Happy Friday everyone and Happy Rosh Hashanah for all the Jewish readers out there.
The Jewish New Year began at sundown Wednesday evening, and as I stated before, apples and honey are symbolic of a sweet start to the New Year. I have included the one that I prepared for my synagogue’s Apples & Honey Dessert Buffet. Don’t worry...it was from Cooking Light!!! I think I published this one last week, but it was definitely relevant and I included it again! Besides…a little something sweet never hurt anyone! J
The Jewish High Holy Days have always been a time of reflection for me. I look back on the year prior and see what went well, what went not-so-well…and what I can change in the New Year. This year I am going to focus on tying off the loose ends that have been dangling out there for a couple of years. I want to finish the afghan that I started when Adam was an infant. I want to get these last few pounds off (which I am making good strides at, mind you!) and I want to focus on surrounding myself with genuine caring people. Trying to rid my life of all toxicity where I can. It’s not good for my stress levels, and it’s not good health wise either! The way I see it, you need to be healthy on the INSIDE as well as on the OUTSIDE. You have to take good care of YOU before you can take good care of anyone else. In this case? Perfectly fine to be selfish!
For those of you who have been reading my musings for any length of time, you are aware that I have been walking with a GREAT group of ladies since the very first Weight Watchers Walk-It Challenge back in 2009. We started off with mile walks and worked our way up to doing 5Ks, and 5K races. The first few races, we walked the whole thing. Something changed in me during our Jogging for Johnson race that we did back in November 2009 and I actually ran part of that race…and I survived…and I didn’t hate it. “There must be something to that”, I thought, so I started working with Coach Dwayne to see if he could turn me into a runner. Well…a runner I am not…YET…but I do keep upping the bar on my walks, and I have worked some jogging into my exercise routine. I do have a goal to be able to run an entire 5K race at some point. I keep working toward that goal.
Each Friday, our walking group communicates via email to ensure that we will be at our usual Parker Square spot. Last week, Brenda, our former walking coach from the Walk-It Challenge informed us that Saturday’s walk was going to be 10K…’just to see if we can do it’…and because she signed up for a 10K race that she wanted to do in November…(well…eventually…we ALL ended up enlisting for that event…). I saw that blurb and about fell over. I was not sure I could do it…and I had stress over this! How was I going to do this? Who was going to carry me back to my car when I fell down during the middle of my second time around the route??? All this stuff was going through my head. Apparently, I have a BUNCH of people in my corner looking after me. No one but me had any doubts about finishing this thing. We finished the first half of the walk in 54 minutes and were still alert enough to go again. The second time around we finished it in 57 minutes. So we ended up doing 6.2 miles in less than two hours. I think we are ready to show the Chupacabras who’s boss!!! (the 10K race we are doing is the Las Chupacabras de DFW 10K Trail Run on 10/16…if anyone is feeling the urge to join us!!!) This race is not only 10K, but is being held at 9pm. It’s a trail run lit by glow sticks. This DEFINITELY should be interesting. There are burgers and beer for the finishers. We have to get to the halfway point in an hour (which we did on our Saturday walk...) and finish the entire thing in two hours (which we ALSO did on our Saturday walk…). All in all, I think we have a good shot at finishing this thing. More on that after the race! If nothing else, that race ALONE will give me material for my newsletters for a few weeks! LOL…
Anyhoo….
The topic of this week’s meeting is Lose for Good. This is Weight Watcher’s third year participating in this initiative. Do you know that RIGHT NOW, more than 800 million people go hungry? Do you know that 1.6 billion people are overweight? Kind of lopsided right? Shedding pounds and getting healthy. What can be better? How about doing it for a great cause? This is where the annual campaign comes in. As we LOSE, others GAIN!
3 Ways to Lose for Good:
- Lose for Good…for your community: Meeting locations across the country will be organizing food drives for local food banks. Donate a can of food for every pound lost!
- Lose for Good…for the world: Based on the pounds members lose during the campaign, Weight Watchers will contribute to organizations to help feed hungry kids and families in the United States and around the world
- Lose for Good…for you: Taking up this good cause can be the perfect way to refocus and recharge your weight-loss efforts!
For me, I intend to focus my efforts on number three above. Refocusing will be just what the doctor ordered!
A nice closing quote for you:
“A tree is known by its fruits;
A man by his deeds”
~ Saint Basil
RECIPES
Thin French Apple Tart
Each year the CKA Sisterhood puts on a dessert buffet featuring apples and honey. These items are symbolic of a sweet start to the Jewish New Year. Last year I did a Honeyed Apple Tort, but this year I stumbled onto this great EASY recipe. The recipe was adapted from one that I found in Cooking Light.
