Crepes with Berries

Crepes with Berries, 1 pt each

Ingredients

2 tablespoons sugar
4 cups blueberries, blackberries and/or raspberries
1 cup fat-free milk
1 egg
3 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
16 teaspoons reduced-sugar apricot preserves
1 cup (8 ounces) reduced-fat reduced-sugar vanilla yogurt

Directions

Sprinkle sugar over berries; gently toss to mix. Cover and refrigerate. In a blender, combine the milk, egg, egg whites and extracts; cover and process until blended. Add the flour and cornmeal; cover and process until blended. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Coat a 7-in. skillet with cooking spray. Heat skillet over medium heat. Pour about 2 tablespoons batter into the center of skillet. Lift and tilt pan to evenly coat bottom.

Cook until top appears dry; turn and cook 15-20 seconds longer. Remove to a plate; keep warm. Repeat with remaining batter, coating with additional cooking spray as needed.
Spread each crepe with 1 teaspoon apricot preserves. Fold each crepe into quarters; place two crepes on an individual plate. Top with 2 tablespoons yogurt and 1/2 cup berry mixture. Serve immediately. Yield: 8 servings.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving (2 filled crepes with 2 tablespoons yogurt and 1/2 cup berries) equals 156 calories, 1 g fat (trace saturated fat), 28 mg cholesterol, 60 mg sodium, 30 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 6 g protein.Diabetic Exchanges: 1-1/2 starch, 1/2 fruit.

*****
Made March 27th. This was my first experience making crepes. I liked mixing it in the blender because it was very fast and easy. I ended up chilling the batter for several hours because we went to run some errands. For the first crepe, I was using an 11 in. skillet and 2 TB of batter just would not cover it. I double checked the recipe and realized I needed a smaller pan. Once I adjusted to the small pan, the crepes turned out much better.

I followed the recipe for the batter, but didn't really for the insides. I used blackberries and strawberries for the fruit. I didn't think the sugar was necessary, but after a tart bite I realized it did need some. I only put half a tablespoon on the fruit and it was just fine. For the yogurt we used lowfat plain yogurt, and the jam was blackberry jam that I made last summer.

My batter yielded 20 crepes, so the points came out to 1 point per crepe.

Baked Sweet Potato Chips

Baked Sweet Potato Chips

Ingredients

2 medium sweet potatoes (about 7 ounces each)
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
Dash white pepper

Directions

Cut potatoes into 1/8-in. slices; spray both sides of slices with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine seasonings. Add the potatoes; toss gently to coat.
Arrange in a single layer in two 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pans coated with cooking spray.
Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until potatoes are golden brown and tender, turning several times Yield: 5 dozen chips.

*****
Made March 25th. I used the apple corer/peeler to cut up the sweet potatoes. The result were holey chips, but it worked well enough. I tossed the chips in a bag to coat instead of a bowl and that worked really well.

The chips weren't bad. Jared didn't care for them and Aaron only ate a few. Like normal, I couldn't quit eating them. The spices weren't my favorite blend. Next time I'd probably just coat them with salt.

Italian Ranch Chicken Strips

Italian Ranch Chicken Strips 5 pts

Ingredients

2/3 cup cornflake crumbs
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/3 cup reduced-fat ranch salad dressing
1 teaspoon water
1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into eight strips

Directions

In a shallow bowl, combine the cornflake crumbs, Italian seasoning and garlic powder. In another shallow bowl, combine dressing and water. Dip chicken into dressing mixture, then coat with crumb mixture.

Arrange chicken on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Lightly spray top of chicken with cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 12-15 minutes or until juices run clear. Yield: 4 servings.

Nutritional Analysis: about 2 chicken strips equals 147 calories, 2 g fat (trace saturated fat), 33 mg cholesterol, 413 mg sodium, 17 g carbohydrate, trace fiber, 15 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 2 very lean meat, 1 starch.

******
March 25th. Aaron wanted Chik-fil-A, so I made these for dinner instead. Everyone seemed to enjoy them. The recipe makes exactly what it says it does. Usually when it comes to dip and breading batter I end up with a bunch leftover, but not so with this one. I had to add a lot of side dishes to make up for the 2 chicken strips a piece. I served it with corn on the cob, green beans, strawberry soup, and baked sweet potato chips.

I only had regular ranch dressing on hand, so the strips were two points higher than it could have been. Still, 5 points for chicken strips isn't a bad deal!

Strawberry Soup

Strawberry Soup 2 pts

Ingredients

1 pound fresh strawberries
1-1/4 cups vanilla yogurt, divided
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons orange juice concentrate
1/8 teaspoon almond extract or 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions

In a food processor, combine the strawberries, 1 cup yogurt, confectioners' sugar, orange juice concentrate and extract; cover and process until smooth. Garnish each serving with a dollop of remaining yogurt. Yield: 3 servings.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving (1 cup) equals 174 calories, 2 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 5 mg cholesterol, 69 mg sodium, 35 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 6 g protein.
Diabetic Exchanges: 1-1/2 fruit, 1/2 reduced-fat milk, 1/2 starch.

