I've been browsing over the website for the past few days, and here I am to finally say hello and share a bit.

I've done the whole weight rollercoaster since about puberty. I'll take off around 70lbs, and then in a year or two I'm right back where I started. It seems to be pretty easy for me to lose it quickly, but man oh man can I gain it back fast. Ten pounds gained in a month is nothing for me!

So here I am again with about 85lbs to lose. I've made it to 27, and I'm completely tired of every recipe and frozen meal out there! lol So, thank you, thank you, thank you Aimee for so many great recipes. I can't wait to try them all! I like that they are more normal foods rather than those super weird gourmet recipes I normally find in diet cookbooks.

Anyhow, I just wanted to introduce myself and let you know I'll be here cheering you all on!

Amanda

Welcome Amanda

and we're all here to cheer you on too....

yes Aimee is the best, I eat well with her receipes and lose weight to boot!!!! isn't that great!!!!!!
i think so...
I made Chicken cordonbleu early early this morning, and then put together an oriental rice dish using brown rice, a little lite soysauce, red pepper, jalepano pepper, onion, fresh garlic and celery...

I can't wait for dinner..

Yum! What time is dinner Tobe? Maybe I'll stop by. LOL!

Great to have you with us Amanda. Now that you're posting, feel free to post as much as you like. Nobody bites here, well not hard anyway. :) Ok, seriously... welcome! I totally know how fast that weight can come back on. It's too bad we don't lose it as fast as we gain it huh? :)

Thanks so much for the warm welcome! I don't bite either...well unless you're made of chocolate.


Mmmm chicken cordon bleu, beats my dinner hands down!

Welcome, Amanda, glad to have you aboard..Good luck on your weight loss journey and keep us posted how you are doing...We have all been down the same road so just take it one day at a time........

Patty(aimee's mom)

Dear Amanda,
GREAT to meet you!

2 pounds in one night is nothing for me!
Very sodium sensitive!
Because I am a walking stroke time bomb waiting to explode: what ever snacks and treats I post are usually low fat, low sodium and low sugar.
If you have any I sure would love for you to share them! You did it all right to loose 70lbs before so you/we know you can again. Why not share some of your secrets and tips with us?
Looking forward to more of your posts.

Well, my only secret is: there is no secret! lol It took me so long to figure out that there are no shortcuts to this thing.

However, some of the tips:
Have something in the house to answer every craving at all times. If I don't have something crunchy and salty (as well as healthy) in the house....I will find a bag of chips.

My other one goes against weight watchers, I don't journal my food everyday. Simply put, it makes me crazy if I do, and I tend to push my calories down too low. I do it about once a week check to make sure I'm on track. Of course, I keep mental tallies everyday.

As far as snacks, I'll have to get back to you on that one! Seems a lot of my snacks may be too high in sodium for ya, but I have tons of good snacking ideas hehehe.

Well Amanda, IF it works don't fix it!
IF journaling does not work for ya, then don't!
For me not journaling did not work for me: I did it for about 2 weeks then tried it on my own, and found I forgot half the stuff I shoved in my mouth or just wasn't honest with myself.
But I see the need to eventually NOT journal in order to live a sane lifestyle and be lifetime.
Any Lifers out there who want to comment on journaling and lifetime?

As for the sodium and fat content snacks, this is one reason I have the thread to show others especially diabetics and prediabetics (of which most of us who are overwt are, but just have not been diagnosed) need or some day will need.

I want to teach a community class on this stuff, so this site is heleping me get my materials together by forcing myself to put it all in type/text.
Eventually I will present my suggestion to the Parks and Rec .

Thanks for sharing your tips! :) GREAT.
I especially like the one about havaing something in the house to satisy all types of cravings. I certainly can relate to this. Before WW I would have never told anyone that I like crunch.Why? because to me tha tmeans salty chips and I am a sweet tooth.
But about 3 weeks into program I got the urge for salty chips. I did not have nor know about FF pringles at the time. So I went OUT and bought reg BBQ chips, and of course had a huge wt gain! Then fell off the wagon...er push cart!

So I NOW have everything in the house from sweet to salty/sweet to smooth to crunch. This why I love Orvlle Red. Caramel Corn MIni Cakes.
Sugar is very low and taste is very sweet hand CRUNCHY. I usually go for sweet and smooth, like frozen yogurt.

Keep on Keeping on!
Share with us all that you can when you can! We all learn so much from each other.
I am happy to hear that journalling does not have to be for everyone. I am hoping one day that will be the case for me, but for now I am a slave to that pen.
I teach pharmacology and when we go for accreditation there is a saying: If you didn't write it down /document it didn't happen.
I must have adopted that form my WW and that is how I got off track. So I am tied to that pen!

Thanks for your introduction.

