Weight Watchers

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE! I hope you embraced and enjoyed every moment of the holiday season. I love the holidays. Bringing friends and family together to celebrate is such a wonderful reminder of what (and who) really matters in our lives. And as we tidy up the house, write thank-you notes for gifts, and pack up the decorations, it’s a great moment to reflect. This year, I’m reflecting on my why. Why am I recommitting to my health this January? What’s going to keep me engaged in making healthier choices throughout the year? What’s going to fuel my wellness journey in 2019? For me, it’s all about my granddaughter, Emma. When you have a child, you think you couldn’t possibly love anyone more. And then a grandchild comes along and…

Oprah Winfrey MY WHY For me, the why is accountability and health. The older you get, the more you recognize and have real apppreciation for every day that you wake up with a healthy mind and a healthy body. You appreciate movement. You appreciate flexibility. You appreciate being able to be in-side your body and still feel as though you are 30 or 40 years old. It’s definitely, 100 percent for me, about being healthy and on-point with myself. I started out thinking that I wanted to be skinny, but I had fought that battle for years. The famous pulling out the wagon of fat, getting into a pair of jeans—I’d lived that, lived it a hundred times over. WW has given me a sense of balance. I started the…

Fennel roasted with potatoes, peppers, and sausage Prep 30 min | Cook 30 min | Serves 4 1 (1-lb) fennel bulb, trimmed, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch slices or wedges1/2 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch strips1/2 medium green bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch strips1/2 lb baby potatoes, quartered1/2 c thinly sliced onion1 Tbsp minced garlic4 tsp olive oil1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar2 tsp Dijon mustard3/4 tsp kosher salt1/4 tsp black pepper1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste3/4 lb precooked chicken sausage (we used spicy Italian, but any variety will work), cut into 1/4-inch slices3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese1 Tbsp chopped fennel fronds 1 Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat oven to 425°F. 2 Combine fennel, red and green peppers, potatoes, onion, and garlic in…

My friend lost some weight from intermittent fasting. Should I give it a go? I don’t recommend that you do. Intermittent fasting—where you either fast on certain days of the week or limit the hours you do eat (i.e., only between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.)—hasn’t been shown to be more effective than other weight-loss approaches. Plus, this on-off, on-off eating strategy puts you in a diet mentality, and that restrictive approach is really tough to stick to. A better strategy is to develop generally healthy eating patterns that can flex, depending on the day. After all, a wellness journey is not about rules that must be followed no matter what. It’s about giving yourself some latitude and appreciating that not every day is the same. Getting on the scale…

Chocolate–banana bread pudding Prep 20 min | Chill 1 hr | Cook 40 min | Serves 8 Nonstick spray3 large eggs2 medium very ripe bananas, mashed (1 c)¼ c packed light brown sugar1 tsp vanilla extract½ tsp ground cinnamonPinch salt5 oz day-old French bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 4 c)1⅓ c low-fat (1%) milk1½ oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (about 4½ Tbsp)½ c fresh whipped cream1 c raspberries, or other fruit 1 Coat a 9-inch deep-dish glass pie plate with nonstick spray. Whisk together eggs, bananas, sugar, vanilla, cinna-mon, and salt in a large bowl until smooth; stir in bread, milk, and 2 Tbsp chocolate. Transfer remaining chocolate to a small bowl; set aside. 2 Pour bread pudding mixture into pie plate; spread in an even layer with a…

Dorie Greenspan may have written 13 cookbooks, but one thing she’ll tell you straight out: Don’t get too hung up on a recipe. “I am a very practical cook,” she explains. “If I don’t have an ingredient, I play around with what I’ve got.” She encourages you to do the same as you read her latest, Everyday Dorie: The Way I Cook. Have fun with it! Potato chowder Prep 25 min | Cook 35 min | Serves 6 4 strips bacon2 medium leeks, white and light green parts only, split, thinly sliced, rinsed, and patted dry1 large onion, halved, thinly sliced1 large shallot, halved, thinly sliced2 medium garlic cloves, peeled, finely sliced½ tsp sea salt5 c chicken broth1 lb potatoes, preferably yellow, peeled and cut into bite-size cubes½ c low-fat…