TurtleMama

I am personally a fan of Weight Watchers. I started it summer of last year, and had to stop around October because I couldn't afford it anymore....the "meeting" type plan was $50 a month with the online tools. However, I discovered from an acquaintance at my kids' school that you can do WW online for only around $18 a month. With my DH's go-ahead, I signed up and am now in my first week of online WW.

I don't know about everyone else, but being a southern girl who loves her biscuits, gravy, and fried food, it is REALLY hard for me to keep track of what I'm eating if I am not being held accountable for it. I love the program I'm on now because I sit down and enter everything I eat, the points automatically pop up and are added into my day, and I can see how many I have left. In addition, I get 49 extra points a week to play with. I can either eat a little "treat" every day, or I can hoard them all and blast them on a big ol' Mexican dinner if I want to. It feels good to have that flexibility.

WW also helps me to be conscious of what I'm putting into the foods I make. For example, right now I am drinking a smoothie. Before, I would have made it with fruit (good), either some italian ice or sherbert (eh) and 2% milk (not so great for losing weight!). Today, I made a 2-point mango-cherry-orange smoothie with ice and a splash of soy milk and 1 cup of orange juice. It's just as creamy and yummy and I'm saving a lot of calories. Hooray!

My only difficulty is not jumping on my scale every day to see, "Did I lose weight????" I'm trying to set a pattern that I will only weigh myself at most two times a week.

So that's just my input into the conversation. I think that pretty much, whatever works for somebody is good as long as it is a healthy approach that encourages them to learn new patterns of eating behavior and isn't "punishing" their choices. I think that as humans, if we feel "punished," we'll just figure to heck with it...I'll eat what I want and stay chubby! (I can say that because I have totally done it before....more than once!)

Hugs to everyone!

Thinking of you, sweet C4C.

Spiffy!!! Those will come in handy, I imagine. I remember, when we lived in North Carolina, that my mom would put rice in the salt shaker to keep the salt from getting all clumped up in the humidity.

Oh, thank you all so much for your advice!!! I am grateful for it! CGA, I'd love the chance to meet you in person! That would be so fun! Annarchy, the last three years here have been rather under duress....with what's going on in my DH's career path, it's time to get out and go somewhere we can have a future. I'll miss my folks and sister terribly, but sometimes you have to make that choice. I feel lucky to be leaving....it just seems like it's getting hotter and hotter and dustier out here! Momma, forgive my ignorance....but what are gel packs? At first I thought you meant oxygen absorbers, but something tells me you mean something different. Could you elaborate for me, please? Thank you so very much!!

Hi there!

So....we are looking at a possible move, most likely to Houston, Texas, but Dallas is also a possibility. We'll be moving there from a very, very dry climate -- Arizona. I inventoried my entire food stock this past weekend so that I won't be surprised if we do move, and it made me start thinking. I know that Houston is REALLY humid, and I am concerned about how our food will store there....specifically, things like sugar, flour, and especially home dehydrated foods. Also, if we're rotating through #10 cans of things like dehydrated or freeze dried fruits and veggies, or dried eggs, or tomato powder...things the humidity can affect.

Does anyone have any tips/tricks for storing food where it's humid like that? I would be incredibly grateful. IF we move there (I have learned never to presume to know what God will do in my life) I don't want to be taken by surprise or have my valuable food ruined. That would be awful!!

TurtlePappa! I love that!!! hehehe DH's going to be SO confused when I start calling him that, now!

Ahh, sweet relief! I thought I'd ruined a dozen pints of beans!! Thanks so much for your always-amazing advice, Violet!

And thank you, Wink, for the advice on bringing my canner up to pressure more slowly.

Thanks for the info, Cat!!!

I'm hoping that Violet or one of the other "Canner Masters" on the site could help me with this....

I canned some white beans and when they came out and cooled down...they DID seal...but I've noticed that lots of their fluid was gone inside. Some of them only have water up to about 3/4 of the height of the jar. I hope I'm making sense. In other words, about 1/4 of the total beans in the jar...the ones on top...don't have any "bean juice" at all covering them.

My hubby is concerned that the beans might be bad because of the lack of fluid in the jars, and truthfully, I am too.

Will these beans still be good? I don't understand where all the bean water went. I followed the Bell Blue Book recipe precisely.

Waaah!

(Oh, while I'm asking about canning...I canned some russet potatoes and there is a blob of white stuff -- I'm assuming starch -- at the bottom of each jar. My husband won't eat them because of it. That's normal, right????)

We are inventorying our food storage in order to donate items that are close to expiring and put together a plan for eating some of it up over the summer, as we are looking at a possible move to the Gulf Coast of Texas. (Wheee!) I found some Kraft Mac & Cheese that expired back in summer of 2011. Is it still okay to eat? Or does the cheese powder go funky?

