Losing While I Can and Must (comment away!)

See this is what I get for not posting everyday. I left out the snacks on my last entry, and now I can't remember which goes with which day. I know I had a Skinny Cow ice cream one day, a peanut butter cup and trail mix one day and a mini-Snickers one day. Just serves as a reminder to do this sooner each day!

Tuesday, 2/20

B: homemade, reduced fat banana pancakes w/ a drizzle of honey (3 pancakes, about 4 or 5 inches across) They were SO SO good, and it was national pancake day, so how could I resist. (doesn't, of course, explain why I had them again today but we'll talk about that tomorrow!)

L: Lean Cusine tomato pizza (had a fancier name, but I don't know how to spell it!)

D: chicken ceaser wrap w/ a few french fries and some melon

S: handful of trail mix

We also bought a Wii yesterday, and I played it a little last night. SO FUN! I have to be careful about which sports to play, as I'm still very restricted from bending and twisting, but bowling and golf are both fine. It's nice to have a semi-active thing to do while I'm still recouperating. Plus I walked around Target, so that was good :)
 
Wii! My FAV pasttime!!!

I LOVE the bowling. Tennis is good, but I can't play with anyone else in the room. LOL!! The Smooth Moves game is good, over 200 'mini games' - no real bending , etc involved. I just got Wii Play & it's fun, too. I was disappointed in Table tennis, tho.

Sounds like you are doing well. Scones???? My absolute fav are some that DD made after finding an old recipe online - chocolate chip!!

Have a great, healthy rest of the week!
 
Hi Bekki,

I still haven't had a chance to try the Wii out yet.... Hope you're enjoying yours, but don't forget to take it easy with those games...;) :hug:

Have a great Thursday!:cool1:
 
Hi Bekki
I want a wii too!!
Oopps just re-read that, but you know what i mean! :rotfl:
Have a great weekend :)
 

The Wii is SO MUCH FUN. We got the Wario Ware Smooth Moves, and it is a hoot. Between that and the Wii bowling, I'm a little sore in my shoulder LOL!

Wednesday 2/21
B: Same pancakes from Tuesday w/ honey

L: EEK, Taco Bell, burrito supreme and a crispy taco and a small sierra mist (Luckily, we walked to Taco Bell, so at least thats something positive)

D: Annie's mac and cheese and a skinny cow

Thursday, 2/22

B: Fiber one honey clusters w/soy milk

L: Chicken ceaser salad w/ flat bread

D: Meatloaf (about 5 oz. w/the leanest beef 4%) and mashed poatoes (butter and 2% milk)

Snack: handful of trail mix. I also made 2 loafs of bread (on plain, one cinnamon swirl) so I had a slice of each to test. I actually think I had 2 of the cinnamon swirl. I love baking bread, makes the house smell SO good :)
 
Have you made it far enough in Smooth Moves to make it Multi-Player?? There's one Multi-Player game where you can feed your opponents to the gators. Another where you pass the remote around very quickly - kind of like 'hot potato' little ones play.

I LOVE my Wii!! Can you tell??? I get sore shoulders, too! I found a website that calculates calories burned playing, but forgot to bookmark it. When I find it I'll post it.

Taco bell is a real weakness here, too!

Have a GREAT weekend!
 
Friday, 2/23

B: Fiber one honey clusters w/soy milk and 2 slices of my bread (1 w/honey)

L: grilled steak burrito w/guacamole and a few chips

D: 5 cheese raviloi w/a little marg, 2 slices of my bread
 
Sunday 2/25 (aka a very lazy day!)

B: bowl of rice crispys sprinkled w/sugar and nf mik, 2 slices of toast, 1 w/marg.

L: Greek style grilled chicken gyro w/ feta and a piece of spinach pie, small sprite

D: bowl of ramen and some leftover meatloaf

S: serving of 2% greek yogurt and honey

We went for a long walk at the mall (it was raining the last couple of days, so I needed it!) and played with the Wii quite a bit. Smooth Moves is a blast--I giggle constantly.
 
Hi Bekki
Any chance of sharing the cinnamon swirl bread recipe??
I love cinnamon :)
Oh & i'm a terrible cook by the way so i need lots of clear info!!!!
Glad you got a walk to the mall, hope you didnt lighten your wallet though ;)
 
Sure! I love both the plain and the cinnamon (I leave out the nuts and raisins and add more orange zest and cinnamon/sugar.) It's actually really easy, just read the directions a few times before starting! I make it in my KitchenAid, but the food processor version is much faster. The big key is to add the flour just a little at a time.

Lee's Rich Loaf
From: Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads by Bernard Clayton

This white bread can be made with a grand swirl of nuts, sugar, raisins, and cinnamon through its heart or made simply as a no-frills loaf.

Naomi Lee does it both ways with a recipe that has been fine-tuned in her southern Indiana kitchen for a number of years. It began as a different recipe but she began to tailor it in response to family comments and judgments, such as using butter instead of margarine, two eggs rather than one, a bit less salt and a bit more sugar And so it went for two decades, but now she believes it is exactly as she wants it—rich in taste, well textured, and delicious.

