Piggysnoot

I’m back at Weight Watchers. ‘Nuff said, right? When I was in WW before (two times) I did very well. Now I’m not trying to jinx myself or anything, but I lost around fifty pounds both times. Once I quit because money got tight and WW became an extra. The other time I quit because I got pregnant. Know what happened? Each time I started I weighed about the same. What I weighed when I first joined is the same amount I weighed when I re-joined the second time. That’s also within ten pounds of what my starting weight is this time. This time I’m ten pounds less than the two previous times so I guess I got sick of my clothes not fitting a little sooner this time. What I’m getting at is this: I am very good at counting points, exercising, and all that stuff…when I am a meeting attending member. When I “count my points on my own” I gain the weight all back. That is not something that works for me. If I take the money I spend each week going out to lunch and add it up I’m more than paying for my weekly meetings. Plus I found out that my insurance company will reimburse me up to $150 a year for my WW meetings. Sweetness.

I’m going to post pictures and recipes of dinners if it’s something I think you’d be interested in…plus it’s an easy way for me to catalog the dinners I’ve figured out the points for. So to help out my fellow WW members (and myself) here goes the first one:

Chicken with Cherry Salsa, Sweet Potato Fries, and Asparagus

First, I forgot to take the picture until I had started eating…so picture another piece of chicken on there. I had two (because I actually just took one breast and split it thickness-wise so they’d cook quicker).

The chicken (after I split each breast) was super simple.  Each side got salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning. Place in a skillet that’s preheated on medium with about 2T. EVOO. They only take about 5 minutes on each side. If you’re using a regular sized chicken breast then it’s going to take longer…probably about 10-12 minutes on each side. I like to feel like I have a large quantity of food, and two small pieces seems like more than one big piece.

The sweet potato fries are peeled and cut sweet potatoes that I sprayed with cooking spray and sprinkled with cinnamon and nutmeg. No exact measurements or anything…just sprinkle until they look nicely coated and toss them on a cookie sheet. They’ll bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

The asparagus gets drizzled with EVOO and three to four cloves of sliced garlic on top. Sprinkle on some salt and pepper and roast in the 400 degree oven for 8-10 minutes.

I saved the cherry salsa for last because it was so freaking delicious and I always save the best for last. I made the salsa earlier today and popped it in the fridge to let it marinate and chill and then put about a tablespoon or so on each piece of chicken. I was a little hesitant to try it because I don’t like hot stuff and it called for jalapenos…trust me when I say that this is super awesomely yummy. The original recipe for the salsa said you could dip chips in it, but I can’t vouch for whether that’s good or not.

Cherry Salsa
2 Cups Bing Cherries, pitted and coarsely chopped
1/4 Cup Cherry Preserves
Juice of a Half a Lime
1/4 of a Red Onion, finely chopped
1/2 of a Jalapeno Pepper, finely chopped

I chopped everything in my mini chopper. I did the cherries by themselves and just pulsed them so they weren’t too small. Store in an airtight container.

WW POINTS: 8
Serving: Two small pieces of chicken (3 ounces), 2T. salsa, 1 Cup Potatoes, 8-10 Asparagus Spears.