Weigh In

I am so excited to share the result of my first weigh in....drum roll please.....3.4 pounds down!!!! Woo hoo...you can't see me right now but I am doing cartwheels! And as corny as it sounds, I am very excited about the "bravo" sticker I received at the WW meeting at work today for sharing my story and making the right decision to change my behavior...a gold star if you will. :)

3.4 down, 36.6 to go with 388 days to do it. If I lose 1lb per week from here on out, I will actually be at my goal by October. Just in time to celebrate Halloween in a sexy "little" costume I always wanted to wear, but couldn't get over my ass.

I am motivated, happy, and taking it one day at a time to keep me calm and on track. Another cool thing I have started doing based on a recommendation from a friend and fellow WW member (thanks Hogg), is to actually USE the WW cookbooks in my cupboard to make dinner. My first shot was tonight and guess what?! It didn't taste like cardboard, it didn't leave me starving or craving ice-cream, it wasn't my usual chicken breast rice and broccoli dinner, and most importantly it didn't suck! It tasted great and my husband agrees.

I chose 3 recipes, stopped at the store on my way home...note to self: NEVER go to the Fry's at Ellsworth and Broadway at 5:30 at night, yikes!...anyway, I bought all of the ingredients I needed to make all three recipes, and when I got home, I let my husband pick which one I made tonight! He chose Pork Chops with Herbed Mustard Sauce. I added mashed potatoes and broccoli as sides and viola...the whole dinner had 7 ingredients, including the sides and took a total of 15 minutes to cook! I would calculate the cost at about $15 bucks only because I bought the family pack of pork chops, enough for two meals, and had to buy the mustard, fresh herbs, and half and half. Break it down and that is actually $7.50 per meal. Which serves four people, which is delicious, and time friendly!

As promised in my very first post, I am going to share the recipe, with my helpful tips, for this pretty yummy dinner:

Pork Chops with Herbed Mustard Sauce

4 Points per serving

Prep 3 minutes

Cook 6-10 minutes

4 (4ounces) boneless center-cut loin pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Cooking Spray
3/4 cup fat-free half-and-half
1/4 cup course-ground mustard (such as Grey Poupon Harvest) this ingredient adds a lot of the flavor to this recipe, so I would go with the one they recommend
1 TBS chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (you couldn't taste this ingredient in the recipe, so I say using dried parsley is fine)
2 TBS chopped fresh thyme (same note as the parsley, dried will be just as good and less expensive if you make this frequently)

1. Sprinkle pork chops with salt and pepper. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add pork chops; cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned (actually about 3 minutes on each side). Remove pork chops from pan; cover and keep warm.

2. Add half-and-half and next 3 ingredients to pan, scraping to loosen browned bits. Return pork chops to pan. Cover and simmer 2 minutes or until done (done was about 10 minutes on low). Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 pork chop and 2 TBS sauce)

Let me know if you try it! Next recipes will be the two my husband didn’t pick: Lemon Glazed Chicken with Mushrooms and Seared Scallops with Spicy Red Pepper Sauce, which was the one I really wanted…

Now, I have to get to bed. I am getting up at the crack of dawn to take a 5:15 step class.

Next post: Is there a cure for a sore ass and legs? :)