Post-Yule Blues

Feeling a bit blah today, guess it's the post-holiday blues setting in. Yeah, I know, it's still technically the "season" but once Christmas is over I'm pretty much done with the holidays. *shrug*

How was everyone's Christmas? We all had a fabulous day, filled with family, friends and, of course..presents! Santa brought my whole family Snuggies, now I'm just hoping the weather stays cool enough for us to use them!



After breakfast the kids went off to visit their respective dads and Chip and I headed to the beach. Nothing says Christmas like Mojitos oceanside!



Things have been so busy around here, I forgot to tell you that I lost almost 2 pounds again this past week! I'm less-than-one pound to halfway which means that JC starts weaning me off their food and onto my own. Yikes! I admit to being nervous about this but I'm sure I can handle it, especially since I have 100% support from Jenny through maintenance and beyond. I need the accountability, no doubt in my mind that's the main reason I'm succeeding this time!

I'm going to do some shopping this morning, maybe getting out and spending a few dollars on myself will restore my cheer, what do you think? *wink*

Have a Beauty-Full Day,

Rockin' the Beer Gut...Not!

Lest you guys think I've got this whole resisting temptation thing figured out, I'm here to confess my faux pas of last evening. Beren and I bought VIP tickets to an all-day country music event, included free food and beer..all day long. Gulp. Knowing that hours of drinking & eating would not be good for me, we opted to spend the afternoon elsewhere, enjoying some Biketoberfest sights & sounds in Daytona Beach.




(How's that for eye candy?)
I had dinner at home and then headed to the concert around 6:30 pm. By this time there was very little left to eat, poor planning on the part of the event promoters and bad for Beren who hadn't eaten yet, but good for me. I nibbled on some grapes and celery, had just a taste of chicken salad, no problem. However, the beer got me into trouble. It was just too easy to grab one..then two..then three..of those free beers while I was rockin' out to Gretchen Wilson! Granted, they were light beers but still..totally unnecessary and unplanned-for calories. I do not want to be rockin' any beer gut, ok?



So, what am I gonna do about it? I already started drinking my water, ate my Jenny breakfast, plan on a long walk with Loki, stay 100% on program today...just get right back on track and let last night's indulgences be a thing of the past.

Have a Beauty-Full Day,

Measuring Up (Jenny: Day 3)

Getting measured this morning was a sobering experience: 44, 37.5, 45. Oh, and by the way, my height: 5'2"

Oh. My. God. Although I'm sure Beren will be impressed by the..ahem...breast measurements, the waist & hips are awful and I daresay larger than he is!

Well, enough of that, it is what it is, the measuring tape doesn't lie. Next measuring day will be different, no doubt about it. I confessed my dissatisfaction with those numbers to a friend of mine who said, "No worries. You will soon be counting your victories!" To which I added, "and measuring my successes!" I like those phrases, don't you?

I took a picture of today's dinner, not a very good shot considering the poor lighting and my inefficient camera phone, but here you go:



This is the Cheesy Enchilada lunch entree with my own broccoli. This was very filling and quite tasty, will definitely have this one again!

Tonight we are meeting a friend for Friday night happy hour, am more than a bit concerned about how I'm going to resist the temptations of bar food and too much alcohol, but I already have a plan: eat Jenny's soup beforehand. Drink lots of water. Order wine with a glass of ice on the side, something I normally do anyway. I learned that I can have one "free" glass of wine; if I choose another I have to give up one "fat" for the day. Not a problem, I would rather have vino than salad dressing any day.

Hope you're all having a great day so far, TGIF!

Not-So-Happy-Hour

After the rotten day we had yesterday, Beren and I decided to enjoy Happy Hour at a nearby chain restaurant where Kali's friend works. We go there on occasion as it's a cheap date for us and we get to visit with Dana.

