Midweek
Minutes
May 20,
2017
Hello,
Winners!
To all the teachers out
there...the picture above says it all. Kids are gone, and I am able to work on
the yearbook and get it done! My goal is to have it done and submitted by
Memorial Day...and then I get to clean out my classroom! Since it’s been pretty
much non-stop raining and storming, my yard is under water, so I haven’t done
much yard work except move large fallen tree branches to the curb and work
inside.
Even if you
aren't getting out of school, the season and the routines are changing.
SUMMERTIME! What does that mean for you? Does it mean BALLGAMES? MEMORIAL DAY?
WEDDINGS? REUNIONS? GARDENING? THE SWIMMING POOL? BBQs? ROAD TRIPS and
VACATIONS? My point is...now is the time to PLAN AHEAD for the upcoming summer
season. NO MORE EXCUSES!!! AND...we don't want the season to slip by too fast.
It will, you know...and are YOU ready to make this YOUR
summer?
If you are
like me, you have a list of summer chores to do...even if you are not a teacher.
On the one hand, I am so excited to get going on several projects. On the other
hand, I think of ALL the chores and projects I need to do, I get discouraged and
want to procrastinate. There are also fun things I want to do this summer, so I
shall look at those as rewards for doing what's necessary. I can work on tasks
one day at a time, chunk them down, and reward myself (not with food) when each
job gets done. I have some resting to do as well because that's all part of the
summer routine...to refresh myself mentally, and I want to work on building a
strong WW summer this year as well.
Where does Weight
Watchers fit in? Let's travel together through the summer with WW. Let's work
the program one day at a time, and then reward ourselves with NON-FOOD rewards
for our milestones. Are you with me? We want to enjoy the summer (AND
MAKE IT LAST AWHILE). We also want to focus on ourselves and NOT use the summer
as an excuse to relax the program. Let's NOT get the "vacation mentality" in our
weight management efforts. It's easy to get into the mindset that you will get
back into "the routine" when school starts...but that is where we get into
trouble!
Summer is NOT the time to let the program slide, so be SURE to plan
to attend your meetings this summer! You know you can even go to a WW meeting
even when you are out of town.
Let's have the BEST summer ever...thinner...fitter...and
journeying to our goals! Proclaim this "the summer of
ME!"
Remember, when you are struggling, YOU NEED THE MEETING! When you
are ON PROGRAM, the MEETING NEEDS YOU!!!! I shall see you this week for sure,
right??? RIGHT! We’re doing
our POT LUCK because we do not meet on Memorial Day. See you on Monday! --Zig
Member
Milestones
TOTAL LOSS: –16.4
lbs.
5 lb.
star
Robin
B.
15 lb.
star
Jessica
H.
A great defense against stress? Just breathing. The exercises in your Weekly can help, with simple techniques that feel good while you're doing them as well as afterward.
Other ways to de-stress
While it can be tempting to try to escape by watching TV, surfing the web—or eating—fleeing the mental tumult doesn't help in the long run. A better, if counterintuitive solution: Tune in, not out. Paying attention to your surroundings, your food, and your actions can help right away (you slow your racing pulse, enjoy food more, and are even less injury-prone), and over time by helping you make more thoughtful choices. All that and you feel more relaxed, too. If you have…
10 minutes: Find a quiet place — perhaps in your car or in the bathroom —where no one can bother you. Some members find it helpful to hold a memento of a relaxing time, such as a seashell, a pebble, or a leaf. Just close your eyes, relax your jaw, breathe, and recall the feelings of being in that serene time and place.
20 minutes: Leave your to-do list and cell phone behind and take a 20-minute walk. Focus on the here and now: the sidewalk, birdsong, the warmth of the sun, the caressing breeze.
30 minutes: Try a few relaxing yoga poses. If you're not into yoga, take a bath, dance to a favorite song or try some simple, ease-out-the-kinks stretches.
Whenever your weight-loss efforts start to overwhelm you, bring yourself back to the present, and breathe slowly and deeply to regain your focus. It's a great way to stay on Plan for life.
THIS WEEK
ONLY!
BRING A FRIEND AND EARN
REWARDS!!!!
Members with MONTHLY PASSES earn $20 to
spend at the Weight Watchers Store.
Lifetime members and Pay-As-You-Go
members receive Weight Watchers magazine for a year.
Great burgers are the
foundation of a classic backyard barbecue (along with the backyard, of course).
But they can go horribly wrong. The challenge is to make sure your burgers stay
juicy and flavorful, and don’t become dried-out pucks that taste like cardboard.
Building a better burger isn’t about what’s piled on the outside, but rather
(like people) it’s what’s on the inside that counts (we know — deep!), no matter
if you’re using ground beef, turkey, pork, or chicken. With our trade secrets in
mind, anyone can become a true Burger King (or Queen).
