Thursday, February 01, 2007

The Power of Broccoli


Despite the fact that I never wear aprons when I cook, I have several really cute ones. I put one on the other night while I was making dinner, and it instantly made me feel domestically competent. (Never mind that the toilet has had cat hair stuck to it for as long as I can remember) While I can't remember what I made for dinner that night with the apron on, it undoubtedly contained broccoli.

When we lived in Japan, I could eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted it because I had no choice but to bike everywhere I went. When we moved back here, I continued to eat whatever/whenever with almost no biking involved and my body has puffed out considerably. In all directions. So I started Weight Watchers online, and after a few weeks I figured something out. I can eat as many vegetables as I want and it won't make me gain weight. Also, I can add vegetables to anything and that'll make me feel fuller and less likely to reach for the tube of cookie dough in my fridge. I've quit paying the monthly fee for the program, but still stick with the veggies. So broccoli mixes in with my eggs in the morning. It also gets stirred into my microwave lunches. Yes, our dinners almost always have broccoli stirred in. It's working. I'm losing weight pretty slowly, but the scale is going down way more than it's going up. I'm half way to my goal. My last real weight loss was almost immediate: 20 pounds in a little over a month just by wrapping bacon around cheese and sausage. This way feels healthier. It feels like it's something I can do for years and not worry about clogging my arteries. It also feels slow and frustrating and quite honestly I think it's harder to lose weight in my thirties. Anyway, here's a recipe I haven't made in a while, but is REALLY good hot or cold:

Weight Watchers Broccoli and Bulgar in Spicy Peanut Sauce
1 cup of bulgar, cooked according to the directions on the box
3 cups of steamed broccoli
peanut sauce: 1/2 cup of cilantro, 3 tablespoons of peanut butter, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar, 1 packet of splenda, and some cayenne pepper.

5 comments:

Dr Em said...

you're looking FINE in the picture!

that weight watchers recipe sounds a lot like my favorite frozen vegetable and ramen dinner. cook 1/2 bag of frozen vegetables with ramen. then make sauce. i don't add any sweetener, but i do add SIRRACHA. i know you like that.

call me!

Brandi. said...

It sounds delicious!

I love your picture of meat in the background.

Ugly Juice said...

I love that broccoli salad recipe. Thank you for posting it! Do you ever make it without steaming the broccoli? I feel like when I made it last time, I didn't steam the broccoli. Is my memory whacked? XO, AP

Unknown said...

AP, I think I ran the broc under hot water for a little bit, but not really cooking it. Just making it a pretty green.

Anonymous said...

Julie, I totally understand what you're talking about! During my short stint in Iowa City, I ate and drank (and drank) any thing I wanted without a worry...and I lost weight. The secret was that I drove once or twice a month. Those days are long gone.

Nothing puts junk in the trunk like sitting on your ass for hours on end in the law library! But now I'm on a veggie kick too! Thanks for the delish recipie.

-s.

P.S. check out www.hungrygirl.com. it's awesome!