Shrimp & "Grits" Was a Lifesaver!

Yesterday I met up with a college friend for lunch at a Mexican place. I didn't go overboard ( I had 10-12 tortilla chips, a little salsa, and half a chicken fajita platter), but I needed to eat lighter that evening.

I've been craving shrimp for a while and decided to give in to those cravings. What floated into my mind was a meal I'd eaten at a Low Country/Caribbean restaurant in Savannah, GA a few years ago: shrimp and grits, with sauteed spinach. All of these items are very diet-friendly!

I trotted over to my local ShopRite after work to buy the ingredients. I went with the self-serve steamed Cajun shrimp (10 of them for 2 meals), a bag of triple-washed baby spinach, and a polenta rectangle (OK, not really grits, but close enough, and quicker).

At home, I set the shrimp up in a foil packet on my indoor grill, where I was also grilling fish for my husband. After weighing a portion of polenta on a food scale I recently purchased, I placed the polenta on the grill as well, 5 minutes for each side.

I sauteed the spinach on the stove in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of minced garlic. Voila! A very quick, delicious and nutritious meal.

Update: I really wanted to post a pic of this for you, but I ate the evidence yesterday! I will try to be better at posting pics of stuff I make.

Confessions of a Diet Diva

Hello out there! I am a Diet Diva, your average shrinking Big Girl who likes to cook. This blog will be about how I now eat great on two levels: for health AND for taste.

Before I hit my diet stride, I lived to eat and loved to eat. Although I ate some fast food (french fries are still a major weakness), I was more of the "cornbread, fish and collard greens" type of Sista Bigbones gal, like Anthony Hamilton says, versed in the art of making a good macaroni and cheese, whipping up a cheesesteak (Philly stand up!!!), or barbecuing a nice batch of ribs on the grill. I was one of the folks who took the 2 (or sometimes 3) turns around the pan with EVOO. I'd eat out and get my mitts on everything from Chinese (buffet, of course) and Mexican to Thai, Indian, Portuguese, Ethiopian, and Jamaican.

Everything tasted great, but at what cost? I was diagnosed with high blood pressure at 30 and my weight hovered around 230 pounds. Did I mention that I became pregnant soon after the blood pressure diagnosis? Something had to give.

By the grace of God, my pregnancy was devoid of the major problems like preeclampsia and gestational diabetes and my baby was born healthy, though several weeks early. I did balloon up to the 270s during the pregnancy, but I was able to get back to my previous fighting weight of 220-, 230-something in about 5 months. I also kicked the high blood pressure in the process. But the scale didn't budge.

Then I found Weight Watchers at the end of 2008. Since I started hustling on Weight Watchers, at 227 pounds, I have lost almost 20 pounds. My secret? Weight Watchers is AWESOME. Seriously.

The best part about Weight Watchers is that it sets you up to lose weight, but not think diet. Technically anything is acceptable to eat, just in moderation. But you have to make sure you get in the veggies and other good stuff first, just like mama used to say. Being a Weight Watchers devotee has made me rethink not only how I eat, but why I eat. I'd encourage anyone to try it!

OK, enough of the commercials. What I plan on giving you with this blog is recipes and information on food choices; information on kitchen gadgets, food shopping, etc.; and maybe a brag or two about how I'm progressing. (I'll try to keep those to a minimum.) My budget fashionista tendencies also could make an appearance, as my clothing options continue to open up... Who knows...

Thank you for finding your way here to my little corner of cyberspace. I hope you enjoy yourself, and I hope you learn that great eating CAN go beyond deep frying and extra cheese, as I have.