Out with the Old, and the Excess

What a whirlwind year it has been, friends. I don’t know about you, but I feel like as I get older each year, the time speeds by even faster. This year was a busy one, from work to home. There was a lot of travel for business …

And some for fun!

We sold one house …

And bought (and have been working on) another!

We skipped out on full-blown season passes in exchange for buying things for the house, but made sure to hit up some big games when we could: 

Had laughs with friends and family alike …

And ate really well: 

Whew! It’s only mid-way through another holiday season, and I have already had to put myself in check on health matters. All of that "good eating" has added up, especially when my new work commute has limited my options for workouts. By good eating, I don't always mean "good" as in "healthy!" The scale hasn’t moved too much, but I have not. felt. good. I have been straight up dragging, and spending my upcoming PTO time on the couch in recovery mode just isn’t going to work. I just don't have that kind of time and would rather make the most of my vacays. 

So, starting this week, I threw myself back into Weight Watchers with all of my might. Yes, my office might be giving away free breakfasts and lunches. Yes, the social events have snacks and drinks and sweets out the wazoo. But if I am already feeling like I usually do on January 1, over-spent on food and under-spent on energy, I need to kick some serious Katherine booty, like, now. Otherwise, I am not going to enjoy the rest of the season at all.

Maybe I am taking this space as an opportunity to cyber-guilt myself, sure. But, I am pretty sure a number of you are in the same boat, and I thought that there might be strength in numbers, without the excess. The cookies from this past weekend’s exchange were delicious – but now they are in the freezer, ready for enjoyment at a later date, one at a time. Our kitchen is stocked and our meals are planned. Freebies at work, I am ignoring you. Instead of a daily Chai, I am going to treat myself to maybe one each week. 

What are you doing to moderate yourself this season? 

Lazy Meets Challenge

Fall 2012 football. Yay cooler temps!

It's so easy to fall right into food traps. For me, when I am trying to be on good eating behavior, I have a few solid standbys. Slim-fast chocolate shakes make for a great, fast snack, as do bananas with some peanut butter or a yogurt. I stick with healthy cereal and fruit for breakfast, and I do my best if I have soup in the freezer to pull out on that day where we are short on leftovers to bring for lunch. 

One week into our Challenge, and I am already getting antsy, though. And this, my friends, is why we were in such a bad spot this summer. It gets all too easy to call the local pizza place on a lazy Monday like today. 

That's the key word – lazy. We went grocery shopping this week already. We have a fridge stocked with dinners for all the nights of the week. And yet, here I am, hungry in the late afternoon (my own fault for not packing a snack) and I am already thinking, "oh man, pizza would be sooo good tonight."

NO! I am not letting myself succumb quite yet. We have too many things coming up this Fall where I can let loose a bit if I want. Football games, weddings and trips take precedence over laziness if I want to splurge. So today, on this lazy random Monday, I am trying to focus on our pre-planned, healthy meal we have ready to make tonight. I am pretty excited for this, too -- Tilapia packets with carrots, peppers, onions, potatoes, lemon and herbs. Julia Child easy yet chic French cooking style.

From one healthy-wannabe to another :) Let's keep up the good food mojo! Here are some of the other healthy, WW and budget-friendly recipes on my radar.

Pork tenderloin in the crock-pot – I grabbed apples from the store to use in this Fall-inspired dish this week. I am a crock-pot lover. This is going to be clutch for both dinner and lunch leftovers, since tenderloins come in packs of two. Plus, how good will this smell as it cooks?!

Image Source: Martha Stewart

Homemade enchilada sauce – We made this last week and it was. SO. GOOD. I honestly probably won't buy the canned stuff again, unless I am strapped for time. This took about 20 minutes to make, and you can flavor it to your liking. I am going to cut the cumin in half, since it was a bit much for me, and we might add some more heat. This topped shredded chicken, spinach and mushroom enchiladas. We threw the onions from the sauce into the filling, too.

Sandwiches – these are one of my favorite standbys for lazy nights. Plus, they are super cheap to make. Tuna salad BLTs top my list - add a sliced egg for an indulgent feel! These other options from Martha sound delicious, too. Ham, brie and apple, yum!

Flank steak steakhouse salad – This cut of meat was on sale this week, so I am making the most of it with a "fancy" salad, restaurant-style with minimal effort. I love salads because I can "wing" it and usually end up with a satisfying mix with whatever ingredients we have on hand.

What have you made recently that helped keep you on track with healthy eating?

