Roasted veggies:
Works best with raw veggies
My favorites are: Sweet potatoes, peppers (all colors), carrots, squash (winter or summer or both), snap peas, portobello muchrooms, onions, broccoli, parsnips, brussel sprouts and the like.

Chunk the veggies into bite size pieces.
Mix with olive oil (I like a my Misto spritzer for this), and your favorite spices.

Toss until all the veggies are lightly coated. The amount of olive oil depends upon your dietary needs/restrictions. I usually use about 2-3T for a 9x13" pan of veggies.

Place them in a pan. If you like "crisper" veggies, try to make it a single layer - if you like softer veggies, you can use a smaller pan and heap them higher. I often use a jelly roll pan or high sided cookie sheet if I want them crisp.

Cook them in the oven (400F) for an hour or until they are done. Stir/turn them every 10-15 minutes so that they will brown evenly. If you are in a hurry, you can microwave the potatoes and winter squash so that they are partially cooked before you begin.

Seasonings: Adobo and a good seasoning salt are good to start with and then I like a lot of the spice blends (Tuscan Chicken Seasoning is my current favorite) and experiment with different ethnic seasonings too.

The veggies get a caramelized sweet glaze and are WONDERFUL!

Hi everyone, I hope to post more frequently. I love a fire in the fireplace. We love them on the weekend. Good news on Global Warming. A recent study found that temperatures have actually gone down. So everyone's hard work is paying off. I remember the 70's when the air was so polluted from factories and the dumping in water and streams caused the Cuyahoga river in Ohio to catch on fire it was so polluted. I'm glad that we've made all these environmental advances. We all need to stay vigilant, but enjoy life.

I love roasted vegetables and cook a wonderful South Beach recipe with aspargus, zuchine, squash, onions, and peppers. It's prepared just like Laurie's, but the combination of flavors is wonderful. If anyone is interested I'll type up the exact recipe. Have a great day.

Yes to the recipe please and thanks Laurie for the instructions....

MMmmmmm.... I'm going to have to roast some vegetables!

Just a short peek in, as I'm off to the gym to work my butt off!

See ya later!

Jay

Hi all - hope you had a great day!

I'm in a very good mood with two nice surprises this afternoon

I got my engagement ring back today and I am happy with the new setting. I had to have it re-sized and I was always catching the setting on things. Thus, I decided to have it put in a new setting at the same time. The stone was my Mom's, so the size is quite odd - we had a hard time finding a setting that met my criteria and fit the stone. I had to buy a bezel and they soldered it on to my old band. Which ended up being very inexpensive and still looks like a whole new ring

I also did did a positive thing for the environment today - I got my ecopads for my Senseo.
We used to grind our own coffee, but it seemed wasteful to make a whole pot and not drink it all. We ended up warming it up later (yuck). When the pod machines came out, I wanted one, but couldn't justify the price of the machine or the pods. I found a great deal on ebay and bought 1000 pods and the Senseo. But, alas - my pod supply is almost exhausted and I'm still not liking the price of the pods, or the packaging. While the little filters aren't much different than using regular coffee filters, I love the idea of a refillable filter that we can use with my fair trade beans

Opinion? Not bad - not as much crema (foam), but some, and the trade-off is worth it.

The weather is frightful up here - snowing and blowing and a weather advisory until mid-day tomorrow.

Jay - hop you had a workout!

Flowing - post your recipe - it sounds wonderful!

I'm off to find my coffee grinder that I know I packed away somewhere. Maybe the kitchen should be next on my clutter-cutting list?

Well I never heard of a Senseo but now I would like one too. Are any of the coffees decaf and what is the calorie count and sugar in the vanilla lattes?
Looks like a great thing for a coffee fan....Jude

I hadn't heard of Senseo either. Interesting. We have an old Sunbeam that still works, and we have no problem with not drinking the whole pot. heh. But if the Sunbeam gives out, this might be a good replacement.

CD, sounds like you're very happy with your ring. I assume the resizing was due to all the weight you've lost!

