Mid-Week Check In

I know Wednesday is mid-week for the rest of the world. Since I start my menu on Thursdays, Sunday or Monday ends up being my mid-week. I thought I'd post a quick update on food, weight loss, and... gardening!

Food
Thursday's lentil and black bean chili was quite tasty but not well-received by the kidlets. The recipe called for some optional cayenne pepper, and I decided to add it since we were a bit short on chili powder. I'm pretty sure the kids would have eaten more of the chili had I skipped or reduced the cayenne.

Friday's dinner was nothing extraordinary, but I have managed to move my kids from regular fish sticks to a slightly less stick-like fish. Trader Joe's makes breaded halibut and breaded cod, both of which do not have stick shapes. Sure they are still breaded, pseudo-fried fish products, but they have a bit more verisimilitude to them.

Saturday we had delicious chicken on the grilled with Montreal Steak Spice (yes, steak spice and not chicken spice). I was excited to make the spice-roasted butternut squash again, but neither of my kids would eat it. Wah. Caleb declared it too sweet, which in turn meant Ellie wouldn't do more than lick it. On the bright side, both kids ate salad without dressing.

On Sunday, Aaron called for leftovers because our fridge was a bit full. OK, more than full. :)

As for tonight, I'm a bit nervous about presenting Mexican brown rice casserole to my kids again since they both summarily rejected it last time. I'll have to consider the spicing to see if I can make it more palatable to them.

Weight Loss
I've been in maintenance mode for the past month or so. Weight Watchers has this idea that if you maintain your goal weight for 6 weeks, you become a lifetime member. Lifetime membership means you no longer pay a monthly fee for meetings and online tools. This week will be my 6th weigh-in during maintenance, and I'm a bit nervous since I've been wobbling around between 150 and 152.4. I need to be at or below 152 to hit lifetime, and Ben and Jerry's Milk & Cookies is killing me. I would have hoped to learn some better self-control in the last year, but apparently I still have that battle.

I did make a decision to rid myself of many clothes which no longer fit. I promised myself never to be able to fit in those clothes again, so maybe a lack of internal self-control can be helped with some external controls.

Gardening
Several of my friends started their seeds indoors weeks ago. They are so organized, ordering their seeds, planning their plots. I am not so organized and I got angry at New England's weather. We had snow on April 1 (not a funny April Fools' joke), and today the weather wasn't sure whether to rain or snow. I don't trust my seeds outdoors in this weather, and I don't have enough gardening-savvy to start seeds indoors. Besides I or the WonderBeast kills any living green thing in the house. So I'm still waiting to plant outdoors.

BUT, I turned dirt! The kids and I took shovels and dug into our raised beds to "stir" the dirt. I raked it level when we were done. We also are able to resume composting now that the bin is accessible again. The snow had covered it and frozen it shut. I feel much better not wasting our food scraps. I probably should review composting to see whether I can speed up the process given our lousy temperatures. Anyway, now that we turned dirt, I can start to think about crops and layout/spacing.

I'm looking forward to keeping you posted on our garden (see the old posts for what you can look forward to!) and our eating experiences.

"Mexican" Brown Rice Casserole

Aaron has been craving Mexican-style food for a while now. Maybe he wouldn't call it a craving, but he has been asking for it. I've missed Mexican-style food since restarting my Weight Watchers journey. Most Mexican-style dishes I make have some kind of cheese in them. Cheese is rather high in PointsPlus value, unless I use lowfat or no-fat cheese. I don't like using no-fat cheese, and I like A LOT of cheese, so Mexican has been off the menu here for a while.

At my meeting this week, I read the weekly pamphlet and was delighted to see a Mexican-style meal that didn't require no-fat cheese. In fact, the ingredients are pretty basic, and the preparation looked super-easy. The recipe did not disappoint me. It was flavorful, reasonably filling, somewhat kid-approved, and has made for good leftovers.

"Mexican" Brown Rice Casserole
From Weight Watchers - 8 PointsPlus per serving
Serves 6

Ingredients:
1 spray cooking spray
4 c. cooked brown rice
1 1/4 c. fat-free salsa
1 tsp. ground cumin
15 oz. refried beans
10 oz. frozen corn, thawed
4 oz. canned green chili peppers, mild, diced
1 Tbsp. chili powder
10 oz. frozen spinach, or collard greens, thawed and set to drain in a strainer over a bowl
3/4 c. lowfat shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
2 Tbsp. cilantro, fresh, chopped (optional, for garnish)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375. Coat a 2-quart rectangular, round or oval baking dish with cooking spray

In a large bowl, combine rice, salsa and cumin. Spoon 2 cups of rice mixture into prepared baking dish and spread out to evenly cover bottom of dish.

