How to not get fat on Fat Tuesday

I went to a pancake breakfast at a friend’s house last night as part of a Fat Tuesday celebration. I knew this was coming, so I was able to prepare a plan for how to deal with my favorite cuisine – breakfast for dinner! Luckily, this was a pot luck so the hostess had sent around a list of what was being served. Here’s what I decided to have:

2 pancakes (6) w/ 1 Tbsp maple syrup (2) and sliced (sugared) strawberries (1)
Fruit salad (0)
2 slices bacon (3)
Seltzer with a splash of OJ (0)

Now, truth be told I ended up eating a little more than this. I had an extra slice of bacon, a sausage patty, and a small bite of a Pączki (a polish filled donut that I’d never heard of, but my amazing friend R made from scratch!). That added another 6 PTS+ more than I had planned for, but I wrote it all down and still had enough WPAs to absorb the excess. And I’m going to dial it back the rest of the week (and up my exercise) to make up for it.

So the next time you have a party to go to where food is a centerpiece of the event, fear not! With a little advanced planning you can go, enjoy yourself, eat what you want, and still have a good week at the scale when it’s all said and done.

Passover Date and Nut Bars

My mom and I tried a new-to-us recipe from the Passover section of my grandmother’s 1972 temple sisterhood cookbook. The goal was to use up some potato starch my grandfather bought, so we found a recipe for Passover date & nut bars. They were AMAZING!  Light and fluffy – like blondies but with dried fruit and nuts instead of chocolate chips. And I was happy to learn they were only 2 PTS per bar!  I took a few home from Mom’s to use as snacks for the week, and will definitely add them to next year’s menu.

Passover Date and Nut Bars
 
1 cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup potato starch
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3 eggs, separated
½ cup matzoh cake meal
1 cup dried dates, cut up
½ cup orange juice and rind (we interpreted rind to mean a little zest)
1 cup raisins (we actually did have raisins, half dried cranberries)
 
Beat yolks and sugar well.

Add salt, cake flour, potato starch,dates, nuts raisins and orange juice and rind.

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites to a stiff peak. Fold into the rest of the mixture. 

Spread in greased shallow pan (about 8 x 11) .  Bake at 325 degrees for about 30 minutes . Let cool, cut into 24 squares.

PTS per bar: 2

Thanks to Mrs Abraham Altman  of the Temple Beth El sisterhood for contributing her recipe way back in ’72! It’s a winner!

Daily Menu Plan: Thanksgiving 2009

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving – the Weight Watchers Superbowl.  This is a day that is – for some – all about food. (It’s really not, which is what we all have to remember. But the food can’t be avoided).  If there is one day of the year when it’s critical to have a plan, this is the day. So as I prepare to head home to my Mom’s for the holiday, I’m also figuring out what I want to do to make the day enjoyable and delicious.  Here’s that plan:

Breakfast: Light whole wheat english muffin with 3 slices of Jones Canadian bacon and 1 slice of reduced fat swiss cheese (3)

Snacks: 1 small banana (1) and 6 oz Chobani vanilla yogurt (2) 

Thanksgiving dinner:
3 oz  cooked turkey breast (3) with 1/4 cup low-fat gravy (1)
1/2 cup mashed potatoes the way I make them (3)
1/2 cup of my grandfather’s homemade stuffing (3)
1 serving of green bean casserole made with no salt added green beans, low fat/low calorie cream of mushroom and celery soups, and regular fried onions, just a little less (2)
1/2 cup butternut squash with light maple syrup and a sprinkle of cinnamon (2)

Dessert: 1 slice of my mom’s light chocolate cream pie (5) with a candle in it for my birthday! (0)

Light evening meal: Salad with cucumbers, 2 oz turkey, 1 tsp evoo, and balsamic vinegar (3) with light hot cocoa (1)

Total for the day: 29

My mom has an exercise bike in her living room, so at some point in the day I plan to sit down and ride on that for at least 30 minutes to earn 3 APs. And I plan to do a strength training routine with my resistance band which travels really easily. It won’t earn APs, but it will help me build lean muscle which is so important for burning fat long-term.

This, to me, is a totally doable and reasonable day. It includes all of my Thanksgiving favorites in portions that won’t make me sick at the end of dinner.  I’m actually looking forward to dinner now knowing that I can enjoy every bite without any guilt because I will be on program all day.