Our Challenge

It was a big weekend in the our household. We saw the Yellow Jackets go 70-0 on the Flats (an ACC record, woo!). We yelled "War Eagle!" virtually via our laptops while we watched a big Clemson late-night win over the dirty dogs (note the correct spelling) on TV. Then we did the Tomahawk Chop not once, but twice, at two Braves games.

Whew. To say we are sports-ed out for a few days would be an understatement :) But what fun it all was! We loved seeing our friends and family and so many great games. We are now going to rest up and then do it all again, albeit on a much smaller scale, with the next GT home game in a few weeks. By then, the leaves will be starting to turn. Cool weather or not, Fall is here, y'all, and I couldn't be happier.

Well, ok, truth be told, I could be happier. Since the wedding, we have enjoyed a Summer full of leisure. Social gatherings, drinks and amazing food. Thinking back to April, when we were both a bit maniacal about healthy eating and working out, it's no big surprise that neither the hubs nor I have been feeling "great" these days. In fact, after this long holiday weekend of food and festivity, we both felt a bit physically exhausted and ready for a serious jolt of nutrition.

We have both been struggling with motivation to get back on the healthy train. Attempts to workout have been halfhearted, at best, and while we've tried to keep meals mostly standard-issue healthy, we have slipped up with enjoying more desserts, snacks and adult beverages than usual. Now that the hubs is heading back to classes a few nights a week, we both need something to hold us honest to eating right and working out, whether solo or in tandem.

Enter our own personal Biggest Loser Challenge. We have always loved that show, and figured it's time to star in a version of our own. We set our individual goals, took our initial measurements, and each have our own approach to tallying up a "win" at the end of 90 days. While we did set a fun little "prize" for the winner, we both agree that it'd be awesome if we just both hit our goals. For me, I think this might be my ultimate 30th Birthday present to myself. What the wedding did for us in April, we'd like for this Challenge to do for us as we head into my 30th year, and continue with our first year of marriage – be at our physical best and enjoy life that much more.

We designed this Challenge just for us, so while I won't be publicly sharing updates, I am going to continue to share our new favorite healthy recipes and workouts and activities. After all, it's not just a number on the scale. It's a full-person approach -- body and mind!

What keeps you motivated to stay healthy? How clothes fit? A workout buddy? The scale? Or just how you feel? Let's keep each other motivated as we all avoid that upcoming winter weight :)

Stuff It: Mexican Stuffed Peppers

I hope everyone had a great weekend! Mine was super productive while also super relaxing all at once. The condo finally is Christmas-free, the gifts are put away and I am caught up on the to-do list that had been nagging me since our return from NJ.

On Friday night, some of the gals and I got into talks about eating, drinking, losing weight and weddings. You know, things that are never on my mind these days ;) (14 weeks until the wedding and counting!!) Weight Watchers came up, and our conversations reminded me how much I really do like this program. While counting points isn't for everyone, it's the knowledge of food and portion control that you gain that is really a wonderful thing. Even on days when I am slacking on officially tracking, I can estimate a portion of meat or a serving of chips.

This is the time of year for comfort foods, though. Lasagna. Cream-based soups. Carb-loading. Thankfully, though, this is also the easiest time of year for me to refocus on WW. I am naturally craving healthier foods after the holiday binge, and vegetables and fruits can help brighten up dreary days and nights. Last week, craving something "stuffed" but also healthy, I tried out my own version of these stuffed avocados:

Source: fabulousfoodblog.com via Katherine on Pinterest

I stuffed my avocado halves with a mixture of seasoned bread crumbs, diced tomatoes, basil, lemon juice and parmesan cheese. They were quite tasty, and if you are an avocado lover like I am, you would enjoy them, too. Like bruschetta, but with more healthy fats and less carbs! I cooked mine at 450 for about 10 minutes to warm them through. 

As part of my (annual) New Year, New Me resolution, the grocery store is back in regular rotation. Except for this week, because I didn't go to the grocery store yesterday as planned. Fail. Now I am dipping through the (very last) of the pantry and freezer stocks for a day or two. Good thing I made a big meal on Saturday night that has since been featured in multiple leftover renditions!

While I really wanted pizza (that craving never seems to die, no matter how "healthy" I am being) as Saturday afternoon came to a close, I knew that caving to that craving so early in the year would be no good. My mind was also still on the whole "stuffed" thing, and these Mexican stuffed shells have been burning a whole in my head for the last few weeks:

Source: daydreamkitchen.com via Katherine on Pinterest

Determined to lighten things up again and make a WW-worthy meal, I decided we would have Mexican Stuffed Peppers, instead! Here is how I did it.

First, I made the filling, a mixture of ground turkey breast prepared with taco seasonings, cooked whole wheat orzo, diced tomatoes, Mexican shredded cheese.

