sausage & pepper quiche

A while back, I posted a recipe for chicken&brocolli&mac&cheese...I kinda like combo meals.

When I was a kid, sausage and peppers was a staple meal for us all summer long. And moving to NJ, I will certainly be able to get good italian sausage again in a giant ring like I'm used to! Anyway, my favorite part of sausage and peppers was always having peppers and eggs the next day for lunch. So I thought to myself, why not combine the two and make a sausage and peppers quiche? I should also note--I had half and half and whole milk left after another recipe last week, and wanted to use it up. Normally quiches (the good ones at least) are made with heavy cream, so though these aren't the healthiest ingredients, they do lighten up a normally very heavy meal.

Well, luck had it that my local harris teeter had organic italian chicken sausage on sale, so I figured it was a sign. Wait a minute, sausage that isn't pork? Yeah, I know. Weird. Anyway, I'm sticking closely to my points plus, so I decided to keep it low cal for this recipe. If you changed it up to include pork, you'd need to add points. As an aside, my brother thinks its crazy to eat poultry with eggs together. I try not to think about it.

So here goes:

First, for the pie crust--this recipe makes 2 thin pie crusts each at 14 pts plus

6 tbsp butter

1 c all purpose flour

1 tbsp sugar

pinch salt

2-3 tbsp ice water

Cut up butter into cubes and place in the freezer till you're ready for it (at least 5 mins). Put dry ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and pulse. Add butter to dry ingredients, pulse till it looks like bread crumbs. SLOWLY add water till it all forms a ball. Form ball into 2 discs, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Sausage & Pepper Quiche- 4 servings at ~10 pointsplus each

1 pie crust

2 tsp olive oil, divided

2 links italian sausage (I used organic chicken sausage)

1 red bell pepper sliced thin

1/2 small onion sliced thin

2 cloves garlic sliced

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (in the future, I'd add an extra 1/4 cup for no difference in points per serving)

3 eggs

6 oz half and half

2 oz whole milk

salt & pepper to taste

Roll out dough into the shape of a pie plate, add to pie plate, and prick all over with a fork. Cover in foil and fill with pie weights or beans (I use lentils). Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Remove sausage from casings and saute in 1 tsp olive oil. Saute onions, peppers, and garlic till softened in 1 tsp olive oil. Once these three steps are done, put sausage, veggies, and cheese in the pie shell, scattering evenly. Beat the three eggs and add the liquid, salt and pepper. Mix till evenly combined and pour into pie shell. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

oh how I've missed you!

Hello blog readers! Its been WAY too long. Since my last post I've:

1- gotten a job

2- gone on 3 trips in as many weeks

3- done more yard work than I thought humanly possible

4- celebrated Easter (with more candy than I thought humanly possible)

5- graduated with my PhD

6- finally, gotten back on the WW bandwagon!

Yeah...I fell off for a while. Things got too crazy. But now, I have eleven weeks before I move to NJ. Yes, you heard me correctly, New Jersey. The garden state. And I can't wait. Say what you will about Snookie and Chris Christie, but I'll be in an awesome job, and only about 2.5 hours away from my family. Just 45 minustes from Philly & an hour from NYC. Can't really get much better than that. Anyway, in these 11 weeks, I plan to get back on the WW wagon! I started journaling again on Monday, and through all this craziness gained just 0.6 lbs. Not so bad at all! And this is the perfect time of year to get back started with points plus- its strawberry season! My wonderful husband picks strawberries for me on the way home from work a few times a week. I try my very hardest not to consume them all in a day or two. Normally, I do pretty well :)

So, here's a recipe. Its a simple one, but a good breakfast and starts my day with a serving of whole grains, healthy fats, and fruit.

Breakfast Elvis Wrap 5 points plus

1 whole grain tortilla (I use Harris Teeter 8 grain--only 2 pp each!)

1 tbsp natural peanut butter

1 banana

light drizzle of honey

Put the tortilla on a plate and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds. Spread most of the PB down the middle, but put a tiny dot to "glue" the edges in place. Slice the banana on top of the PB in the middle (you might have extra banana. in that case, just eat it alone. call it a breakfast appetizer) and drizzle with honey. Wrap, eat, and enjoy!

PS- somehow iphoto lost my uploaded picture.

delicious muffins...and cookies

Hi everyone. My life is full of uncertainty right now. I bake when I need to work things out in my head. I have a lot to work out. The result--some delicious muffins and cookies.

