MIDWEEK MINUTES October 4, 2014
 Oct 4 (5 days ago) | | |||
Midweek Minutes
October 4, 2014
Hello, Winners!
Don't you love autumn decorations and graphics...they are so cute...but it actually feels like Winter right now! As we move into the 2nd half of October, we realize there are only about 6 weeks until Thanksgiving, and everything is again changing around us! The leaves are changing, the weather is changing, and we are on a journey to discover how to best handle those upcoming holidays successfully.
As we talked about in our meetings this week, we are definitely on this journey of discovery TOGETHER with destination known...a long term healthy weight. However, some of us have never been at a healthy weight before. Some of us have been there, stayed for there for awhile but left it, and are back again to journey once more to that desired place. What makes us begin? Why did we leave? What made us come back? What keeps us going? These are all questions that come to mind as we think about another holiday season. These are the questions we talk about in our meetings. This is why we have meetings because if we could do it alone, we would. We are so much better and stronger as a group, and I love to have each and every one of you join us this whole season as we prepare for the holidays.
Do you want to cringe when the cameras come around for those holiday photos? How will you handle those once-a-year foods you know you crave for reasons other than hunger? What will you do at those holiday parties where you have no control over the menu? Are you thinking, "I can't do this until after the holidays?" Will you be one of those who puts off taking charge of your health and fitness until January....AGAIN?
NO! Not you!
You are a Weight Watchers' member. You are coming to weekly meetings for the group support and the accountability. You are planning your meals and tracking your food. You are learning from past years what didn't work and changing habits. The time is NOW! Yes, we have six weeks until Thanksgiving...and not much time until Halloween. It's time NOW to work the program and make new habits. If not now...when?
So, let me ask you again. What needs to happen for you to be mindful of your eating, to move a little bit more, to attend meetings even though schedules are hectic and heating up, and to address the causes and not just the symptoms of eating too much this time of year? Will you come to the meetings this week? I bet you will because you're winners! We’re in this together! Make a date with yourself to come to the next meeting!
See you then! --Zig
These Members are seeing the CHANGES!
Superior: –17 lbs.
Hastings Saturday Morning: –19.2 lbs
25 lbs.
Dena A. ( S )
Wanda H. ( S )
Biggest Loser
John A. ( S )
Robert T. ( H )
Better Together
Why go it alone? You're more likely to stick with the Plan — and succeed long-term — when you have the support of others.
Article By: Diana Kelly
Share your weight-loss efforts, and it can pay off beautifully for you. Social support can not only help you shed pounds, it can help you maintain weight loss. You get encouragement, fresh strategies you might not have thought of, and even a metaphorical kick in the pants when you need it.
Your frontline support, of course, is your meeting, but don't overlook the thoughtful and varied voices on theMessage Boards. If you're a 30-something dad, or a Lifetime member seeking new food ideas, or a new mom trying to fit in exercise, there are boards for you. Or if you're on Facebook, head on over to our page to add comments, post photos and check out the daily tips and motivators.
And then look farther afield: What about your family or friends? The cousin who's also making lifestyle changes or your neighbor who's looking for a walking buddy are natural choices, but you can also bring on board those who might need a little, um, ramping up in the support department. Here are some pointers for making sure you get positive feedback from loved ones.
Anticipate changes in how others might feel about your losing weight.
If you're in a positive frame of mind about weight loss, and can share with family and friends how your improved mobility, happiness and health will enhance all of your lives, they're more likely to cheer your efforts.
Plan for the specific help you want or need.
Do you want compliments, trigger foods removed from view or an exercise buddy? It's easier to be clear if you have thought things out in advance.
Then ask!
Maybe you'll request that your significant other keep unhealthy snacks in another cabinet, or seek out a friend to exercise with you and keep you motivated. To make the asking easier, consider: Maybe your target wants to lose a little weight or become more active himself.
Play up the good in your lifestyle changes.
Tell your kids that you're dialing down the family's nightly ice-cream fest so you'll have more energy to participate in activities with them. See? You both win!
Be ready to stand up for yourself.
You may get some grousing at first, and some subtle (or not-so) pressure to make unhelpful choices, especially when, say, you're out with friends for happy hour. Nicely shake it off, and remind them you're counting on them to have your back.
And then look farther afield: What about your family or friends? The cousin who's also making lifestyle changes or your neighbor who's looking for a walking buddy are natural choices, but you can also bring on board those who might need a little, um, ramping up in the support department. Here are some pointers for making sure you get positive feedback from loved ones.
Anticipate changes in how others might feel about your losing weight.
