slow-going

Well, you can tell I haven't been eating very healthy latey -- not too many posts to report. I did really well that first week -- lost almost 3 lbs too -- but now I've for sure gained it back plus.

Tonight we did have a rather pretty dinner of salmon, a manderine orange/pecan spinach salad, and some roasted potatoes -- but alas I forgot to take a picture. I was trying out a new salmon recipe in the Jan issue of Taste of Home -- with the sweet glaze on top -- risking a few extra calories -- and to tell you the truth -- I think I prefer it the lemon/onion method. (of course traditionally I also like to dip it in a little mustard/mayo sauce -- but if you use the fat-free mayo it's still good.) So if you subscribe to Taste of Home -- you can look at the picture of the food. Mine was prettier though -- because I used my new dishes Ryan got me. :)

Resolving to do better,
Kallie

Moderately High

Well, I just got my lab results back and to my surprise my LDL's are "moderately high". Actually it's kind of a shock to me because when I've been tested before I have consistantly low blood pressure and cholesterol. I read all the suggestions of how to lower those "bad" cholesterols. They included #1) eating less saturated fats and more lean proteins and veggies etc -- doing it, #2) loose weight, (even 5-10 pounds it says) -- doing it, but I think the key is right here in #3)exercise regularly. The thing I fall short of -- especially right now in the cold darkness. Since the snow has started I have tried to take every opportunity to shovel it in a vigorous manner -- and today my whole body is sore because the snow yesterday was so heavy and wet -- but I guess I need to do more than just be active -- I need some kind of consistant cardiovascular craziness. Am I going to have to give in and drive in the dark cold snowiness to the gym several times a week? Arrrrghhhh! Let's ponder this for a moment -- Any ideas for a fun, wintery workout? I need encouragement... or a treadmill.

Dessert Cheeseball

We had an hors d'vours party last night and yes, yes, I know this is a dessert -- but if you really think about it -- it's quite a "lite" take on a normal cheese-cakey dessert -- considering that a normal cheesecake recipe usually calls for multiple bricks of cream cheese and one serving is like an eighth of the pie -- well this one has one 8 oz cream cheese and you just have a taste on a lowfat graham cracker (no butter and sugar added for a crust, thank you very much). Did I make a good case?

1 8 oz cream cheese, softened (I used non-fat)

1/2 c butter, soft -- or peanut butter

1/4 t. vanilla

3/4 c powdered sugar

2 T brown sugar

3/4 c mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used regular size)

3/4 c. finely chopped pecans. (I only used like 1/4 c.)

Beat first 3 ingredients 'til fluffy. Stir in sugars, then chips. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours. Roll in a ball in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 more hour. Just before serving, roll in pecans and serve with graham crackers.

Sweet Teriyaki Fajitas

I've actually posted this before on Come Hungry and even though I made this recipe up, I love it everytime. Last night we put it on whole wheat tortillas to boost the nutrition value and used the low fat Asian dressing and it was still delish. The broccoli slaw salad I made on the side wasn't much to write home about though -- so I won't. (I also won't mention the cookies I made to give away, but there were leftovers and I can't stay away from them -- go here if you get a hankerin' -- but I didn't send you...)



Ingredients:

1/2 red onion
1/2 green bell pepper
Sautee until onions are starting to carmelize
Throw in:
1 thin-sliced chicken breast (already grilled or raw) (i used pork loin chop tonight)
1/4 pkg firm tofu, cubed
2-3 T Kraft toasted sesame seed dressing
2-3 T thick teriyaki glaze (or any teriyaki sauce you have)
Serve on flour tortillas.
This made 4, 8" fajitas.

Pita Omlett

This totally filled me up for breakfast -- I didn't even think about lunch until Avery was complaining that she was hungry at almost 1:00. (which is kind of a big deal considering we ate lunch at 10:30 the day before 'cause our cereal had worn off.) And if you care, it's only 3 points! (4 if you choose to use oil instead of cooking spray)

Directions:

Sautee a handful of mushrooms, green peppers and a few chopped sweet onions in a t. canola oil. When tender add a beaten egg 'til scrambled. dump the whole thing -- along with a slice of canadian bacon into a whole wheat pita pocket and top with salsa.

Yum Yum!

