Convenience Foods

It could be a long few weeks. When we were remodeling our kitchen this past spring, we had little difficulty eating since we still had the convenience of the "MICROWAVE." In late July, yes exactly 100 days ago, we bought a new microwave because our old one wasn't heating anything anymore. Well, Tuesday night, our new microwave, which is 10 days past the store warranty, DIED! No problem, call the manufacturer and get a new one right? Yes, we will get a new one, but first I had to cut the power chord and send it in to them as if I could use the darn thing anyway! So, we are without the convenience of a microwave for at least three weeks. I am actually pleasantly surprised that we'll be getting a brand new one as I was expecting to have to bring the broken in somewhere to get it fixed.

So, the fun began yesterday when I had to make my oatmeal on the stovetop. I actually had to read the directions on the oatmeal, as I have never made oatmeal on the stove before. The rest of the day was fine, except for warming my cold coffee. Not quite sure how to tackle that one yet. This morning, I warmed mac & cheese on the stove as well. Not quite as quick as the microwave, but it worked and I'm sure the girls will still have the same luke-warm lunch they always do in their thermos.

Have a great Thursday and if you'd like to see the world's cutest foursome, check out the family blog for their school pictures.

Baby Carrots and Chlorine

We discussed this in one of the meetings I worked last week. Isn't there chlorine in our drinking water? It really can't be that bad for us, can it?

Now, if I can only find info on eating too many carrots and your hands turning orange. My colleagues that I ate lunch with always laughed at me until they actually looked at my hands and they had a more orange tint than everyone else's. I eat a good 3-4 pounds of carrots weekly and don't plan on changing till I turn into a carrot ;)

Tootsie Roll Eating Contest

Oh my!! I don't even want to tell you how many Tootsie Rolls I ended up eating yesterday, but the good thing is...no more Tootsie Rolls in the house. The kids Halloween treats are hidden out of sight and I am counting my points diligently this week to make up for the Tootsie Roll debacle.

Halloween is over!!

Dear Dolores Part II

Well, it was the last Saturday of the month, which usually means a lot of lifetime members that come in for their once a month weigh-in. I had been looking forward to seeing "Dolores" all month since I felt so horrible about her weigh-in last month. I am starting to find that I root for many members and really feel geniunely bad when they have a gain and worry about them when they don't come at all. I was not worried about "Dolores" at all, just anticipating her monthly weigh-in. I was busy at the reception desk and apparently, she was feeling very confident because she weighed in with the leader. I am proud to tell you that Dolores not only lost the required pound to get her within two pounds of her goal, but she got below her goal once again. Over a 3 pound loss! The Dolores plan works ;)

The kids went trick-or-treating in our downtown today. They got enough candy to last them till tomorrow. Tomorrow, is our community trick-or-treat, we always do it the Sunday before Halloween. It's looking to be a frigid day; highs in the 30's with winds up to 40mph. Our kids will go around the block and hopefully that will be enough for them, don't think many people will be sitting outside passing out candy as in recent years.

Friday Food Find

I haven't been on the look-out for many new foods lately, but this one caught my eye last week. One thing that I have been missing is pizza. While this Kashi Pizza is not the best pizza I have ever tasted, it will fill a hole that I have been searching for. I still prefer a Papa Murphy's Delite, but the Kashi's will start to be a staple in my freezer.

Any weekend challenges? Mine will be staying out of the Halloween candy. Not the stuff we're handing out, but the goodies returning in the kids treat bags and believe me, my 2nd grader will come home at least once to re-load the bag. My kids are so disciplined when it comes to eating their candy that they will probably have some of it left in time for Easter.

Before or After Pictures

What's your motivation to be healthy? In our meetings this past week, we discussed pictures and their motivation for all of us. I have always avoided the camera, but now since losing over 80 pounds, I try to get into a few more pictures. I believe it is because I want to stay motivated to remain at a healthy weight. My before pictures are few and far between. My after pictures are plentiful and happy. I am proud of my accomplishments and stay motivated by the success I have had so far. I know I am one apple pie away from returning to my old ways, so these "after" pictures will continue to be a great motivational tool.

This week on the Biggest Loser, Bob Harper mentioned something about believing in yourself because if you don't then how do you expect others to believe in you? This is definitely a journey in which you need a lot of self confidence and belief in your abilities. It's hard to remain diligent and focused all the time. It's easy to become lazy and break back into old habits.

