Thanksgiving Recipes!!!!

Thanksgiving is FAST approaching!!!!!! I wanted to share a couple of my favorite more traditional desserts. I have made these the last several years for my family and they have become a favorite! One is a new recipe that I haven't tried, but have it on good word that it is yummy!!!

CRUSTLESS PUMPKIN PIE

15 oz. canned pumpkin
1/2 c. egg beaters
1 1/2 c. skim milk
1 t. pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 c. splenda

Mix all ingredients together. Pour into pie pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Then reduce heat to 375 for 35-45 minutes (depending on your oven)

This recipe is 4 servings...now if you are like me, I cut for like 8 slices or more out of a pie. So you can splurge a little on this one!!

Weight Watchers Points Plus: 2 points for 1/4 of the pie!!!!



Double Layer Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake:

2 packages of fat free cream cheese
1/2 c. Splenda
1/2 t. vanilla extract
2 eggs (or you can use egg beaters)
1/2 c. canned pumpkin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 c. thawed cool whip FREE

Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with mixer until well blended. Beat in eggs one at a time, just until blended. Remove 1 cup of this batter; place in a medium bowl. Stir in pumpkin and spices. Spray a 9 inch pie plate with cooking spray; sprinkle bottom with graham cracker crumbs. Top with layers of plain batter, then pumpkin batter. Bake 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool completely. Refrigerate at least 3 hours. Serve with cool whip.

I try to make this a day ahead.

This makes 8 servings
Weight Watchers Points Plus: 3 points




Pumpkin Pudding Parfaits ( I have not tried this one as of yet, but several friends have and said it is very good)

1 cup fat free evaporated milk
1 small box of sugar free french vanilla pudding
15 ounce can pumpkin
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Mix together milk and pudding. Add can pumpkin, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Mix until blended.

Weight Watcher Points Plus:
6 servings: 2 points
4 servings: 4 points


Enjoy!!!!

Cold Outside.....Warm Inside

As cooler weather (some days COLDer weather) comes we love having different soups.

Here are 2 of our favorite soups and hopefully as the fall goes along, I will be able to add a few more. I usually mix up my soup the night before and put in the crock pot in the morning so that it is ready to eat when we all get home and before we hit the road running to different activities. AND things tend to taste better the 2nd day :o)

TACO SOUP

15 oz canned yellow corn
10 oz can rotel (pick your heat)
15 oz can chili beans
15 oz can pinto beans
2 1/4 teaspoon taco seasoning
1 package of Hidden Valley Original Dip
1 pound of cooked extra lean ground beef
1 small onion, diced

Brown hamburger and onion, drain well. Add taco seasoning and hidden valley ranch packet. Put in pot and add rest of ingredients.

Weight Watchers Points Plus: 6 points
Serves 6





Cowboy Soup

1 lb. ground turkey, browned and drained
2 cans pinto beans
2 cans Northern white beans
1 can rotel tomatoes
1 can mixed vegetables

Weight Watchers Points Plus: 4 points
Add all ingredients to the pot (or crock pot) Heat.
I have added more spices to it to make it just a little spicy. Tweek it to your taste!!!!

Enjoy!

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Made these last week for a group function. They turned out great and very moist.



Spice Cake Mix
15 oz can of pumpkins
2 egg whites
3/4 c. water
1 apple shredded (I pealed mine)
1 c. shredded carrots

Combine cake mix, pumpkin, egg whites and water. Mix on low for 30 seconds to moisten. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. Stir in carrots and apple.

I also used cream cheese icing and only put 3/4 teaspoon on each cupcake.

Bake according to package directions for cupcakes. Makes 27 cupcakes

Frustrations and Victories

Frustrations and Victories seems like an odd title for this entry. It was a bag of mixed emotions today. I have trouble with my left knee and have due to so many years of being overweight. So I went in search for a knee brace and bought one at one store yesterday. Put it on and it was too tight. I had remembered when I had a flair up the last time that my husband had contacted a local medical supply place about a knee brace. She told him to just come on in and they would measure and order one for me. This is where the frustration part comes in: I went there today and I explained to the girl that I had started jogging more with my walking and was needing a pull on brace for my knee, but the ones at the stores were too tight. She looked at me and said...yeah I guess so. She then proceeded to tell me that the ones they have probably wouldn't be anything that I would need. Just wrap your knees with ace bandages and that should work. Needless to say I was very frustrated and my feelings hurt just a bit. So off I went and purchased my ace bandages. Sat in the parking lot and wrapped my knee and headed to the nature center.