The muffins were a combination of recipes, both from Nigella Lawson books. The combination might sound strange, but the results were awesome. Here goes:

Banana Chocolate Muffins- makes 11 at 3 points plus each

1 c all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

4 tbsp honey

4 tbsp butter

2 overripe bananas mashed

1 egg

2 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Combine dry ingredients and set aside. In a heavy saucepan, melt butter & honey together till its all liquid. Beat egg, mash in bananas, and add to dry ingredients. Add butter-honey mixture. Stir till combined. Add in chocolate chips. Portion out into a muffin pan and bake for about 20 minutes. These are delish.

Also, I made these cookies today. Also delish.

and she's back

Wow, its taken me a while to post. I've been traveling, Mike's been traveling, catching up is hard...

But anywho, I worked on a fun recipe for pasta with a chickpea sauce. Mike is not a fan of beans, so I wouldn't make this for him, but its inspired by this Rachel Ray Recipe, and both easy and tasty.

Pasta with Spinach Chickpea Sauce- serves 6 at ~ 3 points plus per serving

1 tbsp olive oil

3 large cloves garlic

1 can chick peas, drained & rinsed

4 oz white wine

1 large can crushed tomatoes

1 box frozen chopped spinach

1/4 c grated parmesan or pecorino romano cheese

1/2 tsp dry thyme

salt & pepper to taste

Put garlic and chick peas in a food processor and grind till a paste is formed. Heat olive oil in a large pan, and add chick pea mixture. Cook ~5 minutes or till it starts to smell nice and nutty. Add wine and stir. Add tomatoes, and stir; cook till it starts simmering. Add spinach and stir till it all melts and is incorporated. Add remaining ingredients. Serve over pasta.

OK, so now for a find. At Harris Teeter, Edy's ice cream was on sale. Including the light kind. For 3 points plus--this ice cream with girl scout cookies is the deal of the year! Yum!

rich and chocolate-y

Shouldn't all things be rich & chocolate-y?

I love to bake, and one of my favorite cakes, comes from a Nigella Lawson recipe for "Pantry-Shelf Chocolate-Orange Cake," in her How to be a Domestic Goddess book. I've always replaced the orange marmalade with raspberry jam because I LOVE the chocolate-raspberry combo and HATE chocolate and orange together. In any case, this cake is easy, dense, chocolate-y, and delicious. Whenever I make it, someone asks for the recipe.

I decided to try making it over, and the results were quite good. I kept some of the chocolate, added fresh (well, frozen) raspberries to replace some of the jam, halved the butter, and used white wheat flour. The results were still dense and chocolate-y, so this one is definitely a winner.

Chocolate-Raspberry Cake--serves 8 at 6 points plus each

4 tbsp unsalted butter

1/4 cup unsweetned apple sauce

2 oz semi-sweet chocolate

4 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

3 tbsp raspberry jam

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 cups frozen raspberries, blitzed in the food processor

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup white wheat (or all purpose) flour

pinch salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350, and spray a springform pan with non-stick cooking spray. Place butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan to melt. Once its nearly melted, add in the chocolate. Once its almost completely all liquid, add in the apple sauce, raspberries, jam, cocoa powder, sugar, and (after combined) eggs. Remove from heat and slowly add flour, salt, baking powder, and soda. Pour into springform pan and bake on a center rack for 50 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove edges and turn out onto a plate. Top with powdered sugar. Enjoy!

rice & beans...sort of

Hi all,

Again, I was traveling earlier this week (this is a theme that will likely continue till May), but made some yummy lunch today. After reading this post on skinny taste, I got a hankering for rice & beans. Warning: I am a white girl from Long Island. I don't know the first thing about latin cuisine, so this recipe that follows is certainly not authentic at all.

I also was averse to leaving the house this morning/afternoon, so I used what I had in the closet & fridge. I'm normally a huge fan of fresh veggies, but sometimes I have frozen on hand. Today, I used frozen bell peppers I bought a while back to use in a crock pot chili. When things are cooked for a really long time, the freshness doesn't matter quite as much. Also, in the recipe below, I threw in extra veggies to increase the volume.

skinny gringo rice & beans--6 servings at 4 points plus each

1 large yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/3 bag frozen bell peppers

1 c brown basmati rice

1 14.5 oz can fire roasted tomatoes

1 14.5 oz can black beans

1 c water

1 beef bouillon cube (could use any flavor)

2 c loosely chopped fresh spinach (could sub in frozen)

4 green onions, chopped (white parts only)

1/2 tsp dry thyme

1/2 tsp cumin

1 bay leaf

salt & pepper (black & red) to taste

Coat a large dutch oven with nonstick cooking spray, and cook onions and garlic over medium heat. Once softened, add peppers. Once peppers defrost, add rice, and stir for a few minutes to coat. Add remaining ingredients, stir, and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook on very low for about 40 minutes.

