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Monday, November 27, 2017

The awaited weigh in

I have looked on today with, I'll admit, a little trepidation, but the reality wasn't so bad.  So after, not my most stellar month; with the three day festival and Thanksgiving to round it out, I was still down .2 pounds.  I said it was like chiseling granite.  That's .2 from last weeks weigh in.  I'll take it.  Well, I would have accepted anything good or bad.  I made those choices, but did my best to minimize the damage.  Now I have three uninterrupted weeks before the Christmas week.  Three weeks to keep to my calorie range and move.  Last year I put on 5 lbs and most of that was during the Christmas week.  So I want to have 3 really good weeks before hand and just do my best that week.  Once I get past Christmas, things should settle down into normalcy.

Speaking of Christmas!  Aside from baking bread this morning, I spent the day putting up decorations.  I am almost done with just a few tweaks here and there.  The tree was put up by all of us Saturday night.  I told them then to give me a few days and I would have it looking like Santa threw up in here.  To which my youngest son replied " so there's gonna be cookies and milk all over the floor?"  Wise guy.






I have other rooms decorated, but these are the main ones.  Almost have my shopping done.  Yay!  I don't know what to do with myself.  Not a normal thing for me.  But anyway, spent the day putting up decorations with Celtic Christmas music playing on Pandora in the back ground.  I still have it playing.  Very relaxing.  So anyway, that's my day for the most part.  How's yours?  When do you decorate?

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

All the comforts of home

Been in the kitchen mostly today.  I had some things I needed to use and so have been..well...using them.  I made apple cereal bars (uh not low calorie, but good), Cranberry orange bread, and lastly a chicken pot pie for dinner.  The cranberry orange bread was a pumpkin bread recipe I altered to use butter instead of oil and cranberries instead of pumpkin.  I think it would have done fine had I baked it in wide bread pans or used three pans instead of two, but I didn't so it over flowed the pan some and didn't turn out as pretty as I would have liked.  It's good though.  It's good and went promptly into the freezer.  Whew!  It will reemerge on a day I can enjoy it, and when everyone is home and can help me eat it.

While preparing to make the chicken pot pie, I had an inspiration to write a post about things we can do to still enjoy the comfort foods without turning to highly processed diet tricks.  The recipe that I will leave you with is a healthier version of Chicken pot pie.  As a result it will have fewer calories and fat then it's unaltered counter part, but it is by no means a "Diet" recipe.  There are no tricks of the trade as you may know them.  I'm not using skim milk, thickener (cept flour), "Low fat canned soups", or anything else like that.  This is sure nuff Chicken pot pie, made smarter.

First things first you need chicken and chicken broth.  This morning I took a whole chicken from the fridge (I had been thawing it a few day in there) and placed it in my crock pot to cook.  I added no extra water.  Just the bird and a little salt.  It cooked on high the better part of the day til the chicken was falling off the bones.  That's what you look for.  I removed the chicken to a plate to cool,and poured the broth, which was now in the crock pot, into a 2 cup measuring cup.  I placed the measuring cup into my freezer to get cool enough for the fat to solidify on the broth, but have no plans to freeze this broth.  It's to be used tonight.  And that is tip #1

1)  Use de-fatted broth.  I don't buy broth.  I make my own.  But you can buy your own.  Just make sure you read the labels.  It should only be broth...maybe salt.  Anything unpronounceable, move on.

2)  Use the white meat part of the chicken-  I'll de-bone the whole thing and save the dark meat for other recipes, but since this dish will have a pie crust, I'm using the white meat for lower fat in that area to make up for the fat in the pie crust.

3)  Double up on the veggies-  I bulk up my pot pies with extra veggies  The recipe calls for a 10 oz pkg of frozen veggies, I may add another pack of veggies, or add extra celery or carrots to bulk it up.  I use the same amount of meat though.

4)  Don't saute your veggies in butter or any other kind of fat.  Once my broth is cool enough to remove the fat, I will take the broth(after I've removed the fat) and add my veggies directly to it and let it simmer til they're soft.  This one thing alone removes 1/4 cup of butter from the recipe.  I also add the chicken after the veggies are soft. 

5) They normally want you to use the 1/4 cup of butter so that you can make the gravy for the pie.  Instead, I take the 1/3 cup of flour called for in the recipe and whisk in the 3/4 cup of (I use whole milk/water half and half) milk.  Whisk the milk/water into the flour and not the other way around or it will clump.  I turn the heat up on my chicken/broth/veggie mixture and once boiling, add the milk/flour all at once and stir.  It will thicken pretty quickly.  Once thickened, remove from heat.

