Late Quickie Check-In

I was hoping to post earlier...but you know life! Anyway, I'll just post a quick one with the HYC news and one crockpot ( my iPhone wants to call it "crackpot"- hee!) recipe.

First of all, I went to the show and ate very salty movie popcorn on Friday- right before my Saturday am weighin, ergo my loss this week: zero pounds. It's back down now again; so I think it was just water retention. I'm ok with slow weight loss (sticks off better?) but fast is more fun. Kwim?

I didn't workout as much as I should have, but when I did, I felt good. I still need to get to bed earlier (surprise!) and drink more water!

I do feel proud of doing a crockpot recipe from my fancy crackpot recipe book (art of the slow cooker) that I've shared a long time ago. I always feel proud when I do a cp recipe- like I'm super organized or something.'lol. Yes, I know there's someone out there that used one everyday for a year! Small steps for me!

I don't have the chicken cacciatore (the slow cooker recipe's) points yet: I'm having trouble logging on to ww for the recipe builder! Anyone else have trouble with that site? I'll post more dets tomorrow! I am supposed to be getting to bed earlier! Eh?


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Thankful for Thanksgiving

I had a very nice Thanksgiving weekend! My mom visited from outside Montreal, and we had a birthday celebration for her on the Monday- and one for my sister, Laurie, on the Sunday. (Can you sense the danger: Thanksgiving AND cake!) Just the fact that I didn't eat myself to a state of feeling stuffed (like I always used to do on Thanksgiving), is definitely a cause for extra celebration! woo hoo!

I tried a few recipes over the weekend. For the Thanksgiving dinner at Laurie's, I brought a pumpkin pie from Cooking Light- Classic Pumpkin Pie (4pts) and a side dish from Healthy Cooking magazine, Cheddar Mashed Potatoes (4pts) from their Thanksgiving section. The pumpkin pie was really good, though I had to cook it a little longer than called for (after reading the reviews, I noticed that one person had discussed this.) The pie called for 12 servings which made for a pretty tiny piece, but it was enough, really, if one didn't gulp it down as usual. At least that's what I'm telling myself! ;) The pie was a big hit, especially with dd10.

I also made the Pumpkin Spice Bagels from Healthy Cooking (3pts) yesterday. Mine looked pretty pathetically shrunken (lol), but they were pretty tasty and I was pretty jazzed that I actually made bagels! I'm going to try them again and see if they go better. I don't own a bread machine, btw, but they have instructions for without (and with).

I also made an Angel Food cake for my mom's birthday. I cut it in half and put strawberries and a teeny bit of whipped cream (left over from the pumpkin pie recipe) in the middle. I'd like to experiment for other variations. I looked for a pumpkin version, but didn't find one.

...and finally, in terms of HYC check-in, I had another successful week at my Weight Watcher's weighin: I was down over 3 pounds again (3.4) for a loss over 10 pounds thus far and surpassing my 5 percent. woo hoo! I do need to pump up the exercise-I was better this week though. So far, I got out for a speed walking session with dd 13 on Monday, did boot camp today (Tuesday) and have a gym workout date with my friends tomorrow. Hope I can keep it up! Hope you all had a good week, too! :)


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HYC Check in

I thought I'd start doing the Tuesday check-ins again for the Healthy You Challenge. I'm having a few banner issues (had to take down my old "lost 20 pounds" one, since I found them again- sigh!) Anyway I'm going to leave my weight loss reflections for Tuesday (or Wednesday morning).

Anywhooooo. ;) I had a successful Saturday weighin: down 3 pounds- yeah! Some of that weight was last week's loss- where the scale didn't budge on wi morning, but I knew I'd lost. I'm down further now, but we'll see if it sticks till Saturday. (Don't trust those tricky reappearing pounds!) I should be at a 10 pound weight loss.