The end result, pictured here was quite yummy. I topped it with 1/2 oz light cheddar cheese & 1 tbsp light sour cream for a very delicious 5 point lunch. Enjoy!

and then she added photos

Hello blog readers!

So this posting is really a way to kill two birds with one stone. I wanted to share my new favorite breakfast, and want to get better at using my new iphone as a camera. I'm still having trouble holding my hands still, but I'm getting there.

I've done weight watchers before on the old plan, and used to make a smoothie with frozen berries, bananas, yogurt, and milk. Now that fruit is zero points plus, I revamped the recipe a bit. When my bananas get over-ripe, I peel them, mush them up, and put them in plastic baggies to use at a later time in smoothies like this one or baking.

Banana-berry smoothie--about 2.5-2.75 points plus (I count as 3 to be conservative)

2/3 frozen banana (or 1 small frozen banana)

1 c frozen blueberries

1/2 c fat free greek yogurt

3/4 c skim milk

1 tsp honey (or agave)

Put all ingredients in a blender and let them sit 15-20 minutes (softens frozen fruit a bit and makes it easier to blend). Puree and enjoy!

making the best out of stale bread

Yesterday, I bought a lovely baguette at Southern Season...which we never ate. And I forgot to pack up to prevent it from getting stale. So I woke up this morning to find a loaf of bread beginning to go stale at the ends. I remembered making a tomato bread soup a few years back, and promptly scoured the internet for recipes and my pantry, fridge, and freezer for ingredients. I mixed and matched and came up with the following, recipe, which was rather tasty. The only negative is that there is very little protein in this soup. I'd recommend eating it with an open-faced sandwich. The ingredients might sound a little odd, but its what I had on hand, and came out delicious. I'll have some nice lunches this week, and I think it will freeze well too.

Tomato-Bread Soup- makes 8 lunch portions at 3 points plus each

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cups chopped onions (I used a combination of yellow & red that I had leftover)

2 garlic cloves, chopped

4 cups chicken stock or broth (I used frozen turkey stock)

2 tbsp tomato paste

3 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes in their own juices (I used 1 plus a large 28 oz can)

2 tbsp jarred pesto (could substitute chopped fresh basil; will also decrease points value, and might make you want to add more garlic or parmasean)

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

4.5 oz stale bread, cubed (could also use fresh)

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

salt & pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large dutch oven. Add onions, and stir till coated. After about a minute, add chopped garlic and cook till softened. Add chicken stock, bring to a boil. Add the tomato paste, and stir till incorporated. Add tomatoes, pesto, vinegar, red pepper flakes, and some fresh black pepper (DON'T ADD SALT YET!). Stir and bring to a boil. Add bread, stir, and bring to a boil. Bring temperature down to a simmer, and cover for 20 minutes. Soup should look mushy and gluey at this point. Add cheese and parsley and taste for seasoning. Add salt and pepper as needed. Serve and enjoy!

lemonade cupcakes!

Hello blog readers!

I'll report back on the moussaka- delicious! And it left me with 3 egg whites & a desire to make those lemon cupcakes I was talking about (I bake when I have to work things out in my head; it's excellent therapy. I had a lot of things to work out in my head the day I made these.). They were awesome, but I made enough modifications to warrant posting my own recipe, as follows:

Lemonade Cupcakes--makes 12 at 4 points plus each
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 egg whites
1 large lemon, zested & juiced
1/2 cup light sour cream
1 cup confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Line a muffin tin with paper liners (*hint #1- you may want to spray the liners with nonstick spray as this recipe has very little fat in it and may lead to some difficulty removing your cupcakes). Combine flour, baking powder, & salt (*hint #2- no need to sift! you can just put them in a bowl and whisk to remove lumps). In a separate bowl cream sugar & butter till light and fluffy. Add egg whites, lemon zest, and half the lemon juice; mix to combine. Turn beater off and add half the flour mixture and half the sour cream. Mix till combined and repeat with the remainder of the flour and sour cream. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. They will still be quite light in color when you remove them from the oven. Let them cool for 10 minutes in the pan and 30-60 minutes on a wire rack.

Combine the remaining juice and the powdered sugar till smooth (you may want to add the sugar to the juice in batches) to make a thick icing. Spoon about a tablespoon onto each cupcake and smooth. Allow cupcakes to harden and serve and enjoy!

checking in

So...its taken me a while to get back into posting here. I traveled again last week--twice to PA for job interviews. Yesterday, I made this chicken recipe, and it came out delish. Well worth the 5 points.

