Freaky Deaky Leeks...

How many of you know what a leek is?  As in, you could go to the grocery store and walk right to it, knowing with utmost confidence you didn't pick the wrong item?

Yeah, I couldn't either until about three weeks ago.

But it's OK!  Not only can I go pick them out of the crowd of other random produce, but I have cooked with them twice AND ................ like them!  Add another into the "win" column. 

Never would I have considered buying a leek until all of the recipes I tore out of the magazine named for one, Ms. Martha Stewart, included them.  Of course they do.  Leek and "foil lined parchment."  Whatevs, Martha.  I don't have time for that nonsense.  But there was this recipe that looked DIVINE in the magazine picture..... so off to the grocery to find a leek.

I think you'll be proud to know that I didn't need to ask for help.  Although I totally would have.  I go to the grocery Mark manages so I'd have called his sorry butt over if necessary and HE could have hunted for it.  What?  That's what the little old ladies do!  Somewhere in the depths of my Food Network obsessed brain there was an image of a leek. Sort of greenish I thought.  So I headed to that big wall of leafy geen things.  You know, the one that is also located under the leafy green sprinkler system that seems to be perfectly timed to soak you just as you reach in?  The possibility of drenching aside, I started digging through the display. 

AHA!  Leeks.

I'll spare you having to ask - here's what a leek looks like:

I know!  Right?  It looks just like a friggin' giant green onion!  If someone *cough* MARTHA *cough* would have just said that, the process would have been a lot easier.  Some notes on using leeks ('cause I'm an expert on them now apparently!):

1.  An average leek is like 12" long.  You can't tell that from the picture.  But they're big.  You only use a tiny part of the plant.  Even though they sell you all the giant extra parts.  Stupid.  But, you hack off the big green leaves from the top and the root - keeping only the pale green and white parts to use.

2.  It will be STINKY as you start cutting into it.  It's a friggin' giant green onion remember.  And it smells sharp, just like you'd imagine a friggin' giant green onion would.  (If you were so inclide to imagine something like that.)  Don't worry.  It totally mellows out and that smell doesn't show up as a taste.

3.  You have to wash it AFTER it's all cut up.  Why?  Sand.  LOTS of sand.  All in between the layers.  And if you just rinse off the outsides, all that groady grit will still be in there and as a result, in your recipe.  Not good.  So, chop it all up and then rinse, rinse, rinse.

Want a recipe?  I knew you would!  Get your fancy-pants on because it's all Martha-y.

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Potato and Sweet Potato Tian

Ingredients

1 lb Yukon Gold Potatoes, thinly sliced

12 oz sweet potatoes, thinly sliced
1 green apple cored and grated
3 leeks, white and pale green only, sliced ⅛ inch thick
1Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp coarse salt
pepper to taste
2 oz grated Gruyère

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350F. Toss together potatoes, apple, leeks, oil, and 1 tsp coarse salt. Season with pepper. Transfer to a 9 X 12 oval baking dish and cover with parchment-lined foil. Bake for 15 min. Raise oven temperature to 400F. Remove, uncover, and top with Gruyère. Bake until bubbling and top is browned, about 30 min.

Makes 8 servings.  3 points/serving
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Notes from Julie:

