So this recipe’s portion of my blog will be closed here shortly. I have found and created a new blog for my weight loss from the weightwatchen website. the link can be found on my personal blog so you can continue to read what is going down (hopefully the scale!).
a set back
I know they come…sometimes at our own bidding and sometimes unexpected. But I knew this one was coming. With every bite, every guilty indulgence. I knew that the pounds would go up. And sure enough, I stepped on the scale and it was up about two pounds. I don’t know what happened….oh yes I do…..my self control evaporated. While we had a good time on Valentines Day….the day actually lasted about four days. And I consumed chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate. Rationalizing the whole time that this would be the last bit. Yeah right. Four days later, I am cleaning my conscience along with the cupboard. I am getting rid of everything that tempts me. I DO have one bag of baking chocolate on hand just in case I need to bake something for something….yeah, it’s a cop-out, but I don’t get tempted by the baking chocolate at all. I also kept my hundred calorie snacks and ice cream (which is pre-packaged at 100 calories so I can’t cheat myself). But that is IT. No more. No more candy, cookies, chocolate, chips etc….we are D-O-N-E. If we would like something like that, then the 100 calorie packs will suffice. I WILL make this work. I am SO tired of being overweight. I am tired of my kids thinking that it is ok….cause mom’s fat so it MUST be ok. I WILL choose healthier snacks. I WILL make healthier dinners. I WILL control portions—for everyone if need be. I WILL become manic about this. I am done being fat and unhealthy. I want to run with my kids and not be out of breath…or if I am it’s because we are having fun…NOT because I am so fat I can’t keep up. I want more enjoyment out of my life and I know that part of my inhibitions are the fat cells covering the real me. I will find myself. I am making a promise, right now, I will start losing the fat that is suffocating the real me.
I changed the oat bar recipe
Don’t get me wrong, the original recipe tasted fine…but it was a little mushy. I wanted a firmer bar. I also wanted to create a good base and then leave the toppings open to personal preference. So, here is my base recipe.
1/2 cup each: honey, applesauce, and brown sugar lightly packed
Put these three into a sauce pan on low heat and mix occasionally until well blended.
In another bowl combine these:
5 cups of oatmeal
1/2 tsp of baking soda
Pour the wet mixture over the oat mixture and add 2 tsp of vanilla then mix well.
Pour into an 8×8 greased pan and smush down really well-I put a baggie over my hand and went to town!
Bake for 20 minutes at 350.
Let cool completely before cutting and removing from pan.
This recipe has 2078 calories. Cutting it into 16 servings (which is a pretty good size) gives you 130 calories each.
You can add chocolate chips to the top, nuts, raisens, or whatever strikes your fancy. But remember to add the calories if you count them!
I am going to try substituting some flour for the oatmeal, or another type of healthy grain and see how it comes out….I’ll let you know!
A Recipe of My Own!!
Yep….you read it right….I CREATED a recipe! I am pretty happy with myself. Now, don’t get me wrong…I put stuff together for dinner all the time… but baking has alsways required a recipe for me to do. But, I have created an oatmeal bar recipe right here in my very own kitchen!! Here is what I did:
Melt 2TBS of butter in a saucepan.
Add 1/4 a cup of honey
Add 1/2 cup of applesauce (unsweetened)
Add 1/2 cup of brown sugar lightly packed
While that is heating together on the stove, put these in a large mixing bowl:
4 1/4 cup of oats
3/4 cup of raisens
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla extract
oil an 8×8 pan or line with foil and lightly oil.
Mix the stuff in your saucepan with the oat mixture and stir well. Pat it into the prepared pan. (I smushed it down pretty well with my spatula). Then bake it for 20 minutes at 350. Let it cool before you cut it and cool it completely before you take it out of the pan. If you don’t it will fall apart.
There you go! Homemade oatmeal raisen bars! This whole recipe has a grand total of 2443 calories. If you cut them into 16 pieces, you would have 16 servings at 153 calories each.
I am sure you can add whatever you like instead of/along with the raisens….nuts or whatever. You could even spruce it up with chocolate chips and marshmellows (just make sure you add the calories if that concerns you) I even thought about melting 1/2 cup of PB in the saucepan!!
I think that’s pretty good for a healthy snack. Pair it with an apple and its a great healthy afternoon snack….and as for the kids…Annalea loves them! And apples too…so there you go!
Pizza Bites
So here is what you will need: wonton wrappers, pizza sauce (i used leftover spaghetti sauce), mozzarella cheese, pepperoni or your favorite veggies.
Place one wonton wrapper down and put a dab of sauce, then layer cheese and toppings. Don’t go clear to the edge tho…you have to seal the wontons. Dip your finger into a bowl of water and wet the edge of the bottom wrapper and then place another wrapper on top. Seal the edges like you do a pie crust edge (with a fork). Heat some olive oil in a pan and then pan fry them until they are crispy and lightly browned. Voila! Homemade pizza bites!
These are really good…and MUCH healthier than the ones from the freezer aisle. If you use turkey pepperoni instead of regular then these turn out to be a pretty healthy snack. Or rather lunch! Add a salad and it can replace those high calorie pizza’s and the kids LOVE eating them. You can even skip the sauce on the inside and give them a dipping sauce instead!
We went a little crazy this weekend…..waaaaaaay off the diet plan! We had pizza on Friday, along with popcorn and m&m’s. Then brownie mix on Sat….and then dessert on Sunday with dinner…..grrrrrr….I was afraid to step on the scale today….but SURPRISE!!! I still lost a half a pound! Go figure….I guess working out really helps offset weight gain when you overeat!!