Once I mixed that all together, I prepared and lined up the peppers in a greased dish, slicing off the bottoms as needed so that they would stand up straight.

Then, I stuffed the peppers full!

 
We received a jar of red chile pepper sauce for Christmas from family that I chose to use all over the top of the peppers. I drenched the peppers with the entire jar of sauce and topped them with a sprinkling of shredded cheese. Then, into the oven they went for an hour. I basted the peppers once during the cook time, which helped keep the peppers moist and prevent any sauce from over-cooking.

Our peppers, thanks to the sauce, were extra spicy (yum!), so a dollop of sour cream at the end was a MUST. You can skip this on yours, if you want, but we loved the creamy and cool texture it adds.

Since it was just the two of us for dinner, we had four peppers left over. Two were used, along with the extra filling I had on hand, cut up on top of tortilla chips last night for a quickie nacho dinner. Then today, I enjoyed another one reheated for lunch!

Mexican Stuffed Shells
Serves 4-6

1 lb. ground turkey breast
1 packet taco seasoning
1/2 cup of water
2/3 cup of uncooked whole wheat orzo
1 cup + 1 Tbsp. of shredded Mexican cheese
1 cup of diced tomatoes
1 jar of taco or enchilada sauce (approximately one cup)
6 bell peppers, cored and tops removed

Cook turkey breast over medium heat until done; add taco seasoning packet and water, stir to combine and let simmer for five minutes. While turkey breast is cooking, prepare orzo as directed, draining when done.

To prepare stuffing, combine cooked and seasoned turkey breast, cooked orzo, 1 cup of cheese and tomatoes in a bowl. Line peppers in a greased baking dish, cut sides facing up. Fill each pepper with stuffing, mounding up on top. Pour sauce over all peppers, and sprinkle with remaining 1 Tbsp. of cheese. Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for one hour, basting peppers with sauce halfway through. Serve with side salad, black beans and/or tortilla chips.

-----------

I hope that you enjoy this recipe, too. It's fun to think about "other containers" for food, especially if they can add just as much flavor or texture as pasta or other carbs might. From peppers to lettuce wraps, there are lots of ideas. Here is another stuffed pepper option that sounded great - Orzo Stuffed Peppers.

What food swaps do you make in your life? Please share in the comments -- I need some other ideas to keep this momentum going!

Now ... how to low-carb/WW these ... ha!

Source: doughmesstic.com via Katherine on Pinterest

Happy Cooking!

Holiday Check-In

As always, the holiday season is a blur. I thought I'd pop over and share some of the (many) things running through my head these days.

Source: froufroufashionista.tumblr.com via Domestically on Pinterest

* My wedding dress has come in. Talk about a wake-up call that things are getting close! Like any girl, I want to make sure I look good in that dress on the big day. I decided that while my workouts might need to scale back since I haven't quite figured out how to balance them with my new job/schedule, I could at least focus on the food/drink part for now. I started Weight Watchers again in full last Monday, and lost two pounds the first week. If I can keep this up for a few weeks, and add in some serious workouts once January hits (I'm just being realistic here!), I should be just fine in that dress ;)

* I really love holiday parties with my girlfriends :) Last night's cookie exchange was a huge success, as always. Thanks to all of my lovely friends who joined in the fun!

Source: yummymummykitchen.com via Katherine on Pinterest

* Holiday parties + Weight Watchers is a really hard balance. I am determined to pace myself and still enjoy the season. One splurge does not equal a fail. Lots of splurges do, though. I am holding tight and trying to keep any splurge days to one day/week, and stick strictly to WW the other days. This should help get me through the season without feeling deprived of those wonderful holiday cookies, foods and beverages.

* I am about to turn 29. What a lame number is that?! Ugh.

* Holiday shopping ... is almost done. I have a few presents left to pick out this weekend, but I have an idea for all of them, at least. How is your shopping coming along?

* It's so refreshing to be happy every day. Waking up with motivation is an awesome thing!

Source: stellaresque42.tumblr.com via Katherine on Pinterest

* Lots of wedding planning questions from friends recently. Here's a two sentence run-down: we just got the invitations in (!), we have ordered the guys' suits and have some favor prep underway. Next up: booking shuttles for the guests, finalizing rehearsal dinner details and selecting our menu. Hooray!

Even though this season is notoriously crazy, I remind myself every day to stop and look around. I love spending a few minutes each day gazing at our pretty tree, singing along with a holiday song on the radio and reading the holiday cards from our friends. That's what matters after all!

Enjoy your next 12 days of Christmas!! 