1. Yeah.  I don't know what "tian" is either.  It's OK, we'll work through it together.  It's like super fancy-pants potatoes au gratin.
2. While there is a sign at the grocery indicating they sell both yams and sweet potatoes, I have no idea which is which.  Just grab one.  They'd cook up about the same for this I think.
3. Gruyère cheese.  O.M.G.  DELISH!!!  I had never tried it before.  At least not that I knew about.  I found it in the grocery store deli section - you know where all those fancy cheese are that you've also never tried?  And it's EXPENSIVE.  So be ready for that.  My 4 oz piece was $10.  Craziness for cheese.  BUT.  So worth it.  It's like a nuttier version of fresh parmesan cheese.  Also, a little goes a long way.  I'm a cheese-aholic.  I blame my geographical proximity to the state of Wisconsin.  And when I put that 2 oz on there I was skeptical.  It's enough.  Trust me.
4. You know what to do with the leeks.  Cut thin and rinse, rinse, rinse.  They'll look like little curly locks of hair.
5. Martha's Oval baking dish = Julie's 9"x13" Corningware dish
6. Martha's foil lined parchment = Julie's tin foil
7. The apple may throw you off.  Don't let it.  It totally works.  The first time I made it, I didn't read for comprehension and cut it into thin slices like the potatoes instead of Martha's way.  The second time, I went with Martha's way.  I kind of preferred it my way.  But don't broadcast that - Martha's an ex-con.  She may find me and shiv me.  I liked the random bite of sour.  Player's choice.

I think that's it.  I personally could eat this every day.  Very rich flavors.  And even Mark, "Mr. I don't like sweet potatoes", liked it.  High praise indeed.

WHAAAAAAAAAAAT??!!!

Guess who can run 90 consecutive seconds - SIX TIMES - with a two minute walk in between each run?

ME!!!!

Wooooooooo!

Who knew??!

Today marked the beginning of Week 2 of the C25K training.  I won't lie.  I was actually a little scared to even think about starting this week.  I mean, my first attempt at Week 1 wasn't exactly a rousing success, right?  It did get a little better, but still.  There was no, "YIPPEE!  I get to run MORE this week!" scrolling through my head.

Something that may have helped is that I changed up my route.  It's tricky to find non-ridiculously hilly terrain around my house.  Or anywhere in this city, really.  And while I have found I have one hill in me, I'm just not quite in the mountain running catagory.  (Is that a catagory?  Should be.  Mark it down.)  The new route is pretty good.  I'll call it my Week 2 route.

The first three runs went really well.  Even with a small hill.  Run four marked the turning point for my calves and during runs five and six, my knees decided to join "Calf Revolt 2010".  And I'm pretty sure I spotted a turtle passing me...

BUT I FINISHED.  WITHOUT STOPPING!!

And then, promptly got the hiccups.

Huh?

I agree.  I thought it was weird too.  Maybe I'm a medical miracle?

Tomorrow will be a rest day.  I intend to rest the heck out of it.  And back at it on Thursday.  Fearlessly.

Another reason to LOVE Mondays...

Weigh in day.  And yes, I CHOSE that day.  You know, because Monday's aren't enough fun all on their own, right?

Monday weigh ins weren't totally my first choice but it's what day it was when I registered for Weight Watchers online, so why not.  I mean, do I magically get thinner by Wednesday?  No, not really.  Although the past two weeks I HAVE weighed less on Wednesday than any other day.  It sort of bugged me this morning, but after some reflecting, I think I know why.

First of all, I'm happy to report that I was down another 2.4 pounds this week.  That's a total of 7.2 for the past two weeks.  Totally not shabby.  Of course, I'm greedy.  I probably haven't mentioned that yet, have I?  I'll sucker you in with all the delightful sides of me and then lay that little fact down for you.  I'll be honest and say that I had a twinge of disappointment this morning when the scale wasn't as low as I pictured it would be.  I mean, I didn't eat a single homemade chocolate chip cookie yesterday.  Homemade.  By my Dad who makes AMAZING chocolate chip cookies.  And I didn't eat one.  Or any raw dough which is even more delicious than the cookie.  I feel like somewhere in the rules of how, why and when you lose weight, that feat should count for an automatic 10 pound loss.  If not more.

The twinge passed pretty quickly though.  2.4 pounds in a WEEK.  7.2 in TWO weeks.  Heck, that's even better than some folks do on The Biggest Loser, right?  And I'm just lil' ol' me doing it on my own. 

