Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

Strawberry-Rhubarb Cobbler     cakes POINTS® Value:    4 Servings:  8 Preparation Time:  20 min Cooking Time:  45 min Level of Difficulty:  Moderate   What could be better than sweet, bubbling fruit nestled under tender, flaky sour cream biscuits? Our version of this traditional comfort food is a delicious and low-fat alternative! Ingredients 16 oz unsweetened frozen strawberries, thawed for 15 minutes    14 oz frozen rhubarb, or fresh, cut into 1-inch pieces, thawed for 15 minutes if frozen    1/3 cup(s) sugar    1 Tbsp cornstarch    1 1/3 cup(s) all-purpose flour    3 Tbsp sugar, divided    3/4 tsp baking powder    1/4 tsp baking soda    4 Tbsp reduced-calorie margarine, cut into small pieces    1/2 cup(s) fat-free sour cream    1/4 cup(s) fat-free skim milk    1 large egg(s), lightly beaten    Instructions Preheat oven to 375º F. Coat an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine strawberries, rhubarb, sugar and cornstarch. Mix well and spoon mixture into bottom of prepared pan. To prepare dough, in a large bowl or food processor, combine flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, baking powder and baking soda. Add margarine and mix with your fingers or process in the food processor until mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs. Add sour cream and milk and mix until dough comes together. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead 5 times, until blended. Divide dough into 16 equal pieces and roll each piece into a small ball. Place balls on top of strawberry-rhubarb mixture and gently press down to flatten. Brush the surface of dough with egg and sprinkle remaining sugar over top. Bake until filling is bubbly and top is golden brown, 45 minutes. Cool 15 minutes before serving. Yields about 1/2 cup fruit mixture and 2 biscuits per serving   I think serving this with Bryer's Smooth and Dreamy Fat Free Vanilla ice cream is absolute must.   I made the Shrimp-Fried Rice and decided it need more soy sauce at the table.  I served it with a sweet and sour slow cook recipe.  Lower in fat and super tasty.  The recipe can be found here

Snack Savvy

Are you snack savvy?  I thought I was until I attended my meeting this week.  First of all what do you think of when I say "snack?"  I think of something quick and easy.  Quick and easy doesn't necessarily mean healthy and satisfying.   For me it usually means grab a handful of chocolate chips.  The problem with that is, there is no weighing or measuring going on here.  It will add up.  Fast.

Before we can be snack savvy we need to plan for times of hunger.  For instance, you are going to be out running errands, shopping, etc and there is probably going to be a big space between meals.  Bring a long a snack to curb your hunger.  We would do this for our babies why not ourselves!?  We should choose filling foods.  I like the Fiber One Plus Antioxidants.  Portable and quite satisfying.  Buy your veggies pre cut.  Yes, it is more expensive, but as my leader put it, "Somebody really loves me!  They did all the work for me.  And I am worth it."  If you want you can sprinkle some sugar free jell-o on apple wedges.  It will taste like candied apples.  These snacks are also good for day trips with the family and road trips.

Now let's go for a scavenger hunt...in our purses.  Go ahead and get it...I will wait.  What did you find?  I found receipts, empty gum wrappers, pens, and some cars.  I have a boy what I can I say??  But what is missing?  A snack.  Let's put a snack in our purses to manage that hunger before it manages us.  Remember to replace it after you eat it.  If you skipped it, eat when you get home.

A little fruit trivia:  An apple a day....will give you energy!  Need an afternoon pick me up?  Grab an apple.  No specifics here.  Just take your favorite kind. 

Snacks each day keeps hunger at bay!

What healthy and satisfying snack do you like?

Something New

When we get married it is tradition to have something old, something blue, something borrowed and something new.  We are pretty willing to stay with things we know and love.  The old.  If we borrow something it is because we ran out, ours is broken, or we can't find it.  Don't ask me to tie blue into this.  Thanks.  What about something new?  How willing are we try new things?  Now I am not talking about going out sky diving or anything.   For heaven sakes!  No, think way simpler.  I am talking about food!  I spent the last week sampling some new food items.  I was supposed to try one everyday, but I only managed three.  My mom has me beat, and I will be offering her reviews as well.

I tried:  a Saturn Peach, a tuscon melon, and a red pluot plum.  My mom tried these in addition to parsnips and okra.

