Weight Watchers: My List of Favorite Healthy Snacks

Just a quickie today. I’ve spent the week working in the basement with Joel cleaning, organizing, and sorting 37 years of accumulated junk! In my spare time, I’m also taking Cheryl grocery shopping, out for coffee, and for her radiation treatments, not to mention commuting Alan a bit, who had his first cataract removed successfully but isn’t supposed to drive for the two weeks until he gets his other eye fixed. Meanwhile, he needed a tooth extraction at the oral surgeon… a failed root canal where the  crown also came off a few days ago. The oral surgeon took an hour and a half instead of the half hour he thought it might take. Alan’s blood pressure went up for sure  (it was being monitored), but I’m thinking that the surgeon’s and mine both went up during the suspenseful wait too! Thankfully, Alan seems to be doing okay and wanted me to take him straight to work afterward. I was trying to talk him into going home when his secretary called: “Where are you? The staff for your 10:00 meeting have assembled…”

Okay, so Alan won, and I drove him straight to work with his mouth stuffed with gauze. At least he’s never bored! He also loves what he’s doing, so I guess I should just be delighted that he has such a fulfilling job.

On to Weight Watchers. Last week I got a star for having lost 5 pounds (yes…they treat you a bit like elementary school children, and we all clap for each other, but hey—it works, so keep the cheers coming!), and this week I was a mere 0.4 pounds from my first weight goal: losing 5% of my body weight. I was very disappointed not to have be reached that goal, but in fact, we had pizza and cheesecake for dinner last night…so what should I have expected??

In case you’re interested in any free tips on weight loss, the biggest thing I’ve noticed is that you can eat just about all the fresh fruits and vegetables you want and never get fat. In fact, I’m losing about a pound a week or more and rarely feel hungry. If I do, I drink a cup of cinnamon apple tea, non-fat skim milk latte or sugar free hot chocolate, a low fat yogurt, a cup of fruit, or…a handful of fresh veggies. One of the best discoveries is that you can make a pot of soup using all your favorite veggies (leaving out peas, corn, beans, or potatoes) in a tomato base, simmer it with your favorite spices, and you can warm up a bowl of soup “free” (no points) anytime of the day or night! If you like veggies (and I do), that can make a very satisfying snack! Oh, and don’t forget the 94% fat-free popcorn: you can have 5 cups for only 1 point. That can get you a long way on a cold winter’s night! Last but not least, sugar-free jello, pickles, and salsa are also pretty “guilt-free.” When I have a few points to spare and am really craving chocolate (did I tell you that I woke up dreaming I was wolfing down a chocolate chip cookie??), I make some pudding out of 1 c. skim milk, 1 T. cornstarch, 1 T. sugar, and 1 T. cocoa. Hot and yummy! But, no ice cream or whipped cream on top…that’s a privilege of the svelte.