Triumphant Return!

As you may have guessed, I have returned from my little family vacation. I am triumphant, because I managed not to gain any weight while I was there! I actually lost 2 pounds! It was 3 days of solid walking that did it.

I did not really focus on my eating while we were on vacation; because I wanted to just have fun with my family, and not stress a whole lot. I think I did pretty well overall. Fruit for breakfast each day, and a couple salads with/for lunch or dinner. I did indulge in some BBQ brisket, and a humongous cheeseburger though. Plus some Ben & Jerry's for dessert one night (which Pixie soon had all over her face, hands, hair, outfit, and bellybutton-though I'm not sure how that last one came about).
We spent 2 six-hour days at Sea World, and 1 eight-hour day at the Zoo. I walked...a lot....until I thought my feet might fall off on that last day. But my Pixie had a blast, and Hubby was deliriously happy that she was deliriously happy (since he was irrationally anxious about traveling with her)! She loved the dolphins and whales especially, and the monkeys at the zoo. She ran til her little legs wouldn't carry her any more, and then sat happily in her stroller until she just passed out. My favorite part, was the fact that she fell asleep *during takeoff* both flights. Hubby is now more open to travel options in the future ;-) Score 1 for me!

Napping cozily on our flight to San Diego.

Now that we are home however, I must get back on track with the food; and keep working towards that final weight goal. I have some really tasty sounding meals planned for the coming weeks, and sincerely hope they all turn out, and taste as good as they sound!

Remember me saying that avocados are the fruit of the gods? I stand by that statement wholeheartedly! And am especially excited for tonight's dinner of---Baked Artichoke Avocado Dip!! Just reading the name makes me salivate! I am a big fan of a good artichoke dip, and believe that such goodness can only be enhanced by the addition of avocado here. Now, you can assume that this dip involves cheeses, and the avocados themselves are high in (good) fats. So if you're a calorie counter, you may want to take all of that into account when adding this to your meal plan for the day. I serve mine with veggie dippers, vs. a carb option (although I keep some on hand, in case Hubby wants any). Tonight I used broccoli, carrots, snap peas and those lovely little sweet bell peppers they sell by the bag now (they made great scoops for dip!). Hubby also added crispy bread, and toasted flatbread to his plate.

Baked Artichoke Avocado Dip

Ingredients:

4  Tbsp cream cheese (room temp)

1/4 C. plain Greek Yogurt

1/4  C. sour cream

1 tsp. minced garlic

1/2 C. grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp Lawry’s seasoning salt

1/2 tsp chile flakes (the kind you put on pizza)

1 – 14 oz can of artichoke hearts (in water), drained and cut into 1/4 inch pieces
2 1/2 – large avocados

1/2 tsp. smoked paprika

1 C. grated colby jack cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

In large bowl combine cream cheese, yogurt, sour cream, garlic, parmesan cheese, black pepper, Lawry’s, and chile flakes. Mix well.

Mix in artichoke pieces and 2 avocados, cut into 1/2 inch chunks. Reserve the additional 1/2 avocado for the top of the dip.

Mix well & spoon into baking dish. Top with remaining 1/2 avocado cut into long strips and sprinkle with paprika.

Top with colby jack cheese, and bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown on top.