Top 10 Reasons My Weight Loss Resolutions Always Failed

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What is the #1 resolution people make on the 1st of January each year? Weight loss. Unfortunately 88% of those resolutions don’t even make it out of February.

I have made my fair share of failed resolutions at the start of each year. Always vowing that this year would be different and I’d finally lose weight. After careful thought, here’s the 10 reasons why my weight loss resolutions always failed.

Paleo Bangers & Mash Recipe

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A healthy version of the ultimate British comfort food, this paleo Bangers & Mash recipe is super easy to make and delicious.

A healthy version of a classic British comfort food, this Paleo Bangers & Mash recipe is super easy to make and delicious.

Bangers and Mash, the ultimate British comfort food, is perfect on cold winter days. The problem? It’s not very healthy. Well this weekend I tried a Paleo twist on this classic dish that is amazing and healthy. Just switch out the mashed potatoes for sweet potato mash and forget about the gravy (really, it’s not needed).

The recipe I based my knock off on is from The Paleo Primer. I modified the recipe to lower the carb count and cut the PointsPlus value.

The original recipe called for gluten-free sausages. I couldn’t find any so I substituted turkey sausages (no carbs). In addition, I reduced the number of sweet potatoes (1 instead of 2). The recipe also called for using 2 tbsp of ghee for the potatoes plus more for cooking the sausage. I only used 1 tbsp of ghee for the potatoes and didn’t cook the sausage in any oil.

The recipe below is my modified version.

I included a side of sautéed spinach with toasted pine nuts and oven-dried tomatoes with this dish. Yum!

*Bangers & Mash
Net Carbs: 12g
Weight Watchers PointsPlus: 7
Servings: 2

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp of ghee or grass-fed butter
  • 4 large turkey sausages, carb free
  • 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  • In one pan, bring 2 inches of water to a boil.
  • Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Place sausages in pan and cook for 15 minutes, turning occasionally.
  • While sausages are cooking, place sweet potato in steamer basket over the boiling water and cover. Steam the potatoes for about 10-15 minutes or until fork soft.
  • Once potatoes are cooked place in a bowl add butter or ghee. Mash with a potato masher or a fork. Season with salt and pepper.
  • Serve the sausages on the sweet potato mash.

Baked Meatballs with Sautéed Broccoli & Bok Choy

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Leftovers for my hubby's lunch! This little meatball dish turned out very tasty although it is a lot of points.

Leftovers for my hubby’s lunch! This little meatball dish turned out very tasty although it is a lot of points.

I pulled this rabbit out of a hat last night. Fearing we’d had to eat out, I found a mix of beef, pork and lamb sitting in my freezer — perfect for meatballs!  I used an Atkins recipe, so it’s low carb, high in fat and protein. A mix that is not as Weight Watchers friendly as I’d like.  But if you have the points, it is very yummy.

The broccoli/bok choy dish is a modified version from Martha Stewart. I tried to make this from memory as both my iPad and iPhone were dead. Turns out I didn’t include the garlic, ginger or soy sauce. But thankfully I thought of using red pepper flakes.  Delish!

I ended up serving 1/2 of a hot-house tomato on the side — just to add a splash of color to our plate. It added a couple of carbs, but since I did my muscle workout, I had a few to spare.

Baked Meatballs with Sautéed Broccoli & Bok Choy
Net Carbs: 7
Weight Watchers PointsPlus: 13
Servings: 6 (You’ll have 2 leftover servings of the meatballs)

Meatball Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1/2 green onion, finely chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 lbs. ground veal
  • 1/2 lbs. ground beef
  • 1/2 lbs. ground pork
  • 1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. pepper

Sautéed Broccoli & Bok Choy Ingredients*

  • 1 lbs. bok choy
  • 1 lbs. broccoli
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
  • 1/2 tsp. black pepper
  • 1 tsp. red pepper flakes

Directions

  • Preheat your oven to 375 F.
  • In a skillet, heat 1 tbsp. of olive oil and add the onion, cooking onion for 5 minutes or until onion is soft. Stir frequently to prevent burning. Add in 3 cloves of minced garlic and cook for another minute.
  • Transfer the garlic and onion to a bowl and add in veal, pork, beef, cheese, eggs, salt and pepper. Mix ingredients.
  • Take pieces of the mixture and roll into golf ball size meatballs. Place meatballs in a 2-1/4″ deep roasting pan.
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, cut the white stalks from the bok choy into 1-inch pieces and coarsely chop the green leaves. Keep the stalks separated from the green leaves.
  • Cut broccoli into bite size florets.
  • Using your large skillet, boil 1/2 c water. Add the broccoli and the bok choy stalks, reserving the leaves for later and cover. Simmer over medium-low until broccoli is bright green, about 5 minutes. Uncover, cook on high until remaining water evaporates, 2-4 minutes.
  • Add bok choy greens, remaining olive oil, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes and toss often, cooking for about 2 minutes.

