Clueless in the Kitchen - Sauteed Brussels Sprouts and Crock Pot Chicken Tacos

This week's Clueless in the Kitchen Reviews are for Dan's Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Red Pepper and Onion and Shannon's Crock Pot Chicken Tacos.

First up are the infamous brussels sprouts. I made a big production about the fact that I was going to try brussels sprouts for the first time in my life (yep, you read that right - first time).

I even posted a few Facebook status updates about it including: "I just put brussels sprouts in my shopping cart" and "brussels sprouts are currently cooking on my stove" followed with friend's comments such as "on purpose" and "Shane made them for me when I was pregnant and when he wasn't looking I fed them to the dog!"

When I saw that Dan posted a recipe for brussels sprouts my response was "Brussels Sprouts? Really Dan? I have never eaten a brussels sprout in my life but I guess a deal is a deal." (My deal was if you posted a recipe, I would try it.)

Dan did a good job selling them. His response to my disbelief that he would suggest such a thing was: "They are baby cabbages and can be a little bitter. I have found that sauteing them helps take out the bitterness. I never ate one until i married my wife. Now i love them. If you want to be a little bad, they are also good boiled until they get soft and then add butter and Parmesan cheese. Or slice them in half and cover them along with cauliflower in olive oil. add some oregano, salt and pepper and garlic powder. Layout on a cookie sheet and roast them in the oven on 375 for about 35 mins. That is pretty tasty as well."

All right, let's get started. I chopped up the brussels sprouts (I wondered if I was doing it wrong - I had a lot of leafs fall off in the process) and after looking up how to julienne a pepper (seriously people, I am that clueless in the kitchen) I chopped those up as well.

Score one point for looking pretty.

I sauteed the sprouts with some olive oil and garlic. So far so good.

While cooking the smell was fine - no yucky odors. Actually smelled really nice when I added the red peppers in.

I proudly present Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Red Pepper and Onion

Moment of truth. I was about to eat a brussels sprout. I started with a small one. The taste was unique as it hit my tongue. I chewed and kinda liked the texture. Next I tried one with some of the red pepper. Wasn't bad. The pepper masked most of the sprouts taste. Next I tried another sprout on its own and I was done. I tried, but I did not like them. Didn't like the aftertaste either.

I was so anxious to try them I forgot the cheese. I think I would have just been wasting good cheese though.

Result: Smiley thumbs down

Jacob gave it a shot. He put a sprout in his mouth. Gave a weird look and then spat it back in his hand. It happened quick enough I couldn't get a photo.

Result: Thumbs down

Dan, we gave it the college try, but we're going to be a non-brussels sprout home. Keep sending suggestions though. I promise to try them.

Here's the count:
Thumbs up - 0
Thumbs down - 2

Here's the recipe:
Clean and slice brussels sprouts length wise. Julienne red pepper and slice half an onion. Heat olive oil in skillet. Add some fresh chopped garlic. Saute BS first for about 3-5 mins. add red pepper and saute with BS for about 5 mins. Add onion and saute until all veggies are soft, or to whatever texture you prefer. remove from heat and have a 1 cup serving. Add small amount of crumbled Gorgonzola or blue cheese. Very healthy side dish, tastes great and is quick.

Next up is Shannon's recipe for Crock Pot Chicken Tacos. I was excited about how easy and quick this meal would be. On my way out the door for work, I dumped some chicken in the crock pot and poured a jar of salsa over it. That's it!

When we walked into the house after work and picking up the kids Jacob said "something smells yummy!"


I proudly present Crock Pot Chicken Tacos

Let's see what the family thought of this new dish ...

Jim was a fan.

Result: Thumbs up

And Jacob ...

He loved it. He ate two tacos and told me to be sure to save some leftovers for him so he could have more.

Result: Thumbs Up

(Notice Jacob is sitting in the chair - kinda.)

What did Miss Grace think?

No love from Gracie. She didn't like the chicken. Then there was a huge blow-up at the table where she refused to eat the cheese and tortilla because the chicken had touched it and I refused to cook her something else for dinner (a rule is a rule). After tears, a trip to her bedroom to calm down and a little chat, we both agreed that she could have a banana and we would call it a day.

Result: Thumbs Down

I liked it. The salsa taste was a bit strong for me, but I loved how easy it was. I spread some avocado on mine and liked the extra kick. I think doing the same thing but using a sweet barbecue sauce might be good.

Result: Thumbs Up

Here's the count:

Thumbs up - 3

Thumbs down - 1

Here's the recipe:

I heard this tip at a Weight Watchers meeting a couple of years ago. You take frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts (4 to 5 or as many as will fit) and put them in your crock pot, add kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, and one jar of any kind of salsa you like. Cook on low all day. When you get home, remove the chicken only from the crock pot, shred the chicken, and then take the juice left over and strain the veggies from the salsa and reserve the liquid. Take the shredded chicken, add the salsa back in, and then add as much liquid as you like. Then, what I do is take soft taco sized flour tortillas, spread some avocado, low fat or fat free sour cream, a little bit of cheese, some hot sauce, and the chicken mixture, and you've got some great chicken tacos!!! I find this chicken mixture to be very tasty and if you like avocados, you will love this!

Thanks Shannon and Dan for playing along!

Zumba Corner

I missed a good class last night by reading the status updates on Facebook. I will be going back tomorrow. I need it.

Dirty Dozen; Clean 15

I've been thinking about fruits and veggies a lot lately. I put out a cry for help to learn more about organic produce and received some great feedback from my friend Kirsten and my sister-in-law Kim.

