October Overachievers' Challenge

[Buffy45]

Oh, it makes 2 1/2 cups, I have to refigure my numbers b/c I just guessed that it would make 2 cups and based it on that.

[JMCM1]

OH BOY!
Thank you so much for making that Ranch Dressing, too - that's next on my list also. The one I made that had 1 cup of mayo & sour cream, etc. is OK, but I really taste that mayo...

Tonight I made roasted pumpkin seeds, as well as Barbo's Onion/Rye Bread. WOW that bread is delicious and might even convert my dh to low carb!

I also made Carolyn's easy chocolate candy and yes it WAS easy! I only had Lindt 90% dark bars, but that was fine because I just sweetened it to my liking. And I like it!

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

2 cups water - boiling
2 Tablespoons salt
Add 1 cup raw (green) pumpkin seeds (pepitas) into the boiling, salted water for 10 minutes. Drain.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Either generously oil your baking sheet, or in a bowl, drizzle a little oil on your pumpkin seeds & stir. Takes very little oil.

Place seeds on cookie sheet and cook 15 or so minutes. Once they start browning, they can go quickly, so keep an eye out. Crunchy and delicious.

[Buffy45]

Morning! This is my weight logging day and I am very

Judy, that reminds me of when my kids were young, when we carved pumpkings, we would then roast the pumpkin seeds. One of DD's in particular loved them. I picked some up at Sprouts not long ago but already roasted.

Once you get going on this WOE, there is no end to all the yummy things a person can eat, I run out of calorie allowance and am not hungry, but I open my fridge or cupboards and think, Oh wow, I can eat that, and that, and that

Crunch time, today is work on taxes. DGS is out of school and going to come over but he is no bother. So, I plan on being here in my office all day. Except to go gather food of course.

Just started using the tape measure last week, of course now I wish I had used it when I started. In one week my waist went down 1 1/2 inches!

[Buffy45]

Judy, I made that other mayo too, I like this one better. It is thinner which I like, easier to use less. And again, just basic ranch so you could add some different things to ramp it up if desired.

[JMCM1]

I feel like we have a secret that other people are stubbornly refusing to see! And I can no more persuade them or hope they'll see what we see than I can convert someone in any other aspect.

Just knowing what I could eat if I wanted to or if I fit it in is comforting.

Buffy congratulations on that loss. What a great reward and that 1-1/2" is so much!!

[JMCM1]

Originally Posted by Buffy45

Judy, I made that other mayo too, I like this one better. It is thinner which I like, easier to use less. And again, just basic ranch so you could add some different things to ramp it up if desired.

I ran the numbers through Master Cook - go over to that recipe thread to see. It has great numbers for 2 Tbsp (which is the minimum I use )

[sjl330]

I agree, this is like a "secret eating plan" that other people have trouble grasping. When I was at the beach with my friend last week she told me that another friend of ours warned her about "eating like Sandy does". She told her it wasn't healthy or good for her. My friend told her, "I wouldn't take financial advice from a poor person". She also told her that she could look at me and watch how I eat and see that it's a successful way to eat. Granted, it took her 2 years to come to that conclusion, but at least she did.

Did you all see where Canada is recommending meat and eggs for babies first foods???? Very interesting article. Maybe there is hope!!

WTG Buffy!!!!! You're doing so well. I'm going to try that mayo and dressing recipe very soon.

[Buffy45]

Originally Posted by Buffy45

Judy, I made that other mayo too, I like this one better. It is thinner which I like, easier to use less. And again, just basic ranch so you could add some different things to ramp it up if desired.

Meant to say I made the other "ranch" too.

[Buffy45]

Originally Posted by JMCM1

I ran the numbers through Master Cook - go over to that recipe thread to see. It has great numbers for 2 Tbsp (which is the minimum I use )

Thanks, will see if my numbers were correct, I hesitated to post them since I was a little unsure. Do you like Mastercook? I have Living Cookbook but really haven't learned to use it yet.

