Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Roundup, week of May 1st

What Happened Last Week?

You all got to brainstorm about new ways to prepare and serve "old" foods. I hope you enjoyed hearing everyone's ideas, and maybe now you've got something new to try. Getting bored with your food is dangerous, so try it!

Awards this week include five pound stars for Norma, Francine and Roz. Penny got her 10 pound star, and Larry got his 20 pound star. Robin reached 40 pounds lost, and Mary got her 45 pound star. We celebrated Karla's 10% target, and Maria is our newest Lifetime member! That's a great mix of celebrations that range from beginning to end, isn't it?

So What's Coming Up?

I am really excited about this week. Make sure you grab a Weekly and read it when you're in the meeting room - this one is not to be missed! You're going to find great tips for dining out in it, which is what we'll cover during the meeting. It's one of our biggest challenges, and there are lots of approaches we can take to be successful.

Spotted on the Shelves!

We are testing out some new products, and they've arrived in the meeting rooms!


These Popped Barbeque Potato Crisps are dead ringers for Pop Chips, don't you think? Each box contains 5 packets of 2 PointsPlus worth.


These Popped Cinnamon Swirl Crisps don't look as much like Pop Chips to me, but almost look like those mini rice cake crisps that Quaker and some other folks make. These also have 5 packages in the box and are 2 PointsPlus per serving. Both sell for $4.50 a box.

These products are so brand new, I haven't even tried them! Not all locations are getting both flavors, since we're testing them out. I saw the Cinnamon Swirl at Lemon Grove on Monday night, and this morning in Clairemont we actually had both flavors. I'm not sure what El Cajon will have until I see it for myself Sunday morning. If these sound good, you'd better buy them while supplies last!

Thought for the Week

The big secret in life is that there is no secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you are willing to work. It is called massive action. Action is the gas in the tank. Without you, the car will not run. ~ Marcy Blochowiak


Weekly Recipe: Halibut Kebabs with Spicy Pepper Sauce

I sat down to compose this entry, and not having a surefire recipe I needed to share, I decided to take a look at my inventory. Looking through the tags I use for my entries, I saw that out of all the entries tagged as recipes (over 200!), only 16 were tagged as seafood.

That doesn't surprise me in the slightest, since I've never been a huge fan of seafood, and I've spent various times of my life (including now) as a vegetarian. I typically post what sounds GOOD to me. So I've left you on your own when it comes to fish.

Halibut Kebabs with Spicy Pepper Sauce

Clearly you know I haven't tried this recipe. But did you know that the WW recipe search allows you to refine options by rating? This recipe is rated 5 stars, so while it's not a personal recommendation, I have faith that you'll enjoy it if you make it!

Monday, April 25, 2011

Friend Makin' Monday: Today I....

I don't do a lot of personal blogging around here, but every once in awhile I post something that's a little bit more personal. Tonight via Facebook I stumbled across someone who is wonderfully inspiring. All The Weigh has lost over 100 pounds and is a woman on a mission. Reading her story actually got me a little misty-eyed.

So to pass along a blog you all might enjoy, I'm going to participate in her "Friend Makin' Monday" entry and post a little something about me:

FMM: Today I....

Today I felt...like I could have used another day off!

Today I saw...someone celebrate becoming a Lifetime Member at Weight Watchers. That never fails to be inspiring.

Today I ate...strawberry and cucumber salad - it's a recipe I posted here a few weeks ago.

Today I kissed...my husband, who I have been married to for 2 years and 364 days.

Today I bought...nothing. The plane tickets to Italy that we bought yesterday took up everything we had!

Today I heard...one of my current favorite songs on the drive to work - Keane's "My Shadow."

Today I lost...track of time and ended up taking a little bit too long of a lunch break.

Today I decided...that I really didn't make too many decisions today!

Today I need...to focus on how I will achieve some of the small goals that have been elusive lately.

Today I wish...that everyone reading this knew how proud I am of them. Changing your lifestyle isn't easy, and you're some of the few brave enough to give it a shot.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

A Day in the Life

It's a rare day when Weight Watchers is closed. We pretty much stick to our schedule but for a few holidays each year, and Easter is one of them. Since I work a Sunday meeting (as many of you know), this is pretty much my only guaranteed Sunday off, unless Christmas or New Year's Day happens to fall the right way.

Being with my Weight Watcher peeps is actually one of the highlights of my life, but I'm not gonna lie - it's nice to have a day off once in awhile! But since we didn't hang out today, I thought it might be fun to share with you some things I did to make good use of my time.


I started the morning down at Mission Beach for an early run. I met up with a couple of friends after that to walk up and down the boardwalk. There were plenty of surfers, a few beach Easter services, and more than a few people out for a nice stroll.


When all was said and done, I covered about 12 miles. Which worked up an appetite. This dish is called "Nirvana" and it's from Isabel's Cantina. I highly recommend their breakfast and lunch menus if you're ever in the area.

The rest of the afternoon was spent cooking (I made the couscous with chickpeas and oranges from our latest cookbook...among other things) and lamenting the state of Padres baseball.