Today, I'm "spending" a little more on dinner, as I'm making this moussaka with a few modifications: I baked the eggplant rather than frying, I used 2 tbsp of olive oil instead of 1/4 cup, I used skim milk rather than whole, & used 3 tbsp of butter rather than 6. All in all, it comes to 15 pts a serving. I'll let you know how it turns out!

Finally, I can't wait to try these cupcakes. I hope to make them some time this week. Again, I'll report back on how they turn out.

easy & delicious salmon

Hi all. So sorry these posts have been fewer and further between. I have been traveling for job interviews and am just now getting a chance to catch my breath. For dinner tonight I'm making salmon. According to the little WW handbook, salmon is 5 pts for 4 oz. Well...make sure you check your labels. You might be pleasantly surprised. I bought the wild pink Alaskan salmon from Trader Joe's (in the freezer section) and for 4 oz frozen (~ 3 oz cooked)--3 pts! Woohoo! The recipe below is for 2 servings but can be easily adjusted up or down.

Maple Dijon Salmon--serves 2 at 7 points plus per serving

12 oz uncooked wild salmon (~10 oz cooked)

2 tbsp REAL maple syrup (none of that Aunt Jemima stuff)

2 tbsp dijon mustard

1 tsp olive oil

pinch salt

pinch pepper

Spray a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray & add salmon (might want to cut into individual portion sized pieces). In a small bowl combine syrup, mustard, oil, salt & pepper. Mix to combine. Pour over salmon and refrigerate for at least an hour (I sometimes do this part in the morning & then cook after work). Preheat oven to 375 & cover pan with foil. Cook about 10 minutes.

I'm serving this alongside sweet potato oven fries and steamed broccoli.

Enjoy!

and so it goes on

Hi everyone.

So good news this week--I lost 1.6 lbs. Bad news, I've been behind on my postings.

To follow up on my last posting, the cupcakes were great. The frosting was nice and marshmallow-y but, to be honest, not as good as a buttercream. But, that said, 4 points plus for a cupcake is a great deal!

Some struggles--tonight I'm going to celebrate my PhD with some great jazzerfriends. I don't want to totally blow my points allowance in one night. So, I've been loading up on fruit & water all day (also want to stay hydrated...), and about an hour ago I had a scrambled egg. I'm hoping to not be full when I get there, but also not be ravenous. So, I won't eat or drink too much. I hope.

Last Sunday, I made a turkey, and obviously, that means we have lots of leftover meat. One thing I like to do with leftover turkey (or chicken) is make risotto. Here's my recipe:

Leftover Turkey Risotto--makes 4 servings at 9 points plus each

2 tsp olive oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 1/4 cups arborio rice, uncooked

2 fluid oz white wine

1 quart chicken stock

8 oz cooked leftover turkey (or chicken)

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1 tsp butter

Heat chicken stock to "low" in a pot. In a separate large pan, heat oil. Add onion, garlic, and celery. Cook till softened. Add rice, cook till transparent. Add wine to deglaze pan. Once wine is nearly all evaporated or absorbed by rice, start adding the the stock 2 ladles at a time, stirring until nearly absorbed. On the last ladleful, add remaining ingredients. Stir till well incorporated. If rice is still a bit hard, add some water.

Eat and enjoy!

decadence in moderation

OK gang--today I had a change of plans. I was supposed to be heading out to PA for a job interview today, but ended up having it rescheduled & working from home. So, I had a little bit of extra time, and decided to try a new recipe. I subscribe to a lot of fitness magazines and have been dying to try out this recipe for chocolate cupcakes since my copy of Shape arrived last week. When I first flipped through the magazine, I loved that they did comfort food healthy makeovers. I was even more excited to see a chocolate cupcake in there--made with butter sugar and flour. To top it all off, it included a marshmallow 7 minute frosting. Given that I consider peeps a major food group, this was a huge seller for me. Finally, the icing on the icing on the cake--they're only 4 points plus each! Seriously! How can I say no?

I made the following 2 modifications: first, I substituted nonfat greek yogurt for the low fat buttermilk (less calories & more protein...but negligible enough to not affect the points plus values); second, I used 2 egg whites, again, not enough of a difference to affect the points values. Also, the 2nd egg white was unnecessary. I had so much frosting, I could have frosted 2 batches of the cakes.

I haven't done the taste test yet, but I have had a lick of the frosting, and its great. And the cakes look fluffy and delicious. I will report back tomorrow.

