It's called a tail...

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I believe there is an invisible line on one's head that distinguishes the correct hemisphere a pony tail should rest.

And when the pony tail or messy bun-knot or bird nest ball crosses that line it becomes....

 a unicorn horn...a unihorn oooor some mutation of it.

The unihorn is a hungover girl's attempt at appearing carelessly relaxed...

And just as the hungover girl feels....the unihorn appears...like shit.

Below is for your visual reference.

These girls are hungover, they just have makeup artists:














These girls are just hungover.
        

Ladies, either cut back on the cocktails or push back the horn and embrace the pony.

Sam's Club & Box Tops for Education Giveaway

To contact us Click HERE
Giveaway closed

I used to laugh at my dad for buying in bulk.  He'd buy those enormous packages of toilet paper and store them in his closet.  I was seriously embarrassed.  Fast forward 25 years and now what am I doing?  Buying even MORE enormous packages of toilet paper and storing them in my closet.  Yea, now I understand.  I have 3 kids, a husband, a brother and a whole mess load of daycare kids to feed so we go through a lot of stuff here.  Sam's Club has been awesome and I shop there all the time! 

My daughter is obsessed with clipping box tops.  Seriously. She gets excited when we bring things home that have box tops.  She clips them and keeps them in her baggie until it time to mail them to her school.  We home school the kids but are still able to use them for K12. 

Do you clip Box Tops for Education?  



We buy a lot of cereal at Sam's Club.  General Mill's Honey Nut Cheerios is for sure a favorite around here.  My husband has a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios every morning.  While the kids like to mix it up and sometimes eat Lucky Charms or Cinnamon Toast Crunch.  Cereal is big around here.  I am a huge coupon shopper and have found that the prices at Sam's Club for cereal are the cheapest.  Plus, my daughter gets to clip the box tops which make her super, duper happy.  



Some other products we buy at Sam's Club with Box Tops are Progresso Soup and Cottonelle wipes and toilet paper. She tears those Box Tops off right away when we get those in here.  


Here are some box tops offers that Sam's Club is offering. 

• New Plus Members will receive 100 Bonus Box Tops.* (a $10 value to any BTFE participating school)
• Upgrade your current Membership to a Plus Membership to receive 50 Bonus Box Tops.* (a $5 value to any BTFE participating school)
• New Advantage or Business Members will receive 25 Bonus Box Tops.* (a $2.50 value to any BTFE participating school) 

*Offer valid only with original receipt of purchased membership taped to certificate. Only available in-club. Offers available to the first 50 new Plus Members at each club, to the first 100 members who upgrade to a Plus Membership at each club, and to the first 100 new Advantage or Business Members at each club.
Act now and take advantage of these Box Tops opportunities that Sam's Club has to offer. To find a Sam's Club near you, visit www.samsclub.com/clublocater. For a full list of Bonus Box Tops items, visit www.SamsClub.com.


***GIVEAWAY*** CLOSED
 Sam's Club was kind enough to give me a $25 gift card to buy products with Box Tops.  With a family as large as mine, this is extremely nice to have.  Any help is appreciated.  I would love for one of you to be able to get some help buying your General Mills products with box tops at Sams Club.  

Entry 1 - Leave a comment letting me know if you clip box tops and what some of your favorite products are?

Entry 2 - Visit Sam's Club on Facebook and like them! Come back and leave a comment after.

Entry 3 - Follow Sam's Club on twitter!  Come back and leave a comment after.

"Disclosure: I have received gift cards, and the information contained herein from Sam's Club and General Mills through MyBlogSpark."


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I'll Have My Pie & Eat It Too!

To contact us Click HERE

...with Thanksgiving in my heart!

Many people gain weight through the holiday season as families get together and feast.  In the past you have probably overeaten the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, rolls, and then when it's time for dessert you are completely stuffed.  However, you eat dessert anyway, because it's there.  Plus it's delicious.  Plus it wouldn't feel right somehow if you didn''t indulge in your favorite dessert on the holiday.  It becomes a tradition.  Most Americans probably throw their hands up in dismay the period from Thanksgiving through Christmas intent on starting a healthy program by New Year's Day.  Why wait?  You can still work out and control your portions through the notoriously self-indulgent holiday season.

My advice would be to plan ahead.  Do not think with your stomach.  We have all been through this period of overeating, and then we feel guilty later.  Let's stop learning the hard way (or just not learning at all).

My late Grandmother McSparin (Grandma Mac) was excellent at self-control.  She would always make a huge feast for everyone, with all my Aunts' and my Mother's help of course.  However, when Grandma Mac finally sat down to eat she would just have a tiny portion of each dish she wanted to taste. She was tiny, and she was probably technically underweight for her height.  Still, there is something to learn from her.  If you know you are most excited about dessert, then don't fill up on everything else just because it's there.

First I would rather have a perfect bite of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, and stuffing.  Then I skip all the sides that I might have on any given day of the year.  If it isn't my favorite, then I skip it.  I take only a small portion of what I might like the first time around.  I only go back for seconds on the dishes that I really truly crave.  This slows me down long enough to realize that I am already getting full.  Then for dessert I try to stick to a small portion of my top two favorites.  For Thanksgiving it's a sliver of pumpkin pie and a sliver of pecan pie.  For Christmas it's a nice slice of my Mom's homemade pumpkin cake roll.  If all three are present on a holiday, then I skip the pumpkin pie.  (Hey, at least that's something.)

