Popcorn Again

Thanks for the popcorn comments. I need to state that I don't like microwave popcorn. I bought a box of 100 calorie popcorn back in March and there are still some packages left in the box. When my hubby makes himself microwave popcorn (the real stuff) I have to leave the room because I can't stand the smell of it. I don't know why I'm so weird, but I am.

In the past, I used my Stir Crazy to make popcorn. I could use one tablespoon of oil to pop 1/2 cup of popcorn. I have tried to reduce the oil and the popcorn with my Stir Crazy, but I haven't obtained good results. The oil just adds too many points.

And another way I'm weird: I actually like air-popped popcorn.

So on a whim this afternoon, I drove out to our Wally World. They had the Presto PowerPop microwave popcorn maker I had read about. They also had plenty of the cardboard disks for when I run out. $14.95--I bought it on the spot. $2.19 for an 8-pack of cardboard disks.

I came home, scanned the directions, washed the bowl and lid (because I'm weird), dried them, and inserted the cardboard thing--which should last for 12 or more batches without oil. I measured 1/3 cup, which came out to exactly 80 grams of kernels, and threw it in the microwave. Three minutes and 45 seconds later, I had a *huge* bowl of popcorn. It popped so well, the lid raised up! I counted 7 unpopped kernels. I was thrilled!

No longer do I have to clean the counter of popcorn gone wild. It usually shoots everywhere and I'm always picking up kernels off the counter, plus popped corn. My dogs always enjoyed catching the popcorn that fell on the floor. No more.

I ate every last drop of popcorn. Well, I had three border collies sitting at my feet and they each got several bites. My 80 grams of popcorn = 240 calories, 3 grams of fat and 12 grams of fiber. A whopping 4 Weight Watchers points. It was popcorn heaven. It was a lot of popcorn.

Next time I need a snack, I'll cut it in half. The amount of popcorn I ended up with was more than my hubby gets in his microwave bags. We have a dedicated popcorn bowl, and the microwave version fills it, mine overflowed.

I was very impressed and shocked by the popcorn popper. It did have great reviews at Amazon and other places on the net. I'm happy, because I can measure my popcorn and actually consume what I've weighed out. No more 50% loss with the air popper!

One final note, I found that the popcorn was actually better than air-popped. Sometimes air-popped can be a bit, um, chewy. This had the perfect texture. Yay.

Dare I admit further weirdness? I don't salt my popcorn. lol Sometimes I spray some ICBINB or butter-flavored Pam, sometimes not. =)

