Chilly

But no chili yet.  I got all the stuff for my version of Dad's chili but haven't made it yet.  I'm looking forward to making and enjoying it this weekend!

When I went to the grocery store, I bought some zucchini and yellow squash and mushrooms, so I whipped up an easy pasta dish with lots and lots of vegetables.  Yum.

It started looking like this:

Then I added (canned) diced tomatoes with garlic, basil, and oregano

Served over cavatappi (corkscrew-shaped) pasta with Weight Watchers Four Cheese Italian blend cheese:

I ate it meatless the first night.  The second night, I added a precooked chicken breast.  Yum.

I also found a couple new flavors of Clif bars - Spiced Pumpkin Pie and Peppermint Stick.  I had the Peppermint Stick Clif bar today --- pretty good.

On a final note, Gus is finally learning to be a "real" dog.  I've always called him my air conditioner dog, because he's never been a dog to stick his head out the window in the car.  But lately, he has been enjoying the breeze making his ears and lips flap in the wind!   (I was not driving when this picture was taken!)

Exercising has been going ok this week - not great because my back is still being temperamental.  Sometimes moving helps and sometimes, it just makes things worse.  Just trying to keep a good calorie deficit!

Gazpacho and other Vegetables

I made gazpacho yesterday.  I've wanted to try making it for a while and even more so after having some on my cruise a few weeks ago.  The gazpacho includes tomato juice, tomatoes, cucumbers, red bell pepper, onion, garlic, vinegar, a little extra-virgin olive oil, and garbanzo beans, all blended until smooth.  I think next time, I will put in less onion and maybe add some carrots or other vegetables.  I would post the recipe I used, but I tend to make it up as I go.  I started out with a recipe from food network and amended as I went.  Experimentation is part of the fun when it comes to cooking at home!  And when trying to eat healthy, finding something that works for me is important.

So that's my recommendation for today.  Experiment with healthy foods.  Figuring out something that tastes good and is healthy is vital when searching for those things that I can eat when I'm counting calories and trying to lose weight.