Mrs. Field's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip... Sort-of :)

1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup margarine (2 cubes)
5 cup uncooked old fashioned oatmeal
3/4 cup water
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 cup sugar
4-5 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup SPLENDA
4 eggs
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup packed Splenda Brown Sugar Blend
Instructions:
Cream margarine, sugars and water. Add eggs. Then add oatmeal, soda's, vanilla and salt. Then add the flour and chocolate. Makes 70-80 cookies, 2 T per cookie. Bake on a greased cookie sheet for about 11 min at 425 degrees. 2 POINTS per cookie. (The original are 4 to 5 points per cookie.) These are definitely not the same, but a very good substitute!

Trigger Feelings!

Hi Everyone!
What a great day! I know it snowed and it is a bit nippy- but I see some blue skies over yonder!!

Hey hey hey- How is it going with identifying and dealing with your trigger foods? Be sure to use your Helpful Habits with this one, especially, Prepare Yourself and Learning from the Past. If you haven't cracked your Week 3 materials, Think First, this week it the time for you to take the habit profile and pick one or two, to start developing. These 8 habits were identified to have the greatest effect on helping you, to not only lose the weight- but maintain the loss.

This week we are moving on to part two of our Trigger Trilogy- THE EMOTIONAL TRIGGERS!!! ba-na!!! Trigger feelings and emotions are those feelings that drive us to the pantry (or where ever the goodies are kept). Learning to understand these reactions to our feelings and deal with the feelings in a "non-food" way is key to our success. This week, in meeting, we will be delving into this quandary of emotional eating and how to begin to manage it. We will be looking to the helpful habits for help and learning (or relearning) an amazing Tool For Living, Reframing. Be sure to hit your meeting this week for the help you need in this area or the help you may be able to offer another member!

Please have a great week!

Here is some FABULOUS wisdom from Zig Ziglar-
"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing-that's why we recommend it daily."

BE sure to come to your meeting this week to get the Motivation you need for the week!!!

BLT's Beware!!!

B.L.T three simple letters they be,
but beware for all who may not see,
the traps, the lies, they truly are.
BLTs have stopped me so far.

Bite Lick and Taste is what it means
and why I don't fit my favorite jeans.
Oh BLT you must be aware
because I choose to end our affair.

No longer will I BLT my days away,
no munching, no tasting, I'm wasting away.

Grilled cheese crust,
truly not a must.
A little tiny bite,
the urge I will fight.
Leftover french fry
such a thing I shant try.
Frosting on a spoon,
the pounds will follow soon.
Just a taste is all I ask,
remembering not to, will be a task.

But today I say to you my BLTs
the choice is mine, its all about me.
Size 8 is calling me louder I plead,
No more BLTs is my new creed.

By Corrine Simonsen (My FAB sister)

Not a Cook? No Problem!

90% of the problems we face with getting dinner on the table, is "no time" and just "what to fix?" We get bored, and sometimes don't realize how easy it can be to throw together a quick and nutritious meal. Cooking does not need to be complicated and time consuming to be filling and healthy for the whole family.

I found these articles on WW.com and they have some great ideas for quick, "no cook" meals! We'll have you "cooking" in no time flat!

http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?art_id=1031&tabnum=5&subnav=FOOD+&+RECIPE

Second article on Shortcuts!
http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=27761

Food Triggers!

What beautiful weather we are having! I sure love the nice days of Spring!

Hey- be sure to check out the yummy recipes below! They are super good and perfect for the Springtime! That salad makes enough for 1,000,000 people. I quadrupled it for Easter and we are going to be eating it for the next little while. Good thing it is super yummy!

This weeks meeting hot topic is our ever infamous "Food Triggers." These bad boys can really cause us some grief when we come in contact with any of them. These are the foods that we have no self control around. Once we start, we just cant stop, until we are literally sick or they are gone. Come and join us for a three part discussion of our Triggers- this week is food, next week is emotional triggers and the next week is Environmental Triggers.

Have a great week and keep up the good work!!!

Chicken & Wild Rice Salad

2- 6oz boxes of Uncle Ben's Wild Rice, cooked to pkg directions and cooled (omit the butter or oil)
5 BS chicken breasts or thighs, grilled, cooled and cubed
1 large bunch red or green grapes, cut in half
1 bunch chopped celery
2 bunched green onions, chopped
2 cans sliced water chestnuts, chopped
Dressing:
1 c reduced fat mayo
1/4 C canola oil
1/4 c vinegar
1/4 C lemon juice
Mix well and pour over salad. Store in an airtight container. SUPER YUMMY!! 3 POINTS per cup. This is best made the night before.

