favorite fall recipes.

Well, I definitely had the intentions of posting more frequently, not necessarily to gain a public audience, but more to get my thoughts, frustrations, NSV's, etc. out of my head and onto 'paper.'

A lot of my friends have been asking that I post some recipes that I've been doing/created while on this whole meal prepping journey, so I figured I would share a bunch of them here. I think I've become a seasonal eater - is that even a thing? I feel like I've been craving foods that are reflective of the season, which is kinda new for me. 

In this post I'll share some of my FAVORITE fall recipes.. quick, easy, and healthy!

- - - 

3-INGREDIENT BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Servings: 15
Points per Serving: 2

Ingredients:
- (5) Packets of Quaker Select Starts Weight Control 
Maple & Brown Sugar Oatmeal (22 points)
- (2) Medium Over-Ripe Bananas (0 points)
- 1/4 cup of Semi Sweet Mini Chocolate Chips (13 points)

Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix mushed banana, mini chocolate chips and oatmeal together. 
Add water until you get a consistency similar to cookie dough. 
- I use an ice cream scoop to place directly onto cookie tray 
(no foil or wax paper - it will stick!) 
- Bake for 12-15 minutes.
- Let cool and enjoy the most DELICIOUS 3-ingredient GUILT FREE cookies ever!

- - - 

3-INGREDIENT BANANA NUT COOKIES
Servings: 10
Points per Serving: 1

Ingredients:
- (2) Packets of Quaker Weight Control Banana Bread Instant Oatmeal (9 points)
- (2) Medium Over-Ripe Bananas (0 points)
- 1/4 cup of Fisher Chef's Natural Chopped Walnuts (5 points)

Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix mushed banana, chopped walnuts and oatmeal together. 
Add water until you get a consistency similar to cookie dough. 
- I use an ice cream scoop to place directly onto cookie tray 
(no foil or wax paper - it will stick!) 
- Bake for 12-15 minutes.
- Let cool and enjoy the most DELICIOUS 3-ingredient GUILT FREE cookies ever!

- - -

ZERO POINT VEGETABLE SOUP
This soup is something my mom made when she did Weight Watchers YEARS ago. Unfortunately, I can't ask her exactly how she made it... I really wish she had written it down... but I'm doing my best to make it my own. If I'm being honest, I personally think it could still use some fine tuning, but hey, it's a work in progress like I am!

I've made this on the stove in the past with a big pot, but this time around I used my Crockpot. It took about 36 hours rotating between high, low, and keep warm settings. I think if I kept it on high it would've cut the time in at least half. 

I also used Vegetable Broth at first, but it ended up tasting like tomato water (YUCK!) so I got the sodium free beef broth packets and added that at the end. Even though I'm a vegetarian, the next time I make this, I will just use beef broth from the start. Mushroom broth may even be a good option - maybe I'll do half beef broth and half mushroom broth. PS. I love that I'm basically having a conversation with myself about the broth. ANYWAY...

Ingredients:
- 6 cups of broth (Beef is recommended)
- (1) Can of Stewed Tomatoes (Italian Style)
- (1) Can of Crushed Tomatoes
- Fresh Vegetables (Portions are up to you!)
  - Mushrooms
  - Green Beans
  - Carrots
  - Celery
  - Onions
  - Cabbage (This should be the most used veggie 
    in the soup. I used 3/4 of a head of cabbage)!
  - Zucchini (optional, I didn't add it this time)

Instructions - 
- Chop all veggies and add into crock pot along with the canned ingredients. 
- Add broth on top and set crock pot to high. 
- Add seasonings of choice. I used:
  - LOTS of Red Pepper Flakes (because I love anything spicy)
  - Normally I would use 2 cloves of fresh garlic, but I was out so I used garlic powder.
  - Himalayan Salt
  - Black Pepper
  - Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb Seasoning (VITAL INGREDIENT!)
- Let it simmer until veggies are soft and flavors have melded together. Cook time will vary depending on whether you cook on the stove or in a crock pot!

xo, 
Skinny Minnie

gotta start somewhere.

Hi. It's me. The Queen of Excuses. This morning I got on the scale for the first time in probably a year. OH. MY. GOD. 

Listen, I'll be honest. I've never had a good relationship with food or my body. At 29 years old, I still associate being pretty with being skinny. I look at other women of all shapes and sizes and see beauty, but in the mirror, I just see fat. After losing my mom in October 2008, I joined Weight Watchers with one of my mom's best friends - who happens to be my godmother. We went EVERY SINGLE WEEK together. It was wonderful... and I lost almost 50 pounds! I felt AMAZING... sexy, confident... it was freaking GLORIOUS!! 

Then (insert Jaws theme song), I met my now ex-fiance. Somehow in the span of 6+ years, I gained it all back. I've now been single for 3 years but didn't have the motivation to lose it. I had the energy to complain about it though - that's for damn sure. And then today, I got up and got on that scale. The number I saw made me want to cry. I won't lie about that for a second. But for the first time, I also felt ANGRY. I don't want this to be my life anymore. I don't want to hate getting dressed, meeting people, leaving the house. I decided - enough is enough. 

I signed back up for Weight Watchers - online only this time, which is new for me. This is just a familiar way to help me track food. I also started an Instagram account to share my journey - skinnyminnie_ww and to hopefully hold myself accountable. I had surgery August 10th so I'm not able to do too much in the gym, but I will start tonight with cardio on the treadmill. Nothing crazy. But my goal is 5 days a week (at least). 

I hope more than anything that I stick to this. I honestly don't know what I'll do if I don't. I'm going to Disney World (my favorite place on the planet.. hence the 'Minnie' 😁) on January 31 - 132 days away. I don't want to hide from the camera like I normally do. I don't want to walk through the parks feeling like 'the fat friend' like I always do. At this point, I don't even want to put a number on how many pounds I'd like to lose, because if I fail to reach that goal, I'm more likely to quit yet again. 

I'm creating this blog to document my journey and give me a place to vent so that my negative tendencies don't drive my friends crazy. 

So to you, if you're reading this and struggling the way I have been... WE GOT THIS!

xo, 
Skinny Minnie