Back in the Saddle Again

... well, almost.  Last week, my darling and beloved treadmill went on the fritz, right before we had to go to Dallas for Uncle Bill's funeral.  It felt absolutely catastrophic.  I've been doing really well on my Couch to 5K (my secret weapon: Bruce Springsteen concert DVDs), and to have my treadmill poop out on me left me in the depths of despair :::back of hand to forehead:::  Luckily, it's still under warantee, and the fix-it guy is coming tomorrow morning.  Good thing, too, because I tried doing Week 3 Day 1 with Bean in the stroller, and the Texas heat just about killed me!

In Shrinking Mom  news, I went to Weight Watchers this week, and the downward trend continues.  I'm down another 2.6 pounds, bringing my WW total to 26.4 pounds lost, and I'm down 61 pounds from my pregnancy high.   I only have 18 pounds of baby weight left to lose!!!  Woo hoo!!!

Things that worked for me this week:

• fruit fruit fruit!    I've been snacking mostly on fruit.  I love those little Cutie clementines, and Bean loves the little apples still.  The watermelons have just started getting sweet & wonderful, and I'm sitting here with a gallon Ziplock of it and a fork.  I got some nectarines today at HEB & I'm really excited about them.  There were some peaches, but they didn't smell like anything, so I'm going to wait. Cherry prices are coming down... I'm getting excited about them.
• compensation    Since I'm in the midst of a blasted migraine cycle, I've been drinking more Coca-Cola than normal (about 2 90-calorie cans a day, at 3 PointsPlus each), but I just make sure that I track everything.  
• wine as a treat, not a ritual     I used to have a glass or two a night of wine in the evenings.  I've basically given that up.  I drank more this week than I usually do: a few glasses of wine at the funeral reception, a few drinks Saturday night, a couple of glasses with dinner last night (more on that later), and I'm sure a couple tonight (it's bill-paying day. Blech.)

In Growing Boy news, last night we had a rather uncommon family dinner night (in that all three of us got to eat dinner together)!! I decided to make Jamie Oliver's Shrimp & Pea Risotto which is always a big hit in our house, and it was again last night.  It's found in my first JO cookbook, The Naked Chef Takes Off, but it's very simple to make.

I use about a pound of raw frozen and peeled shrimp and a few handsful of frozen peas.  Let the shrimp defrost a bit while you're cooking the risotto, and put them in at the end of Step 3.  Throw the peas in at Step 4 (don't use the butter or parmasean cheese).  Before serving, julienne a handful each of fresh basil and mint and stir it in, along with either lemon juice or rice vinegar (my preference).  Serves 4 (at least in my house)

Weight Watcher's PointsPlus Value per serving : 17 (definitely for special occasions, but still pretty darn healthy.  You take a BIG hit on the rice.  I wish Arborio rice came in brown...)

I've noticed that Bean prefers his food to be cut up into smaller pieces than he used to.  His sandwiches get eaten more if they're cut into 8 triangles, for some reason.  At dinner yesterday, I just cut up his shrimps into about 3 pieces each.

On the menu for this week, Chicken Thighs with Spinach and Mushrooms (from the Weight Watchers Ready Set Go! cookbook), Pork Tenderloin with Spring Veggies (from WW PointsPlus cookbook), and Texas Chicken Soup (also from the WWPP cookbook).  I'm excited about the new dishes!!!! I just hope that Mr. Bean enjoys them as well!