In a nutshell,
burgers put you in a bind because they must be cooked to fairly high internal
temperatures (140°F to 165°F) to kill off any bugs. Those high temps, however,
can cook the juices right out of the meat. On the surface, that problem is
solved by using high-fat ground meats. The more fat in the mix, the juicier the
burger over the heat. However, all that fat adds SmartPoints® values, and you
don’t want that. So to keep your burgers juicy and low in SmartPoints values,
use lean meats and the following two secret ingredients:
Secret ingredient #1:
Mushrooms
’Shrooms are so full of natural moisture that they’ll baste the patties from the inside out while they cook. Grind 1/4 pound of mushrooms in a food processor fitted with the chopping blade until the mushrooms are coarse like sand. Mix them into 2 pounds of lean ground beef, white meat turkey, white meat chicken, lean pork, or veal.
’Shrooms are so full of natural moisture that they’ll baste the patties from the inside out while they cook. Grind 1/4 pound of mushrooms in a food processor fitted with the chopping blade until the mushrooms are coarse like sand. Mix them into 2 pounds of lean ground beef, white meat turkey, white meat chicken, lean pork, or veal.
Bonus trick:
Mushrooms add lots of moisture to ground meat, but they also add color. With
beef, veal and pork, use darker ’shrooms such as portobello, cremini, or
shiitake mushrooms. With chicken and turkey, use white button, oyster, or
porcini mushrooms.
Secret ingredient #2:
Condiments
Instead of wasting the juice of your favorite condiments on the outside of your burger, cook them right into it! Along with the ground mushrooms, mix 3 tablespoons of any of these condiments into your meat before grilling, broiling, or frying:
Instead of wasting the juice of your favorite condiments on the outside of your burger, cook them right into it! Along with the ground mushrooms, mix 3 tablespoons of any of these condiments into your meat before grilling, broiling, or frying:
- Mango chutney
- Bottled barbecue sauce
- Jarred salsa
- Dijon or deli mustard
- Honey mustard
- Ketchup
- Worcestershire sauce
- Thai peanut sauce
- Chinese hoisin sauce
- Bottled sweet-and-sour sauce (sometimes called “duck sauce”)
Fire 'em up!
Once your 2 pounds of ground meat is mixed with the mushrooms and condiments, divide it into eight equal balls. Flatten each to about a 1/2-inch patty. Use your thumb to make an indentation on one side of the center of each patty. This little well will keep the patties from balling up over the heat.
Once your 2 pounds of ground meat is mixed with the mushrooms and condiments, divide it into eight equal balls. Flatten each to about a 1/2-inch patty. Use your thumb to make an indentation on one side of the center of each patty. This little well will keep the patties from balling up over the heat.
Heat your grill to
high, or preheat your broiler to high, and set the rack 4 to 6 inches from the
heat source. Set the patties directly over the heat on the grill or on a large,
lipped baking sheet to go under the broiler.
Important note:
There’s no point in pushing down on burgers as they cook unless you’re a
pyromaniac who likes to see flames shoot up. You’ve worked to keep the juice and
flavors in your burgers, so leave them be until you’re ready to turn them,
unpressed.
For beef and veal,
cook the burgers until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the center
of one patty registers 145°F, about 8 minutes, turning once.
Cook chicken, turkey
and pork burgers until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the middle of
one patty registers 160°F, about 12 minutes, turning once.
It’s burger time!
Make sure you’ve got lots of chopped lettuce, sliced tomatoes, shredded carrots
and sprouts to go on whole-wheat buns with the patties, and an ice-cold beer at
the ready.
Member
Recipes
Creamy chicken bacon & ranch bubble
up
Author: Drizzle
Serves: 6
6SP
Ingredients
1 7.5oz biscuit pack
8 oz cooked shredded
chicken
1- 28g ranch dip
package
¾ cup 1% milk
5 oz light shredded mozzarella, I used
Trader Joe's brand, 5oz=6SP
¼ cup fat free sour
cream
5 slices center cut low point bacon,
cooked and crumbled
Green onion (optional)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F, spray a 9x13
casserole dish with some non stick spray.
Cut your biscuits into 6 pieces each and
spread dough pieces over bottom of casserole dish.
In a bowl mix your shredded chicken,
ranch dip mix, sour cream, milk and half of your cheese (2.5oz) mixture won't be
too thick.
Place by spoonfuls over top of your
biscuit pieces cover all areas. Top with your remaining cheese, crumbled cooked
bacon and green onion.
Bake in oven for approx 40-45 minutes
until biscuits are cook through.
Cut into 6 equal servings, each serving
weighing approx 6.5-7oz
Nutritional info per serving , Calories
221...Fat 6g...Sat fat 2.6g...Carbs 22.5g...Fiber 0.6g...Sugars 2.2g..Protein
18g
Each serving is 6 smart points, bubble up
should freeze well.
Apple cinnamon french toast
sandwiches
Author: Drizzle
Serves: 4
6SP per serving
Ingredients
8 slices of low calorie bread, such as
Sara Lee, here in Canada I used the new PC low calorie bread.
2 apples, peeled and
diced
2 tsp cinnamon
4 eggs
1⅓ cup liquid egg whites (in the
carton)
1 cup 1% milk
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F, spray a casserole
type dish with some cooking spray, I used a 9x13 but you can use whatever size
will fit your bread.
