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February 20, 2011
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 Healthy Thoughts/Healthy Actions Weight Watchers Newsletter #85
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 Hi Everyone! I am awestruck at the feeling in the meeting room these days. I guess the new year, the new program, combined with all the publicity of late (Jennifer Hudson on Oprah with her family was huge for WW, for example), the meetings are buzzing like beehives with excitement, motivation and a general feeling of I-can-do-it-ness. In fact some of you are coming into the meetings and barely finding a seat! My mom always said that a good party was too many people and not enough chairs, and I guess that's what we have. I hope it continues!! Tell your friends! Get a support team to do this with you! How fun would that be? Many people rely on the camaraderie of cohorts to walk into a meeting room, yet I would say most of you come in alone. I did not, that's for sure. If it were up to me by myself I would probably still be 80 lbs heavier! My first visit to WW was at 16, with my best friend and her mom. They quit early on, but I was hooked. Of course eventually I quit, gained the 35 lbs I lost back and then some. The next "real" time I came back was with a roommate, and again she quit but I hung in, and lost 70 lbs! The last time (many times after the previous one mentioned ) my neighbor and her friend drug me to the Sebastopol Youth Annex and the rest is history. In the usual fashion, my friends quit, but this time something really clicked for me and not only did I stay long past their departure, I now have made this not only a lifestyle, but a living (and those friends have ended up coming to MY meetings!!). I may have found my strengths in the end, but in the beginning my friends got me through the door and sticking with it. So where is your team? Your cheerleaders? The wind beneath your wings? If you don't have someone introduce yourself to someone in the meeting room who is coming on their own (or better yet, with friends...You can never have too many people on your team!!). But maybe you have a friend, a relative, a neighbor, or someone who needs you to just ask, just casually suggest, and there you have it. If what is keeping you from the meetings is this need to have someone be there with you, make it happen! Pick up the phone today and tell your cousin or your neighbor "hey, I'm joining! Want to come with me?" It could be the start of a whole new relationship!!
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MEETING TOPICS:
WEEKS OF
February 20, 2011 & February 27, 2011
FEBRUARY 20 - 26
PORTION SAVVY
Let's face it. Most of us could eat all our favorite things, but simply cut back on how MUCH we eat, and lose plenty of weight, right? So what is this business about large portions and how do we scale back? Come to this meeting and find out!!
FEBRUARY 27 - March 5
SHAKE IT UP!
Tired of the same breakfast, lunch and dinner? Know that there are zillions of foods you have not tried, but
feel if you don't eat the same things you won't lose weight? This week we'll explore what happens when we branch out into the realm of the unknown foods....Scary? Nope, but very enlightening and yummy!
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RECIPES FOR THIS ISSUE
I love ethnic food, as many of us do, and really enjoy seeing if I can reproduce favorites at home. Here are two recipes, which thanks to specific products, taste truly authentic.
For more ideas on products which can make a recipe sing:
CLICK HERE FOR MY WEBSITE PRODUCT PAGE
By the way, the BLACK BEAN BROWNIE recipe was such a huge hit I decided to add it to my recipe page on my website. Click below for that recipe and a dozen others.
CLICK HERE FOR WEBSITE RECIPE PAGE
(including favorites like: Oatmeal Pancakes, Crab and Shrimp Cioppino, Italian Stuffed Zucchini, Chocolate Pudding Cake, Butternut Squash Risotto...)
 JANET'S EASY INDIAN CHICKEN CURRY - 4 cloves garlic (or 2 cubes of Dorot Garlic*)
- 4 medium chicken breasts or thighs, chopped
- 1/2 medium onion, chopped
- 1/2 medium cauliflower, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
- 2 Tbl Pataks Curry Paste* (I use Mild)
- 1 small box of frozen peas
- 3/4 cup - 1 1/2 cup fat free chicken broth
1. Spray a large pot with spray oil and saute garlic, or melt frozen cubes. Add chicken and saute on medium-high heat until chicken is nicely browned. Set chicken/garlic aside. 2. Spray pot again and saute onion, cauliflower, and carrots on medium high heat until browned. Defrost peas in microwave and add to vegetables. 3. Add chicken back in with vegetables, lower heat, and add curry paste. Mix in well and then add chicken broth. Use as much broth as is necessary to create a creamy texture, and desired spiciness. Simmer for 20 minutes. Makes 4 Servings 6 POINTS PLUS PER SERVING Serve over brown basmati rice for an additional 4 pts per cup
 JANET'S HOFBRAU DELIGHT
Ingredients:- 4 chicken apple sausages, sliced
- 3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, chopped and parboiled
- 1/2 sweet onion, chopped
- 2 chopped celery ribs
- 1 fuji apple, cored and chopped
- 1 1/4 cup Farmhouse Culture Kraut*: classic caraway
Preparation:
1)Spray a large frying pan with spray oil and brown sausage slices on medium heat. Set sausages aside.