In another large bowl, combine refried beans, corn, chili peppers and chili powder. Using a rubber spatula, scrape bean mixture on top of rice layer and smooth out top.

Squeeze out any excess water from spinach or collard greens and then spread on top of bean layer; sprinkle with 6 tablespoons of cheese. Top with remaining rice mixture and smooth out top; sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Place casserole on a large rimmed baking sheet to catch any spillage. Bake until heated through and cheese is browned and bubbling, about 30 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro (if desired), cut into 6 pieces and serve.

Notes/Changes:
I skipped the cilantro, but I'm sure the dish would be good with it. I didn't bother with the large baking sheet because I could see that the casserole wasn't going to overflow. I think I will use more spinach next time. This casserole also would make fantastic burrito/enchilada filling. And one last note, this casserole would be great for sports gatherings/tailgating.

Buen provecho!

Menu Plan from Memory

After this week's grumpy weigh-in, I decided I needed to focus on what I could control. I thought about what didn't work this week and last week. I realized that coming up with a plan was not enough. I think I come up with reasonable plans, plans which should help me lose and eventually maintain a healthy weight. I need actually to stick to the plan. I decided to commit to actually sticking with my menu plan.

Besides sticking to my own plan (and by extension to the WW method), I committed to drinking water first before soda and writing down what I eat. I am going to track, just like I did for so many of the past months. It keeps me honest and often makes me think twice about buying that bakery cookie (grf).

Realizing that only I can keep myself accountable, I'm just going to put my request out there. Anyone up for checking in with me around Sunday or Monday to see how I'm doing with sticking to this plan?

Thursday
Turkey chili-mac (8 PointsPlus/serving). I have procrastinated long enough. The turkey is thawing out as I type.

Friday
The usual - fish, green vegetable, brown rice or potato (haven't decided), challah. I'll need to calculate points, but I remember that most fish I like is a bit costly, between 6 and 9 PointsPlus for about 6 oz.

Saturday
Baked chicken (3 PointsPlus/serving), not sure of sides yet. I'd really like something like kale, but I doubt we'll find that at the market. If I don't do the potatoes on Friday, I will make the mustard potatoes as well. Based on the last time I made this, I'm going to make a few pieces that are less seasoned for the kids.

Sunday
Anyone's guess. :) Seriously, I'm at work on Sunday and have a meeting after work, so I'm hoping Aaron will step up with something yummy.

Monday
Soup and bread. I'm not sure whether I'll make split pea or 15-bean soup. I'll need to calculate or estimate points for the 15-bean soup to see whether it fits with the rest of my food. The soups I make tend to be between 2 and 4 PointsPlus per serving, but I'm not sure how many the 15-bean soup is because I usually add chicken sausage.

Tuesday
I'm drawing a blank here. I know I wrote something good down last night on my food tracker, and my memory is just coming up empty. Grf. I'll update when I have my written copy in front of me.

Wednesday
Pasta for the kids. Pizza for me and Aaron. I'm not even discussing PointsPlus for this night. I strongly believe that letting loose once in a while, or once a week, is OK and probably a healthy choice for many people. I can't stand feeling constrained, so my "binge night" helps me. First, I don't have to think about the healthiness of the food. Second, eating crappy for a night reminds me why I prefer to eat healthier.

What's for dinner at your house this week?

This Week's Meal Planning

After a not terribly successful week in the weight loss department (grr to cookie dough!), I decided to take a few precious moments before sleeping to do some more thoughtful meal planning.

Thursday
Breakfast: veggie omelet for me, oatmeal/yogurt for kids
Lunch: oven chicken fingers, salad?
Dinner: Vegetable Barley Casserole (recipe from WW, may need to shop!)

Friday
Breakfast: yogurt with fruit, oatmeal/yogurt/cereal for kids
Lunch: Butternut squash soup
Dinner: salmon, green veggie, brown rice, challah

Saturday
Breakfast: oat pancakes, eat fruit before Caleb's skating, make bread dough for dinner
Lunch: Sandwich - either chicken/turkey or tuna salad
Dinner: split pea soup

Sunday
Breakfast: yogurt
Lunch: sandwich, make sure to take fruit to work!
Dinner: ??? Up to Aaron

Monday
Breakfast: yogurt with fruit
Lunch: leftover soup
Dinner: WW fish n chips, should figure out a green veggie

Tuesday
Breakfast: omelet
Lunch: soup or sandwich
Dinner: Baked Chicken (recipe from WW), green veggie, dijon potatoes featured in WW weekly flyer

Wednesday
Breakfast: yogurt w/fruit
Lunch: soup, sandwich, or leftovers
Dinner: "Special Dinner with Aaron" after weigh-in

Breakfast isn't terribly inspirational. Many mornings I'm rushing to get me and the kids somewhere, and the Chobani Greek yogurt with fruit is quick and delicious (and filling!). On the days with less rushing, I tried to have more interesting breakfasts. I don't have much trouble choosing a healthy choice at lunch. I hate getting to the end of the day without a clue for dinner though. Plus having a dinner plan ends up taking care of lunch for me. :) Now I'll just need to see what shopping has to happen and make sure this plan works for Aaron!

