Turkey Trot 10k results

OK, so it's NOT the 60 minutes or less I was hoping for & dreaming of, but it DID beat my old 10k time by 4 minutes.  Gobble, gobble!

A few key points that I don't want you to miss:
1)  This is the first time for me to exercise on a holiday....EVER!
2)  I had a goal in mind (to run the race in 60 minutes or less), I worked toward the goal to the best of my ability, not meeting it has only made the fire within me stronger, and I will not give up.
3)  I followed through with running the 6.2 miles.  Not a single step was spent walking.  This is the first 10k race spent running 100% of the time!
4) I beat my old 10k time by 4 minutes (yahoo).
5)  My husband was unable to run with me due to an injury, and the "old Heather" would have used that as an excuse to stay home.  Instead, I went.  I ran. I sweated my ass off on a 37 degree Thanksgiving morning.  Wow!

{Tanya & I before the race}

{Me, with the finish line in sight}

{getting even closer}

There were over 17,000 people registered for the event.  15,481 actually participated.  I finished 9567 (out of the 15,481 there). It was a massive sea of bodies.  Most of which were not moving nearly as quickly as I would have liked.  I made a lot of lateral moves in order to just weave through the crowd, which VERY MUCH slowed me down.  It also made me wildly angry.  An interesting twist considering I've spent a good 99% of my 37 years hating exercise of any kind.  So much of my time was spent trying to move ahead, yet not really going anywhere (aka: the story of my life). 

Here's a little slideshow of the pictures we took....

It's a holiDAY, not a holiWEEK

You probably guessed where my blog post is headed already just by reading the subject line.  This is the "get your ass back on track" post that we all dread reading.  Sad, but true.  The holiday is over...so is my eating fest.  I'm really glad for it, actually.  I've had the WORST heartburn the past few days.  All of the dips, chips, cakes, pies, cookies, stuff I lost track of along the way & I know there's stuff that never made it to my journal.  Sigh.  Here's a thankful thought this Thanksgiving season: at least I journaled as much as I did, to the best of my ability.  After a while, it's just a blur of food flashing before me.  Like a movie played in high speed before my very eyes.  That's where the illness part of the journey begins.  At least for me it is.   I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  It's a holiDAY, not a holiWEEK.  Get back on track now.  Don't wait until January 1st.  It's just not worth putting it off. Here's my plan for the day.

Breakfast
cheesy eggs 2.5
1 slice whole grain toast 2
coffee
coffee
coffee
sub=4.5

Snack
Sub=0

Lunch
big salad 0
dressing 2
AST 1
boca patty 2
mustard 0
Sub=5

Snack
apple slices 2
sub=2

Dinner
veggie sub 3
evoo 1
light chips 1
baked beans 2
iced tea 0
sub=7

Evening Snack
latte 2
sub=2

Total today = 20.5

What's your plan look like?  Hopefully, it's not a plan of excuses.

Weekly dinner menu

This week is easy (kind of).  We've got company....Thanksgiving.....lots of plans.  This is just a reminder to not let the week slip away.  Thanksgiving is alllllllllllll the way to Thursday afternoon for us.  I certainly can't afford (financially or weight-wise) to hit the drive through every night until then.  Can you?  I mean, 35 extra Points only go so far.  :)

Enjoy your week & holiday.  They key is to stop living high on the hog once the holiday is over.  You can do it!

What's a weight watchin' chick to do with those Thanksgiving leftovers?

Don't limit yourself to an endless parade of turkey sandwiches when Thanksgiving is over! Try these expert tips from Robin Vitetta-Miller, MS, nutritionist and food writer, on how to make all your T-Day leftovers taste just as good as—or even better than—your Thanksgiving meal.

Attention Hosts: Plan in Advance
"You already know what you're going to make," says Vitetta-Miller, adding that most people serve the same menu year after year.

Plan for leftovers ahead of time by thinking about how you want to "recycle" your meal (see Vitetta-Miller's ideas below), then make sure you've got the necessary ingredients for those dishes on hand. Keep in mind that any leftovers you plan to reuse should not be left sitting out for more than two hours.

What to Do With:

Sweet Potatoes (Mashed or Whole)

Sweet Potato Ravioli: Place a spoonful of mashed sweet potatoes on a wonton wrapper, fold and simmer in chicken broth until cooked through.


Curried Sweet Potato Soup: Puree sweet potatoes with chicken broth, onions, leeks and curry powder; season to taste.


Asian Potato Salad: Combine cubed sweet potatoes with shredded red cabbage, sesame oil and a touch of cilantro; top with chopped peanuts.
Stuffing (Homemade or Boxed)

Dumplings: Make golf-ball size rounds of stuffing with a small ice cream or melon ball scooper. Simmer, covered, in turkey or chicken soup for 10 minutes.


Croutons: Cut stuffing into squares and bake for 8 minutes at 400ºF. Toss into a salad or use as a garnish for stews.
Cranberry Sauce (Canned or Fresh)

Cranberry-Citrus Sauce: Combine diced cranberry sauce (if using canned) with frozen and thawed or canned corn, diced red onion, and mandarin oranges or seedless clementine segments.


Cranberry Salsa: Mix together cranberry sauce, freshly minced cilantro, salt and pepper.


Chutney: Simmer cranberry sauce, diced onion, a pinch of ground ginger and about 1 tablespoon each of vinegar and brown sugar, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until thick. Consider adding a jalapeno for a kick!
Pumpkin Pie (Store-Bought or Homemade)

Pumpkin Smoothie: Scrape the filling out of one piece of pie and blend it with low-fat vanilla yogurt. Put in a parfait glass and top with a small amount of crumbled piecrust and a dash of cinnamon.


Crisp Crusted Pie: If your crust gets soggy, place the pie in a 350ºF oven for 10 minutes to crisp it up.
Advice from Our Users
"One year I made a 'pot pie' with my leftovers. I layered all the leftovers, putting the juiciest on top (I think I actually put gravy in it as well, but I'm sure you could substitute something for that). Top with a low-fat pie crust and bake."

"Turkey Taco Salad. I cook the leftover shredded turkey (instead of ground beef) in taco seasoning. Then I serve it over mixed greens with some fat-free sour cream, low-fat shredded cheddar and salsa. I put the salad in a taco salad shell."

"Sweet potato dip. Puree potatoes with low-fat sour cream, bell pepper, jalapeno, cilantro, lime juice and salt."

"I always thought it would be nice to make a Thanksgiving Pizza, but I never actually tried it."

"Wraps of all kind — with fat-free tortillas. I like the turkey wrap with roasted red peppers and mozzarella cheese, the Mexican wrap with turkey, Mexican chili seasoning, low-fat cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato and salsa (I heat this one). There are so many options with this, and it breaks the grind up a bit!"

This info is from www.WeightWatchers.com (2008).  Please go read the full article (you will probably need an etools or online account in order to read it):
http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=17171

Thanksgiving cheat sheet

"FF" stands for Filling Foods.  Go through your Weight Watchers materials for a better understanding of that version of the WW food plan. 

