The Journey Begins

Good Morning,

Today I start my diet adventure in earnest, and so far it is going pretty darn good, but I did discovered a typo in my crepe recipe :   

It should read 1 2/3 C 1% evaporated milk.  What I actually used was 1 cup water and 2/3 cup evaporated milk . Your batter should be the consistency of cream.

Another change I did was Instead of the ricotta cheese today, I  made the filling with Greek style plain yogurt, the Epicure Summer Berry Fruit Dip and fresh orange juice.  It tasted great!!

I did this because last night I had a fairly hearty dinner and it contained cheese, so not wanting to repeat the caloric count for cheese I did this substitution.


Berry Stuffed Crepes With Summer Berry Fruit Dip Ricotta 

1 c mixed berries 2 tsp packed brown sugar
1 tsp lemon juice 1 large egg
2/3 c 1%milk evaporated milk(1 2/3 C) 2 tsp granulated sugar 
1 tsp unsalted butter melted 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c flour (all-purpose)                       1/2 c whole-wheat flour
2 tbsp Epicures Summer Berry Fruit Dip
1/3 reduced fat ricotta cheese

Gently toss berries in brown sugar with lemon juice  set aside.

To make crepes beat the egg, evaporated milk, granulated sugar, butter and salt in a large bowl. Whisk in the flour until smooth.

Spray nonstick skillet with nonstick spray, over medium heat.  When a drop of water sizzles, pour in a heaping 2 tbsp of batter, tilting the skillet to coat the bottom evenly with the batter.

Cook until set, aprox 30 seconds.  

Turn and cook slightly on other side about 10 seconds.  Slide
crepe onto a sheet of wax paper. 

Repeat with the remaining batter to make a total of 8 crepes.
Stack them with a layer of wax paper between each.   
You can freeze them at this point if not using them all. 

Spread about 2 tsp of ricotta in middle of crepe and top with 2 tablespoons of berries; roll up each crepe.  Serves 4

Per serving 2 crepes filled: 238 cal, 4 g fat, 2 g sat fat, 0 g trans fat, 64 mg chol, 240 mg sod, 39 g carb, 4 g fiber, 11 g prot, 199 g calc. Point value 4

The family enjoyed them as well, did not feel like they were
eating diet food.

Because it is the holiday weekend, we decided we were going to
eat something fun and more summer B-B-Q like. So I made the 
Middle Eastern Turkey Burgers tonight. They turned out great!!

I also created a new side dish. I love zucchini sticks, but they are
usually fried. So not exactly something I want to be eating on my
first day of dieting. So I decided I would try baking them in the
oven.

I'd been to the farmers market earlier in the day and brought home
some baby zucchini. So this is what I did:

Baked Zucchini Sticks

• 1 small zucchini cut into sticks, first cut it in 1/4's then 1/8's
• then cut the strips into 1/3's.
• 1 egg beaten
• Panko crumbs mixed with 1/4 cup chicken shake and bake
• Epicure Herb and Garlic

Directions

• Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
• Mix Panko crumbs, shake and bake, and the herbs together 
• place on a plate or into pie pan
• Dip Zucchini Sticks into egg mixture
• Roll and press into crumbs
• Double dip again into egg mixture, then back into crumbs
• Bake until crispy on outside it will be aprox 20 min

Serve with yogurt Epicure Herb and Garlic dip.

Greek style plain yogurt mixed with whatever dip mix you choose.

Instead of Mayonnaise on the burger, I used 1 1/2 tsp homemade

bean dip. It was very tasty and I didn't miss the mayo.

Gary enjoying the same burger, doesn't he look deprived?

Middle Eastern Burger with baked zucchini sticks and Epicure

Chipster chips.

Each serving consisted of 5 zucchini sticks and 10 chips. They 

were a mix of plain potato and sweet potato. They crunch just like

regular chips but they don't have the calories.

1 full medium sweet potato prepared this way is 110 calories;
1 full medium russet potato is 150 calories.

According to the Lays potato chip site, Lays original Chips, 1

serving of 20 chips is 150 calories. Do you only eat 20 chips
when you sit down to eat chips?

I'm just about to sign off for the evening but I thought I'd share a 

couple more pictures with you. These are the fruits and veggies I

picked up today at the market. All the more reason to change my 

diet, don't they look beautiful? Going to be busy canning, but hey, 

it keeps me out of trouble, right?