There have been some adjustments I've decided to make though as we go into week three.  I love eating out.  It's HARD to eat out and figure out points, but we've done OK so far.  The plan is for one eating out night a week.  The past two weeks, that day has been Saturday.  I think that's too close to my weigh in day.  Not because I'm trying to get some artificially low number on the scale, but because it's just an abundance of calories (and the sodium and fat that comes with those eating out calories!) in too short of a window for them to properly even out before weighing in.  Plus, I can 2.5 points worth of sodium-rich microwave popcorn last night.  I have enough real weigh to get rid of - I don't need the scale registering Orville Redinbacker's popcorn induced water weight as well!

Eating out day is henceforth declared to be Wednesday.  (cue the old timey trumpet fanfare!)

On a final note, I know from other folks that in general, Monday is a less desireable weigh in day so that people can work off the weekend binge calories.  I guess what I'm doing is similar with moving the eating out calories, but I have found that knowing Monday is my weigh in day keeps me from going too nuts over the weekend.  It's good motivation to cast an editing eye on my food choices.

Just ask those poor homemade cookies sitting in my parents' freezer waiting for their chance to be eaten.

Product Recommendation: The Titan Peeler

Yes.  From "As Seen on TV" fame.  A. Maze. Ing. 

I know.  You think I've lost my mind.  It's OK.  I'm used that.  You're looking at your computer screen the same way my husband looked at me when I announced my Titan Peeler love a few months ago.  You NEED to trust me on this.

Now, I'll admit I do enjoy gadgets.  I also enjoy infomercials.  So if I'm lucky enough to catch wind of a gadget informercial, you've probably lost me for the 22 minutes it takes to give me all the justifications I need for purchasing said gadget.  I blame genetics and my father for all of this.  He, too, is a fan of the informercial gadget.

OK, so WHY do I love the Titan peeler so?  Some of it's positive attributes:

• Nice heft to the peeler.  It doesn't feel chintzy and the handle is nice and fat so it's easy to hold.
• The peeler has little pointed teeth instead of the flat blade on a traditional peeler.  Why is this so great?  Well, it makes the skinless parts of whatever you're peeling have TEXTURE.  AMAZING.  No more potatoes flying out of your hand and into the sink filled with peels.  No more struggling to hang onto slippery carrots.  No slipping at all.
• As a person prone to fileting skin from their fingers while using a peeler, I have some limitations on which types I can buy.  We call this kind the "Julie safe vertical kind".  It's very technical and scientific, no?  As opposed to the "Julie bleeds all over the food and has to start over much to the chagrin of her husband who doesn't understand what the problem is between his wife and a horizontal peeler" kind.  Perhaps I've shared too much.  The good news with the Titan peeler is that when you do try to take your skin off, it's not a giant slice.  It's just a few little scratches.  All because of those nice little teeth.
• It rinses clean really easily and doesn't really need to run through the dishwasher if you're inclined to skip that.  Which I am.  Because I'm lazy.
• I HIGHLY recommend buying the version that includes the Julienne cutter.  It takes a little learning curve, but once you figure it out, you're going to be Julienning anything that crosses your path.  Trust me on this.  It's magical.
• You can skip the slicing board.  I sent in a tiny piece of paper and $2.99 for shipping and handling and still haven't figure out how to make the whole "mini-mandolin" of advertising fame happen.

I did link to an Amazon set in case you just can't wait another second.  But I got my set at Walgreens for $15.  You do what works for you.  It's a free country.

Perhaps it's because I'm a total gadget geek, but I use these peelers every day.  Because I can.  They're so slick, especially that Julienne peeler.  I add carrots and cucumbers to just about everything I can because it's fun and the pieces just turn out so perfect.  Definitely worth checking out!

Let's talk about running, shall we?

I am not a runner. 

Let me set the scene for you:  It's 1985.  You're in a church parking lot about a half block from Lowell Elementary school.  There is a group of about 20 fifth graders and perhaps some orange cones laid out in an oval.  (That cone part may be fictionalized.  My old lady brain can't remember that part.)  It's the big day.  The day "they" want you to run a mile.  And be timed.

