On the road

What happens when the first meal of the day kills your daily points target? Woo Hoo, must ‘a been a great breakfast!!!! This was true for me today. I am traveling and knew it would be difficult on the road. When we returned to the hotel after breakfast I realized that a walk was calling my name. I took advantage of the glorious weather and wonderful harbor, and hit the pavement with a leisurely walk. Within an hour I had earned an extra few points. Great! That meant a salad with salad dressing had just been earned back into my day. When we returned, we decided to head off to another community for a little shopping excitement. After being there an hour, like a bad dream, walked into a See’s Candy Shop (popular in California), where the evil lady behind the counter (actually, she was a sweet little student) offered me a free truffle sample… Oh yeah, I ate the whole thing. Well, there went the activity points I had earned with my first walk. Off we went again checking out the shops, then down to the pier to enjoy the remainder of the day. Oh wait, by then I had earned a few more activity points. Happiness returned at the thought of being able to finish off the day with a cool salad. Wow, what a great Weight Watchers Day!

When life throws lemons your way, make lemonade!

Mental Rehearse * AND Green Bean Casserole

Weightloss is like golf…It is a game played on a 5-inch course. The distance between the ears.” ~Bobby Jones, Pro Golfer.--

Quote from Tiger Wood's father, Earl "When Tiger was six months old, he would sit in our garage, watching me hit balls into a net. He had been assimilating his golf swing. When he got out of the high chair, he had a golf swing."

Quote from Tom Kite, a pro-golfer, "Discipline and concentration are a matter of being interested."

And, remember the phrase “practice makes perfect”? Well, near-perfect practice is far more superior AND effective, than a “poor performance during practice”

Headed to Taco Bell? Remember to order “Fresco Style”. For 10 points you can get a fresco chicken soft taco (3 pts) and Fresco Bean Burrito (7 pts). Oley!!!!

Green Bean Casserole

Makes 4 servings, serving 1 CUP, 3 Points

4 c. frozen cut green beans
1 medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
1 12-ounce can of reduced fat condensed cream of mushroom soup
¾ cup reduced fat shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ cup French-fried onions

Preheat oven 350, use 8 inch square baker

Cook up the green beans (steam, microwave… or just pull out canned beans and heat up. Hey, we’re in the South. The mushier, the better). Drain and set aside in a bowl

On the stovetop, cook onions and sugar for about 5 min. Transfer to the green bean bowl. Then add everything else except the French-fried onions. Stir up and pour in a baking pan.

Bake 25 min. Then sprinkle the French-fried onions. Bake 5 min longer.

AND you thought you would have to live a life without the green bean casserole!...This is worth 3 points-

Resource: Weight Watchers Greatest Hits Cookbook (2002)..Find a good WW cookbook like I did in 2002 and it will serve you well for years!.

Rise and Shine

Core Recipe: Egg Stir-Fry
Heat 1 tsp. canola oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 c. mixture of diced onion, red bell pepper and chopped broccoli florets. Stir-fry for 4 min. or until onion is softened and lightly browned. Add ½ c. fat-free egg substitute. Stir-fry 1 min. or until egg is fully scrambled. Serve with soy sauce….
… add an orange if you like!
---from “Meals 101” from the Starter kits

Flex Recipe: Southwestern Egg Wrap, Points Value 5
Heat 1 tsp. canola oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add ½ c. each thinly sliced green bell pepper and onion. Cook while stirring 8 min. or until softened. Add salt and pepper to taste. Meanwhile, in small nonstick skillet over medium heat, fry 1 large egg (without added fat) until firm. Serve egg and bell pepper-onion mixture in 1 (7-inch) whole wheat flour tortilla. Sprinkle with hot pepper sauce and fresh cilantro to taste. Roll up.
---from “Meals 101” from the Starter kits

2 Point Muffins
1 chocolate cake mix
1 15 oz can pumpkin
½ cup water
½ cup chocolate chips
-Mix all of the above together, put in a slightly greased 9x13 baking dish (use a spray oil). Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes. Serves 18.. each muffin is 2 points.

REMEMBER:
*On his way to creating the light bulb, Edison discovered 1800 ways not to build one.

*One of Madam Curie’s failures was radium.

*Columbus was looking for India

Errors are one of life’s primary learning vehicles. That is because it reinforces the way we do things. When we fail, we learn what’s not working, and get the opportunity to try new approaches…. Creative Whack Pack…Roger von Oech, 1992

Mint Cookie Blizzard Option

The DQ small Thin Mint Blizzard is 13 points. My smoothie was only 5 and it yielded 32 oz.
Here's the recipe:
1 cup fat free milk
2 cups crushed ice
1 packet of WW Smoothie (either vanilla or chocolate)
1 WW Mint Cookie Crisp bar (cut into small pieces)
First, I blended the milk and Smoothie.
Then, I added the ice.
Lastly, I added the Mint Cookie Crip bar.
If you want to drink it like a smoothie, you're all set.
I put the blender in the freezer for 30 minutes and it was the consistancy of a DQ Blizzard.
Hope this help!

PATTERN FOR SUCCESS!!!

