MIDWEEK MINUTES December 24, 2016

 

 

 

 

Midweek Minutes

December 24, 2016

 

 

 

Merry Christmas, Winners!

 

Forgive the short message to you all. 

 

I hope you are spending time with family and friends and having a wonderful, blessed Christmas! 

 

If you can join us for a meeting on Monday, we would love to see you there!  (It’s also Potluck Monday!)  --Zig

 

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Ho-ho-ho!  Members are working the program!

 

Total Loss: –12 lbs.

 

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THIS WEEK ONLY!!!

 

 

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Between work, family, social obligations—and, oh yeah, the holidays—does activity often fall off your "to-do" list? Maybe you can’t wedge an hourlong bike ride or kickboxing class in your schedule—but you probably can find five or 10 minutes throughout your day to sneak in a round of wall push-ups here, a brisk walk there. Such mini workouts can pay off big! In fact, you can reap some of the same health benefits from 10 minutes of aerobic exercise that you can from longer, sweatier stints—including stronger muscles, better mood, and lower blood pressure—which can ultimately play into weight loss and help stave off health problems like diabetes and heart disease.
Sounds good, right? But what to do when it's cold, rainy, snowy—or all three? Not to worry: Here are ways to get in some good moves when the weather's not cooperating.

Got 10 minutes?
The more mini-workouts you can shoehorn in, the better: To have a truly healthy and fit body and maintain your weight loss, being active throughout your day is key. Try to sneak moving more into activities you do every day. Strap on an activity monitor like Fitbit^® or Weight Watchers pedometer and you can see the progress you make—which is a pretty powerful incentive!

Along with the ideas in your Weekly, try these fast moves:

Making dinner Turn on the stereo or grab your smartphone to queue up a favorite playlist and dance, dance, dance!

Buying groceries If you have canned items in your cart, do a few arm curls while on line. Have fewer than six bags? If it's not too much of a strain, carry them to the car.

Gassing up the car Alternate calf raises with forward lunges while you're filling the tank.

Watching TV Work your core by doing a series of planks or crunches during commercials.

Working at the office Set your calendar for hourly reminders, then get up and do chair dips, squats, or a few stretches.

Anytime, anywhere! Check out the quick get-moving hits on our free app, FitBreak by Weight Watchers for iOS or Android. Or try a few of the quickie ideas in our videos!

 

 

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ON SALE!

 

AND MORE!!!!

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For most people, the Christmas season is a joyful time, focused on family, togetherness, and the spirit of giving. For a lot of others, it’s also about food. Cookies. Candy. Hot chocolate. Egg nog. For someone trying to lose weight, the holidays can seem like a huge food pitfall. But they don’t have to be. To emerge on the other side of Christmas without a Santa belly, try hosting the festivities yourself—the healthy way.

It may sound impossible. Trying to explain to your mother-in-law why you’re not eating her famous pumpkin pie or refusing a helping of Aunt Sue’s sugar cookies is hard enough, but convincing your family to sacrifice their favorite foods feels like the epitome of awkward. The key, according to longtime Weight Watchers leader Gloria Munson, is to remember that committing to a healthy lifestyle is a permanent change, not a temporary diet plan that can be put on hold to indulge your craving for that slice of fruitcake.

“It’s just a lifestyle change, and you learn to adjust to that,” she says. “It’s not like, ‘Let’s just do it until the holidays.’ You have to be able to do it every day.”

The problems start when it’s your turn to host Christmas and your family doesn’t share your enthusiasm. When you’ve decided to do the holidays the healthy way, it’s time to get your relatives on board. Munson’s a fan of the upfront method, where you tell them ahead of time what to expect on the dinner table in your home.

“I just would say, ‘I prefer healthy alternatives, so let’s do things like grilled salmon. Let’s make baked potatoes,’ ” she said. “You have to ask them for help.”

If your relatives remain adamant about enjoying their favorite holiday dishes as-is, let them—but provide yourself with plenty of alternatives. David Grotto, a registered dietitian and president of Chicago-based Nutrition Housecall, eschews low-cal versions of decadent dishes for naturally healthy alternatives, including vegetable platters, whole-grain breads, and fruit salads, while allowing himself small portions of the good stuff, too.

“My philosophy is this: why not enjoy that food but have a small amount of it, and then fill up on other, healthy foods?” he says. “You’re still eating the same amount of food, just less of the decadent stuff.”

If you'd rather stick to an all-healthy menu, try telling your relatives that they’re welcome to prepare and bring any foods you’re not serving. Brett Curtiss, a vegan who’s currently pursuing a master’s degree in dietetics, used this method while hosting Thanksgiving for the first time, and says it eliminated any potential food drama.

“My wife and I made our own stuff, and we told our friends and family that we were making vegetarian food, but that if anyone wanted to bring anything else, they were welcome to,” he says.

But, he adds, his guests didn’t need to bring much, because turning a holiday dinner into a healthy meal doesn’t have to mean sacrificing favorite dishes like stuffing and mashed potatoes.

According to Munson, the base ingredients for most Christmas dinner foods are healthy on their own. “Turkey happens to be a very low SmartPoints™ value food, which is great,” she says. 

It’s the additives (cream in the mashed potatoes; gravy on the turkey) that up the calories, Curtiss says. As a vegan, he’s had to experiment to find healthy versions of most recipes, but says it’s not hard to do. Most dishes will taste close enough to the original that even non-healthy eaters won’t notice the difference.

“There are a lot of good substitutions for things like cream and butter,” he says. “People don’t necessarily know the difference unless you tell them. My mom makes this yam and apple pie that’s kind of like a sweet potato pie with apples, and one year she decided to use the vegan margarine instead of butter. It tastes exactly the same. Nobody knew the difference.”

