I find Georgene to be a very level headed person when it comes to the more serious topics.  She will give you the goods without an overabundance of vaguely related yammer (skills of which I’m always trying to personally hone!)  From my perspective, it is more about living “down to Earth” and even about saving some money (another skill I can always improve.)  I’m sure there will be a bit about self-defense thrown into the mix, but it’s definitely not the blog’s primary goal.  Survival.  Simply put.

Anyone just trying to get back to good old fashioned natural healthy eating might be interested in this blog from that perspective.   The most current entry is called [Cranberry-Licious] and starts out like this:

I know that cranberries are far from being an essential food. However, they are tasty and have some great fiber, and are even known for their Vitamin C. Unfortunately, after canning, the Vitamin C is probably destroyed in these beauties, due to the heat involved, but we won’t belabor the details. We will enjoy what we have, be glad we have it, and save it for the future.

Sure sounds interesting to me!  If it sounds like news you could use, head on over and check it out!

DFW Preppers

Thanksgiving 2009 Brainstorm – This is a collection of recipes I put together on RecipeZaar for your viewing pleasure. I believe I have tried every recipe on there at one time or another. I may add more throughout the weekend.  The Cheeseball with Everything is always a crowd pleaser.  Not a bad thing to keep in the fridge for nibbling, either.  This is a photo of one I made for New Year’s Eve a couple years ago.  I submitted it to RZ, and you can find a blurb from me among the reviews.  (Be sure to read through the reviews on the recipes that interest you!  All kinds of ideas and inspiration to be found there!)

Cheeseball with Everything!

I am pleased to make public for the first time two of my mother’s favorite recipes. Thanksgiving was a very special time for us and we loved to cook together. I miss her bunches.  The brownie recipe was a dessert she made throughout the year, and the artichoke cheese balls were made on special occasions. If you are looking for a simple, yet different kind of appetizer… I highly recommend the artichoke cheese balls.

Thanksgiving Recipe Collections

• RecipeZaar Thanksgiving Headquarters
• RecipeZaar Thanksgiving 2009 Menu
• Hungry Girl – These all look good. For those of you who followed my sweet potato souffle saga… the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Sweet Potato Pie seems to have accomplished what I could not. Haven’t tried it, but I sure plan to.
• Two Week Countdown to Thanksgiving – GoodHousekeeping’s Thanksgiving site.
• Flatten Your Belly at Thanksgiving – While I’m not a big fan of any particular commercial diet plan, I do borrow recipes from the Flat Belly Diet now and then.
• Wegmans Everything Thanksgiving
• Bloom’s Thanksgiving
• Food Network’s Thanksgiving Site
• SparkPeople’s 500-Calorie Thanksgiving Feast
• HealthyEats Blog

Tradition, Moderation, Simplicity

• All of my Thanksgiving tagged entries.
• My Recipe Index

Tips for Thanksgiving Moderation

• Hungry Girl’s Turkey Day Cheatsheet
• Hungry Girl’s 7 Ways to Avoid Thanksgiving Weight Gain
• Your Stay-Slim Holiday Survival Plan from Prevention Magazine

Last but not least… some random tidbits. My friend Yoshiko came by for tea and talk today. I whipped up a batch of the No Sugar Added Cranberry Sauce for her using PEACH jello mix. What a great combination this turned out to be. I also added just a pinch of cinnamon and a pinch of ginger while it was simmering.

Cranberry sauce stirred into Fage Total Greek yogurt made a wonderful breakfast.

I also threw together a batch of the Yorkshire Pudding for Miss Yoshi.

Miss Yoshi gave me the beautiful Thomas Kinkade plate.

Yoshi's Yorkies!

It was a wonderful day.  I also had lunch with my friend & neighbor, Sharon, this week.  What a pleasant week it has been.  It’s almost like I have a real social life…  ;)

Correction: Some research revealed that I was actually nominated into the queue by a nice person named Parsley (who has entered 764 recipes into that thing!  If I don’t return soon, send in a search party!)  And it looks like it was Liza who ultimately put me there.  Liza has been a dedicated RZ staff member for several years, and she has proven more than once that she can remain a class act when a customer is yammering at her.  (Of course, I’m not the customer in question here.  Why on Earth would you think that?? lol)

That's me!

I found RecipeZaar a few years ago when I absolutely had to start taking responsibility for what I was putting into my body.  I commuted pretty far from home and had little time and energy for cooking.  Enter RecipeZaar.  Not only did I find time, but it helped me make MORE time for myself.  It also helped me save money, and it made me realize that I adore cooking when I have the time.  In fact, I was just telling this to someone not 30 minutes ago.  How appropriate that the congratulatory email came when it did.  (I had already been to RZ once today, but I generally come in through the side door… I have my own page bookmarked.)

