Goodmorning!! The sun is shining and I suspect its going to be a warm day, what a great day to have off from work We are looking at a high of 14, which is 57 farenheit.

Marge - I've experienced that before... very unpleasant! I have to crawl over my boyfriend to get to the bathroom, so I try and hold it as long as possible.. which just makes the sleep less rewarding.. Woohoo! You threw out chocolate, I personally hate chocolate but have a friend who is addicted to it.. I ate a low fat brownie yesterday, it was pretty good, and they cut it small.. I'm so bad with cheating!

Kimberley - every summer I make a trip to my mom's house, which means passing thru the Okanagan, which is famous for fruit! I always stop and pick up blueberries, apples, cherries, and anything else that looks appealing. I love in season fruit, and knowing it was picked like 10 feet from the fruit stand? And that it's organic? Oh man, thats like heaven! Do you ever find that you get one good honeydew melon here and there, but thats it? A good one is hard to find!

kykaree - I love the elliptical trainer It always feels so easy to me while I'm doing it, but I always feel it later! I tried to buy one once... unfortunately.. it broke because it was so cheaply made (built with a defect), and I had to return it. When I was more fit, I used to get on the stairclimber for 45 minutes, my legs would always feel like jelly afterwards.. don't know why I'm so into workouts that kill me!

I'm thinking today I will do that dentist thing, ick. But afterwards I'm going to drag the bf down to the ocean for a walk along the inlet. I'm going to try and do about 6km's, but we'll see. I get nasty shin splints every once in a while.. I need new runners. After the walk I'm thinking, coffee... and the rest of the afternoon cuddling the bf and being lazy When I used to live downtown (literally steps from the ocean and seawall), I would get up everymorning, have some yogurt and go for an hour and a bit walk along the ocean. I'm such a water baby, the sound totally soothes me. Whenever I get my really bad syatic (I can't ever spell that word) nerve pain, having a hot shower is the only thing that can calm me down. I'm sure not looking forward to that this weekend, stupid TOM. Have a great day all, I shall be back later

-Aimee

Considering I tend to chug a 32-oz cup of water at a time, in addition to sipping from one throughout the day, I'd be in deep doo-doo if I did so right before bed. Our nightowl hours make it difficult to keep a normal schedule, even normal for us. Nothing like eating dinner at 3:30am!

Be very glad you're not sitting across from me today. Howie and I have the WORST onion breath. It's all we could taste when we awoke. The dogs loved it, of course...Really extra-special, redolent morning breath! LOL

Happy Tuesday!

I finally got my gym membership sorted out, so I can start going to the gym that's pretty close to my work now. I'm not going to go today, though (slacking already!). Instead, I am going to se my Dr. after work. I need a goal weight slip for TOPS, so I will discuss my weight with her and see if she has any suggestions (as if I haven't already heard it all ). I also have to have her take a look at my ears--they have been blocked ever since I had my nasty cold a few weeks ago, and now they keep popping and blocking and popping and blocking...my eardrums have ruptured in the past and I actually lost about 75-80% of my hearing when I was younger (fully recovered now), so I am very careful when funky things are happening with my ears.

I also went grocery shopping last night--spent over $130, and I live alone! I hadn't been shopping in weeks, though, so I needed EVERYTHING. Plus, I know I won't have much time (or energy) for grocery shopping when I start my second job tomorrow (was only training up until now), so I loaded up on frozen fruits and veggies and chicken and fish...I would love the fresh produce, but it goes bad too quickly for me to keep up with it! I also pretty much hate every vegetable (except potatos and corn, which are the starchiest veggies!), so I am going to try to use the frozen veggies I bought to force myself to eat some once in a while. After all, if that's all I pack for myself for lunch, what else am I going to do (I purposely do NOT carry cash so I can't get food in our cafeteria since they only take cash)?

Uh-oh...email from the boss requesting me to do research before I leave (in 20 minutes)...must attend to her needs...catch you guys later!!

Ahh another day..well, let me see, so far have kept OP...went to the store an bought nothing but wonderful foods, DH slipped some soda in, wicih is a no-no, but once or twice a week I can have one. No walk yet, but will do b4 dinner with dog then alone. Love my dog, but he sniffs a LOT and that is a leisure walk...I will walk one loop to warm up, then one to get things pumped then a half to cool down. Gonna do the bike tomorrow. Going to try this a new way...Will do 2-3 walks a day, and the bike at a different point of the day...break things up a bit... maybe speed up the metabolism and ease the boredome too.hehe...

