The "Couples' Retreat"

Hey there everyone, and to quote a classic by Bell & James to put us in the proper mood:

…Same situation every day
Some kind of voodoo
Same complications
Stand in the way
Nowhere to run to

My mind is dreaming
I'm somewhere else
Can't seem to shake it
I miss the feeling
Having fun
No way to fake it

Jump in my ride
It's Friday night
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah…

Hope the week has gone well for you.  Me? Mine has been fantastic so far.  Nothing weird happened, and I survived the month-end close.  Last week I mentioned that a high school friend of mine had passed.  They had her funeral last Sunday in Gainesville, FL and I wasn’t able to attend.  There was a nice turnout from what I heard, and the most wonderful thing is that another friend of ours established a memorial fund at Bank of America so that friends and family can make donations to go toward unpaid medical bills and to help support the boys.  A cause was set up on Facebook, and there are over 100 supporters so far.  It’s nice to know that so many cared about her and her family.  Makes me smile…and it took some time for me to find the smile again.  Good to know that it wasn’t gone permanently!

This week, Dwayne has been stepping up my workouts by incorporating a cardio component in before we even get to the strength training.  I am doing about a mile on the treadmill before the beatings even begin! (Dwayne knows I kid when I say that…)  Tuesday and Wednesday, I alternated a walking lap with a jogging lap.  I just have to watch what I am doing because my left hip or somewhere in that vicinity feels a bit tweaky when I run.  I am keeping an eye on this so I can have it checked in case it doesn’t go away.  Caveat of getting old I guess!  I am also getting stronger.  One of the mat exercises he as me do each week is doing a pushup, holding my plank down as close to the mat as I can for a count of five, then coming back up.  This is much harder than it sounds, but I am NOT doing them on my knees, which is an accomplishment in itself.

Remarkably, last week I showed a slight loss. Was only .2, but I’ll take it.  To be honest, last week was so bad, I didn’t have high hopes for Monday’s weigh in. In fact, I didn’t even look at my pocket guide until about halfway through the meeting. 

The topic of this week’s meeting was ‘Recharging your Motivation’.  Our leader called it “The Couples’ Retreat”, which I thought was rather cute.  She said that your relationship to Weight Watchers is similar to a marriage.  There are four stages:

·         Oooohhhh, you’re so fascinating (this is when the program is all new to you and you are all gung-ho on adherence to the food plan….kind of like the honeymoon phase….

·         Who left the seat up?  - this is the phase when old habits are being changed and new habits are starting to develop. Can be a bit hard, but you get through it.

·         You don’t bring me flowers anymore – this is the phase when those losses are not quite as big from week to week, or when you hit a weight loss stall. Those ‘flowers’ are fewer and more far between. 

·         Renewing your vows – this is the phase where you rediscover what motivated you to come back into the meeting room this last time around (or for the first time as the case may be…)

I really loved this comparison…although this makes me in sort of a ménage-a-trois considering I am already married, and now I am having this relationship with Weight Watchers.  My hubbie is totally on board, although he’s a closet-follower. 

The challenge for week 5 is to keep a victory log (sort of like the positivity journal) of 10 things you did well this week (and they don’t all have to be weight or diet related!). Your second option is to read a success story every day from the website or magazine.  Think positive!

My victories this week:

1. Got in my physical activity
2. Kept any emotional eating in check
3. Tracked everything
4. Got this newsletter issued
5. Finished up month end close timely (which is always a good thing!)
6. Found my smile
7. Didn’t kill the kids….
8. Embraced this week’s challenge
9. Found new recipes to keep next week’s menu interesting
10. Got the vehicles registered!

"Whether you think you can

or think you cant….

You’re right!."

-Henry Ford

GLUTEN FREE CORNER:

I found an article for using alternative flours. This was on http://www.allrecipes.com.

Using Alternative Flours

By:   Allrecipes Staff

Don't let allergies to wheat or gluten keep you from enjoying baked products.

Take some of the guesswork out of the shopping search--use this list to find flour alternatives.

