A  few weeks ago, as my fourth anniversary on this program was approaching (today is my big day),  I skimmed through journals I'd written over the past fifteen years. As I read my journals, I realized how much my focus has shifted since my weight loss journey began. In those old journals, page after page, year after year, I resolved to lose weight this year, this time, with this diet. As I wrote those promises my weight up instead of down.

Instead of making promises and whining about the change I wanted, four years ago I shifted my focus on living a life of change. Following Julie's advice, I visualized the size I wanted to be and every day I did my best to stay on course. Dropping seven sizes is a whole lot of change!
 
Along with my old journals were vision boards that I started and never finished. In 2014 I finished my first board Clarity. I started with a colorful poster board, added layers of my truths, and intentionally left open space for more things to come into my life. 
 
I created Walk This Way in the summer of 2012. I'm not sure if this board unfinished or the start of a new theme (open spaces) in my boards. I really like is how I used this board to challenge myself to live well and be fit. After so many years of broken promises, it's nice living well and being fit!

Becoming more clear about what I want in my life was important me after losing my job last July. If ever there was a time to Dream Big this was that time. A week after making my first vision board I created Dream Big. This board reflects the start of my focus shifting once again: away from focusing on weight loss and toward exploring other lifelong dreams. I have not given up my vision to reach my goal size. In fact I have lose more weight after I created these two boards.
 
After following four years on my weight loss journey, I know what to do to reach my goal size: stay in the river and keep my vision of my goal size clear in my mind.

Meanwhile, I'm living one of my big dreams: life as a regular size woman.
January 31, 2015
Key-contributor Jennifer provided this recipe and I agree with her - it's delicious! This chowder reminded me of the traditional Rhode Island Clam Chowder I grew up with, except my RI chowder never had thyme in it. That said-thyme was a great addition. I would have added bacon to my bowl just before serving if I'd had any in the house. Again this is not something we did in RI, but what doesn't taste better with a little bacon?
Ingredients
  • 4 tbs butter
  • 1 large onion diced
  • 2 garlic cloves chopped
  • 2 cups clam juice
  • 3-4 cans whole clams (I used 4 cans of chopped clams)
  • 2 cans corn
  • ¼ teaspoon thyme
  • 1 cup celery diced
  • 2 bay leaves
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 2 cups whole milk
Optional spices: ¼ tsp. celery seed or ¼ smoked paprika.
Directions
  1. Saute butter and onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
  2. Add garlic and cook another minute or two.
  3. Add clam juice, clams, corn, thyme, celery, and bay leaves.
  4. Adjust seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.
  5. Bring to boil and then simmer for 25 minutes.
  6. Add milk and bring back to boil.
  7. Optional garnish: sprinkle of chopped parsley. 
Bacon Options

 Cook 1/2 pound of diced bacon or salt pork until browned and then follow the steps listed in the recipe above. Or just before serving, top each bowl of soup with cooked bacon pieces.
January 31, 2015
Many of us on the East Coast have encountered slippery roads these past few days, but this doesn't mean our weight loss program has to become a slippery slope too. Steady you course by taking a closer look at what you're eating. It may be time to break up with some of your favorite foods. I know, breaking up is hard to do, but you want to reach our goal size don't you?
Theresa, aka Cheese Slayer, September 2013
Cheese is what gives me the most trouble. For me, cheese is like an old boyfriend: I know my relationship with cheese is unhealthy, so I break up with cheese, but I keep going back. When I'm in my cheese slayer mode, shredded Parmesan is the only cheese I have in the house. There are times when I have to stay away from Parmesan.

Is cheese one of your trouble foods? You too can become a cheese slayer! Say no to cheese for a while (a month or more) and see what happens. Don't bring cheese into you house. If you live with others, treat cheese like other foods that are for them and not for you.

Some of my key-friends gave up ketchup, barbecue sauce, and other condiments. Those condiments were trigger foods for them. Another key friend said she thinks tomato sauce is a trigger. My advice: break up with tomato sauce and see what happens.

What foods keeping you from reaching your goal size? Stop eating them.

Does this seem too hard for you to do? That's how I felt too. Then I realized THAT was THE reason I needed to do it. If it's hard to give up, I decided, it's worth giving up and seeing what happens when I do. A few years ago, I said to one of my key friends "this is so hard." When I said it aloud I realized I must be doing something wrong, because this didn't used to be "hard." I thought about what was different and, sure enough, I was eating foods in the gray area.

Spoiler alert: there are no any gray areas - we're either on program or we're off.

I dropped the "gray area" foods and my weight started dropping again.

It's barely a month into 2015 and millions have already given up their weight loss goals. You can beat the odds: move out of the gray areas and get back on program. Don't beat yourself up for what you did wrong, just start moving forward.