I can enter recipes in my nutritional tracking program I use but it is slow going and seems I have to enter half the foods from scratch due to the limited database.

[Buffy45]

Originally Posted by JMCM1

I feel like we have a secret that other people are stubbornly refusing to see! And I can no more persuade them or hope they'll see what we see than I can convert someone in any other aspect.

Just knowing what I could eat if I wanted to or if I fit it in is comforting.

Buffy congratulations on that loss. What a great reward and that 1-1/2" is so much!!

Wow, you got that right. I haven't even said much to anyone except DD who I just knew this would work well on. Others I know will ask me when they see a significant loss and then I will tell them and most will just listen and blow it off. Crazy diet...

I do have one friend who is pretty heavy and she asked me more about it yesterday, I had told her I was back to LC and she asked how it was going, soooo, I told her some more. She did atkins way back and did well on it but has pretty much forgotten it. She came by and I had her taste the pecan muffins, the pumpkin bake, the mayo, a PB fudge I had made and the chocolate cheesecake thing. She was amazed that I could eat those things, then when she wanted ideas and I started in on use HWC, cream cheese, sour cream, all the veggies we can have, she was like what , you're kidding , we can eat that . Lol. I told her to think about it, then if she was going to start, just get back on atkins to get started and then we would tweak from there. 50/50 chance she will actually do it but that is ok, has to be up to her and on her terms. I will help her all I can if she decides to do it.

[JMCM1]

Sandy when I went to Texas to meet with my college girlfriends, I had a bit of an outcast feeling.
It's funny how what you eat can either drive you to shame, or elevate you to thinking your way of eating is superior (I think of vegans when I write this).

I'm so late to your party I don't know what you've already discussed, but I do think our way of eating is healthy - obviously - but I don't think I'm an advocate. I'm just going to do it and be happy with my food and my choices. When I explained what I was doing to my friends, or to other people who have noticed my weight loss, they are horrified. So I may not be the best 'presenter' of our way of eating.

And pride goeth before a fall, but I am proud of how I look right now, even 10 pounds from my goal, and even though my goal is at the highest most tippity top of the 'not overweight' range for my height. I'm the one that's got to live with it, and I'll make that decision.

Part of my happiness is that we buy our own insurance (we are self-employed) and I dread to keep getting diagnosed with different ailments for which I'll need life-long medical intervention. As my insurance rates go up, I'd like to be able to look around and buy something different if possible.

Buffy I knew you meant ranch - .

Do I like Master Cook? Meh. It's OK. I don't love it. It was $20 from Amazon. It was (for me) not that intuitive as to how to enter my own recipes - where the default location is for saving recipes, etc. I like it better now that I've used it a little, but I'm more interested in entering recipes in my good old excel spreadsheet that does the minimum calculations for me, as long as I know the basic values (fat, protein, carbs).

I actually got it one week when Rebecca Latham posted her menus on her blog. I don't know if she meant to do it, but it contained hundreds of foods, together with their nutritional components. Most of them were in grams, and over the last several weeks I've added so many of my own foods, or changed hers to reflect oz. I really like using it.

[Buffy45]

Originally Posted by sjl330

I agree, this is like a "secret eating plan" that other people have trouble grasping. When I was at the beach with my friend last week she told me that another friend of ours warned her about "eating like Sandy does". She told her it wasn't healthy or good for her. My friend told her, "I wouldn't take financial advice from a poor person". She also told her that she could look at me and watch how I eat and see that it's a successful way to eat. Granted, it took her 2 years to come to that conclusion, but at least she did.

Did you all see where Canada is recommending meat and eggs for babies first foods???? Very interesting article. Maybe there is hope!!

WTG Buffy!!!!! You're doing so well. I'm going to try that mayo and dressing recipe very soon.

Oh Sandy, that is so funny about what one of your friends told the other. You look very healthy and you are thin, but some people just freak out at the fat, or should I say most people. Our nation has really pulled a good one on us.

