Potluck Picnic Recap

Yesterday eight of us gathered at Liberty Station park on a beautiful day to have a "healthy potluck." What I'd announced that to mean is that while you were welcome to bring whatever dish you like, you needed to be ready to provide Points values for your offering. That way, the environment would be a safe and easy way for us to have fun and stick to our goals.

Taking photos of foods labeled on white index cards on a bright sunny day is apparently well beyond my photography skills, but I did manage to get this one that'll give you an example:



I think it was unanimous that Liberty Station provides an excellent venue for a nice day outdoors. There were plenty of tables and grills, lots of grassy areas, clean bathrooms, and most importantly plenty of parking. The park is right beneath the flight path of Lindbergh field, so be prepared to hear planes, but otherwise since the park is relatively new, it's still an undiscovered gem.

All the dishes offered with healthy and AWESOME, and I hope to highlight those recipes right here in the near future. Stay tuned!

Thanks to Emily, Mike, Sue, Wendy, Pam and Jackie for coming out and spending the afternoon with Chris and I. Despite ample sunscreen, I still managed to get a whole summer's worth of burn in one day. Oops.

Roundup, week of August 29th

What Happened Last Week?

We discussed how to ditch that deprivation mindset. Remember, there are lots of ways to work in your favorite foods. If you can't figure a way to get a particular food in safely, be sure to ask during a meeting - I'm sure we'll be able to offer up some options!

Mylisa received her first five pound star, and Christina, Karyn and Annalisa reached ten pounds lost. We gave Victoria a 15 pound star and William a 20 pound star. Carol reached 16 weeks of membership so got her Stay and Succeed charm.

And I know that lots of you have already received 11 out of 14 stickers on your summer challenge sheet, so we'll be celebrating with YOU next week!

So What's Coming Up?

First off, this will be the final week of the Succeed All Summer Challenge. I'll be holding the drawings this week for the "grand prize" (I hate to play it up, it's not a new car or anything!) and I'll be taking your slips home with me for a more personal celebration I'll deliver the following week.

Topic-wise, we'll be discussing the benefits of exercise, which hopefully will encourage you to engage in activity on a consistent basis. No use starting up a plan only to abandon it after a week, right?

The picnic is almost here!

This Sunday, August 29th is finally here! We'll be gathering at the park in Liberty Station, which is behind the Ace Hardware at Cushing & Dewey Roads. We'll start at 1:30 and I'll be there at least until 4:30 so if you can drop by anytime in that period, please do! If you bring a dish to share, be ready to write down the nutrition information and/or Points value PER SERVING of your offering. We won't be the Points Police out there, but we do want to be able to make safe and easy decisions for ourselves.

Tables may or may not be available to us, so be ready with a chair, blanket, or any portable picnic gear you might have.

Thought for the Week

Knowing is not enough; we must apply.
Willing is not enough; we must do.

~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Weekly Recipe: Chile Rellenos Casserole

This is one of the recipes that Kim shared with us, and is one that I haven't yet tried for myself. I love green chiles!

Chile Rellenos Casserole

Serves 6
7 WW points if using lean ground beef

1/2 pound lean ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoons dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 16 oz can fat-free refried beans
2 4 oz cans whole green chiles, drained and -- cut into quarters
1 cup (4 oz) pre-shredded Colby-Jack cheese -- divided
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn -- thawed and drained
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups skim milk
1/8 teaspoon hot sauce
2 large eggs -- lightly beaten
2 large egg whites -- lightly beaten
red onion slices -- (optional)
Cilantro sprigs -- (optional)

Preheat oven to 350

Cook ground beef (or turkey) and chopped onion in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until meat is browned, stirring to crumble. Remove from heat; add cumin and next 5 ingredients. Stir well; set aside.

Arrange half of green chiles in an 11 X 7-inch baking dish; top with 1/2 cup of cheese. Spoon mounds of beef mixture onto cheese; spread gently, leaving a 1/4-inch border around edge of dish.

Top with corn. Arrange remaining green chiles over corn; top with 1/2 cup cheese.

