The Gym Is My Friend?? When Did That Happen??

I vowed at the beginning of July that I would get in a minimum of 2 work outs each week.  This week is week 4 and I think it's finally becoming a habit.  We've been walking 6 miles on Sunday mornings and I've been going to water aerobics on Wednesday nights.  But I've been adding in 1-2 sessions of riding the bike at the gym on top of that.  Last night I decided to skip the gym, and at about 8:00 I found myself thinking, "I kind of want to go to the gym."  For anyone who knows me, they would think hell had frozen over if those words came out of my mouth.  My biggest problem with the gym is that I hate getting sweaty.  Now I've decided that it's a side effect I can live with.  I just think of it as the fat pouring out of my body. 

My eating has been way better this week too.  I went a little off track over the weekend, but not near as bad as I used to.  I would expect myself to be hungrier than I have been with all of the gym time, but I think the heat is working to supress my appetite, which is good.  I'm determined to at least hit 20 pounds this weekend.  I want more, but I'm not hoping for more than that.  I'm setting my expectations low so I can be pleasently surprised :)

Time for food finds!

I love Chinese food.  A free Chinese dinner is the only reason I agreed to go out with my husband on our first date (I'm glad he offered Chinese food!).  I tend to have a weakness for orange chicken from Panda Express, but 1 serving eats up most, if not all, of my daily points.  It's just not worth it to me.  Tonight, I found mandarin orange chicken at Trader Joe's for 5 points per serving, and it's a decent size serving.  Not quite as sweet as Panda Express, but every bit as good.  You cook it in the oven, but it turns out crispy just like restaurant orange chicken.  Definitely going to keep a bag of that in the freezer.

We also tried a new burger recipe last week; Asian Beef Sliders.  These things were delicious, and even though one slider doesn't sound like enough, they are pretty filling.  We ate ours with corn on the cob, but you could pair just about anything with it.  5 points for my WW peeps, and 239 calories with 8 grams of fat for my non-WW peeps.  Not to mention they only take 30 minutes to make.

Asian Beef Slidres with Pickled Cucumbers - serves 8

2 Kirby cucumbers, thinly sliced
1 small red onion, thinly sliced (we used vidalia)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 1/4 pounds ground lean beef (7% fat or less) - could also use turkey?
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions
2 teaspoons chili-garlic sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons wasabi powder
1 1/2 teaspoons water
1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise (we used low-fat Miracle Whip)
8 (3 inch) mini sandwich buns (1 1/2 ounces each), split

1. Spray grill rack with non-stick spray.  Preheat grill to medium-high heat, or prepare medium-high fire.
2. Toss together cucumbers, onion, vinegar, ginger, mint, and pepper flakes in medium bowl; let stand 10 minutes.
3. Combine beef, scallions, chili-garlic sauce, and salt in large bowl and mix well.  With damp hands, form mixture into 8 patties.  Place patties on grill rack and grill until instant-read thermometer inserted into side of each burger registers 160degees for medium, 4-5 minutes on each side. (I think we cooked them 4-5 minutes total).
4. Meanwhile, to make dressing, stir together wasabi powder and water in small bowl until smooth; whisk in mayonnaise.  Spread cut sides of buns with dressing.  Place burgers in buns and top evenly with cucumber mixutre.