COOKINGGRANNY's SparkPeople Blog

Big Batch Cooking

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 15:28:31 EST

My daughter and I spent last Saturday doing some big batch cooking. What a great time we had speculating on how the various dishes would taste. We tried some new recipes and some that we had done before and really liked. I have enough frozen dinners for the next month, actually enough so that I can have two meals a day. I will be enjoying such things as Swedish meatballs, meatball soup, lasagna, chicken paprikash, lazy perogies and beef and pasta. The best part of it all is that there was no ...

Trying Again

Mon, 4 Mar 2013 15:43:03 EST

One small step to becoming an active member of Spark People is to visit the page every day. All I have been doing for quite a long time is getting my log in points and reading the e- mails. Today, I decided to once again take part in more things and become as active as I used to be. I found reading about others inspiring and helped me along the way. I am no longer able to attend weight watchers due to conditions at home so I definitely need help to keep me motivated. I also have some health i...

A Good Start

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 15:20:30 EST

Yesterday was a good day and I went to bed feeling like I had been successful for the day. One day at a time and sometimes one minute at a time. I had one of those "one minute at a time" times late yesterday afternoon but I made it through. When this hits me, I must not touch food or it will lead to a binge so I have to occupy my mind with other things until I get over it.
I followed my eating plan quite well, did the exercises with the video that I have chosen to follow but fell down...

Back Again

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 22:58:56 EST

After a long time away from SP, I have decided to give it another try. I was so disgusted after all my efforts seemed to not work for me that I sort of threw up my hands and said enough. Needless to say, all that it accomplished was weight gain. I know I need help to reach my goal which is to be able to move around freely and enjoy life more. The weight along with aching joints when the weather changes sort of prevents free movement. So here I go again and hopefully with the help and suppor...

Pondering

Fri, 1 Jun 2012 15:32:16 EST

I'm not sure if I should even write a blog today. I was so discouraged with my last weigh in that I have really spent a lot of time wondering where I should go from here. I have gained and lost the same 10 lbs for two years and just when I think I've got it right, I just seem to gain it right back again. I know a lot of it is because of retaining fluid but shouldn't I lose something when I do my best to get it right even if there is some fluid retention.
One goal for this week is to say...

The Scale Was UGLY

Wed, 30 May 2012 23:15:53 EST

Totally disappointed tonight. The scale absolutely hated me and registered a 3.6 lb gain. I have worked really hard to stay within my plan but for some reason it didn't work out. Just have to try harder next week.
I have already started planning next week's eating and activities. Some new recipes are selected and will have to make the shopping list tomorrow. A shopping trip will happen on Friday. I have enough supplies for tomorrow but will need some veggies by Friday.
Met most of ...

Meeting Goals

Mon, 28 May 2012 23:47:52 EST

The goals are beginning to work and it seems like I have finally got them worded so that they are measurable. As well, I have them broken down into smaller parts that are much more manageable. Small steps! So I would say that for this week I have met my goal in that department. Success!
I tried new recipes for two days in a row. Yesterday, I made Canadian Bacon, Broccoli, Corn chowder. It was quite a good recipe but I think the next time I make it, I will add something to give it a litt...

Hateful Brownies

Sun, 27 May 2012 00:20:11 EST

Still working on the goals today. I have decided that I should write my daily goals each day so that will become a daily chore. I plan to write them the evening before. I think I have weekly goals sorted from the daily goals.
I am now working on tracking my food on the Spark nutrition page. I also track them for Weight Watchers as it uses a different format than Spark People. Other things that I continue to work on are drinking 8 glasses of water a day, making three new recipes each w...

Making Goals

Fri, 25 May 2012 15:49:09 EST

It's May 25 and we woke up to snow this morning--- huge flakes of snow. It didn't last long and melted as fast as it came down. Thank goodness for that.
I tried a new recipe last night and it was delicious. It was on the back of a seasoning packet that my husband won in one of the store promotions and I have been wanting to try it for quite some time. It was loaded with veggies so I certainly got my veggies in for the day. A beginning toward my goal of trying three new recipes each week....

Weekly Planning Day

Wed, 23 May 2012 21:05:25 EST

Chef Meg's Three Cheese Macaroni was so good. Maybe not as cheesy as I usually make but still tasty. I really enjoyed having it for dinner last night. The only complaint I have is that it had a bit too much cayenne pepper but that was my fault as the recipe called for a pinch of cayenne and I took a pinch that was too big.
Time to do my menu planning for next week. It is getting easier each week as I'm beginning to have a small store of frozen meals so I'm only trying to make three new r...

