Yo Yo

Sometimes my feelings rise and fall like a yo-yo. The yo-yo is spinning at the top. I am filled with great appreciation for that what I have. I am lucky compared to many and I know it. I feel financially comfortable, loved and satisfied. Then, slowly the yo-yo slides to the bottom leaving me whiny, wanting and tearful (you remember, I cry a lot). The yo-yo moves smoothly up and down allowing me to wallow or rejoice for a reasonable amount of time. Then there is a flick of the wrist which causes the yo-yo to fly up and down, out of control. Fortunately, the yo-yo cannot sustain the energy required and eventually it sinks to the bottom, spinning slowly and eventually comes to a rest.

How do I "feed these feelings"? With the yo-yo diet of course! I looked yo-yo diet up on Wikipedia and here is what it says,

Yo-yo dieting or yo-yo effect, also known as weight cycling, is a term "yo-yo dieting" coined by Kelly D. Brownell at Yale University, in reference to the cyclical loss and gain of weight, resembling the up-down motion of a yo-yo. In this process, the dieter is initially successful in the pursuit of weight loss but is unsuccessful in maintaining the loss long-term and begins to gain the weight back. The dieter then seeks to lose the regained weight, and the cycle begins again.

That would be me, folks, and I guess many of you. I am getting better though, in that I eat healthier now than ever before. Portion control is not what it should be but what I eat is pretty darn good. I am now thinking about what to make for dinner.

I have a zillion leftovers in the fridge but cannot face any of them again. I have a serving of yummy mushroom soup made from the pound of crimini mushrooms hiding in the fridge that needed to be put to use NOW, before they turned to a slimy mess. I had sauteed them with onions and some garlic, simmered them in some Swanson chicken broth with parsley, rosemary and cayenne, added a little milk and finally whirred them into soup heaven with the use of my fabulous immersion blender.

There is some leftover Asian pasta salad made with rotini and loads of sauteed farmer's market veggies, coated with a dressing comprised of sesame oil, fish sauce, balsamic vinegar and honey. I made some shrimp and threw them in there as well. A perfect quick dinner before we headed for American Players Theater. I ate it again yesterday for lunch and heated it in a pan. It was equally as good hot.

So now I am faced with making dinner. My guy Tariq will be here around 8pm. I decide to use a recipe for cooking my boneless/skinless chicken thighs.. Often I read 10 recipes and then make it up myself. But tonight, I will try the following recipe from Cooking Light. I am always happy to use a well-reviewed recipe. I read a bunch of the comments, integrate them into my approach and then make it my own. I will let you know how it goes. I will be back in an hour....

Well Tariq was late but that is another blog entry. Despite that, the chicken was excellent and very easy. I roasted some quartered herbed Yukon Gold potatoes to have on the side. Thank you Cooking Light!

Photo by: Photo: Randy Mayor; Styling: Jan Gautro

Spicy Honey-Brushed Chicken Thighs

One of the most popular Cooking Light chicken recipes, these sweet and spicy grilled chicken thighs are flavored with chili powder, cumin, garlic and cider vinegar.

Cooking Light MARCH 2007

• Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 chicken thighs)

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika

• 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
• Cooking spray
• 6 tablespoons honey
• 2 teaspoons cider vinegar

Preparation

Preheat broiler.
Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Add chicken to bowl; toss to coat. Place chicken on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Broil chicken 5 minutes on each side.
Combine honey and vinegar in a small bowl, stirring well. Remove chicken from oven; brush 1/4 cup honey mixture on chicken. Broil 1 minute. Remove chicken from oven and turn over. Brush chicken with remaining honey mixture. Broil 1 additional minute or until chicken is done.

Very hard to eat just two thighs!

Nutritional Information

Amount per serving

• Calories: 321
• Calories from fat: 31%
• Fat: 11g
• Saturated fat: 3g
• Monounsaturated fat: 4.1g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 2.5g
• Protein: 28g
• Carbohydrate: 27.9g
• Fiber: 0.6g
• Cholesterol: 99mg
• Iron: 2.1mg
• Sodium: 676mg
• Calcium: 21mg