Today’s lesson from My utmost for His Highest was puzzling to me.
Weight Watchers
Making Sophie’s Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies
Sophie, my 17-year old granddaughter, came over last week and showed me how to make her Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies. Here’s our video about them. And it is truly NO exaggeration when I say that those cookies are AMAZING!
Please “like” the video – and then subscribe to the Living Real With Carol YouTube channel. Thanks!
Meal Prep: Quick and Easy Bread Dough
I made bread dough for the week – six portions worth. Two of the portions will be used for pizza (Recipe here). Two will be used for two meals of Pigs-in-a-Blanket (Recipe here) one for now, and one for a second meal that I will freeze for later. One portion will go for Cheesy Biscuits with Eggs (recipe here), and the sixth portion will be used for Chicken Pot Pie. That recipe will be posted later.
This is a great way to meal prep or the week. When the dough is already made and in the refrigerator, then those meals that use the dough are so much simpler to make.
You will see from the video that it’s easy and quick, too.
The recipe I use made 6 portions. Each portion includes 1/2 cup self-rising flour which is either 5 or 6 points (WW Blue plan), depending on the brand.
Herbal Tea: Is it really good for you?
A few weeks ago I decided to start a bedtime routine to hopefully help me develop the habit of going to bed earlier. I’m a night owl, and I frequently would stay up past midnight. I wanted to change that – not by much, but if I can regularly go to bed by 11:00, that would be great.
The routine I’ve established is to brush my teeth, wash/tone/moisturize my face, put on my PJs, and then prepare a relaxing cup of herbal tea. I sit in my recliner and slowly sip my tea – savoring it – being mindful. When I finish the tea, I rinse the cup and put it away, and then I go to bed.
The research behind establishing a bedtime routine is that our bodies become accustomed to the pattern. So once that herbal tea hits my system, my body says, “Okay, I’m sleepy! Go to bed, Carol!”
I’ve been doing better on WW since I started this routine. I don’t know if there is a connection between the two or not. However, it is working for me, and I’m enjoying the variety of herbal teas that I’m trying. I’m drinking herbal tea during the day, too. As the weather gets cooler, I will likely drink it even more often during the day.
And I have to mention that one thing that piqued my interest in herbal teas is that I’m a fan of the History Channel’s show “Alone.” And this past season, so many of the contestants talked about making tea from the plants they found growing around them. “How to make teas” was probably one of the topics that they covered in their “boot camp” before the competition started. And I can understand how knowing which plants to use and how to make the tea would be beneficial in a situation such as that.
This afternoon, I started researching herbal teas. I haven’t read much about them before now. I was eager to find out if herbal teas offer any concrete health benefits. And, by George, they do!
First of all, herbal teas aren’t really teas because they aren’t made from tea leaves. They’re called “tisanes” (I’ve never heard or seen that word before!) or, in more familiar language, they are “infusions.” They can be made from edible spices, herbs, fruit, bark, roots, flowers, or any combination of the aforementioned. An infusion allows you to enjoy the benefits of a plant in an easily digestible form. And just about everything I read extolled the benefits – even including the fact that usually if you’re drinking herbal tea, you’re not eating. Thus, it may help to control weight. LOL! “May” being the operative word in that last sentence.
I went on a bit of a buying spree when I decided to become an herbal tea drinker. I’d had some Two Leaves and a Bud tea at a restaurant a few years ago, and I loved it. So I got some of their “Better Belly Blend” and some “Chamomile.” Then I asked my Facebook friends for herbal tea recommendations, and bought some that they recommended.
The composition of an herbal tea determines the health benefits. For example, chamomile is good for relaxation, while ginger helps with digestion. Here’s a chart with some of the more popular herbal tea ingredients.
The good news is that herbal teas are very popular, and you can find high quality teas in most grocery stores. Of course, you can get just about all of them from Amazon, although often you have to buy more than one box of them – which makes it a little less tempting. When you only drink 2-3 cups a day, you don’t need a dozen 15-bag boxes!
There are blends for just about everything. I bought some for sleep and some for digestion, but I also got a detox tea, and some that would perk me up a little, if needed.
Recipe: Vegetable Beef Soup (WW Blue – less than 1 point per serving)
I made a WW-friendly vegetable beef soup today, and it is delicious! The video will walk you through how to make it. The recipe is below.
The soup base is:
1 lb. 96% lean ground beef (10 WW Blue points)
2-3 can diced tomatoes (0 points)
1 can tomato sauce (0 points)
1 quart beef broth (0 point)*
approx. 1 cup chopped onion, 1/2 cup chopped celery (0 points)
Salt and pepper, to taste (0 points)
Directions: Brown the ground beef in a large soup pot. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and beef broth. Salt and pepper, to taste.
Now add your vegetables – I usually buy a bag of frozen soup vegetables. However, you can use fresh, frozen, or canned (drain canned vegetables) – corn, carrots, peas, beans, garlic, peppers, potatoes (count the points for potatoes).
