I WONDER HOW MANY DAYS A WEEK THEY DELIVER

I saw these and wanted to share them. They were letters posted in England and delivered by the postal service there. The addresses are done in the form of maps, colorblindness charts, a crossword puzzle and an eyechart.

The lady who sent them was testing to see how much trouble the Post Office would take to get the letters to the proper address and was pleasantly surprised to find that someone enjoyed the game enough to see that they were delivered.

I can't see our Postal Service being so obliging...can you?

ARE YOU READY?

When I downloaded this picture, it had a title that was something like "Canadian Refrigerator", but after the snow that fell here Wednesday, I just might retitle it...Indiana Icebox! Or "Why the dog has to pee in the front yard!" or "Where are my Lean Cuisines?

It did remind me of the Super Bowl, though, and all the coolers that are going to be filled and emptied Sunday evening. Everywhere I've looked this week there are menu suggestions and recipes for parties.

Somewhere along the line, Super Bowl Sunday has turned into a national holiday. One of our local supermarkets has a sign on the door that they are closing at 5pm...a sure sign of holiday status!

I'm not a regular football fan and I celebrate mostly because I know that once the Super Bowl is over my NASCAR boys are back!!! But even I get into the game and end up rooting for one side over the other...usually the underdog.

And I love the commercials! I was so happy when we got DVR so I can pause the action and actually get a bathroom break in without missing anything!

I usually prepare some kind of dip and veggies, cut up some fruit so it is easy to eat, and then put a homemade pizza in the oven around half-time.

This year is special for me because The Office is airing a special one hour show to follow the ball game and I love...love...love The Office!

What are you doing for the game?

I CAN SAVE YOU THE TROUBLE

TRUTHS I HAVE LEARNED THE HARD WAY

• I will not realize that I am full until I am leaving the restaurant when I will declare for the eleventeenth time, "Next time I'm going to just have the soup!
• All the jobs that I do infrequently because I hate them so much are so much easier to do when I do them more often! (Think cleaning the oven or straightening the closet!)
  
• Found money will always be offset by an equal or greater repair bill.
• A car knows when it is paid for and will always act accordingly.
• The phone will not ring until I'm in the bathroom.
• If I have lots of time to sit in front of the television, there will be nothing worth watching.
• Within a week of my giving an unworn coat of my husband's to Amvets, he will ask me if I've seen it.
• The same husband will act like he doesn't get a joke that I tell him but will repeat it to all his friends and laugh his butt off!
• The more I need an item of clothing the less likely I am to find it in the store.
• Husbands, children, and dogs are never more interested in you than when you are behind a closed door.
• Insomnia never strikes unless you really need to be rested the next day.
• I will always find an unopened bag of flour or sugar I have stashed away right after I buy a new one.
• I will never use my new ultra-wonderful deep-fryer because I dread the thought of emptying and cleaning it up!
• No matter how much the package on the concentrated cleaners reassures me that I can use less, I always feel I need to add a little more.
• The plumbing never stops working unless I have houseguests or it is a holiday weekend...usually both!
• The price of gas always goes up drastically overnight if we decide to put off buying it one more day.
• If I want a letter to take a few days to reach its destination, it will always get there the same afternoon!
• Diet books are a waste of money.
• Simple is usually best.
• Mom was usually right.
  

How about you?

COME ON!!!

Congress has so many things they need to work on but today they are going to have to vote whether or not to extend the time that Americans have to get ready for digital broadcasting!

"On February 17, 2009 all full-power broadcast television stations in the United States will stop broadcasting on analog airwaves and begin broadcasting only in digital. Digital broadcasting will allow stations to offer improved picture and sound quality and additional channels. Find out more about whether or not you will be impacted by the digital TV (DTV) transition."

How can we hope to conquer our financial difficulties, energy dependence, or hunger when we can't even get our televisions switched over to digital after years of being warned that we must!

Maybe I have had too much caffeine this morning, but I believe anyone who hasn't made the switch deserves to do without! For Pete's sake!!!

IT'S MONDAY AGAIN?

Where does the time go? It's been so long since I posted that Blogger made me sign in this morning! I haven't written because I'm going through a period where every time I sit down to write, I come up with nothing but disjointed thoughts. So...I'm thinking maybe I just need to get them out of the way and then thematic prose just might be lurking behind all the mush.

Hey! Andy Rooney makes a living doing that!

I hope my readers won't deem me to be full of sin and delete me from their readers, but I have to admit I enjoy sitting at a slot machine occasionally! There...I said it!
The first time I ever went to a casino was years ago when my sister, Mary, lived in New Jersey and we boarded a bus at a grocery store parking lot and headed off to Atlantic City. We were given a roll of dimes as we left the bus and I took a chance on a few dime slots just for the heck of it. When the dimes were gone, I never once considered spending any of my money! I just walked around and took in the sights until it was time to reboard and head back to Trenton. Why waste money on slots when there was saltwater taffy to be had?