Having had such a good day eating both Tuesday and Wednesday up to that point, I wanted to stay on program and figured I could have a little healthy appetizer with my moderate-glass-of-planned-for chardonnay. One look at the Flanigan's menu proved that to be a futile effort. Except for the mayonnaise-laden smoked fish dip or very expensive steamed shrimp, everything else was calorie-and-fat-laden deep fried cheese or animal products. Chicken Wings, Mozzarella Sticks, and Potato Skins are no longer on my eating plan, folks! Giving up on that idea, I looked toward the dinner part of the menu and decided to share a grilled mahi sandwich with Beren, naked baked potato on the side. When the waiter delivered our dish, Beren literally pushed it toward me because he couldn't stand the fishy smell! Not a good sign! I decided to be brave and take a bite, moved the meat off the bread, piled it high with the tomatoes, onion and lettuce, and cut a bite. Ugh! Not only was the fish tasteless, with no seasonings whatsoever, but it was quite obviously not fresh. At this moment I could hear Allan's words ringing in my head: "Don't Trust Restaurants. Ever." So I sent the fish back, ate the potato and finished my wine, frustrated but ever-so-glad that I didn't settle for putting that garbage into my body!

Our weekend travel plans have been canceled due to Beren's work schedule so I'll be home cooking for myself this weekend. I really don't mind, I could use another couple of days to recover from this nasty cold as well as the other dramas that have been swirling around lately.

I mixed up the menu a bit, already served the vegetarian chili on Tuesday, so tonight I'm going to do something with pasta..whole wheat, of course.

This Portobello Mushroom Ragu was originally posted in Clean Eating magazine, I found it at this lovely blog called A Fit and Spicy Life..don't you love that title?
Because I have a bag of fresh spinach about to wilt in my crisper drawer, I'm going to throw that in as well, adding some more veggies and healthy goodness!



Portobello Mushroom Ragu

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2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium red onion -- diced
2 cloves garlic -- minced
2 6 oz Portobello mushroom caps -- trimmed and diced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
15 ounces canned diced tomatoes
Salt and Pepper
13 1/4 ounces whole wheat pasta

Heat olive oil in a large skillet and saute the onions until lightly browned, 3-4 minutes.

Add garlic and saute for 1 minute, stir in mushrooms and thyme. Continue to cook over high heat until the mushrooms have softened and given off their juice 2-3 minutes.

Add tomatoes and cook until the mixture is thick, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve over whole wheat pasta.

Source:
"Clean Eating Magazine"
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Serves 6. Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 301 Calories; 6g Fat (15.8% calories from fat); 12g Protein; 56g Carbohydrate; 8g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 250mg Sodium. Exchanges: 3 Grain(Starch); 1 Vegetable; 1 Fat.

NOTES : To clean portobello’s you can use a spoon to scoop out the insides before cleaning and chopping.

On the side there will of course be a big green salad and a glass of red wine..I can't wait!

Have a Beauty-Full Day,


P.S. For an occasional indulgence, Mad Men Style, I'll be looking to this blog for inspiration!

Happy Hour Mishaps

I worked a long day yesterday and met my sweetie for Happy Hour afterward. Well, he was running late so I had a glass of wine before he arrived. Then I ordered the "healthiest" appetizer I could find, smoked fish dip. It came with carrots & celery but not enough of them so of course I ended up digging into the tortilla chips as well. *groan* As if that weren't bad enough, I came home and ate 2 slices of leftover pizza! What the hell? I didn't log all of this into my journal, wouldn't even know where to start, but I feel like crap this morning so I doubt I'll be doing that again. Thankfully the scale isn't showing my blunder...yet. I figure if I stay OP today and work in a walk this evening I should be ok.

Here's a cute little survey I borrowed from my Sparkpeople pal Morticia, something to take my mind off the long work day ahead...and the crappy eating mistakes I made last night.

Silly fun quiz

1. Do you have any pets?
yes, at the moment I share my house with a greyhound mix, a wolfdog, 4 cats, a hairless rat and a bunny

2. Name 3 things that are physically close to you.
candles, mirror, mermaid statue

3. What's the weather like right now?
hot & muggy

4. Do you drive? If so have you crashed?
Yes, one accident which was not my fault

5. What time did you wake up this morning?
6:00

6. When was the last time you showered?
about an hour ago

7. What was the last movie you saw?
Adam

8. What does your last text message say?
"Ok, looking forward to seeing you!"

9. What's your ringtone?
theme from Bewitched

10. Have you ever been to a different country?
yes, Bimini (Bahamas)

11. Do you like sushi?
only California rolls

12. Where do you buy your groceries?
Fresh Market, Publix, Winn Dixie, Whole Foods, Target, Wal-Mart

13. Have you ever taken medication to help you fall asleep faster?
yes

14. How many siblings do you have?
A half brother

15. Do you have a desktop computer or a laptop?
laptop

16. How old will you be turning on your next birthday?
46

17. Do you wear contacts or glasses?
contacts

18. Do you color your hair?
yes, to cover the gray!

19. Tell me something you are planning to do today.
go food shopping, cook a yummy dinner

20. When was the last time you cried?
I can't remember, I think it was sometime last week

21. What is your perfect pizza topping?
every veggie you can pile on with light cheese

22. Which do you prefer-hamburgers or cheeseburgers?
cheeseburgers, but I don't eat much red meat anymore

23. Have you ever had an all-nighter?
Not sure what this means. LOL. If it has to do with drinking - no. If it has to do with sex - maybe. If it has to do with work - yes.