Kim told me to google the "Clean 15 list" for buying organic foods which I did. I found this lovely cheat sheet on the Environmental Working Group's Shopper's Guide to Pesticides Web Site.

Source: Environmental Working Group's Shopper's Guide to Pesticides Web Site. http://www.foodnews.org/walletguide.php

I've been wanting to make the move to organic, but I wanted to understand why it was important and how to do it the right way. I was overwhelmed to say the least. Kim suggested that this Clean 15, Dirty Dozen list would be a way to ease into the organic movement and I agree. This list is something I can laminate and attach to my canvas grocery sack. Super Easy.

My friend Kirsten suggested some reading material to help educate myself. Once I finish my current romance novel, I'll be sure to download this to my reader and check it out.

Kirsten comments from my Let's Get a Snack post said:
"I highly recommend Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver to help you as you learn more about the importance, healthfulness as well as FUN about eating local and organic. The Kingsolver book explores what it means to eat locally and the global impacts of this lifestyle--which is actually how people have eaten for thousands of years--until recently!"

Do you shop locally? Frequent your local farmer's market? What about buying organic?

(The photo at the top of this post was taken from val'sphotos on flickr.)

Zumba Corner
Ugh, I haven't been to Zumba in a week. I won't list excuses. I just need to get back there.

Lying to My Doctor

Confession: I didn't see my doctor for three years after my youngest was born. I didn't go because I didn't want to be yelled at for my weight.

(Please, please, please don't do what I did. It was stupid to let my ego get in the way of my health and I'm lucky that everything checked out ok after my long absence.)

When I did go to see my doctor I was kind of excited because I was just going to see the nurse practitioner. Phew, no lecture.

Meghan was this short, thin, mid-30s firecracker who was dressed in brown cords and a sweater. (No scrubs for her). She was fast-talking and quickly went down her checklist of questions for me. We were on a roll and I thought I'd be out of there in no time.

She was very nice and knew how to put her patients at ease. We wrapped up everything and then she hit me with the question. "Do you exercise?"

And I lied through my teeth. "Yeah, a little bit."

"What kind of exercise do you do."

"Um ..."

I wasn't expecting a follow up question and my mind went blank. I mumbled something about walking.

She then went on to talk about how important exercise is and how often I should be doing it. She suggested I get the kids involved and that they would help me get out and continue to walk.

She went on to talk about my weight and other stuff, but at that point I was just hearing the Charlie Brown teacher voice and all I wanted was for her to stop talking so I could get out of there.

Looking back, she was just doing her job and she did it in a nice way. She wasn't judgemental; she was sincere.

I was embarrassed and depressed. I was determined that my next year's appointment would be different. And for once in my life it was.

When I saw Meghan in May of 2009 I had lost about 20 pounds and she was ecstatic. She wanted to know what I had been doing to lose the weight and she was so happy for me. It felt so good. I couldn't stop smiling. I was so excited to have this stranger's approval.

I saw Meghan again last week. Down another 7 pounds. She was very happy that I had kept the weight off that I had lost the previous year. She asked if I was exercising (I was so hoping she would ask). This time I didn't have to lie. I proudly told her I was exercising three to five times a week.

It was really nice to know, going into my appointment, that we wouldn't be having the dreaded weight lecture. It was really nice that Meghan praised me for my hard work. Although having my doctor's approval had been a motivation for me in the past, it's not now. I'm doing this for myself and my health.

Do you dread going to the doctor? Does your doctor lecture you on losing weight? How does it make you feel?

Family Corner
I posted on Friday that I was looking forward to a Plan-Free Weekend and I'm happy to report it was everything I hoped it would be. Saturday we went to some garage sales, stopped for a healthy snack and went to the pool. Sunday we had our "special lunches." Jim and Gracie went to McDonalds (her choice) and Target to pick out snacks for Cub Scout day camp this week. Jacob and I went to a local Mexican restaurant and ordered way too much food. Then we headed to one of our favorite stores, Half Price Book Store, and he picked out a few books from his favorite author, Dav Pilkey. We spent the rest of the day with my parents and my brother and his family who are visiting from out-of-state. It was a perfect weekend.

Me and Jacob at Acapulco Joe's for our special lunch.

Jacob's finds at the book store.

How cute are my kids?

Let's Stop for a Snack!

I got my wish and we went to some neighborhood garage sales this morning.

We found some fun things - a vintage Yahtzee game, an old Royal Traveller make-up suitcase (my mom or grandma must have had one of these - it seemed very familiar to me) and a set of canary yellow Texas Ware.

Around 10 a.m. we started to hear some whining from the backseats. We were all getting a little hungry and decided we should stop for a snack.

In the past we would have stopped at a gas station for candy or even hit an ice cream stand. Today I suggested we stop at Phillip's Produce, a local flower/fruit stand. I've been toying with the idea of shopping local/organic, but don't feel educated on the subject enough yet. For instance, how "local" were these items that we bought today? The only sign we saw that was labelled local was for the corn. Even if it wasn't local, were we helping by buying local? Educate me please.

It was a quick trip, but it was pretty fun. We hopped out of the Jeep and Jim went for the fruit while I'll started picking out some corn. 30 seconds later I look over and Jacob has a strawberry quickly approaching his mouth. I pulled out the old Mom card and said in a sharp tone "Jacob Cecil put that down!" I went over and took the box of strawberries that we were now purchasing and an older gentleman that worked there said "go easy on him Mom." I actually laughed instead of being offended. I started looking at some bananas and he said "do you ever make banana bread?" I said "sure." He then quickly proceeded to gather up several bananas and say "I'll cut you a deal on these" and with a wink he took them inside the shop. I had no idea what just happened. Had I just agreed to buy a dozen bananas?