Combine flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a bowl; gradually add milk and next 3 ingredients, stirring with a whisk until blended. Pour over casserole.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour and 5 minutes or until set; let stand 5 minutes. Garnish with onion slices and cilantro springs, if desired.

NOTE: Two 4.5 oz cans chopped green chiles can be substituted for whole chiles, if desired.

Roundup, week of August 22nd

What Happened Last Week?

We discussed how Filling Foods can be the top notch fuel to get you to your goals. You can't be successful if you're hungry and miserable all the time, and these foods can help!

Now that I lead 3 meetings a week our celebrations list is getting loooooonger: Karyn, Cathy, Bernadette and Kathy all received stars for five pounds lost; Arika got a 10 pound star and Geneen and Ben each received a 15 pound star. Virginia reached her 10% target and Leilah received the Stay and Succeed charm. Marc reached 50 pounds lost, and Sharon reached her goal weight!

So What's Coming Up?

Do you ever refer to Weight Watchers as "a diet?" If so, this meeting is for you! We're going to discuss how to ditch that mindset (and why you should) and how to avoid deprivation. You already know from last week that Filling Foods can help with that, but there are other ways we'll get into this week. Just say no to saying no!

Remember our picnic!

By now most of you have received the flier for the picnic coming up on August 29th. If you can make it, please be sure to RSVP to me. Preferably some way that leaves a trail (commenting on this entry would work, as would email or a Facebook message). If we have more than 50 people attending, a pricey permit seems to be required, so I want to make sure we're not in danger of getting in any trouble.

Thought for the Week

It's been said that some of the smartest people around would make lousy entrepreneurs. How can that be? The fact is, some people are so smart they can easily see all of the problems, roadblocks, and snafus that they'll need to overcome to succeed. They can think of all kinds of reasons why their idea won't work. This knowledge can overwhelm any thoughts of possibilities or dreams. When you think of your goals, do you focus on the positives of making it happen, or the negatives of potential barriers? To reach your goals, you've got to really want them. More importantly, you've got to really believe that you can do it. Think more about why you CAN make it happen instead of why you can't. No more excuses.

Weekly Recipe: Marta's Awesome Salad

Here's another recipe from the swap - this one didn't have copies to hand out in the meeting room, so this will be one you haven't seen, although you've heard about it if you have been to a Wednesday meeting lately!

TOMATO MOZZARELLA SALAD

1 large tomato (0.5 Points)
10 basil leaves (0 Points)
Trader Joe’s Mozzarellas in olive oil, (2 ea cheese balls) (3 Points)
Salt & Pepper to taste

4 points total

Roundup, week of August 15th

What Happened Last Week?

All or nothing thinking can really damage your progress, so being flexible and forgiving is really important. Just because you can't do it perfectly doesn't mean you shouldn't attempt it at all. Remember the 80/20 rule - strive to be "on" 80% of the time and that's more than likely good enough!

This week we celebrated 5 pound stars for Phyllis, Cookie and Cris. Carol reached 20 pounds lost, and we gave 5% awards to both Eunice and Cris. Ramona took home a Stay and Succeed award for hanging in there for 16 weeks.

So What's Coming Up?

Understanding the science behind weight loss is really helpful to crafting a successful eating plan. Choosing foods that will keep you full for long periods of time is important for so many reasons (physical and mental) so we'll be discussing Filling Foods and other ways to keep hunger away.

I got my hands on an advance copy of the Weekly we'll be handing out, and if you don't attend a meeting this week (even if it's not one I lead!) you're really going to miss out. There are some great meal ideas and recipes in this one. Or maybe it's just because I'm hungry right now....

Summer Potluck Picnic!

If you haven't picked up a flier at a meeting, seen my event on Facebook, or saw the entry I posted here a few days ago...where have you been? Scroll back for details, but we've got a fun event coming up on Sunday, August 29th. I'd love to have you all out to share some healthy food and a day just hanging out getting to know each other when we're not sitting talking about food issues. I really hope you can make it!

