I just started WW a few days ago & have been retraining myself to eat much healthier foods than I've been heretofore shoveling into my mouth. In general, I am an all-or-nothing eater - very healthy or very not. My new best friend? SOUP! Here are a few (two) of my favorite soup recipes - both with a Mexican theme.
WHITE CHILI (Betty Crocker's cookbook)
1 T vegetable oil
2 medium onions, chopped (1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 cups chicken broth
2 T chopped fresh cilantro or 1/2 tsp ground coriander
2 T lime juice
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/4 teaspoon red pepper sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 can corn, drained
1 can great northern beans, drained & rinsed
1 can butter beans, drained & rinsed
2 cups chopped chicken breast
TOPPINGS (below)
Heat oil in 4-quart Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook onions & garlic in oil, stirring occasionally, until onions are tender.
Stir in remaining ingredients except chicken. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered 20 minutes. Stir in chicken; simmer until hot. WW = 6 points + toppings
Toppings: shredded cheese, crushed tortilla chips, chopped green onions, diced tomatoes, fresh cilantro, sliced avocado (the best!), sour cream - for sprinkling over the chili.
BLACK BEAN SOUP from CL January 2003
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=698615
8 servings
1 (7-ounce) can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (I skip this ingredient frequently.)
Cooking spray
2 cups coarsely chopped onion (I loved frozen onions! They make me cook more!!!)
1 cup chopped carrot
3/4 cup thinly sliced celery
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 bay leaves
2 cups water
3 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans vegetable broth
2 (14.5-ounce) cans no-salt-added plum tomatoes, undrained and chopped
1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
8 lime wedges
Remove 2 chiles from can; reserve remaining chiles and sauce for another use. Finely chop chiles. Heat a large Dutch oven coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, celery, and garlic; sauté 8 minutes or until onion and carrot are tender. Stir in chiles, cumin, basil, oregano, chili powder, and bay leaves; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in water, beans, broth, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Partially cover, reduce heat, and simmer 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat; discard bay leaves. Place 3 cups of soup mixture in a blender. Let stand 5 minutes***; process until smooth. Return pureed mixture to pan, stirring to combine. (I use an immersion blender & just blend up some of it. ... still chunky.) Ladle 1 1/4 cups soup into each of 8 bowls; top each serving with 1 tablespoon yogurt and 1 1/2 teaspoons cilantro. Serve with lime wedges. WW = 3 points!!! 169 calories, 1 g fat, 10.9 g fiber.
*** If you choose to not let the soup cool down for five minutes, it will be really hot & the steam/heat/whatever will build up in your blender with the lid on & EXPLODE onto the kitchen ceiling, cabinets, & floor while the missionaries waiting for dinner look on in stunned amazement. Really, it could happen!!!
*** One other bad cooking experience - I was making pork chops (although I don't know why, we never really make pork) for the missionaries & I burned the pork chops. The smoke detector started blaring loudly for the whole neighborhood (it was part of an alarm system). I decided to open the front door & then use a large flat object to fan the smoke towards the door. Oh-Jenna-the-most-clever, what did you use? A box of cereal. An unopened box? you might think. Oh no, open! As I fanned the smoke detector, Special K cereal flew EVERYWHERE in all directions. Once again, the missionaries were able to view this.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
BEFORE...
You may not be able to tell my face is contorted as if my body is being ripped in half. Nothing really hurt, I just couldn't catch my breath. I even saw the guy with the cannon-sized camera & I couldn't smile.
Everyone needs a before picture & THIS IS DEFINITELY MINE. Tonight, I hopped in the car & drove to my favorite WW's leader's meeting. Over-priced babysitting but something's gotta give. I felt pretty strong at this race & yet looking at my picture (especially this lovely one) makes me think that some things have to change - and meetings help. The leader Julie is HILARIOUS - she totally gets cheating & eating & doesn't waste time filling you in on what to eat at the Super Bowl party.