Then the same sister and her husband retired to Las Vegas and we flew out to visit them there. It was a surprise to me that I loved the desert...so beautiful! And as interesting as the strip was to see...unbelievable!...I was taken by the little off strip casinos that my sister and her husband took us to. They were like Mom and Pop diners compared to the big casinos elsewhere. The regulars called out my sister and brother-in-law's names as they came in the door like they did for Norm at Cheers! And breakfast was a dollar! We enjoyed ourselves, met some nice people, and never ever spent more than we had set aside for a little slot action.

We never made it to Atlantic City or Las Vegas enough to have gambling be more than a rare event. But now casinos have come to Indiana and we have slots a 20 minute drive from our house! We call our occasional trips our voluntary state tax payments! And guilt hits me smack between the eyes if I don't offset the money we set aside for gambling by not eating out or the like.

And the reason I have slots on the brain today??? Well, let's just say we did very well on our last visit! Now I have to convince The Husband that winning is a fluke and he can not make a living at it!

This picture made me laugh and laugh. It's kinda hard to read but the CD that is chewed to bits is entitled "Training Your Adopted Dog"!!! I guess the dog had given his review!

Have you noticed that Fiber One is expanding its base of products? The picture is of their pancake mix and I've seen their version of PopTarts in the stores. Today I hear that they also have loaves of bread and English muffins in their line...all with the high fiber content that we count on Fiber One to have.

Have you tried any of them out?

This is how every DIY home improvement project that I've ever tried turned out!
Especially if The Husband and I are working on it together!

And...just to close! If I was in the trucking business, this is how I would want all my trucks to look! Wouldn't the interstate system be more attractive???

HAPPY MONDAY!
AND TAKE YOUR HAND OUT OF THAT
COOKIE JAR!!!

OFF TOPIC...

I saw this today and had to share it:

A first grade girl handed in the drawing below for a homework assignment.

After it was graded and the child brought it home, she returned to school the next day with the following note:

Dear Ms. Davis,

I want to be very clear on my child’s illustration. It is NOT of me on a dance pole on a stage in a strip joint. I work at Home Depot and had commented to my daughter how much money we made in the recent snowstorm. This photo is of me selling a shovel.

Mrs. Harrington

CLICK IT

I've been reading "Eat Me...The Food and Philosophy of Kenny Shopsin" and in it Kenny has a chapter on salads where he begins the chapter by saying that 99% of the food that he prepared in his restaurant over the years was food that he chose because it "clicked" with him.

He describes the whole experience of food "clicking" in his own eccentric way but to paraphrase it, it is more than the taste of the food or the feeling of being full...it is a satisfying experience...one that leaves you feeling sated and having had a complete dining experience.

He goes on to say that most salads don't "click" with him and he only puts them on the menu because his customers demand them.

"Salads, by definition, are supposed to be light and refreshing. According to my understanding, a salad is supposed to be an ensemble of delicate, non-dense ingredients that are put together in a very deliberate way to produce some kind of special, subtle culinary effect. None of these things interests me on any level--not intellectually or conceptually, and certainly not to sate my desires as an eater. I could eat a whole pile of salad, and an hour later I would still want a roast beef sandwich."

He goes on to say that no matter how much cheese and protein he puts in his salads or how large he makes them, the customers cover them with oil-rich dressings and eat the entire thing.

"If they had ordered something that clicked, I think they would be more focused on enjoying what they were eating, and as soon as they had had enough they would stop. Instead, they eat a salad because they think they should, and then they go home and eat a pint of ice cream."

I think Kenny is on to something here. I've had this same experience. And I love salads. I love the taste and texture, but I never feel as though I have had a meal when I'm done. The "click" is not there. I find that multiple courses help me feel as though I have "dined" no matter how small those portions are. A 4 ounce glass of tomato juice followed by a small salad, a portion of protein and a steamed vegetable, and then a sugar-free pudding is probably far fewer calories than a big chef salad with dressing and makes me feel as though I have had a meal!

Kenny does serve this salad in his restaurant. It is a platter full and serves 2 as an entree or 4 as a starter.