Happy Sunday, everyone!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Roundup, week of April 24th

What Happened Last Week?

Tracking is notoriously a secret of successful members. But often it's the thing we don't enjoy doing. Hopefully you thought of some new methods to track, or some more compelling reasons to keep it up. It'll work!

Sunday members: as you know I was not there to work this past week. I was in a classroom all day learning about different fitness assessment methods. So I don't have the usual list of celebrations from you. But I definitely was thinking about you!

Monday and Wednesday members saw celebrations for Pamela and Jennett, who each got their first five pound stars. Mary received her 10 pound award, and Helen reached 15 pounds lost. David got his 25 pound awards, and Theresa celebrated her 5% award.

So What's Coming Up?

SUNDAY NOTE: it's Easter this Sunday, and that's an official Weight Watchers holiday, so all of our locations will be closed all day.

I'm hoping that with the recipes I post here, and all of the resources you have at the Weight Watchers website, you're not getting bored with your food intake. But if so, we'll talk about how you can ensure this doesn't happen. Because let me tell you, when you're bored with the food you have, you'll definitely go looking for something else!

Thought for the Week

The person interested in success has to learn to view failure as a healthy, inevitable part of the process of getting to the top. ~ Dr. Joyce Brothers

Weekly Recipe: Egg and Herb Salad

Since Easter is this weekend, it's entirely possible that you'll end up with a surplus of hard-boiled eggs. If that's the case, you're going to need to do something with them.

I apologize in advance for this one - the recipe I'm linking doesn't have any nutrition information available. You can easily calculate the PointsPlus value of it by using the Recipe Builder in eTools, or by using Simple Recipe Math - look up the PPV of each ingredient, and tally it all up. Either method is fine, though the recipe builder of course will be more accurate.

But back to the leftover eggs. This egg and herb salad is a fresh twist on your typical egg salad. Enjoy!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Roundup, week of April 17th

What Happened Last Week?

It's all about ME! Err...YOU! Taking time to care for yourself is so crucial. You can't help others or be productive if you're not happy and healthy. It's not selfish and horrible to spend some time doing things that are good for YOU.

We gave a five pound star to Pam this week, and celebrated Anne's 16 week Stay and Succeed award. Twenty pound stars went to Jody, Paula and Tammy, and Maria has now lost 25 pounds! Three people reached their 5% targets this week: Debbie, Danielle and Julie.

So What's Coming Up?

When we celebrated this past week, lots of our big losers attributed at least part of their success to tracking. We know it's a valuable tool - but do we always do it? If we track this consistently and accurately, there's no way we won't succeed!

Thought for the Week

The majority of men meet with failure because of their lack of persistence in creating new plans to take the place of those, which fail. ~ Napoleon Hill

Weekly Recipe: Wheat Berry Minestrone

I feel like I go in waves when it comes to what my favorite whole grain is. (Which, by the way, that probably makes me a complete Healthy Eating Nerd - who on this planet has a "favorite whole grain" for goodness sake?) Just last week I was looking for some recipes that use wheat berries. If you've never had them, they are about the same size as barley, or a really fat grain of rice. They're dark brown, and have a wonderful, chewy texture.

So yesterday, as I download the new WW Mobile Beta for Android, what should pop up as a featured recipe, but a soup with wheat berries! Perfect timing. And this one uses the crock pot, which is one of my favorite kitchen gadgets. So here goes:

Slow Cooker Wheat Berry Minestrone

Thursday, April 07, 2011

Roundup, week of April 10th

What Happened Last Week?

We launched our 3rd annual Walk-It Challenge! What better way for you to set a goal and create steps to achieve it - sign up to show up and you've got the accountability factor working in your favor. Links and further information on the challenge will be forthcoming. I'll post them here and also on my Brand New Shiny Facebook Page Outsmart the Fat. Become a fan!

Celebrations this past week included five pound stars for Samantha (5 pounds), Kathy, Stephanie, Sherry, Krystal and Melissa (10 pounds), and Mary (35 pounds). This seemed to be the week to reach 5% and 10% targets, because we shared those with Carol, Anne, Kathy, Melissa, Andrea, Gina, Linda, Stephanie and Krystal!

So What's Coming Up?

Sometimes it's easy to get wrapped up in the to-dos of life that we forget we have our own needs. Maybe it's been eons since you've been able to make yourself a priority. This week we'll discuss solutions to that - if you don't take care of yourself...who will?

Thought for the Week

Action is a great restorer and builder of confidence. Inaction is not only the result, but the cause, of fear. Perhaps the action you take will be successful; perhaps different action or adjustments will have to follow. But any action is better than no action at all. ~ Norman Vincent Peale

Weekly Recipe: A Plethora for Passover

Today on the Weight Watchers website they are featuring a bunch of recipes suitable for Passover. By my count, fourteen recipes will get you two full seder options and some other miscellaneous dishes.

Even if you're not observing Passover, these links are worth a click. No matter what you believe in, I'm pretty sure most of us would believe in something called "Ultimate Chocolate Sorbet."