Feb 24, 2010

Weigh-in Wednesday

Do you know how long I've been doing Weigh-in Wednesdays? 26 weeks. That's half a year. That's six months. That's insane!

I definitely didn't think it would last this long. Naively, I'm pretty sure I thought I'd have had all this weight off by the Fall! ha ha ha. Cracks me up. I could have had it all off by the Fall. But that would have required giving up chocolate and working out sooner than I wanted to... not worth it! :p It's all in your priorities people.

The 30 day shred is done, thank God. I lost, what? 3 pounds on it - WOOHOO (sarcasm). Actually, that ain't bad seeing as I seemed to have plateaued prior to that. I'll take it. I've been doing my own little 15 minute workouts every day (except for weekends, who works out on weekends?) since Monday (when the shred ended). Also, I have run once on the treadmill as well. I'm going to try to get up a little earlier in the AM now that Jane is basically sleeping through the night. Thinking if I aim for 2-3 runs per week (starting back at intervals) and 2-3 strength workouts, that'll be a realistic goal.

I've got two new addictions this week... numero uno is hummus and baby carrots. I thought I hated hummus. Then, at a playdate, one of the other Moms, Kathy Ann, introduced me to her hummus recipe and I've made it twice already. It's so easy and, more importantly, makes vegetables something I want to snack on!

Kathy Ann was nice enough to not be one of those people who keeps their winning recipes to themselves (you know who you are - it's like you're scared if we learn your recipe, we'll stop inviting you :p). Here it is:

1 can chickpeas (drained)
2-3 garlic cloves
1 tbsp tahini (sesame seed butter - can be found with the all natural peanut and almond butters)
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp cumin (very important ingredient, cumin is necessary)
A little s & p
Chuck it all in the food processor and mix until it's not chunky anymore. SO tasty. Eat it with carrots, peppers, etc. or with some pita.
For about a 1/4 cup serving, it's only like 50 cals - so mix it with veggies and it makes for a low cal, super healthy snack!

Secondly, and you have to be open-minded for this one, I have substituted my chocolate addiction with Black Bean Brownies. Hold on, hold on. Before you write me off... they aren't that bad. I'm not going to lie, they aren't brownies. But, they do satisfy my chocolate need for a lot less calories and a lot more nutrition. I got the recipe years ago from Oprah, I think, as she had somebody on who was trying to help parents get their kids to eat better by sneaking healthy things into things that kids liked.

Here's the recipe for Black Bean Brownies:
1-15 oz can Black Beans, rinsed (shake off excess water)
3 eggs, divided
4 tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1 - 2.25oz jar baby food prunes
2 cups of sugar or splenda, or do what I did and use 1 cup splenda brown sugar
3 tbsp flour
3/4 cup cocoa
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Blend beans and one egg in food processor until completely smooth.
Add melted butter, remaining eggs, vanilla and prunes to bean mixture. Mix thoroughly.
Add remaining ingredients - sugar, flour, cocoa - and stir. I used Splenda brown sugar because it's all I had on hand.
Pour in buttered 9x13" pan. Bake for 25-30 mins or until knife inserted into middle comes out clean.
Makes 24.

Here's the deal on these brownies... If you're expected a brownie, you're going to be disappointed. If you're expecting a healthy brownie alternative, you'll be pleasantly surprised. For 100 cals a pop, you get a nice sized brownie. I put a few tablespoons of frozen, fat free, cool whip on mine to act as a ice cream substitute (necessary if you ask me). This combo makes it taste pretty good! The consistency is moist and dense but if you're willing to give 'um a go and have an open mind, it's worth it. I think most people get hung up on the bean part of it and turn into a 5 year old who doesn't want to eat their broccoli. :p With that said, I'll be making these for years to come as they are much better for Jane than a regular brownie for a treat - she'll never know I'm sneaking good stuff into her tummy!

Okee dokes ladies, here are the stats for this week (we're getting there!):
Starting WIW weight: 157 lbs
Current weight: 142 lbs
Pounds to lose: 5 lbs
Pounds lost: 15 lbs

Oh, FYI... I got a great update from my old partner in crime, Jill, who joined me for operation "Bringing Sexy Back" in the early days... she's preggers again! YIPEE! Congrats Jill!

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2 comments:

Ange said...

Yummy!! I actually have the black bean recipe - I saved it to my computer off the Dr Oz website (he has tons of good ones) but had forgotten about it! I'm going to try these out today and send a batch over to my neighbour who was so kind to babysit for us last night!

My New Life As Mom said...

GREAT JOB! You're doing great!