A Healthy Little Quiche Recipe

Good morning, readers!  I hope you are having a wonderful day.  Its a little overcast here in the Boston area and I'm not even sure how cold it is because I haven't made it outside yet.  Looking forward to doing a 2.5 mile run to the gym, lifting weights, and then trekking the 2.5 miles back to my apartment.  Because I've gotten off to a little bit of a slow start thanks to school vacation and a BF that was out way past his bedtime, I'd love to share a recipe that I've been using from the Weight Watchers program.

Yes, you read that right...Weight Watchers.  If you followed me during my journey in 2011 on Go Lauren Go, you'll know that I am inconsistent about diet and exercise.  Some days I'm on fire and the rest...well, it goes up in a puff of smoke.  While never gaining more than 5 or so pounds throughout the year (and if you didn't know, 5-10 lbs makes a huge difference on a 5'2" frame), I always feel better when I'm on the lighter side of my "Happy Weight". "Happy Weight" is described as the weight you are when you feel your best, are working out, and are mindful in what you eat, but don't obsess about the number and generally appear satisfied with your appearance. Basically, you feel good even if you aren't at your "perfect never ever going to be, but hot dang wouldn't it nice to be that small, weight".  Self.com has an online calculator to help you discover what your "Happy Weight" should be. You can find the calculator by clicking here, but mine just told me I was 15 lbs. over my happy weight. Haha!  I think your "Happy Weight" is a feeling and can't necessarily be defined by a calculation.

I forgot to mention all this yesterday when discussing my Race Improvement Plan, in that I'm committing to losing some weight in order to improve speed when racing. Its no secret that for most runners, the less you weigh, the faster you go.  With this in mind, I have absolutely no desire to look rail thin like many of the elites, but it would be nice to drop a few L.B's in order to help me improve my time.

Many of my friends also know that I have recently been obsessing about some body image issues, from weight gain to wrinkles, which doesn't help me when embracing my "Happy Weight" and "Happy Face" (I just made up the happy face part. Don't expect that to catch on).  I'm currently reading a book that Go Mom Go gave me for Christmas called, "Daring Greatly" by Brene Brown, Ph.D., LMSW. You should be expecting a book review within the next day or so because I'm flying through it. It discusses how shame holds us back from being vulnerable, which ultimately limits our greatest potential and happiest selves. Who doesn't love a little soul searching? 30 years and counting.

Anyway....I've been seriously craving the quiche's that have been featured in the recipe section as part of the online Weight Watchers Tracking Program. I have also circled back to Weight Watchers when trying to keep on eye on my weight.  I find that My Fitness Pal is too restricting and leaves me feeling obsessed about keeping my calories below 1200 (although I do know several friends that have found success using My Fitness Pal).  With Weight Watchers, you are able to have a little wiggle room (as they give you a certain number of points based on your weight per day, in addition to points to use throughout the week). It also helps you to stay focused on incorporating fresh fruits in veggies into your diet, since they are 0 points. You find that you are more likely to include them in your meals since they add bulk without adding points. One of my favorite recipe's is listed below:

(Source)

Here is a picture of the finished product, in two different light settings...in case you have an affinity for either soft or dark lighting. I think I'm  leaning towards the soft lighting on this one.

It's honestly amazing.  I have been eating it for breakfast and lunch every day since BF was feeling a little creative in the kitchen and decided to whip up one of these quiche's.  What a guy, what a guy. Some mornings I pair the quiche with 2-3 slices of turkey bacon (about 2 points for those of you that track).  So give this recipe a try regardless of whether or not you want to look a few pounds lighter or not.

(For those of you that really know me, you might notice that the pie crust we are using is not gluten-free. In another post, I'll discuss my constant struggle trying to find my food triggers after having been diagnosed with IBS in 2007.  Mmm that's something you wanted to read after having looked at a picture of a quiche.)

Have any of you readers found any success using Weight Watchers?  Have you tried another fitness tracking tools in order to see weight loss that remained lost for years?  Do any of you stick to mindful eating and notice the same successes? How much does mood influence your eating habits? I'd love to know.