Weight Watchers Challenge: The Food

With 4 weeks into Weight Watchers, I've lost 9 lbs. At the 3rd week, I had a slight set back with a .9 lb gain, but I attribute that to Labor Day feasting.

On my journey to my ideal weight, I've played around with different food combinations and have gotten some good ideas from family and friends.

Here are some meal and snack ideas that are all under 5 pts:

• Plain instant oatmeal mixed with Dannon Light & Fit yogurt: 3 pts
• 1/3 cup cooked Lima beans and 1/3 cup chick peas spritzed with "I can't believe it's not butter" spray: 3 pts
• 4 oz low salt turkey, lettuce, Raspberry Bliss salad dressing spray, and a mini Baby Bell Light cheese melted on an Arnold Sandwich Thin: 4 pts
• Tyson Chicken Breasts(Hormone free!) cooked in a skillet with a mixture of a chicken bouillon packet and red pepper in water: 2 pts
  

Love-Hate Relationship with food

I have always had a Love-Hate relationship with food. I LOVE food and I HATE how it piles on the pounds. Will power is not something that I have a lot of when it comes to avoiding my pantry. Sometimes you have to say to yourself: "just take the time and look at what and how much you are eating." Normally I don't have the patience to log calories, but since I've been logging Maddy's feedings, it's become a routine practice and was easy to start doing for myself. I started on Monday and I'm doing well so far. I've discovered a few things about my food consumption thus far:

• I can eat waaaay too many pretzels. I could have easily eaten 400+ calories of pretzels in one sitting and not realize it.
  
• 2 Tbsp of hummus is actually plenty to eat with a whole cucumber. Before, I would just take the carton with me and eat more than I really needed. When I measured out 3 Tbsp (since I thought I'd need that much), I actually had some left over.
• A medium sized golden delicious apple has 80 calories which is more than I thought.
• I'm saving money on groceries because I'm not eating through my food as fast.
  

Since I've started my new eating regiment, I'm reminded of a process I went through during my freshman year at college when I had an addiction to bagels (Thanks to Time for a Bagel in Morris Plains). If you think about it, you can also use this technique when your trying to get over an ex or a crush. Read on:

• Step 1: Walk up to the bagel bin, open the lid and take half a bagel. Do this for only a few days a week instead of everyday.
• Step 2: After 1 week of eating half a bagel, repeat Step1, but this time, walk up to the bin and open the lid, but DO NOT take a bagel.
• Step 3: After a few days of opening the lid, walk up to the bin and just look at the bagels. Don't open the lid.
  
• Step 4: After a day or two, don't even walk up to the bin. Take a look from a distance and just keep walking over to the fruit instead.
• Eventually, you will not miss or even want a bagel anymore. Hopefully you will be able to treat yourself every now and then, but you many not even need to.
  

This worked really well for me and became like a mantra for any time that I needed to give something up. It did work with boys too!

Update: I still don't eat bagels, however I had a mad craving for them during my pregnancy and treated myself to a yummy egg white and bagel sandwich from Bagel Street in Plainsboro.

You won't find me tracking my weight online. I don't weigh myself and reserve that painful process for doctor's visits. Instead, I go by how my clothing fits. I'm currently 13 weeks postpartum and is has been 7 weeks since I got the OK to workout from my doctor (since I had a c-section). My upper body is always the first to slim down. My hips and that awful spare-tire are always the last to go away (and usually don't).

In addition to my calorie counting, I have been doing a variety of exercises. I found a routine called the 3-2-1 Baby Bulge Be Gone which Halle Berry and Jessica Alba both do. It's a circuit workout that can be done in about an hour or less. I tried it out last night and felt really good when I left the gym. I'll probably tweak with the strength portion, incorporating different moves that I've enjoyed in the past.

Wish me luck and I'll try to record my progress as I go.

Mrs Mo's Veggie Pick: Yellow Zucchini

I'm a huge fan of all types of squash and zucchini, but I don't think I ever cooked or ate yellow zucchini before until this past week.

Last Saturday, I picked up a carton from the West Windsor Farmers Market for $3! That night, I sliced up the zucchini and grilled them along with some tuna (also purchased from the market). First I had them in a skillet with some olive oil, but then I just transferred them out of the oil and onto the the griddle/grill with the tuna to get crispy. Wow...were they good!

I still had 3 more full zucchini to go through for the week. I cooked them the next day with some Japanese eggplant and then another day just on their own in my broiler oven. Either on their own or with another veggie, the yellow zucchini stood out! Both my husband and I loved how they came out. I don't know if it is the yellow color, but the zucchini had a buttery taste to it. Sometimes, you can taste the garden with green zucchini, but the yellow is mild. I guess you could say it tasted how it looked.

For more yellow zucchini meal ideas, check out the recipe links below:

• http://www.melissas.com/recipes/index.cfm?Recipe_ID=2318
• http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/sidedish/zucchini_cilantropecanpesto.html
• http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/aspen-2002-grilled-green-and-yellow-zucchini

Lego My Wheat-Free Waffles!

I recently joined the Biggest Loser Online-Club and one of the frequent recommendations for breakfast is a waffle with fruit. Since I need to eat Wheat-Free foods, I thought that wasn't going to work and I would stick to my rice puff cereal. However, while I was shopping in The Fresh Fig Shop in Pennington, I saw these Van's Wheat Free waffles. I thought, what the heck, let's give them a try.

The next morning, I put 2 waffles (189 cal, 5 g of fat-0.5 g. sat, 5 g. fiber, 4 g. protein for both) in the toaster oven. I topped them with canned peaches, cinnamon, and just a drizzle of the regular syrup we had in the cabinet. I loved them. They were nice and crisp and light. I haven't had a real waffle in so long so I can't tell you the difference, but I'm sure the wheat free version is not as dense. You can always dress them up with the good fatty/sugary stuff like whipped cream, syrup and butter if you can't give up the entire experience. But try these for a healthy alternative. Your body will thank you.

The Fresh Fig is located on 1 Tree Farm Rd, Pennington, NJ, (609) 737-3447