Jim grabbed some oranges and apples while I picked out a couple of avocados and we started to make our way inside. The old man came out again and saw Jim with a bag of bananas and sternly told him "put those back." Jim didn't know about our previous conversation (if you could call it that.) The old man said "oh, are you with her?" and Jim said "yes." He again told him to put back the bananas because he was cutting us a deal.

I corralled the kids inside and my old friend talks me into buying some romaine lettuce that's only 99 cents. Jacob is eyeing the raspberries in the fridge and Gracie is picking up several packs of flower seeds and I take that as my cue to get the kids back into the Jeep.

This all took place in about five minutes. Jim came out to the car with the box of produce and joined me in the front and started handing out our snacks. He started laughing and asked what that was all about. I still don't know what the deal I got on the bananas was or why we couldn't get any ripe ones, but it was still fun.

Jacob ate a few strawberries. Jim devoured an apple and Gracie had two bananas (she must have known we had gotten a deal on them). I had a banana as well. Jim had an orange later (not as juicy as he was hoping) and Jacob and I had more strawberries when we got home and had lunch (very juicy and delicious).

Plan-Free Weekend

It's been forever since we've had one of these - a weekend without a dozen things on our agenda each day. I'm so excited to just hunker down with my family and have some good ole quality time together.

My Jacob is 7. I'm watching him get older and more independent every day and it's bittersweet. There's something so special and unique between a mother and son. We've always had a special bond. I need some Jacob-time this weekend. Maybe he and I can go on a lunch date together. Go to Half-Price Books and find a new series for him to read.

My monkey loves to read. (And climb walls and sit awkwardly)

Gracie Girl is 5. She's had a rough week. She's been staying up later at night and playing hard during the day and I think she's not getting enough rest. She's been losing her temper and has had a stubborn streak. She's also been very clingy with me lately. I think she could use some daddy time this weekend. I'll suggest that to Jim.

Jim and his princess.

And I think Jim and I will drag the kids along on one of our favorite things to do together - going to garage sales. We had some amazing success in the spring with some purchases we ended up selling on eBay which funded our summer vacation. We got burned-out on it though and the kids were absolutely done with sitting in the car for hours as we searched. It's been about a month since we've been out and we've got the itch again.

I'm also planning on going to the grocery story this weekend and working on healthy snacks for all of us. Jim has decided to jump on board the WW point bandwagon (more to come on that) and he actually said "I need more things like apples and bananas to snack on."

Exercise-wise, if the weathers not to hot I'd like to incorporate some family exercise to go along with our family weekend. Maybe an evening walk around our beautiful neighborhood.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. What do you have in store?

Zumba Corner
I skipped out on Zumba last night. Like I talked about above, I was really needing some family time and I really wanted to sit down and have dinner with my family.

Diet - Getting Started

Last week I told you how I got started with exercise. Today I'm going to tell you how I started my journey with diet. As always, I promise to be honest with you. The beginning of the story isn't pretty, but it's true. I hope by sharing my story it will help you. Help you to get started or to see how far you've come. This is just the very beginning of the story. I plan on breaking down these topics in more detail in later posts.

Not So Pretty
After I had Gracie and knew we weren't going to have any more kids I stopped trying. I had tried all my life to lose weight and I was done. I had my family and I knew my husband loved me and I just didn't care anymore.

I ate out for lunch ever day and I ate whatever I wanted. I went to Steak-n-Shake at least once a week and got a chili mac, large cheese fry and large banana split sippable sundae. That's a total of 2,412 calories (54.5 WW points - almost two days worth of points for one meal). I could list other meals that I ate with similar calorie counts on a daily basis.

I didn't feel guilty about it because I didn't allow myself to think about it. I was in denial. The only time I thought about my weight was when I would catch my reflection in the mirror/window or when I would see photos of myself (which I would promptly delete or untag). My mental image of myself was much smaller than my actual size.

What Changed?
My attitude changed in January 2009. I was in my second year of a week-long training in Arizona. At this training you are assigned a class and you are pretty much with those other 20 people the entire week. You're in class with them all day and then if you choose you can go to dinner and spend your evening free-time with them as well. You get close to that group very quickly. My closest friend at this training was Liz and Liz is who got me started on my weight loss journey. Liz is my favorite. (Check out her blog Operation Time For Liz)

On our last night in Arizona of our second year of training, Liz and I sat in the hotel bar and talked. And talked and talked. Although I had technically only been in her presence for only a few weeks over two years, we had kept in touch through Facebook and e-mail and I felt like she was one of my closest friends. We talked about how much we loved this training we were at and all the friends we met and how we were going to miss everyone when we left.

Somehow the topic of weight loss came up and Liz told me that she had lost 55 pounds with Weight Watchers after she graduated from college and had kept it off. I was shocked. Liz was tiny and I couldn't imagine a time she would have ever needed to lose weight. She told me about the point system and how she has all food points memorized. She told me how she incorporated exercise into her life and how it helped her lose weight. She was the right person, at the right time and her example helped me find the confidence in myself to say that I could do this.

I will pause here for some super cute photos of me and Liz over the past three years.



January 2008 - Year 1 - when I first met Liz at our Arizona training.



January 2009 - Year 2 - when I heard Liz's weight loss story.



January 2009 - Year 2 - Liz is is about 5 months pregnant in these photos and looks fabulous.




