So I’ve decided to postpone my next weigh-in until next Monday. Mostly I’d like to give myself a better chance of seeing some downward movement since the last one. I should be in pretty good shape. Even though I went way off track for two or so weeks after Thanksgiving, my theory is that the week of not eating (due to my high fevers) probably made a good dent in anything I may have gained.

And since then, I’ve actually done well on the eating front. Well, except for yesterday. I was at my sister’s in-laws for New Years, and not only did I eat the piece of apple pie I was given, I also ate the bottom crust of my niece’s (she only wanted the apples).

Okay, so I do have some room for improvement in 2006!

But I was able to keep myself from flailing myself back down the slippery slope. As I drove home, quite stuffed from dinner, the thought crossed my mind that another dessert when I got home wouldn’t be so terrible. After all, we’d had a very early dinner, and I was sure I would have no trouble getting back on track today.

Yeah right. Where have I heard that before??

Anyways, I did come home and eat again, but I stuck to finishing some sauteed vegetables I had in the fridge (leftovers from making some great mini frittatas using one of those silicone muffin pans) and a 1/2 oz of dark chocolate, which is one of the new wonder foods.

Today wound up being a good day of eating. My new favorite quick meal is brown rice sushi from Whole Foods, which I had with a salad full of all sorts of good veggies.

Oh, I should have mentioned that I picked up the new book by the SuperFoods Rx folks: SuperFoods HealthStyle. Most of the foods in there were either from the original book (like turkey or yogurt) or were new foods already on my list of regulars (like cinnamon or garlic).

But one of the new things I learned was that honey has a lot more going for it than just being a sweetener. According to the authors, it has over 181 different substances that contribute to health. I’ve actually never cared for the flavor of honey, but the only honey I’ve ever tried straight is clover honey. However, since I’ve been wanting to wean myself off of artificial sweeteners, I’m planning to give honey a good college try. (Note: the authors suggest that the darker the honey, the healthier it is. Also, you should never give infants honey.)

I’ve already made my own blueberry yogurt, using thawed frozen blueberries, plain yogurt, cinnamon, and a tsp or so of honey. Tomorrow, I’m going to try it in my iced tea.

There’s other news on the healthy cooking front. I got some great Xmas gifts from my dad and his wife. The first was the Kuhn Rikon Twist & Chop. They love it for chopping onions, but I like it as much, if not more, for chopping garlic. What I did was put about a head and a half of garlic in there (they also gave me a garlic braid!) and in a minute or so, had a nice fine mince. I put the garlic into a zip-top sandwich bag, and put just enough olive oil in there to barely coat. Now when I need a tsp of fresh garlic, I just get it out of the baggie and reclose. Just as easy as the jar of garlic, but much, much better!

The other cool gift from them was a Krups Mini Coffee Grinder, along with a cup or so of flax seed. I had mentioned a while back that I had bought one of the OXO flax grinders which is essentially like a pepper mill.

Wow. What a difference with the Krups!

The OXO does a coarse grind. The Krups turns the flax practically into a powder, which makes it easier to incorporate it into all sorts of stuff. And better yet, you probably get a lot more of the omega 3s that way too.

Oh, and one more quick tip from my holiday kitchen :). What I discovered this past week was an incredible veggie combination that is quick, yummy, and really good for you. Basically, I chop up some sundried tomatoes and put ‘em in a pyrex measuring cup and top them with a cup or so of frozen chopped spinach (I use the bags, since that makes it easy to get as much as you want).

I then add a heaping tsp of either a veggie tapenade or a sundried tomato pesto. I also add one of the greatest things since sliced bread: a frozen cube of basil. Trader Joe’s has the Dorot brand (which also come in other herbs too). This stuff tastes like fresh!

I then nuke everything until hot (usually 3-4 minutes). What’s cool is that the liquid that cooks out of the spinach rehydrates the tomatoes, so you don’t lose any of the vitamins. Then I typically add some turkey and put over rice or couscous. To steal from Martha, it’s a good thing!

Anyways, here’s hoping we all have a healthy and happy new year.