Saturn Peach:  It looks a flat peach.  The flesh is white and it is very sweet.  I enjoyed this and would buy them again.  A little pricey though at 79 cents a piece. Yes a piece.

Tuscan Melon:  If I didn't know better I would think you fed me a cantaloupe.  The taste and texture are very similar.  It has a slightly different taste to it.  It is sweeter. 

Pluot Red Plum:  From the outside it looks like a pretty typical plum.  The skin is red to maroon in color.  Mine looked like an apples color.  The meat is bright red. It was very sweet.  The skin (like most plums) was bitter. 

Parsnips:  My mom tried these.  They are from the carrot family, but she said it was more of a potato flavor.  She did not care for the parsnip.

Okra:  Again this one was tried by mom.  She said it was so-so also.  And that she would not eat it or parsnips again.

Today we both will be trying a Diakon in a carrot and Diakon salad. 

So the challenge this week is try some new fruits and veggies!  Get brave and adventurous!  Or be careful and cautious(as I was.)  Whatever tickles your fancy!  It's fun to try new things.

Shrimp Stir-Fried Rice

Here is a recipe I got from my Weight Watchers Leader.  It Serves 4 and is 7 points per 1 1/2 cup serving.

• 1 Cup regular egg substitue
• 2 tsp canola oil
• 3 medium scallions chopped
• 1 cup frozen peas and carrots, thawed
• 4 ounces frozen salad size shrimp (thawed under cold water)
• 2 cups quick cooking brown rice, cooked
• 4 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce

Instructions

Coat a wok or large skillet with cooking spray and heat until an added drop of water sizzles.  Scramble egg substitute in wok.  Remove when cooked and set aside. Add oil, scallions, peas and carrots and shrimp into the wok.  Stir-fry for five minutes.  Add cooked rice, eggs and soy sauce.  Stir fry for about three minutes.

Now I have not tried this one yet, but I am going to.  So come back next Friday to see what I think.  Share recipes here or send them to me and I will happily post them.

The Teeter Totter

Did you know the world record for the teeter totter is 75 consecutive hours?  Seventy-five consecutive hours of ups and downs.  Our weight is like a teeter totter too.  We have our ups and downs. 

This week in Weight Watchers we talked about our own teeter tottering on the scale.  One of our biggest culprits to weight loss plateaus is when we loosen our efforts.  I made brownies on Monday.  They were gone by last night.  I ate three.  For me, that is good. Focusing on the positive is part of our arsenal in the battle of the bulge.  I could easily beat myself up for eating any brownies at all, but the fact that I only ate three is, for  me, a small victory.  We should also recognize our efforts, especially when we start to slip.  And when we slip what should we do?  We pick up right then and there.  You certainly wouldn't leave spilled milk, or a broken glass.  You would immediately clean it up and restore your floor.  So why not restore your habits?

Our good habits include:  breakfast, a snack, lunch, a snack, dinner, and a snack.  Water.  Get those fruits and veggies in.  Move more.  Remember if calories in are less than calories out it = weight loss.  Watch out for BLT's...bites, licks, and tastes.  Consider a bite to be about 100 calories.  Seriously.  Or if you are on Weight Watchers it is a point.  Yes indeed.  How fast would we fill a plate if we put all those BLT's on it throughout a day?  Choose foods that satisfy both in the tummy and the mind.

To add to last weeks food for thought the leader gave us this to think about:

Watch your actions, for they become your habits, watch your habits for they become your character; watch your character for it becomes your destiny.

What actions will you choose?  

Healthy Oils

One of the things we tend to shy away from when we "eat healthier" is OIL and FAT.  But the truth is our bodies need fat.  Not a lot of course.  And not animal by-products.  I am not talking eating a pound of bacon a day here.  I am talking about oil.  Plain, pure and simple.  It can be Canola, Olive, Coconut, Safflower, Sunflower, Peanut, Soybean.  You can get a list online of healthy oils.  Now here is a question for you.  How is this oil healthiest?  In its natural state or when we use it for cooking?  Natural of course.  How much do we need of it a day?

