Christmas Baking

The holiday season, aka the season of eating LOTS of junk food and gaining LOTS of weight. We don't have any family close by, sometimes we are with family for Christmas (which requires a lot of travel for at least one family) and sometimes we are on our own. Either way, I always bake all of our favorite cookies, candies, bars, etc since there is no one else really to do it.

How to STOP eating everything?

Well, I don't really know. BUT, I do have a few strategies that at least help.
1. Give half of everything to other friends or the teachers at school. If my butt is going to get bigger, everyone else's will as well. :)
2. I then freeze half of what is left to save for Christmas. The remainder can be eaten immediately.
3. Don't keep everything out in plain sight - use containers. I tend to eat less if it is out of sight.

I will be making posts of all the treats I have been making - so I don't have to search for my recipes anymore. Since we moved (in January) I have yet to find my recipe box. So, I will be cataloging all of our family favorites here.  If you are trying to avoid sugar - you may want to skip the next several posts.

I tried a new cut out cookie and ginger cookie recipe. Both turned out fine, but I will cut back a little on the flour next time, I like mine a little softer. But, I measure flour all wrong, so the amount may be accurate. I need to cut back on the scoop, shack, and dump method - it's just soooo much easier (as long as I adjust accordingly, things usually turn out just fine).

You will notice a few themes emerge.
1. I like chocolate.
2. The majority of my Christmas baking, doesn't actually involve baking.
3. I am all about minimizing effort and mess and therefore combine efforts whenever possible. I do all dipping at one time. Any leftovers are used to coat or top other bars.
4. On the lines of minimizing the mess, I always line my 9x13 pans with foil. Seriously makes cutting MUCH easier and leaves the pans easy to wash. YEAH!

And, once done with all these goodies, I will have some major exercising to do.

How do you manage all the holiday goodies?

Semi-Healthy Banana Bread

I LOVE banana bread. Like most of my baked goods, I always strive to make them at least a little bit healthier than the original recipe. Every little bit helps. I have seen recipes that say you can use all whole wheat flour and it is yummy. Well, I disagree. The texture and flavor are all wrong - when what you are expecting is a fully loaded piece of banana bread.

I have a standard recipe I have used for years. It came from a school fundraiser recipe cook book (Brown School Sampler - 1995). The recipe I really like is called Grandmother's Banana Nut Bread. I have made several tweaks to increase the whole grains and of course have omitted the nuts as my kids don't like nuts in things. I have also played around with the fat content in this recipe. Since there is only 1/4 cup to begin with, I usually don't bother. You can substitute up to half of the fat with a non-fat yogurt and still have a decent texture.

So, when I have bananas that look like this:

I know it is time to make some bread!

1/4 c shortening (or 2 TBSP shortening plus 2 TBSP yogurt)
3/4 c sugar
1 egg
2.5 TBSP milk
1/2 TBSP cider vinegar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 SMALL bananas
(a total of 2 cups 'flour' is needed. The exact combination is not as important as the ratio of white flour to everything else. I would not use any less than 3/4 c white all purpose flour. The rest just depends on what I have on hand.)
3/4 c all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 c wheat germ
1/4 c quick oats
optional: you can add nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chips, etc

Preheat oven to 350 deg F.
Mix everything together. If you don't have a mixer, you can certainly mix everything by hand, but you will want to mash the bananas first.

Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake for about 45 minutes or until toothpick test comes out clean. Sometimes I run into the problem of the top getting dark before the loaf is done. I check at the 30 minute mark and if it looks like it is getting dark, place foil loosely over the top of the bread. 

Hope you enjoy this as much as I do!

Until Later...

Glasses of Water

Just a little health tip to share today. This one stems from a good friend of mine at Sparkles of Light.

WATER lots of Water

We all know we are suppose to drink plenty of water. However, one thing that I have been trying - CHUG - really CHUG -  a 12 oz glass of water before you eat ANYTHING! Yes, this is a lot of water - well if you eat a lot it is. :)

The benefit over the past not quite 2 weeks - I have lost 1.5 pounds! My skin also thanks me - especially the bags under my eye. The bags are now equivalent  to a small purse instead of a jumbo travel bag. ;)

Now, if you are dehydrated, you will likely see the scale go up a couple of pounds first. Don't panic, this is just water weight - that you probably need. Keep going and likely you will start to lose fat. :)

The one side effect I am not keen on - I spend more time in the bathroom these days. I do feel better though, and less tired.

Give it a try. See if you FEEL a difference.

Later Gator.

