Get Fresh!

Have you been in the Farmer's market lately? Can it get better than this?

I get so excited when I walk amongst the stalls and find new fruits, new veggies to try. I cannot wait to go home and Google this weird looking plant hoping that I noted the name right and that I can figure out something edible to make with it. How exciting!

I have not always felt that way though. Honestly, when I first joined Weight Watchers, my vegetables were carrots, potatoes, corn, forcing it maybe green beans. I wouldn't even try broccoli! Then I learned that vegetables not only were very healthy, but they are also very low in fat, carbs and calories. Because of that, they are the perfect weapon against the munchies! That's when baby carrots and I became very intimate! My tan was fabulous that year, if a little orangy...

Very quickly I got sick and tired of eating baby carrots and I decided to explore the realm of vegetables and fruits. You know what I found? If you prepare them right, they are delicious! This week we will discuss how we can make fruits and vegetables a big and delicious part of our daily meals and snacks. Don't miss it!

Event

This Friday (the 15th), at the Century Club meeting we are having ourselves a little mini potluck.

Where:

Century Club of California
1355 Franklin Street, San Francisco, CA

When:

The meeting is at 9:15am, the door open at 8:45.

What:

We are bringing fruit and vegetable dishes which are healthy and low PointsPlus. Please make sure to have the P+ value and the recipe (if applicable!).

Lets take this topic to another level! How fun is that? I can't wait!

Tool of the week

Not only I didn't know much about vegetables when I started this, but I didn't even know how to cook eggs, much less a meal! I learned to cook with the Weight Watchers cookbooks. To this day they are a huge part of my collection of cookbooks.

The recipes you will find in there are easy enough so that anyone can make them successfully, and yet tasty enough that years later I never get tired of making them! This is not "diet food" but healthy delicious recipes that will satisfy everybody.


In the Kitchen

This is a simple little side dish that I used to make all the time. A few months ago, I dug out my Simply Bueno cookbook, and rediscovered this along with a few other favorites that I had forgotten about. It is delicious, and perfect for summer time because it's as good hot as it is cold.

It's one of those recipe that you can easily spice up, or spice down depending on taste! :o)

Sauteed Summer Squash with Tomatoes and Corn
4 servings, 3 P+/serving

1 TBSP canola oil
1 onion finely chopped
1 jalapeño chile pepper, seeded and minced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 lb zucchini, diced
2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
3/4 cup fresh or thawed corn kernels
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 TBSP chopped fresh cilantro

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes.

Add the jalapeño and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add the zucchini and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, corn, salt and ground pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes.

Stir in the cilantro and serve.

Source: Simply Bueno (Weight Watchers) p. 197

Activity

Last spring with the Walk It Challenge, we talked about walking a lot, and with good reasons. It's an easy activity that is not only very effective, but low cost.

Still many people confided in me that they thought walking was not enough of a challenge for them. They couldn't figure out how to add intensity to their daily walks. Really? In San Francisco?

Incline:

The first obvious suggestion is find a few good hills and go to town. Walking uphill will add intensity. We are lucky you can find all grades, all heights, we have it all in SF!

Surface:

There isn't much difference in intensity between walking on pavement or on gravel really, but soft sand? Try walking on the beach away from the water. After a while you really start feeling it!

Weight:

You can buy vest that are made to add weight. Those are a good way to add weight to your walk without compromising your posture and/or your joints. There are also ankle and wrist weights that you can get. Honestly, with a bad knee, I would not use those, but it's between you and your doctor to know if it's ok for you to use them. Remember that any weight you chose to carry on your walks, you have to walk back with. :o)

Speed:

Sounds obvious, but if you don't have any hill nearby (hum..) or beaches, and weights are not happening, go for speed! You usually do your loop in 45 minutes? Shoot for 40 next time. Or keep the same time, but add a few blocks to your walk.

Walking can be a challenging activity if you want it to be, you can take it outside the city too! Go hiking! Just remember that it's generally much hotter outside of San Francisco, so plan adequately for clothing, sunscreen and water!

Have a good week!

This is my favorite part of the summer. The major parties are all done, all there is left to do is enjoy the season for a few weeks before it's time to start running again. Even if I now work through the summer, it still seems like the "relax season" for some reason.

While you are relaxing, don't forget to take time to stop by your meeting so that we can share our tips, ideas, and suggestions as well as encourage each others to stay on track through the summer fun.

Also if your schedule permits, stop by the Century Club Friday and join our little potluck/meeting! It'll be fun!

I'm always an email away!! See you in the meeting room!

