Right now, Monet is not a happy camper. My two gallon fish tank, with my two little tetras that I love, seems to be leaking. In addition, the leak had soaked the placemat the tank was sitting on, and has totally ruined my end table! Tom looked at it and said, "why can't we ever keep anything nice?" Beats me! I think the leak was caused by the 'kittens' sitting on the lid. James doesn't agree. ( probably because then HE would be responsible...) So, I am not a fan of four legged furry beasts tonight.
Dinner was beef stew, made with ww flour, the scraps from beef tenderloin, onions, celery, carrots, and low carb potatoes. It was cooked in the pressure cooker, of course. Yummy stuff! I went heavy on the carrots and celery, and light on the taters. I feel stuffed though!
I had a snack of baby carrots and a bit of bleu cheese dressing earlier this afternoon.
FILLISE: Oh, wow...Spa Monet would LOVE to see both you AND BOB!
BOB: Come on up! We can hit all the cool spots, and maybe Julia will meet us at the Blue Willow. Sounds like a heavenly weekend to me. There is a KROGER less than two miles in every direction from me.
THIN: Veggies into kids... hmmm. Mine always loved them. Maybe go to one of these new Asian markets and let him help pick out some new veggies to try. They have all kinds of weird stuff! Nappa cabbage is lovely...very mild, and versatile. Does he like pizza? You can throw all kinds of stuff on the top that would sneak veggies in. How about salads? Veggie soup? A good gazpacho is tasty and packed with fresh veggies. Veggies and dip make a nice snack. If you keep the fridge stocked with easy to grab snacks of them, maybe the kids would get into the habit of snacking on them. Make sure sandwiches have lettuce or sprouts on them, and pack any stews or soups with as many veggies as you can cram in. Its so hard to get kids to eat right! My 19 year old eats junk all the time. Then she will get on a kick where she wants to eat right, and wants me to buy all kinds of stuff for her that she then doesn't eat. Sound familiar? No wonder my hair is gray!
JACK: I will try and hold you accountable...thanks for doing the same for me.
COUNTRY: Lets lean on each other...Jack too... we just need to get back in the habit and be honest with ourselves. I still have tons and tons to lose, I just can't afford to be going the wrong direction!
ZANES: I have Lupus, an auto immune disease. You know, you really ought to get your thyroid checked. Auto immune diseases often mess up the thyroid too. Its very common! If your thyroid is slow, do make sure you stay away from soy...it will slow your thyroid even more.
HEART: What if you used plain yogurt and added a bit of fresh fruit to it? I actually like yogurt with nothing in it, but I know I am weird!
TONI: Way to go on the loss! You are doing great! I agree with Jack...what a great way to handle it! Tell her you have already eaten and are going to save it for later!
monet-I've heard you rave about sprouts in the past. Do you grow them yourself or buy them somewhere? How do you use them? Do they have a strong flavor or mild? I would love to be near a Harry's, but Marietta and Alpharetta are both gonna run me 45-60 min to get to. Our Kroger (sorry Bob!) has a great health food section, maybe I should spend a little more time exploring there and produce section as well. Thanks!
THIN: I grow my own sprouts. Its so easy! I get the seeds at Johnny's Seeds online, and just toss a tablespoon in a jar. You can use cheesecloth over the mouth, but I do have a few special sprouting lids I use. The radish sprouts are rather peppery, and hot. Broccoli sprouts are relatively mild and really good for you. Alfalfa is cheap and good too, but I can't eat it because I have Lupus and it raises ANA antibody counts. I love them in salads and sandwiches. How far are you from State Bridge and Medlock Bridge? They are building a new Whole Foods there. That, by the way, is close to me. We ought to meet for lunch one day. I would be willing to drive 45 minutes to do so. I don't have kids to worry about... There are three Asian markets that have opened in the Gwinnett Place area...and they would be worth the trip one day. The Super H mart, up from Gwinnett Place on Pleasant Hill has fabulously fresh and CHEAP fish. Bring a cooler and stock up! Sole filets are $3.99 a pound, and delicious! Tilapia is $2.99 a pound. Shrimp is always about $4 a pound, the really big ones $8 a pound... I go crazy when I go there! Their meats are very cheap too. That is where I can get beef tenderloins for $5.50 a pound! And its amazingly good stuff! The DeKalb Farmer's Market is another cool place. You can turn the trips into summer field trips! Make a day of it! Just be careful at the DeKalb Farmer's Market...they have a bakery bar that is incredible! And NOTHING on it is legal!