24. What is your eye color?
blue

25. Can you taste the difference between Pepsi and Coke?
Yes. I rarely drink soda but when I do it's got to be Diet Coke

Off to work, hope you all have a fabulous day!

TGIF!

Ugh, I don't normally work on Fridays and really look forward to that whole day to myself when the rest of my family is at work/school! I get so much done, cleaning and generally puttering around the house, and usually find an hour or two of "me time" to read, watch a movie, whatever. Well, since I'll be out of town on Monday & Tuesday (more about that later), I needed to go in and make up those hours. So..I put on some cute shoes for consolation and trudged into the office.

Knowing that I wouldn't feel like cooking once I got home, I threw this little soup into the crockpot before I left. The original recipe is from My Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, copyright 1938.



Hamburg-Vegetable Chowder

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1 pound ground beef
3 tablespoons fat
2 cups canned tomatoes
2 medium carrots -- diced
1/2 cup diced celery
1 medium onion -- chopped
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup rice -- or barley
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 quarts water
2 cups potatoes -- cubed

Brown meat in fat; put all ingredients except potatoes in large kettle and simmer slowly, about an hour.

Add potatoes and continue simmering 1 hour.

Serve with toast or cracers as main dish for luncheon or supper.

Serves 6 - 8.
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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 366 Calories; 27g Fat (65.4% calories from fat); 15g Protein; 17g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 70mg Cholesterol; 909mg Sodium. Appx 9 WW POINTS.

And now, my version:

Hamburg-Vegetable Chowder Redux

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12 ounces Boca® Meatless Ground Crumbles
2 cups canned tomatoes
2 medium diced carrot
1/2 cup diced celery
1 medium onion -- chopped
1/4 cup brown rice, cooked
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 quarts water
2 cups potatoes -- cubed


Put all ingredients except for rice in slow cooker; cook on low for 4 - 6 hours or until vegetables are tender. Add rice about 15 minutes before serving.

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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 103 Calories; trace Fat (3.8% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 23g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 148mg Sodium. Appx 1 WW POINT.



The Verdict: While this was a bit bland for my taste, it was still a healthy, filling soup and a lovely to meal to find waiting after a long day! I would definitely make it again, any ideas about how to flavor it up just a bit?

Have a Beauty-Full Weekend,

Cool Cocktails

Since I normally don't work on Fridays, Thursday nights begin my weekend. At 5 pm I strip off my work clothes, slip into a sexy outfit and head toward my favorite watering hole for Happy Hour. Sometimes, though, I can't afford the calories or the money spent on said celebration, so I turn toward my home bar and whip up something equally festive yet easier on the wallet and waistline.

Now, living in South Florida where the Cuban influence is so prevalent, you know that Mojitos are a way of life! The addiction to the heavenly concoction is so strong that we likely keep Bacardi in business and many of us, myself included, have added spearmint to our herb gardens lest we run out at an inopportune time! The problem is, while Mojitos are not as fat-inducing as those frozen drinks we all know & love, they can still do some damage, especially in excess which, frankly, is usually how I imbibe!

So, when I found this delicious and easy recipe over at Laaloosh, I was thrilled! My favorite drink, just as tasty with less than half the POINTS? Heaven! You know where I'll be tonight, don't you? Care to join me?

Weight Watcher Mojito Recipe

Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz Bacardi Rum
- 12 fresh spearmint leaves
- 1/2 lime
- 7 oz sprite zero or club soda
- 2 tbsp. Splenda

Directions:
In a cool tall glass, muddle the mint, Splenda and lime juice. Add crushed ice. Add rum, soda and stir well. Garnish with a lime wedge and a few sprigs of mint. Serve and enjoy!

Recipe makes 1 serving
Each serving = 2 point value