Fingers & toes crossed. Pen is juiced up & food journal sitting in the kitchen with the points book.
Greenville Downtown 5K
Last Saturday I showed up & ran the downtown 5K. Downtown Greenville is such a cute place - I was super nervous & annoyed at everyone & definitely not in the mood to run. That all changed when Lisa showed up & asked if I wanted her to run with me. (YES! YES! YES!) She is a strong runner (runs marathons!) and sacrificed getting a nice time to help me be successful.
The race started on the Liberty Bridge. The first mile was crowded - 2500 runners signed up & they were all right around us - but I was able to keep a pretty good pace. I wore Scott's Garmin watch & put the little pace guy on the speed that I needed to finish in 31 minutes to qualify for the National Marathon. Running with Lisa helped me keep going when I didn't really want to. She said all the right things, "You look really strong!" and "Wow! You're going really fast." We saw Scott right before Mile #1. Jared wanted to run with me but I couldn't even slow down to give him a hug. I kept running until the first big hill hit & I had to slow down to a fast walk to catch my breath. I ran/walked a bunch of times before I could start running for real again. My pace slowed down significantly & I saw my pace guy dash off the face of the watch for the last time. There were FOUR HILLS~! At the water station I picked up a cup & threw it towards my face to ...? I don't know what I was thinking but it went up my nose & down my front. I don't think one drop got into my mouth. There were great supporters along the way - the cow bell fans & then people with a boom box blaring "Eye of the Tiger" on one particularly offensive hill. The people/fans really made the face - so much fun. We finally passed the Thomas McAffee mortuary & started up the UGLY hill by the baby BiLo. I told myself that I would run 100 steps & I did. I made it halfway up the hill before I had to walk for a few steps. One guy was there saying, "Once you hit the light, it's all downhill!!!" Lisa gave me a few nudges for my 31:00 goal but I just didn't have one more ounce of energy to give to it. Main Street is a pretty short road in a car but on foot at the end of a race it felt like miles!!! The photographer for the newspaper managed to catch a moment on my face when I was really struggling. We finally made it towards the end. Lisa was talking (mid-sentence) when I saw that the clock was shortly going to change & I sprinted off so that my clock time was less than 34 minutes. My chip time ended up being 33:10. Happy days! A personal best!!!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
What? It's Saturday, this Saturday?
I know I signed up for the race & all but I didn't realize that IT is THIS Saturday. Whew, slipped right by. Better go & run a few times. I am not cut out for consistent-results-producing exercise. I am surrounded by running geniuses however.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
100th post! An ode to oatmeal!
Revised to adjust the font... it was too big & I couldn't change it without reprogramming in HTML.
On a blog I follow the author got a great deal on oatmeal & so posted her favorite oatmeal recipes. I am going to copy her - I think oatmeal is great too. Scott is the true oatmeal lover in our family - he eats it every morning with chunky peanut butter stirred in. What are your favorite oatmeal recipes?
MULTIGRAIN PANCAKES
1 cup bleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup each cornmeal, whole wheat flour, & old-fashioned oats (for one-cup total)
4 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1-1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk (BTW I use real buttermilk!)
1/2 cup low-fat milk
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Vegetable oil for brushing griddle
*Heat large nonstick skillet or griddle over low heat while preparing batter.
*Mix flour, cornmeal, whole wheat flour, oats, sugar, salt, baking powder & baking soda in a medium bowl. Microwave buttermilk & milk together in a 1-quart Pyrex measuring cup to room temperature, 20-30 seconds. Whisk eggs, oil, & vanilla into the buttermilk & milk. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and whisk until just mixed. Return batter to measuring cup, stirring in a teaspoon or so of water, if necessary, to make a thick but pourable batter.
