Exercise + 2 Skinny Spring Recipes

It's been a while since I've posted (sorry), but I thought I'd make up for it with some of my thoughts on exercise and a couple of delicious asparagus recipes.

I've already written a post about my complicated history with exercise, but I wanted to elaborate on my recent weight loss, and the exercise that played a part in it. I'll call this my Guide To Exercise For People Who Hate To Exercise:

1. Walk...everywhere. Anywhere within 2 miles should be walked to, if possible. Walking is free and easy. I try to walk as often as possible. I don't have a car, so walking is my main form of transportation. If you live in a city where you need a car, I'm sure there are times when you drive a short distance you could easily walk instead. Try to walk more, you'll be surprised how good it feels.

2. Dance! Dancing is great cardio, and it's fun so you don't realize how much work you're doing. You don't even have to go out to dance, just put on some music when you're at home doing chores and bust a move (nobody has to know).

3. Yoga. Yoga is my new favorite form of exercise. It's a calm, relaxing activity that leaves you feeling happy and serene. Plus it's a great total body workout where you can't believe how sore you are the next day.

4. When you do some exercise, reward yourself (not with food). Go out to a movie, or buy a new outfit. Give yourself incentive to do a little bit of work during the week. If everytime you took a walk, there was something fun at the end of it, you'd walk a lot more.

Now that you've got some exercise tips, I'll reward you (get it?) with a couple of spring asparagus recipes. I'm so excited for spring vegetables (and warmer weather) this year! The first warm day of the year, I went out and bought a big bunch of asparagus which starred in a delicious dinner and lunch the next day. My new favorite method of preparing asparagus is ribboning it. You just take a vegetable peeler and peel the asparagus into thin little ribbons which can be eaten raw. I tried them on a pizza and then in a delicious salad. Here are the recipes:

Skinny Asparagus Sausage Pizza

Serving Size: 2 slices

WW Points Plus Value: 5

1 pre-made whole wheat thin pizza crust

1/2 cup part skim mozzerella

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

1/4 lb spicy Italian style ground turkey sausage, cooked

1 bunch asparagus, ribboned

1 teaspoon olive oil

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Put the asparagus in a bowl and drizzle with the olive oil. Salt and pepper well, toss, and let sit for about 5 minutes.
• Top the pizza crust with cheeses, turkey sausage, and asparagus. Cook directly on rack in oven for about 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Serve with a white wine, or Peroni.

Skinny Strawberry and Asparagus Salad

Serving Size: 1/3 recipe

WW Points Plus Value: 2

1 bunch asparagus, ribboned

2 cups strawberries, very thinly sliced

2 Tablespoons pine nuts

2 Tablespoons white balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Whisk together oil and vinegar in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and toss gently. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Would be great as a side, or on its own for a light lunch.