Mix your diced apples and 1 tsp cinnamon
(leave other tsp aside) in a microwave safe bowl, cover tightly with some saran
wrap and microwave for about 3 minutes, then stir well.
Lay out 4 slices of your bread in your
dish, top evenly with your apples, then place your other 4 slices of bread on
top to make sandwiches.
In a large bowl or a large measuring cup
whisk your eggs and egg whites together, and in your milk and 1 tsp cinnamon, as
an alternative you can sprinkle the cinnamon on the bread before pouring your
egg mixture.
Pour your egg mixture over your
sandwiches cover them as well as you can, in my case since I used the bigger
dish I did have mixture that went out into the ends of the dish, but it will all
still be part of the serving.
Bake in oven for approx 45 minutes, make
sure eggs are cooked.
Serve with some syrup, I used the
ED.Smith no sugar added syrup, 2Tbsp is 1SP..
Makes 4 servings, to make 6 just increase
your ingredients by half (so 12 slices of bread, 3 apples, 3 tsp cinnamon, 6
eggs, 2 cups egg whites and 1.5 cups milk)
Each servings is 6 smart points (not incl
syrup)
Nutritional info (not incl apples)
Calories 224...Fat 5.4g...Sat fat 1.9g...Carbs 22.4g...Fiber 6g...Sugars
4.9g...Sodium 396mg...Protein 22g
Creamy Dill
Dip
yield: 8 (1/4
CUP) SERVINGS
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup fat free plain Greek
yogurt
1 cup fat free sour
cream
1.5 teaspoons dried parsley
flakes
1 tablespoon dried chopped onion (also
labeled as minced onion)
1 tablespoon dried dill
weed
1 teaspoon seasoned
salt
½ teaspoon garlic
powder
DIRECTIONS:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and
stir together until well combined. Cover and refrigerate overnight or for at
least 8 hours to allow flavors to combine.
Weight Watchers SmartPoints:1 per (1/4 cup) serving (SP calculated using the recipe
builder on weightwatchers.com)
Doritos Taco
Salad
yield: 14
CUPS
INGREDIENTS:
1 lb 95% lean ground
beef
1 (1.25 oz) packet reduced sodium taco
seasoning
1 medium-large head of iceberg lettuce,
chopped into bite sized pieces (if you’ve never chopped up a head of iceberg
before you can follow these directions)
1 medium-large tomato,
diced
4 oz 50% less fat or 2% sharp cheddar
cheese, shredded (such as Cabot)
4 oz nacho cheese Doritos, broken up a
bit into bite sized pieces
1 cup light Catalina or French dressing
(I used Kraft Lite Catalina)
DIRECTIONS:
Brown the ground beef in a skillet over
medium heat, breaking it up into pieces with a wooden spoon. Add the packet of
taco seasoning and stir until well coated. Set aside.
In a large serving bowl, combine the
lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and ground beef. When ready to serve, add the Doritos
and dressing and toss to coat.
Weight Watchers SmartPoints:4 per (1 cup) side dish serving* (SP calculated using
the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)
Nutrition Information (per 1 cup side
serving)*:
150 calories, 14 g carbs, 6 g sugars, 6 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 10 g protein, 1 g fiber (from myfitnesspal.com)
150 calories, 14 g carbs, 6 g sugars, 6 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 10 g protein, 1 g fiber (from myfitnesspal.com)
*If you’re eating this as a main dish I
recommend a 2 cup serving size (8 Weight Watchers SmartPoints, double the
nutrition info)
Chilled Lobster Salad with Sweet Summer Corn
and Tomatoes
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 2 as main course • Size: 1/2 of recipe • Smart Points: 8
Calories: 349 • Fat: 10.4 g • Protein: 39 g • Carb: 25.5 g • Fiber: 3.7 g • Sugar: 3.5 g
Sodium: 668 mg (without salt)
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 2 as main course • Size: 1/2 of recipe • Smart Points: 8
Calories: 349 • Fat: 10.4 g • Protein: 39 g • Carb: 25.5 g • Fiber: 3.7 g • Sugar: 3.5 g
Sodium: 668 mg (without salt)
Ingredients:
2 medium ears of corn
12 oz cooked, chilled lobster meat (yield
from 2 – 1-1/2 lb lobsters)
1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced in
half
1 tbsp chopped chives
juice of 1 large lemon
4 tsp olive oil
salt and fresh cracked pepper to
taste
8 Boston lettuce leaves, rinsed and
dried
Directions:
Cook corn in boiling water for about 4-5 minutes; set aside to
cool. Cut
kernels of the husk and place in a large bowl.
Chop
chilled lobster meat from tails and claws
into large bite sized chunks; add
to the bowl. Add
tomatoes, chives, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and fresh cracked
pepper to taste; toss to combine,
Place lettuce leaves on two plates. Top
each plate with lobster salad and enjoy!
Read more at http://www.skinnytaste.com/chilled-lobster-salad-with-sweet-summer/#dkzAYw4UJRlFhe0o.99
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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