Luckily for us we got to see each other in July of 2009 at another conference for one night. I'm about 20 pounds down here. She was so happy for me!

Liz wasn't able to attend the January 2010 training this year, but I will see her at the one next month. I can't wait!

I Think I Can
On my flight home from my training I wrote down the thoughts I was feeling. I'd like to share them with you:

"I'm afraid to write about this because I know when I read it next year I'll still be fat but I really, really want to be skinny. The funny thing is I ate really well this week. It started on Monday at lunch. I got carrot cake out of habit and by the time I was done with lunch I didn't want to eat it. I really didn't. Not because I was trying to be good or I didn't want to feel fat. I just really didn't want it. The whole week I didn't eat desserts or junk at breaks. I didn't want it. I really want to lose weight. I do. But I have no confidence in myself."

It was true. Both weeks that I had spent at this training I had eaten really well and because we had to walk to class I was forced to get a little exercise and I felt good.

Here's The Key
I had an ah-ha moment here. It's with that carrot cake I wrote about above. I had picked up a piece of carrot cake as I went through the buffet line at lunch. I did this out of habit. A funny thing happened though. I was busy talking to my classmates and it was getting close to time to go back and I panicked because I hadn't eaten the cake yet. Here's the ah-ha moment: I didn't have to eat the cake. Just because I always ate it in the past didn't mean I had to eat it then. It was time to stop letting food control me. I didn't want the cake. I really didn't. So I didn't eat it.

Tying it All Together
So you take Liz's success story, combine it with this thought that I'm not defined by food and my past choices and tie it together with liking the way I felt by actually moving and I began to think: I can do this.

When I got home I checked out the Weight Watchers web site. They had a free week-long trial. I thought why not? I had lost 3 lbs. while I was in Arizona and my first week of weight watchers I lost 7.5 lbs. In my first six weeks I lost 17 lbs. To be honest with you it was really easy. As I mentioned earlier I had been eating horribly and I was following the WW program to a tee and it just melted off. It's after those first six weeks that it becomes challenging (and I promise to blog about those challengint times too).

More to Come
I plan on telling you more about those first few weeks on the WW plan and how I relearned how to eat, how I had the courage to tell my husband I wanted to lose weight and how Liz became my biggest cheerleader. I'm so thankful I had both of them along the way. Stay tuned for more.

Is there something you'd like to know more about this topic? Have you gone through the same experiences? What has worked for you? What was your ah-ha moment? I'd love to hear your comments.

Zumba Corner
Here are some friends Zumba status over the last few days:

From Mary Ellen
Zumba was smokin' hot tonight!! Wish I could bottle the feeling after a great workout!!
Weighed yesterday and definitely have lost a good 5 lbs. with Zumba (I know more in inches too).

From Heather
Off to the Y for a little swimming with the kiddos. Best part...my swimsuit is getting to big!

Clueless in the Kitchen - Ravioli with Arugula, Tomatoes and Pancetta Review

This week's Clueless in the Kitchen Review is for Tracy's ravioli with arugula, tomatoes and pancetta recipe.

Tracy said one of the things she liked about this recipe was that it "allows for substitutions if you want or need to make them." I took Tracy up on this tip and substituted the arugula with fresh spinach and the pancetta with ground turkey. I didn't have any Italian seasoning at home like I thought (does this happen to other people too? I swore we had some.) so I used a little Creole seasoning to give the turkey some flavor.

Dinner wasn't a family event like last week's Clueless in the Kitchen - Bean Salad Review. This was my first crack at trying to cook a quick meal before my 7 p.m. Zumba class. Jim was at a meeting so he couldn't help me cook. Honestly, it was stressful. Without Jim there, I was cooking while Gracie was begging me to play with her and then trying to help her get the computer working which can take awhile to get going. Jacob was blaring Fan Boy and Chum Chum on the TV. Later, after dinner, Jim was calling me to let me know he was running late and I was trying to find matching socks and get dressed for class.

It all worked out in the end though. The kids were fed. I found two (unmatching socks) and Jim pulled in the garage right as it was time for me to leave.

So let's take a look at this meal ...

Tomatoes, spinach, garlic and olive oil sauce

This was my favorite part of the meal. Tracy mentioned that it's "easy to make your own sauce and much better for you than those high sodium jarred sauces." I was skeptical just using canned tomatoes, but the garlic and olive oil were so flavorful. I would use this combination over a jarred sauce any day and plan to.

I proudly present Ravioli with Spinach, Tomatoes and Ground Turkey

Let's see what the kids thought of this new dish ...

Jacob is first up. If you remember, he usually likes new dishes.

Result: Thumbs up

(side note - does anyone know how I can get this boy to sit on his butt during dinner? As you can see in the photo he constantly has a Captain Morgan pose going on. One foot on the ground, the other foot on the chair. I tell him at lease at dozen times a meal to sit on his tush.)

Up next is Gracie.


Result: Thumbs down

She looks so dramatic! I got her to take a teeny tiny bite off the corner of the ravioli. I didn't dare put any of the tomatoes or spinach on her plate. We'll keep trying with this little lady.

I'm not pictured, but I did eat a serving of this with the kids. I should have waited until after class, but it's hard not to eat it when it's sitting right in front of me. I liked it. Like I said above, I really liked the sauce. I was ok with the spinach. I didn't care for the ravioli much. I bought that pre-made stuff in the dairy section.

Next time I will make some substitutions that I think will make this dish a regular edition. I'll try turkey sausage and a different kind of pasta.