Another week, another plan

The past few weeks have been a bit crazier than usual around here. Since Christmas, someone in the house has been sick in one way or another. Caleb had strep throat before Xmas, stomach bug as soon as we arrived at my parents' house for Xmas, and an ear infection the first week back at pre-K. Ellie had snots for most of that time, but it didn't seem serious. After Caleb had recovered from the ear infection, Ellie told me her ear hurt. I was surprised enough to take her to the doctor and discovered she had a double ear infection. The spot where Caleb's amoxicillin had been became the spot for Ellie's amoxicillin. During the kids' various illnesses, Aaron and I also caught the stomach bug 2 days after Caleb had it and contracted some kind of upper respiratory/bronchitis bug after we came home.

Why am I telling you our sick story? Because meal planning has been sketchy at best and quite boring often. We have enjoyed a lot of soup, with Caleb eating vegetable broth for one of his meals when he had the ear infection. I think we are coming into a clearing this week, so I'm going to brainstorm some food ideas and let you know how they go.

The meals from my previous meal planning post were generally well-received. Caleb enjoyed the Turkish Vegetable Stew much more than the first time. I loved my bean soup (tweaked the recipe on the bag to replace ham with chicken sausage, skipped tomatoes) and the turkey chili mac. Both the soups and the chili mac really hit the spot. It's still wicked cold here, so comfort food is in order.

The Plan:

• Chili - Aaron declared that we had too many containers of leftover tomato "product." What this means is that I use canned tomatoes (diced, crushed, etc.) but I don't use the entire can for a given recipe. I save the leftovers and sometimes forget to use the leftovers in the next recipe OR need to use whatever I didn't have leftover (e.g., recipe calls for diced and I have crushed leftover).
• Cheesy lentil rice casserole - This came up at lunch today when I was explaining to Caleb that he did in fact like the cheese we used for his grilled cheese sandwich (shredded cheddar). I told him I use shredded cheddar on the lentil casserole he likes, and Aaron said we should have that this week. I'm kicking myself for not buying more broccoli to add in, but it will be yummy without it.
• Chicken quesadillas - IF I can find already shredded chicken, I want to try the Weight Watchers recipe I found last week. We haven't had pseudo-Mexican food in a while, and we all usually like it a lot.
• Leftovers! We have most of a quart of butternut squash soup, oven chicken fingers, and a hodgepodge I can't remember while away from the kitchen. We might even have a pasta night in which we use up leftover chili as the sauce (nom nom nom - think Skyline Chili for those of you from the midwest).

Lunches for the kids will be leftovers, sandwiches, and tomato soup from Trader Joe's. Tomato soup became a favorite for Ellie this week, so I want to take advantage of the fad. I think we still have some chicken tacos from Trader Joe's too. Although I won't generally eat them (a bit too rich for my preferences), the kids really love them. I also want to have them make their own mini-pizzas in the near future, but that will require a bit of grocery shopping, so I'm pretty sure that project isn't happening this week.

Tonight what I'm really craving (again...*sigh*) is a really good moist brownie. This does not help my weight loss efforts in the least, and I'm so ridiculously close to my goal that I almost want to just fast for a day to be there. Not a healthy choice AT ALL, but I'm less than a pound away!! Anyway, my body is rebelling and begging for baked goods. Damn winter for triggering my desire to carbo-load and hibernate! Still if anyone has a truly magnificent brownie recipe, please let me know. :)

New Weight Watchers Program

Weight Watchers launched a new program this past week. I was looking forward to learning about it and revitalizing my motivation to get these last few pounds off.

Then the Big Ten/ACC basketball tournament came to town. Boston College played Indiana University (my alma mater), and Aaron knew we could get tickets. The game was the same night and time as my WW meeting.

Yeah, basketball totally won out. A more dedicated WW might have skipped a rare opportunity like awesome basketball. I knew I was up 1-2 pounds from Thanksgiving, and I didn't want to see that on the scale. And when was the last time I got to watch Indiana basketball IN PERSON? Um, no idea! Pretty sure it was before I had kids, so more than 4 years ago.

