Christmas Countdown Challenge (Closed) - Week #9
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This is one opf my favorite recipes in it's original form. I don't have the exact calorie count for each cookie, but you can tweak the recipe to make them lower calorie. I estimate that they are 135 calories per cookie made as is. When I put it in the recipe builder I changed the recipe a bit to make them gluten free for my husband and got a calorie count of 91 calories per cookie. Enjoy!
Chocolate turtle cookies
Ingredients
1 cup(s) all-purpose flour
1/3 cup(s) unsweetened cocoa
2/3 cup(s) sugar
1/4 cup(s) reduced-calorie margarine
1/4 cup(s) fat-free cream cheese
1 large egg white(s)
2 Tbsp fat-free skim milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
24 piece(s) caramel candies
24 piece(s) pecan halves
Instructions
Combine flour and cocoa in a small bowl; set aside. Beat together sugar, margarine, cream cheese, egg white, milk, and vanilla extract in a large bowl; add flour mixture and blend well. Chill dough at least 30 minutes, or until firm.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls; place on baking sheets about 1 to 2 inches apart. Press a caramel into each cookie and flatten; top each caramel with a pecan half. Bake for 10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Yields 1 cookie per serving.0 -
My life has it a speed bump. My bad chest cold that I have had for a week is pneumonia. That explains why I can't breathe. Unfortunately I discovered it after I passed it along to my 18 y/o mentally disabled son. He now is in the hospital's ICU with a ventilator because his oxygen levels are low. I can't be there with him because I am still sick so my husband has to stay while I am at home with our 16 month old. Doctor told me to rest. I don't think it possible to rest with a toddler. I hope I get over this soon. It is breaking my heart not to be with my son. I hope the rest of you are having a better week. Have a great night.
Sorry you and your son are poorly with Pneumonia, here's wishing you both a speedy recovery and lots of (HUGS)
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Thanks Jen. Looks great.
Angie I will be keeping you and your son in my prayers0 -
angiemcnett - My thoughts are with you for a quick healing from your sickness and prayers are with your son for his health as well. I hope you have friends and family to help you out with your little one. Remember to focus on getting yourself better! Take care :flowerforyou:
Cateyes0831 - PERFECT QUOTE!!! :bigsmile:
gennybunny1 - That recipe sounds.......... DELICIOUS!!!! Thanks for kicking it off for us!!!
Cmuehe - Thank you for your awesome words, super motivating!!!0 -
I'm actually down to 197.2 now woohoo!! hopefully i can get smaller faster!!0
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Wow 15 weeks left...physical challenge I can't do this week and not for a while, just had shoulder surgery last Monday and have another 2.5-3 weeks in a sling then 2 months of physical therapy, so any physical challenges I might not be able to do. And recipes I have none I wish I did though, but I have a houseful of plain picky eaters and I am the only one that wants to try different things. Though I do have one that I will dig out and post for tuna/macaroni salad. Well have a great week everyone!!0
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My life has it a speed bump. My bad chest cold that I have had for a week is pneumonia. That explains why I can't breathe. Unfortunately I discovered it after I passed it along to my 18 y/o mentally disabled son. He now is in the hospital's ICU with a ventilator because his oxygen levels are low. I can't be there with him because I am still sick so my husband has to stay while I am at home with our 16 month old. Doctor told me to rest. I don't think it possible to rest with a toddler. I hope I get over this soon. It is breaking my heart not to be with my son. I hope the rest of you are having a better week. Have a great night.
OH MY GOODNESS!!!!! The hard part is you have to take care of you first the best you can so you can take care of your family. I understand how you feel I had something along the same lines happen to me last year when my Mom was in the hospital after having a horrorible stroke. I wanted to visit but couldn't for about 3 days! It broke my heart. I'm sure your son knows you would rather be with him. Oh man I'm welling up
Stay positive you and you family are in my thoughts. I'm certain everything will be back to normal soon :flowerforyou: 0 -
I have struggled to find motivation recently as well. Had burned out of points for WW and now seem burned out for calorie count. Took a psychological profile for weight loss and result was that my personality type doesn't do well with structure. Then left wondering what the heck to do. So have decided to do what their advice was for a while. Keep healthy foods around. Lots of choices as I am very spontaneous. Don't strictly count, but eat healthy foods, wide variety of them. This past week I have adopted this and scale looks like it will be budging down again this week. No one in my family has difficulty eating healthy and in moderation...don't know why it is such a chore for me. But have passed on the 300 calorie dessert with lunch and have been bringing my lunch and refusing to stop by fast food on way home. Then can have a dessert with dinner or flavored latte if I have eaten reasonably. Tonight decided on the latte which I drank during Bible study, so I passed on the pumpkin pudding I was going to make. I just need to keep plowing along. To those of you whose motivation has wavered.....if I can keep up the fight, so can you!!!! For those who haven't.....yeah and keep it up. We are all here because we really do want the best for us...it is just hard at times to find that.