*Increase heat to medium & lightly brush skillet or griddle with oil. Pour in batter, about 1/4-cup at a time, working in batches to avoid overcrowding. When pancake bottoms are golden brown & tops start to bubble, 2-3 minutes, flip pancakes & cook until golden brown on remaining side. Serve hot.
*from The Perfect Recipe for Losing Weight & Eating Great cookbook by Pam Anderson
PENNI BODILY'S APPLE CRISP
4 cups apples, sliced
1/2 cup dried cranberries
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Place apples & dried cranberries in bottom of 8x8-inch pan (or whatever size pan you have). Mix dry ingredients together with butter; cut together using a pastry blender. (A food processor makes this dough too fine.) If you don't have a pastry blender, use two knives to cut up the butter. Sprinkle butter mix & walnuts over apples. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream or Cool Whip.
GRANDMA’S WAY TO START THE DAY GRANOLA
10 cups regular oatmeal
2 cups almonds (slivered or sliced)
2 cups coconut
2 cups brown sugar
3/ 4-cup oil
1/ 2-cup peanut butter
3/ 4-cup honey
3/ 4-cup water
2 teaspoons vanilla
Mix oatmeal, almonds, coconut & brown sugar. Heat oil, peanut butter, & honey, water & vanilla in a pan until peanut butter dissolves. Pour over dry ingredients & mix. Spread on two large cookie sheets. Bake at 250 for 45 minutes. Let cool. Add dried fruit. Serve with milk or yogurt. Wow!
Mary SANT’S HOT CEREAL
1/3 cup oatmeal
1/3 cup Grape Nuts
2/3 cup water
cinnamon
sugar
dash of salt
Microwave for 2 minutes on high. Throw hard Grape Nuts on top.
Pam NEAD’S HOT CEREAL
1-cup steel-cut oats
1/ 2-cup 10-grain cereal
1 tablespoon flax seed
1-tablespoon millet
Bring to a boil. Cover & let sit 15 minutes. (Rice cooker, anyone?)
On a blog I follow the author got a great deal on oatmeal & so posted her favorite oatmeal recipes. I am going to copy her - I think oatmeal is great too. Scott is the true oatmeal lover in our family - he eats it every morning with chunky peanut butter stirred in. What are your favorite oatmeal recipes?
MULTIGRAIN PANCAKES
1 cup bleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup each cornmeal, whole wheat flour, & old-fashioned oats (for one-cup total)
4 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1-1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk (BTW I use real buttermilk!)
1/2 cup low-fat milk
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Vegetable oil for brushing griddle
*Heat large nonstick skillet or griddle over low heat while preparing batter.
*Mix flour, cornmeal, whole wheat flour, oats, sugar, salt, baking powder & baking soda in a medium bowl. Microwave buttermilk & milk together in a 1-quart Pyrex measuring cup to room temperature, 20-30 seconds. Whisk eggs, oil, & vanilla into the buttermilk & milk. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and whisk until just mixed. Return batter to measuring cup, stirring in a teaspoon or so of water, if necessary, to make a thick but pourable batter.
*Increase heat to medium & lightly brush skillet or griddle with oil. Pour in batter, about 1/4-cup at a time, working in batches to avoid overcrowding. When pancake bottoms are golden brown & tops start to bubble, 2-3 minutes, flip pancakes & cook until golden brown on remaining side. Serve hot.
*from The Perfect Recipe for Losing Weight & Eating Great cookbook by Pam Anderson
PENNI BODILY'S APPLE CRISP
4 cups apples, sliced
1/2 cup dried cranberries
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Place apples & dried cranberries in bottom of 8x8-inch pan (or whatever size pan you have). Mix dry ingredients together with butter; cut together using a pastry blender. (A food processor makes this dough too fine.) If you don't have a pastry blender, use two knives to cut up the butter. Sprinkle butter mix & walnuts over apples. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream or Cool Whip.