So what makes a bigger impact on you, your before or after pictures?

Family Hike

On Sunday, we visited Grandma & Grandpa B and took a family hike through the Horicon Marsh. We picked a short trail, about 1 mile, and had a blast walking over the floating boardwalk. It was a beautiful day, a little windy, but still a great October day to view the colors of autumn. I'm not getting as many steps as I'd like right now. I'm shooting for at least 7500 a day for now and have down that without a problem most days, but I'd still like to get to a point where I can average 10,000. Hopefully, it will happen.

My leftovers are gone. We had a leftover night last night and cleaned out the fridge, the only thing remaining is the apple pie, which a few friends offered to come and take care of ;) My wife is more of a pie eater than I, but I think I'll freeze some of it since she doesn't need to be eating an entire pie in just a few days.

Leftover Madness

All of a sudden, we have a refrigerator full of leftovers. Leftover chop suey, leftover lasagna, leftover pizza, leftover mac & cheese, leftover ravioli, leftover chicken breast, leftover chicken parmesan, and a whole apple pie just staring me in the face. My days have been great so far at home, but how do I get these leftovers out of the house? My two year old has not been helping me with lunch. He has pretty much been living on apples and clementines with a few bites of hot dog blended in. In these days of conserving, I hate to throw them out, but I am tempted. I know the chop suey is past it's prime and the girls will be taking the mac&cheese and ravioli for lunch eventually. The pie is probably the biggest problem. Now as long as I don't start eating it, I'll be fine. I will not give in to the apple pie temptation and the leftovers will be gone sooner than later.

Friday Musings

After one full week home, I have discovered a good routine. I have made sure to wake up at the same time I was waking up while "working." This means that most days it's by 5:20 to exercise. I'm finding that I'm waking up without an alarm clock by that time and contemplating exercise anyway, so I'm getting myself out of bed to do it. Morning routine is the same, wake the kids up, breakfast, off to school and then it changes. I come back home with A and B and we eat breakfast. Then it's play time and by 10:00 we're all ready for another snack. After snack, we've been running errands (grocery store, Sam's Club, Target, Wal-mart, getting pictures taken ;), etc.) One stop a day has been a good rule of thumb so far. Today, we're off to a Holiday Bazaar at a facility that I worked at for 5 years. After our errands, it's lunch time followed by story time. Alex has been laying down great for me as long as he has his "naptime" blanket, which is much different than his bedtime blanket. He had a blanket at daycare for naps and has continued to use the same one and knows what time it is then. Nap for an hour, tidy up the house and relax for a bit then it's off to get the girls.

There really is little down time throughout the day and now I realize why our house never seemed to get straightened out during the summer when my wife was off school. I have a greater appreciate for those that can stay home and I am proud to be one of them.

Eating has been fine as I am treating my day like a job and only eating at specific times. It's still the evening that seems to kill me. Have a great Friday. Off to buy a new battery for the pedometer...have two pedometers and they're both dead. I've been pleasantly surprised by the number of steps I've been getting at home too.

What's Blue and White and Read All Over?

My family has been having the best time walking through our neighborhood this fall. Not only are the colors stunning this year, but my 2nd grader and 4Ker?? are having the best time reading. Reading on a family walk? What are they reading you ask? The "every-four-year-national-reading-program-without-really-meaning-to-be-a-reading-program": political yard signs. Caryn, my 4 year-old, has been pointing out every McCain sign along our route. I'm not sure if she's got the symbol down or recognizes the "C" as part of her name, but every time we see one, she shouts "MCCAIN!!" Not to be biased, she's also yelling out "OBAMA!!" each time we see his appropriate sign too. It's been quite fun to walk and find signs. We try not to get too involved in politics even though we know who we'll be voting for, but it sure is fun to watch our kids get excited about reading and walking. They've been looking forward to our walks and usually like to go down the same streets because they know there are tons of signs along the way.

Apple Picking Time

Saturday, the whole family went apple picking. I really enjoy this traditional outing especially since it is much easier than the tradition my parents always had: strawberry picking. The first time we went apple picking, I thought it would take forever, but really the apple are at a great height and apples are much bigger than berries so it only takes a short time to fill a bushel. It is very economical to do the picking yourself as well. In the apple house, there were some apples that were $12 for a 1/4 of a bushel and went you picked them yourself, it was $19 for a bushel no matter what kind of apple. We got a good variety. Now, what to do with close to a bushel of apples? Yesterday, we made two apple pies and I'd like to find a good recipe for an oatmeal/apple crisp that can be done in the slow-cooker. Anyone got one...Kathy? I'm thinking apple sauce might be fun to make and looking for a good recipe that for cookies that I could throw some apples into.