Result: Thumbs up

Here's the count:
Thumbs up - 2
Thumbs down - 1

Here's the recipe:
I have substituted Italian Turkey Sausage in place of the pancetta and it was great. I also have used fresh spinach in place of the arugula. You can also use any type of pasta, not just ravioli, I used a whole wheat penne.

Ingredients
1 pound cheese ravioli
6 ounces thinly sliced pancetta, chopped
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 clove of garlic, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning
3 cups arugula
1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves, divided

Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the ravioli and cook for 7 to 9 minutes until tender. Drain.

In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, add the pancetta and cook stirring frequently, until crispy, about 8 minutes. Remove to paper towels to drain. Add the tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook for 4 minutes until tender. Add the arugula and 1/4 cup basil and cook until wilted, about 30 seconds. Add the ravioli and cooked pancetta and toss until coated. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer the ravioli to a large serving bowl. Garnish with the remaining basil and serve.

Thanks for the recipe Tracy! I have a really cute photo of me and Tracy that I need to find and will post it here as soon as I can.

Zumba Corner
Last night was Trish's class. I missed class on Saturday and Sunday so I was hurting last night. It's a good hurt though. We did a new routine to Shakira's Waka Waka which I really liked. Fun, easy moves that were easy to remember. It was a good, lower-impact routine. We also did one of my favorites that I haven't done in awhile - Pussycat Dolls' Sway. I love this cha cha because you can get really sassy with it when you wiggle your shoulders. It also reminds me of the dancing scene in The Wedding Date with Dermot Mulroney and Debra Messing and who wouldn't smile while thinking about that!

The Skinny Photo

Me - 1994 - 19-years-old - skinny

I finally found my "skinny pictures" that I've been trying to find for a few years. I found them in a random box of photos the other day.

This is me at my lowest adult weight. All through high school I was around 140. These photos are of me before my second year of college. I had just spent the summer falling in love (collective "aw" please) and working at a summer camp where you get up at the crack of dawn, fall into bed at midnight and you never stop moving in between. At the end of that summer I had lost my "Freshman 15" plus some and weighed 130.

I remember vividly going to The Fashion Shop in Greenwood (I miss that store) and buying tops in size small. I know that red top in the photo above is a small.

I still have those cut-off jean shorts (awesome) in a box in my closet. I'm not saving them because I want to wear them again (I mean, come on - they're cut-off jean shorts) but it's more of a nostalgia reason for me. They represent that weight loss is possible and also they remind me of the best summer I ever had - with my husband and some of my closest friends.

~ And can I just point out how awesomely bad my place was in this photo above. This was my house on Dill Street at Ball State University. Look close ... Do you see what's on the living room floor? That's right - green shag carpet! My room was a one-room trailer that was attached to my roommate Maureen's bedroom. I had to walk through her room to get to the rest of the house. Best part about my room? red shag carpet! ~



So the photo on the left (or top - I still can't get this blog layout thing down) is my house at college and the photo on the right is my husband Jim's mom's house (isn't he cute!). Both photos were taken in the same month. Notice anything similar between the two photos besides me rocking the same jean shorts in both photos? I'm wearing a shirt around my waist! Now, I know it was the 90s and it was cool to do that, but I guarantee you I did that to try and hide my bum.

I'm telling you, if I weighed 130 pounds now I would not be walking around with an oversized shirt around my waist.

This photo was taken the next year after another summer of camp counseling. I had put on a little weight since the previous summer, but check out my arms! Now, those arms I do want to get back. (Again, isn't my husband so cute!)

Where are your "skinny pictures?" I know you have them! I think I might put mine on my nightstand. I've gotten into a bad habit of eating WW ice cream bars while I'm in bed reading and looking at these photos might motivate me to break that habit.

Zumba Corner
Last night was Kim's class. I was wearing my hand weights like I usually do and there was a new song were we have our arms straight out for a LONG time and I was about to rip the weights off and throw them on the floor. But I didn't. I like pushing through the pain. It feels good to think I can't do it for one second longer and then proving myself wrong. I'm starting to see some results from the hand weights. Jim even mentioned it when I was getting out of the car after class the other night. Now I just need to figure out how to get rid of the flabby under arm crap (no shake weight jokes please).

To Tell or Not to Tell

Do you tell your friends and family you're dieting? I had made it a general rule to NOT tell anyone I was dieting in the past. There's a simple reason why - so when I gave up there wouldn't be that awkward conversation when they asked me how my diet was going and I would have to come up with some lame excuse why I wasn't doing it anymore. Then I would go home and hang out with my friends Ben and Jerry trying to eat away my feelings of disappointment and failure.

I remember one day at the office several years ago, I had convinced myself that I was going to walk on my two, 15-minute breaks every day. I was really excited about; I was pumped that I was finally going to do something about losing weight. I had typed up an e-mail to two of my friends in the office telling them about my plan and that I really thought I could do it and was looking for walking buddies. I proofed the e-mail and then instead of hitting the send button, I hit the delete button. I was too scared to send it. I stopped walking on breaks three days later.

When I started Weight Watchers online in January 2009 I hadn't planned on telling anyone that I was trying it. For some reason I did tell my friend at work, Stacey. I'm not sure how it came up, but she's just so easy to talk to and I knew she would be supportive so I was ok with telling her.

Shortly after that conversation, Stacey, another co-worker and I attended a meeting in downtown Indianapolis and went to Weber Grill for lunch. As we were walking the tunnels under the State House to get there, the topic of WW came up again and I ended up telling my other co-worker that I was trying it. Well, there went my policy of not telling people that I was dieting.

