Earthquake & Tsunami

So, before I came home from Utah after visiting some of my children and visiting little Miss C I thought of all the things I wanted to share of my adventure. I was barely home when I got the call from my older sister Dawn asking if I had heard about the earthquake and Tsunami in American Samoa? What? "yes", she told me, "turn on the TV". I did, but nothing at that moment so I decided to turn on my computer and started searching for anything that would give me some kind of news. I was thinking, every single time I take a trip, something happens. The Internet and TV didn't have a lot of information so I decided to e-mail my cousin in New York, surely he would have heard from his sister, my cousin, who lives down the street from my mom. It wasn't long after I e-mailed him, he called me and said that my cousin, Trudi who lives there was able to e-mail her daughter in Georgia with details. The most important part of it was that she said my mom was safe and all right. Thank goodness. Many dramatic events took place. After several times not being able to reach my mom, my mom was able to call out late last night and filled in more details. My mom always wakes up around 5am, her routine is prayers and scripture reading, then she said, it was Garbage day, so she gathered her garbage, she also mentioned that it is Spring there and it was a beautiful spring morning. She drove down to the end of the street, which is near the ocean to drop off her garbage, just at that moment she saw her cousin's widow and she waved to her, she was stopping in the Senior center there. Not very long after she returned home the house started shaking very violently, she rushed to a doorway and braced herself through the shaking. She said it was very long, like 2-3 minutes long. When it stopped she ran across the street where my uncle and his family live. They decided to go down the street towards the ocean as they approached the mouth of the road, they saw all the school kids running and screaming, "go to the mountain, go to the mountain" which is the other end of the road. My mom thought she would go to her sister-in-law's home which is at higher ground, but the police stopped her and said to go back, go towards the mountain. So she headed back towards her home. Most of the kids and able bodied went up the trail to the mountain, my mom, who's not getting any younger decided to drive to another relatives home that was on higher ground but not as steep to climb. She said they were there most of the day until they got permission to come down. My cousin Trudi had no idea of the Tsunami warning, her son who was on the other part of the island saw the tidal wave coming and called his mom to warn her but it was too late, Trudi literally swam out of her home in just a tank top and boxer shorts. Thankfully she is safe. When my mom was able to come back to her home, she had no electricity, phone service and no water, but she relayed to me, "I am fine"," I'm so thankful that the church teaches us to be prepared, I have plenty of bottle water stored and food items in storage containers." For some reason my mom's home is one of the few homes that have power and phone service which was restored in the late afternoon. She feels very blessed. She opened up her home, making sandwiches for the kids and others. She seemed to be in good spirits. She did say, due to recent events, first the flooding a couple of weeks ago and now this, that maybe, just maybe she might move to America. I agreed. One sad note, her cousin's widow that she had waved to earlier, perished along with some other elderly women who were swept out to sea. May their families find peace at this time.

Can I say Lucky 13# and it's Friday but not the 13th.

I am so looking forward to going to Utah to see my adult Children. I absolutely can't wait. Oh the 13, that's how many lbs I have lost so far on my journey. When I weighed myself this morning, it was a solid 13. I was so excited, I was thinking I gotta call Rhonda. Well she must have been thinking the same thing because she called me just at that moment. I told her that she is keeping me going by her own perseverance. Her pep talks keep me motivated and I don't want to disappoint. I know I need to get a life, because really all I do is work, sleep, eat and work again lately. I have started Dan Brown's newest book the "Lost Symbol", it is looking to be really good. I read quite a bit last night until the man said, "Lights out". He was right, I needed to stop. I can't wait to take the book with me on my trip so I can thoroughly get into it. Oh a couple of entries ago, I was looking for the right words and I couldn't think of them, well I remembered. It is this: I am so thankful for the Lord's "tender mercies" that he gives to us. He just knows when we need that little ump to keep us going and to endure. That is what he gave to me earlier this week. I am so grateful to know that we truly have a Heavenly Father that loves us and knows "KNOWS" us each, personally. I am so grateful to know that "He Lives". I feel for those that do not have that assurance, it makes me feel sorry for them. This is truly a blessing. I am so thankful for the gift of "Faith". I am so thankful for the testimony that I have that we have a Living Prophet who, along with our Savior guides and directs us here on earth. Despite trials and problems of this temporal world we live in, it gives me great comfort to know that I am not alone. He is always here for us, all we have to do is turn to him, look to him and he will guide us.