******
Made March 24th and 25th. This was a huge hit with everyone. It's pretty much a smoothie in a bowl. I had a bag of frozen strawberries from last year that I used instead of fresh strawberries. Since I defrosted the whole bag, I made two different batches.

First batch: I forgot that I was only supposed to put 1 cup of the yogurt in so it made more. I had fat free plain yogurt on hand, so I added some vanilla extract to be more in line with the recipe ingredients. I also used the almond extract instead of the lemon.

Second batch: Again I used the plain yogurt with vanilla extract, but I remembered to hold out the 1/4 cup for the dallop on each serving. I think it made the soup creamier to have the dallop. I also used the lemon juice instead of almond. I think I prefer the almond because it is a more subtle flavor. The soup was much more tart the second time. It might not have been an issue if I'd used actual vanilla yogurt though.

BLT Bow Tie Pasta Salad

BLT Bow Tie Pasta Salad 3 pts

Ingredients
2-1/2 cups uncooked bow tie pasta
6 cups torn romaine
1-1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken breast
1 medium tomato, diced
4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1/3 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon barbecue sauce
1-1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water. In a large serving bowl, combine the pasta, romaine, chicken, tomato and bacon.

In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, water, barbecue sauce, vinegar and pepper. Pour over pasta mixture; toss to coat evenly. Serve immediately. Yield: 11 servings.

*****
Made March 24th. One word: YUM!! This is a quick and easy recipe to put together. I used the Tyson Teriyaki breast fillets that we had in the freezer and that worked out just fine. The dressing wasn't over-powering or too heavy. I probably should have added more romaine because by the time we got to the bottom of the bowl it was mostly pasta and 'condiments'.

I served it with this Strawberry Soup.

Oven Cassoulet

Oven Cassoulet LT05, 150, 10 pts

Ingredients

1/2 pound reduced-fat kielbasa or Polish sausage, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup chopped onion
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, drained
3/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 cans (15-1/2 ounces each) great northern beans, rinsed and drained
1-1/2 cups soft bread crumbs
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Directions

In a nonstick saucepan coated with cooking spray, cook and stir the sausage, onion, carrots, celery and garlic for 4-5 minutes or until onion is tender. Stir in the tomatoes, broth, bay leaf, thyme, pepper and cloves. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for about 15 minutes or until carrots are tender and liquid is slightly thickened. Discard bay leaf. Stir in beans.

Transfer to a 2-qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Combine the bread crumbs, butter and parsley. Sprinkle over sausage mixture. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until edges are bubbly and top is golden brown. Yield: 6 servings.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving (1-1/4 cups) equals 270 calories, 6 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 23 mg cholesterol, 809 mg sodium, 40 g carbohydrate, 10 g fiber, 14 g protein.
Diabetic Exchanges: 2 lean meat, 2 vegetable, 1-1/2 starch.

****
Made on March 23rd. This recipe was ok - not memorable. I think there were too many bread crumbs so there was like a 2 inch layer of them before you reached the rest of the ingredients. Perhaps if I'd used a 9x13 they wouldn't have been so deep. Matthew's comment was that he'd prefer it to have more sausage.

Menu Experiment: Light and Tasty 2005

I've finally gone through the next cookbook, and I decided to just stick with this one year. I was less strict with what I pulled from the book, so I gleaned a lot more recipes in general, but also more snack/appetizer and breakfast ideas than I did with the previous experiment. Here's the current list:

• Baked Sweet Potato Chips
• Baked Ziti Casserole
• Berry Barbecued Pork Roast
• BLT Bow Tie Pasta Salad
• Braised Autumn Pork Chops
• Cheddar Potato Chowder
• Cheddar-Apple Turkey Salad
• Cheesy Broccoli Casserole
• Chicken and Mandarin Oranges
• Chicken Tortilla Soup
• Chili-Stuffed Potatoes
• Country Corn Bread
• Creamy Chicken and Thyme
• Creamy Chicken Potato Soup
• Crepes with Berries
• Feta-Spinach Melts
• Fruited Chicken Salad
• Hot Swiss Chicken Sandwiches
• Italian Ranch Chicken Strips
• Lime-Glazed Pork Chops
• Marinated Barbecued Chicken
• Mediterranean Medley Salad
• Mexican Spaghetti Sauce
• Oatmeal Cranberry Breakfast Bake
• Oven Cassoulet p150, 10 pts
• Pennsylvania Dutch Apple Butter
• Pineapple Salad
• Potato Refrigerator Rolls
• Quick Turkey Casserole
• Raspberry Corn Muffins
• Seasoned Scrambled Eggs
• Slow-Cooker Pork and Apple Curry
• Southwestern Broccoli Cheese Soup
• Southwestern Chicken Black Bean Soup
• Spinach Turkey Noodle Bake
• Spinach Turkey Roll
• Strawberry Crepe Roll-Ups
• Strawberry Soup
• Summer Fruit 'n' Pasta Salad
• Taco Noodle Dish
• Three-Step Taco Salad
• Vegetable Chicken Stir-Fry
• Waffled French Toast
• Walnut Chicken Stir-Fry
• Zesty Pita Chips
• Zucchini 'n' Potato Pie

Ingredient List I tried to combine ingredients and put them in logical order accroding to the grocery store I shop at to make shopping easier, but the list isn't perfect.

