well the electric company will love it anyways.... lol

Checking in from work
 

Howdy all. It's ominously quiet here (at work and having a huge free campus wide concert/party thing going on). I hope I don't jinx myself by saying that. I'm not working alone and it's odd to not have to DO anything. I guess, like my dear late Mama used to say, "I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop." :foot:

angel-eyes: I tried Fabreeze. It's far too gone and stinky for that. Scratch two very heavy, very stinky cushions. Oh well, I tried. :(

Lisa WY: I'm sorry about the mix up earlier today. I thought you were a South Beach-er. Now don't go comparing yourself to your husband. Men are evil, I tell ya. ;) They lose so much quicker and so much easier than we do. Don't let it get to you. It's hard. Pooh Bear doesn't even have to try and can drop a chunk of weight like nothing. And also, about those pillows, I'm writing them off. They're far too heavy even for a commercial washer. Old chair, old cushions, kindling for the camp fire, I guess. Thanks for your suggestions though.

Patra65: Oh it's NEVER too late to grill. Pooh and I sit by our fire until the wee hours. Last week I used a trout basket and actually fire roasted pan squash (I don't any other name to call those, they're white and shaped super weird) At first I used that fat free butter spray on them, but soon realized they tasted great just fire roasted, dry. It was an experiment that worked well. Yummy.

Momx3: Thank you for the lunch tips. I will definitely use them. Well, except for the yogurt one. LOL. I love cans of veggies. I'm actually excited about this diet. :smug:

Jennie934: Yes, I sure did miss you while you were gone. I was away too with a brief illness (I'm SUCH a Drama Queen :queen:) No, not really, it was pretty scary, but I'm back too and I'm also glad you're back as well.

Curlylocks: You doing okay? I haven't heard from you for a while. I hope you're crampies are history by now.

TeaElleBee: Your morning walk sounded great. But unfortunately, due to a mix up with a lite tea mix (I never should have thrown the can away and just kept the little packets OOPS) that's about the time I was finally trying to lay down to sleep! :bomb: Caffeine and I have a rocky friendship. He's very demanding. LOL. Could you or one of the chicks involved, outline this Spooktacular Challenge for me? I'm curious. Of course for me, my goal date is set for Jan 06. But I'm interested in trying as hard as I can (within reason).

I'm glad to be back. I'm going to Kroger tonight and I hit the BEACH in the morning. I'm actually excited and feeling pshyched. A turtle on the beach. :lol:

hi Pic chicks!


stoppin by to wish every one a great day!
Yes ... I am finally cramp free!!! getting ready for another long long day... ha the scale moved.. but i will offically weigh in next monday... u know i cant pass the scale without gettig on it!!!

My scale is moving too but I'll wait until next week to give the official results.

Good luck with SB Turtle. A lot of people find it to be a very livable program. Let us know if we can be helpful. I'm not on SB but I'm a low carb diva, LOL. The Halloween challenge is just setting a goal for Halloween. Several of us are close to the 200 mark and have chosen to try to break 200 by Halloween but you could choose whatever amount you think is reasonable for you.

I'm off to the nursing home this morning. TTYL

Good Morning Partners !

Day 2 and I got up and walked the dog again at 5:30 .. yikes I am starting a pattern... but a very good one !!

I did fairly well with the food intake yesterday. Brought lots of fruit and veggies to the office, so had stuff to graze on :moo:

Well I guess I should scoot, I will talk to you all later tonight !!

G'mornin'
 

Good morning Dear PIC Chicks. How goes it with you? :wave:

There's a Turtle on the beach! :beach: I've got my first South Beach Diet meal done (2 egg omelet, fresh mushrooms and tomatoes, 2 VERY small slices of Canadian bacon, a generic 6oz V8 and coffee with skim). And now I've got to count nuts! :dizzy: For my snack bags, that is. No nibbling Turtle! :nono:
Lunch will be the grilled chicken breast or the tuna salad. I have the meals figured out, just not what order yet. So I need to LET GO OF THE KEYBOARD and remove my AMPLE BUTTUM from my computer chair and get stuff done. Meals, snacks, cleaning, exercise and getting ready for work.

I will check in from work. I'm feeling pretty good today. I like that. I hope you're feeling good too. A turtle could get used to this. Sometimes it's good to be alive, even if you ARE a Turtle. :lol:

WOOHOO.....things are going so well today already!!! :cp:

Turtle and TeaElleBee are up and at'em!!! Good job on your walks TLB. Not sure how you do it though at the cracking hour of 5:30 but way to go!!! :dancer:
I used to have to have the boys at the bus stop at 6:15 am and then go walking at 6:30. I forced myself to walk as I was already up, but you're making the conscience decision to do it. YEAH FOR YOU!!! :balloons: Bet the dog loves it too!!

Good for you turtle.. :cheer: ..isn't it so much better to feel better? I too am noticing a little jaunt in my step. I'm looking at other ways to get my excercise in, in addition to my treadmill stuff at the gym. I hopped on my bike this morning and had a gruelling 30 minute bike ride around my neighbourhood. Who knew I lived on such steep roads....certainly not me!!! :ebike: But I made it and was all hot and sweaty but ohhhh, did it feel good to have the wind blowing at me on all the down slopes.

Well its lunchtime now, and I'm having a great soup that I make with cabbage and kielbassa sausage....mmmmm can't wait. :eating2: Then its off to the gym today. Have a great day!!! :cb:

i need to go grocery shopping sooooo bad, i swear there is not one scrap of food in my house other than @ 5 boiled eggs... lol

I bet i have made the trip to the ladies room at least 7 times today .. i hope thats those xtra pounds from TOM comming off!! oh well a girl can hope anyways!


i really need to find that protein powder... and im outta slim mints

Receipes
 

hey there..

i have a few receipes i got from my south beach mailing list at yahoo

You can make your own yogurt smoothie at home, place

it in a bottle and go.



