Weigh in and Ceasar Salad

So Fridays are my days to weigh myself and I am happy to report that I have lost another 3.8 pounds!! Yay!! So far that it is 6.8 pounds weight loss. And the best part is I am feeling great. Last night I taught a green smoothie class at my friends church and I bought myself a new pair of jeans so I wouldn't have to wear my yoga pants. Sometimes I am so resistant to buying bigger sizes but it feels good to have something else to wear and hopefully in the next month or so they will be too big for me. But it won't be wasted money.


So I haven't really changed my eating that much. When you do weight watchers you have 2 options - you can keep track of everything you eat and their points or you can follow their "simply filling" plan and eat mostly "power foods" and then only count the points of things you eat that are not on the power foods list. I chose the simply feeling option because I hate having to keep track of all those points and because I mostly only eat power foods anyway. Power foods would be whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, and for those that eat these things: lean cut meats and fat free dairy.


So my eating hasn't changed dramatically but I have cut back on the nuts and treats. I have also been cutting back on the coconut oil and sweeteners that are called for in my healthy treat recipes. I have found that most raw desserts only need half or less of the sweetener it calls for in the recipe, the same can be said for the coconut oil.


But I have started exercising again and that has been awesome. So far I can only really speed walk on the treadmill but it is a far cry better than the exercise I was getting walking to the bathroom!!


Now on to a recipe. We eat a lot of salads and let's face it. That can get boring. So it is nice to change them up a bit. Here is a great recipe I got from Whole foods for the Whole Family. I love the croutons! It have never occurred to me to make my own. My kids love them and it helps them gobble up even more salad.

Caesar Salad

Dressing
2 T almond butter or blanched almonds
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 T Dijon mustard
3 T fresh lemon juice
1T tahini
2 T olive oil
Salt to taste

** I added about 1/2 cup of water to this because I thought the Dijon mustard taste was just too strong. So if you aren't a big Dijon mustard fan you could maybe start with half the mustard and then add more if it needs it or add water like I did to dilute it some.

Romaine lettuce, spinach, shredded carrots, shredded cabbage, shredded zucchini - whatever you have!


Croutons
4 slices whole wheat bread, cut into cubes
1/2 t dried rosemary
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t Celtic salt

I coat the bread with extra virgin olive oil with my silicone pastry brush - a wonderful kitchen gadget to have!!

Then I sprinkle the herb mixture and cut them up with a pizza cutter.

 Bake in 325 degree oven until crisp, 15-20 minutes.