Jude, how is it being back at work? Still hangin' on with the freedom from sugar?

I'm still dropping, slowly. It's just having the stamina to keep going and not give in to triggers... Easier said than done.

Flowingair, I remember hearing about the Cuyahoga River catching fire. It's hard to believe that people would let things get that bad before something was done about it, and it's a story that needs to be told more often. I think people take for granted that we have clean water and air, and then they think laws aren't necessary.

History shows that people will do whatever they think they can get away with unless they are stopped.

I did work my butt off at the gym yesterday--I'm feeling good lately and have more energy! Took my bp this morning--106/67, with a pulse rate of 67. And that's after coffee...

Hope you all have a good weekend planned.

Jay

Good Morning all, I had to work Wednesday and DH stayed home from work yesterday. He has a lot of days he needs to use before the end of the year, or lose. We went shopping and i can say that we have enough junk food in the house to last a LONG time. No food though. I have to go shopping again today.

Laurie, I have a tea pot with the strainer built in. Great for loose leaf tea. My favorite right now is Lady Grey. I enjoy a lot of the herbal tea's too. We have a coffee pot that pours directly into a coffee caraf that keeps the coffee hot all day. I love the roasted vegetables too, make them quite often. Even my sister, who doesn't like vegetables, love them made this way. It actually gives them a sweet taste. I like experemetning with different seasoning too.

Jay, Wow!! great BP and P!!

Flo, I'll be looking in the recipe section for the recipe! Thanks!

Jude, If all of us make all the changes we can to protect the inviornment, hopefully it will make a difference. I know I have changed the way I do a lot of things.

Make it a good day, Freda

Just another quick . . . Somehow working ten and twelve hour days didn't seem to be quite so exhausting ten or twelve years ago.

Linda - Oh, yes - I agree - those long hours catch up with me quickly too!! Hope you get some rest this weekend!

Freda - I had to laugh at your shopping dilemma - that used to be my problem. DH finally does a credible job of buying what is on my list and avoiding all those "bargains" that aren't calorie bargains AT ALL! The final holdout was corn chips - he loves corn chips, and they are one of those trigger foods for me - I have no ability to eat just a couple and be satisfied.

Jay - pretty impressive health numbers! Glad to hear the weight is steadily going down too! Sounds like you are back in the groove

Jude - the Senseo pods come in a variety of flavors - some of them decaf. The cappuccino pods come with "creamer" mixed right in. Their calorie count is 35 I believe. They are "OK", but nothing spectacular. DH likes them.

I prefer flavored coffees with my own sweetener - I can use stevia or Splenda or agave as the mood strikes. While I love coffee drinks, the calories and the price can add up quickly, so I vowed that I would NOT start buying prepared coffee when coffee shops became the "thing". I've only been in a Starbucks (or their clones) while traveling - never in my home town.

I found a really wonderful little machine (on ebay) that froths milk easily and without a mess. I treat myself to home-made lattes and cappuccinos. I love to experiment with different blends and syrups AND control the calorie content. The only downside - the ebay one was a "steal", but it is red - it looks out of place on my counter.

OK - honestly - the red frother is only the tip of the iceberg. I'm afraid my weakness is gadgets. My kitchen has too many little appliances - and the problem is that I actually USE them all. Most of them were gifts or "bargains" - but I think that they are going to be a challenge when I start to de-clutter the kitchen.

Now, if they could just make ONE appliance that does everything - I would be all set

Alas - I am a "gadget-a-holic" - I wonder if there is a 12 step program

Hope you all have a great evening and weekend!

Hi everyone. Lots of news on this site lately.

Jay congratulations on the loss and the great numbers. Strong as an 18 year old.

Laurie sounds like you could open up your own coffee shop with all those wonderful machines.
I like the sound of the frother. To me a coffee like that would become a dessert I am afraid. It is the caffeine that I got away from. Nothing better than a great cup of coffee. But then I like it with real cream and so on it goes. Think I will stick to my herb teas.

