My restaurant-eating habits decreased significantly when I started working from home full time! Man, what a switch for the better. I can start cooking something at 3:00pm and have it ready by the time my family is ready to eat dinner.

When I do go to restaurants, I have a few things I do, depending on how into my weight loss plan I am. If I know I'm going out to eat, I usually eat minimally throughout the day, and try to eat things I won't get at the restaurant (i.e., vegetables). I always drink water, no soda or alcohol. I often ask for them to deliver my food with half of it already boxed. I choose a chicken, fish, or shrimp entree and try to choose one that is steamed, broiled or baked. I encourage people to go for a walk after dinner.

Tonight I am making this! http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/re...1611657&adsqs=

My question: Are you cooking a thanksgiving dinner for your family? If so, do you plan to modify your recipes or menu to be more Mediterranean? If not, do you have a plan to stay on your program?

I'm on my own for Thanksgiving this year so I probably won't try to make a big meal. I already cooked up a piece of turkey and had it with baked sweet potato and stuffing-that was portion controlled but no fiber add. Apple dish made with less sugar sounds good.
It's oatmeal season and soup season. I think I'm going to do ok.
A clear soup before the main course might make a holiday table easier to handle. AND stick to the 9 inch plate. Since it is likely lunch and supper maybe a second serving.
I need to keep up my activities -I know if I go outdoors it usually is not as bad as it looks. I won't melt. I painted a little this am, baseboards in laundry half done. And I'm going away for weekend-Grandma's camp-a quilt retreat.
I am learning to do applique work.
Have you bought any new dishes lately-9 inch plates or bowls?

Actually, smaller yes, 9-inch, I don't think so.
We had Winter White Corelle forever, and my husband found it boring. We bought Pfaltzgraff Sonoma dishes - very colorful and loved the different pattern for different pieces. However, the pieces are HUGE and some things make no sense. The platters are smaller than the plates and serving bowls only a few ounces larger than place setting bowls for example. And after years of break resistant dishes, I couldn't handle dishes that chip when you look at them (or clip them against the side of the cabinet putting them away, or the faucet when washing them, etc.) The dishes were so big, I could only fit 3-4 plates in the dishwasher at a time. They were so heavy they were damaging the racks inside the dishwasher.

So we finally found a new set of Corelle that wasn't 100% what we wanted in terms of color and pattern. They are smaller than the Pfaltzgraff. But they are a little larger than the Winter White Corelle. And we bought bowls that are smaller than the ones that come with the set to have reasonable size for most usage.

[At Thanksgiving, I end up using two sets. One is a set of China that was my grandmother's. It's amazing how much smaller these plates are than anything else we've had. That's what we should use for a reasonable size plate for every day. Unfortunately they can't go through the dishwasher.]

Question: Do you have any tips or habits you've built to increase the servings of vegetables you eat each day?

I just bought a house, and now I have a big enough place to host Thansgiving, so I had to get some new dishes! I found this 8-setting set on craigslist for $20:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=300217424483

Unfortunately, they are 10-inch plates.

I do lots of things to get in veggies. I almost always have a vegetable soup in the refrigerator, made from whatever vegetables and broth I have. If I make a recipe, I add extra vegetables than the recipe calls for. When I make a breakfast sandwich, I make it with egg and vegetables instead of egg and meat. Sometimes when I make pasta for my family, I will bypass the pasta and pour my sauce over steamed spinach. I've also mixed half-and-half pasta and thinly sliced steamed zucchini and added sauce to that. I dip raw cut up vegetables in hummus, salsa, and dips instead of having them with chips or bread.

Question: What are you doing for exercise during the cold, dark winter months? I live in Minnesota, and winters can be too brutal to be outside exercising.

I went out walkies at the weekend retreat-but it was really really cold-and went less then a mile-but uphill.
Maybe I'll buy myself a Wii won't even need the exercise one-just being on my feet trying to play "tennis" should do. I'd like an elliptical machine but they are so heavy and spendy and- I really don't have space downstairs for it.
Can you go to the mall for walks-would you go to a gym .I have a WATP tape and keep meaning to try to find some others at library.

