Strategy, now that's a word to think about....

Don’t starve

Arriving at the party famished could lead to overdoing it, so eat a healthy meal or snack beforehand, leaving just enough room (and PP values) for a few small treats.

Drink!

But make it water or other low-calorie beverage – you’ll slow down your eating and help fill yourself up. And limit your alcohol intake – it’s not only a major source of calories and PP values, it can weaken your ability to stick to your eating plan.

Know what you eat

Just because it’s the holidays, don’t forget all the weight- management skills you’ve acquired.  Even if you choose to indulge, keep journaling.  By writing down what you’re eating you’re less apt to eat mindlessly.

Don’t deprive yourself

But do limit your portions. By eating small portions of only things you really want you’ll enjoy the specialties while staying on track.

Set priorities

Rate each dish on offer from 1 to10, with “10” being the best choices for you and “1” being foods you know you should limit or avoid.  Fill your plate with the high numbers and only try a minimal amount (or none!) of the others.

Move!

Reduce sedentary behavior like surfing the net and watching TV; work in some minutes several times in the day. It will help in your weight-loss efforts or allow you to eat a bit more without guilt.

Be realistic

Losing weight during the holiday season might not be the most practical objective for you right now.  Allow your goal during the holidays to be maintaining your weight, not weight loss. Then, once the holidays are over you can get right back to losing.

Healthy holiday cooking

With a few smart, common-sense changes in food preparation and eating habits, you will save calories and PP values without losing the flavor.  

Here are some suggestions:

INSTEAD OF Dark meat turkey

CHOOSE White meat turkey with skin removed

INSTEAD OF Making stuffing with turkey drippings

CHOOSE Stuffing made with a fat-free broth

INSTEAD OF Preparing mashed potatoes with butter and milk

CHOOSE  Mashed potatoes with broth and fat-free or 1% milk with some jarred horseradish or mustard for added flavor

INSTEAD OF Following a traditional green bean casserole recipe

CHOOSE Making it with low-fat soup and breadcrumbs, or better yet, mix your steamed beans with some homemade low fat tomato and onion relish

INSTEAD OF Candied sweet potatoes

CHOOSE Baked sweet potatoes with light butter

INSTEAD OF Regular dressing on your salad

CHOOSE Light or fat-free dressing

INSTEAD OF Bringing another pie

CHOOSE A beautiful floral display

INSTEAD OF Using pan drippings in your gravy

CHOOSE Fat-free broth or bouillon

INSTEAD OF Double-crusted fruit pie

CHOOSE One-crust pumpkin pie - or see the crust less pumpkin pie recipe at the bottom of the blog!

INSTEAD OF Mixed drinks or heavy ales

CHOOSE Wine or spritzers

INSTEAD OF Butter or oil in baking

CHOOSE Sugar-free apple sauce

Black November

 A Turkey's Lament
 When I was a young turkey, new to the coop,
 My big brother Mike took me out on the stoop,
 Then he sat me down, and he spoke real slow,
 And he told me there was something that I had to know;
 
His look and his tone I will always remember,
 When he told me of the horrors of ..... Black November;
 "Come about August, now listen to me,
 Each day you'll be thick, where once you were thin,
 And you'll grow a big rubbery thing under your chin.
 "And then one morning, when you're warm in your bed,
 In'll burst the farmer's wife, and hack off your head;
 "Then she'll pluck out all your feathers so you're bald'n pink,
 And scoop out all your insides and leave ya lyin' in the sink,
 "And then comes the worst part" he said not bluffing,
 "She'll spread your cheeks and pack your rear with stuffing".

 Well, the rest of his words were too grim to repeat,
 I sat on the stoop like a winged piece of meat,
 And decided on the spot that to avoid being cooked,
 I'd have to lay low and remain overlooked;
 I began a new diet of nuts and granola,
 High-roughage salads, juice and diet cola,
 And as they ate pastries, chocolates and crepes,
 I stayed in my room doing Jane Fonda tapes,
 I maintained my weight of two pounds and a half,
 And tried not to notice when the bigger birds laughed;

 But 'twas I who was laughing, under my breath,
 As they chomped and they chewed, ever closer to death;
 And sure enough when Black November rolled around,
 I was the last turkey left in the entire compound;
 
So now I'm a pet in the farmer's wife's lap;
 I haven't a worry, so I eat and I nap,
 She held me today, while sewing and humming,
 And smiled at me and said "Christmas is coming........"