It's Maurey Tuesday

Am I the only one that likes Liver and Onions? My mom use to make it once a month for us girls, she thought we needed the extra iron if you know what I mean. So because I am mildly anemic, I decided to make some for dinner yesterday. It was actually pretty good, but not good enough to eat for dinner tonight. I did have some for lunch. But I am over it now. Had a nice talk with M today. I am so proud of her she will graduate next April from BYU. I admire her determination and following thru with her schooling, that's an attribute I don't have. She is doing so well and It brings me great joy for all that she is becoming. It won't be long til C graduates from High school. Where has the time gone? It seems like yesterday she was just a little pip squeak. Her nose still wrinkles when she laughs, just like when she was a baby. I am feeling so grateful for all my children, I love them so much!! I can't wait til next week when I will get to see all my Utah kids and especially my granddaughter. She is growing up so fast and I want her to know me. I have just a glimpse of what our Heavenly Father feels about us, his children. No success can compensate for failure in the Home. This is so true. I know as mom's we just want our children to be successful in anything they persevere but most of all we want them to be faithful in the gospel. This my eternal prayer and at this time I feel truly blessed.

Looks Like I made it - thru the weekend

Maintenance time: I think I made some great recipes this past weekend to keep myself in check. 2 0z's away from the number 12 - yes! Made Chinese Chicken salad Saturday night, its all the same, cabbage, 3.5 oz of slices chicken, some mandarin oranges, sliced green onions, but the dressing I altered so no oils, some spices from the Top Ramen packet, a little Braggs cider vinegar a few sprays of 0 calorie Pam spray and some Balsamic Vinegar, it was actually good, and David split it with me, so it must not have been too bad if he ate it. Earlier for Lunch I did stir fry, I did 3.5 oz of stir fry cut beef sauteed with some fresh ginger, onions, mushrooms and garlic with som Braggs Amino all perpose seasoning added chopped Napa cabbage and served wrapped it in Butter leaf lettuce, again David said it looked good so he at the other half of the portion. I ate that again for lunch right before church yesterday except I just tore the lettuce and put the fixins on top. Yum Yum. Dinner last night was the good standby Spicy Cabbage soup. It sure is filling. I can do dairy now so I made a Protein shake using just 1/2 of scoop of protein powder and 1/4 of fat free milk along with ice and carbonated water this for breakfast. The most important thing in this is writing down everything you ingest. Yes, ingest. If you do you can really see what you are drinking and eating. I am so joyful right now, not because of this but something personal. I will share it when I can. The word joy is really truly the word. I am so thankful for a Loving Heavenly Father who gives us the precious moments of joy. I can't recall the word I'm looking for, but he truly knows each and everyone of us and I am so thankful to him. I know that he Lives and hears and answers our prayers.