If you're in a positive frame of mind about weight loss, and can share with family and friends how your improved mobility, happiness and health will enhance all of your lives, they're more likely to cheer your efforts.
Plan for the specific help you want or need.
Do you want compliments, trigger foods removed from view or an exercise buddy? It's easier to be clear if you have thought things out in advance.
Then ask!
Maybe you'll request that your significant other keep unhealthy snacks in another cabinet, or seek out a friend to exercise with you and keep you motivated. To make the asking easier, consider: Maybe your target wants to lose a little weight or become more active himself.
Play up the good in your lifestyle changes.
Tell your kids that you're dialing down the family's nightly ice-cream fest so you'll have more energy to participate in activities with them. See? You both win!
Be ready to stand up for yourself.
You may get some grousing at first, and some subtle (or not-so) pressure to make unhelpful choices, especially when, say, you're out with friends for happy hour. Nicely shake it off, and remind them you're counting on them to have your back.
get moving!
Earn a Charm in one of two ways! Read both options and see what will work for you. Just get moving!
Option 1: Walk or run (or crawl) 30 MILES during the month. Track all of your miles. If you hit 30 miles by October 31, we have a charm reward for you (pictured). Average a mile a day, and you can do this!
Option 2: Earn 30 ACTIVITY POINTS during the month. Track every activity point you earn. If you hit 30 by October 31, you will be rewarded with the same charm! Earn one activity point per day, and you can do this!
Tracking may be done anyway that works for you: on a calendar, on e-tools, using Active Link graphs, etc. Keep it simple!
Now get out there and move!
ON SALE NOW !
Snack Bars and Crunchy Snacks are on sale for $3.95 each through 10/25
Electronic Food Scales are on sale this week only for $34.95
ActiveLink—formerly $39.95, now $24.95 (save $15), our lowest price ever, from 9/7 through 11/1.
Your Success Kit—while supplies last, Your Success Kits are reduced to $24.95
Thursday, October 02, 2014
If you updated your Weight Watchers mobile app lately, you probably noticed that we’ve had some work done. ; ) If you haven’t updated yet, look for the update in the app store and download to check us out.
But we don’t just look different. We’ve made a lot of changes – both to address some issues and ideas you’ve shared with us as well as to take advantage of new capabilities that are possible with the new iOS 8 for iPhone.
If you’re using the iPhone and have updated to iOS 8, we hope the changes you see will make tracking easier and allow you to quickly see where you stand for the day compared with your target. Without opening the Weight Watchers app, you’ll now be able to:
- See your PointsPlus value totals for the day simply by swiping down from the lock screen to view a dashboard in the Today View. We hope this will help you to make smart food decisions in the moment.
- If you give permission, our app can now read nutrition and fitness data in the Health app and use them to automatically calculate and track the PointsPlus values.
For Monthly Pass users, we have a surprise for you! You know how these days you can use a digital boarding pass to board a plane? Now, you’ll have a digital Monthly Pass within the app so no more hunting for a paper card in the mail! Look for it in the “More” menu.
Along with these great new features, we’ve also given the app a complete facelift! Here are some quick tips for navigating the new look:
- To delete food entries, go to “My Day” and swipe left on the food entry.
- To search on the iPad, go to “My Day” and tap the magnifying glass in the upper left corner of the screen.
If you’re on iOS 7 (or any earlier version of iOS for that matter), we recommend that you upgrade to iOS 8 to take advantage of the latest and greatest features. Go to Settings -> General -> Software Update to see if you have an available update. You may need to clear space on your phone and remember that you’ll need a wifi connection to make the upgrade.
And sometimes, with new technology, there are some bumps in the road; we want to thank everyone for the helpful feedback these last couple of weeks. Part of our most recent update to the app addressed some of the crashing and connectivity issues you may have seen lately, including:
- On iOS 8 - tapping ‘Track’ will no longer crash the app every time.
- We’ve also added the decimal point back on the calculator, which was a bug related to iOS 8.
We also know that some of you are having connectivity issues and are seeing a message that “you do not have an Internet connection” when you try to track multiple foods at once. A workaround for now is to track one food at a time to prevent this problem. We know this is inconvenient and we’re really sorry. We have the best of the best working to get these issues fixed. If you experience any problems and want to find an answer, make sure you comment below.
We hope the changes we’re making will improve your experience – not just with our mobile app but with your entire Weight Watchers experience. And we’ll continue to work to get better, every day.
Thanks,
The Weight Watchers Team
NEXT WEEK’S MEETING:
What does your everyday world look like?
Have you made your world ready for your success?
Let’s explore YOUR WORLD so you CAN BE SUCCESSFUL!
