Pumpkin Cookies - 3pts

Today I decided to make something yummy. I'll confess up front it's not as "healthy" as it could be, but I had to use what I had around the house. In the end they were quite delicious and well, yes full of sugar & butter and yumminess that I should never have indulged in but we only live once and it is PUMPKIN! If it's pumpkin, it's okay to indulge. That's the rule. Look it up!

I found a recipe on the Libby's Pumpkin page here... Old Fashioned Soft Pumpkin Cookies

My version is only slightly different. I didn't glaze the cookies at all, instead I sprinkled with Cinnamon Maple Sprinkles. I also didn't use the spices they did, again.. used the GFS Cinnamon Maple Sprinkles. I also used organic pumpkin & organic butter, along with sea salt. Warning.... these are VERY sweet! But they're so good!
Here it is.....

Old Fashioned Soft Organic Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (you can combine 1/2 and 1/2 wheat flour to white)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 teaspoons Cinnamon Maple Sprinkles (From GFS - Gordon Food Service)
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup organic butter (1 stick), softened
• 1 cup Organic Pumpkin
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease baking sheet.

Combine ingredients together. Their recipe suggested doing it by splitting the dry/wet ingredients & using a mixer... I simply dumped it all in one big ol' bowl and stirred with a big wooden spoon. I ended using my hands to pull it all together, so if that grosses you out you may want to use a mixer. It is a sticky dough. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto sprayed cookie sheet.

Remove from cookie sheet to cool and sprinkle with the Maple Cinnamon Sprinkles on top, just lightly.

Bake for 15 until edges are firm & browned. 

 

Yields 36 Cookies

Nutritional Information per cookie (from their cookie - adjust to your ingredients)
Calories 120   Fat 3g   Fiber 0.5g
WW Pts. according to their recipe, with a glaze on them is 3pts.

While I wouldn't suggest making these daily, they're a nice treat for a good cold fall night to snuggle and watch Shrek's Halloween Spooktacular!!!! *(Which is exactly what I'm doing with 2 cookies & a glass of soy milk!)

End result..... absolutely delicious, very sweet, very soft pumpkin cookies. Honestly, these freeze up well so you can make a whole batch and put them away so you won't eat them all. I made them for a weekend football party we're having so I'm hoping they last that long... we both keep stopping by the plate and stealing one! LOL  Again, while it's not the most healthy recipe I've shared I honestly feel you have to create "goodies" once in a while to enjoy. These are well worth sharing and making but be sure you can either limit yourself with sweets (they're very sweet) or freeze them immediately (preferably in a freezer in the basement to deter you from just grabbing one to eat out of the freezer!)

Wish me luck on my journey to "eating clean" and  healthy! 
And please feel free to comment and share ideas for trying to live and eat "clean" and losing weight by changing to a healthy lifestyle!
 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NEED TO GET FIT BUT DON'T WANT THE GYM MEMBERSHIP?

THINK ABOUT A TRAMPOLINE!

Check out The Trampolines King Website for tons of FREE information & guidance in purchasing this wonderful piece of equipment that is affordable and helps burn TONS of calories (not to mention tons 'o fun)!

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Don't forget to check out my newest Book Blog, where I give book reviews on recent books I've read. If you're a reader you'll want to check this out!

WE CAN DO THIS, TOGETHER
ONE DAY AT A TIME!

Like this article? Twit it to your followers!



Who Else Helps me get healthy?
These are just a few of the people online that inspire me....

1.
Check out the Fab Fatties - tons of ideas, comic relief & great give-aways!

2. Joe Gigantino - Fitness Trainer
This is the guy that really set me on the path to physical fitness - Sign up for his FREE newsletter!



3.

4. BWJEN - Another WW Buddy & A 'bookworm' too!?



5.

5.

6.Sean Anderson the formerly 500lb man!
Diary of A Winning Loser - Sean is an inspiration to anyone trying to get healthy!


*Note I am not affiliated nor endorsed by Weight Watchers® at all, in any way. I highly recommend their program and cannot say enough GOOD about it, but I also have decided that they were my "stepping stone" to making a change in my lifestyle. Any mention of Weight Watchers®, their program or their term of "points®" does not mean they have approved, seen, or endorsed anything on my blogs.

Also, if at any time Points® are mentioned it is always with the assumption that you will analyze the recipes, foods, ingredients and figure the points out specifically for your consumption of any product, as ingredients may vary by brand, size, etc. and Points® is a registered trademark of the Weight Watchers® company.

A Day To Celebrate!

