Tasty Tuesday: Savory French Toast with Balsamic Berry Topping

This is what I just had for breakfast and it is PHENOMENAL.

I am a French Toast Purist. I don't like it all fancy-schmancy. No orange juice, vanilla, or powdered sugar here, please! Straight up eggs, bread, and butter! Back before I changed my eating habits, I would cook up a HUGE batch - four pieces of white bread, three whole eggs, and a half stick of butter. Imagine the calories and fat I was consuming!! I was so excited when I discovered I could retain my love of french toast and STILL be on plan! The Balsamic Berry Topping was on a whim this morning - and it was SO worth it! SO good, and zero points!!

French Toast with Balsamic Berry Topping
(2 Servings at 4 pp/serving)

4 slices reduced calorie whole wheat bread (I used Sarah Lee Delightful 45 Calorie Multigrain bread)
3 egg whites
1 T light margarine with zero trans fat, divided
1 C frozen strawberries
1 packet Splenda
1/4 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Spray a small skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium low heat. Slightly beat the egg whites until just combined (this will not be a meringue!) Add salt and pepper to taste. Melt 1/4 T margarine in the pan. Dip one of the bread slices in egg, covering both sides. Place in the pan and cook for about 30 seconds on each side, or until slightly browned. Repeat with remaining three slices (spray, melt, dip, cook).

In a medium microwave safe bowl, place strawberries and Splenda. Add a splash of water and microwave for 90 seconds. Remove from microwave and allow to cool slightly on the counter for about 5 minutes. Once cooled a bit, squish with a fork and add 1/4 teaspoon balsamic vinegar. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve the French toast warm with the balsamic berry topping right on top - or on the side, whichever you chose.

Sorry no pics this week - this was literally a spur of the moment recipe!
Enjoy!

Here's to being losers in 2011!

Tasty Tuesday - Veggie Pasta with Sausage

Today's Tasty Tuesday recipe is one of my absolute favorites.
This will feed three people at about 7 pp/serving

2 Lean Turkey Italian Sausage link, removed from casing
1 zucchini squash, sliced into crescent shapes
1 sm onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 C sliced mushrooms
11/2 C cooked rigatoni pasta, cooked
2 C marinara sauce
1 Tbs. olive oil

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add sausage and cook, breaking up with back of spoon, until no longer pink. Remove from heat and set aside. Add peppers and onions and cook until just tender. Add mushrooms, squashes, and garlic. Cook until browned and slightly caramelized. Return sausage to pan, add sauce and rigatoni, and mix well to combine. *If desired, add some Parmesan cheese to the top, but remember to add the points to it!*

Inspiration in Unexpected Places . . .

Recently I and my mom started taking a water aerobics class. We were thinking we'd get a great workout without any impact. Well we were right about the low-impact - but this was no-impact and no-intensity!! NOT what someone in need of a workout for weight loss needs.

Enter Linda ...
Linda was our substitute instructor today. Linda, who's classes we overlooked because we thought they'd be too much for us. Amazing wonderful Linda that worked us out today until our bodies screamed and we began to SWEAT - yes! Sweat!! In a POOL!! My heart rate went up, my muscles ached, my body screamed in Yiddish (didn't even know my body KNEW Yiddish!!).
It. Was. FABULOUS.
THIS was what I wanted out of a water aerobics class!!
THIS was what I NEEDED!
Then my mom and I started talking to Linda.
She once weighed over 400 lbs.
She lost over 200 lbs. on Weight Watchers and doing water aerobics - which is EXACTLY what I'm doing.
I was hooked.
Needless to say . . . My mom and I have decided to switch to Linda's evening workout classes.
I have a feeling this is going to be a wonderful relationship and that I may have found my "mentor" in Linda.
I am so excited and hopeful.
God is blessing me!!

Things I'm Learning . . .

If you had told me any of the following last year, I would have told you that you were nuts.
But there are a few things I'm learning about myself over the course of this journey . . .

• Shirts that used to be tight and are now loose are not very flattering.
• Ditto for swimsuits.
• Two tablespoons of cream are more than enough for coffee.
• Egg whites are really good.
• Quinoa, chicken breast, and squash is an ultimate comfort food.
• I am a lot stronger than I give myself credit for.
• I love the water and I love to swim.
• One (actual) serving-sized serving of something is MORE than enough to satisfy.
• Carrots and laughing cow Garlic Herb is the world's greatest snack (and an answer to chips and dip!)

I am still struggling with tracking and measuring EVERYTHING, but I'm getting better. 

I guess, in a sense, I'm following Weight Watcher's "simply filling" without thinking about it.

I still have to count my chips.

I still have to eat ONE brownie instead of five.

But I've learned that I CAN do these things - and now, I do them without thinking about.

It's become automatic.

And that feels pretty good.

Healthy Recipe Time!! Cheesy Beef Fajita Skillet - 7pp

This is what was for dinner last night and it was amazingly good!
Tip - be sure to marinade the beef in some acid for at least 30 minutes before slicing to ensure tenderness.