Crock-pot Lamb Roast & Asparagus with Dijon Vinaigrette

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crockpot lamb roast

My first time cooking a lamb roast in a slow cooker. It’s super easy and tastes wonderful!

Settling in for the snow and sleet heading our way, last night I made a healthy lamb roast and a side of asparagus with Dijon vinaigrette. The dish is low carb and great for those on Weight Watchers (10 point dinner).

It’s my first time attempting a lamb in a crock-pot but it turned out lovely. The recipe is easy to make and delicious – my kind of cooking!  The directions below call for cooking potatoes in the crock-pot with the lamb. I did this, but if you are low carb like me, just don’t eat them.

Leg of Lamb Roast
Net Carbs: 0
Weight Watchers PointsPlus: 8 (4-oz. serving size; does not include potato)
Servings: 6-8

Ingredients

  • Leg of lamb roast, boneless (2.5-3 pounds)
  • 4-6 garlic cloves, minced
  • Sprig of rosemary, woody stems removed
  • Sea salt and fresh crack pepper
  • 1 potato per person, peeled
  • ½ C beef stock
  • 4 bay leaves

Directions

  • Score the lamb, diamond pattern (see video below)
  • Combine the minced garlic, rosemary salt and pepper; rub the mix all over the lamb, making sure to press in.
  • Roll the lamb and use butcher’s twine to tie it together.
  • Toss the potatoes into the crock-pot
  • Place your lamb on top of the potatoes.
  • Add the stock and bay leaves to the crock-pot. The roast should not sit in the liquids.
  • Cover the crock-pot and cook on high for 4-6 hours. Check on the lamb near the 4 hour mark by inserting a meat thermometer in the center. Medium-rare is 145 F.
  • When the thermometer reads 135-140 F, turn off the crock-pot, remove the lamb and let it rest for about 15 minutes on a cutting board. I wrapped my lamb in foil. It will continue to cook on the cutting board.*
  • After 15 minutes, slice lamb into ¼-inch thick slices and place on a serving platter.

 Scoring Meet

medium rare lamb roast

Medium-rare (145 F) lamb roast. Cook yours longer for less red meat.

*Note: I cooked my lamb to medium-rare. The lamb is very tender. It’s also, as you see from my photo, red too.

If you don’t like seeing as much red or any red in your meat fear not. Simply cook your longer if you prefer.

For medium, the internal temperature for the lamb roast should be 160 F. And 170 F for well done.

However, you’ll need to check your temperature regularly or you run the risk of drying out the lamb in your crock-pot. I do recommend taking the lamb out of the crock-pot about 5-10 degrees below your desired temperature as the lamb still cooks while its resting on the cutting board.

Dijon vinaigrette

A very simple and wonderful vinaigrette. Use it on salads or asparagus!

Asparagus with Dijon Vinaigrette
Net Carbs: 3.1
Weight Watchers PointsPlus: 2
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 1 Pound thin asparagus, tough ends snapped off
  • 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus 1 tsp for every six spears of asparagus
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1.5 Tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 2 tsp fresh chopped parsley
  • Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 425 F.
  • Place asparagus on a baking pan.
  • Drizzle oil over the asparagus, then lightly season with salt and pepper.
  • Place the asparagus in the oven for 5-10 minutes, until tender.
  • Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk together mustard, vinegar, oil and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.
  • Remove asparagus from serving dish, drizzle with vinaigrette and serve.

November Healthy Challenge: Eating Fish

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fish hater eating fish, weight loss and healthy eating

My first official health challenge – eating fish. I kick it off with a garlic-pepper lime cod recipe.

In my every expanding quest to lose weight by eating healthy, I’ve designated November as Fish Month.  That’s right, I’m actually going to eat more fish fish once a week.

