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Showing posts from January, 2007

Jan. 29 - Crock Pot Bottom of the Round

Bad weigh in last Saturday - I deserved it though - can't eat chocolate every day, then expect to loose weight. That, plus eating pasta the night before weigh in - not smart at all. Course, didn't change much, came home and had pizza for dinner the next night. You wonder why I haven't learned yet. 2 years of Weight Watcher meetings - I KNOW what I'm doing wrong - yet I continue to do it. A friend suggested I try Core for awhile - I know I can do low carb - I lost about 50 lbs on Atkins years ago (before I ended up with emergency gallbladder surgery in Egypt LOL). I'll try and be REALLY good while I'm in Floriday (did I mention I'm leaving tomorrow with ALL 4 kids, BY MYSELF?). We'll have a blast - I'm taking them to the Nickeloden Hotel - course, they don't know that yet ;) Anyway - since we won't be here this week - no weekly menu. For dinner tonight I'm doing a Bottom of the Round Roast so dh will have plenty of leftovers for a few days...

Herb Roasted Leg of Lamb - 7 pts for 4 ounces

The 7 points is for a regular cut of lamb - if you've taken off most of the fat - you can probably deduct one point ;) Herb-Roasted Lamb 12 large unpeeled garlic cloves, divided 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 1 (6-pound) boneless leg of lamb, trimmed and tied 4 to 5 pounds small unpeeled potatoes (16 to 20 potatoes) 2 tablespoons good olive oil Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place the oven rack in the lower third of the oven so the lamb will sit in the middle of the oven. Peel 6 of the cloves of garlic and place them in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the rosemary, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, and butter. Process until the garlic and rosemary are finely minced. Thoroughly coat the top and sides of the lamb with the rosemary mixture. Allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Toss the potatoes and remaining unpeeled garlic in a bowl wit...

Tuesday - Jan 23

Oooops - forgot to post a weekly menu yesterday - sorry !! Been working on taxes - you know what that does ! Anyway - Monday - Chicken thighs on the grill - I usually don't endorse one product over another - but if you like BBQ chicken with a really tasty rub on it - not bbq sauce, but something a bit spicier, but not as messy - try this - Rub it on the chicken and let sit overnight (I've let mine sit for 2 days in the fridge - it's excellent). Hard to find though - my grocery store only carried in in the summer (who else grills in the winter?) but after I kept hounding them - now they carry it in with the spices in the baking aisle. If you can't find it there - try with the BBQ sauces. McCormick Wet Rub Tuesday - steak and onions - took some t-bones out of the freezer - I've got the George Forman mean, lean grilling machine (highly recommend) - so after swimming, dinner will be a snap (the onions and garlic topping will be done ahead of time) Wednesday - leg ...

Cinnamon Raisen Bread Pudding - 5 pts

This was taken from the Egg Beaters web site - it works up to be 5 pts per serving if you have 9 servings. It works out to be 5 points - whether you use real maple syrup, or sugar free - so might as well use the real stuff LOL. Now - if you were able to find LIGHT cinnamon raisen bread - then it'd probably lower the point value Cinnamon Raisin Strata Neufchatel cheese lends a savory note to this warm cinnamon raisin bread pudding. Prep Type: BakePrep Time: 10 Cooking Time: Over one hour Makes: 9 servings (1/9 Strata each) Ingredients PAM® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray 1 (1 pound) loaf cinnamon raisin bread 1 package (8 ounces) Neufchatel cheese, 1/3 less fat than cream cheese, cubed, divided 2 cups skim milk 1 cup (8 ounces) Egg Beaters® Egg Whites 1/4 cup maple-flavored syrup 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon Additional maple-flavored syrup Directions Spray 8 x 8-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Tear bread into 1-inch pieces. Arrange 1/3 of the bread pieces in bottom of prepared ba...

