Sounds good!

So, I just got my July/August issue of Everyday Food and two of my favs are on the cover: Martha Steward (what can I say, I love her) and Emeril Lagasse. Kick it up a notch! BAM! How can you not love that??

Now, Emeril's food--of which I would love to sit at the counter on his show Live w/ Emeril and eat anything he makes for me--is probably pretty high in points. Dlish, yes, but oy. Pre-WW to be sure for me. But in this issue, this dynamic duo teams up to create some really tasty and healthy and low WW points meals. A few I'm going to try:

Tex Mex Turkey Burgers w/ Zucchini Salad
Shrimp Salad w/ Apricots and Cucumber
Emeril's Fish Provencal
Spaghetti w/ Bay Scallops, Leeks, and Tarragon
and so many more...

There's also a recipe for an orange vanilla milkshake that I believe can probably be made with low-fat 1% milk and still be delicious. I'll try it and let you know.

And, while I'm on the subject of delicious-sounding, low fat recipes, check out my friend Tammy's blog, Boston Food and Whine, and her recipe for Bok Choy Salad w/ Grilled Salmon, which she adapted from a friend's recipe to to be low fat and low cal. And, since Tammy says she is trying to lose a few pounds and is pretty adept w/ the WW system, she includes the WW points. Love that!!

Foodie Magazine Mode

I am mad about foodie magazines--like crazy, not angry. When I was getting ready for culinary school, I started my subscriptions to every single one: Saveur, Bon Appetite (now bon appetite), Gourmet, Food and Wine. I pored through them and imagined the day when I would be able to cook anything in any one of them.

And now the real world: I probably could do a good job at about 90 percent of the recipes I can find in those magazines, but the portions would kill not only my points value for the day, but probably for the month. So alas. The piles have stayed in my house--and we have a pretty small house--for all this time, but the recipes have merely been gazed upon and not attempted.

But now, I have new inspiration. Compelled by the need to do some serious spring cleaning, the piles must go! But not just straight to the recycling bin. Now I'm going through each one--probably more than 200 magazines--and I'm looking for recipes that I can make as is or that I believe I can adapt.

Throughout this whole experiment in points-based weight loss, I am determined to accomplish two major goals: lose weight and eat good food. I absolutely must do the first; and if I don't do the second, I will be depressed and my sad skinny self won't be much worth being around anyway. Plus, if I'm not happy eating this way, then I won't be able to maintain it for any length of time.

So, in my recipe scanning, I'm passing right over, right off the bat, anything fried, any recipe that calls for more than a cup of butter, or pasta. (Oh, that last one is a killer--really. But, truth is, I had a great Italian instructor, so I can recreate just about any pasta dish from memory anyway, so...those magazine recipes won't be that missed.)

And, I, surprisingly, so far have accumulated quite the stack of recipes to start to test. The fun part will be actually starting to cook. I'll keep you updated on what works.