Hola!
How is it going? There has actually been little blue patches of sky down here in Payson! Yippee!!
This week we continue with our "10 Steps to Success." Come and see the rest of the 10 steps and find ways to really plug in and boost your weight loss success! Remember, the only difference between those who succeed and those who don't... the ones who succeed, try one more time!
Be sure to participate in all of the polls on the blog. Scroll down to see them all.
Have a great week and the next time I send and email--- it will be MARCH!!! Woo Hoo!
Monday, February 25, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
It's Dinner and there's no POINTS to eat!
Alright, we've all been there- it's time for dinner and there are little or no POINTS left to eat! What do you do? Cry and BLT yourself into eating 25 more POINTS than you would have, had you actually fixed a creative POINT-less meal?
So, here is what I did tonight on a very empty stomach and a slim POINT budget of 1.5 POINTS left for dinner. (Now how I got here is another story, for another day). What I did was, take some whole grain thin spaghetti, broke it up into about 1-2" pieces and browned it in a frying pan (no oil). I tossed this in the rice cooker with brown rice (Uncle Ben's) and the proper amount of H2O and bullion. Then I abandon my children, and headed out to the store for all of my favorite veggies; napa cabbage, snow peas, celery, carrots, broccoli, onions, green onions, water chestnuts, mushrooms, etc. I took these bad boys home and cut like a mad woman. I put a little canola and sesame seed oil in the pan and stir fried these guys to tender crisp. I seasoned them with garlic, ginger and soy sauce. I dished myself a half cup of the rice pilaf and then PILED on the veggies. It was so good and the family liked it too. I am EXTREMELY satisfied and very happy to have stuck to my POINTS target for today!
The great thing about this meal is that you can purchase Stir Fry Vegetables in the freezer section of the store to have on hand for a POINTS emergency. The rice can also be made in advance and frozen in smaller amounts for an instant meal. (If you have NO points, you can just eat the veggies :)
The main trick to surviving a "NO or low POINT" dinner is a little creativity and not panicking. Don't fool yourself into thinking that you can just "fast" until the next day, you will pick and snack until you have consumed more POINTS than you would have, had you just made something that was low POINTS and filling.
Hang in there! Be sure to send me your favorite ways to survive those POINT-deficient evenings!
So, here is what I did tonight on a very empty stomach and a slim POINT budget of 1.5 POINTS left for dinner. (Now how I got here is another story, for another day). What I did was, take some whole grain thin spaghetti, broke it up into about 1-2" pieces and browned it in a frying pan (no oil). I tossed this in the rice cooker with brown rice (Uncle Ben's) and the proper amount of H2O and bullion. Then I abandon my children, and headed out to the store for all of my favorite veggies; napa cabbage, snow peas, celery, carrots, broccoli, onions, green onions, water chestnuts, mushrooms, etc. I took these bad boys home and cut like a mad woman. I put a little canola and sesame seed oil in the pan and stir fried these guys to tender crisp. I seasoned them with garlic, ginger and soy sauce. I dished myself a half cup of the rice pilaf and then PILED on the veggies. It was so good and the family liked it too. I am EXTREMELY satisfied and very happy to have stuck to my POINTS target for today!
The great thing about this meal is that you can purchase Stir Fry Vegetables in the freezer section of the store to have on hand for a POINTS emergency. The rice can also be made in advance and frozen in smaller amounts for an instant meal. (If you have NO points, you can just eat the veggies :)
The main trick to surviving a "NO or low POINT" dinner is a little creativity and not panicking. Don't fool yourself into thinking that you can just "fast" until the next day, you will pick and snack until you have consumed more POINTS than you would have, had you just made something that was low POINTS and filling.
Hang in there! Be sure to send me your favorite ways to survive those POINT-deficient evenings!
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Warning- ANTS!!!
Wow!
The sun is shining and only 10 days left of Freezing Feb! Ok- I am sorry to all the ski lovers out there, but I am running out of nice thing to say about these teen temps! My "Polly Anna" is getting serious frostbite!
Alright this weeks meeting SPEAKS to me! I am going to hit a meeting in Provo this week for sure. Along with Jack Canfields 10 steps to success, we are discussing how our attitude and thoughts can make all of the difference. We really are unkind to ourselves at times and don't give ourselves credit for all of the wonderful things we ARE good at! Come this week and learn how to defeat the ANTS in our lives! (you have to come and see what ANTs are)
OK- there are links below to, two of the BEST articles I have read in a long while. Please click the links and take the time to read them. They are both quite short and full of wonderful insight!!!
This is a FANTASTIC article on "The Twilight Zone"- a real help with Plateaus!
http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=44241
A VERY excellent article on "ZERO Point Foods" and the REAL rules about them!
http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=40701
Have a great week and don't forget to vote on the latest survey and check out the results of the past ones. Very interesting stuff!