PS...another great motivator is trying on clothes.....seriously made me not want to drive through for french fries after I tried buttoning some of the pairs of pants I was trying
You sound MOTIVATED! These are all great things you are doing - don't get discouraged. One day at a time.0 -
New meds make me feel like death.:sick: :yawn: :ohwell: :ohwell: :noway: :ohwell:
I think I'm going to bed by 9:30 so that I can lay in bed for 8 hours (probably won't sleep since I never sleep... but hey -- at least I'll be trying, right?).0 -
Poor Mel, please take care of yourself.
Jenn, what are you doing with your plank challenge? 1 min and I think I am going to die. Lol. 25 min you want them done by next month right? It may take me that long to get that done. Lol. I will keep trying though.
Ok I added another 30 seconds to the plank..0 -
bump for later 0
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Thank you everyone for the prayers and well wishes. I am doing much better but my son is still the same. I was hoping he would come home by Friday for my birthday but my husband said not likely. He is hoping Ody will come home early next week. All that matters is Ody is stable and he is getting what he needs to get better. We will take one day at a time. Thank you again for your prayers and well wishes. Have a great night. 0
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I'm glad to hear that you are better and that Ody has stablilized. Happy Birthday to you tomorrow. I will continue to be praying for you and your son.Thank you everyone for the prayers and well wishes. I am doing much better but my son is still the same. I was hoping he would come home by Friday for my birthday but my husband said not likely. He is hoping Ody will come home early next week. All that matters is Ody is stable and he is getting what he needs to get better. We will take one day at a time. Thank you again for your prayers and well wishes. Have a great night. 0 -
:flowerforyou: angiemcnett - I'm glad to hear things are improving. Day by day... :flowerforyou:0
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Ok, how about a "Fall" recipe to get things moving into Autumn (starts tomorrow in case anyone was wondering, lol). I've already gone "picking" once this season and I'm sure I'm going to be heading out a couple more times before the winter rears its ugly head. Get outside and pick those fresh veggies and fruits... IT'S APPLE TIME!!!
APPLE TURNOVERS
Ingredients
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 medium-size Granny Smith apples (about 1 pound), peeled, cored and grated
1/4 cup dried currants
2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch ground nutmeg
4 ounces (1/2 package) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, cut into pieces
1 egg, separated
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
1 17.3 ounce package frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed
Make It
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add apples, currants, sugar and nutmeg. Cook, stirring, 4 to 5 minutes or until apples are tender. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Stir in cream cheese, egg yolk, flour and lemon zest.
2. Unfold one of the pastry sheets on a lightly floured surface. Roll out slightly to measure 12 inches square. With pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut pastry into 9 equal squares (each 4 inches per side).
3. Spoon 1 tablespoon apple mixture into the center of one square. Fold in half diagonally to form a triangle. Seal open edges with a fork and transfer to an ungreased baking sheet. Brush with a little egg white. Repeat with remaining squares.
4. Bake at 400 degrees F for 14 to 15 minutes, until puffed and nicely browned on top. While turnovers bake, repeat rolling, filling and folding with remaining pastry sheet, filling and brushing with egg white.
5. Remove turnovers from baking pans to wire rack to cool, at least 10 minutes. Best if served same day as baking; reheat in 350 degrees F oven for 5 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 18
Amount Per Serving
Calories 180
Protein(gm)3
Carbohydrate(gm)21
Fat, total(gm)10
Cholesterol(mg)18
Saturated fat(gm)3
Dietary Fiber, total(gm)2
Sodium(mg)1190 -
And another apple recipe for a non-dessert dish...