Let There Be Cake

As my gal pals know, I am a sweets gal. I can ignore a bag of chips all. day. long. but when it comes to brownies, cookies or pies, I am snatching up the goodies in a hot second.

Except cake. I don't know what it is about cake, but I really just don't love it. So much so that honestly, we are thinking about alternative wedding sweets ... hopefully no one gets too upset if we choose to not include cake on OUR big day ;)

Thankfully, no one in my immediate family likes cake either, and so birthdays growing up were full of alternative desserts topped with flaming candles. We're talking creme brulee, flan, berry cobblers, root beer floats and even the amazing cheesecake enchiladas from the now defunct Nava (for which we have a paper recipe but I can't find it online. Access Atlanta does has a few other Nava recipes for your own making at home, though!).

Early last year, I pulled a recipe out of Weight Watchers magazine for a savory cake that managed to catch my eye despite my cake-hating ways, all thanks to its main ingredient -- rosemary! I love rosemary and could use rosemary on everything and be happy. I finally made this cake for a recent girls evening and it got rave reviews, so I wanted to share it with all of you here, too. Be warned -- proper cake making takes some time. This cake calls for separating seven eggs and folding things together. This isn't your momma's box mix that you whip up with the hand blender and just two eggs and some oil ;)


Rosemary and Olive Oil Chiffon Cake
Adapted from Weight Watchers Magazine, March 2011

1 1/2 c cake flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 c granulated sugar
2 Tbsp. minced fresh rosemary
7 large eggs, separated, at room tempurature
1/2 c tepid water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 1/2 Tbsp confectioners' sugar

Place oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 325 degrees.

Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Whisk granulated sugar and rosemary in large bowl until fragrant, about 1 minute. Whisk in water and vanilla until blended. Slowly add oil in thin steady stream, whisking constantly, until well blended. Add flour mixture, folding it in with rubber spatula until blended.

With electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until frothy. Increase speed to high. Add remaining 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form, 1-1 1/2 minutes. Add beaten whites to yolk mixture, gently folding it in with rubber spatula until blended.

Scrape batter into ungreased bundt cake or tube pan; spread evenly. Bake until golden brown and cake springs back when lightly pressed, about 55 minutes, rotating pan front to back halfway through baking time. To serve once cooled completely, run thin knife around edge of cake and loosen it from side and center of pan. Remove cake from pan and put on serving plate; dust with confectioners' sugar. Cut into 16 slices.

Per serving (1 slice): 174 cal, 6 g total fat, 1 g sat fat, 0 g trans fat, 93 mg chol, 147 mg sod, 27 g total carb, 17 g total sugar, 0 g fiber, 4 g protein, 39 mg calcium. PointsPlus value: 5

Tip from the magazine: Because extra-virgin olive oil is the primary ingredient that gives this cake it's subtle, rich flavor, they recommend using the best-quality oil you can find. However, I used Publix brand and it worked out great, too ;)

Six Months Out: It's Gettin' Real

Over the weekend, I got an email notice letting me know that my wedding dress is going to be shipped on, dun dun dun .... January 7, 2013. Goooooodness gracious. I knew the day was right around the corner that I'd have to start in on the dress fittings, but there's nothing like a hard date wake-up call to make things super real.

I guess I should lay off the La Famiglia feasts of Italian food this holiday season up in New Jersey...

After a weekend full of football, bar food and general off-schedule living, I was already for a fresh start today, so the dress email had pretty good timing. Last week, I had a big break-through in my training schedule, and I want to keep that up. I have found myself wanting to go for a run -- a sure sign I am getting back into the groove. I also asked my trainer, with whom I train once a week typically on weights and circuits, if we could work in some boxing, too. After an early morning session with the gloves strapped on, I had muscles screaming at me that I haven't felt in years, and it felt awesome.

I really thought that the wedding would be my be-all, end-all to my constant battle of those "last ten pounds." One would think that the goal of looking extra svelt in all of those wedding pictures would be more than enough motivation. What has been surprising, however, is that stress has continued to trump even the wedding in my efforts to slim things down. I find myself stress-eating, stress-skipping workouts and stress-sleeping more than stress-exercising. While I can set the goals of multiple runs per week plus the trainer plus WW, a winning combination in theory, what ends up happening is real life and I haven't been keeping those goals a priority. I haven't been slipping, mind you; the scale has remained steady. A steady scale is still a FAIL right now, though, as I head into the six month countdown (six months from Saturday!).

So, I am putting out some flares for help. I am getting the man involved with some alcohol-free weeks full of healthy meals. I am meeting up with friends for walks/runs instead of drinks, and I am going to be heading back to LA Fitness for some extra boosts of workouts each week. I am going to be slipping into workout clothes more than go-out clothes and taking more showers as a result (even though next-day hair is a favorite of mine to rock :) ).