Member Recipes
TRISH’S CRUSTLESS CRABMEAT QUICHE
4 Servings of 6 Points Plus
6 Servings of 4 PointsPlus
8 Servings of 3 PointsPlus
1 cup chopped frozen Broccoli
1 12-oz. package of imitation crab meat, chopped into small pieces
1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup of shredded low fat or fat free cheese, cheddar or a combination of cheddar and another type
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups of fat free milk
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tablespoon dehydrated onion flakes
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 10 inch pie or quiche pan with cooking spray. Heat broccoli in the microwave for 1or 2 minutes. Cut or shred the crabmeat into small pieces. Combine the crabmeat, flour and broccoli and put it in the prepared pan. Scatter the cheese over the crabmeat and broccoli. Wisk together the remaining ingredients and pour in the pan over the first ingredients. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. All to cook for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
There are 24 PointsPlus in the entire recipe. You may try other ingredients and adjust the PointsPlus.
Slow Cooker Cheesy Cauliflower Soup
Servings: 8
Serving Size: 1 cup
Weight Watchers® PointsPlus®: 6 *
Servings: 8
Serving Size: 1 cup
Weight Watchers® PointsPlus®: 6 *
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
1 cup diced carrots
1 onion, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
2 garlic cloves, diced
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/4 cup flour (skip for low carb, Paleo, or gluten free)
12 oz. fat free evaporated milk
1/2 cup skim milk
Salt and pepper
1.5 cups shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese
Add the cauliflower, carrots, onion, celery, garlic, and broth to the crockpot. Cook on low for 4 hours or until veggies are soft.
Stir together the flour, evaporated milk, and skim milk. Add to the slow cooker and turn it up to high for 1 hour. This will thicken up the soup.
Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste. Use an immersion blender (or blend in batches) until smooth. Stir in the cheese until it melts completely.
Pumpkin Spice Granola
Author: Organize Yourself Skinny
Serves: 16
Ingredients
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup chopped pecans
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
½ cup pure maple syrup
½ cup pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees
2. In a large bowl combine rolled oats, pecans, salt, sugar and pumpkin pie spice. Stir well.
3. In a medium bowl combine maple syrup, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract.
4. Pour pumpkin mixture into oat mixture. Stir until all the oats are coated with the pumpkin mixture.
5. Spread granola out on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.
6. Bake granola for 35 -45 minutes or until oats are toasted. Stir every 15 minutes. Mine cooked for the full
45 minutes.
7. Let the granola cool completely. Store in air tight container for 1 week or freeze for up to 6 months.
Notes
Make ahead instructions
This granola can be completely made ahead of time and frozen for up to 6 months. It might be helpful to freeze
in portions for a quick grab and go snack.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: ¼ cup Calories: 167 Fat: 7 Carbohydrates: 24 WW Points +: 4 Fiber: 3 Protein: 3
Recipe by Organize Yourself Skinny at http://www.
Grilled Cheeseburger Wrap
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef (I used 93/7 organic grass fed beef)
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon grated parmesan
1 teaspoon dried onion flakes
⅛ teaspoon pepper
⅛ teaspoon salt
5 100 calorie wraps (I use Flatout Wraps)
5 slices sharp american cheese (I use Land o Lakes)
2 roma tomatoes, sliced
1 cup of romaine lettuce
Additional ketchup (optional)
Mustard (optional)
Instructions
1. In a medium to large skillet coated with cooking spray cook the beef on medium till almost cooked
through but still a little pink (about 7-10 minutes). Break beef up as it cooks.
2. Add worcestershire, ketchup, grated parmesan, dried onion flakes, salt, and pepper to the beef. Mix
together until thoroughly combined.
3. Continue cooking until beef is cooked all the way through and is no longer pink.
4. Turn on indoor grill to 350 or you can also use a grill plan.
5. In the center of the wrap place a slice of cheese and ½ cup of the beef mixture. Add tomato and lettuce.
Then if you are using , and I highly recommend you do, add some ketchup and mustard.
6. Roll the wrap and place seam side down on grill. Once there are nice grill marks turn over. Grill for
another 2-3 minutes then remove.
7. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for the rest of the wraps.
Notes
Freezer instructions: The beef mixture can easily be made ahead of time and frozen. Follow steps 1-3, cool
slightly, then put into freezer bag or container for the freezer.
Reheating instructions: Take out night before or day off and thaw in the refrigerator. Warm up in microwave
then follow steps 4 and 5.