TURKEY LEG (WITH SKIN), 4 OZ, 6 POINTS

WHITE MEAT TURKEY (NO SKIN), 4 OZ, 4 POINTS (FF)

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE, 1 CUP, 5 POINTS

GREEN BEANS (STEAMED), 1 CUP, 0 POINTS (FF)

CORN CASSEROLE, 1/2 CUP, 8 POINTS
CORN, 1/2 CUP, 1 POINT (FF)

CANDIED SWEET POTATOES, 1 CUP, 8 POINTS

MASHED SWEET POTATOES, 1 CUP, 4 POINTS (FF)
BAKED SWEET POTATO, 1 LARGE, 3 POINTS (FF)

GARLIC MASED POTATOES, 3/4 CUP, 6 POINTS
PLAIN BAKED POTATO, 1 LARGE, 3 POINTS (FF)

CANNED CRANBERRY SAUCE, 1/4 CUP, 3 POINTS
HOMEMADE CRANBERRY SAUCE , 1/4 CUP, 2 POINTS

BREAD STUFFING, 1 CUP, 8 POINTS
WINTER SQUASH, 1 CUP, 1 POINT (FF)

PUMPKIN PIE, 1 SLICE, 9 POINTS
PECAN PIE, 1 SLICE, 12 POINTS
APPLE PIE, 1 SLICE, 7 POINTS

WHITE ROLL (WITHOUT BUTTER), 1 ROLL, 3 POINTS
WHEAT ROLL (WITHOUT BUTTER, 1 ROLL, 2 POINTS
WHIPPED BUTTER, 1 TBSP, 2 POINTS
LIGHT MARGARINE, 1 TBSP, 1 POINT

BROWN GRAVY, 1/4 CUP, 2 POINTS

WINE, 2 OZ, 1 POINTS

(This list has been compiled from a few different sources: my Complete Food Companion book, a list leaders have been given to share with their members, and my etools account from http://www.weightwatchers.com/.)

This woman is my new hero....

And I thought *I* did well with my coupons.  I have a new hero. Her name is Kathy Spencer, and she lives in Boxford, Massachusetts. I've never met her. Probably never will, but let me tell you....this gal is an AMAZING couponer! She had a cart full of groceries that rang up to be $267.00. she only paid $0.01!!!! No kidding. Check out the link at the bottom of this post to see the news clip of her in action. She has inspired me to keep keepin' on with my coupons. I will take it to a whole new level now. My goal....to be like her! I'm on it. I'm not doing BAD by any means, but I could obviously be doing better. Here's a quick comparison chart:

Me	Her
A family of 4	A family of 6
I have 1 coupon binder	She has multiple binders
I paid $39.80	She paid $0.01

I'll be sure to keep you posted with all of this. Wouldn't that be something if I could get that much stuff for pennies? I'll still continue to buy the staples at Costco / Sams, but if all the rest could cost me next to nothin'......


Watching the news clip here:
http://www.happynews.com/news/1192009/massachusetts-family-lives-off-wk-food.htm


Thanks for sending me the link, Andorya!

71% saved

I'm fairly certain the employees at my local Kroger hate me.  They see me strolling up to the register with a cart (or two) full of food & my pimped out coupon binder.....and they mentally groan at me. OK, so there's one who actually does it loudly right in front of me.  Whatever.  You know what?  I don't CARE!  Because I'm saving money like mad.  I've posted about my couponing before. Here.  And here.  As well as multiple other posts here on the blog.  I just wanted to show you what all I picked up yesterday for just $39.80.  My original total was $138.21, which included SALE prices before coupons were scanned.  I saved 98.41.

{all of this for $39.80..originally $138.21}

{2 cake mixes, 4 boxes of reduced fat Ritz, 4 boxes of some new kind of Ritz, a sack of organic potatoes, three tubes of spice paste, 2 boxes of Green Giant frozen corn, organic carrots, and 4 packs of sausage}


{4 boxes of low carb pasta, 3 Smart Ones, 1 stick of Secret deodorant, 2 cans of Eagle Brand milk, dinner rolls}


{2 bags of my favorite tortilla chips (reduced fat Grande), organic celery, organic broccoli, and organic cauliflower}


{4 tubes of Crest, a bag of salad mix, a 3 pound bag of yellow onions, a bag of chocolate chips, and 3 rolls of tape}

Many of these items ended up being FREE: the tape, deodorant, salad mix, 4 boxes of crackers, chocolate chips, 2 packs of sausage, one bag of chips, and the Smart Ones.  Some because I had a coupon that said, "buy a box of Ritz crackers, get a box of our new crackers for free".  Most of them were simply because I paired up what was on sale with the coupon.  If tape is on sale for $1.00 & I have a $1.00 off coupon....that means I get it for FREE!  If I have 4 coupons....I get 4 rolls of tape for free.  I use http://www.thegrocerygame.com/ to pull up a weekly "cheat sheet" of sale prices for my local Kroger.  They're offering a free trial for anyone who'd like to try their service.  If you sign up, please give them my email address as a reference so I can get credit towards my account! (My email is thewwchick at gmail dot com.) It costs me $10 every 8 weeks.  I saved $98.41 yesterday.  That makes it worth my time (a couple of hours a week) to clip the coupons & sort them. 

Many of you might be asking yourself questions like...

Q) "What about milk & fruit & eggs & cheese....you know...the staples?  I don't see any of that sitting on your table". 
A) I buy those at Costco or Sams.  They are typically cheaper in the long run on these items & we go through them quickly, justifying buying in bulk.  Plus, I can get organic or at least hormone/antibiotic free staples there.  That's important to me, and I'm making a huge effort to buy more & more with those standards in mind.

Q) "What in the world are you going to do with FOUR BOXES of Ritz crackers?"
A) Eat them!  Not all at once, of course.  Company will be in town soon.  I bet we'll go through a box or two Thanksgiving week alone.  However, the thought process behind shopping this way is stocking up on items.  If you read the info on http://www.thegrocerygame.com/, you'll find that most sales run on a 12 week cycle.  I'm set for the next 12 weeks (at least) on toothpaste, crackers, and whatever else I bought that is more than we could possibly use in one week.

Q) "Where do you store all of this stuff?"
A)  I have a freezer in the basement, and also a shelf system that holds the canned/boxed goods.  It takes up a small area of our storage room.  Oh, and I keep all of the stockpiled deodorant, tampons, bar soap, toothpaste, etc. in the linen closet upstairs.  I'll take pictures one of these cold winter days when I have nothing better to do & blog them for ya.  :)

Q) "Is it really worth paying for www.thegrocerygame.com vs. just looking at the weekly ads?"
A) I could answer this with a sweet tone.  A simple answer that goes something like, "Yes.  It works for me.  It's worth it".  However......I'm not a sweet gal.  What I'm really going to say is this:

You're seriously gonna question me after I just told you I saved almost $100 on a cart full of groceries???  This confuses me, and makes me want to scream out, "What the hell is the matter with you?"  Do you seriously ever crack open that weekly ad?  OR do you open it, look at it, nothing sinks in?  OR do you actually go to the trouble to circle things you *think* might be a great price, but really have no clue, and then the ad sits there for the next four weeks with all the others you never used?  I say it with a smart ass tone because I used to do the same thing!!!  It's just like Weight Watchers.  If you work the plan, the plan works for you.  In this case, if you follow the coupon list, you will save money.  Now I will repeat myself.  It costs me $10 every 8 weeks to use their service. I saved $98.41 yesterday. That makes it all worth my time & effort & paying for the list.