Speaking of moving - do you need help staying motivated to exercise? Me too. For motivation, I go to the Internet. Recently I wrote about Finding Inspiration, after I read an article about an exercise app, and for the past few nights I've been listening to the app. I'm happy say I'm mall walking and using my treadmill once again.

These articles help motivate me to keep exercising:

January 27, 2015
The next time someone asks what you want for a gift - tell them you want a milk frother. Once you have one of these gadgets, you will never miss the half and half, cream, or other milk products (that are not on program) you used to put in your coffee. A milk frother turns an ordinary cup of coffee into a Café au lait (coffee with hot foamy milk).
Coffee with Frothed Milk and Ham and Eggs
On those cold winter nights, use your milk frother to make yourself a nice cup of hot milk. You'll need something to keep you warm this winter, because as you loose weight you may find that you get cold more often. This is one of those non-victory scales I don't talk about much. When I was a size 30/32, I was hot all year-round. No longer being hot all the time is a mixed blessing, because I don't like being cold anymore than I liked being hot. But now I understand why thin people are always complaining they're cold and why they wear layers of clothes.

Before you tell someone you want a frother, do your homework (or keep reading). Frothers come in a wide range of prices and styles and it's a good idea to know what the options are so you can let them know exactly which one you want. If you want an expensive one, you might suggest a gift card from a store that carries the frother of your dreams.

I wrote in my post Eating Out (October 2011) that on day one of this program I gave up coffee. I gave it up because I could not imagine drinking coffee without sugar and half and half. Three months later, while on vacation in California, I had breakfast with a friend at my favorite breakfast place in southern California, the Pannikin, where I discovered Café au lait.

After breakfast I walked into their gift store and bought my first frother. It was a small glass pitcher, which you pour hot milk into and then hand pump. After the glass broke, I bought a few other types of frothers, including a wand like you see in the photo below. Most of my friends have frothers, which I gave them as a gift. I travel with a wand frother. I've used a aerolatte and an Ikea frother and they both work great.
An electric milk frother was gifted to me, but after exchanging it a few times I returned it for a refund and I bought this one from Breville. I love my Breville frother!
Every morning I enjoy making my own Café au lait at home. Some evenings I have a cup of hot milk, something I didn't do prior to this program. This was one of many surprises on my weight loss journey, my food tastes have changed.
January 25, 2015
This recipe looks delicious. I'm not clear on the rule with sour cream, so I'll follow the "when in doubt leave it out "rule. Oh, and then there's this choice too: cheesy delicious today or no weight loss tomorrow - I'm cutting back on the cheese as well. I'll modify this recipe when I make it!
Ingredients
  • 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked and chopped
  • 2 large (8inch) or 3 small(4 inch) zucchini squash, spiral cut in noodle shapes
  • 1. medium stalk celery, chopped finely
  • 2 tbsp red bell pepper, chopped *optional
  • 1½ tbsp Parmesan cheese
  • ½ cup organic sour cream, full fat kind
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 ½ to 2 tbsp red pepper sauce or to taste
  • 3 tbsp unsweetened canned pumpkin puree or butternut squash puree
  • ½ tsp ground mustard spice
  • ¼ tsp garlic powder
  • ⅓ cup cheddar cheese, grated
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 F
  2. Make creamy buffalo sauce: in a medium sauce pan over medium heat combine: 1 tbsp butter, ½ cup sour cream, 2 tbsp red pepper sauce, 3 tbsp pumpkin puree, ½ tsp ground mustard spice, ¼ tsp garlic powder, and Parmesan cheese. 
  3. Melt all ingredients and mix together until combined.
  4. Turn heat off.
  5. Place zucchini noodles in a bowl and press down on noodles with a paper towel to remove excess water from noodles.
  6. Spread zucchini noodles over bottom of casserole dish.
  7. Place chopped cooked chicken and chopped celery on top of zucchini noodles.
  8. Pour the creamy buffalo sauce from the stove top, over the chicken and celery.
  9. Sprinkle optional chopped red bell pepper over the top of casserole.
  10. Bake at 400 F for 30 minutes.
  11. Remove from oven, and sprinkle with optional grated cheese.
  12. Let cool until sauce has thickened again and cheese has melted.

Original recipe and photo source: Beauty and the Foodie
January 25, 2015
Everyone has been raving about cauliflower buns. I haven't made these yet, but I had them at the Earlee Mug (in Granby, MA) and they were delicious! My second Earlee Mug visit was with a key friend and we ordered omelets full of meat with a cauliflower bun and broccoli bun as sides, which we shared so we could try both buns. Yummy! Both recipes are below.
 