Faith in Jesus Christ

Copy of the talk I gave in Sacrament Mtg today. I should have stopped where I put the astericks. I was at about 10 minutes at that point and talked for 16 minutes. I ended up sitting down and feeling like I was advertising for my piano lessons - which I wasn't trying to do.:

Over the last few weeks I have felt such an overwhelming sense of gratitude for all that the Lord has done for us/me that I found myself thinking that if the next week were Fast Sunday I'd share my testimony. Well, apparently the Lord prepared a way around the calendar for me - and I am indeed grateful for the opportunity.

The topic is the first principle of the gospel: Faith in Jesus Christ. I think of Faith in Jesus Christ as being our willingness to act on the Lord's commands because we trust and believe that Jesus Christ did what he said he would do - which is atone for our sins and be resurrected, and that the Lord continues to act as an influence in our lives. Scripturally, faith as discussed in Alma 32:21 "is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true." Paul also testifies in Hebrews 11:1 that "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." So faith is not knowing all the answers, but you act according to the belief in the answers you do have.

In Moroni 7, Mormon asks:

41 And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise.
42 Wherefore, if a man have faith he must needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope.
43 And again, behold I say unto you that he cannot have faith and hope, save he shall be meek, and lowly of heart.
44 If so, his faith and hope is vain, for none is acceptable before God, save the meek and lowly in heart; and if a man be meek and lowly in heart, and confesses by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, he must needs have charity; for if he have not charity he is nothing; wherefore he must needs have charity.

It is not enough for us to believe in the Savior and hope that we'll make it back to live with Him. One way we can gauge the quality of our faith and testimony is by the love we feel for others and how we treat them. I have found in my own life that when I am in the midst of a good relationship with the Savior, an innate desire to share the gospel grows because I feel confident in my beliefs and a kinship with the people I come in contact with. I am able to see them as a child of God and I literally feel love for them even though I may not know them. There have been a few times in my life when I felt true charity. Once such time was part of the mantle of stewardship while in a leadership position as a youth. Another time was in my college years. I don't remember all the details, only that I was praying about missionary work. I do remember that feeling of love for others so strongly, but it is fleeting when we don't nurture or maintain our testimony and relationship with the Savior.

So, how do we increase our faith in the Savior? Docterine & Covenants 88:118 tells us "And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith." It is a process that must be studied, practiced and worked at just like any other skill. The prophet Alma in the Book of Mormon likened increasing our faith to planting a seed.

27 But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.
28 Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.
29 Now behold, would not this increase your faith? I say unto you, Yea; nevertheless it hath not grown up to a perfect knowledge

The process begins with a desire to have faith in Jesus. We can learn who He is by studying His life and words in the scriptures, praying to develop a relationship with Him, and then acting on the things we learn. This is the great experiment. We will soon discover for ourselves what is truth. As we learn truth and seek greater understanding, our faith will continue to grow.

Alma continues:
36 Behold I say unto you, ... neither must ye lay aside your faith, for ye have only exercised your faith to plant the seed that ye might try the experiment to know if the seed was good.
37 And behold, as the tree beginneth to grow, ye will say: Let us nourish it with great care, that it may get root, that it may grow up, and bring forth fruit unto us. And now behold, if ye nourish it with much care it will get root, and grow up, and bring forth fruit.
38 But if ye neglect the tree, and take no thought for its nourishment, behold it will not get any root; and when the heat of the sun cometh and scorcheth it, because it hath no root it withers away, and ye pluck it up and cast it out.
39 Now, this is not because the seed was not good, neither is it because the fruit thereof would not be desirable; but it is because your ground is barren, and ye will not nourish the tree, therefore ye cannot have the fruit thereof.
40 And thus, if ye will not nourish the word, looking forward with an eye of faith to the fruit thereof, ye can never pluck of the fruit of the tree of life.
41 But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life.
42 ... behold, by and by ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst.
43 Then, my brethren, ye shall reap the rewards of your faith, and your diligence, and patience, and long-suffering, waiting for the tree to bring forth fruit unto you.