Q) Do you save this much EVERY week?
A) No.  Some weeks I only save 22% or 36%.  (Those trips bum me out.)  Most trips to the store with my coupons, I average 55% savings (according to the last 6 months of receipts).  In the grand scheme of things, does it matter?  I'm still saving.  There was a time when I never checked sales prices or clipped coupons.  I never saved anything at all.

Q)  Were those savings ALL paper coupons?
A)  It was all coupon savings, but not all paper  coupons that I clipped from the paper.  I have a Kroger Plus "savings" card, plus I load that up with digital coupons from http://www.shortcuts.com/.  And now our local store has some sort of doubling for coupons, so that's even MORE of a bonus for me. 

Q) Did your savings include the sale price for the week?
A) The sale prices were included BEFORE they scanned my coupons.  So the $98.41 in savings were all couponsavings...with the exception of the little "perk" my store gives for  scanning the "savings" card.  Which in my opinion, is a coupon.

Q) How many newspapers do you buy each Sunday?
A) Due to my A.D.D. brain, I usually forget to buy them EVERY week.  I tend to be an every other week kind of gal.  I buy 4 Cincinnati papers & 4 Dayton papers.  They have different coupons for some reason.  This weekend should be a GREAT week.  Papers typically have double the amount (sometimes more) the week before a big holiday.  Heads up, they often have none at all the week after a holiday.  Always check each paper to make sure the coupon inserts are tucked inside. 

Q)  Would you have bought all of that stuff normally?  Or only because you had a coupon?
A)  Some of both. I'm learning to make what's on sale fit into my world.  I probably haven't purchased Ritz crackers in 5 years or more.  However, with Thanksgiving around the corner & knowing we'll need crackers for the dips we're making, I made it work in my favor.  And who couldn't use three rolls of free scotch tape???  We all need tape, but never think to get it until we go to wrap a gift & realize the dispenser is empty.

Q) How do you make what's on sale fit into your Weight Watchers plan?
A) Oh my dear God....please tell me you're kidding!   If you do not know the answer to this question, you need to go back & totally relearn Weight Watchers.  This is NOT AT ALL a plan of deprivation.  It's not about eating "diet foods" for the rest of your life.  It's simply a plan of finding balance.  That means I cannot those 4 boxes of Ritz crackers all at once, but over the next few months I will be totally fine with having a few here and there while staying accountable for them.  :)

I'm off to sew my life away work.  Have a groovy day.

Weekly dinner menu 11/15-21

I forgot to post my weekly menu!  Oooops. 

And now for the disclaimer.  I say this EVERY week because if I don't, I get a million (OK more like 2) people commenting wondering where to find all the recipes I'm using. This menu is for my family. I don't have time to post every recipe I use, and that's not why I post the menu in the first place. I only post it to inspire (and remind) others to make one of their own. You need to learn the skill of planning ahead.  Unless you are a child, don't depend on someone else to do this for you. Go find your own recipes. I know you can do it! There are a gazillion recipes on the web. I'm sure you own a cookbook or two. Open them. Pick a recipe or two or three. Make the meals. No excuses.

The links aren't functional....yet

OK...I finally get it.  [picture a bulb lighting up over my head]

I've received 7,402 emails stating the links on my blog aren't working.  I thought it was ALLLLLL of the links.  I was in complete freak out mode, and it's not that at all.  It's the button links at the top of the page that aren't "live" yet.  I was goofing around yesterday to see if I could create mouseover buttons.  Low and behold.....I can.  Who knew they were so easy to whip up.  Who knew anyone would actually read my blog & try to click them.  Now I need to do something with them other than just having something to roll my mouse over.  Sorry for the confusion!  I even confused myself along the way.  Leave it to me to do so. 

PS...I don't have time to fix them today.  Too much going on, but I'll get to it this week sometime. Just add it to the list of things to do. 

PSS....if you only read my blurbs via email, you probably have no idea what I'm talking about.  Just ignore this message if you never actually look at the blog.  I'm a middle child & usually beg for attention as most middle children do.  So take this request to ignore me & roll with it.  :)

Gobble, gobble

I'll have a list of handy-dandy Thanksgiving tips here on the blog soon. I'm fairly certain there's nothing fabulously different than what's posted on other blogs, but I figure a gentle reminder to us all certainly won't hurt. I mean, Thanksgiving *is* about giving thanks & not how much stuffing we can stuff down our pie hole. Right? Sure. Look for it soon. 

Here's my solution to the pie hole stuffing problem I seem to have.  I'll be out there Thanksgiving morning sweating, cussing, running, probably cussing some more because I'm running on a holiday of all days. I'm running the 100th annual Turkey Trot 10k in Cincinnati!  My hope is to beat my old 10k time (from July 4th) of 1:12:49. Yikes!  I somehow conned talked my friend Tanya (who hates it when I talk about her to thousands of people via the blog) & my husband (who rarely thinks about my blog, much less reads it or gives a hoot if I mention him while blogging) to run with me. I am the master of talking people into doing stupid healthy things early on a holiday morn. [evil laughter FILLS the air] Gobble, gobble!

If you want to read more about the Turkey Trot here's a link: http://thanksgivingdayrace.com/

My cooking video library

For years now, I've watched friends and family struggling with not knowing how to really make a lifestyle out of healthy eating. The key for me is to keep eating the same things that GOT me to Weight Watchers to begin with....just make it healthier (and of course, practice portion control). I've created some cooking videos that will help you find your way with this concept.

The little * beside a few titles indicates a fabulous "freeze ahead meal". Go ahead and cook something up for dinner that night.....or stick the entire meal in the freezer for another time. Perfect for those of us using the "I didn't have time to make anything" excuse. No more excuses!!!



Main Dish
Cheesy Eggs
Mini Biscuit Pizzas
"Skinny" Chili Cheese Fries (Part 1)
"Skinny" Chili Cheese Fries (Part 2)
Oven Fried Chicken *
Quick & Easy Breakfast Sandwiches *
Ultra Thin Crust Pizza
Skinny Mini Meat Loaf *


Skinny Sides
Coming soon!



Desserts
Mini Microwave Cake
Black Bean Brownies
Haystack Cookies *
S'mores

 

Getting off my butt right now (in a bloggy way)

Anyhoo, I really don't know anything on this beautiful Sunday. I just wanted to touch base with everyone. Hope the weekend turned out the way you planned. Mine did not. That's OK. The way it played out was way more fun than the boring routine we normally have. It also included a fun Friday lunch date with my husband (we had big, greasy bacon cheeseburgers from Five Guys - yum!), eating microwave popcorn while watching Nancy Drew with my kids, and a fun chatter filled lunch with my favorite Cincinnati peep. Does life get much better????

{random food porn shot of my Five Guys burger}

{yes, it was a double & that's REAL full fat mayo! Life is good.}

I've been soooooo lazy with this blog the past few months.  I need to poop or get off the pot, and lucky for you, I'm choosing to poop.  I'll kick off my new, non-lazy blogger plan by posting my plan (for the week).  Here goes:

1. finish my scheduled orders for purses & vision boards before my folks arrive Friday & I'm forced to convert the "sewing room" back into a "guest bedroom".  Here's one I finished yesterday...