Bring to a boil. You can add more beef broth if the soup is too thick. Let the soup simmer for a couple hours to thoroughly meld all the flavors.
This soup will keep in the refrigerator for several days, and it freezes well.
POINTS: I add additional beef broth, if needed, to bring my total amount to 18 cups – which equals 18 servings.
10 total points divided by 18 servings – .555 points (which rounds of to 1 point.
*Some beef broths scan as 0 points for a quart, and some scan as 1 or 2 points for a quart. It depends on the fat content of the particular broth you buy. Scan the broth you use to figure your points. However, even at 2 points a quart, the total still equals less than 1 point per cup/serving.
Recipe: Pigs in a Blanket
I wanted a hot dog – particularly a pig-in-a-blanket. And I knew I needed two things to make them: bread dough and hog dogs. First, the dough.
My Bizzy Kitchen has a pizza dough that can be used in many ways, and I like it much better than the 2-ingredient dough because it doesn’t have the strong tangy taste of the Greek Yogurt. You can find the recipe here. It’s quick and easy to put together. Make a batch of the dough, divide it into four equal portions. Put three of the portions into individual zip-lock bags. You can use those portions for individual pizzas or bagels or whatever bread product you’d like. The dough will be good in your refrigerator for at least a few days.
You will use the other portion (1/4 of the recipe) for these pigs-in-a-blanket.
Next, the hots dogs. Hebrew National has great hog dogs, and they have two that can be confusing – a “reduced fat” and a “97% Fat Free” version.
Get the HEBREW NATIONAL 97% FAT FREE BEEF FRANKS. They are only 1 WW Blue point each – and they taste really good!
Take four hot dogs out of the package. Take your dough (which is 1/4 of the recipe) and divide it into four equal portions. Take one portion and roll it into a long snake-like shape and wrap it around one of the hot dogs. The dough might be sticky – use just a little extra flour to make it workable
Sorry, but I forgot to take photos of the four pigs-in-a-blanket ready to go into the oven. However the other three looked just like the one shown above.
Note: I THINK that you could probably get away with dividing the dough into six portions and making six Pigs-in-a-blanket instead of four. It would bring down the number of points each, too. I intend to do that next time.
Bake at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes – until bread is nicely browned. The hot dogs are already fully cooked, and so you have to worry about whether they are done. As long as they’re hot, they’re good to go.
POINTS (WW Blue Plan)
1 Pig-in-a-blanket = 2 points (hotdog-1, dough-1)
2 Pigs-in-a-blanket = 5 points (hotdogs-2, dough-3)
3 Pigs-in-a-blanket = 7 points (hotdogs-3, dough-4)
4 Pigs-in-a-blanket = 9 points (hotdogs-4, dough-5)
Time Out – Got Gout!
Last week I was so gung-ho – feeling good and energetic. Then Saturday morning came, and suddenly I couldn’t walk. I don’t mean that it hurt to walk. It means I went to bed Friday night feeling just fine. I woke up Saturday morning and literally could not walk because my left foot was so painful. It was red, swollen, and when I tried to walk, it felt like daggers through my whole foot. Even sitting still with it elevated and with cold packs on it, it throbbed with pain. So I spent Saturday, Sunday, and Monday sitting and sleeping – with as few trips to the bathroom that I could manage. That was the extent of what I could do.
Tuesday morning (yesterday) I finally got in to see an orthopedist. I thought perhaps I had a stress fracture or a bad sprain. However, it is gout. Gout is caused by too much uric acid in my system. The doctor gave me steroids, and my foot is much better today. I’ve been reading up on how to prevent gout.
Preventing gout has implications for my WW lifestyle because, for me, it’s mostly about food choices. The doctor may prescribe medication – but not for now. I’ve been looking at the graphic above on the foods to avoid. I have no problem with alcohol, liver, salmon. However, poultry and fish – especially tuna and Halibut – have been mainstays of my WW meals. And I have bacon (red meat) almost every morning. I will definitely need to re-evaluate my menus.
I drove today for the first time since Friday – picked up some groceries I ordered last night. I had tart cherry juice in the order since numerous people told me cherry juice was key in keeping gout away.
I’ve stuck with WW throughout this time. In fact, the pain made me feel less hungry. Thus I had leftover points at the end of several of the past few days. Up to 4 unused daily points can be rolled over into weekly points each day, and now my weekly points are up to 44 from 35. Hopefully I will have a good weight loss this week because of less eating.
I’m on the mend – just taking a little break from posting. My mind couldn’t concentrate on writing when I was in significant pain. LOL! Can’t imagine why.
Big shout-out to my husband, Ron, who has taken excellent care of me – he has cooked for me, brought me drinks and pillows and ice packs – helped me put on the orthopedic boot my daughter loaned me. Ron drove to Larisa’s house to get the orthopedic boot for me – and later he drove across town to get a scooter so I could get around a little more easily.