Crab Cakes Recipe - Saturday Jan 20

Weight Watchers meeting today - down .4 - not much, but better then the gain I deserved. This week will hopefully be better as I promised myself to journal every day !! Tonight for dinner - Crab Cakes - I have 3 pieces of fish that I thawed yesterday for dinner - I can pan fry those for dh, and I'll make crab cakes for everyone else (dh will have one of those with his salad I'm sure LOL) This is a WW recipe - I've made it before - easy and good. I make the crab cakes up ahead of time and shape them - then just dip them in the oat mixture right bfore baking. Cajun Crab Cakes POINTS® Value: 3 Servings: 4 These slightly spicy, crisp crab cakes are flavorful winners thanks to fat-free mayonnaise, roasted red peppers, Dijon mustard and Cajun seasoning. 1 sprays olive oil cooking spray 1 pound lump crabmeat, fresh, jumbo 2 Tbsp uncooked quick oats 1/4 cup roasted red peppers, diced (from a water-packed jar) 2 Tbsp fat-free mayonnaise 1 tsp Cajun seasoning 1 tsp Dijon mustard 3/4 ...

WW point tracker for your computer - free

You should be able to download this point tracker right to your desktop (it should show up as a little apple. There is an option to turn fractional points on/off - I like them on - because if something is 1.1 pts and I eat 2 servings - then it should only be counted as 2 pts. BUT - if I eat something that is 1.4 pts and I eat 2 servings - then I need to count it as 3 pts - KWIM? It also calculates your activity points. Anyway - I can't figure out how to link a program here - so I'm linking it to an old MSN board I used to own. The program you want to download is called pointsJerzy.exe - there are also trackers there - flex point trackers, and weight loss trackers - both work with excel - feel free to download those as well. And if you remember the winning points, and the Wendie plan - there is a journal for that as well - also requires excel.

Pumpkin Bean Soup 3 pts per serving

Going to make this on Friday for dh - with a big spinach salad, and some fresh homemade bread - he'll be happy. The kids of course - prolly mac and cheese and hot dogs - I can't expect them to eat ultra healthy every single day now, can I (shhhhh, don't tell them the mac and cheese is made with calcium fortified skim milk, and the hotdogs are FF LOL) Pumpkin Bean Soup - serves 4 1 tsp cumin 10.5 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained 2/3 cups chopped onion 2 cloves garlic peeled (I'll be using way more) 1 1/8 cups low sodium veggie broth 1/2 cup water 9 ounce can pumpkin puree Cilantro - chopped as a garnish In a blender - process cumin, black beans, onion, galric, broth and water at high speed until smooth; transfer to a saucepan' add pumpkin puree. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes; season to taste with pepper. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro when serving. Only 3 points per serving

Paella Chowder - serves 4 at 6 pts each

2 tsp olive oil 1 large onion, chopped 2 garlic cloves, minced 1/2 cup long grain white rice 1 tsp paprika 3 cups fish or vegetable broth, or 3 (8 ounce) bottles of clam juice 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes 3/4 tsp dried thyme 1/2 tsp saffron threads (or tumeric) 1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined 1 cup frozen peas 1 cup diced cooked chicken 1 TBS chopped manzanilla olives 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley ground pepper 1. Heat the oil in a nonstick dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the onion and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the rice and paprika; cook, stirring frequently, until the rice is lightly toasted, about 2 minutes. 2. Add the broth, tomatoes, thyme, and saffron; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the rice is tender, about 18 minutes. 3. Add the shrimp and peas; return to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the shrimp are barely opaque in the center, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken and ol...

Moroccan Carrot Dip with Pita Triangles

Serves 6 at 2 pts per serving 1 lb carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces 1 TBS olive oil 1 small garlic clove 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 plus 1/8 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp ground coriander 1/4 tsp cayenne 1 tsp paprika (optional) 3 (6-inch) whole wheat pita breads, cut into 8 wedges each 1. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add the carrots and cook until tender, 20-22 minutes. Drain. Let cool 5 minutes. 2. Put the carrots, oil, garlic, lemon juice, cumin, salt, cinnamon, coriander, ginger, and cayenne in a food processor and process until smooth. Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with paprika (if using). Serve warm or at room temperature with the pita wedges.

National Body Challenge

Every year I do the National Body Challenge online. I don't live close enough to one of the WeighIn stations to compete IRL - but there is so much good information online - I really enjoy it. PLUS - if you have a Bally's gym nearby - you get 8 free weeks. Can't beat free. Anyway - the information listed for week one and week two were so good, I thought I'd link them WEEK ONE - getting started WEEK TWO - Remember your commitment All 12 weeks are already there - but I'm taking it step by step so "I" don't get overwhelmed. Right now, I'm drinking a Lipton Noodle soup - high in sodium, but at only 60 calories per cup - it's wonderful !! My house is smelling good as well - I threw on a beef roast in the crock this a.m. with a Pepsi One Cola and lots of onions - I'll review tomorrow how it turned out.

