Trying out something new..

I’ve Moved!! Please visit my new and improved blog here!

Moving!

I’ve decided to move my blog to a different platform! So for a few days this blog will be considered “under construction”. Don’t worry – it’s going to be the new and improved version, I promise!

Life after Weight Watchers

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve decided to take a break from Weight Watchers.  Things are going pretty well but I’m still trying to navigate my way through the kitchen without my points calculator. I haven’t completely given up my Weight Watcher ways, and I think I never will nor do I want to. The points value and serving size of almost every food I normally eat will forever be stuck in my head, which is a good thing, so I’m still measuring my cereal in the morning and weighing my chicken at night.

The main difference is in my attitude. I’m not going to say that I’ve given up caring because I haven’t at all but I have stopped thinking about food 24 hours a day 7 days a week. What I’ve noticed most is that I’ve decreased the amount of time I spend online looking up recipes or reading food blogs. Clearly I’m still passionate about writing entries here, but I’m thankful that I don’t feel the need to spend hours every day looking at food that I want to eat but can’t. When foods are off limits I find myself thinking about them all the time hoping that I could eat them, instead of taking one bite like I should do and just enjoying life. The true evidence is a big bag of multigrain baked chips that is still sitting in my cabinet… and I bought it three days ago!!! The fact that the bag is still almost full is clearly a testament to my new found happiness. The fact that it’s a bag of multigrain baked chips instead of fried lays is also a testament to my healthy mindset.

I have bumped up the intensity of my workouts as to make up for the extra points I might be consuming. I’ve picked up running again instead of the elliptical and have kept up with my three times a week plan (at least) since school started. This is also part of my commitment to Recipe Girl’s Ten in 10 Challenge!

So that’s the update on my life.. it’s time for you to give me an update on yours!! What have you been up to lately? Eat or drink anything delicious? Please share – leave comments!

 

 

 

Sloppy Joes

Sloppy Joes take me back to the days when elementary school was hard work and my biggest fear was the monster under my bed. My mom still makes sloppy joes occasionally, but the smell and the taste still brings me back to childhood.

I found this jar of Manwhich sauce in my cabinet and stowed it away in my luggage so I could make myself a treat at school. The sauce itself is really low in fat and only has about 40 calories per serving. I made my sloppy joes with lean ground turkey instead of beef to cut down on the cholesterol. I also kept this dish light by serving the hot meat on a toasted 100 calorie english muffin instead of a big bun. Just for fun I sprinkled some fat free shredded cheddar cheese on top  and called it  a night.

The best part about this easy dinner was the amount of leftovers I had! One can of sauce is enough for an entire package of ground meat/turkey so I had enough of the joe leftover for a late night snack and lunch and dinner the next day. It might sound strange but cold sloppy joe is really delicious mixed into a salad. You have to use the right type of dressing and not to much of it to make everything work together, but I created a really flavorful lunch by throwing together some lettuce, carrots, cheese, sloppy joe and honey mustard dressing.

You can spice up this dish by adding whatever you have around the house. I bet it would be really good with some red onions or sliced peppers. YUM!

Sloppy Joes are such an easy and affordable dinner I really suggest you try making them at home. If you’ve got a family the kids will definitely love it like I used to, or if you’re cooking for one like me you’ll have leftovers for days that can be used in so many different ways.

Motivating My Roommate!

This is my roommate Ian.

Cute, right? Clearly we love each other very much. But, in the three years that I’ve known Ian I can never remember a time when he voluntarily went to the gym… until last week!!

Our first trip to the gym was just as motivational for me as it was for him. He challenged me to run around the track, which I usually don’t do, but I pushed him to run an extra mile. Then we did an extra 15 minutes on the elliptical, which he usually doesn’t do, and we stretched at the end.

I cannot even express how happy I am to have a new gym partner! Especially because we’ve decided to hit the track on Fridays, which is the hardest day to get out of my bed and drag myself there.

If you don’t already have a gym partner I suggest finding somebody who makes you feel comfortable and who’s at the same level as you are. It’s also great to have a schedule like we do, even if it’s only once a week!

Going to the gym three times a week (twice without him) is also part of my 10 in Ten Challenge because after I exercise I feel better about myself and have more confidence, which is my main goal. If you haven’t already joined the challenge than it’s never too late! Also, please leave comments with other things that motivate you to stay in shape!

Pumpkin Bisque

I finally made the pumpkin bisque I’ve been dying to try… but only to find out it was kind of a letdown. This recipe is from the Flat Belly Diet Cookbook.  I don’t really know why it’s labeled a bisque instead of a soup because it has no cream in it, but all the same it is low-fat, low-calorie and high fiber. It’s also low-flavor truth be told.

The idea behind the flat-belly diet is that MUFAs (monosaturated fatty acids) decrease belly fat. These foods include avocado, nuts, olives, dark chocolate and olive oil. In this recipe the pumpkin seeds (which I actually cut out of my version because of the price) and the olive oil are the MUFAS. Personally, I think this diet is kind of a joke because all of the recipes are full of fat, but I’m sure it works for some people.

This soup has 210 calories, 5 grams of fat and 10 grams of fiber per serving (2 cups). The recipe below makes four servings.

Pumpkin Bisque

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

2 onions, chopped

1 large red bell pepper, chopped

1 potato, peeled and diced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon oregano

4 cups reduced sodium vegetable broth

1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup chopped roasted unsalted pumpkin seeds

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

1. Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions, pepper, potato, garlic and oregano. Cook for 5 minutes or until onions are softened. Add broth, pumpkin, salt and pepper. Simmer about 10 minutes until potato is soft

2. Transfer soup to food processor. Process until smooth

3. Return to pot, add water to thin if necessary

4. Ladle into four bowls and top with 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

Here are the veggies getting soft in the pot:
The soup after I added the broth but before putting it in the food processor:

The finished product!!