Thought for the Week

Look closely at the present you are constructing: it should look like the future you are dreaming. ~ Alice Walker

Weekly Recipe: Two Links from Minna

Our recipe swap yesterday morning resulted in some pretty neat recipes that I'll be sharing over the next several days. The first I'll post are easy - they are links to recipes you can find in eTools.

Blue Cheese Chicken Burgers

You'll see that's a recipe that serves 4 and has 6 Points value. There's a note that if you switch to light hamburger buns (which I bet a lot of you would do) it reduces the Points to 5.

Broccoli and Cheddar Quiche

This is a recipe that I could have sworn I've added to my favorites, but in pulling it up I see that it isn't. I know I've made something strikingly similar, because this kind of thing is right up my alley. Food in a pie crust? Yes, please.

Thanks Minna, for sharing these with us!

New Meeting!

Beginning this Sunday, I will now be leading the 11:30am meeting at our El Cajon center. Doors open at 11:00am for weigh-in. If you check the meeting finder at the Weight Watchers website you won't see my name attached to the meeting yet, but it will probably be updated soon.

Weight Watchers El Cajon Center
794 Arnele Ave
El Cajon, CA 92020

Now here's a summary of my meetings:

Sunday 11:30am - El Cajon
Monday 6:30pm - Lemon Grove
Wednesday 6:30am - Clairemont
Thursday 6:30pm - Clairemont (receptionist duties if attendance permits)

You're Invited!

Click to embiggen:



You can pick up a flier in any of my meetings in the next few weeks. If you're reading this and you haven't been to a meeting in awhile, you are still absolutely welcome! Anyone who is interested in having some healthy food under the sun is invited to this shindig.

Roundup, week of August 8th

What Happened Last Week?

Out of control eating can be caused by many things. If you can dig down beneath the surface, you can get at the heart of the matter. If you know what's causing it, you can find other ways to solve it. Was it really because you were hungry? Probably not!

We celebrated five pound stars for Arika and Jen, a 15 pound star for Virginia and William, Marc got his 45 pound star, and Mark reached 50 pounds lost. Looks like it was a productive week for the men this time!

So What's Coming Up?

You'll do much better at achieving your goals if you set them realistically. That means being flexible and forgiving of yourself as well. We'll talk about some successful habits that will ensure you don't get discouraged and forget about those great goals you've set.

Wednesday - don't forget we're doing a recipe swap this week. Bring in your favorite recipe to share. You don't need to make copies for everyone, but at least bring one for me so I can repost it here later.

Make sure you're at the meeting this week to get the details of my upcoming Picnic Potluck! I'm hoping we'll have a fun afternoon of healthy eating and mingling. Be sure to pick up a flier.

Thought for the Week

Give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others. - Christian D. Larson

Weekly Recipe: Quick Couscous Pilaf with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

I found this recipe in a Vegetarian Times cookbook. I'm going to use real onion and garlic instead of dehydrated, and I'll probably serve it over some wilted greens.

8/5/2010 Edit: this gnawed at me all night. Two and a half cups of couscous for two servings? Sounds too good to be true. So I built the recipe to be sure, and yeah, the recipe as originally written is over 800 calories per serving if you divide it into two servings. I have updated the information below.

Quick Couscous Pilaf with Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Serves 8 (originally this said it serves 2)

6 sun-dried tomatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 cup dehydrated onion
1/4 Tbsp dehydrated garlic
6 low-sodium vegetable boullion cubes
6 cups water
2 1/2 cups instant couscous
Dash turmeric
Dash paprika, for garnish

Bring to a boil the sun-dried tomatoes, onion, garlic, boullion and water. Stir in the couscous and turmeric. Return to a simmer; then remove from the heat, cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Sprinkle paprika on top.

Original Incorrect Information:Per serving: 187 calories, 7g protein, 0.2g fat, 21g carbohydrates, 0mg cholesterol, 81mg sodium, 7g fiber

Revised Information:Per serving: 224 calories, 7g protein, 0.3g fat, 47g carbohydrates, 0mg cholesterol, 766mg sodium, 3g fiber

I have no idea what the folks at Vegetarian Times were thinking. And now I'm afraid to use anything else in that cookbook without independently verifying it first. That sucks!