It's almost time to call it a night but somehow I didn't feel like doing it yet so thought I come here to do some replies. Today, Jess and I went to Pier1 to check out the stuff they have. We needed to get out of the house despite of the rain...gosh, I need some sun...lol.
Anyway, some more replies :
COUNTRY : You can do it....2 months are definitely doable.
PANCHO : TMI?? LOL. With women, it is never TMI My dh used to tell me that I always give people TMI or volunteering info...lol. I just hope Junior is healthy and easy to get out...lol.
MONET : With the rainy and gloomy weather nowadays, I sure feel like laying on the bed all day. I am not much of a book reader though. Sorry to hear about your end table, did you or Tom managed to seal the leak?
TONI : Woo Hoo....!!!! 2.5 lbs!!!!! My...my, congrats, I am so proud of you. Keep up the good work As for not wanting to hurt your house-keeper's feelings, you won't. I am sure she will understand if you tell her. Or...you can tell her you will eat later, or.....just just break off a small piece to try...that's. You sure do not have to eat the whole thing It is okay, really
JACK : I must have missed some of your posts. What was the shot for? Are you okay?
HEART : I love baked beans too. I have to learn to make legal ones soon
ZANES : Take one step at a time and know that eventually the small steps will turn into hugh results. You are doing great
THIN : What kind of veggie does your son likes? If you make any meat/seafood patties, you can add some chopped veggies in them and the patties will still taste yummy. With some delicious sauce, he probably don't care what veggies are in them.
BOB : What was I thinking?? I knew you were in FL but somehow I wrote AL. Yes, Blue Willow is in GA...lol. Don't ask me about directions and places, I am terrible with that...lol. You are better off mapping out the directions from FL to Blue Willow than than any directions that I might attempt to give you...lol. Oh, trust me, it is so worth it to go there even if it is a little out of your way
Okay, my time is up...got to go since dh should be home soon. Night all.
Well, I had a piece of pie today, and that certainly did not help my cause, but it was my friend's birthday and we went out for her birthday. It was...good pie. But now tomorrow back on track...get that nasty sugar out of my system. So here's my question for ya all--do you all have a sort of sweet sort of treat that you eat to appease the old sweet tooth? I found Jello pudding with splenda and those aren't too bad, but does not really meet my need to chew something ooy gooey. Let me know!
This is the latest crockpot recipe I have tried. I like it, easy and pretty yummy
SLOW-COOKER CASSOULET
Note from author : A French cassoulet is a hearty dish featuring a country combination of beans with chicken or duck and sausage, or other meats.
1 (2 1/2 to 3 1/2-lb) broiler-fryer chicken, cut up.
1 small leek, thinly sliced,
1 clove garlic, crushed or chopped
3 TBSP chopped fresh parsley
1/2 TSP salt
1/4 TSP pepper
2 (15oz) cans white kidney beans, drained,
1/2 lb smoked sausage links, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices (I used 1 lb of Polish Kielbasa as I like more sausage)
1/4 cup dry white wine.
In a slow cooker, combine chicken, leek, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. Top with beans and sausage. Cover and cook on LOW 5 to 6 hours or until chicken is tender.
Note : I only cooked for 4 hours top since the chicken was already very tender. I used chicken drumsticks only since that was what I prefer
Good Morning! Another gloomy, wet day here in Hotlanta! Tonight, we are supposed to go to Ruth and Erik's for dinner. It will be delicious, I am sure, but probably he will sneak in something not legal.
