Teriyaki-Marinated Whatever You Want!

Last week I had a bunch of chicken in the fridge, but I wasn't sure what to do with it.  So I busted out the good old Weight Watchers cookbook for the perfect marinade.  The Teriyaki Marinade recipe jumped out at me, and I had every ingredient in my kitchen - what more could you ask for?

You could use this marinade on anything - chicken, steak, pork, fish.  Whatever!  I also recommend drizzling it as a sauce after your dish has finished cooking.  Marinating your meat/fish for at least one hour will ensure a fork-tender entree with superb flavor.  Another idea is to toss all of the marinade in a large ziploc and marinate with multiple servings of chicken breast (or other meat of your choice).  When it's ready, cook up what you want and freeze the remaining pieces.  You'll have perfectly marinated Teriyaki meals ready to thaw and cook!

Teriyaki  Sauce / Marinade
Makes 6 servings (1 1/2 Tbsp each)
Points+ = 1

• 1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 3 Tbsp orange juice (I used fresh squeezed, but either would be fine)
• 1 Tbsp packed dark brown sugar
• 1 tsp Asian (dark) sesame oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 Tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger (for a less potent ginger flavor, use old ginger, rather than young)

In a small jar with tight-fitting lid, combine all the ingredients; cover and shake well.

Losing for Treats!

I decided around 2pm today that I deserved a pedicure.  I always deserve a pedicure honestly, but today I really deserved one...for no particular reason.  I ditched spin (ohmygodno!), which is quite unlike me, left work a bit early, drove home in the beautiful sunshine, and walked to the new salon near my apartment, called Buff and Rubz.  And no, I'm not joking.  This is 100% for serious.  The place is actually called Buff and Rubz, and it sounds totally dirty.
They do nails and waxing and massage therapy all in this tiny place, that by the way smells like amazing aromatherapy, and the girls working there are absolute dolls!  Not to mention the prices are completely reasonable, and I get a free manicure for my birthday, which I can use any time during May.  Wa freaking hoo.  No really.  Wa freaking hoo!
I think that, whenever I reach a really fantastic goal, or am feeling wonderful about my progress (or maintenance in the future), I will treat myself with pampering!  Not too shabby, huh?

Afterward, I strolled home (happy as a clam of course), and prepped the kitchen for some fun cooking time.

Tonight I tried out Hoisin Pork and Snow Pea Stir-Fry, but swapped 1/2c. of jasmine rice for the rice noodles.  I just wasn't in a noodle mood, what can I say?  This dish would go equally well with chicken or beef in my opinion, but for the first try I decided to stick with pork.  And since I'm a bad little Jewish girl and have a love for bacon and ham and mixing meat with dairy (on the rare occasion that I actually eat dairy), I stuck with the pork.
Unfortunately, the pork was a bit tough (perhaps I overcooked it?), so next time I am using the chicken...or maybe beef.  Who knows!
Regardless, this recipe gets one and a half thumbs up from me.  Not the best I've ever had, but quite tasty!  I'm looking forward to my leftovers!  I don't usually eat meals that are more than 7 points, as I only get 20 per day and snacking is very important to me, but this one was worth it (and not too far over).

•  Stir-Fry (excluding noodles or rice) = 6 points per cup
• 1/2 cup rice = 2 points

I will also use the sauce but switch out the vegetables to mix it up a bit.  Who knows, maybe next time I'll have beef with broccoli and baby corn!  Ok that sounds good...I'm sold :)

Pump That Iron!

I'm going to start off with a little bragging today :)  My wonderful and amazing friend Lauren weighed in last night...she lost 5.6 pounds this week!  FIVE POINT SIX POUNDS!  Congratulations, Lauren!  Keep up the good work - you are motivation for sure!

Every Thursday night I have Body Tone - it's a weight lifting class similar to Body Pump, and I love it!  It's been a couple weeks since I've been, so I'm sure I'll be sore as hell by Saturday, but whatevs.  Martin (the instructor) worked our chest pretty hard last night.  I don't think I've ever done so many push ups!  I love that I can feel myself getting stronger each week, though.  Every time I go to class, I can do more of everything!  More squats, more abs, more lunges, more triceps...MORE MORE MORE!
Anyway, my (fantastic) boyfriend Brian was at my apartment waiting for me when I got home :)  He had done my dishes and thrown my sheets in the wash and everything!  I had a new crock pot recipe cooking away, and then I threw together Jamaican Carrots, which were super tasty!  I've recently discovered a new love of carrots, and I'm so happy that I tried this recipe.

As a side note:  The Jamaican Carrots recipe link shows 2 Points per serving.  When I plugged the recipe into WW online, it came out to 1 Point per serving!  So...count it as 1 Point, rather than 2.

The crock pot recipe was from Weight Watchers...a totally new set of flavors for me, and pretty friggin tasty!  I couldn't even finish my entire serving...and I'm totally pumped to eat my leftovers for lunch today :)

Cuban-Style Pork and Sweet Potato Slow Cooker Stew
Points = 6 per serving
Yield = 4 servings; 1.5 cups per serving (including some cooking liquid)
Prep Time = 15 min; Cook Time = 7 hours

• 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 pound lean pork loin, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 14.5 oz canned diced tomatoes with green chilis
• 1 medium garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2 medium scallions, chopped (green parts only)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1.5 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• 2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

1.  Place potatoes, pork,  tomatoes, garlic, orange juice, scallions, salt, cumin, and pepper in a 4- to 5-quart slow cooker; cover and cook on LOW setting for 7 hours.
2.  Stir in lime juice and cilantro; cover slow cooker and cook for 5 minutes more.

Happy cooking and enjoy!