Back In My Kitchen

Enjoying the last days of summer in Frankenmuth, Michigan.  It has been thirty years since I fell in love with that man in the back ground.  Looking forward to the next thirty years!

Another season comes to a close but not necessarily for me as I am already thinking ahead to spring  of 2012 when I will be purchasing another pontoon boat.  It is in storage for the winter but the first day the Marina opens in the spring I will be there to pick up my new toy.  We will have a small fishing pontoon and a cruising pontoon for the family.  Her name is already picked out, "MissT", after the nick name given to me by my husband when we were dating.  I will need to put her in the back of mind for now....or it will be  a long winter. 

With September well behind us we are well into fall.  My children have grown but even though I do not get up to wait for the school bus anymore, things do pick up with all the activities that begin again with the passing of summer. My job, Healthswap, supporting local programs, church and hosting a Book Review Club are all a part of my busy life here. Tomorrow I have been asked to participate in a Health & Wellness Expo.  I am thrilled at the opportunity to share my passion. That being the passion of helping others to lose weight. So on this rainy day I am happy to be inside listening to the tapping sound of rain on the window pane, music in the background, updating my blog and preparing my presentation for tomorrow, oh - don't forget the coffee from my Keurig machine.

     My catch phrase for Healthswap is to teach  "one step at a time".  We often kill any possible achievement for losing weight by taking on too many areas to change at once.  This thinking is the best way to sabotage any goal before you begin. Personally, I always try to have a goal before me but work on only one at a time.  So with that said my next goal is to strenghthen my legs.  With that in mind I purchased a Malibu Pilate's chair from E-bay.  It is now a permanent chair in my living space, at least for the fall and winter months.  The back exercise room is still available but this is my TV chair. 

If I watch TV,

then

I need to move while I watch. 

Back In My Kitchen 

    

Most people love their food in the summer months, at least that is what we are told.  Those summer fruits, cook outs, picnics, parties, etc.. but I believe I am the opposite when it comes to food.  I really do not enjoy cooking in the summer (ask my husband, he lost more weight this summer which mostly came from me not cooking). I find myself wanting to be on my bike or boating instead of being in the kitchen or even grilling. My favorite time to cook is the cold months but I do need to be careful to stay active to burn those calories and at the same time count those calories.  So with all that said, I am now back in my kitchen. 

                

 This was a great kick-off for my return to the kitchen.

Chicken With Sweet Potato

(recipe on recipe page)

  On this particular evening I served dinner and before I knew it, I had finished off all of the squash, which I substituted for the sweet potato in my recipe.  I told my husband "I know I must have gained weight after eating so much squash".  Afraid of what I might have done to myself, I raced to the computer to see how much squash actually equaled in calories.  It was not too bad so I figured I might gain a pound. (Every morning we weigh ourselves in a competition to keep each of us motivated). The next morning my husband asked "How much weight did you gain?"  While I was jumping off the scale, my reply was "I can't believe it, I lost two pounds!"   So this recipe is a must try. I will definitely be making this again in the months to come.