Spiced Pot Roast!

1. 2 pound beef bottom round roast trimmed



2. 1 tsp salt



3. 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper



4. 2 tsp olive oil



5. 1 1/2 cups unsweetened apple cider



6. 1 cup dry red wine



7. 8 cloves garlic peeled



8. 2 star anise ( fennel stars)



9. 1 bay leaf



10. 4 medium white turnips peeled and each cut into 6 wedges



11. 3 carrots peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces



12. 3 medium red potatoes scrubbed and cut into 6 wedges



13. 2 onions each cut into 6 wedges

1 Preheat the oven to 350 F. Sprinkle the beef with the salt and pepper

2 Heat oil in a dutch oven over medium high heat. add the beef and brown turning frequently(about 8 min) then add cider and wine and scrap bits off the bottom of dutch oven. add the garlic , star anise, and bay leaf bring to boil . Cover and transfer to oven. Bake one hour turning halfway through.

3 stir in the rest of the ingredients and cover and bake for 2 more hours till veggies are tender. Transfer the beef to cutting board and let stand for 10 min. Then cut into 16 slices and serve with veggies and sauce.

serves 8 2 slices of beef with 1/2 cup veggies and sauce per serving. 332 cal 14g fat 5 g sat fat 4 grams fiber 23 grams protein 7 points!!!

We enjoyed this for dinner last night! My husband liked it but he said the potatoes tasted a little different! that's cuz he was eating the turnips! I laughed so hard shh what he doesn't know wont hurt him! I got this recipe from the weight watchers turn around cookbook!

Chewy Chocolate- Peanut Butter bars

1. 2/3 c extrachuncky natural peanut butter


2. 1 (14 ounce) can fat free sweetened condensed milk divided


3. 1 tsp vanilla extract, divided


4. 1 c semisweet chocolate chips

1. place peanut butter and 2/3 cup condensed milk in microwave for 2 1/2 min, then add 1/2 tsp vannilla and stir till smooth. then microwave for and additional 30 seconds. spread mix in a 8 x 8 inch pan pressing down to even the layer.

2. Put chocolate chips and the rest of condensed milk and vanilla in microwave for 1 1/2 min stir till smooth and pour over the peanut butter mix. Let chill for a hour.

serves 20 for 3 points each at 147 calories 6 grams fat 1 fiber

I found these to be small but sometimes a good thing when you just want a little chocolate and let the kids go at it.

Asian -Style Pork Medallions

1. 2 tsp dark sesame oil


2. 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper


3. 2 tsp bottled minced garlic


4. 1 (1-pound) lean pork tenderloin sliced into 1/2 inch thick slices


5. 1/4 c dry sherry


6. 1 tbl brown sugar


7. 3 tbl low sodium soy sauce

1. Heat oil in nonstick skillet over med-high heat. add red pepper and garlic and saute 1 min. Add pork, and cook 2 min on each side or until browned. Remove pork from pan, and keep warm.

2. Add sherry, brown sugar and soy sauce. Cook over med heat for 5 min or till sauce slightly thickens stirring constantly. Add pork to pan and cook unitl thoroughly heated, stirring to coat pork in sauce.

serves 4 ( 3 ounce servings)

4 points each at 167 calories 5.9 g fat 22 grams protien

I served it over a 1/2 cup white rice or brown and with roasted veggies that I added my olive oil to so the whole dinner was 8 points for me that included getting my daily serving of healthy oil. Plus it was really good!

91 lbs gone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So today I weighed in and was down 91 lbs! I'm very excited! The closer I get to my goal the harder it seems I have to work. Not that this has not been a hard journey anyway. You don't go into weight loss thinking oh this is going to be easy. We all know it takes a lot of work. I look back and remember how 100 lbs seemed so impossible. I was so discouraged by the amount of weight I wanted to lose. Now I only have 9 lbs till I hit that 100 pounds. I took it 5 lbs at a time. Also though it seems so hard whats harder? Is it having joint pains? Is it having to shop in the bigger stores and not feeling good about yourself. Or is it making healthy choices and improving you life. Believe me I think being overweight is harder than losing weight. Even though I'm not at my goal I feel better about myself and shopping is more fun and seeing my fitness improve is encouraging.

When you work around FOOD!!!!!!!!!!!

So I work in a restaurant most of you know. I am surrounded by yummy pies and french fries and and delicious unhealthy salads. This has been a struggle for me. I would find myself picking at the corn bread or croutons or what ever thinking oh one bite is not bad but then one turns into two and two turns into three and pretty soon I have had a whole piece. I would also end up using all my extra points while I was at work and not having any for the rest of the week. Which really stunk. So I committed to my self not to use all my extra point on the weekend. I got up each morning before work and planned everything I was going to eat while at work and stayed in my calories. I had bags of carrots and grapes and healthy snacks and brought my own salad dressing. So every time I would find myself being bored or go to the cornbread I would break out one of my snacks. I stayed satisfied the whole day! It was great! I also had all my extra points for the week to use how I wanted. My weight loss has improved and I feel more in control! So if you work and find your self so busy you run to a drive threw everyday or whatever. Make a plan, map out your days calories if you can fit that drive threw in and choose something healthy than do it if you can't make you meals a head of time so that they are easy and convenient and take no calculating because you have already planned it!

Things Beyond YOUR Control!

There are many things you can't control in life You can't control how other people treat you or how they view you. You can't control what a friend or family member serves at a party. You cant control the things other say or feel or think or do. You can control how you deal with them. You can choose to let others opinions affect you negatively or you can let them go. This is not easy to do but you are capable of doing it. I can control how I view myself and what I put in my body. If your having a get together at some one elses house bring some food you know you want to eat to share. That way you have a safety. Believe me no one will ever say you had to go home for bringing food or turn food away. They will say thank you and they won't know you were not really doing them a favor but helping your self. Also plan to indulge a little on rare occasions . If you have a get together coming up plan for it choose lower calorie meals the rest of the week. Obviously still keeping in your calorie budget you don't want to starve. Then when you get there decide what you are going to have or find out what they are having before you go so you have a plan. If you know your aunt Ida only makes red velvet cake on the 4th of July and that is the only time you will get it. Have it! Live and control your life don't let food or life control you! If you are hosting the party guess what you are in complete control. You can make what ever you like and no one has to know its lower in calories. Who ever said healthy food doesn't taste good is crazy there are so many yummy healthy recipes out there. Like for example roasted veggies with olive oil is so good it brings out the flavors of the vegetables. Grilled terriakye salmon or pineapple chicken. Do those sound gross to you? Actually most healthier recipes have way more flavor. Enjoy the summer fun!