Life happens!!!

Well, at least that is what I am telling myself tonight.  I should have blogged a long time ago, but school is in full swing which brings with it volleyball, football, band...you name it we are doing it!!!!  I feel as though I never get to come home and just be with my family and cook and watch tv.  Hopefully things will settle down soon!  Mark has been at the White County Fair this week so it has been me and Callie at home.  Last night I did cook a homemade chicken pot pie!  It was soooo good!  However, it is not really all that good for you!!  I only had a small piece!  I soooo wanted to eat two.  I must confess that I had gained about 8 pounds in the first 3 weeks of school.  Inservice week was horrible!!!  We had such good food!  And Ed's cookies!  I have decided that I really should never try to have JUST ONE!  That one cookie (or donut, or brownie, or piece of pie) is really just a gateway drug for me!  In fact today I had 4 cookies!!!!!  I couldn't stop!  But, I have been really good tonight so it is ok!  I can tell you that I have lost 7 of the 8 that I gained.  I have been SUPER good over the past 2 weeks.  REALLY good.  I have also gotten back to working out after school.  That has been so good and so much fun!  I really enjoy working out with my coworkers!  It helps to do exercises with friends!  I do enjoy a good walk by myself, but we motivate each other.  We are trying to get Conway Regional to go in with us so that we can write it into our ACSIP wellness plan!!! 

I ofter have people ask me how I did it (how I lost 50 pounds).  I wish that I could say that it was so easy.  I wish I could say that joining Weight Watchers Online is all that it took.  (Let me say that WW Online was a HUGE part in my weight loss.  It taught me to look at what I eat and how to eat better.  But it really did come down to me.)  Weight loss is achievable for almost everyone!  Is it easy?  NO NO NO!  I am HUNGRY!!!!!!  I want TO EAT!!!!!  I have to tell myself NO so many times a day and night!  I know that my body is not hungry!!!!  But my mind wants to eat!!!!  If you want to lose weight, you must burn more calories in a day than you eat.  Sounds simple right?  And most people think that they should be doing that.  Until you start logging EVERYTHING you eat, most folks have no idea how much food they are putting in their bodies.  That is one thing that WW did for me.  I had to log everything I ate.  I know I am not telling you something you do not know.  But what no one tells you is that you will be hungry.  If you are addicted to food (I totally admit that in a serious way) your body will go through "detox".  You will crave food.  You will feel badly if you don't eat.  It does pass some.  I still want to eat.  But not because I am hungry.  I just like food.  Ok ok...I LOVE FOOD!  I miss eating what I want!  But I never want to go back to what I was before.  I love shopping!  Anyway, just thought I would share my thoughts on that because so many people have asked!!!!  If you have any questions or comments please share!!!

I am so excited about cooler temps!!!!  It gets me ready for chili and soups and Thanksgiving and Christmas!!!!  Here is a yummy soup recipe!!!

Zuppa Toscana (Olive Garden)

1 pound Italian Sausage ( I use turkey italian sausage)
2 large baking potatoes sliced in half and then cut into 1/4 pieces
1 package of Real bacon bits
1 onion (I put onion and food processor and nearly puree it!)
2 tsp of minced garlic
2 cans of chicken broth
1 quart water (4 cups)
1 cup of heavy cream ( I substitute fat free Half and half and it is ok)
salt and pepper

In skillet brown sausage and set aside.

In a large pot place sliced potatoes, onion, garlic, water and chicken broth.  Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are tender.

Add sausage, bacon, salt and pepper to taste.  Cook 10 minutes longer.  Lower heat and add cream.  Heat thoroughly and serve. 

One extra thing that I add is a dash of red pepper flakes.  Just gives it a little kick!!!  (also you can add 2 cups of chopped kale the same time you add the cream.  We leave it out and it is fine!!!)  Enjoy!!!!

Progress....Smogress!

Well, if I thought this was going to be a summer of transformation, I am sorely disappointed.  I can say that I have maintained tho.  I have not gained any weight.  But...I have not lost any either.  Which is ok.  I have not REALLY tried.  I still have roughly 6-8 pounds left to lose, and I would like to get those off and then work on maintaining my weight.  I think when school starts and we get in a routine it will be easier.  I just find myself lazy during the summer.  We are going to start back to exercising after school so that will help.  It has just been SO HOT this summer.  I mean it is stupid hot!!!  I don't ever remember a summer being this hot so soon.  I know that August is usually a scorcher, but this is crazy.  We were cold in May and then BOOM hot in June.  No spring.  I hope that is cools off soon.  I have been cooking some lately.  However, I totally understand why people in the good old days used to do all of their cooking in the morning.  I hate heating the house up in the evening cooking supper.  So this week, I have only cooked once.  But I do have a good recipe to share with you.  Here it goes!