6)  Use one pie crust at most.  I mixed up a recipe for a double crust pie, but will freeze one and use the other tonight.  You can also can roll out your single pie crust and cut it into strips.  Use the crust on the top of your pot pie in a criss/cross pattern.  You won't use as much crust this way.  Freeze the extra for later.

So here is the actual recipe:

10 oz pkg frozen veggies or more (or fresh equivalent )
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 stalks celery chopped
2 cups white meat chicken
1/3 cup flour
3/4 cup of half whole milk half water
2 cups chicken broth (de fatted)
1/2-1 tsp salt (start with the 1/2 tsp and add from there)
1/4 tsp sage
1/8 tsp pepper
2 tbs dried parsley
Pastry for single crust pie.

Place broth, veggies, cooked white meat chicken, and spices into a pot and simmer till veggies are soft but not mushy.  Whisk milk into the flour.  Bring the veggie mixture to boil and add the milk flour mixture all at once stirring well.  Once thickened, remove from heat.  Might want to taste and make sure it's to your liking.  Now would be the time to make any adjustments.  Pour into a 9 X 13 casserole dish and top with single crust.  Bake 450 for 10 min or until crust is golden brown.

Monday, November 20, 2017

I'll take that!

Just spent a great weekend at the 29th annual dulcimer music festival in Unicoi Lodge Helen, Ga this weekend, and yes, I tentatively jumped the wagon.  By that I mean I ate things I probably shouldn't, but I did pace myself and didn't go hog wild.  Still, I know I was over calories.  You can't eat a chocolate peanut butter pie (as well as other desserts offered) and not be over.  Just sayin.  What I didn't say was "It's an all you can eat bar and so I'll start with the cheesecake".  So...ya know...I did well all things considered.  AND considering those 3 days, I was dreading getting on the scale, but knew I needed to face the music (pardon the pun). You're not gonna believe this, but I'm down 1.4 pounds.  Now in all seriousness, I know I probably would have been down more had it not been for the past three days, but I'll take it



Regardless of how I ate those 3 days, I knew this festival was coming and planned ahead to minimize the damage.  I had a scheduled workout every day from Sunday before thru Wednesday when we left to go.  Also we were fortunate in that you had to walk up and down stairs to get where you were going at the festival so that was a plus.  We came home Saturday at Midnight and woke up Sunday with the determination that the festival was over it was back on track time til Thanksgiving (Our next jump off).  So since yesterday and thru Wednesday, I will be eating like I should and moving like I should.  Thursday is vacation and Friday is back on track.  I hope when I get back to you guys on Monday, I can say I'm down again despite a holiday.

Monday, November 13, 2017

Baa! Okay...full accountability

Ever forgotten to record a check and the account ends up over drawn?  Anyone?  I know I'm not the only one.  Anyhoo.  I missed a weigh in.  Like 2 weeks ago missed a weigh in.  So I weighed today and, well.  I'm up 2.2 lbs.  I told yall I was having a multi jump off kind of month.  Now in my defense this shouldn't be my official weigh in because that should be in 2 weeks, but another problem I'm having is my body is getting a mind of it's own.  But, disregarding that, I am treating this as a sure fire gain cause there is no other way to do it.

This week is also the week Dh and I go on our festival trip.  Three days.  There's food.  Yikes.  Then next week is Thanksgiving.  One day.  There's food.  Yikes.  So that's 4 out of 14 days where jumping off is a distinct possibility (or fact). Can someone say DAMAGE CONTROL!!!!

So here is where I follow my own advice.  My official weigh in is the 27th of this month.  That follows the next crazy two weeks.  So to offset those 4 days( yes I more than likely won't stay on plan or get a workout...much) my other 10 days have to be exemplary.  No other days off, no missed workouts.   Already done a workout for today.  It had to be treadmill cause there isn't much left to do outside.  I'll do the treadmill for the next 2 days as well.  Not much I can do about festival day, but if I get a chance to walk around the park a bit, I will.

Eating will be right on target the next three days, plus I figure if I can stay out of the lodge restaurant a good bit I should be okay.  Breakfast is provided those days, and at breakfast they don't have the pies and cakes and such out.  I plan to grocery shop prior to going and make sure we take lots of high protein items like Greek yogurts, fruits, and such to have for snacks or meals.  There will more than likely be a dinner in the restaurant, but if I'm not starving like last year, I should be able to muddle through without too much damage (I hope).

Once I'm through the festival, All I need to worry about is Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving is Thanksgiving and I will enjoy myself, but make sure all the other days are right on track.  We'll see in two weeks how I do, but weather I get through this unscathed or not, I'm still plugging along taking things as they come and ever moving forward (and hopefully downward).





Saturday, November 11, 2017

Getting in shape cheaply.