When we were in the trenches of the trial of infertility, there came a point where I was literally putting one spiritual foot in front of the other to make it through each day. My faith and testimony were shaken. I couldn't discern my own thoughts from the Lord's voice anymore. I read my scriptures and prayed without feeling but knew there was a level of blessing that came from going through the motions even though my heart wasn't in it. I knew I couldn't afford to stop moving altogether. It was a dark time for me. I came to a point where I knew I needed to learn the voice of the Lord again. I relied on Alma's process of experimenting on the word. It was a simple, small experiment but it made all the difference. I needed to buy new shoe laces for Matthew. I went to Dollar Tree to hunt for them and found them. I had this feeling though that I shouldn't buy them. I had a choice to make. I could either listen to the feeling or brush it off. I decided to test the feeling and went to Wal-Mart to price them. Wal-Mart's shoe laces were 88 cents and had an extra set in them. At that moment, I knew I'd felt the promptings of the Spirit. I reveled in that feeling and committed that feeling of the Spirit to memory so that I would be able to recognize it again. Another opportunity came for something that I don't even remember at this point, but I felt that warning voice again and told Matthew what I felt. We decided to follow my prompting. Again we were blessed. Out of that small 12 cent experiment, my faith and testimony was nourished and allowed to grow and blossom again. Our trial of infertility did not stop because I learned the voice of the Lord again, but it did give me an anchor of hope to endure to the end. I received reassurances through Priesthood blessings that the desires of my heart would soon be fulfilled. Soon is relative, but I knew the Lord keeps His promises.

As we pray for the Lord's help, we have to be willing to do our part. In
Faith Precedes the Miracle, President Spencer W. Kimball said: "In faith we plant the seed, and soon we see the miracle of the blossoming. Men have often misunderstood and reversed the process." He continued by explaining that many of us want to have health and strength without keeping the health laws. We want to have prosperity without paying our tithes. We want to be close to the Lord but don't want to fast and pray. We want to have rain in due season and to have peace in the land without observing the Sabbath as a holy day and without keeping the other commandments of the Lord. (See Faith Precedes the Miracle, p. 4)

For us in our experience with infertility, I had to show the Lord I was willing and committed to do my part by putting my life in the hands of medical technology. This was a hard thing for me to do because I don't even like taking medicine for a headache. I still remember clearly the night that I made that decision and the feeling of relief and peace and excitement I felt. That decision was the beginning of many miracles and blessings for us.

I testify that the Lord knows us individually and intimately. He loves us, and if we let Him, He will direct our lives in a manner that will enable us to be better than we could ever be alone. He will prepare a way for us to overcome our trials and temptations.
***
As I prayed about this talk, I was strongly impressed to share our current experience with you. The more I've thought about this, the more I see the Lord's hand in our lives. We are so blessed. When Matthew's father died, we were blessed with an amount of inheritance that we had earmarked for certain things like a family vacation, repairs for the house, and savings. At the time Matthew was working and going to school full-time and rarely had a Sunday off. Such a schedule is challenging on many levels, so after much discussion we decided that he would approach his manager about getting Sundays off. The result was a two-day work week with Sundays off and more time to focus on school. We planned to supplement our income for just a few months with our savings until Matthew graduated and could pursue a full-time military career. Unfortunately more time passed than we'd have liked and the only thing that changed was the amount of money in our savings account. Job hunting was yielding no return. I suggested to Matthew that it was time we took the matter to the Lord. As we prayed that evening, I could tell that Matthew received direction. The answer he received was Matthew 6:31-34:

31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 ... for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself...."

My inner response was, 'Great. I'll keep praying.'

From this vantage point, I can see the Lord's hand in preparing a way long ago. In 2007 I received my first request to teach piano lessons. I was in my last trimester of pregnancy with Aaron and was in no way ready to teach, but it did plant a seed. The Christmas program the choir prepared in 2008 really challenged my level of piano skills and by the end of that experience I was a better player (and a better person). As a result of that program, I again began getting requests to teach piano lessons. I did research about teaching and felt completely unqualified and inadequate. One of my friends would not give up on me though, so I took the matter to the Lord. His response was that I should do it. So I did. I held my first piano lesson at the end of last April and by the end of May had eight students. By Christmas my students numbered 12. In January it became obvious that we would need to start utilizing my piano earnings to supplement Matthew's income. We had enough savings left to make it through two more months. I am grateful for a persistent friend and the Lord’s confidence in my abilities so that we had that extra income to fall back on. I began wondering if I should take on more students and try to work with more advanced students even though I've limited my students to beginners. The two months passed and I got nervous when two of my students decided they no longer wanted to pursue piano, but two days later I received a phone call from a young man who wanted to take lessons. A week after that I received another call for a current student to go from twice a month lessons to weekly. These calls truly were answers to prayer. The Lord continues to prepare the way as He directs me in new avenues to pursue with my piano teaching.

At the beginning of March, Matthew got a call from his Army Reserve unit asking him to come in and work for two days that week. And three days the week after. And two days before his drill weekend. Spring break is a busy time on the river, so Matthew received a call from his supervisor asking if he would be willing to work this Sunday. Matthew told him no, but he could work Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. The end result was 13 straight days of working plus two days of double shifts. The Lord has provided a way for us.