Black Beans and Chicken

1 lbs B.S. chicken breasts
2 cans black beans
1/2 C uncooked brown rice
16 oz jar of salsa
Place in crock pot and cook all day on low. Makes 6 servings at 5 POINTS per serving. (A Core recipe)

Thank you to Lynda for this goodie! I am making it tomorrow night for my family!

To Write or Not to Write!

Hi Everyone!

What a beautiful day it is! I sure love the sun!!! I hope everyone is having a great St. Patrick's day!

There have been an few members who have asked me about alcohol and POINT values. While I have pretty much no practical advice, accept, be sure to track your POINT values, I did run across this article at WeightWatchers.com that might be helpful. http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=47521

Now this weeks meeting is great (as usual :). We are going to learn about monitoring ourselves. It is a great time to recommit ourselves to tracking or all other types of monitoring that we need to be doing. The Helpful Habit of Monitoring Yourself is a really valuable tool that will help you in every aspect our our quest to a healthy weight!

Please have a great week and see you in the meeting!!!

Easter Pork Tenderloin

POINTS® Value: 4 Servings: 8 Preparation Time: 20 min Cooking Time: 12 min

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup reduced-calorie pancake syrup
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp table salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
• 2 1/2 pound lean pork tenderloin, use two 1 1/4-pound pieces

Instructions

• In a large zip-close plastic bag, combine syrup, dry mustard, cloves, ginger, salt, cinnamon and pepper. Trim pork of all visible fat and cut each tenderloin in half widthwise. Add tenderloins to plastic bag, squeeze out air and seal bag; turn to coat tenderloins. Place bag on a plate and refrigerate on bottom shelf, turning bag occasionally, at least 2 hours or overnight.
  
• Preheat broiler. Place tenderloins in a roasting pan and pour marinade over them. Broil 5 inches from heat until pork reaches an internal temperature of 160°F, about 6 minutes per side. Let stand at room temperature for 5 minutes before slicing. Yields about 4 ounces of meat per serving. (This is a CORE food)

BLT's- Great Sandwich- BAD Habit!

I have probably confessed this before, but BLT's are going to be the DEATH of me! For those of you new to WW (or just new to me, for that matter), BLT's are the Bites, Licks and Tastes that litter our days and plague our weight loss. I easily consume 5-10 POINTS of BLT's every day. It is a really NASTY habit that I have got to put an end to.

I made a poster for my wall, it states:
Skinny People...
DON'T BLT!!!!

Alright- so "skinny" isn't the most PC way of stating my goals, but "skinny" really speaks to my psyche :)
So, I started this morning, and really did pretty well- only 2 POINTS of BLT's today. I am really going to have to watch myself. I nibble on EVERYTHING without even realizing it.

Hey- if any of you out there have successfully beaten this Bad Boy of a habit- I'd love to hear from you!!! I am really going to hit this one hard for the next 30 days and see it I can give it the boot!

Oranger Orange Dream Smoothie

1 C frozen fresh oranges
1 C raw carrots
1 C Skim milk
1 WW Vanilla Smoothie Pkt
2 T flax seed oil
6 POINTS, 2 oils, 2 dairy, 4 fruits and Veggies. This one tastes virtually identical to the "Orange Dream Smoothie." (A Core Food)

Spinach Manicotti

12 Manicotti noodles, cooked and drained
1- 1/2 C low fat ricotta
2 eggs
1/2 C reduced fat Parmesan Cheese
3 oz fresh spinach, chopped well
1 C fat free mozzarella
1/2 jar of your favorite fat free spaghetti sauce
salt and pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients together, except the spaghetti sauce and noodles. Stuff noodles with the white sauce. Arrange in a baking dish. Cover with spaghetti sauce. Cover and bake at 350 for about 30 min. 3 POINTS per Manicotti, 5.5 for 2! Enjoy!!! (To make this Core, use whole wheat pasta and fat free Ricotta (or blended ff cottage cheese) and FF Parmesan cheese)

Alrighty-
I hope all of you are enjoying our non-freezing temperatures! It is so nice to see the 40's and even an occasional 50 again!

This weeks meeting is one for the books! We are talking about what to do with the little road blocks we come up against on our weight loss journey. We all hit snags, whether it be a plateau or just plain boredom. This weeks meeting will really help us gather the tools we need to get back on track ASAP!! Not another moment to waste!

