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October 31, 2010
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Healthy Thoughts/Healthy Actions Weight Watchers Newsletter #77 |
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Hi Everyone!
Sometimes when I sit down to write this part of the newsletter I go blank. I sit for the longest time trying to figure out what to write here. Do I write about the weather? Nope...it is so insanely beautiful one day and pouring the next. What can one say? Do I write about Halloween? Well, by the time most of you read this it will be a done deal, and hopefully we all survived without inhaling too many Snickers "fun-sized" bars (fun for whom, I might ask?).
But this time I began to think of all of you. I realized that except for this part of the newsletter most times it is readers who send me ideas, videos, pictures, quotes...you name it! By getting that great dance video last issue I got the inspiration to make the issue about dance. Sometimes readers will send me letters about foods they love and I create recipes around those foods. The photo above was sent by both a reader in Marin and a member in Sebastopol (if you like it and would like to see the rest of dog/pumpkin series just email me...). You all are the wind beneath my wings, so to speak.
If you have never sent me anything but have been thinking I might love a certain recipe, product, picture, quote, etc., well do not hesitate. Send it to me. Just hit reply to this newsletter and email it on over. I have a few rules: Nothing political, religious, or pornographic. Ideally it should be related to weight, health, etc, but it can also be funny or inspirational, as I feel laughter is the best medicine, and inspiration...well, we can all use some of that!
I also encourage you to forward this newsletter to friends and family anywhere in the country or the world. There are people from all over getting this, and it is so cool to really use the internet to its best advantage and get this out there. There is a forwarding button at the very bottom and if your friend wants to subscribe there is a button to do just that towards the top of the newsletter.
So thank you all for reading and participating in this forum. May it help make all of us healthier and wiser! |
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MEETING TOPICS:
WEEKS OF
October 31 & November 7, 2010
The week of October 31st we will discuss how to
MASTER YOUR METABOLISM! Do you ever wonder if your metabolism could somehow speed up? Ever think there must be a more efficent way of burning calories? Well, there is! Come find out how!
And the week of November 7th we will talk about
THANKSGIVING!
Normally we do this topic slightly closer to the holiday itself, but there is a lot going on this month, so this week we will talk about the first major holiday of the season. We will have our "Thanksgiving dinner" at the meeting, and talk about our strategies for surviving this holiday with flair! |
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RECIPES FOR THIS ISSUE
I live on an apple orchard, and although the crop this year was severly damaged by all the rain, I still am stuck with a gazallion apples, and one can make just so much applesauce. So here is a recipe I thought would be fun to try. And boy is it good!!
And in a meeting this week we got into a discussion on the classic 0 point vegetable soup and variations members have tried, so I thought, since the weather was chilling a bit, it was time to begin soup season.
For more recipes check out my website recipe page:
APPLE CRISP 
Ingredients:
- 4 medium apples
- 1/3 cup unpacked brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cups uncooked old fashioned oats
- 3 tbsp reduced-calorie margarine
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Stir together apples, 1/6 cup of brown sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice; pour into a 1 1/2 quart baking dish.
Cut flour, oatmeal, remaining brown sugar and margarine together with a pastry blender or fork in a medium bowl; sprinkle over apple mixture.
Bake until apples are tender and top is browned, about 45 minutes.
Serving size = 1/2 cup
Each serving = 3 Points
VEGETABLE SOUP VARIATIONS
Ingredients
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 medium onion, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
1 medium sweet red pepper, diced
1 medium stalk celery, diced
2 small zucchini, diced
2 cups green cabbage, shredded
2 cups Swiss chard, chopped
2 cups cauliflower, small florets
2 cups broccoli, small florets
2 tsp thyme, fresh, chopped
6 cups vegetable broth
salt and pepper to taste
sprigs of chives or parsley
2 Tbl lemon juice
Directions
Put all the vegetables and broth in a pot and cook until vegetables are soft. Add spices and garnish with parsley and lemon juice.
Variations
~Add 1 jar of salsa
~Blend ingredients with an imersion blender to make a cream soup
~Mix in a can of pureed pumpkin
~Add a can of stewed tomatoes
~Use a Tbl of curry paste (try Pataks...see the product information below...)
~Add canned or frozen corn (this adds up to 2 pts to the recipe)
~Cut the rind off parmesan cheese and cook it with the soup. Pull out before serving.
~Make ice cubes out of herbs and chicken or vegetable stock and simply pop out a few when making your soup.