In general, I love the idea of cupcakes. They're automatic portion control (if you eat just one), fun for sharing, and just plain cute. The fact that these are also REAL FOOD but low in points, makes this recipe is already a win win win for me!

glorious breakfast

Hello blog readers.

Here in Chapel Hill, we had a beautiful sunny 60 degree day today...which I appreciated as Mike & I spent much of this morning raking leaves (yes, we still have leaves on the ground).

Anyway, I also had a chance to make some fantastic pancakes, and the recipe for them is below. When I was in MN, my mom and I went to a restaurant called Hell's Kitchen and ordered some lemon ricotta hotcakes. They were so good, I decided to search through recipes on the web, make my own modifications, and try my hand at my own version. Many of the recipes I found had a stick (or more) of melted butter, so I avoided those. I started with one from Nigella Lawson, and modified as follows.

Lemon Ricotta Hotcakes- serves 2, 6 points each
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp part skim ricotta cheese
1 egg, separated
1/4 cup skim milk
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp butter
3/8 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
zest of 1/2 a lemon
1 tsp powdered sugar
fresh berries

Heat an oven to 200 degrees. Combine ricotta, milk, and egg yolk, and stir till mostly smooth. Add flour, baking powder, and salt, mix till smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg white & granulated sugar till foamy (can do by hand). Fold egg whites into the ricotta mixture, then add lemon zest. Heat a griddle to medium-high, and coat with butter. Spoon batter onto the griddle (in a size of your own choosing), and flip once bubbles appear all over pancake. Once finished on both sides, add to a pie plate & put in warm oven to keep warm. Once all pancakes are done, divide among 2 plates, and top with powdered sugar (pushed through a strainer), and fresh berries. You can also use maple syrup too, but you need to count those points separately.

Enjoy!

back to reality, sort of

Hi everyone. I'm back. It has been a busy few days, but I can officially say that I'm now Dr. Madden! I passed my defense, and can finally relax a little.

On to food/weight updates. I lost 0.6 lbs this week...not too shabby for a week where I was mostly away. I just hope this pattern continues. Mike & I had a wonderful dinner on Wednesday night at the Weathervane at Southern Season. I was very proud of myself, eating just half of my appetizer (butternut squash risotto!) and half my entree (a sinfully delicious duck confit and truffle cream sauce linguini). Mike took the pasta for lunch (thank goodness), and I will be eating my leftover risotto today for lunch. I'm going to count 8 points for it, because for a full dinner serving of my own risotto, I count 8. I think I'm being conservative enough by doubling.

Onto some recipes. Being at Southern Season gave me some thoughts. You can buy the proscuitto ends there (left over from slicing) for fairly cheap. My Aunt Jennie used to make a pasta sauce with prosciutto, called filete sauce, and I decided that these ends would be used perfectly in her recipe. The one I have is huge (24 servings!) and contains loads of olive oil, so I'm skinny-ing it up, halving the size and posting here.

Filete Sauce- serves 12 but freezes well --2 points plus per serving

5 tbsp olive oil

3 stalks celery chopped very finely

4 ounces prosciutto (again, chopped finely)

2 large cans whole peeled plum tomatoes

1 small can petite diced tomatoes

3 medium onions chopped finely

2 oz red wine

2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet, heat olive oil and saute celery for 8-10 minutes or until soft. Add onions and saute another 8-10 mins. Add prosciutto and "melt" it into the vegetables (you want to see the edges curl up and the fatty part go translucent), about 3 minutes. Add wine, tomatoes (crush with your clean hands before adding) and stir to combine. Add parsley and plenty of pepper (black or crushed red or a combination). Bring to a simmer, cover and cook about an hour. After half an hour or so, taste it, and if it seems like it needs salt add a little. Prosciutto is very salty, so you may not have to add any. Serve over pasta.

Hint #1- I like to portion this out right away. Its about 2 ladles full per serving, so after serving that night's dinner, I portion it out into 5 freezable containers (4 ladles full each). It makes for a very easy weeknight dinner after defrosting.

Hint #2- I serve this over pasta (1-1.5 cups per person), and though there is some protein, there's not a whole lot. I suggest serving a spinach salad alongside this meal with some chopped hard boiled egg to get an extra dose of protein.

hiatus

Sorry for the lack of food related posts. I defend my PhD tomorrow. I will have a good recipe or two later this week.

so maybe every day was a bit ambitious?

OK, I'm back in NC. Luckily my flight was easy and uneventful.

So how'd I do on this trip to MN?

