Nello's Arrabbiata Sauce and Shrimp over Bucatini

Okay...this is a dish that I've made several times before. Very easy, but very delicious.  The one difference here is that I created this version of the dish as a Nello's Mombassador.  This dish was for the hubby and myself...as I think this sauce would probably be too spicy for the kiddos.  This dish is a simple one, and as I have been told many times in the past...the best dishes are simple--containing very few ingredients.  I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp each: garlic powder, kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 2 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 24-oz jar Nello's Arrabbiata sauce (or any sauce you like!)
• 1 lb. bucatini pasta (or any string you enjoy)

Instructions:

1. Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil. Add four large pinches of salt and the pasta. Stir from time to time. Cook for 9-11 minutes; Al dente = 9 minutes.
2. Peel and de-vein shrimp. In a large bowl, toss shrimp with garlic powder, salt & pepper; set aside
3. In a large skillet, add olive oil and butter and heat over medium heat.  Turn heat down to medium-low, add garlic and let steep for about 5 minutes.
4. Add shrimp to pan and cook until they just turn pink.
5. Add sauce to pan and simmer over med-low heat until heated through
6. Serve pasta in shallow bowls and top with sauce.

Serve with a warm crusty bread to mop up the delicious sauce.  Enjoy!

Peel and devein shrimp

Sauce and pasta!

Season shrimp and saute in garlic, butter & olive oil

cook until just pink

add Arrabbiata sauce

Happy Passover and Happy Easter!

Hey there!  Today was a relaxing day. Spent most of it in the kitchen cooking various Passover side dishes for a dinner that I am having this evening.  Friday night marked the first night of Passover.  As part of that celebration, we were invited to the first Seder at a dear friend's home.  This holiday commemorates the emancipation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt. 

I used to think that there were nowhere near enough tasty and original recipes to make during this time of year, but after several web searches, I quickly changed my mind. I found several that I decided to try.  Pictures will be posted to the Facebook page later on today, as well as the notes.

This year's lucky winners are:

• Matzo Meal Muffins
• Spinach Potato Nests
• Matzo Farfel Kugel with Sweet Onion, Carrot, Celery and Mushroom
• Spring Zucchini and  Yellow Squash Kugel
• Apple Cinnamon Matzo Kugel
• Passover Baklava Cake

Very much looking forward to our dinner this evening. We will be sharing our meal with some very good friends. A night of good food, good times, and great company.

Chag Sameach Pesach for my Jewish friends and family.  Happy Easter to those that celebrate!

Thank you for sticking with me while I get my blog back up and running.  It's been a slow start, but am looking forward to continuing this on a more regular basis!

 

I am a "Mombassador!"

I know it's been awhile (4 years since I last blogged)...but things have been totally nuts! A few things have changed since last we met...

• I left Verizon, as my job moved to Florida (and our family lives in Texas)
• In 2014, I went to work for  AmerisourceBergen and am extremely happy
• I have fallen a bit off the Weight Watchers path, but I am working toward finding my way back.  I have my coach, Maryann Hamby, to thank for that

Some exciting news though--through my Plated.com adventures, I posted recipes of all the yummy dishes that I prepared. One of the suppliers, Nello's Sauce, piqued my interest. I liked the fact that they are a local business and uses natural ingredients in their products.  I visited their website and found that they were looking for "mombassadors" to help get the word out on their products.  I loved what I knew so far, so I applied.  I got chosen as one of the lucky few, and they sent me six jars of sauce to use in my creations.  Below is a photo of the goodies I received!

 I plan to create healthy and yummy dishes. All recipes will be posted to my blog and they SHOULD update to Facebook. This is the goal anyway.  Wish me luck.

If any of you followed my blog back in the day, I appreciate you standing by me as I get this going again. Let's do this in 2015 and reach our goals!

-E

I'm Baaaaack!!!!!

Happy Friday all!

It’s so good to be back.  I am so sorry for the hiatus, that is if anyone actually missed my ramblings.  I meant to get this out so much earlier than today, but never had an opportunity. Things have been going full-tilt since the middle of July!