TGIF Yeah it's the weekend

So I'm not going to go in details on my menu since I'm going to maintenance mode. But the scale is looking good. I just have to psych myself to maintain and continue to lose. It's amazing I don't know if you are like me, but I live to eat. I am a food-aholic. I don't know if it is in my genetics or what, but the eyes have it. That is why advertisers love us. I have the stupid Baskin Robins commercial running in my head, back, back, back I say. La, la, la, la. I can't even watch it. I'm like a predator when I go in my kitchen I will scan the room and I will hone in on the most fattening thing, like right now there are 2 cupcakes on the island and mini-banana muffins on the counter. I have to tell myself NO! Did you know there are 497 calories in one cupcake? 497! My name is Patsy and I am a food addict. I will not give in, I will over-come. It is harder when I am not busy, and the best thing for me is to stay away from TV because, what goes best with watching TV? Eating. I always feel better in the morning, when I have made it through another day without caving in. My little sister, Rhonda has started up again with her friend Joan to continue on her journey. I am so proud of her because she has figured out the self-control thing. I am working on this. I haven't failed yet, but like an addict it is one step at at time, minute by minute. Like anything else, this is my vice and if I can over-come this, the better I will feel. It will be a great accomplishment. Welcome to my world.

At last, day 18#

Never thought it would get here, but as fast as I began this is where I end, well not really, but I do take a new turn. So starting tomorrow thru Sunday I keep to the same program then Monday it's maintenance time.
BREAKFAST: Chocolate Freeze
AM snack: 1 Grissini bread stick and .7 oz of jerky
LUNCH: 3.0 0Z of steak and steamed spinach
DINNER: 3.5 OZ of steak and steamed spinach and steamed zucchini
DESSERT: baked apples with 2 pkg of stevia and cinnamon with 5 chopped walnuts

It's quiet tonight, Cece is enjoying herself with the Dillon Beach Gang, she left today with LH. I'm sure she is having a great time with everyone. David went down to the Cosmic to listen to some music and here I am enjoying the quiet. Looking forward to the weekend, I hope David and I can take a little break from our chores and do something fun. I am counting down the days when I can see our granddaughter Chloe. She is sooooooooo cute and getting so big. I think I will fly. I've gone back and forth should I drive or should I fly. Between the price of gas it looks like flying might be the way to go. Oh by the way the price of gold has gone up some more. It's at $996 an oz for those that are interested. I know I am rambling. Good Night.

At 17# Hump Day

This will be short and sweet. I just got back home and it's late. Cece and I went to Lincoln to say good bye to my Mom. We took pictures because we don't know when we will see mom again. Tonight I am melancholy. I was observing Mom in our conversations and as I was looking at her, I was thinking, she is in good health, she does take good care of herself as best as she can, but she is looking a little frail. She said she usually is excited about going back home, this time she isn't. She is thinking about what she is facing. I wish she didn't live so far away. There are 4 siblings left out of the nine, she is the youngest sister and the youngest brother, my uncle still live on the island among many nieces and nephews and extended family. They still go by a lot of the Samoan traditions I think that is what has kept them going. There is much respect for the elders, which I admire. I am missing her more this time, maybe it's because I feel that it won't be long before she is gone, I don't know. I'm sure she'll be fine. Just got Cece semi-packed for Dillon tomorrow. She loves going there with the Dillon Beach Gang, i.e Christensens, Hamps, Underwoods, Loveridges, Hawkins, Strayers and the rest. Thanks LH for giving her a ride, we appreciate it very much.
Well back to the program: I am proud to say I have lost 10.9 lbs. I do feel better. In just this little time, my hip joints don't hurt as much, I guess it is the extra weight. So today's menu:
BREAKFAST: Chocolate Freeze
AM snack: 1 apple
LUNCH: Taco salad, same as yesterday
PM snack: 1 oz of nuts
DINNER: Cabbage soup (my little sister made it tonight same recipe as before on my 9Th day) 0 to 20 calories. So since I had some calories to spare, on the way home I was able to eat a chicken soft taco at Taco Bell, but without eating the tortilla. Buenos Nochos.

