Banish the food babies

You know that belly bulge you get after eating a big meal?  When you have to unbutton your pants or loosen your belt a notch?  I call that bulge a "food baby"... because the bulge can sometimes resemble a pregger tummy.  Well, I felt about 3 months preggers with a food baby over the holiday weekend.  I literally ate until food sounded gross to me.  How rare, right?

All that heavy, salty home cooking leads to a bloated holiday hangover.  I nearly didn't recognize myself in a mirror on Saturday from the sodium bloat my face had taken on.  We ALL ate too much this weekend, didn't we?  We are feeling down on ourselves because our work pants are fitting a little snug. 

So the question is, what am I going to do about it? 

For starters, last night I purged this house of all leftovers.  No matter how good they looked, sweet or savory, they were trashed.  I know, that's wasteful.  No one hates waste worse than me, I assure you.  But it's essential to get rid of all the fatty temptations you still have laying around.  Purge the fridge people!

Secondly, GTL (*insert fist pump here*). Well, minus the T and L. I've been plotting all the ways I'll punish my body at the gym to make up for the damage I've done.  I will frequent the gym this week.  Sadly, I have a bum right knee again (~sigh~), from running. So I'm going to have to get creative on how to get in some intense cardio.  I welcome any advice you could share with me on how to do that.  Suggestions, please!

But we all know the battle of the bulge begins in the kitchen.  I'll be focusing on cooking and eating healthier in these weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas more than ever.  I simply refuse to deprive myself of holiday delights at family and friend functions.  So making every meal in between those healthy will make the difference between me going into the new year packing extra pounds or not.

I don't know about you, but I'm tired of comfort food.  I'm craving all things UN-American right now. Lusting after all Italian, Mexican and Chinese cuisine.  Which isn't entirely bad.  I plan on making several dishes for dinner this week that are healthier versions of my favorite ethnic dishes. 

I'll will share with you what I made for dinner through the week.  But if you need some inspiration for dinner tonight here are a couple of good lighter dishes from past posts

For lunch this week I'm eating from big pot of Smokey Tomato and Couscous Soup with Cilantro Sour Cream that I made yesterday.  This is very filling and good on cold days. 
Link to recipe post: http://mylittleblackapron.blogspot.com/2010/11/thanksgiving-can-wait-try-this-soup.html

A perfect, lighter pasta dish that is full of flavor.  Warm Pasta Salad with Shrimp
http://mylittleblackapron.blogspot.com/2010/09/warm-pasta-salad-with-shrimp.html

This soup is great for dinner. Add in chicken instead of tofu if you are a carnivore. Chickenless Chicken Tortilla Soup.

http://mylittleblackapron.blogspot.com/2010/08/chicken-less-chicken-tortilla-soup.html

This is a YUMMY pasta that is full of veggies.  There is no meat, but you won't miss a morsel of it. Rigatoni with Vegetable Bolognese

http://mylittleblackapron.blogspot.com/2010/09/meatless-monday.html

Get your fresh veggies in with some quick Stir-Fry. 

http://mylittleblackapron.blogspot.com/2010/09/super-quick-and-healthy.html

Lastly, this lightened up Mexican meal is one of my favorites.  I'd pick this bean enchilada (or burrito) over chicken of beef any day!  Your family will NOT MISS THE MEAT.  Promise!

http://mylittleblackapron.blogspot.com/2010/11/meatless-monday-on-tuesday.html

We CAN keep off the holiday pounds! 

We just have to work a little harder at it this time of year. 

What's your strategy for keeping the holiday weight away?