Melanie


It's difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato.

~Lewis Grizzard

If Only...

I could lose weight, really I could! If only I had...

* A personal trainer,
* A personal chef,
* A maid to do all the house chores for me,
* ?

We look at all those celebrities losing weight and what is our first thought? Oh sure, give me all she/he has and I'll lose weight in a heartbeat too! Really? How many celebrities have lost and gained the same weight over and over again? Why is that? They have everything right? How can they possibly struggle?

If you really think about it, what are the essentials that we need for successful weight loss and maintenance? If you cut out the super flu, you will realize that what is really important, you have already.

You have everything you need to be successful! All you need is a plan and the drive to follow the plan. This week, we'll see to it that we leave the meeting ready for action!


Tool of the week

Gym not your thing? You've been buried in summer activities and feel like your workout routine is suffering? Try our Fitness kits!

These are fun ways to get moving in the comfort of your own home. Whether you are using the exercise ball, or the weighed gloves (each kit have their own exercise DVD included) you can keep your routine on track without missing any of the summer fun!


In the Kitchen

We recently moved our dinning table closer to the window, and on beautiful mornings, the sun hits right on our table as we sit there having breakfast. It's sort of a magical thing when we have time to just sit and enjoy the morning together. On the weekend we like to indulge a little bit and sometimes we go hunting for different breakfast that does not include eggs or oatmeal. :o)

This recipe is one of those "special breakfast" recipe that we don't do too often, but that is so delicious, that we keep it in reserve "just in case". Thing is, it's easy and quick enough to be an every day recipe and it's not THAT high in P+ really, I did add some FF cool whip to it, because I was feeling fuffy!

Peach and Ginger Crepes
4 servings, 4P+/serving

Ingredients
4 ripe peaches, about 1 1/2 pound, halved, pitted, chopped
2 TBSP granulated sugar
2 TBSP chopped candied ginger
2 tsp lemon juice
4, 7inches, ready-to-use crepes
2 tsp confectioners' sugar

Combine the peaches, granulated sugar, ginger, and lemon juice in a medium bol; let stand 10 minutes.

Place 1/4 of the mixture in the center of each crepe; roll up to enclose the filling. Place each filled crepe, seam side down, in the middle of a breakfast plate. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

Source: Mix it Match It cookbook, Weight Watchers 2007, Breakfast section.

Activity

Be your own personal trainer!

What does a personal trainer do? They assess your present abilities, figure out what your goals are, and then break them down so that they can put together a plan for you to achieve your goals.

Sound familiar?

What if you were to take notes on your work outs, how much you are doing, how you feel afterward, and then used that to assess your abilities?

Cardio is really good, but you could use some strengthening? You're fairly strong, but looking at a hill makes you winded?

Once you've done that, you can make a plan!

To boost my cardio abilities, I can...

To tone up my arms, I can...

To _____ I can ____

As with everything we do, it's only a matter of taking this one challenge at a time, setting realistic goals, and having a plan! You can do this!

Have a great week!

I know I know, it's summer time, we are busy, things are happening, people are visiting, the kids are off school... SO? Your meeting is 45 minutes/week. 45 minutes that you take for yourself, to take care of yourself. Only 45 minutes a week so that in September, you will feel all happy and successful for having kept an eye on your goals throughout the summer.

That is so worth 45 minutes/week, right? I will see you in the meeting room!

Melanie

You have what you need to be successful!

Pack your plan!

The overall theme for the June meetings is “Increase your awareness”. This week, we are looking into managing disruptions in our routine.

Everything is going well, you have your routine, favorite foods, regular work outs, indulgences here and there, every thing fits like the pieces of a puzzle. Then a visitor moves in the house for a week and the routine goes out the window while you are going around the city enjoying the good life of touristy San Francisco. That’s ok, it’s only a week right?

Two weeks after the visitor has left, you still can’t find your footing though. The routine that worked so well before is nowhere to be found.

Can you identify to this? You are not alone. Disruptions in our routine can throw us on a loop for weeks sometimes months! There are ways to get right back on track and find our footing again.

This week we will explore those strategies for stepping right back in our routine after a vacation, a visit, or any other disruption.

Tool of the week

You want to take a good look at the tools we have in the meeting room, and think which one would be the most helpful for you on your vacation, or while you have visitors around.

Would a 3 Month tracker help you stay on track? Do you think a clicker might be easier and faster since you might not have time to jot everything down?

Maybe it's time to load up Etools on your smart phone so you can stay on track on the go? Or all you need might be safe snacks for the road trip.