The great thing about Weight Watchers is that they meet every week. Another great thing about Weight Watchers is that I can learn how the weight loss plans work, even a new plan, whenever I go. Yet another great thing about Weight Watchers is that I could follow the old plan and still lose weight. SO, this week on Wednesday I will return to my meeting so that I will be accountable for my whole weight loss journey - the food, the pounds up or down, the whole megillah. I can make reasonably decent food decisions between now and then, and with the new plan I will resume some meal planning so my family continues to have the opportunity for healthy yummy food!

Twinkie Diet

A friend sent me a link about the "Twinkie Diet." After reading it, I decided I should write some of my thoughts about it, but I had my paying job to do and I had a hard time coming up with something coherent to say. I decided to start writing when I needed a break from the job, figuring I can edit later.

The article touches on at least 2 issues which are rather near and dear to me - weight loss and eating real food. The gist of the article is that a nutrition professor lost 27 pounds on what may be called a "convenience store diet." Two-thirds of his diet came from junk food such as Hostess cupcakes, Doritos, and sugary cereals. He limited himself to 1800 calories per day. By limiting his calories, he lost weight. I suppose I should be shocked, but I'm not. Weight-loss is not some great mystery. It can be summarized in an equation even I, the mathematically challenged, can understand.

When Calories In < Calories Out = Weight Loss

The challenge in this professor's diet, like any diet, is portion control and keeping those calories consumed lower than the calories expended (i.e., eat less, move more). Not binging on junk food is challenging for many people. Some people struggle with the salty stuff; other people struggle with the sweet stuff; some of us struggle with all of it. All of that is to say, I am not surprised this man lost weight, even by eating nutritionally empty foods.

A slightly more surprising piece of information from the article is that the man's cholesterol improved. I'm not that surprised since cholesterol can be related to one's weight (not always as there is a rather strong genetic component). The article mentions his BMI being lower (duh - another way to measure weight), and his body fat percentage lowered as well.

A dietitian for the American Diabetes Association, questioning how the lack of fruits and vegetables could affect long-term health said, "There are things we can't measure. How much does that affect the risk for cancer? We can't measure how diet changes affect our health." I add to her question that we don't know what these foods do to our metabolism, the chemical reactions in our body which keep us alive.

As far as the weight loss is concerned, I feel there are many ways to lose weight. There are good ways and bad ways. Yeah, I'm judging how people choose to lose weight. At the end of the article, part of me was happy for the man who lost weight and part of me was disgusted by the foods he chose to eat.

The article left me wondering, "Why should I bother teaching my kids WHAT to eat if they can maintain a healthy weight by eating junk?" A few days later, I remembered that one of my favorite food blogs has my answer:

"It's Not About Nutrition"

The title of her blog is my answer. What we eat is NOT just about the nutrition. I'm not a purist, and I certainly think there is a time and place for processed junk food. That said, I have a feeling, call it a hunch, that perhaps science hasn't caught up with the reality of our relationship with food. I know that I feel better when I eat real food - less processed, closer to the original source, and recognizable by my great-grandparents as food. My new jogging routine is easier when I've eaten well the previous day, and it is harder when I've eaten what most of us recognize as junk. My opinion is just that - an opinion. It's not based in peer-reviewed experiments, though I understand there are some experiments which lend support to my position that real food is better for you. My opinion is based in personal experience, which is by definition anecdotal.

So of course the "Twinkie Diet" still rubs me wrong. I'm delighted the professor was able to lose weight as I think weight loss can have great health benefits. I think eating healthfully is a better option for the long run, and I'm continuing to pursue that despite the temptation.

Southwestern Corn Skillet - More yummy food!

Today is Sunday. I teach on Sundays. I love teaching. Despite this love, I come home pretty tired... no, I come home basically exhausted and in need of recharging. Cooking doesn't necessarily help me recharge when I feel completely spent. Nevertheless, I swore to be in control of my food this week. I am struggling to be in control, but I decided to keep struggling today. As I sit here rather bleary-eyed, I really am glad I decided to keep struggling. Another successful new recipe, and it's vegetarian!

Southwestern Corn Skillet
From Weight Watchers - 2 points per serving
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. corn oil (I used olive)
1 onion, chopped (I used both a yellow and 2 green onions)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped (I skipped this for the kids' palettes. I'm sure Aaron and I would like it)
10 ounces of corn kernels
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and chopped (I used peppers that were red and green at same time)
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved (I used grape 'maters, sort of quartered)
2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
3/4 tsp. salt (skipped it)
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper (didn't measure)

Instructions:
Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, then add the onion, garlic, and jalapeño pepper. Saute until softened, 3-5 mins. Add the corn, zucchini, bell pepper, and cumin; saute until softened, 7-8 mins. Stir in the cherry tomatoes and saute until just warmed through, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro, salt and ground pepper.