KENNY SHOPSIN'S BROWN RICE SPECIAL

2 cups cooked brown rice
1/2 cup shredded Muenster cheese
4 heaping cups chopped romaine lettuce (or any crispy lettuce)
1/2 cup walnuts, crushed lightly
a small handful of white mushrooms (about 1/2 cup), sliced
1 cup cut-up vegetables such as tomatoes, carrots, or cucumbers, or blanched broccoli or cauliflower
Soy sauce to taste

Mix the rice and cheese together in a microwaveable blowl and nuke until the cheese melts enough so you can stir it into the rice.
Pile the lettuce on a giant plate. Sprinkle the walnuts in the center of the lettuce. Plonk the cheesy rice on top of the walnuts and spread it out so that it sits on the lettuce like the snow on a snowcapped mountain. Place the mushroom slices and vegetables on top of the rice in whatever arranged pattern you want. Then sprinkle soy sauce all over everything.

THIS IS THE ONLY THING I'M INTERESTED IN TODAY

THE 44TH PRESIDENT
OF
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
BARACK OBAMA
JANUARY 20, 2009

CHANGE THE BUTTONS

One of the knitting blogs I read regularly offered the suggestion this morning that we look at sweaters that have gotten a little boring and think about changing the buttons to something more current and by doing this turn it into something new and exciting again.

Hmmm...

My prayer on this Inauguration Day eve is that we are getting a new sweater in Washington tomorrow and not and old one with new buttons! I think we've worn that one long enough!

Have a great Monday!

STAND BY ME

I think no matter which candidate we chose to support in this year's Presidential election, we are all ready to take a deep breath and hope that there will be positive change for us all in the next four years.

Having a new administration take office is similar to the feeling we get when we hang that new calendar every January...you know it may be hard, but all things seem possible again.

I think we all hope for a renewed connectedness with the world at large...a chance to renew our faith in mankind and look for the similarities between ourselves and our neighbors rather than the differences.

With that in mind, I offer this...

MIND THE GAP

It is so cold over the Midwest that as I look out the picture window onto the field behind the house, it appears more like a photograph than an action shot...frozen in time! There is steam rising from the White River behind the field but none off the little lake in the foreground. It gave up its heat several days ago.

The Husband came in last night and asked if I wanted to go out! Yeah, when the temperature is back in the reasonable range of perhaps above zero! Ugh!

So, I am bundled safe inside and the only time I have to face that cold air is when I let the dog out every now and then. btw...regular readers...Kipper is faring nicely with his routine of eating only dog food once a day and in an amount recommended for a dog his size! The only time he's been close to insurrection is when I opened a can of tuna yesterday and I thought he was going to attack the trash can with me standing right there to get to the empty can. A round of "bad boy" was had by all and he's back on the straight and narrow! I've been giving his ears a good rubbing when he comes in from the cold rather than his old treat of a dog biscuit and he seems fine with that.

I've been knitting like crazy...finished two pair of kid socks and began a heavily patterned pair of two color stranded ones... and watching British movies and old TV series on Netflix...a perfectly sane thing to do during this cold spell.

We will be spending part of Sunday and Monday with our oldest granddaughter, Audrey. If it warms enough, we may go see a movie or just stay home and watch some of the inaugural festivities and maybe do some cooking...she loves being in the kitchen!

Eating in a healthy manner is no problem with Audrey. She asks me whats to eat and chooses things like cottage cheese and sweet red pepper strips over granola bars or chips. One of the first solid foods she chose as a toddler was salad. She is a natural. And she enjoys reading! If I can just teach her to knit!

PRACTICE ...PRACTICE...PRACTICE

Have you tried to learn something new lately? They say it keeps your brain young and enhances your life, but as you get a little older, it is also devilishly hard!

The Husband had his second lesson last night on his banjo I bought him for Christmas. He is at the stage where the instrument is still an entity that his body feels unfamiliar with. He's still learning how to hold it, to wrap his fingers around it, to feel that it is an extension of him. He is still nervous about tuning it for fear he will "mess it up" beyond repair. And even though he was well aware that playing the banjo for his own pleasure...as in picking out a recognizable tune...was going to take practice, I think the reality of that truth is sinking in.

But even in this short time, he has been able to train his fingers to go for the proper string without his having to look at them. He is teaching the fingers of the other hand to reach around the banjo for the frets. None of this is automatic or easy...he has to practice in order for that brain/body connection to become second nature and give the illusion that it is so.

When he returned from his lesson last night, I was just finishing a sock for one of our granddaughters and was casting on for the second one. It might have appeared effortless to him but I knew the practice that had gone into making that cast-on.

The desire to learn it was there...I really wanted to be able to begin a sock from the toe end so I could use every scrap of an expensive yarn in the process of making a sock and not have to guess how much I needed to spare for the foot and toe while I was making the top.

So I read directions for doing the cast-on. I watched videos for doing the cast-on.

And then I sat down and tried to do it myself and wasn't so sure I was meant to learn this particular cast-on! But I kept trying and pretty soon, I was doing it...not a pretty one and with awkward hands...but I was doing it! And now that I have done more of them, the movements have become less awkward and the end result is neater.

