new kid on the block.

Hi.  My name is Lauren and I'm a former fat kid.


{this is me now with my husband and our dog.}

I hit my peak weight at 160 lbs. my sophomore year in college.  I did Weight Watchers (counted points, but no meetings) and lost 40 lbs in about 6 months.  Since then my weight has yo-yo'd a bit...especially after getting married and taking on the same "diet" as my husband who can eat whatever he wants.  I got my act together and lost the weight again.  

My weight has been (and probably always will be) a struggle I'll deal with for the rest of my life.  Part of me feels like I'm not qualified to guest blog here on The Skinny, but the other part of me is super excited to have a reason to be held accountable for maintaining my fitness.  Currently my goal is to lose 15 pounds.  I want to have babies one day and am hoping to get thinner now so there's less weight to lose later.  

SO...enough about me.  My posts here on The Skinny will be about healthy meals/snacks.  I will post recipes to some of my favorites that I've tried every 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month.  Before I give you this recipe, I want to note that while I don't have any picky children to worry about, I do have a picky husband.  He hates "diet food", so it's a challenge to find things that are healthy that he'll eat...especially since he's a red-meat lover through and through.  Neither of us are huge shrimp fans, but this is probably our favorite meal...I cook it at least every other week.  (*NOTE:  this is spicy, but you can leave out the garlic chili paste and it would still taste good).

Stir-Fried Shrimp with Spicy Orange Sauce (Via~Cooking Light~best cooking mag ever)

YIELD

4 servings (serving size: 3/4 cup)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined large shrimp
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon chile paste with garlic (such as sambal oelek)
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 cup chopped green onions

PREPARATION

Place shrimp in a medium bowl. Sprinkle with cornstarch; toss well to coat. Set aside.

Combine juice, soy sauce, honey, vinegar, and chile paste, stirring with a whisk; set aside.

Heat canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add minced ginger and garlic to pan; stir-fry for 15 seconds or until fragrant. Add shrimp mixture; stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add juice mixture and onions; cook 2 minutes or until sauce thickens and shrimp are done, stirring frequently. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

301 (30% from fat)

Fat:

10g (sat 1.1g,mono 4.6g,poly 3.2g)

Protein:

35.3g

Carbohydrate:

16.8g

Fiber:

0.5g

Cholesterol:

259mg

Iron:

4.4mg

Sodium:

621mg

Calcium:

103mg

Here are some variations I use when making this meal:

*I only make 2 servings (note Craig eats a lot so it's more like 2 1/2 servings).

*I use 3/4 lb. of shrimp instead of 1 1/2, but I keep the sauce recipe the same...I like sauce.

*I only put in 1 tsp. of the chile paste. I really like spicy stuff and I had to learn the hard way that less is more with this recipe. I couple of times I made this meal and it was so hot we couldn't even eat it. You can also leave out the chile paste altogether if you aren't a fan of spicy cuisine.

*I use whole wheat penne instead of the suggested ondon noodles, but you can use whatever.

*I use like 5 garlic cloves...but that's just because we really like garlic too.

Looking forward to heading off on this weight loss journey with you Katie and Kathy!

P.S.  Here's a link to my favorite ab workout on exercisetv, which is a great resource for free/low cost workout videos.