Hope all of you had a wonderful Memorial Day! My parents were in town, and I wanted to enjoy the time with them, so I didn’t issue last week. I enjoyed another maintain week last week and lost .2 this past week. I also managed to keep my head above water at work. Finding my groove there, slowly but surely. I also used the small bit of downtime to catch up on the PTA books and the books for my synagogue’s Sisterhood (as if I don’t have enough to keep me busy!)
Since my parents were in town during Memorial day, I didn’t walk with the girls that Saturday, but I did enjoy a nice 5K walk with my husband on Sunday morning. I also found a couple of great recipes that I am going to share with you this week. One is for an awesome stuffed pepper and the other is for a fantastic slaw.
This past weekend, in keeping with the resolution, this weekend was a walking-packed one. We did the normal 5K on Saturday during the day, and followed it up by the Firefly 5K Night Run in Plano. This race was a hoot…since it was a night run, we were supplied with blinking LED light bands. Imagine one HUGE mob (there were 3300 participants) moving in sync with each other. In the dark, it looked like a continuous wave of red lights. Pretty cool. I do have to question the folks who marked the course, though. I promise you that this particular race was longer than 3.1 miles.
This upcoming week, I need to start over, yet again, at the gym at work. I am not going to make any excuses for myself…just accepting that life happens, and am moving on with things!. My new mission is to actually make it into the office for the week of close, instead of shutting myself in the house for hours and hours on end. Things are moving more smoothly than they had in past months so I think this can be a reality. I may have to switch times for my sessions, but if that’s what it takes in order to make time for my sessions, so be it. Maybe sneaking down at 10am or 1pm doesn’t work anymore. Have to revisit the whole scheduling issue!
It’s nice to know that my newsletters are being read. I have been asked to give an impromptu cooking class for a friend who is trying to incorporate more healthy food options into her diet. She is looking for bean recipes and something to do with spaghetti squash. I think I can definitely help there. I also picked up a new reader this week! Welcome, Shelly!!!
This week’s topic dealt with exercise. How much do we need? And what are our excuses for not getting out there?
Ask yourself these questions:
- How do you feel about exercise BEFORE you get started? I answered “I gripe a little.”
- How do you feel WHILE you’re exercising? I answered “I gripe a little.” Dwayne and Jenna know what I am talking about there.
- How do you feel when you’re FINISHED exercising? I answered “Invigorated.” I do, and then I can’t understand what all the griping was about!!!
To maintain health, the ASCM recommends at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise five times per week or 20 minutes of high intensity exercise three times per week.
To maintain lost weight, Weight Watchers recommends by the time you reach your goal weight, you should be earning between 4 and 6 activity PointsPlus® values per day.
To improve fitness, the ASCM recommends:
- Cardio: Respiratory fitness 30-45 minutes per day of vigorous activity 3x per week.
- Joint flexibility: regular stretching
- Maintain muscular strength & endurance: resistance training.
And now for the list of the most common “exer-scuses”
- It’s too hot or too cold!
- I have bad knees!
- I get sweaty
- I’m too tired
- I don’t like it
- I don’t like doing it alone…
- I don’t like doing it in public!
I know I am about a week behind or so on the meeting discussions. I apologize. This past week dealt with the WW community and how you can find support there. You can utilize the boards, blogs and more to help you succeed. I’d like to think that this weekly blurb can help too! I am a real person on a real journey, facing real issues. I like to think that I help you all by telling you what works for me, and what doesn’t. Please consider this little weekly note one of your tools!!!
And now for the closing quote:
"You will never FIND time for anything.
If you want time, just MAKE time. JUST DO IT!”
~Nike
RECIPES
Jasmine Rice-Stuffed Peppers
Okay, here is another case of "these are the ingredients I have on hand, and what can I make?!?!" Kroger had these beautiful tri-color pepper packs that I have been buying on a regular basis. This particular time, I had some that had to be used, otherwise they would have spoiled. I love this recipe because you can adapt and make the meat stuffing in whatever cuisine type you like! I am already thinking that I can turn this into an italian style dish, with the addition of some oregano and some basil...I am thinking of running with this one. The other thing I love is that the leftovers reheat BEAUTIFULLY in the microwave. Kid verdict? Morgan (11-year-old) loved the peppers. Adam (4-year-old)? The jury is still out, but I will definitely have him try them again!
Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 10 MINUTES
Cook Time: 45 MINUTES
PointsPlus™ value: 8 per serving
Ingredients:
4 large green bell peppers
Cooking spray
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeño pepper, minced
1/2 cup uncooked jasmine rice
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 cups tomato sauce, divided
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2/3 pound ground sirloin, extra lean
1/3 pound ground turkey breast
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400°
Cut bell peppers in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes, leaving the stems intact. Place on a foil-lined jelly-roll pan, cut sides up.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion, garlic, and jalapeño to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until onion is lightly browned. Add rice, and cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add broth; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat; cool completely.
Combine rice mixture, 1 cup tomato sauce, 1/4 cup cheese, and remaining ingredients in a large bowl, stirring until blended. Spoon about 1/2 cup meat mixture into each pepper half. Spoon remaining 1 cup tomato sauce evenly over peppers. Cover and bake at 400° for 45 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cheese; bake 3 minutes or until cheese melts.
Note: This recipe calls for green bell peppers, but feel free to use any color you like. Jasmine rice adds fragrance to this dish, but you can substitute basmati or another long-grain rice. Remove the seeds from the jalapeño if you prefer milder flavor. Serve with salad. I also used all ground turkey instead of the beef/turkey mix. I used 97/3 ground turkey for this, and actually prefer this to the mixture! Also, feel free to experiment with different spices or grains. I made these with an Italian twist by adding oregano to the meat mixture and substituting a light marinara sauce for the tomato sauce
Ain’t-Your-Mama’s Slaw
I found this one when searching for a Memorial Day cookout side dish. Kraft Food & Family Magazine is responsible for this gem. Lovely and light, I loved the texture of this slaw! Give it a try and let me know what you think J
Yield: 12 servings
Prep Time: 15 MINUTES
Cook Time: None
PointsPlus™ value: 2 per serving (approx 2/3 cup)
Ingredients:
1 pkg. (12 oz.) broccoli slaw
1 cup red pepper strips
1 cup chopped fresh pineapple
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped red onions
1/3 cup KRAFT Zesty Italian Dressing (I used the fat free version in this recipe and it did fine!)
1 tsp. brown sugar
1/3 cup PLANTERS Sliced Almonds, toasted
Instructions:
COMBINE first 5 ingredients in large bowl.
MIX dressing and sugar. Add to salad; toss to coat.
REFRIGERATE 1 hour. Add nuts; mix lightly.
