Greenlight's Groupon!

We have an awesome Groupon deal (over half off!) for our upcoming Sexy in Six weight loss class. I promise this will be the most fun "diet" you have ever been on.

This testimony from a former participant sums it up:
I was quite surprised at how successful I was in this program, because my track record for dieting is pretty poor. This one worked for me because it makes sense, is organized to build each week, and I stayed motivated due to feeling a little better each day. Jeni and Juli-Ann presented the program in a way that is realistic, practical, and takes into consideration that people have real lives. I’ve recommended it to family and friends, because it’s a steal for the information I received.

And she paid full price!

Swimsuit season is just around the corner, so grab a couple of pals and come get Sexy in Six with us!

Click here to access the deal.

Pleasantly Pleasing Pasta

I'm working diligently this week and next cleaning out my freezer, fridge, and pantry. The project is long overdue, but something I like to try to do a couple of times a year, especially as seasons change. So last night I dug deep and threw together a pasta salad--from ingredients I had in the house--and it came out quite yummy.
I'll organize the ingredients by where I found them, but don't really have measurements or how much--I just used what I had.

For the Dressing:
I made a basic vinaigrette with ume plum vinegar, olive oil, and whole grain mustard. In the end I squeezed lemon over the salad, too, and in hindsight probably should have made a lemon vinaigrette, but the ume plum vinegar is one of my faves, so I use it every chance I get.

From the Freezer (finding more good stuff here):

• about a cup of corn 
• about a cup of green peas
• I tossed these with the hot pasta and let them thaw while the pasta cooled.

From the Fridge:

• couple of carrots, chopped
• some celery, chopped
• some chives, chopped
• some red onion, chopped
• a handful of kale, finely chopped (great way to add greens to just about anything)
• slivered almonds sprinkled on top

From the Pantry

• Eden Organic whole grain pasta (I always have some on hand--it's good stuff!)
• 2 cans tuna
• salt and pepper to taste

From the Heart:
Lots of Vitamin L(ove)!

Learning to Love Leftovers

I'm not sure when it happened--the shift in my appreciation of leftovers. As a child I wasn't very fond of them. As the food preparer in our house, where the fruits of my labor often get devoured in 6.3 minutes, I have made good friends with leftovers.

There are 3 main forms of leftovers at our house:

1. Exact same dish warmed over.
2. Same ingredients re-purposed--cook once, eat multiple times. For example, I might combine a little brown rice, sweet potatoes, and beans from previous meals into a pot and stuff quesadillas with the leftovers. Or I cook a whole chicken, we eat it freshly roasted, then in the form of chicken salad, then in the form of chicken soup, then in the form of chicken stock made from bones.
3. Fabulous freezer finds.

The third category has gotten to be a favorite for me. Going with the cook once, eat multiple times policy, I find that the winter months are full of soups, stews, and chili. These are great for several days, but more often than not, the quantity prepared outlasts the palates who eat them. So invariably containers end up in the freezer, not always as well marked as they should be.

I've heard of folks dumping all their leftovers into one container and pulling it out when it gets full for a hearty leftover meal. They say it's wonderful no matter what you put in it. I'm skeptical, so my leftovers get individual containers, but then get thrown into a single pot after thawing.

It sounds like the same result, I know, but there's one big difference between the two--I brown about 1/2 pound local breakfast sausage before adding my freezer finds. I figure if the combination of the freezer finds is not so great, at least it's got sausage in it. And pretty much, if it has sausage, especially this local stuff, I'll eat it.

So decide what your "sausage" is and add it to those treasures hiding in your freezer for a simple meal (or 3!). No better time than now to have one last "winter meal" and get ready for the bounty spring and summer will bring.