Activity Points Galore!

The weekend in Colorado lived up to and exceeded expectations-- I did more physical activity than I did in a long, long time, and I'm still sore sitting here writing this post 2 days later...

Day 1 included a hike at 6,850 feet.  Not only am I a little out of shape, but the lack of oxygen and the elevation didn't help.  But it was worth the view!

We hit the ski slopes on Day 2.  I was incredibly excited but also nervous.....on the way to Breckridge, we stopped at the Continental Divide (water flows to the Atlantic on the one side and the Pacific on the other).  Here's a picture of the group at almost 12,000 feet.

While I strapped on skis for the first time in what seems like forever, Austin tried snowboarding for the first time.  He struggled a bit on the hill, but skiing was almost like riding a bike for me.  I stuck to the green circles for most of the day, but eventually ventured to a blue square.  Going incredibly slow down the hill and making big S's in the snow was the way to go for me...that was until I hit one ice spot too many and did an epic spill.  Luckily, my bindings were set loose, so it didn't hurt when I fell, but then I had to crawl up the hill to get my ski gear.  Of course, a tiny little girl checked in to make sure I was okay...appreciated the niceness but was still super embarrassed.

We skied until it was close to dark, and I was proud that I made it until the end of the day.  Being on the slopes again made me realize how much I like skiing and made me wonder why I stopped...can't wait to go again!

AND, I accrued almost 50 activity points between the two activities, a great way to offset the AMAZING but not Weight Watchers friendly food that we ate this weekend  :)  Stay tuned for pictures and descriptions of the food in Boulder.

Colorado Bound!

Heading to Colorado this afternoon, and I am psyched!  Going to see one of my best friends, experience Colorado in the winter, and ski (I haven't skied in almost 10 years, so it could be interesting).

One of the biggest challenges will be to stay on the Weight Watchers plan.-- between traveling in airports, going out to eat, drinking, and the like.  I don't imagine I'll be under my daily points, but as long as I don't blow my additional points, I'll be good to go.

Expect a lengthy post when I get home, and here's what I'm expecting to see in Colorado:

With a lack of a White Christmas for me this year, I am so excited to see snow!

Weigh-in Week One and a Favorite/Easy Dinner

Today was my first official Weight Watchers weigh-in (at least time around), and I was down 2.6 pounds...yay!  It's probably only water weight, but I'm happy nonetheless.

When I got home, all I wanted to do was a make a trusty old favorite for dinner, and it's also very health conscious :)  I originally found a version of the recipe on a calendar for my oil hear company and adapted it to things I had in the pantry.  It's one of my favorites.  Hope you enjoy it too!

Polenta with Shrimp and Tomatoes 


Ingredients
1 Bag Frozen Shrimp- uncooked, detailed, and deveined
1 Large Can Diced Tomatoes with Basil and Oregano
1 Tube Polenta (I got mine at Trader Joe's)
2 Cloves Garlic, Chopped
1/2 tbs Basil
2 tsp Sugar
Garlic Salt
Olive Oil
Grated Parmesan Cheese

In frypan, cook shrimp in pan until shrimp is bright pink.  While cooking, sprinkle with healthy dose of garlic salt.

In saucepan, coat pan with oil over medium-high heat.  Add garlic and cooked until browned.  Add can of diced tomatoes, sugar, and garlic.  Boil and then simmer on low.

Cut tube of polenta into 1/2 inch circle.  Pan fry with olive oil.

Serve layered (from bottom to top) with polenta, tomato sauce, and shrimp.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

I forgot to take a picture of this awesome meal because I was so hungry!  It's easy to make, and I will serve left-over tomato sauce over whole wheat for an additional meal.

Will I ever finish my masters degree?

That is a question I often ask myself, and I lament over the fact that it's not done.  Then again, I have procrastinated far too much on the write-up for my internship (internship was done last April but the write-up still isn't) and working on my thesis (enrolled summer of 2011 and have barely done research).  I guess I can't complain too much since I have dropped the ball on this one.

