Thirty-third Weigh-in

Today's weigh-in is also known as "turnin' this ship around." My hard work and back-to-basics approach paid off this week as I'm down 1.2 lbs. And it feels great! I also made my mini-goal of getting 20 Activity Points in this week which means I get to go umbrella shopping as soon as I get the chance.

Recipe: Chicken and Vegetable Tortellini Stew

As requested, here's the crockpot recipe I made earlier this week. Note, that I didn't write the recipe, but I did modify it. The ingredients listed include my modifications and are cut and paste from the WW Recipe Builder. The points value is likewise from the WW Recipe Builder though I encourage you to recalculate on your own in case I made a mistake. Bon Appétit!

Chicken and Vegetable Tortellini Stew
Source: Best Slow Cooker Meals, Pillsbury Most Requested Recipes, Volume 9, No. 1, 2004
Makes 6 servings, approximately 5 points per serving

• 9 oz cheese tortellini, without sauce
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp table salt
• 2 medium carrot(s), sliced
• 2 clove garlic clove(s), minced
• 2 medium scallion(s), sliced
• 1 cup spinach, baby, firmly packed
• 2 cup water
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 500 gm boneless skinless chicken thigh(s), trimmed of fat and cut into 3/4" pieces
• 284 ml Campbell's (Canada) Chicken Broth (non-fat, reduced sodium)
  
• 398 ml Eden (Canada) Organic Navy Beans

In 3 1/2 or 4-quart slow cooker, layer carrots, garlic, chicken, and beans. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour broth and water over top. Stir to combine. Cover; cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours.

About 20 minutes before serving, stir tortellini, spinach, onions, and basil in chicken mixture. Increase heat setting to High; cover and cook 15 to 20 minutes or until tortellini are tender.

My modifications include the omission of a medium fennel bulb (chopped) and Parmesan Cheese (sprinkled on individual bowls). I also changed the amount and type of beans from a 19-0z can of Cannellini beans, to a smaller can of navy beans. And lastly, I used non-fat chicken broth instead of regular. As for serving size, the original recipe says that each serving is 1 1/2 cups, but as I've made modifications to the ingredients, only take this as a very rough guide!

Lastly, one shout out for the magazine this came from. Just about everything I've made from it turned out great. If you can find it used, do pick it up! Otherwise, keep an eye out for other Pillsbury publications.

Lost and found

I used to be thin. I say this with a reasonable amount of certainty because I have pictures to prove it. Despite this, the doubt remains still. Somewhere along the way I'd forgotten, truly forgotten, what it was like to be thin. There was no then anymore. It was as if I'd always been overweight and the thin girl in the photos was someone else.

Consequently, as I started to lose weight, I'd observe thin people wherever I went. Imagining myself to be them because, as I said, I could not remember being anything other than overweight. However, as time went on and I lost the pounds, watching thin people no longer held the same appeal. On the contrary, it stirred up decidedly uncomfortable feelings. Instead of exploring said feelings, I took the easy way out. I stopped watching thin people.

It wasn't until recently that I figured out why watching them made me feel uncomfortable. It was because I was seeing something in those people that I hadn't seen for years: myself. Or rather, the doppelgänger of my thin self - entirely unrecognizable and yet eerily familiar all the same. No wonder I wanted to run screaming in the other direction.

Nowadays, I no longer feel that strangeness. I'm starting to remember what it was like to be thin. I'll be looking at myself naked in the mirror and think, "I remember my back looking like that." Sometimes, I'll catch myself standing in a certain way, a way in which I used to carry myself when I was smaller. That feeling of being petite but with an indomitable spirit.

Everyday, I see more and more of what my body used to be. It has more scars and stretch marks, but the shape is the same. I've found what was once lost. And I've come to believe that the same could be said for many people. The thin girl - or boy - has always been inside of us. We might not remember or recognize them, but they're there all the same.

Further adventures in the HMCS Crockpot

Though I haven't made as many meals as I've wanted to, I've still been keeping up with using my crockpot. For the moment, I've put aside Fix It and Forget It Lightly because there's almost too many recipes in it, often with the same sorts of ingredients. There's no photos either, which I find I like to see, if only to get an idea of what the dish will look like in the end.