Ingredients
  • 2 cups riced cauliflower
  • 2 organic cage free eggs
  • Sea salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme (optional)
 Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Make cauliflower rice: place 3/4 of a cauliflower head into small pieces and place in a food processor (without the stem). Puree in food processor until a rice texture forms.
  3. Place cauliflower rice in a large bowl and microwave for 2 minutes. When ready, stir cauliflower and place back in the microwave for another 2 minutes.
  4. Place cauliflower in a 3 layered paper towel sheet to squeeze out the excess moisture, this step is important because you don’t want a runny batter.
  5. Place drained cauliflower back in the bowl and add in eggs, salt, and pepper. Mix until a semi thick batter forms.
  6. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spoon in mixture to create 4 mini circles.
  7. Bake for 19 minutes, flipping sides half way through.
  8. When ready, remove buns from the oven and let them cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Recipe makes 4 mini buns

Original cauliflower buns recipe inspired by My Digital Kitchen's.

Broccoli Buns

Out of cauliflower? Make buns with broccoli instead. This recipe comes from Chef Jen at the Early Mug. Use the ingredients below and  then follow the same instruction as the cauliflower bun recipe above.
  • 1 head of broccoli
  • 2 eggs
  • About a 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese
Theresa and Megan at the Earlee Mug January 31, 2015
Key friend Megan and I went to the Earlee Mug and we ordered 1 broccoli bun, 1 cauliflower bun and a bacon, sausage, ham, and cheese (half slice) omelet. The buns are usually for sandwiches, but we ordered them as sides so we each try both kinds. Both buns were incredible, but we favored the broccoli buns.
BLT on a broccoli bun at the Earlee Mug, Granby, MA, photo by Chef Jen

Cauliflower burger with peppers from  the Earlee Mug
Cauliflower Pizza by Jen at the Earlee Mug
Bacon double on broccoli bun by Lou Mayo
January 25, 2015
I was surfing the Whole Foods website for a new recipe to make on this cold winter day when I found this recipe for Butternut Squash with Wilted Spinach and Blue Cheese. I have a lot of butternut squash stored in my basement, so I only need to buy a few ingredients to make this dish.

Ingredients
  • 1 medium butternut squash (about 2 pounds)
  • Olive oil
  • 1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 (5-ounce) package baby spinach
  • Salt and ground black pepper 
Instructions

Roast the butternut squash:
  1. Preheat oven to 400°F. 
  2. Halve the squash lengthwise. 
  3. Using a spoon, scoop out and discard seeds.
  4. Peel the squash with a knife or a vegetable peeler and then cut the squash into 1-inch cubes.
  5. Place squash cubes on a large, rimmed baking sheet and toss with about 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper.
  6. Spread the squash out in a single layer.
  7.  Roast, tossing occasionally, until just tender and golden brown, about 30 minutes.
After removing roasted butternut squash from the oven:
  1. Mash blue cheese and lemon juice together in a large bowl to make a thick smooth dressing.
  2. Season with salt and pepper; set aside.
  3. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
  4. Add onions, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 5 minutes.
  5. Add spinach and cook, tossing often, until slightly wilted and warm, 1 to 2 minutes more.
  6. Transfer contents of skillet to bowl with dressing, add squash, salt and pepper and toss to combine. 
Recipe and photo source: Whole Foods
January 25, 2015
It's that time of year to use your crock pot to make some delicious beef stew - and this is just the recipe you need...

Ingredients
  • 2 pounds of beef stew meat
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 1/2 medium onion
  • 2 small parsnips
  • 1 large carrot
  • 4 large mushrooms
  • Sea salt
  • Borsari - if you don't have this spice mix add pinch of the following dried or fresh ingredients: basil, rosemary, black pepper, nutmeg, ginger
Instructions

Place a frying pan on the stove at a high temperature and add 1 teaspoon of olive oil and half of the beef. 

Sear (brown) the beef on all sides and then remove the beef from the pan. I used to skip this step, but I've found searing the meat with a little oil in a hot skillet allows the meat develop more complex flavors. It just takes a few extra minutes and well worth your time.

Add1 teaspoon of olive oil and the remaining meat to the hot pan and sear on all sides.
Place all of the seared beef in a large crock pot.

Slice or mince the garlic and add it to the crock pot.

Sprinkle Borsari on top of the beef (or a pinch of the following dried or fresh ingredients: sea salt, basil, rosemary, black pepper, nutmeg, ginger)

Slice the parsnips, carrot, mushrooms, and onion. To avoid overcooking the vegetables, add them to the stew 1-3 hours after you start cooking or 1 hour before the stew is finished cooking.
Place the lid on the crock pot, set the crock pot on high and cook for 4-6 hours (or low for 8-10 hours).

I added noodles to my leftover stew the next day. I use my Spirooli to turn zucchini into noodles. Delicious!

January 25, 2015