The thing is it REALLY helped me. At lunch they both asked me all kinds of questions about the program and it was exciting to tell them about. I had already lost about 10 pounds and they were very interested and supportive of my progress. I ordered a healthy meal and only ate half of it. They ordered cake to share and I only had two bites.

Soon most of my friends at work knew I was dieting. And I found it made it easier for me to make smart choices when the staff would eat together. I knew, that they knew, that I was supposed to be eating right and that gave me a sense of accountability to show them that I was still going strong.

For breakfast meetings I would still eat my normal breakfast at home and just get a yogurt and fresh fruit at the meeting instead of filling my plate with eggs, potatoes, bacon and coffee cake. When we have pizza brought in I only eat one piece and eat a salad later in the afternoon.

It took a lot of effort in the beginning to make the right choices. Now it's become habit and I don't have to think about it anymore. I just grab the yogurt and spend more time talking to my co-workers instead of debating a second piece of coffee cake.

Do you tell friends that you're dieting? Does it help you?

Fathers

Happy Father's Day to my dad.

I'll always be your little girl.

And Happy Father's Day to the father of the year!

Jim and Jacob

Jim and Gracie

Special Ordering Your Meal

Have you done this before? Given instructions on how you want your food prepared? I hadn't until last night. I felt really weird about it.

I've gotten back to counting weight watcher (WW) points this past week and ended up a pound down. I think that's pretty good considering we had several "food celebrations" for my birthday.

We decided to go to Outback Steakhouse last night. My WW week starts on Friday. I didn't want to blow all my Flex Points (the extra points I get for the week) on the first night so I looked up Outbacks nutritional information on my Blackberry while we were waiting for our table.

First off, if you ate an entire plate of cheese fries (I'm sure I could) it would cost you 73 WW points. I get 30 WW points a day. I don't think cheese fries are worth three and a half days of food. I would have been very hungry come Sunday afternoon.

I was looking at some suggested healthy options on another web site and it said the Shrimp Griller was 19 WW pts. That's kind of steep considering the Outback Special is only 1 pt. higher. Then I looked closer and saw that if you order the Shrimp Griller prepared without butter or glaze and you left off the rice and pineapple the point total when down to 3. Seriously 3!

I decided I was going to get the salmon and ask for the veggies to be prepared without butter. Like I said at the beginning, I felt really weird about it. I've been trying to figure out why. My guess is I don't like conflict? I don't want to be a burden? Why should I get special treatment? Where do these thoughts come from? It seems so silly as I type them now.

So it was my turn to order and I told the young woman I would like the salmon and could I please have the veggies without butter. She said sure - do you want the salmon without butter too? I was so relieved that she was offering this instead of me having to ask for it. I smiled and said yes.

I felt a couple of things after placing my order. I was proud of myself for the food choices I made. I ate everything on my plate and didn't feel guilty stealing a few bites of mash potatoes off Jacob's plate and mac-n-cheese off Gracie's (seriously, Outback has the best mac-n-cheese I've ever tasted).

The other thing I felt was envy. I was at Outback for crying out loud! Where were the cheese fries, the salad with ranch dressing, the entire loaf of bread covered in butter. Where was the bacon and cheese covered chicken and the chocolate thunder from down under!

What I remember the most about dinner last night was not the food. It was how much fun we had. Gracie was in her little ballet outfit from class earlier and she and I were in our serious menu coloring mode. Jim and Jacob were busy performing magic tricks for us. We smiled and laughed the entire time.

The key to my success last night was planning what I was going to eat before we even sat at the table. This has always been a danger zone for me. I need to plan to make smart choices.

Do you plan ahead when you eat out? Do you ask that your meal be specially prepared (not including for allergies)?

Zumba Corner
Friday is the other day that there is no Zumba. I still find myself in the Zumba classroom though. But not for me. For the prettiest girl in the whole world.

Exercise - Getting Started

I've had several people tell me they can relate to the things I'm writing about in my blog. It's nice to know I'm not alone. If that is the case than many of you probably had/have a difficult time getting started with exercise. It was the hardest part for me. I did diet alone for nine months before I began even thinking about adding exercise in. I didn't want to do it.

I had zero success with exercise up until 10 months ago. I would go through spurts of trying. Usually around the month of January. I would go to the gym a few times and then give up. I just did not like exercise.

Cheese and rice, I don't know how you people that do the treadmill do it. That was my exercise of choice when I would get on a fitness kick. That huge room with straight lines of treadmills and bikes and rowing machines. All those people in that room all looking the same direction and not talking to each other. It was so lonely and boring. And then at the front of the room were the weight machine people who just seemed like they were from a different universe. I never lasted more than a week on the treadmill.

It was a stars aligning thing that did it for me. Back in the fall of 2009 I was having a really difficult time in my day-to-day life. I would sit in my car at lunch and journal. I would write and write about everything that went wrong that day. I had hit bottom and just didn't see how I could dig myself out.

Jim was very supportive during that time (as he always is). We had a long talk one night. I told him I needed help. I was convinced that a new puppy would make me happy (oh, he so wanted to give me that puppy, but he knew that's not what I needed). My wise husband told me what I really needed to do. I needed to get my CONTROL back.

If I've had a mantra the past 10 months (besides "I'm just here to Zumba") it's been CONTROL. And I got it back slowly but surely. I was back to being myself. That journey helped me realize how strong I am. That I can do anything I set my mind to. When you're at your lowest, darkest place, you can pick yourself up and get back to the top. But it's up to you. Others can help, but they can't do it for you.