This year I wised up BIG TIME!  I know all I want is just a taste of dessert.  Cutting just a sliver of pie or breaking a cookie in half just looks so "pidiot" (so pious about your diet that everyone thinks you are an idiot).  JK!  In light of this epiphany, I spent the entire afternoon making mini pumpkin pie and mini pecan pie tartlets.  I would love to tell you that I slaved away perfecting these recipes, but I actually got them from Better Homes and Gardens:  Cookies Cookies Cookies Christmas Time Treats.  I tried to find the recipes on their website, but this book is circa 1992 so surprise!  It's not on their website.  I subbed in Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Gluten-Free Baking Flour so my gluten-free hubby could have some dessert.  The tartlets won his coveted seal of approval.  Hubba, hubba!  I'm pretty sure nobody has said hubba, hubba since 1942.  Lol!



Here are the recipes:

TINY TARTS

• 1/2 cup margarine or 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3 ounces package softened cream cheese
• 1 cup all-purpose flour

DOUBLE THE TART RECIPE IF YOU ARE MAKING BOTH KINDS OF TARTS.

PECAN FILLING

• 1 egg, beaten
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon melted margarine or 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped 
• 1 teaspoon  vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract 

OR

PUMPKIN FILLING

• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

Tarts:.In a mixing bowl, beat margarine or butter and cream cheese until thoroughly blended. Stir in flour. Chill the dough for one hour.  Roll rounded-teaspoonsbul of dough into 24 equal balls. Press evenly into the bottom and up the sides of mini-muffin 1 3/4-inch muffin cup non-stick tin.  Filling:. In a small mixing bowl, stir ingredients together until mixed well. Fill each pastry with 1 heaping teaspoon of desired filling.
Baking:For pecan pie tartlets bake in a 375 degree oven for 15 to 18 minutes or until filling is set and crust is lightly browned.  Cool slightly in pans.  Remove tea cakes from pans and cool on wire racks.  Makes 24.
For pumpkin pie tartlets bake in a 325 degree oven for 30 minutes or until filling is set and crust is lightly browned.  Cool slightly in pans.  Remove tea cakes from pans and cool on wire racks.  Makes 24.Calories:
Pecan Pie Tarts per tart:  128 calories (It sure makes me think twice about having a whole slice of pie!)
Pumpkin Pie Tarts per tart:  66 calories
Pssst!  Since I can't have my Mom's pumpkin cake roll this year, I topped the pumpkin pie tartlets with her decadent, homemade cream cheese frosting that she makes for the pumpkin cake roll.  Who says a girl can't have it all!!!!???

550 Calories & Under at Applebee's

To contact us Click HERE


As research for the book I am writing, I tried the Garlic Sirloin off the 550 Calorie & Under Menu at Applebee's last night for dinner.  I must say it was delicious.  However, one of my clients had warned me that he didn't really buy that those entrees are actually under 550 calories.  Now I can see why.  The caramelized onions underneath the steak were really greasy, delicious, but greasy.  I would also say that 7 oz. of steak is a hefty portion for someone on a diet regimen.  Applebee's claims in their nutrition facts that their 7 oz. House Sirloin is 250 calories.  However, I looked up  7 oz. of lean broiled sirloin on CalorieKing.com, and it showed that size portion would be 373 calories. Not cool.

I have a more positive take on the sides.  As you can see from my pic, the portions of the potatoes and the portabella mushroom with creamed spinach are small.  Kudos to Applebee's on that.  I'm persuaded to believe the sides were actually low-calorie.  The potatoes tasted more like butter than herbs, but at least there wasn't a large portion.  They tasted like they had been boiled, and they were not greasy with oil.

With my client's opinion in the back of my mind I saved roughly half the steak and onions.  After looking up the facts today I am glad that I did that.  You can see some of the remaining grease on the plate.


I would also like to point out that Applebee's does post the following disclaimer on their website:

"Variations in ingredients and preparation, as well as substitutions, will increase or decrease PointsPlus™ values and any stated nutritional values, such as calories."

Taking the nutrition facts posted on the Applebee's website with a grain of salt, here are the calories on their 550 calorie and under entrees:

Great Tasting & UNDER 550 Calories™ - includes sides
Asiago Peppercorn Steak 380
Signature Sirloin with Garlic Herb Shrimp 500
Grilled Dijon Chicken & Portobellos 470
Roasted Garlic Sirloin 450
Sizzling Asian Shrimp & Broccoli 470
Sizzling Chili Lime Chicken 470

Applebee's also has a Weight Watchers PointsPlus™ menu which features low-calorie entrees as well.  Personally I think they should just combine the two menus and tell us both the calories and the points.  The menu at the Applebee's I went to listed 550 calorie entrees and Weight Watcher's entrees on two totally separate pages.  It probably has something to do with their agreement with Weight Watchers.  It would be nice if both menus were on one page.  Anyway, here are the calories and points on those entrees:


WEIGHT WATCHERS® includes sides

Weight Watchers® Cabernet Mushroom Sirloin 460, 12 pts.
Weight Watchers® Creamy Parmesan Chicken 470, 12 pts.
Weight Watchers® Grilled Jalapeno-Lime Shrimp 300, 8 pts.