We had a discussion with Jared recently about what makes Sunday special. In that talk we told him that when we choose to go to the store on Sunday or ride the tour boats on the river walk (in Matthew's case), we make it so others have to work and not be able to keep the Sabbath day holy. As Matthew explained to Jared how he was able to get Sunday off, I learned that the only way was to go part time. It is an exercise of faith to give up your full-time status and its benefits so that you can have Sundays off. The Lord promised us that 'if ye first seek the kingdom of God, all these things shall be added unto you'. I testify that He has clothed us through the generosity of others and a desire to use cloth diapers 5 years ago; He has fed us with a generous gift card received from work at Christmas work and with an effort to prepare our meals using our food storage; the morrow has been taken care of with the talents and skills He blessed us with and we developed along the way.

My heart overflows with gratitude as my eyes are opened up to even more ways that He has helped us for this moment. And I recognize now that the expression of gratitude also increases our faith. Over the last few weeks my prayers have been ones of gratitude with little asking in return. As I think about it, those have been the weeks when the Lord has poured His blessings on us. Perhaps there is a lesson in that.

As my eyes are opened to all the moments where the Lord touched and blessed our lives even in sorrow and hardship, how can I not dedicate my life to Him? How can I not say, Thy will be done? How can I not trust that His way is the best way?

Again I testify, the Lord knows us. He loves us. Jesus is the Christ. He atoned for our sins and paid the price for the ends of the law to be satisfied that mercy may have effect. As we exercise faith in Jesus, He will meet us and magnify us. I so testify in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Shocker!

I weighed in for my SIL's BL contest at 164.9!! I don't know how in the world I've lost that many pounds since last week considering how poorly my week went. Maybe my body needed something different to work on. Who knows, but I'll take it!!

I was realizing that that number puts me only 15 pounds away from my goal! 15 seems so much more obtainable than 20. I don't know why, it's only 5 pounds. But, I am excited and renewed in hope! YAY!!!

Withdrawals

I have been having such a hard time adjusting back to a reasonable amount of eating since my weekend binge. I am starving and making poor food choices. Now that the week is almost over it is getting better than it was, but it is still a rough road. Hopefully once school starts again on Monday I can fall back into a routine.

I did do CardioX the other day after talking myself into it. But, I was sore yesterday and ended up going back to sleep in the morning instead of staying up and exercising because I felt a little bit off (dizzy, slightly nauseated). Once I got up again it was better, but then we had places to go for the day.

This morning I could not get myself out of bed. I ended up staying in bed until almost 11 am, but I did not feel rested at all. I am wondering how much of this tired feeling is a result of my poor food choices, the time change, or maybe I am fighting a bug. Whatever it is, it needs to stop so I can function again.

Captain Courageous Meets Her Twin Major Dumb

Note to self: Do not take your child out in underwear when you are potty training! Especially to a friend's house.

I decided to continue trying Aaron in underwear the last two days, and since we were heading to a birthday party, I made sure he went potty before we left. Unfortunately it meant we were an hour late, but fortunately he did go and didn't have an accident at the party. yay.

After the party we hung out at a friend's house. I stopped by the house and picked up Aaron's chair so that our chances of success would be better considering the 'falling in' incident at the beginning of the week. Aaron did really well staying dry. At first. I took him potty after a few hours of being there because I figured he'd need to go. I praised him for staying dry. He didn't really resist going potty, but I made the mistake of letting him take a toy in the bathroom with him. He sat on the toilet playing with the toy for awhile. Finally I took the toy from him and waited some more. Eventually I told him we'd try again in a few minutes, dressed him, washed his hands and left the bathroom. Not even five - maybe not even TWO minutes later I turned around and he had peed all over himself and his favorite boots. ARGH!! *sigh* I guess I should have waited some more. I cleaned him up and put a diaper on him.

I decided to be valiant and tried taking him again after I felt an appropriate amount of time had passed. His diaper was wet. Guess it's a good thing he had it on. I put it back on him though because it was what we had. He didn't care. When we got home I used the fitted diapers as underwear because at least it's meant to be more absorbent than regular underwear. Aaron ended up pooping in it. Again, at least it was in a diaper. I gave up on the pottying for the night and stuck him in a diaper with a cover and figured he'd go to bed that way and left for piano lessons.

I should never assume smooth sailing when it comes to me leaving and Aaron in diapers. When I got home Matthew said that Aaron had an accident in his diaper. huh? Apparently Aaron needed to go potty so he went to the bathroom and couldn't get the diaper off and ended up peeing in it. Go figure. Matthew found a size 5 disposable in the bedroom, so he put that on him.

It's amazing how lackadaisical a disposable diaper can make a person. Guess who didn't care this morning if Aaron was awake and what he may or may not be doing in his diaper? yeah. But, once I got up and going and finally got the boys dressed, I tried Aaron in his very-nonabsorbent regular Thomas the Train underwear. I told Aaron he needed to go potty in the toilet so he wouldn't get Thomas wet.

