And the Hubby of the Year Is…..

Mine.  Hands down.  At least to me.

I am incredibly blessed to have the single most patient, understanding, and supportive husband in the whole world.  He’s always there for me, supporting without pushing, encouraging without making a big deal out of everything, and just generally being ok with who I am, no matter what.

That makes this whole Weight Watchers journey soooo much easier.  He happily eats whatever I serve.  He always has, but he never complains that there’s something missing.  He doesn’t bemoan the lack of gravy, doesn’t whine about the low-fat cheese, doesn’t ever say “let’s just cheat and go to DQ”.  He does have some pounds he wants to drop, but he could easily make me feel like this process is somehow depriving him.  And he doesn’t.  EVER.

He also loves my Smashed Cauliflower.  Now he’s a real meat-and-potatoes type of guy.  He loves steak and prime rib and thinks Emeril’s right and “Pork Fat Rules”.  He’ll eat potatoes baked, mashed, scalloped, au gratin, steamed, grilled, roasted and fried.  He’ll eat instant potatoes with that Kraft Cheese powder that’s a shade of orange just short of radioactive.  And yet, Smashed Cauliflower has risen to the top of his Potato-list, even though he knows there’s not a single iota of potato in it.

Smashed Cauliflower, adapted from the South Beach Diet:

Try this in place of mashed potatoes.  Heck, try it in place of any kind of potatoes.  It’s positively yummy.  Just ask my hubby…..he loves this stuff.  He’s also lost 16 pounds.  Yay Rick!!!

Weekly loss:  0.8 lbs   Total loss:  8.4 lbs     Yay me too!

Nasty Pizza

Tuesday night I ordered take-out pizza as I was exhausted and didn’t feel like cooking at 10 pm.  Pizza is fine on the plan as long as you count the points for it.

I was a good girl and counted every point.    Of course, with pizza, you know it’s great the next morning for breakfast.  I had a big salad with it Tuesday night but did have it for breakfast on Wednesday and then again with some light soup for lunch.  I was feeling lazy and wanted to use up the leftovers.  Bottom line, I felt absolutely crappy.   Not guilty-crappy, but physically crappy.

I had major heartburn that just did not want to go away.  I felt foggy and lethargic and just plain tired.  Crappy.  So I won’t be doing that again any time soon.  Even though it was all completely legal and accounted for and I didn’t go over on my daily points, I much prefer how I feel when I eat properly.  It’s back to lots of fresh fruit and veggies with lean protein for us.  Pizza is just not a good fit anymore.

On the jewelry front, I bought some lovely little ammonite cabochons today.  I’ll try and get a pic of them and post it tonight.   I’ll do that while I’m waiting for my veggies to cook.  🙂

Iced Green Tea Lemonade

Well, we were right.  I have to eat 10 points less a day than my weight indicates in order to lose weight.  I don’t know if that means that the formula used to calculate points is flawed or if I’m just really resistant to losing.  I’m thinking it’s likely the latter, but it doesn’t really matter.  I know what I have to do now I just have to keep doing it.

One of the things I’ve been working on is cutting aspartame out of my diet.  I’m a Diet Coke addict and it’s one of the things I haven’t been able to completely cut out of my diet.  I’ve gone, however, from drinking probably 2 litres of the stuff a day to one or two cans.  To replace those fluids I’ve been drinking a fair bit of water but I really like flavourful things.  One of my favorite drinks is the Iced Green Tea Lemonade from Starbucks.  Unfortunately, they’re 4 points each.  Yikes.  They’re also about $3 each and there’s no Starbucks in my town anyway.

So after bopping around the internet for a bit I decided to try and come up with something I liked as much as that.  I bought some Tetley flavoured teas.  I don’t drink a lot of hot beverages, but I’m a huge fan of iced tea of any ilk.

They’re both good, but I really like the pomegranate.  It’s very yummy.  I brew a strong pot of the tea with 2 teabags.  After it’s cooled a bit, I put it in a 2 litre jug and top-off with cold water.  I add the juice of half a lemon or two good squirts of bottled lemon juice and then either Splenda or Stevia to taste for sweetness.  It’s not Starbuck’s but it’s close.  My hubby loves it and I’m addicted to it already.  I’ve heard they use Tazo Zen Green Tea to make theirs, so I’m going to pick some up and try it: it has spearmint and lemongrass in it.  That sounds like it would be even more yummy!  And as you can see, the savings are huge when you make this yourself.

Weekly loss:  1.4 lbs.  Total loss:  7.6

I’m a Bad Bad Girl

Yup.  I am.  Over the weekend I went to watch a girlfriend’s band.  We stayed over and had a weekend of pub food and beer.

I did keep track of my points and tried to make healthy choices.  BBQ chicken and lasagna were just too tempting to pass up though.  As were the yam fries, the sushi, and the yakisoba.I won’t even talk about the curry.  Or the black-bottom cupcake.  Or the three beer.  *sigh*

I ate all those things.  The difference, however, is that I ate smaller portions of those things.  I asked for the take-out containers and used them.  I also fortified my diet with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.  I knew in advance I was going to be eating out a lot this weekend so I planned for it.  I made sure that I was extra-careful in the days before and after my trip.

And the result?

A loss of 1.4 lbs.  Total loss of 6.2 lbs.

Maybe I’m a good girl after all.

Nacho Scoops

This is one of my go-to recipes when I don’t really feel like cooking but I need a meal.  It also works when I just want something salty and cheesy and doesn’t feel like diet-food.

I love nachos.  Who doesn’t?  But the pub-style nachos loaded with ground beef, sour cream and guacamole just won’t work.  Unless, of course, that’s all I eat for an entire day.  This is my version and they’re just yummy.

15 Baked Tostitos Scoops

2 ounces of fat-free cheddar, shredded (or one ounce of regular cheddar)

1/2 cup fat-free salsa (most brands are fat-free)

2 tbsp. reduced-fat sour cream

sliced pickled jalapenos

Arrange Scoops cup-up on a plate and top with grated cheese.  Microwave until cheese melts, approx. 1 – 2 minutes.  Top with sour cream, salsa, and jalapenos. This recipe is 8 Weight Watchers PointsPlus points.  To add extra protein, brown 4 ounces of ground turkey and add 2 tbsp taco seasoning and 1/4 cup of water.  Simmer until moisture evaporates and add to nachos while hot.  This will up your points to 11 per serving but really makes a meal.

So if you’re looking for a healthy snack or meal that feels naughty, but really isn’t, try these … and the bonus is you won’t feel icky after eating them.