Pork and Sweet Potato Slow-Cooker Stew

This is a Weight Watchers recipe that Ryan said he'd like to try -- I'm not sure I would have -- kind of a weird mix of flavors if ya ask me -- and after smelling it stewing all day I'm not sure I really was excited about eating it for dinner -- but it was actually pretty good. I'm not sure I'll make it over and over again, but if you like things spicy -- you should try this dish.

Ingredients: (Serves 4)

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice (about 1 lb)

1 lb lean pork loin, cut into 1 inch pieces

14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, with green chilies

1 med. garlic clove, minced

1/4 c. orange juice

2 med. scalliions, chopped (green parts only)

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

1/4 t. cumin

1 1/2 T. fresh lime juice

2 T chopped fresh cilantro

Place everything but lime juice and cilantro in the 4-5 qt crock pot, cook on low for 7 hours. Stir in lime juice and cilantro and cook 5 min more. (whoops -- I forgot these at the end... but it was still very flavorful) Yeilds about 1 1/2 c. per serving. (5 pts/serving)

WW

I'm really excited to try new traditions for Christmas since this is our first Christmas in our own home with a real live family. Of course we will still have some goodies that I have grown up to believe "go" with Christmas -- but I remember when we were really little -- and all the rage was the vegetable tree -- I think Avery will have fun building that and I'll come up with a low-fat spinach dip to satisfy the dippers (which let's face it -- include children AND adults).

I'm also really excited to have this new momentum program that Weight Watchers has just come out with last week. It hacks down on all my nasty habits -- when I would try to stay within my points but not in the right way. I knew it all along, but I still justified it. With the release of all this new info at WW I have also realized I've been eating the wrong amount of points -- no wonder I'm not seeming to loose any more weight! (Well, that and all those cookies and pies... weird how that works.)

A couple of the things I was really impressed with is that they have you track which foods you eat that are "filling foods" -- and to always choose those first. (Those are the "healthy foods" -- the ones that leave you feeling fuller, longer) Also making sure to get in your lean proteins and tracking your hunger/satisfaction level everyday. Let's face it -- I NEVER wanted to do that really, which is why I shyed away from the Core plan -- so I wouldn't have to moniter and eat slowly and all that jazz. So since they have done away with the Core plan and just made this one new plan all-encompassing -- well, I think it's great. And I'm really sticking to it this week to see if it really will make a difference.

Last night I had a yummy 2-point treat that really doesn't occur to me to have all that often. I know this doesn't go with coming up with healthy recipes -- but if you know me at all -- and I know you all do -- kallie has to have a treat everyday. Rarely has a day gone by without one -- so my goal here is to come up with treats that are not restricted to be a 1-inch square portion or completely off-limits.

This is just your average fat-free, sugar-free chocolate pudding made with skim milk with a dollop of frozen ff whipped topping. MMMMMM-Mmmmmmmmmmm.

This is another one of my 1-pt. stand-bys: 4 chocolate animal crackers and a peppermint patty -- rationed out to eat equal peices of cookie and mint in the same bites of course. The textures -- mmmm... you'll never go back to straight animal cookies.

If any of you have any ideas for new HEALTHY, FILLING FOODS recipes that would still be fun to set as a tradition -- pass them along. I'm thinking maybe a healthy version of a deviled egg, or maybe i'll have to make the very large cinnamon roll in a whole-wheat version. How many points is a cup of spelt, Jamie?

Kallie's ATTEMPT

Okay -- here we go -- I'm not even sure if I will follow through with this, hence I have only invited family members to view this IF they are even interested. I feel with all the excitement of Holidays and all the goodies, desserts AND otherwise that go with it, I need some excitement of my own. So here is a nice picture of one of the miracle condiments: SALSA! (Actually, it's one of the only shots I had of a food with lots of veggies in it.)

But really people, I want to stay healthy -- even loose weight -- and to do that I need some kind of excitment of my own. So instead of posting my newest yummy cookie on my blog, (sniff, sniff) I will try new recipes and perhaps even come up with a few originals. I want to experiment with different (non-fat) spices and see which flavors can go together. I'm not promising everything on here will be good or even edible -- I just want somewhere/someone to report to. Heck! Since this blog is really only for me -- I'm not even gonna spell-check!