Nutrition Information
Skinny Baked Burritos
Yield: 8 servings
Serving size: 1 burrito @ 7 PP
Ingredients
1 lb lean ground turkey
2 Tbsp [Skinny Mom's Skinny and Low-Sodium Taco
reduced-sodium taco seasoning
8 oz reduced-fat shredded Mexican cheese blend
8 Large La Tortilla Factory® Smart & Delicious™ Low Carb, High Fiber Tortillas
½ cup reduced-fat sour cream
4 oz can mild taco sauce
10.75 oz can reduced-fat cream of mushroom soup
lettuce
jalapeños
black olives
tomatoes
reduced-fat sour cream
tomato salsa
*Optional ingredients are not included in nutrition calculations.
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Brown lean ground turkey, add reduced-sodium taco seasoning, and cook according to package
directions.
3. Mix reduced-fat sour cream, taco sauce, and cream of mushroom soup in a separate bowl.
4. Spoon and smooth ⅓ of the soup mixture into a 9" x 13" baking dish.
5. Place approximately 2 Tbsp of meat mixture and approximately 2 Tbsp shredded cheese on
each tortilla.
6. Roll/fold tortillas and place into a pan seam side down.
7. Spread the rest of the soup mixture onto the rolled tortillas and top with the remaining cheese.
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes until bubbly and cheese is melted.
9. Top with your favorite burrito toppings (optional) lettuce, jalapeños, black olives, tomatoes, etc.
Greek (Spinach and Feta) Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Ingredients
4 chicken breasts, pounded into thin cutlets
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
5 ounce packaged baby spinach
¼ cup plain greek yogurt
¼ cup cream cheese
¼ cup crumbled feta
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
⅛ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon onion powder
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 large egg
1 tablespoon water
¼ cup whole grain bread crumbs
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a large skillet, on medium heat, sauté garlic until fragrant. Remove garlic and set aside.
3. Add baby spinach and cook until wilted. Stir garlic back into the spinach.
4. Over low heat, stir in greek yogurt, cream cheese, feta, parmesan cheese, salt, onion powder, and red
pepper flakes into the spinach. Stir until cheese is melted and ingredients are combined. Remove from
heat.
5. Divide spinach mixture among the 4 chicken breast. Spread mixture on top of chicken breast then roll up.
6. Whisk together egg and water in one bowl. Add bread crumbs to another bowl. Dip each stuffed chicken
breast into egg wash then into bread crumbs. Place on baking sheet coated with cooking spray.
7. Bake for 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Mine cooked perfectly at 40 minutes.
Notes
Make ahead instructions
This recipe can be prepared up until baked. Flash freeze, wrap in plastic wrap, then store in the freezer. Let
thaw overnight in refrigerator. Then proceed with baking instructions. It might need to bake longer depending
if it is still a little frozen. Or you can prepare completely, let cool, then freeze. Let thaw overnight in the
refrigerator then reheat in oven or microwave.
Nutrition Information
Chocolate Crunch Snack Mix Recipe
1 cup Wheat Chex cereal
1 cup pretzel sticks broken in half
1/4 cup dried cranberries
3 tbsp bittersweet chocolate chips, melted
Combine Chex, pretzels and cranberries in a medium sized bowl.
Drizzle with melted chocolate; stir to combine.
Spread the mixture on a wax paper-lined baking sheet and refrigerate until the chocolate is set, about 30 minutes.
Entire recipe makes 4 servings
Serving size is ¾ cup
Each serving = 3 Points +
Serving size is ¾ cup
Each serving = 3 Points +
Skinny Pumpkin Spice Muffins
Yield: 24 servings @ 2 PP
Serving size: 1 muffin
Ingredients
1 box Ducan Hines® Spice Cake Mix (dry cake mix only)
4 oz unsweetened applesauce
15 oz can LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
2 Tbsp walnuts, chopped
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line or spray two 12-count muffin tins with non-stick cooking
spray.
2. In a large stand-up mixer or a bowl with a hand-held mixer, mix together dry cake mix,
applesauce, and canned pumpkin.
3. Mix for 2-3 minutes, until mixed well and fluffy.
4. Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon, spoon equal amounts of cake mix into the muffin tins.
5. Sprinkle walnuts on top of each muffin before baking.
6. Bake muffins for 18-20 minutes until edges are golden brown.
7. Remember oven times may vary, so watch muffins closely.
This newsletter is in no way affiliated with Weight Watchers, Inc. It is simply a motivational tool that I offer to members who attend my Weight Watchers meetings and wish to receive it.
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I also try to post the newsletter on our private FB page "Zig's Winners" and the Google Blog called Midweek Minutes http://midweekminutes.
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