After adding the balsamic vinegar to the mix the soup tasted much better, and the croutons instead of the pumpkin seeds were a great final touch. I usually don’t blog about recipes gone wrong, but this recipe just needs a little help. Next time I would add extra pumpkin and some fat-free half and half. I think that would take this recipe from just OK to Fabulous!!

Have you had any recipe disasters lately? Tell me about them! Leave a comment!

Breath of Fresh Air

It’s been a while! Sorry I’ve been such an absent blogger lately. I’ve been really busy on winter vacation doing just about nothing and loving every moment of it. Now I’m back at school and it’s really time to buckle down and get back on track – both with eating and exercise and with work.

I have an announcement! I’ve decided to take a break from weight watchers. Here’s why –

For a very long time, as in since seventh grade, I’ve gone through a lot of up and down phases but have never been really satisfied with the way I looked or felt. Now that I’m older I’ve really started to love me for me. During my time on the plan I’ve learned an enormous amount about how to stay healthy and I’m pretty confident that I can live a healthy lifestyle on my own. That’s not to say that I won’t still keep track of my points because I’ve basically memorized the points value of every food you can find in the grocery store. I also will ocassionally go to meetings because that’s the best way to get inspired to stay on track.  

So, what does that mean for this blog? Basically nothing. I’m still going to post healthy recipes, and I’m even going to try to cook more so I have more to share! During vacation I got some new cookbooks and cannot wait to try out some of the recipes. I’m also part of RecipeGirl’s Ten in 2010 Challenge! (To sign up click here!) 

Tomorrow I’m making pumpkin bisque soup from the Eating Well Diet cookbook. I cannot wait to try it so look back here for photos! Until then, hope everybody has a wonderful week!!

Spaghetti & Meatball Stoup (ala Rachael Ray)

Brrrrrr It is COLD outside which makes me crave warm comfort food all hours of the day! Problem is, comfort foods and my hips are not friends.

This morning I went to the gym, in a giant snow blizzard I might add, and was tuned into Rachael Ray while I was on the elliptical. Please hold your laughter while you ponder the fact that I watch people eat while I workout. Anyway, Rachael was making a stoup, not quite as thin as a soup but not quite as thick as a stew, which was my inspiration for this dish! It’s a different Rachael Ray recipe I found on the Food Network website. It was really a great choice because not only was it delicious & healthy but it was easy to make and satisfied the tastes of all of my family members. Sometimes when I’m home it can be difficult to find recipes that fit both my diet and the diet of some specific family members *younger sister* who refuse to eat most vegetables.

You can find the original recipe here. My version has a few healthy modifications. To cut down on fat/calories I deleted the cheese from the meatballs and instead added a few teaspoons to my dish after it was all cooked. I also used 99% fat free ground turkey meat instead of red meat and substituted whole wheat pasta for the regular pasta. Here is a link to my version of the recipe!

Here are my turkey meatballs before they went into the pan!

This is what it looked like in the pan

The final product! YUM!

New Years Resolutions

I cannot believe it’s 2010. Seriously, I think I’m in denial because I cannot wrap my head around it. 2010 is a BIG year. It’s the year I graduate from college, am forced to become totally independent, find a job, get a new apartment, and move away from most of my friends. Can’t we all just pretend (and party) like it’s still 1999??

Okay – accepting and moving on. Whew.

Since it actually is January did you make any New Years resolutions? Personally, I think that most resolutions are bologna because the majority of them are unrealistic and become broken promises. But, since I made this blog it would be a cop out not to even make one resolution.

My twitter friend and fellow health/food enthusiast recipegirl (@recipegirl & http://www.recipegirl.com) came up with the Ten in 10 challenge – Ten weeks to getting healthy in 2010. In my opinion ten weeks is way way wayyy more realistic than an entire year so I signed up! One of my goals is to lose five + pounds (don’t we all say that every year?) but my real goal is just to be happy & confident! It’s really time for me to grow up, stop sulking about how many points I can or should eat, and just enjoy life! That doesn’t mean I’m going to stop counting my points because I’m not, but I just can’t be so hard on myself.

I’ll be reporting back on my progress periodically as you should have assumed! If you haven’t already signed up to be a part of the Ten in 10 challenge then you should make a commitment to yourself right now! What is your health goal for the next two months? It can be about anything and everything that’s important to you.

Also, if you haven’t already checked out the recipegirl website it’s got some great recipes, including low-fat weight watchers recipes with listed points values!

To all of my readers – HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Chicken Cacciatore – My Quick & Easy Version

This is a recipe I adapted from All You magazine and found on myrecipes.com. It’s a really quick and easy chicken dish that I made for my entire family in about thirty minutes. It’s really yummy and flavorful and healthy. The chicken cacciatore alone is four points for one serving (this recipe serves four). Served on top of 2oz whole wheat pasta for three points this dish totals seven points.

Here is a link to the original recipe which is a slow-cooker recipe that takes between 4-8 hours. Here is a link to my version of the recipe which is the same exact ingredients cooked on the stovetop.

I would definitely make this dish again and recommend it if you’re trying to spice things up a bit at dinner time! It’s easy to get bored with chicken and this recipe is not only fun to eat but it’s fun to make! Here are some photos from my chicken adventure:

And the final product!!

YUM!!