I hadn't planned on jogging any just because my knee was bothering me. But my frustrations were just nagging at me. How many others, when they are mad, will do something they hadn't planned on doing. Well off I went. Jogging is how I started off. Throughout the 2 miles, I managed to run a good bit. The more I would run, the better I felt. So I would start pushing myself a little bit harder. Well what has taken me 42 minutes, I finished today in 39 minutes.

The trail that I am doing is not an easy flat trail...so to know that I managed to knock off 3 minutes off of my time made me feel really good!!!!

So when you get frustrated, don't turn to food...use your frustrations to push yourself to do something good for your health!!!

Keep on keeping on!

Pumpkin Pancakes

It's fall here in the Ozark Mountains!! The leaves are changing to beautiful colors despite the HOT summer!

When fall comes around I love the flavors and smells of fall! Pumpkin is one of my favorite fall flavors!!!

Today we made homemade pumpkin pancakes for breakfast!!! So I thought I would pass along the recipe!

PUMPKIN PANCAKES

1 1/2 cups milk (I use skim)
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 cups all purpose flour (I use unbleached)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. In a separate bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

I used Honey from a local bee keeper here in MO for my syrup!! It was YUMMY~~~~

If you are a Weight Watcher...it is 6 points plus for 2 pancakes

Enjoy!

Hannah's Turkey Stuffed Peppers

I love to try new recipes! When I find a good one, I LOVE to share it! This one came from Hannah from Biggest Loser Season 11. It was shown on Tuesday October 11, 2011 episode.

The family LOVED it!!

Olive Oil Spray (I used canola)
1/2 cup minced onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 1/4 pounds of extra lean ground turkey
1 t. garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt to taste
1/4 cup low sodium tomato sauce
1 cup fat free low sodium chicken broth, divided
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
3 Large sweet red bell peppers ( I used a combo of red, yellow and orange peppers)
1/4 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray, heat over medium heat. Add onion and garlic to the pan. Saute about 2 minutes or until softened. Add extra lean ground turkey to the pan. Season to taste with sale, and then add garlic powder and ground cumin. Break meat apart and cook over medium heat for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned, no longer pink, juices are clean. Add 1/4 cup of tomato sauce and 1/2 cup of chicken broth to the pan. Reduce heat and simmer over low heat for about 5 minutes. Add chopped cilantro to the turkey mixture. There will be about 2 cups of turkey mixture. Cut peppers in half lengthwise and remove seed and stem. Put in baking dish and spoon about 1/3 cup of the turkey mixture into each pepper half. Place all stuffed peppers in a baking dish and pour the rest of the chicken broth in the bottom of the pan. Cover with foil and bake for about 35 minutes. When done, sprinkle with cheese before serving.

Enjoy!!!

Nutritional INFO:
Calories: 140
Fat Calories: 20
Total fat: 2.5 grams
Saturated Fat: .5 grams
Cholesterol: 35 milligrams
Sodium: 150 milligrams
Total Carbohydrates: 10 grams
Fiber: 2 grams
Sugar: 5 grams
Protein 5+ grams

Weight Watcher Plus Points: 4points

Exciting things you find out!!!

OK, so I have always known that serving sizes play an important roll in weight loss or weight gain! But do you actually know the correct portion size for things?

That's where reading the labels comes into play! Also it helps to find out for sure when you don't know.

Also did you know that it is easier than you think to get in 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day!!!!! That's where serving size comes into play! For instance, 1 banana is actually 2 servings!!! I always thought it was 1 serving!

So the actual serving size for fruits and veggies is 1/2 cup!!!! The only difference in serving size is 1 cup for leafy green veggies. So with that knowledge...I started out last week keeping better track of my fruits and veggies! I do believe I was eating WAY to many servings of fruits and veggies.

Because fruits are a great source of natural sugar...if you eat too many...then you are increasing your sugar intake!

So that was my aha moment this week and thought I would share!

Keep on keeping on!