JeanCat

Dear Amanda,

OOPS! I forgot to add:

PLEASE POST your snacking ideas when you can. I am sure others would love them. And from them I sometimes can substitute something to come up with a low or no salt version. You just never know!
That is how I came up with the dip/spread from onion and garlic powder instead of the pre-packaged dry dip mixes.

Much cheaper too!

Can't wait to hear about your specialties.

JeanCat

Oh I can totally understand how easy it is to get off track if you don't journal. That's why I do it at least once a week, and if I know that I cheated, I force myself to journal that day. I also make a special effort to do journals if I plateau or gain.

As far as the sugar, I know I should watch it. Every woman in my family (on both sides) has diabetes. This is probably my main reason for taking this weight off.

So with all that said, here are some snackies!
Frozen grapes and cherries (eaten standing with the freezer door open doesn't count does it?)

Strawberries and bananas (with a touch of splenda if the berries are too tart) sometimes I toss in a few fiber one twigs to add some crunch

Laughing cow wedges on anything! Veggies, crackers, LF ham, fingers YUM!

A few thin slices off a Babybel light cheese round with a few slices of LF ham or turkey

I can't forget PMS snacks....because sometimes fruit just don't cut it. However, they aren't everyday snacks!

I think this is a WW recipe Devil's food cake made with a can of pure pumkin. I make muffins out of them then I have half a muffin with half a serving of Edy's slow churned ice cream. It's cake and ice cream I tell you and so filling. However...sugar is probably an issue! lol

Guiltless gourmet bowls (add real bananas to the bananas foster, it's only proper!)

Ben and Jerry's half baked yogurt

And for a quick low-fat (red meat free) taco salad
1/4 cup (or less) cooked Vigo spanish rice
1/8 lb ground turkey breast, cooked with onions and your favorite taco seasoning
Lots of green onions, tomatos, lettuce, and jalapenos
sprinkle of FF shredded cheddar
1oz Wow tortilla chips or other low fat/ff tortilla chip of your choice
yogurt sour cream
(drain FF plain yogurt through cheese cloth overnight in the fridge, add a sprinkle of Splenda and a dash of salt, IMO way better than pre-made ff sour cream)

Layer all of it on top of a bed of lettuce and scoop with chips.

Sorry my recipe isn't real precise. I did a full calorie total of it last time I made it, and it turned up super low (300 cals or less). The only things that have any fat are the chips (1g)and the turkey (1.5g)

BTW that fake sour cream that I make is great with a bit of garlic powder or ranch dressing mix. Dip veggies or FF chips in it.

Another little tip, I substitute ground white turkey breast for ground beef always, and if I can I dump all the meat and add some sort of beans. Meat just creeps me out lol. I also toss veggies in to almost everything I cook.
I also have several bags of frozen veggies on hand all the time and just throw a few handfuls in to a casserole or sauce.

Yet another favorite is veggie skewers. We have the grill going pretty much every night and I cut up all kinds of fresh veggies and put them on skewers with pineapple, brush with a little teriyaki and grill until soft. Serve with a half cup of brown rice to experience heaven! hehe

I'm not sure if all of these things are real compatible with WW's or of the calorie totals at the moment. I generally figure it up when I'm making it and they're all quite low.

Wow, look at me ramble on! lol Sorry about that.

GREAT Scott! er...GREAT AMANDA!
Great ideas, recipes.
I have my substitutes for just about everything you mentioned!
I use all FF cream cheese and sour creams and plain NF yogurt any way.

Since Laughing Cow and Babybel are too high in sat fat and chol for me, I use the cream cheese whenever I can OR the flavored Veggie slices. I do also use them together for flavor and creamy texture.
For me the great flavors and textures are the same. Others may have a problem with the substitutions, but I am fine and always seeking more ideas for subbing...Herbs, spices and powders have become my best friends. Really would love to try your yogurt sour cream. I do use the prepared, but have to 'watch it'.

Any Dry mixes means sky high sodium so I have to 'play' around in the kitchen to make a sub. For example I recently purchased cumin and chile powder and I plan on making a sloppy Joe, Taco and chile dry mix. I will open an envelope of regular sloppy joe and taste test it, then I will go from there tomake the base. When I ever get this recipe down I will post it.

I use VEGGIE The Ground now instead of ground beef. I sometimes blend it with ground turkey. I also add Kitchen Bouquet gravy brown to darken things up cause I do love beef and I had to give it up. I get about 1 -2 beef or pork meals a month.

I love smoked wild salmon on an English Muffin with FF cream cheese and capers.


I just bought premade lentils from Trader Joes.They are refrigerated. The color is dark brown. I plan to add them to the Veggie ground and try this out.
Veggie ground also comes in a chile flavor tha tI havenot tried yet. I have to finish the one I just bought first.

Keep those snackies coming!
Instead of ice cream due to the fat and my being lactose intolerant, I use Dyers Frozen Yogurt.