Adventures of weeding and mulch

It's that time of year! Time to be in the garden and/or flower beds sprucing things up and helping to give new life to a 'winter drab' landscape. I wish I had the talents to make my beds interesting year round - I don't. Each year I try to learn something new or add a plant that has interest at a time of year different from what is already there. But, this year I start over. Sort of. I am simply taking over a job that was started in 1951. Unfortunately, not much has been done over the past several years. So, now the hard work begins.

Weeds. Sooooo many weeds.

Can you see? On the right, the area I have weeded. On the left, what I started with! I have discovered I REALLY need to get myself a metal claw. I have been using the kid plastic ones for the past couple of years. I know, I think I am old enough to graduate to a metal one. The next trip to the lawn/garden center and I will be getting myself one - along with a pair of gloves as mine are MIA.

Thanks to my MIL, I have transplanted 7 violets from the 'lawn'. Here is one of the plants. I do love FREE plants! 

GARDENING TIP!

She also gave me a new tip. When without garden gloves, BEFORE you start digging in the dirt - fill your fingernails with soap. Use a bar of soap and run your fingernails over it until they are filled with soap. This prevents them from getting filled with dirt and adds a little strength so they are less likely to break. GENIUS! This is something she used to do years ago. A bar of soap is getting added to my gardening tools for those time I don't have or can't successfully use my gloves.

MULCH

Now, I have about 60' of beds around the house. That's a guess, but they are on 3 sides of the house. All of which have been taken over by weeds. Since, it will take me a while to get through all that, I decided I needed to get some mulch and cover the beds as I go. Otherwise, by the time I finish, I would have to go back and start over again. 

So, off to the dump I went to get some mulch. Here in NC, we get '3 cubic yards' (really more like 5) for $25. Love that! Unfortunately, the truck got a flat tire on the way home. So, after about 3.5 hours I was home again ready to unload the truck. Our unexpected delay was actually not bad and gave me the opportunity to meet some wonderful people. Luckily, I was child free at the time. PHEW. And when I got home, my oldest wanted to unload. OK!!!

I have gotten through about 15' so far. There are a few things I left behind because I really don't know what they are. If they don't do anything over the next year, they will be removed. There are several plants that probably need to be moved and trimmed. But, since I have my hands full with the weeding all the other aspects will wait a year. 

And yes, Ibuprofen in my friend.

Have you started your landscape beds yet? 

What is your favorite plant in your garden? 

Is there a plant you wish you had?

Jill

Birthday Cakes and Cake Pops

Happy Birthday my sweet Lucy.

 The youngest of 3, she has been a pleasure - most of the time. She puts up with her big brother and sister and gets dragged around everywhere. She makes me laugh every day and I love to see how her mind works. She is her own person. And yes, she has to wear a skirt every day. Good thing Gma and I sew! She has some style.

Yes, she has had 2 cakes so far. One on her actual birthday (Mickey Mouse) and one while celebrating with Gma and Gpa Frank (Zooter - from Jungle Junction). 

As usual, both cakes were last minute requests and I had to look to the internet for ideas and do the best I could. Here is a little tutorial on making the Mickey Mouse cake and how I handle all the 'extras'. 

1. I started with a standard 9x13 cake. I used 2 different sized bowls to cut the circles. Cake left overs when into the larger bowl. The circles were transferred to a sheet cake pan lined with foil. I don't know where my cake board is - probably in the attic. I decided to make due with the pan.

                                                   

2. Then, on to the crumb layer. Spread a thin layer of thin frosting over the cake. This doesn't need to be pretty, just needs to contain all the crumbs. Place in the fridge for a bit to let the frosting set.

3. On to the main frosting. I am so glad we can get easily gel food coloring now! Makes getting colors other than pastels much easier. 

Now - what to do with all that extra cake and frosting??? Mush them all together and make cake balls!

Add a little frosting at a time and mix really well. 

Add frosting until you get what looks like a stiff cookie dough.

Then just roll into balls and chill. Now, if you want to be really fancy, you can dip these in chocolate. By this time, I am too tired to worry about anything other than getting these to be in a somewhat round shape. They get gobbled up so fast, no one has cared about how they look. Phew - no need to do more work. ;)

If you still have left over frosting, you can just spread some on graham crackers. Yes it is YUMMY! However, I just threw mine out. Really, there are soooo many sweets in our house right now, I don't need to be temped with MORE.

Speed Cleaning

Over the past month I have discovered a 'new' exercise routine. Speed cleaning.

