You all have been chatty this afternoon! WooHoo - amazement strikes - I was down to 204.6 at the center. Down from last Friday!
Tammy - what a cutie your little boy is! BTW, I have also purchased luna lots off of ebay, and I use them interchangeably with the bars. I like chocolate, but sometimes I want something different. Also, I did purchase the bulk rates of the lites through the weight loss, but not for the following 52 weeks, and I thought it would be good if I could spread out the ones I purchased as long as I could. . . I try to pick up at least one box a week even if I don't use them. But I always try to use the older boxes first.
Liza - at my grocery store, Luna bars are on sale for 1$/each occaisionally. They are usually in the 1.50-1.70 range.
Question - has anyone tried any of the blueberry breakfast bars? My guide says that one is equal to a starch and a fruit. When I weighed in today, I checked the calorie count - it's 210!
Tammy, the purple plan only has two starches too.
Meegs and Sy - I've never run a marathon, but I did do the Avon breast cancer walk a few years ago. That was about 50 miles over 3 days, and the ending was so emotional, I wept buckets.
Star - I found that when I was eating off plan at the restaurant, etc, that food was really salty and greasy. Also, I decided I did not have to clean my plate just because it was there. (Now, THAT was a revelation!)
Tammy and Fiona - I'm so glad that some one else gets headaches because of atmospheric pressure changes. I've had one for two days. And I've been OP. I ususally take regular aspirin, but maybe I'll try advil.
Julie - Try Execedrin Migraine, they usually work for me, but this time nothing is getting rid of this migraine.
I love the Blueberry De lites. I eat those every other day for breakfast. Stick them in the microwave for 25 seconds and spray some butter and they are yummy!! They are really filling also, lots of fiber.
Hey Sammy: Sorry I forgot to mention this earlier. My sister made scarfs for all of us for Christmas out of yarn and fun fir. Mine is red fun fir and the yarn she mixed with it has red, yellew and blue. It's very pretty and I get so many compliments on it - mostly from stangers. Now I want to learn to knit just so I have make a couple myself in different colors. Where can you learn how to knit? I have tried reading from books before, but forget that. Maybe a local AC Moore or someplace like that, I'll have to check it out.
Julie: I have tried the blueberry breakfast bars. It counts as a fruit and a starch and to tell you the truth, I would rather eat a starch and fruit. Don't get me wrong, they are very good - just don't seem worth the exchange to me. I got a free box a while ago and have only eatten 1 of them. Maybe if I was on the run and really couldn't get in my starch and fruit for breakfast I would consider taking 1 on the go. The lady at the center said that she spreads FF cream cheese on it and warms it a little and it's like eatting blueberry cheese cake. Okay, maybe I don't have that good of an imagination but did try it and it would be a stretch to say it tasted like cheese cake. LOL!
Thanks for the reminder about BL tonight! Julie, thanks for sharing that you also wept after your accomplishment in your Avon Breast Cancer walk. It's an awesome feeling. To bad the brother-in-law that my sister is divorcing is the person that I rode the MS 150 with and for some reason, I think it will be very uncomfortable to ride with him again. Reason why we didn't do it this year is because they were separating. Hey, never say never - maybe we'll do it again sometime?
I feel bad for all of you that get migraines. I knew this guy from work that use to get them and found that he was allergic to sorbitol found in diet soda and sugar free gum - and he suffered for years with them.
On the subject of fundraising walks, I did the MS challenge walk (3 days/50 miles) two years ago. It was amazing! Such a thrill, and I raised $2400! One of my close friends from high school was diagnosed with MS not two months after I signed up to do the walk, so that's become a cause close to my heart. Unfortunately they changed the date of the walk the next year, and I had a conflict. I'd like to do it again this year - means I gotta get my walking shoes on!
On the subject of headache medicines: Excedrine Migraine and regular Excedrine have exactly the same active ingredients. They just put fancy labeling on some of the bottles after they got FDA approval to promote Excedrine as "effective against migraines." But in any case, the stuff works! I only don't take it because of the caffeine (I USED to live for the stuff, but gave it up when I gave up Mountain Dew! I realized I was only prolonging my caffeine-withdrawal misery).
On the subject of other LA supplements: eh, I don't have anything to add here! I haven't tried anything except the bars - they just seem overpriced and undersized for the exchange you have to make; I'd rather eat real food.
