At my Weight Watcher’s meeting last week, my leader encouraged us to try new vegetables and prepare our old veggies in a different way. She suggested that we try Jicama. I had some jicama when I went to Mexico back in April. I’m not really a fan of it. It tastes sort of like a cross between an apple and a potato. So, I opted to try the Zucchini Fries. I’m glad I did, they were delicious! However, I must admit that “fries” is a bit of a stretch. A better name would be “Oven-Fried Zucchini.”
Here’s the Weight Watcher receipe for Zucchini Fries:
4 Servings (8 Fries); 3 WW Points Plus
4 spray(s) olive oil cooking spray
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 1/2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp table salt (I added garlic powder and pepper too)
3/4 cup(s) dried bread crumbs, (panko-variety suggested) (I used regular Italian bread crumbs)
2 medium zucchini, about 7-inches each, cut into 4 chunks, then each chunk halved
2 large egg white(s), whipped until frothy (almost soft peaks)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425ºF. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. In a small bowl, mix together Italian seasoning, flour and salt. Place bread crumbs in another small bowl.
- Dredge a zucchini fry in flour mixture and then dip into egg whites; dredge in bread crumbs. Place coated zucchini on prepared baking sheet and repeat with remaining ingredients; liberally coat with cooking spray.
- Roast, turning once, until desired crispness, about 12 minutes. Yields about 8 fries per serving.
Notes
- Clearly I cut the zucchini wrong. I saw great pics of the proper way to cut it Here. (But mine still tasted great!)
- Dip in Pizza Sauce or Light Ranch (But don’t forget to count the extra points!)
- Use this technique with any summer squash or eggplant. It also works great with thick-cut onion rings or even green tomatoes. For extra crispy fries, increase the oven temperature to 500ºF and knock 2 minutes off the cooking time (Mine are dark, because I wanted them crispier)
The Maintenance man dropped me off at my Weight Watchers meeting since he had to go back and forth between my apartments. I had whole list of stuff for him to do, fix the light switch, cut the grass that was starting to resemble a jungle, fix the mini blind, kill the weeds etc etc. Because we spend so much time together, people always think we’re secretly dating even though he’s old enough to be my Uncle. Not quite old enough to be my Daddy, but definitely old enough to be my Uncle. Besides, I never mix business with pleasure, it gets too messy. Anyway, at the meeting, the scale showed that I lost 4.5 pounds! I was pretty excited, even though I knew that I had really lost more if you take into account the weight I gained while I was skipping out on my weekly meetings. My Master-cleanse-ish diet is really working.
It was nice to see some familiar faces and the people who refer to me as the “lady who did the Half-Marathon.” At the end of the meeting, I was waiting to talk to the leader and overheard a fellow weight watcher explaining that she is a “big picture” person, and wants the 20 pounds gone now. Ricarda, the leader, told her to enjoy the journey. It’s a process and a journey to get there whether we like it or not, so you might as well enjoy it. That was pretty profound for me.
In the interest of keeping the Maintenance man working, I decided to walk home after my meeting. I Google mapped the route on my Blackberry phone, and to my surprise I was only 2.6 miles from my house. I walked to the grocery store across the street from the meeting to get a bottle of water, and popped in my iPod in one ear. I took her advice and decided to enjoy the journey home, even though it was hot and I would have preferred to be riding in the cool AC. I put on Jill Scott’s smooth new album, and casually strolled back towards my house.
It was really nice to just relax and walk. I didn’t really think of it as working out. The closer, I got to my house, and observed my surroundings, and I was reminded that I lived in the hood. I was a little nervous since I didn’t have Nyah the gentle giant with me for protection. I said a simple prayer and kept moving. When I was about a mile from my house, the maintenance man pulled up next to me in my truck. I kinda didn’t want to get in since I was enjoying my walk, but ultimately, I figured it might be best. He was worried about me walking alone anyway. After I got home, I read some more of my Writing Fiction For Dummies
book, while getting ideas together for my novel. Writing seems really easy until you get down to the word count, publishers and agents. It’s a lot more work than I realized. But, I’m super excited to write a best seller….Well… “Th-Th-Th-That’s All Folks!”
Since the world didn’t end on Saturday, as predicted by “Christian” extremists, life goes on. It’s amazing to me that people think that they can calculate the end of the world. Anyway, this weekend went as planned. On Friday, I went to my cousin’s 16th Birthday backyard BBQ. I heard some great new fast paced tunes that I’ll add to my Bridge to 10K podcast. My Niecey Poo turned 3 on Saturday. She had a fabulous Luau themed party at the mall with 2 birthday cakes and 3 bounce houses. Of course I “had” to try both cakes which were equally delicious. After her party I went to my best friend’s co-worker’s birthday party at a sports bar. My friend tried to get me to try the cupcakes but I passed. I had eaten enough of everything else. The fourth party girl turned 21 and had so much fun that she slept through the scheduled buffet dinner celebration on Sunday. But, unfortunately that didn’t stop me and my Big Little Sister from going to the buffet. During dinner, we had a heart to heart about me and my food addiction, and she actually cried! She almost made me cry, and y’all know I am not a crier. She thought I just “liked food” and didn’t realize how much a daily struggle it is for me. She was astonished at the fact that I routinely eat when I’m not physically hungry and don’t always stop when I full. It saddened her because she didn’t know just how serious of a problem it really is for me. I talk about my love/hate relationship with food on my blog, but rarely discuss it face to face in the real world. She was even further upset by the fact that there was no cure or a pill to fix the problem. Welcome to my world…. She suggested counseling and even hypnosis. I’ve never done one on one counseling, but it could be beneficial. I’m sure insurance won’t cover it though. But, since one of my commenters mentioned hypnosis, and my sister did too, I decided to try it. I’ll tell you guys which program I purchased once I really get to see what it’s about. Please don’t think I’ve completely lost my mind, it works in conjunction with a healthy eating plan like Weight Watchers. As, a nerd I did through research before I bought it, as I was extremely skeptical. However, if these people brainwash me and I become a crazed lunatic, please explain to my family what happened to me. I downloaded the sessions and burned them to CD. I listened to the assigned audio tracks today. Today she focused on eating veggies, drinking only water (Score!) and getting more sleep. Agh, sleep…I routinely go to sleep most nights after midnight. I’ve always been a night owl. I stay up blogging and watching movies, just like I am doing right now. Anyway, for a while I’ve been telling myself that I want to set aside time each day to dedicate to positive reinforcement of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, so this might just be the 20 minute break from the real world to focus that I need.
