Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Two Fantastic Recipes!

So, there has been a definite lack of good recipes on this blog lately . . . Sorry! Last night we enjoyed a great dinner with two of my staple recipes. The first is Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo--a favorite weight watchers recipe, and Oven Roasted Broccoli, courtesy of Alton Brown from the Food Network (I love him!). These two recipes make for a fantastic 11-point dinner.

Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo Serves: 4 Points: 9

6 medium garlic clove(s), peeled and smashed with a knife

1 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, washed, patted dry

1 tsp table salt

1 tsp black pepper, freshly ground

1 sprays cooking spray

1/2 cup canned chicken broth ( I always use extra)

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup whole milk plain yogurt, Greek-style (I use ricotta cheese, GY is kind of hard to find)

1/8 tsp table salt, for cooking pasta

8 oz uncooked whole-wheat pasta, fettuccini

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup parsley, fresh, flat-leaf, finely chopped, divided

Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Rub garlic over chicken; reserve garlic. Season chicken with salt and pepper and rub in seasonings with your hands; set aside.

Off heat, coat skillet with cooking spray and then set over medium-low heat. Sauté garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add chicken and cook until golden, flipping once, about 5 minutes per side.

In a small bowl, combine broth, heavy cream and yogurt; pour over chicken and scrape bottom of skillet with a wooden spoon to incorporate seasonings. Simmer chicken gently, turning once, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.

Remove chicken from cream sauce and set aside. Add Parmesan cheese to cream sauce and mix until well combined. Add cooked pasta and 3 tablespoons of parsley; toss well. Serve pasta topped with chicken and rest of parsley. Yields about 3 ounces of chicken and 2/3 cup of pasta/sauce per serving.

*I have only ever doubled this recipe (Ben wants leftovers!), but I only use 1 1/2 lbs of chicken instead of two. I always use a lot more chicken broth than it calls for, usually adding more after I put the sauce on the pasta.


Oven Roasted Broccoli Serves: 6 Points: 2

1 pound broccoli, rinsed and trimmed
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan or sharp Cheddar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Cut the broccoli florets into bite size pieces. Cut the stalk into 1/8-inch thick, round slices. Place the broccoli into a mixing bowl and toss with the olive oil, garlic, kosher salt and pepper and set aside.

Spread the panko into a 13 by 9-inch metal cake pan and place into the oven for 2 minutes or until lightly toasted. Remove the panko from the oven and add to the bowl with the broccoli mixture. Toss to combine. Return the mixture to the cake pan, place in the oven and roast just until the broccoli is tender, 8 to 10 more minutes. Remove from the oven, toss in the cheese and serve immediately.

*Panko bread crumbs can be found at Asian markets if they're not in your grocery store. Here in Bellevue you can get them at the Asian market on 370 next to No Frills and the Salvation Army (I can't remember the name of it!). They're a must for this recipe.

This broccoli recipe is truly fantastic . . . I could eat the whole recipe myself, no problem. Alton Brown actually hates broccoli generally, but he loves it this way. It's a great recipe to try on someone who doesn't usually like broccoli.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Sometimes It Just Doesn't Make Sense


Going into the weigh-in yesterday, I wasn't feeling optimistic. This last week was Ben's birthday, which means there was ice cream and cake in the house. We also had pizza one night and I had a serious run-in with the candy jar. I had prepared myself for a gain, but I was just hoping to stay the same.

So, you can imagine my surprise when I got on the scale and saw a loss of 1.8 lbs! I couldn't believe it! I ate chocolate, pizza, cake, ice cream, and all kinds of other things AND I exercised several hours less than last week, and I still got a loss. Explain that one!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about the loss . . . I'm just surprised! It's really nice to know that I can go through things like birthday celebrations and still lose. It's all about being aware. That piece of cake was much smaller than it would have been had I not been paying attention. This plan is definitely something that I can do forever . . . that's nice to know.

Friday, July 18, 2008

What the #!@#@$!!??

I don't really want to post this week. What a downer. I worked so hard this week . . . I even did double workouts on three days for a total of 66 activity points and when I got on that scale this morning I had gained .2 lbs. Huh??

I can't believe it. It got me so down I didn't even have the heart to participate in the meeting. I just sat there like a lump. After the meeting I got up to walk out and Nancy said hi and asked if I was okay. Great. Does that ever happen to anyone else? When you're barely keeping it together and someone asks you if you're okay? What happens? You start to bawl like a five-year-old! Which is just what I did. Thank goodness most of the people had left!

I explained what had happened and she empathized with me. We had a nice talk (even though I was blubbering the whole time!) and she reminded me to look at the big picture and remember all the off-scale successes I have had. Here are a few:

  1. I've been going to meetings faithfully since February 16 . . . longer than any other time when I joined before, and it's the first time I haven't changed diet plans every two weeks hoping to make me lose faster.
  2. I've lost 3 (almost 4) dress sizes.
  3. I've lost more than 10 inches off my waist.
  4. I've gone from gasping for air when running to running for 22 minutes without stopping to walk (hopefully it will be longer this week!).
  5. I'm losing my double chin!
  6. I feel better.
  7. I look better.
  8. I have lost 38.2 pounds!!
In the car on the way home from the meeting I wiped my tears and resolved that I will not give up. I JUST WON'T GIVE UP!

This journey isn't just about losing weight, it's about eating right, exercising, just plain taking care of myself and my body, and it's about teaching my kids to do the same. Who cares if I didn't lose this week? I'm looking at the big picture and from there I look pretty darn good!

Friday, July 11, 2008

Vacation . . . SUCCESS!!

For the first time . . . EVER . . . I came home from vacation feeling good about myself! That is quite an accomplishment, if I do say so myself. Every other "vacation" I've ever taken in my life (including those 9-month vacations called "pregnancy") has turned into a food free-for-all with me elbowing the senior citizens out of the way in the all-you-can-eat buffet line.

I cannot tell you how good it feels to know that I continued to take care of my health while we were gone. I posted about my first weigh-in in Utah . . . lost 1.6 lbs. Last Friday wasn't as successful and I saw a gain of 1.4 lbs. Today I was up another .8 lbs. That's a total gain of .6 lbs . . . which I think is pretty awesome, considering two whole weeks of barbecues, eating out and 4 days on the road!

Here's what I did:

I went into it scared; I had lots of good food choices in the car; I journaled all but two days; I exercised as much as I could (took my Tae-bo DVD's with me); I ate what I wanted when I wanted it in healthy portions; I enjoyed my favorite restaurants that are only in Utah; and I remained flexible, compensating for restaurant meals with lighter meals before and after. IT WAS AWESOME!

I'm just so glad that I stayed with it. My old self would have given up two hours into the road trip when the snacks started calling my name. I was back at my meeting this morning and it was good to see the familiar faces and to see my awesome leader, Nancy. We talked about perseverance today, what a great topic! I'm so glad I persevered through the vacation and I'm ready for the week ahead. Go out there and make yourself a great week!