Sweet 16#

Today is a new day and it feels good to be able to slip on some pants that use to be kind of tight. Something is happening. I won't be saying much because really all I can think about is my mom and what she will be facing when she gets home. I'll see her tomorrow night to say our Good Byes. It's sad because this visit has been really fun. I've really enjoyed her being here. I was really looking forward to our road trip, because she is always fun and always keeps the conversation going. For example:
when my sister, mom and I were coming home from Reno last week, there was this trucker in the slow lane and my mom started reminiscing about when us kids were young we would lean out the window and get the truckers to blow their horn. So my mom wanted me or my sister to do it. My sister said, no mom, we're not kids any more, and of course mom was in a jovial mood and laughing and trying to get me to do it. I chickened out, I wish now that I did it, it would have made her afternoon. Ce la vie. Tuesday's menu:
BREAKFAST: Grapefruit freeze
AM SNACK: 1 Grissini bread stick
LUNCH: Taco salad, consists: torn butter leaf lettuce, 3.5 oz of taco seasoned ground chicken, homemade salsa and Walden's 0 calorie Thousand Island dressing. This is so good!
PM snack: 1 apple
DINNER: left overs of Taco salad but with a mixture of butter leaf lettuce and spinach topped with 7 grams of crunchy onion salad topper.

Day 15# Monday Labor day

This day was good until a half hour ago. First, this morning we got up and walked around the Diamond Springs Big big Labor Day flea market. I wasn't looking for anything in particular it was just fun walking and people watching. There were so much stuff. Everyone seemed to be in a very good mood and people were buying. We got home by 10am and David started working on his project in the backyard. The day was pretty uneventful. Around 3:30pm I wanted to take a drive out near Coloma and the Gold Hill area. Sometimes you just have to get out. I love taking new roads that you have never taken before, and since I was driving David was my captive audience. As we were leaving Coloma I decided to drive up to Marshall's monument because you never know, it could be the last time we get to do this because of the threat of closing this Historical State Park. I can't believe they are even considering closing this Historical Place, after all this is where California began. This is why California became a state. Every elementary kid has come here for their California History field trip, me included. It would be so sad if they did. I read every sign, everything on the monument. I love love History. After we left Coloma we decided to take Thompson Hill Rd towards Lotus Rd. I love these old country roads it's real neat discovering things that you have never noticed or seen before. We switched back from Lotus Rd to Gold Hill Rd and then back to Hwy 49 back into Placerville. Have you ever read the monument across from the Little Red Shack? We did for the first time and I've lived here for 22 years. Again love love History. Came home and made homemade salsa. It's not fattening with the added oils and additives. Made David and Cece nachos. So here's the sad news. My mom found out this afternoon that her island had a great Rain storm which caused the waterfalls up on the mountain to flood and late Sunday the waters came down their road and flooded not only her house but her 2 rentals and my Uncles and almost all the relatives that live on their street. I feel so bad for my mom. She was trying to be strong until she shared with with my sister and brother-in-law and then she couldn't hold it any longer and she broke down. It made me cry. She had sacrificed so much and had just put so much money into her rental and now this. My uncle put her tenant up in a hotel because the house isn't live able. I don't know if any body else on island has as much flooding. I just hope that she gets help from the members in her ward or the family members that are there. She'll fly back to her home Sunday that's the next and soonest flight available. Needless to say, she and I won't be going together on our trip to see my aunt or my kids in Utah. I will go alone. All we can do is pray that the damage is repairable and not too costly. My mom has a lot of faith and I know that she will get through this. It makes my own problems or trials insignificant.
I will end here and log in my menu for record sake.
BREAKFAST: Hot chocolate: 1 T of unsweetened cocoa, 1 pkg of stevia and hot water.
1 Grissini bread stick
AM snack: 1 apple
LUNCH: 2 chicken wraps: split 3.5 oz of chicken tenders lay each half on 2 butter leaf lettuce, top with mustard & hot sauce and top it all with sauteed onions and mushrooms w/some Bragg Amino all purpose seasonings.
DINNER: 3.5 OZ of ground chicken with Taco seasonings (this makes 2 tacos) lay in butter leaf lettuce and top with homemade salsa.
DESSERT: sliced strawberries in a bowl, sprinkle 1 pkg of stevia and mix and drizzle with some Walden's 0 calorie Chocolate syrup.