See you in the Meetings!!
The sun is shining and only 10 days left of Freezing Feb! Ok- I am sorry to all the ski lovers out there, but I am running out of nice thing to say about these teen temps! My "Polly Anna" is getting serious frostbite!
Alright this weeks meeting SPEAKS to me! I am going to hit a meeting in Provo this week for sure. Along with Jack Canfields 10 steps to success, we are discussing how our attitude and thoughts can make all of the difference. We really are unkind to ourselves at times and don't give ourselves credit for all of the wonderful things we ARE good at! Come this week and learn how to defeat the ANTS in our lives! (you have to come and see what ANTs are)
OK- there are links below to, two of the BEST articles I have read in a long while. Please click the links and take the time to read them. They are both quite short and full of wonderful insight!!!
This is a FANTASTIC article on "The Twilight Zone"- a real help with Plateaus!
http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=44241
A VERY excellent article on "ZERO Point Foods" and the REAL rules about them!
http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=40701
Have a great week and don't forget to vote on the latest survey and check out the results of the past ones. Very interesting stuff!
See you in the Meetings!!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Clever & Funny Activity Quotes
-Practice, which some regard as a chore, should be approached as just about the most pleasant recreation ever devised, besides being a necessary part of golf. ~Babe Didrickson
-It's not enough just to swing at the ball. You've got to loosen your girdle and let 'er fly. ~Babe Didrickson
-If it weren't for the fact that the TV set and the refrigerator are so far apart, some of us wouldn't get any exercise at all. ~Joey Adams
-The word aerobics came about when the gym instructors got together and said, "If we're going to charge $10 an hour, we can't call it jumping up and down." ~Rita Rudner
-I have to exercise in the morning before my brain figures out what I'm doing. ~Marsha Doble
-I really don't think I need buns of steel. I'd be happy with buns of cinnamon. ~Ellen DeGeneres
-Aerobics: a series of strenuous exercises which help convert fats, sugars, and starches into aches, pains, and cramps. ~Author Unknown
-Exercise is a dirty word. Every time I hear it, I wash my mouth out with chocolate. ~Author Unknown
-An hour of basketball feels like 15 minutes. An hour on a treadmill feels like a weekend in traffic school. ~David Walters
-I consider exercise vulgar. It makes people smell. ~Alec Yuill Thornton
-If your dog is fat, you're not getting enough exercise. ~Author Unknown
-I am pushing sixty. That is enough exercise for me. ~Mark Twain
-Exercise is the yuppie version of bulimia. ~Barbara Ehrenreich
-Whenever I feel like exercise, I lie down until the feeling passes. ~Robert M. Hutchins
-It's not enough just to swing at the ball. You've got to loosen your girdle and let 'er fly. ~Babe Didrickson
-If it weren't for the fact that the TV set and the refrigerator are so far apart, some of us wouldn't get any exercise at all. ~Joey Adams
-The word aerobics came about when the gym instructors got together and said, "If we're going to charge $10 an hour, we can't call it jumping up and down." ~Rita Rudner
-I have to exercise in the morning before my brain figures out what I'm doing. ~Marsha Doble
-I really don't think I need buns of steel. I'd be happy with buns of cinnamon. ~Ellen DeGeneres
-Aerobics: a series of strenuous exercises which help convert fats, sugars, and starches into aches, pains, and cramps. ~Author Unknown
-Exercise is a dirty word. Every time I hear it, I wash my mouth out with chocolate. ~Author Unknown
-An hour of basketball feels like 15 minutes. An hour on a treadmill feels like a weekend in traffic school. ~David Walters
-I consider exercise vulgar. It makes people smell. ~Alec Yuill Thornton
-If your dog is fat, you're not getting enough exercise. ~Author Unknown
-I am pushing sixty. That is enough exercise for me. ~Mark Twain
-Exercise is the yuppie version of bulimia. ~Barbara Ehrenreich
-Whenever I feel like exercise, I lie down until the feeling passes. ~Robert M. Hutchins
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Fun Fun Fun!!!
Hi Everyone!
10 days down- 19 to go (yes, I am counting down the days until the end of February :)
Hey, I hope you all have a great Valentine's Day. If you don't have a Honey, or yours is a little unromantic- treat yourself to something you love, a bouquet of beautiful flowers for your table, a pedicure, a ski trip, a massage or a long bubble bath! Live it up a bit!
This week we are talking about what we used to do for fun as kids. I loved to go for long bike rides and just run around the neighborhood. We all NEED to be active, but can we find ways to take hints from our past and get moving doing some things that we LOVE to do, rather than HAVE to do? Come and join us and share some of your old time favorite ways to have fun and new ways to more more!
