Weight and Wimsy

I was gonna make a lame Thundercats/Juno reference, but "Weight Watchers--HOO!!!" Just didn't look right, LOL.

I'm sure everyone has heard by now that Mother and I are back on Weight Watchers after 4 years absence and so far it's showing signs of progress!

We're currently on week 3 and have had 2 weigh ins and she and I are neck and neck at 6.2 pounds lost each. I even found the last remaining pair of size 20 jeans I own (the rest were donated in an attempt to avoid more emotional trauma than was necessary constantly trying to wear pants that don't fit) and found that while they are relatively easy to put on and fasten they are just shy of completely comfortable when seated. Hopefully in a week or so I'll be able to say that they fit perfectly and begin to see if its worth more to take-in the pants I own or to buy all new ones.

It's actually been fairly easy to feed myself on the system, a lot easier than I thought it'd be as a vegetarian, however I am still having difficulties when eating out or food of other peoples creation, since I was a bit of a point Nazi for the first two weeks. I'm a little more lenient now, planning my breakfasts and lunches at school and being sure to leave a comfortable cushion of points to eat out for dinner (either with classmates on Sat. or my own Sushi decadence on Fri.) and I really don't bother counting them, figuring if I go over that's what flex points are for and since I don't use them during the week I'm not a risk of running out (and even if I did I could exercise to earn back and exchange the difference.)

Well, I have high hopes and plans for the future and I can't wait to see my future success!

Aika

Did I Cook That!?!

Yes... yes I did, LOL. You're looking at my rendition of a Turkish-Style Vegetable Stew from a recipe published in the January 2000 edition of Vegetarian Times.

My version calls for:
2 tsp. Olive oil
1 Medium onion, halved then sliced
4 Medium cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
12 oz Green beans trimmed then cut crosswise (I used 12oz by accident, recipe called for 6oz)
6 oz Okra, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices (I used frozen )
2 cans of 14.5 oz Diced tomatoes
2 cups Vegetable broth (likewise I used 2 cups on accident, the original called for 1/2 cup)
1/2 tsp. Ground cumin
2 medium Zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 tbs. Fresh chopped dill
1 tsp. Sea salt
1/2 tsp. Fresh ground pepper

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium-low heat. Add onion and half the garlic and cook until onion is softened, about 5-7 minutes. Stir in green beans, tomatoes, broth and cumin. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low, partially cover and simmer, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes. Increase heat to medium low. Stir in zucchini, dill, okra, salt and pepper, cover and cook until zucchini is just tender, about 8 minutes. Serve hot.
I served over a bed of rice and added the second half of the garlic to the leftovers along with some barley.
It can also be served with pitas, hummus, Greek olives and feta cheese on top.

Personally this was very fun to make, especially cooking the onions, there was just something cool about actually COOKING LOL. It was also encouraging that even though I messed up a few points of the original recipe the meal still worked out well and was very delicious. Plus there were plenty of leftovers So I should be able to enjoy this tomorrow.

Well, I'm gonna put this recipe as a success and hope to continue my culinary rehabilitation in the future! ^_^

Aika