We have all sorts of tools for all sorts of situations, it's only a matter of finding the right tool, for the right situation.

In the Kitchen

This is another recipe that is delicious on the spot, but also makes great picnic/lunch fare.

You can get fuffy cutting the beans, or you can put them through a chopper, it won’t be nearly as pretty, but it will be a lot faster.

Shredded Green Beans, with lemon-lime zest and snipped chives
4 servings, 2 P+/serving

Ingredients
3/4 pound green and/or yellow beans, tops and tails trimmed
2 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil
2 TBSP water
Grated zest of 1 lg lemon
Grated zest of 1 lime
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
Fine salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Slice beans on a diagonal into roughly 1/8 inch pieces. The result should be tiny, angular zeros.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beans and stir until coated with oil, then add the water. Cover and cook 2-3 minutes, until the beans are brightly colored and tender; give the pan a good shake midway through to ensure even cooking.

Remove from the heat and stir in the zests and half of the chives. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve garnished with the remaining chives.

Source: Super Natural Cooking, Heidi Swanson, P. 91

Activity

Want to find a way to add intensity to your walk? There are so many ways!

Find a hill: In San Francisco it shouldn't be too hard right? Find a hill to climb, two if you want even more challenge.

Find stairs to climb: There are plenty of those in town. There's even a book about them!

Walk on the beach: Not by the water where the sand is good and hard, but away from it where the sand is dry and soft. You can burn a lot more calories walking or running in soft sand.

Add weight: There are weighed vest that you can get, also weights for the wrists and ankle. Be careful though, too much weight can be hard on the joints!

Walk faster: Ok, sound simple, but it's true! Try to add distance to your route without adding time.

These simple thing can rev up your walk! Make them more effective and challenging without making huge changes to what you do.

So what will you do differently this week?

Have a good week!

I am wishing you the most enjoyable, relaxing, and warm (we can hope!) summer ever! Don't forget that you need your meeting and your meeting needs you! Stay connected!

I’m only an email away. See you in the meeting room!

Melanie

“The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine.”
Mike Murdock

Honor your Hunger

The overall theme for the June meetings is “Increase your awareness”. This week, we are learning to recognize and listen to the hunger cues our body gives us.

If we ate only when hungry, and stopped the moment we are satisfied, very few of us would have problem managing our weight. The problem is that we eat for all sorts of other reasons and lose the ability to recognize the legitimate hunger signals that our body gives us throughout the day.

It’s more than not eating when not hungry, it’s eating enough to avoid getting overly hungry later, it’s being able to stop eating when we’ve had enough.

It’s finding that balance of being satisfied all through the day, so that we don’t go the extremes of being overly full, or overly hungry, both of which generally leads us astray.

Together we will figure this out!

Tool of the Week

Smoothies! These little proteins marvels are great for a quick snack. Have them in milk with ice cubes, add a few fruits and it’s even better!

I have the chocolate one in 1 ½ cup of hot coffee for a rich Mocha! The possibilities are endless.

Check the message boards for recipes done with the Weight Watchers smoothies!

Events!

We have events coming! Check out the details on the Event Blog.

Some of you have been asking about Etools, how to use it, how to get more information about it.

Saturday June 25th at 11:15 at the Bayhill Center in San Bruno, there's a whole training about it. The essentials, the fun and the useful stuff you can do with Etools! Don't miss it!

Go climb the stairs on Russion Hill with Michael on July 10th at 1pm!

Those events are for you our members because we appreciate you so much. Enjoy them!

In the Kitchen

The funny story about this recipe is that it was in a Weight Watchers magazine years ago (2006) and since, every summer, my friend and I have the same email conversation: “Do you still have that watermelon salad? You know the one with the cucumber?” and it goes on, one of us find it and we happily make it all over again.

You can’t get simpler than this, it’s delicious too!

Watermelon and Cucumber Salad
4 servings, 0 pts/serving

Ingredients
2 pounds seedless watermelon, rind removed, cut into ¾ inch chunks (about 3 cups)
2 Kirby cucumber, thinly sliced
1 Jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 TBSP Red-wine vinegar
¼ tsp salt

Directions
Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Let stand until the flavors are blended about 15 minutes.

Source: Weight Watchers Magazine July/August 2006 p. 131

Activity

Laura, a member at the Jewish Community Center on Tuesday night has been talking about this for quite a while now. I haven’t done it yet, but keep meaning to.

If you want to give Lindy dancing a try, there are free lessons every Sunday (unless it’s raining) in Golden Gate park at 12:00!