day 14# Sabbath day Holy

So right off the bat. I will not be fasting today because this is such a tight program. A beautiful day this Sabbath day morning, nice and cold, like I love it. Slept in til 7am. Yes 7am. I can't really sleep in too much later than that although I do try. Today was going to be a great day. I do love Sunday's. I weighed myself this and I was so psyched!! I am happy to report that I have lost 10 lbs respectively. So dear little sister Rhonda, if you are reading this, thank you so much for being a great example and mentor to me. I know I'm not done yet, but I never thought I would get to this point. So I am happy. We had a great Testimony meeting today. We have a very interesting, colorful, eccentric ward. Cece leaned into me and said the same thing, but she also said in a good way. There were some great testimonies that were born today, some that I was quite touched. I feel the same way as Bro. Casper, he said, "it is very hard to doubt his existence" when you witness this great beauty of a world. Who but him could create such a wonder? It validates everything about our mere existence. It makes me feel so thankful to have this knowledge. Okay my menu for today:
BREAKFAST: Baked sliced apples and zucchini topped with 2 pkgs of Stevia and cinnamon and 1 Grissini bread stick. Also some Hot Raspberry Herb tea. It was cool enough to have something nice and warm to eat and drink.
LUNCH: 1 oz of beef jerky and Hansen's diet Peach drink, cuz no time to sit for lunch. I did take 1/2 oz of some more jerky to church and snacked on a little.
DINNER: 3.5 OZ of sliced baked chicken topped over spring mix salad and spinach with sliced onions and 3 sliced strawberries with balsamic dressing
DESSERT: 1 whole orange in slices dipping in Waldens's 0 calorie chocolate syrup.

Oh, I felt very enthusiastic and made David and Cece cupcakes with homemade chocolate frosting. I didn't partake. But I have to say it was pretty tempting. Why I did this I don't know, I just felt like baking this morning before church.

Lucky 13# & it's also a FULL Moon tonight

So, I had a better sleep last night. No Caltrans. I love it when it is cool at night, we leave our bedroom windows open and let the breeze flow thru. I just love the coolness of the air blowing by my face as I'm cuddled nice and warm under the covers. I even threw our down comforter over me. Don't you just love your bed? I do. Sometimes when I get into it and move my legs back and forth, side to side I give thanks that I have a warm bed to sleep in and a roof over our heads. It truly makes me feel grateful. That may be kind of corny. But it's true. So I got up first thing and went and weighed myself, cuz first things first, right? I was thrilled that I lost 8 more ounces. Hey, an ounce is an ounce, it made me go into the next lower number. I knew exactly what I was going to have for breakfast. The one thing about this program is that you're consumed with thoughts of food. But, you have to make yourself think of what you are going to eat. You can't just mindlessly throw anything in your mouth. It does make you conscientious of what you put in your mouth. It is a lot of work. When I was young and had a metabolism that ran endlessly I didn't have a care in the world of what and how much I ate. That is definitely not the case now at this age. It's like, okay once I put this (whatever) in my mouth am I going to do enough activity to burn the calories so it doesn't become more fat on my body? Because how many of us have clothes in our closet that we would love to wear but can't fit in them? I mean, my wardrobe would be so much bigger if I could fit in more than half of them. It's so frustrating. And I can't afford to keep buying bigger clothes. I'm wearing what I can fit in more frequently and they are starting to wear out. It's a quandary. So today's menu:
BREAKFAST: 1 whole egg & 3 egg whites scrambled, add to sauteed onions and mushrooms and mix with added spices.
AM snack: 1 apple
LUNCH: cold shrimp tossed in chopped tomatoes & horseradish topped over spring mix lettuce and spinach
DINNER: 3.5 oz 97/3 lean ground hamburger with sauteed onions & mushrooms with garlic, salt,pepper,Italian seasonings, basil with 2 T of cooking wine (only 20 cal) and let simmer. Top this over steamed spaghetti-cut zucchini. Very very tasty.
DESSERT: 6 strawberries dipped in Walden's 0 calorie chocolate syrup. Sooo good.
Well it's a full moon tonight, we may take a little walk to watch the moon. Good night y'all.

