Too much indulgence over the last few weeks, months… okay years have crept up on me in a negative way. I am getting older and it’s getting harder to keep the weight down. I have ignored my scales and neglected exercise… and now, well now, my jeans are tight and I have a muffin top, and I feel I really can’t ignore it any more. Or I could ignore it and just buy new clothes??
While I have been a little better lately at going to the gym but not as consistently as I should, I need to get a lot better and structured with my eating habits and not eat out as much. Not always easy for me as I love to dine out and of course I write blog mainly about food!
Throughout my teenage and adult life I have been on many diets, many many diets. Of course, everyone knows that absolutely nothing works except cutting down on sugar, calories and exercising, which is why Weightwatchers may well be the best of all diets, at least for me. I have been on and off Weightwatchers for a few decades now and along the way I have picked up a few recipes that I fall back on when I need quick fix dinners that are really tasty.
Before I give you a favorite recipe let me tell you about some of my past not so great diets…
The Cabbage Soup Diet
You boil white cabbage and drink it three times a day for a week. It is absolutely disgusting, but is supposed to be amazing for dropping 10lbs very quickly. So, if you have a fancy event you need to go to in a fabulous little, fitted dress – this is the diet for you. The side effects… you fart non stop, feel very bloated, and constantly feel like you are going to throw up, and by day five, you are too sick to go to your fancy event. Trust me, I tried!
Very well known, and I know a lot of people have had success with substituting a daily meal with a shake. I did try this before they had all the other foods they now have. Back then it was just a “healthy shake.” So, I tried this for a week before a gala I was attending, in you got it, a very tight fitted dress. Well, believe it or not, I think I am the only person in the world that actually put weight on doing Slim-Fast! I put on 6lbs!!!!! The side effects… a very very bitchy mood and you also might faint when you have your first glass of wine! Which is exactly what I did!
Carol Voderman’s Detox Diet
No kidding. Carol is a mini celebrity in England, and my friend, Nicola, bought me the book for Christmas. Not sure if she was trying to tell me something? The idea is to eliminate everything from your diet and introduce it back slowly. You have to make a vegetable, no calorie soup that substitutes all the foods you are missing. It lasts about two weeks. The side effects… sorry to be gross, but you poop your brains out, your breath absolutely stinks, and there is a possibility that you also collapse from total weakness. Yes, yes – I tried it and I can adhere to the side effects.
With all that said see below for a great “Balsamic Chicken and Mushrooms” recipe…
Weightwatchers Balsamic Chicken & Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 2 tsp vegetable oil
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 large garlic clove crushed – I actually buy crushed garlic in a jar which is much easier and a great substitute
- 1 pound uncooked boneless skinless chicken breast, four 4-oz pieces
- 2 cups s mushrooms, halved
- 1/3 cups chicken broth
- 1/3 tsp dried thyme
Instructions
- In a nonstick skillet, heat 1 teaspoon of oil.
- In a medium bowl, mix 2 teaspoons of vinegar, the mustard and garlic. Add chicken and turn to coat
- Transfer chicken and marinade to skillet. Sauté chicken until cooked through, about 3 minutes on each side. Transfer chicken to a platter and keep warm
- Heat remaining teaspoon of oil in skillet. Sauté mushrooms for 1 minute. Add broth, thyme and remaining tbsp of vinegar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are deep brown, about 2 minutes
- Serve chicken topped with mushrooms.
Notes