Well, I went to the gym 3 times (did 50 mins on the elliptical and situps & pushups each time), so I kept that promise.

I'm out of weekly allowance points for the week, but luckily my week starts on Thursday. Also, I'll be exercising every day between now and then, so should be OK if I want to have a treat here or there.

I ate and enjoyed lots of delicious food over the weekend, and avoided eating garbage, so I think I can count that as a win too. In the end, I sort of hoped I'd have some left over, but so be it.

I'll be back with some recipes soon.

made it to Minneapolis

Hi everyone!
So, I made it to Minneapolis, and as I'm winding down for the night, I figured I'd check in. I made some not so wise food choices today, but still managed to stay within my points range (I finished all my weekly allowance points & activity points too...but my new week starts tomorrow).

Last night, Mike wanted some dessert. I had some points left, so I made brownies. Normally, I bake everything from scratch, but when it comes to brownies, Ghiradelli brownies are pretty good. Anyway, I replaced the oil with unsweetened apple sauce, and worked out the points to be 5 pts a piece for a total of 12 brownies. We each had a brownie warm out of the oven yesterday, and I decided to wait till they cooled overnight to portion out the rest of them. Bad move, Lauren, very bad move.

So, I woke up this morning at 6:30, and as I was waiting for the coffee to perk, I decided to cut up the tray of brownies. 9 of the remaining 10 made it into a ziplock bag. One made it into my belly. Without much thought of enjoyment. I freaked out for a minute, thinking about how I just ruined my whole day eating a brownie for breakfast (or breakfast appetizer...) Anyway, I pulled myself together, ate a banana, and went on with my day. Luckily, I was busy, so I didn't notice I was hungry until about 12:15, at which point I swung by Whole Foods on my way to the airport. I got another banana and an apple and a fage greek yogurt with strawberries (and it was more delicious than the 4 points I spent on it).

On the plane, I ate one of my cheddar cheese sticks, 2 clementines, and a 100 calorie pack of almonds (which I planned)...and then a package of cookies. Luckily, I was able to calculate the points, and they only set me back 3, but still...

Then, for dinner, I ended up at Au Bon Pain, where I got a black bean burger...to later find out I spent 15 points on something lukewarm and mediocre. But at least it wasn't 25, right? When navigating my way through the skyways back to my hotel, I came across a godiva store...and got a few pieces of chocolate. Again, luckily, after calculating the points, they only sent me back 4, but still, that wasn't the healthiest option.

So--in the end, I had my 5+ fruits & veggies, stayed within my daily points range (though spent all my remaining "extras"), and ate too many sweets. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day.

Night night!

good day...but busy

Hello again blog readers. I wonder how many of you there are?

Today was a really good day for me. I heard back from two of my top choices for jobs next year and secured phone interviews with both.

So, I have a busy few weeks ahead. Tomorrow, I leave for MN for a conference, then I defend my PhD next Wednesday (with the 2 phone interviews in between). The next two weeks I have a face to face interview each week, with more travel. This is a really exciting time, but all the more reason to be really cautious about my weight loss.

Though I love to work out, I'm not a big "machines at the gym" girl. To make sure I stick to my plan, I'm working on a fun playlist to use on the elliptical machine, and bringing a resistance band to do some strength training in my room (I especially hate the weight machines).

I once had a weight watchers leader who described the 2 reasons for eating out to dinner--because you need to and because you want to. When you need to eat out (because there's no food in the house, or you're running late, or have no energy to cook) its important to make sure you stay on track with your diet, and don't order anything that you wouldn't normally eat (do you usually saute your veggies in lots of butter? or eat them steamed?). When you want to eat out (because you're having some kind of celebration, even if that celebration is called "Friday"), you've probably accounted for the meal in advance, and its OK to splurge a bit. I think this advice applies to travel as well. My trip to MN is for a conference, so it does not constitute a vacation, and I need to do my best to stay on track. Will I likely spend all my activity and weekly allowance points while away? Yes? But I'll also do my best to make healthful decisions. I've done some planning up front.

I found some great 100 calorie packs of almonds (3 points plus each) to stash away in my bag along with 2% cheddar packages (2 points plus each) and a bunch of clementines. I'm hoping that if I have this food on hand and keep myself full, I'll decrease my chances of mindless eating while away, helping me steer clear of the trays of cookies that seem to live at all conferences. And worse comes to worst? I can make a meal of what I've got to hold me over if there are no healthy choices in around. I think I can I think I can I think I can....