It’s been quite a summer, to say the least.  On the job front, I have found a groove with the new position and am finally making it mine.  Loving the new job, and the new responsibilities I have taken on with the Company.  I took a small hiatus from issuing the newsletter, not because I gave up, but because I have been so busy! I am hoping to get back on a regular schedule now, though.

Speaking of responsibilities….I was up in Maryland for the better part of the last three weeks as part of the management team filling in for the Verizon associates who went out on strike from August 7^th through August 22^nd.  This was quite an experience.  I am a Financial Analyst by trade, and during this little stint, I was a tech out in the field doing repair and maintenance for FiOS, our fiber optic voice, data, and internet solution.  We went through an intense training for two weeks, and then the powers that be deemed us efficient enough to go out on our own.  Yeesh!  My main fear was having to drill inside someone’s house.  Lucky for me, it never came to that. 

Okay. The two pictures below are of me and my handiwork out in the field.  My partner in crime (the photographer) decided that we needed some photos to bring back and share with our family and friends.  The first is of me in my tech-garb. Note the fine hard-hat!  The second is of my handiwork.  I had finished replacing an ONT (Optical Network Terminal) at a customer’s home.  In Maryland, they had had several severe storms and some equipment had data ports that got fried due to lightning.  This photo is my nice neat work.  The fiber is on the left side and the voice and data ports are on the right side.

       

I learned a lot in the training, and thought we did fairly well in our “new roles”.  The union workers did return to the job on 8/22, but the contract was not settled at that time.  This basically means that we are on call.  My fear is that we will end up back there, only this time it’s going to be COLD, and probably twice as ugly (picketer-wise) than it was during the summer.  I did come back to a family that was oh-so-happy to see me.  It’s nice to be missed.  My husband deserves a medal of honor.  He was fantastic with the kids, as always.

Now, many of you may be wondering how I did when I was up there.  I have to confess that the thought of going to a strange state rattled me a bit, but truthfully, the first thing I did was look up where the closest Weight Watchers meeting was, closest to where I’d be staying.  I found a meeting that was about 8 minutes from the hotel.  Bad news was that for the first week I was there, we worked 12-hour days, 7 days a week.  I was upset at the thought of not attending a meeting, because my 3 year anniversary of being back with Weight Watchers was Thursday, August 11, and I didn’t want to miss that.  What I ended up doing was contacting a friend of mine, who coincidentally happens to be a leader in Florida, and she agreed to have me call her on my ‘anniversary date’ and hold a virtual meeting.  We talked for about 20 minutes about my week and how my journey was going, and that was my meeting for the week.  Since I spoke with a bona fide leader, in my book, I didn’t miss.  Plus, with my day off the following week, I was able to attend a meeting and I was very happy to see that I had lost 1.4 that week.

I think what worked for me while I was gone was the fact that I had control over my environment.  I had a full kitchen in my suite, and I shopped for healthy foods to stock my kitchen with.  Most nights, I cooked breakfast for dinner (mostly Hungry Girl Egg Mugs). I kept Greek Yogurt, walnuts, dried cranberries, Italian ice, skim milk, almondmilk, lowfat granola, Egg Beaters, and low fat cheese in my room.  I also indulged on Maryland Crab Cakes (all crab, no filler and totally DELICIOUS).  I set myself up for success and I saw those rewards.  Another thing that helped me was the fact that we weren’t behind a desk all day. For 12 hours straight, we were outdoors fixing equipment or walking around.  The extra activity helped. Wearing a pedometer during the day helped point out the fact that we managed to walk almost 3 miles daily.  Even though those may not all have been aerobic steps, they were still earning activity Points!

So, on my day off, which was August 20^th, I went to a Weight Watchers meeting, had a 90-minute massage and found a dress for my brother’s wedding coming up in October.  I felt great after my little escapades and that was only helped by a pleasant phone call by one of my comrades letting me know that we would be going home on Tuesday.  What a great way to end 2 ½ weeks away!

I am back to my regular routine, but I will say that I am still recovering.  Still very tired.  I am approaching my 44^th birthday on the 23^rd, and I feel like I am in a good place. 