GRANDMA’S WAY TO START THE DAY GRANOLA
10 cups regular oatmeal
2 cups almonds (slivered or sliced)
2 cups coconut
2 cups brown sugar
3/ 4-cup oil
1/ 2-cup peanut butter
3/ 4-cup honey
3/ 4-cup water
2 teaspoons vanilla
Mix oatmeal, almonds, coconut & brown sugar. Heat oil, peanut butter, & honey, water & vanilla in a pan until peanut butter dissolves. Pour over dry ingredients & mix. Spread on two large cookie sheets. Bake at 250 for 45 minutes. Let cool. Add dried fruit. Serve with milk or yogurt. Wow!
Mary SANT’S HOT CEREAL
1/3 cup oatmeal
1/3 cup Grape Nuts
2/3 cup water
cinnamon
sugar
dash of salt
Microwave for 2 minutes on high. Throw hard Grape Nuts on top.
Pam NEAD’S HOT CEREAL
1-cup steel-cut oats
1/ 2-cup 10-grain cereal
1 tablespoon flax seed
1-tablespoon millet
Bring to a boil. Cover & let sit 15 minutes. (Rice cooker, anyone?)
Monday, January 12, 2009
Well done!
Our friends' son Kenny returned from an LDS mission to Montana last week. We were able to sneak over to their home & visit him for a few minutes before he jetted off to BYU the next day. I was (almost) speechless at how much he has changed. It was fun to see him - it's amazing how they leave as young men & come back as grown men. I can't say what I am feeling very well - but it was awesome to see him.
Monday, January 05, 2009
New Year's Eve Eve beach trip
Brandon & Rachel had fun flying Brandon's very cool new kite.
Tanner - what happened to your beautiful smile???
Yes, it is January & we are wearing our swimming suits on the beach!
Before we drove home from Florida, we had to make a trip to the beach. We love just hanging out in the sand & the sun, hearing the waves, & sometimes seeing seagulls. On this day, we flew kites & found almost 100 sharks' teeth. The Guana River Preserve between Ponte Vedra Beach & St. Augustine is a beautiful place & the lack of other visitors made it even better.
Resolutions
OK, so as usual I have a million (and one) things going through my head. I hate the idea of making a resolution & then not keeping it. My friend Bonnie listed a bunch of things she was working on though & I like the thought - here's some of the plan. This is a long and self-centered post so you can just skip the rest & make a clever comment at the end if you desire.
I am taking a picture every day for the entire year & making a yearbook from it. I am planning on making the pages digitally & having them printed in a bound book at the end of the year. I still have to decide if I want to make the pages 8.5x11 or 12x12 or something different.
I signed up for the Biggest Loser contest at The Gym. This year the program includes keeping a food journal & a cardio log (very clever & helpful). The results of one day of journaling? I am starving to death!!! I am thinking of munching on anything. I will probably whip up some vegetable soup & tilapia tomorrow. I did sneak in 35" of Wii Fit today while the kids were at school as part of my more-active-lifestyle plan.
I am going to run the Greenville Downtown 5k at the end of the month. If I can finish in under 31 minutes, I will sign up to do the National Marathon in D.C. with Scott. If I cannot, I will just go & cheer him on (& eat lots while not journaling my food at the race). My feet are not very excited at the prospects of going longer than ten minutes right now.
I have been organizing a few areas in the house. So far, this means that my cookbook cupboard & my clothes closet are looking pretty spiffy. The verdict is still out on the 200 other areas that need a little work. Hopefully, I can take BabySteps (yea FlyLady) & make some good progress.
I am trying to empty out the freezer. I have been storing food in the freezer & we've run out of room ... & the food is getting older by the minute so we're trying to eat what we have. I am sure that there will be financial benefits, but mainly I am just interested in having room to store the ice cream that I'm not eating. Along the same lines, I am trying to increase our food storage by shopping the good sales. My new favorite shopping blog gives coupon links with the sales. My goal is to leave the grocery store with a 50% savings - stock up at b1g1f prices with coupons & save a little extra for produce & milk.