Yes I have been back at work for a week now. It is a lot harder. I am staying about 95% on plan so pretty close. So darn much candy around here. I have to pull it together though cause soon it will be chocolates. They are my worst binge food. So if I can get some 100% days going I will be in better shape.

I was doing great all last week then Sunday came and I went over to Walmart to get some salad and groceries and I was up the candy aisle and down the cookie aisle and down the frozen aisle. Just like a crazy person. Made it to the cashier safely and just before I made it through a 2oz piece of chocolate wrestled its way into my buggie. Very small amount but keeps the craving going. I got triggered before I went there and knew I would have a problem. So will get my ducks back in a row this weekend.

Got email from DD and she seems to want to come for Christmas. That would be a double whammy for me. So did not get into it and hopefully she will just spend it with her dad who lives in the same town. Some things are just not good for my program yet. Now if she was in one it might be different. Maybe this will be what it takes for her.

But I do know that I am trying to get healthy and a visit from her will not help that.

So that is all the news from me. Working some overtime tomorrow. Will check back with you then.
Cheers....Jude

Laurie where do you buy Tuscon Chicken seasoning? Is it by Spice Islands?

Jude - yes, it is Spice Islands! I got it at Sam's Club.

I laughed at your grocery saga! 2oz of chocolate is a victory! But, of course you are right, some foods are trigger foods and are best left untouched - particularly since sugar is a problem for you.

Stay strong! You CAN control your reaction to whatever happens this holiday season. You may not be able to control the behavior of your daughter, but you can definitely not let it derail your efforts. You deserve to stay on plan - don't let anything get in your way!

Come back as often as you need for strength - you CAN do this!!!!


Well, I spent most of the day dealing with the floor-to-ceiling shelves along one entire wall in our living room. They are looking pretty good And the running total in my declutter efforts (yes, I'm actually keeping a spreadsheet of my progress) is 24 bags/boxes of donations/recyclables/trash.
Why I was still keeping Reader's Digest books I picked up at a yard sale 20 years ago is BEYOND me. And the snow globe collection that folk have purchased as gifts over the years - GONE!

Well, I'm tuckered out, but now I have my usual Saturday chores to do - so - gotta fly!

Hope you all had a great Saturday!

Laurie

Good evening! No decluttering for me today--just work. I got all the chores done yesterday while I was compressing and defragmenting my hard drive, which took hours. It had to be done--I couldn't install some critical software I need because I didn't have enough room.

I'm going nuts looking at my FitDay. It keeps saying that I've eaten 1254 calories so far today, and yet I feel as though I've been eating so much!

But here's how it's gone:

Breakfast: 426 cals.
no snack
Lunch: 320 cals.
no snack
Dinner: 508 cals.

Usually I have smaller meals plus snacks--so it was different today for me. The bigger meals have me feeling full! It seems like it's wrong!

The only thing wrong with the picture is that the fats are too high a percentage of calories... so that may be why I feel fuller.

Anyway... We'll see at tomorrow's weigh-in what the story is.

Jude, don't you worry about those 2 oz. of chocolate. Fuggeta boutit!

Hey Freda!

CD, I have this gadget you would like, but you probably have it already. It's for taking lids off jars etc. It has a handle and a metal plate with two sort of flanges below it and gears, so that you can open it up to fit different sizes of lids. Takes them off like magic!

This is what it looks like:

http://www.vermontcountrystore.com/b...5?evar3=SEARCH

See you all tomorrow...
Jay

Hi It sounds like we're all craving warm drinks during this cold winter season. It seem to go from warm to feezing in just a couple of days.

CD what's the name of your frothing machine; it sounds great.

I'll post the recipe soon. MY DD and I went shoppping again for her wedding dress. She's a size 8 so everything looks gorgeous on her. She did find a beautiful dress, and we placed an order for it. 4-6 months for it to come in so it's lucky we found it when we did. It's been great fun and I'm glad she found a nice one. There is so much to do to plan this wedding. Fun but work too. Seven months will come quickly.

I have to go to Cleveland tomorrow for a baby shower so maybe I'll post the recipe next week. Have a great Sunday. Lori