Member's Favorite CRUST LESS PUMPKIN PIE!

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin (not pie filling)
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated skim milk
3/4 cup egg substitute
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-2 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice to your taste
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup splenda sugar substitute

Directions:
1    Combine all ingredients and beat until smooth.
2    Pour into 9-inch pie pan sprayed with cooking spray.
3    Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes; reduce temperature to
      325 degrees F and bake for 45 minutes more.
4    Pie is done when knife inserted into center comes out clean.

5    Sprinkle the top with a little cinnamon or cinnamon and
      confectioners sugar.

Serves 8          3 PPV per serving

All that remains is for me to wish you a very heartfelt 

Happy Thanksgiving.  

I want you to know that I am always thankful for you, my amazing and inspiring group of members. 

See you back in the meeting with all your confidence in tow!

Gridiron Considerations

Confessions first:  I do not know much about Football, sorry, I've honestly tried to learn the rules and to my dismay, they are just beyond me.  I can, however, appreciate how hard the players work and how seriously the fans take their fandom!  (By the way, I do know that this is Tom Brady)!

We are right in the midst of it all and I know that "Game Day" is an eating fest, or can be, and it can mean the difference between a losing week and a horrible one!  So, I thought I could use this weeks blog as a reminder to those of you who are "caught up in it" to stick to it and to maybe offer some strategies for not totally wrecking your WW efforts because of the game!

It is important to realize that even if game day doesn't work out the way you would have liked, there are strategies you can do for the rest of the week of mitigate the situation - here are 10!
On other days you could:

1. Walk, run or Wii for at least 20 minutes extra on 3 days.  Don't forget to wear your ActiveLink!
2. Cut out alcohol for 5 days of the week.
3. Think about sweet foods and cut them out for 3 days in a row or cut them out every other day for 6 days.
4. Eat a piece of fruit as soon as you start to feel hungry during the day to cut back on more PPV heavy snacks.
5. Eat more fish and chicken and less red meat and cheese (or none at all) for the rest of the week.
6. Keep a list of things to do instead, when you’’d otherwise have the urge to eat, until the feeling wears off.
7. Log onto e-tools and read the success stories online paying particular attention to the specific strategies offered by those successful members.
8. Avoid that bag of chips at lunch, even the baked ones!
9. Add a salad or broth soup at the start of every main meal; vegetables are free and so is broth!  This'll help you to stay full all week.
10. Try to only spend the "extra" PPV you've earned through activity, i.e. write off all your 49 extra to make up for what you spent on game day and get out and earn some Activity Points Plus Values.

Here is a great suggestion from a member for game day eats:  Plan a TACO FIESTA!   Options, options, options... Make some of them traditional and some WW friendly.... Have, on offer, at least:

~ 3 options of proteins: Grilled chicken, lean hamburger, even vegetable crumbles as well as your other taco meats,

~ Black beans and vegetarian re fried beans,

~ Plenty of shredded lettuce and chopped Pico de Gallo,

~ Veggie fixin's as well as black olives, shredded red cabbage, sliced hot radishes, and chopped onion.

~ Shredded light cheese and shredded full-fat cheeses,

~ Fat-free sour cream and it's full fat counterpart,

~ 100 calorie Guac and the heavy duty stuff!

~ Regular and whole wheat TACO shells (available in most grocery stores)

~ Light whole wheat tortilla wraps as well as regular ones.

Hope that helps.  

I also just want to remind you that NOVEMBER is SALE month:

Fruities—all duopacks of candies, $1.75

Cookbooks—50% off

Mini Bars, Oatmeal, and Smoothies—$4.95 each

Deluxe and Essential Member Kits—$24.45 and $12.45 each, respectively, that's 50% off

Yoga Mats—$14.95 each

AND THIS WEEK ONLY:

DINING OUT AND COMPLETE FOOD COMPANIONS ARE 25% OFF; $7.45.  Is it time to update yours to 2012? 

This weeks meeting is an important one:  Thanksgiving Strategies!
See you there.

Yes, we are open on Monday, Veteran's Day!

Gruel

What a week!  

