Pesto Linguini and Shrimp!

This is a quick and easy recipe to make a delicious homemade dinner. 

Ingreidents:

Pesto

Shrimp

Pasta

 

• You can use store bought pesto but I prefer to make mine from scratch.  Its simple and quick process that brings incredible flavor to your meal.  To find the pesto recipe go here! 

• Next I defrost my frozen shrimp in a bowl under cool running water. (you can also use fresh raw shrimp)

• On the stove I start boiling a pot of water for the pasta.

• Next I measure out my Gluten Free linguini to ensure proper servings.

• If your shrimp are shelled you can easily remove the shells under running water.

• While I leave the shrimp to drain in the sink I add the pasta to boiling water

• In a large warm skillet I add the shrimp and cook till pink on one side then flip them over.

• Once the shrimp is flipped I add a few teaspoons of the pesto and begin to saute the shrimp.

 

After draining the cooked pasta

I add it to the skillet and top it off with more pesto

• Stir the shrimp, pesto and pasta for a few minutes

• Then serve! I like to top it off with a bit of pecorino romano grated cheese.

For this post I used 4 Tbsp of oil and opted to leave out the pine nuts while making the pesto.  Each serving has 11 Weight Watcher Points Plus Values.  Yields 2 Servings

Back to It & Weight Watcher Wednesday (a little early) BUT it's all new..

So the pain has subsided and I have returned back to my normal gym schedule.  I am feeling good enjoying being back in a regular workout routine.  I am hoping that I offset any weight gain from the holidays with regular exercise. 

I do however find that sometimes I slack when it comes to tracking what I eat.  Though it is not a requirement of Weight Watchers, most members, and for that matter anyone who is not on WW and trying to loose weight finds it much easier when keeping a food journal or tracker.  Basically all you are doing is keeping yourself accountable for what you eat and drink everyday.  When I don't track it is much easier for me to let little snacks slide as well as loose track of how much I have eaten through out the day.  When I get confident I start to slack off on my tracking. At first its OK, but slowly but surely over time I start allowing myself little extras and treats at first I may just have a small snack a say to myself "that's fine I should have more than enough points"  after a while I am no longer actually even keeping track of the points I eat in my head, instead I gage an estimate of what I have eaten throughout the day which If I tracked it would probably add up to three days worth of food. Also one of the easiest ways to slack when not tracking is by all the beverages you drink and don't account for like coffee, soda, juices etc. Plane and simple, its much easier to stay on track when you hold yourself accountable for what you eat and drink. 

I am also excited for the new changes at Weight Watchers "points plus".  I have yet to be to a meeting this week to be filled in on all the changes but I have check out the etools.  I know some people are dreading this shift in the program but I look at it as a fresh start and a way to jump start my weight loss progress again.  Remember how easy it was your first few weeks on program to see the pounds drop, or on any weight loss program for that matter.  I am hoping to accomplish that same thing when I buckle down into this new plan.  Instead of dreading the change i am looking forward to it so that it doesn't discourage me.  I think there was a meeting about that a few weeks ago lol.  I will be sure to tell you how I feel after I finally get all the info.  I do know that my daily points and weekly points have increased, but so has some of the points values in my favorite foods.  I am excited that fruits are now all free though!  I am not as happy that we have to buy new products but I know they will be on sale in the beginning.  I can tell you that our meeting leader stressed to us that if you like using the points tracker than you should invest the six or so dollars it cost for the new calculator tool since the point sliders will no longer work.  I know that I will definitely be purchasing that this week.

Have you checked out all the new changes? Do you like them? Are you excited? or do you hate it!

You can find out more about Weight Watchers new Points Plus program HERE

Weight Watcher Wednesdays! Food Journals

If you are a weight watchers member or have ever been one you know all about keeping track of what you eat in a food journal.  Tracking what you eat (and your points) is one of the main concepts behind weight watchers.

Whether you are a member of weight watchers, trying to loose weight, or just trying to maintain a healthy way of living, food diaries can be very helpful. By recording every bite you eat in a journal you will get an accurate view of exactly what types of foods you eat on a daily basis and how much of them you consume. This will allow you to see hidden calories seeping into your diet (ex-soft drinks, juice) and make you accountable.  It may also be able to explain why you are gaining weight or are unable to lose it.  As a result food journaling can also help you to choose foods because you are truly hungry instead of out of emotion. 

By journaling I am able to eat intuitively.  Intuitive eating is listening to your body to choose your foods instead of relying on external regimes and rules. Today people are so diet obsessed that many people have moved past this concept by attempting to adhere to rigid calorie limits or by deeming certain foods off-limits. By putting these restraints on yourself you inevitably want to rebel against them and you begin to crave more calories and the very foods which you are "not supposed" to be eating. When I track what I eat in a  food journal  I am more likely to listen to my hunger/energy needs when making choices about what to eat.  It also really does help keep me accountable of what I allow myself to eat.  I notice when I go a day or so without tracking I eat more than I usually do and more than I need to.

In case that wasn't enough here are 10 benefits to food journaling I found online.

1. Allows you to monitor your caloric intake. – Losing weight is a simple equation – take in fewer calories than you expend. Monitoring your caloric intake is the first step in lowering it.

