I'm in a Writing Mood Today!

First...there was a comment to my last post that mentioned a fat friend who started to sabatoge efforts.

My bestest best friend is a normal weight. She's 5'7", maybe 150-160 pounds. She's very fine boned though, and that weight translates to a size 14 for her (for me, 150 pounds will be a size 8 or so.)

When I told her, years ago, that my goal weight was 150 pounds she was stunned. "You think you should weigh less than me?" I just stared at her. Well...hello. I eventually asked her if she thought she was at her perfect weight. No, she said. Well...hello again. I'm not allowed to dream about being a weight that is fat for you?

I hadn't thought about it, but now that I am, I'm pretty sure that I'll get some sort of reaction from her. I might not end up weighing much less than her, but I'll definitely be more slender. I know for sure that I wear a Lane Bryant 14/16 at 220 pounds.

I'm anticipating comments along the...haven't you lost enough? You don't want to go overboard! Wow, I think you can stop now...vein.

AND I made the most scrumptious, amazingly delicious stuffed peppers tonight for dinner. Here's the recipe:

Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

Four green bell peppers
1 1/2 cups dry brown rice (the kind that's not milled)
1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries
1/4 cup sliced almonds (or other nuts)
1 can black beans, rinsed
3 Tablespoons sherry or white wine
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon worchestershire sauce
Spices (I used Mrs. Dash extra spicy, garlic powder, dried parsley, salt and pepper...use what sounds good to you)
2 cups tomato sauce
2 Tablespoons brown sugar

Steam the rice with 3 cups water for 50 minutes.

Meanwhile cut the top off the peppers and clean out the seeds and white pith. But in a glass dish with 1/2 inch water and microwave for six minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the wine, soy sauce and worchestershire together in a small bowl.

Combine the rice, cranberries and nuts, and beans. Add the sauces. Mix well. Add spices and mix again.

Take the peppers out of the water, dump the water. Fill the peppers with about 1 cup of rice stuffing.

Combine the tomato sauce and sugar. Pour some in the bottom of the dish. Put the peppers back in. Top them with the rest of the sauce.

(I put a slice of reduced-fat Swiss cheese on top of each at this point. It's up to you...it isn't necessary. You could try some parmesan or grated cheese right in with the rice.)

Bake for 30 minutes.

There was a lunch-worth of rice mixture left over...oooooh yes!

One pepper, even with the cheese, has about 360 calories. I ate one with some Mandarin oranges and was completely full.

I've never used brown rice before. It has a nice chewy texture that makes the meal seem very substantial. And it's better for you to boot!