On a different note, I'm going to share my recipe for what I made for dinner tonight. I actually made it on Sunday and am having leftovers today. This is one of those combination meals. Chicken and broccoli; mac and cheese; broccoli and cheese--its mac and cheese with broccoli & chicken and its sort of a casserole. I grew up on Long Island, and never knew much about casseroles till I met people from the midwest, but I like the idea. The recipe below is great because it can be halved easily, or can be put in multiple containers & frozen so you can cook it whenever.

Mac & Cheese & Broccoli & Chicken

Ingredients:

8 oz uncooked pasta (I like regular elbows)

8 oz cooked chicken chopped small

1 large (or 1.5 regular) head of broccoli, steamed, cooled, chopped into small pieces

5 oz shredded light cheddar (I like trader joe's reduced fat celtic cheddar)

4 tbsp parmasean (use the good stuff. nothing from a can. ever.)

1 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

1 c skim milk

1 shake nutmeg

salt & pepper to taste

Pre-heat oven to 375. Cook & drain pasta, and put it in a large mixing bowl. Add chicken & broccoli & mix. In a pan, melt the butter and add the flour. Cook till flour is lightly brown (very important!), then whisk in the milk and add nutmeg. Once mixture is smooth, remove from the heat and add 4 oz cheddar and 2 tbsp parmasean. Stir till melted. Add to the pasta mixture. Spread into an 8x8 pan (or 2 8x4 loaf pans if you want to freeze half) sprayed with non-stick cooking spray and top with remaining cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 minutes longer or until browned.

This recipe serves 4 & comes to 11 points plus each. It certainly constitutes a complete meal with protein, starch, and vegetables, but I like to add a side salad as well to keep me full.

just another manic monday

So here I am keeping up with the daily postings. Hopefully I'll keep going with this pattern.

Every semester, I have a new schedule. I'm a doctoral student by day, and a Jazzercise instructor by night (or sometimes morning). I am fortunate enough to have flexible bosses in both places, who are willing to let me shuffle around my availability.

Anyway, I taught jazzercise this morning at 9:15, and when I teach in the morning, I sometimes struggle about if I should eat first and what. Let me set the record straight--its a terrible idea to exercise on a completely empty stomach (though I do when I teach at 6:15 AM because I'm lucky to get my teeth brushed in time to teach that class...). Without fuel for the fire, its easy to feel starving after class (rather than hungry) and binge on unhealthy food.

Last Monday, I taught a 9:15 AM class, then headed to campus afterward. In order to fuel my workout and stave off hunger, I decided to split my breakfast. Before jazzercise, (~8:00 AM) I had a banana and half an ounce of almonds (yes, I weigh them out every time). After jazzercise, on my way to campus, (~10:45 AM) I had an apple and half an ounce of light sharp cheddar. I had a couple clementines at about noon, and wasn't hungry for lunch till 2!

So today, I decided to do things a little differently, since its a holiday, and I was going home after class. I had my banana and half ounce of almonds before jazzercise. I'm starting to feel hungry now, so I think I'll have a breakfast burrito and some pineapple, and then maybe a mini-meal for lunch later on. I'll let you know how it goes and how hungry I feel.

I've been on a thai kick lately, and wild caught NC shrimp were on sale at Whole Foods this week, so for dinner tonight (after consulting lots of different recipes), I'm going to give this one a try, with a few modifications. I think I'm going to replace the "oil" with sesame oil for deeper flavor. I'm also going to add a tablespoon of brown sugar at the end. Between 4 portions, that adds up to .25 points each, so its negligible. But, I like my thai food on the "americanized" side, so with a little extra sweetness, I think I'll have met my match. On the side, I'm going to make brown jasmine rice (which you can get in the bulk bins at Whole Foods), and steamed broccoli. All together, this adds up to a meal that's only 6 Points Plus!

This is a long posting but I have one more tip to share. I've always found making brown rice takes forever. So, now, in the morning, I put the rice & water (2 parts water 1 part rice) in the pan I'll cook it in. When it soaks all day, it only takes about 20 minutes to cook.

Finally--did you see I figured out how to do links? Not so bad for a beginner, huh? Now if anyone can tell me how to make my little heading go all the way across the top, that would be great :)

the pasta post

So, I'm getting this one out of the way early on. Let me start by stating a few things:

1. I agree that whole wheat pasta is a more nutritious choice than regular pasta.
2. Almost all pasta servings at restaurants are more than double what they should be.
3. Whole wheat pasta is distinctly different in flavor and texture than regular pasta.
4. I am not a nutritionist, so what follows is my opinion and interpretation of nutritional data, and should not be seen as advice.

