What's Up With S

We take a break from your regularly scheduled updates about Gabe, or Anna, or Anna, or Gabe. Or vice versa versa vice.

We are going to digress from zeee most popular topics to talk about some other things for a minute. Or a few. After a certain inspiring event (crisis gallbladder removal followed by pancreatitis) I decided to make a few changes to my lifestyle. Talking about a certain "quit" on here makes me have to admit I even did "it" but let's press forward so as to end up to the good news.

I never ever ever ever smoked a cigarette until the age of 20, a now-nostalgic memory that takes us to a pub in the middle of the Wicklow Mountain region between Dublin and Cork City at about 3 in the morning after quite a few Guinness' swigged back to the tunes of U2 playing in the background in August of 2003. (How's that for a run-on?) And friends. Who all smoked. And who all said I never would.

Until that drunken decision to "just try one" that led to many. It continued through theeee funnest college years ever. I quit for my pregnancies and for my kids' first year while nursing. But once they went to the bottle, Mama was free and Mama would reclaim herself as "Stefanie" and what did S like to do? Go out socially and have some smokes. Then socially turned to "when S was stressed" then that turned to "time for S to step out" then that turned to a few times a day. Not good. And kinda smelly. And I kinda felt white-trashy. I justified it by saying the kids never saw it but as Gabe was getting older he was getting a little smarter too. So when the whole "S hit the fan" back in February happened, it was kind of a no-brainer to, no matter how tempted "when S is out with the girls" S just didn't do it. So S is a quitter, and feels good. It would be wrong to not also mention that Manny is a quitter too, of which S is quite proud.

Moving on.

Let's just put that out there: How awesome does Jennifer Hudson look?? I like to think of myself as not being easily convinced through the high-trickery of advertising to buy a certain product. But when Weight Watchers came out with this spokesperson, I couldn't stop thinking about the new Points Plus Plan, or J-Hud, or WW. So I decided with my new-found waist, found quite painfully after a few weeks of bowel rest from previous mentioned pancreatitis (I also like to throw around that I know how to spell p-a-n-c-r-e-a-t-i-t-is as it is quite fun to type out - go ahead, try it - you won't be disappointed) that I would go ahead and jump on the WW wagon and see how it went. I lost 2 lbs. in my first week. Gained back the 2 lbs. in my second week. (Stress does it every single time.) Then lost 3 lbs. my third week. So, we are -1 lb. and that was just really from dieting. This week I threw in 3 runs up to 3 miles and am aiming to increase. I realize that if I continue this yo-yo-math I will only lose 12 lbs. in a year but let's be kind to ourselves and keep on keepin' on. Next meeting is next Tuesday. My hardest thing right now is tracking everything I eat.

Recipes.

The photo pictured at right is a true representation of how beautiful this fantastic recipe for Spaghetti Squash turned out. Total WW points for this dinner? 4, 2 for the feta and 2 for the olive oil.

Other recipes I have made include one that I can't quite find the link for anymore. It's a Crock-Potter for pork tenderloins. I used to associate the Crock-Pot with 1970s Good Housekeeping good wife-ry articles but man is this thing convenient!!

I rub the pork (I make 8 'loins so we can have leftovers) with a mix of equal parts cumen, garlic powder, and black pepper. I brown in a little Pam and olive oil for 3 minutes on each side stove-top. I prep the CP by spraying some Pam on it and a little olive oil. After the 'loins are browned I move them over and place on the bottom of the CP. On top I pour a mix of 2 cans diced tomatoes (or chopped tom's, whatever you prefer), stirred with 1 cup of mild or medium salsa, add a 1/4 cup of diced chilies (depending on how much spice you like), and finish off with 2-3 tablespoons lime juice. Set the CP to high for 3 hours and wooo lahhhh - done. I usually serve with a side of brown jasmine rice and add some sauteed onions for extra flavor. Total WW pointage is around 6.

Another great find were the turkey-stuffed peppers with cilantro. What a hit! Not all turkey peppers have to be made like a beef substitution, which I have tried and taste terrible. This recipe complimented the healthy 99% fat free turkey amazingly. I made it and stuffed 3 yellow bell peppers, 3 red, 2 orange, 1 green and still had some left over. So I went to the fridge and started digging and found 1 zucchini and 1 yellow squash, cut them in half, scooped 'em out and stuffed them too. I made all of this before one of Gabe's baseball games and expected leftovers. There was more than most of it left before the game. When we returned home it disappeared. Gabe ate more than Manny and I on this one. Motherhood Success!

And perhaps my favorite soup that never gets old is the WW 0 Points soup that I experiment with all the time. The base stays the same but I add in protein if I am extra hungry. Think: convenient Rotisserie chicken at your grocery store. All I have to do is separate the good juicy parts for Gabe to grab as a snack in one tupperware container and leave the all-white lean breast on top for me, where I add it sparingly into the soup for some extra oomph. Add the extra points, of course, which takes this 0 to a 3 or 4... Which is still good. And healthy.

So.

This has been quite the post-off-the-beaten path but I hope you've enjoyed. As cute as these kids are, I sometimes need to dish out (get my witty pun?) what's been going on with S.

I am taking a huge insecure leap, wondering if my post will be at "0 comments" tomorrow and make me feel and look like a total loser, but what are some of your favorite healthy recipes?

P.S. I purposely didn't include any salads in this post, because sometimes I get sick and tired of salad, salad, salad. The one photo'ed at left, however, was delicious. I am a sucker for homemade dressings. And strawberries. And spring mix in Spring.