Day 12# and it's Friday

So after not having a restful night, thanks to Caltrans working on our road til 3:30 in the morning, I forced myself to get up for my morning walk. Good walk, good walk. But for some reason I wasn't sure how my weigh in was going to be. I don't know why but I wasn't very sure. To my surprise, my great surprise, I lost a whole LB. It totally made my day, I had to call someone, so I called my little sister, I knew she would be happy for me. I guess I'll share, I have lost eight pounds since I started 12 days ago. I was so elated. I know it's not much, but it just made my day.
Today's menu:
BREAKFAST: Chocolate Freeze, 1 Grissini bread stick and 1 oz of beef jerky.
AM snack: 1 apple
LUNCH: My cigar shaped 97/3, 2.5 oz lean hamburger wrapped in butter lettuce, with mustard and a little hot sauce with a dill pickle spear all topped with sauteed onions and mushrooms. This is one of my favorites.
DINNER: Cabbage soup, some broccoli and 1 Grissini bread stick
DESSERT: Chocolate freeze, but with a twist, I took 3 scoops equaling 2 oz of cottage cheese, some carbonated water, 2 spoonfuls of the Walden's chocolate syrup and crushed ice. This made it taste really creamy and took care of my protein. Very filling and again guilt free, the only calories in it, is the cottage cheese. Which I needed to fulfill my calorie intake.

I'm learning a lot with food and calories, this has been very educational. Today is a new day. I have eight days left. Then onto the maintenance portion.

Ocean's 11# yay.

This morning I left for Auburn and met up with my sister, mom and Auntie and went with them to Reno to take my Aunt back home. It was a nice drive. They are doing a lot of work on Hwy 80. I guess this is where they are spending the stimulus money here in CA. I drank my breakfast on the way and ate my 1 Grissini bread stick. I learned alot from my sis. She being experienced in this program. That's all we talked about. I'm so consumed about food and recipes of what else I can eat. She shared with me so many things that I can introduce to this program, it energized me. So much so that I couldn't wait to come home to make one of the recipes. I would never live in Reno, you couldn't pay me enough to live there. It's so barren and then you have these skyscrapers full of money hungry people. We ate lunch before we took Auntie home. So I was good and had a grilled shrimp salad with the dressing (balsamic vinaigrette) on the side. It was good, it had cucumbers, some apple bits, onions, chopped tomatoes. It also had some blue cheese and sugar coated walnuts which, Like a good girl I just took them off and didn't partake. On the way home I ate my pm snack 1 apple. Tonight I sauteed 3.5 oz of shrimp in buttered flavored Pam spray, sprinkled some garlic powder and lemon pepper. I mixed up some chopped tomatoes with some horseradish and mixed the shrimp with it and layed it on top of a pile of fresh spinach. Very tasty. Oh I forgot, before I left for home in Auburn I stopped in their Raleys to see if they had some Walden products, I found gold. Well almost. They had 0 calories 0 sugar Chocolate syrup. So you know what I'm going to make for dessert and maybe breakfast tomorrow? You guessed it, Chocolate, chocolate freeze. Totally guilt free. Oh by the way, the scale went in the downward direction again. Keeping me motivated.