To sum up I would definitely order the Garlic Sirloin again.  It was delicious, and I appreciate that Applebee's is trying to offer some healthier options.  The next time I will probably skip the onions altogether.  They seemed to be the source of the grease.  Now if you will excuse me, there is a leftover steak with my name on it.  Lunch?  Yes, please!

Sara

P.S.  Happy St. Patrick's Day tomorrow! 

Low-Calorie Dinner Options at Chili's

To contact us Click HERE


Chili’s Grill & Bar

Salads (Dressing included unless otherwise indicated.)
Caribbean Salad with Grilled Chicken 610
Caribbean Salad with Grilled Shrimp 590
House Salad No Dressing 150
Dressing, Honey Mustard No Fat 70
Dressing, Low Fat Ranch 80
Soups (without crackers)
Chicken Enchilada Bowl 380, Cup 190
Chili’s Terlingua Chili with Toppings Bowl 360, Cup 180
Loaded Baked Potato Soup Bowl 410, Cup 210
Southwest Chicken & Sausage Bowl 330, Cup 160
Lighter Choices (as served)
Classic Sirloin 260
Grilled Chicken Salad 420
Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Steamed Broccoli 610
Lighter Choice Grilled Salmon 480
Margarita Grilled Chicken 550
Not “Just” Sides
Black Beans 100
Black Bean Patty Only 200
Rice 190
Steamed Broccoli 80
Sweet Corn on the Cob with Butter 200

I'll Have My Pie & Eat It Too!

To contact us Click HERE

...with Thanksgiving in my heart!

Many people gain weight through the holiday season as families get together and feast.  In the past you have probably overeaten the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, rolls, and then when it's time for dessert you are completely stuffed.  However, you eat dessert anyway, because it's there.  Plus it's delicious.  Plus it wouldn't feel right somehow if you didn''t indulge in your favorite dessert on the holiday.  It becomes a tradition.  Most Americans probably throw their hands up in dismay the period from Thanksgiving through Christmas intent on starting a healthy program by New Year's Day.  Why wait?  You can still work out and control your portions through the notoriously self-indulgent holiday season.

My advice would be to plan ahead.  Do not think with your stomach.  We have all been through this period of overeating, and then we feel guilty later.  Let's stop learning the hard way (or just not learning at all).

My late Grandmother McSparin (Grandma Mac) was excellent at self-control.  She would always make a huge feast for everyone, with all my Aunts' and my Mother's help of course.  However, when Grandma Mac finally sat down to eat she would just have a tiny portion of each dish she wanted to taste. She was tiny, and she was probably technically underweight for her height.  Still, there is something to learn from her.  If you know you are most excited about dessert, then don't fill up on everything else just because it's there.

First I would rather have a perfect bite of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, and stuffing.  Then I skip all the sides that I might have on any given day of the year.  If it isn't my favorite, then I skip it.  I take only a small portion of what I might like the first time around.  I only go back for seconds on the dishes that I really truly crave.  This slows me down long enough to realize that I am already getting full.  Then for dessert I try to stick to a small portion of my top two favorites.  For Thanksgiving it's a sliver of pumpkin pie and a sliver of pecan pie.  For Christmas it's a nice slice of my Mom's homemade pumpkin cake roll.  If all three are present on a holiday, then I skip the pumpkin pie.  (Hey, at least that's something.)

This year I wised up BIG TIME!  I know all I want is just a taste of dessert.  Cutting just a sliver of pie or breaking a cookie in half just looks so "pidiot" (so pious about your diet that everyone thinks you are an idiot).  JK!  In light of this epiphany, I spent the entire afternoon making mini pumpkin pie and mini pecan pie tartlets.  I would love to tell you that I slaved away perfecting these recipes, but I actually got them from Better Homes and Gardens:  Cookies Cookies Cookies Christmas Time Treats.  I tried to find the recipes on their website, but this book is circa 1992 so surprise!  It's not on their website.  I subbed in Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Gluten-Free Baking Flour so my gluten-free hubby could have some dessert.  The tartlets won his coveted seal of approval.  Hubba, hubba!  I'm pretty sure nobody has said hubba, hubba since 1942.  Lol!



Here are the recipes:

TINY TARTS

• 1/2 cup margarine or 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3 ounces package softened cream cheese
• 1 cup all-purpose flour

DOUBLE THE TART RECIPE IF YOU ARE MAKING BOTH KINDS OF TARTS.

PECAN FILLING

• 1 egg, beaten
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon melted margarine or 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped 
• 1 teaspoon  vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract 

OR

PUMPKIN FILLING

• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

Tarts:.In a mixing bowl, beat margarine or butter and cream cheese until thoroughly blended. Stir in flour. Chill the dough for one hour.  Roll rounded-teaspoonsbul of dough into 24 equal balls. Press evenly into the bottom and up the sides of mini-muffin 1 3/4-inch muffin cup non-stick tin.  Filling:. In a small mixing bowl, stir ingredients together until mixed well. Fill each pastry with 1 heaping teaspoon of desired filling.
Baking:For pecan pie tartlets bake in a 375 degree oven for 15 to 18 minutes or until filling is set and crust is lightly browned.  Cool slightly in pans.  Remove tea cakes from pans and cool on wire racks.  Makes 24.
For pumpkin pie tartlets bake in a 325 degree oven for 30 minutes or until filling is set and crust is lightly browned.  Cool slightly in pans.  Remove tea cakes from pans and cool on wire racks.  Makes 24.Calories:
Pecan Pie Tarts per tart:  128 calories (It sure makes me think twice about having a whole slice of pie!)
Pumpkin Pie Tarts per tart:  66 calories
Pssst!  Since I can't have my Mom's pumpkin cake roll this year, I topped the pumpkin pie tartlets with her decadent, homemade cream cheese frosting that she makes for the pumpkin cake roll.  Who says a girl can't have it all!!!!???

