ok - what I really wanted to post in this thread was my hamburger bun recipe...I got side tracked.

So no need to cheat with a hamburger and bun.

I take the Cereal packet; crush it up; add 1 egg yolk; pinch of baking powder; garlic powder and enough water to make it thin (just like the pancakes,etc)

I have 2 small round casserole dishes - divide the batter between the 2 dishes (adding enuff water to make enuff batter) and microwave them. They come out a little floppy - so I then stick them under the broiler for a few minutes.

perfect thin hamburger buns - that stay together. I can now do the fixings (mushrooms, onions, pickles, lettuce, sometimes WF BBQ sauce or WF Ranch dressing) and have a NORMAL hamburger. Eat it with WF coleslaw (or better yet put the coleslaw on the burger) and kale chips.

One of my weekend favs!!

Wow! What an inspiring thread. I came by for a 'visit' and ended up inspired. Thanks, guys. One of the main reasons I'm doing IP is because I don't want my young daughters to learn the word 'diet' from me. They will get it plenty of places in their lives, but I want to walk the walk for them. So I decided to use this program to get everything back in check so they can watch what I am doing and learn.

We aren't a perfect family. We don't have the girls eat the same foods that we eat. That's a problem we need to fix really soon. The good news is they eat more veggies than many adults and I don't know a fruit they won't eat. So we're on the right track, I just need to work on their protein sources.

They still like sugar. Lolipops are a hit in our house, but on the 'no sweets' days we have in our house they love their peanuts or cashews or cheese just as much. I'm hoping those habits will stick and that they will start to understand moderation. It reamains to be seen as they are only 3.5 and 5.5, but we had to start somewhere.

I also love when they try to imitate me doing exercise videos. There is nothing like a 3.5 year old trying to punch it out like Jillian. Hee hee hee.

One other side note-- google Girls on the Run. It is a really cool program that is pretty prevalent here in the pacific NW. It is a program to help teach middle school-aged girls healthy eating, the importance of an active lifestyle and positive self esteem. The culmination of the program is a 5k 'run' with a running buddy (an 'older' woman). I've participated in the program for the last few years even though my daughters obviously don't qualify yet. There is nothing like helping to empower young women to take care of themselves and provide them with tools to help counteract some of what society throws at them.

Don't we all...

These habits of moderation WILL stick because you've started early.

My daughter started early understanding she could have a lolipop - just not 3 - and not every day. I didn't give her sugary drinks every day and watched it when she was little - but as she got older I didn't police it as much. She then learned to 'police' herself and prefer water over soda. Now that she's almost 16 - she can recognize when she's 'gone overboard' and she starts cutting back. (i.e. a few days in a row she has sodas - so she makes the decision to cut back and start drinking water again.) She's developed the skills to know when enough is enough and it's time to get back to it. Sort of like on IP Phase 4 - when we're supposed to got to Phase 1 the day after the cheat day. We 'get back to it' and don't make a habit of the overboard day.

I think teaching the kids that the normal diet is the 'no sweet day' and the 'special day' is the day we have something sweet - or a soda, etc is the key. Teaching them what 'moderation' really means so they can recognize later when they've exceeded it. Sure wish I had learned that earlier - although most of my weight gain was from illness rather than poor nutrition - it's still hard to do the right thing.

If you can't tell - I'm a proud parent. She's an inspiration to me.

I can't wait to enjoy cheese again

bump

Amen!!!