"I had this box of chocolates that someone gave me that I've been munching in, had one yesterday then chucked the rest in the garbage. The chocolate will not have power over me"-Marge
WTG!!! On the chocolate...I LOVE CHOCOLATE and could eat it EVERY DAY...especially CHOCOLATE ICECREAM ( breyers). YUMMMMMMMMM!

"I want the recipe for mango salsa please!!!!!!"-kykaree
ME TOOOOOOOO ( hint Hint...boy hope she finds that recipe)

"Considering I tend to chug a 32-oz cup of water at a time"-Gardenwife
Holy Cow I thought I chugged a lot at 20 oz at a time, LOL...I guess late night chugging is not in your plans

Jillybean- I hear ya there about the frozen veggies, I found a way to get away with eating my veggies...I find the ones I really like, and I eat them fresh whenever possible with veggie dip ( lowfat)...for lunch or snack or whatever ( Caulifower, carrots-baby-, celery, cucumers, tomatos)..I like to steam the rest til they are crisp, then spray them with "I cannot believe it's not Butter, with Garlic I think it is..I forget, but I know it is flavored...Not too bad then, I HATE FROZEN GREEN BEANS especially, they are so RUBBERY...


Aimeee- Yummmy about the organic fruit, that sounds like pure heaven to me, I miss really good fresh fruit. Nothing like it. Ohio and MI have the best I have had in soo long, and IN has the BEST Cantalopes I have EVER tasted..That is another thing I miss from home. NY has the BEST apples though, nothing like a crisp Empire in the Fall. Honeydew is okay, as far as melon goes, but I love Cantelope and Watermelon. Sigh! I wish I had some now

well BBL all, have fun!

Oh, now I like the frozen green beans, but only the better brands of them. They can be rubbery if they're not cooked with enough liquid and are easily over-cooked. I like them steamed or I cook them in a little water.

One way to get the veggies in is to take something like spinach or green beans and put them in the food processor, then add them to spaghetti sauce. Not only does it stretch your sauce, but you really don't taste the veggies (especially green beans). Solid or puree, they're good for ya!

I have got to get off my duff here and clean the office. It's a mess of clutter, pet hair and dust. I promised Howie I'd tackle it today. Each day this week I need to do one room. Saturday, he's going ot help me tackle the bedroom - that's our pit right now. It would qualify for TLC's "Clean Sweep".

Hmmmthat is a great idea bout adding the veggies to the spaghetti sauce, never thought about that b4...I always steam my veggies now,never cook in water or liquid unless adding to soups, Will have to give that idea a try though, hmmmm

I've got spaghetti on the brain -- just made up a batch with fresh green peppers, onion (NOT the red ones!), diced tomatoes with green chile peppers, some jarred sauce, and ground turkey. It made 16 cups, so it's 200 calories a cup and 7 grams of fat; I forget the saturated fat, but it's low. We had it with whole wheat pasta. Gosh, that pasta tasted good - we're not low-carbing it, but we've just not wanted to waste calories on the regular bleached flour noodles we had. That whole wheat stuff's awesome!

Yeah, I'm not getting much cleaning done, am I? Time to face the stacks. I'll start by cleaning up the junk around the recliner here...Yeah, that's it...

Wow Kimberley (do you prefer Kim or Kimberley?), that is a really great idea about the veggies in the tomato sauce. I almost never eat pasta anymore, but I do sometimes like to keep sauce on hand for little pizza things or to put on chicken (chicken parm w/o breading--yum) and such. Time to invest in a food processor!

My problem with raw veggies with dip is that I don't like any veggies ( my taste buds!!) ! I don't like carrots (baby or adult ), celery, cauliflower (unless it is pickled like you get in the jars of mixed sweet pickles), broccoli (unless it is cooked to the point of NO crispness and smothered with cheese sauce), green beans, tomatos...the list of veggies I don't like goes on and on That's why I reeeeeally like Kimberley's idea of "hiding" the veggies in the pasta sauce--that is excellent! Maybe there are some other places I can "hide" them...


Well, I bought some fresh fruit last night and some crackers and jello and such to have as snacks, so I am going to go chop up the fruit and divide everything into single-serving containers so I can just grab 'em and go when I pack my food for the day. No longer am I packing just a lunch...I will now be leaving the house at 5:30am, working till 2, going straight to the gym, then working from 4-11 (not always till 11--sometimes only till about 9:30-10, depending on if I am serving or hostessing), so breakfast is going to be the only food I eat at home for 4 days of the week (Mon-Thurs). If I pack the right amount of calories for the day, then I won't be able to eat too much--no time to overeat!

