I know its been a few weeks since I shared a weekly menu.  I'm starting to feel some nasty pregnancy heartburn and a little nausea (again), so sometimes I just don't feel like meal planning and meal making, let alone sharing our menu.  But this week I think I did a good job.
It is supposed to be insanely hot and humid here this week - actual temps in the high 90s, heat indexes 105-115, and a intense heat warning or something crazy I've never heard of here in Minnesota before. I've tried to keep to grilled meals - sorry to the hubby who has to venture out to grill - or things that can cook quickly on the stove top.

-- Chicken Fajitas on the Grill - Homemade Pico and Guacamole - we had this on Saturday already and it was amazing.
-- Spicy Ramen Pesto Pasta - Recipe below
-- Apple Gouda Chicken Sausages with Caprese Pasta Salad (except I didn't have any mozzarella so I subbed smoked Gouda and wow that was yummy) and Sun Chips
-- Pita Pizzas
-- Curry Chicken Casserole
-- Sweet and Sour Pork and Rice (I don't fry the pork)

Spicy Ramen Pesto Pasta
Serves 6 @ 8 Points Plus each
1 package morningstar farms soy crumbles
1 cup shredded carrot
1/4 cup chopped green onion
2 packages ramen - prepared without the soup packet and drained
1/2 cup pesto
1 cup water
2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp garlic chili sauce (get the Asian section of any grocery store)

Saute crumbles, carrot, and onion.  Add in cooked and drained ramen.  In a separate bowl mix together pesto, water, cornstarch, and garlic chili sauce and pour over soy/ramen mixture.  Bring to a boil, stir and remove from the heat.

If you’ve discovered Fat Little Legs from the Minneapolis Star Tribune article… welcome! I hope you’ll take some time to read and learn about my journey through the last 115 pounds.


If you are a regular reader, and didn’t know… I opened my paper this morning to find this on the front of the Lifestyle section:


http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/wellness/119511164.html


Jen @ PriorFatGirl
JP @ PriorFatGuy
And Lindsay @ PriorFatGirl


If you want to read the 5 minute recap of my past year I’d suggest starting here:
http://www.fatlittlelegs.com/2010/12/2010-in-review.html

I certainly had quite the year!


http://www.fatlittlelegs.com/p/recipes.html


And… my latest 2011 news is right here (and its good... I promise): 
http://www.fatlittlelegs.com/2011/03/bittersweet.html


That pretty much catches you up on everything important you need to know! To stay up-to-date use the links on the right side of my blog to subscribe to my RSS feed or email updates. You can also follow me on Twitter!


Again... Welcome!  I'd love to hear from you, so please leave me a comment!


Happy reading and happy losing!

Yesterday we got dumped on... dumped with snow that is.
I just saw a weather report and it looks like we got around 15 inches here in my little suburb on Minneapolis.
And to think... last week it was nearly 50 degrees!

This year it seems like spring will never come some days...and winter is eternal.  And I have to say sometimes life just feels like that doesn’t it?  Eternal winter.  Always waiting for spring.  I used to do it, and sometimes still do… tell myself that when spring comes I’ll change my habits, I’ll start living healthier, I’ll start a diet, I’ll exercise. 

Or maybe it isn’t spring you’re waiting for maybe it’s the start of summer because everyone knows dieting in summer is SO much easier because of the wonderful fresh fruits and veggies.

Or maybe summer’s hard for you because well… there are just so many parties with food you know.  BBQ, grad parties, weddings… and we are out and about all the time.  There’s just no time to plan.  So you’re waiting for the kids to go back to school, because then you’ll hunker down and have a lot more time to concentrate on your diet.

Or maybe fall’s bad, because well… those kids that were supposed to just go to school and leave you alone are involved in activities every single night after school, and you guys barely can make it through the drive-thru quick enough to get to all the events.  Then there was Halloween, and you just have to have some candy, because Reese’s peanut butter cups are your favorite.  And of course then came Thanksgiving…. And you may just as well throw in the towel now and just wait until the New Year… because the New Year makes doing this so much easier.  Everything seems new and fresh and everyone has lots of motivation in January…

You can see what’s happening here can’t you?  I was able to cycle through all of the “seasons” and come up with “sample” excuses for each one… all of these which I’ve actually heard in real life from others, or have actually used myself at one time or another.