Balance and Popcorn Poppers

I've spent time this morning catching up on blogs. I commented on some, and read all that were updated on my list. So I am still reading, and I'm learning to cut back. It's difficult because I enjoy leaving comments. The balance was right, though, as I didn't spend a lot of time, came away inspired, and left words where I felt compelled to do so. So, it's all good.

~~~

Popcorn: It's a snack I absolutely love, and have nearly every day. I'm very frustrated with my air popper, though. I weigh out my 40 grams of popcorn, put it in, and half of the kernels spray out unpopped. I feel I'm getting cheated points wise. Then I started doubling...I'd weigh 80 grams, make my popcorn, and weigh the unpopped kernels. Magically, every time, 50% were unpopped. So I felt I was getting my true points value.

It bugs me because I'm wasting popcorn! So I've been looking for a new air popper. I'm thinking I'm going to order the Presto Powerpop Microwave Multi-popper. It gets rave reviews all over the internet. The only bad thing is you have to buy cardboard "powercup concentrators" to be used with it. They're cheap, but I know I'll have to buy online because I live in the boondocks.

For those of you who enjoy microwave popcorn, what popper do you use? Anyone have that Presto popper? I just want my money's worth when I buy popcorn, and I want my points' worth when I make it. I'm tired of 50% spoilage. I would love recommendations!

I'm Back

Tuesday, when I decided to take a break, was a bad day. My son and I had decided to clean out the garage once and for all--it is a disgusting pit. So we set up tables, took everything off shelves, made a garbage pile, moved saws, drills, etc., and were going to conquer it. I figured we'd have the rest of the week, and hubby would be forced to join in because it's his stuff being organized. He just needed the push and the help.

Well, that afternoon after we had completely moved everything around, he called and said, "Guess what, I'm out of town the rest of the week." I was deflated. The garage was in a sorrier state than before we started. We came in the house, my son knocked over and broke a brand-new drinking glass which sent shattered glass everywhere, along with Coke Zero. I was about in tears.

We got that cleaned up, I called hubby and asked if he would help put everything back in the garage because I didn't have the energy to move things around. That night we spent about an hour in the garage, and in that short hour, made a huge dent in its appearance. So it wasn't so bad after all.

I just felt like I needed a break from things, so I decided to not read blogs and not write. What I discovered is that I spend far too much time on the computer. And the really time-consuming part is commenting on blogs. I really bantered back and forth in my head: If I don't comment as much, I'll have more time. Yet, the support I receive from comments is very helpful to me--and I like to give back what I give. Oh, I played this around in my mind, feeling terribly guilty, but knowing...I just can't comment anymore like I have been. I can read blogs, but I am going to have to be selective with comments.

When our school starts up again, it takes a lot of time. I have snippets of time to hop online during the day, but I won't have the time like I had this summer. School comes first, my house needs cleaned, laundry needs done, the dogs need to be played with and exercised, my son needs driven to places, I need to exercise...something has to give.

I feel guilty. I really believe that you get what you give. Yet, there are only so many hours in a day. So I'll still comment, but not like I have been. I don't like it, but it's the best I can do.

My son and I rented 12 movies on Tuesday. We've been watching, laughing, and enjoying. I only rented two that I wanted to see, Twilight and Benjamin Button. Haven't watched Twilight yet, but we watched Benjamin Button last night. That movie touched me beyond what I had expected. Perhaps it's because I have a son who is "different"--I hate to attach any labels to my wonderful boy, but he is not a "typical" child. He has some medical issues, plus he is gifted with learning disabilities, which makes his road a bit tougher. I wept like a baby when the movie ended.

One final note, I felt very weird yesterday and today. I kept thinking it was my heart, and I felt light-headed. Just a bit. Not enough to stop me from doing things, but enough that I was very aware of it. This afternoon it hit me like a ton of bricks: Perhaps this is anxiety? So I took a Xanax. Lo and behold, all the weird feelings went away. We snuggled up and watched a movie, I fell asleep, and I was back to normal. Why? I am usually very aware of when I'm having anxiety issues, but this was just different. I think with hubby out of town, that might have prompted it. He is my rock, and when he's around, I am usually okay. He was amazed that I didn't recognize it.

He is home, safe and sound, all is well in my world.

I'm Tired

I hate to do this, but I'm going to take a short blog break. Only a few days. I'm exhausted. I'm moody. I'm sad. I'm grumpy. I just need a break.

You know things are getting bad when you go to google maps and look for some destination within driving distance because if you don't get out of town, you're going to go crazy. And what's worse, there's no where to go that's within driving distance that has interesting things. I could go to the Twin Cities, but driving in big cities is a big anxiety-inducing thing for me.

Today was a very bad day. Everything went wrong. One phone call changed the plans for my week. I started a major project, cleaning out the garage, and had to stop, put everything back and put it off yet again.

I'm just tired. For some strange reason, I've been grieving my parents again--lots of very vivid dreams, lots of reminders everywhere I turn. It really makes me feel very lonely not having the two people who were always on my side, always loving and supportive, gone. Dad's been gone 15 months and mom 16 years, but I'm grieving both of them. And Denver. I miss Denver. I haven't lived in Denver since 1987, but it will always be home to me.

So we're going to spend a few days just having some fun and just chillin' before school starts up. We're going unplugged. We're not going anywhere, because there's no where to go, but we'll have fun in the middle of nowhere.

So I hope everyone has a great week, stays on their plans, and gets their exercise in. I will say that I'm very proud that even though I'm kind of down right now, I have no desire to stuff food into my mouth. Or shall I say the desire to stay on program is greater than the desire to stuff food in my mouth. lol

fabulosity

Thank you for all the comments today! I was thrilled with the loss.

We have not started school. We start Sept 8 as we follow the local school district's schedule. I am enjoying every last second of freedom, believe me! I still have to map out our science and math for the year. Ugh. That's on tonight's agenda.