1 cup = 1 serving

Notes from Jen:
I doubled the recipe. I added 2 cans of black beans to the doubled recipe. If you do a single recipe, just add 1 can. The cookbook suggests using this skillet for soft tacos by mixing in ground turkey breast, which I think sounds fantastic. Oh, and the original recipe suggests serving over rice, and we skipped it because I didn't bother to start the rice. We sprinkled shredded "Mexican" cheese on top (some kind of cheddar blend). Aaron described it as a dry chili. I thought it was like a dry salsa. It is surprisingly filling. Caleb had 2 good size servings. Ellie was tired and cranky, but she enjoyed the little bit she tried.

Lots of ingredients and lots of chopping, but definitely worth the effort!

Spice Roasted Butternut Squash - Nom nom nom!

Tonight brought a new recipe to our house, and I would give it a mostly successful rating as 3 out of the 4 of us liked it. Also in its favor is its simplicity in terms of preparing it. AND it's a Weight Watchers recipe, so I feel really good about eating and serving it.

Spice Roasted Butternut Squash
From Weight Watchers - 2 points per serving
Serves 6

Ingredients:
1 spray cooking spray (yeah, I don't measure)
2.25 pounds butternut squash, fresh, peeled, cut into 1-inch chunks (mine was slightly larger)
1 medium red onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp garam masala - supposedly you can get this spice mix at large supermarkets. I went to a local Indian grocery store. It is essential to the recipe and well worth it.
1/2 tsp kosher salt (I guesstimate)
1/8 tsp black pepper, freshly ground, or to taste (I guesstimate)
3 Tbsp cilantro, fresh, chopped. Again, fresh is worth it. Often I use dried spices, but this was really yummy with the fresh cilantro.

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400. Coat a large nonstick baking sheet with cooking spray. NOTE: I was out of spray tonight. I put down a piece of foil, drizzled a small amount of olive oil, and spread it with a pastry brush.

Place squash and onion on prepared baking sheet; drizzle with oil and toss to coat. Sprinkle with garam masala, salt and pepper; toss to coat.

Roast, tossing about halfway through cooking, until squash and onions are tender and slightly browned, about 25 minutes. NOTE: I didn't toss halfway and just set the oven timer for 25 minutes.

Transfer the vegetables to a serving platter or bowl and sprinkle with cilantro; toss to coat. 3/4 cup = 1 serving.

Bon appetit!

Food on the Road

We're about to head on another road trip, so I thought I should take a few moments to write a bit about food away from home. Between trying to lose weight, trying to teach my kids good eating habits, AND trying to eat real food, travel can be a challenge. When we went to NY last weekend, I was certain that I would gain weight. By the time of my weigh-in this week, I had lost 2 pounds, and I'm pretty sure I didn't do that between Sunday and Wednesday. So what's working for us?

Road Trip Snacks
Being in the car for a long time can be really boring, and often we're in the car when we would normally eat. The kids end up asking for snacks, which can trigger me to think I NEED a snack. Snacks actually help me not overeat later, so I just need to make sure that the snacks we have are reasonably healthful and diverse.

We try to take fresh fruit and veggies with us. This time of year, plums are plentiful in New England. We also happen to have bananas because both kids have had their on again, off again love affairs with them. For me, a banana is quite filling for a snack. In the past month, the kids have enjoyed cucumber sticks (peel a cucumber and slice it such that the pieces look like sticks), so we usually have some of those. We pack some of their favorites like Vinta crackers and Annie's Bunnies. The crackers are not my favorite snacks for the kids, but I think I need to be practical on a road trip. Another item we pack for the kids is Trader Joe's fruit bars like these. They come in several flavors: strawberry, blueberry, fig, apple. Again this is not the ideal snack since it is a processed food, but we set some limits about them and tend to offer the real fruit and veggies first.

For my crunchy "fix," I pack Ak-Mak crackers, which I think are the most awesome cracker EVER. I wish my kids would get excited about these, but I'm selfishly glad they aren't yet. ;) They're all mine... *evil cackle* Anyway, they are low in Weight Watcher points for a pretty good serving size, and I like the taste and texture. I've seen them in regular grocery stores as well as Trader Joe's.

Snacks on the road are part of the story for successful eating away from home. But of course that's not all of what works for us.