Torture.

There's one little girl.  Adorable, really.  (Well, maybe not in fifth grade.  There were some "lost years" there in early puberty!)  She wants to do well.  In her head she's thinking, "It's just running.  I'll nail this."  She SEES herself coming in first.

And, she comes in 4th to last.  Painfully so.  Embarassingly so.  And did I mention that her Dad was a cross-country running coach?  sheesh.

Yes, that little girl was me.  Obviously, 25 years later, I'm OK with that.  Hey, at least I finished!  But it's one of a long list of examples in which I am just not biologically predisposed to be a runner.  Now, if a bear was chasing me?  I could probably run.  But not for long and that bear better only have like 2.5 legs or something to slow him down as well. 

Over and over I've been challenged to run - training for the volleyball season, trying to get my cardio up for my dance training, at the gym track - and it's just never stuck.  Who knows why.  In all of those instances, I was in pretty top shape fitness-wise.  Not to be to er, blatent, but I have always blamed the largeness of my chest.  It's not easy to run with all that going on.  Trust me.

In this new era of eliminating the "can't" from my life, I'm DETERMINED to become a runner.  A couple of years ago, I'd run across this running program called:  Couch to 5K. http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml  At that time, there was really no such thing as an MP3 player or iTunes.  I printed the training schedule off and dragged it down to the dusty basement treadmill.  Did the first day and then abandoned it.  People, it's hard enough for me to run - think Pheobe from Friends but with less joy and flailing - without having to refer to flowcharts of duration and speed.

Enter the modern age.

There's an app for that! 

Now, I don't have a fancy cell phone.  But I dug through iTunes and found a free podcast download by a fella named Robert Ullrey.  It's free and with only a little coaxing, it is now on my MP3 player.  His website (which also contains his podcasts) is here:  http://www.ullreys.com/robert/Podcasts/index.html  The music is a little new age-y but you get used to it.  I do know my friends with fancy phones bought apps that flow right over your own music.  I can get the name of it if anyone's interested.

Basic breakdown of the Couch to 5K program - or C25K as the cool kids (or lazy kids) call it.  You walk for about 5 minutes as a warm up and then do alternating intervals of running and walking.  Week 1 is 5 minutes warm up, 1 minute run, 90 seconds walk and repeat until you've completed 8 running intervals. 

And the first day I did it, I thought I was going to die.  Total flashback to the fifth grader in that church parking lot.  Surprisingly, my lungs didn't feel like they were going to crawl out of my body in protest.  It was my calves.  Holy Hannah.  On the second minute of running they started BURNING.  I'll be honest, I only made it partially through that workout.  Good as an eye opener, not great for morale.  But, after a rest day I was out there again.  And made it twice as far without full body meltdown.  Rest day, onto day 3 and I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!  The whole program from start to finish.  With no pausing or even really any feelings of wanting to die right there on Basswood Avenue.  Amazing stuff. 

I made the executive decision to repeat week 1 this week.  You can't really count what I did last week as successfully completion.  Today will be day 3 and I am probably ready to move onto week 2 next week.  I'm SCARED to move to week 2, but I will do it. 

There's nothing pretty or glamorous about me and running.  Yet.  But, it's nice to know that I *can* run.  Even if it's for 8 spaced out minutes.

Emeril's Oven-Roasted Cauliflower

Cauliflower. There. I said it.

It's sort of like ripping a Band-aid off.  Let's just get it out there so we can start the conversation.

If you're anything like me, your experience with cauliflower has probably been limited.  Relegated to the last thing left on a party veggie platter.  Sitting there, steamed, in the way of a few baby carrots and perhaps a piece of broccoli on the side of a plate at a wedding reception.   It has some strong disadvantages to overcome - bland color, its resemblance to broccoli, sort of stinky.  Truth be told, I've always just assumed I wouldn't like cauliflower.