All this talk of practice and training our mind/body connections got me to thinking about the process by which I have been training myself to eat better. There are times when I have wished for an effortless route to that end...one that was automatic and easily learned. I wanted to pick up that instrument and learn that I was a prodigy and begin a lifetime of flawless playing. But it does take practice and more practice.

But having done that, sometimes we can surprise even ourselves when following a long period of not playing that we can pick up that instrument and the result of all that practice comes flooding back to us. Our minds say, "I remember this!" and send out those signals that our bodies became accustomed to during all those past training sessions.

It's the way I feel when I eat my breakfast of whole wheat toast and peanut butter or enjoy a bowl of yogurt and fruit. My body and my mind immediately return to those times I have practiced my healthy eating patterns and all that learned behavior is there for the asking!

It is for that reason that we should look upon all this as one extended adventure where we are constantly learning and not as a set of successful dieting experiences that end in failure and demand that we learn yet another diet that we must follow until the next failure occurs.


My friend, Arlene, said it very well this week:

I have a new paradigm: I'm reaching out and holding on tightly to that Arlene who, on 10-22-01 began a lifetime of appropriate eating habits that manifested itself in a whole new look 18 months later. There's been a bit of a break in the connection between us. This has resulted in an exterior that looks like a somewhat inflated model of that seen in October 2001. That's an unpleasant detail. I, the Arlene of January, 2009, am claiming a continuity with who I was a little less than six years ago.

We must not give up riding because we fell off once. We have to get right back on and try again!
We need not fear learning a new song because the first try at playing it was a little awkward.
And we must not feel that nothing was learned because we haven't chosen to draw upon that knowledge for a while. The learned behavior is there...we just have to reach for it.

A GOOD DAY FOR SOUP

Let's cook a pot of split pea soup today! Here in Indianapolis, it is definitely a bowl of hot homemade soup kind of day. The cold air from Canada...thanks a lot, Canada!...is moving down our way bringing some cold winds and the promise of snow.

I think of every soup I make, this is probably my favorite. And so easy! I went to my recipe site to copy the recipe over here and was shocked to find I had not written it up and stored it there before now. But it will be there after today.


I keep everything to make split pea soup in the cupboard all the time since the ingredients are so simple. Here goes!

KATHY'S SLIMMED DOWN SPLIT PEA SOUP

1 16-ounce bag split peas
1 small onion, diced
8 cups water
2 1/2 Tablespoons ham flavored soup base
Red pepper flakes...I use 1/8 tsp
Combine all ingredients in soup pot and bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer over medium-low for a couple of hours until the beans have softened and melted into the broth. Add extra water if needed to prevent the soup from becoming too thick.

A lot of people like adding real ham or a ham bone to this but I prefer the soup base and it reduces the calorie and fat count. Diced carrots or even diced potato can also be added but I prefer just the onion.

Split pea soup is full of fiber and very filling...another reason I like having it when I'm in the mood for cozy warmth. You just feel more snug when you are inside looking out at bad weather and you have a comfortably full tummy!

Extras freeze well, but I always manage to get a pot eaten before I have to worry about any long term storage issues!

I don't know how many of you are familiar with soup bases, but they are great to keep in the pantry. They are the secret to great flavor in soups, sauces, even gravy! I always keep a jar of beef, chicken, and ham in the kitchen. There is also a vegetable base available.

I use the L.B. Jamison's brand most of the time because it is stocked in the supermarkets I frequent, but there are other brands that are good, as well. Penzey's Spices carries them on-line if you can't find them near you. They also have pork, seafood, and turkey bases which I am definitely going to try.

If you look at the nutritionals on these bases, they might scare you because the proportion of fat is a little high. A 1 tsp. serving is 15 calories and 10 calories...1 gram...of that is fat, but you only use 1 tsp. per cup of liquid and even less if you are just trying to add extra flavor to an already existing broth. In other words, I use a teaspoon per cup of water if water is the base of the soup or sauce I am flavoring, but if I am using chicken broth, for instance, and I want to make it taste a little richer, I might add only 1/2 tsp. per cup of chicken broth, so the fat content is relatively low in the complete recipe.

You also have to watch the sodium content in these soup bases. If you add them to ingredients that are already salted, the final product can be a little too salty. Because of that, I try to get low-sodium canned products like tomatoes or tomato juice if I know I'm going to be adding the base and I always wait until the liquids in soups have reduced before adding the final seasonings.

I use these routinely so I don't have to add meat to soups or casseroles. It saves calories and my husband really prefers soups without added meat.

So the soup is simmering and I have some good books and a knitting project to work on and in the words of so many Hoosiers before me...let it snow!