Smart Eating Out Choices
There are some foods I simply avoid or limit when I'm away from home. Truthfully, those foods are probably the same ones I limit when I'm at home, but somehow it seems more challenging to limit them away from home. Here are some examples:

Chips with salsa or dip - I don't avoid these entirely, but I take only a few chips and then back away from the dish very consciously. Road trips where the end destination is a family gathering usually means some kind of hors d'oeuvres or "munchies" before the meal, so I try to limit how much crunchy stuff I have. If there is an interesting dip or salsa, I try a chip or 2 with that interesting topping and then I back away. I look for the vegetables or I leave the food altogether for any non-food activity.

Deep-fried or cream-based meals - If I have the choice, I order or choose some food prepared in another way. If I don't have the choice, then I am very aware of the portion I'm having, and I try to fill half of my plate with fruits and vegetables.

Salads that aren't green - Potato salad, macaroni salad, Ambrosia/5-cup "salad"... all very yummy, and all not so great for my weight loss goals. As for whether I want my kids to eat these foods, I certainly let them try a small portion of anything being offered, but I don't make these rich foods the centerpiece of any meal. I let my kids know when something is a treat/special, and I don't force them to eat these foods especially if they say they don't like them (Caleb claims not to like potato or mac/pasta salad). I usually give myself a very small portion (think about 1/4 c at most) and only eat it if the first bite tastes good.

Desserts - When we're on the road, especially for family visits, it's hard to say no to desserts. I have slightly different rules for me than for my kids. I eat desserts which seem worth it. Chocolate is worth it to me, especially as a homemade baked good. Store-bought baked goods probably aren't worth it. Ice cream is hit or miss as I have become an ice cream snob. For the kids, they have a small portion of dessert because I don't want to make any food off-limits or taboo to them. From a very young age, I tell them that dessert is not an everyday experience and that some foods are once-in-a-while foods. I let them know what foods are good growing foods, and I've been rather blunt about risks of eating out of proportion. My kids get really excited about watermelon as well as cupcakes, and I've seen both of them choose the fruit over the baked good. Maybe there is hope for them not to have quite the food struggles that I have. They know that we don't have baked goods and ice cream at home most nights, and I think they might start to make the association that dessert when on the road is something different from eating it all the time at home.

Restaurants - I haven't mentioned restaurants yet. Maybe it's because restaurants remain hard for me. For my kids, they don't read yet, so I can limit their choices to better options on the kids' menus. For me, I look for options with lots of vegetables but not necessarily salads. I look for foods which I know will fill me up more than a sandwich or a huge plate of pasta. Isn't it funny how eating a ton of pasta makes you feel full while you're at the restaurant but then you're hungry not long after leaving?

When we bought food on the streets of Manhattan, I looked for foods that were easily identified as "REAL FOOD" and not processed much. Yes, I had some of the hot pretzels we bought for the kids - several glorious delicious bites, in fact. For lunch, I saw burritos made fresh with grilled chicken and lots of veggies, rice, salsa, and other toppings. The kids had quesadillas; Aaron had chicken souvlaki, and I had one of the best burritos I've ever had. Sure, I could have bought a hot dog or some fried chicken or who-knows-what else on 6th Avenue. And no, the burrito probably wasn't the absolute best option for me that day. However, for road food, it was great. The portion seemed reasonable; it was delicious; it filled me up.

Anyway, I hope some of these late-night ramblings give you ideas for your next road trip. I remember stopping at all sorts of fast-food restaurants when on road trips as a kid. Other than the mall food court in Danbury, CT, I don't recall the last time my family went for fast-food on a road trip. It doesn't seem hard to me to avoid the drive-thru with my family, and maybe you will consider avoiding fast-food on your next trip.

Updates

My last post was about food battles with Ellie, and I'm delighted to report they are improving. She seems to be eating more quantity and diversity than in previous weeks, though I'm certain to jinx that by writing this (or perhaps even by thinking it).

We are heading out of town for a few days tomorrow, so I thought I would post a few updates for different food related topics. By now, I'm sure no one expects daily posts from me (a lofty goal for me, apparently), but I still felt this need to wrap up what I perceived as loose ends. And here are the updates

Garden
We have harvested 19 strawberries as of last count. Nothing hugely impressive (not enough to fill a pint), but I'm delighted because they truly are OUR strawberries. And they have been delicious. :)

The squash bed has grown out of control. I absolutely need to transplant about half of the squash quite soon or we may be in danger of having no squash due to overcrowding. I'm not sure whether squash is transplantable, but I figure it's worth a shot. A quick Google search seems to indicate this is possible. They are not flowering yet, so I think this will work out. Worst case, I have too much squash but not nearly as much "too much" as before. My neighbors will be locking their porch doors in the not-too-distant future to avoid squash deliveries.

