Dinners We've LOVED!

I’m living at home at the moment, and I was approached by my dad the other day a little frustrated. He is retired and my mom works. Since my dad is at home all day, he feels the pressure to make dinner and have it ready when my mom gets home. The only problem is that his recipe repertoire is a bit limited. Don’t get me wrong, he makes a great tater tot casserole and his just-add-water pancakes rival any… but strangely enough, he and my mom are pretty healthy. And I think he and my mom were getting a little tired of the same-old-thing.

My mom on the other hand has a more broad palate; however, her dinners usually consist of one thing from column A, one thing from column B, and a glass of milk. I really wasn’t introduced to FLAVOR till I started cooking myself. We never even kept salt and pepper on the table till we were given some bovine shakers by a foreign exchange student when I was in college. A typical “Mom dinner” is comprised of a chicken breast and frozen peas in the microwave. Lately we’ve sliced up some fruit to shake it up a little…

So I took the challenge and started to put together some easy dinners that I could make between when I got home (5:12) and when people wanted to eat (before 6:30ish).

Here are a few that we LOVED! There was really only one recipe that I didn’t love… an avocado potato salad, but that was because the avocado was CRUNCHY and it made me way grumpier than I really should have been.

Corn, Avocado, Tomato & Crab Salad

http://mangotomato.blogspot.com/2009/08/corn-avocado-tomato-crab-salad.html

Chicken Chipotle Burrito Bowls

http://www.grouprecipes.com/16577/chicken-chipotle-burrito-bowls.html/print

-MINUS the tortillas and PLUS Cilatro Lime Rice

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/03/chipotle-cilantro-lime-rice-4-pts.html

Both of these recipes are chuck full of veggis to get my “4-a-day”, and they’re all GREAT leftover. Nom, Nom!

Progress 6/23/10

Activity: Currently I workout pretty regularly in a group setting but I'd like to set some sort of strength and conditioning goal .

Right now I play softball on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Sunday. And I play Volleyball on Thursday. Generally one of those days will be rained-out since it's early summer in Iowa.

I emailed the Fitness Center I belong to and inquired about a personal trainer and a nutritionist. I am committing at least the $40 per month I spent on WW to my new weight plan. And I have a fairly steady income and not many expenses so I may be able to "up" that commitment!

I'm going to wait for a few days to hear from the fitness center before I state my official "activity goals". But I'm going to commit to going to the gym if the weather prevents organized sports, and one extra day before next Wednesday.


Nutrition: According to WW I was right on track with everything... except one little thing. I ate about 10 points over my allotted points (about 500 calories) and I didn't get enough fruits and vegetables.

First thing's first, F&V: Now I want to make this a game, but I HAVE to keep it simple. How can I incorporate 6 or more servings of F&V into my diet?! oy. Lets start small. I get about 2. On a good day. So lets bump it up. 4? Yeah. 4 is my goal. Eat (or drink) 4 servings of F&V every day.

What's my reward? I get to shut up and do it again. Awesome. I need some different motivation. Stay tuned for a motivational speech.

Date started: 6/23/10
Current Date: 6/23/10
Weight Loss: 0 Pounds
BMI: 35

Do it or Doughnut

Well, I deleted my Weight Watchers account today after losing about 6 pounds in 22 weeks. I was up and down the whole time. I lost 5 pounds right away, and then gained and lost 2 pounds fairly consistently during alternating weeks.

I've done WW before with great results, but this time just wasn't for me. I was annoyed at meetings with people suggesting getting their healthy oils for the day on their morning cereal. (really! you can't taste it!) I'm sorry, but I have no problem adding a little EVOO to my veggis. Getting enough oil isn't my problem. Trust me.

The first priority at every meeting was to ask around to see if anyone found some great low point foods or had any great tips for this week... I hated the people who said, I found a great salad at applebees and if you get it without croutons, or nuts, or fruit, or meat, or anything, basically if you just get the lettuce, and take the dressing on the side, and then don't eat it, just sniff it before you take each bite, it ends up only being 6 calories! And it's a great way to get your healthy oils... Or, I found a recipe for celery water. You just puree the celery and strain the water and drink it. It's actually negative 10 calories and you get a point BACK every time you drink a gallon of it.

Clearly I went to meetings early on Saturday mornings when no one should talk to me...
But I'm gonna try and do it on my own. Research my OWN diet strategies, figure out what works for ME. And find some motivation that spurs me on.

Wish me luck!