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


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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!