Discover Your Eating Pattern
Write down when you eat

Determine physical satisfaction

Make Adjustments if necessary
***

Remember, there are no right or wrong eating patterns. When you plan your eating to minimize hunger and maximize satisfaction, you’ll have an easier time of staying within the plan guidelines. I encourage you to take what you learned during the meeting about patterns and satisfying food choices, and make it work for YOU! “Success is following the pattern of life one enjoys most.” Al Cap….. Satisfaction – now that’s the pattern for success.

***
“When patterns are broken, new worlds emerge.”Tuli Kupferberg (a beat poet I had never heard of before)

***
"To get what we've never had, we must do what we've never done." From the 212 movie
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"Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple, learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen."John Steinbeck
***

“Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don't quit." -- Conrad Hilton
***
Chocolate Éclair Dessert
From Marybeth’s Recipe Builder – e-tools
Serves 18; 2 Points per serving
Serves 16; 3 Points per serving
24 sheets of graham crackers
2 small pkgs sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix
4 ½ cups fat-free milk
12 oz. fat-free cool whip
1 small pkg sugar-free instant chocolate pudding mix.

Place 8 graham cracker sheets in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Mix vanilla puddings and 3 cups of milk; let set 2 minutes. Gently fold in cool whip. Pour half on graham crackers. Top with another 8 graham cracker sheets. Pour remaining pudding mixture over crackers. Top with last 8 graham cracker sheets. Mix the chocolate pudding with 1 ½ cups of milk; let stand for 2 minutes. Spread over graham crackers. Let set 6 hours or overnight in refrigerator to soften graham crackers.

Thanks Lynn from Tuesday's meeting for getting this to us!

212 Degrees, the extra degree

THE EXTRA DEGREE

At 211 degrees, water is hot
At 212 degrees, water boils
And with boiling water comes steam
And stem can power a locomotive
Adding the one extra degree can
Make all the difference…
http://www.212movie.com/

DIET COKE CHICKEN

Ingredients
4 chicken breasts
nonstick cooking spray
1 cup ketchup
1 (12 ounce) can diet cola (I hear diet orange soda works well also)

Directions
Spray your pan with cooking spray.
Place chicken breasts in pan.
Brown lightly on each side.
Mix Ketchup and Diet Cola together.
Pour over chicken.
Cook for about 45 minutes or until chicken is tender.
Very Yummy!
--http://www.recipezaar.com/

Happy Thin-dependence - Summer BBQ's

Frozen Peanut Butter Cups

8 oz. ff cool whip

1/2 cup peanut butter (i used extra crunchy)

2 tablespoons chocolate syrup


Line muffin pans with liners. with spoon, mix cool whip and peanut butter until well combined. Spoon even portions into muffin liners.

Top each with a swirl of chocolate syrup. Freeze 6-8 hours until frozen. Once solid, remove the pan and place into freezer bag or container.

You can also use mini size foil cups and make 24 at 1 pt each. They don't re-freeze real hard and the chocolate never freezes. These kind of melt in your mouth.

Suggestions for alternative Barbecue foods:

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Food listed, Pts, Core (~)

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3 oz hamburger patty 5

3-oz 95% lean hamburger 3 ~

Gardenburger 1 ~ 2 oz hotdog 5

fat free hotdog 1

Soy hotdog 1

Boca Italian sausage 3

grilled Portobello mushroom 0 ~

2 oz. shrimp skewer 1 ~

41/2 oz. chicken breast - bbq with skin & bones 6

3 oz. chicken breast – without skin & bones 3 ~

6 oz chicken thigh & drumstick 9

3 oz chicken thigh (without skin, with bone) 3

2 oz hamburger bun 3

2 oz hotdog bun 3

1/2 cup potato salad 7

1/2 cup baked beans 5

1/2 cup vegetarian baked beans 2 ~

1 cup tossed salad 0 ~

vinegar and 2 tsp. olive oil 2 ~

Fat free Italian dressing 0 ~

2 T. Fat free creamy dressing 1 ~

7” ear corn on the cob 1 ~

14 potato chips 4

11 baked potato chips 2

lettuce leaves 0 ~

tomato slice 0 ~

1 T. ketchup 0 ~

1/4 cup ketchup 1 ~

1 T. mustard 0 ~

1 tsp. butter 1

2 tsp light butter 1

4 T. fat free margarine 1 ~

2” slice watermelon 1 ~

1/12 - 9” strawberry shortcake (or 1 individual) 7

1 1/2 cup sliced strawberries 1 ~

1 – 12 oz beer 3

1 – 12 oz light beer 2

iced tea with sweetener 0 ~

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Declaration poem

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Do you declare a thinner, healthier you?

You have the right to make your dreams come true.

***

Are you ready to pledge your goals to attain?

Independence from overweight can truly remain.

***

What if starting today you take control,

Renew the commitment, and set a healthy weight goal?

***

Enjoy this freedom, every point 2 of the ‘weigh’!

Indisputably, your diligence will be rewarded one day.

***

How badly do you want what I hold in my hand? (lifetime key)

I have confidence in you, - but YOU are in command.