550 Calories & Under at Applebee's

To contact us Click HERE


As research for the book I am writing, I tried the Garlic Sirloin off the 550 Calorie & Under Menu at Applebee's last night for dinner.  I must say it was delicious.  However, one of my clients had warned me that he didn't really buy that those entrees are actually under 550 calories.  Now I can see why.  The caramelized onions underneath the steak were really greasy, delicious, but greasy.  I would also say that 7 oz. of steak is a hefty portion for someone on a diet regimen.  Applebee's claims in their nutrition facts that their 7 oz. House Sirloin is 250 calories.  However, I looked up  7 oz. of lean broiled sirloin on CalorieKing.com, and it showed that size portion would be 373 calories. Not cool.

I have a more positive take on the sides.  As you can see from my pic, the portions of the potatoes and the portabella mushroom with creamed spinach are small.  Kudos to Applebee's on that.  I'm persuaded to believe the sides were actually low-calorie.  The potatoes tasted more like butter than herbs, but at least there wasn't a large portion.  They tasted like they had been boiled, and they were not greasy with oil.

With my client's opinion in the back of my mind I saved roughly half the steak and onions.  After looking up the facts today I am glad that I did that.  You can see some of the remaining grease on the plate.


I would also like to point out that Applebee's does post the following disclaimer on their website:

"Variations in ingredients and preparation, as well as substitutions, will increase or decrease PointsPlus™ values and any stated nutritional values, such as calories."

Taking the nutrition facts posted on the Applebee's website with a grain of salt, here are the calories on their 550 calorie and under entrees:

Great Tasting & UNDER 550 Calories™ - includes sides
Asiago Peppercorn Steak 380
Signature Sirloin with Garlic Herb Shrimp 500
Grilled Dijon Chicken & Portobellos 470
Roasted Garlic Sirloin 450
Sizzling Asian Shrimp & Broccoli 470
Sizzling Chili Lime Chicken 470

Applebee's also has a Weight Watchers PointsPlus™ menu which features low-calorie entrees as well.  Personally I think they should just combine the two menus and tell us both the calories and the points.  The menu at the Applebee's I went to listed 550 calorie entrees and Weight Watcher's entrees on two totally separate pages.  It probably has something to do with their agreement with Weight Watchers.  It would be nice if both menus were on one page.  Anyway, here are the calories and points on those entrees:


WEIGHT WATCHERS® includes sides

Weight Watchers® Cabernet Mushroom Sirloin 460, 12 pts.
Weight Watchers® Creamy Parmesan Chicken 470, 12 pts.
Weight Watchers® Grilled Jalapeno-Lime Shrimp 300, 8 pts.

To sum up I would definitely order the Garlic Sirloin again.  It was delicious, and I appreciate that Applebee's is trying to offer some healthier options.  The next time I will probably skip the onions altogether.  They seemed to be the source of the grease.  Now if you will excuse me, there is a leftover steak with my name on it.  Lunch?  Yes, please!

Sara

P.S.  Happy St. Patrick's Day tomorrow! 

Low-Calorie Dinner Options at Chili's

To contact us Click HERE


Chili’s Grill & Bar

Salads (Dressing included unless otherwise indicated.)
Caribbean Salad with Grilled Chicken 610
Caribbean Salad with Grilled Shrimp 590
House Salad No Dressing 150
Dressing, Honey Mustard No Fat 70
Dressing, Low Fat Ranch 80
Soups (without crackers)
Chicken Enchilada Bowl 380, Cup 190
Chili’s Terlingua Chili with Toppings Bowl 360, Cup 180
Loaded Baked Potato Soup Bowl 410, Cup 210
Southwest Chicken & Sausage Bowl 330, Cup 160
Lighter Choices (as served)
Classic Sirloin 260
Grilled Chicken Salad 420
Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Steamed Broccoli 610
Lighter Choice Grilled Salmon 480
Margarita Grilled Chicken 550
Not “Just” Sides
Black Beans 100
Black Bean Patty Only 200
Rice 190
Steamed Broccoli 80
Sweet Corn on the Cob with Butter 200

Sam's Club & Box Tops for Education Giveaway

To contact us Click HERE
Giveaway closed

I used to laugh at my dad for buying in bulk.  He'd buy those enormous packages of toilet paper and store them in his closet.  I was seriously embarrassed.  Fast forward 25 years and now what am I doing?  Buying even MORE enormous packages of toilet paper and storing them in my closet.  Yea, now I understand.  I have 3 kids, a husband, a brother and a whole mess load of daycare kids to feed so we go through a lot of stuff here.  Sam's Club has been awesome and I shop there all the time! 