Roundup, week of August 1st

Good heavens how is it already almost August?!? Are you making the progress you wanted this summer? How about this year? No time like the present to kick it in gear!

What Happened Last Week

What happened was that I led 4 meetings in 4 days, so I have a ton of celebrations, and I'm not sure which sheets are for what meetings. So I'm going to list all of them!

But before I do that, remember to snack smart. Snacking can be an essential tool in regulating your hunger and providing good nutrition. But done poorly it can also be a source of empty calories and a barrier to progress. Do it right, and remember that when you snack it, YOU TRACK IT.

On to celebrations this week: Kelle and Paul both got five pound stars; Char and Daniella have now lost 10 pounds; Scarlett reached 15 pounds lost; David got to 20 pounds lost; Victoria hit 45, Jessica at 60, and Josh has lost an astounding 85 pounds! Tasha, Daniella, Lois and Jeane all got to 5% lost, and Jalie hit her 10% target. What a fun (and busy) week!

So What's Coming Up?

The topic for this next week really hits home with me - uncontrolled eating. If you've ever hid your eating from anyone, or felt like you were totally unable to stop, this is the meeting for you. We might hit upon some touchy subjects with this one, but I think it can be a powerful one.

Thought for the Week

A man who wants something will find a way; a man who doesn't will find an excuse. - Stephen Dolley, Jr.

Other Things In The Works

Recipe Swap! - once again, you've requested it, we'll do it. Start thinking about your favorite recipe and be ready to bring it in and share. I haven't decided what week we'll actually do this, but once I get everyone's recipes, I'll also post them here. ONE CAVEAT: anything you share with us must have either nutrition information or Points value available. This means you may have to use the Recipe Builder or do some math. I will not do it for you!

Summer Potluck Picnic! - do you think it would be fun to hang out with some fellow healthy minded folks? Would you like to share healthy dishes and have some fun outside? Stay tuned for details....

Weekly Recipe: Summer Avocado Sandwich

I have a page-a-day calendar on my desk at work, and it probably won't surprise you to know that the calendar provides health tips, motivational quotes and healthy recipes.

The other day I came across this one, and I'm going to be trying it this weekend:

Spread 1 teaspoon of miso paste on 2 slices of toasted whole grain bread. Add 1/2 of a mashed avocado, 2 tomato slices, salt and pepper.

353 calories, 17 grams of fat (I don't know how many grams of fiber - it didn't provide that information.)

I will likely substitute the bread slices with a sandwich thin, and by my estimation that would save you about 80 calories.

Roundup, week of July 25th

What Happened Last Week?

Part two of plateaus. Okay, we know we need to get over them, so this week we discussed actual tools and things we can do. Remember this fact: 90% of plateaus are caused by relaxed adherence to plan!

This week we celebrated a 10 pound star for Leigh, a 45 pound star for Tauni, 16 week charms for Erika and Tessa, a 5% award for William and a 10% keychain for Maggie.

So What's Coming Up?

As if we didn't talk about food enough, this week we'll tackle snacking. That means talking about the pros and the cons, as well as sharing snack ideas.

Things I Didn't Know I Needed

Wednesday we had a small little meeting - just four of you checked in and stayed! This meant we got to tackle what was really going on in your lives, and in the process I was reminded why Weight Watchers is a really expensive job for me.

Now I totally need a Vitamix and a Fitbit thanks to rave reviews from Patty and Kim. If any of you have thoughts on either, you're more than welcome to share them in comments. Together these are some pretty big ticket items, so unless I start playing the lottery, I guess I'd better start buttering up my relatives before my birthday and Christmas roll around!

Thought for the Week

A bend in the road is not the end of the road ... unless you fail to make the turn. - Author Unknown

Weekly Recipe: Viva Laughing Cow!

These new flavors of Light Laughing Cow cheeses have been the talk of the town, at least in the meetings I've worked lately. Well, Hungry Girl has been on the case, so this week I don't have to do any work.

Check out these recipes that you can make with the new wedges!