Here is a question for you all: do any of you have "off-plan" food hanging around your kitchen that you don't think you'll eat, but aren't sure what to do with? I was making turkey meatloaf (muffins, of course) and noticed how many cooking ingredients we have that aren't on plan - like regular Worchestershire sauce, soy sauce, teriyaki marinade, a whole box of regular spaghetti, a box of "instant" scalloped potatoes, couple different kinds of soup (I love grilled cheese sandwiches, but it's just not the same without tomato soup!) and probably some other stuff! Some I know I can donate to the food shelf, but some of the stuff (like the pasta and the sauces) is opened and I hate to think of just throwing it all out. Grrr!
BL in 20 minutes - just enough time to get my "muffins" out of the oven! See you all post-BL!
Fiona-
Advil and Advil Migraine is the same way!!! Both have 200 mg of ibuprofen! I work for Wyeth and bought some in the company store...got back to my desk and was mad! I thought it would have another active ingredient to make it work on migraines. GRRRR. I have to take prescription stuff for my migraines...nothing OTC works. I have tried EVERYTHING and also almost every prescription migraine med. So far only two things work...and demoral. LOL Which they gave me when I had one so bad I had to go to the urgent care clinic after 12 hours of thinking I was going to die.
Is it okay to drink wine for real? Since 3 oz counts as one fruit, I really prefer to drink my fruit some nights. This is the first plan ever that said drinking wine is okay. Will it really make a difference if I do induldge and what kind would be best? You guys rock!
I think red wine is preferable to white, I think mainly from a health standpoint (you hear good things about red wine and heart health, not so much about white). I don't know enough about how wine is made to know if there's any other significant difference.
Cooking tip! Maybe this has already occurred to you, but I've always been bugged by the way ground turkey doesn't really taste like "meat" - it just picks up the flavors of whatever you cook it with. So finally it occurred to me - beef boullion! duh! So now, even though my turkey meatloaf is all funny and pale, at least it TASTES like the real thing!
Hey Everyone!
I Hope you are all feeling great but I was just wondering what everyone's favorite LA lites are. I buy mine in bulk soon and the only ones I've had a chance to try are Chocolate Crunch and Cookie Dough...both I thought were pretty good
Any suggestions greatly appreciated!
Good Luck, Maria
Fiona-
I never thought of that!!! I will pick some up next time I am at the store. Thanks!
Maria-
I like the carmel and chocolate crunch the best....I get mint or double chocolate on occassion. The carmel has a different consistency than the rest of the bars...it is more like a rice krispie treat....more airy than the other bars.
It’s been a while, but I’m back. We had a great trip to Iowa to visit our parents and a plentiful Christmas. I was glad to get back home and then came down with a wicked cold and have spent the last 4 days either in bed or on the couch. Forced myself to work yesterday and was in bed before 8pm last night (taped BL). Have doctor’s appt today, though I doubt she can do anything for me that I haven’t already tried.
It took forever catching up on all the posts…boy, you girls are chatty…I love it! I spent about 10 days in complete excess and have 4 extra pounds to show for it, but I’m back POP and expect to drop that by the end of the week. Being sick I turned to old comfort foods and haven’t been on the treadmill in weeks, told myself I was going to last night , but am still far too weak…will wait to see what the doctor has to say this afternoon. I haven't even completely unpacked and we've been home since the 30th!
I’m not even going to try to address everyone individually right now, but saw many new screen names….Welcome!
I haven’t tried any of the supplements LAWL sells, except the calcium (and that’s only because I got it free). I’ve also have the blueberry de-lite muffin tops (also free) and love them, but find they don’t fill me up as much as a real piece of fruit and starch (plus it kind of feels like cheating, leading me down a path I don’t need to be on
My favorite la lite is cookie dough in the mid morning and I usually have a chocolate mint after dinner (it’s like a soft thin mint girl scout cookie). It’s the last thing I eat at night and it’s kind of my signal that it’s time to stop eating for the day.
Glad to see everyone is back from the holiday safe and mainly healthy ;-)
Okay - BL last night. I was so surprised that Mo was voted off. Although I did think he did deserve to be - his percentage was so much lower than the other three. But I'm glad Ryan and Gary did the right thing and let the woman (dang, can't remember her name) stay the course.
Sy and Tammy, thanks for the info on the blueberry bars. I was just wondering if I could use some of the granola bars in my pantry (sound familiar Fiona??) as a replacement. . . Also I was surprised that the calorie count was 210, when a starch and a fruit is about 150 max. . .