HARVEST SOUP
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 medium Golden Delicious apples, cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Ground black pepper to taste
Whole grain croutons
Make It
1. In a large pot heat oil over medium heat. Add carrot, celery, and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes or until tender and starting to brown. Add the squash, apple, and broth. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until squash is tender. Cool slightly.
2. Puree the soup, in batches if necessary, in a blender or food processor, or with an immersion blender. Season to taste with pepper and serve topped with whole grain croutons. Makes 4 to 6 servings (about 6-1/2 cups).
Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 4
Amount Per Serving
Calories 185
Protein(gm)6
Carbohydrate(gm)35
Fat, total(gm)4
Saturated fat(gm)1
Monosaturated fat(gm)2
Dietary Fiber, total(gm)6
Sugar, total(gm)14
Vitamin A (IU)(IU)173
Vitamin C(mg)36
Thiamin(mg)0
Riboflavin(mg)0
Niacin(mg)2
Folate(µg)52
Sodium(mg)531
Potasium(mg)702
Calcium(DV %)91
Iron(DV %)10 -
By the way are we still measuring ourselves once a month?
YES, AAAHHHHHHHH..... We are already at the 25th?!?!? Where did that last month go?!?!?
Yes please, send me your new measurements with this week's weigh in. I am tracking it all, just haven't posted it yet. Once I have everyone's from this month, I will find a way to get that information to you in a "ledgible" manner. The way the chart looks right now for the measurements is quite scary :noway: so I will work on making it pretty :smooched:0 -
Jenn-
Just wanted to thank you for your work in all of this. Hasn't been easy for you with the hurricaine!!!! Wanted to let you know that on Friday I will weigh and post my CW. I will be leaving that afternoon for 17 days in Italy and won't have access to a scale. I want to stay in the challenge and will start weighing again when I come home...week of the 14th. Thanks!!!!
YAY!!! Enjoy Italy!!! We'll see you when you get back!0 -
So I've kinda been sucking...but ready to get it back together. Lost sight of my water intake and can definitely notice the difference. So glad to jump back on the wagon and make e best out of thees 15 weeks...planks super nervous and excited about it..yeah!!! Also a little confused as to what day is now weigh in day, is it still friday thru Sunday or was it moved to monday? Hope all is well with everyone...
Friday-Sunday for the weigh-ins. I opened it up to Monday's only because I usually don't update the charts until Monday and I was still missing a lot of weigh-ins by the time Monday rolled around.0 -
I'm ready! I have been slacking myself, but am back on the right track! I will do the challenges !!! Life gets in the way sometimes, but I'm just pushing it out of the way! I'll post some recipes! I missed some time in between, what do we do with the $5?
Kathy
The $5 challenge was to put $5 away each week when you weigh in. When we started this, it would have been $100 for yourself as a Christmas present for all of your hard work.
QUOTE FROM WEEK 3
PERSONAL CHALLENGE:
What would you do with $100? New clothes? Fancy dinner? Personal trainer?
Got $5 on you? GOOD!!! Now put it away! Stick it in the pants pocket of your "Goal Jeans"! Put it in the back of your dresser drawer! But PUT IT AWAY! And do the same thing every week from now until Christmas! We have 20 weeks left and if we put away $5 every time we weigh in for this challenge, we'll have our own nice little Christmas present waiting for us to CELEBRATE OUR CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN CHALLENGE COMPLETION!!!! (That's a lot of "C's")0 -
Jenn- Thank you for all of your work on the charts and keeping us motivated. 0
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Ingredients Calories Carbs Fat Protein
John Soule's Foods - Chicken Breast Fajitas, 1 container (24 oz ea.) 800 16 20 168
Bertolli - Garlic Alfredo Sauce, 1 container (1 4/5 cups ea.) 770 21 70. 14
Ronzoni - Angel Hair Pasta, 8 oz 840. 168 4 28
Calories. Carbs. Fat. Protein
Total: 2410 205 94 210
Per Serving: 482 41 19 42
Serves 5 people
Cut chicken to desisiered size add chicken
And trampling season from bag to pot and cook
When chicken is cooked add Alfredo sauce and turn dire to
Low medium to warm
Cook noodles serve and enjoy0 -
hi ccc friends
kinda getting discouraged again ..i wanted 2 be in onederland for my bday !!!! well yesterday was my bday and not even close havent been cheating and gained 2 pounds (211 now) sometimes i feel like what the heck why not cheat im gaining weight eating right bleh
here is a recipe i made yesterday for my birthday dinner was awesome
REUBEN SANGA
Prep Time:
15 Min
Cook Time:
30 Min
Yield 4 sandwiches
Ingredients
■spray butter
■8 slices rye bread
■16 slices deli sliced corned beef
■8 slices lOW FAT Swiss cheese
■1 cup sauerkraut, drained
■1/2 cup Thousand Island dressing fat free
squeeze kraut out and mix with dressing
Directions
1.Preheat a large skillet or griddle on medium heat.
