January 25, 2012

Great Wednesday to you,

I am sitting here drinking my stevia tea with some hot, frothed milk in it and thinking how wonderful! I prefer Truvia to Stevia in foods, but the lady who does my nails sells Stevia tea (grown from the plant and then dried and chopped) and I really like it. As it has no caffeine, I count it somedays toward my water in-take. It is sweet naturally, so NO additional sweetener is required. At first I really wasn't sure, but I add a little half and half and YUM! It has great nutritional benefits also. My newest discovery happened yesterday though.

Those of you who have been following my blogs for a while know I was addicted to coffee, Italian creamer and whipped cream in abundance. That is one of the reasons I was so pleasantly plump. :) So, for almost a year - NO whipped cream. Then during the holiday season I discovered the JOY of using heavy whipping cream with various flavors. OMGoodness! I fell in love. To make matters worse, I bought a frothier after Christmas to help give the Half and Half in my coffee more whipped cream feel. I AM IN LOVE BIG TIME NOW!!!! HOWEVER, the whipping cream and half and half are VERY high in calories although very low in carbs and in January I jumped back to phase 2 in reach my goal weight. Again - great sacrifice. BUT YESTERDAY, I stumbled onto a little secret. On Monday I bought some Smart Balance milk - 1% and tried it in my frothier. It worked amazing! It doesn't have the taste of whipping cream or Half and Half, and only a smidgen of the calories. YEA! And, while on Phase 2, as the frothier makes the milk like air, I can use 2 tablespoons as opposed to 1.

As we look forward, Valentine's candy is everywhere! For my folks addicted to chocolate - this is a torturous season. Let's stay ahead and plan well. I do have a fudge recipe that will keep a little something sweet, cut in small squares, in your fridge if you're in a spasm. :) BUT PLEASE - just plan now that you WILL NOT FALL PREY to the candy isle. Avoid buying candy for your family, avoid the sugar-laden desserts at the office share-a-dish, and go buy yourself the next smallest pair of jeans. That candy "pleasure" may last 5 minutes but take days to wrestle off. Jeans - gonna get a lot of miles from that purchase. Also remember, xylitol and almond flour can be used in almost EVERY recipe with no noticeable differences. Make your favorite red velvet cupcakes and make the substitutions. Eat ONE and give the others away. If you're going out to eat - ask the restaurant to accommodate you.

My daughter and I were starving the other day while out shopping and decided we only had time for a "quick bite." THAT'S a dangerous place to be! But we grabbed the red wine vinegar and headed to Chik-fil-a to see about a salad. We are both on phase 2. As we walked in, the manager greeted us and asked if he could help us. We said we were on a strict eating plan and could we have a salad "custom" made. He smiled and said, "certainly." We ordered only romaine lettuce and warmed chicken. That's all. They made us a special plate and even brought it to us. YUM! Perfect lunch. I told him I would pass along that Chik-fil-a can work with we Freedom Fighters. The moral of the story - ASK. When in Carrabas a few weeks ago - Teree and I said, no fat, no starch, no sugar. The waiter checked on several things - they grilled our chicken with NO butter (their usual), we shared a salad with just romaine lettuce and he also brought the grilled zucchini, which had no fat either just the montreal steak seasoning. PERFECT lunch combined with lots of water with lemon and limes. YUM! We CAN do this - just ask!

Choose life - LONG life - by CHOOSING to be healthy - PK