Naomi Lee makes a 2-loaf batch of dough. Half of the dough is rolled around a nut-raisin-cinnamon mixture while the other half is left as is.



Makes two loaves

DOUGH
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups hot water (120-130 degrees F)
1/3 cup nonfat dry milk
5 cups bread or unbleached flour, approximately
1 package dry yeast
2 eggs, room temperature

FILLING (FOR ONE LOAF)

1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup presoaked raisins (see Notes)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
1 tablespoon butter, softened or melted

BAKING PANS: 2 medium (8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch) loaf pans, greased or Teflon

BY HAND OR MIXER: 15 minutes

In a small saucepan measure the salt, sugar, butter, and hot water. Add the dry milk and stir together. Heat over low flame until the butter is melted, but don’t bring to a boil.

Measure 2 cups flour into a mixing or mixer bowl and pour in the liquid. Blend into a light batter. Add the yeast (the flour will have cooled the water, hence won’t hurt the yeast). Stir the eggs into the mixture, and beat by hand with 50 strong strokes or under a mixer flat beater for 2 minutes, until the batter is thoroughly mixed.

Add the balance of the flour, 1/4 cup at a time, blending first with the wooden spoon and then by hand or with the dough hook. When the dough has formed a rough, shaggy mass, place on the floured work surface or leave in the mixer to be kneaded. If the dough is sticky, add sprinkles of flour. Don’t overload the dough with flour or it will become a hard cannonball! It must be soft and elastic.

KNEADING: 10 minutes
Knead the dough with a strong push-turn-fold motion, occasionally lifting the dough off the work surface and sending it crashing back. Or place under the dough hook of an electric mixer. If the dough remains slack and moisture pushes its way through the surface, add small quantities of flour. When sufficient flour has been added, the dough under the hook will clean the sides of the bowl and not stick. The dough kneaded by hand will be soft and elastic. Knead for 10 minutes.

BY PROCESSOR: 4 minutes

Insert the short plastic blade.

Heat the water-butter mixture, as above. Measure 2 cups flour and yeast into the work bowl. Pulse to blend. Pour in the liquid and pulse several times to make a thin batter. Add the eggs. Pulse.

Remove the cover to add 1 cup flour. Pulse. With the machine running, add the balance of the flour, 1/4 cup at a time, through the feed tube.

KNEADING: 50 seconds
When the dough has formed a ball and is riding on the blade and cleaning the sides of the bowl, knead with the machine running for 50 seconds.

FIRST RISING: 1 hour

Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and set aside at room temperature to double in volume, about 1 hour.

SHAPING: 15 minutes

Turn back the plastic wrap and punch down the dough. Lift to the work surface and divide the dough into 2 pieces.

For a plain loaf, form the dough into a ball. Let it rest for 3 or 4 minutes and then press into an oval roughly the length of the bread pan. Fold lengthwise, pinch the seam tightly to close, and drop in the prepared pan, seam under.

For a swirl loaf, form the dough into a ball and let rest for a few minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl mix together the nuts, raisins, cinnamon, sugar, and orange zest. With the fingers and rolling pin, push, stretch, and roll the dough into a rectangle slightly larger than the width of the pan and about 14-inches long. The dough will be about 1/2-inch thick.

Spread the butter over the dough with a brush or your fingers—taking care not to butter the narrow top edge where the seam will be made. Spread the nut mixture over the butter. Carefully roll to the top, and pinch the edge into the body. Tuck under the ends, and place the loaf in the prepared pan.

SECOND RISING: 50—60 minutes

Cover the 2 pans with wax paper and put aside until doubled in volume, to the edge of the baking pan, about 50 minutes to 1 hour.

PREHEAT

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F 20 minutes before baking.

BAKING: 400 degrees F 35-40 minutes

Bake on the lower shelf of the oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until the loaves test done when the bottom crust is tapped with the forefinger. (If using a convection oven, bake at 350 degrees F.)

FINAL STEP

Remove from the oven and place on a metal rack to cool before serving.

Notes:

Beforehand soak the raisins in water or, if you wish, rum, brandy, or wine for about 1 hour. Drain and press dry on paper towels.

For a delicious and colorful alternative, frost the loaves with confectioners’ sugar, a few drops of vanilla, and just enough milk to make a smooth mixture.
 
Oh My GOSH that sounds WONDERFUL!!! I think I'd have to eat ALL of BOTH loaves if I made it!

Hope you're having a good Monday!
 
Oh My GOSH that sounds WONDERFUL!!! I think I'd have to eat ALL of BOTH loaves if I made it!

Hope you're having a good Monday!

I agree Julie!:goodvibes It sounds delicious! If you have any leftovers Bekki, please feel free to send them my way. ;)

Hope you have a great day today!:goodvibes
 
Thankyou sooo much Bekki, it must have took you ages to type all that, i really appreciate it :)
Hopefully i will give it a try soon :)
 
So, my laptop died this past week--big time, so my computer access is limited :)

I will say that last week, foodwise, wasn't terrific, wasn't awful either, but I could do better.

