Monday, April 11, 2011

Me first!

I once heard a friend of mine say “I would burn out, but I just don’t have time.”

If you were to make a list of priorities right now, the things that are the most important in your life, where would your own need be on that list? How long has it been since you last put everything aside to do something just for yourself?

It is important for us to learn to put ourselves first. Weight loss and maintenance success implies finding time to take certain steps: Shopping for food, exercising, cooking (if only reheating frozen meals!), tracking, GOING TO THE MEETING!

This week we are putting ourselves on top of the priority list, because it works, and we are worth it!


Tool of the week:

Did you have a chance to look at our Walk-It success kit? Here it is being modeled by yours truly:

The kit contains a water bottle along with an insulating sleeve, a gym bag, a visor and an elastic band to keep your hair out of your face. All this for only $16.95!


In the Kitchen

This recipe is so delicious and simple. It looks good, so it's good for entertaining, and it makes great leftovers, so it's perfect for lunches. What else can we ask for?

Orange Chicken
6 servings, 5P+/serving

Ingredients
1 med. orange
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried rosemary, crumbled
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
6 chicken thighs, skinless, boneless, trimmed (4 oz each)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350F

Zest the orange and mince the zest. Mix the zest with the oil, the paprika, the rosemary, the garlic salt and the pepper.

Supreme the orange (making sure to remove all the "white").

Rub the zest-spice mixture over the 6 chicken thighs and put in a roasting pan (I used a pyrex oven dish), spread the orange pieces around the chicken thighs.

Roast until cooked through, about 45 minutes (until juices runs clear when poked).

Cover with a foil and let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Source: Greatest Hits Cookbook, 40th Anniversary collector edition (Weight Watchers) p. 119


Event

Etools training
Learn how to get the most out of your Etools membership!

Sunday April 17th
11:15am
Stonestown Center


Activity

Ok, so last week we met for our first walk for the Walk It Challenge. Want to know something funny? I had planned to walk 2/5 K but we turned too late, so we walked almost 4K!

Dan Grace and I had a fabulous time with our fearless walkers and are looking forward to doing it again next week!

This week we will meet again at the Warming Hut Cafe, at Crissy Fields. It's the one just before Fort Point. We will probably go for the same walk, again I will have shorter walks mapped in case anyone comes in and doesn't feel up to the whole 4K.

Remember:
We meet at the Warming Hut Cafe
At 9am
Doggies (and family!) are welcome.
Bring a fruits to eat after the walk!

This is all in good fun, just remember to dress in layers, it ended up being very warm this week, but in San Francisco you never know.


Have a Great week!

Never be afraid of emailing me if needed, I'm here for you! If there is anything you want me to bring to the meeting room, let me know and I'll do my best to find it!

See you in the meeting room, get walking!


Melanie

Take the time to come home to yourself every day.

~Robin Casarjean


Friday, April 1, 2011

Go for the Goal!

The Walk it challenge is here!!

It's the third year and it is bigger than ever!! Be sure to come to your meeting this week to get your Walk It Training guide and get all the information about this fun challenge we are taking on together! See the "Activity" section of this blog for more details!

How about setting a Winning Outcome? Could that help you feel motivated to be more active? How? How do we go about setting goals? How can we make sure to achieve them?

Come to your meeting this week, we'll discuss all that and more.

These shoes are made for walkin'... :o)

Tool of the week

With the Walk It challenge how can we not sing the praises of our trusty pedometer? The ultimate walking motivation tool!
It counts your steps, your miles, there's a timer, it even counts the Activity PointsPlus for you. What else can we ask for?

In the Kitchen

This is a recipe that we always end up going back to. It's delicious!

Middle Eastern Beef Kebabs
4 servings, 6P+/Serving

Ingredients
1 onion, cubed
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 TBSP fresh lemon juice
4 tsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves crushed
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp finely chopped fresh time (1/2 tsp dried)
1 tsp chopped fresh mint
1/2 tsp paprika
Dash cayenne
1 lb boneless beef tenderloin, in 1 inch cubes
1 bay leaf
1 onion, cut into 8 wedges
1 red bell pepper, seeded, cut into 8 squares
8 medium mushroom caps
chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley for garnish

Directions
1- Combine first 10 ingredients in a blender or food processor, pureed. Place marinade in a Ziploc bag and add the beef and the bay leaf. Turn to coat and let marinate 1 hour to overnight in the fridge, turning occasionally. Remove from the fridge about 30 minutes before cooking, drain the marinade into a little saucepan and bring to a boil. Keep boiling, stirring constantly for about 3 minutes.

2- Preheat the broiler or the grill. Thread the onion wedges, bell pepper, mushrooms, and beef onto 4 skewers, beginning and ending with the onion wedges. Set the skewers on the broiler or grill rack, keeping the rack 2-3 inches from the heat. Broil about 5 minutes on each side, basting with the marinade when turning. Discard the bay leaf.
Sprinkle the kebabs with the parsley and serve with any remaining marinade on the side.

Source: Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook, P. 192

Event

Sunday April 10th is the Success Stories Live at the San Bruno Center at 3pm!

Go in to get motivated, inspired, oh yeah... and have fun!

Activity

It is week 1 of the Walk It challenge! This year I decided to try a weekend walk! Wanna walk with me?

Here's my idea:

Saturday April 9th I will walk at Crissy Fields, starting at the Warm Hut (just before Fort Point). We will meeting right in front of the Warm Hut (water side!) at 9am to start walking at 9:15.

Doggies are welcome, as are friends and family! We will start with a 1.5 mile walk for our first adventure. You need: Comfy walking shoes, water, a snack (fruit!), clean up bag (if doggie is coming!) and weather friendly clothes (it's San Francisco, layers!).

It is not a race, we are getting ourselves moving together and having fun doing so. Come walk with us, with or without a doggie!

Here's the specifics again:

Where: Crissy Field, Meet in front of the Warm Hut Cafe
When: meet at 9am
How long: 1.5 miles

The Walking Kits are out at the centers, if you are interested let me know!! Here's me modeling the one I bought myself:

Cool huh? Get yours before they run out! At Work members, let me know if you want one and I bring you one (until we run out!).

The kit is $16.95, it includes a gym bag, a visor and a water bottle. :o)

Have a great week!

Of course I'm always an email away, never be afraid to contact me if needed.

Don't you love spring? It's time to get hyper-motivated! Summer is coming!

See you in the meeting room!

Melanie
Leader

"Success isn't a result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire. "
~Arnold H. Glasow