Pumpkin and Spice

I've been doing great at getting to the gym after work, however, the downside is I don't get home until 6 or 6:30- which means by the time I walk in the door, I am starving. Kyle gets home shortly after, also hungry.

When I wasn't doing the gym-thing, I had an extra hour and a half to cook, but now, if I want dinner on the table by 7ish, I've got to be a little craftier. I'd love to spend time simmering, peeling and whatnot, but sometimes (and I'm sure you're with me on this) I just need to get dinner ready now.

My okra with sausage and shrimp fits the bill perfectly. It's quick, easy and healthy- plus, most of the ingredients are freezer or pantry stable, which is a bonus (in my opinion) because it means I can plan in advance, but if something comes up, nothing's going bad waiting to be cooked. (I usually plan 4+ cooked meals a week, but don't always wind up getting around to cooking all of them- either we go out or eat leftovers or whatever- so it's nice to have at least one that can lapse into the next week without ingredients spoiling.)

 Whew! Yikes, that was an exhausting December! I really, honestly thought I'd post more last month, but I spent most of the month working, shopping or squeezing in some family time. I'm sure you all were in a similar boat- it's a busy season. Hope you all had lovely Chanukahs, Christmases and Champagne-soaked New Year's Eves. (Me? I had two glasses and was in bed by 11. I had to be up at 7a for work the next day, and I'm a girl who needs her eight hours.)

New Year's Eve is great- I love that feeling of having a new chance at a fresh start. I know it's just the turning of the calendar, but something about a new year makes anything seem possible. Did you make any resolutions? I did, and it's probably the same one many of you made- to lose weight. I make it every year, but I'm never very good at it. I've been going back and forth in my head about this, but I've decided that this year, I'm going to blog about it. Please don't roll your eyes- I know this is a food blog, but this is about food. I've tried to share with you all my adventures in food, and I feel like this is going to be a significant adventure for me.

And, well, it's my adventures in food that brought me here. I was a chubby kid, and a chubby teenager, and in college, thanks to the tried and true method of exercising a bit and not eating everything that wasn't nailed down, I managed to lose quite a bit of weight. Later, when I got engaged, I slimmed down even farther... but, with the threat of a strapless dress immortalized on film forever no longer looming, and the cozy comfort of newlywed-hood, a few pounds crept back on. Not a big deal, but then I went to pastry school and put on a few more, then I went to Utah and packed on some winter weight on top of that, and well... never really lost it. So, in a nutshell, I am an embarrassing 45lbs heavier than I was three years ago (thanks mostly to croissants, cakes, and other sweets...)