My meeting today was great, and the topic was so timely.  It dealt with restarting, and what better time to restart anything like the end of summer. It’s like when we go back to school. New school supplies, new clothing, new outlook?  We actually went over the new member orientation tools and remarkably, we did forget some of that!  I plan to go over plan materials this weekend and pull out my ‘last straw’ story to refresh my memory on why I walked back into a center this last time.  It helps to review this stuff from time to time.

What we need to remember are the four facets of the program:

1. Stay on Track – Stay within your PointsPlus® Target

2. Power Up – Eat work in as many “Power Foods” as possible into your daily meals

3. Treat Yourself -  Deprivation is a no-no. This is what the 49 extra PointsPlus® are for!

4. Get moving – Find an activity that you like, and stick with it.  Better yet, find a friend!

The premise is really simple, but we can all get off track from time to time.  I think that my little foray into the unknown this summer actually helped me. It may just have been that “something different” that I needed in order to get things moving once again.

So, to report on how my resolution is going.  So far, I have managed to do 5K races for Jan – June of this year.  July and August were out due to the strike training and deployment to MD, but I am declaring two of our weekly 5K walks my “races” for those two months, since we do a 5K every weekend anyway.  September we actually have two coming up, during the weekend of my birthday.  I am doing Heroes for Children 5K on September 24^th and Heels and Hills 10K on September 25^th.  We need races for October, November and December.  Karen keeps pushing us for a second round of the Chupacabra, but I am still on the fence there.  There is also the Arbor Day Run, The Jingle Bell Run and a few others that we can always do.  I always liked the Arbor Day course too.  In any case, I think I am on track for this resolution.

Have a fantastic weekend, and I commit to issuing weekly again!

" Courage doesn't always roar.

Sometimes courage is the quiet voice

at the end of the day saying,

"I will try again tomorrow."”

~ Mary Anne Radmacher

RECIPES

Polenta Lasagna

I had these two tubes of polenta that are approaching the 'use by' date, and wanted to do something comforting and after the last month...I need comforting!!! After some searching through my go-to sites and magazines, I settled on this one.  After my day of pampering last week (spa mani/pedi & facial), I stopped at the grocery store to pick up the few ingredients I still needed in order to prepare the dish.  This dish is a great meatless option, and the picky 4-year-old cleaned his plate!

As usual, Cooking Light magazine will get the credit for helping me create this incredible entree.  Enjoy!

This polenta lasagna is a great way to work extra vegetables into a weeknight meal, as it calls for chopped zucchini, mushrooms, onion, and red bell pepper.

Yield: 6 servings (I doubled the recipe for dinners during the week or to freeze for later.) at a PointsPlus® Value of 5 per serving

 

Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time:  8 MINUTES

Cook Time: 35 MINUTES

PointsPlus™ value: 5 per serving (a bargain!)

Ingredients:

    1 (26-ounce) jar marinara sauce, divided

    1 teaspoon olive oil

    1 cup finely chopped onion

    1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper

    1 cup meatless fat-free sausage, crumbled (such as Lightlife Gimme Lean)

    1 cup chopped mushrooms

    1/2 cup chopped zucchini

    2 garlic cloves, minced

    1 (16-ounce) tube of polenta, cut into 18 slices

    1/2 cup (2 ounces) preshredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°.

Spoon 1/2 cup marinara sauce into an 8-inch square baking dish to cover bottom, and set aside. 

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and bell pepper; sauté 4 minutes or until tender. Stir in sausage; cook 2 minutes. Add mushrooms, zucchini, and garlic; sauté 2 minutes or until mushrooms are tender, stirring frequently. Add remaining marinara sauce; reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes.

Arrange 9 polenta slices over marinara in baking dish, and top evenly with half of vegetable mixture. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of cheese over vegetable mixture; arrange remaining polenta over cheese. Top polenta with the remaining vegetable mixture, and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cheese.

