I’ve been thinking about this recently, especially since Tony has been through so much this past month, from being diagnosed with cancer, numerous tests, surgery and subsequent 9 day hospital stay.

How could he have managed all of this if he lived alone?  How would he pay bills, take care of the dog, etc.?  His parents live in Florida, his son lives in Texas and his sister works two jobs.  He isn’t able to drive yet, so how would he have gotten home, gone grocery shopping or even picked up his prescriptions?  It scares me to even think that he would have to worry about all the little things while trying to heal from surgery!

He teases me that he’s never been as sick since he met me, which is true.  He’s had three knee replacements, a heart valve replacement and now this.  And while he thinks I have munchausen by proxy syndrome, I really do believe I came into his life when he needed me most! 😀

Do you know anyone who had to handle a serious illness while living alone?  I am just stumped on how anyone could do it all by themselves.  Go to a nursing home?

We got good news at the surgeon’s office.  Two words you want to hear after being diagnosed:  your cured. He gets the staples removed next week and then its just a matter of time before his body heals itself.   His surgeon could not be more pleased with the outcome – and so are we!  So everyone around the 50 year old age bracket – do me a favor – get a colonoscopy.  It just goes to show that if you catch it early enough – you can be cured of cancer!

So I was able to meal plan and grocery shop over the weekend.  Two things that were seriously lacking the last two months were vegetables and fruit!  So for breakfast this morning, I had my take on a pepper and egg – egg beaters scrambled with baby spinach and deli ham, then stuffed into a yellow pepper that I microwaved.  I topped it with cheese and put it under the broiler.  On the side was an ounce of my white bread and a pear – 8 PointsPlus.

The other day I printed out a recipe for a Spanish chickpea chorizo and prawn soup.  It looked amazing!  Mine doesn’t look anywhere as pretty as that one, but this tasted delicious!  I also made some changes – obviously leaving out the onions, and I added one chipotle chili to spice it up.

Chickpea Chorizo and Prawn Soup

  • 5 servings, 2 cups each: 313 calories, 9.2 fat, 26 carbs, 8.7 fiber and 27 protein = 7 PointsPlus

Ingredients:

  • 1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
  • 2 small carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 1 15 ounce can chickpeas, drained
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 4 ounces chorizo, removed from casing
  • 8 ounces raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 1 teaspoon rosemary, chopped
  • 1 quart chicken stock
  • 1 chipotle pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cracked pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Directions:

  1. Heat stock pot over medium heat.  Once its heated, spray with Pam and cook the garlic and carrots for about 5 minutes, stirring often.
  2. Add tomatoes, chicken broth and chipotle pepper and rosemary and simmer for 30 minutes.
  3. In a non-stick pan, heat the chorizo for about 5 minutes, until it starts the release the fat, then with a slotted spoon, remove to a separate plate.
  4. Add the drained chickpeas to the chorizo fat and fry for about 3-5 minutes, until the chickpeas start to absorb the chorizo flavor.
  5. Add the chickpeas and chorizo to the soup and simmer for another 30 minutes.
  6. Add the shrimp and cook for 5 minutes, then its ready to serve.  Season with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper to taste.
  7. Garnish with fresh cilantro, if desired.
don’t skip this step – the chickpeas retain a bit of a crunch in the soup which gives the soup a great texture
the protein from the shrimp and chickpeas made this a very filling lunch 😀

I did have a 3 point ham sandwich while I was taking Tony between his doctor appointments today – so lunch in total comes to 10 points.

When I was a young single mother, I literally could spend only about $30 a week on groceries for me and Hannah.   I lost my job the very first day I went back to work from maternity leave.  Back then I took a temp job so I could continue to work.  I made $225 dollars a week, and my day care cost $150.  Needless to say there was no shock that I had to live with my parents for as long as I did. 😀  Thanks again Momma!

Anyway, while Hannah and I could sustain ourselves on pasta and tacos, every once in a while I had a taste for red meat – but for obvious reasons, New York strip was not in the budget!  But cubed steak was!  I liked to call it the poor (wo)man’s steak – its still super cheap to this day and every once in a while I get a taste for it.

less than $3 bucks for two “steaks”

I spread about a teaspoon of flour on a paper plate and salt and peppered the steak.  I heated up a cast iron skillet – these are so thin, they only need to cook about 1 1/2 minutes per side.  I “fried” them up in 1 teaspoon of oil and Pam – just make sure your skillet is nice and hot.

8 PointsPlus – simple comfort food 😀

Guess what I did before dinner though – I exercised!! I did Level 1 of Jillian’s 30 day shred – holy shit am I sore today – its amazing what a couple weeks off of exercise does!

Stats for Monday:

  • 29 points (3 points of two mini reeses peanut butter cups when my blood sugar was low yesterday afternoon)
  • Level 1 of 30 day shred
  • average blood sugar was 98

Have a great Tuesday – I am just about to make breakfast nachos – I totally forgot about them!