Be sure to checkout the below recipes! They look FANTASTIC!! Oh, and I am going to leave the survey's open to see ongoing results. If you have not been able to vote before, please visit the blog and vote. It looks like the "I mostly stick to my points target" is in the lead.
Have a great week and see you soon!
Marion 
10 days down- 19 to go (yes, I am counting down the days until the end of February :)
Hey, I hope you all have a great Valentine's Day. If you don't have a Honey, or yours is a little unromantic- treat yourself to something you love, a bouquet of beautiful flowers for your table, a pedicure, a ski trip, a massage or a long bubble bath! Live it up a bit!
This week we are talking about what we used to do for fun as kids. I loved to go for long bike rides and just run around the neighborhood. We all NEED to be active, but can we find ways to take hints from our past and get moving doing some things that we LOVE to do, rather than HAVE to do? Come and join us and share some of your old time favorite ways to have fun and new ways to more more!
Be sure to checkout the below recipes! They look FANTASTIC!! Oh, and I am going to leave the survey's open to see ongoing results. If you have not been able to vote before, please visit the blog and vote. It looks like the "I mostly stick to my points target" is in the lead.
Have a great week and see you soon!
Marion Meat Loaf By- Jodi
1 lbs Ground Turkey breast
¼ C dry bread crumbs
¼ C egg beaters
¼ C chopped onion
1 t Salt
½ t sage
Dash pepper
Sauce-
3 t Splenda brown sugar
¼ C ketchup
¼ t nutmeg
1 t dry mustard
Mix all ingredients together (except sauce). Form into a loaf. Spray loaf pan with Pam. Spread with sauce and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Serves 6- 3 POINTS per serving.
Grilled Chicken Tostadas By Lynda Broadbent
Marinade-
½ C lime juice
¼ C soy sauce
1 T honey
2 t minced garlic
1 ½ t chili powder
Tostadas-
6 BS chicken thighs or breasts
8 small corn tortillas
1 ½ C shredded lettuce
Optional toppings- Cheese, guacamole, sour cream, olives, cilantro, green onions
Instructions:
Place the chicken thighs in a gallon-size zip-lock bag and add all the marinade ingredients. Press the air out of the bag and seal it. Turn the bag to thoroughly coat the chicken, place it in a bowl, and refrigerate it for at least 4 hours (preferably overnight), turning the bag occasionally. Remove the meat from the refrigerator 20 minutes before you want to start grilling. Prepare a charcoal fire or set a gas grill to medium-high, close the lid, and heat until hot -- about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the thighs from the bag and discard the marinade. Grill the chicken until it's no longer pink inside, about 4 to 5 minutes per side on a gas grill. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let it rest for about 5 minutes before cutting it into 1/2-inch strips. Spray both sides of the tortillas with vegetable oil spray. Grill them on each side until they turn slightly brown, about 1 minute on a gas grill. Before removing the tortillas from the grill, sprinkle each one with 1 tablespoon of cheese. To serve, layer the tortillas with shredded lettuce, the chicken strips, the remaining cheese, and any additional toppings. Serves 6 (4 pts) to 8 (3 pts) You will need to add points for any of the optional toppings.
1 lbs Ground Turkey breast
¼ C dry bread crumbs
¼ C egg beaters
¼ C chopped onion
1 t Salt
½ t sage
Dash pepper
Sauce-
3 t Splenda brown sugar
¼ C ketchup
¼ t nutmeg
1 t dry mustard
Mix all ingredients together (except sauce). Form into a loaf. Spray loaf pan with Pam. Spread with sauce and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Serves 6- 3 POINTS per serving.
Grilled Chicken Tostadas By Lynda Broadbent
Marinade-
½ C lime juice
¼ C soy sauce
1 T honey
2 t minced garlic
1 ½ t chili powder
Tostadas-
6 BS chicken thighs or breasts
8 small corn tortillas
1 ½ C shredded lettuce
Optional toppings- Cheese, guacamole, sour cream, olives, cilantro, green onions
Instructions:
Place the chicken thighs in a gallon-size zip-lock bag and add all the marinade ingredients. Press the air out of the bag and seal it. Turn the bag to thoroughly coat the chicken, place it in a bowl, and refrigerate it for at least 4 hours (preferably overnight), turning the bag occasionally. Remove the meat from the refrigerator 20 minutes before you want to start grilling. Prepare a charcoal fire or set a gas grill to medium-high, close the lid, and heat until hot -- about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the thighs from the bag and discard the marinade. Grill the chicken until it's no longer pink inside, about 4 to 5 minutes per side on a gas grill. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let it rest for about 5 minutes before cutting it into 1/2-inch strips. Spray both sides of the tortillas with vegetable oil spray. Grill them on each side until they turn slightly brown, about 1 minute on a gas grill. Before removing the tortillas from the grill, sprinkle each one with 1 tablespoon of cheese. To serve, layer the tortillas with shredded lettuce, the chicken strips, the remaining cheese, and any additional toppings. Serves 6 (4 pts) to 8 (3 pts) You will need to add points for any of the optional toppings.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Eating in or out.. that is the Question!