We headed out for a friend's house, so I made sure he pottied before we left. Again after an appropriate amount of time had passed, I took him to go potty. Yay his pants were still dry! He even pottied on the big toilet! I let him go play and figured we were good for another little while. Apparently the 'little' was too long. When I went to go check on him there was a nice wet spot on their couch. And worse, we smelled poop. OH sadness!! I took him to the bathroom to clean him up while my friend went to work on the couch. And the carpet. And on his boot too. Well, I cleaned the boot, but she discovered it there. Oh I felt so bad! I put Aaron in a diaper and gave up for the rest of the day.

So, again, the moral of the story is: Take your child in diapers in public when potty training. Don't be a hero because all you'll end up being is dumb.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Sweet and Sour Meatballs LT02, 116, 9 pts (plus rice)

Ingredients

1 can (20 ounces) unsweetened pineapple chunks
1 egg
1 cup soft bread crumbs
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1-1/2 pounds lean ground beef (90% lean)
1 teaspoons canola oil
2 large green peppers
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup cider vinegar
3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
6 cups hot cooked rice

Directions

Drain pineapple, reserving 1/2 cup juice (discarding remaining juice or save for another use). Set the juice and pineapple aside. In a large bowl, combine the egg, bread crumbs, garlic, salt and pepper. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into 40 meatballs.

In a nonstick skillet, brown meatballs in oil; drain. Cut green peppers into chunks. Add broth, peppers and reserved pineapple to meatballs. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5-7 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in the vinegar, soy sauce and reserved pineapple juice until smooth. Add to meatball mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with rice. Yield: 8 servings.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving (3/4 cup meatball mixture with 3/4 cup rice) equals 456 calories, 10 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 58 mg cholesterol, 755 mg sodium, 66 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 23 g protein.
Diabetic Exchanges: 3 lean meat, 2-1/2 starch, 1-1/2 vegetable, 1 fat.

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Made March 19th. This is a high point meal! As written, the recipe is worth 10 points. However, as I made it, it is worth 9 points for 8 servings. I used the Great Value brand meatballs instead of making my own and did not include the rice in point calculation because I only actually ate 1/2 c. of rice.

Because I used frozen pre-cooked meatballs, I just picked up the directions from "in a nonstick skillet..." and skipped cooking the meatballs. I just started adding the ingredients together. I left the peppers out because Matthew really doesn't care for them and I used red ones just the other day for the Asparagus Cashew Stir Fry. I thought I'd be nice and give him a break! lol

Once again Aaron wouldn't eat the meal, but everyone else seemed to enjoy it. I served it with california blend vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, and carrot mix) with mozz cheese and the Asian Peanut Salad.

Asparagus Cashew Stir Fry

Asparagus Cashew Stir Fry LT02, 190, 8 pts (includes rice)

Ingredients

1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup chopped sweet red pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon canola oil
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1-1/2 cups vegetable broth
3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup cashews
1 teaspoon sesame oil
4 cups hot cooked brown rice

Directions

In a large nonstick skillet, saute the asparagus, onions, red pepper and garlic in oil until tender. Combine the cornstarch, broth, soy sauce and ginger until blended; gradually stir into the skillet. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

Reduce heat; add cashews and sesame oil. Cook 2 minutes longer or until heated through. Serve with rice. Yield: 4 servings.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving (about 2/3 cup asparagus mixture with 1 cup rice) equals 406 calories, 13 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 847 mg sodium, 64 g carbohydrate, 8 g fiber, 12 g protein.
Diabetic Exchanges: 3 starch, 2 vegetable, 2 fat, 1/2 lean meat.

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Made on March 17th. I added 7 diced baby carrots with the asparagus and 1 medium chopped zucchini when I added the broth to the stir fry.

I bought a bunch of asparagus when they were on sale a few weeks ago, but I've never cooked with it before so I'm not sure if I did it right or not. When it said trimmed, I just cut off the bottoms about an inch up, then proceeded to cut the stalks into the 1-inch pieces as directed in the recipe. I used the thin stalks instead of the thicker stalks too. Most of the asparagus were fine, but we'd get one here and there that tasted more like a stick.

Everyone but Aaron seemed to like this. Jared REALLY liked it. I served with what I call Peanut Asian salad: greens (we used baby spinach), mandarin oranges, peanuts, coconut, and Toasted Sesame dressing.

The Plunge - diaperless

I decided to put Aaron in underwear today with a plastic cover just to see what happens. I'd planned/thought about really focusing on potty training this week since I don't have the distraction of piano lessons in the afternoon, but here it is Wed already and this is the first time I've really done anything pro-active. So far (at 2pm) we have gone potty twice and been dry since getting dressed. Yay!