We are currently trying to sell our house. I am not always on top of things. I have a life, and cleaning is NOT at the top of the priority list. That being said, if someone wants to see the house in 3 hours, I'm not going to say no. So, enter Speed Cleaning.

I actually have to RUN through the house at various times to get it all done. Sweeping, mopping, bathroom cleaning, etc. etc... Big dirty house - clean in 2.5 hours.  I don't know how many calories I burn, but it feels like a lot. And I am always sore for 1-2 days after.

A few good tips

I love Pinterest - don't you? Some days I find myself sucked into the twisting winding never ending blog heaven. There are SOOOO many great ideas out there - for everything. One such night, I came upon several places with tips for weight lose. Yes, I too am always looking for the easy way out of weight loss. Even though I KNOW you just have to eat right and exercise. I keep hoping there is an EASIER answer. The right answer is simple - but SOOO not easy.

Mayonnaise: a love-hate relationship

I love mayonnaise. Don't you? Too bad it is NOT good for you. High calories, high fat, some even have sugar added (which actually did surprise me a bit). BUT, I have found a way to enjoy mayo by cutting the calories and fat drastically! YAY!!!

Do you want to know my not so secret, secret?

Non-fat Greek yogurt!

You can cut the mayo by HALF and add half non-fat Greek yogurt in place of the mayo. The taste is still GREAT!

So, that's really it. Egg Salad. Potato salad. Pasta salad. Whatever. Just be careful, all of these items still tend to be heavy on calories, but at least now you can add more good stuff and less bad stuff and still enjoy!

Now, I will give you 2 of my favorite recipes. You can adjust based on your favorite recipes.

Egg Salad for one
(because no one else in my family likes it).

One whole hard boiled egg
One hard boiled egg white only
1 TBSP Mayonnaise
1.5 TBSP Greek Yogurt

Just mash it all together with a fork and serve over a bed of lettuce. I do prefer to have an egg salad sandwich, but in the interest of not eating carbs all day long, I have found I actually like it on a bed of lettuce. I am happy for small victories.


Cracker Dip
I like the recipe using Lipton Vegetable Soup &Dip mix and mostly follow the recipe on the back of the box. Here are my changes...

1 package dip mix
4 oz non-fat sour cream
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
10oz frozen chopped spinach (thawed and squeezed dry)

Mix it all together. If it sits for several hours in the fridge it tastes better.

This went to school last week with a package of wheat thins (reduced fat of course). When serving to a bunch of women who are concerned about calories, I try hard to make signs so they know to try it. BUT, I always feel funny doing this - will they actually try it? The answer for this go round - yes, they did and they loved it!

Let's hear it for Greek Yogurt! Hip hip hooray!

What do you plan on making with Greek yogurt?

Lesson 5: Eating Healthy When Eating Out

Eating out can be challenging when trying to lose weight (or even maintain for that matter). This lesson presents 4 keys to healthy eating out:

1. Plan ahead
2. Ask for what you want
3. Take charge of what's around you
4. Choose foods carefully

Plan Ahead

• Pick where you eat carefully. Go somewhere that you know offers low-fat/calorie choices. If there is a restaurant that is challenging for you - don't go there. Avoid 'all you can eat' places - DANGER!
• Do a little research. Call ahead or look online for nutritional information and choices. Plan what to order before you go so you won't be tempted once there.
• Prepare yourself. If you know you will be eating out later in the week, budget your calories to allow extras for your day out. That day, watch your calories earlier/later in the day. Eat some fruit or drink water before you go so you aren't 'starving' when you get to the restaurant. 
• Other things to consider. Don't drink alcohol before eating. For evenings at a friend's, bring a safe side dish from home to share with others.

Ask For What You Want

• Think, When Harry Met Sally . Ask for lower-fat/calorie options cooked in a healthy way. For dressing, ask for them to be served on the side. Don't be afraid to ask for items that are not on the menu.
• Ask for the amounts you want. You can ask for a half serving. Or, just ask to box half of it up to take home. Also consider ordering just an appetizer or something from the children's menu.
• Be NICE. Be decisive, but not threatening. 

Take Charge of What's Around You

• Be the first to order.  Don't be influenced by those around you.
• Keep foods off the table. Have chips/salsa, bread, etc removed or place on the other side of the table where you can't reach them. 
• Ask for your plate to be removed when you are finished eating. No picking on what's left!
• Watch Alcohol. There are often large amounts of empty calories and can cause you to let your guard down.
• If at a social gathering - stay away from the food table!

