Plantain chips about to go in the oven

These are about to go in the oven...and then my belly! :)

Here at Green Mountain, we get a lot of questions on how to use unfamiliar produce that ladies have noticed in the grocery store.  It’s a great idea to explore unknown territory in the produce section, as you might just find something that was previously unknown to you is quite delicious, and it’s always good to add a greater variety of veggies and fruits to everyday life.  I’ve heard something about variety spicing life up, as well as being a big part of healthy eating…  With that in mind, let’s get down to the business at hand, an overgrown banana (kinda).

Plantains are actually a larger cousin of the banana, and can be eaten at various stages of ripeness.  When they’re green, plantains are reminiscent in taste and starchiness to a potato.  At that point, a plantain is best if its fried or boiled.  If you let it get nice and yellow with some black spots, though, it becomes another creature altogether.  Just like the banana, a plantain gets sweeter as its skin gets blacker.  But that doesn’t mean you should eat it raw…ew.  Cook it and you’ll be much happier.

For the recipe below, I suggest [click to continue…]

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When I lose all this extra weight, I’m going on vacation!

When I reach my goal weight, then I’ll try swing dancing.

I know I need new clothes, but I’m not buying any until I lose weight.

I’ll get back out there and start dating, but first I need to get back down to a size 10.

Do any of these ring a bell?  We had a discussion this week about putting life on hold until we reach a specific number on the scale or get back into a certain clothing size.  It made me sad that so many people were expressing this same plan of waiting to do things in life because they felt like their weight was holding them back.

Granted there may be some things that aren’t possible at the moment due to our current health/weight status, like running a marathon if you haven’t been training.  However that should not limit us from doing the things that ARE possible.  Punishing ourselves by not buying clothes that fit, refusing to treat ourselves to vacations, or avoiding social situations may actually prevent us from achieving our health and weight loss goals.

Depriving yourself of these simple pleasures could create a situation where food is our only source of pleasure or it could trigger eating out of frustration or negative body image.

Is there anything you’ve been putting on hold until you’ve lost weight?  Is it possible that you could do this now rather than waiting for life to start at your goal weight?

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