Everyone has their motivation and for me, it's my wedding day photos. I already try to live a healthy, well-balanced lifestyle, and it's the idea of the photos that is helping me climb to the next level. What is your motivation to keep kicking your body into shape?

Pinterest Love-Hate Relationship

While I would love to be Buckhead Betty Crocker all the time, sometimes life happens, and I just can't get it together in time to make an amazing homemade dish for a dinner party or a tailgate or a neighborly gift. Most times, I am more like Semi-Homemade Sandra Lee (your guess on whether I incorporate as many cocktails as she does, ha!), throwing things together at the last minute, ideally with whatever I have on hand. There's a benefit to a fully stocked pantry, after all. The cocktails help with creativity. Trust.

Pinterest has made all of this both easier and more intimidating at the same time. Late to an event and need to bring something along? I am loving Pinterest for a quick idea. I also have pinned countless recipes of "pretty" things that I can't wait to make ... someday. Like these beehive cupcakes. How adorable are these for a Georgia Tech home game?

Source: sweetopia.net via Katherine on Pinterest

Honestly, though, while I usually HEART Pinterest, I don't want everyone around me to be like "Oh I saw those on Pinterest!!" when I make something. Ugh. It just takes away from the creativity, the research and the time spent on making it. For me, it almost discredits that whole process -- if it is on Pinterest, "anyone" can find that recipe and make it themselves. I want people to be like "OoOoO this is so fun, how did you think of this?!" and THEN I can reference Pinterest ... or, more likely, I would reference the actual blog or other source that I found it on ... via Pinterest. I am all about giving some props!

If I had to be really honest, I really wish that I had the creativity enough to have been the creator/source of some of those pins that I have pinned. Because then I could respond, "Oh that's great! That was actually my recipe you saw on there!" and it would be awesome.

But I will likely not ever be that person. Sigh. I'd need to be a lot more creative in the kitchen that I am!

In the meantime, I have my recipe binder, and read countless blogs full of inspiring ideas, but Pinterest really keeps it easy when it comes to last-minute ideas. And so I am going to keep doing quick-searches of Pinterest when I am in a bind for an idea, and hoping people can just appreciate the end results for what they are.

Recently, I have made four last-minute dips for events. Two of the recipes are Pinterest finds, one was a no-brainer veggie dip mix (hello, Hidden Valley!) and one was a long-time WW recipe I already had on hand. My favorite so far? The WW recipe. This recipe is one I have had on hand for probably ten years -- and somehow had never tried before now. Success!

I hope that you find these three recipes helpful -- and if you are truly stuck, do like me and grab a spice packet from Hidden Valley for an easy solution. Either way, I will dream that my blog can be one of your last-second recipe destinations along with Pinterest :)

Beer Dip from Beauty and Bedlam -- Via Inspired by Charm on Pinterest (LOVE MICHAEL!)
Notes from Katherine: this was a huge hit. Definitely make at least three hours prior, but ideally the day before. No toppings are really needed because the flavors are awesome as-is. We used Sam Adams Octoberfest beer. 

Source: beautyandbedlam.com via Emily on Pinterest

Loaded Baked Potato Dip from Brown Eyed Baker -- via Inspired by Charm
Notes from Katherine: loved this one, too, though I used green onions and the flavor was almost too powerful. Chives would probably work better. Serve with Ruffles or a similarly strong chip to dip in.  

Source: inspiredbycharm.com via Katherine on Pinterest

Peanut Butter Java Dip -- adapted from WW 
Notes from Katherine: So tasty! I served this with graham crackers, and it was a big hit. Nothing like a WW recipe to wow the crowd.

Yield: 12 servings (Serving size: 2 tablespoons)

1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
2 teaspoons water
1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
1 container frozen fat-free whipped topping, thawed
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Combine coffee granules and water in a small bowl, stirring until granules dissolve. Place peanut butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl; microwave at high 30 seconds or until peanut butter begins to melt. Fold in whipped topping. Add coffee mixture, brown sugar, and cinnamon, and stir gently to combine. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

Hitting the Pavement. Again.

How many of you are past-athletes? 

A lot of people I know are athletes today. They run marathons, bike in triathalons, take Cross-fit classes, mountain climb, sit in the front row every morning at spin classes.

And that's awesome. I think those people are really inspirational. But here's the thing. I spent my entire life growing up doing some of those things, and now as an adult, I find it really, really, really hard to get motivated to do them.

