Cold morning, black beans for dinner

Discovered this morning that cold air is really hard on your lungs for exercising ! We went out for our morning walk, in the clear, sunny 39 degree weather, and were only able to complete 10 minutes. With eachj breath my bronchial passages started to constrict and my lower lungs felt in pain and son started to cough. he does not have athsma or any respiratory problems, but i dealth with bronchial Athsma in my younger days, and I do not want a repeat preformance of anything connected wih that experience. So we came in and decided that if the temp is lower than 45 degrees, we would do indoor exercises. Currently we own a stationary bike, and we will take turns with that to get in our exercise. Normally after our 30 minute walk I jump on the bike to do anything from 15 to 30 minutes pedaling as well to beat the Hormone Fairy that likes to keep me gaining weight. So far, some weeks she wins and some weeks I win, but hopefully with the changes I am making due to the enlightment about my PCOS , there will be more consistant losses on my part. Son and I will take turns using the bike till we figure out something else. Aerobics tapes are out as we live in a 3rd floor apartment and our downstairs neighbors would not be very sympathetic to our weight loss efforts. perhaps Santa will bring a treadmill or an elliptical machine.

Tonight for dinner I am making a bean dish that has been well reccived here. The best I can calculate it comes in at 6 points per serving when paired with Brown rice. It is really filling, and the small amount of cheese in the dish it will prevent my body from reacting in a negative way. I have had a good week and I feel like have lost, and I want to avoid doing anything that will contradict that trend


Black Bean And Vegetables serves 4


3/4 cup chopped onion
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 cup red bell pepper chopped
2/3 cup frozen corn thawed
1 medium carrot coarsely grated
1 2/3 cups cooked black beans rinsed -- drained
1/2 cup canned tomatoes drained mexican style
8 tablespoon lowfat monterey jack cheese -- shredded
4 tablespoons nonfat sour cream
4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro


combine onion and oil in large non-stick skillet. Stir over medium-high heat until onion is golden, about 6 minutes. Add cumin and chili powder; stir 20 seconds. Add bell pepper, corn and carrot; saute until almost tender, about 5 minutes. Add beans, tomatoes ; bring to simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Serve with cheese, sour cream and cilantro. Serve over brown rice with a salad on the side.