Be sure to take the surveys on my blog. I the information they show is of course non-scientific, but very interesting. The latest one is on the top of the page and the rest are down lower. If you haven't taken them yet, be sure to do it if you have a moment!

We'll see you around! (Outside :)

Day Three- More Green Smoothies

2 stocks Celery
2 C Spinach
1/2" Fresh Ginger
2 t Flax Seed Oil
1 Orange
1 small Banana
1 C baby Carrots
1 C Skim Milk
1 WW Vanilla Smoothie
Some water and ice, if desired.
Blend well. 8 Fruits and Veggies, 2 oils and 2 dairy. 7 POINTS. Makes 4 Cups.

Orange Smoothie

(this is NOT the ORANGE DREAM Smoothie, see below)
1/2 orange, frozen (.5 POINT)
1/2 apple, frozen (.5 POINT)
1 C pineapple (1 POINT)
1 small banana, frozen (1 POINT)
good handful of baby carrots
about 1/2 can of diet lemon lime soda
blend well. It makes about 4 C of smoothie and has only 3 points. YUMMY! (8 servings of fruits and veggies!)

Green Smoothie-- Day 2

OK- so this morning I tried a new Green Smoothie Combo-

1 WW vanilla smoothie pkt (1 POINT)
1 C skim milk (2 POINTS)
1/2 Apple, cored w/peel (.5 POINTS)
1/2 Orange, peeled (.5 POINTS)
1 small banana (1 POINT)
1/4 Cucumber w/peel
2 C spinach
1/2 C fresh parsley
2 t flax seed oil (2 POINTS)
1" of fresh ginger root, peeled
1 T lemon juice

Now this is 7 POINTS as is, BUT... It is 7-8 servings of Veggies and Fruit, 2 dairy and 2 oils. It also made 3 Cups. The ginger was a little strong, so I will use less next time. I also froze the other half of the orange and apple and a new banana for tomorrow.

I ATE it!---a GREEN Smoothie PPV Updated

Happy days are here again! Yes- March has arrived and I am very happy- needless to say! I know she snowed on us Saturday night- but hey, the sun is shining today! Oh- I sure love spring!!

Alright- this weeks meeting is so great! We are going to be going through the Good Health Guidelines. Now some of you may not have embraced these 8 miracles of health (ok- maybe they aren't quite miracles... but you catch my drift). The whole point of Weight Watchers is to help you to get to a healthy weight and then learn to maintain that loss- FOR LIFE. Our Good Health Guidelines are here to help you on your way. We have all learned on the Flex Plan, that we can have 1 chicken breast for 3 POINTS or we can have a Twinkie for 3 POINTS. Here's the deal- we can eat either, and so long as you are within your points budget, you are going to lose. Now here is the kicker- you are going to be far more satisfied and HEALTHY with the chicken breast. You will actually feel better. By incorporating and following the Good Health Guidelines, you will be more satisfied and healthier. Most of us have found ourselves overweight and unhealthy, by making poor food choices, too often. By adding the Good Health Guidelines to our daily eating habits, we will go a long way to attaining an maintaining a healthy weight.

Please come to meeting this week with your favorite ways to include the Good Health Guidelines into your daily life.

Now for the news flash of the year!- I made a Green Smoothie and actually liked it. The one I made had spinach, parsley, cucumber, flax seed oil, banana, an orange and pineapple. I ended up with 9 servings of fruits and veggies, 2 t healthy oils, and about 5 cups of smoothie. There are TONS of stories about how healthy they are for you- I don't know about that, but I will let you now if I notice a huge difference in my energy, etc :)

Here is Lynda's recipe for the Green Smoothie from Dr. Oz. Mine is an rendition of this one.

Green Drink

1 orange

1/2 cucumber

2 handfuls spinach

1 TB fresh ginger

1 TB lemon juice

1/2 c fresh parsley

1/4 c water
Blend with a few ice cubes

Now for the more conservative of the bunch- here is my favorite smoothie yet:

ORANGE DREAM SMOOTHIE
1 pt vanilla smoothie mix
1 frozen orange, in sections
1/2 C skim milk
3/4 C water
Blend until smooth. Super yummy- 3 PPV , 2 fruits, 1-1/2 dairy. If you add your oil- it makes it five and WOO HOO, you got your oil in!

Have a great week!