recipes that is.  People IRL would probably like to shut me up.  When it comes to sharing recipes online, I don't like to wade through all the stories that people share, although cute, I just want the recipe, so hear ya go!

Ingredients:

8 oz uncooked wide rice stick noodles (banh pho)
4 c unsalted chicken stock
3 Tbs sambal oelek (ground fresh chile paste)
2 c shredded napa cabbage
1 lb. peeled and deveined raw medium shrimp
1 c fresh snow peas, cut into 1" pieces
3/4 c matchstick carrots
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves
3/8 tsp kosher salt
3 scallions, thinly sliced

Directions:

Cook the noodles according to the package directions and drain them.

While noodles are cooking stir together the chicken stock and sambal oelek in a 3-quart saucepan.  Bring to a boil over high heat.

Add the uncooked shrimp and cook for 3 minutes.  Then add the cabbage, snow peas, and carrots and cook just until the shrimp are cooked through, about 2 minutes. (Add precooked shrimp at same time here).  You want the veggies to remain slightly crisp so don't overcook them!

Stir in the noodles, cilantro, salt, and scallions.  Serve!

YIELDS: 4 Servings
SERVING SIZE:  1-1/2 cups

Nutritional Information:   Calories 290, Fat 2 g (sat 0.2 g, mono 0.4 g, poly 0.5 g), Protein 26 g, Carb 39 g, Fiber 5 g, Sugars 5 g, Chol 179 mg, Iron 1 mg, Sodium 7880 mg, Calc 120 mg