Turns out, I LOVE it.  Well, at least one very specific version of it.  Thank you, Mr. Emeril Lagasse for opening my eyes to cauliflower's potential.  Admittedly, it helps that the veggie in question is paired with olive oil and parmesan cheese, but still.  Don't we all need friends sometimes?

I'm obsessed with this recipe.  It's crunchy and nutty and lemony and even a little decadent.  Again, this could be the starvation talking.  You'll have to try it and report back!

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Emeril's Oven-Roasted Cauliflower

Ingredients

5 to 6 cups cauliflower florets, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter (from 1 medium cauliflower)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sliced garlic
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
Chopped chives, for garnish


Directions
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
Place the cauliflower florets in a large saute pan or a roasting pan. Drizzle the olive oil over the cauliflower, and season with the garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Place the saute/roasting pan in the oven and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure even roasting.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the Parmesan. Garnish with chopped chives and serve immediately while still warm.

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Julie's Notes:

If you've never dealt with a whole cauliflower before, be prepared for it to be a little feisty.  I'll admit I've never dealt with one before, I'm not proud.  I expected it to behave like a head of broccoli but it's denser and tighter.  So, have a good, small knife to get in there.  The plus side?  It's less messy than a head of broccoli.

I'm not sure what sort of oven situation Mr. Lagasse has happening at his house, but in mine, I don't use my oven at 500 degrees.  First of all, it seems like overkill.  Second of all, it's the temperature at which my oven CLEANS ITSELF.  I'm not sure I want to put my food in there at that temp and risk spontaneous combustion.  Player's choice.  *I* kept it down to a nice, calm 450 degrees and it turned out just fine.

Another thing that I'm not sure of is what the heck constitutes a "large saute pan or a roasting pan".  So, I used a metal baking sheet.  And all was fine.

Fresh garlic and chives.  Go for it if you feel you must.  I just used powdered garlic and no chives.  It was still delish and no one came to arrest me for food abuse, so I think you're safe if you follow in my footsteps on that one.

In terms of points, well, here's where it's tricky.  When I ran the whole recipe through the WW site, it came out to about 3 points a cup.  If I break it down to 1 cup cauliflower, 1 tsp oil, and 1 TBSP cheese (which is what the recipe serving essentially is!),  I get 2.5 points a cup.  And yes, that .5 point is important to me.  Especially since I plan to eat at least two cups of it.  Don't judge.

I promise you this one's worth trying.  Even if you think you don't like cauliflower.  Even if it still looks a little yucky to you when it comes out of the oven.  Even if it smells a little funny to you once it's all assembled.  All of those things happened to me at first too, and now I have an addiction to this stuff.

Homemade Ranch Dressing

Yup, I know.  In some dieting rule book on some shelf that only the truly dedicated have access to, there is written: "NO RANCH DRESSING IF YOU'RE DIETING!"  Or at least I assume that to be the case.  I never would have been in that group dedicated enough to be granted access to the tome.

Here's a little something about me....I love ranch dressing.  The thicker and higher the fat content the better as far as I'm concerned.  However, concessions must be made if I'm going to want to eat anything else.  Although celery is zero points......... 

Part of this process is learning how to eat less processed foods and replace them with foods whose ingredients I can pronouce or personally handled in their original form.  This may sound stupid, but I guess I never stopped to consider a person could actually MAKE ranch dressing.  It just has such a magical and mystical taste and comes already made or in a white powder.  I can't make white powder that turns into dressing, so I assumed it was something only machines could make.

Not so!  Warning, the site I'm about to link you to is delicious and dangerous in the wrong hands.  Consider yourself warned if you peek any further than the specific recipe I'm sending you to!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/06/homemade-ranch-dressing/

I'll copy her recipe and post it here, but to really love and appreciate it, you really should click the link.  Her whole site is delightfully written and includes perfect pictures of how to prep the recipes she posts.  And if you're anything like me, a picture of a recipe makes it so much more appealing.