I woke up Monday with something I read on these boards in my head: "Nothing tastes as good as being healthy feels." I've repeated that over and over for the last few days, esp. when I'm really craving something naughty (like a McFlurry!). And it's worked! I snack on healthy things and have avoided the bad. That makes me feel good.

I wish I could do more active stuff. I tried riding my bike for 5 minutes. It was ok, but I was in a lot of pain the rest of the day. I walk when it's nice out..maybe I need to walk even when it's not.

Anyway, I hope everyone is well. I'll check in and update as I can.
 
Glad things are going ok! I was wondering where you were. Aren't computer problems the PITS????

Hope you have a good rest of the week!
 
OK, a whole month since I checked in. I'm ready to recommit right now, and I have loads to share!

1. I got a job, only 15 hours a week, doing private teaching (imagine homeschooling, but with a real teacher aka me). It's for a company a friend used to work for, and although it's a bit tougher going one-on-one than I thought, it's still kind of neat. We'll see if I can keep up the positive attitude:rotfl:

2. I had my 3 month post surgery check up yesterday. The doctor was SO SO happy with my recovery. He says I'm about 90% healed, which is great after only 90 days. All of my walking really paid off. He also gave me the go ahead for.....

3. I've made it my goal to walk the Disney 1/2 marathon in January. Although I'm just getting started right now, I think I have plenty of time to be able to do it. I went on a 3 mile walk on Thursday and my goal was to finish in under an hour. I made it in about 52 minutes! I still have a loooooonnnnnggggg way to go before a 15 min/mile pace for 13 miles, but I'm excited and more important determined, to do this. I loaded all kinds of Disney music on my mp3 player. It's so fun to walk to parade music :thumbsup2 although I do use real music too.

4. In addition to "real walking," I also bought the Walk Away The Pounds DVD that has the 1 and 2 miles on it. I've been doing them for about 3 weeks or so, every day. It's a nice, and fast way, to bump up the cardio. It also helps with the upper body by adding light weights. So I plan to keep doing them at least a few times a week in addition to the walking.

So, I think that's about it. I haven't gotten on the scale in a while, mostly because I was not being great about my eating. However, the last 2 weeks have been ok, and I think I'm learning to stop myself from eating things I shouldn't by allowing myself a treat a day (like a Skinny Cow or something around 100-150 cals...hostess just started making 100 cal. packs of their cupcakes. Yum!). I will do much better about keeping this journal, only because I think it's the best way to be accountable for everything!

thanks again for reading :)
 
Food for yesterday:
B: Banana Panckaes (3 medium sized, made w/ low fat bisquick and soy milk) topped with 2 tbls. honey. 1.5 c. OJ

L: Panera 1/2 chicken and pesto sandwich and a cup of broc. cheddar soup, peice of french baguette

Snack: Raspeberry smoothie (all fruit and juice, no dairy..16 oz)

D: Vietnamese food. We went on an adventure b/c we'd never had it before. Meh, not super impressed. We shared a few apps (a spring roll, a beef skewer and 2 mini egg rolls), shared a bowl of beef and noodle soup. I didn't eat a ton and 1/2 of a pork sandwich.

Movement: 2 walks. 1 23 minute w/dog (1.2 miles) and 1 67 minute w/ DH (3.4 miles)

Have nothing planned ofr today, except perhaps another couple of walks to take advantage of the sun and lesson plan for next week. Now that we don't live enar family, holidays are a lot more boring. No easter basket for me LOL!
 
Hi Bekki,

Sounds like things are going well for you.... That is great!:goodvibes You've gotten a wonderful report from your doctor, you're walking the Disney 1/2 in January, you're doing the WATP DVDs, and you are making healthier food choices. Great job, Bekki!:cheer2: Keep up the good work!:thumbsup2

Hope you have a wonderful week ahead!:hug:
 
Hi Bekki
Its great to hear from you :)
Especially when everything is going so well for you!
Congrats on the job :)
You are doing amazing with all that walking, i'm sure you will manage the disney 1/2 marathon no problem ;)
Glad the doc gave you an all clear on your check up :)
 
Aww, you guys have no idea how much your encouragment helps me (or maybe you do!) Thank you so much for putting a huge smile on my face

4/8
Breakfast: PB and J on whole wheat bread and OJ (I haven't been to the store in a while, so we're running out of food :rotfl: )

Lunch: Quiznos chicken caesar salad w/ dressing on the side using the dip method. Also a piece of flat bread

Snack: 100 cal pack of cereal/peanut butter chips (called a reeces pack?) and a handfull of baked lays

Dinner: 4-5 oz (it was about 5 oz of turkey before cooking) of turkey meatloaf, 1 cup of mashed poatoes made w/ ff 1/2 and 1/2 and marg and about 1 cup of steamed broccoli w/ a smidge of marg.

movement: I really wanted to take advantage of the sun before the rain came, so we went out on another long walk. 4.25 miles in 80 minutes! I was so excited, and my legs aren't that sore this morning. I also took the dog for a 1.2 mile walk. Yeah for lots of movement.

Plan for today:
I work for about 2 hours and need to also go to the grocery store. It's wet, so I think the 2 mile WATP video is on tap. Hopefully it clears up enough to take the poor dog out :rotfl2:
 














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