I'M GLAD IT WAS FREE

Like some of you, I was contacted recently to ask if I'd like to try Long John Silver's new Freshside Grille meals. I thought it would be fun to be a taste tester and represent weight loss bloggers in an effort to let them know if this was a hit or miss venture on their part.

I soon received some LJS "money" in the mail and we finally had the opportunity this past weekend to go try it out.

There are three meals...Grilled Tilapia, Shrimp Scampi, and the picture below is supposed to be the Grilled Pacific Salmon.

First of all, I so wish my meal had looked half this good! But I'll forgive them that.

This is supposed to be a 4.5 oz serving of salmon @ 150 calories and 5 grams of fat.
The rice it is sitting on is a 5 oz serving @ 270 calories and 4.5 grams of fat.
The vegetable medley is 4 oz @ 60 calories and 2 grams of fat.
The corn with butter oil ??? is 3.6 oz @ 150 calories and 10 grams of fat.
And the breadstick was 170 calories and 3.5 grams of fat.

Now, assuming you ate everything on this plate...there was no fresh lemon, btw...you would be taking in 800 calories and 25 grams of fat.

But, even if I were willing to do that, I found the food just plain inedible for the most part. The salmon seriously looked like something from a can of cat food...soft and mushy with a lot of dark and light spots and a sauce that was surely designed to cover up flavors rather than inhance them...loads of black pepper and I'm not sure what else! The rice was watery looking and flavorless. The corn was dried out. The vegetables were overdone and tasted like sage. The only bright spot was the breadstick which was delivered to me hot and crispy like a little baguette! That was quite a surprise!

I've eaten this type of meal at other fast food fish places and frankly they were done better. Captain D's has a salmon plate that features a firm piece of salmon with a teriyaki glaze that is pretty good. You are allowed to choose your own sides and I usually have their excellent green beans, a side salad, or a plain baked potato. They also make the mistake of placing the salmon atop a bed of tasteless rice unless I remember to request that they not do it. And their breadstick is very good too. I always tell The Husband that it tastes like a yeast doughnut minus glaze! Not so much healthy but definitely tasty!

I'm not writing this to put these meals down. Most of us who are seeking a healthier meal know what to expect when we find ourselves eating in these places for one reason or another. The vegetables are universally overcooked. The fish or shrimp are often covered with a sauce to keep them from appearing as dry and overcooked as they are. There is almost always a big serving of bland looking rice under the seafood.

These places are clearly clueless as to what people like us want in these meals. It's like they are putting on a show of presenting us with a choice that they really don't care about. Otherwise, someone along the line would turn to someone else and ask, "Have you tasted this???"

I tried really hard to come up with a couple of suggestions to offer to the company and I have to admit it is difficult, but I did suggest they lower the fat on the vegetables so we could at least try to eat them...as overcooked as they are...without the added fat. And the total meal should be between 350 to 500 calories, ideally. And they can pitch the rice! If they want the seafood to sit on something, maybe a lettuce leaf would suffice.

I think if I were designing a little side menu for the people who want to eat something resembling a healthy choice in this enviorn of all things fried, I would suggest keeping it simple and make it a shrimp cup with cocktail sauce over it or even a seafood salad with little shrimp and some of that imitation crabmeat, a little celery and a light mayo dressing with one of those fabulous bread sticks! How about that baked potato most of them have with a broccoli, carrot, and chunks of dry-rubbed spicy salmon topping atop it?

What would you like to see on these menus? Any ideas?

Oh! And by the way! I went home after a taste test of each thing and made me a great veggie open-face sandwich on a whole wheat English muffin toasted and then spread with some light cream cheese, a tablespoon of chopped pecans, and topped with sweet onion, cucumber, lettuce and tomato! Heaven...pure Heaven!

POOR KIPPER!

I hope no burglars try to get in the house in the next few weeks! I'm not sure the dog would warn us of impending danger. He's a bit ticked off at us right now!

You see, we felt it was time to put Fatty McButterball on a weight loss regimen!

It's not his fault. He came to us lean and mean and we have tried to kill him with kindness...a bit of ham here...a carryout box there...until the point where the grandkids come through the door and declare, "Kipper! You need to stop eating!" (Gee, I'm glad they have been brought up nicely enough to not say that to their grandparents!)

It all came to a head when a friend of my husband's who trains rescue dogs came to help him with a household chore and saw the dog for the first time in a while. He warned us that it was really bad for his joints to carry extra weight. He's already suffered one leg injury scurrying off the deck after a squirrel!

So we took his advice and are limiting him to the amount of dog food he needs for his size. We are to put it down once a day and allow him about half an hour to eat and then we are to take the bowl up until the next day. (It seems so harsh!) We had let dry dog food sit in his bowl 24/7 in case he wanted any after he'd eaten everything else we gave him!