Cover and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Nutritional Information per Serving:

    Calories: 221; Calories from fat: 20%;   Fat: 4.9g;  Saturated fat: 1.4g;  Monounsaturated fat: 2.1g; Polyunsaturated fat: 1.1g; Protein: 12.3g; Carbohydrate: 30.9g; Fiber: 4.6g; Cholesterol: 5mg; Iron: 2.8mg; Sodium: 880mg; Calcium: 125mg

Are you really hungry????

Happy Tuesday!

I would like to offer my apologies for not sending out a newsletter last week.  For the first time since we moved to Texas in 2005, my in-laws came to visit and I wasn’t in the middle of month-end close.  I saw that opportunity, seized it, and spent some time with them.  I did stick to my guns (and tracking…) last week, and the fruits of my labor produced a 4.2 pound loss.  Not too shabby!

I tracked, and drank, and was really mindful of what I was doing last week.  I haven’t attended this week’s meeting yet, but plan to go on Friday.  Not sure how much of the 4.2 stayed off, but I think I did okay this week.  Shopped for lots of good produce.  Lots of veggies, and great summer fruit.  My new favorite?  A hami melon. They also call this one a camouflage melon.  Hopefully the image will make it to you.  It’s sweeter than a cantaloupe and has a taste that’s kind of a cross between a cantaloupe and honeydew.  I found the melon in my local grocery.  Definitely worth checking out.  My 11-year old was fighting me for the last of the one I just bought. 

I haven’t been as good with the exercise over the last week, but I have been dealing with a minor, but annoying health issue.  I think I am on the mend, and should be able to start back on Monday.  Good news story there is that the new elliptical machines finally made their way over to the Hidden Ridge Fitness Center! I have missed this cardio component, and will be so glad to add this back into my regimen, rather than just straight treadmill (which can get very boring, very quickly).

The last couple of meetings dealt with monitoring your hunger and packing your plan for vacation.

Sometimes it’s hard to figure out when you’re hungry, satisified or full.  You might feel an urge to eat when your body does not actually need food, or to keep eating after you’ve had enough.  You may even be so used to overeating that being stuffed feels like satisfaction to you.  The thing is, when you don’t understand or you unwittingly ignore) your body’s hunger and satiety signals, you can easily overeat.  Here is a quick test you can use to see how in tune you are with your body.

1. When I’m HUNGRY, I feel _______
2. When I’m SATISFIED, I feel _______
3. When I’m FULL, I feel ______

For me, when I am hungry, my belly growls, I get queasy and lightheaded.  When I am satisfied, I am like Goldilocks.  I am just right. No hunger, no nothing. Just happy.  When I’m full, I feel horrible.  Nothing is worse than having to unbutton your jeans after a meal!

A great test to use is the HALT method.  Are you Hungry, Angry, Lazy or Tired?  If so, take a break, or a drink, and move on.  Sometimes we can get hunger confused with thirst.  I find that by keeping a water bottle nearby, it helps me stay hydrated, which in turn, helps curb the munchies somewhat.

If you are truly hungry, stick to the Power Foods whenever possible.  These foods are high in satisfying protein, or it’s low in energy density (full of water, fiber or even air!) so that it takes up room in your tummy to help you feel satisfied on fewer calories.  These foods should make up the bulk of your daily diet, but if you are new to these foods, start by including one Power Food at each meal or snack, then two, then making one daily meal a Power Food meal, and so on.

Since we are now in the throes of summertime, you will probably at some point take a quick vacation.  Just because you on a break from the mundane, it doesn’t mean that you have to abandon your weight-loss efforts.  All can be great as long as you ‘pack your plan’ along with your clothing and toiletries! 

Some things to think about taking with you are:

• Healthy snacks, so you are not caught off guard
• Walking shoes so that you can make the most of your destination
• Your pedometer. Each step counts!
• Your tracker
• Good attitude (always helps!)
• PointsPlus calculator or your SmartPhone!
• Your plan to succeed while you are away.