Making sure the healthy versions have the same appearance as the regular ones is also key, he says. “If it doesn’t look right, people will be more hesitant to eat it. I try to make it look as appealing as possible.” Doing this well also allows the meal to speak for itself—meaning less chatter about the food, and more time to eat it, he says.

“Our first Thanksgiving as vegetarians, we brought stuff over and said, ‘Oh, we made this squash casserole, it’s really good. It’s totally vegan.’ I think that stigmatized it,” Curtiss recalls. “It’s better not to try to hype it up at all and just let people judge the recipe on how it looks and how it tastes.”

To eat healthy without sacrificing flavor, explore alternative ingredients. In mashed potatoes, Curtiss is a fan of soy milk; Munson recommends fat-free half-and-half or chicken broth. Sweet holiday treats, like cookies and hot chocolate, can also be modified to contain fewer calories without losing taste.

“Try no-bake cookies, which don’t contain butter,” said Bobby Scheve, executive chef at Beyond, an Asian-fusion restaurant in the Shenandoah Valley. “Or try using alternative sugars, like fruit, instead of white sugars.”

Basically, any of your favorite holiday foods can be made in a healthy and satisfying way, and you can make it through the season without having to loosen your belt. The important thing, Grotto says, is to know that you can do it.

“The holidays don’t have to be a weight-gain sentence,” he says. “If you’re on your game, you can lose weight and still have fun.”

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BAD WEATHER: If there will be a meeting cancellation due to SNOW, etc., please stay tuned to NTV or KHAS-TV. I will call them to announce a meeting cancellation by 3 P.M. for Superior...and as early as I can (or the night before) for Hastings Saturday morning meetings. You can also log on to their websites where they have weather closings.

You can also call the Weight Watchers' 800 number to find out if we are having a meeting 1-800-651-6000.  Those of you who have signed up for the REMIND notices on your phone, I will send you a remind message.  I will also try to post on FB.

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Member Recipes

 

Skinny Egg Nog - 4 SmartPoints (6 half cup servings)

What you’ll need:

·         2½ cups of almond milk

·         2 eggs

·         1 egg white

·         ⅓ cup sugar

·         1 teaspoon cornstarch

·         1 teaspoon vanilla

·         Cinnamon, to taste

·         Nutmeg, to taste

How to make:

·         Heat a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the almondmilk and vanilla and heat until it almost simmers; do not bring to a boil.

·         In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg white, sugar and cornstarch until frothy.

·         Temper the eggs into the heated almondmilk. To do this, add about ¼ cup of the almondmilk to the egg mixture, whisking quickly. Add another ¼ cup and whisk again. Tempering allows both liquids to come to the same temperature before combining them, so the eggs do not curdle.

·         Add the cooled down egg mixture to the almondmilk, and whisk them to combine. Stir frequently until it begins to thicken, about 6-8 minutes

·         Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg to taste.

·         Serve warm or chilled, and top with optional Cool Whip as desired.

NO-BAKE PEANUT BUTTERY COOKIE DOUGH BALLS

Serves: 36

INGREDIENTS

¾ cup canned chickpeas (rinsed and drained)

3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

⅓ cup dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon low-fat cream cheese

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon salt

⅛ teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons peanut butter chips

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

Add chickpeas, peanut butter, brown sugar, low-fat cream cheese, vanilla, salt and baking soda to you food processor and process until smooth and creamy.

Add flour along with peanut butter chips and pulse until thoroughly combined.

Refrigerate dough at least 1 hour, until well chilled.

When ready to roll cookie dough balls, sift together cocoa powder and powdered sugar in a small bowl and set aside half the mixture.

Scoop dough with a melon baller and gently roll into a firm, small ball. Roll ball in half the cocoa powder and powdered sugar mixture until evenly coated.

Continue rolling balls with remaining dough.

Chill until ready to serve. Before serving, dust with remaining cocoa and powdered sugar mixture.

COOK'S NOTES

Nutritional Estimates Per Serving (1 ball): 32 calories, 1 g fat, 5 g carbs, 1 g fiber, 1 g protein and 1* Weight Watchers Points Plus, 1 SmartPoint

Skinny Lasagna Rolls

10 servings | Cals: 240 | Pro: 15 g | Carbohydrates: 25 g | Fat: 8.5 g | Saturated fat: 3.5 g | Cholesterol: 18 mg | Fiber: 5 g | Sugar: 4 g | Sodium: 460 mg | SmartPoints: 9 |

Ingredients

10 whole wheat lasagna noodles, cooked to al dente (about 8 minutes), well drained

1 (24 ounce) jar marinara sauce (no sugar added, I like Ragu Lite or Amy's Pasta Sauce)

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

6 cups baby spinach, loosely packed and chopped well

1 cup low-fat ricotta cheese

1 1/2 cups part-skim, shredded mozzarella

1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese (small curd if possible)

1 egg white

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Kosher or sea salt to taste

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Add 1 1/4 cups marinara to a 13" x 9" x 2" casserole dish.

In a large skillet, add oil and heat to medium-low heat. Saute garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add chopped spinach and saute until wilted, about 3 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, combine garlic, spinach, ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella, cottage cheese, egg white, oregano, salt and pepper.

On a work surface, lined with parchment paper, arrange lasagna noodles flat, add 1/4 cup cheese and spinach mixture to each noodle, spread evenly to cover noodles. Start rolling the noodle at the end closest to you. Place lasagna rolls seam side down, not quite touching, in the prepared casserole dish. Evenly spread 1 cup marinara over rolls, sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and parmesan.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake 20 minutes, or until cheese is hot and bubbly. If desired, serve rolls with additional heated marinara.

 

 

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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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