hi everyone! i am not new here, i am a major lurker and i finally decided to jump in. i wanted to tell everyone how helpful you are even to those of us that lurk. i am starting core today. my mom bought me the books at her center in florida and i just got them. thanks to you all i knew a lot about it before i read the info.
i also love your tips and recipes. i have a lot of trouble with variety. i am a picky eater and i also work full time on second shift so my dinner is at work. i carry a cooler as mentioned above and bring leftovers or sandwiches,etc.. easy stuff. i am also single so sometimes i hate to cook for just one. i am trying very hard to break that habit. i think that the core program will help with that issue.
well, have to get ready for work. just wanted to join in so i would be accountable to someone else besides myself. and thanks again for all the help us lurkers get here.
kathy
Danny - eggs are CORE - fried (in CORE oil), scrambled, over easy, boiled, omelet w/CORE ingredients (Canadian bacon, green pepper, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach, asparagus) add some ff cheese if you would like too!
Only plain instant oatmeal is core. The quick cook, long cook and steel cut oats are the recommended varieties for Core.
I'm loving Progresso soups for lunch and my favorite is also lentil. I also eat the Healthy Choice Split Pea. I checked with WW headquarters and they said I don't have to count the few potatoes in there as my potato serving.
Also, if you cook you should definitely try this recipe link, www.barbosdietkitchen.com/archive.pl. They have some of the most amazing recipes for many programs but also for WW Core. I'm made several of them and they are fantastic. All of the dishes freeze well, so even if you are cooking for yourself, you could make individual portions and freeze the leftovers.
I sort of invented one myself and put it on there. It's called beef, bean, and rice casserole. There are several others I can recommend if anyone is interested. You should all check it out. The nice thing is that once you visit, it will always tell you which recipes are new since your last visit. This keeps you from having to cover old ground! My husband is a very picky eater and we have at least five recipes already that we would eat again.
I mentioned this because if I had to eat plain chicken and baked potato every night I wouldn't stay on the program long. I also don't want to cook every day so it is nice to have dishes that will freeze and reheat well.
Thanks for the Borden cheese recommendation. I needed someting for my ground sirloin burgers.
Hi Kathy (CorningKat) welcome!! Glad to see you here. This is a great board with so many supportive 'friends' You'll get some great ideas here, especially from the Cooks of the group! They come up with some GREAT ideas!!
The books your mom got you are great. The more you look through them the more you will see. Soon you'll be having ideas of your own. I was a Core holdout, successfully doing points but I switched last week, and had a great w/i. So I am continuing my Core journey, and actually like it. Another Kathy posted a good snack, which I was leery of but when I read it I ran in the kitchen and tested it. It is the Plain FF yogurt with some SF/FF pudding mixed in....it was VERY good. I am a snack person, but don't miss the empty calorie snacks I was having on pts. So this may just be my new find. I have also started having fruit 3 times a day. SOMETHING I never did on pts. I am not a fruit person, but I amazed myself this week. It is part of the 8 Healthy Guide lines. Well I wanted to say hello and welcome, keep us posted on how you are doing too......Linda (L.J)
Danny, eggs are Core. If you add a non-Core item (regular or lowfat cheese) or cook them in non-Core oil (butter or margarine) then you'll have to count the points. If you just have plain egg or egg and veggies and you cook them with Pam spray, then they are still all Core.
I have to say...I have been going to ww for three weeks now...well, I missed my meeting last week...and I was getting ready to chuck it in. but after spending some time here I know I have to make a go of it. I am switching from flex to core to see if it is easier...and I have to say all of the recipes and suggestions here have been just wonderful...
I know the experts say that eggs (protein) are better for breakfast because it keeps you satisfied until lunch, but I find the complete opposite. If I eat cereal at 7:00 I am good until 10 or 11. If I eat eggs, I am hungry by 8:00. Don't know why, but that's the way it is.
I found two baked oatmeal recipes. You could probably substitute peaches for bananas in the second recipe. I found both recipes on the link I shared above.
Baked Oatmeal
2 cup uncooked oatmeal
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup fat-free skim milk
1/2 cup Egg Beaters
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce ( I did an apple in the food processor)
1/4 cup Splenda ( I added more- 1/2C)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon ( I add more(at least 1T)or use apple pie spice)
Preheat oven to 350* Combine wet ingredients and add dry ingredients. Bake in sprayed 8" square pan for 35-45 minutes.
Keeps well in refrig. or freezer. It's good cold or warm.
Baked Oatmeal Cake
2 cups oatmeal dry
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup skim milk
1 egg
1 egg white
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup sugar twin brown sugar
2 mashed bananas (instead of raisins, which you could use and count)
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanill
Mike dry ingredients then mix in wet ingredients. Pour into 9" cake pan. Bake 350 for 45 minutes. For points it is 3 points each for six servings (the points are figured with regular brown sugar, sweetened applesauce and raisins instead of banana, so don't know how different points would be this way.