Potato Starch Flour

This is a gluten-free thickening agent that is perfect for cream-based soups and sauces. Mix a little with water first, then substitute potato starch flour for flour in your recipe, but cut the amount in half. It can be purchased in a health food store.

Tapioca Flour

This is a light, white, very smooth flour that comes from the cassava root. It makes baked goods impart a nice chewy taste. Use it in recipes where a chewy texture would be desirable. It would work nicely in bread recipes such as white bread or French bread. It is also easily combined with cornstarch and soy flour. It can be purchased in a health food store.

Soy Flour

This nutty tasting flour has a high protein and fat content. It is best when used in combination with other flours and for baking brownies, or any baked goods with nuts or fruit. It can be purchased in a health food store.

Cornstarch

This is a refined starch that comes from corn. It is mostly used as a clear thickening agent for puddings, fruit sauces and Asian cooking. It is also used in combination with other flours for baking. It can be purchased in a health food store.

Corn Flour

This flour is milled from corn and can be blended with cornmeal to make cornbread or muffins. It is excellent for waffles or pancakes. It can be purchased in a health food store.

Cornmeal

This is ground corn that comes from either yellow or white meal. This is often combined with flours for baking. It imparts a strong corn flavor that is delicious in pancakes, waffles, or simple white cakes. It can be purchased in a health food store.

White Rice Flour

This is an excellent basic flour for gluten-free baking. It is milled from polished white rice. Because it has such a bland flavor, it is perfect for baking, as it doesn't impart any flavors. It works well with other flours. White rice flour is available in most health food stores, but also in Asian markets. At the Asian markets it is sold in different textures. The one that works the best is called fine textured white rice flour.

Brown Rice Flour

This flour comes from unpolished brown rice. It has more food value because it contains bran. Use it in breads, muffins, and cookies. It can be purchased in a health food store.

Kamut and Spelt Flours

These are ancient forms of wheat. While they aren't appropriate for gluten-free diets, they are excellent substitutes for plain wheat flour as they add wonderful flavor and consistency.

Substituting Gluten

Wheat flour contains gluten, which keeps cookies, cakes and pies from getting crumbly and falling apart. It is what makes baked goods have a good texture because it traps pockets of air. This creates a lovely airy quality that most baked goods possess when baked with traditional wheat flour. In order to help retain this structure when using non-wheat flours, gluten substitutes must be added to a gluten-free flour mixture. For each cup of gluten-free flour mix, add at least 1 teaspoon of gluten substitute. Here are three very good substitutes for gluten.

    * Xanthum Gum

      This comes from the dried cell coat of a microorganism called Zanthomonas campestris. It is formulated in a laboratory setting. This works well as a gluten substitution in yeast breads along with other baked goods. You can purchase it in health food stores.

    * Guar Gum

      This is a powder that comes from the seed of the plant Cyamopsis tetragonolobus. It is an excellent gluten substitute and it is available in health food stores.

    * Pre-gel Starch

      This is an acceptable gluten substitute. It helps keep baked goods from being too crumbly. This, too can be purchased at most health food stores.

Substitution is the solution

If you are ready to try some recipes, start with recipes that use relatively small amounts of wheat flour like brownies or pancakes. These turn out lovely and the difference in taste is minimal. Here are two gluten-free flour mixtures that are suitable for substituting wheat flour cup for cup.

    * Gluten-Free Flour Mixture I

      1/4 cup soy flour

      1/4 cup tapioca flour

      1/2 cup brown rice flour

    * Gluten-Free Flour Mixture II

      6 cups white rice flour

      2 cups potato starch

      1 cup tapioca flour

The above mixtures can be doubled or tripled. Another option is to purchase a gluten-free flour mixture at a health food store to avoid the guesswork involved in substitutions. This flour mixture can usually substitute wheat flour cup for cup, but read the package directions to be sure. Keep these flour mixtures stored in containers at room temperature and keep them on hand to simplify your baking routine.