I did see that where meat and eggs were recommended and now that I know what I do, rice cereal was or is still the norm here, WTH??? My DIL who is an amazing mother and well read on things started Ollie out on eggs and avocado as his first foods. And she still is breastfeeding, just a little and truly is ready to quit but now at his age, 20 months, he is not so happy letting it go. She knows it is just going to get harder and harder to wean him but I give her credit, he is one healthy boy. And, she went back to work at 3 months and continued to pump the whole time so that little guy had nothing but breast milk. I am proud of her.

[Buffy45]

Originally Posted by JMCM1

Sandy when I went to Texas to meet with my college girlfriends, I had a bit of an outcast feeling.
It's funny how what you eat can either drive you to shame, or elevate you to thinking your way of eating is superior (I think of vegans when I write this).

I'm so late to your party I don't know what you've already discussed, but I do think our way of eating is healthy - obviously - but I don't think I'm an advocate. I'm just going to do it and be happy with my food and my choices. When I explained what I was doing to my friends, or to other people who have noticed my weight loss, they are horrified. So I may not be the best 'presenter' of our way of eating.

And pride goeth before a fall, but I am proud of how I look right now, even 10 pounds from my goal, and even though my goal is at the highest most tippity top of the 'not overweight' range for my height. I'm the one that's got to live with it, and I'll make that decision.

Part of my happiness is that we buy our own insurance (we are self-employed) and I dread to keep getting diagnosed with different ailments for which I'll need life-long medical intervention. As my insurance rates go up, I'd like to be able to look around and buy something different if possible.

Buffy I knew you meant ranch - :.

I can easily eat differently around people, I just say I am diabetic and they scatter, .
You should be proud of how you look and I can't get over how low those charts say our weight should be!! I don't think an older person looks that healthy, or most don't at those weights. Not that you are older but I am and if I got down to what they recommend I am sure I would be a saggy wrinkled old hag.

Ewww, hear you on the self insurance, we had to do that and I was never so happy to turn 65 as when I got on medicare!!! That cost is horrible.

[JMCM1]

Buffy I love that you trotted out all the good stuff. This way of eating is irresistible when you have all the good stuff at once.

You can really enjoy continuing to eat this way when you realize you hardly ever even want to eat! HA!

[JMCM1]

I am so impressed with your DIL Buffy! What a huge shift and what a lot of study it must have taken for her to be able to feed her darling baby avocado and eggs and to continue breast feeding!

I hope we know each other for a long time so we can chart that baby's progress. Well done, DIL, well done!

I amended my post above yours to reflect my huge thoughts on Master Cook.

[Buffy45]

That is where I really get confused, the grams to oz things, teaspoons to cup, etc. I have a site that does those calc for me but man, it can be a chore. And when you start with a recipe that doesn't even say how much it makes, or what a serving should be??? Guess I am just challenged on that. My old nutritional software, which is obsolete now and won't work on my current windows, was so easy to enter and figure a recipe.

[sjl330]

Wow Buffy, I'm so impressed with your DIL!!! You sure don't find many like that anymore.

Judy, could you share that excel sheet with us? I can give you my email in a private message, if you can.

[Buffy45]

I know Sandy, she is amazing. Was 32 when she had Ollie so that helps, she was ready to have a baby and mature. Her mother is a lactation consultant, is published and has spoken all over the country and in several other countries. And, they believe in natural things, so all that helps. She did worry me a little when she had Ollie at a birthing center and didn't go to a hospital but she did it all without drugs and it was a long labor. He was actually born in a bathtub, I would have loved to be there but she and my son wanted it to be just the two of them which I certainly respected. I LOVE my DIL.

[Buffy45]

MK is off running around somewhere, isn't she?

And Carolyn, she has been sooo busy lately.

Where is everyone this morning? Debby, Sharon, Cindy, who else is MIA?

[JMCM1]

Yes I'd be happy to share that spreadsheet. PM me.

[DebbyL]

Good morning! Yawn! Slept in this morning! (holiday in Canada),
Looks like its gonna be another beautiful fall day today.
Judy, spreadsheet? I missed subject there...
Be back later... time for more coffee!