Here is what Weight Watchers has to say about the “Guilt-Free Getaway”

Basically you have two options:

1. Go Into a Holding Pattern: If you are okay with maintaining your weight while you are on vacation and you’re confident that after shifting from your usual eating habits you’ll be able to pick up where you left off, then this tactiv may be for you.   The idea is to enjoy the foods that are available in a way that allows you to maintain your weight. To do that:

BE PICKY. Don’t just eat what’s in front of you; make sure it’s a dish that you’ll truly enjoy. Otherwise, you’ve spent PointsPlus on something that’s just “meh”.  What’s worse, you risk feeling unsatisfied and eating more to compensate.

FILL UP ON FRUITS & VEGGIES FIRST.  Order a salad or veggie-based soup as a first course at a sit-down restaurant.  If you’re in an all-you-can-eat situation, as on a cruise ship, pack your plate with fruits and veggies before adding other foods.

PACE YOURSELF. Is a fancy evening meal on the day’s agenda? Eat lightly at your other meals (but don’t let yourself get over-hungry so that you go overboard at dinner).  Likewise, if you indulged in a big brunch, stick with lighter fare for the rest of the day.

KEEP MOVING: Take advantage of the hotel’s exercise room or pool; schedule a walking tour; rent a bike, play in the water with your kids; and hoof it every chance you get—even if that means parking your car at the far end of the lot!

PICK UP WHERE YOU LEFT OFF: After you return, don’t waste any time getting back on track.  Go to a meeting earlier in the week than you usually do, and stock your pantry with healthy low PointsPlus foods.

2. Keep On Losing  If you are concerned that deviating from your usual habits will send you way off track, or if you don’t want to take even a tiny break from losing weight, there’s no reason you can’t stay on Plan while you’re away.  The trick is to think ahead and to make sure you always have access to the foods that keep you on track.  To do that:

CONSIDER A CONDO: Being able to prepare your own meals can be a huge help; look into renting a place with a kitchen. Check out the local grocery store offerings beforehand too.  This way, you still have the option of going out to eat, but you’re not stuck with it for every meal.

CHOOSE RESTAURANTS WISELY: Whenever you’re planning to dine out, check out the restaurant menu ahead of time, to make sure it offers food choices that will work for you.  Most restaurants post their menus online. And don’t be afraid to choose an alternate place if your first choice isn’t promising.

PRE-TRACK PointsPlus VALUES: While you’re on the restaurant’s website, decide what you’ll order and how many PointsPlus values you’ll be spending at the meal.

PACK SNACKS: Keep plenty of low PointsPlus value foods on hand. It can be anything from single-serving oatmeal packets from home to fresh fruit from a local market.

FACTOR IN ACTIVITY PointsPlus VALUES. No matter where you go, you should be able to fit in exercise, even if it’s just taking the stairs to your hotel room rather than the elevator.  Come prepared though! Pack your sneakers and comfortable clothes, and a swimsuit if you’ll have access to a pool and like to do laps.

"He who knows others is wise.

He who knows himself is enlightened”

~ Lao Tse, Taoist philosopher

RECIPES

Grilled Peaches

This is one of my favorite ways to enjoy this summer fruit.  This one goes from refrigerator to plate in under 10 minutes.  A fantastic and EASY summer dessert.

 

Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time:  8 MINUTES

Cook Time: 1 MINUTES

PointsPlus™ value: 2 per serving

Ingredients:

1 spray(s) cooking spray  

1/4 cup(s) low fat cream cheese, at room temperature  

2 Tbsp reduced-fat sour cream  

1 Tbsp honey  

3 large peach(es), pitted and halved  

Instructions:

Preheat grill. Off heat, coat grill rack with cooking spray.

Mash cream cheese and sour cream in a bowl with a fork; stir in honey until smooth.

When grill is hot, grill peaches cut-side down until marked, about 1 minute.

Place peaches cut-side up on a platter; top each with 1 tablespoon sweetened cheese mixture. Yields 1 peach half per serving.

Notes:  Use peaches that smell sweet but are still a little firm so they hold up over the heat. Garnish with ground cinnamon or grated nutmeg.  You can also cook the peaches on a grill pan, coated with cooking spray.

 

The Power of Portion Sizes...or...How Well do YOU Estimate?