{ho, ho, ho}

2. put together another printable recipe (this one is for a fabulous "skinnied down" comfort food!)

3. write a newsletter

4. catching up on email

5. and *maybe* shoot a little cooking video.  Maybe.  That's a big maybe on the video.  They take a TON of time to create.  (If only I had a production team at my beckon call.)
6. clean my filthy house
7.  drop off this month's grocery & personal care donations to the local food pantry
8.  COUPON SHOP!!!!!!!!!
9.  brag about my savings here on the blog whether anyone cares, listens, reads, or whatever
10. clean the windows on the 1st floor
11.  run 14 miles total for the week
12.  return movies to Block Buster before they send me to jail for never returning their stupid movies
13.  eat 2 pc of fruit each day no matter what
14.  charge the battery in my camera before it doesn't work when I need it most
15.  go through my closet for things to send to Goodwill
16.  make another batch of laundry soap (loving the homemade stuff!)
17.  cut up and freeze the pineapple that has been sitting in the fruit basket for over a week
18.  make a monster size batch of steel cut oats so we have them ready to heat up each morning
19.  make sure to log my exercise on the November activity chart
20.  keep keepin' on!

Fall goal check in

Time to revisit the topic of a few short term goals I set for myself.  I set three goals that were (are) realistic.  Three goals that will help me come half marathon time.  Three goals that will keep me at my goal weight.  Three goals that will continue to keep me enthusiastic about this journey.  Three goals that will keep me in the game of life.

THE TRAINING...
The first thing on my list of fall stuff was to train for the Princess Half Marathon.  This is a pretty important one considering I signed up for this trip back in May of this year.  The race is March 7th, 2010.  I would hate to say I paid $800.00 (that includes plane tickets, hopper passes to the parks, my race fees, everything basically) for my March Disney World trip for nothin'.  That would suck.  Especially considering I had months & months & months to prepare myslef.  lol  So I've practiced all summer,  got past an injury, and came up with my training program.  I set the gears into motion yesterday.  So far, so good.  I'll be sure too keep you posted.  For any of you who have read this blog for a length of time, you know how much I struggle with the exercise part of life.  I just don't like it.  Period.  I would rather be doing any number of things other than exercising, and that's just the way I feel about it.  I dread it. I talk myself out of it.  Yet once I'm out there running, I feel like the most powerful girl in all of Puppetland.  I'm a sick puppy.

{the training schedule looks like this}

KEEPING BUSY...
Goal #2 was to sew, sew, and sew some more because sewing keeps me from snacking.  Especially during evening hours.  Bless every single one of you who have custom ordered or purchased a purse (or vision board, or diaper bag, or bibs, or embellished onesies, or an apron, or anything else I've made this fall).  You're helping me bring in an income AND stay out of the pantry!!!!  Just to prove I'm still sewing to keep myself out of trouble, here's one I finished just this afternoon:

{go bucks!}

TRYING NEW RECIPES...

I vowed to try two new recipes each week because recipes and cooking excite me.  They keep the energy thriving within me.  That's just how I tick.  I was lucky enough to figure that out early on in the game, and I rolled with it.  People have come to me for YEARS now looking for family friendly, healthy, life friendly recipes.  I hope they continue to do so for years to come!

While I was out the other day, I went a little nuts in the cookbook section of the store.  The books were already cheap (as you can see by the price stickers on the covers).  Then I read a sign that said "Buy a book, get the next one half off!". So I did. lol 

{five new books of inspiration}

I can't WAIT until next week's menu planning time!!!!  I don't even know where to start, but I will choose just one book & stick with my goal of two new recipes for the week.  I'm leaning towards Indian.  I loooooove Indian food.  And Thai.  And Morraccan.  And tofu.  And, and, and.....wish me luck. 

Did you ever pick a fall goal (or two or three) for yourself?  If so, I hope it's going well for you. 

Weekly dinner menu 11/8-14

Weekly dinner menu posting time.  Have you planned for the week?  NO?!?!  What's up with that?  Don't you want to lose weight or maintain what you worked so hard to lose?  Planning is key. 

Our menu gets swapped around sometimes.  And by that I mean, last night's veggie meatball subs were supposed to happen Saturday night.  Plans changed.  So did the menu.  No big deal.  Just go with it.  That's life.  I stuck with my goal of trying two new recipes every week this fall, and used Fix It & Forget It Lightly for this week's menu.  The bean recipe called for ham, but I like ground beef better so that's what I'm using.  :)

Also, I say this EVERY week because if I don't I get a million (OK more like 2) people commenting wondering where to find all the recipes I'm using.  This menu is for my family.  I don't have time to post every recipe I use, and that's not why I post the menu in the first place.  I only post it to inspire (and remind) others to make one of their own.  You need to learn this skill on your own. Unless you live in the Playboy mansion, don't depend on someone else to do it for you.  Go find your own recipes.  I know you can do it!  There are a gazillion recipes on the web.  I'm sure you own a cookbook or two.  Open them.  Pick a recipe or two or three.  Make the meals.  No excuses.

Princess In Training (my official half marathon training schedule)

So I sat down this morning with a calendar, and a cup of coffee, and the laptop, and a pencil, and some paper, and my schedule, and some more coffee, and my thinking cap, and a kid in my lap.  Yes, it was a lot of hard work for a Saturday morning, but I managed. 

It was time to come up with an official training schedule for the Princess Half Marathon at Disney World (March 7th).  That is just around the corner. Think about how quickly the holiday season flies by.  Thanksgiving, Christmas, ringing in the new year, my 16th wedding anniversary, Super Bowl Sunday, Valentine's Day....they come and go fast.  And then I'm left with a half marathon to run.  Whether I'm trained well or not.  So I damn well better gear up!  The most I can go at this point in time is 6 miles.  Not bad considering I'm still bouncing back from a foot injury, but I have to somehow manage 7.1 more miles in addition to what I am already struggling to run.  All in 16 weeks.  So here's my plan....

{click to enlarge the image}

If any fellow bloggers OR blog readers are headed to Disney World in early March, I will be there March 4 - 8 (without my kids!!!!).  I'd love to meet you in person (but not if you're a crazy stalker).  I've already touched base with some of you regarding meeting up.  Debby has agreed to come be a cheerleader at the finish line (wear your short skirt, Debby!).  My big plan is to meet up with everyone at Cosmic Rays in Tomorrowland.  We can grab a veggie burger!  Yes, I actually know of all the places there with healthier options.  It's really kind of sad when you think about it.  I figure the healthy foods balance out all of the Mickey head shaped ice creams and chocolate covered frozen bananas (which are semi-healthy if you ask me) that I consume while I'm there.  :)

Oh, an you'll be able to spot me a mile away because I'll be the dork with the homemade Minnie Mouse purse.....

A couple of more Biggest Loser Family Cookbook recipe reviews (sweet & sour chicken, pizza burgers)

OK, we tried two more recipes from a cookbook I bought a year ago. Yes, it takes me a while to dig through the ever growing collection of books.  Trying at least two new recipes per week was one of my fall goals, so I'm feeding my family super healthy & delish meals, while meeting my own needs as well.  Love the whole killing two birds with one stone thing.