And it was our little ritual that I would have a dog biscuit waiting for him when he came in from his 3a.m. trip outside every night! The treat worked to my benefit because he came in more quickly if he knew he had a treat waiting and I could slip back into my cozy bed sooner.

But last night he came back to find no treat and as I walked back to the bedroom he just stood and stared at me. He finally came to the bedroom door and I patted the bed next to me for him to jump up and lie down beside me for a while...another of our rituals. But he sniffed and went to lie next to my sleeping husband instead!

Hey! I don't blame him! I'm kinda testy when I have to go without my treats too!

IT'S BEEN LOVELY, BUT I HAVE TO SCREAM NOW!

I JUST THOUGHT
YOU
MIGHT WANT TO SEE
A PICTURE OF
MY WEIGHTLOSS JOURNEY!

I joke because I've survived it and am on a smooth patch right now. But, gosh darn, look at all those slippery slopes I've been surrounded by! No wonder I've fallen off and had to climb back up so many times!

Most of those hairpin turns have come during holiday seasons.

And Boredom Pass has given me problems more than once.

And the detours!!!

And the bad directions from people who professed to know the way to my destination!!!

Not to mention all the restaurants I've stopped at along the way!!!

Well, I've got the map turned right side up now and the sun is at my back. It has been a great week for making progress and I'm certainly happy about that. Now all I have to do is get through the weekend without having to make a rest stop!

WE LIKE THE VOLUME TURNED ALL THE WAY UP!

Adding volume to your meals to help fill you up while saving calories is back in the news. This is a trick I employ quite a lot when I'm working my plan, so I thought I'd focus today on a couple of my favorites.

My lunches are mostly eaten at home alone so I frequently rely on leftovers from a dinner meal that I have frozen in single serving sizes. I also keep a few of my favorite frozen dinners available so I get something prepared quickly and with minimum fuss.

But if you're like me, sometimes the portions are a little small and I just want to eat more than that. I could add a salad but I try not to wear myself out on salads by eating them at every meal. So I add volume to the meal by adding some extra vegetables to it.

Yesterday I had the Roasted Butternut Squash Ravioli dinner I love in the microwave when I decided I wanted a little more so I quickly tossed a combination of shredded cabbage, onion, minced garlic, and green pepper around in a non-stick pan sprayed with Pam. By the time the dinner was warm, I had the vegetables crisp tender and lay them down on the plate and poured the dinner on top. It was great and filled me up without adding more points.

For dinner, I wanted to use a strip of smoked sausage I had frozen, but a two ounce serving of that is already 8 points, so I decided to accompany it with something that was not going to add a lot of extra points. Following the advice of eating a vegetable to start the meal, I made us each a salad with lots of raw vegetables and a little vinegar and oil dressing.

And to add volume to the main part of the meal, I made my recipe for "When You Want To Eat a Lot Green Beans". The combination ot the smoked sausage and the green beans was really good and I wound up satisfied with the small portion of smoked sausage I had measured out for myself.

I also make an oriental vegetable mix that is zero points and is a great base for adding shrimp or chicken and forming a low point entree. It is also really good in a wrap or used to extend a frozen dinner as I did with the ravioli yesterday.

One of my favorite ways to add volume to milk is to measure out the one cup serving and blend it with an equal amount of ice, an artificial sweetener, a drop of vanilla, and a teaspoon and a half of unsweetened cocoa powder. The ice and the introduction of air during the blending process expand the volume of the milk to at least double what it was to begin with and the shake really fills me up!

Anytime you can add a little more volume to a meal with tricks like these, you are increasing the chance that you will be full when you leave the table and that's a good thing when you're trying to keep the calories low.

HAPPINESS IS A PLACE BETWEEN TOO LITTLE AND TOO MUCH.

I read this hint somewhere yesterday and decided to incorporate it into my meal plans...begin each dinner meal with a vegetable...either soup or salad.
It will get you off to a nice start to the meal, will provide another serving or two of vegetables, and it will take the edge off your hunger so you can eat a smaller portion of the more calorie dense dinner meat or pasta and still be satisfied.

I began last night's dinner with a cup of Italian Wedding Soup from Campbell's Select Harvest line. (Try them...lots of different flavors and way low in fat and sodium!) A cup of hot soup takes a while to eat and knocks off some of that 20 minutes it takes for your body to register that you are full. It also gave us a little time to talk and enjoy the meal. All too often, we rush through dinner to get on to the next event...often just The Husband heading to the deck with the dog to enjoy a few minutes of cigar smoking and enjoying some fresh air!

