Friday Weigh-In - SB Week 8

Hi everybody! First of all, it's not too late to enter my WW Cookbook giveaway - you have until Saturday night!

I lost .5 lb again this week. Sadly, my weight seemed to be down more in the middle of the week, but at least I still have a LOSS! I just need to keep heading in this direction. :)

How did I do this week with my commitments? So-so. I did continue with SB Phase 2 - mostly. I think I will soon go back to doing WW points, but incorporating a lot of SB meals and protein for breakfast. I was supposed to drink a glass of water first thing every morning - oops - only did it a couple of times. I did drink some water during the day every day, but need that glass first thing also. And did I exercise 2 times? Sort of - unconventional exercise. I went to a bowling fundraiser and bowled 3 1/2 games plus practice. Since my muscles were sore, I'm counting it! And last night I did some Wii fitness to warm up and then Wii boxing with my son for quite a while - worked up a sweat and my right arm (kept trying to do a right hook) is rather weak today!

This week - I want to keep to SB Phase 2, drink water every morning and exercise 2 times. Once I am successfully doing these things, then I feel like I can add more. I do also want to set a short-term goal of some weight loss and a date to achieve it by. We'll see how that goes - usually backfires for me.

How was your week? Keep it up even if you're not seeing results right now - you will see results soon!

Lisa :)

Healthy Recipe: Veggie Stuffed Peppers

Since I am giving away a WW Cookbook (don't forget to enter the drawing), I thought you might like to see a recipe from it. I have made this one before and really liked it!

Veggie Stuffed Peppers

4 red bell peppers, halved and seeded
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1/2 (10 oz) box frozen corn kernels, thawed
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 cup cooked brown rice

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a large pot of boiling water, cook the bell peppers until tender, about 4 minutes, then drain.

2. To prepare the filling, spray a large nonstick skillet with olive oil nonstick spray and set over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, corn, chili powder, salt, and pepper; bring to a boil. reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the flavors are blended, about 10 minutes. Stir in the rice.

3. Stuff the filling into each bell-pepper half. Place the stuffed peppers in a shallow 2-quart casserole. Cover with foil and bake until heated through, 20-25 minutes.

Per serving (2 bell-pepper halves) 157 cal., 1 g fat, 7 g fiber, 2 pts

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Hope you enjoy this recipe! Let me know if you try it.

Lisa :)

Time For A Giveaway

**This giveaway is now closed.**

The Bloggy Giveaway Carnival is here again! Giveaways galore happening all around the blogosphere!

Here is what I am giving away:


Turnaround WW Cookbook

This giveaway is only open to US Residents this time. This contest is open to bloggers and non-bloggers. To enter, just leave a comment on this post - that's it! If you subscribe to my blog (or let me know that you already do), leave me another comment to let me know and you'll get an extra entry!

The giveaway will be open until Saturday night 1/31. I'll have a random drawing of the entries and I'll announce the winner on Monday 2/2. I will e-mail the winner - if I don't hear back in 4 days, I will draw a new winner.

Have fun and head over to Bloggy Giveaways for lots and lots more giveaways! If you're in the mood for a more chocolatey giveaway, stop by my other blog to enter!

Lisa :)

Friday Weigh-In - SB Week 7

Friday again! I didn't get a healthy recipe posted this week, but I will get one up next week.

Well, I actually lost something this week - can you believe it? Not much - lost .5 lb, but I LOST! Woo Hoo! Am really trying to be healthy all weekend and through next week and hope to lose more by next Friday.

Last week I committed to planning our SB meals for the week - check. I committed to grocery shopping to be stocked up for SB - check. I committed to exercising 2 times - I'm sorry, what? Um, no I did not exercise...at all, except for cleaning my house. I was very unorganized with my time and couldn't manage to work it in.

So, for this week, I plan to continue SB, going from Phase 1 to Phase 2 on Monday. And I will try again with the exercise - 2 times this week. Also, I plan to drink 1 glass of water right when I get up each morning. Check back next Friday to see how it goes!

I hope you are having a successful week!

Lisa :)

Friday Weigh-In - SB Week 6

Apparently, I am good at the maintenance - but I would like to be good at losing - weight, that is! No loss, no gain this week. I guess it is still OK with me as we weren't fully back into diet mode this week. Also, on the positive, glass half-full side - I haven't gained any weight for 3 weeks! Next week, next week - I always say. But I must commit.

This weekend, I commit to planning out South Beach phase 1 meals for next week and grocery shopping in order to be prepared. I also commit to exercising next week 2 or more times (baby steps!). If I just do those things, it will get me back on track.

I'll let you know next Friday how I did and if I finally had a loss!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Lisa :)

Healthy Recipe: Squash and Pear Soup

I'm posting another soup recipe since it's Simmering Soup Week on my other blog! Be sure to check it out and enter the giveaway.