So this week we tried the Sweet & Sour Chicken and Pizza Burgers (which we actually made when I first bought the book).  A biiiiiiiig thumbs up for both dishes.  Of course, my pizza & burger lovin' crew totally liked the Pizza Burgers the best.   

Recipe #1:
The sweet & sour chicken was great.  Love the fact that it calls for jarred sauce.  Even the kids liked this dish (minus the veggies of course).  At least I got them to eat the chicken.  PLUS, we baked a few veggie spring rolls from the frozen food section of Costco, and the picky 9 year old ate a ton of them!  *gasp*  She ate veggies, on her own, without me shoving them down her throat in the fashion you would give a cat a pill, and she didn't die.  She actually loved them.  Of course, the decision had to come from her, on her own terms. It only took 9 years for this to happen.  (Mamas with picky kids....there really is light at the end of the tunnel.) I added more veggies to the stir fry than what the recipe called for.  I knew Kent and I would be the only ones eating that part anyway, I might as well add as many as I want since they're my filler.  :)  I also added a tsp. of Chinese 5 Spice seasoning to the chicken just to give it a little more flavor.  The entire house smelled AWESOME.  If the picky 9 year old will eat it....you know it's good. Next time, I'll double the amount of chicken it called for. 

The Sweet & Sour Chicken recipe can be found online....

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=474991

Recipe #2:
The pizza burgers were AWESOME.  I cannot find the recipe anywhere online for you.  If I wasn't in such a hurry to escape to my sewing room, I'd type it up for ya.  Go buy the cookbook & whip up some delish little burgers.  And before anyone comments about the picture below, I already know about lower calorie buns.  (Seriously, people.  I've been at my goal weight for almost 8 years.  I know all about the lower Point options.  That's not what this journey is always about.)  I don't care about lower cal buns today.  I own them.  They live in the fridge so they won't get moldy. 

Tonight, I wanted a big bun.  So in honor of my big bun desire, I'll end this post with a song (sing along to the tune of Sir Mix Alot).....

"I like BIG BUNS and I cannot lie.  You other Watchers can't deny.  That when  bun walks in with an itty bitty taste...it really is a waste of my Points."

Making choices

So I did the "good mom" thing & signed up to bring treats for the 4th grade Halloween party (or whatever P.C. thing they call it these days).  Riley made sure we were the family that got to bring cupcakes.  I made bats.  And mummies.  I also made a giant eyeball cake with the leftover cake mix. Because...what else do you do with leftover batter but make a cake shaped like a big eyeball?

{mummies & bats & eyeballs - OH MY!}

{black bats with cookie wings}

{the eyeball (it's sort of boob-like)}

{green eyed mummies}

I'm blogging about these to let you know I did not eat one single crumb of these treats!!!!  Not even the Fudge Stripe Cookies that make the bat wings. It wasn't easy, but I really wanted to have margaritas that night at dinner. We were headed to our favorite Mexican restaurant for happy hour. Oh, the choices we make when points run low.  I planned ahead. That's all that matters.

I just realized, I went from talking sweet mama stuff to booze in three seconds with this blog post. That explains a lot about me, actually. lmao

Buffalo Chicken Meat Loaf (from Biggest Loser)

This was a total hit!  The texture is a little softer than beef meat loaf, but it wasn't anything to scare me away from making it again. 

As a matter of fact, we will for sure make it again.  My modifications....

1. I chose to top each slice with blue cheese instead of baking it into the loaf. 
2. Oh, and I drizzled a little extra (1 tbsp) wing sauce on top of mine. I loooooove wing sauce!  Kroger brand is the best in my opinion (and only 25 calories per serving). 
3. I ran the celery, onion, and carrot through the blender with the milk because everyone in my house will complain if there are chunks of veggies in the meat loaf (nerds!)
4. threw in an extra egg white & 1/4 c more oatmeal because my blended veggies made it a little too runny 

Makes 4 servings / Per serving: 263 calories, 6 g fat, 74 mg cholesterol, 485 mg sodium, 14 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 35 g protein.

Anyway, the recipe can be found here:  http://cookbookjunkie.blogspot.com/2009/07/another-biggest-loser-recipe.html

Weekly dinner menu 11/1 - 11/7

It's Monday.  That means it's time to post my family's weekly dinner menu.

As usual, there are no links to the recipes I use.  I just post it to remind everyone to plan for the week.  Planning ahead is a HUGE part of what made me not-so-huge. Yes,  I still plan a menu each week.  Yes, I still count my Points. Yes, I am still at my goal weight & have been for nearly 8 years.  Why?  Because I do all of the things I just listed above.  For realz. :) 

This week, I used the Biggest Loser Family cookbook (at least that's what I think the name of it is) to harvest recipes.  So far, we've liked all of the recipes we've tried from this book.  Make a list of the recipes you'd like to try this week, and write down ingredients you need to buy as you go.

And don't complain and whine about the time it takes to whip up a menu.  I so *hate* listening to whiners.  What a waste of time and thought and breath and LIFE.  Of all the things in the world to whine about, creating a menu plan to help you lose or maintain weight should not be on the list.  Seriously.  I took a cookbook, pen & post it note to the bus stop with me this morning, and planned our weekly menu while waiting for the kids to get on the bus. I have 10 minutes to just sit there with a bunch of kids in my car.  I might as well do something other than let them drive me crazy.  (There's only so many stories about Bakugan & screams from bickering siblings this mama can listen to before the "I've heard enough" meter explodes.) They actually helped me pick the recipes we're using this week.  That's a great way to get my two involved with healthy family meals.  They also help me cook most nights.  Whatever.  I'm just rambling now.  Peace out.

November 2009 motivational calendar

Happy November to all!  I have to force myself to be extra perky about it because I'm still in shock that 2009 is almost over.  Where did it go? 

Anyway, if you're feeling like this month might lead you down a slippery slope of weight GAIN instead of loss or maintenance, put a little more effort into your focus this month.  Not your effort.  Your focus.  NEWS FLASH: Thanksgiving is one day.  One.  Not 30. It's true.  I don't care if you have three different family functions to deal with for this one holiday.  You have three weeks to come up with a plan.  You can make this work in your favor.  Trust me.  You're talking to the gal who eats Thanksgiving dinner mid-summer because I like to so, so, so much.  I simply cannot wait until November.  My point?  I've kept the 80 pounds off for nearly 8 years, and I know it's thanks to thinking ahead.  I certainly do not eat Thanksgiving dinner every night in July.  Just once.  And I'm always delighted to repeat the meal again in November!  :)

Post the calendar somewhere you will see it each day.   Read it.  Challenge yourself.  Set a goal or two.  You can do this! 

Click here to print a November calendar.

Again, thank you Zig for making these ultra groovy motivational calendars for all of the Weight Watchers losers in the world.  You're da bomb.  :)

November 2009 Activity Calendars

Print your November activity calendar today!  I've printed mine, and have it hanging on the fridge already.

The concept is super simple. Write down a REALISTIC goal for the month.  (For instance, I've started training for the half marathon already, so all of my entries will be related to my monthly training plan.)  Place a sticker on the days you workout. I like to actually write in the calendar square what I did for the day.  Do whatever works for ya.  Just make sure you keep moving. 