Accomplishing Goals

Tue, 22 May 2012 00:17:53 EST

The treadmill welcomed me back today. I find that I need to do that early in the day or else I keep putting it off and that sometimes results in me missing it altogether. I need to set up a CD player as I have a bunch of books on CDs that I could listen to while I walk otherwise I find the treadmill sessions terribly boring.
The rest of the goals for the week are gradually being accomplished but maybe I set too many for the week. I'll do my best to accomplish what I set out to do but if...

Birthday Dinner

Sun, 20 May 2012 21:07:04 EST

Over the big birthday. My granddaughter and her boyfriend made a barbecue dinner for me last night. Lots of healthy food with perhaps a bit too much butter on some of the veggies. It was a very tasty dinner and I really appreciated having dinner cooked for me. That happens very rarely.
Otherwise, eating has not been the best. Not terribly bad but sometimes a better choice could have been made. I have deviated from my plan on a couple of occasions and the substitution that I made was not ...

Planning, A Must For Me

Thu, 17 May 2012 22:19:16 EST

Menu is planned, recipes found and shopping list made. I was supposed to shop today but DH got home too late from the golf course. The shopping will happen tomorrow.
I have filled out a goal sheet for the coming week and have also done a goal sheet for each day. I have also planned each day as to how much time will be spent on each activity. Really getting back to planning the way I used to while I was teaching. Perhaps that will get me closer to accomplishing what I have set out to do. ...

Not The Perfect Week

Wed, 16 May 2012 13:59:01 EST

The weather isn't so nice today. In fact, we had to turn the heat on as the temperature inside the house was down to 18 degrees and when you get old you don't tolerate the cold so well. We were both feeling very cold even though we were moving around.
Eating has been a thorn in my side because I didn't get my menu plan and recipes completed this week so that's my job today as my new week starts tomorrow. I have the groceries needed for tomorrow's menu so will try to get my shopping done ...

A Beautiful Day

Mon, 14 May 2012 15:09:09 EST

Another bright, sunshiny day. It is nice and warm outside and just a wonderful day to be outside. I plan on spending some time in my backyard. I have piles of things to do so I'll start on some of that. I'm going to start with some garbage pick up and then I'll see where we need to go from there.
I'm expecting my son home later this afternoon so will be happy once he gets back safe and sound.
My granddaughter dropped in for a short unexpected visit yesterday so had a little Mother's...

Back at It

Sat, 12 May 2012 23:28:38 EST

The visit is over so we won't see our son until July. Not too long, if you say it fast. Our other son has gone with him for a short visit so he will be back soon.
Now it's time to get back at eating the right foods and the right sized portions. Today went fairly well but had to contend with a lot of cravings, mostly involving chocolate. Somehow or another I got through the day without having too much. I had two small squares which tamed the sweet tooth a bit. Back to following my menu pl...

Good days

Fri, 11 May 2012 22:09:02 EST

I am really enjoying my son's visit. He has spent more time with us this time. Usually he is busy working at the ranch as he really enjoys spending time there. The old saying, " You can take the boy from the farm but you can't take the farm from the boy." is really true in his case. When he needs to get away from it all, he comes home to work on the farm. That is a vacation for him.
Eating hasn't been the best so far this week. Not that we aren't eating healthy but the portions might be ...

Success at the End of a Long Day

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:32:07 EST

Son in laws surgery went great. He came out of the OR at three o'clock and by this evening they already had him stand up. He will start to walk tomorrow. Thanks to all who sent their prayers for him. They were much appreciated. The nurse said he was healing fast so that was good news.
I sort of lost it around noon today and made some poor food choices but not so bad that I went over my allowable calories for the day. I was able to salvage that by making wise food choices for the rest of ...

Stressful Times

Wed, 9 May 2012 00:54:07 EST

It's been a wishy- washy kind of day. The energy level was very low and I finally came to the conclusion that my blood sugar must be low so had to eat dinner early, too early to have ready what I had planned for my dinner so dinner wasn't super exciting. Oh well, at least, I didn't blow it too badly. Perhaps some of it was caused by the stress of my son in law going in for heart surgery tomorrow at nine a.m. so our thoughts and prayers will be with him for the next few days. It's a long surge...

Surgery on Wednesday

Sun, 6 May 2012 21:29:25 EST

Well, today I got my eating back the way it should be. I followed my menu plan except for substituting some leftover veggies from last night for the boiled cabbage that was on my plan. The calories were about the same so it didn't do any damage to the day's plan. I tried some crab cakes for dinner tonight and they were quite good. First time to eat crab meat so I think I could get used to it. Over the past few years I have tried so many foods that I'd never eaten before and have found a lot ...