I grew up a swimmer, and spent almost every morning in high school swimming laps from 5:30-7AM. By the time I'd leave the pool, I'd have swam miles and miles and then could eat anything I wanted from there on out that day. If I wasn't swimming, we were weight training, and I had arm muscles that today I only wish could reappear (But not the lat muscles. Those were always freakishly large after too much butterfly. Those can stay away! They were way too manly!)

Longtime readers of this blog will know that, as an adult, I routinely get back on an exercise kick. Months will come and go where I am gung-ho and hitting the gym. I even bought a new pair of spin shoes recently with some money I had received as a gift. Truth: I have only used them once since. What inspired me to never miss a practice then doesn't apply now. There is no varsity letter to earn. There is no coach yelling at me to keep swimming. No one is behind me touching my toes in the water, or with me in the gym to help spot my weights as I try for heavier ones. Where are these people when I am slogging away on my jog at 6:30AM? Or worse, hitting snooze for the fifth time?!

I know life is better when I consistently work out. I look my best, sleep my best, eat my best and just straight up FEEL my best when I am making time during my week to work out. But the older I get, the harder it gets. Do you feel the same way? I am spending so much time at work that extra sleep in the morning is precious to me, and then in the evenings, I'd rather sit and hang out with my man or with friends. I am most consistent with exercise on the weekends when I have time in excess, but throw in a day-long event and my workouts get pushed aside (by me).

I hate sounding like a broken record, but I wanted to put all of this out there so you all knew. My name is Katherine and I was an athlete. And I am hell-bent on being one again today. I decided a few months ago to invest in a personal training session once per week, and this morning, my trainer challenged me to run four days per week in addition to our session -- three days of three miles each and one day with five miles. It was a come-to-Jesus workout moment. She knows me, and she knows that running is the best thing for me and my body. She also suggested I get back in the pool, a welcome relief for my knees and a great way to add in some extra exercise.

Now that there's a countdown going towards the wedding, I think this might be that "goal" that I have been looking for. It's something much more permanent than a varsity letter. I want to look and feel amazing on that day (as every bride does) and I want to rock those bridal photos like no one else. As my trainer says, no one should look better than the bride on her big day! Of course, the bigger and real motivation is to feel amazing every day. So every day, I am going to face that challenge of slacking off or being awesome athlete Katherine.

Are you with me? Who else wants to feel amazing every day? Let's support each other on this daily mission :)

Mexi Breakfast

There just aren't enough words to describe how enjoyable relaxing weekends are.

This weekend, other than my trip up to Roswell, I have spent the entirety of my time in and around Buckhead, with no major plans. These types of weekends, especially when sandwiched in between busy holidays and other weekends to come, are such a blessing in disguise. If we can restrain the desire to fill up the free time with activities, what results are hours and hours of quiet recharging.

After a quiet night like that spent at home on a Saturday, the other benefit of weekends like this is that I wake up ready to go early the next morning. Today, we got in a run at Chastain before picking up supplies to make a healthy brunch.

While I love going out to eat on the weekends, heading out in workout clothes is not my idea of Buckhead Betty living. Instead, we grabbed supplies and I recreated a family favorite from local brunch spot J. Christopher's - Huevos Avocados.

With hearty high-fiber English muffins as the base, and some Mexican cheese, salsa and sour cream to top it off, this over-easy egg + avocado dish makes me so happy. It fills you up without being heavy, and it's full of healthy fats. 

My favorite part? When you cut into it and the yoke oozes out :)

Here's my "recipe" - if you could even call it that! I hope you enjoy it!

Huevos Avocados 
Amended from J.Christopher's; serves 2

2 high-fiber or other English muffins
4 eggs
1 ripe avocado
Low-fat sour cream
Salsa
Shredded Mexican cheese

1. Toast English muffins while you warm a nonstick pan for the eggs
2. Cut avocado in half and use a knife to slice, arrange one half of slices on one English muffin, the other half for the second person's.
3. Crack two eggs into your greased pan and make over-easy eggs.
4. Arrange first two finished eggs onto the halves of the first English muffin and avocado.
5. Top eggs with shredded Mexican cheese, a spoonful of low-fat sour cream and a spoonful of salsa.
6. Repeat with two more eggs for the second serving.

Enjoy!

Pie Time

Even though I have been crazy-busy, spending time together at home at night cooking a good meal is one way I have tried to add some balance back into my world. We both love to cook over here, so dinnertime is a perfect stay-at-home date night opportunity. It is nice to have a beer or a glass of wine, turn off the phones and laptops, talk about what happened that day and really just sit down and relax. Good food makes it all the better, and so when I can pre-plan out a few meals on a weekend, it makes it easier to sit back at the end of the day and just make whatever is scheduled on the menu. It also cuts down on the impromptu "I am tired and want pizza" nights. Cough. Tonight. Cough.

