First of all I would like to remind you, our MomTV show starts Monday September 17, at 7pm on MomTv.com!  We have tossed the first show that was posted out the window!  It just wasn’t what we wanted.  The show has been re-formatted and we look forward to spending our “Mom’s Timeout” with you!

 

I knew when I started to blog this journey I’d have to write the good with the bad.  I really expected more good though and the opposite has been true.  I have gained 10 pounds in the last few weeks and I am really unsettled about that.  I had lost thirty before Weight Watchers buy cutting back on processed foods and sugar.  Weight Watchers Simply Filling Plan seemed like the way to go.  Basically, you eat from a large list of low glycemic index foods that are filling and nutritious.  If you eat anything else you count the points for them and I get 49 points a week to play with.  Well, when I gained weight on the steroids my leader suggested I switch to the most common Weight Watchers plan, PowerPoints.  Every food has a point value and you get an extra 49 as a cushion.  I get an obscene amount of points a day because I weigh so much and would end up with a ton of points left over each day.  Then I would scramble to eat them even if that included processed, sugar, starch filled foods.  The sugar monster reappeared and I was done!  Back to the original plan I go!

Friday I went to the fruit and veggies market, meat market, and grocery store, then cooked most of the night.  I made chicken, veggie, chick pea curry with a cilantro mint yogurt sauce and bulgur bulked meatballs.  The weekend is Mike’s cheat time for his diet plan so it’s really hard to totally follow my plan but I really did a lot better than the last few weekends.  Not perfect but better.   I feel like I am starting over!  But at least not giving up.

I want to share some recipes with all of you.  I would love to post pictures but I am still trying to figure out the correct lighting for that.  All my picture of food look so gross, you would never make the recipes.

Curry Chicken with Vegetables and Chick peas

I loved this dish!!!!  I have always been afraid of cooking curry and now I have no idea why!  The house smelled amazing.  I made so much I was afraid we would never eat it all but we did.  One serving left for my lunch tomorrow.  The chicken can be subtracted to make it meatless.  We ran to the Indian market to buy Naan bread and clarified butter to have on the side.

Ingredients

olive oil

 1 Medium chopped onion

1 cup (1/4-inch-thick) slices carrot

2 T curry powder

2 t. brown sugar

1 ½ t. chopped fresh ginger

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 jalapeno, seeded and minced

2 cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

2 cubed baking potato

1medium diced green bell pepper

1 cup cut green beans

1/2 t. salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained $

1 (14-ounce) can vegetable broth

3 cups fresh baby spinach $

1 cup light coconut milk

Juice of ½ a lemon

Heat the olive oil in a pan.  Sautee onion and carrot until just soft.  Add the next five ingredients and cook 1-2 more minutes.  Transfer to a crockpot and add the chickpeas, potato, green pepper, green beans, salt, pepper, red pepper, diced tomatoes, and chicken broth.  Cook on low for 7 hours.  Add spinach and coconut milk, along with the lemon juice and cook on low for one more hour. Serve over brown rice with the Mint Cilantro sauce drizzled on top (recipe below).

Cilantro Mint Yogurt Sauce

2 c. cilantro leaves1 c. mints (leaf) 1 jalapenos (seeded and coarsely chopped) 4 garlic cloves (chopped) 2 tsp ground cumin   Chop herbs, jalapenos, and garlic in food processor.  Add all ingredients and blend until smooth

2T lemon juice (fresh)1 cup plain Greek yogurt   kosher salt