Activity calendars are GREAT for those of us in need of a visual.  These were originally created just for me.  I really struggle with the "move more" part of this journey, and tend to actually be a little better at it if I have a reminder hanging up in front of my face.  I've shared them with the world for several years now, and hope you find the accountability they provide to be as much of a benefit as I do.  There's even a plain version for those of you not wanting to use up a bunch of printer ink.  I've found out over the years that the cuter the calendar....the better off I am.  Told ya I was a visual gal!   :)

{striped fall leaves}

to print "striped fall leaves" click here

{a pilgrim hat}

to print "a pilgrim hat" click here

{falling for fall}

to print "falling for fall" click here

{red, red leaves}

to print "red, red leaves" click here

{gingham & pumpkins}

to print "gingham & pumpkins" click here

{plain jane}

to print "plain jane" click here

*~* Happy Halloween *~*

Tonight has the potential for the ultimate in total spookiness......when it comes to calories.  Don't let it.  Halloween candy in moderation is fine, but don't allow tonight's festivities to be the slippery slope of making poor choices until January 1st.  It simply doesn't have to be that way. 

Here are just a few things you can do to take a step towards better, healthier habits this Halloween.  And don't worry.  I'm not going to tell you to NOT eat any candy.  Mainly, because I think it's insane to set up goals like that for myself.  Learned that the hard way years ago.  The second I tell myself something like,

"Heather, you can't have any candy tonight. You're going to blow your whole week if you eat a bite size Snickers.  You're entire 80 pound weight loss that you've managed to keep off for nearly 8 years will be shot to hell if you so much as eat one little piece of candy tonight!  [Insert picture of me eating a bite size Snickers bar here.]  You're so stupid for eating that....you know better!!!. You're not worth paying $39.95 a month for Weight Watchers if  all you're going to do is make stupid choices all the time."

Does this conversation sound at all familiar?  If so, please read a few things that help me out along my weight loss and maintenance journey.

1) Prepare yourself with a list of values for the candy you're eating.  Be accountable.  Print a copy of the candy cheat sheet by clicking here.

2) Prepare REAL food, eat the REAL food, and be satisfied with REAL food so candy doesn't get the best of you.  My REAL food for the day is going to be Mexican Corn Chowder. It's on the stove cooking as we blog.  :)  Click here to see the recipe.   I know, if I walk into the trick or treat time frame hungry, I will fill myself up with candy.  So I refuse to hand out candy when I'm hungry.  Soup is going to be my "fill up" this year! 

3) Personally, I have my kids pick a set number (a number that *I* choose, not the kids) of goodies they are allowed to keep.  Some years the number has been as few as 5.  That's when they were younger and not on top of my mommy way of doing things. lol  I would never hear the end of it at ages 9 & 11.  This year, the number will probably be 20 or 30, but they will only be allowed to have 2 pc. each day.  I'm pretty strict with candy because my daughter would eat nothing but chocolate if she could get away with it.  Since she has already had two fillings in her short 9 years of life, I really crack the whip when it comes to sweets. 

4) The candy that isn't kept will be donated to either the dentist's office (they pay the kids for candy donations) or their teachers (they bribe children with candy & seem to always need donations).

5) Enjoy yourself.  Beating yourself up for eating 1 fun size Twix bar too many isn't acceptable.  We're changing behaviors here, people.  Step one has to be no more beating yourself up.

6) Use this opportunity to go for a looooong WALK!  If you have kids, trick or treat with them.  I keep reminding myself of something I read from FlyLady.net, "There are no do overs with your kids".  This will propbably be one of the last, if not the very last, Halloween my daughter enjoys trick or treating.  Sigh.  My son already hates it and refuses to go at age 11 (he's too cool for school, man).  Sigh even louder with tears rolling down my face).  So trick or treating is walking.  Walking is activity.  Activity is a good thing.  If you don't have kids, borrow one or two or three.  I'm sure there's a lazy relative or neighbor out there somewhere unwilling to take their children out for a night of candy collecting.  Use their laziness to melt fat right off your ass.

7)   Exercise before the trick or treaters come around.  At least you've burned a few calories for the day.  Because of my extreme dislike for exercise, I'm WAY less likely to blow it if I've worked my ass off earlier in the day.  The trick for me is not not blow it, and then say I'll work out later in the day.  I know I'll never do the workout. 

8)  Track / journal what  you've eaten for the day.  If I've had a GOOD day food-wise, I'm *normally* less likely to blow it that night.  It doesn't always work.  However, if it helps 90% of the time....I'm less likely to stress out about the 10% I goofed up.

9)  For those of you following Weight Watchers (like me), use those WPAs (weekly points allowance - the extra 35 points you get each week).  They're there when you need them.  Of course, if you've already spent them for the week you're screwed.  No worries though (read #10)!  Phew.....now you're prepared for NEXT Halloween.  You know to plan your week a little better so this doesn't happen again.  The feedback we gain along the way is crazy important!  Not only does feedback help you come next October 31st, but think of how it can help you for this Thanksgiving.....Christmas....Hanukkah....New Years....Super Bowl Sunday....Aunt Suzie's birthday party with her famous vanilla cream filled cake.....etc.  I'm sure you catch my drift. 

10)  Use common sense when it comes to the grand scheme of things.  If the neighborhood celebrations or the big bowl of candy or the cuteness of the trick or treaters got the best of you....tomorrow is no longer Halloween.  You have the chance to start over tomorrow.  So do it.  Don't you DARE wait until January 1st.  You've done that all your life.  It doesn't work. Try something different for a change.

Mexican Crock Pot Chicken (first download ever!)

So we had another "D.I.Y. taco night" for dinner, and I wanted to show you how EASY it is to have a quick, simple, healthy meal on super chaotic evenings.  The trick to this one is....remembering to plop the chicken into the crock pot before it's too late! lol  I looked up at 1pm & realized I had not thought about dinner since I logged it in my food journal that morning.  Lucky for me, my crock pot cooks fairly hot.  So 5 hours on high did the trick. 

If your brain is less foggy than mine, you'll remember to prep this in the morning.  I also have a crock pot that can shut itself off after "X" amount of hours, and then switched over to "warm" mode. So you come home to a house that smells like Mexicany goodness, and dinner is ready in a snap.  Always have tortillas and taco shells on hand.  If nothing else, this chicken is AWESOME on top of lettuce for a quick taco salad.  Food porn pictures & recipe is listed below. 

I've provided the nutritional info so you can calculate according to whatever food plan you're following.  :)

{the stuff}

{the sauce prior to blending}

{the fabulous & fast pastes from Kroger}

{the finished product}

{my soft tacos}

Mexican Crock Pot Chicken

Serves 8

4 (6-ounce) chicken breasts

1/2 c water
1 c salsa
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 tbsp ground cumin
2 tbsp cilantro paste (see pictures above)
1 tbsp chili paste (see pictures above)
2 tsp garlic paste (see pictures above)

Place insert crock pot liner (optional, but it makes life easier).  Place chicken in the bottom of your crock.  Blend salsa, water, cumin, taco seasoning, chili pepper paste, cilantro paste, and garlic paste in blender until smooth.  Pour on top of chicken.  Cook on low 6-8 hours or high for 4 -5 hours.  Once chicken is cooked all the way, yank it out of the crock and shred or dice it.  Place it back into the crock & stir (so all of the salsa mixture can coat each morsel of chicken).  Divide the meat mixture up into 8 equal servings & enjoy!