There is ALWAYS an excuse of why waiting will be easier/better.  There is always an excuse to put off losing weight and getting in better shape.  I played this game for years, until my body finally called my bluff.  I was always in the “I’ll do it next month” mode, because a certain life/seasonal event would have passed.  In that time of making excuses I probably gained 50+ pounds.  Think of how much easier my weight loss journey would have been if I would have just stopped with the excuses and started with some action!

Right now might seem like eternal winter to you…I know I STILL have days after doing this for nearly 2-1/2 years that seem like eternal winter.  But in the midst of that find a way to start making changes in your life today.  Know that even small changes add up.  Don’t wait for spring… because seriously… in Minnesota at least, I’m convinced it may not be coming this year.

I waited decades to start living my life… don’t make the same mistake… start living your life now!  Today!  This hour, this minute.  You are worth it! 

Don't forget to enter my $40 CSN Stores Giveaway

Last month I spent a few days in Portland at my niece’s wedding.

Now one thing I found out about Portland is that in January there’s grass… real grass on the ground, and you can see it! This is exciting for me being from Minnesota. We haven’t seen grass since… oh.. maybe early November.

Another thing I found out about Portland?
Portland January Average Temperatures
* Average Daily High=45°
* Average Daily Low= 34°

Minneapolis January Average Temperatures
* Average Daily High=22°
* Average Daily Low= 4°

As you can see… It felt downright balmy in Portland in January to me. Even when there was just a little ice on the windshield outside, it didn’t feel bad at all. I had a black wool winter dress coat that I brought, and I seemed to be too hot most of the time in it.

And this got me thing a lot about perspective… because really when you think about it, that’s what this journey is really all about.

Dictionary.com defines perspective as: the state of one's ideas, the facts known to one, etc., in having a meaningful interrelationship.

Perspective was me feeling warm in Portland compared to the 4 degrees it was the morning I left Minneapolis…. It wasn’t “warm” to the people in Portland, but it sure felt good to me.

Perspective is… getting up early to go for a run, and not feeling tired, because you now have more energy from exercising and fueling your body appropriately.

Perspective is… thinking that a nice bowl of oatmeal tastes better for breakfast than a huge scone!

Perspective means… sometimes still feeling fat, but knowing you’re not because you fit into a size 8 and a medium.

Perspective means… seeing rolls of skin on my body, and thinking I’m fat, but looking back at my “before” pictures, and knowing just how far I’ve come.

Perspective allows us to find the reason for the journey. To find the reason that we do this. It allows us to feel warm when it’s only 45 degrees outside. It allows us to see where we’ve come from, and however big or small the change is to know that we are doing something to move ourselves forward.

I won’t lie… I have been having a rough time lately - probably the reason for my absence with posting.  It’s been hard for me to remember to keep everything in perspective. This journey is life-long. That means I have to work at it my WHOLE LIFE. No, that means I GET to work at it my WHOLE LIFE, and sometimes that means coping, and putting weight loss on the back burner, and having to be OK with that.

But perspective bluntly tells me with the glance of a few old photos that February of 2011 is much different from February of 2006, or February of 2008, or even February of last year.

New changes
New challenges
All which bring amazing new chapters in all of our lives.

“The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be only the beginning.”
~Ivy Baker Priest

My husband's foot prints in the snow

Marshmallow woman in what was once her backyard!

End of my driveway Dec 12, 2010 18 inches!

If you haven't figured it out by now, I live in Minnesota.  And yes, to answer your next question it is COLD here, the arctic tundra really.  It is not unusual for us to have sub-zero days in December, January, and February - yes DAYS plural.

BRRR... I always wonder why I live here.  But there is something that happens to you after awhile.  You don't enjoy the cold, and you do think about it when you are going out, but I think you eventually learn to ignore it.  You don't notice it as much - you just figure this is a fact of life here in the cold, harsh north.  You deal, and you wish for spring come quickly.