1 cup fat free plain yogurt

1/2 cup skim milk

2 Tbs. Splenda or favorite sweetener to taste

1 tsp. vanilla

ice cubes



Blend all together, taste, add more sweetener if need

it, or add some peanut butter for a nutty taste.
SF flavored syrup or SF jello would also make this different flavors!

.....................

Oatmeal Squares - Phase 2
*Revised from Betty Crocker's Cookbook*
Makes 16 squares

1/2 cup Splenda
1/2 cup sugar-free maple syrup
1 cup margarine or butter
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups old fashion oatmeal

Preheat oven to 400 F.
Mix sweeteners with margarine.
Add remaining ingredients.
Spray an 8x8" baking dish with cooking spray.
Press half of the mixture in the baking dish.
Spread with filling.
Top with remainig crumbly mixture, pressing lightly.
Bake until light brown, 25 to 30 minutes.
Cut into bars 2x1 1/2", while still warm.
Serves 3 dozen

Filling:
1/3 cup no sugar added apple sauce.
Add 1 Tbs Splenda to apple sauce.
Or use sugar-free fruit preserve.

Note: You might add some chocolate chips and Splenda on top before
baking,
or add some peanut butter while still warm for a topping.

.......................

Bacon Cheeseburger Quiche - Phase 1
This is one of our favorite recipes! (I found it at lowcarbluxury.com
and modified it for SB)

1 lb. very lean hamburger (I use ground turkey)
1 small chopped onion
4 slices crisp-cooked bacon, chopped in bits (I use turkey bacon)
3 eggs
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1/2 cup fat free half-n-half
8 oz. low-fat shredded Cheddar or Swiss cheese
garlic powder to taste (optional)
pepper
Brown hamburger in skillet with onion. Remove and mix in bowl with
bacon pieces, breaking up any larger clumps with a fork or pastry
mixer until you have a fine mix. Drain well of any excess grease and
press into the bottom of a deep-dish pie pan. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Combine remaining ingredients in mixer bowl and whip well.
Pour mixture over beef "crust" and bake 40-45 minutes until top is
browned and "set". Cool 15-20 minutes before slicing. This can be
packaged in Ziplocs or plastic containers for meals quickly microwave
over the next 3-5 days. (Does not freeze well, though.)


...............


Cinnamon Pecan Coffee Cake

1 can great northern beans (drained & rinsed)
2 eggs (or equivalent Egg Beaters)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup Splenda granular
3 1/2 Tbsp. canola oil
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
15 pecan halves crushed

Preheat oven to 350. Spray an 8X8 baking dish with canola oil. (I do this in
front of my open dishwasher so any overspray gets cleaned up the next time I
run the dishwasher.) Combine all ingredients except beans and pecans in a
blender and blend until combined. Add beans and blend again. Pour into
prepared pan and top with nuts. Bake for 35 minutes or until toothpick
inserted in center comes out clean.
:)

Curly-go to GNC for your Protein Powder. They have several brands to choose from. Optimum Nutrition is the one people say tastes best. I just bought a 2 lb canister. It was about $21.00. It also comes in flavors you know.

I made low carb brownies tonight-how's that for a concept. I ran my recipe through FitDay and it looks like 3 Net carbs apiece, not bad. I think the cookbook author used a different protien powder (isopure) so her recipe was even lower in carbs. I haven't tried them yet because they just came out of the oven but they look and smell really good and I tasted the batter and it was pretty good too.

Dana Carpender has an entire low carb smoothie book out. About half the book is devoted to yogurt based smoothies and the other half to chocolate flavored ones. It is the best cookbook I ever bought. I make the yogurt ones out of kefir which saves a few carbs and is probably a little better for you. You can also add protein powder to those to boost the nutritional value.

lol can ya tell i'm about egged out?

i made the oatmeal squares, but i used apricot fruit spread, and added chopped cashews.. they are pretty good

I tried the low carb brownies. They taste more like chocolate cake than brownies so I'm a little disappointed but they are acceptable. Maybe they would be better with some sort of frosting on them.

Turtle's first day on the beach
 

Well, I stayed under control and ate ONLY from my planned (and packed) menu. I hope it's okay with you all. I'd like to post what I ate.

B- 2 egg omelet, 2 small pieces of Canadian bacon, 6oz V8, coffee with skim

S- Part skim mozzarella stick

L- Can of tuna, low fat Mayo, 1/2 cup of kidney beans, one red bell pepper

S- 30 pistachios

D- One grilled boneless/skinless chicken breast and one can of green beans

Dessert- That Dream Reese cup thingie (sf fudgsicle, natural p-butter & Cool whip free) This was tricky for me as I felt near out of control (yeah, it's THAT good) so I'm thinking this should be limited to maybe ONCE a week for me.

I drank over 113 ounces of water too (How did I do that? :eek: )

Good job Turtle. Now do that again for thirteen more days in a row!

I hope everyone had a great Tuesday. Those low carb brownies sounded delicious had me dreaming of chocolate. So that cool and creamy Reese cup thing (SB Phase I acceptable) was just what the Turtle needed.

Here's to your Wednesday/Hump Day, I salute my sugar free lemon lime Kool-aid in your general direction.

How IS everyone?

way to go turtle... just take it one day at a time..... and those 13 days will zip by!

your allowed to have kidney beans on phase 1? wow!