Meet Me Monday-Jessie!

Good Monday Morning to you all!!  Hope your weekends were fantabulous!  Today we're going to learn all about Jessie!  Yeah!!  Jessie is my bff Leah's friend from college.  We both walked down the aisle at Leah's wedding.  And, that's about the extent of my correspondence with her, unfortunately!  I've heard lots of great things about her though.  And, if she's friends with Leah, then I know she's a superstar!!  Here's what she wants you to know about her!

"Hi everyone!  My name is Jessie and I'm excited to be doing this competition.  If you're wondering, who is this Jessie character?  Well, let me tell you!  I live in Milton, WI (about 45 minutes south of Madison) and teach middle school band.  I have been married to wonderful guy named Jamie for more than 2 years, and we live in a cozy little house with our two cats, Maestro and Belle. 

We enjoy traveling and exploring new places, landscaping, spending time with family and friends!  We dislike thinking of dinner ideas.  We do not currently have children so you'd think we'd have time to cook delicious, healthful meals and take a daily walk BUT you'd be wrong!  My husband works at least 12 hours a day and I tend to have many after school or evening responsibilities/rehearsals.  Because of our schedules and general lack of motivation when we get home from our respective careers, we resort to a lot of eating out, frozen pizzas, and TV watching...especially during the winter.  That is our downfall and I'm admitting it.

You may be asking yourself at this point, how does this person know Jenny?  I've never heard of this Jessie.  Well, I know Jenny (and Dana actually) through Leah!  Leah was a college roommate of mine and is a very good friend.  It was actually while living with Leah (and two other lovely ladies) that I felt I was at my perfect weight.  I have to say that being at college was actually very beneficial for my weight. None of that freshman 15 for me.  If you think about it, you walk a lot and people make food for you.  I felt like I always had good options to choose from and generally took advantage of it (except for the occasional Lucy's homemade chocolate chip cookies).

I've tried several of the fad diets over the years and have found I CANNOT deprive myself of the things I love the most...I need to just learn to limit my serving size.  I am a person who really hates to be hungry.  In fact, my husband and family can attest to the fact that a lack of food makes me quite crabby.  So I am trying to make and freeze several healthy but tasty soups.  I've heard that a more liquidy diet can be beneficial.  I also find myself feeling more full after having a bowl of soup.  Besides soup, I have added some other very important and tasty things to my diet that are helping I think.  #1 Kashi GoLean cereal!  It's super fibrous...I believe it is the best cereal out there.   You will be very regular girls!  #2- Dannon Greek Yogurt-it has a ton more protein than regular yogurt and is more creamy.  I like the type with the fruit at the bottom.  #3-An apple a day.  I've decided to add an apple each day because I find they make me feel full which of course equals a happier Jessie.

So that's that!  I'm really hoping that these lost pounds will start adding up!  Good luck to all of you!"

Thanks Jessie!!  Keep up the good work!!  I just made butternut squash soup last night that was pretty tasty.  Perhaps I'll post the recipe soon!  Later this week, I plan on posting an excellent black bean casserole recipe!  Delish!  Have a great week everyone!