Basically, it got me organized.  First of all, the recipe search feature is great.  It is not flawless, but it lets me sift recipe searches down to the nitty gritty in ways I had not seen before.  Other sites have picked up on this and ran, since then, but I believe RZ set the standard that now brings us even better sites like SparkRecipes.  They remain bar-none for the shopping list and my cookbook collection.

The shopping list is wonderful.  As I add recipes to my shopping cart, RZ does a pretty good job with adding up all the ingredients I need and organizing them by store department.  This has saved me untold amounts of time and money.  I no longer roam the store aimlessly wasting time trying to make decisions.  I take my shopping list to the kitchen, mark off what I have, then take it to the store.  I know right where I’m going.  I get in and get out.   No more wasted food in the fridge.  I was notorious for buying something that looked interesting and letting it go to waste because I had no plan for what to do with it.  Also, the recipes titles are on the shopping list tagged with letters that correspond to ingredients.  If you can’t find what you need when you’re in the store, you are well equipped for substituting on the spot.

It also has a menu planner I use for big meals like Thanksgiving.  I can slide things around into courses and change the number of attendees… then RZ will print out the ingredients I need according to the recipes I’ve chosen and the number of people.  It makes the adjustments for me.

I could go on for ages about it, but you should really wander over to RecipeZaar and check it out if you don’t already use an online technology for your meal planning.   Also check SparkRecipes, as they are probably the best of all possible worlds when it comes to recipes and nutrition tracking. RecipeZaar does its best to calculate nutritional info, but to date there is no way to track your personal intake.  It is worth it, to me, to enter some of my own recipes into both places.

Anyhow, I just wanted to post a quick thank you to RecipeZaar… especially now that I know I wasn’t chosen by some programming algorithm.  ;)

RecipeZaar's Thanksgiving stuff is up!

Chocolate… CHOCOLATE… CHOCOLATE !!!

Definition of Bliss. No, I didn't let her eat any. Chocolate and animals don't mix well. Poor kitteh! Oh well. She's lucky to be on the table!

As I started cleaning out my kitchen and consolidating baking products in preparation for Autumn, I realized just how much chocolate I actually have here.  Voila.  A blog post was born.   Chocolate is one thing that will never be banned from this house.  The day I’m forced to give it up is the day life will officially suck.  Everyone has their vice, and this is mine.  Well, this and coffee.  I’d give up coffee way before chocolate.  The thing is… no matter what your diet, unless you’re allergic to chocolate… you don’t have to give it up.  The key is to apply moderation and good common sense when choosing your products and how to apply them.  (If you happen to be someone who is allergic to chocolate, I encourage you to google the topic.  You may actually be allergic to various ingredients that go into some, but not all, chocolate products.)

I prefer dark / semi-sweet chocolate.  It typically has less sugar and more fiber per serving.  In this house, we love to eat it right from the refrigerator. It’s easier to handle, it lasts longer, and we just dig it. A few more reasons to eat chocolate, according to Wikipedia…

Chocolate contains alkaloids such as theobromine and phenethylamine, which have physiological effects on the body. It has been linked to serotonin levels in the brain. Scientists claim that chocolate, eaten in moderation, can lower blood pressure. Dark chocolate has recently been promoted for its health benefits, including a substantial amount of antioxidants that reduce the formation of free radicals[...]

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!@~

Things to take into account when deciding what products to buy and when to use them:

• How much sugar are you allowed?
• Artificial sweeteners to which you may be allergic.
• How many calories worth can you fit into your day without going over your limit?
• Where are you with your weight? Trying to lose? At the low or high end of your ideal range?
• Will it be a snack, or will you use it in a recipe? What kind of recipe?

I have a 5 pound weight range I consider acceptable. Whether or not I’m currently landing in the top or bottom half of this range goes a long way toward helping me make good food choices. If I’m at the low end of this range and want to treat myself to a more decadent mocha, I will stir in some 90-calories-per-serving Smucker’s Sugar Free Sundae Syrup. Most of the time, regardless of my weight, I will use the 15-calories-per-serving Hershey’s Sugar Free.  If I’m at the top end of my range, the Smucker’s is an automatic NO.  In fact, I have a protein mocha every morning that almost always includes a squirt of the Hershey’s. In either case, and in most cases where chocolate is concerned, less than a serving does the trick.

While most of these items are highly interchangeable, I’ve divided them into three groups for the sake of discussion.

THE DRINKABLES

MmMmMmm Gooey!