The bean vines are finally reaching the tops of the 6 foot tall poles. I'm very excited by the prospect of bean tipis.

The tomato plants have more than doubled in size.

The carrots no longer look like a row of grass but instead are starting to look like carrot tops.

The other vegetables seems in good health, and the marigolds seem "fatter" in their blossoms.

Weight Loss
I have lost a total of 5.6 pounds since starting Weight Watchers a few weeks ago. I'm quite excited about this. Part of my weight loss journey has included trying out some new recipes, and I'll try to remember to post some of those when we get back from our weekend. So far the kids have been happy or indifferent to the new recipes, with minimal complaints.

Meal Planning - What we are feeding the kids
My kids have been eating A LOT of peanut butter and jelly for lunch and oatmeal for breakfast. Nothing fancy, but these foods seems to have become comfort foods for them. In addition to those favorites, lunch and dinner always include a vegetable and usually a fruit. I try to think about a protein, a vegetable, and something sweet but preferably healthy (thus fruit but sometimes yogurt).

This past week I made a vegetable stew which Aaron and I loved and the kids at least ate about half of their servings. Caleb particularly enjoyed the couscous, and I think Ellie liked it once she realized it was a form of pasta. Not a huge success for the kids, but not a failure either.

Turkish Vegetable Stew with Israeli Couscous - from Weight Watchers
1 cup uncooked Israeli couscous
1 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
1 medium eggplant, raw, cut into 1 inch chunks
2 medium zucchini, cut lengthwise, then into 1/2 inch thick pieces
1 medium yellow pepper, cut into 1 inch chunks (I used a red pepper)
15 oz. can of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
14 1/2 oz can of diced tomatoes, with roasted garlic (I used plain 'maters and added some garlic)
1/2 c. water
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 c. scallions, sliced
1/3 c. fresh dill, chopped (I used about 1/6 c. of dry dill weed)
1/2 c. feta cheese

To make couscous, bring 1 3/4 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan; add couscous. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until couscous is tender and liquid is absorbed, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 1 teaspoon of oil.

While couscous cooks, make stew. Heat remaining 2 teaspoons of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add eggplant; cook, stirring often, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add zucchini and yellow pepper; cook, stirring often, until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.

Stir in garbanzo beans, tomatoes, water, cumin, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in scallions and dill.

To serve, spoon a scant 3/4 cup of couscous onto each of 4 serving plates or bowls and top each with 1 1/2 cups of stew. Sprinkle each with 2 tablespoons of cheese and serve.

This recipe was a good way to get veggies into my kids. I also discovered that Caleb prefers raw zucchini to cooked - go figure.

Other than some new recipes which definitely include lots of veggies (Greek Penne had spinach and tomatoes but was NOT a hit with the kids sadly), we have enjoyed a few meals of fantastic chicken from Chestnut Farms. We are going to visit the farm this weekend on our way back from visiting our friends in western MA. I'm very excited about seeing the farm! Pictures will be forthcoming.

Anyway, meal planning has been happening a bit more since I need to plan to do well at my weight loss. I don't have a groove for it yet, but it is feeling easier to cook and make sure my kids get the foods they need to grow.

I *think* those are all the updates for now. Pictures of our overgrown garden, the farm, and more recipe reviews will be on their way after the weekend!

Meal Planning with Weight Loss in Mind

I just completed week 2 of Weight Watchers. I started the program weighing 182.2 pounds. I'm going to be really excited when I lose 5 pounds, just because it's a nice "roundish" number. I'll be even more excited when I get below 175. I lost 0.8 pounds this week, bringing my cumulative weight loss to 3.6 pounds and weight to 178.6.

After only these two weeks, I already identified 2 big challenges for me. Snacks and planning dinner. I'm happy these are my challenges rather than other challenges. Some people struggle to eat healthy food, choosing junk instead of real food. Some people really struggle with portion control. I have some portion control problem (otherwise I wouldn't be overweight - duh, right?), but that hasn't been difficult with Weight Watchers. However, finding appropriate snacks - filling, tasty, fun, but not loaded with points (i.e., high calories and fat, low fiber) - AND figuring out dinner have been tough for me.

Then I remembered how easy dinner felt when we were picking up our box of produce from Stillman's last summer. The box made it easier because I had to plan dinners around the vegetables before the vegetables went bad. This week I decided I have to return to meal planning so that I can be successful at my weight loss journey. Weight Watchers has a great tool to help with this - a HUGE recipe database, searchable by type of food, meal, number of points, ingredients and probably more. I picked 3 new recipes to try out.