So today, given my geographical location, I am thankful for shelter and warmth.  I have a really lovely house.  Its the perfect size for us, and it has a fabulous, modern kitchen that I so appreciate.  I am thankful for long underwear, down comforters, heat that works and we have the money to pay for, fuzzy slippers, hot tea, microwaveable neck wraps, snuggling, warm mittens, Columbia coats, a hot toddy, and everything else that helps keep me warm and cope with winter. 

And given our weather forecast for this week... I'll be even more thankful if spring comes quickly!

What does a Halloween morning run outside in Minnesota look like?

Thanks to my awesome sister-in-law for the Olympic mittens!

WOW!  I much prefer the Before picture

I've never run outside when it has been this cold before, so I wasn't sure what to expect.  I'll admit the scarf was over the top.  In fact I threw it to my husband as I walked out the door, but I really did need the hat and gloves for about 90% of the way.  I ran 2.9 miles in 30 minutes.  I have to say I much prefer running in the cold in Minnesota to running in the heat!

Have an awesome Halloween.  I'll be back tomorrow with pictures of my sweet little boy in his costume and the pumpkins we carved!

Before I go I want to give you my best advice for Halloween?  Buy yourself a couple of killer pieces of chocolate - Godiva anyone? - and make that your special treat when everyone else is gorging on cheap candy.  Remember that Halloween candy was likely packaged around Easter... yuck!

Hopefully Minnesota Tourism won't see this post otherwise I'll probably be kicked out of the state, but at this point, KICK ME OUT!!!  I don't want to live here.  I don't like it here.  I failed big time today, and because I don't want to take personal responsibility, I'm going to blame it on Minnesota.

Let's back up a bit... late last week Tara @  263 and Counting ran 5 miles!!!  I was so proud of her, that I challenged myself to run 5 miles, but it had to wait until the weekend, because I don't have that much time on weekdays.  So I said I'd do it on Saturday.  I DIDN'T.  I woke up, after a thunderstorm filled night, and the air was so thick with humidity you could have probably cut it with a knife.  Now you have to know that I grew up in Montana.  If there is 14% humidity people start complaining its humid.  People in Montana don't have air conditioners.  You just don't need them.  My blood still hasn't completely adapted to the Midwest killer summer humidity, even though I've been here 11 years now.  So... a 5 mile run in 99% humidity wasn't going to happen.  A 1 mile run in 99% humidity wasn't even going to happen.  So I did what any good Weight Watcher would do... I made waffles, and then went to SuperTarget to buy food!  I did not run.  I heard on the news that the humidity would drop on Saturday overnight, and Sunday would be much less humid.  So I planned my run for then. 

This morning I woke up at 7:15, and put on my running clothes and was out the door by 7:30.  My first thought... "Hmmm... I thought it was supposed to be less humid, not more."  Yep now it was 100% humidity instead of 99%.  AWESOME!  So I set my Nike+ to 4 miles, because I knew that 5 wasn't in the cards for today.  At 2.5 miles I was dying!  I mean I could barely breathe and I was actually getting dizzy, and wouldn't you know it, a freaking mosquito even bit me in the upper arm.  I wasn't going to make 4 miles.  It sucked!  I hated it, but for the sake of safety I quit at 3 miles.  EPIC FAILURE!  It was one of the worst feeling runs I have had to date.  I felt horrible the entire time, and felt like puking for about 40 minutes afterwards. 

So back to my "I hate Minnesota rant"... because I want to blame someone other than me, and because it really sucks to fail, here are the top 10 reasons I hate Minnesota:
10)  There is no Minnesota nice... myth!
9)  People do not know how to merge
8)  Sweaty people walking around eating food on a stick = the best celebration of the summer, the MN State Fair
7)  Vikings will not for the life of them draft a Quarterback
6)  Snow
5)  More Snow sometimes in April and May
4)  Mosquitoes as big as birds in other states
3)  No ocean within a 2 days drive
2)  90 degrees with 90% Humidity!!
1)  Nothing beats the feeling of 30 below with 60 below windchill on your face in January at 5:30 am as you head to the gym

Minnesota - Please do not take this personally.  It was really never meant to be between you and I from the beginning.  I only meant to be here for a few years after college to "get on my feet".  Somehow deep down apparently I like something about you though, because I stayed for the last 11 years.  Some days though putting up with you ain't easy.