Hello!!
Hi everyone! What a winter we are having! I can say, I am truly impressed! You know I was thinking, it's pretty good that February is the shortest month of the year! Hey, and the warmer season has the longest months! COOL! Or should I say... WARM!!
Anyway- this week we are discussing the great adventure of EATING OUT!!! (Say it like "Pigs in Space..." from the Muppet Show) Well, as you all know, eating out has become a standard part of our culture. Even ten years ago, eating out was not as prevalent as it is today. We all are going to be faced with the challenges that it poses. So be sure to hit your meeting this week, and learn and share some secrets to success! Eating can be a part of your life and you CAN lose weight at the same time!
Recipes, recipes- calling for all recipes. This week I want to hear some of your favorite treats. Valentine's Day is coming up and we want to treat our loved ones to something maybe a little lighter that 20 points per slice! Send me your favorites! I added the chocolate kiss and cherry brownies below! If you have not tried them, wow- they ROCK!!!
Hey- the results of the weight loss survey are in and here the are-
70% lose .6 to 1.2 pounds per week
20% lose 0 to .4 pounds per week
10% lose 2+ pounds per week
A new survey is posted, be sure to vote.
See you in Meeting!
Hi everyone! What a winter we are having! I can say, I am truly impressed! You know I was thinking, it's pretty good that February is the shortest month of the year! Hey, and the warmer season has the longest months! COOL! Or should I say... WARM!!
Anyway- this week we are discussing the great adventure of EATING OUT!!! (Say it like "Pigs in Space..." from the Muppet Show) Well, as you all know, eating out has become a standard part of our culture. Even ten years ago, eating out was not as prevalent as it is today. We all are going to be faced with the challenges that it poses. So be sure to hit your meeting this week, and learn and share some secrets to success! Eating can be a part of your life and you CAN lose weight at the same time!
Recipes, recipes- calling for all recipes. This week I want to hear some of your favorite treats. Valentine's Day is coming up and we want to treat our loved ones to something maybe a little lighter that 20 points per slice! Send me your favorites! I added the chocolate kiss and cherry brownies below! If you have not tried them, wow- they ROCK!!!
Hey- the results of the weight loss survey are in and here the are-
70% lose .6 to 1.2 pounds per week
20% lose 0 to .4 pounds per week
10% lose 2+ pounds per week
A new survey is posted, be sure to vote.
See you in Meeting!
Friday, February 1, 2008
Oil- Oil- Oil
I get asked a lot how I get my Healthy Oils in. Here are two of my favorite ways!
I use the 94% ff popcorn. In a microwave dish or on the stove, I put 2 teaspoons of olive oil and 1 pressed clove of garlic and cook until the garlic turns golden brown. I drizzle this over the popcorn. (2 POINTS for the oil and then 1 point for 5 C of the popcorn {4 points if you eat the whole bag}) I will do more oil if I am sharing with a bunch of people. I also like to shake a little parmesan cheese on top too. If you don't get carried away, it does not change the point value. YUMM! :)
Then for my grilled cheese, I just use 2 teaspoons of olive oil instead of butter. (1 tsp on each piece of bread) I like Prairie Grain Company- Whole Wheat Bread (1 POINT per slice. Lots of places carry it) I also like the ham from Costco. It is 2 pieces for 1 point. I use the 2% Swiss slices, 1 point. Anyway- I love this sandwich!
I use the 94% ff popcorn. In a microwave dish or on the stove, I put 2 teaspoons of olive oil and 1 pressed clove of garlic and cook until the garlic turns golden brown. I drizzle this over the popcorn. (2 POINTS for the oil and then 1 point for 5 C of the popcorn {4 points if you eat the whole bag}) I will do more oil if I am sharing with a bunch of people. I also like to shake a little parmesan cheese on top too. If you don't get carried away, it does not change the point value. YUMM! :)
Then for my grilled cheese, I just use 2 teaspoons of olive oil instead of butter. (1 tsp on each piece of bread) I like Prairie Grain Company- Whole Wheat Bread (1 POINT per slice. Lots of places carry it) I also like the ham from Costco. It is 2 pieces for 1 point. I use the 2% Swiss slices, 1 point. Anyway- I love this sandwich!