Got this recipe from WW 2-3 years ago. It's yummy and I've served it to company several times. Hope you like it! I will update with a picture soon - didn't have it ready yet...

Squash and Pear Soup

1 medium acorn squash, baked and seeded (I actually just use 1 box of frozen squash, thawed out)
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 cups vegetable broth
1 large ripe pear, pared, cored, and cut into chunks (or 1 can of pears)
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Scoop squash pulp into bowl; discard skin (or thaw your frozen squash and put in bowl).

2. In a 2-quart saucepan sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, cook onion and garlic over medium heat, stirring constantly, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add broth, pear, and squash pulp; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer until pear is soft, 5-10 minutes.

3. Cool soup slightly. Transfer in small batches to blender; process until smooth (or use stick blender in pan - very carefully!). Return to saucepan; reheat. Serve hot.

4 servings, 97 cal., 0 g fat, 4 g fiber, 1 pt

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This really is a nice soup - I do hope you give it a try!

Lisa :)

Healthy Recipe: Creamy Potato And Garlic Soup

It's Simmering Soup Week at Stop and Smell the Chocolates, my other blog! Because of that, I 'm posting a nice healthy soup here (though the soups there are pretty healthy, too). This recipe came from a WW cookbook and I'm so glad I tried it out. I love it!

Creamy Potato And Garlic Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
2 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-in. pieces
4 large garlic cloves
3 cups fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 cup plain croutons
Additional pepper (optional)

1. Heat oil in large saucepan over med. heat. Add onion; cook, stirring constantly, 4 minutes or until tender. Stir in potato, garlic, and broth; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes. Add milk; cook 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in salt and pepper.

2. Place one-third of potato mixture in a food processor or blender; process until smooth. Pour pureed mixture into a large bowl; repeat procedure twice with remaining potato mixture (or if you have a stick blender or attachment for your hand mixer, you can blend right in the saucepan). Ladle soup into individual bowls; top evenly with croutons. Sprinkle each serving with additional pepper, if desired.

4 servings, 216 cal., 4 g fat, 4.6 g fiber, 4 pts

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I always double or triple this recipe so I have leftovers and often freeze some. Hope you enjoy this soup and don't forget to stop by Simmering Soup Week - there are giveaways to enter!

Lisa :)

Friday Weigh-In - SB Week 5

Well, I squeaked out another week of maintenance. No loss, no gain. But we still weren't really back into diet mode. I think next week will be better (do I always say that?) and I am going to start exercising on Monday.

Usually when I start exercising, my weight goes up - muscles in shock, swelling with water to recover or something like that - so we will see what happens. I know if I keep up with it, the weight will come back down though.

I do think we'll attempt another week of SB Phase 1 next week - will be good for us.

Check back in next Friday to see what happened!

Next week, in honor of Simmering Soup week on my other blog, I'll be posting a couple of yummy WW soup recipes, so don't miss out!

Hope you had a wonderful week!

Lisa :)

Good Tips on Being Healthy

My friend Kim at Homesteaders Heart is doing a series on getting healthy and losing weight. I am working on implementing some of her tips. I thought I would share with you - you might find something helpful!

You can look at her 3rd article and it has links to the other 2. Thanks Kim!

Because of her, I am determined to get back to exercising starting next week. We'll see what happens!

I will weigh in tomorrow, but I am afraid that the news will be bad. Stop back to find out!

Have a great Thursday!

Lisa :)

Healthy Recipe: Green Bean and Tomato Saute

Another great recipe from a WW cookbook. We had this a few times in the past and I kind of forgot about it, but it's yummy!

Green Bean and Tomato Saute
1 pound green beans, trimmed and halved
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large shallot, finely chopped
3 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped (I like to use grape or cherry tomatoes, too)
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the green beans, return to a boil and cook until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain.

2. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over med.-high heat, then add the garlic and shallot. Saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and sugar; saute until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Add the green beans, vinegar, basil, salt, and pepper. Saute until heated through, about 2 minutes.

4 servings (1 cup each) 81 cal., 4 g fat, 4 g fiber, 1 pt.

Try it out! Hope you enjoy it. Have a great rest of the week!

Lisa :)

Friday Weigh-In - SB Week 4

Late in posting again! I did weigh myself Friday morning though...and...I did not lose any weight, BUT I did not gain any either! I think that's OK considering that I never really got back with the program - was sick for a few days and then had company.

I am trying to get back into the swing of things. Not sure how this week will go - we'll transition back to eating healthy. I had hoped to do South Beach phase 1 again this week, but we just haven't got it going yet. I think this will be transition week - getting rid of the bad foods and stocking up on healthy foods - and next week will be a phase 1 week to get us back in control.

Did you survive the holidays? Are you starting any new programs in the new year? I will think about some goals and write more on that this week.

Lisa :)