2)Re-spray the pan and add potato chunks, onion, celery and apple and brown on medium high heat until brown.
3)Add chicken into the pan mixture and stir in sauerkraut. Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through and it is bubbly hot.
4 servings 6 points plus values per serving
* FEATURED PRODUCT see below
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FEATURED PRODUCTS
PATAK'S CURRY PASTE
This is the real deal. If you want a curry paste that tastes like authentic Indian curry use the best. A chef friend turned me onto this years ago and oh my! I find it at Oliver's, Whole Foods and Pacific, but it may likely be sold at markets like Raley's or Safeway too.
FARMHOUSE CULTURE KRAUT Classic Caraway My boyfriend had a hankering for sauerkraut recently and bought this from Whole Foods. I grew up with it, as my mom was Austrian, and I know an authentic kraut when I taste it. He bought two types of this same brand and the other one tasted quite odd to me, but this one...classic caraway...oh my!! And 0 points plus values. I even had it as a snack the next day all by itself. Yuuummm!! 
DOROT FROZEN GARLIC CUBES I have written about this product a few times as it is not only handy but quite delicious. Small ice cube-like squares of frozen crushed garlic which you just pop out. I find this at Trader Joes but just recently saw that Olivers has them as well! They also make frozen cilantro, basil and ginger!
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| MY BEFORE AND AFTER
 
Lots of you have seen these images over the years, but so many people right now are new to this newsletter and my meetings so I thought I'd show them again. Its a good reminder for me to see the person I know I will never be again! 80 lbs gone!! Yippee!
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HOW DO CHEFS LOSE WEIGHT?
A member handed me an article in a meeting a few weeks ago about chewing your food thoroughly, and I went to find the on-line version of it and came across this instead, since it was from the same magazine. I have several members in my meetings who are bakers, chefs or work around food. I found this to be a really smart article, which could help us all...not just those in the food industry!
http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/healthy-chefs-how-chefs-lose-weight-and-keep-it-off |
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SWING DANCING!!
Many of you have expressed interest in the type of dancing I do, which is swing dancing. I do East Coast Swing, Lindy, Jitterbug, Charleston and Balboa, all of which are generally danced to traditional swing jazz and blues. There is also a type of swing dancing called West Coast, which is danced to contemporary pop, blues and sometimes even rap music.
I frequently get sent dance videos so thought I would put one here so you can see how the pros do it. I do not generally do aerials, or anything quite so complicated, but you can see how fun and aerobic this type of dancing is. If this sparks your interest and you think you might want to explore learning it I would recommend either Tuesday or Friday evenings at Ellington Hall in Santa Rosa.
Talk about great exercise that will never feel like it...
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IF YOU RECENTLY JOINED AND WERE UNABLE TO GET A CALCULATOR...
For some reason (probably because WW is having a stellar, outrageous and fabulous year so far: our best in WW history!!) we have run out of the Points Plus Calculators and there will be none until late March as far as we know. So there is now a way to access the calculator functions via the Weight Watchers website, and it will be available until the calculators are back in stock. Just click the link below and you will be able to calculate the points for any food!
Below this link is another one, which helps everyone who is challenged by the new program, so if you are struggling to move from old to new this may give you some valuable tips!
weightwatchers.com/calculator
tips for transitioning to the new program
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JUST A NOTE...
We are open at all locations on Presidents Day, February 21st. See ya at a meeting!! |
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HEALTHY THOUGHTS/HEALTHY ACTIONS
Thanks to all of you who attended my workshop last weekend: LIFE IS NOT A DRESS REHEARSAL. I had a waiting list for it, and have had others ask if I will do one again, so the answer is yes, but not until fall. In late September or early October I will find a date that works and have another.
Meanwhile... I am a certified co-active Life Coach, specializing in the field weight management. If you know what you should be doing but do not seem to act on it there is likely something deeper going on. I do free 1/2 sample sessions if you would like to explore how coaching can benefit you.
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"Healthy citizens are the greatest asset any country can have ."
~Winston Churchill
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