So, that's when the little spark of wanting to exercise was born. But I was terrified of failure. Ah, failure. It's so powerful. I had tried exercise before and I always gave up. I was convinced I would fail again; so why try. Can anyone relate?

The next spark I added was from my friends Jody and Kevin. Jody and Kevin are my original "favorites." It was around their campfire one night that I believe my whole "favorite" thing was born.

Jody and Kevin did P90X together last year.

Kevin and Jody at Zoobilation 2010

I sat up one night talking to Jody about this program. The thing that stuck out to me was her determination. I could tell there was no question of if she would do the dvd workout that night. She would do it. Even if it meant putting the dvd in at 10 o'clock at night after an exhausting day at the office. That clicked for me. She had control over it. She was in charge. Nothing was going to get in her way; not even sleep.

The next spark was our upcoming trip to Disney in November 2009. This would be the third trip to Disney with the kids. We love us some Disney World. As you've noticed, I love taking photos. I hate that I'm never in the photos. I'm never in them because I always delete the ones I'm in because I don't like how I look in them. I wasn't willing to not be in the photos this time.

Case-in-point I had to find this photo of me from my brother's page. I didn't have any on mine.

Me and Jacob Disney 2005

Now we're in August. P90X is a 90-day program. If I started in September, I would see results by our November vacation. So I talked to Jim to see what he thought. Always the supportive husband, he thought why not go for it. He knew a woman in his office had the dvds and so he asked if we could borrow them. She said sure, but that it would take her a little while to get them to us. She told him that it was a really, really hard workout and if I hadn't exercised often (try not at all) I might want to start exercising then to prepare for it.

That scared me. But I still had the control and the determination so I took her advice. I dusted off my YMCA membership card and went to a water aerobics class. I liked it. I wasn't worried about being judged - there were all shapes and ages in the class. With water aerobics no one can see how hard you're working. No one can really see anything. So I really pushed it. I was worried that it wasn't really exercise so I put 100% into the workout and I was sore the next day so I knew it worked.

I went to four water aerobic classes and decided to try something else. I tried Step aerobics.

I had done Step in college and liked it. I liked having to follow along with the moves. To memorize what step would be coming next. I knew Step would be a challenge for me so I didn't even get a step. I just did the moves on the floor.

The first class I went to there were probably 20 people in it at the beginning. There were only six when it was over and I was one of them and I was about to die. It was so hard. So hard you think "why am I doing this?" "I don't like this!" But that's what exercise is about right? You're not supposed to like it.

These thoughts were going through my mind as I gathered my towel and water bottle and made my way out the studio door. And then something amazing happened. I walked out into the hallway and was greeted by 40 women. They were all waiting to get into the next exercise class. Here I was leaving a class that ended with six and there were 40 women waiting to go into an exercise class. I made my way to the end of the line of women and ask one of them "what class is this?" and she answered "Zumba."

Never heard of it. I stuck around to watch the beginng. They were dancing. Interesting. I'd have to look it up in the program when I got home.

The program guide said:

Zumba: "Zumba" means "move fast and have fun!" A Latin, dance-inspired aerobic workout for total body fitness.

Sounded fun. The next Zumba class was Sunday (at that time Zumba was only offered Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday). I don't remember the class. I do know I was in the back of the classroom. I remember I really liked it. And I know I went to every Zumba class that month. (I liked Zumba so much I never did P90X - Jim is thinking about giving it a try.)

I hung on to this calendar. I like to pull it out every once and awhile and see how I started.


I can tell you why I liked Zumba from the beginning. Similar to Step, I liked that you could memorize the moves. I can usually get the steps down to a song by the time the songs ends and the next time we do that song I can usually do a majority of the moves by memory without looking at the instructor. Just a geek thing for me.

I liked that it was dancing. Jim always joked that I have no rhythm and can't dance but after watching me dance at the wedding last week I think I've changed his mind.

It felt safe to me. Again, there are all sizes and ages in the class. And I'm telling you everyone is smiling. There's something about the music and dancing and being covered with sweat after each song that makes you say "is this really exercise" at the same time as you're saying "man, this is kicking my butt."

And I loved that when I would glance up at the clock we would already be 45 minutes into the class and I felt like we just started and I didn't want it to end.

It finally happened. I liked to exercise. No, I loved to exercise. I loved Zumba. I couldn't get enough.

Now I was like Jody. Nothing was going to stop me from going. I'm so thankful that I have a supportive husband. He's 100% behind me going to class. He's my biggest fan. I think the kids can tell that Zumba is good for me. A happy mommy makes for happy kids. They are really cute about it. Whenever I wear my green tank Gracie asks "why you wearing your zumma shirt mommy?" and when Jacob puts his arms around my middle he says "look how tight I can hug you now."

Me and the kids. Disney 2009.

Zumba Corner
This post is already way too long so I'll just post a photo from last nights class. I'm standing on the far left in my pink Zumba tank.

Turning 35

Jim and I were chatting on the side of the YMCA's pool last night while we watched the kids play. He told me one of his co-workers mentioned he noticed that it was my birthday on Facebook. Jim said that was right and told him I was 35. His co-worker asked how I was dealing with that.

(Until Jim was telling me about this conversation I honestly hadn't given one thought to 35 being kind of a big birthday. )

He told him I probably felt better about turning 35 than I had about turning 32 or 33.

He's right.