Wowsers, you gals sure were talkative! I went out with a friend for a walk, we walked 6 km's, a nice little workout, took us 1 hour and 15 minutes, we are hoping to cut that time in half. We then went to Starbucks, got a low fat coffee and low fat brownie, and then hit up Chapters to read magazines. It was a nice day out

I love veggies and seem to have the opposite problem.. I already had 1 cup of veggies (and have only eaten one meal), for dinner I'll have a veggie stirfry with chicken and a huge salad. I don't eat a lot of fruit, I find it makes me crave sugar, is that weird? My fav way to eat a salad is with broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, celery, low fat cheese in cubes, chickpeas with a low fat ranch dressing. Mmmm yummy I currently eat a lot of ceasar salads, low fat dressing of course.

I'm craving rice and honey garlic chicken.. bad craving.. go away! I am off to make dinner..

-Aimee

Wowee, Jillybean, guess you really do hate veggies. I love them more and more as the years go on. I love soups, like Vegetarian Minestrone ( have a great recipe for that if anyone wants it) that is loaded with them...I love crisp carrots, ( baby ones, the smaller, the better for me) and celery...I am not a dip scooper like a lot of folks, I just dip my veggies to get just enough flavor on them from the dip...am presently eating some carrots and celery with some Southwestern ranch dip I found, not quite sure I care much for it though, may have to go back to making my own, oh well..My hubby may be letting me join Curves next month, I am hoping he will...I need that in my life, and maybe some new friends too.
I had spaghetti tonight too, with meat sauce, I was down in my cals today so figured, what the hay...I hate Wheat pastas of any kind, so once in awhile I will allow myself the real stuff...Used to eat it every other day, very very bad..now a cpl of times a month..Never got around to walking, could kick myself, but after I got done cleaning the house and cutting the veggies, and cleaning my fruit, it was almost 9...will do it first thing in the morning, another reason to join Curves, I will make myself go to the gym every morning..I will have something to actually go and do if that makes any sense at all...well, gotta run, HAGN all, See ya tomorrow! OH almost 4 got, I also have a great recipe for meatless Paasta sauce, it has a great flavor, and is a little tangy but everyone loves it, i usually make home-made, and make this often and freeze it...let me know, I will post both 4 u..

I don't think that is weird...I have actually read that eating anything sweet (whether it be sugar like in sweets, sugar that is naturally in fruits, or sugar substitutes) has the same effect on your body in that it makes you crave more sugar. Of course, it all has different reactions in the body concerning what turns to fat, what gets burned, and what goes right through your system without being absorbed, etc., but regardless of the source of sweetness, it can trigger additional sugar cravings.

I just finished portioning out my foods for the week and adding up my calories for tomorrow's food. I didn't realize I would have to eat so much food to meet my daily calories when I actually ate healthy foods! Here's what I've got myself planned/packed for tomorrow:

cereal (Reese's peanut butter puffs w/skim milk) - 400 calories
raw pepper slices - 50 cals
4 tablespoons low-fat catalina dressing - 100 cals
1 serving (23 crackers) Better Cheddar crackers - 140 cals
hotdog surprise (2 diced hotdogs, 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, diced onion) - 270 cals
strawberries - 50 cals
jello - 20 cals
cool whip - 30 cals
Ritz snack pack (kinda like chex mix) - 100 cals
orange - 75 cals
sweet gherkin pickles - 50
"mac & beef" microwavable kid's meal - 170

All of that puts me at 1455 calories for the day. I had to keep adding things to my bag to even get that high...when I originally thought I had enough food for what I would eat, I only ended up with about 1100 calories. I measured EVERYTHING, so I know that what I have is exactly the right number of calories for the serving sizes I have made. Plus, I will go to the gym between jobs and be on my feet walking people to their tables all night at job #2. All I drink at job #1 is water, and all I drink at job #2 is either water or diet coke. It just doesn't seem like enough calories. If that's all I'm eating and I'm over 300 pounds, what am I going to do when I lose weight and need to reduce the number of calories I take in in order to continue to lose?! Bah, I will cross that bridge when I get to it--have a long way to go before I get there anyway

Hmm, I wonder how many calories I'm having in a day.. I might put that through fitday and see whats up. It's very possible i'm not eating enough calories. Alright! It took forever, but I figured out my cals and fat grams for the day! I had 1218 calories, and 34 grams of fat. I definitely need more calories, and I should have eaten more veggies today, but I was out most of the day.. there is always tomorrow! I think I did pretty good considering. Losing weight is a pain sometimes, eh? I really can't get down with always counting calories, it burns me out. I just try and watch my sugar and wheat intake.

Jill - I heard that overweight people don't eat enough calories.. but its hard to get enough calories in sometimes! I ate the worlds largest salad for dinner, with a veggie stirfry, and that barely added to my calories!