Last week, we went almost the entire week without eating any meat, just by accident. I attempted to have a nice balance of meals, but from mushroom soup to veggie chili, meat just wasn't calling to me when I picked out the recipes last Sunday. What's awesome, though, is that we didn't even miss it. We tried out three new recipes, found two keepers (that mushroom soup was ehhh) and I had some fantastic, healthy leftovers for lunches, too.

Believe it or not, that pizza above is made out of cauliflower! This pizza crust was a bloggy find that I pinned and nearly forgot about, but my mind kept coming back to it. I am so glad we tried it, because it was healthy-ish (note: there is definitely some cheese involved) and it leaves room for some experimentation when we make it again.

Things we learned and/or I have noticed in the original blogger's comments since making it:

1) A pizza stone, while helpful for regular crusts, didn't do much for this crust. Ours did not hold up to picking up and we had to eat it with a fork and knife casserole-style. Next time, I am going to stick to the nonstick pan they recommend and see if that makes a difference. The recipe does note that it's not a sturdy pizza though.

2) The crust has a lot of natural moisture. Put another pan below it in the oven in case it drips at all (ours did), or use a jelly roll pan instead (a pan with edges). Some readers suggested squeezing out excess moisture from the riced cauliflower too.

3) There is so much cheese in the crust, stick to lots of healthy, natural toppings and sliced mozzarella instead of grated cheese. You really don't need much more than that. We used basil and canned tomato sauce and it was heavenly.

4) Triple the proportions of the recipe to make a full-sized pizza. We used almost the entire head of cauliflower this way, but it definitely ups the cheese and egg count, so be sure to count that in any calorie or WW points! You will get a lot more servings out of it this way.

Enjoy! You can find the recipe for this great cauliflower pizza crust here with Lauren Conrad, but originally here over on Eat. Drink. Smile. (love that blog! This cauliflower recipe sounded fab, too.). 

60's, Meet WW

I don't know when I turned "old," but the 10PM showtime of Mad Men on Sunday nights is officially too late for me. Sure, the show ends at 11PM, but then I am sitting there with my mind racing, wondering about the plot from that night's episode and the cryptic previews for the next week's. By the time I am finally falling asleep close to 11:30 or midnight, yep, that 6AM workout just isn't gonna happen.

Instead, we have started watching Mad Men on Monday nights at an earlier hour. Yes, go ahead and do that mental or real eye roll. I don't care ;)  This way, I get to enjoy the show AND hit the gym early the next morning, too. And for me, this is one of those life sacrifices I am trying to do more often. Trying being the key word.

Hold me to this one - I AM going to spin class tomorrow, I AM! :)

While I love even the oddest episodes of Mad Men (and if you aren't a viewer, trust, there are some oddball ones), last night's episode really struck a cord. Betty Draper, housewife extraordinaire, is now a divorcee, remarried, bored with her new life ... and oh my, she is overweight and on WEIGHT WATCHERS.

I honestly forgot that WW has been around for that long! I cracked up as I realized that the show was focusing in on her weekly meetings. Those suburban women were sitting there lamenting the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday (the same things we women do today) and the very end of the show featured Betty eating a bite of stuffing, feasting on that single, solo bite she had allowed herself.

Image Source

I got back on WW last week. As you frequent blog readers know, I am on-off-on-off-on the program, going hard for a while (2010) and then light during other times (2011). I know it works, having seen serious Freshman-15-Removal followed by Pre-Brother-Graduation-Momentum. I have a high school reunion coming up this summer, and I am already feeling better about myself because of those WW sessions than I did when I graduated high school.

However, I have found that maintaining things is hard unless I ... 

A) Work out regularly. This should be a no brainer, but I can come up with excuses to skip a workout with the best of them.

B) Don't eat sweets. I have discovered there are days when I need a Highland Bakery cookie. It's a cookie the size of my head. And I NEED IT. And then I am good for a few weeks without it. Today was one of those days. And tomorrow I shall spin as a result.

Me, back in the day.

Me, post 2010 WW!

C) Cut out the booze. Ughgghghgh this is hard. But it is nearly mandatory for me to lose.  

D) Keep the momentum, even when life gets hard. Busy work days equal less time to work out, and also equal higher likelihood that I will binge on easy food like pizza.