DANNYas everyone else has said Eggs (even the real deal) are Core perhaps Linda(derrydaughter) is counting the egg beaters. but even they are core so maybe we just misunderstood.
For breakfast I have started to mix 1/2 Fiberone (core) and 1/2-2/3 c of puffed wheat with my ff milk...it is also very satisfing to me. I know we shouldn't have the same thing everyday but I do mix it up a little bit. Actually I am going to have egg beaters and (cooked) cut up sweet pot for breakfast tomorrow, like a potato and egg omlet. I am SO enjoying my different versions of MY barley soup. Mixed with a spoonful of Campbells Green Pea and some other vegs and FF Chicken broth to thin out the soup, and it is just great!! Great when mixed with Tomato Soup too.!!
I am so much enjoying this way of eating -- NEVER thought I'd say it :-)
And now I look for my fruit snack. NEVER thought I'd say that either :-)
I did try the mix of FF Plain yogurt with a tsp or 2 of the Choc FFSF instant pudding, that one of the Kathy's posted........it's very good, and I do not like Plain yogurt. Give it a try.....if you're a snack person like me.
POOZA - give Core a try....this is coming from someone who was dead against it AT FIRST, being the pts person I am (or thought I was) You will get much support here and some great suggestions. We do tend to make better choices - I know I was using my pts for things like Wow Chips and bread, and I have not had either of those....well this is my second week without them. I am surviving :-) :-)
JEANETTE I am glad to see you here. I hadn't in a while unless I missed it. Glad it's still going well for you too.
Hope everyone else is doing well. Have a great day out there, chat with you all later......L.J. (Linda)
Danny, just to clarify, it's not what WW is recommending, but I am actually doing Core foods with the flexpoint system.... keeping in my point range. I found that I was a bit out of control with Core foods, eating more than I truly "needed" and wasn't losing like I know I want to lose. That is why I gave the points (also, just a habit from YEARS of doing this stuff....). I'm trying to stay to me 20 ww point range and track core foods..... also, this is giving me extra motivation to break through my plateau. Journaling really keys me into what I am eating and need to do. I'm happy to be doing this, and very happy with the core foods. Hope that makes sense!
Welcome to our newcomers/lurkers! Kathy, I feel "single" at lunchtime each day. I'm a stay at home mom and during the weekdays my kids are in school and my husband is at work. I don't take along a lunch, but I make use of leftovers and try very hard to eat a balanced and healthy lunch. When I used to be single, though, I would do things like buy one larger steak, cut it in serving size portions and freeze them. I'd buy a packet of chicken and do the same thing. I would try to make myself a true "meal" almost every night and always have my veggies, etc.
I am enjoying chick peas and kidney beans at lunch time, I love legumes and open a can and have them alongside a grilled boneless chicken breast or tuna, etc. They are quite filling and I have salad with ff dressing, often mixing everything together as well.
You will find the Core foods very adaptable. Other people have mentioned lunches of canned soups that are Core and they are making soups. You could make up, and freeze a goodly amount of things like that! If you don't have a crock pot, why not pick one up - they are easy and fun!
Thanks for posting the oatmeal cake recipe. My daughter is on ww, but using points, and she is going to have her 14th birthday on 10/18 and I am searching for a "good" cake for her. Maybe I'll give this a try?
Linda
Hi everyone, it's been a few days here. I weigh every morning-- yes I know I'm not supposed to and I'm not going to stop because it's my way of focusing myself every morning. Anyway, my weight has been bouncing like crazy and I finally figured it out: medication for migraine (constipating) plus anti-inflammatories (always make me weigh more, not sure why) plus assorted unanticipated hormonal challenges.... this is just one of those weeks where I have to keep focused on what is going "in" and trust that the scale will register a change down the road somewhere.
Also, my activity level is better than last week. I find when I get a consistent 2 activity points a day, I tend to lose. I'm one of those people who eats every flex point and activity point. Much to my delight, I am finding that I can take 1/3 of a serving of pancakes or 1/2 of a small piece of cake and really enjoy it. I used to have trouble with portions of those kinds of food before core.
Breakfast I am eating porridge (flax, oatbran, oatmeal, wheatgerm, cracked wheat, cracked rye) with a banana and milk, or shredded wheat with a banana and milk. Sometimes I put canned fruit over cereal or porridge for a nice treat. Once or twice a week I make a 2 egg omelette with 2tbsp of cottage cheese mixed in the egg-- that tastes much better than it sounds. I am usually hungry by 10 or 11, and that's when I have my coffee with milk and maybe some applesauce. On core I do get hungry between meals and I just accept this as a fact of life. My only regret is that prunes are not core and I hate using my points on them!
Have a great day everyone-- thanks for the recipe ideas. One thing I"m finding is that store bought soups are awfully salty. Sometimes we can get the reduced salt ones but in general I do not have access a lot of "diet" food in the store. I've never seen fat free cheese anywhere around here, although I have a feeling I probably wouldn't like it anyway.
hello everyone!
Wednesday update