Another Loss

Fri, 4 May 2012 01:15:45 EST

The scale smiled again last night. I lost 1.6 lbs. All my planning paid off. That's the first time for a long time that I have lost three weigh ins in a row. I have increased my fish meals to six a week and I think that is helping with the weight loss. Last week, I had only one beef meal. Beef is my favorite so I really miss having it more often.
Next week's plan is made and I will be shopping for it tomorrow afternoon. There is nothing too complicated for this week's menu. We are havi...

Menu Planning

Tue, 1 May 2012 23:59:22 EST

Just finished planning next week's menu. I think it will be an interesting week as we were able to get some shirataki noodles so have them on the menu twice next week --- once as a side dish and once as the entree. I googled shirataki noodles and found two recipes and interestingly they were both Chef Meg's recipes.
This week has been good with some interesting recipes. One I won't be trying again as the spinach/fish didn't appeal to me. All the others were good and will be used again....

Progressing Just Fine

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 18:25:31 EST

Did something new today. I finally took my van for a drive. I haven't driven for quite some time and had not driven the van before today. I've had it for nearly three years and finally decided that today was the day. It worked out well and I'm ready to go again. I have let myself become a real stay at home so today was one small step in changing that. I didn't get out of the van but just drove my husband Where we needed to go. The next step will be to go into the stores and do some shopping....

Trying To Start Moving

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 23:20:22 EST

A good start for a new week. I tried a new recipe for Pan Seared Walleye and Veggies. A serving was more than I could eat so have left over veggies for lunch tomorrow. That will take the place of the garden salad that had been planned. Vegetables are too expensive to throw away. A new recipe is in the plan for tomorrow. It is called Gingered Chicken and Vegetables. It calls for 5 different vegetables so that takes care of a lot of the day's veggies.
I didn't complete all of the goals I h...

Missed the Weigh In

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 23:18:17 EST

Well, I didn't get to my weigh in tonight but I'm confident that I did all right this week as I followed my plan faithfully. One thing I really have to watch is the urge to snack on just anything after dinner. I have been struggling since dinner but so far have won the battle. I decided to spend some time on the Spark site and that seems to have put the urges on the back burner. Quite often when the cravings get too bad, I visit the Spark site and read a few blogs and some motivation articles...

Positive Results

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 21:25:31 EST

Another great day. Right back on track after Sunday's splurge and that makes me so happy. To get right back at it has always been my downfall so it is a real breakthrough to be overcoming that. 224
I had a delicious dinner tonight. It was one of the Spark recipes --- Honey - Balsamic Chicken Breast. I omitted the honey and just let the balsamic vinegar thicken a bit. Along with that I sautéed zucchini, mushrooms and onions. The snack tonight is raisin bran and milk. Really a ...

Fell off the Track

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 22:05:26 EST

Well, the menu is planned for next week, shopping list made and the weekly goal list is made and divided up between the six days so that I can check them off as I do them. Next week should be a no think week as everything is right there ready to follow.
All my plans for dealing with the birthday worked just fine at the party but unexpected company arrived and we ordered Chinese for dinner. I really had no excuse for eating the Chinese food because I had a healthy dinner prepared but I ...

A Great Week!

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 17:40:22 EST

Such a great week this week. Eating has been going really well. My menu plan for this week was very detailed so it has been a no think week for me. I am going to start on next week's menu, plan the food, find the recipes, make the shopping list, write down my weekly goals and divide them up between six days, leaving one day to complete the goals or rest if they were all done on time. I didn't do the goal part last week but certainly plan to include that in this week's planning. I am finding ...

Another Loss

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 22:58:02 EST

Happy scale, happy me. I lost 1.4 lbs last night so I came home happy and so encouraged for the coming week. I spent time planning next week's menu in detail with everything I plan to have at each meal. I wrote out all the recipes that I plan to make next week and the shopping has been done to accommodate those recipes. No thinking and wondering what to have, it's all ready for me. No excuses! I'm looking forward to having a successful week. Maybe I can make it three weeks in a row to lose....

My Motivation

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 19:55:32 EST

Having a great day so far today when it comes to eating. It has been a day of healthy choices so it leaves me feeling successful. Now there's just the evening to get through but that shouldn't be a problem as I have a healthy snack planned if I do feel hungry. To keep myself busy, I plan to get my sewing machine out and do a bit of long overdue mending. The computer corner is pretty well tidied up which was one of my goals for this week. Now just to get the sewing center set up and a second g...