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Homemade Ranch Dressing

Ingredients
1 clove (to 2 Cloves) Garlic
Salt To Taste
¼ cups Italian Flat-leaf Parsley
2 Tablespoons Fresh Chives
1 cup (real) Mayonnaise
½ cups Sour Cream
Buttermilk (as Needed To Desired Consistency)
White Vinegar (optional, To Taste)
Worcestershire Sauce (optional, To Taste)
Fresh Dill (optional, To Taste)
Cayenne Pepper (optional, To Taste)
Paprika (optional, To Taste)
Fresh Oregano (optional, To Taste)
Tabasco (optional, To Taste)

Preparation Instructions
Mince the garlic with a knife and then sprinkle about an 1/8 to ¼ teaspoons of salt on it and mash it into a paste with a fork. Chop the parsley, chives and any of the optional herbs very finely and add to the garlic.

In a bowl combine all ingredients, adding other optional ingredients as you wish, tasting frequently and adjusting seasonings as needed. Chill for a couple of hours before serving, thin with milk or buttermilk if desired.


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My notes on this masterpiece of ranchy goodness:
The only fresh herb I used was chives and it was still delish.  I know, I know.  There's some "party line" about fresh being better.  Frankly, I have time management issues and I buy fresh herbs in all their glory and then promptly put off making the recipe they're intended for and only realizing it when I see the once gorgeous fresh herbs sitting in my fridge all yellowed and browned and gross.  But I do feel fancy buying them.  Thus, fresh chives.

Add all the spices and vinegar in small amounts and work your way up. Trust me.  I have a container of ZESTY ranch dressing in my fridge right now due to some vinegar on a mission to leave the jug. 

Buttermilk isn't necessary.  I used skim milk and it was just fine. 

I do use full fat mayo and sour cream.  I just feel like the fat free stuff  #1. Doesn't taste as good and #2. Is likely overly processed to get all the fat out.  I just am careful with portion size.

I use 1 TBSP as a dip and I've calculated that to be about 1 point.  (I'm not sure I'm allowed to talk specifically about how many points something may or may not be - I don't want WW to come pounding on my blog!).  It's so flavorful that 1 TBSP really has been enough even for the giant pile of carrots that has been finding its way onto my lunch plate.

Whining about Weaning

In a misguided effort to be "healthier" but cutting out sugar, I switched to Sweet & Low in my morning cocaine, er, COFFEE. I mean coffee. I've never had cocaine but I saw Less than Zero and lived in the '80s. I'm aware.

For whatever reason, I really enjoy Sweet & Low in coffee. I can't stand the smell of it when that fine powder cloud rises from the newly torn packet. I certainly don't like it plain and don't like it in anything else. It just balances the acidity and sharp taste of coffee for my crazy taste buds I guess.

But study after study says that artificial sweeteners are just not the way to go. And my own logic says the same thing. Typically, I scoff at "studies" because they tend to be biased and there's always another study out there that contradicts the one you read first. Buuuuut, I mean, doesn't it make basic sense that it's not as good to put a chemically created substance into your body as it is to use a natural one?

Because I'm an all or nothing sort of gal, I can't be trusted with a full container of sugar. I *will* put way more than I need into my cup. For a while, my solution this really clever dispensing device.


The "Sugar Please" sugar dispenser.  One click is equal to 1/2 a teaspoon.  Clever, right?  You know how much you're getting each and every time.  I saw it on a TV show last year and went on a mission to find it.  My husband ended up covertly buying one for my Christmas stocking.  We're super romantic like that.  "Merry Christmas love of my life!  Here's a sugar dispenser." 

Two clicks and I was off and away enjoying my coffee.