We went on to have a new recipe of pork loin cooked with peaches and a nice sauce over basmati rice that I had put in the crockpot early in the day. It was really good and we both left some of our moderate portions on our plates because we were feeling full.

We sometimes have a little pre-dinner snack if it is going to be awhile before we eat. The Husband eats lunch at 11a.m. and comes home hungry! One of our favorites is a glass of tomato juice and some raw vegetables with Laughing Cow cheese wedges.

I think most of us watched Monday's Oprah show and one of the things I brought away from it was Bob Greene's assertion that those of us with weight problems are always looking for "The Cure" and sometimes feel that the battle is over once we lose weight but the truth is that we will have to deal with the problem the rest of our lives whether or not we keep the extra weight off.

I've always felt in my own battle with weight that losing the weight is probably the easier part. Being overweight at least provides motivation for doing what needs to be done, but once the weight is gone, the weekly reward of seeing those numbers go down on the scale is gone too. Maintenance is like marriage after the honeymoon period...you have what you worked so hard to get and now you have to learn to live with it!

REAL PLEASURE FROM EATING HAS RETURNED

I felt just the way this cat looks a few days ago...stuffed! After all the tastes of this and the bites of that during the holidays, I felt bloated and full all the time. I had little interest in meals or food, but I was still grabbing a little something every time I passed the counter in the kitchen where the goodies were still out on display. A handful of pistachios in the shell, a piece of candy, a cookie.
I'd like to say that I was at least enjoying the treats, but I wasn't. I was tired of them...bored by them...but I was still eating them. When these foods are present in such abundance and eaten so frequently, they are, in the end, like drugs that no longer bring pleasure but encourage you to continue to eat them anyway hoping that this time the pleasure will return!

A few days into sensible eating again and my eyes are open to that truth. Eating in moderation and not stuffing between meals brings me to the table with a real appetite and interest in eating food that is alive with taste, color, and texture. Hunger is the best seasoning, afterall!

And I am enjoying the food and the eating experience again. I am eating because I am physically hungry and I want nourishment and not because I am bored and seeking a little food "high".

A whole wheat English muffin with peanut butter spread lightly on top satisfies me in a way a full course breakfast at a local eatery does not.

A crisp, fresh apple makes me soar in a way an apple dumpling does not.

A sensible dinner eaten at the table with my husband nourishes me in a way that grabbing take out on the run never will.

Because with these meals, I have the added pleasure of knowing that I've put the brakes on that slow suicide that overindulging in the wrong foods leads me to participate in. I feel stong and happy with a renewed zest for life when I know I am eating in a way that is not harmful to my body.

It is a feeling that I treasure...not so much for the feeling of power over food...I know that is fleeting, but for the renewed interest in caring for myself as much as I care for family and friends. That's a good feeling to begin the day with!

HEADGAMES

Okay...in ideal land there would always be routine and we would never desire those foods that we blame for making us fat ever again. No more fried chicken, double cheeseburgers, fries or pizza.

We would never again eat one of our Mom's Sunday dinners of baked ham with the sugar glaze and macaroni and cheese or hot rolls...and don't even mention the apple pie!

The first week in January is when we all swear that we have seen the light and are swearing off those indulgences forever.

But then the Super Bowl Party is planned and then there is the birthday party at work and the winter cruise we have planned for a year.

Lets face it. There will always be something. And we all know that we will not move forward until we find a way to face those issues. Today...while we're all still feeling strong...I want to ask:

What trick have you used successfully in the past to get through those times? Share now, because we all need to be armed with ideas for the inevitable!

Here's one from me:
But, Kathy! That's just some leftover food on a plate! RIGHT!!!

But here's my new take on it that really works for me. We've all read that it only takes a few extra calories a day to add weight over a year's time. And when I was eating one of those meals I wrote about above, I always tried to figure out what I WOULD eat from that plate and that approach always left me wanting more than I had allotted myself.

So, I got to thinking about the calories I could leave uneaten on the plate and made a game of counting how many points or calories I was sending back instead of how much I ate and the little head-game worked! I would decide over and over again that I could easily leave 5 bites of something...ok, make it 7! Or I would leave 10 fries and pretty soon, I would decide that they weren't that good anyway and would leave 25!

And when you start adding up all those uneaten calories and multiply them times the days, months, and years ahead, you can see that this approach can really be helpful in losing a few pounds or at least staving off a gain.

Now, what works for you?

I'M PERFECTLY FINE WITH NOT BEING PERFECT

PERFECTION! Every one of us who diets yearns for it and if it were possible to achieve it, we would all be so thin!

I once stuck to a diet plan for over a year and a half without ever breaking the rules. I was so determined that the plan was going to work for me that I would refuse anything that wasn't allowed even when by doing so, I would have to go without food at all. I followed that plan like my life depended upon it and I lost weight...lots of it.