A silly challenge you say? Not to someone who hates fish.

The smell…the fishy taste…the texture…Yuck! Anything that smelly when cooked is something I avoid, like Chitlins.

But now am older and wiser.  I realize I haven’t given our aquatic friends a fair shake.  Plus I’m missing out on a great source of omega 3 and protein.

So in November, once a week, I’m preparing a fish dinner.  My husband, a seafood lover, is super excited.  Since I do 99% of the cooking, he rarely eats fish.

Starting With White Fish
Our local fishmonger recommends I start with mild tasting white fish like mahi-mahi or tilapia before trying a fish with a stronger flavor like salmon.

Since I don’t know how to cook fish, this challenge is more than just an eating adventure.  So this weekend I’ll spend some time researching recipes. My goal is to keep it simple yet flavorful.

Last night I got a jump-start on the challenge. I picked up a pound of cod and whipped up a simple garlic-pepper lime fish dish.  I think I added too much garlic – mostly out of fear of that fishy taste, which didn’t exist.

Overall, I loved it. Sure there was too much garlic, but the lime and jalapeño added a nice touch. As for texture, the fish was firm not mushy, another bonus.  Chalk this dish up as a win. Now just 4 more fish meals to go.

Garlic-Pepper Lime Cod
Net Carbs: 5
Weight Watchers PointsPlus: 7
Servings: 2

Ingredients

  • 2 Fillets, cod or any other white fish
  • Juice from 2-3 limes
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced (I used 5 last night – a bit too much)
  • ½ Jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
  • 1 Tsp. freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil, plus extra for broiling pan

Directions

  • Place fish on oiled broiling pan
  • Mix lime juice, minced garlic, jalapeño, black pepper and olive oil in a bowl. Pour evenly over top of fish.
  • Place fish in oven and broil on low for about 8-12 minutes (until the fillet is pearly white through out and not transparent).
  • Serve with a slice of lime to squeeze on top of fish.

Easy Marinade Flank Steak With Grilled Veggies

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Sitting in marinade all day, the flank steak is ready to hit the grill. Oh, the sausage is ready too -- that's for later this week!

Sitting in marinade all day, the flank steak is ready to hit the grill. Oh, the sausage is ready too — that’s for later this week!

I’ve run around a lot today, so I decided to keep dinner simple. I’m going with an easy marinade with just 3 ingredients – extra virgin olive oil, low-carb soy sauce and garlic.   I started the marinade at 10:00 a.m. this morning.

I used to make this with 1/3 cup of olive oil and soy sauce. I needed to cut back drastically since the olive oil killed me on points. I find that adding 2 tablespoons of each gives me the flavor I want without eating up so many points.

Our sides -- and where we get our carbs! Just add 1 tsp of olive oil and toss them on the grill!

Our sides — and where we get our carbs! Just add 1 tsp of olive oil and toss them on the grill!

For the sides, we’re grilling asparagus, white onion and yellow peppers. I’m also steaming Brussels sprouts.  We’ll have enough for leftovers.  The veggies provide about 6 g of carbs for dinner. For those of you tracking your points, veggies are free, but you need to count the olive oil. I’m only using 1 teaspoon — not for flavor but for the grill. So this is a very low point, satisfying meal.

Marinated Flank Steak
Net Carbs: 0
Weight Watchers PointsPlus: 6
Serving Size: 4 ounces/person
Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 2 Tbsp. Low Carb Soy Sauce
  • 5 Garlic bulbs, diced or minced
  • 1 Flank Steak

Directions

  • Score the surface of the steak with 1/4 inch deep knife cuts, about an inch apart, across the grain of the meat.
  • Combine the marinade ingredients. Place steak and marinade ingredients in a large freezer bag. Coat the steak well with the marinade. Seal the bag.
  • Chill and marinate for at least 2 hours.
  • *Take the steak out of the marinade bag and place on the hot grill. Grill for 4-6 minutes on each side. Be sure to turn the steak over half way through.
  • **Remove from grill and place on a cutting board. Let the meat rest for 10 minutes before carving. Recommend wrapping in foil to keep it warm.
  • Make very thin slices, against the grain, and at a slight diagonal so that the slices are wide.

*When you take the steak out, you can season it with black pepper if you like.
**Flank steak is best medium rare. Cook it too much and it gets tough to chew.