I've whipped this recipe up into a downloadable* PDF file .  Actually, there are two versions. 

• The recipe (a 1 page document): click here to download & print 
• The recipe with a few of the pictures shown above (a two page document): Click here to download & print the version with pictures

* The downloads will only be available for a limited time.  I'm not sure how long at this point in time.  At least a couple of weeks for each recipe.  So print or save a downloaded copy now, before time runs out. 

Why a version with pictures?  I'm a picture girl.  I'm 95.7% more likely to try a recipe if it has a picture hooked to it (that is a very random, made up percentage, by the way).  I will buy a cookbook just because of what's pictured on the front cover.  Yes, it's an illness.  OK, and so now I need to let you on a little bit of my anal retentive nature.  I keep all of my printed recipes in plastic page protectors inside three ring binders.  The pages pop out of the binders easily when I need to make the recipe, and they don't get as trashed by my dirty fingers & cooking sloppiness.  For two page recipes, I place them in the page protectors back to back so I just have to "turn the page" to see pictures.  Easy.

A hauntingly delish menu for 10/25 - 10/31

Though I am officially unemployed, I have a million things to do this week.  My in laws are coming in town.  I have previous Weight Watchers stuff that has to be turned in ASAP.  And did I mention I have custom orders for my purses out the whazoo???  OMG, I'm totally paranoid I won't be able to finish them all.  What was I thinking?  Thank God for the orders, though.  Especially since, as previously stated, I went and quit my job. So I really need to be on the ball this week.  A menu plan is a MUST at this point.  Otherwise, I'll be the first one eating at Chipotle or Wendy's every evening, and after so many days in a row of that, I choose to make not-so-great choices. (*gasp*)

As I say every single week when I post the menu.....there are no links to recipes posted on my menu.  I'm simply showing you my menu.  I'm a bragger.  I like to plan.  So I like to brag about my plan, basically.  Yes.  Yes, I do.  Go make a menu for yourself!  If you want to lose weight & then keep it off, you MUST have a plan. And the plan to NOT plan is not acceptable.  Sorry to bust the groove of so many non-planners out there. 

For members of my weekly Weight Watchers meetings

Do you remember the scene in Forrest Gump when Forrest ran & ran & ran? It started out like this…

 “That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run. So I ran to the end of the road. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd run to the end of town. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd just run across Greenbow County. And I figured, since I ran this far, maybe I'd just run across the great state of Alabama. And that's what I did. I ran clear across Alabama. For no particular reason I just kept on going. I ran clear to the ocean. And when I got there, I figured, since I'd gone this far, I might as well turn around, just keep on going. When I got to another ocean, I figured, since I'd gone this far, I might as well just turn back, keep right on going.”

He ran for 3 years, 2 months, 14 days, and 16 hours. Then, one fine day, he stopped in the middle of the road, and announced, “I'm pretty tired... I think I'll go home now”.

What you read very much describes my journey with Weight Watchers. I decided to join Weight Watchers (big step for me!), count points, lose weight, change my life, educate myself along the way, give back by taking on the leader role as my main job. I rocked it out, and now it’s time for me to stop and do something else for a change. I’ve been a Weight Watchers leader for four years now. In that period of time, I’ve helped hundreds of people lose weight, reach healthy goals, change their lives, start living the life that was given to them the way it was meant to be lived.  I've won multiple awards & reached new goals of my own.....but it’s time for me to move into a new phase of life.

I know you know what I mean about the feeling I’m having. It’s that nagging feeling that there’s something else out there in need of my attention. That gut feeling that it’s just time to move on. Could it have anything to do with my husband’s job situation? Or the thought of another cross country move in our horizon? Or my kids growing into “tweens” right before my very eyes? Or my aging parents worrying me sick? Or just growing weary of the way Weight Watchers is run?  Who knows. Who cares, really.  Here’s what I do know, Weight Watchers points based weight loss program turned my life around. I will continue to post countless blog posts with ramblings about calories and fat and fiber and running and menu items and recipes and new products I find at Costco and yada, yada, yada.

The most asked questions this week were....

Q. Are you going to lead any meetings at all?
A. Nope. I resigned from Weight Watchers altogether.

Q. Will you keep the web site & blog going?
A. Yes!!! I had the web site YEARS before I worked for Weight Watchers. The name has changed multiple times over the years, but it has been there all along to help me with MY journey. (Remember, I’m a Weight Watchers member, too.) The blog is only 3 ½ years old, but I will for sure keep it going. It kind of took on a life of its own over time.

Q. Will you still send a newsletter?
A. Yep. It will continue to be sporadically sent. That’s the Heather way to do things! lol

Q.  Can I still email you?
A.  Of course! 

Q. Are you still going to follow the Weight Watchers plan?

A. Of course! It works!  Quitting a job will not change that at all. 

Q. Who will take your place as our leader?
A. I have no idea, really. I’m sure my boss will do the best she can filling the position.

Thanks for being such great members! I’m sorry if I missed saying good-bye in person this week. Perhaps our paths will cross again someday.  For the record, this decision was not made on a whim.  It took much thought, prayer, courage, and faith. 

Peace!

First outdoor run in 6+ weeks

OK, I did it.  I stopped whining, and went running. IT FELT SO AWESOME!!!!!!!!  The weather was perfect for running today.  Not too hot.  Not too cool.  Not too humid.  Not raining.  Not snowing. Not too sunny.  The leaves are falling off the trees hot and heavy here, and are the most beautiful shades of autumn.  I planned on a short run today (meaning about 3 miles).  I was banking on a 5k, which is 3.2 miles. 

{Here's the route we took....}

{...and here's how much of it I ran}

I'll give you ONE guess as to why I kept backtracking.  I'll let you think about it. [This is the part of the blog post where you stop and ponder.]  If you guessed "you took a 9 year old with you", then you hit the nail on the head! lol  Running with a 9 year old is a good thing.  Don't get me wrong.  I could for sure live without the whining that seems to never stop flowing from her lips, but at least I know she's outside instead of inside playing video games & watching iCarly.  I know she's able to run when she has to (across intersections with me).  I know she enjoys being with me enough to go out in public with me, and my days are numbered in that dept. I'm fully aware.  lol

So our 2.3 mile run ended up being 4.  At least it was for me, and technically I backtracked even more, but mapmyrun.com is somewhat klunky when it comes to the mapping tool (Which is why I really, really, really need a Garmin.  That's a hint for Santa!).  So I bet there was at least another quarter of a mile worth of running that I cannot account for.  Trust me when I say I did it.  My foot is screaming at me, but I'll ice it later.  All we be fine. 

I'm off to cook some spinach ravioli now.  Life is good.

(I used mapmyrun.com to map the route.  I only mention it because I know someone will post a comment asking if I don't blurt it out.)

My new half marathon hero

I can't help but give a giant round of applause to "Barbie Cooper". Check out this article.....

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20292217,00.html

Love her. Love her.  Love her.  She is a hero in my book. Not just for losing the weight & keeping it off, but for make it her mission to improve the life given to her! Reaching goals she only dreamed of before. She's putting her words into actions, and I like that very, very much.