I survived our birthday month, avoided lots of party foods while having an occasional high points food in moderation. (Pictured: my salad share with my friend, Karin from the bday trip to TO.) I worked out at boot camp and once (eep!) at the gym. I need to get a few more of those in this week.

Hope everyone had a great week!

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Monday, Monday!

Actually, it should be titled "Weekend! weekend!" since this post is about recipes that I tried on the weekend. Today, I had left over chicken tossed in some curly noodles and sauteed veggies. Tasty, but a tad boring to discuss. ;)

Anyway! On the weekend, I tried a couple of Cooking Light recipes from the new magazine (Oct. 2010). The first pictured is Greek-Style Skewers. (5pts) It was a really quick and easy recipe and everyone enjoyed it, except for dh who didn't like the garlic. The garlic does have a good bite in these, as you brush on the marinade AFTER the chicken is cooked. Interesting, I thought! I really loved the flavour. Also, there was a lot of the olive oil based marinade left in the bowl (how much can you brush on to cooked chicken? 3 tbsp is a lot!), so I think the point value might even be closer to 4 in the end, but I counted it as a 5.

Some changes I made: I didn't have fresh oregano (everyone else got their CL copy first, my grocery store was out!), so I used about a tsp of dried and I used grape tomatoes instead of cherry ones (as that's what Costco had). Shocker, I know! Oblong rather than round. It changed the taste completely! ;) I really liked the grilled tomatoes, btw. I haven't had them grilled for awhile. That's what's good about following a recipe, even an easy one like this, just getting out of the regular routine!

I also tried the cover recipe from this month's issue Peanut Butter Banana Bread. (4pts) This recipe dh could get behind, though dd10 didn't like it. It's a dense banana bread with a lovely peanut butter sugary glaze on the top. What's not to love? I always enjoyed the peanut butter and banana sandwich, so here's a chance for a flashback, right? I also have an overload of ripe bananas in the house (and my family only eats green tinged ones), so I might be trying some more banana recipes from this issue!

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Running (or Dancing) like the Wind

Just watching the Britney episode of Glee. Loving the dancing in it. Doesn't it make you feel like dancing, too? OK, would probably throw out my back with those moves, but it gets you thinking about moving! That's a lot about what I love about step class (gotta get the club going at school again!)- the music! I like a dancy choreography and when it comes together in a fun 32 count pattern.

Working out goes hand in hand for me with eating more sensibly. I feel more active, I want to eat better foods...I sleep better...I've been a little negligent with my workouts lately, though, and want to get back on track with more regular workouts. Boot camp after school was very intense: we were doing sprinting drills. They're a bit uncomfortable, but it's still fun to see how far you can push yourself. Part of me holds back. I'll admit it. It's freeing to push through that fear. It also makes me want to challenge myself further- see if I can get back to some running.

...and I did get that new running holder for my iPhone, so there WILL be music. ;)

Surviving our Birthday Party Season with Cake and Lasagna

(The best way to survive birthday season, imho.)

Both of my girls have September birthdays, and with the start up of school and extracurricular activities starting up, it always makes September a little crazy and not very low fat. Soooooo...it's good that I joined Weight Watchers in September, right? To at least make me try to stay on track. (Although at this point I still need to track Saturday and Sunday! Right after this!)

Today we had the family birthday. I made 2 desserts and 2 lasagnas: a Cooking Light version for each. The lasagna, Butternut Squash Lasagna (5pts), I found on the Cooking Light website and the Classic Angel Food Cake (3pts) from my Cooking Light Recipe binder.

The lasagna was good. You make two in 8x8 pans, with directions to freeze one. I cooked both, just in case we needed extra. I'll try to remember to take a picture tomorrow (when we are eating leftovers), as I forgot to today! I used the organic squash from our organic delivery and a ton of the small onions that keep piling up. (yeah! love using up stuff that sometimes gets wasted.)

The angel food cake was a hit. I served it with sliced strawberries and the choice of frozen yogurt (more ww friendly) and regular vanilla icecream.

