I guess I had big hopes for myself last week in that I really thought that I’d have lost the 4.8 I was up last week by this Monday. I did lose, but it was only a pound. I am still in the red by 3.8, but now that I understand the cause, I am okay. It will drop when my body heals the muscles that were inflamed! My legs were really sore after the race on 11/7 and after running in the treadmill relay. I think that since I am feeling better now, and totally rehydrated myself, I may have better results.
I am still enjoying the bit of running that I incorporated into my workouts. Right now, I am doing 10-11 minutes prior to my training sessions with a walk/jog combination. I started out running a lap at 4.9 mph on Tuesday, and today, I had it up to 5mph, which is a 12 minute mile. Not too bad. Next step on my list is to get into Run On and get fitted for shoes. I want to make sure that my shoes fit my foot so I don’t get injured along the way. Trying to avoid pitfalls!
True to form, Dwayne is busy stepping up my workouts and I am challenging myself to do more running (be it faster on the treadmill…or going for longer than a lap…). I am going to try to run ½ mile straight on the treadmill this Friday. Trying to jumpstart the weight loss again and 1) lose that 3.8 that showed up and 2) kick myself into the home stretch so that the last 30 come off sometime before Morgan gets married!!!
On a more serious note, earlier this week I found out that a very good friend of mine has stage 3 Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. It was like getting the wind knocked out of me. I have been sort of going around in a fog since I heard the news. I cried quite a bit last night. This is the stuff that isn’t supposed to happen to your friends and family. It’s supposed to happen to OTHER people, you know? I know that’s not how it works, but it should. You and your circle of friends/family should always be fine. Her prognosis seems to be good and she started chemo today. I am praying that she gets through this. She’s pretty strong, so I think she’ll fight. Hard.
Okay…on to less depressing subjects. This week, the meeting dealt with Thanksgiving, which is quickly approaching. The gist was this: HAVE A STRATEGY for the day. Don’t go in blind. Me? I am treating it as another meal, as I did last year. I remember the saying…it’s a Holiday. Not a Holi-week or a Holi-month! Silly, but it works!
Below is an eye-opening chart (some of you may have seen this before…and for those that are not WW members, assume approx. 50 calories per point…and you can get the drift!). Enjoy your favorites, just keep an eye on the portion size, and don’t overdo. That’s my plan
Typical Average-Joe Thanksgiving Menu Items
Item Points
Turkey Breast (1 slice, 2 oz) 2
Brown gravy (1/4 cup) 2
Cranberry sauce (1/4 cup) 2
Baked sweet potato (1 lg) 3
Green bean casserole (1 cup) 5
Pumpkin pie (1 slice) 9
Stuffing (1/2 cup) 4
Winter squash (1 cup) 1
Mashed potatoes (1/2 cup) 2
Steamed green beans (1 cup) 0
Fruit cocktail, unsweetened (1 cup) 2
Broccoli-rice casserole (1 cup) 5
Turkey-dark w/ skin (1 cup) 8
Turkey-dark w/o skin (1 cup) 2
Pecan pie (1 slice) 12
Think of your plate this way: all foods should be islands on the plate. Not continents. Keep space between them. The rim? Decoration. Get the idea?
The second challenge that was presented to us for this week was this: weigh and/or measure every food on your plate for at least one meal each day. Jot down the meal and bring to meeting next week.
Please enjoy your Thanksgiving this year, and remember…………………….
"Don’t worry…the turkey has more to worry about than you do!"
-this was posted on the meeting room board! Loved this!
GLUTEN FREE CORNER:
I know that it’s been awhile since I posted anything here, but I am back with some good stuff for you to try. At the Arbor Day run, they had a sponsor there from Whole Foods and they were sampling bars. I really enjoyed the one I tried (it was a mango/macadamia nut bar) and not only were they gluten free, but they tasted good and weren’t terrible in the nutrition/POINTS® department.
I think that Whole Foods carries these, and you can order online as well.
The URL is: http://kindsnacks.com/ Definitely worth checking out.
RECIPES:
Almond-Crusted Chicken with Scallion Rice
I had some chicken breast defrosted and waiting in the refrigerator this past weekend. I started searching for something different to do with them, but quick. This gem came to me from Cooking Light, and it came out so fabulous that it has earned a place in my permanent weekly rotation! I actually passed up the boil-in-bag rice for some brown jasmine rice I had on hand, but the recipe as it stands will be fine, and QUICK!
In this dish, you brown the chicken quickly over high heat, then finish it in the oven to give the chicken a golden crust without burning the almonds.
Ingredients:
1 (3 1/2-ounce) bag boil-in-bag brown rice (such as Success)
4 (4-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 tablespoons honey mustard
2/3 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
Cooking spray
1/4 cup chopped green onions
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450°.
Prepare rice according to package directions; keep warm.
Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper.
Place flour in a zip-top plastic bag. Working with one piece at a time, add chicken to bag; seal and shake to coat. Remove chicken from bag, shaking off excess flour. Repeat with remaining flour and chicken. Combine buttermilk and honey mustard in a shallow bowl. Combine almonds and breadcrumbs in a shallow bowl. Dip chicken in buttermilk mixture; dredge in almond mixture.
Heat a large skillet coated with cooking spray over high heat. Add chicken; cook 1 minute. Turn chicken over. Wrap handle of pan with foil. Place pan in oven; bake at 450° for 9 minutes or until chicken is done. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and green onions to rice; serve with chicken.
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 chicken breast half and 1/2 cup rice) at a POINTS® Value of 8 per serving
CALORIES 408 (24% from fat); FAT 10.7g (sat 1.4g,mono 5.9g,poly 2.5g); IRON 3.3mg; CHOLESTEROL 68mg; CALCIUM 125mg; CARBOHYDRATE 41.4g; SODIUM 749mg; PROTEIN 35g; FIBER 3.4g
Cooking Light, APRIL 2002
Crustless Pumpkin Pie
It’s kind of funny that this recipe appeared in the meeting room this week. I have been making a similar pie for YEARS. It really is as easy as it appears below, and you will NEVER miss the crust. Trust me. Plus, it’s a nice sized piece of the pie. There is another variation that uses fat-free sweetened condensed milk, in place of the sugar and the evaporated milk. If you choose to go that route, and omit the tablespoon of butter (which I leave off anyway), the POINTS® count only goes up by 1. Just thought I’d throw that out there!
Yield: serves 6 at a POINTS® Value of 2 per serving
Ingredients:
1 cup canned pumpkin
½ cup reduced-fat baking mix (such as Bisquick heart smart)
½ cup sugar
1 cup evaporated skim milk
½ cup egg substitute (it’s 3 points per serving if you use 2 real eggs)
1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (Don’t skimp here. Trust me. Use the real stuff!)
1 tablespoon butter.
Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9” pie plate with nonstick cooking spray. Stir all ingredients together. Pour into plate. Bake 30-40 minutes until knife comes out clean. Cool for 30 minutes. Refrigerate for 3 hours, until cool. Points for this recipe verified on e-Tools.
