New Year's Resolutions UPDATE!!

So...one of my New Year's resolutions was to lose weight.  Another was to drink less wine.  Combining BOTH, I've been participating in the "Rejoin Weight Watchers/Dry January/Butt and Gut Challenge"...challenge (which I TOTALLY made up by mushing together three different programs).

So far, I'm sticking with it...I'm staying within my daily WW points total (32).  I haven't had a glass of wine, or any other type of alcohol since New Year's Eve.  I'm on DAY 8 of the "Butt and Gut Challenge" (incremental planks, squats, crunches, and squats).  Apparently, it's working...I've lost SEVEN pounds since January 1st!!!

Although the "not drinking wine" thing is difficult, my biggest challenge has been food.  Charting points is TEDIOUS, and getting bored with what I eat is a constant ANNOYANCE.

Luckily, the internet (and Pinterest) are FULL of interesting recipes and suggestions!  I'm posting links to TWO recipes I found online (or on Pinterest...I can't remember which...my brain isn't getting enough potato chips and cookies to work properly).  They are DELICIOUS, and MIGHT just keep me from quitting this whole ordeal!

The first recipe is Curried Chicken Salad.  You can find the recipe here.  I wrapped mine in a lettuce leaf, instead of using bread, and the entire meal totaled 4 points (her recipe says 3, but when I put it through the recipe builder on the Weight Watchers website, it said 4).  It was DELICIOUS!

The second recipe is Beef Chili Mac with Jalapenos.  You can find the original recipe here.  You will see that the recipe is actually called "Turkey Chili Mac with Jalapenos", but I altered the recipe and used lighter versions of ingredients than the original recipe to adjust the points.  Here's my version:

Beef Chili Mac with Jalapenos

Ingredients

1	T. garlic chives
1	tsp. onion powder
1	tsp. ground coriander
1	tsp. cumin
2	tsp. chili powder
¼	tsp. salt
1	lb. 93% lean ground beef
1½	c. beef broth
1	(14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes with green chiles
2	cups dry whole wheat elbow pasta
⅓	c. fresh jalapeno, seeded, membranes removed, diced
½	c. skim milk
4	oz. light cream cheese
1	c. reduced-fat shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions

Cook macaroni in boiling water until al dente.

In a small bowl, combine onion powder, ground coriander, cumin, chili powder and salt.

Brown ground beef in Dutch oven. When almost done, add minced jalapenos and garlic chives. Cook until tender but not mushy.

Stir in beef broth, diced tomatoes, and pasta. Cook for about 5-8 minutes, or until most of the liquid is absorbed by pasta.

Pour milk into a small pan and heat up slowly over low heat. After the milk is warm and steaming add the cream cheese and stir until it is melted.

Add the shredded cheese to the milk and cream cheese. Stir until it is melted.

Pour the cheese sauce into the pasta mixture and stir until the pasta is evenly coated.

Serve hot.

9 WW points/serving.
Serving size: 1 cup.

Here's hoping YOU are sticking to YOUR New Year's resolutions too!!!