At Weight Watchers they always say to focus on the Non-Scale Victories in addtion to the weight loss. I realized that I don’t celebrate them enough. I had so many opportunities to get off my food plan today, and I didn’t. I’m happy and celebrating. This morning’s breakfast went as planned with Peach oatmeal and yogurt. I tried to eat a banana, but they still make me gag. It’s something about that weird texture and consistency. Anyway, I didn’t bring my lunch as planned, so I decided to go to the Farmer’s Market. I got tons of fruit and veggies. On the way back to the office, Rally’s (burger and fries) looked so good and I was ravenous. But, I skipped the deep fried fat and got a salad from the cafeteria in my office building. Then, later at work I got frustrated when my boss told me the memo I drafted “didn’t make sense” when really, the research just couldn’t prove what he wanted. I was instantly “hungry and irritated.” Instead of heading to the vending machine, I grabbed a Fuji apple that I bought at lunch. It was sugar sweet and delicious! I made the right decision. After work I had to pick up my niece’s birthday present and stopped at the gas station. They had fried chicken. I wanted it so bad, and it was past dinner time. I walked past that case 3 different times. Then I just had to stop in the midst of my insanity. I asked myself do you really want fried chicken sitting in warmer at gas station? Nope. I just ate the protein bar in my purse to hold me over. I felt so empowered making good decisions. I didn’t go to the Weight Watchers meeting to weigh-in, because I’ve been obsessing entirely too much about my numbers. I just wanted to enjoy my healthy day. I went to the gym and ran to day 2 of Week 3. I’m starting to feel like a runner again.
I went to the gym on Monday in accordance with my self imposed training schedule. I finished day 2 of Week 2 of the Couch to 5K plan. It was much easier than Saturday’s run. Probably because it was indoors and my body was getting used to running again. I didn’t write a post, because I couldn’t figure out a creative fun way to say I did Week 2 for the millionth time around the track at the gym. I’m still doing good, sticking to my “Just Water” plan. I did however have a cup of hot tea with Splenda at my desk one day for a caffeine boost. But, that’s because I had literally fallen asleep for a second while working on a mundane project. I didn’t feel bad about drinking it, because I accounted for little allowances here and there. Just as I figured, it’s much easier for me to give up stuff than try to do it in moderation. It’s so funny to see the shock and horror when I tell people I’m drinking water only. It’s a good thing I’m doing something right, because I am completely failing in the food department. I have been doing some spiritual work though. I’m working on asking for help and praying and believing more. My daily prayer (should be hourly) is mostly adapted from the book “A Course in Weight Loss.” Dear God, please feed my hunger, remove my false appetite and restore my right mind and body.
I dressed “light” and got my sister’s $10 winnings before my weight watchers meeting tonight, knowing that I ate whatever and haven’t tracked a single food point all week. Sometimes it’s so frustrating that I can achieve so many other life goals that I set for my self…College, done, Paralegal Certificate, done, Master’s Degree, done, Real Estate Certification, done, Homeowner/investor by age 25, done, Certified Group fitness instructor, done, Travel the world, done, Finish a Half Marathon, done, MAINTAIN A HEALTY WEIGHT????… I can’t find that “Done” in daylight with a flash light! LOL!
I tried to avoid Ricarda’s scale during weigh-in, I stood in the line for the weight watcher receptionist to weigh me. I missed last weeks meeting and I knew I gained weight. She called me out specifically to come over to her scale. “Dang It!” I said to myself, she caught me. “Come on over” she said, “I’m not the wicked witch.” I laughed and told her that I’ve been doing great drinking only water but suffering in the food department. She was very nice about my 1.6 pound gain, while encouraging me to still eat the things I enjoy, just less of them. Which brought my grand weight loss total to a whopping 1 pound (insert sad clown music here.) Huh, after 7 weeks I’ve lost 1 pound. During the meeting she asked a great thought provoking question. “Where does your power come from?” Her answer was that you gain power by controlling your environment and the way you view things. For example, I’m good at planning and making lists. I need to incorporate that into my eating habits. I think one of the reasons I’m successful at working out is because I have approached it that way. Working out/Training is always on my calendar just like a dentist appointment. And now, my training schedule is on my fridge and my desk at work. I have some ideas of how I can incorporate similar lists/schedules into my eating routine. I’ve got to finish writing a report tonight so I can’t go into all the details now, but I’ll keep you guys posted. Later!
Page 5 of 12« First«...34567...10...»Last »