I am trying to read the scriptures more. We are studying the Doctrine & Covenants in gospel doctrine this year & I am learning a lot. Also, I am helping Jared read better with a BYU independent study class about reading & the Book of Mormon. It only involves tutoring him twice a day for two weeks & then 30" 3-5 times a week for the rest of a semester. (?!) He is a pretty good little student & reading help cannot hurt.
In case you're still reading ... Okay, I promised Scott that I would be in bed by 11:00 p.m. so I won't be so grouchy in the a.m. so better toodle on along. What are your goals or plans this year?
I am taking a picture every day for the entire year & making a yearbook from it. I am planning on making the pages digitally & having them printed in a bound book at the end of the year. I still have to decide if I want to make the pages 8.5x11 or 12x12 or something different.
I signed up for the Biggest Loser contest at The Gym. This year the program includes keeping a food journal & a cardio log (very clever & helpful). The results of one day of journaling? I am starving to death!!! I am thinking of munching on anything. I will probably whip up some vegetable soup & tilapia tomorrow. I did sneak in 35" of Wii Fit today while the kids were at school as part of my more-active-lifestyle plan.
I am going to run the Greenville Downtown 5k at the end of the month. If I can finish in under 31 minutes, I will sign up to do the National Marathon in D.C. with Scott. If I cannot, I will just go & cheer him on (& eat lots while not journaling my food at the race). My feet are not very excited at the prospects of going longer than ten minutes right now.
I have been organizing a few areas in the house. So far, this means that my cookbook cupboard & my clothes closet are looking pretty spiffy. The verdict is still out on the 200 other areas that need a little work. Hopefully, I can take BabySteps (yea FlyLady) & make some good progress.
I am trying to empty out the freezer. I have been storing food in the freezer & we've run out of room ... & the food is getting older by the minute so we're trying to eat what we have. I am sure that there will be financial benefits, but mainly I am just interested in having room to store the ice cream that I'm not eating. Along the same lines, I am trying to increase our food storage by shopping the good sales. My new favorite shopping blog gives coupon links with the sales. My goal is to leave the grocery store with a 50% savings - stock up at b1g1f prices with coupons & save a little extra for produce & milk.
I am trying to read the scriptures more. We are studying the Doctrine & Covenants in gospel doctrine this year & I am learning a lot. Also, I am helping Jared read better with a BYU independent study class about reading & the Book of Mormon. It only involves tutoring him twice a day for two weeks & then 30" 3-5 times a week for the rest of a semester. (?!) He is a pretty good little student & reading help cannot hurt.
In case you're still reading ... Okay, I promised Scott that I would be in bed by 11:00 p.m. so I won't be so grouchy in the a.m. so better toodle on along. What are your goals or plans this year?
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Happy New Year!
I wish that I had something profound to say about the New Year - for that you should visit my friend Liz's blog. She is full of wisdom & perspective. I have hemmed & hawed about a New Year's resolution & have decided to jump on the scrapbooking world band wagon & take a picture every day for 2009. That's the official goal. The unofficial hope-I-make-it-but-don't-want-to-feel-like-a-loser-if-I-don't goal is to make a book with all of these pictures in it - a year in the life version of 12-on-the-12th.
We decided to save the BIG present for after Christmas. The kids would have totally ignored everything else that they received & we just wanted to shake things up a little. We were the last ones out the door on the way to Florida & left a few more boxes under the tree. Hopefully, the video will load & you can share the joy of kids getting something they never imagined possible. (After HOURS no video. I will move on to plan B.)
We decided to save the BIG present for after Christmas. The kids would have totally ignored everything else that they received & we just wanted to shake things up a little. We were the last ones out the door on the way to Florida & left a few more boxes under the tree. Hopefully, the video will load & you can share the joy of kids getting something they never imagined possible. (After HOURS no video. I will move on to plan B.)
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