I know there are plenty more ideas out there so if you have some feel free to send them to me!! | | | | |
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PRODUCT SUGGESTION
PATAK'S CURRY PASTE
Above in the soup variations it was suggested that curry paste makes an interesting flavor, and it does a lot for many different foods. I love using this with sauteed vegetables, and of course making curries with meats or fish. I find it in stores like Olivers and Pacific Market. 1 point for 2 Tbls, which is really all you need for most recipes. |
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BIONIC BURGERS
Marybeth in Petaluma sent this pretty surprising and funny (albeit very educational) video. Those of you eating burgers at fast food places take a look...
click here |
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An Oddly Guilty Pleasure...
In the Santa Rosa meeting on Thursday we somehow got on the subject of filling foods and snacking on them, and I talked about an unusual thing I eat, which a member asked me to put in the newsletter.
OATBRAN "PUDDING"
I love oatbran. If you have never tried it you will enjoy it if you ever ate Cream of Wheat. It has that creamy texture, and cooks just like oats, in a matter of minutes.
When I was a kid my mom made us Cream of Wheat with cocoa powder, sugar, butter and milk. It was to-die-for, and to this day it represents a certain kind of comfort. So I make my own version using oatbran, unsweetened cocoa powder, xylitol (my sweetener of choice) and almond milk.
Oooh la la!! Have it for breakfast if you like your chocolate then, or save it for late at night, when you have almost no points left.
1 cup cooked oatbran, plus 2 T unsweetneed cocoa, 1/8 cup almond milk and xylitol to taste = 2 pts!! |
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LEARN!
Thank you to Lynette from Sonoma who sent this great acronym!
LEARN FROM EXPERIENCE
EVALUATE YOUR MISTAKES
ACCEPT LESS THAN PERFECT
REAP THE BENEFITS OF OTHER'S SUCCESSES
NEVER GIVE UP!
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Loving What You Do...
Grace from Sonoma sent this wonderful story/list of quotes from Dr Mardy's website: http://www.drmardy.com/
The notion of being seduced by one's work is a lovely idea--and a nice extension of the idea that it is not only possible, but highly desirable, to love what one does for a living. In 1976, Johnny Carson was invited back to his high school in Norfolk, Nebraska to give the commencement address to graduating seniors. Carson, who had graduated from the school in 1943, offered this career advice to the students:
"If you don't like it, stop doing it. Never continue in a job you don't enjoy."
After the speech, Carson took questions from the graduates. As the Q&A session ended and the legendary entertainer prepared to leave, he was so moved by the prolonged applause that he added one final thought:
"If you're happy in what you're doing, you'll like yourself.
And if you like yourself, you'll have inner peace.
And if you have that, along with physical health, you will have had more success than you could possibly have imagined."
How does all of this apply to you? Think about it for a moment. Are you happy with what you're doing in your job? Have you been seduced by your work? If so, consider yourself fortunate. If not, perhaps it's time to reconsider the wisdom of your career choices. And as you reflect on your life and your job, let your thinking to be stimulated by the following observations:
"They are happy men whose natures sort with their vocations."
Francis Bacon
"To find joy in work is to discover the fountain of youth."
Pearl S. Buck
"Work is much more fun than fun."
Noel Coward
"Doing what you love is the cornerstone of having abundance in your life."
Wayne W. Dyer
"The biggest mistake people make in life
is not trying to make a living at doing what they most enjoy."
Malcolm Forbes
"Find something you love to do and you'll never have to work a day in your life."
Harvey MacKay
"Whenever it is in any way possible,
every boy and girl should chose as his life work some occupation which he should like to do anyhow, even if he did not need the money."
William Lyon Phelps
"If a man loves the labor of his trade, apart from any question of success or fame, the gods have called him."
Robert Louis Stevenson
"The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play."
Arnold J. Toynbee
"This is the real secret of life--to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play."
Alan Watts
"Find out what you like doing best and get someone to pay you for doing it."
Whitehorn, Katherine
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A Cute Hallween Cartoon...from Margaret and Pat in Sonoma!
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MY WEBSITE IS A GREAT RESOURCE!
If you have not visited my website find out why it is a truly helpful addition to your Weight Watchers efforts.
My Products Page features dozens of low-point food suggestions from Trader Joes and lots of other markets.
The Recipe Page has been updated but I have kept some classics, including the to-die-for oatmeal pancakes I talk about all the time.
The Healthy Tips page has lots of great ideas which we talk about in the meetings, but you might need to have at your fingertips when you are not in the meeting room.
And last, but not least, if you are coming to the meetings and finding yourself not actually taking the action you want to be taking to lose your weight, or maybe you cannot even seem to get motivated to come back to the meetings, maybe there is something deeper going on. I am a Certified Lifecoach, specializing in weight managment. I do free sample sessions and would love to talk to you about this or any other dream you have which is unfullfilled.
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The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.
Lots of love and joy to all of you!
~Janet |
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