Shrinking Daisy

5.8

Tuesday, March 24th, 2009 | Thoughts | No Comments

Can you believe that number? 5.8 is the number of times that the average adult eats out every week! Here’s another shocker, 19% of all meals in America today are eaten in a vehicle.  That one just makes me sad.

Well, I was a little shocked when I saw the 5.8 number, but after thinking about it, I’m probably right there in that typical zone.  How many “let’s do lunch” business situations come up in my life? It’s not uncommon to have 3 or 4 a week, then add on a dinner out with the hubby, appetizers with friends, an “I’m to busy to cook” sushi or salad bar grab at the super market and I’m already over the limit! So what can we do to cope with all of these tempting and possibly out of control situations?

Well, I’ve got a couple of friends who are consultants (translation, people who eat out for at least 15 of their 21 weekly meals) and manage to keep the pounds at bay, so I inquired as to their secrets and here are three great tricks:

1. Don’t view every time you eat out as a “special occasion.”  When we were kids, it seemed like a big deal to go to a restaurant, and you wanted to make sure you got the most out of your experience.  Now when we’re going out 6+ times a week, it’s not special anymore.  Don’t feel like to have to finish it all or order the specialty brownie sundae, you can always come back!
2. Ruin your Dinner.  This is another one that goes against everything we learned in kindergarten, but if you don’t come to dinner starving, that chili cheese fry explosion will be a lot easier to resist.
3. Free is not Free.  Even if it’s on the company dime, it’s on your thighs, remember that and calculate the true cost of that meal for your waistline!

Tags: restaurant, weight loss

Bleary-Eyed Exercising Excitement!

Tuesday, March 24th, 2009 | Exercise, Thoughts | No Comments

So… here’s a confession: If I don’t work out the moment I wake up in the morning, there’s only about a 50% chance that I will… If I make it past noon, it’s around 15%.  People say they can’t get up, but to each his own.  For me I can’t argue with myself at 5:30am, I’m too foggy.  I just get up and do it, like brushing your teeth.

Lately though, the old routine had gotten stale, the elliptical, while I love it, just wasn’t vaulting me out of bed every morning, it was a cardio rut.  Lucky me, I have an awesome weight watcher group, and a couple of weeks ago, they came up with a lot of great ideas, which I’ve since stolen and seriously pumped up the volume on my AM workout:

• Netflix: Did you know that Netflix has tons of exercise DVDs, and many of them on demand to be watched at the drop of a hat??? I didn’t, but now I’m dancercising, kickboxing, and doing pilates whenever I feel the bug, how fun is that?
• Drop in Classes: My local community center has FREE drop in classes so you can try before you buy! This is great for super cheapos like me who dread buyers remorse! I’ve signed up for an early AM extreme spinning class after LOVING the first one, YAY!
• Alternative Sports: Why do I always think that just because I can’t catch a ball or figure out how to play a team sport that I can’t participate in any sport??? I’ve been inspired to get in some sporty fun by tuning up my bike for some team rides and signing up for a rowing seminar!

Ok, are you exhausted yet? Seriously folks you think there couldn’t be any more but there is! A challenge, something to strive for, I’m signing up for the local Susan G Komen race for the cure in August.  The area weight watcher leaders and members are forming a team, and I think it will be a wonderful experience for everyone!

Tags: Exercise, weightwatchers

The Yummiest Peanut Butter Cookies Ever!!

Tuesday, March 24th, 2009 | Recipe | No Comments

That’s right people here we have, not the yummiest low calorie peanut butter cookies, but the yummiest peanut butter cookies period! Really, you don’t believe me? Try them out for yourself.  Chewy, nutty; my husband loves them, my friends ask for the recipe, and the weight watchers didn’t want to eat them because they didn’t believe they could be so low calorie!

I must admit, I am not the original peanut butter genius here, the credit goes to the brainiacs over at Bell Plantation peanut farms in Georgia.  They’ve figured out how to make a totally fantastic powdered version of peanut butter, that eliminates a lot of the fat, while still smacking of peanutty goodness. 

I’ve ripped off the recipe from the www.bellplantation.comwebsite (makers of PB2) with minor modifications, and now, you can rip them off from me, and have your own little piece of peanut butter heaven!

Chewy PB2 Cookies (25 cookies)  

 1/2 cup(s) sugar 

 1/2 cup(s) packed brown sugar 

 1 item(s) egg 

 1 tsp vanilla extract 

 1 tsp baking soda 

 1 tsp table salt 

 2 tbsp honey 

 1/4 cup(s) water 

 1 cup PB2 (dry)

 3/4 cup(s) whole wheat flour 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium-sized bowl, cream together sugars, egg, vanilla, baking soda, salt, honey, water and PB2, beating until smooth. Add flour, beating until mixture is well combined. Dough will be very sticky. Drop Tbsp-sized balls onto prepped baking sheets. Press top of each cookie with a fork to make parallel lines, flattening cookies to about 1/3 to 1/2 inch thick. Bake cookies for 10 minutes, reversing pans midway through (top to bottom, bottom to top). Remove from oven, and transfer to a rack to cool. 

	Nutrition Facts    25 Servings     Amount Per Serving   Calories 69.7   Total Fat 0.9 g       Saturated Fat 0.2 g       Polyunsaturated Fat 0.0 g       Monounsaturated Fat 0.6 g   Cholesterol 8.5 mg   Sodium 172.6 mg   Potassium 18.8 mg   Total Carbohydrate 13.4 g       Dietary Fiber 0.6 g       Sugars 5.9 g   Protein 2.5 g

Tags: cookie, dessert, PB2, peanut butter, Recipe, weightwatcher recipe