I'm thinking of just getting plan macaroni and some #10 cans of cheese powder so that I can make my own, sans the box. Probably it would be healthier that way, too....and the cheese powder lasts a lot longer. It would also take up less space!

C4C....still thinking of you, honey....I hope the past few weeks have been relatively easy for all of you. Update us when you have time and the energy to do so. I'm sending you lots of love and praying for you!

I am so sorry. I know that the word "terminal" is one of the worst you can hear in a situation like this. Please let her know that we are praying for her in a mighty way here on Mrs. S....and of course, for you too, Annarchy.

I know that there are no words to help you bear this pain, Annarchy. I wish there were.

She will remain in my thoughts and prayers....as will you....

WOO HOO, TMC!!!!! *go girl, go girl, go girl...*

We are all SO proud of you!!!

You gorgeous thang!!

Congratulations on the official recognition of your writing prowess, and your contribution to Grit. You're such a wonderful writer...I always enjoy reading your posts here on Mrs. S...and it's great to know that you are publishing your skills, both in print and online.

GREAT job!

This turtle seconds what Jeepers just said! I love our guys here on Mr.s S!

I wish I could give you a real hug, honey... but this will have to do...

I'm so sorry that your sister is going through this....please tell her she's being lifted up by SO many people here.

Last night we had spaghetti...made the sauce with fresh onion & garlic & bell peppers, ground turkey (we don't do beef), and canned tomatoes, spaghetti sauce & tomato sauce. Added home-dehydrated basil and parsley from the garden and let it simmer for an hour. Served over thin spaghetti, and I had enough to send home with a friend who was visiting since she's been super-sick with bronchitis for a couple of weeks and is still really tired from her illness. I agree with Cat -- cooking makes my heart happy, because it's a simple and fun way to provide for the family and friends that I love so much! The best part is when my DH walks in the house after a long day, smiles contentedly and says, "Ooooh, the house smells SO good."

9 pints of chicken breasts, but one didn't seal.

When I read about people who are able to do 44 pints in a day, I'm flummoxed...it seems to take so long for my little canner to do 9 pints!!! I think I need to get one of those big monster canners that are out there...mine only fits 9 pints or 7 quarts at one time. Then you've got to get it up to heat, let it steam, process, and let it cool...doing all that for 44 pints would probably take two days! LOL

Way to go on the amazing canning, everyone!

I've been getting on so sporadically the past few weeks, that I've only just seen this, Annarchy.

I am so sorry to hear that your sisters' cancer has returned. But, on the flip side, I am so grateful that she has seen essential relationships repaired, her daughter restored to her, and her grandchildren bringing joy and contentment to her life and her home.

It's such an example of how great our Lord is -- that he can bring great goodness and happiness from even the most difficult situation. I'm glad that her cloud has been overwhelmed by the silver lining of a restored and happy family.

I will be in prayer for her, and for you. Cancer is one of the most dreadful of diseases, and I am so sorry that she is having to endure its ravages. Seeing one you love go through it is almost as hard.

18 pints of white beans... I'm canning up my storage beans that are getting hard & take forever and a couple of teaspoons of baking soda to cook. I have a total of about sixty pounds of various beans, so this should be interesting...at least I won't be bored anytime in the near future!! LOL

Awesome!! That will save from freezer space, too!

24 pints of strawberry jam, several of which went to go live with wonderful teachers as an end-of-the-year thank you gift. We just finished moving into our new home, but as soon as I get settled in, we plan on ordering half a hog, some of which will end up in the canner. Does anyone know if you can can ground pork like you can ground beef?

We have more than one pressure canner and prep the day before a lot of times, too. I have 2 pc's and you can stack 2 layers of pints or 3 layers of half pints. I can get done so much faster with those 2 tall canners. Plus, get up early and stay up late. Have meals fixed ahead of time so no time stopping to cook.

That and it sure helps to have others helping !

As long as you are doing what you can, that is the main thing. You are at least doing something. I really am proud of you !

Violet, those are GREAT tips and I am going to print them out and put them in my Blue Book!! I wish I had one of those tall canners...maybe someday... LOL Thank you for your encouragement. I appreciate it more than you know! *hugs*

7 pints of chicken are pressure canning on my stove right now...I wish I knew how you "real" canners (LOL) got through 100 pints of food in a day!!! My canner only holds nine! LOL

4 pints of pork tenderloin that I got on sale for an insane price today. I wish I could have afforded to buy more, but I also bought two huge shoulder roasts that I slow cooked for BBQ and burritos. YUM!