Menu Planning

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 22:55:58 EST

Another day gone by. Not much has changed except for a day of cravings. Probably a lot like yesterday. I think I need to find some new recipes to change things up a bit. Tomorrow I plan to do something new with sweet potatoes. I looked for recipes for them today and think I'll try one that calls for light cream cheese and butter mixed with mashed sweet potatoes. It looks like it will be delicious but will have to eat fat free for the first two meals. Along with that I will have some roasted f...

Another Pick Me Up Day

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 23:22:55 EST

Today wasn't the best day that I have had. Had to do battle with all sorts of cravings today. I won some and lost some but ended the day not feeling to bad about the choices and did end with a good healthy dinner tonight. Just have to keep picking myself and getting back on track. I am looking forward to my evening snack of home canned tomatoes. They are a real treat as I didn't get very many for canning into whole tomatoes last year. I was able to get the regular amount of juice but ran out ...

Successful Feelings

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 22:47:33 EST

Finally the scale smiled tonight. It showed a 3.2 lb weight loss so I am happy about that.
I have walked each day this week, not far but my goal is to make it a habit so this past week at about 2 in the afternoon, I get up and do my walk. My legs feel better and I feel successful about sticking to my plans. I think it's all about feeling successful about what you're doing and sticking to the plan.
Eating has been going quite well and I have been keeping an accurate journal of my foo...

Soupy Salad

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 20:17:13 EST

Well, I didn't drink my salad because it turned out too thick but I did eat it like a cold soup and it was delicious. Once I decided which appliance to use I started it off with 1 cup canned tomatoes and then added a clove of garlic, a small carrot, a green pepper, 4 small stalks of celery, 2 green onions, a cup of spinach leaves and a cup of lettuce leaves. I put it all in the food processor and puréed it. It was very filling and I was glad that I decided to have it about an hour before dinn...

I'm Going to Drink My Salad!

Sun, 8 Apr 2012 22:14:35 EST

Tomorrow, I plan to drink my salad. I was watching Montel today and he has a machine that juices the veggies whole. I don't have that machine, but I do have a blender and a juicer. I'm going to try pureeing the veggies first and then put them through the juicer. I think that should work and I would have enough for two servings. I'm not the greatest fan of raw veggies so I'm thinking that this might be a great way for me to get more raw veggies into my diet. Most of the time I try to get my v...

Eating Gone Astray

Fri, 6 Apr 2012 20:47:29 EST

Not a very good day today. I'm over my calories and have made some very poor food choices throughout the day. Now I just have to get through the evening with one healthy snack. I really don't feel like having that so will just not have it unless I get hungry. Dinner was pretty good and was well within the allowable range for calories. It was just the afternoon that was one bad choice after another. Tomorrow is a new day so I will have to get back at it again. One day will not do nearly as mu...

Blast the Salt!

Thu, 5 Apr 2012 01:05:27 EST

Today was supposed to be weigh in day but my weigh in partner had to take her husband to emergency so the weigh in didn't happen. Hopefully, I did okay. I could weigh myself on my scale but it weighs heavier than the weight Watcher's scale so I wouldn't get an accurate number from that. I think I can keep on going for the next week and stay on track.
Tonight is my treat day so we had Chinese for dinner. Now I'm starting to find it very greasy and salty. So I'm thinking that I'm finally...

Wondering

Tue, 3 Apr 2012 00:04:57 EST

A good/bad day. Some very good choices and some that weren't so good. Let's hope they even each other out. It is a puzzle to me why everything can be going so well and then all of a sudden you make a bad choice and sort of ruin the great day that you were having. I guess the secret is not to let that bad choice blow the rest of the day. I am getting better at that. I make the choice, regret it for a few minutes and then pick up where I left off -- back to eating healthy. That has been a hard ...

Exercising, Menu and Shopping

Sun, 1 Apr 2012 16:59:33 EST

A new week and hopefully a good one. I got started on my exercises and thought they were quite easy to do but low and behold I'm so stiff that it is unbelievable. I didn't expect to get this stiff but like they say " No pain, no gain ". I'm not going to go too hard at it today. My plan is to do the treadmill as I think the hip has recovered enough to do that. I can see where there's going to be pain involved on this business of getting active.
That's the reward for trying to change from...

Up and Down Day

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 17:35:48 EST

Time to write again. Today was going well until the sweet tooth hit again. I have it tamed again but made a couple of poor choices this afternoon. Then I got busy and replanned what I will have for dinner tonight and it will be a healthy meal to help get me back on the right track again. I wonder why, when everything is going good, all of a sudden you slip up and blow everything. No pattern as to when or why this occurs so it is totally unpredictable. I keep trying to establish a pattern so I...

