Week 5 of 101 Days of Summer Challenge

Can you guys believe that its 4th of July weekend already?  This summer is going by so fast.  I didn’t post my WI yesterday because I was disappointed in myself.  Check it out:

But I sat and thought about my last week, and there are some things that need improvement.

1. I never count points on the weekend.  I think this is a big mistake, because I think subconsiously I eat a bit more knowing I am not counting points.
2. I don’t drink enough water on the weekends.  It’s easy to get the water in at work, but I need to keep it up over the weekends.
3. Not enough exercise.  I only exercized 2 hours and 15 minutes last week.  I need to do something on the weekends too – its silly when I have all the time to even just take a walk.  I read somewhere that you need to exercise a minimum of 280 minutes a week to lose weight.
4. Too much wine.  It’s easy for me to get in the habit of having my wine while making dinner, then sitting outside and having a couple more glasses.  It’s empty calories I just don’t need.

So today is a new day, and I am going to regroup and move on.  So tell me, how are all of you doing?  Need a pep talk – or did you run a race we need to know about? 

I’ll leave you with my Blue Moon baked bean recipe.  It started from the Bitten Word, but you know I left out the onions and I added 1/2 cup of K.C. Masterpiece bbq sauce at the end – after I baked it for a couple hours, it needed more of a kick.  These were a hit on Friday at my office lunch!

Beer Baked Beans

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes plus soaking
Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

6 slices bacon, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
1 medium yellow onion, diced small
4 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
1 sprig rosemary
1 pound dried white beans, such as Great Northern or cannellini, picked over, soaked overnight, and drained
2 bottles Belgian-style white ale (12 ounces each), such as Blue Moon or Hoegaarden
1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons cider vinegar

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid, cook bacon over medium until fat is rendered and bacon is crisp and browned, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Increase heat to medium-high; add onion and garlic to pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, 4 minutes. Add mustard and honey; cook 1 minute. Add rosemary, beans, beer, and broth; season with salt and pepper. Bring mixture to a boil; cover and transfer to oven.

Bake until beans are tender and most of liquid is absorbed, about 2 hours. Season to taste with vinegar, salt, and pepper. To serve, stir in reserved cooked bacon.

 I love Blue Moon beer – but I think its like 5 points a bottle! 😦

I plan on making these for our bbq tomorrow.  There are so many layers of flavors – you can definitely taste the rosemary, a hint of sweet from the honey, and then the kick from the apple cider vinegar at the end.  It comes in at 4 points per half cup.

I probably won’t post again until Tuesday – hope everyone has a safe and fun 4th of July!  Hugs! 😀