What's on your plate? Estimate!

The overall theme for the June meetings is “Increase your awareness”. This week, we are exploring the art of estimating.

As much as I love my food scale, and I do, I am not willing to bring along with me everywhere I go. I do not bring my scale to restaurants, friend’s houses, picnics (ok, I do when it’s me and my husband only, but shhhhhh). There are situations where even the Easy Measure spoons aren’t quite appropriate. In those occasions, I have to fall back on my skills as an estimator.

Sometimes there is just no choice, and at those times we need strategies, tricks and idea to giving the PointsPlus value of the food in front of us a good guess.

This week we will discuss how we can do that and stay on plan even when we have to make do with our portions.


Tool of the Week

The number one way to be able to guess accurately (well, you know what I mean) is to know what a precise portion looks like. To learn this, the Weight Watchers food scale is an invaluable tool.

The scale is easy and quick to use, as well as easy to clean. It will not only give you the weight, but also the PointsPlus value of the food you put on it, either by typing in the name of the food (if it’s in the food bank of the scale) or by giving the nutritional information and the serving size in grams.

An all around great program tool as well as a learning tool!


In the Kitchen

Ok, honestly I haven’t done this in a while. Every summer I bring it back out though, and carry it around from potlucks to BBQs, make a batch on Sunday and happily eat it for the next 2 days.

It’s one of those easy, recipes that are good right away, or a day and a half later. I got so many good comments about it that I’m never afraid to bring it along.

Jamaican-Style Potato Salad
6 servings, 3 P+/serving

Ingredients
1 ½ pound new potatoes, halved if large (I like to mix red and yellow for looks)
1 TBSP canola oil
2 Celery stalks, finely chopped
1 small onion, thinly sliced
½ green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
½ red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
½ cup reduced sodium chicken broth
¼ cup apple-cider vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard (I like to use whole grain, prettier)
½ tsp sugar free jerk seasoning
½ tsp salt

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add potatoes, return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the potatoes are fork-tender, 15-20 minutes. Drain in a colander; set aside.

Meanwhile, to make the dressing, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add the celery, onion, and bell peppers; cook, stirring, until softened, 6-8 minutes. Stir in the remaining ingredients and cook, stirring, until heated through, about 3 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat.

When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut into ¾ inch chunks; transfer to a serving bowl. Pour the dressing over the potatoes and toss gently to coat. Serve within 4 hours or refrigerate, covered up to 2 days. For the best flavor serve at room temperature.

Source: Weight Watchers, Savoring Summer 2007, p. 70.

Activity

Sometimes it’s in the little things…

We have talked a lot about “challenges” lately, and “beating excuses”, and “Goals” when it comes to activity. Those are good, and important, but lets not forget that sometimes it’s the little things that make the biggest difference.

What are the little things that you can do to add to the total number of calories you burn in a day?

Are there instance where you could take the stairs instead of the elevator?

Could you park further away and walk to where you are going? Could you avoid having to park altogether and just walk from home/work?

Could you turn off the TV and go for a walk instead of watching a rerun?

In your day to day life, find those little opportunities for success, they might not seem like much, but in the long run they make all the difference!


Have a good week!

As we are putting the focus on being a little more aware of what we do, what we eat, how we feel and how we move, it’s a good time to prepare for the coming challenges. Be it vacations, celebrations, or anything in between, we need to see how we can navigate these without losing our way.

You meeting is a great place to share ideas, learn new strategies and just reconnect to what we are doing every week. It’s the reset button that gets us good and started for another week.

Never be afraid to contact me if needed. I’m there for you!!

See you in the meeting room!

Melanie

“The best we can do is size up the chances, calculate the risks involved, estimate our ability to deal with them, and then make our plans with confidence.” ~ Henry Ford