The battle of the bulge...

... has been a struggle these past three weeks, and it shouldn't be... After all, Weight Watchers has taught me to make wise choices and to make portion control my friend....

However, knowing it and doing it are two different things!! But this week I vow to get back on track because I've worked too hard to lose 30+ pounds, with many more still to go!!... (Don't you love the little Weight Watcher Weather Forecaster I found at Fairground Antiques last week? I'll share more about that little trip in a future post) ...

Getting off track began when the girls moved out September 1st. One was heading back to college and one was heading off to her first apartment... I told them I'd make whatever they wanted for our last meal as a family at home before they moved out...

One wanted a mediterranean/hummus/feta tossed salad, one wanted an avocado/mozzarella/kalamata olive tossed salad... both wanted bread dipped in olive oil...

One wanted a vegetarian lasagna....

... the other wanted sausage lasagna...

We had strawberry shortcake for dessert (but I forgot to take a photo of the finished product!!)...

Then the following weekend we headed to The Cape for a get-together with family members...

...and of course that meant more food....

Here we are crossing the Cape Cod Canal via the Bourne Bridge...

Even though it was Labor Day weekend, traffic was light, for which we were very grateful!

If you ever visit the New England area and are not familiar with rotaries, just keep in mind that the traffic already IN the rotary has the right of way... If you remember that, you'll have no problems (my GPS, Delilah, refers to rotaries as "roundabouts"... is that what they are called in other parts of the country?)

Anyhow, for our trip to the Cape I made a crabmeat mold appetizer (of course I couldn't find my mold at the last minute so I just put it together in a bowl! Not quite the 'ooooohhh/aaaaahhhh' affect of the mold, but it tasted just as good!) Served on crackers it is to-die-for! (Here's the Crab Mold recipe I used, and I always use imitation crabmeat.)

I also made a variation of my usual layered salad...

This particular version called for a combination of mayo/sour cream on the top (as opposed to just mayo)... Court definitely prefers my plain mayo version although everyone else thought it was good with the sour cream/mayo mixture. (Here's the Layered Pea Salad recipe I used, although I omitted bacon and added tomato, and just used shredded cheddar on top)...

More lasagna... What can I say... They're quick and easy to make and my family likes them! ha ha Again, one vegetarian, one with sausage... just variations of the basic recipes on the lasagna box.

I thought some of the kids at the family get-together might like mac & cheese... I happend to come across "Marilyn's Mac and Cheese" recipe and it sounded really good so I doubled (or tripled?) the recipe and gave it a go...


I'm happy to report that everyone loved it! So thank you, Marilyn Gabler of Fort Worth, TX!!! (You can find her recipe on page 136 of the October 2009 Country Living, or just click here).

Of course the piece de resistance was the layered pudding cake (a variation of the Kahlua cake I make... I wanted the kids to be able to eat it so I used coffee flavored syrup instead of Kahlua)...

It is generously topped with crushed Heath bars (I may have gone overboard with the topping, but it was yummy!)

Here is the basic pudding cake recipe I used/altered! For the pudding, I used 2 large boxes of instant fat free. And rather than cutting the cake into 1" squares, I just poked holes all over the cake with the handle of a wooden spoon and then poured the coffee syrup (which I used instead of Kahlua) over the cake (I probably used more than a cup, too!); and I definitely used more Cool Whip (probably closer to 2 tubs) ... and 8 candy bars rather than 4! ha ha - hardly the same recipe, huh?)

So we had those special events, and as I mentioned in a previous post, with the girls being moved into the city we were grabbing quick bites here and there and everywhere, including here, Uno's in Cambridge....


... and then both girls were home last weekend so we took a drive up to Portsmouth, NH, which included breakfast at The Friendly Toast... I also had a birthday, so that was more food and another cake...

So as you can see, it's been food, food, and more food for almost 3 weeks... But now it's time to get back on track, start cooking healthy meals, start making make wiser choices, put portion control to work, and get back to the business of losing the extra pounds that are weighing me down... because the older I get, the more important it is to get rid of this excess weight and get healthy!

Wishing you all a wonderful week...

Comment Update: Well, guys, my family is in stitches with all the wonderful comments you've left about what a good cook I must be because that is the furthest thing from the truth! I am absolutely dismal in the kitchen! That's why when things turn out half decent I grab the camera, so I'll always remember when the (insert name of any recipe here) actually turned out good!!" But thank you for your kind, kind words!!!

Donna