Darkness and More

I've definitely taken notice of the shorter days. My kids are noticing too and actually seem more tired just because of the early darkness. I have started exercising more in the evening as I hate getting up early and since the kids go to bed so early there really isn't anything else to do. I suppose I could talk to my wife ;)

First two days at home went well. The kids and I stayed busy both days, going to the park and running other errands. I really didn't have time to think about eating.

One great thing that happened during my last week at work was that the daycare teachers gifted me with a membership to the Betty Brinn Museum. It is an awesome children's museum and I will definitely be taking the boys there to get a few steps in. I'll park far away and walk to save a few bucks on parking and get extra walking.

Have a great weekend. The colors here in Wisconsin are breathtaking!

A Sweet Recipe

Yesterday, was my farewell potluck and I did end up bringing fruit kabobs with FF yogurt flavored with FF/SF cheesecake pudding. They were a hit. I also brought a sweet salsa recipe. I was a little too lazy to make homemade chips, but it worked fine with tortilla chips too. Dang, it's so good...who needs the chips??

Apple Berry Salsa with Cinnamon Chips

This fruit salsa makes a great appetizer or can be served as a fun side dish with a Mexican meal.

Cinnamon chips
4 (7-inch) flour tortillas
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Salsa
2 med Granny Smith apples
1 cup strawberries -- sliced
1 kiwi fruit -- peeled and chopped
1 small orange
2 tbsp packed brown sugar
2 tbsp apple jelly

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. For cinnamon chips, lightly spray tortillas with water. Combine sugar and cinnamon in flour/sugar shaker; sprinkle over tortillas. Cut each tortilla into 8 wedges; place in single layer on round baking stone. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned and crisp. Remove to cooling rack; cool completely.

For salsa, peel, core, and slice apples. Cut apples into quarters; chop with food chopper. Slice strawberries and chop kiwi. Place fruit in 1 quart bowl. Zest orange and juice. Add orange zest, orange juice, brown sugar and apple jelly to fruit mixture, mix gently. Serve with cinnamon chips.

Nutrients per serving (3 tablespoons salsa): Calories 30, Total Fat 0g, Saturated Fat 0g, Cholesterol 0mg, Carbohydrate 8g, Protein 0g, Sodium 0mg, Fiber 1g.

Nutrients per serving (4 chips): Calories 40, Total Fat 1g, Saturated Fat 0g, Cholesterol 0mg, Carbohydrate 6g, Protein 1g, Sodium 130mg, Fiber less than 1g.

Today, was my last day at work. I did not have a good food day. I was definitely not expecting the surprise party that staff and residents had planned for me. Two cakes and a bunch of cookies and I hated to say no. I'll get back on track when the cookies are gone ;)

I'm actually looking forward to being at home, since I've been doing real well on the weekends and days I've been home. Seems there's a lot less temptation in my "controlled" environment. Work has been great, but I always seem to find something in the cafeteria, or vending machine, or there's always a baking group or Happy Hour that is just screaming "EAT ME!" It will certainly be interesting for a while to see how different it is to stay disciplined at home.

I had a great day and hate good-bye's but I really did not get sentimental at all. I know that I am resigning for the right reason and it has made the transition pretty easy, plus I've volunteered to continue music with the daycare twice a month, so I really won't be too out of touch.

Looking forward to a busy Thursday and Friday as the girls have off again and it will be Daddy and the 4 kids all day!

Good Friday

Today, was my last Friday at work. I am working till Wednesday even though I really have nothing left to do. I'm training the person who is filling in for me on Monday and Tuesday, so at least it won't be a total blow-off day.

My Potluck will happen on Tuesday and right now I'm thinking of buying fruit at Sam's and making some kabobs. I will also take Peachy's idea and go with the Apple Salsa and homemade chips. I'll share the recipe when they turn out;)

I may or may not do the "donuts" for the last day. I really do enjoy the people I work with and I know they would greatly appreciate them even though they're not the healthiest. We'll see.

Have a great weekend.