This dramatic 12-inch tart will elicit a wow from your guests. They will never know (until they read this, of course...) that it uses only six ingredients and bakes in only a half an hour!
Yield: 8 servings at a POINTS® Value of 5 per serving. If you can slice each wedge in half, you can halve the points too! Still—not bad for a great dessert.
Ingredients:
1/2 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie dough (such as Pillsbury)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 pounds Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (I used Braeburn and it came out GREAT)
2 1/2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425°.
Place dough on a lightly floured surface; roll into a 12-inch circle. Place on a 12-inch pizza pan. Combine sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon sugar mixture over dough. Arrange apple slices spokelike on top of dough, working from outside edge of dough to the center. Sprinkle apple slices with remaining sugar mixture. Bake at 425° for 30 minutes.
Combine honey and vanilla in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at high 40 seconds. Brush honey mixture over warm tart. Serve warm.
Nutrition Information:
CALORIES 220 (30% from fat); FAT 7.3g (sat 2.9g,mono 3.2g,poly 0.9g); IRON 0.2mg; CHOLESTEROL 5mg; CALCIUM 6mg; CARBOHYDRATE 39g; SODIUM 100mg; PROTEIN 0.6g; FIBER 1.9g; Weight Watchers Points per serving: 5
Pineapple Noodle Kugel
This recipe was a modification of one that I borrowed from my Aunt. The original recipe calls for canned apricots. All I happened to have on hand on Wednesday was pineapple canned in its own juice. Perfect! I just substituted this for the apricots, and voila! A new variation on an old favorite. This is not the lightest of recipes, but as a small side dish, it’s a great treat to enjoy on the New Year!
Yield: 12 servings at a POINTS® Value of 7 per serving.
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
Level of difficulty: EASY!
Ingredients:
1 (12 oz) bag whole wheat egg noodles
1 (15 oz) can crushed pineapple in juice (drained)
1 (15 oz) can pineapple chunks in juice (drained)
1/2 stick Smart Balance 50/50 butter blend, melted
1 (8 oz) package Neufchatel cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
6 eggs OR 1 ½ cups egg beaters
½ cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9 x 13 baking dish lightly with nonstick cooking spray.
Cook egg noodles as directed on package, but remove just slightly before they are done (need to be slightly al dente because they will continue to cook in the oven). Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine Neufchatel cheese, sugar, smart balance and eggs. Beat with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and well combined. Fold in both cans of drained pineapple. Add cooked egg noodles to mixture and stir to combine. Pour into prepared baking dish.
In a small bowl combine last three ingredients. Sprinkle over the top of noodles. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown and crunchy on top and eggs are set.
Enjoy!
Easy Creamed Spinach
Creamed spinach is usually made with a rich white sauce. The recipe was simplified by stirring in low-fat cream cheese instead. The result is still creamy and tasty! The kiddos even enjoyed this one.
POINTS® Value: 1
Servings: 4
Preparation Time: 5 min
Cooking Time: 5 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients:
3/4 tsp canola oil
3 Tbsp shallot(s), chopped (I actually substituted sweet onion because it’s what I had on hand!)
3/4 cup(s) scallion(s), sliced
12 oz spinach, baby-variety (about 16 cups)
1/4 cup(s) light cream cheese, softened (about 2 oz)
3/4 tsp table salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp black pepper, freshly ground, or to taste
Instructions:
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat; add shallots and sauté until golden, about 2 minutes. Add scallions and sauté 1 minute more.
Add spinach to skillet in batches, tossing mixture and adding more spinach as some of it cooks down. Cook, tossing, until wilted and tender, about 2 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in cream cheese just until melted; stir in salt and pepper. Serve immediately. Yields about 1/2 cup per serving.
Notes:
Add some freshly grated nutmeg with the salt and pepper for a hint of spice
Egg Salad Sandwich
This egg salad cuts the fat content—not the flavor—by using spiced-up, fat-free mayonnaise and just two yolks of the four eggs.
Ingredients:
4 large egg white(s), hard-boiled and chopped
2 large egg yolk(s), hard-boiled and chopped
2 1/2 Tbsp fat-free mayonnaise
1/8 tsp table salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste
1 1/2 Tbsp parsley, or dill, chopped
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 1/2 Tbsp red onion(s)
4 slice(s) pumpernickel bread
4 piece(s) lettuce
Instructions:
In a bowl, combine egg whites and yolks, mayonnaise, salt, pepper, parsley, mustard and onion.
Divide salad between 2 slices of bread, top each with two lettuce leaves and cover each with second slice of bread.
