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November 1, 2009
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Healthy Thoughts/Healthy Actions Weight Watchers Newsletter #51 |
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Hi Everyone!
Is it possible to have a more lovely fall? I feel inspired to skip through the crunchy leaves and sigh in awe at the changing grapevines. I hope you all are feeling similarly inspired. It is a great time to be out in nature: to savor the last of the sunny days before the rains draw us hunkering down in front of the wood stove.
I look at this time, from now until the end of the year, as arguably the most challenging for those of us who are mindful of our weight. Halloween begins the candy infusion, and those of us who love sweets and rich food will find ourselves continually tested. So how can we have our cake and keep on track? If there was ever a crucial time to be coming to meetings, this is a huge secret to holiday success! See you there!
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MEETING TOPICS:
WEEKS OF
November 1 & November 8
The week of November 1 the topic is
STAYING MOTIVATED DURING THIS SEASONAs I mentioned in my opening paragraphs, this is a time of year when most of us will be tested. How can we stay motivated and excited about the path we are on? Come and get some great ideas! 
And the week of the November 8 we will be discussing the idea of
CREATING NEW TRADITIONS WITH ACTIVITY This will be a great opportunity to find out about some ways to get fun and challenging activity during the winter months.
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RECIPES FOR THIS ISSUE Two must feature recipes popped up this week...
BLACK BEAN SWEET POTATO ENCHILADAS
This was published here several months ago, and as many members gave this recipe rave reviews, I decided to reprint it. Hope you enjoy it!
INGREDIENTS:
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 Tbl olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 small fresh hot chilis, minced
11/2 cup cooked or 1 can black beans
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 Tbl chili powder
2 cups of your favorite salsa
8 lg low carb burrito sized tortillas (see product recommendation below)
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400. Arrange sweet potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet sprayed with oil and roast until tender (about 20 minutes).
Reduce oven temp to 350. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over med heat. Add garlic and chili and cook until fragrant: about 30 seconds. Add beans, tomatoes, chili powder and salt & pepper to taste. Stir in sweet potatoes and simmer for 5 minutes. Set aside.
Individually spoon sweet potato mixture into tortillas and roll up, and place in a baking dish: rolled side down. Top with remaining filling and salsa and sprinkle with onion. Cover and bake until bubbly: about 20 minutes.
Serves 8. Each serving 3 pts CHOCOLATE PUDDING CAKE It doesn't seem very Weight Watcher-ish to feature a to-die-for cake such as this, made with real sugar, but Deb from Cotati brought it to a meeting potluck this last week and blew us all away. Only 3 points per serving is nothing short of astonishing for this!!
3/4 cup all purpose flour
2/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 + 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa (my favorite featured below)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp instant espresso powder or instant coffee powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup 1% milk
1 Tbl unsalted butter,melted
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 2/3 cup boiling water
Preheat oven to 350 and spray 9" square pan with oil spray.
Whisk together the flour, white sugar, 1/3 cup cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add in the milk, butter and vanilla, and stir just until blended.
Pour batter into the pan. Mix together the brown sugar and the remaining 1/4 cup of cocoa and sprinkle evenly over top of batter. Pour boiling water in a zigzag fashion over top. DO NOT STIR! This will look like a soupy mess.
Bake until the top of the cake is set: about 35 minutes. Let cool at least 30 minutes. Cut into 9 squares and serve warm or at room temperature. Delicious topped with a non-fat yogurt or whipped topping.
9 servings. 3 pts each.
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PRODUCT RECOMMENDATIONS
The recipe above calls for low carb tortillas, and I have featured these before, but was surprised at the product meeting how few people know them.
LA TORTILLA FACTORY SMART & DELICIOUS LOW CARB TORTILLAS
These are giant tortillas: burrito sized, for 1 point each!! You can find them at most grocery stores.
GHIRADELLI UNSWEETENED COCOA POWDER
Here
is another product previously featured and re-introduced at the product
meeting this week. It is featured in the cake recipe above. It takes 4
Tbl to make a point from this, so using it for baking is ideal! |
A VIDEO INSPIRING PEOPLE TO BE MORE PHYSICAL!
Thanks to Karen from Sonoma who sent this link to a very clever video, getting people to use the stairs instead of the escalator. Check it out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lXh2n0aPyw
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Life Coaching/
Weight Counseling!
Besides being a Weight Watcher leader I am a certified Lifecoach, specializing in weight management issues. If you are coming to meetings yet not really following the program and don't know why, or if you cannot seem to even get yourself back to the meeting room, maybe something deeper is going on which needs exploring. Conquer this demon for good! Contact me and let me give you a free sample session so you can understand how coaching works. I also work with any manner of life transition: job loss, relationship challenges, etc.
COACHING CAN DONE IN PERSON OR BY PHONE
For more information about coaching or counseling check my website:
www.healthythoughtshealthyactions.com | |
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