I would wake up in the morning and wonder why I had ever been overweight in the first place. Why hadn't I eaten like this all along? It wasn't hard. I wasn't even tempted by things I shouldn't be eating. I felt like I could go on like that forever.

But then circumstances changed. I went back to work and the stress of a new job, family, and home began to take its toll. I began to have episodes of hypoglycemia and there was nothing in my plan that allowed for that. I was to eat three meals a day with NOTHING in between but my blood sugar was dropping low enough that it actually left me unable to do basic math! I could not jeopardize my patients by trying to work in that condition, so I did what I felt was necessary and began to allow myself a small glass of orange juice followed by a chunk of cheese if I felt an episode coming on.

That change in The Plan was all it took to throw me for a loop and begin the tumble back to my old way of eating. It didn't happen overnight, but it did happen.

I had learned how to follow The Plan, but I had learned nothing about how to prepare for real life circumstances or how to handle a slip.

That same process has happened to me more than once in a life filled with dieting experiences.

When I hear or read about someone who has been perfect on their plan and lost week after week and hear them say that they will NEVER go back to eating the way they used to, I just want to say, "Oh, child!!!"

I've experienced this so many times that I no longer seek perfection in any plan. I'm almost grateful when the first slip occurs and I can deal with the reality of what achieving a real change in eating habits is all about.

Staying On Plan is always the ideal and the state in which we lose weight the best, but the real test of lifestyle change is being able to stare down the food that isn't on your plan and finding a way to deal with it in a mature way. If WW teaches us anything at all, it is that there is no food we can't have as long as we eat it in a sensible way. Eat it but eat less of it. Balance that meal with all the other meals where you do eat those vegetables and lower fat choices. It can work. It does work.

And you don't even have to be PERFECT!

I RESOLVE TO SAVE THE WORLD ONE PERSON AT A TIME!

I was just reading through a few blogs this morning...I am seriously behind!...when I ran across one where the author had made a list of New Year's resolutions for the people in her life! Now there is a New Year's tradition I could get into!!! lol!!!

It's always so easy to find the faults in others and know just what it would take to make improvements that would make the world a better place for everyone.

Smokers would no longer smoke! Drinkers would no longer drink! There would be no drug abuse!

You see, I have no desire to do any of those things. They don't appeal to me and it is so simple for me to just say, "No!"

And even overeating is such a simple matter when it is someone else who is doing the overeating.

Even though I share in the problem, I can usually find some way that I deal with it better than the next guy...I don't eat after dinner...I don't binge...I don't eat THAT much!!!

How nice it would be if I could just solve the problems of all those other people!

I think I'm going to make that list right now!

MARK'S "GEEK" GLOVES

I was given a request by my SIL, Mark, for a pair of gloves with the thumbs and index fingers removed to make texting easier.

Now, I don't get too many requests for knitted items...especially from the men folk in the family...so I knew that I must meet this challenge. We discussed how much of each digit he wanted exposed, one hand or two, general sizing matters, and other details and I headed back to Indianapolis on a mission.

These are similar to the Cigar Gloves that Knitty featured awhile back and they fit him perfectly. Now I have requests for fishing gloves from The Husband and the other SIL with openings in the same digits similar to buttonholes that they can bring the finger and thumb through when they are dealing with lines and hooks and then return them to the warmth of the glove when they are through.

So, now I am in the glove making business for a while!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Another year begins...and we have no idea what it will bring. For most of us it will be a mixture of good and bad, of events we have control over and those we don't, and of things we could have predicted and those we would never have dreamed of.

Last year was certainly one of those, wasn't it?

There seem to be two things that each of us can do to make it a better year.

First, we can bring positive change into our own lives by doing what needs to be done. We can care for our bodies by making better food choices, by moving more, and by getting adequate rest.

We can take better care of our finances by using credit less, making do with what we already have, and eating at home more.

We can take better care of our personal relationships by taking the time to talk to each other and listen to what the other person is saying. We can prepare meals together, do household chores together, and play together.

Second, we can survive whatever comes our way by making an effort to see the glass half full and not half empty.

One of my husband's favorite sayings is the one about the man who complains about having no shoes until he sees the guy who has no feet.

It's all relative, isn't it? The fella who has his hourly wage cut is better off than the guy who sees his hours cut who is better off than the guy who loses his job who is better off than the guy who is homeless who is better off than the guy who is in poor health who is better off than the guy who has lost his life. It seems there is always someone worse off and something that we can find to be thankful for.

In spite of the challenges that are facing us in the New Year, I think each of us has reason for extreme Hope and the promise of continued Happiness in 2009!

If nothing else, anyone who is reading this has an internet connection! That's a beginning, huh!!!