Weight Watcher Wednesdays

Yes, I am an official Weight Watcher-ista and this is the first Parker Pantomime weekly feature! Every week, I'll write an update on my fitness progress, as well as including my latest favorite healthy recipe. As my cooking skills grow, the recipes can only get better, though I MUST say I can pimp out a WW recipe like no other! Some WW recipes are incredible... while others must have been designed by newbees, as they can come out superbland. I'll give you the straight scoop!

Here are my goals...
CURRENT WEIGHT: 144lbs. (damn you, Christmas! ... and New Year's ...and Thanksgiving! ... and all the days inbetween!)
GOAL WEIGHT: 125lbs. by 5/31/09

Ambitious? Yes. Doable? Let's all hope so. I've read a few fitness articles that say overshooting what's possible maximizes your weight loss. However, I actually think I can do this. With a wedding and babies (hopefully!) in the near future... I gotta Get in Shape, Gurl!

All right for my first recipe, I am introducing you to a little number that is a perfect winter dish. I really like to serve this with a side of steamed asparagus with lemon/parmesan.

CRANBERRY-PEAR CHICKEN
From WW Ultimate Flex & Core Cookbook, p148
WW Points: 4
Servings: 4

• 1.5 Tbl. all-purpose flour
• .5 tsp salt
• .5 tsp ground pepper
• .75 skinless, boneless chicken, cut into 1" pieces
• 2 tsp canola oil
• 1 ripe pear, peeled, cored, and chopped
• 3 scallions, sliced
• .75 cup pear nectar (Can be found in the Mexican section of the groccery sto')
• .25 cup dried cranberries
• 2 tsp coarse-grain mustard

1) Combine the flour, 1/4 tsp of the salt, and 1/4 tsp of the pepper on a sheet of wax paper. Add the chicken and toss to coat.

2) Heat 1.5 tsp of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook, turning occasionally, until browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate.

3) Add the remaining 1/2 tsp oil to the same skillet, then add the pear and scallions. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until the pear is golden, about 3 minutes. Add the pear nectar, cranberries, and the remaining 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Increase the heat to high and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce bubbles and thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Stir in the mustard; return the chicken to the skillet and heat through, about 1 minute.

Parker's recs - For step 1, put the flour mixture in a ziplock bag, along with the chicken... makes it MUCH easier to coat!

PER SERVING: 217 cal, 5g fat, 1g sat. fat, 0g trans fat, 51mg chol, 373mg sod, 23g carb, 3g fib, 20g prot, 28mg calc

Off We Go!

Welcome! I've recently been hazed into the blogging world via WeddingBee, and I've found that I really love blogging. Since I think about and want to KNOW about more than weddings, I'm officially kicking off Parker Pantomime as a place to discuss much, much more. You may ask, "Who the heck is Parker Pantomime?" Well, it's me. I can spill everything but my real name, so I might as well pick a snazzy moniker! A-literation is fun. :)

Take a look around - if this goes well, I may expand, we'll see. In the short term, I expect this blog will focus heavily on fitness, food, stories, photography, art, and television... we'll see what road this blog lands on!

-Parker