So this week I will be a little bit more in control. Not so much junk! I am going to get those hundred calorie snack bags of candy so I can eat some but not go overboard! It’s much easier to eat healthier w/ hubby is here….odd huh?
Well, I hope you try these…they really were quite yummy! More to come so stay tuned!
recipe gone awry
So I tried my hand at making some cinnamon rolls…..and they STINK! I don’t know…maybe it’s the recipe, maybe it’s me….but man oh man did they suck. sigh….
I forgot how good it feels
So I started my workout today. Nothing serious, just some stretching and some basic kickboxing. I only did about fifteen minutes (not including stretching and the warm up/cool down). I know it’s not much, but I am starting slow. And the amazing thing is that I forgot how it makes you feel afterward. I feel GOOD. I’m tingly and slightly sweaty, but my mood has definitely improved. Maybe I should do this before we do homework….hmmmmmmm 
Yes, you CAN have chocolate chip cookies and still have a low calorie diet!
So, in my searches, I normally don’t look too much at the sweets recipes. I think it’s much safer to just stay away….however I came across a low calorie chocolate chip cookie recipe…and I have to say that they came out quite good. Here is the recipe:
Beat together 3TBS of margarine (softened), 5TBS of plain yogurt, 1/2 cup sugar (i used splenda), 1/4 cup light brown sugar, 2 TBS cornstarch, 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce, 2TBS of skim milk, and 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract. When you beat these together it does turn out with a few lumps in it….it’s okay.
Then add 1 1/2 cups of flour (i used wheat cause I ran out of white), 1/2 tsp of baking soda, 1/2 tsp of baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt and beat until smooth (i used a fork here because it got a little thick).
Then add 1/2 cup of chocolate chips–I used the mini’s.
Drop by spoon fulls onto a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 6-10 minutes, or until lightly brown.
There you go! They were really good, my hubby even liked them. But, I imagine they would be even better if you use white flour. But be careful! Even though they are low cal…don’t eat too many!!
Shaping up and slimming down.
ok, so here goes… I am going to use this site as a blog of my weightloss as well as healthy recipes. After I had Annalea, I gained and gained and gained the pounds. And my wonderful supportive husband didn’t say a word!! There was a moment, a picture, that made me open my eyes….we went to a friends wedding and Brian took a snapshot of me and the girls…..boy was it scary!! And because I am using this site to help me stay focused and in tune with what is truly going on in my life…here is that eye opening picture.
Yep….this scared the crap out of me…..inside, I thought I looked like this:
uh-huh. Not even close. So, after I saw the “wake-up” picture, I went on a low carb diet and lost over fifty pounds. I started in at 275 and ended up at 215. I had gotten down to 212 the Christmas before I found out I was pregnant w/ Sylar….and ballooned right back up to 267. Here is a picture of me at Christmas.
That is where I “woke-up” again and realized that I had to do something. And not just do something to lose weight, but do something to change my health. About a month ago my doctor put me on blood pressure pills. My bp was just too high for too long. She told me that it was early, I was young, and diet and excercise could get me off of it. So here were are. We are making life changes and I am glad to say that my family is in it with me. And Brian is being quite supportive of it. Though I have to admit that I feel guilty making him quit drinking Mountain Dew! So lately, we have been watching portion sizes, and not eating junk. If we eat junk, I have sugar free ice cream and those 100 calorie goodies that are pretty good and stopping the craving. We started this at the beginning of January, it is now January 25th, and I have lost 12 pounds. I am sitting at 255 right now and plan to keep going in this direction. I am really embarrassed to post those pictures, but maybe that is the motivation I need to keep going down the path of change. I am going to start my exercise routine on Monday. Brian got me some great dvd’s of kickboxing, NOT Billy Blanks style–real kickboxing, and yoga. I know that by adding this side to my “new” lifestyle, I will begin to shape up even quicker. When I reach my next goal weight of 240, I will post another picture. I hope to reach it by March.
I hope you all appreciate how difficult it is to post these pics and be honest…those of you who have struggled with weight issues are sure to understand. I will keep you posted, with thoughts, recipes, and pictures. Thanks to all who are supportive!
Jambalaya-ish
So I started last night with a recipe in hand, and as I was getting ready to cook, I decided to elaborate on it a little. What I started with was a recipe for mexican rice with sausage. What I ended up with tasted a little like Jambalaya. This is what I did:
Cook 1-2 lbs of sausage(i used chopped italian links)
When sausage is half way done, add about 1/4 cup of chopped onion.
When those are done, add a regular sized can of diced tomatoes, 1 cup of water, and 3/4 cup of rice.
Cover and cook until rice is done-about 20 minutes.
I also added 1 cup of corn, 1/2 can of kidney beans, 1/2 package of taco mix, 1TBS of kosher salt, 1 tsp of pepper, 1tsp garlic powder.
The amazing thing was that Grace LOVED it. Annalea….ehhhh, not so much (but she only really LOVES mac and cheese!).
I served this with some beer bread that I get from Tastefully Simple…ohhhh it’s SO yummy! It’s called beer bread, but you can actually add just about any carbonated drink to the mix and it turns out fine. But it ends up being a slightly sweet bread that is SO good!
Anyway, the experiment I tried the other day with garbonzo beans…..not so good. I wouldn’t suggest trying it unless you already like those kind of beans.
So there you have it, another recipe from my kitchen….more to come! (i have about four new recipes on the menu this week!)