My weigh-in was not as good this week- I was up .2! I wasn't too surprised because though I hadn't gone over flex or anything, my workouts were down due to party prep and I had had salt (popcorn) the night before during dd10's sleepover party. I can't beat myself up though since I didn't have the icecream cake OR the chips. I was down this week earlier, so I think it will show up on the scale next time. Unless I eat some of the chocolate peanut butter cupcakes dd10 and I made from the Martha Stewart cupcake recipe book this morning (dessert #2). So far, I'm holding strong. :)

Here comes the birthdays...

First salad...


Later, cake! Wish me luck! (and my dd happy bday)!




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Chicks like Steak and Key Lime Pie

I click on my pictures icon to upload food pictures and what do I see? This:



Gotta love my soon to be double digits girl: she loves taking pictures and editing them. Many make me laugh.

Ok, on to my actual weekend food pics.







I tried a couple recipes from the new (September 2010) Cooking Light this weekend: their Key Lime Pie (7 pts) and Grilled Steak with Mango Salsa (5pts) I enjoyed both or as my new group leader would say, they were point worthy.

Speaking of points, I was down a big 4.6 pounds! Woo Hoo! Gotta love week one on the program. Just saying.

Ok back to the recipes. I really enjoyed the steak. I bought the flank steak at the local butcher's where I always feel like I'm getting good quality meats. The rub in this recipe has an Indian spice flavour and the mango salsa works well with it: refreshing and fresh. I didn't let dh cook the steak way after the recommended time (he likes his steak super well done) so we all enjoyed it off the grill while I popped his piece into the microwave to brown up.

I didn't have the suggested Naan bread side- until tonight ironically (with grilled chicken) I love Naan bread, but we had some organic delivery potatoes to use up, so I made fries with my 1 tbsp using French fry maker- yeah! They were the best batch yet according to dh. Love my Mother's Day present.

The Key Lime pie recipe was pretty easy until I got to the meringue part! The recipe calls for a temp of 250 on a candy thermometer. I think it was a misprint cause mine just blackened right before reaching it. I tried turning down the burner the next time, but just couldn't get the temp up without the sugar water getting chunky. It turned out ok with the chunks getting whipped up into meringue but then the broiler was too hot after all that preheating and the tips got a little browned. Oops. lol.

I'd looked online for recipe reviews at the site, but the only one had no meringue issues. (Maybe they lacked a candy thermometer and didn't stress the 250?)

The pie was good in the end. To save points you could cut it into smaller pieces than the called for eight. It held together well in the cutting. 10 would be easy to do.






-- Post From My iPhone

Midnight Snacks

Ok, not really- just posting this late. I'm actually a mixture of super tired and hungry this late on day 7 of my first week of WW. I should be sleeping as I have an 8am appt at the gym, followed by a meeting and weigh in.

I had a good week foodwise, though I only had 3 workouts: one gym trip and 2 boot camps. I need more cardio in my life again. This week I'll work on that!

Pictured:
one old recipe and one new: both from Cooking Light. The chocolate chip cookies are from the CL binder cookbook (One of their All Time Favorite recipes) and the soup I found online at the CL site. I will link them both tomorrow.

We all liked the cookies, though we agree that they are best hot from the oven when the chocolate is all melty. (2pts for one; 3 pts for 2) The soup was good, also- dd9 was the biggest fan with two bowls. I read the soup reviews before making and therefore added a 1/4 c of diced carrot. I also used lots of tomatoes from our garden. Yeah! Our tomatoes have had a very good year. I loved the creamy flavour added in with the tbsp of yogurt, too. (1 pt per serving)

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At least I get 25 points!

