Posts tagged ‘Weight Watchers’
Buns Watchers
As I mentioned in an earlier post, summer 2011 was busy and awesome and busy and life-changing and busy for me. It kicked off in June, when The Fiancé and I became Mr. and Mrs. Haul Buns.
Photo credit: Brian Phillips Photography
Then we spent a beautiful mini-moon in Lake Placid . . . where my chronic Achilles’ tendinitis flared up so badly that I was unable to run for about six weeks. Goodbye to the running I’d hoped would help me work off everything I’d consumed during the lead-up to the wedding and the sweet days of bliss in Lake Placid. (Seriously, I drank nothing but wine, sparkling and otherwise, for about two weeks. It was heavenly. I can’t wait until I’m old and insane and can do that all the time.) And goodbye, too, to this:
Yep, my involuntary respite from running came right at the time that I was supposed to start training for this year’s New York City Marathon. As you guys know, watching the marathon last year got me all pumped up to run it again this year. But I’m going to defer so I can come back strong in 2012. And I’ve definitely got racing plans (for shorter distances) in the near future. More on that later.
Back to the point. I wasn’t running. I was drinking cava and eating brie and having a grand old time making googly eyes at my new hubby, but not so much with the cardiovascular activity. And even though I went back to weighing in at Weight Watchers immediately following our return to real life, I wasn’t really doing what I needed to do.
The summer passed. I continued to weigh in each week, but every single time, I found a reason not to go to one of the weekly meetings. I’d go up a few pounds, down a few pounds, up, down, up. My thinking ran along these lines: “Hm. The scale said I gained half a pound. Interesting. [beat] Do we have any more of those peanut M&Ms left?”
Anyway, I slowly got back into my workout groove, but just couldn’t seem to get my WW mojo working. So last week, I finally went to a meeting. It was held in a church hall. It was a little noisy. But my tush stayed in that chair for the entire meeting. And this week, I lost a little weight. Just a little, but it’s a start. Again.
Helping motivate me: Weight Watchers’ Lose for Good program, which helps raise money and donate food for hungry children and families. But you don’t have to be a member to fight the good fight; your local WW center would be happy to take any nonperishable food you’d like to deliver. For a list of locations, go here and click “Find a Meeting” at the top of the page.
Fuel Yourself: Carrot and parsnip latkes
I’m a total dork for winter festivity. Blame advertising. Blame sentimentality. Blame the fact that my momma always starts playing Christmas music on Thanksgiving night and doesn’t take down the tree until well after the new year. If you can string it with lights, festoon it with tinsel, fa-la-la-la-la it or serve it with figgy pudding, there’s a good chance I love it. A LOT.
Because The Fiancé is Jewish, I have extended my love of ridiculous holiday decorations to all things blue-and-white. Yeah, I understand that Hanukkah and Christmas aren’t equivalent holidays, and that I’m generally making a much bigger deal of it than his parents ever did, but whatever. In my family, we once created a day just for Momma — in September, independent of her birthday or Mother’s Day — and marked it with a huge banner, cards, and a giant bowl of M&Ms. In short: We like to celebrate.
So now that it’s December and tonight is the first night of Hanukkah, how about we kick things off with a really delicious latke (potato pancake) recipe I found in an issue of Weight Watchers Weekly last year? Carrots and parsnips take some of the place of potatoes, resulting in a nice mix of root vegetables that reheats well. I served these with grilled chicken and a salad, and TF was a fan. Don’t forget the applesauce and sour cream!
Carrot-Parsnip Latkes
¾ lb. carrots, peeled and grated
¾ lb. parsnips, peeled and grated
1 medium onion, peeled and grated
2 large egg whites and 1 large egg, combined and lightly beaten
¼ cup plain breadcrumbs
2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme (or whatever seasoning you like)
¼ tsp. salt
dash of ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Combine all of the veggies in a bowl, then add the egg mixture, breadcrumbs, and seasonings. Mix well. Drop ¼ cup servings of the mixture onto a hot skillet greased with cooking spray, and flatten each serving into a little pancake. Cook until browned and cooked through, flipping to ensure even cooking.
Makes 16 latkes. If you’re counting according to the now-obsolete Weight Watchers Points system, two latkes are one Point. I’ll try to repost the new PointsPlus values after my meeting this week!
Fuel Yourself: Minty goodness
Yummy!
I almost don’t want to tell you guys about this, because I love it so much and it’s a little hard to find, but in my post-Friday-run euphoria, I’m feeling magnanimous. Go to your local grocery store and buy Silk’s Mint Chocolate soymilk, which is offered only during the holiday season. Guys, it’s so good. 90 calories a cup (2 Points, if you’re counting), and it tastes like melted Thin Mints. I’ve heated mine up this morning, and I’m sipping it while I stretch.
Stash some in your fridge for the holidays, and when everyone else is drowning in eggnog, you’ve got a healthy and really tasty treat.
Fuel Yourself: Slow It Down Now
When I was in high school, my family got a bread-making machine. For weeks, we made tons and tons of hot, crusty bread. Then we put it in the closet, and it never came out again.
This Christmas, I got my first slow cooker. Since then, I’ve used it every week. I’m more than willing to admit that there may come a time when the cooker goes the way of the bread machine, but until then, I AM IN SLOW-COOKER HEAVEN. I’ve made soup and oatmeal in my ceramic oven of joy, as well as some entrees that were amazing. Here’s one, courtesy of Weight Watchers:
Provencal Beef Stew
Ingredients:
1 pound(s) lean beef round, cut into 1-inch cubes (London Broil)
1 small onion(s), chopped
2 cup(s) mushroom(s), sliced
2 medium garlic clove(s), minced
2 large carrot(s), sliced
15 oz canned pinto beans, drained and rinsed, divided
1 1/2 cup(s) canned beef broth, divided
14 1/2 oz canned crushed tomatoes
1/2 tsp dried oregano, crushed
1/4 tsp dried thyme, crushed
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 Tbsp thyme, or 2 whole sprigs, for garnish (optional)
Directions:
Put raw beef in a five-quart slow cooker. Coat a skillet with cooking spray or misted olive oil, then add onion, mushrooms and garlic. Sauté over medium-high heat until the onion mixture is nice and soft, then add the mixture to the slow cooker. Throw the carrots and half of the beans in, too. Put the other half of the beans in a blender with half a cup of broth, then blend. (I did it in a bowl with an immersion blender. Aside from a small spatter on The Boyfriend’s shirt — he was helping me cook — it worked just fine.) Once the puree is done, add to slow cooker. Add remaining broth, tomatoes, oregano, dried thyme, some fresh thyme, salt and pepper to cooker. Cover and cook on high five to seven hours. Garnish with fresh thyme before serving, if desired.
Makes six one-and-a-quarter-cup servings. If you’re counting, it’s four Points per serving.
I had this over a small baked Yukon Gold potato for lunch. Insanely delicious, and there’s no way to tell that it’s not the full-fat version.
Haul Buns 