I have a ton to do today...and right now, I am not feeling very motivated. I need to throw out a bunch of stuff, and maybe that will help.
FLANNEL: I am not sure that the jello pudding is legal. Doesn't it have starches and such in it? It is surely not whole grain! Maybe others on here use it some and will chime in on that.... As for sweets to satisfy the sweet tooth, I use fruit. An apple is very sweet! I also use agave in my tea and coffee. I know its hard to do, but if you give up sweets for a week, your desire for them diminishes dramatically. I find even the artificial sweets cause cravings. If you fight it like a tiger for a week, you will have smoother sailing afterwards....no cravings and more control.
KENG: Thanks for sharing the recipe. Did you post it on the recipe board? You can think of Gator, over there in France, while you eat it! I can't figure out where the leak is coming from on the fish tank, so I have not been able to fix it yet. Poor little fishies....
PANCHO: Are you still thinking of checking at the USPS for that package? I still am interested... I am just miffed as to why UPS was so expensive!
The week is flying by, I guess due to being a short week. I love it.
2 totally legal days behind me. Even went to the Elks Club last nite and had diet coke instead of wine or a drink. The scale is down 10 lbs since Monday. That is weird that I can retain that much water. Now if the fat would only leave as quickly.
You Georgia girls sent all your rain my way. It is dark and gloomy today. Makes you want to eat.
Does anyone know what capers are and where you find them in the store?
Heart, what kind of beans did your DH use for the baked beans? You could use agave instead of the honey and they would have been legal. You can do this. Have you tried using fitday to monitor your portions and calories? It might help you along. Hang in there.
Zannesgrammy, what kind of autoimmune disease do you have? I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and Monet has Lupus. Hang with us and you will get back into the losing mode before you know it.
Thin, I agree with Monet. SB is just like Atkins and then SBusters. You may just do Sugar Busters and limit his starchy carbs to 1 a day. Glad they didn't find anything wrong. Make it a game with both of you dieting and maybe a contest on losing each week. Make it fun for him and he won't even notice he's dieting. Does your DS like celery? I like to dip it in peanut butter. Raw veggies and dip? Put mushrooms, zuchinni, onions in spaghetti sauce.
Bob, you sent us your storms. It started yesterday and is still coming down. It is so depressing.
Susan, I don't have any SL cookbooks. Remember, I'm kitchen challenged. I will check out the recipe boards. Thanks
Monet, what a shame about your fish tank and table. Maybe it can be refinished. Looks like you have had 3 good days so far. Me too. We can do this together? Now you be good at dinner tonight. I'm gonna ask tomorrow.
Crystal, Did you have a legal day too?
Julia, I had to get an epidural in my back. I have 3 herniated discs that where really bothering me. Has the rain stopped today? We have it now. I agree, it is so depressing. All it makes you want to do is eat.
Flannel, you really need to do a clean break from sweets for a couple weeks to get those cravings under control. I do buy SF candies (turtles, heath bars, etc). They really help in a pinch. I do like the sf pudding and jello. Try some fruit.
Got to go get some coffee and my protein bar and fruit for breakfast. Hope to be back later.
Thanks everyone for your help! I have everything from sugar busters for kids book to low carb recipes, atkins books, to south beach good fats good carbs. I think maybe we can figure out a plan that will work. Sean's new pediatrician wanted to get all these tests done then make a "lifestyle plan" so, we'll see what his take is out of all of this.
Monet-I would love to meet you and go on a "field trip" to some of the places you mentioned. We just need to try some different types of fish, etc. to see what the family likes before I go stock up. Would hate to endup with a lot of stuff that no one will eat!
Jack & Keng-I try to cut up some raw veggies all seperate when my dh and I have salads with dinner, so everyone can just munch on what they like. I'm thinking of making some homemade pizza suce for the kids to have for lunch this summer. I can saute up some veggies and the blend them in the blender with the sauce. I'm sure they'll never notice. Stuff like that!
Heart- I am a school nurse in a local elementary school and I swear some of these kids and their parents are nuts! Makes me thank the good lord for the ones he gave me!