Hope you all had a fantastic week.  I do have to say that mine are getting better and better.  I am finding my groove, and I really think when that happens, other things tend to come into focus as well.  I even joined a couple of the Weight Watchers challenges on the website!

I also managed to get back into the gym for three days last week, as well!  The thing that I was most excited about was that I resumed the running part of my regimen.  Thursday we focused on the running.  We did intervals of 30 seconds walking and 30 seconds running.  We did this twelve times.  It actually felt great.  I was able to do the running pieces at 5.0 mph and had an easier time with my breathing.  It may not sound like a hard thing, but I found it hard to know WHEN to breathe.  This time around, it seemed easier!  I also find it easier to run on the treadmill at a faster rate.  It’s much easier to go at 5 mph than around 4.5 or so.  In any case, I will keep you guys informed as I figure this stuff out!

This weekend started out with a nice dinner with some old friends.  Saturday morning, we did our 5K walk and then participated in the Denton A-Train Rock & Rail celebration in the afternoon.  Steve had reserved tickets for the event.  It was pretty cool. Each station from Downtown Denton to Hebron had vendors, music, and other things to do.  You got to ride free all day, and starting on Monday, you can ride free for that week.  Revenue service begins the following week.  I guess this is a nice alternative to dealing with the I-35E traffic!  Unfortunately for me, this won’t help me get to work!

Sunday, for Father’s Day, we took Steve to Blue Mesa in Frisco (or North Plano, depending on how you look at it…).  It was awesome, and it was also the perfect use of my Weekly PointsPlus Allowance!  I saved them up and used them. No fuss…no muss! 

The topic of the meeting this week was portion control and estimation.  What an eye-opener this was!  Our leader had put several items from local chain restaurants up on the board and it was our task to estmate the PointsPlus values of each item.  We did great on some, but one completely blew us away.  The culprit was Chili’s Classic Turkey Toasted Sandwich. Description? “With lettuce, tomatoes, provolone and mayo on Texas Toast”.  I think we estimated something like 20-ish points for this one, when in actuality, it had 34!! Listen to the nutritional counts on this one (brace yourselves!) Calories: 1340, Fat: 64g (17g Saturated), Carb: 138g, Protein: 41g, Fiber: 11g, (and the kicker…) Sodium: 3,140.  This stuff makes me always think twice before going there.  I would think a turkey sandwich (less mayo of course…) would be a healthy pick.  What I want to know is just what they put on there to get the fat counts up to 64???? Crazy.  This is why I stick to very basic menu items when faced with going to Chili’s. 

When estimating, use what you know. Veggies are free, use the deck of cards rule for lean protein, and remember that most breads (EXCEPT for Texas Toast) have approx. 2 PP values per slice!).  I tend to use overestimation, especially when faced with going to restaurants that don’t provide for nutrition information.  I also found out that some establishments offer a smaller portion of their dinner entrees.  When I met my friends for dinner on Friday night, we went to Carrabba’s in Grapevine, since it was about halfway between the two of us (they were staying inArlington).  The offered small and large portions of their entrees.  This made things nice.  I opted for a small portion of their Chicken Bryan (no sauce) along with steamed veggies and a house salad (veggies only) and Italian house dressing on the side.  I figured that my chicken was 4 points plus, 2 oz of goat cheese @ 4 points plus, (nothing for the tomatoes and garlic and onions) and another 3 for olive oil (my fault for not saying ‘grilled dry’).  Soo…I figured that my entrée was 11 for the small chicken breast, zero for the steamed zucchini, zero for the salad, and 1 for the few fork dips into the dressing.  Not terrible, and I think I can live with that.  Now…that being said, once Carrabbas is forced to publish their nutrition data, I may run the other way!