Well I live in the sunny south where the problem is how to exercise when it is hot and humid outside.

There are a lot of clips on You-Tube if there's something you want to take a look at before buying a DVD. I pieced together a decent Zumba half hour for example, with three 10 minute You-Tube segments. I put my laptop on my dresser and have some privacy and my mirror to see how I'm doing.

In my case, the closest indoor mall I would consider walking in is 30 minutes away in heavy traffic.

Some work friends and I walk at lunchtime in the parking garage, which provides some protection from the sun. I don't know if you have access to a parking garage that would shield you from wind and some cold.

Question: Any new ideas for cooking BLSL (boneless skinless) chicken breasts? DH hates BLSL chicken, but it fits the bill for quality protein.

You asked an unanswerable question-how to turn chicken breast into food. lol
Actually I like it once cooked-it just doesn't make you crave it.
I just cooked blslcb with portabello mushroom and turkey bacon. It was pretty dry but tasted ok.
If you use 'real' chicken breast on the bone and skin them before cooking then cook in moist heat in oven-you can shred them after cooking then spice them up and use in wraps or over brown rice.

Tomorrow is my last day before a rainy week=I have to rake leaves-must do it no excuses left. Can you help me make up an excuse? j/k
I have paperwork to do too so tomorrow is deadline day for me. THen I get a treat day if I'm good. Zoo or Museum?

Thanks for the ideas! I have wanted to try zumba, and the segments are a great idea. I'll also check Netflix for that sort of stuff. I also keep going back to the idea of a Wii -- I am having several people over at Thanksgiving, and that might be the perfect justification to get one.

One good way to cook chicken breast is to put them in a crockpot and pour some salsa over it. Cook for a few hours and eat over rice with a side vegetable, or shred the chicken after cooking and use in a Mexican dish. We do a lot of marinating chicken breasts in whatever sauce (hot sauce, barbecue sauce, salad dressing, etc) and cooking on the George Foreman grill.

How about Italian wedding or a chicken tortilla soup?

What kind of museum? Museums are a great treat.

Q: What are your favorite easy-to-make meals that you eat when you just don't feel like spending much time in the kitchen?

A1: Museum especially if you haven't been to it before.
A2: Something on the Grill (chicken, salmon, burger, steak) (Florida - it's an option all year long), frozen vegetables heated in the microwave, no sugar added applesauce, canned beans heated.
Quick chili - already cooked ground beef from the freezer, can of chili kidney beans, onion, all reheated together, bag salad with a couple of added salad vegetables on the side.

Question: Same question with a twist - what do you make when you want dinner in 15 minutes or less.

A: A 15-minutes-or-less meal for me would be a hearty salad, or raw vegetables with yogurt dip and a sandwich made from a small fresh baguette and lean deli meat.

Q: How was your Thanksgiving? I had it at my house. I was too busy hosting to over-indulge, and I served some healthy vegetables (steamed broccoli, salad, crudites). I sent a lot of food home with people at the end of the night.

Thanksgiving itself was good. But then there were the leftovers. I'm back on track now.

Q: What's on the menu for dinner tonight?

I here you on the leftovers conundrum.

Lunch today was a lambchop lollipop,1/2 a crabcake with green beans. It was lunch at the seafood counter at Wegmans grocery store.


I haven't been walking-except through the mall but I did get a workout shoveling snow last week and it looks like we are going to get more.
I didn't make it into DC for museum trip- will wait now til after holiday.
I show 201 on my scale but doctor's was 205.

Based on your walking and workout comments, I'm going to assume a question about exercising, since I need a push in that direction. So, no, I've been on vacation this week and haven't done anything that counts as exercise yet. So I'll commit to walk tomorrow. (I do know Santa is bringing me some exercise bands for non-cardio exercise.)

How are you doing with holiday goodies?