Starting to look like FALL!!!

Hi everyone!  I'm sorry I haven't been around much.  I thought summer was busy, but fall got busier!!  Flag football season is over now, but we are ramping up into winter and Christmas season (less than 2 months away, as of today).   Now that it's raining (and dark) I'm afraid my morning walks with my walking buddy may be over.  What does everyone else do in the fall and winter when the weather gets bad?  We have to keep out activity points up.  I'm thinking it's time to break out the Wii Fit again.  Wahoo!!

 

And now... our weekly message from KAY!!!

 

Hi Everyone,

Good to see all of you this last week.  Are you treating yourself to something special this week?  For those of you who were not able to attend, last weeks topic was "Celebrating Your Successes".  I think the second meeting on Saturday came up with more than twenty ways (non-food rewards by the way) to celebrate those successes.  I am looking forward to hearing what you did when I see you this next week.

And we should have totals on the weight losses for "Lose For Good".

Happy Losing Everyone

Kay

Kay is back!!

Greetings All!

I am back from sunny Florida and it was good to see all of you there on Saturday.  I will be back in full force starting this next week.

Think about our topic this last week----what tools that WW makes available are your favorites?  Hope that you are taking advantage of all of those things that help all of us with this weight loss journey.  I learned a lot about e-tools and don't think that I have been taking full advantage of that tool.  Will make that my priority for the week.

Looking forward to seeing you all soon.

This is our last week for Lose For Good.  Be sure and enter your guess for the pounds of food that we will be donating to the Food Bank the week of 10/25.  Announcement of winners will be as soon as I get the total pounds from them. 

Don't forget our saying this week:  "Nothing ventured, Nothing LOST"

SMART goals

I have been lucky enough to have worked in several places where the company brings in a lecturer to help teach you how to do your job better. The one that worked the best for me (at least the one that I remember the best today) was the person who taught me about making SMART goals.

I always thought that making goals was as easy as saying "I will loose 15 pounds". Well, it is and it isn’t. That is a great goal. But it needs more to be a SMART goal. There are 5 components to a SMART goal.

     Specific
     Measurable
     Achievable
     Recordable and
     Time bound

To make your goal, "I will loose 15 pounds", a SMART goal it just has to include those 5 things.

Maybe "I will loose 15 pounds by Thanksgiving Day, by sticking with my daily Points Targets and adding a 15 minute walk each morning before work. I won’t dip into my 35 extra (flex) Points, instead I will earn those points back with my Points Booster."

Is this goal Specific? Pretty much! I’m saying how I will achieve my 15 pound weight loss, by sticking with my daily Points target and adding 15 minutes of exercise.

Is this goal Measurable? You bet. I weigh in at each meeting and measure my weight. I also record my Points in my tracker.

Is this goal Achievable? I think so. 50 pounds by Thanksgiving probably isn’t, but 15 is reasonable. That’s approximately 2 pounds per week.

Is this goal Recordable? It’s recorded in my WW book each Saturday!!

Is this goal Time Bound? Yep. I gave myself the deadline of Thanksgiving day. That is 7 weeks from now.


I think that there are two other important parts to making a goal. The first is to share it. Tell someone who supports you what kind of goal you set and how you plan to reach the outcome. The second is to review it. You should have it written somewhere you will look at it to remind yourself that you actually have a goal that you are working towards.


Does anyone else have some tricks you use to write or reach a goal?

Grape Salsa Request

I had a request to put a shout out for the grape salsa recipe that was shared at the meeting a few weeks back.  Fortunatly, that recipe is a favorite in our family (it was my mother, Gayle, who brought the salsa to the meeting).  I had it handy!!!  Instead of using the bread/baguette that this recipe calls for, we quarter sandwhich thins, then toast them under the broiler.  You get 8 triangles for only 1 point (not including salsa) that way.   ENJOY!!!

A Bobby Flay Recipe
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Stand Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
6 servings

Ingredients

    1     cup red grapes, diced
    1     cup blue and/or black grapes, diced
    1/2     small red onion, finely chopped
    1     jalapeño pepper, finely chopped
    3     tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or flat-leaf parsley, plus leaves for garnish
    2     tablespoons red wine vinegar
    4     slices whole grain bread, quartered, OR 1 baguette, thinly sliced into 16 pieces
    6     ounces herbed goat cheese, slightly softened
    1/3     cup Hellmann's® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise

Methods/steps

Combine grapes, onion, jalapeño pepper, cilantro and vinegar in medium bowl. Season, if desired, with salt and pepper. Let stand at least 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Arrange bread on large baking sheet in a single layer and bake, turning once, 8 minutes or until lightly golden brown and crisp on both sides. Remove and let cool.
Combine goat cheese with mayonnaise in small bowl until smooth. Season, if desired, with salt and pepper. Evenly spread cheese mixture onto crostinis, then top with grape salsa.

Spuds?!

Did any one hear about the Executive Director of the Washington State Potato Commission, Chris Voight, who decided to eat only potatoes for the next 60 days?  He was tired of the bad press associated with the spud, which is really quite a good food.  If your interested in reading the article I have linked it here.   http://blog.seattlepi.com/thebigblog/archives/223293.asp?from=blog_last3.  It did make me think
about low point potato recipes.  I guess living in Idaho has rubbed off on me over the years.  I love potatoes.  I love baked potatoes with out most of the toppings (the toppings are where the Points hide).  Roasted potatoes and veggies, scalloped (whoa now, I don't eat that any more.  I can't stop with just one serving), hash browns, fries, chips, you name the potato dish and I probably like it.   So I looked up one that is only 3 Points (look at all the Fiber!) and is FANTASTIC!!    This recipe is from Cooking Light. 


Fingerling Potatoes With Oregano Pesto

Any kind of potato will work in place of the fingerlings. Just cut them up into 2-inch chunks.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 4 potatoes)

Ingredients

• 2  cups  torn spinach leaves
• 2  cups  fresh parsley leaves
• 1  cup  fresh oregano leaves
• 2  tablespoons  grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• 2  tablespoons  sliced almonds, toasted
• 1  tablespoon  lemon juice
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 2  large garlic cloves, peeled
• 2  tablespoons  olive oil
• 16  fingerling potatoes (1 1/2 pounds)

Preparation

Combine first 8 ingredients in a food processor; process until smooth. With food processor on, slowly add oil through food chute; process until well-blended. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 425°.
Place potatoes on a jelly-roll pan. Bake at 425° for 20 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Place potatoes in a large bowl; add 1/3 cup pesto, tossing gently to coat.
Note: Store remaining pesto in an airtight container in refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 188 (25% from fat)

Fat: 5.3g (sat 0.9g,mono 3.4g,poly 0.6g)

Protein: 5.9g

Carbohydrate: 31.2g

Fiber: 4.9g

Cholesterol: 1mg

Iron: 4.1mg

Sodium: 135mg

Calcium: 96mg