It's All About Satisfaction

By the time I got home last night I only had around 500 calories to spend on food for the rest of the day.  I know this sounds like a lot but the way I tend to eat, I generally eat around 700 or so between dinner and my "dessert" whatever that may be.

I was tired so I had to think quick on my feet because Mr. Helen wasn't around and that can be dangerous for me.  It's quite easy for me to say the heck with it and eat my way into overload. There's nobody there to watch and see what I'm doing, right?

I opened the freezer to grab some ice and saw these:

I get these at BJ's which is a warehouse style club.  They are awesome because they are big, i.e., enough to satisfy me, and have only 110 calories, 3g fat and 7 g fiber per wrap! Normally I wouldn't buy anything that has 12 in a package, but I discovered that these freeze exceptionally well.  Pull one out and around 5 minutes later it is thawed and ready to use.  As soon as I saw them I knew I would make my Pesto-Caprese Pizza. I had beautiful tomatoes and had just made a batch of fresh pesto from the basil growing on my patio.  Besides, just one pizza satisfies me and, shamefully, I could have a glass of wine with it and still be within my calorie allotment for the day.

Preheat your oven to 425.  Lay the wrap on a cookie sheet.  Spread 1 1/2 Tablespoons of pesto over the wrap.  Sprinkle with 1/4-1/3 cup shredded part skim mozzarella cheese.  Slice a tomato thinly then cut the slices in quarters and layer over the cheese.  Sprinkle a little salt on the tomatoes.  It will look like this:

Put the pizza in the oven and cook for 7-10 minutes until the edges of the pizza are crispy, the bottom lightly browned and the cheese is gooey and yummy.  If I want the cheese browner on top I leave it in longer.  When it comes out it will look like this:

Tell me, what's not to love?  A pizza that brings together all the fresh goodness of summer! Plus, the whole thing is 325 calories, 19g fat, 23g carbs, 23g protein, 8g fiber.

I know the fat sounds high but you have to remember that pesto is made with olive oil and is a good fat.  So it's not a bad thing to have occasionally.

Often, when I have more calories to spend I will make this as a side dish - and cook it on the grill rack -  and have a piece of grilled chicken or fish or steak with it.  It's a nice changeup from rice, potatoes, or pasta. I've even taken the ingredients to work and done it up in the toaster oven.

With my glass of white wine, my whole dinner was 445 calories - right on time!

After I had that, I didn't want another thing, because I was really and truly satisfied.  I've said it before:  there are things that I just won't eat or substitute because I get absolutely no pleasure from it, then eating begins to feel like a chore and that is a very slippery slope for me.  For me to be successful, I have to take the time to figure out what will satisfy me - even or maybe especially when I'm tired.  Last night 400 calories of salad just wouldn't have done it.  Being gentle, listening instead of rushing to stuff my face, taking good care, are all part of my building blocks towards success.

 "Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out."

Robert Collier