This birthday I feel healthy and am getting physically stronger. The fact that I was at the YMCA pool shows that I feel better than I did last year. Last year I dreaded going to the pool (and even shed some tears) because I knew we would run into people we know and I would be in a swim suit! Now, I'm good with it. I still have a long way to go, but I'm proud of the way I'm looking now.

How do you feel about your age? Are you experiencing the best years of your life?

Zumba Corner
There's no Zumba on Wednesday so I'm posting two of my Facebook friend's recent status updates:

From Ashley:
... I dug out some pants that I tried on about 4 weeks ago that were then so tight I put them away to try next season instead of in the bottom of my drawer with the clothes I thought might fit later in the summer. All the pants I put away actually fit perfect now!!! Yay zumba!!!

From Shannon:
Oh how I love that my pants aren't too tight anymore!!! Thank you Zumba and all my special Zumba friends!! I've still got a couple more sizes to go but I'm gettin there!

Clueless in the Kitchen - Bean Salad Review

I was pleasantly surprised by the response I received from my Clueless in the Kitchen post. I have several new recipes to try out and was anxious to get started.

This bean salad recipe is from the fabulous Kirsten. She's a friend from high school that I've recently reconnected with on Facebook and by reading her wonderful blog From Inside to Outside. Check it out people, it's good stuff and is what inspired me to start my own blog.



My good friend Kirsten.


Our story begins with a text from Jim saying he's going to pick up the kids. This little time saver made it possible for me to stop at the store to pick up the ingredients we didn't have (all but one - remember my fridge is empty). I called Gracie on the way home and asked if she wanted to help me cook and she squealed with delight. I told her to go find her apron and she promptly dropped the phone to complete her mission.


My lovely photographer Gracie greeting me on my arrival. That big old dog in the back is Maggie.



When Jacob saw that there was fun to be had he wanted in on the action too.

My intention was to make fish stick tacos and use the bean salad in the tacos but as any mom can tell you - "you can stuff your good intentions in a sack mister." Jacob didn't want fish stick tacos and Gracie had already declared she wouldn't like the bean salad.

Jim threw a few fish sticks in the oven anyway and then Gracie and I got busy making the bean salad.



I'm a recent convert to guacamole - love it. I've never bought an avocado before so I did a little homework on YouTube to find out how to cut them up. Turns out it's super easy.

I think the kid's favorite part was watching me put the knife in the avocado seed and pull it out. Right away Jacob wanted to plant it. I said we could but I think they were thrown away.


The kids show me what they think of the avocado.

I fell in love with fresh cilantro when I got a salsa recipe from my old co-worker Chris. I love this stuff and it smell so yummy.

The kids wanted to check out what I was smelling.


I proudly present bean salad.

Kirsten was right, it was super easy to make. It also was very pretty. I hadn't planned on eating with the fam since I would be heading to Zumba in 30 minutes, but I had to give it a try. I had bought some Boston Butter lettuce because I thought it looked cute and I made a little salad for me and Jacob topped with the bean salad and some salsa.

It's a rule in our house that you have to try what's put on your plate so no one was getting out of this one. Here's our thumb review.

Jim is up first. He has simple tastes. He would be happy with cereal and Cheetos on most nights.

Result: sideways thumb

He said it would be good with sausage in it. (FYI - this is his standard response when trying new recipes. He amuses himself.)

Second up is Gracie. She is my picky eater. Unless it's made of cheese she's not interested. It took a lot of effort to get her to try it.



Result: thumbs down (I'm not surprised)

When I looked over at her later, this is what I found:


Up next is Jacob. He's my adventurous eater.

I was a little concerned that he didn't like it at first but ...

Result: thumbs up

And finally I try it out.


Result: big thumbs up

I really liked it and it turns out it was a good snack to eat before Zumba. I had a good level of energy and didn't feel full during class.

When I got home I ate some more. I really like it was salsa and on a salad. I'm new to garbanzo beans and liked the texture of those beans together with the corn. I thought the avocado added a lot of flavor and of course I loved the cilantro.

I should have tried to figure out the Weight Watchers points but I didn't think about it. I imagine it's pretty low since it's mostly veggies and fruit (I learned that avocado is a fruit from watching the YouTube video). The recipe made a big bowl of the stuff so it's something I could make easily and add to salads or eat as pre-workout snacks to replace my normal pb&j snack (higher in WW points).

So my first Clueless in the Kitchen experiment was a success.

Here's the count:
Thumbs up - 2
Thumbs sideways - 1
Thumbs down - 1

Here's the recipe:
Do you like beans? If you do, this is wicked easy, healthy, and if you don't like a straight bean salad, you could use this as a burrito mix or something like that:

We put it over a leafy salad and threw in some grilled chicken--topped with some hot tomato salsa.

Juice from 1 lime
Chopped green onions (4 or so)
2 cans garbanzo beans (rinsed)
1 can black beans (rinsed)
handful of chopped fresh cilantro
1-2 chopped avocado
1 chopped green pepper (or orange, red, yellow)
1 cup corn if you like
salt and pepper
2 tblsp Olive oil
mix it up, chill it, eat it.

Thanks again Kirsten for the recipe.


Me and Kirsten circa 1996. I think this was the last time I saw her - it was our friend Maureen's 21 birthday I believe.

It's not too late
I'm still looking for healthy recipes to review. Post them in the comments below.

Zumba Corner
I love when people try out Zumba so today's Zumba shout out goes to Beth's mother-in-law for coming to Kim's class last night - and in the second row even! I chatted with her after class and I think we figured out that her family owns the barber shop where Jim and Jacob both had their first haircuts.