Just one last note. Most of the recipes I use, I have adapted from 

recipes found in "Weight Watchers in 20 minutes" and some are

ones I have had in my collection for years with no known author.

The day I take the plunge, no way out now..

Hi everyone,

The diet officially starts on September 1st,my next post is scheduled for that date I'm hoping to have all the bugs worked out by then.  If you get this post would you do me a favor and comment or send me an email.  I'd appreciate it.  Have a great holiday weekend.

I'm ready for my close up Mr. De Mille

First weigh in lordy, lordy, lordy!!!!   I have to be insane, but here goes.

Side note, it does not help to stand on one foot, hold onto towel bar or try to levitate, these darn electronic scales are determined to get your correct weight defiantly, not like the old spring style scales where you could fool yourself by getting it to read about 5 pounds lighter. 

These new ones, grab ya, shake ya and make sure you know when your butt has gotten too big.  This little beauty will also tell you how much of your magnificent Rubenesque body, is fat compared to muscle.
Don't they know that at my age, first thing in the morning, this much depressing information could cause heart issues? or at very least a 6 doughnut, double-double, panic attack. Technology tends to baffle me but I sure learnt fast how to turn that little beauty off, please let me at least have a few illusions. 

Right now I am strong. I can overcome any temptations facing me, like the line in that old song, I am woman hear me roar. Okay, maybe its more like a mew but I'm going to roar and roar loudly.
Have a terrific day and remember that every journey begins with the first step and this is my first step.    Here's looking at you kiddo. :)

Just noticed I forgot to  give you information about how many points I'm allowing myself or calories per day. 
Calorie count is 1200 Points  are 21.  I'm using the following information to choose snacks and additions to my meals . 

I will be trying to save a few points for the weekend so I can have the occasional safe splurge.  If I'm a good girl, I'd be able to enjoy some Tapas with a glass of wine.  My philosophy is every girl deserves a treat right!  Wait a minute isn't that what got me here in the first place?  Oh well Tapas yumm.  See ya, I'm off to go shake the dust of my runners and think about my exercise strategies


written by Linda Gauthier Photos by Linda Gauthier

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The journey begins or what the heck am I thinking...

Hi my name is Linda and I'm entering the brave new world of blogging.  I'm relatively new to the tech world. My children dragged me kicking and screaming into this exciting new adventure, and what you should know about me is until a very short time ago I didn't even have a cell phone.

Right about now you are probably asking, why should I be reading this and what does this have to do with weight loss?  If you keep reading you will see it is going to have a lot to do with weight loss.  I have struggled with my weight my entire life, I have tried practically every weight loss method known to man and woman, with varying degrees of success.  I have gone from my all time high of 240 lbs in my late 20's to my lowest point of 145, however most my life I have wavered between 150 and 175.  Well today I have decided I'm getting too old to be carrying around this extra baggage and it's out of here.

I have recently become a consultant with Epicure Selections, and I have found I can produce fast delicious meals with all the flavor I crave, without all the fat, salt and additives that convenience foods contain, or the cost of restaurant meals.

This blog is going to have my recipes, calorie counts, and for those of us used to a points system I will be including that as well, and with great trepidation my weigh-ins (oh lordy, lordy that's going to be fun), you will get to experience all of my ups and downs.  I'll be posting my weekly menus, and any handy tips I come across. I will also be starting to increase my activity level.  Please Join me in this journey and help me stay on track.

Please remember I am not a nutritionist this is just my diet adventure journal.  I may need to tweak the menus as I go along, for instance if I feel I am not getting enough food etc.  If I do, I will advise you about that as well.  I am not purporting to be a diet expert or an expert in either cooking or weight control.  If I was I wouldn't have been fighting this battle all my life.  Before starting my diet
I consulted with my doctor about starting this diet.

Now for a shameless plug for my business.   If you want to see, or learn about, or order any of the Epicure products I use, I've linked my business page to this blog.  If you want to ask me any questions you'll find my email address there as well.

Click here to go to my Epicure page.

Click here for my First week menu and recipes. (Powerpoint)


(LindaGauthierEpicure@gmail.com)

http://pinterest.com/homeofepicure/




written by Linda Gauthier Photos by Linda Gauthier