But that's where the genius part of WW comes in. I can control things if I can keep track of things I eat. Or drink. Even though I had that cookie today, my week is not ruined -- I am just going to hit the gym extra hard tomorrow :)

It's all about the balance. And since I am trying to balance out my life enough right now and keep on blogging here with you, you all get to be the first to hear that I am balancing out the diet right now, too :)

Off to sip some water before bed. See you kiddos in the morning. And I will already have burned a few hundred calories by then. Sweet!

Soupy Slow Cooking

I've got a winner of a crock-pot soup for you today!

I have been rocking through the recipes in my Fix It and Forget It cookbook, which features TONS of recipes made just for a slow cooker. A lot of the recipes are similar and most often can serve simply as inspiration for you as you learn how to best throw things together for a slow cooked meal. The beauty of crock pot meals are that they are also extremely flexible beyond the variable cooking time. Don't like that vegetable? Skip it! Want a cheesier soup? Add two cans of the cheese-based condensed soup instead of one.

This recipe was just one of those meals for me. I wanted a basic minestrone soup, so I found and used a recipe for inspiration. I skipped the usual pasta and instead used the suggested barley, which kept things really low-calorie but super hearty. You could add in or substitute red kidney beans, zucchini and many other veggies.

My key to maintaining my weight during the week most often depends on healthy lunches, and soup is my go-to for a quickie lunch that fills me up. I made this crock-pot meal overnight, dealt out servings in individual containers the next morning, and took one with me for lunch while freezing the rest. Then, throughout upcoming days and weeks, I have a supply of healthy soups to grab in the morning, no defrost required. I just let the soup sit through the morning at my desk before heating the container for four-five minutes in the microwave for lunch.

Enjoy!

Minestrone Soup
Adapted from Fix It and Forget It

Source: laurenslatest.com via Gay on Pinterest

Makes six-eight lunch servings

2 boxes of Tuscany-blend chicken broth
3 carrots, peeled and diced
1 Spanish onion, chopped
4 ribs celery, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 dry barley
1 can chickpeas, drained
1 Tbsp. parsley
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 Tbsp. rosemary
28 oz. can diced Italian tomatoes
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker. Cover and cook on Low 6-8 hours or until vegetables are tender. Optional: stir in baby spinach once soup is done, and/or top with grated Parmesan cheese.

Fighting the Food Demons

What do you crave most when you are short on time, energy and motivation?

Tonight, we successfully battled our #1 craving, the "let's order pizza" demon, because we had thought ahead about our meals for the week and did food shopping on Sunday. We have (so far) been able to avoid temptations for breakfasts (I don't do well without my Crispix and milk), lunches (who wants to spend $9 on a sandwich anyways?) and dinners (said pizza demon). Sure, it's two days into the work week, but it has been a long. two. days. The man is back in Master's night classes and I have been working hard at work. That pizza devil rises up when we are on our way home and absolutely hitting the wall.

You have been there. What's your vice? Chinese? Drive-through? Skipping a meal altogether?

Well, I don't well with no food, either, so thankfully, tonight's meal ingredients were already ready to go when we both walked in the door. Portobello mushrooms stuffed with Italian ground turkey, peppers and onions, topped with sauce and broiled under a mozzarella cheese topping. Even better, we both haven't seen much of each other in the last few days, so cooking together tonight was almost like a date night -- we planned ahead to take an hour and hang out in the kitchen together, sit down to eat together, and now, we are relaxing after dinner on the couch together, too. Sure, he might be studying and I might be blogging, but we are together. And not in a pizza coma, either :) Mini date night + healthy cooking = weeknight success!

This made-up recipe was really good! It makes a lot of filling, which I am saving to add to a baked pasta dish later this week. I have amended it here to include a bit fattier meat, but you can do like we did (a la WW style) and use ground turkey breast, too. If you do, just be sure to add a fair amount of Italian seasonings and a little butter or cheese to the mix to give it some richness.

Stuffed Italian Portobellos
Serves 2, or 4 as an appetizer

4 large portobello mushroom caps, washed and shaken dry
2 tbsp. olive oil, divided
1 green pepper, chopped
1/2 white onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 lb. ground Italian sausage
2 cups spaghetti sauce
1 cup shredded part skim mozzarella cheese

Prep mushroom caps and drizzle with 1 Tbsp. oil. Bake in 425 degree oven for 10-15 minutes until slightly wilted. Meanwhile, cook peppers, onions and garlic in remaining oil over Low-Medium heat until soft, about 15 minutes. Add sausage and mix in well. Cook until sausage is done. Fill mushroom caps with 1/2 cup of filling, and top with sauce and shredded cheese. Bake in 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes until filling is hot, and finish under broiler for 2-4 minutes to brown cheese.