#10 and counting

So today was good. The scale moved In the downward direction, finally. I thought I was going to have to do the smooth move. Had a great brisk walk with my walkin buddies, Carole and Kami. Sometimes I feel like calling Carole and say, "not this morning", but I can't. I always feel better after our walk, its just a great way to start the day. She has been true blue all the way and I have to be right there along side of her, that's what friends are for, right? So today's menu was a little different now that I have some great ingredients to use. Here goes:
BREAKFAST: Chocolate orange freeze: 1 whole orange in pieces toss in blender, 1/4 c of carbonated water, 10 drops of Chocolate Stevia and 1 T of milk. Very tasty!!
AM snack: 1 Grissini bread stick
LUNCH: Cabbage soup with 1/2 oz of chicken pieces and 1/2 cup of cottage cheese topped with some cinnamon and 1 pkg of stevia
PM snack: 1 apple
DINNER: 97/3 3.5 oz LEAN hamburger rolled like a small cigar, lay it in a butter leaf, top with mustard, some hot sauce, 1 spear of dill pickle topped with some sauteed onions and sliced mushrooms. Wrap it up. OHHHHHHHHHH! this is soooo sooo good. You don't even miss the bun. Truly It is so tasty. I'm half way thru the low calorie program and I'm feeling great. I just have to program my brain and eyes to avoid the sweets until I get to where I want to be. Oh Love Hansen's diet sodas. Especially the Rootbeer, all of the diet's O calories. Thank goodness.

Day 9# Soooo Good

You may already know about these seasonings or condiments, but I have just found out about them and I absolutely love them. Because they are 0 calories. They are Braggs Liquid Aminos All Purpose Seasonings and Braggs Organic Apple Cider Vinegar. The Braggs Seasonings is kind of like soy sauce but it is a vegetable protein. It adds such great flavor to recipes. The Braggs cider is great for dressings recipes. Some other great additives is "I can't believe it's not butter spray" and Butter flavored Pam spray. All of these make some of the recipes that I'm using so flavorful that you feel guilty using, but don't because they are absolutely 0 in calories. Even though the scale didn't budge this morning I am very hopeful. I read from a Blog from others that are doing this same program last night that I may not have been drinking enough and not eating enough calories. So I worked on this today. I found some really great recipes on this Blog and I made a couple of them today. By using these new seasonings it really made a difference. I was thinking, I actually think I can do this. So here is today's menu:
BREAKFAST: Grapefruit Freeze
AM snack: 1 Grissini Bread stick
LUNCH: *NEW RECIPE Sauteed Chicken wraps: Spray butter flavored Pam in a nonstick pan and saute sliced onions, add 3.5 oz chicken pieces and flavor with Braggs Seasoning, take Butter Lettuce and put half of chicken mixture in a butter Lettuce leaf and wrap. Recipes makes 2 Chicken wraps. Serve with 3.5 oz of sliced cucumbers in Braggs apple cider vinegar & 1/2 c of water that is flavored with 1 pkg of Stevia and some salt and pepper. Very Refreshing.
DINNER: *NEW RECIPE,Cabbage soup. Note** You can eat all you want of the soup, you will get full fast. In a big Pot break down a couple of heads of cabbage add low fat chicken broth. Add Garlic,some onions,Braggs Amino Acid, a couple of pkgs of Stevia or Splenda to sweeten and add some Cayenne Pepper to taste. On the side add to your individual bowl 3.5 oz of cooked chicken breasts pieces. I added a little more hot sauce to my own bowl. How I know it is good, Cece ate 3 bowls of the Cabbage soup. She said the texture is good not to mention that it is vegetarian and she like the bite from the heat. It's kind of like hot and spicy Chinese soup.
DESSERT: Spray a pie pan ( I use a glass pan) with Buttered flavored Pam, Slice 1 apple and spread in pan. Crush 1 Grissini Bread stick over the apples and spray "I can't believe it's not butter" over mixture then sprinkle 1 pkg of Stevia mixed with Cinnamon over mixture, bake at 375 for 20 minutes. This was better than the first time I made this. It's because of the Buttered flavored spray. This is a guilt-free dessert. It is so good, I just can't believe it myself. I have learned a lot just in this little bit of time. The blog that I have been following is helping me learn about foods and how they work and how to eat healthy. It's like we know what we need to do, we have the tools. The hardest part, is just applying them. It's a journey.