Golden Gate Park, San Francisco
(South sidewalk of John F. Kennedy Drive, between the de Young Museum and the north entrance to the Music Concourse)

You can find more information and contact info at this website:
http://www.lindyinthepark.com/about/free-lesson/

Doesn’t that sound like fun? I have to give it a try!

Have a good week!

Get out there and have fun! Summer is almost there, so let’s get out and enjoy the outside before we freeze solid in July! HA! Sorry, I couldn’t resist!!

Email me if you need anything! See you in the meeting room!

Melanie

“He who goes to bed hungry dreams of pancakes.”

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

Getting to Know Me

The overall theme for the June meetings is “Increase your awareness”. In other words, we want to explore our strengths as well as seek and exploit any opportunity for improvement to enhance our weight loss and weight maintenance success.

As my father used to say: “Why don’t we start at the beginning and begin at the starting point?” That would be: Getting to know ourselves.

Sounds simple doesn’t it? What have you learned about yourself so far on this weight loss journey? How does it help you now? How did you learn it?

Self monitoring is the best way to get to know yourself and how you relate with food and with exercise. We are talking about tracking of course, but there is more to monitoring yourself than just tracking your foods.

What else can you monitor to find greater success? We will pool our ideas and strategies for successful self monitoring.

ATTENTION: There is no meeting this week at the Jewish Community Center Tuesday evening. The center closes at 6pm for a holiday, so the 7pm meeting is cancelled for this week. You can look up my meeting schedule at: seamountains.net/mtg.html

Tool of the Week

Tracking the food that you eat, your activity, the Powerfoods and the Good Health Guidelines is the key to weight loss success. You can do all that in our Ultimate 3 months Tracker.

There is more to it than that though, you can also add little notes, put down an action plan for a coming challenge, and keep track of your weight and measurement.

It really is a good mirror in which you can look at your plan and see what needs to be done to achieve your Winning Outcome.

In the Kitchen

Packet side dish #2!

Again, I think these are the perfect side dishes for the grill. Easy to put together, no mess, no dishes (YAY!), you can throw it together in minutes and let it do its thing while you are grilling away.

I put in the very explicit explanations for those who have never done packets, but bottom line is: prep the food, make packets big enough for the steam to have space (so the packet doesn’t blow open during cooking), and make sure to seal well so that the steam doesn’t escape.

This has been a favorite of ours for a long time now!

Tuscan Potato and Pepper Packets
4 servings, 4 P+/serving

Ingredients
1 TBSP olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 TBSP chopped, fresh rosemary
½ tspsalt
½ tsp black pepper (I put coarsely ground)
1 pound red potatoes, thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced.

Prep the grill: Medium fire (or put the packet on the side away from the hot flame).

Prep the food: Combine the oil, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the potatoes, bell pepper, and onion and toss to coat evenly.

Make the packets: Tear off 4 (15x18 inch) sheets of heavy-duty foil and spray with nonstick spray. Place one-fourth of the potato mixture in the middle of each foil sheet. To close the packets, bring the two opposite long sides of the foil up to meet in the center; fold the edges over twice to make a tight seal. Double fold the open sides to seal the packets.

Cook: Place the packets on the grill rack and grill, covered, until the potatoes are tender, 20-25 minutes (it’s ok if it over cooks a little, it’s even better!). With one or two wide spatulas, transfer the packet to a cutting board; carefully open, standing back to avoid the steam. Transfer the mixture from each packet to a plate.

Source: Weight Watchers, Best Eats 2008, p. 159

Note: It’s a good recipe to prep ahead and bring to a BBQ somewhere. If you make the packets ahead of time, the potatoes and peppers have time to marinate, and you can just throw them on the grill. I’m not fuffy about opening the packets, I just eat it straight out of the packet. That’s how we roll ;o)

Activity

How do you monitor your activity? To earn Activity PointsPlus we look at Duration, intensity, personal weight. What else could we track?

What about these?

• Distance
• Weights
• Repetitions
• Post Work Out overall feeling

How far did you go when you first started walking/running/biking/swimming? How far are you going now? Did you add distance for the same time and intensity? Should you?

How heavy are the weights you work with? Could you swap the 7 lbs for 10 lbs? the 10 lbs for 12?

How many repetitions of each exercise are you doing? How about adding 2 to each set?

How do you feel after a work out? Ready for another work out? Maybe you need to bump up your routine. Worn off and sore to the point of not being able to go on to your daily activity? Maybe you are overdoing it! Sick of it? You need to try something else!