If she can do it, so can I.  I'm so ready for March 7th!  Except for the being able to run 13.1 miles part of the day, that is. lol  I'll get there.  I have hope.  Lots of hope.

Halloween candy cheat sheet

'Tis the season. 

Ever wonder about the Point values for your favorite Halloween candy? I pulled the Halloween Candy Cheat Sheet off the Weight Watchers staff web site years ago & thought I'd share the info with you all:

{Click Here For Printable Cheat Sheet}

I want you to remember to give yourself a bit of freedom. Go ahead & have a bit of candy, just be accountable for the amount you eat. Prepare yourself. Know the Point values ahead of time. Or simply buy candy you hate (gummy bears & tootsie rolls will be purchased for our candy bowl - BARF!).  Happy Halloween!!!!!


HALLOWEEN CANDY,  # OF ITEMS,  WWPs
3 Musketeers, 2 fun size bars 3 1/2
1000 Grand, 2 mini bars 4 1/2
Abazaba, mini, Each 1
ABC Fruit Chomps, 7 pieces 3
ANDES Creme de Menth Thin Mint , 8 pieces 5 1/2
Animal Crackers, 11 crackers 3
Almond Joy, 2 snack size bars 4
America1s Original Bubble Gum, 4 pieces 1 1/2
Atomic Fireballs, Each 1
Baby Ruth, 2 fun size bars 4
Big Hunk, mini, Each 1
Bit-O-Honey, 6 pieces 4
Blow Pops, Each 1.5
Bubble Gum, super, 2 pieces 1
Butterfinger, 2 fun size bars 4
Butternut Mini Bar, .75 oz 2
Candy Corn, 22 pieces 3
Caramello, 2 snack size bars 4
Crispy Caramel Fudge Bar, snack size, Each bar 2
Caramel & Peanut Butter Crispy Bars, snack size, 2
Chocolate Toffee Crisp Bar, snack size, Each bar, 2
Crunchy Peanut Butter Bar, snack size, Each bar, 2
Double Bubble Gum, 2 pieces 1
Heath Bar, 5 snack size bars 6
Hershey's Bar (plain), 2 snack size bars 5
Hershey's (almonds), 2 snack size bars 5
Hershey Kisses, 8 pieces 5
Hershey Kisses or Hugs, 3 pieces 2
Hershey Miniatures, 5 pieces 5
Hershey Tastations (any flavor), 3 pieces 1
Hershey Sweet Escapes 2
Hi C Juice Fillers, bag (5 candies) 2
Hot Tamales, Each snack box 1
Jolly Rancher, 3 pieces 1
Jolly Rancher Mini Stix, Each 1
Kit Kat, 3 (2 pc) snack bars 6
Kit Kat, Each mini 2
Lemonheads, Each box 2
Life Saver Five Flavor Candy, 4 1.5
Life Saver Gummi Savers, 2 rolls 2.5
Life Saver Pops, Each 1
M & M (plain), Each fun size pack 2
M & M (peanut), Each fun size pack 2
M & M Crispy, Each pkg 5
Mars, 2 fun size bars 4
Mary Jane Peanut Butter Kisses, 6 pieces 3.5
Maynards Wine Gums, 1 roll (44 g), 3
Mike & Ikes, Each snack pkg 1
Milk Duds, 4 fun size boxes 4
Milky Way, 2 fun size bars 4
Milky Way Lite, minis, 5 pieces 3
Milky Way Lite, regular bar 3.5
Mounds, 2 snack size bars 4
Necco Wafers, Each roll 1
Nerds, Each box 1
Nestles PB Mallow, Each 3.5
Nestles Baby Ruth, Each 4.5
Nestle Crunch Fun Size, 4 bars 5
Now & Later, 3 mini bars 3
O'Henry, 2 fun size bars 5
Peter Pan Peanut Butter Cups, 4 pieces 6
Pumpkin Pop, Each sucker 1
Raisinettes, 3 snack size boxes 4
Red Hots, Each box 2
Reese's Crunchy Cookie Cups, 2 snacks 4
Reese's Miniature Peanut Butter Cups, 5 pieces 5
Reeses Peanut Butter Bites, 3 pkgs 5.5
Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, 2 snack size 4
Reesesticks, 2 snack size 4
Skittles, small pack 3 pkgs 4
Skittles (regular), 2 packs 3
Smarties, 3 rolls 1
Smuckers Fruit Fillers, Each bag (5 candies) 2
Snackwells Nut Clusters, Each piece 1
Snickers, 2 fun size bars 4
Snickers, minis (4 pieces) or 2 fun size bars 4
Spree Candies, 8 pieces 1
Spree Twist, 2 rolls 1.5
Starburst, 3 fun size pkgs 4
Starburst Fruit Chews, 8 chews 3.5
Sugar Babies, 2 snack size pouches 4.5
Sugar Daddy Pops, 3 3.5
Sweethearts (Necco), Each (1 1/8 oz box) 2.5
Sweet Tarts, 2 rolls 1
Tootsie Hot Chocolate Pops, Each 1.5
Three Muskateers, 2 fun size 4
Tootsie Roll, 2 snack bars 2
Tootsie Roll Midgees, 6 pieces 3.5
Tootsie Roll Midgees - small, 11 pieces 2
Tootsie Roll Pop, Each pop 1
Triple Chocolate Wafer Bar, snack size, Each bar, 2
Twix, (mini size) Each 1
Twix, Each snack size bar 2
Twix, Regular Size, Each (2) pack 7
Twizzlers Pull-n-Peel Cherry Candy, 3 pieces 2.5
Twizzlers Strawbery Twists, 4 twists 2.5
Werther's Original, 3 pieces 1
Whoppers Malted Milk Balls, 2 snack size pouches 5
Wonka Nerds Gumballs, Each 1
Wonka Shock Tarts Gumball, Each 1
Wrigleys Chewing Gum, 5 pieces 1
York Peppermint Patties, 3 patties 3

Pumpkiny goodness

Dear Middletown WW Members,

I pinky swore I'd bring my favorite pumpkin recipes to work with me for you to write down or copy, and I totally forgot.  I'm so sorry!  I've had a lot on my mind the past week or so. So I've made a printer friendly version of them here for you to print a copy of your own: http://www.freewebs.com/thewwchick/pumpkin_recipes.html .  If you know of someone attending our little meeting without a printer or computer skillz, be an angel and print an extra copy for that person.  You'll earn a feather on your angel wings for it.  :)

XOXO,
Heather

PS...the recipes are also great for people NOT attending the Middletown, Ohio meeting.  Feel free to print a copy for yourself & enjoy!  The pie recipe is too good for words, and only 4 Points per slice compared to the traditional 9 - 12 Point per slice pie. 

PSS...these are the same recipes I sent through my newsletter a week or so ago.  So if you already printed those, no need to print these.  Save some ink.  :)

PSSS...I *heart* pumpkin recipes!

Weekly menu 10/18 - 10/24

And the menu of the week looks a little something like.....

Again, I post the menu just to encourage you to plan your meals.  It helps keep me on track.  Also helps with the budget.  And my sanity.  And perhaps lots of other things I just can't think of right now.  Anyhoo....no recipes are linked to the menu.  I did make a video for the mini meat loaves & chili cheese fries a while back, though.  You can check that out on my youtube channel.  Peace out!