I have not seen the WOW tortilla chips. Is this a Trader Joe item or regular store?

Taco salad that ou mention also sounds good and I would like to add canned ortega chile bits or diced.

What I would love to make is a 'mole' for chicken that is low in fat. Traditonal mole has chocolate and pnutbutter. I plan on trying to make it with PB2 and chocolate after surveying some traditional recipes. This is a big undertaking. I am hoping some one out there is already testing a recipe and will share it.

Thanks for your quick response!
Keep on Keeping on!

Cheese cloth? where does one purchase that these days? I haven't seen it in years.

What s a half baked yogurt? Is this a flavor or??

Since I am loosing wt and since I am prediabetic sugar is an issue but not as bad as it was 2 years ago. I still limit it. But I do plan to try the muffins. I have heard so much about the muffin and soad recipes too. But alaas not much time in the kitchen which is why I use so much FF dairy and LTEM's.

Since I have been eating healthier I have been tolerating FF sour cream where as before my lactose intolerance would not allow that. But I still have to be sure that I am 'prepared' if I am going to plan to eat dairy.




Thanks again
Jean Cat
Looking forward of more of your snacks.

Hi JeanCat

Well let's see if I can answer your questions!

I did make one mistake Wow tortilla chips have actually changed to just Lay's Light. Wow just sticks in my head from when they started. They are made with the Olestra stuff. I tolerate it well, some don't, which is why I mentioned adding some other sort of LF tortilla if they don't work! You should be able to find them at the local grocery near the other Lay's. Don't forget to add salsa to the taco salad too! More veggies!

As for the cheese cloth, check the craft section of Wal-Mart or similar stores. Any good kitchen store should also carry it. I confess I have an ancient roll that I'm working with right now, but I did buy some to make starch ghosts for Halloween about 2 years ago and they had it then.

The half-baked frozen yogurt is by Ben and Jerry's. It has pieces of cookie dough and brownies in it. Can I just say, I love Ben and Jerry from the bottom of my heart lol.

I need to try the veggie slices. I keep hearing their wonderful. I must confess, cheese and chocolate are about the only two things standing in the way of me becoming a vegan.

One thing I thought I would mention, do you have Gordon Food Services (GFS)near you? My aunt has similar choles. issues, and she gets canned roast beef there that is really low in the fat and cholesterol there. It can be used in a good many recipes for a little fix of red meat.

Keep up the good work!
Amanda

GREAT Amanda Strikes Again!
Nice reply!
Yes I will check for the Lays Light. I tolerate the Olestra in Pringles FF BBQ so I am guessing I would be okay.

Will check out the kitchen appliance stores. May be bed N bath or ??? and fabric stores.
B&J Half baked sounds great. If you have a carton can you take a look at the fat content for me so if it is too high I don't go and buy it. I have to look at that not just the points. Sounds yummy!

Veggie slices are great because they will melt unlike the FF cheeses that do not want to melt well. But it does have some fat, yet it is not cholesterol or sat fat (the bad kind) it is a plant source.

I have found Am, Swiss, Mozz, Smoked Provolone (my fave) and Cheddar.

Never heard o fGFS but will check it out online, may be things can be ordered! ?
When I was a kid we got gov't canned pork. It was awful, salty and no one would eat it. But I will try most things at least once.


This am I ate Veggies Ground with a bit of catsup, cumin, onion flakes, garlic powder, 21 Salute and liq smoke for a Southwestern BBQ flavor. I could not find my chile powder or I would have thrown that in there. I served it on top of ONE-half of a Whole Wheat Thomas Bagle Bread and placed Veggie slice under the crumble and one on top and melted the cheese and heated the ground crumbles and bagle bread.

Great treat!!

Bagel Bread is LARGE about size if a SQUARE CD slip or envelope (not jewel box). About 3.5 x 3.5.
VERY THICK .
270 cals, 2 g fat, 8 g fiber.
So I use one half = 135 cals, 1 g fat and 4 gram fiber.
VERY filling!

Keep on keeping on!
JeanCat

The B&J's is 3g of fat, 1.5 is saturated. This is for the frozen yogurt, I know the LF ice cream is much higher.

Any of the places you listed should have the cheese cloth (not real sure about bed n bath because I've never been in one).

This canned beef stuff doesn't taste like your normal canned meat. It's super lean (I've never found grissle or chunks of fat--super picky on that) and in my opinion it's not super salty. However, I've only had it mixed in things so that might have cut down on whatever salty taste there is.

Your veggie ground recipe sounds pretty darn yummy. Might be a bit too much flavor for me first thing in the morning though! lol

I have strange work hours and sleep hours. As you all have probably noticed by the time I post.
However I am okay aslong as it is not too cold or salady at 9PM to 9AM!

:P