Category: Weight Loss

A trip to Morocco without leaving the house…

CarrieLeave a comment

If anyone has ever been on WeightWatchers, you know the key to success is changing up your meals and making them new and exciting.  It’s easy to get off track when you eat the same meals everyday.  I decided to go on to the WeightWatchers website and explore the recipe archive.  I came across this recipe and look what I was able to make.  It doesn’t even look like it’s a WeightWatchers meal.  I have tried many WeightWatchers’ recipes and have no made anything as delicious as this dish.

I altered the WeightWatchers recipe only slightly to allow for 6 servings instead.  I only added more butternut squash, chicken stock, and chicken so the point value will not increase much at all.  WeightWatchers gave the meal a 9 point value.

Ingredients that you might not have on hand

2 lbs. chicken, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg, 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, 1 large vidalia onion (chopped), 2 cups butternut squash (peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes), 3/4 cup rice, 16 dried apricots (chopped), 2 cups chicken broth, 1/4 cup fresh cilantro

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400

2. Season chicken with salt and pepper.

3. Coat a large dutch oven with cooking spray. Heat over medium heat. Add 2 tbsp olive oil and heat until it begins to shimmer. Add cumin, nutmeg, and cinnamon.  Cook about 30 seconds.  Add the chicken to the pot and cook until lightly browned on both sides for about 2 minutes per side.  Remove chicken to a plate and set aside.

4. Add onion and squash to the pot, scraping down sides to incorporate pan drippings. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions start to turn translucent. Add rice and apricots. Place browned chicken on top and pour in broth.

5. Cover pot and bake in oven for about 40 minutes.  Check halfway through to see if more broth is needed.  Sprinkle with cilantro before serving.  Yields about two cups (including a piece of chicken) per serving.

Even if you are not dieting, you need to try this recipe.  You will feel like you crossed the Atlantic for the night and are opening the aromatic pleasures of an authentic tagine!

A New Year, A New You

CarrieLeave a comment

Thursday marked the return of many things great and not so good.  The Vampire Diaries and Secret Circle…great!   My WeightWatcher regimen…not so good!  Please don’t let me misguide you into thinking that I am going to be the next Jennifer Hudson.  I am a WeightWatcher for the simple fact that I need to maintain my pleasantly plump figure in order to avoid turning into a blimp.  I have all the training necessary to become the “ideal” weight, however, this is easier said then done.  As a culinary professional, it is extremely hard to keep “on track.”  It is necessary for me to indulge just to do research on new products.  With that alone, I am already at a loss…and I’m not speaking of a weight loss.  Since I have been attending meetings on and off for over five years, I would like to think of myself as a program expert.  Here’s one thing they don’t tell you…

It is not easy to be a social butterfly while on WeightWatchers.  Imagine this scenario: you are at your friend’s house on SuperBowl Sunday.  Your friend told you to bring your appetite because she was going to all the trouble of making a menu for the festivities.  On the table, your friend has laid out a delicious spread of stuffed potato skins, buffalo wings, pulled pork sliders, and green bean fries.  Your friend also has made cream cheese frosted red velvet brownies and pecan pie bars for dessert.  You are now faced with temptations all around.  What is a WeightWatcher girl to do?  The answer is to ask for a Diet Coke (don’t think you can have an alcoholic beverage..that’s three points that you can’t spend on food) and do NOT touch a single thing on the table.  I think it’s clear that in order to be successful you need to bring your own brown bag lunch to the next party.  Sure you might be nicknamed the “Paper Bag Lady” but at least you will not have gained a pound from attempting to be social.  Now this is just one scenario and I’m sure you can think of more on your own.

January is always an interesting time at WeightWatchers because there are always an influx of members due to the infamous New Year’s resolution.  On Thursday, I met a woman who was at her second meeting, which means that it was only  her first week of weight loss.  When you first start the plan, it is relatively easy because you haven’t been giving up the foods you love for a long period of time yet.  She happened to lose 7 pounds this week.  Our leader gave her a BRAVO sticker for this accomplishment.  (I guess WeightWatcher members have the mentality of a five-year-old.)  Give her a couple months and this enthusiastic woman will be the WeightWatcher rebel that I have become.

As the new year begins, here’s to hoping that we can simply be the best we can be.  I may never be able to reach the size 12 that I’ve always wanted to be, but at least I know that I am not going to surpass the plus size number that I wear (thank you for that WeightWatchers).  I might not be the next Jennifer Hudson, but I know that I am a beautiful person on the inside.  It’s not the number on the scale from week to week that makes me happy, it’s the person that I am everyday.