I hear this soooo often " It's just too expensive to eat healthy!", or "I can't afford to workout".  Shoot!  There are articles posted by the "They" everyone talks about (in hushed tones) yet no one knows (she said as she glanced about furtively) that say the exact same thing!  If I hear one more time how it's cheaper to buy a cheese burger at McDonald's than to eat healthy I'll scream!  Especially when you are buying burgers for a family.  It sounds good though.  Ya know?  It's a nice little justification of being over weight.  "Poor me, I'll always be fat and unhealthy because I don't make lots of money".  Ya know what I say to that?  TOOWY!  Yes you heard me.  I will not mince words!



Yes!  SRSLY.  So let me borrow their premise for one person.  Just one.  Okay.  Let's see how cheap it is.  A Cheeseburger from McDonalds value menu is $1.  Assuming you only eat 1 burger at lunch and 1 burger for dinner with no fries, just water to drink, and it's just you.  For breakfast we'll choose a sausage biscuit cause they're only $1.19 and we have to watch our pennies.  Now I'm also assuming these choices.  In fairness to Micky "D"s", they do have healthier choices.  The yogurt parfait and 2 bags of apple slices will cost you $2, But that might be more than budget.  So I'll take the absolute cheapest version of this scenario.  I have $3.19 x 1.07 (for sales tax in my area) which comes to $3.41.  We won't factor in the travel expenses it takes to make daily trips to the restaurant to eat your meal.  So $3.41 x 7 (days)= 23.87.  Times a month (30 days) and you have $102.40.  What can I do with $102 dollars for a month of meals for one person at home.

Breakfast

Eggs- 2 a day for 30 days is 5 dz- $5
Apple- (since apples are what is offered at McDonalds, we'll go with that, though there are cheaper food options)- 30 lbs for the month. I'm figuring 3 medium apples a day for snacks and such.  FYI still cheaper than McDonald's 2 pks of apple slices for $1. - $30

*** some cheaper options would be Bananas at .55 lb, or get whats on sale.  Go half and half  Banana's/ Apples and you are only at $23.25 for total fruit needs with $8.25 of your total in bananas FOR THE MONTH.

Now before you say "That's not a lot for food.  might I point out that you're only getting one sausage mcmuffin for breakfast at 400 calories.  I've just given you in snacks and such 359 (not counting if you mixed in some Bananas.

Lunch/ Dinner

Chicken -  7 fresh whole chickens.  Estimated 4 meals per bird maybe more.  $35.00
Carrots- 25 lb ORGANIC whole carrots- bought in 5lb bags $18.45.
Potatoes- 20 lbs bought in 2 10 lb bags - $8


Option A

Eggs $5
Apples- $30
Chicken- $ 35
Carrots- $ 18.45
Potatoes- $8
Plus 7% sales tax = $103.20.  OH MY GOODNESS!  I went over by .80.  Sorry to break the bank.

But!

Option B (should you mix in Banana and apples (highly recommend just for variety anyway)

All of the above, but replace half your apple weight with banana weight-  $95.98.  Under budget!  You could splurge and by a little something extra like 1 pound of butter in which to roast/cook all your stuff.

Now I know the menu I have set before you is unrealistic, but how realistic is the McDonald's menu I started with.  Who goes to McDonald's and buys a cheese burger and nothing else.  In actuality, my menu can be more realistic.    Especially if I have a pound of butter to cook my eggs in.  I only need 4 gms.

I can cook up and debone just one of  those birds, reserving the broth (seriously reserve the broth).  Put the broth in the fridge over night.  In the morning remove AND SAVE the fat you skim off the top.  Keep the fat in the fridge.  Want something good?  Melt a little of that fat (not a lot!!!) and use it to roast your potatoes and carrots in the oven with a little salt.  The broth can be frozen or used immediately by taking some chicken, potatoes, and carrots and making a soup or casserole (if you have the makings).

Banana's can be frozen then blended in the blender with a little water and make the best tasting banana soft serve ice cream.  Make sure you get bananas that are a little ripe.  They are sweeter and usually marked down cheaper than .55 lb.  More savings!  You can use those savings to add something else to your cart.

Look for meats marked down or on sale.  Right now turkeys are .59 lb.  Do you know what I can do with turkey!  The same stuff I can do with chicken.  You can totally switch it out.

Replace some of your chicken with dried beans and lentils.  Very cheap per pound and very good for you.  You can soak them over night, add a tsp of salt per cup of dry beans and cook during the day.  Cook a bunch at a time and freeze what you aren't using.  Again, with the savings from this one thing you can add something else, maybe fun, to your cart.