When I plan menus, I shouldn't assign days to what we're having. I forgot to thaw chicken, so orange chicken was out. I was going to put the ham in the crockpot, but it was noon when I thought of it--too late. So, we had twice-baked potatoes tonight. Talk about fabulosity! (Hey, I watch The Housewives of New York City, I'm hip, that's where I learned that word. lol)

Dinner was complete silence. Everyone was busy eating. When we were done, I asked, "So, is this a keeper?" A loud yes from both my boys! I thought it was a yes, too. Instead of having a half serving--or rather, one serving, I had an entire potato. We all did. The thing is, that made us short on protein. I asked what the boys thought would be good for a protein choice, and of course hubby said steak. Son complained about the innocent animal that would have to be killed in order for us to have steak. Oy. I can't quite afford that many points for steak, so I'll have to come up with something else. It was so good. I love it when I find something that makes everyone happy.

This will definitely be a favorite side dish in the future, too. If I can come up with a good protein match, though, it will definitely be a staple! I made mine just like Aimee's recipe, but the boys made their own with Promise, full-fat cheese, etc.

We're going to take the doggies for a walk later tonight. I have to work on exercise this week. My exercise calendar is pathetic. My triglycerides won't get lowered unless I get out there walking or moving. My heart won't get stronger, etc., etc., etc. It just goes to show, I'm not a multi-tasker. When I get busy with other things, I let that fall. That should come first. My back's been hurting a lot lately, because I'm not moving.

Why is it so easy to forget or overlook something so critical to our health?

Monday Weigh-In Day

Weight: 238

Loss: 1.5

Total gone: 44.5!


Woo-hoo!

Week 28 Menus

Monday:Orange Chicken, baked yams, salad
Tuesday: Twice-Baked Potatoes, Salad, Cottage Cheese
Wednesday:Chicken Stroganoff, green beans, salad
Thursday: Cola Ham, Scalloped Potatoes (Betty Crocker), salad
Friday: Crockpot breakfast, bacon, salsa
Saturday: Leftover Ham, Scalloped Potatoes, salad
Sunday: Hamburgers, baked fries, salad

Breakfast:
Kellogg's Complete (bran flakes) and Fiber One

Lunch:
tuna salad, sandwiches, mini pizzas (made with sandwich thins or 1-pt English muffins)
salads, baby carrots

Snacks:
fruit: apples, bananas, etc., breakfast cookies

Orange Chicken

Orange Chicken
main meals
POINTS® Value: 7
Servings: 3


Ingredients

3 breast(s) uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp table salt
1 tsp black pepper
8 fl oz Tropicana Pure Premium Orange juice
2 cup(s) scallion(s)
2 cup(s) orange sections

Instructions

Put chicken, ginger, salt, pepper & orange juice in crockpot and cook on low 6 hours.

Top with orange slices and green onions.

Serve over rice and noodles for additional points.

Cookin'

When I started this blog, every week I shared our dinner menu plan. Somewhere along the line, I got hit or miss with posting it. Somewhere along the line I started getting a little, um, afraid to post because we're not clean eaters. Yes, we still eat some processed foods. All the clean eaters out there kind of intimidated me. I was afraid of being judged.

Some of the processed foods in our cupboard:
Baked Sour Cream and Onion chips
Baked Tostitos
(There are also real Sour Cream and Onion Chips, which my boys eat on occasion.)
Velveeta Light. What is in Velveeta, anyway? It's not really even a cheese, but it's so good.
Tuna Helper--my son loves it. (Well, we all do.)
LF and FF cheeses--I learned the trick to combine both and it works wonderfully! I've never had an issue with either of these products, but my friend rages about how unhealthy they are.
FF Mayo--the only time we use mayo is for tuna salad
Nestle's No Sugar Added Chocolate Milk Mix
Fiber One Cottage Cheese
Fat Free Half and Half for my coffee

There are others, but those are what pops into my mind.

You will not find any 100-calorie packs. I tried a few in the beginning and I found them laughable. The cupcakes! Three or four, the size of a quarter, for 1 pt? Are you kidding me? I go for filling foods. Plus, I'm very good at measuring out my own foods, so things like chips I buy in the big bag.

We now have fruit available. I have a bowl of apples on my counter in my pretty vintage Fire King tulip bowl. We go through so many apples that I no loner bother to refrigerate them. Bananas, melons, even some canned fruit. We have salads a lot. Every day. We are incorporating more vegetables, although my son does not like them.

We check for high fructose corn syrup now. While I use diet bread (yes, another processed food), my boys eat wheat bread with no HFCS.

What I'm trying to say is this: We're not perfect, clean eaters. I don't know that we ever will be. Yet, the way we eat is 180 degrees different than how we ate before I started this journey. Have a carb? Sure, just make sure to have a protein with it. Get in the WW recommended amount of fruits and veggies? You bet, or even more than their recommendations. I still can't hit Richard Simmons' recommended amounts, but the point is I did not eat vegetables every day before this journey. Sometimes I wouldn't eat any in a week!

I've been thinking a lot about MizFit's motto: Unapologetically Myself. This is who I am, this is who we are, and judge if you must, but it is what it is. We are always striving to be healthier, to eliminate bad stuff, but we're not perfect. Nor will we ever be. Perfect=bad is my new saying.

I need to find foods that will satisfy everyone, which makes things difficult. I have a husband who is a meat and potatoes guy--or actually just a low-carber. I have a son who wants to be a vegan and never eat an animal. Oh, it's stressful. I like tomato-based foods, pastas, sandwiches, soups, etc.

I also do not like to cook. I think that stems from the fact that when I go all out and prepare something, many times my husband doesn't like it. He's polite, will sit there and eat and not say a word. Sometimes I catch him putting stuff down the drain, even though he's trying to be discrete. Other times he's having a snack 15 minutes after supper. I find it frustrating. On the other hand, if I had to eat what he liked, I wouldn't be happy, either. Not one bit. So it's a balancing act.

Also, at the end of the day, I'm tired. I'm usually not wanting to stand and prepare food--I just want to sit and eat. (Another reason I'm fat!) We take turns cooking, and even my son joins in.

I've been online today looking for new recipes. I've kept in mind the food preferences of all of us, plus the ease factor for me. I have no problem throwing stuff in the crockpot in the morning. I also have no problem preparing something earlier in the day and throwing it into the oven later. I just don't like doing it at 5, as I'm tired.

I will start posting my menu plans again. I keep in mind that we are always improving, choosing healthier options. Yet, we will still use low fat cream of crap soups and other processed goodies. In moderation. The point is to make recipes healthier, which I've done.

Rome wasn't built in a day, and we have vastly improved, and will continue to do so. We'll find what works for us on this journey, and there's always room to tweak.