As a stay-at-home mom I'm enjoying the extra time to finally do some of the things I've only fantasized about -- like starting an herb and salad garden. I brought some seeds from Thailand and the US, and so far the chili, basil pesto and sweet basil have been cooperative. We just bought more pots yesterday so I can transplant the seedlings. Am still waiting for the oregano, parsley, and spearmint. When it gets cooler I'll start with the bok choy, lettuce, and tomatoes.

Why the interest in gardening? Part of the reason is I gained so much weight over the summer, I was shocked to find out before we came home that I weighed the same the week before James was born. It's a good thing I also brought some "Flat Belly Food" recipes in a couple of Prevention magazines. While looking up the calories of my dinner I also stumbled on http://caloriecount.about.com After entering all the pertinent data: height, weight, age the website advised a daily limit of 1,200 calories if I want to lose 30 lbs by February.

Well, my goal is to lose all that if not more by December. We're going to spend Christmas and New Year in Thailand to commemorate our 5th anniversary, so I better look good in a bathing suit. So I started working out two hours day and dieting in Aug. 7. I got reacquainted with my old pals Jane Fonda, Kathy Smith, and Pinkney Callan. Using their exercise videos I alternated 40-60 minutes of high impact cardio exercises with muscle workouts like a hundred counts of contractions and stretches.

The results have been encouraging. In three weeks I lost 11 lbs and 3 inches around the waist. Ironically, so did my husband who does not exercise everyday. It seems unfair, until he pointed out that I'm free from stress and don't do much after these workouts. Like playing and carrying our 10-month old baby does not count. But I admit I tend to spend more time napping with James.

What this all means is that the diet definitely works, because we both lost the same amount of weight. My husband does eat bigger portions and may have some lunch or snacks at school. But overall we both benefited since we ate healthier foods, using canola oil-based margarine, unsweetened soy milk, whole grain cereals, brown rice and wild rice, etc. Trust me, we still love to cook and eat -- another dream that came true for me -- and these new recipes are yummy. Brian loves the pasta with walnut and pesto made from fresh basil. My personal favorite is the sweet corn and tofu chowder, although I also love the Vietnamese beef salad. The dishes in these photos are spinach with ground roasted sesame seeds and soy sauce, the pasta with pesto, broiled red snapper with tomatoes and black olives tapenade, and shredded beef with bean sprouts.

Bon appetit!

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