Everyone else! Have a great day and I hope you have better weather than what we have down here in the south "the new rain forest"
JACK: I am not sure exactly WHAT capers are, but my guess is they are related to olives. You can find them in a jar in the pickle/olive section at the grocery store. They are small,round and green. The flavor is similar to green olives. They are essential in chicken piccada.
THIN: I would love to take you on a tour of some of the cool markets. When do you want to go? I am pretty much free all the time, except Friday mornings, and in a few weeks, Thursday mornings.
I had a lazy start today. The weather is really making everyone in my house lazy and wanting to sleep more. Jess actually woke up around 8.30am which is really unusual. She usually follow the sunrise but since the sun was not where to be seen, she slept a bit later. Love that
I started off the day with a load of laundry and hope to do some ironing later on. I need to clean the toilets as well...not fun at all. Anyway, my menu for today :
Breakfast : 1 ww waffle with Agave, 3 small sausages and 1 cup of soymilk.
Snack : Fruits.
Lunch : Baked marinated chicken breast in ginger-dressing, pan-seared fennel and baked sweet potatoes.
Snack : Fruits and yogurt.
Dinner : Not sure at this moment but should be legal.
Some replies :
FLANNEL : When I really crave for something sweet, I might reach for some ice-cream but only 1/2 cup (1 serving) with some fruits thrown in so my bowl looks more full As for ice-cream, there are plenty that are sugar-free but only 1/2 cup serving OCASSIONALLY. Ice-cream is my ocassional treat while more often, I will make fruit salad to calm my sweet tooth. I will cut up some of my fav fruits and park it in the fridge. Whenever I need it, it is easy to reach. I love it icy cold...sooo refreshing. I know many people have found some great legal recipes (dessert) for ocassional treats but I am not a baker so I can't help you with it. Maybe you can do a search online and see if you can find some legal recipes when you have hugh cravings. Having something sweet ocassionally is totally fine but if it sets off a binging spree of wanting more, that could be a trouble. You will have to find out yourself. One of the tips I got from a weightloss TV show is that the nutritionist asked the lady who she was working with to have a small piece of rich chocolate whenever she has this hugh sweet craving. The trick is only 1 small piece...and if it is rich, a little piece will usually do the trick. That worked very well for the lady.
MONET : Nope, I haven't post it on the recipe board but will do so later. Hope you find the leaks soon, I am sure the fish miss their home
JACK : 10 lbs?? Wow...that is certainly lots of fluctuation but I am happy for you. LOL....hope the rain is nicer to you than it has to us in GA...lol. As for capers, I find mine next to the olives at Publix. I love capers especially with fish. I believe capers are little flower buds which are cured in brine. Yummy!
THIN : Putting veggies in pasta sauce is definitely is good idea. Make delicious sauces to go with their fav veggies is great too. My dd loves a roasted marinated broccoli I make for her. She is okay with broccoli but she really loves that recipe.
Okay...dh is home and Jess is really grouchy today. I think it has to do with the allergy medicine I have her. I better attend to the grouchy lady...lol.
I ended up on a conference call yesterday so didn't make my weigh-in. I'll go to the meeting on Saturday morning and do it. Eating was good yesterday and I feel like I am less puffy today than yesterday.
Jackie--I don't think the BB recipe is on the recipe boards anymore--I couldn't find it, so here it is:
2 cups dried great northern beans (I actually used a large pkg of frozen pinto beans 2 cups of dried beans makes about 4 cups of hydrated ones).
1/2 tsp salt
A couple of slices of bacon (I use the Gwaltney SF LF bacon)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup agave
2 tbl tomato sauce
1/2 tsp prepared mustard
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups hot water
If you use the dried beans, sort, wash, and soak them. If you use frozen or canned, open the pkg. and dump them into a greased 2 1/2 qt. baking dish. Add bacon and onion. Combine agave, tomato sauce, mustard, pepper and hot water; pour over beans. Cover and bake at 350 for 2 hours stirring once. Yield 8 servings.