Grilled Moroccan Chicken Kabobs
Turkish Vegetable Stew with Israeli Couscous (I love Israeli couscous!)
Lentil Burgers

I'm hoping the kids will eat them. I know the kids at least will try them. I'll share recipes for what works for us and let you know how it goes.

Summer is really here!

With such wonderful weather, I have not posted all the lovely garden happenings or the farmers' market experiences OR the biggest news for me personally - my weight loss journey while eating real food.

Garden Happenings
Our strawberries are turning pink and almost red!

This picture only shows green berries. Clearly I need to take new pictures. However, I know that at least some of these are pinkish. My kids are practically ready to tear down the netting to start the berry harvest. We need 1-3 more days of sun before we have a worthy harvest. I did notice one berry had been bitten, so we may have to study the netting's integrity.

In other delightful growing news, I mentioned that our squash and corn had truly sprouted. Here is some visual proof of that! The picture is old enough now (4-5 days old) that I can honestly say the plants are bigger now.

The corn (right side of picture, back of bed) looks like wide grass as of today. I expect to see a nice squash harvest given the size of the plants. We also talked about possibly needing to transplant some of our cucumbers or carrots based on how many actually took root and have sprouted. They look rather tight.

The only sad news to report is that not a single pepper plant seems to have sprouted from seed. Humph. That's what I get for ignoring the instructions on the package, I suppose. At least I think it's the peppers that didn't take... I didn't label my rows, relying on my fuzzy memory and somewhat alphabetical planting. *shrug* We plant; we learn.

Farmers' Market
Week 2 of the local farmers' market brought more lettuce, the return of chicken wings (meh to me, but Aaron loves them), hanging baskets of flowers for the front porch, tasty bread, and more lovely soap. Our vegetable man says he will have strawberries this coming week, and I'm SO looking forward to REAL strawberries.

Weight Loss Journey (again)
With my kids growing up and my own frustration at my size in mind, I decided it was time to get myself back in whatever shape I thought I might have been pre-kids. It's time to be truly healthy - for myself, for my husband, for my kids. I want to be around for a while, and losing the extra 40 pounds I have on my frame should help with that.

My doctor thinks I'm healthy as I am. He expressed no concern about my weight because I exercise twice a week. Yes, he actually told that to me. I challenged him and informed him that I knew I was not a healthy weight. He said he knew the weight would come off as I exercised. Yeah, well the weight wasn't coming off. I had been exercising for months and remaining at the same weight. I suppose I should be glad I wasn't gaining yet more.

I knew my food intake must be out of whack, so back to Weight Watchers (WW) I went. I am not being paid to endorse them or anything like that. I'm just writing about my own journey. I was hesitant to return to WW because I refuse to eat lowfat cheese and I don't want to give up cheese, but I know that it is a lot of points for a small quantity. Points, for those unfamiliar with WW, are a way of measuring the calories, fat and fiber in a food. Based on several factors, you get a certain number of points per day plus a weekly allowance for splurging. You can earn points from exercising (i.e., exercise enough to have more food). WW basically encourages a low fat, high fiber diet with lots of vegetables.

I've been successful at losing weight with this method before, and my only "failing" at keeping the weight off came from eating without thought when pregnant. I lost weight before conceiving Caleb. I lost weight after Caleb was born by joining and following WW. I expect to lose weight again, and I do believe I can keep it off. This time around, I actually have the activity/exercise component already in place. I actually like exercising - or at least, I don't hate it and I feel better on days when I do exercise.

In my first week of WW, I lost 2.8 pounds. :) I ate full fat cheese in very limited quantities, and I discovered full fat yogurt as a dessert option. I thought I didn't like full fat yogurt, and boy was I wrong! Trader Joe's makes a lovely full fat yogurt that basically makes me feel like I'm eating fruity fluff. I ate lots more veggies, but I also noticed I ate more fruit. I don't eat as many bread/cracker/cookie type foods. Perhaps more important than what I'm eating/not eating is the fact that I actually don't miss what I'm not eating (much), and I feel really good about what I am eating.

I also decided to mix up my cardio workout by attempting to follow the Couch to 5K program described here. I had seen this program many times and kept telling myself that I am not a runner. I still don't think I'm a runner, but I think I could be.

So how does this affect what I feed my kids? After all, this is a blog about what I feed my kids. :) Well, again it's about example setting. I want my kids to see what appropriate portion sizes are. I want my kids to see what well-balanced meals really are. I want them to understand that all foods are OK, in the right amounts and frequencies. I also want them to learn that a lot of things that look and taste like food aren't purely food (high fructose corn syrup, for starters). I want my kids to see that their mom takes care of them and takes care of herself.