[RhubarbJelly]

Hi everyone!

I'm supposed to be at work right now but for some its dead there & I don't have any clients until 7 tonight so until then I'm at home A very short work day today! And what a day to have off! Its melting outside +4C! Yay! I know that being Saskatchewan though it will probably be a blowing blizzard by next week! I spent the morning browsing my cookbooks for new stuff to make. I made a meal plan & just spent the last hour & a half at the grocery store. If anything is fabulous & low in points I'll share it with you later. I had pizza for lunch & 5 Cadbury Mini-Eggs so I have to go low point for supper tonight. What do you guys count MiniEggs at? I looked in the book & it says 1oz of chocolate candy pieces is 4 points so I weighed mine Mini-Eggs & it worked out to 10 being 1 oz. Does this sounds right to anyone else? Anyway I ate 5 & counted it two points-I hope that's right. Now I have 15 more in my fridge waiting for another day.

Lisa, great job on the will power!!!!!!! You did so good with your lunch! How did it go with the cheesecake?? I hope you survived! I do stuff like that all the time-at the grocery store something really terrible but really yummy will be on sale. I put it in my cart & then carry around the store with me the whole time I'm there & then right before I go pay I convince myself to put it back. I do the same thing when I find something I really want to buy & it will put me over budget. Its always a huge dilemma but if you remember your priorities you'll do the right thing. We're proud of you for standing up to your tastebuds!!

Jess, when I make chili I put in all of the things mentioned already but I have to include green peppers & a whole onion! THat makes the chili for me. Also the more beans the better! It tastes better & beans are so full of fiber!! I also shake in some dried red chilis & sometimes a little cilantro or cumin. My Grandma add kernel corn to it. Not my favorite but you might like it. Play around. The best thing about chili is that you can make a big batch & freeze it in serving size containers & then when you come home starving you can pop it in the microwave & you end up with a "cooked" meal in mere minutes!

Lori, your food suggestions sound tasty! Please share the cake recipe when you've got a minute. You'll have to tell us about your dress when you get a chacne too

KT, Allergies suck!! I have a big problem with dust too. For the past two weeks something is making my skin hypersensitive & I can't figure out what! Annnoying! Its so bad that when I push my sunglasses up to rest on my head I get two red lines streaking up my forehead where the nosepiece barely touched it! A little embarrassing! I can't believe your bf puts potato in chili! I have never heard that one before! Anyway I hope your allergies are better soon! Have fun with you MIL this weekend!

Kim, hope you're doing better sweetie! TOM sucks! Hope its over for you soon! October wedding! That's not too far away! I hope it happens with or without the ring

Jen, your chicken noodle soup sounds great! Thanks for sharing it with us! Hope you bathroom turned out nice. Painting can be interesting!

Hi to everyone else who needs to come out & play! Hope you're all having a great OP day!

-Rina

[TxAggie]

Well, I thought I'd jump in with some food ideas that have helped me stay OP and maintain. My main staple cuisine is Asian food. I have a chinese cookbook and a great wok and that is really all you need. Most recipes are low in meat and high in veggies and the oil is optional since my wok is seasoned. The main staple seasonings in Asian are soy sauce, sherry, sesame oil (just a little), garlic, ginger, oyster sauce, cornstarch, and green onion. Once you have these seasonings you just find a recipe you like and go for it. They usually only take 30 minutes to chop, slice, and cook and average 5 points for a lot of food. In fact tonight I am fixing beef and broccoli.

As for the Chili, I like the "3-Alarm" brand mix and use low fat bf or turkey. The main seasonings in this are tomato sauce, diced tomatos, chili powder, garlic, onion powder, oregano, cumin, salt, red pepper, and black pepper. I really like flavorful chili, so I use a lot of different spices.

Some other fast meals are chicken and rice (uncooked rice, cream of celery, cream of mush, little milk, dry onion soup, bone-in skinless ck breasts all layered in a pan and baked at 350 covered for an hour), tacos made with low fat beef, eggplant parmesean, and chicken and dumplings.

Ok, that is all i can think of. I hope you all had a great day. I'll ttyl!
Kay

[Horsey girl]

Yeah, I forgot cumin - that makes it great!
KT