Spaghetti Pie

4 oz of dry noodles ( I use thin spaghetti)
1 pound of ground turkey (not the recalled kind!  Yikes)
1 cup of spaghetti sauce
1 cup reduced fat ricotta cheese
3 egg whites (divided)
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup shredded part skim mozzarella cheese

Cook spaghetti according to package directions.  Meanwhile, brown ground turkey in a skillet, stir in spaghetti sauce when browned.

In a small bowl, combine ricotta cheese and 1 egg white, set aside.  Drain spaghetti; add parmesan cheese and remaining egg whites.  Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-in deep dish pie plate coated with cooking spray.  Spoon ricotta mixture onto crust.  Top with the turkey mixture.

Baked uncovered at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.  Bake 5 minutes longer or until the cheese is melted.  Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing.


Here is a little tip that I have.  I have trouble finding low fat mozzarella shredded cheese.  However, you can find low fat string cheese.  I just shred the string cheese here at home.  It seems to work just fine!

I hope you enjoy this recipe.  I am not one for before and after photos.  I did not take a big before shot and a big after shot.  I was looking through some of my photos on facebook and I was really shocked at how big I had let myself get.  I am really proud of being able to get the weight off.  So here is a before.  I think this was summer of 2008.

And here is a photo that was snapped last weekend after watching my beautiful friend Shannah (who is dressed as a bird) in the play Seussical.   She was phenomenal of course.

I really couldn't believe it!  I am so motivated to keeping this weight off!  Thanks for reading and for being my accountability!  all 3 of you!!!!!

Trying to Be Good!

Hello blog world!  Summer is winding down (boohoo) and I am trying to get back to counting my points.  I have been better.  I have lost 51 pounds now so that is something.  At least the scale is moving!!!  I have a goal in mind, and I have to admit that the old CDC way of measuring you is still stuck in my head.  I have 4 more pounds to go until the CDC does not consider me overweight.  I know that the system they use is not that great, but it is still something I would like to do!  I am excited to get back to school because we should get back to exercising.  The teachers get together after school and do aerobics.  I am just not really good at exercising by myself.  I need to quit the gym because I just don't like driving all the way across town to exercise!  Pathetic isn't it!!!  Oh well!  I will get back to it!  I hate that I have not cooked this summer.  We have been BUSY!  Thankfully, the past week or so things have calmed down and we have cooked more.  Today's recipe is sooooo good!  I take some short cuts to save some time, but you can do the whole thing yourself if you want!

Baked Pork Chimichangas

3 cups of cooked chopped pork (I save time by going to a bbq restaurant and buying a pound of chopped smoked pork)
1/2 can of no fat refried beans ( I use refried black beans)
1/3 can of chicken broth
1/2 can of green chili enchilada sauce
1 1/2 cup of salsa
1 package of taco seasoning
shredded 2% mexican cheese blend
tortillas (soft taco size reduced fat)
1 egg white
2 tsp of water

Mix the first 6 ingredients in a skillet and bring to a simmer.  Fill each tortilla with two spoonfuls of pork mixture and top with a golf ball size amount of shredded cheese.  Fold sides of tortillas up and then fold the other sides over.  Place seam side down in a casserole dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray.  After all chimichangas are in place whisk egg and water together and brush the top of each chimi.  Baked at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until heated all the way through.  I serve this with rice and chips/salsa.  If I remember correctly, these are around 6 points each.  Hope you enjoy!

Help! I'm Stuck!

Or at least that is how I feel these days.   I have lost 50 pounds!  I am so excited!!!!  But, I have 7 more to go to reach my goal.  I have been stuck at 50 for several weeks now.  Granted, one of those weeks we were on vacation, so I do cut myself some slack.  But I have been trying to be good these last two weeks.  I have not, however, been diligent about counting points.  I guess that is where I have messed up.  We are traveling to San Antonio this next week for a large youth conference.  So, I am just going to wait until we get back and then try to hit it hard until school starts.  If I have not reached my goal by August 8, then where ever I am at pound-wise is where I am going to be content.  I mean why not be content.  According to what size I am, I am half the size I used to be!!!  That is some good news.  I have not fit into this size in what seems like forever.  I weigh more than I did in high school, but I am wearing the same size I was in high school.  (I assume things have sifted with age????  lol)  Anyhoo, I am plugging along.  I am doing a no carb day today.  Please don't go all crazy on me.  I know the body needs carbs.  I just do it for one day to just confuse the body.  I don't claim to be a nutritionist, but I have done quite a bit of research.  I have learned that not all calories are created equal.  Some foods may be the same number of calories, but your body has to work differently for different foods.  Proteins make your body work harder than simple carbs.  So eggs versus white bread?  The eggs will make your body work harder than the white bread.  Now you can get complex carbs in whole grains etc...  Those also make your body work hard.  So it has really been interesting learning about what you eat and how your body handles it.  My entire family (except me so far) has type 2 diabetes.  So we are all educated about carbs.  I really try to limit my intake of those all of the time.  But sometimes you just gotta have a roll!!!!  And that is ok!  I am including a recipe today that may seem a little out of place.  I had a friend ask about a soup recipe that I do so I thought I would post it.  Even when it is hot outside, sometimes soup is just so comforting.  This soup reminds me of the Chicken Enchilada Soup at Chili's.  One cup of this soup is 7 points!

Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup

2 cans of fat free cream of chicken soup
1 can (10 oz) of Old El Paso enchilada sauce (I use mild)
2 cups milk
1 cup shredded 2% mexican cheese (you can use 2% chedder)
1 package of cooked southwestern flavored grilled chicken strips cut up
1 package of taco seasoning  (I don't add whole package...I add a little more than half)
3/4 cup crushed tortilla chips

1.  In a 3 quart sauce pan mix all ingredients except tortilla chips

2.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until thoroughly heated and cheese is melted.  Top individual servings with tortilla chips (you can also add a sprinkle of shredded cheese as well.

This soup is really good on a cool, crisp fall day.  But it is good anytime as well.  Hope everyone is having a super summer.  I can't believe that today is July 1!!!!  Slow down summer!!!!

I Came, I Saw, I Baked!

Finally, I baked again.  I have mentioned in earlier posts how much I have missed baking.  When Mark and I got married, I was not a very good cook.  But I could bake!  That was one thing my mom taught me how to do!  I have always enjoyed baking goodies from scratch.  A mix will do in a pinch, but nothing tastes as good as a cake or pie made from scratch.  I love the organization of it all.  The measuring, the mixing...it just makes my heart happy.  I am glad to say that after 18 years (and lots of phone calls to my parent and in-laws) I am now a decent cook.  I like to make recipes my own.  I have thoroughly enjoyed cooking during my eating better blog.  Now, I told you that I did not gain any weight on vacation.  And that is true!  However, after vacation is another story.  I pretty much took a break for the rest of the week last week and gained 3 pounds.  My oh my!  Why is it so easy to put it on and so hard to get if off!!!!  Oh well, Sunday I made myself get back to it and I am happy to say that it came off pretty easy.  I have also gotten lazy about tracking my points on WW.  So I got back on the website to log in and lo and behold there popped up a cheesecake recipe.  I nearly fainted!!!  Cheesecake is MY. FAVORITE. DESSERT. EVER!!!!!  I had to bake it.  I can say that I may do things a little different next time.  And there will be another time.  It really hits the spot!!!!  Here is the recipe

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

10 chocolate sandwich cookies with creme filling
8 oz fat free cream cheese
8 oz light cream cheese in the tub
1 cup of sugar
2 tbsp of flour
1 cup of cottage cheese
2 tsp almond extract
6 large egg whites
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Lightly coat a 9 inch springform pan with cooking spray.  Crush cookies and sprinkle cookie crumbs evenly over bottom of pan.
Using an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheeses until well blended.
In a small bowl, combine sugar and flour.  Add to cream cheese mixture and blend well.
In a blender, puree the cottage cheese until smooth.  I added the almond abstract to this and blended it with the cottage cheese as well.  Add cottage cheese to cream cheese mixture and mix well.
Add egg whites and beat until well blended.  Stir in 1/2 cup of choc. chips.
Pour into the springform pan and top with the remaining chocolate chips.  Bake until cheesecake puff and center is almost set, about 60 minutes.
Cool completely.  Run a knife around the edge and loosen the edge to release the pan sides.  Cover and chill overnight.  Cut into 12 slices.

In WW points this is 6 points a slice.  I know that is a lot, but to fix my cheesecake craving, it is worth it.  I have one slice a day.  I will probably use vanilla instead of almond next time, or a tsp of each.  This is really good.  It is not overly sweet.  I assume you could make this sugar free if you got creative!  I hope you enjoy!!!  Go get your bake on!

I Have Been Bad!!!!