I might have reduced the water a bit as I found the beans a little soupy the first time I made the recipe. But it did satisfy my taste for baked beans--
Enjoy!
Sorry I can't do relpies this morning--got to head down to Montgomery for some meetings. I did want to get the recipe posted while I was thinking about it!
I threw the cooler into my car so I can stop at the Fresh Market on the way home and stock up on some good meats and produce! (Uh-oh, BOB did I set you off again?).
I am going to head over to Home Depot and pick out some paint for the hall bathroom. There is a slight chance we might get it done by Saturday afternoon! Woo hoo! I want to get the paint and at least have a chance at it. So far today, I have gone through a bunch of crap in the den that my dear son left in a heap when he was cleaning out his room! I was SO mad to find it was mostly trash that HE could have put in the trash can himself. He had a huge pile of empty cardboard boxes that I broke down and put in the cardboard bins in the garage to take to the recycling place. Its not much progress, but its some. I also put in two loads of towels. I feel like I have at least accomplished something now.
SUSAN: You are brave baiting BOB like that....
THIN: That sounds perfectly reasonable. I have a wedding to cater on June 18th, so after that, ok? In the mean time, try Tilapia, and sole. The sole at Super H is amazing! I think its the best fish I have ever eaten... Bring the kids with if you like...I like kids. (was on staff at Perimeter Church for 7 or 8 years in Children's Ministry...) If they will talk to me like I am not icky cause I am an adult, I like them even more!
Hubby used pork n' beans for the baked beans. I've made them before using sf syrup and Carb Well sauce(plus meat, peppers, onion, mustard) and they were good but a little runny. I don't have access to agave here.
MONET- I've tried eating plain yogurt with fruit before and it's still bitter. Maybe if I use Splenda?
Jack-k- Fitday got on my nerves!
Not much going on today. I'm down 1 from yesterday, 167. "Only" 8 more to go(sigh). Anyone ever make a pork stew? Mine didn't taste too good last night. I was wondering what seasonings to use. Also, where have you guys found those LC potatoes? I've looked to no avail. Also, I can't find any legal buns anymore. Walmart was carrying some, but haven't had them in months. Anyway, here's my menu for the day:
BF- omelette(1 whole egg, 2 1/2 whites, spinach, onion, and parmesean cheese) 1 cup skim milk
Snack- vanilla sf yogurt
Lunch- will be grilled chicken salad..veggies, chicken, a little parmesean, Casear dressing
Snack- if I do have a snack, probably 6 strawberries
Supper- grilled chicken breast, butterpeas, squash with tomatoes and onion
ALright, gotta go and make the kids and I some lunch!
Beats me! I think the leak was caused by the 'kittens' sitting on the lid. James doesn't agree. ( probably because then HE would be responsible...) So, I am not a fan of four legged furry beasts tonight. 
Nappa cabbage is lovely...very mild, and versatile. Does he like pizza? You can throw all kinds of stuff on the top that would sneak veggies in. How about salads? Veggie soup? A good gazpacho is tasty and packed with fresh veggies. Veggies and dip make a nice snack. If you keep the fridge stocked with easy to grab snacks of them, maybe the kids would get into the habit of snacking on them. Make sure sandwiches have lettuce or sprouts on them, and pack any stews or soups with as many veggies as you can cram in. Its so hard to get kids to eat right! My 19 year old eats junk all the time. Then she will get on a kick where she wants to eat right, and wants me to buy all kinds of stuff for her that she then doesn't eat. Sound familiar? No wonder my hair is gray!
Way to go on the loss! You are doing great! I agree with Jack...what a great way to handle it! Tell her you have already eaten and are going to save it for later! 
I have everything from sugar busters for kids book to low carb recipes, atkins books, to south beach good fats good carbs. I think maybe we can figure out a plan that will work. Sean's new pediatrician wanted to get all these tests done then make a "lifestyle plan" so, we'll see what his take is out of all of this. 
You are brave baiting BOB like that....