Unhappy Scale, Unhappy Me

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 00:08:54 EST

Well, the scale wasn't happy tonight. It showed a gain of 2 lbs and neither one of us was very happy. Nothing else to do but give it my best shot next week. One of these weeks it will have to move down. The trouble is that when it goes down, then the next two weeks, it seems to go up. One step ahead and two steps back.
I'll have to start taking my measurements and see what they say. Everyone seems to think that I have lost weight so I must be looking smaller even though the scale doesn't...

Good Days

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 23:05:59 EST

Two great days in a row! What has happened? I managed to stay within my limits, successfully kept to the challenges that I am involved in and even got a bit of exercise in. Now these are the kind of days I really like. The sweet tooth has been tame for two whole days. It just helps me so much to blog about my progress. I seem to be able to stick with the plan so much better. I guess confession is good for the soul.
We woke up to a gentle rain this morning but that changed to snow before ...

Return of the Birds

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 01:00:12 EST

My day was a bit better today. The sweet tooth reared it's ugly head again today but was able to have some control over it. I wish I could figure out a pattern to it but really haven't seem much of a pattern emerging so I'll just have to keep on keeping track of the times when it hits. Eating only planned snacks after dinner has been good both last night and tonight.
My snack for tonight was vanilla yogurt and unsweetened homemade applesauce from the apple trees in my yard. It stays real...

Bad Days

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 22:12:45 EST

The robins got back just in time for a night of freezing rain. Not too many birds singing in my backyard today.
We woke up to ice all over the place this morning. It was very slippery out there and dangerous to walk anywhere. There is still ice on the streets this evening.
This week has been terrible as far as eating has gone. My sweet tooth got the best of me and my sweet tooth challenge went down the drain along with my mini challenge of eating only planned snacks after dinner. Wh...

Confession Time

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 21:20:40 EST

Confession time! My sweet tooth got me yesterday in the form of Dad's oatmeal cookies and they got me good. The cookies lead to the cheesies that have been calling my name for over a week. How I wish I would have garbaged the cheesies. At least I wouldn't have been able to graduate from the cookies to the cheesies.
Today was a new day and I have made all healthy choices. I tried a new recipe from the Kraft website. It was called mandarin hunan pork and was really tasty. I had a salad ma...

Exercise Problem Solved, I Think

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 23:06:36 EST

Another gorgeous day for March. It was almost shirt sleeve weather. I noticed that some of the younger people were not wearing jackets today.
Eating wise, I had a great day and followed my eating program really well. I can go to bed feeling successful but not before I have my cup of green tea. I'm still feeling full from dinner. It was a great meal with fresh salmon, asparagus and cherry tomatoes all roasted together in the same pan. There was also a half cup of brown rice to go with it....

Gotta Get Moving

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 21:21:06 EST

Did this once and lost it so here we start all over again. Beautiful weather again today. The birds are returning, a few new ones every day.
My day was quite good, not perfect but not way off track either. I had more calories than I should but the count was not too far from the correct number. The Taming You Sweet Tooth Challenge is coming along well. I have been recording when the cravings happen but no clear pattern is developing yet. The cravings just seem to hit me randomly and happ...

Cheesies, I Hate You!

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 23:27:20 EST

Another day and another struggle which I am happy to say I won. My husband had left some cheesies in the laundry room and they called my name all afternoon but I just ignored them and made it through the afternoon without giving in to the temptation. Better put a mark on the wall for that win because that is one I usually lose. I think my next mini challenge, will to be to make it through the afternoon eating only planned healthy snacks. Usually, I don't have too big a problem with that but ...

The Scale Moved

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 23:44:42 EST

Woo, hoo! The scale finally moved in the right direction and I had a loss of 4 lbs. I tried something new this week and it worked so we'll try it again next week and see if I meet with the same success. Maybe a bit of a change is all I needed.
The taming your sweet tooth challenge is coming along just great and I realize that I don't have as much of a sweet tooth as I thought. Mostly I have to guard against situations where there are lots of sweets as that is where I lose control. Must ...

My Scale Is Stuck

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 17:39:14 EST

My scale refuses to move. I have spent so many weeks eating right and really concentrating on menus and recipes but it still will not move in the right direction. It seems to know how to go up but most certainly doesn't know how to go down. My thoughts are that if I stick to the eating program eventually I will have to lose pounds. That is what keeps me going.
On the food side, I have tried several new recipes and found them to be delicious. They have been very filling and tasty so that ...