[JMCM1]

Debby I have your email address - want me to send it to you?

[CarolynF]

Hi ladies..

Love this conversation... I did my SlowBurn this a.m. and then had Bible Study (no food provided..bring your own coffee)..I have another meeting this afternoon...eeek...

I LOVE that quote from your friend, Sandy..Don't take financial advice from a poor person..It reminds me of Oprah giving dieting advice..No "authority" there.

Buffy: You are solidly in Onederland... Horray, horray..

Hugs to all my friends...Judy/Debbie/Sharon/Mary Kay/Buffy/Cindy/Sandy/Metga..

I do need to make some breakfast food later this afternoon..My nommie pumpkin muffins are gone..

[JMCM1]

Carolyn!

[DebbyL]

Originally Posted by JMCM1

Debby I have your email address - want me to send it to you?

Sure. I don't know what it is.... but sure.

[Shalbrihil]

I'm here Had some catching up to do before I started. That mayo is just wonderful. I won't be going back to store bought anymore now. I used grapeseed oil and it worked out just fine.

Buffy once again a big thank you for your Ranch dressing recipe! It's my dh's favorite and now I can make it fresh for us too.

Our family gathering yesterday was very nice. Dh and I are tea totalers so we brought our Paligrino mineral water and was very happy. They had hamburgers so we had ours without the bun and I brought a huge salad with everything but the kitchen sink in it for a side. There was a wide variety of foods that we didn't touch but we did just fine with some cheese on our burger and salad with dressing. We had a lovely time catching up.

My scale was giving all different readings last week so I finely changed the direction it was sitting and walla! I'm it's back to a reading I can trust. I didn't realize I had a fickle scale!

Debby have a nice Thanksgiving. We are finally getting cooler weather. It's starting to feel like fall now.

Time to start moving..See everyone later .

[Buffy45]

Hi Carolyn, glad you ran by in between meetings!

Sharon, hope you like the dressing, I sure do and like you, can't see me buying any mayo type things again, they are easy, we know what's in them and it is fun to see it change from the stuff you put in to mayo.

Yes, those scales like to be on a very flat, stable surface don't they? I try to place mine where it just gives me the very best reading, then leave it there.

[DebbyL]

Originally Posted by CarolynF

Hi ladies..

Love this conversation... I did my SlowBurn this a.m. and then had Bible Study (no food provided..bring your own coffee)..I have another meeting this afternoon...eeek...

I LOVE that quote from your friend, Sandy..Don't take financial advice from a poor person..It reminds me of Oprah giving dieting advice..No "authority" there.

Hugs to all my friends...Judy/Debbie/Sharon/Mary Kay/Buffy/Cindy/Sandy/Metga..

Hi Carolyn!
Good advice... LOL.

Originally Posted by Shalbrihil

My scale was giving all different readings last week so I finely changed the direction it was sitting and walla! I'm it's back to a reading I can trust. I didn't realize I had a fickle scale!

Debby have a nice Thanksgiving. We are finally getting cooler weather. It's starting to feel like fall now.
.

Thanks Sharon! Family times are good.

We are making an addition to our family...
We'll pick her up next week-end. Australian Shepherd-Border Collie Cross. I'm so excited.

[JMCM1]

Originally Posted by DebbyL

We are making an addition to our family...
We'll pick her up next week-end. Australian Shepherd-Border Collie Cross. I'm so excited.

Oh boy!
I hope you have lots of things that need rounding up!

Not much better than a new puppy. I would take a new baby, but don't tell our kids - they'll think we're pressuring them!

[Buffy45]

Originally Posted by DebbyL

Hi Carolyn!
Good advice... LOL.


Thanks Sharon! Family times are good.

We are making an addition to our family...
We'll pick her up next week-end. Australian Shepherd-Border Collie Cross. I'm so excited.

Oh, I'm excited for you!!! Is it a baby or full grown?