This past Sunday, June 12, Mark and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary.  And we did it in style.  We went to Las Vegas Saturday the 11th and came home today, the 14th.  We had such a wonderful time.  Now before you get all yucky on me, let me reassure you that Mark and I are NOT gamblers.  *cue Kenny Rogers*  I would be lying if I said I have never slipped a buck or two into the penny machine, but honestly we do not go to Vegas to gamble.  We go to EAT.  Oh my heavens!  The food in Vegas is phenomenal!!!  Everything from the $2.99 egg and steak buffet to a 15 course meal that costs $240 each!  (we have NEVER eaten there)  Let me take you on our culinary vacation.  When we arrived, we drove straight to the Bellagio to eat their dinner buffet.  It is amazing!  So many delicious delectable things to choose from.  And the desserts!  They are so fancy!!!  We stayed at New York New York this time around.  I really like to stay on that end of the strip.  It seems to be hip place to be.  Sunday morning we kept it simple and ate breakfast at McDonald's at MGM.  For lunch we ran around the town some and made plans to have a burger at In and Out.  If you are ever on the west coast or in Vegas, you definitely need to try In and Out.  Super good fast food burger.  We even had to wait to sit down.  It was packed!  For dinner that night (on facebook I commented that I hoped I would have a better meal than I did for my actual wedding night.  We pulled through a Back Yard Burger in Fort Smith the night of our wedding.  It was good, but wasn't too special you know!)  So this anniversary night we decided to go to the buffet at Planet Hollywood.  It was yummy.  I had lamb for the first time and really liked it.  I did try to eat a lot of protein so I wouldn't load up on carbs.  As I was stuffing my face we hear the people in the restaurant begin to scream.  Of course, in walks all of the Miss USA contestants.  The pageant is this coming weekend and they are staying at Planet Hollywood.  I know I have lost 50 pounds and all, but my heavens these girls were tall and lean.  I wanted so bad to go up to one of them and look at her plate and say "Are you sure you really need to be eating that?  Do you know how much your state has riding on you?"  haha!  I didn't though!  They were all so nice!  A lot of the foreigners in the buffet area wanted their pictures made with them and even though I am sure they wanted to eat, they did stop and take all the pictures everyone wanted.  For breakfast on Monday morning we hit the breakfast buffet at the Luxor.  This was my favorite buffet!  I am a total sucker for a breakfast buffet.  I again tried to stay away from carbs, but I did have a big, fluffy waffle.  We did not eat lunch on Monday and for dinner we went to my favorite Mexican restaurant in Vegas, Gonzales Gonzales.  I had a barbacoa (shredded beef cooked with ancho chilis) chimichanga!  It was super!!!  And for dessert, we hit the It's Sugar store and I bought a 1/2 pound of Mike and Ike.  I am still eating on those as we speak.  I was totally suprised that when I got home, the scale said I did not gain any weight.  I guess it helped that we walked 3 miles nearly everyday!  I know this vacation is not for everyone, but it is something that Mark and I both enjoy.  I have been married to my very best friend for 18 years now.  He loves me and I love him.  We have a blast together wherever we go and I know we will have many more trips to adventurous places!!!  I will try to have a new recipe soon!

On top of old smokey.....

So, two post in two days!  I think I can, I think I can!  I just wanted to let you know about the Italian meatballs that I made last night.   I basically took the Mexican meatball recipe and tweaked it a bit.  It was a huge success.  Here it goes...

Italian Meatball Sub Sandwiches

1 lb ground turkey
1/2 cup egg beaters
1/2 cup crushed cornflakes
1/2 Italian bread crumbs
assorted seasonings (I used italian seasoning, oregano, onion pwd and garlic pwd, black pepper)

sliced cheese (I used 2% swiss)
shredded mozzarella cheese (2%)

hoagie bread
favorite marinara sauce (I used a can of tomato sauce with basil, oregano and garlic already in it and half a jar of pizza sauce)

Add the first 5 ingredients in a bowl and mix together very well with hands.  Make 1 inch balls and place on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray.   Cook at 375 for 8 minutes.  Take them out and turn them over and cook for another 6 to 8 minutes.

While the meatballs are cooking, put your sauce on the stovetop to heat up.  I assume it can be heated in the microwave as well.

When meatballs are done, cut hoagie roll in half if not already cut.  I put  the halves on a cookie sheet and topped them with 3 or 4 meatballs each.  I then covered these with the sliced swiss cheese.  ( I bet provolone woule be great!)  Place under the broiler until the cheese is melted and bread is toasty.  Place each hoagie half on a plate and cover with heated marinara sauce.   Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese.  Enjoy!  I am not too sure of the WW points on this.  Just guessing they are close to 8 points or less for each half.