Alrighty! I'm planning to get up early tomorrow to get a workout in before work, Tae-bo again! I love how it's so challenging for me and can't wait until it becomes easy Have a great night

-Aimee

hey all, sorry had to do that, hehe... So far, so good, up at 7 for a change and chugging my first 20 oz of water. Have planned out my day, and eating.. will have 1 C of Cheerios, 1/4 C of Skim milk, and 1 glass of Choc. Soy milk with my Multi Vitamen for Breakfast, ( After I do walk #1)...Lunch will be 1/2 Turkey on wheat, a mug of tomato soup, and 2 bottles of water, snack will be fruit ( strawberries, or grapefruit) and dinner, I am grilling a bunch of chicken up and slicing it for salads, so am having a huge salad with that on it...Maybe some corn too..Taking walk #2 at around 1, Doing my bike at around 2:30, then the last walk will be at around 7..And of course my 2 mugs of Java this morning, cannot 4 get those...
have also decided to go ahead and post those yummy recipes today for you ...whether u like it or not... will do this later..hehe...well, am off to get a POGO fix in...HAGD!

I know there is a Recipe area, but would rather just put these here, and share with my fave ladies...





Uncle Bill's Vegetarian Minestrone Soup (RecipeZaar)
recipe by William (Uncle Bill) Anatooskin
A hearty and healthy soup. Excellent on chilly days. Very easy to prepare.
4-6 servings
55 minutes 15 mins prep

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup chopped onions
3 cups water
2 cups diced zucchini
1 cup diced carrots, peel first or scrub well
1 cup canned cannellini beans or you may use other white beans
3/4 cup diced celery
1 teaspoon dried basil or 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh coarse ground black pepper
15 fluid ounces canned plum tomatoes, dice and include liquid
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup uncooked ditalini or elbow macaroni

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
Add chopped onion and saute' for 4 minutes or until just lightly browned.
Add water, zucchini, carrots, canellini beans, celery, basil, oregano salt, pepper and garlic.
Bring to boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer on medium-low heat for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add macaroni; cover and cook an additional 10 minutes.
Serve hot.
Nutrition Facts
Calculated for 1 serving
Recipe makes 4-6 servings

Nutrition Facts for some measurements or ingredients are not included in data below:
1 cup cannellini beans
15 fluid ounces canned plum tomatoes
1/4 cup ditalini
We can often fix this, let us know. Calories 68


Calories from Fat 32 (47%) Amount Per Serving %RDA Total Fat 3.6g 5% Saturated Fat 0.5g 2% Polyunsat. Fat 0.4g Monounsat. Fat 2.5g Cholesterol 0mg 0% Sodium 182mg 7% Potassium 368mg 10% Total Carbohydrate 8.7g 2% Dietary Fiber 2.6g 10% Protein 1.7g 3% Vitamin A 7999mcg 159% Vitamin B6 0.2mg 8% Vitamin B12 0.0mcg 0% Vitamin C 12mg 20% Vitamin E 0mcg 2% Calcium 43mg 4% Magnesium 26mg 6% Iron 0mg

This one is good on any Pasta, have used it on ravioli, Ziti, stuffed shells...any really!




Slow-Simmered Spaghetti Sauce ( RecipeZaar)
recipe by NurseDi

Easy and delicious.
2 1/2 quarts
6 hours 15 minutes 15 mins prep
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onions, chopped
4 (14.5 ounces) cans Italian-style tomatoes, undrained and chopped
1 (15 ounces) can tomato sauce
1 (12 ounces) can tomato paste
3 teaspoons dried basil
3 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dry crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients in a 4-quart slow cooker.
Cook, covered, on HIGH, 6 hours.
Serve over spaghetti, chicken, or pork.

Nutrition Facts
Calculated for 1 quarts
Recipe makes 2.5 quarts

Nutrition Facts for some measurements or ingredients are not included in data below:
dry crushed red pep.

Calories 309
Calories from Fat 24 (7%) Amount Per Serving %RDA Total Fat 2.7g 4% Saturated Fat 0.4g 1% Polyunsat. Fat 1.1g Monounsat. Fat 0.4g Cholesterol 0mg 0% Sodium 3346mg 139% Potassium 3560mg 101% Total Carbohydrate 68.6g 22% Dietary Fiber 16.5g 66% Protein 16.6g 33% Vitamin A 15653mcg 313% Vitamin B6 1.4mg 67% Vitamin B12 0.0mcg 0% Vitamin C 198mg 330% Vitamin E 8mcg 28% Calcium 169mg 16% Magnesium 173mg 43% Iron 8mg 47%