What's for dinner?

I reached my goal weight sometime in the last month.  

Happy dance for sure.  Since then I have been trying to transition from weight-loss mode to maintenance mode.  For some reason, the transition always seems harder than it should be. 

For most of my life, dieting was the farthest thing from my mind as I was blessed with a fast metabolism.  In fact, it wasn't until after my kids were in high school, which put me in my late 40's, that I had my first, first-hand experience with a "diet."  Here was my plan--join Weight Watchers, lose the necessary weight and continue as before.  After a certain number of months/years, I would regain the lost weight and one of two things would happen:  1) Become my calorie-conscious self again or 2) Resign myself to the addition of 5 pounds and continue as before.

Anyway, the idea of maintaining a healthy weight was difficult.  I was good at dieting, but not good at what came after. So, fast forward to today and the thing is--I don't need to lose any more weight.  First, I can't afford to buy more new clothes in smaller sizes and I don't need to be at my pre-children fighting weight at this point in my life.  So, I've realized I need a strategy to have a successful transition.  There seem to be a couple of options:  1) Eat slightly larger portions of the same, healthy foods, 2) Reduce my activity level (walk fewer steps), 3) Ease up on the legalistic approach to the diet and occasionally enjoy something that is on the "not as good for you" list (can anybody say dessert), remembering that the Daniel Plan book encourages 90% compliance or 4) Do a combination of the above.  

One thing I know for sure, I want to stay on the healthy side of eating . . . now that I've cut most of the "white" from my diet (white rice, white bread, white pasta, white sugar), there's no reason to go back.  I also intend to stick with the organic choices, where possible, and to keep water as my beverage of choice.  That being said, I plan to monitor my weight and increase the protein portion sizes, if necessary, and, enjoy a protein-rich fruit smoothie for breakfast or snack each day.  As to reducing my exercise, I'd rather not back away from the 10,000 steps my body has become accustomed to walking; well, I probably could stop obsessing about reaching the daily goal to the point of walking around our neighborhood at 10:30 p.m.  So, I'm trying to think of my daily steps in terms of a weekly goal rather than a hard and fast daily goal.  

Anyway, this blog was supposed to be about dinner . . . . so my new approach to lunch/dinner has been taking advantage of the recipes in Cooking Light magazine.  (I'm so grateful for the technology that lets me subscribe to the magazine on my Kindle.)  Not every recipe makes the cut--some I don't like, some call for things that are impossible to get here in El Salvador and some, in my opinion, don't meet the Daniel Plan recommendations.  So, without further adieu, here are three of our recent meals:

Jamaican chicken with pineapple salsa, bean medley and sliced tomatoes.

Tilapia Veracruz, quinoa and roasted asparagus

Chicken thighs with peach salsa, Parmesan polenta and fresh green beans.

I'm not planning to become a food blogger (which is a good thing because my photo-taking skills are sadly lacking,) but I am trying to take the time to record the successes.  The proof in the transition plan is not what I'm doing/eating today, but what I'm doing/eating over the next six months.  For that, you'll just have to stay tuned.