2.Lightly spray both sides of bread slices. and grill on one side,flip over add 1 cheese ,4 slices of corned beef,kraut mixture,another piece of cheese then bread
3.Grill sandwiches until both sides are golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Serve hot0 -
hi ccc friends
kinda getting discouraged again ..i wanted 2 be in onederland for my bday !!!! well yesterday was my bday and not even close havent been cheating and gained 2 pounds (211 now) sometimes i feel like what the heck why not cheat im gaining weight eating right bleh
here is a recipe i made yesterday for my birthday dinner was awesome
REUBEN SANGA
Prep Time:
15 Min
Cook Time:
30 Min
Yield 4 sandwiches
Ingredients
■spray butter
■8 slices rye bread
■16 slices deli sliced corned beef
■8 slices lOW FAT Swiss cheese
■1 cup sauerkraut, drained
■1/2 cup Thousand Island dressing fat free
squeeze kraut out and mix with dressing
Directions
1.Preheat a large skillet or griddle on medium heat.
2.Lightly spray both sides of bread slices. and grill on one side,flip over add 1 cheese ,4 slices of corned beef,kraut mixture,another piece of cheese then bread
3.Grill sandwiches until both sides are golden brown, about 5 minutes per . Serve hot
Oh gosh - I understand why you feel discouraged... but you have come a long way!!! look at your pictures from when you started. Time to start over, You know I have been struggling, and sometimes I am just not being honest with myself in counting my food, or tastes or bites
Also I know things get busy and it's so hard to stay on schedule. Keep those healthy snacks in the house. Now I am tweaking things and refocusing on my water and all the things I should be doing veggies, sleep, exercise etc. I have also excepted that I have to find yummy things with lower calories you know the lifestyle change. You can do it! How's your exercise, are you inspired by the Biggest Loser??? It just started :bigsmile:
Keep you chin up - dust off the bike :flowerforyou:0 -
Ok weighing in tomorrow... Hoping for a loss. I've been stuck at 194 for almost 3 weeks... I Need a loss... Well want one
To all those struggling... We all have those days.. Lets just take this one day at a time... WE CAN DO THIS!! It's a life style change and change is hard...but we ARE worth it!!! Good luck everyone on your weigh in...0 -
Recipt I use a ton... Sorry I'm not exactly sure on the calories but it's healthy... And I'm sure if we use good portion size it's ok..
Crock pot Mexican chicken
4-6 Boneless skinless chicken breast
2 cans black beans
2 cans corn
1 medium size bottle favorite salsa 10-16 oz( make it as hot or mild as you like) I use pace mild
Add corn and beans to bottom of crock pot... Chicken then salsa on top...
Cook for about 4-6 hrs depending on your crock pot..
Once chicken Is done take out and shred then mix in crock pot simmer for 30 mins or so...
Great for tacos, burritos, my favorite salads!!! Hope you all enjoy!!!0 -
I stayed the same this week.
Current Weight -226,
I am okish with that as I havent really been exercising and food choice have been a bit on the crap side. I have ordered UFC Fighter training for the PS3 for the nights I am on lates and can't make it to the gym.
Angie- I am so sorry to hear about your son, I hope he gets better soon and I will send you some strenght so you can remain positive and strong for me.
Good quote with the just keep swimming I shall be doing just that
I will try and get messurements tonight and pop them on and start on those planks.0 -
planks? :sad:
I know those from the 30DS.... ack! Ok, Ok, getting to it....
I'm sorry to hear about everyone's struggles. I hope things get better in the future. Especially you, Angie! :flowerforyou:0
This discussion has been closed.
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