RECIPES

Quick Chicken Spaghetti

This recipe was posted in the meeting room on Monday.  I actually made it last night, and it was fabulous.  I always end up adding more veggies than called for in the recipe. In this one, I used a sweet onion diced, sautéed in Pam and caramelized the onions first.  I also didn’t have a pepper in the house, so I swapped out mushrooms instead.  This dish can easily be modified to make it more kid-friendly if they don’t like the spiciness of the Ro-Tel.  I swapped out a can of diced tomatoes and added mild green chilies instead of the Ro-Tel.  It was fantastic.

POINTS® Value: 5

Servings: 6

Preparation Time: 10 min

Cooking Time: 30 min

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

3 cups cooked spaghetti

4 ounces 2% Velveeta, cubed

1/4 cup diced onion

1/4 cup diced green peppers

10 oz can chicken, drained (OR…do what I do...use rotisserie chicken…)

15 oz can Ro-Tel

½ tsp garlic powder

10 oz can 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients EXCEPT for spaghetti. Cook over low heat until cheese melts, stirring often. Toss in spaghetti. Pour into casserole and bake for 20-30 minutes at 350° until bubbly (and that awesome crust starts to form on the top!)

Oatmeal-Raisin Bites

This recipe was actually printed in the 1/24 Weight Watchers Weekly magazine that we got in the meeting room.  Celeste was nice enough to bring me a baggie of these on Monday and they were absolutely heavenly.  She just swapped out Craisins for the raisins, which is actually what I would do.  Raisins are not my favorite! They also freeze well.

POINTS® Value: 1 per cookie

Servings: 40

Preparation Time: 10 min 

Cooking Time: 30 min

 Level of Difficulty: Easy

 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup(s) rolled oats  

3/4 cup(s) whole-grain wheat flour  

1/2 tsp baking powder  

1/4 tsp table salt  

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon  

1/2 cup(s) butter, softened  

1/4 cup(s) sugar  

1/2 cup(s) packed brown sugar  

1 large egg(s)  

1 tsp vanilla extract  

1 cup(s) raisins, chopped   

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350ºF

In a medium bowl, combine oats, flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon; set aside. Using an electric mixer, cream butter and both sugars until incorporated. Add egg and vanilla; mix thoroughly. Add oat mixture and mix until just combined; fold in raisins.

Drop rounded teaspoons of batter onto 2 ungreased cookie sheets, about 1-inch apart each. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes for chewy cookies or 11 to 12 minutes for crispy cookies. Remove from oven and let cookies rest on cookie sheets for about 2 minutes; remove cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Yields 1 cookie per serving. Recipe makes approximately 40 cookies

Note:

Change the flavor by adding walnuts instead of raisins, but be sure to adjust POINTS® for that if you do!

Creamy Mexican Dip

This recipe was posted on the WW site, and it looked so good, and light, and flavorful that I wanted to share.  This dip is perfect for a party. Serve with fresh vegetables as well as chips for a total crowd pleaser!

POINTS® Value: 1 per ¼ cup dip

Servings: 8

Preparation Time: 10 min

Cooking Time: 0 min

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

1 cup(s) plain fat-free yogurt, Greek-variety recommended  

1/2 cup(s) salsa, hot chipotle variety suggested  

3/4 cup(s) avocado, diced  

1/3 cup(s) cilantro, fresh, chopped  

1/4 cup(s) red onion(s), chopped  

1/2 tsp ground cumin  

1/2 tsp table salt, or more to taste

Garnish:  

1/4 cup(s) avocado, diced  

1 Tbsp cilantro, fresh, chopped  

1 Tbsp red onion(s), chopped   

Instructions:

In a medium bowl, stir together yogurt and salsa until blended; stir in remaining ingredients except garnishes. Cover and refrigerate up to 1 day.  When ready to serve, transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with garnishes.

Yields about 1/4 cup per serving.

Notes:

This dip combines all those favorite Mexican flavors like salsa, avocado and cilantro using fat-free Greek yogurt instead of sour cream.

It also makes a wonderful topping for tacos or other Mexican foods — and then you don't have to set out separate bowls of salsa, sour cream, avocado, cilantro and onion.