Just two teaspoons a day of the oil itself.  Not cooked.  Now don't pull faces.  Hear me out.  If you put said oil in a bowl of oatmeal it blends very nicely and I promise you can not taste it.  You can also spread it over pancakes and then add your syrup or jam.  It goes undetected, and for me the pancakes were even better because of the FAT!  And it was legal.  You can also use it over salad with some balsamic vinegar and seasonings.  Put garlic and oregano into it and dip some bread into it.  I have also been told it can be put onto air poopped popcorn and then you can easily flavor it how you like.

Now just what does this daily dose of oil do?  The number one thing it does is:  it eliminates the bad fat.  Yep.  It helps get rid of the stuff we don't want.  Not only will it do that but it will help our hair look shinier and softer.  Our skin will thank us too.  And our digestive track will be thankful as well.  Wow!  Who knew two little teaspoons of healthy oil could do so much for us!  I challenge you all to try this.  Two teaspoons each day for the week.  I was skeptical at first, but I did it.  And I tell you it goes in undetected!

Measure of Success

How do we measure our success?  Is it by a scale?  Measuring our waistlines?  A lot of times we play a numbers game.  I know I do.  Especially where the scale is concerned.  I need to see this number in order to be acceptable.  And if I have a gain, I have failed.  But if I look at the big picture and see that I have had mostly losses along the way I can see that sometimes I lose a little, sometimes I lose nothing, and sometimes I lose a lot.  

I also finally started exercising.  I am not super committed to it yet, but I am doing worlds better than before.  That is a success.  Every time we do something to better ourselves it's a success! 

Do you know that the way we talk to ourselves is also a success?  Have you ever said, "Oh well, I already screwed up so I might as well throw the towel in?"  Or... maybe "I won't be able to lose that much anyway."  So what do we say instead?  "I messed up, yeah.  So I am going for a walk right now, and picking up where I left off"  "Those last 5-10 pounds will may hard, but I'm going to do it."

Our leader left us with this food for thought....


"Watch your thoughts, for they become your words.  Watch your words, for they become your actions."

What are your thoughts?

What's Your Passion?

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What are you passionate about?  And what are you doing about it?  That is my question for "What is Beautiful?" this week.

I have always had a passion for writing.  I can remember writing stories from a very young age.  My sister and I would write plays.  I always scored best on my writing tests in school.  (Permit me some boasting, please.) I had an English teacher in High School who gave me an A on a paper I wrote about teachers.  I was not kind with my words.  Indulge me here.  I had some rotten teachers in high school.  One of which actually said...in reference to yours truly, "Once a loser, always a loser." Oh yes he did.  So you can see why I had harsh words for teachers.  My English teacher could have given me a C or worse.  But he had integrity.  I got the A I deserved.  However, he left a message for me that said, "Teachers like that should not be teaching."  Amen!  But I have derailed...

My passion is writing.  I love the power of the written word.  I love the power it gives me!  If I want to write a story about aliens attacking earth, I can.  If I want to write about magical places and people, I can.  It's the beauty of writing.  You are the creator.  What am I doing about it?  It's here and on my main blog.  I love writing and posting each and every day.  I don't know if I will ever get that book published, but for now I will be happy to hit publish post!

Now tell me what is your passion, and what are you doing about it?

Dump Cake

I am going to share a recipe here today that I got from my WW leader.  And a shameless plug for Monday's What is Beautiful?  First...the recipe...

1 package regular white cake mix
12 oz frozen raspberries
12 oz frozen blueberries
2 cups diet 7UP*


Put frozen fruit on the bottom of a 9x13 pan.  Sprinkle cake mix over the fruit. Pour the diet 7UP over the whole pan; do not stir the cake mix in, but break up large lumps.  Cover pan with foil and bake 20 minutes.  Uncover and bake for 30 minutes longer at 350*

In WW land it yields 12 servings for 4 points each.  For the rest of you, it is a tasty low cal dessert.  Serve with whip topping or vanilla ice cream...Bryer's Smooth and Dreamy is 1 point for half a cup( a scoop).
*I use diet cream soda for white cakes and spice cakes.  For chocolate I use diet coke.

Get Fit On Route 66

My Weight Watchers Leader plugged this nifty little virtual tour to fitness!  It's really fun...okay I just started yesterday, but it's fun.  It is done through AARP.  You get an old vintage car, and start your "trip" in Chicago and as you exercise and log it in, you gain miles and lose weight toward your goal!  It can be any exercise!  Go and check it out here.

***Disclaimer*** Please consult your physician before starting any exercise program.