My daughter is obsessed with clipping box tops.  Seriously. She gets excited when we bring things home that have box tops.  She clips them and keeps them in her baggie until it time to mail them to her school.  We home school the kids but are still able to use them for K12. 

Do you clip Box Tops for Education?  



We buy a lot of cereal at Sam's Club.  General Mill's Honey Nut Cheerios is for sure a favorite around here.  My husband has a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios every morning.  While the kids like to mix it up and sometimes eat Lucky Charms or Cinnamon Toast Crunch.  Cereal is big around here.  I am a huge coupon shopper and have found that the prices at Sam's Club for cereal are the cheapest.  Plus, my daughter gets to clip the box tops which make her super, duper happy.  



Some other products we buy at Sam's Club with Box Tops are Progresso Soup and Cottonelle wipes and toilet paper. She tears those Box Tops off right away when we get those in here.  


Here are some box tops offers that Sam's Club is offering. 

• New Plus Members will receive 100 Bonus Box Tops.* (a $10 value to any BTFE participating school)
• Upgrade your current Membership to a Plus Membership to receive 50 Bonus Box Tops.* (a $5 value to any BTFE participating school)
• New Advantage or Business Members will receive 25 Bonus Box Tops.* (a $2.50 value to any BTFE participating school) 

*Offer valid only with original receipt of purchased membership taped to certificate. Only available in-club. Offers available to the first 50 new Plus Members at each club, to the first 100 members who upgrade to a Plus Membership at each club, and to the first 100 new Advantage or Business Members at each club.
Act now and take advantage of these Box Tops opportunities that Sam's Club has to offer. To find a Sam's Club near you, visit www.samsclub.com/clublocater. For a full list of Bonus Box Tops items, visit www.SamsClub.com.


***GIVEAWAY*** CLOSED
 Sam's Club was kind enough to give me a $25 gift card to buy products with Box Tops.  With a family as large as mine, this is extremely nice to have.  Any help is appreciated.  I would love for one of you to be able to get some help buying your General Mills products with box tops at Sams Club.  

Entry 1 - Leave a comment letting me know if you clip box tops and what some of your favorite products are?

Entry 2 - Visit Sam's Club on Facebook and like them! Come back and leave a comment after.

Entry 3 - Follow Sam's Club on twitter!  Come back and leave a comment after.

"Disclosure: I have received gift cards, and the information contained herein from Sam's Club and General Mills through MyBlogSpark."


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Noodles & Company Giveaway!

To contact us Click HERE

  Have you ever heard of the restaurant Noodles?  We've been there several time over the last few years and love it.  This last summer, I went there with a bunch of girls and I ordered the Backyard BBQ Salad.  I LOVED it and kept wanting to go back and get another.  It's out of season now but I hope it comes back this summer.  February is also actually heart disease awareness month. Although you don't always think of pasta being the healthiest meal option: A great pasta option that's recommended for a heart-healthy diet is whole wheat pasta. To offer you a heart-healthy pasta option, Noodles serves whole wheat linguine. It's featured in their Whole Grain Tuscan Linguine.
 I went with the salad last summer because I'm trying to eat gluten free now. Well, when I explored their website last week, I found out that you can sub rice noodles for regular noodles.   I was skeptical if they'd actually be good.  Uh, they were awesome.  The picture above shows the Penne Rosa with chicken with the rice noodles. The portion was huge, my daughter Danielle and I split it.  It was super flavorful and it had just a little zip to it.  Perfect! 
 We also shared the Spinach and Fresh Fruit Salad.  We weren't quite as impressed by the salad.  There wasn't much dressing and all the chunks just fell to the bottom.  My friend has tried the Med Salad and loves it.  Hubs got the Japanese pan noodles and loved them. I'm pretty sure he always gets these. He's not much for change. The portion was huge again. It might not look so huge in the picture but there are a LOT of noodles here!   
  My oldest son Jacob ordered the Mac and Cheese. This is certainly one of the higher calorie items on the menu but he's 13, he can handle it. He's pretty picky with his food but he loved this and said it had a ton of cheese, which he loves.  Jory stuck to his usual.  Spaghetti and Meatballs.  He pretty much orders Spaghetti and Meatballs wherever he goes.  He did say that this spaghetti ranked right up there with his favorite.  Pretty high marks for a 10 year old boy who has tried many, many dishes of spaghetti in his short lifetime.  
 **GIVEAWAY**  Noodles & Company' has a new "menu map" online, that helps customers navigate menu choices that are available for 500 calories or less. You can check it out here: http://www.noodles.com/nutrition/lotsofchoices.php  Noodles is letting me give one of my readers, 2 free bowls of pasta or salad. I just gave you a few of the many, many Noodles choices.  Check out their website and find all the tasty, healthy choices they have.  Come on back and leave a comment letting me know which dishes sound awesome to you. 





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Green Chile Chicken Soup - 17 Day Diet - Day 8

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This is one of my favorite soups!  The flavors are incredible and it's nice and spicy. I posted this before awhile back but I have made some changes since then.  I add more tomatoes now and I love it!

It is pretty spicy so feel free to reduce the rotel to 1 can rather than 1 cans. 



