And possibly even more thrilling? A kitchen newbie like me "cooking" something that required only pushing a button on the blender ... and yet it somehow impressed my holiday guests! Cheers!

Egg substitute, 1 ½ c.
1% milk, 1 c.
Fat-free half and half, 1 c.
Sugar, ½ c.
Vanilla, 2 tsp.
Ground nutmeg, 1 ½ tsp

Combine all ingredients. Blend in blender until smooth.

Calories per serving: 127

Enter this great video I found at the About.com Guide to low fat cooking's site. In a snap, I learned to make sweet potato fries that are healthy, beginner-friendly and fast to make. Check it out!

Recently, in all the hustle and bustle of holiday prep, I managed to completely forget about dinner and as it was approaching midnight, I wasn't about to eat a meal. I had picked up this Kashi bar because I wanted something to carry in my purse during holiday errands just in case...

I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised! The flavor was not overly-sweet like some of those bars that taste like oddly-flavored candy bars. It had real cookie pieces, a creamy filling and the chocolate it was dipped in seemed to be the real thing, not that chocolate-flavored coating you get sometimes. The texture was also nice, which is sometimes not the case with bars like these.

I ate half of the bar with a glass of skim milk and despite being up another four hours or so (burning the midnight oil!), it kept my hunger at bay and I didn't munch again until morning.

The 2.75-ounce bars sell individually (mine was less than a dollar) or you can get a case at around 20 dollars a dozen. The package says "Made with Kashi Seven Whole Grains and Sesame" and it's all-natural and kosher, so you won't have a bit of guilt treating yourself to this one. They pack in 13 grams of protein and 6 grams of fiber, which could account for my hunger being staved off so well. The whole bar is 290 calories.

What's your favorite meal replacement bar? Post your picks in the comments section.

Well, it was time for my end-of-week weigh-in this morning and I had high hopes. I felt like I had fone fairly well last week. No drum roll needed, though ... I didn't lose a pound. In fact, if truth be told, I gained an ounce. (I found myself wishing my scale didn't register ounces!)

There could be a number of factors at play here. The weather, the time of the month, water weight, and several other factors can affect your weight from week to week (and day to day, for that matter!). Part of me also says that this may be my body's way of rebounding from week one, when I lost four whole pounds in seven days. I think that first week, the new diet together with almost doubling my walking workout, must have put my system into shock! And now, it's saying, "Whoa nelly! What's going on here? Let's slow this thing down!".

I think it is far too early to call this a plateau. If, by next week, I still don't see a loss, I'll have to do some serious studying of my food journals and maybe kick my activity level back up. (I have slacked off in all the hustle and bustle of the holidays and that is probably a contributing factor to the stall as well.)

Do have any advice for getting your weight-loss momentum back into gear when it seems to wane? Post your tips in comments!

More: Weight Watchers Momentum

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