Choose Foods Carefully

• You know what to do...
• Stay away from fried foods. 
• Watch out for fatty sauces. 
• Trim visible fat.

Where are your favorite places to eat? How will you change your habits to fit your new lifestyle?

Lesson 4: Reducing and Changing Cues

Why do we eat what we eat?

There are many reasons we eat.
1. Hunger. Yes, physical hunger is the obvious. We need to eat to nourish our bodies. BUT, there are also times we have a desire to eat without feeling physical hunger.
2. Thoughts and Feelings. Emotions can trigger eating. For example, I go to sugary treats when frustrated or bored.
3. What other people do. If a friend offers you some food, you may feel obligated to eat it - or just want to eat it.
4. Sights and Smells. Just seeing or smelling food can trigger the desire to eat.
5. Activities. Watching TV, going to a ballgame, going to the movies. How often do you NOT think of the foods you will eat when doing these (or other) activities? Never right? right? Yeah, me too.

So, how do we change our behaviors and habits?

1. Stay away or hide!

• Don't keep your 'trouble' foods in the house or at work. If you must, use single servings, or hide them. Don't keep them in plain sight.
• Use opaque containers.
• When you finish eating (at home or a restaurant), remove the plate or put a napkin on top.  If at a restaurant, ask for a to go container right away. Put any 'extra' in the box so you won't be tempted to eat 3 servings instead of one. 

2. Build a new healthier habit.

 

 

• Keep the healthy stuff in sight. Put the healthy stuff in prominent locations in the fridge, not so healthy stuff in the back.
• Set a designated eating place in the  house. Restrict your eating to this one place.
• Separate eating from other activities. No more watching TV while eating. :(
• Use smaller dishes - ones that better fit the correct portion size. You are less likely to feel 'cheated' if using smaller dishes with the correct portions. Correct portions and large dishes makes you feel like you are eating nothing.
• Don't eat while cooking/baking. (Ohhh, the calories I must consume before we are ready to eat!!)

Shopping: Yep, this can be troublesome for all of us. Make a list. Stick to it! Don't go to the store hungry. Don't be a slave to coupons. Just because it is on sale - doesn't mean it is good for you.

Examine your habits...

Make a plan. Figure out what your 'bad' habits are and make a plan to change them. Write it down. There is something about having something in writing that helps to stick to the plan!

So - what are your habits? How do you plan to change them?

Lesson 3: Healthy Eating

Yep, most of us just need to eat healthier and eat less. I am guessing we all know what that means. But, if you want a little refresher, here are some tips. And, remember, the definition of healthy can vary - a lot. I have to set the bar on the low side - otherwise I may just drive myself nuts! I am in LOVE with carbs. Any kind of carb. I have been trying to eat more foods I prepare and fewer prepackaged foods, more 'natural' foods (foods that come from the earth) fewer foods from a factory. I have nothing against pre-packaged foods. I still use them a lot. I just figure that fruits and vegetables are probably better for me than oreos. But, it is a work in progress.

That are lots of ways to change eating habits. Three main areas are:
1. How you eat
2. What you eat
3. How you prepare food

How You Eat

• Have a regular pattern of meals.  Stick to a schedule - this will help from getting too hungry and losing control. Try to set colorie goals for each meal. If you can plan your food for the day, you will be less likely to indulge and go crazy.
• Eat slowly.  This helps to better digest food and give your body time to feel full. You will also be more aware of what you are eating and when you feel full.
• Don't worry about cleaning your plate. (Do any of us worry about this?? Not me, I am usually more worried about seeing an empty plate and still feeling hungry! :) ) Serve yourself smaller portions. When eating, stop periodically, put your fork down and do a hunger test. If you do not feel hungry, push the plate aside.
• Veggies first. Fill up on all the veggies first, then eat the food on the rest of the plate.
• Smaller plate. Use a smaller plate than you normally would. This will help to decrease portions AND fool your body into thinking you have just as much as you did with the large plate. Weird, I know, but this DOES work.

What You Eat

• Everything in Moderation! Eat high fat/high calorie foods less often.

Less of this... 

• Eat smaller portions of the high fat/high calorie foods.
• Eat LARGER portions of low fat/low calorie foods.

More of this...

• Try substituting lower calorie options when possible  - use low fat margarine, mayonnaise, cheeses, salad dressing, etc. WARNING - 'low fat' options still have calories and often have MORE sugar than the 'regular' option. READ THE LABELS.
• Instead of flavoring foods with fat - try spices or other low fat options.
• Lower the fat content in the meat you eat. Buy lean cuts. Trim visible fat. Broil, roast, bake, grill - no frying. Remove skin from chicken and turkey. Choose a white meat. Drain off fat after cooking. Eat more FISH!