Cheese Beef Fajita Skillet
4 1/2 C servings at 7 pp

16 oz flat iron steak, trimmed, marinated, and sliced against the grain into strips
1 bell bepper, sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
2 T salt-free Mexican-style seasoning blend (I used Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime)
salt and pepper to taste
3 oz 2% Velveeta

Stir fry beef until no longer pink. Add onion and bell pepper and stir fry until crisp-tender. Add seasoning, salt, pepper, and velveeta. Mix well to combine.

Serve over 1/2 C brown rice for a full 10 PP meal.

ENJOY!

Move, move, MOVE

We all have so many excuses for not exercising.

"It's too hot"
"It's too cold"
"I don't feel good"
"I feel too good"
"I just ate"
"I haven't eaten yet"

The list could go on and on.

Let's face it, exercise is not exactly the most fun thing in the world, and if you're a parent it's almost impossible to find the time to do it!

A L M O S T

The fact is, exercise, weather we want to admit it or not, is important. It's important to keep our muscles and joints loose, it's important to cleanse our bodies of impurities, and it results in better sleep habits, better moods, and sometimes better . . . er . . . sex marital relations Um . . . A better love life.

So how do you find the time in today's busy world?
Sometimes, you have to consciously MAKE the time.

To keep our hearts healthy, studies have shown that all we need is 15 minutes a day.
15???
15!
Now, if you're working on losing weight, you might need to add another 15 minutes to burn fat.
But, trust me when I say it CAN be done.

Sure, walking, running, bike riding, swimming, gym hopping . . . those are all great exercise. But what if you don't like them?

Try these things: gardening, housecleaning (vacuuming and mopping especially!), playing outside with your kids, dancing, walking the dog (or two).

ALL of these things are great exercise, and chances are you're going to be doing one (or two) of these things on a daily basis.

The point is, it doesn't matter WHAT you do to move your body,
just MOVE it!

What Thin People Don't Know . . .

Some of us were born into obesity. 

Maybe not directly, but some of us have a link that ties us there, something that almost guarantee's our fate into being overweight. 

A pre-dispositioning if you will. 

Whether it be genetic or environmental, no one can say, but the fact is, there are over 60 million obese Americans with medical costs of over $140 billion annually, and that statistic is growing year by year.

Even so, it's very common for "thin" people to look down on obese people. 

They look at the "fat" as though they are lesser humans. 

They look at us as though we are bad people. 

They point. They stare. They laugh. 

They shout cat calls when they see a fat person walking or jogging or working out. 

They giggle when a fat person can't fit into a restaurant booth. 

They gasp when they see a larger person out dancing or riding a bike. 

For a thin person, it's easy. 

They look at an obese person and say "why don't you just put down the fork" or "why don't you just exercise". 

They will never understand that it's just not that simple. 

You see, we obese people have a lot to deal with. 

Of course there's the physical aspects of just being obese - the health problems such as shortness of breath or swollen joints and ankles; the fact that it's difficult to fit into small spaces or sometimes to maneuver around obstacles. 

But there's also some very deep psychological and emotional issues as well. 

First we deal every day with societies views of the obese. 

Second we deal with the reasons we are obese to begin with (for many of us, it stems from some form of trauma). 

Third, we deal with an addiction that is stronger and more powerful than any drug or cigarette could ever be.

Yes. I said addiction.

See, this is my point - thin people don't understand the addiction, and they probably never will. 

For a thin person, it's about 

"eat when you're hungry, stop when you're not". 

For a food addict it's about 

"eat everything that tastes good until you feel sick to your stomach then eat a little bit more" 

and then there's 

"I'm sad . . . let's eat" 

"I'm pissed . . . Let's eat" 

"I'm happy! Let's eat!"

You see the pattern here?

This is not the way thin people think.

For thin people, celebrations include things like shopping, dancing, driving, swimming, fishing, etc.

For obese people, celebrations are all about the food.

So here's what thin people will never know:

Weight loss is a daily struggle against an addiction that many people either don't realize they have or can not control. 

There is a lot more than just "putting down the fork" or "getting up off your butt" to it. 

Each and every day is a struggle, sometimes to just get out of bed and face the sizest world we live in. 

It is a struggle to make the choice to eat that piece of fruit, rather than that chocolate bar. 

It is a struggle to NOT pick up the phone and call Pizza Hut, no matter what our bank account is. 

It's a struggle to cook every healthy meal, to look at the scale, to just look in the mirror.

So, for my thin friends, I ask this favor.

When I am struggling, be supportive.

When I am hurting, be a shoulder.

When I am crying because I can't have chocolate, offer me a hug, and an apple.

When I'm whining about having to get on that stupid eliptical again, offer to go for a walk with me.

Don't look at me like I'm crazy.

Don't assume I'm being melodramatic.

And please, don't tell me to "just do it"

Because you will never know that it's just. not. that. easy.