 This blog is a little late because of all the Christmas celebrating so I will keep it short so we all have more time to spend with the ones we love.
Just this past week we made our Christmas cookies and needless to say I sampled a little more than I should have. I made a batch of Grandma’s fudge, my downfall. Check out the picture doesn’t it look delicious. It tastes even better. This would be why I did not have enough will power to stop at just one piece. Loving chocolate as much as I do it was hard to resist this melt in your mouth fudge. So now I have tried the fudge okay more than tried it I enjoyed every bite of it, but instead of beating myself up for it I have decided to put it behind me. Going forward I will try harder to have smaller samples this week. With so much going on shopping, Christmas programs, parties, family dinners I have found that I am having many of my meals away from home. This has made it very difficult to stick to a healthy meal plans. My goal is to get back to my weekly menu as soon as possible because it made it much easier to staying committed to my plan. Always remember tomorrow is another day, so enjoy those tasty treats (in moderation) and plan to get back on track as soon as tomorrow. I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year.
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 Here it is only a week until Christmas. It seems strange to think 2016 will be here in just a few short weeks. With all the holiday festivities getting into full swing I am finding it harder to stick to my meal plans. Even harder yet is not to snack. I will admit I have at times fallen off the bandwagon. There are just so many tasty treats to try. I have luckily not gained any weight but have also not been able to lose any this past week. If I continue to tell myself “NO” you cannot have any of this, that, or the other treat, it makes me want it even more. Since I know this about myself I have decided I will go ahead and sample things but will only have one serving, even if it tastes terrific. I am already making some plans for myself for the New Year and know that if I can keep everything in moderation I will make it through the holidays intact. This is my journey and I will fight to get healthy and I will win! I saw this picture and thought how true it is. Since this time of year always seems so hectic here is a great recipe for a quick dinner. (To make it even faster you can use a rotisserie chicken.)
Directions:
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and carrots. Cook, stirring frequently, for 6 minutes. Add the chicken, mushrooms, celery, and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Add the broth, water, quinoa, and thyme. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Raise the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the quinoa is tender. Ladle into bowls and top with the parsley and hot sauce, if using. Nutrition per serving: 214 calories, 18 g carbs, 3 g fiber, 19 g protein, 7 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 811 mg sodium  Wow, it seems as if time is just flying by. We are only a couple weeks away from Christmas and 2016! I don’t know about you but I am planning on ending this year with a bang by enjoying all the holiday festivities. My goal, however still remains the same and that is to stick with my healthy journey even through the many holiday parties. This is not always easy for me. Knowing there will be many temptations with tasty treats and scrumptious meals I have found a list of “free foods” that I can use as a snack when I am hungry or even at the parties. These freebies include: Celery, mushrooms, salsa (1/4 cup), bell peppers, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, lettuce, snow peas, zucchini, and alfalfa sprouts. Put these all together and you would have yourself a tasty but low calorie salad. Other options for when the snack attack occurs is to have a quick protein snack like; celery with peanut butter or almond butter, a small handful of almonds (remember to watch your portion sizes!), cottage cheese, or a hard-boiled egg. One tip that has been VERY HELPFUL for me and my family to help me stick with my goal was to write out our meals for the week. I have a wonderful menu planner that includes a grocery list to the side so I can write down what items are missing from our pantry. This sure helps make shopping faster and cheaper. I also find I am not choosing so many non-healthy options (like ice cream...if its in the house I WILL eat it!). I can go in and get what is on the list and leave. You can find the menu planner I use on www.thesistercafe.com Well here’s to another successful week for everyone. Check out my latest picture taken just the other day :)   Well, we made it through another Thanksgiving. I was very pleased when I got on the scales after the holiday because I was able to stick to my plan. Not only did I lose 2.5 pounds but I also lost almost 3 inches off my waist and abdomen. This was a very happy surprise as I have been feeling a little frustrated with my progress so far.
In the past when I would decide to try and lose some weight I would have big losses in the first few weeks, which always seemed to help me stick to the “diet”. Usually I would lose 5-10 pounds the first week and then 3-5 pounds the weeks after that. But, even with these big losses on past diets I would still generally quit around week 8 and just give up. During this journey that however has not been the case. I have lost on average 1-2 pounds and at times would even gain a pound or two back. So I took some time and evaluated how this time could be different. One decision I made was not to focus so much on the amounts I am losing but whether I was able to stay focused on my program. What I have realized is maybe this is the way for me to stick with it for a longer time frame. More of a life change than just a diet. So this time I have decided I will take whatever the scale says for that week and try to change just one thing for the next week and see what the outcome is. I may be the slow turtle on this race but one thing I know is I will finish this race :) As I mentioned in a previous post it has helped me a great deal to meal plan for the upcoming week. We have been trying many new recipes so I thought I would share one new recipe with you each week. This Stuffed Pepper Soup was FANTASTIC! It received 5 GOLD STARS! Give it a try and let me know what you think. Stuffed Pepper Soup 1 LB lean ground beef 1 cup chopped yellow onion 1 cup chopped red bell pepper 1 cup chopped green bell pepper 4 cloves garlic minced 2 (14.5 oz) cans petite diced tomatoes 1 (16 oz) can tomato paste 1 (32oz) carton beef broth 1 can black beans (optional) ½ tsp dried basil ¼ tsp dried oregano 1 tsp Kosher salt ¼ tsp ground black pepper 1 cup uncooked white rice (can use brown instead) 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Because of time constraints it is nice to have dinners ready when we all get home, so I cooked mine in the crock pot. I browned my hamburger and added all the ingredients into a crock pot and simmered on low for the day. Just before we were ready to serve it I added the cooked rice and put the parsley on top. Another trick if you are in a hurry and do not have fresh peppers is to use the frozen package of pepper mix. I have found one that is for stir fry’s and it has red, yellow, and green peppers plus onions. I put a one bag of these in and it turned out great. We will be making this again but will double the recipe next time because everyone wanted seconds. |
AuthorI am forty-seven years old and overweight. Food is where I find comfort - happy or sad…it does not matter. What I really want is to learn how to use my own strength and confidence to handle situations, not food! I have decided to make a commitment, a commitment to being healthy! Join me in this journey to good health, as I blog about my successes and struggles along the way. Each week I will share with you my ups and downs, recipes, healthy lifestyle tips, workout ideas and more. Join me on my “Quest to be the Best.” Archives
September 2016
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