Day 8 - 17 Day Diet Menu Plan

Egg whites with salsa
Blueberries and strawberries
Yogurt
Chicken breast with buffalo sauce
Yogurt
Apple
Green Beans
3 tbsp. peanut butter

I made the mistake of not eating enough dinner before I went to my exercise class this day.  I ended up just eating an apple and green beans for dinner. My stomach felt weird and I was running late.  Well, it turned out to be more of a workout than usual as we had a different instructor.  While I loved the workout, I came home HUNGRY.  Like I wanted to eat the whole house hungry.  I usually keep chicken in the refrigerator and found that there was just a tiny bit left.  Like a piece that was 2 bites.  Why does someone leave a piece so small in the container?  Really?  Anyways, the kids had eaten peanut butter sandwiches for dinner and the PB was still on the counter.  I ended up eating 3 tbsp.  though I meant to just eat one.  Peanut butter is dangerous for me as once you start, I could eat a LOT of peanut butter.  Even though PB is not on the 17 Day Diet menu for the first 17 days, I still feel like this was a success.  I ate the peanut butter because I was hungry and needed food rather than just eating it because it was there and tasted good.  

***Lesson learned though - make sure to keep wise choices on hand so you won't have to just eat what is around.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Green Chile Chicken & Lime Soup Recipe

1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cartons of chicken broth or 64 oz. 
2 cans Rotel with green chilies
1 can diced tomatoes
2 - 4 oz. cans of green chilies
2 - 3 cups cooked chicken, shredded
1/4 cup lime juice
1 1/2 tsp. cumin**
Salt & pepper to taste
Handful of cilantro, chopped

Place onion in pan with cooking spray and cook for about 5 minutes. Add garlic, cook for one minute. Stir in chicken broth, tomatoes, green chilies, cooked chicken, lime juice and seasonings. Cook for 5 minutes, taste and season with salt and pepper as desired. Right before serving, add chopped cilantro.

I cooked my chicken in a covered dish in the microwave. I sprinkled about a tablespoon of taco seasoning on the chicken before cooking and didn't add the cumin in the soup. 

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Sam's Club & Box Tops for Education Giveaway

To contact us Click HERE
Giveaway closed

I used to laugh at my dad for buying in bulk.  He'd buy those enormous packages of toilet paper and store them in his closet.  I was seriously embarrassed.  Fast forward 25 years and now what am I doing?  Buying even MORE enormous packages of toilet paper and storing them in my closet.  Yea, now I understand.  I have 3 kids, a husband, a brother and a whole mess load of daycare kids to feed so we go through a lot of stuff here.  Sam's Club has been awesome and I shop there all the time! 

My daughter is obsessed with clipping box tops.  Seriously. She gets excited when we bring things home that have box tops.  She clips them and keeps them in her baggie until it time to mail them to her school.  We home school the kids but are still able to use them for K12. 

Do you clip Box Tops for Education?  



We buy a lot of cereal at Sam's Club.  General Mill's Honey Nut Cheerios is for sure a favorite around here.  My husband has a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios every morning.  While the kids like to mix it up and sometimes eat Lucky Charms or Cinnamon Toast Crunch.  Cereal is big around here.  I am a huge coupon shopper and have found that the prices at Sam's Club for cereal are the cheapest.  Plus, my daughter gets to clip the box tops which make her super, duper happy.  



Some other products we buy at Sam's Club with Box Tops are Progresso Soup and Cottonelle wipes and toilet paper. She tears those Box Tops off right away when we get those in here.  


Here are some box tops offers that Sam's Club is offering. 

• New Plus Members will receive 100 Bonus Box Tops.* (a $10 value to any BTFE participating school)
• Upgrade your current Membership to a Plus Membership to receive 50 Bonus Box Tops.* (a $5 value to any BTFE participating school)
• New Advantage or Business Members will receive 25 Bonus Box Tops.* (a $2.50 value to any BTFE participating school) 

*Offer valid only with original receipt of purchased membership taped to certificate. Only available in-club. Offers available to the first 50 new Plus Members at each club, to the first 100 members who upgrade to a Plus Membership at each club, and to the first 100 new Advantage or Business Members at each club.
Act now and take advantage of these Box Tops opportunities that Sam's Club has to offer. To find a Sam's Club near you, visit www.samsclub.com/clublocater. For a full list of Bonus Box Tops items, visit www.SamsClub.com.


***GIVEAWAY*** CLOSED
 Sam's Club was kind enough to give me a $25 gift card to buy products with Box Tops.  With a family as large as mine, this is extremely nice to have.  Any help is appreciated.  I would love for one of you to be able to get some help buying your General Mills products with box tops at Sams Club.  

Entry 1 - Leave a comment letting me know if you clip box tops and what some of your favorite products are?

Entry 2 - Visit Sam's Club on Facebook and like them! Come back and leave a comment after.

Entry 3 - Follow Sam's Club on twitter!  Come back and leave a comment after.

"Disclosure: I have received gift cards, and the information contained herein from Sam's Club and General Mills through MyBlogSpark."


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I'll Have My Pie & Eat It Too!

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...with Thanksgiving in my heart!

Many people gain weight through the holiday season as families get together and feast.  In the past you have probably overeaten the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, rolls, and then when it's time for dessert you are completely stuffed.  However, you eat dessert anyway, because it's there.  Plus it's delicious.  Plus it wouldn't feel right somehow if you didn''t indulge in your favorite dessert on the holiday.  It becomes a tradition.  Most Americans probably throw their hands up in dismay the period from Thanksgiving through Christmas intent on starting a healthy program by New Year's Day.  Why wait?  You can still work out and control your portions through the notoriously self-indulgent holiday season.