If I have it written on the intrawebs when I want to get things done, it makes it more concrete, right?  Like a syllabus with mandatory due dates?  Let's give it a try!

I will have my internship done and sent in to my awesome advisor (who shamed me on facebook when I said I was starting a blog...he suggested I write my thesis instead) by February 13.  I have a due date!

To get me motivated and to show you all the amazing students I worked with while leading a Civil Rights Alternative Break Trip to Memphis last year, here's all of us on one of the first days:

Stir-Fried Chicken Adventures

Almost end of week one with Weight Watchers, and I've been doing pretty well with meals-- and keeping them under my allotted points.  However, it's easy to get frustrated since my Austin's daily points are almost twice mine-- he's a bigger guy and should be eating more....but it's hard when you see the person's place next to you with so much more food- ah!


I love trying out new recipes, but I find that many call for ingredients I just don't have laying around the house and am unlikely to use again except with the same recipe.  You'll find that I often substitute for things that seem close enough to me but maybe not to the more savvy chef...it works well enough.


The stir-fry recipe below was pretty good-- it felt like it was missing a little bit of flavor when I first started but once I got to more of the sauces, it had a nice kick to it.  Austin said it was the toats mcgoats...I'm taking that as a good sign.


I used chili oil instead of sesame oil (sesame oil was expensive, and I need chili oil for another recipe), ground ginger (don't know if my grocery store even has ginger root, but then again, I never looked for it), and frozen veggies (allow more time for cooking).  Be careful with the high heat before adding the oils and spices.  Round 1 left me with a burned blob of oils in the wok before I could add the ginger, so I lowered the heat for round 2, which was much more successful.  I am also skeptical of any steps that tell you to cook for 15 second-- you should be too.

Stir-Fried Chicken with Broccoli, Red Peppers, and Cashews (courtesy of weightwatchers.com)

Ingredients

	2 tsp vegetable oil, divided
	1 tsp sesame oil, divided
	1 1/2 Tbsp ginger root, finely chopped
	3 clove(s) (medium) garlic clove(s), finely chopped
	1 pound(s) uncooked boneless skinless chicken breast(s), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
	1 large sweet red pepper(s), cut into 1-inch pieces
	2 cup(s) uncooked broccoli, florets
	2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
	20 item(s) cashews, roasted, unsalted, roughly chopped

Instructions

• Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil, 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil, ginger and garlic; cook 15 seconds. Add chicken and stir-fry until starting to brown, about 3 to 4 minutes; remove to a plate.
• Add remaining teaspoon of vegetable oil, pepper and broccoli to same skillet; stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add chicken back to skillet, pour in soy sauce and cook, stirring, until chicken is cooked through, about 2 minutes more; toss with remaining 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil. Sprinkle on cashews and serve. Yields about 1 3/4 cup per serving.

Total point value-- 6, with 1 cup rice-- 11 points (pretty good for a filling dinner).

Positive with Attitude

I've been thinking about doing a blog for a while now, and I'm ready to take the plunge!  Thanks for all those who provided suggestions for blog titles names...expect those to be Blog Post titles in the near future.

Last weekend, I did the cliche New Years Resolution thing- I joined Weight Watchers.  Time to start anew, or at least start again.  I did WW about a year ago and was super successful, that is until I stopped watching what I ate...whoops.  I am trying very hard not to call this my renewed weight loss vigor a diet, but it certainly felt that way this past week as I was starving every minute of every day.

So what makes it a diet?  Is it the bland food, routine of what I eat?  Yup, I think all of those, so I need to mix it up.  I am determined to make yummy meals that will challenge my limited culinary skills and not make me think of the scary "d" word.

The goal is to look better, feel better, fit into all the clothes in my closet, and I would be remiss if my upcoming wedding didn't play a role in this :)

Of course, to stay focused, I need to balance my work, my last masters class, wedding planning and mountains of stress that weddings bring, volunteering, and life in general.  No biggie, right?  I'm used to juggling way too many balls in the air, and I am determined not to let any drop!