Hershey’s Sugar Free Syrup
Serving Size: 2 tbsp
Calories 15, Fat 0g, Carb 5g, Sugar 0g

Sugar Free General Foods International Suisse Mocha
Serving Size: 1 1/3 tbsp
Calories 30, Fat 2g, Sat Fat 2g, Carb 2, Sugar 0g

Swiss Miss Sensible Sweets – Diet
Serving Size: 1 packet
Calories 25, Fat 0g, Carb 4g, Sugar 2g

Smucker’s Sugar Free Sundae Syrup
Serving Size: 2 tbsp
Calories 90, Fat .5g, Sat Fat 0g, Carb 23g, Sugar 0g

Suggestions…

• 1 packet of Swiss Miss + a shot of DaVinci SF Butterscotch syrup + hot water = a lovely HotScotch for a mere 25 calories. Add a dollop of Cool-Whip Free, and I call that Heaven. Swap out the syrup with whatever you like. Da Vinci SF Orange… Monin O’Free Caramel (Monin is a bit thicker than DV)… name it!   Similar combos can go into your coffee, if you’re a coffee freak like me. I prefer regular brewed coffee, but instant works just as well. If you find yourself in Starbucks ordering a tall skim latte… order it plain, bring it home, dress it up yourself!
• A squirt (about 1 tbsp) of Hershey Sugar Free syrup can turn your coffee into a mocha for only 7.5 calories. It can also add some extra richness to your homemade protein bar recipes.
• Smucker’s should be used sparingly for those occasions when you’re treating yourself to some sugar free ice cream.
• The General Foods Int’l Sugar Free Suisse Mocha comes in both caffeinated and decaf.  It is perfectly good on its own for a great instant mocha.  However, I have been known to add it to protein shakes among other things.

THE BAKEABLES

Ecstacy!

Hershey’s Semi-Sweet Mini Chocolate Chips
Serving Size: 1 tbsp
Calories 70, Fat 4g, Sat Fat 2.5g, Carb 10g, Sugar 8g

Sensato Sugar Free Semi-Sweet Mini Chocolate Chips
Serving Size: 2 tbsp
Calories 58, Fat 4g, Sat Fat 3g, Carb 10g, Sugar 0g

Sensato Sugar Free Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunkies
Serving Size: 1 tbsp
Calories 92, Fat 8g, Sat Fat 1g, Carb 3g, Sugar 0g

Sunspire Grain Sweetened Chocolate Chips
Serving Size: 2 tbsp
Calories 70, Fat 4g, Sat Fat 2.5g, Carb 9g, Sugar 4g

Suggestions…

• Mini chocolate chips go much farther than regular sized chips when it comes to giving your baked goods some chocolatey good texture. If you only have regular sized chips, chop them up a bit in the food processor before adding them. Otherwise, I prefer to add about 1/4 – 1/3 cup of mini chocolate chips to a variety of recipes including protein bars, protein fudge, and protein muffins.  As you can see, there is a good variety out there to choose from according to your needs.
• The chocolate chunks are better for recipes in which you want to “swirl” or “marble” your chocolate.  Any of the above melt down just fine for glorious recipes such as Chocolate Dipped Strawberries.

THE SNACKABLES

Joy!

Hershey’s Special Dark Kisses
Serving Size: 9 pieces
Calories 180, Fat 12g, Sat Fat 8g, Carb 25g, Sugar 21g

Emerald Cocoa Roast Almonds
Serving Size: 1 ounce
Calories 150, Fat 13g, Sat Fat 1g, Carb 6g, Sugar 1g

Jello Sugar Free Pudding
Serving Size: 1 snack cup
Calories 60, Fat 1.5g, Sat Fat 1g, Carb 14g, Sugar 0g

Syntrax Nectar Sweets, Chocolate Trufle
Serving Size: 1 scoop
Calories 100, Fat 0g, Carb 1g, Sugar 0g, Protein 23g

Suggestions…

• Hershey Special Dark kisses are probably my favorite thing to keep on hand.  They’re already portioned into neat little pain-in-the-ass wrappers that don’t make them easy to mindlessly nosh.  Now, listen closely… just because the serving size says 9 pieces does not mean you have to eat 9 pieces!@~    Most of the time, grabbing just 1 from the fridge suits me just fine.   That’s 20 calories.  Minimal damage for a satisfying burst of dark chocolate pleasure.
• The pudding cups and almonds speak for themselves.  As always, moderation… moderation… moderation.
• Last, but certainly not least, is my favorite Nectar Chocolate Truffle protein powder.  Very versatile.  You can make hot drinks with it.   You can make cold drinks with it.  You can stir it into Greek yogurt.  You can use it as a baking ingredient.  I could go on and on, but you will already find it scattered in among the meager number of entries I’ve blogged thus far.  And there will be more.

Well, I could write a novel about chocolate… but I have to stop somewhere.  This seems like a good place.   As always… I try to be accurate with my nutritional info, but you should check the labels and decide for yourself what fits into your program.  And don’t forget… MODERATE it before you are forced to OBLITERATE it!@~

I’m sure this won’t be my last entry on this topic!  I will end with some links that might interest you, if you are a fan of chocolate.

Hershey’s Special Dark Products – Official Website
Recipes for Chocolate Dipped Strawberries