A new twist on three bean salad...

We've already had at least one day of 80+ weather and it's making me sweat just thinking about summer arriving! So I'm on the lookout for new recipes that I'll enjoy when the weather is warm...ok, HOT....ran across this which was featured on an MSN spotlight.

Three Bean Salad with Blue Cheese

Makes: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup sherry vinegar (I'll use basalmic vinegar)
1/4 cup top-quality extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (8-ounce) package frozen green beans, blanched and cut into thirds
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed (I'll probably use a can of wax beans...I don't really care for garbanzo, unless it is hummus!)
1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (8-ounce) can hearts of palm, sliced (if you like artichokes, you'll like these!)
1 small red onion, quartered and thinly sliced (I'll probably use some green onion or a sweet onion--and not a whole one---just enough to give some flavor)
4 fresh mint leaves, cut into strips (I can pick my own from my little herb garden! But if I don't have any growing, it is something I can leave out)
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest (this might be optional--in other words, if you don't have it on hand)
1 cup crumbled blue cheese (feta might be a good cheese to use also)
3 to 4 bacon slices, cooked until crunchy and sliced (you can substitute cubed ham or shredded chicken)

DIRECTIONS: In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar, vinegar and oil. Whisk to dissolve the sugar; season with salt and pepper. Add the green beans, chickpeas and kidney beans to the bowl with the vinegar. Add the hearts of palm, red onion and mint. Season again with salt and pepper and toss to combine. Transfer the salad to a serving platter.Sprinkle the top of the salad with lemon zest, cheese and bacon. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

This is a dish that travels well and holds up, so could take to church, school, or reunions as a side dish. If you want to add a bit of color to it, you could throw in some thinly sliced baby yellow squash and tiny tomatoes.

Burning calories...

What is it about exercise.....I enjoy it when I'm doing it, but the problem is starting....and it's sooo much easier to do it with another person to help motivate, but since I live alone and Kari & Warren are a good 5 hours south, it's been so much easier to sleep, lay around and read a good book (job-related exercise...lol), or do something creative...especially since the "great fall" back in November.

Then I heard a shocking piece of info this week while watching The Biggest Loser: You must burn 3,500 calories to lose 1 lb.

Hmmmm....I'd better quit lounging around in my favorite corporate p.j.'s (I spent 5+ years wearing nothing but while working for Edison...in case you have to ask what "corporate p.j.'s" are)....and start finding out how many calories I'm burning or could be burning! Here's the skinny (no pun intended...well, ok, maybe a little bit intended :)

Number of calories burned in 30 minutes:

Cleaning House 288
Curves 500
Dancing 147
Driving car 42 (I do this for 1 1/2 hrs. five days a week!)
Food shopping w/cart 50 (I'm not sure why having a cart matters....)
Gardening 195
Hiking 201
Kayaking 216
Kissing 50
Knitting/Crocheting 43
Laundry 50
Lawn mowing 156
Moving furniture/household items 259-388 (I'm not in to moving furniture around unless it means packing and moving!)
Office Work 70
Painting/Papering a house 194
Playing piano 108
Pushing stroller w/child 108
Scrubbing floors on hands and knees 237 (like I'm ever going to do this!!)
Sewing 43
Sex 177 (5.9 calories per minute) [had to include this to see if anyone is paying attention!...and for those of you who might need to measure in minutes instead of half hour blocks! LOL]
Shelving books---I don’t know! (Some days it takes me 1-1 ½ hrs. to get it all done. I’m guessing it burns between 100-150 per 30 minutes---maybe more.)
Shopping 108 (notice that shopping is so much harder than just shopping for food!)
Sitting at rest .8 (yes, that is a decimal)
Sitting reading 48
Sleeping 48 (gad!!! it takes so little effort to get beauty sleep, doesn't it?)
Stair Climbing (normal speed) 264
Standing 96
Sweeping 173
Walking 108-204
Watching TV 72.5
Yard Work 185
Yoga 173

I called Curves to find out if they are running any specials--they are: a 2 for 1, but I don't have anyone to make that one....

So I guess I'd better get back to the laundry, house cleaning, cooking, yard work....hmmm, will it all add up to 500 calories burned a day?

Fighting the snack demons....

They say confession is good for the soul......so.....ok....

I confess that two things have contributed to my screeching halt in weight-loss: 4 snacks and lack of exercise.

