Wedding Weight Loss: Where the Heck is the Bulgur?

I have long touted my obsession with spicing up Weight Watchers and making my wedding weight loss plan a way of life! Mr. Dragon and I have been eating more consciously for a couple of years, and now we are eating with a mind to be Hottie McHottersons for our wedding. For as long as I have been a blogger on WeddingBee, I have preached the helpfulness of Weight Watchers, and this week I am going to show you what I am talking about! I do NOT work in any way for Weight Watchers, but I truly believe in it because it is a life change, not a diet, and no foods are "verboten." WW has made a huge difference in my eating habits, and I love it! So this week, I am taking you grocery shopping with me and Mr. Dragon. On the menu this week... Shrimp and Basil Tabbouleh and Spaghetti and Meatballs from scratch. I am going to show you my favorite flavor-inducing tips, as well as exploring the eternal grocery shopping question... where on God's green earth is the bulgur???

I don't know about you ladies, but for me, cooking healthy meals during the week is really difficult! Once Monday hits, I am like a cannonball exploding into the week. When I get home from work, working out, errands, etc., the last thing I want to do is drag out a bunch of veggies and herbs and chop, saute, or simmer. No thank you.

I have found that the best healthy eating strategy is to make meals as easy as possible. Some people think that following Weight Watchers means that you must rely on processed foods like Smartones, canned foods, etc. Not true! I find that when I cook my own meals, I enjoy eating more, as well as the fact that I lose more weight! I don't know if it's because processed foods tend to be high in sodium or what (any nutritionists want to weigh in here?) You can, of course do Weight Watchers entirely on processed foods, but... why would you want to? :)

SO, every Sunday, Mr. Dragon and I go grocery shopping, and I spend a few hours that afternoon cooking two to three recipes that I package into single serving GladWare containers and stick in the fridge. Then, throughout the week, I pack my lunch box with the food I have already prepared and I can also just grab an already-prepared serving from the fridge for my dinner. I can just grab and go. Cooking all my meals for the week each Sunday REALLY alleviates a ton of stress when it comes to eating well. Those few hours each Sunday afternoon make an enormous difference! In addition to the homecooked meals, I also eat things like oatmeal, sandwiches (I LOVE sandwiches,) yogurt, and raw fruits and veggies.

When I have an especially busy weekend, I do eat processed foods because I don't have time to cook that Sunday. I try to make those weeks few and far between though. Now that I am used to eating "from scratch" meals, processed foods really disagree with my taste buds! For those of you unfamiliar with WW, the plan teaches you how to get enough servings of healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, dairy, and oil, as well as portion control.

Weight Watchers makes a number of helpful cookbooks with hundreds of recipes for meat-eaters and vegetarians alike. I tend to rely on WW cookbooks for my meals because I feel that I am less likely to miscalculate points. I have three of their cookbooks, but my favorite is the new Ultimate Flex and Core Cookbook. My one criticism of WW recipes is that you have to have an eagle eye... some recipes are amazing, while others are flavorless and bland. Now that I have been making WW recipes for some time, I have learned to spot the "not-so-awesome" recipes! For those of you who might be just starting to make WW recipes, you will learn what spices, seasonings, and veggies can be used to overhaul the taste, without adding to the recipe's points values. Be patient - you may make a recipe for the first time and find it too bland for your tastes, however, make it again, and experiment with the ingredients to see if you can turn the recipe into something outstanding! I take those bland recipes as a challenge to see what I can create!

Each Sunday, this is what my grocery cart looks like... Mr. Dragon and I pick out two to three recipes that look yummy and go to town at the grocery store! Ignore the Starbucks - they are not on the diet plan! ;)

Whenever I spot a WW recipe I want to try, I scope out the seasoning and cooking methods. I hate flavorless foods, and I have been cooking long enough to spot when a recipe might fall flat. SO, when Mr. Dragon and I shop, we make sure to pick up things like marinades, produce, and spices that will make a recipe come alive.

I NEVER cook meat that hasn't been marinated. This is totally personal taste, but I am REALLY big on robust flavors!

You see that "Classic Stir Fry Sauce" there in the middle? That sauce is BY FAR the most yummilicious stiry fry sauce I have ever used. Mr. Dragon and I eat a lot of stir fry, so we go through a bottle of this in a few weeks. Yum! One tip: Don't put this sauce in the pan right away. Add the sauce when the veggies are about halfway ready.

Another big thing in WW recipes is Pam cooking spray. I hate Pam. It has chemicals and things I can't pronounce, so I minimize the Pam use. Instead, I use Extra Virgin Olive Oil for cooking (holla at Mr. Peep Toe!) WW requires that you get a little oil every day to help your body process nutrients, so I get my daily oil check through the olive oil. I also find it adds WAY more flavor than Pam. A lot of companies make a lot of money making "diet foods." I prefer real food in healthful portions - that means real butter, real mayo, olive oil, etc.

I need bulgar this week, and this is where it's supposed to be... Do you see any bulgur? Um yeah, me neither. Grocery Store #1 is on my blacklist!!!

OK, so my tabouleh and spaghetti recipes look pretty good, as far as flavor goes, but, I think adding a little cinnamon to the tabouleh and garlic powder and red pepper flakes for the spaghetti will be delicious! Other spices that really help enliven recipes (for me, anyway!) are basil, oregano, rosemary (my favorite!), tarragon, celery salt, cumin, and chili powder. Asparagus, shallots, red and green onions, serrano peppers, and fresh lemon/lime juices are produce that add great flavor to many dishes without increasing calories. Serrano peppers are the bomb! (pretend I didn't use the phrase "the bomb.") ;)

One note about spices - fresh herbs are way, WAY better than dried herbs. The flavor is about 200% bigger from fresh herbs than from dried herbs. This is especially true for the herb go-to, Mr. Basil. There is no point in buying dried basil, in my opinion. You might as well skip it altogether! When I can, I always buy fresh herbs, and I use a heavy hand when measuring. The recipe calls for 1 tbl. of basil? I use 2 tbl.!

As I said earlier, in addition to the meals I cook ahead of time, I eat a breakfast that I am totally addicted to... oatmeal with strawberries and blueberries mixed in, yogurt, and tea. If I don't get my breakfast in, I feel it all day! Thankfully, I have never had an affinity for coffee, just tea, which is good for you!

OK, at this point, Mr. Dragon and I have finished shopping at Grocery Store #1, which failed us in the bulgur department. Poo on you, Mr. Grocery Store #1 - you are now forcing Mr. Dragon and I to go somewhere else, and you know how we hate to shop. Let's see what Grocery Store #2 has in the way of bulgur...

Hmmm, rice, rice, more rice... no bulgur. Awesome. Grocery Store #2 is also OUT! After some serious hoodoo and positive thoughts time, we crossed our fingers, toes and third nipples that Grocery Store #3 would be a hero today... (Cue the angels from heaven...) "AHHHHHHH!" Rockin'

For those of you who may have Tabbouleh in your futures... go to the organic aisle for future, ahem, forays into recipes requiring bulgur. Don't be like the Snapdragons, endlessly wandering the earth in search of healthy grains!!!

Once we trucked the groceries into my kitchen, we found that our Clementine oranges had apparently multiplied and had babies in Mr. Dragon's car...

Next up, how to turn this...

...into THIS!