BTW, Fiona, you can have regular pasta - even if it's only once a week on the old plan, or with a CC meal. On the new plan it's not limited, but you can only have 1/3 cup.
Sy - I think that's one of the hardest things about a broken relationship - it's the extended family ties. I mean - if you really like the guy, but it just gets too weird to see him because then you're being disloyal to your sister. . .And then you start editing your activities because you may see him . . . Anyway, I can't imagine riding a bike for 150 miles. Walking for 50 was tough enough, but at least I didn't have to worry about hand brakes!
Fiona - I also have a pantry full of off plan food - canned soup, chili, canned vegs (I do love canned peas and canned corn) - and I'm just holding on to them. They are not so bad in themselves - just high in sodium - so I've been using them on days when I'm sort of off plan - like New Years day. . .
Roxy -wine is allowed, and the hard stuff - I haven't had them very much since it seems to make me retain water. . .
Maria, my favorites are the cookie dough and the honey nougat - I like the honey ones for breakfast - I also do like the caramel; they have a nice gooey center.
It looks like the cookie dough la lites are getting good reviews! I may have to try a box of them. I just bought 45 Luna bars yesterday (on ebay) but I will need another box of lites to last until they get here.
Here are a couple recipies for today!
Theme: CHICKEN!
Chicken Marsala
1 Protein, 2 Vegetables
6 or 8 ounces of boneless/skinless chicken breast
1 cup of fresh mushrooms
5 green onions, sliced
2 tablespoons of water
1/8 teaspoon of Morton Lite Salt
1/4 cup dry Marsala or cooking sherry
· With meat mallet, pound chicken to 1/4 inch thickness.
· Spray skillet with Pam. Preheat over medium heat. Add chicken and cook until tender and no long pink. Remove chicken and keep warm.
· Add mushrooms, green onion, water and salt to skillet. Cook until mushrooms are tneder and most of the liquid has evaporated. Add Marsala or cooking sherry to skillet. Heat through.
· Serve chicken topped with vegetables.
6 or 8 ounces of boneless/skinless chicken breast
1/4 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
5 green onions, sliced
1 tablespoon flour
½ cup skim milk
1 cup of frozen spinach, thawed and well drained
1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
· Combine Parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning. Roll chicken in mixture to coat lightly. Reserve any remaining cheese mixture. Place chicken in baking dish.
· Spray small skillet with Pam. Saute onion until tender. Stir in flour. Add milk all at once. Cook until thickened; stir in spinach.
· Spoon spinach over chicken; sprinkle with remaining cheese mixture.
· Bake at 350" for 30 minutes or until chicken is tender and no longer pink.
6 or 8 ounces boneless/skinless chicken breast
1 small apple, divided
1 ounces reduced-fat mozzarella or cheddar cheese, shredded
5 green onions, sliced
1/4 cup Herbox very low sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon water
· With meat mallet, pound chicken to 1/4 inch thickness
· Chop half the apple; slice the other half. Top chicken with chopped apple and cheese. Roll-up, folding in sides. Secure with toothpicks or string.
· Arrange apple slices and green onion in a baking dish. Top with chicken. Mix cold water and cornstarch; pour over rolled chicken breast and sliced apple.
· Bake at 350" for 20 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.
One of my close friends from high school was diagnosed with MS not two months after I signed up to do the walk, so that's become a cause close to my heart. Unfortunately they changed the date of the walk the next year, and I had a conflict. I'd like to do it again this year - means I gotta get my walking shoes on!
But in any case, the stuff works! I only don't take it because of the caffeine (I USED to live for the stuff, but gave it up when I gave up Mountain Dew! I realized I was only prolonging my caffeine-withdrawal misery).
I was making turkey meatloaf (muffins, of course) and noticed how many cooking ingredients we have that aren't on plan - like regular Worchestershire sauce, soy sauce, teriyaki marinade, a whole box of regular spaghetti, a box of "instant" scalloped potatoes, couple different kinds of soup (I love grilled cheese sandwiches, but it's just not the same without tomato soup!) and probably some other stuff! Some I know I can donate to the food shelf, but some of the stuff (like the pasta and the sauces) is opened and I hate to think of just throwing it all out. Grrr!
duh! So now, even though my turkey meatloaf is all funny and pale, at least it TASTES like the real thing! 
Dang Computer! 