I confess that these snacks are the temptations I've given in to lately:

1. Special K Protein Meal Bar (Chocolate Peanut Butter)---has 10 g. of protein, which was the big draw initially....plus it is peanut butter and chocolate flavor. One bar has 180 calories. I was NOT eating it as a meal, but as a snack or dessert (or carrying one in case I became faint with hunger).....then I started eating two a day!!!!!
2. Multi Grain Crisps (Sea Salt)---this was the replacement for the soy crisps that I loved, and I NEEDED something crunchy/salty!!! About 18 of them have 120 calories---and there are 3.5 servings in a bag.....more than once I've sat down an eaten a whole bag!!!!!
3. Russell Stover Sugar Free Caramel Drops....sugar-free...chocolate....caramel....what's the harm?? The harm is that I've also eaten a whole bag of these on several occassions!! With 2 servings per bag that came to about 320 calories!
4. Pringle's Baked Wheat Stix (Honey Butter)---these are a new product---one of the many pre-packaged 100 calorie servings that are hot on the market now. These are so darn good!! They have a hint of salt and there are actually quite a few in the bags. The problem is that I started eating 2 of these a day!!

I've worked really hard this past week to get a handle on these snacks....

1. I've cut back to one protein bar a day....and added organic vanilla yogurt with fresh blueberries and oat granola
2. I'm only eating the sea salt crips with hummus or my special guacamole---and not every day
3. I've quit buying the chocolate caramel drops---and bought sugar-free tiny Reese's Cups. I'll really only eat one of those at a time....and not even every day. I even forget that I have them sometimes!....and added back my low-fat cottage cheese and black cherry jello snack.
4. I've cut back to just one back of these per day.

I admit it....I'm a carb addict.....I suspect I'm not alone :)....and it can be a difficult demon to fight...

so....I made a pan of roasted veggies with shrimp today. Yummy!

Discoveries...the good and the bad

I weighed yesterday morning....stark naked (picture it or not...it's up to you)....and I have not lost one damn pound since January!!!! I should win a prize for maintaining......

In an effort to burn some calories today, I finished raking the front yard of the massive amount of leaves that come off the very large old oak tree in the front yard. Did I bag them? No! I raked them all down to the curb ditch where they'll be washed away in the next gully washer! After a rest....and discovering a blister on my hand....I decided to tackle the back side patio where leaves have accumulated from the most prolific pecan tree in the neighbor's back yard. I got all those raked into a big pile (where I'll set fire the first chance I get that I think I won't get caught!!) Then I discover I have a blister on top of a blister from the cute shoes I wore yesterday (that I hadn't worn in 4 years! I think I bought them in Vegas...so you know they had to be cute...but comfy...except for the darn blister!!)....I put two bandaids on and some loose shoes and now they loose shoes have worn another blister!! ouch!

I realized yesterday that I can walk all over the school without huffing and puffing. I can carry in large boxes of books without getting winded.....and I can rake the yard and really work up a sweat, but without getting short of breath!! This in itself is an accomplishment as far as I'm concerned.

Since we are on spring break this week (thank you, God!), I'm trying to get some spring yard work done before the hustle and bustle hits on Wednesday. I've still got to get my little herb garden cleaned out and some new things set in. I've got to locate the new trimmer I bought last year and get some shrubbery and growth cut back. I also want to get some sewing projects finished that I've started (baby quilt, baby blanket, embroidered picture, and some lavender-filled embroidered pears)

I think Curves is running a special right now, so I'll go investigate re-joining on Monday morning.

Yes, I'd still do it over again....losing ALMOST 50 lbs. has made a tremendous difference.

Weird Things That Fit Better...

ok...so it took call from a member of my fan club this past week to point out that I've been neglecting my weight-loss blog. Honestly, I just haven't had much to say (this will come as a complete shock to some people--even members of my own family who find it unbelievable that there are times I just don't feel the need to say anything) Well, anyway, I'm just maintaining at this point. The 50 lb. mark is being ever so elusive! I know I could get there with some strenuous exercise, but the darn ankle is just not cooperating with me right now. I did get out and do some major raking of leaves last weekend before all this unbelievable weird weather hit this week. I felt compelled to do this because I knew I was going to be sitting ALL day Wednesday administering a test to a 3rd grade student who has to read it all out loud.

Now to the topic at hand....weird things that are a better fit:

• bracelets
• shoes
• the space between me and the steering wheel of the car
• the bathtub
• socks