2. Encourages you to focus on your food choices. – More often than not we overeat because we are focusing on something other than what we are eating. Writing down what you eat in a food diary forces you to focus on what you are doing

3. Provides a record you can share with your health care provider. -- Your health care provider can look at your food diary and provide insight and information on what you can do to eat healthier. Also, what you are eating may be impacting your health in other ways.

4. Helps you control the urge to binge. – Knowing you are going to have to write down what you eat can stop you from reaching for the second helping of potato chips.

5. Allows you to track your progress. – A food diary can serve as evidence of how far you have come in this journey. It also feels great to look back and see you are eating better today than you did days, weeks or years ago.

6. Encourages mindful eating. – Writing down what you eat encourages you to think about what you are eating. The more you think, the less and better you eat.

7. Creates a means of evaluating the connection between what you eat and how you feel. – You can use a food diary to examine the circumstances and feelings which trigger overeating. Once you identify the causes you can begin doing something about them.

8. Helps you be sure you are getting enough of each food group. -- It is important to eat a balanced diet. A food diary can provide clues as to what foods you have been neglecting and need to add to your diet.

9. Assists you in acknowledging the reality of how much you eat. – Keeping a food diary will help you confront the truth about how much you eat. Once you stop kidding yourself about how much you eat, you can begin making the necessary changes.

10. Reinforces your commitment to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight. – Each time you make an entry in your food diary you are expressing your intention and desire to do what needs to be done in order to live well.

Do you keep a food journal? What do you like about it?

Weight Watcher Wednesday!

One of the big things about Weight Watchers® is tracking what you eat in a journal.  Now while that is also a great thing to do, today's post is more focused on making sure you fulfill the Good Health Guidelines which is also something the journal helps track!

What are the Good Health Guidelines?
Well Good Health Guidelines are a way to guide you toward healthy choices as you lose weight. They also help to ensure you are getting the nutrients, vitamins and minerals you need to boost your health while losing weight.  Each day you aim to eat healthy meals that include choices from the Good Health Guidelines.  The goal of everyday is to fulfill all the requirements of the Good Health Guidelines.

What does it include?
Each day you want to try and incorporate all these into your daily meals.

2 Servings of Healthy Oils Olive, Fish, Flax seed, Canola, Sunflower etc
2 Servings of Lean Protein Chicken, Eggs, Beans, Fish etc
2 Servings of Milk Milk, Yogurt, Cheese
5 Servings of Fruit AND Vegetables
6 Servings of Liquid
Whole Grains
Multi Vitamin

Its easy to eat things you know are "healthy" but when you focus on these guidelines everyday it helps you to make better choices and helps you to eat healthier!

Have you ever tried this?  If you are having trouble losing or are in a rut, try planing your meals around these guidelines to give yourself a new way to plan your meals.  You will find it really does help you to make better choices!

Weight Watcher Wednesdays! Portion Sizes

So going along with the daily letter theme of my blog I decided to make Wednesdays, "Weight Watcher Wednesdays" and share some great tips I have learned through my experience with Weight Watchers.  Over the years I have learned a lot of things including great tips and ides to help me with my journey.  There are some things though that are really helpful and those are the ones I tend to remember and use on a daily basis. Having these helpful tips to refer to are a great way to help you stay on track and learn whats healthy for your body.
One of the best things I learned was easy ways to understand portion sizes, especially when I am not at home or don't have something to measure with.  This becomes increasingly helpful at restaurants where the portions they serve are always much larger.

Here are some great ways to visualize what a "real" portion is..

You may know that 3 ounces of steak is a healthy portion, but do you know it looks like?

3 ounces serving of cooked lean beef steak is about the same size as a deck of cards!

Do you really know at a glance how much a half a cup of potato salad is, or a cup of pasta?

A 1 cup serving size is about the same size as a tennis ball!

What about when your making pancakes, do you know how big a pancake serving is?

A 4-inch pancake is about the same size as a compact disc!

Do you pile on the meat when making a sandwich?

A 3-ounce serving of deli-sliced meat like turkey is about the same size as a cassette tape!

Don't be fooled by those extra large restaurant muffins

A regular-sized muffin is about the same size as a cupcake wrapper!

Do you like to eyeball the scoop of ice cream too?

A 1/2 cup is also about the same size as cupcake wrapper!

Do you think you know the actual serving size of cookie?

A 1.2 ounce Chocolate Chip Cookie is about the same size as the top of a soda can!

What about those pesky things like Peanut Butter, Mayo or Butter?A teaspoon is about the same size as 1 die!

&

A tablespoon is about the same size as 3 die!

Having something to visualize will hopefully help you when you determining portion sizes.  It also helps to keep you in check with yourself when you know that heaping spoonful of mayo is way more than a single serving!

Here are some other quick tricks using your hand!

•Your fist is equal to one medium fruit or one measured cup

•Your palm minus the fingers is a 3 ounce portion of cooked meat

•Your thumb (whole thumb, from tip to base) is equal to one ounce of meat or cheese

•Your thumb from the tip to the first joint is about 1 tablespoon

•Your thumb nail is about 1 teaspoon