The other day, I was watching the new show on MTV called I used to be fat. This show sends drill sergeant-like trainers to work with teens with 50-100 lbs to lose in the 3 months between high school graduation and starting college. On most episodes, the kids are given very strict diets to follow. Recently, there was an episode about Dominick, an Italian-American teen who hopes to be a chef. I thought this could be interesting. Well, the trainer gets to his house and goes through the cabinets with Dominick and his mom. She berates all the junk, but really hones in on the regular pasta. Yes, I know whole wheat pasta is a healthier choice (see statement 1 above), but really? When there are cabinets filled with cookies and candy the thing you jump on is the pasta? The trainer claimed there was, "no nutritional value," and "no fiber," in regular pasta and that his family needed to switch to whole wheat pasta pronto!

So, lets compare some whole wheat and regular pasta stats right now. For a 56 g/2 oz uncooked serving (about 1 cup cooked):

Calories- WW: 210, R: 200
Fat- WW: 1.5 g., R: 1 g.
Total carbs- WW: 41 g., R: 42 g.
Fiber- WW. 5 g., R: 2 g.
Protein: WW: 8 g., R: 7 g.
Weight Watchers Points Plus: WW: 5, R: 5.

Low and behold, for a normal portion, the points are identical. Both regular and whole wheat pasta contain more protein than an egg, along with all those carbs. Yes, the whole wheat has a little more protein, one less carb, and more fiber, but this is not like a comparison between an apple and a piece of bacon. Read it here, regular pasta is not evil! Call me crazy, but I think the biggest issue with pasta is the extra large serving sizes, not the choice between whole wheat and regular. One box of pasta has 8 servings. You heard me, 8.

Despite my light hair and green eyes, I grew up with and learned to cook from an Italian-American mom, so a lot of what I cook is Italian. For many recipes, I just prefer regular pasta. Now if I were to make something more rustic and hearty, sure, I'd go with the whole wheat, but not every time. And I don't feel bad about that.

OK, so my reason for this posting is that in the future, there will likely be lots of pasta recipes , some of which will contain regular pasta. Feel free to substitute if you like.

recipes I've tried (and loved) recently

I'm always trying out new recipes, so I wanted to share a few that I've tried lately that have been fantastic:

Mocha Pudding Cakes- 6 Points Plus and worth every one of them

http://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/recipes/mocha-pudding-cakes

Chicken Paprikash- 8 Points Plus per serving

http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipe/chicken/smoky-chicken-paprikash/

Poulet au Vinegre- 6 Points Plus per serving

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/12/skinless-chicken-thighs-with-shallots.html

first things first

For a little while now, I've been thinking about starting a food blog. I love to cook, I love to eat, and I love to exercise. I've been known to say that I cook (or bake) to work things out in my head. And I do, because it works.

Although I exercise quite a bit (I teach jazzercise 4-5x/week, and take Vinyasa yoga once a week), I need to lose a few pounds. Weight Watchers has always worked for me. I've lost 20 lbs on the program three times (yes, I've gained it back each time). This time around, I'm determined to make changes that last. I absolutely love the new Points Plus program because I've always been a big fruit eater. I've read lots of dieting blogs where the authors talk about the perils of sugar in fruit. Really? Who ever got fat from eating too many oranges?

Instead of posting my weight, I'll post my recipes, food & restaurant finds, struggles, and successes. And maybe some other random musings along the way.

Warning--I cook with actual food. That means real butter, real oil, real sugar. Please don't try to sell me on splenda or smart balance or any other highly processed products. I'd much rather account for the points, and use moderation than eat pretend non-foods. However, I do use reduced fat dairy products, skim milk, and non-stick cooking spray (I get the kind without the alcohol in it).I try to cook with whole foods, eat locally and naturally when possible, and find good prices. I sometimes fail at one or more of these things, but we can't be perfect every time.

So here goes my first recipe. Lately, I've been on a "breakfast burrito" kick for lunch. It keeps me filled up for hours. I usually eat this with 2 clementines on the side.

Breakfast Burrito- 6 points plus

1 egg

0.5 oz shredded low fat sharp cheddar (I like the Celtic light cheddar at Trader Joe's)

1 whole wheat tortilla (I've been using the Harris Teeter brand whole grain tortillas)

2 tbsp salsa

2 tbsp light sour cream

-heat tortilla in a frying pan till it's slightly crisp (but still flexible)

-beat egg with salt & pepper to taste

-remove tortilla from pan

-spray pan with nonstick cooking spray and scramble egg

-once it starts to cook, add cheese

-put egg mixture, salsa, & sour cream on tortilla, roll, and eat