But then two clicks turned into three which turned into four which totally eliminates the reason for the device in the first place. Like I said, I have issues with all or nothing.  That's when I switched to Sweet & Low.  I dare you to overly Sweet & Low your coffee.  You can't and still be able to drink it.  At least with the Sweet & Low, I knew I wasn't going overboard with added calories.  Now that I'm cutting the Sweet & Low, I'm back to facing my sugar snitching ways.  My new solution as of this week?

Sugar cubes.

Cute, right?? And FANCY. My brain gets all, "One lump or two?" when I even get NEAR the package. 30 calories for one. And it's substantially looking.

I won't lie, my coffee doesn't taste as "good" as it did with the Sweet & Low. For now, that's OK. I'm hoping my taste buds reprogram themselves and that will take some time!  Who knows, the next step may very well be weaning off of coffee as a whole!

Run, Julie, Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuun....

You sort of have to quote Forrest Gump when you talk about running, don't you?? Is that still hip with the youth of today? Wait, let me get my hearing aids and cane.

Another part of this journey to awesomeness is using the Couch to 5K running plan. You can find it here: http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml Basically, it teaches your body how to deal with running a 5K in a few months' time. Very methodically laid out using interval training and alternating running with walking. It's great.

Did I mention how much I loathe running?

Or how much running loathes me?

Yeah. I'm not sure exactly why I decided this would be a good idea. Probably because of that whole conquering the "can't" thing. I'm tired of there being things I just don't do because I assume I can't do them. It's just running. I see old, out of shape people jogging around all the time in the neighborhood. Apparently I aspire to join their ranks.

Do you want to know a lil' secret? *shhhhhhhhhhhh* It turns out, me and running actually sort of get along. Let's not say it too loudly though - running is an elusive vixen and I don't want to jinx or relationship by defining it so early in the relationship. But, hopes are high. I'll keep you updated as things progress.

The ABCs of food and me

I have a weird relationship with food. That's not really a secret to those who know me well. This process is a huge step for me in reclaiming that relationship and showing food who's boss. There are just a bunch of foods I either don't like or don't know how to cook or just have never experimented with enough to find the way I like them. Add to that a huge sensitivity to textures - the wrong one will put me completely off for an entire meal - as well as being super visual with food - if it looks sort of icky, it's ruined before I even taste it and yeah. Trouble's a brewin'.

Enter Weight Watchers. For those unfamiliar, you get a certain amount of "points" to eat in a day and every food has a point value. It's based on a lot of things, mostly weight and activity level. Example, I have 28. Plus some others. But let me tell you, 28 is NOT many. LOL! A banana? 2 points. 28 almonds? 4 points. Right there, almost 25% of my day's points would be done! On a banana and almonds. So, you need to plan ahead and be strategic. And to do that, there have been LOTS of new recipes going on in this household.

My plan is to post the ones that are standouts. I've been really surprised by some of them. This very likely could be due to starvation. I'll get back to you on that. If you're hungry enough, anything will taste good, right? But, I'm sort of confident that these are just good recipes despite the hunger. I'll post and let you be the judge!

A smidge of background...

I'm a work in progress. Currently under renovation. Making some changes. Please excuse my dust. And all those other great sayings.

Really, I'm newly re-dedicated to improving myself - my fitness, my eating, my health. Weight Watchers online and the Couch to 5K running plan are my two new best friends. I started a week and a half ago and am happy to report, am still going strong on both.

Why?

Well, I'm tired of feeling like I can't. Can't lose weight. Can't run. Can't make permanent changes and stick with them. This time it's all about can. And can in a very mindful way - sometimes it's minute to minute choices and in other moments, it's all about the big picture.

I started this blog to be a collection place for the things that stick out. My highlight reel I guess you could call it. For one, in the past week I've discovered all sorts of new and amazing recipes. I want to share them. I've also discovered that I can run for more than 1 minute and not only not die but actually sort of, kind of enjoy it. Eeek!

Give me a couple of days to get caught up! And as I go, I'll try tag things to make them easier to find. Thanks for coming on this journey with me!