Back on the wagon...

the diet wagon that is. So my hubby has decided to seriously try to lose some weight, and I am so happy and proud of him. It also makes things easier on me because he is now eating what I am and I am not buying as much snack stuff, so there is less temptations. So far this week we have both done very well. I have been packing his lunch and snacks, for him right now he actually needs to eat more than usual since he is really bad about eating one or two huge meals and eating late at night. I am using the Biggest Loser 30-day jump start as a guide. Mainly because I just can't bring myself to eat about half of their menus, but I am being very careful about our calorie intake and greatly upping our fruit and veggies everyday! I have tried several new recipes this week and all but the pineapple pork(there is no picture of it because I couldn't get a got one), but here are pics of some of the stuff we have tried this week.

Blueberry bran muffins(Biggest Loser)












Tomato and Mozz pizza burger(Morning star veggie burger) w/ broiled asparagus














Keys style chicken,broiled asparagus w/ mozz, and baked spiced oranges













Garlic Steak w/ broiled asparagus and mixed roasted potatoes(w/ evoo and Cajun seasoning)




As you can see I have been on an asparagus kick this week, the burger was actually my lunch today though, so I only served it twice for dinner. I didn't weigh myself at the beginning of the week but I am pretty sure I have gained most if not all the weight I lost back in the last 2 months I will weigh tomorrow and see how ugly it is 8]

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Gazpacho

So, I keep trying to find ways to get us to eat better, and I must say lately I seem to be having alot of misses. This recipe was pretty good, but wasn't filling enough to be a main course. But we all(me, Robert, Mom, and Dad) all did like it and I may make it again, it was nice and refreshing and had good flavor.

Ingredients:
5 lbs seedless watermelon, flesh chopped and chilled
1 English cucumber, seeded and chopped
1 1/2 pints grape tomatoes, 1/2 pint quartered
1 red bell pepper-seeded and chopped
1 red onion, chopped
3 tbsp sherry vinegar
3 tbsp evoo
S&P
3/4 lbs large shrimp-peeled, deveined and patted dry
4 ounces feta crumbles

1. On a work surface, finely chop enough of the watermelon and cucumbers to yield 1 cup each; in a med bowl, combine w/ the quartered tomatoes. Using a food processor and working in batches, puree the remaining watermelon, cucumber, tomatoes, bell pepper, onion vinegar and 2 tbsp evoo and 1 teaspoon pepper. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
2. In a lg bowl, toss the shrimp with the remaining 1 tbsp evoo and season w/ S&P. Heat a lg skillet over med-high heat, ass the shrimp and cook, turning once, until opaque 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Divide the gazpacho among 4 bowls and top with the reserved chopped watermelon mixture, the shrimp and feta.

Oh, how I love coupons...

So today being Weds the new sales went into effect for most grocery stores, Lowes foods being one of them. And I was very happy to see that both Hormel Entries and Country Crock side dishes were on sale BOGO this week. Why, was I excited? Because I have been hanging on to 3 coupons for each for a couple weeks now waiting to see if they would go on sale. I had 3 $1 of the sides and 3 .75 off the meats, which the .75cent ones were doubled to $1.50 off! So I paid $2 for each of the meats and $1-$1.50 for each of the sides :) Add a salad or a can of veggies and I just got 3 dinners SUPER cheap! They also have Breyers ice cream BOGO, but since I didn't have a coupon for them I only got one at half price. I also got a bag of diapers that is reg $10.99 for $5.99, since they were on sale and I had a coupon. All in all it was a good trip to the store and I only bought the few things on my list, which is a miracle in and of its self...Below is a pic of my goods. By the way my total was $14.37 and I saved $37.50! That is a savings of 62%!!

Awsome NO mayo Potato Salad!

So this was on Rachael Ray the other day and looked pretty good. So when we were invited to an impromptu cookout this weekend I thought I would give it a try and it was a HUGE it! I especially liked it, since I do NOT eat mayo!

Patrick's Grilled Potato Salad

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds baby red or yellow potatoes, roughly cut into chunks
2 cloves garlic, smashed
3 or 4 sprigs thyme, leaves picked and chopped
1 lemon, half thinly sliced and half juiced, divided
1/3 C evoo
salt and pepper
2 tlbsp cider vinegar
2 tlbsp Dijon or grainy mustard
3 tlbsp brown sugar
2 tlbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 scallions, thinly sliced
*serves 4

Preparation
Preheat a grill to medium-heat. Scatter the potatoes in an 8-inch disposable aluminum baking tray and toss w/ garlic, thyme, lemon slices, a drizzle of evoo and some salt and pepper. Cover the tray w/ foil and place on the grill until potatoes are tender, about 30 min.
While potatoes are cooking, whisk together remaining evoo, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, brown sugar and parsley in a large bowl. Season w/ S&P and toss potatoes in while they're still warm, giving them a good stir to coat. Serve warm or at room temp, garnished w/ scallions.
*I did this in the oven at 400 for 30 min and it came out perfect, also I doubled the recipe so it may not need quit as long for a single recipe :)

Pumpkin Cupcakes w/ Cream cheese frosting

So, I found these in a magazine back in the fall, obviously since pumpkin is usually a fall thing. But as soon as I saw them I immediately thought of my friend Tiffany, so I pulled it out to try sometime. Well, I never got around to making them over the fall/winter. But she just recently found out she is pregnant and she was having party the other night so I made them for her and they were a huge hit! And super easy to make. All you do is substitute pumpkin puree for the amount of water in a yellow cake box mix and the icing is one cup powder sugar for each block of cream cheese(I used 2).