Menu week of 1/15

Monday - Oven Fried chicken Tuesday - Cola Pot roast - RECIPE - dump roast, then package of dry onion soup mix, then a 12 ounce cola in that order into a crock pot. Cook on low for 10-12 hours. Serve on a sandwich or over rice. EDIT - this was excellent. I sliced a couple onions and threw them in the bottom of the crock before adding the meat - let it cook a good 10 hours, served it over rice - really nice. I used a Pepsi One - so yes, you can use diet soda. Wednesday - Fresh bread, Carrot dip (WW recipe to follow) Paella Chowder (WW recipe to follow) Thursday - Slow Cooker Chicken breast over Parisienne with rice Friday - Fish and leftovers

Pillowcase Instructions -

Learned how to do this at a quilt retreat in Michigan last year. It's a wonderful way to make a personalized pillow case. I make pillowcases to match the quilts I make, but even if you can't sew - these are easy enough to whip up in under an hour. Step 1. Press 1 1/2 inch strp in half lengthwise with right sides out (length depends on how big the pillowcase is to be - this strip should be double the length of the opening) Step 2. Place raw edge of above strip even with edge of large fabridc, salvage to salvage with right sides together. Place right side of 9 inch strip to above over the narrow strip. Pin and stich a scant 1/4 inch seam. Step 3. Roll large fabric towards the seam. Fold 9 inch strip to raw edge of previous seam with wrong side out. stitch a full 1/4 " seam being careful not to sew any of the rolled fabric into the seam. Pull the rolled portion of barbric out of one end of the now 4 1/2 inch border. Press. NOTE - the raw edge of the seam is not v...

Online Shopping Deals -

I love, love, love online shopping - it has saved me so much money over the years - anyway - today I Just placed an order at beals florida dot com - great sales - plus a coupon code for an additional 40% off, and when they charge you shipping, it's based on the price AFTER the coupon code - so for $70 which included shipping I'm getting - 2 pairs of Lee jeans for me2 pairs of jeans for dh (including Izod and Haggar)3 shirts (1 for each girl)1 shirt for Adam1 pair of jeans for dd #1 The 40% off code is HOTSAVINGS - and it expires tomorrow. Also Amazon is having a decent sale on bedding - $5 for full size flannel sheet sets - and orders over $25 ship free .

Jan. 13, 2007 - Blueberry Peach French Toast

Home from my 2nd WW meeting of the year - down 1.4 lbs. Still not at my lowest weight ever, but I'm slowly getting back there. Another 2.4 lbs - and then I'll be at my lowest. Goal for this week - journal, journal, journal. I know if I have to write it - it'll be healthy for me, or else I won't admit to it. So - as long as I write it - I can eat it. Sitting down now to compose a menu for the week. Making this tomorrow a.m. Baked Blueberry-Peach French Toast POINTS® Value: 4 Servings: 8 This baked, stuffed-French toast is filled with sweet blueberries and peaches and then topped with a cinnamon-sweet milk mixture. Great for a holiday brunch. Ingredients 16 slice light whole wheat bread 1 cup blueberries, fresh, or frozen blueberries (thawed if frozen) 1 large peach(es), chopped or 1 cup frozen peach slices (thawed if frozen) 2 1/2 cup fat-free skim milk 2 cup fat-free egg substitute 2 Tbsp sugar, granulated 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 Tbsp powdered suga...

January 11, 2007 - Day One

How to break the cycle? According to BMI - my oldest daughter is well on her way to obesity - and she's 10. Her BMI is 27.2 - anything over 25 is overweight. Over 30 is obese. It is time to break the cycle. I was always taught as a child to "finish my plate". I always equated love to food. I remember being so hungry - and "healthy food" was off limits - we weren't allowed to open the fridge and help ourselves to fruit, so instead I snuck cookies out of the closet, or even ate dry spaghetti. I look back at it now, and realize that it was because the kitchen needed to stay "clean". Well, I'd rather have a dirty kitchen, dishes in the sink, and healthy children. It's cold outside now. We have an enclosed porch - it's rather cool out there - and there is a large basket of fruit - it has pears, apples, clementines, and grapes in it. There are also grapes washed in a pan on the kitchen table. Banana's are hanging near the phone. There are...