How You Prepare Food

• Avoid Frying food.
• Use vegetable spray instead of oil.
• Use 2 egg whites instead of a whole egg.
• Again - use more spices and less fat
• When baking, incorporate more whole grains. You can substitute up to half the regular flour in MOST baked goods without significant changes in flavor and texture. You can certainly use entire whole grains - BUT you are warned, you and your family WILL know the difference. I like to use a combination of whole wheat flour, oatmeal, and wheat germ. There are many other options, I just have never tried them.
• You can 'hide' pureed veggies into several meals as well.
• Substitute for fats. There are many options for removing fats from foods by substituting low fat yogurt, low fat sour cream, unsweetened applesauce, flax seed, etc. I like to substitute SOME of the fat. Again, you can substitute all of the fat, but the texture will suffer. I don't have a ratio here to stick to, but you can experiment a bit. Non-fat options tend to make the texture rubbery.

There are several blogs out there with healthy recipes. Just be careful - everyone's definition of healthy is different. Make sure to check the nutrition content. Calories, fat, carbs, fiber, sugar. It all counts. You just have to find the right balance. If you have a favorite site for recipes - please share.

Happy Eating!

Lesson 2: Intro to Weight Loss

At first, it seems a little weird that the introduction to weight loss is the second lesson - but I guess the idea was to get us started by setting goals and then work in the rest of the facts. I guess it doesn't really matter - I am just following the program here. So, I will get on with it...

This information is based from a Diabetes Prevention Program funded by the NIH. Surprise, surprise, the study found that easting right and exercising reduced your risk of diabetes.

This program supports making gradual, healthy, and reasonable changes. No cold turkey here. No instant changing everything. I knew there was a reason I liked this plan! This plan is designed to help lose 1-2 lbs per week.

We may be a bit unsteady at first, but we will get stronger!

The key to weight loss is controlling calories. You have to eat less and exercise more. Yep - that simple. To lose 1 pound you need to burn 3500 calories (eek!) more than you eat. To do this, you need to create a deficit of 500 calories per day. If you want to lose 2 pounds, you need a 1000 calorie deficit. Oh - the standard 2000 calories per day recommended - that's for average height and weight people. Those of us that are short - should be more like 1700 calories (what????).

Remember, these are just averages. Your metabolism rate changes things as well. BUT, most of us do NOT have a high metabolism -so that's not much of a help. (SIGH).

So, how do we do this?

EAT LESS, EXERCISE MORE

• Exercise AT LEAST 2.5 hours per week (~750 calories)
• Pick activities you like
• work up to your goal - this could take up to 4 weeks
• spread the exercise out over several days 3-6 days is recommended
• if you are less than 200 lbs - you should be eating about 1200 calories per day
• if you  are more than 200 lbs - you should eat about 1500 calories per day

SELF MONITORING
This helps us be aware of what exactly we are doing.  Write down everything you eat, when you eat it, and how much you exercise. This has been found to be the single best predictor of successful weight loss. Get your pens ready!

• Be honest and complete - don't lie - it will only hurt you. Don't forget everything you drink and all the extras like butter, dressings, etc. Carry your journal with you  so you can keep track wherever you go. There are apps for this now, if that is easier for you.
• Be accurate. Read labels. Use calorie guides (I have used this one)
• Measure your foods to increase accuracy. You may be surprised at how little the serving sizes are.
• For those of you familiar with Weight Watchers - this is a big thing for the program. For good reason! You can use their systems, or just count calories. Either way - you MUST know what you are eating!
• At the end of each week, give yourself a grade on how well you stuck to your goals. Think about your exercise and eating habits.

A little about behaviors. I tend to be an emotional eater. When stressed, upset, bored, etc I go to the kitchen. This is always a battle for me. Do you struggle with this too? It is helpful to write down emotions in the guide too. I find when I am recording everything I eat, I tend to eat less, just be cause I don't want to write it down. Emotions and justifications are funny things. There are books out there on this subject and how to deal with it.

One other tip - Take pictures of yourself as you go. Every month or two. It is hard to see results when you are looking at yourself every day. Pictures help to show the changes. Body Measurements are also good. Sometimes, the scale doesn't show the whole picture.

Good Luck! If you are interested in a food log, I have an electronic version of the one included in this study. Happy to email it to you if you are interested. Just leave a comment.