I've never had so many WW points before. (So there is an upside to letting oneself go! ;))

No food pictures to share, I neglected to take a picture of my last batch of CL pumpkin muffins and they were quickly eaten, so I thought I share a pic of new 3 Month (yes, committing to a chunk of time- go me!) Journal holder. Our leader showed us hers saying that people won't be as curious about the journal, being covered up in the holder, so you can freely leave it about your workplace, or wherever. My friend and I were both thinking that this funky cover is totally eye-catching and does the opposite: drawing people's attention to it! LOL

But I like it and it makes me happy and sometimes little stuff like this makes you stay on track, right? At least that's what I tell myself. (and my husband when he's looking at the Visa bill. ;))


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You Know What I Ate this Summer...

... The Sequel!

(pictured: some of our good summer eating. My 9yr. old edited the last and it made me laugh, so I included it. One of our friends went to Italy this summer and brought back noodles at the request of my 12 yr. old.)

Hello long lost blogging friends! Hope everyone had a nice summer!

I had a nice summer, and a nice spring, and a nice winter, etc. etc. stretching way back through lots of food and drinks consumed with little tracking, overly large portions and poor food choices. I know how to do this, but for some reason, I stopped and gradually gained and gained! And now I don't like looking at my summer none food pics! I look huge in them! :P (when did that happen?!)

So, I got a couple of friends to join me at Weight Watchers and I signed up on Saturday. We went to the gym first and then headed to the 10am WW meeting. I'm excited! I feel committed! I'm going to stay until goal this time (50 pounds- yikes!!) and try to earn lifetime. If you care to do it again with me, I'll be here.

The muffin is back. Time to crumble.

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A French Fry Machine for Mother's Day

Yes, MIA once again! Hope my fellow weight loss bloggers are doing better than I! Sitting here with a sore back- aggravated by yesterday's boot camp- having missed this morning's run. Boo hoo! I hate a sore back.

In happier news, above is pictured my Mother's Day surprise gift: the French fry machine by T-fal that only needs a tbsp of oil to make delicious fries! I was fascinated by the machine when I heard a commercial and saw it at The Bay. I would stop by and look at it everytime we went to the mall (to my children's chagrin). It kept selling out in spite of its expensive price tag.

Anyway, turns out the girls showed it to Ken when they were M D shopping and Ken had some Bay points to put toward it, so they bought it for me. Quel nice surprise!


You can make up to 2 pds of fries at a time with 1 tbsp of oil. The machine takes up a bit of room, but the fries are so much like the real thing, it's definitely worth the cupboard reorganization. IMHO.

I'll have to work out the points and start tracking my eating in general, but that's another post!


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Easter dinner

Sorry for the late Easter post. I tried a few recipes from the Cooking Light suggested menu for Easter ( will post links later). I've made other stuff too from this month's CL ( including a couple of icecream recipes )
and will try to catch up over this week. I'm trying to get back on track!

Exercise= good

Eating= not so good


-- Post From My iPhone

Fun to Eat, Hard to Say

Sitting here feeling a bit hungry, since I actually stayed on track fairly well today. lol. I am not having a snack though- yeah me, but rather having my herbal tea solo. Next my goal is to go to bed promptly at 11. Still need to work on the sleep, as though I taught step at lunch, I bagged on the gym after work due to tiredness.

I made another recipe from the new Cooking Light, Spicy Chicken Shawarma. (9pts) It was pretty easy and very tasty- I love having Mid-Eastern fare once in awhile. I was thinking of having a fattoush salad (my fave) with it, but then it was quicker just to do Caesar. I got my children to try half a shawarma- they are not much for wraps like this, and then they had the rest dissembled in unsauced piles. dh and I enjoyed it, though he complained of the onion taste in his mouth later. har. I did get him to admit that I'm a good wife making him healthy dinner options and all, even with the bits he complains about like onion or garlic. ;)

Tomorrow I'm going to write out my plan and goals for June. I need to start working with a definite plan....and possibly a net.
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Fish in a Coconut Tree

As Sunday is drawing to a close, I thought I might start off the week on the right track with a blog post. I'm going to get back on track this week (tracking my food and exercise, getting to bed before midnight and drinking more water. That's my plan thus far, anyway!) I'm not sure if I'll rejoin Weight Watchers- I've been contemplating it as my online membership is done, but I might go back to meetings if I can fit them into schedule. OR I might just go back to Sparks. Decisions, decisions!