What we learn with Weight Watchers is keeping track of our portion sizes at home.   This is where the discipline starts.  Those of us who practice this at home, tend to do better when faced with estimation of points/portions when dining out.  Just as a reminder, most of us have wonderful portion size helpers already! The Weight Watchers pocket guide is there for you (Menu-Reading help on page 75, and Portion Sizes on pp. 85-87). Food scales, Weight Watchers or otherwise, are almost a MUST, and our trusty measuring spoons and cups. I, personally, have at least 5 sets of measuring cups and 4 sets of measuring spoons at the ready. Other great references are food count guides, and the companions that Weight Watchers offers.  These are your ‘ammo’ for fighting the battle of the bulge!!!  Mental rehearsing also helps as well.  If you imagine your ideal dining experience, including questions you’ll ask your server, how you’ll assess your portions, packing up half your entree, etc…you will more likely have success there!

Also remember that we are human, and therefore not perfect.  Reach for these tools every other week or so.  Complacency and routine can sometimes undo our good work!  Really weigh and measure that cup of cereal or milk.  Remember what it looks like in your cup or bowl!

One other thing before I let you all go this week…how many of you all have seen the revised answer to the food pyramid?  Finally---a visual that makes sense out all the nutritional hoo-hah out there!

I think it’s rather funny that the Government has settled on something that Weight Watchers has been focusing on for years!  Divide your plate in half.  Make half fruits and veggies.  On the second side, divide in half and make half grains and half protein.  I think this is fabulous!  Here is the website if you want to take a look:  http://www.choosemyplate.gov  Here are some other things that the USDA says to focus on:

Balancing Calories: Enjoy your food, but eat less. Avoid oversized portions

Foods to Increase: Make half your plate fruits and vegetables. Make at least half of your grains whole grains.  Switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk.

Foods to Reduce: Compare sodium in foods like soup, bread, and frozen meals—and choose the foods with lower numbers. Drink water instead of sugary drinks.

"The greatest of all gifts is the power to estimate things at their true worth”

~ François De La Rouchefoucauld

 

RECIPES

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

This one is SO creamy!  It’s very rich –you might not even need more than half a slice!

 

Yield: 12 servings

Prep Time:  30 MINUTES

Cook Time: 60 MINUTES

PointsPlus™ value: 6 per serving

Ingredients:

10 item(s) cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookie(s)   [I use lowfat Oreos for this one!]

8 Tbsp fat-free cream cheese  

8 oz low fat cream cheese, tub-style  

1 cup(s) sugar  

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour  

1 cup(s) fat-free cottage cheese  

2 tsp almond extract, or less to taste  

6 large egg white(s)  

3/4 cup(s) mini chocolate chips   

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325ºF.

Lightly coat a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Crush cookies and sprinkle cookie crumbs evenly over bottom of pan.

Using an electric mixer, beat together cream cheeses on lowest speed until well blended.

In a small bowl, combine sugar and flour. Add to cream cheese mixture and beat until smooth.

In a food processor or blender, purée cottage cheese until smooth. Add cottage cheese and almond extract to cream cheese mixture; beat until smooth. Add egg whites and beat until well blended. Stir in 1/2 cup of chocolate chips.

Pour into springform pan; top with remaining chocolate chips and bake until cheesecake puffs and center is almost set, about 60 minutes.

Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Run a knife around sides to loosen and release pan sides. Cover and chill overnight. Cut into 12 slices and serve.

Tracking helps!

Happy Sunday Peeps!

I had a great week, but it was only 4 days long!  I have to say that I am turning a corner.  I have lost for the second consecutive week, and I am finally starting to find my groove at work.  I think that there is something to be said about multiple factors playing into how you do on your weight loss journey.  When things are off, whether it be personally or at work, it can make things hard for you.  Conversely, when all things are going well, it sort of gives you that momentum to continue.  I also find that I have better weeks when my tracking is on point.

I managed to get to the gym twice last week (still fine tuning the schedule there, but I am doing what I can there), and although I had a bunch of stuff to do this weekend, I managed to get a walk in with my husband on Saturday.  I missed my girls at Parker Square, but I didn't miss my walk.  We did just under 5K (2 3/4 miles), but considering the heat? Not too bad.

