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Thursday, January 20, 2011

I am a 10!!! (Careful, it’s my world I’m livin’ in ya know!)



No, but really, I bought new jeans on my lunch hour and they are a size 10!! I really had a hard time grabbing them off the rack because I was sure they would be like really pretty blue SAUSAGE CASINGS!  But nope, they are cute as heck!  I am feeling the pride right now in my new blue NOT sausage casings!  Another milestone, last week at weigh in I hit my 30lb mark, talk about a great day!  

Here is a little tasty tidbit for you today that I think I will be making for my next party, it has two of my favorite things in it…YES ONE OF THEM IS CHEESE, the other my friends, is spinach!  I love spinach anyway, but you can put it in so many things to give you a little boost, not just nutritionally mind you…but it gives a little guilt free bulk to lots of  different types of dishes!  And now if I haven’t entertained you enough…here are some funnies before the nitty gritty…um I mean recipe…

Adult Truths:

1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die

2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.

5. How are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

6. Was learning cursive really necessary?

7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

10. Bad decisions make good stories.

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blu Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.

13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.

14. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

15. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

16. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay.


17. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

18. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?

19. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!

20. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

21. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

22. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time.

23. The first testicular guard, the "Cup," was used in Hockey in 1874 and the first helmet was used in 1974. That means it only took 100 years for men to realize that their brain is also important. (Ladies, quit yer laughing!)

Now here ya go...


Spinach Parmesan Dip 
1 Points Plus
8 Servings


Ingredients

1 tsp olive oil    
3 garlic cloves, chopped    
1/4 t table salt    
10 oz spinach, fresh, if you use frozen be sure to get as much mo    
1/2 C basil, loosely packed, if you used dried, reduce the amount by half   
1/3 C light cream cheese    
1/8 t black pepper    
1/3 C plain fat-free yogurt    
1 oz Parmesan cheese, (1/4 c) grated - use fresh - it's best!!    

Instructions

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add salt and spinach; sauté 3 minutes or until the spinach wilts. Place spinach mixture in a colander, pressing until mixture is barely moist.
Place spinach mixture, basil, cream cheese, and pepper in a food processor; process until smooth. Spoon spinach mixture into a medium bowl. Add yogurt and Parmesan; stir to combine. Chill.
Serving size is 1/4 cup.
From my "Healthy Bites" newsletter by www.allrecipes.com

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Hungry!! I don’t know about you, but I am a Hungry Girl…




Speaking of hungry…are any of you Hungry Girl fans?  If you don’t know about her, check her out sometime!  Her website is www.hungrygirl.com and she has a new show on the Cooking Channel, Saturday’s 4:00 pm my time (Eastern).  She has great tips and tricks, and she makes over some of our favorite foods to be WW friendly!  She also gives you Points Plus values on everything she cooks!!  She does everything from snacks to meals to COCKTAILS, yes I said ADULT BEVERAGES!  She also comes up with great grocery store finds! She has an email newsletter that I subscribe to and just save to my little sub-folder called HG, which is inside my WW folder in my email inbox.  (just a little free organizing tip for you, Lord knows I need all the help I can get in that area, can you say ADHD?), this way I don’t have to read it right then if I don’t want to, but I can find it if I need or want it later! Sometimes, I just sit down and peruse recipes, cuz that’s how I roll…(I am such a food nerd!)  Anywhoo last night I made her recipe for “Pizza-fied” Chicken and it was scrumptious!!  Try it out and let me know what you think!

Pizza-fied Chicken 
6 Points Plus
1 Servings

Ingredients

5 oz uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, Pounded to about a quarter inch    
1/4 t garlic powder, or more to taste    
1/4 t onion powder, or more to taste    
1/8 t table salt, or more to taste    
1/8 t black pepper, or more to taste     
1/4 C green pepper, diced    
1/4 C mushroom, Sliced    
1/4 C raw onion (chopped)    
1/4 C canned crushed tomatoes    
1 Pc Light String Cheese    
4 slices Turkey Pepperoni, chopped    
1 tsp reduced fat parmesan cheese    

Instructions

Season chicken with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and black pepper. Set aside.
Bring two skillets sprayed with nonstick spray to medium heat on the stove. In one skillet, cook bell pepper, mushrooms, and onion until softened, 4 - 6 minutes. In the other skillet, cook chicken until cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. (Alternatively, use one skillet and cook the veggies and chicken consecutively.)
Place crushed tomatoes in a small bowl and season to taste with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and black pepper. Evenly spoon seasoned tomatoes onto chicken in skillet. Tear string cheese into pieces and place over the tomatoes.
Top chicken with veggies and turkey pepperoni. Cover and continue to cook until cheese softens, 1 - 2 minutes.
Plate your pizza-fied chicken and sprinkle with grated topping. Garnish with crushed red pepper and oregano, if you like. Enjoy!
From www.hungrygirl.com

I thawed a package of 5 chicken breasts and did them all, so I have lunch for work!  My 8 year old is not a fan of onions and green peppers, so I just left those off one of the pieces and she was happy!

**The picture is a "chicken strip" by the way, I just thought it was hilarious!!

Sunday, January 16, 2011

So will wonders never cease? Down 2.6 lbs this week!





I was sure that I was going to have my holiday week’s gluttony finally catch up to me, but I seem to be ok!  On another subject, do any of you have a WW pedometer?  I think I may have mentioned in an earlier post, I seem to be HIGHLY ALLERGIC to exercise, whenever I do it, I break out in a SWEAT and who likes that nonsense all the time!  And don’t even get me started on the whole problem that it also makes my body sore!  Emotionally, I just don’t see the appeal…but intellectually I get the fact that I need to move my arse a little more, (ok, ok, a lot more).   But not wanting to jump into anything too quickly…I am starting with my pedometer!  The goal here seems to be 10,000 steps a day…well that isn’t happening every day but I will say this…the last two days I earned 5 activity points on each day, for just going about my business, granted I was running around and busy both days but still!  The beauty of this little gadget is that it tells you the date and time (wooo big deal huh?), the amount of points you have earned, the distance you have walked and how many steps you have taken, not only for the current day, but for the your entire WW week!  My biggest challenge to start with was to remember to put the darn thing on every day!  Try it out and let me know what you think! 

And now for the Main Event!

Applesauce Bar Cookies 
2 Points Plus
24 Servings

Ingredients

1 3/4 C all-purpose flour    
1/2 t baking soda    
1 t ground cinnamon    
1/2 t ground allspice    
1/8 t ground cloves    
1/2 t table salt    
1/4 C margarine    
3/4 C sugar    
1 egg    
1/2 C unsweetened applesauce    
1/2 C raisins    

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 F. Prepare bottom of a 11 x 7 ~inch pan with vegetable pan coating. Sift together flour, baking soda, spices and salt. Cream together margarine and sugar. Add egg to margarine mixture and beat until light and fluffy. Alternately add the dry ingredients and applesauce, stirring just enough to blend well. Add the raisins. Turn into the prepared pan and bake about 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes then cut into squares.
From www.cdkitchen.com