So, I turned to my old crockpot recipe books and magazines to see what the points values were like. I was pleasantly surprised to see that often times the recipes are reasonable in points even if they're not labeled "diet" or "light." For example, the Chicken and Vegetable Tortellini Soup I made earlier this week was about 5 points per 1 1/2 cup serving. It's terrifically yummy and hearty enough to eat for a main course at dinner. And yesterday I made a Turkey and Vegetable Stew which was about 6 points per serving.

If you've got a few crockpot recipe books or magazines, have a look at them and you might be surprised. And even if you don't, have a look at the checkouts of your local grocery store - crockpot books come out of the woodwork this time of year. True, some recipes can be high in points, but there's usually a way to reduce the points value by substituting lower fat ingredients (like reduced-fat cream of chicken soup, non-fat sour cream, fat-free chicken broth etc.)

The latte that got away

While I was poking around the Starbucks site, trying to find nutritional info on a number of their heavenly sounding treats (the verdict: not good), I was pleased to see that even more beverages are coming in a light version as well.

Off I headed to Starbucks this morning with the aim of securing a Pumpkin Spice Latte. However, Starbucks was all out of syrup. Doh! So, I opted for the sugar-free skim milk version of the Cinnamon Dolce Latte. Which is...*takes a sip*...not too bad! A nice hint of cinnamon, warm, comforting, and a tasty treat on a cool autumn day.

Having been denied my pumpkin latte, I returned to work to find out how many points the Dolce was. Fortunately, it's only 2 points. Unfortunately, the Pumpkin Spice – even with skim milk and no whipped cream– is 4 points, which is 2 more points than I originally thought it was. Though I could've spared the points, I'm thankful they were out of syrup.

But that's beside the point. The point is, the nutrition calculator on Starbucks' site is pretty nifty. (The baked goods "calculator" is a whole other rant.) Try it out. You can pick your expresso, and then customize it with options for skim milk, 1% milk, soy milk, no whipped cream, and so on. Click the recalculate button and voila! Nutritional info for your particular beverage.

• Starbucks Beverage Calculator

Tip: Do you like the sugar-free syrups but find them a bit too over-powering? Ask for a half-shot, or half-sweet.

Every little step counts

Yesterday was a good day. I tracked my food and I exercised by doing a WATP video and by going skating in the afternoon with friends. When I got home in the evening, it was to a crockpot of nummy Chicken and Vegetable Tortellini soup.

Today, I had a good lunch (thanks to leftovers) and managed to do my grocery shopping for the week. And now I'm about to set out for a walk in the September sun. I have my iPod charged up and filled with a new audio book.

Ah, life goes so much better when you're prepared :)

Thirty-second Weigh-in

This is also known as the "Getting Serious" weigh-in. I'm up .2 lbs and I deserved it. I deserved it big time. In fact, it could've been worse, so I should also count my blessings.

As the scant number of posts alludes to, I've been super busy with work. A big project, a big deadline, and little time to do much else. I've eaten out more times than I can count these past few weeks. I haven't exercised at all. Not even a half-marathon training walk. Basically, I've been using work as an excuse to let everything slide when I know in my head and heart that I could do much better regardless.

Needless to say, I've been feeling crappy because of the poor nutrition and lack of exercise. My lower back problem came back and I've been wandering around feeling foggy, achy and tired.

When I admitted to what an awful week I had to the Receptionist at the meeting, she asked me what I was going to do about it this week. I knew the answer right away. Recommit and plan, plan, plan. Exercise is top priority. It eases my lower back and gives me the energy I need to get through a long day at work. Having easy-to-prepare food is also priority. I'll be less likely to eat junk if I have something I can pull out of the freezer to heat up at work.

So, today I've sat down and made out a meal plan for the week and have committed to getting my exercise in every day. In fact, it's been a long time since I've set a mini-goal, so I'm setting it now. This week I will earn 20 Activity Points which is what I typically earn. As a reward, I will buy myself a snazzy looking umbrella I've been wanting.

I'll close with a promise I wrote to myself while I was waiting for the meeting to start.

This week I promise to take better care of myself. I will make sure I have healthy, easy-to-prepare food and snacks available. I will exercise more, aiming to get activity in each day of the week. Lastly, I will forgive myself and remember that each choice is a new opportunity.