To anyone who was negatively impacted by Sandy, I hope you are back to your normal.  My M-I-L in NY is still sans power and heat and it looks like it'll still be 5 or so more days before she is switched back on.  You are all and have been in my thoughts this week.  I hope the challenges are not / did not have too much of a negative impact on your weight management journey, and if it did (or is currently), run, don't walk to your meeting this week, lets get your head back in the game...  Throwing in the towel is not an option, right?

Halloween was a beautiful evening, if you walked with the kids, I am sure you enjoyed that part.  What about all that chocolate and sugar this week?   Come and tell your meeting buddies how you did with the candy temptations, the good, the bad and the ugly :)

This week I am posting a recipe that is a staple in my house in the winter months.  I mentioned it at my Sunday meeting,  and members asked me to post it; so here goes.

We (in my house) affectionately call it "Gruel".  Essentially it's a veggie casserole, in fact it's potentially vegan; leave out the cheese and crackers at the end.  If you want to add meat, feel free to saute some ground lean beef or turkey meat to add instead of the tofu, you'll have to rework the PPV if you do.  It keeps well in the fridge for up to 3 days so make lots and have as leftovers a day or two later.  (Like many casseroles it improves with keeping).  It seems like a lot of steps, but to be honest with you, cutting and prepping the veggies is the most time-consuming task, but it is so well worth it!

INGREDIENTS:
1 C dry lentils (any color), rinsed
2 C cold water
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
Salt and Pepper and red pepper flakes to taste
1 bunch cilantro (use chives, parsley, basil or tarragon as an alternative)
1 can (10oz) Ro*tel Original Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, undrained
1 1LB block firm tofu, drained and diced into 1/2 to 3/4 sized pieces
------
Vegetables - mix and match any, approximately 8-10 different choices from the following list:  (You'll need about 1 cup of each vegetable, sliced or chopped into "bite sized" pieces)
~ Carrots *
~ Parsnips *
~ Rutabaga *
~ Turnip *
~ Broccoli *
~ Cauliflower *
~ New Potatoes *
~ Cabbage
~ Chard
~ Kale
~ Peapods
~ Leeks
~ Celery
~ Mushrooms
~ Red, Orange, Yellow and/or Green Peppers
~ Zucchini
~ Summer Squash
~ String Beans
~ Asparagus
2 Bags of any WW Cracker Chips, such as Harvest Grains, Whole Grain Salsa Crisps, Black Pepper Pretzels or Cheddar Twists, crushed into crumbs and pieces.
1/2 C Shredded 2% Milk-Fat Cheese (Mexican Blend, Italian Blend or Sharp Cheddar)

INSTRUCTIONS
Place the lentils in a heavy bottomed pot, add the water, onion, salt and pepper to taste plus the roughly chopped bunch of cilantro.  Bring to the boil, lower the temp to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes until the lentils are done.  Take off the heat and add the entire can of the Ro*tel tomatoes, add any flavorings such as red pepper flakes or dried herbs and set aside.

In the meantime prepare a large casserole dish by spraying the base and sides with Olive or Canola Oil Cooking Spray.  My suggestion is to use the aluminum foil roasting pans - double up for strength.  Heat the oven to 350 deg.

If you use any of the * asterisk'd vegetables, you'll find that if you steam them after you've cut them into bite sized pieces for about 6-7 minutes before you put the dish together with the "softer" veggies, that'll help to equalize the cooking time for all the veggies.

Once you have all the veggies prepared mix them together in a large bowl and add in the diced tofu (or ground meat if you're subbing that), mix well and pour half of them into the casserole dish, top (evenly) with half the lentil mixture.  Pour the balance of the veggies into the casserole dish and spoon over the balance of the lentil mixture evenly across the top.  It's fine if it all piles high in the dish, it'll all shrink down as the veggies cook.

Cover with alum foil (2 layers) and place in the oven for 2 hours.  Remove the foil and sprinkle the crushed crackers and cheese over the veggies,  Raise the oven temp to 400 deg and bake the casserole for the last 20 minutes at the higher temp.

Voila!

Yields at least 6 servings and 3 PPV per serving ... or more; depending upon the veggies chosen i.e. Potatoes, Peas, Corn and other starchy veggies add additional PPV.

November is Sales Month:

Fruities—all duopacks of candies, $1.75

Cookbooks—50% off

Mini Bars, Oatmeal, and Smoothies—$4.95 each

Deluxe and Essential Member Kits—$24.45 and $12.45 each, respectively, that's 50% off

Yoga Mats—$14.95 each

See you at your meeting :)