My advice would be to plan ahead.  Do not think with your stomach.  We have all been through this period of overeating, and then we feel guilty later.  Let's stop learning the hard way (or just not learning at all).

My late Grandmother McSparin (Grandma Mac) was excellent at self-control.  She would always make a huge feast for everyone, with all my Aunts' and my Mother's help of course.  However, when Grandma Mac finally sat down to eat she would just have a tiny portion of each dish she wanted to taste. She was tiny, and she was probably technically underweight for her height.  Still, there is something to learn from her.  If you know you are most excited about dessert, then don't fill up on everything else just because it's there.

First I would rather have a perfect bite of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, and stuffing.  Then I skip all the sides that I might have on any given day of the year.  If it isn't my favorite, then I skip it.  I take only a small portion of what I might like the first time around.  I only go back for seconds on the dishes that I really truly crave.  This slows me down long enough to realize that I am already getting full.  Then for dessert I try to stick to a small portion of my top two favorites.  For Thanksgiving it's a sliver of pumpkin pie and a sliver of pecan pie.  For Christmas it's a nice slice of my Mom's homemade pumpkin cake roll.  If all three are present on a holiday, then I skip the pumpkin pie.  (Hey, at least that's something.)

This year I wised up BIG TIME!  I know all I want is just a taste of dessert.  Cutting just a sliver of pie or breaking a cookie in half just looks so "pidiot" (so pious about your diet that everyone thinks you are an idiot).  JK!  In light of this epiphany, I spent the entire afternoon making mini pumpkin pie and mini pecan pie tartlets.  I would love to tell you that I slaved away perfecting these recipes, but I actually got them from Better Homes and Gardens:  Cookies Cookies Cookies Christmas Time Treats.  I tried to find the recipes on their website, but this book is circa 1992 so surprise!  It's not on their website.  I subbed in Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Gluten-Free Baking Flour so my gluten-free hubby could have some dessert.  The tartlets won his coveted seal of approval.  Hubba, hubba!  I'm pretty sure nobody has said hubba, hubba since 1942.  Lol!



Here are the recipes:

TINY TARTS

• 1/2 cup margarine or 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3 ounces package softened cream cheese
• 1 cup all-purpose flour

DOUBLE THE TART RECIPE IF YOU ARE MAKING BOTH KINDS OF TARTS.

PECAN FILLING

• 1 egg, beaten
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon melted margarine or 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped 
• 1 teaspoon  vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract 

OR

PUMPKIN FILLING

• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

Tarts:.In a mixing bowl, beat margarine or butter and cream cheese until thoroughly blended. Stir in flour. Chill the dough for one hour.  Roll rounded-teaspoonsbul of dough into 24 equal balls. Press evenly into the bottom and up the sides of mini-muffin 1 3/4-inch muffin cup non-stick tin.  Filling:. In a small mixing bowl, stir ingredients together until mixed well. Fill each pastry with 1 heaping teaspoon of desired filling.
Baking:For pecan pie tartlets bake in a 375 degree oven for 15 to 18 minutes or until filling is set and crust is lightly browned.  Cool slightly in pans.  Remove tea cakes from pans and cool on wire racks.  Makes 24.
For pumpkin pie tartlets bake in a 325 degree oven for 30 minutes or until filling is set and crust is lightly browned.  Cool slightly in pans.  Remove tea cakes from pans and cool on wire racks.  Makes 24.Calories:
Pecan Pie Tarts per tart:  128 calories (It sure makes me think twice about having a whole slice of pie!)
Pumpkin Pie Tarts per tart:  66 calories
Pssst!  Since I can't have my Mom's pumpkin cake roll this year, I topped the pumpkin pie tartlets with her decadent, homemade cream cheese frosting that she makes for the pumpkin cake roll.  Who says a girl can't have it all!!!!???

550 Calories & Under at Applebee's

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As research for the book I am writing, I tried the Garlic Sirloin off the 550 Calorie & Under Menu at Applebee's last night for dinner.  I must say it was delicious.  However, one of my clients had warned me that he didn't really buy that those entrees are actually under 550 calories.  Now I can see why.  The caramelized onions underneath the steak were really greasy, delicious, but greasy.  I would also say that 7 oz. of steak is a hefty portion for someone on a diet regimen.  Applebee's claims in their nutrition facts that their 7 oz. House Sirloin is 250 calories.  However, I looked up  7 oz. of lean broiled sirloin on CalorieKing.com, and it showed that size portion would be 373 calories. Not cool.

I have a more positive take on the sides.  As you can see from my pic, the portions of the potatoes and the portabella mushroom with creamed spinach are small.  Kudos to Applebee's on that.  I'm persuaded to believe the sides were actually low-calorie.  The potatoes tasted more like butter than herbs, but at least there wasn't a large portion.  They tasted like they had been boiled, and they were not greasy with oil.

With my client's opinion in the back of my mind I saved roughly half the steak and onions.  After looking up the facts today I am glad that I did that.  You can see some of the remaining grease on the plate.