What will I change? Here are six changes I will start today:
(1) I’m going to experiment with a sugar-free cherry and nonfat Greek yogurt something-or-other for breakfast. I will see what I can come up with.
(2) I will switch from pork bacon to chicken bacon. Chicken bacon isn’t quite as good, but daily pork bacon isn’t worth having another Gout flare-up.
(3) I’m upping the apple cider vinegar gummies and vitamin C gummies that I take each day since both of those are part of the preventive regimen.
(4) I’m also adding tart cherry juice to my daily menu. It’s 2 points for every 1/3 cup I drink. I will research to find out how much I should drink each day.
(5) I will research to determine what other supplements will be helpful.
(6) I will add more low-fat dairy, whole grain breads, and vegetables.
Recipe: Carol’s Meatloaf
I love meatloaf, and so I made it this afternoon. We had it for dinner tonight. It is 3 points per serving (WW Blue Plan). Here’s the recipe:
Carol’s Meatloaf
2 lb. ground beef, 96% lean (20 points)
6 slices light bread (1 point per slice = 6 points total)
4 eggs (0 points)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion (0 points)
1/2 cup finely chopped bell pepper (0 points)
Salt/pepper/garlic salt – to taste (0 points)
Instructions: Dump all ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Use hands to mix well (I wear gloves). Season (salt, pepper, garlic salt, etc.) to your preference. Form two loaves. Each loaf has four servings. Bake at 325 degrees for about 60 minutes – or until meat thermometer placed in the center of the loaf register 160 degrees.
I usually cook one loaf and wrap the other loaf in aluminum foil and freeze it for another meal in a couple weeks.
Points: 26 points total for 8 servings. That equals to 3.25 points per serving. So if you have two servings, that would be 6.5 points which would round off to 7.
Tomato Topping For Meatloaf
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped bell pepper
salt/pepper – to taste
Instructions: Combine ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 15 minutes. You can cook longer if you want the onion and pepper to be softer. Spoon over meatloaf when served. Points – 0 points for each 1/2 cup serving
Atomic Habits – Exercising
Since I’ve talked about Atomic Habits, I thought I’d make a quick video about how how to develop Atomic Habits to get yourself to exercise.
Start small – practice regularly – experience results
A Better Cheesy Biscuit With Egg
So here is the revised recipe:
Make the dough first. This makes four servings.
1 cup self-rising flour (11 points)
1/2 teaspoon yeast (0 points)
1/2 teaspoon salt (0 points)
1/4 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt (0 points)
1/4 cup warm water (0 points)
Pam cooking spray, butter flavor (0 points)
- Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.
- Prepare a small baking dish with a sheet of parchment paper or a spray of butter-flavored PAM.
- Set aside about 1/4 cup of the flour to use later.
- In a bowl, mix 3/4 cup of the flour with the yeast and salt.
- Add the yogurt and warm water and mix well. You should have a sticky ball of dough
- Sprinkle some of the reserved flour on a clean counter or pastry mat. (I actually used a paper towel).
- Dump out the dough onto the floured mat.
- Sprinkle more of the reserved flour on the dough, gently fold it over, and repeat until a good ball of dough is formed. Knead the rest of the flour into the dough.
- Spray your hands with Pam, take the dough and form it into 4 balls of equal size.
- Note: If you want to make only one or two servings, before cooking at all, wrap the unused dough in a ziplock bag and keep it in the refrigerator till you’re ready to use it. The extra can be used for this recipe, pizza dough, or any other dish requiring bread.
- Roll each ball into a long log shape and then press the ends together to form a circle, and place the 4 circles on the baking sheet. Make the circle large enough to hold an egg in the middle.
- (optional) Let rise for about 30 minutes. This step will make the dough rise more, but it is delicious without this step.
- Bake at 475 degrees for about 4-6 minutes until puffed but not browned.
- Remove baking sheet from oven.
Toppings: Here is a photo of my toppings – chopped tomatoes, grated Cabot 75% reduced fat cheddar cheese, a slice of Canadian bacon, finely chopped onion, chopped spinach leaves.
- Working quickly so the biscuit doesn’t cool too much, place a slice of Canadian bacon underneath each of the biscuit circles.
- Crack an egg into each biscuit cup. If you look at the photos below, you will see that the egg white flowed over the top of the biscuit, but it was okay. When I took them out of the oven, they were fine.
- Season with salt and pepper. Add other toppings, as desired – just keep track of the points.
- Return the baking sheet to the oven and continue baking until the biscuits are golden and the egg whites are set, about 10 minutes more.
(Photo below) It’s ready to go in the oven! I’ve piled on so many toppings that you can’t even see the egg except for where part of the white overflowed at the top of the photo. You will see in the next photo that after it has cooked, the white overflowing doesn’t make any difference – still delicious!
And here it is – ready to eat. Absolutely delicious!
Counting the points: Each biscuit (4 biscuits per recipe) is 3 points. Add the points for any toppings you add.
Living Real With Carol 