Self assessment is an important part of your activity routine. It keeps you on track, and let you know if your routine is effective, and realistic. It also is a great way to measure your improvements which are great motivators!

Have a good week!

Spring is at it’s tail end already, can you believe that? Don’t let the coming summer slow down your weight management efforts. Remember that being connected to your group is the best way to make sure you are connected to your weight loss.

Let me know if I can help you in any way, I'm here for you!

Melanie

To the question of your life you are the answer, and to the problems of your life you are the solution.

~Joe Cordare

Best Supporting Actors

Did you know that Weight Watchers really started in 1963?

Jean Nidetch had been struggling to lose weight, and one night she admitted to her friends, in her own kitchen, that she would sometimes eat compulsively, even hide foods. To her surprise, her friends admitted to the same thing. She was not alone!

After that they would meet in her kitchen and share their struggles and victories finding strength in the support and encouragement of the group. Friends brought friends who also brought friends and soon they had outgrown Nidetch’s kitchen.

At the time it was unheard of, women meeting to talk about their struggles in a rather public forum. Now, almost 50 years later, Weight Watchers is well known and thousands of meetings are held every day in the US alone. Women and men, young and not so young understand that there is indeed strength in numbers.

Since 1963, we have seen numerous program changes and different tools have come and gone as science progressed. One thing never changed though: the strength of the group. A Weight Watchers meeting in its essence is not very different than those informal meetings in Jean Nidetch’s kitchen. We are friends getting together to talk about what works, and laugh about what doesn’t. This week, we are celebrating ourselves and those who make the meetings OUR meetings.

If you think about your meeting, Who have you learned from? Who has encouraged you? Inspired you? Given you a “Ha ah!” moment? Who are the best supporting actors? All of us, lets celebrate!

Tool of the week

Have you looked at the magazine lately? Information, recipes (Mmmmm!) ideas, inspiration, it’s all there!

Of course, my favorite part, always, is the success stories. I just never get tired of it!

In the kitchen

I like packet grilling for side dishes. It’s an easy, low maintenance way to cook a very flavorful side dish while the rest of the meal is grilling away.

Usually, I prepare the packet first, put it on the side of the grill where it slowly cook while the meat is doing its thing over the fire.

This one is simple and delicious and goes with pretty much anything.


Nutmeg Carrots
4 servings, 2 P+/serving

Ingredients
6 carrots, diagonally sliced (1/4 inch thick), about 4 cup
3 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
1 TBSP water
2 tsp olive oil
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp freshly ground pepper (I like coarsely ground for such things, prettier if nothing else)
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg (freshly ground is MUCH better) *

Prep the grill: Medium fire (or put the packet on the side away from the hot flame).

Prep the food: Mix all ingredients in a bowl and toss well.

Making the packet: Place the mixture in the center of a double layer of heavy duty, extra-wide foil, about 24 inches long. Make a packet by bringing 2 sides of the foil to meet in the center, and pressing the edges together to two ½ inch folds. Then fold the edges of each end together to two ½ inch folds. Allowing room for the packet to expand, crimp the edges together to seal.

Please the packet on the grill rack and grill until cooked through, about 25 minutes. Remove the packet from the grill and open it carefully to allow the hot steam to escape (it WILL burn!). Place in a serving dish or divide evenly in 4 plates.

*Cinnamon works too

Source: Weight Watchers Grill It! 2005, p. 129

Activity

The Walk It challenge is over, but that doesn't mean that we are done walking or moving altogether. It's time to set new goals, maybe look for new activities, and make sure that we keep on moving.

Several of us committed to doing 3 cardio work outs this week. I'm well on my way to being done! How about you?

What are you summer activity goals?

Is summer a time where you tend to move more? How are you going to take advantage of that in your weight loss efforts?

Do you tend to move less in the summer? How are you going to offset that?

It's time to think my friends. Time to thing and to make a plan.

Looking for a walking/running/exercise buddy?

As I have explained in most, if not all, of my meetings, I am not committing to walking every week like I did for the Walk it Challenge, BUT if you want to find a walking partner, or a work out buddy, don't be afraid to chime up during the meeting and to email me. I'll be more than happy to post your appeal on the blog. This is for you!

Have a Great Week!

I hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend and can’t wait to hear all about it.

As always, I’m here for you, just let me know what you need!


See you in the meeting room!

Melanie

“We deceive ourselves when we fancy that only weakness needs support. Strength needs it far more.”
Anne Sophie Swetchine