In the stuff-I-actually-got-done dept., I tried a couple of new recipes from the new Cooking Light (April 2010) this weekend: Crispy Fish with Lemon Dill Sauce (5pts) and (not at the same time) Toasted Coconut Chocolate Chunk Cookies. (2pts) I will add links from my laptop after.

The fish was good overall. It's a source of mommy guilt that I don't prepare fish very often. I'd like to have it more often. It was a fight to get the kids to try this recipe- especially dd9, but dh and I both liked the mildness of the fish and the crispy panko coating. My favourite part though was, I have to admit, the tartar like Lemon Dill sauce. Delicous with the bits of dill pickle that I found in a HUGE bottle at Costco. (We'll be eating pickles for awhile!) I couldn't find fresh dill at the grocery though, so I used some dry. I'd like to do the recipe again with the fresh dill.

Finally, words cannot describe the deliciousness of the cookies. I'll definitely be making them again! They have just the right amount of "chewy" mixed in with the melted chocolate "gooey". Mmmmmm.... well worth the 2 points....ok, 6 points by the time they were cooling on the pan. Like I said, this week will be better!! ;)


Hope everyone has a good week! I'm going to be checking in more through the week (and catching up with people) and setting a goal for June.




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Oscar Night Lamb

Hope everyone had a good week! Mine was pretty good, though I missed boot camp on Friday ( went to see the Raptors play basketball in TO ) and my run on Saturday am and, come to think of it, my trip to the gym on Thursday ( due to a hair appt ). I did teach step twice, made the gym once and boot camp on Tuesday. I still need to cut back on my extra snacking and start tracking. Maybe this week?!

I've tried a few things from the new Cooking Light (March 2010) including tonight's Roast Leg of Lamb with Chile-Garlic Sauce. I had it with roasted potatoes and Roasted Cauliflower, Chickpeas, and Olives. Everything was delicious! The lamb was so good and I loved, loved, loved the chile-garlic sauce. The sauce definitely has a bite to it. I had sambal oelek on hand already, so I didn't have to so any extra shopping for the recipe other than for the pound of lamb which I got at Whole Foods.

The roasted cauliflower I only had a few bites of, because truth be told, I forgot it in the oven. oops! lol. It was a little crispy, but still tasty. I really like the salty taste of the olives (not sure if I uses the right type, but figured it didn't matter all that much) with the crispy balls of chickpeas. Maybe they shouldn't have been that crispy? ;P They were good, though! I was drawn to trying this recipe since we keep getting califlower in the organic delivery. I eat it raw, but my family isn't that into it.

I think this week I'm going to make up a plan to work toward for the summer. This week I'm also going to try to (a) drink more water (b) get to sleep earlier and (c) not snack after 9pm. I'll lyk how it goes when (d) I blog more regularly! ;)

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Gold medal chili

Okay, who else is missing the Olympics today? I was getting used to flipping on the TV to see what sport was on that night. One benefit to them being done will be the end (hopefully) of super late nights though. Darn that Vancouver time difference!

Sidenote: I was so happy that my mom, who always loved the Olympics, got to go and stay with my Van sis and catch some of the action. :)

I've been working out (in my own sporting news) pretty well these last couple of weeks. I have 2 boot camp sessions, 2 step classes, 2-3 gym sessions, 1 yoga class and 1 outside run on my schedule of late. I'm feeling pretty strong, but still need to cut back on evening snacks and track better.

I made past weeks Triple-Play Cinnamon Buns again this weekend- this time with raisins, which made them even better. The whole family loves this recipe.