I scored a couple of kitchen victories with the kiddos last week.  I made meatball sandwiches using a recipe that my former leader, Kathryn, had posted on the meeting room board awhile ago.  I also made Friday night taco night and used corn shells with a bunch of healthy toppings (fat-free refried beans, diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, 2% shredded cheese, salsa). I used a lean (93/7) ground beef for the meat component and let each family member design his/her own taco.  Adam gave this dish (and the meatball sandwiches) an "awesome".

A tip for those out there with the picky eaters: Make note of what they enjoy and work those items into the meal rotation for the week.  I figure I can do this at least until Adam decides that he won't eat those dishes anymore.  Does anyone else have this?  His nickname is actually Mr. Peanut Butter Sandwich, for obvious reasons.

I have been making sure I tracked accurately over the last few weeks, and I think I am finally seeing results from that.  I love the enhancements that Weight Watchers has made to eTools over the last couple of months.  I have noticed the following changes on the iPhone app and on the website:

• On the iPhone app, reminder messages can be set and customized to help you track your meals 
• On the eTools settings on the website, you can now switch off between using activity points vs. WPA first.  I know many of us wished they would add this functionality
• On eTools, there now progress reports to help you gauge your progress.  There are also many things BESIDES food that you can track as well--activity, hunger signals, good health guidelines, inches lost, dress size...it's a pretty powerful tool. 
  

No I don't work for the Company, but I do believe in letting you all know when a great product, such as e-Tools, is out there.  It may not seem like a big thing, but the simple act of tracking does many things.  Here's what it does for me:

1. Keeps me honest. 
2. Makes me aware of what goes into my mouth, and how much
3. Gives me motivation
4. Provides me needed FEEDBACK on my choices, good bad or ugly
5. It also provides great reference material.  I don't care if you are following Weight Watchers or any other plan.  Tracking gives you that frame of reference that allows you to go back to a particular day, week or month and see what worked for you (or didn't work).  You can always go back and repeat the week or day if needed.
   
6. Helps you ensure that you are meeting the good health guidelines.

When I don't track...things tend to fall apart for me.  When I do track, it's amazing what can happen. 

Since the meeting this week dealt with tracking, I wanted to relay a few things that I jotted down from the meeting room board:

What can we track besides food?

• Habits - recognize habits you are changing or developing
• Feelings - thoughts at the end of the day
• Nutrition - progress with the good health guidelines
• Setbacks - what did you learn from your mistakes? This is that feedback I was referring to earlier
• Successes - make note of ALL your successes, no matter how large or small.  A victory is a victory!
• Weekly Goals - commit to something this week. Follow it through!
• Anticipated Obstacles - prepare and prevent rather than repair and repent! (I love this one!)

I hope you all have a fabulous week.  I wanted to end with this quote from the meeting room wall.  I loved it, and as usual, I wanted to share!

Good judgment comes from experience, and often
experience comes from bad judgment.

~Rita Mae Brown, American novelist

Recipe

Buttermilk-Basil Sorbet

I saw this one on the Weight Watchers website, and want to give this one a try.  It seems like the perfect light summertime dessert.  This dish offers an incredible flavor combination. For another delicious variation, swap cilantro or tarragon for the basil, and consider using lemon instead of lime.



PointsPlus™ Value:    3
Servings:  12 (approx 1/2 cup each)
Preparation Time:  89 min
Cooking Time:  6 min
Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Ingredients:

1-1/3 cup(s) sugar, granulated, divided  

2/3 cup(s) water  

1 cup(s) basil, fresh, cut into ribbons, minced*  

4 cup(s) buttermilk  

3 Tbsp fresh lime juice  

2 tsp lime zest, finely minced  

Instructions:

To make basil syrup, combine 2/3 cup sugar with 2/3 cup of water in a small saucepan; bring to a boil for 1 minute. Reduce heat to low, add basil and simmer for 5 minutes; set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, combine remaining 2/3 cup sugar with buttermilk, lime juice and zest; mix until sugar dissolves. Add cooled basil syrup to buttermilk mixture and mix thoroughly.

Run sorbet mixture through an ice cream maker according to its package directions (if you do not have an ice cream maker, see notes below). Transfer sorbet to a container and freeze for 12 to 24 hours before serving. Yields about 1/2 cup per serving.