We did have a minor problem with this last potty trip. Aaron was at the table eating, but got down and told me he was tired. So, I told him let's go potty and then he could go to sleep. He didn't want to, but he was fine once we were in the bathroom although he didn't want to sit and go. He told me he wanted to go finish eating, so I let him leave the bathroom without any pants. I figured he's the type of kid that would run to the bathroom once he felt the urge. I was kind of right. He was playing and then gasped, stood up and grabbed his tooshy. I knew then he needed to go poop. I should have taken him right then to the bathroom instead of just telling him to go. He hung around a little bit longer and then wandered down the hall. Again, I should have followed him but I did go and check on him. He was in the blue room with a slightly shocked look on his face. There at his feet was an 'oops'. I took him to the bathroom before he'd have a chance to pee too. I left him to do his business and cleaned up the other incident. HE did go potty in the toilet at least. We talked about making sure his poop goes in the potty too because that's gross. He said, 'ok' But we'll see what happens.

I've been giving him stickers and a piece of candy for each time he goes potty - both things he loves.

******
9:30 pm update

Aaron was ready to go to sleep by 6:30 pm. I took him potty before dinner and he was dry again and went in the potty. yay! He asked for a diaper though so he could go to bed. He went to sleep, and I put a diaper on him. I was hoping he'd be down for the night but no such luck. I haven't had a chance to check his diaper condition though and my guess is that if he was dry through his nap, he went soon after waking up. He's eating at this point, so he's really likely to have a wet diaper.

Overall I think this was a pretty successful day. It's unfortunate that we'll be out and about tomorrow for a birthday party. The odds of getting him to go potty are slim, though I wonder if they'd be better if he were in underwear. Hmm, do I take a chance? I'll think about it.

Chemical Sabotage!

Sabotage, sabotage, sabotage!! And every time I think that word, the line from Veggie Tale's Larry Boy Episode of Leggo my Ego with the Evil Alchemist goes through my mind: Chemical Sabotage!

52 points spent on hot dogs and other concession stand goodies on Saturday; Sunday spent 30 points after cake and ice cream for my niece's birthday, Monday spent 27 points for cranberry/banana bread, brownie and ice cream, Tuesday ended up at 37.5 points for Ghengis Grill and cake and ice cream for my brother's birthday. AAAAACCCCKKKK!!! This has GOT to STOP!! The worst part is that there is no exercise to counteract it. It is almost 8:45 am and I have absolutely NO desire to do anything about it. I hate this feeling of flub, but it will take every miligram of control to get my butt off this chair and do it.

What is it with me and success? When I seem to be doing so well, I sabotage it. EVERY time! This is the point that I quit WW last time. I already feel the fat buildup again. I SAW it in the mirror yesterday. It's like Satan and his minions - never give us a break. You're either going forward or your going backward. There is no such thing as standing still.

Ok, motivated myself enough to get it done *whew* Let's Bring it!! CardioX here I come!!

Toilet Tale

YAY! Aaron pooped in the toilet tonight!! We sent Jared to go potty before getting in bed and Aaron said he needed to go too, so I told him to go. I checked on him after a little bit and he'd gone potty. I asked him if he was done and he said he had more. I left him to do his usually non-existant more, but came back to clean him up when he started wandering the hall. I was surprised to see a poop in the toilet when I followed up. YAY!! I made a big deal about it - he told me it looked like a caterpillar! lol. I don't mind if going potty before going to bed becomes a habit. With Jared his first potty habit was right before showering. It's better than nothing!!

Diaper Dunk

Tonight Aaron amazed me again. We are away from home for a few days, so tonight when he wanted to go potty, I explained that he'd have to use the big boy toilet since his little potty isn't here. I thought he'd refuse to try because he's always been afraid of 'the big toilet', but with the help of a fun 'ladder' he was willing to climb up on the seat. He was nervous, but content to let me hold on to him while he sat there backwards. He was kind of playing around but then wanted turned around sit forward. I was concerned about him falling in, but after a few adjustments he was situated and actually went!! We were both really pleased.

Aaron got down and then told me he had more. He went to get back on the toilet but in his haste ended up falling in. oops!! Of course that scared him. We finally made a breakthrough with the toilet and he had to fall in! *Sigh* I cleaned him up and soon Jared had to go potty too. Aaron was still saying he had more, but he was willing to let Jared go first. Once Jared was done, I put Aaron back on the toilet but he told me he wanted to potty like Jared. I gave him some instructions and let him stand on the stool and try. YAY - SUCCESS!! AND, it all landed in the the bowl! lol

We'll see if tonight's experience leads to more toilet use or not, but I'm pretty happy with the event either way. I think CD has really been helpful for Aaron. It hasn't been a bad thing for me either. I dreaded going into it, but it's not been that bad. I wouldn't call it fun or really enjoyable, but for what it is, I am content and not unhappy that we are doing it. We'll see if I still feel that way over the long term, but I'm at a point where it's not a big deal to budget money for diapers next month.