On Sunday, the day of the Canadian golden hockey game, I made another recipe that I posted here before: Smoky Slow Cooker Chili. I love the feta cheese (my replacement in the recipe) and greens chopped on top. I also added bits of a ripe organic avocado that I had on hand.

Tonight I served it with Almond-Cranberry Corn Bread (also posted about previously) sans the cranberries. I also skipped the toasted almonds on top and the straining of the oil. Easy and so tasty. My junior chef (dd9) helped. My coffee grinder was having an issue grinding the semi frozen almonds, so the my almond meal had some crunch to it. (When baked it was perfect.) The corn bread made my family think of our favourite US breakfast spot: the Cracker Barrel. :)

Hope everyone had a good Monday, even missing the excitement of the Olympics. :)
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Family Day Crockpot Pork

Happy Family Day (or Prez Day) to my fellow bloggers! We had a nice, low key one. I didn't even leave the house- good day! ;)



I did try a new recipe- the cover one from my forementioned special edition BH&G Ultimate Slow Cooker 2010. Barbecued Country-Style Ribs was the recipe- actually I followed in into the second suggested recipe Shredded Pork Sandwiches with Vinegar Slaw.

The recipe wasn't low fat, but it was quick and tasty. I couldn't find the boneless ribs required in the recipe, the butcher didn't know what they were and directed me to a boneless rib roast which I cut in chunks and used in its place.

I really liked it and my family all seemed to like it, too. Only dh and I had it on the kaiser rolls and only I added the coleslaw and sauce on top. (dh and his lack of sauce love) I'm going to look for lower fat crockpot alternatives next- maybe a chili? We've got the chill in the air for it!

Hot buns for Valentine's

Happy Valentine's, everyone! Checking in from chocolate bonbon eating (and Olympic watching) central. We also went to a movie today (Valentine's Day: the movie on the day) and had movie popcorn with butter. (which always tastes good until you feel terrible after.)

In good healthier eating news, one of the treats that I made for my family today was from my Cooking Light recipe binder: Triple Play Cinnamon Rolls. (4pts) I will look for a link on my laptop after.

Anyway, I used the bday Kitchenaid mixer for the kneading part again, so they were pretty easy- though not a recipe for a week night with all the pauses between steps. I skipped the raisins because I didn't have any, plus my children aren't fans. I would like to add raisins next time (for at least half the roll anyway).

The rolls were liked by everyone in my family. Maybe we'll share with people other than the 4 of us tomorrow. The recipe makes 20 afterall. ( Though my end piece was a mini- as seen in the pic. Guess that one is a single pointer. Unlike my Laura Secord bonbons. ;))

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Using the tools...

After missing last week's check-in post, thought I'd try to be better this week. We'll see how it goes.

Anyway, I have a few new tools, including my new iPhone- which I love, love, love! I took the food pics on my phone for easy upload. yee haw!

I also used a new attachment on my November-new KitchenAid stand mixer: the dough hook for the pictured Pumpkin-Cinnamon Streusel Buns from my Cooking Light recipe binder. (5pts)
The buns are really good! I've made them the last 2 weekends. Only dd12 wouldn't try them- turned off by the idea of the pumpkin. You really don't taste pumpkin, btw- not that I don't enjoy pumpkin. (says the pumpkin crazy lady!) They are fluffy and cinnamon-y- delicious. Well worth the points, I think.

The other two dishes pictured are from a Better Homes and Garden's special edition magazine I found on Slow Cooker recipes. The one I tried was Indian-spiced Chicken Thighs. It leads to left-overs and another recipe: Coconut Chicken and Couscous. I made it with pasta for the second night instead of the rice. (Trying to please my family since we'd had rice the night before and if the chicken wasn't enjoyed, they will always eat pasta without complaint.)

I really liked the slow cooker recipes; my family, not as much. Dh likes his chicken dry-argh! (sauce is not his favourite) and he complained about the curry flavour the second night. (We don't have curry very often.) dd9 doesn't like dark meat chicken since we usually have boneless chicken breasts.