I would also like to point out that Applebee's does post the following disclaimer on their website:

"Variations in ingredients and preparation, as well as substitutions, will increase or decrease PointsPlus™ values and any stated nutritional values, such as calories."

Taking the nutrition facts posted on the Applebee's website with a grain of salt, here are the calories on their 550 calorie and under entrees:

Great Tasting & UNDER 550 Calories™ - includes sides
Asiago Peppercorn Steak 380
Signature Sirloin with Garlic Herb Shrimp 500
Grilled Dijon Chicken & Portobellos 470
Roasted Garlic Sirloin 450
Sizzling Asian Shrimp & Broccoli 470
Sizzling Chili Lime Chicken 470

Applebee's also has a Weight Watchers PointsPlus™ menu which features low-calorie entrees as well.  Personally I think they should just combine the two menus and tell us both the calories and the points.  The menu at the Applebee's I went to listed 550 calorie entrees and Weight Watcher's entrees on two totally separate pages.  It probably has something to do with their agreement with Weight Watchers.  It would be nice if both menus were on one page.  Anyway, here are the calories and points on those entrees:


WEIGHT WATCHERS® includes sides

Weight Watchers® Cabernet Mushroom Sirloin 460, 12 pts.
Weight Watchers® Creamy Parmesan Chicken 470, 12 pts.
Weight Watchers® Grilled Jalapeno-Lime Shrimp 300, 8 pts.

To sum up I would definitely order the Garlic Sirloin again.  It was delicious, and I appreciate that Applebee's is trying to offer some healthier options.  The next time I will probably skip the onions altogether.  They seemed to be the source of the grease.  Now if you will excuse me, there is a leftover steak with my name on it.  Lunch?  Yes, please!

Sara

P.S.  Happy St. Patrick's Day tomorrow! 

Low-Calorie Dinner Options at Chili's

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Chili’s Grill & Bar

Salads (Dressing included unless otherwise indicated.)
Caribbean Salad with Grilled Chicken 610
Caribbean Salad with Grilled Shrimp 590
House Salad No Dressing 150
Dressing, Honey Mustard No Fat 70
Dressing, Low Fat Ranch 80
Soups (without crackers)
Chicken Enchilada Bowl 380, Cup 190
Chili’s Terlingua Chili with Toppings Bowl 360, Cup 180
Loaded Baked Potato Soup Bowl 410, Cup 210
Southwest Chicken & Sausage Bowl 330, Cup 160
Lighter Choices (as served)
Classic Sirloin 260
Grilled Chicken Salad 420
Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Steamed Broccoli 610
Lighter Choice Grilled Salmon 480
Margarita Grilled Chicken 550
Not “Just” Sides
Black Beans 100
Black Bean Patty Only 200
Rice 190
Steamed Broccoli 80
Sweet Corn on the Cob with Butter 200

You don't need expensive equipment to get a killer workout!

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Here is the class we did at Personal Best on Thursday, January 26, 2012. It was a challenge, but FUN!!!!

* JUMP ROPE - FOR 1 MIN.
* PLANK JACKS -16- MT CLIMBERS 16
COMPLETE THESE 3 EXERCISES BACK TO BACK 5 TIMES THROUGH AS FAST AS YOU CAN!

* KETTLE BELL SWINGS - 30
* HOP TURNS - 20
COMPLETE THESE 2 EXERCISES BACK TO BACK 5 TIMES THROUGH AS FAST AS YOU CAN!

* WEIGHTED JACKS- 32
* FOOT BALL HIGH STEPPING- 32 - RIGHT INTO BURPES 10
COMPLETE THESE  3 EXERCISES BACK TO BACK 5 TIMES THROUGH AS FAST AS YOU CAN!

* ROLL-UPS INTO SQUAT -THRUST INTO A PUSH-UP - 10
* LEG RAISES - 20
COMPLETE THESE EXERCISES 5 TIMES THROUGH AS FAST AS YOU CAN!

GOOD LUCK! LET ME KNOW HOW IT WORKS FOR YA!

Baked Spiced Apple - 17 Day Diet - Day 5

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 An Apple a Day Keeps The Doctor Away
We've all heard this before. I totally believe that if everyone ate more fresh fruits and vegetables that we would need the doctor and medication much less.  Well, on the 17 Day Diet, I'm eating a lot of apples.  The 17 Day Diet is no sugar and very low carb. So apples are basically my dessert.  Eating them raw all the time is great but why not spice it up and make it even more like a dessert.  I just added a tweak of chili powder but I'm sure that I could go a little more and it would be good.  I'll be trying it again.

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Day 5 - 17 Day Diet Menu Plan

Fruit Yogurt Smoothie
2 hard boiled eggs
Green chile chicken soup
Asian Turkey Lettuce Wrap
Chicken fajita bowl (chicken fajitas with onions, pepper and a bit of sour cream)

Looking back, I wish I had eaten more veggies.  If I had made vegetables with dinner, I would have eaten less chicken.  Not that I ate a ton but I should have eaten more veggie.    Oh well, things are still going great.





Baked Spiced Apple Recipe

1 Apple, I used fuji
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. chile powder
1 tsp. splenda 
1 tsp. lemon juice

Core apple.  Sprinkle with lemon juice.  Combine spices and splenda.  Sprinkle over apple. Microwave for 2 1/2 minutes or until apple is tender as you like.  Mine were soft but not mush. 



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