Been Busy

I have had so much I want to say, but I've been productive/busy the last few days and not had a chance - well, more like not taken the opportunity. By the end of the day I'm beat. But, laundry is clean and put away, front and back lawns are mowed, the garden weeded, the side yard cleared (been 2 years since the last time), Aaron's clothes switched out, the floors swept and mopped, friendships strengthened, and miles driven. To sum up my thoughts though: God is good.

I am down to just a couple of recipes left from my menu pull, but they are mostly stews. With the arrival of the warmth of spring, I'm not really too keen on making them now. I do have a bunch of asparagus that needs to be put to use, as well as some summer squash. It is time to go through the next set of cookbooks so I can have another menu plan. I feel so lost without my spiral of recipes waiting to be explored - and the fridge is so empty. I'd say my menu experiment was a success.

Some posts that want to be heard but are still on the waiting list:

One Point Wonders
Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow
From Here to There and Back Again
Cloth Diapers 101

Lettuce Eat Cake - Final Results

March 14, 2010

Official Weigh in - 167.1! I thought for sure I'd be more because I weighed in on Friday when I saw the contest was over and was 167.4. Then I weighed myself for my SIL's BL contest and went back up to 168.2. I chalked it up to water retention. Then I took a day off yesterday from WW's and ate horribly!! OH man I felt so yucky by the end. It's a miracle that I lost any weight for today's weigh in.

So official weight loss for this contest is 10.3 pounds. I knew I would not reach my ultimate goal of 150 pounds, but I did make it to my last lowest weight, and that is something I am proud of. I can fit into size 12 jeans (depending on the cut), I have exercised 5 days a week, and I am eating healthier.

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Saturday was one of those throw caution to the wind days because there were so many unhealthy options that I just went with it. We attended a baseball themed birthday party (complete with hot dogs and nachos) and a drive-in movie Primary activity (complete with concession stand goodies like cotton candy, peanut M&Ms, popcorn, licorice and pretzels). I ate it all!! Plus pizza for dinner. I enjoyed it at first, but by the end of it I was feeling so icky.

Then today I was with family celebrating my niece's first birthday. Cake, brownie, and ice cream all made their way into my system and now I'm paying for it again. I have learned something from this experience though: it isn't worth it in the end!! My body knows the difference.

Last night I received the pleasant surprise of 'hand-me down' clothes from a friend. It's weird to look in the mirror and see a thinner version of myself. There was a range of jean sizes in the pile, and by the end I decided size is relative. The cut of the jeans is what matters. I put on a size 12 in one cut and brand and looked awesome, then tried on a size 16 that was totally not awesome. There was even a size 10 that I could squeeze into - wouldn't wear them in public yet, but they 'fit'.

In my excitement about the size 12 jeans, I went and shared with Matthew. I realized that I have not been in a size 12 since I graduated high school. At that point in time I was 150 pounds. If 15 years ago 150 pounds = size 12 and today 167 pounds = size 12/14, my guess is that clothes sizes have altered a bit to the larger side. In high school my goal was to be a size 9/10. With today's clothes sizing, maybe I'll finally reach my goal!!

Asian Quinoa

Asian-Flavored Quinoa Allrecipes.com, 2 points as written, 3 points as I made

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup quinoa
2 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root
1 clove garlic, minced
2 green onions, chopped

Directions

1.Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in quinoa and allow to toast for 2 to 3 minutes, then add chicken broth, soy sauce, ginger and garlic. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer until all liquid has been absorbed, 25 to 30 minutes. Fluff quinoa with fork and top with green onions before serving.

My Variation:
Add to Ingredients:

3 medium carrots, chopped/diced
1/2 c. frozen peas
1/4 bag of frozen snap peas
3 oz ham chopped (or could use other meat)

If I'd planned and prepared well ahead of time, all these would have gone in at the same time as the chicken broth, but I didn't. The carrots were added in with the quinoa and the peas were prepared according to the package directions. The quinoa was actually done before the peas, so I added the ham straight into it and warmed through, then added the peas. I also added leftover glaze from my Mango-Glazed Ham (which is the ham that I used. The flavors blended really well).

Yield: 8- 1/2 c. servings or 4- 1 c. servings

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Made March 11th. I found this recipe on allrecipes.com. The recipe by itself is sound, but I figured if I was going to have an Asian flavor, I might as well make it an Asian dish. But as written, the recipe is 2 points. My final dish was 3 points.

This is my first experience using quinoa, and it went pretty well. The actual grain looks a lot like sesame seed, but as it cooks it sprouts. Pretty neat. On several sites it was highly recommended to rinse the quinoa before toasting it. I started it off in a 2qt saucepan but soon realized that was too small. I warmed up the dutch oven and moved the quinoa to it to be toasted.

I'd say this was a pretty successful dish. Aaron had a full 1 cup serving!! MIRACLE! Jared ate a full cup too, but the green onions were too strong for him. Once we added more of the mango glaze he didn't have any problem finishing it. Matthew liked the flavor but not the texture. I liked every bit of it :D