Anyway, I enjoyed the Indian flavours and the coconut milk (I used light) mixed into the pasta and chicken bits, so I might do it again (after some time passes) with white meat instead- and halve the amount, so I'm not eating chicken thighs for lunch AND dinner.

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Tuesday Check In

Ok. Missed a week somewhere. Oops!

I've had an okay last couple of weeks. I still need to work on my snacking- and get back to tracking my food.

I HAVE done pretty well with the exercising- boot camp, the gym and yoga starting back on Wednesdays. I'd like to get back to more consistent running, but I was feeling under the weather this weekend and yesterday and seem to have pulled my back again. It felt ok during boot camp tonight, so hopefully it recovers quickly. Our trainer has been pulling out the stops at Boot Camp- increasing the intensity to get results. He wants us to follow an eating plan also

I tried a few recipes over the last couple of weekends (as pictured above). From the new Cooking Light (Jan/Feb 2010) I made the Leek and Potato Soup (in the Jamie Oliver article) and Coconut Shrimp with Fiery Mango Sauce.

My husband and I enjoyed the shrimp though some of them were a little crispy! The suggested cooking time (2 1/2 mins on each side at medium high) was just too long on my stove top anyway. I cut the time down, turned down the temp, but they still cooked super fast. The sauce was tasty, too, though I couldn't find mango nectar and substituted with peach which they had. Also, I forgot to add the hot pepper, so it wasn't fiery! This recipe deserves a redo at some point though, so I'll try it a little spicier.

The chicken pictured was a Kung Pao Chicken recipe from the new issue of Shape magazine. It was enjoyable also. I really enjoy anything with sesame oil.

Hope everyone had a healthy last couple of weeks! with no back strain! :)

A New Year to be healthier!

Long time no post, again. Hope everyone had a nice Christmas! I did. It was a family affair- pretty action packed and not very low fat, to say the least. During the 2 weeks of holidays, I did manage two gym workouts (one at which I fell off the treadmill- ouch! but that's another story), one book camp session with our trainer (at the gym we worked out this summer) and one skating session.

I didn't get everything I hope to do done over the holidays- like making our gingerbread cookie winter scene that I plan to do every year, but I did manage to use my Nigella Christmas cookbook for a number of recipes. I won't link them here- they aren't light recipes- but I will list the ones I did make- for my own amusement. lol. They are as follows: Party Parma Ham Bundles, Chocolate Peanut-Butter Cups, Ginger-Glazed Ham, Macaroni Cheese De Luxe, Spiced and Superjuicy Roast Turkey with Allspice Gravy, Redder than Red Cranberry Sauce, Gingerbread Stuffing, Christmas Sprouts, Sticky Gingerbread, Pumpkin Pancakes with Sticky Maple Pecans and lots of cocktails and mocktails. :)

I liked everything from her cookbook- probably my least favourite was the Pumpkin pancakes, though it might have just been the 'unusual' flavour, because I started to enjoy them more after the first taste. We'd also never brined a turkey before, and I really enjoyed the juicy result of the brining. My husband didn't love dragging a huge tub of turkey in brine to the basement fridge, but I think I'd get him to do it again next turkey. ;)

I also made the Pumpkin Ice cream Torte from Cooking Light again. We had it New Year's Day and it held it's own, even surrounded by more decadent options. I really like that recipe. Now the holidays are over, I also tried a couple of CL recipes for dinners. Last night I made Pan- Fried Chicken (6pts) from the Best of 2009 online article (originally from June's issue- a recipe that I'd meant to get to, but never did.) It was pretty time consuming in terms of time waiting for the chicken in coating to chill and then, later, to come to room temperature, but otherwise, it was really easy to put together. I really liked the flavour of the coating. It was even good cold for lunch the next day at work. The cinnamon flavour is especially tasty.