Thanks to Emily for passing this along.

Au Contraire!

toothpastefordinner.com

Not if you keep attending my meetings you won't! If you're reading this and it's been a long time since you have been in a meeting, why not come back for a visit? Trust me, no one will judge. You know why? Because there's not a person in that meeting room (myself included) who hasn't been there before. Trust me, I don't remember what you weighed the last time you came in.

Roundup, week of July 18th

What Happened Last Week?

Plateaus are a natural part of the weight loss process, but they can really be a bummer. We talked about ways to keep our brains on track so our butts stay on track!

Between this morning and right now I've somehow lost my celebration sheets for this week. If we awarded you a milestone, I'm sorry I can't post it here! The milestone I absolutely DO remember for this past week is that Joanne passed her Leader Training on Monday night! Thanks to Lemon Grove for supporting her through the process and for putting out a great meeting this week.

So What's Coming Up?

Okay, so now you know if it's really a plateau or not. And you know you've got to push through it. This week we'll talk about specific strategies and actions you can take to hit the reset button and get back on the downhill slope.

Thought for the Week

The most important thing in life is to stop saying "I wish" and start saying "I will." Consider nothing impossible, then treat possibilities as probabilities. - David Copperfield

Weekly Recipe: French Toast

I'm pretty aware of everything I eat, you know? All that tracking and whatnot. But I wasn't truly aware of what I was craving today until I looked at the results of a recipe search.

There are a lot of recipe sites online, and many of them have recipes with Weight Watchers Points values. And I've visited most of them. I was putzing through LaaLoosh today and made note of several recipes I thought would be worth saving for later.

It turns out two of them are for French Toast. I guess I have a craving for French toast then.

I'm not sure if I'll be trying either of these this weekend, mostly because I'm not sure I want to turn on the oven if it's going to be warm. But I'm keeping these close at hand!

Eat to Live? Or Live to Eat?

I stumbled across this really interesting article in The Wall Street Journal today about what food does to our brain. Scientists are looking at how the lure of delicious food can overwhelm the body's built-in mechanism to regulate hunger and fullness. It turns out that for some people, just seeing or hearing about certain foods can cause us to seek out these treats.

Some interesting quotes from the article:

Some of the most intriguing imaging studies have peered into the brains of people who have lost significant weight and kept it off through diet and exercise alone—although researchers say they're hard to find.

"Post-obese people are extremely prone to regain weight," says Dr. Del Parigi. "The only way they have to counteract these strong predispositions is by having a very controlled lifestyle, with restrained food intake and exercise."

And this is why you'll see a bevvy of Lifetime members in our meetings. As they say, we're one slice of cake away from becoming that fat kid again!

Speaking of cake, be sure to take that little quiz on the side bar. In the interest of full disclosure, I scored a 4: You're frequently preoccupied with food and at risk of losing control over your eating. This is especially problematic if you are also significantly overweight.

Roundup, week of July 11th

What Happened Last Week?

Last week the Monday crew was awesome and showed up in the usual numbers to spend the "holiday" with me. Thank you all so much for dropping in on what was probably a day off for many of you!

We discussed why fruits and vegetables are so important to us - they provide eating satisfaction, good nutrition, color and taste...and so much more. Your challenge for the week is to fill half your plate with them. You can do it - summer fruit is so awesome, how can you not?

We celebrated successes with Bethanie (5%), Marc (40 pounds), William (first 5!), and Valarie (Stay and Succeed).

So What's Coming Up?

There is a word that strikes fear in the hearts of Weight Watchers everywhere - PLATEAU. We will clarify what exactly one is (hint: it's not a gain of 0.4 when you've lost every other week you've been a member!) but more importantly how we can get through them and pick up the weight loss progress once again.

This is an extraordinarily important topic - plateaus are a natural part of weight loss, and what separates the men from the boys (so to speak) is how we deal with them. You can't ignore it and hope to still reach your goal. Make it a point to find a meeting this week and check it out!

Thought for the Week

Determination gives you the resolve to keep going in spite of the roadblocks that lay before you. - Denis Waitley