My grocery budget for the month is $350-$400 dollars.  That includes pet food for a dog and cat, Chicken feed, all cleaning, and toiletries.  Plus I keep a pantry in case of emergencies.  I make my budget low because I grow a lot but not all of our veggies.  I also make a lot of stuff from scratch.  I purposely kept the menu set before you minus anything that has to be grown.  In fact the menu contains items I have to buy myself.  There's nothing on this menu I grow or make from scratch.  That being said, my budget is for 4 grown adults, 3 of which are men.  Multiply the Mcdonalds menu I started with and I would have a $410 budget to start with.  I can do a lot with that.

There's nothing special about me.  My trick is education.  In a google world, anything you need to know is at your finger tips.  In addition to that, many of the things I do now came from those old ancient paper filled things called books.  Available in any library or thrift store.  In fact, find cook books from the 40's and you can get a lot information on making due with less.  Rationing during WW2.  My other trick is "Want to".  A willingness to do what it takes to save money and eat right.

My prices came from Kroger, a grocery store higher priced than Walmart or Aldi, but less than a convenience store.

I end with the caveat.  Yes McDonalds is cheaper than buying highly processed, really bad for you diet foods in the name of healthy eating.  It is not cheaper when you eat honest to goodness real food in normal portions that you cook and prepare yourself.

Well this has run on longer than I thought.  Sorry.  I'll vent about workout routines later.  So how do you keep costs down when buying groceries?












Monday, November 6, 2017

When Monday's come

Okay, true confessions here.  How many of you out there in La, la land have ever had a bad eating day and said "(sigh) Well I'll just start again fresh on Monday".  If I had a nickle for the number of times I made that statement...well, I'd have a lot of nickles.  Problem was, with sheer determination that I would start fresh again on Monday; I would spend the rest of the week eating badly and moving little.  I mean, seriously, come Monday my life would forever be changed and I would never ever be able to eat this way again.  I mean I had to have a farewell party (or parties).  One for the road so to speak.  Sometimes I would even prepare for my fresh start by filing the house with all "healthy" stuff like diet foods, sugar free koolaid, sugar free everything.  I have even been known to buy a workout tape, a gym membership, or a piece of exercise equipment.  With money invested I would surely succeed.  Nope.  Monday never really came.  At least not those Monday's.  With every promise that I broke to myself, I became more cynical about weight loss and more determined to never try again.  I was a lost cause.  Then I  made some determinations:

1)  I determined my money would no longer line the coffers of members of the weight loss industry.  That included gyms, equipment dealers, diet programs (Sorry Jenny), and Diet stuff (Food, etc).  They had received enough of my money, THANK YOU VERY MUCH! 

2)  I determined that if I jump off the wagon (which FYI has been a lot), I would get right back on next meal, and not wait til a fresh start day.  If I had waited for a fresh start day for every time I ate badly; I would've never gotten this diet off the ground and would have given up long ago.  This diet has miraculously survived holiday's, birthdays, family emergencies, anniversary's, impromptu dates, emotional crisis, rainy days, stress, and boredom.  I will say my weight is coming off at a snails pace right now.  Part of that is due to being close to the finish line, and some of it's due to a string of wagon jumping in the past month.  Notice I said wagon jumping instead of falling.  I choose what and when I want to eat.  This past month we've had a birthday, lost power for three days, helped my mom with a yard sale, had some dates, and needed to get groceries (so I was making a lot of goodies for lunches and such).  There's another jump off next week as my Dh and I, along with my sister, are attending a festival in a little over a week.  Then the following week is Thanksgiving.  Do you see how waiting for a fresh start day, especially this time of year, can be less than successful?  But by making sure I'm on the wagon aside from those days or events, I can still be successful.  Even if only a pound or two a  month.  I'll take it over ever going back to the way I was.

3) I determined regardless of what I ate, I would record it and face the music.  Sometimes I record it and think, that wasn't as bad as I thought, and other times I record it and say "YIKES!".  Once I see the damage done, I can take steps to mitigate it.  I would much rather do that than stick my head in the sand and ignore it.  Once I take my head back out of the sand, the damage will be much greater.  Handle it now while it's a small issue.

4)  I determined that I didn't care how long it took to get the weight off.  As long as I was going in the right direction, I was doing good.  Now full disclosure here.  I have one good weigh in a month.  Hormones pretty much screw the others up.  During those three weeks of hormonal fluctuations, I still weigh, but am always talking myself down off the ledge.  And just an FYI, my husband has this same problem; except he has one bad weigh in each month and I have one good.

5)  I determined to NEVER GO BACK...ever.  I don't care if I never lose any more weight.  I will hold this course to never gain that weight again.
 

NEVER AGAIN!!!