Today was truly one of the best days I've had in a long time!  I love working out. I'm not a heavy duty, psycho, nonstop workout type. If you are.. please don't be offended. I am more of a "just get moving, do something you enjoy, get the heart a-pumpin' while you do something fun" type. I used to run regularly, about 2 miles a day. I have to do any walking or running in the water because of the side effects of my cancer treatments that have literally eaten away my spine. I have chronic pain, managed best as can be with a daily dose of 24 hour time release morphine. I am in constant pain, with the exception of when I'm in the water. I get in a pool and it's like entering heaven for me. You cannot begin to imagine how I feel in comparison with living 24/7 with pain so intense that even on morphine is always there. The morphine makes it less horrible, but still I remain in constant pain. But truth be told, I hadn't hit the gym for months. Between a recurrence of cancer (totally under control & beaten again) and moving to a different section of town (far from my old gym) I really just never got there. I now have no car, live quite a distance from the gym I was a member of and just basically wasn't going. I quit the gym, became more and more of a couch potato and my body paid the price. I gained weight, although not a huge amount and it kept fluctuating. I was an unhappy camper!
There certainly is no longer any shortage of brands out there that are low in fat, high in fiber, low in calories! The real issue is, which ones truly work for you. Everyone's different so what I love may not be what you love, but  here are a few of my absolute "Can't Do Without" breads and what I use them for. I will however confess, I can be seen visiting Panera Bread once in a while to grab a loaf of asiago bread or some other absolutely divine, hearty bread for a pannini! Like everything, I think in moderation I'll be just fine with it & I don't treat myself often, as I know I can't behave!

So we move to today.... Our local "Y" was doing a special all this week, free trial week and $25 joining fee. I thought it also said something on the ad about no payments until January but they didn't say that at our "tour". So on Monday I went to one of the "Y's" on the west side of town (I live on the East side but my best friend since grade school goes to that one & offered to take me with her Monday night). I was in heaven. I got to do a little boxing on the heavy bag (this is my BIG stress reliever & I do it with much TLC so as not to overdo things with my back), I went from that to the pool and jogged a bit, not nearly my former 2 miles but wow did it feel wonderful! I swam a little and during the good 30-40 minutes I spent in the pool I was pain free. Once again... amazing!

Move on to today... Thursday. I had wanted to get to the "Y" on this side of town, not far from our house actually. I know that if I join this will be the one I use more often than not and I hadn't been to this one in a long, long time! I also know that this one I can get to via the bus regularly too so I have a much better chance of staying with it if I know I have options to get there. Now comes  my "Best Day In A While" part.... I kept hinting and eventually asked my fiance' to come with me. I know, for a fact, that the last thing to do to someone is harp on them about getting "healthy". The more you harp on a person the less they want to do something & the more they will want to do just the opposite of what you're trying to get them to do. That holds true from everything from changing their lifestyle and eating habits to getting them to exercise. I knew that approaching him with "harping" wasn't the way to go. I asked him once, he said yes and then changed to "I don't think I will". I let it go for a bit then commented "Would you like to just go walk through with me and see the place since you haven't been there since you were a kid? You don't have to work out or you could take your stuff with you and if  you do feel it, then do some stuff. If not you can go do your thing and maybe even join me at some point? Or you could sit in the lobby and watch some television... whatever. Just come to see the place."  He surprised me with a hesitant but somewhat interested "Ok, maybe I will. But ..." and I interrupted him. "I'm not going to harp or fight with you. You do what you feel like."  I know that his biggest reason for NOT going is plain and simple... and a fear I'd say quite a few others have... he's embarrassed that he's going to be that big fat guy that everyone stares at and laughs at, etc.  I knew otherwise. I've been in gyms. There are people of all shapes and sizes, styles and abilities. I've even openly approached kids I see giggling or laughing at someone and told them they were being rude. I figure if the parents are too ignorant to say it, dammit I will. Sorry, I refuse to see anyone be belittled for doing something RIGHT!

End result.... we ended up going and taking a tour. It's nice, a little antiquated but not horrid. Some new things are there, 2 very nice pools but most of all the atmosphere is one where it's truly customer friendly & user friendly. I was impressed, so was my guy! This was a definite plus. I had good vibes already. Next we talked money, I was still good... we ended up with a "couples" program price offer of $55 a month. Not bad at all for 2 people! The norm around here for anyplace with a pool is about $40 a person. The gyms with just equipment are about half that but they're useless to me as I can't do much on the ground because I need the weightlessness of the water to allow my back to cooperate with working out. Add to this an amazingly large amount of classes (including water workouts) that go with the membership. He seemed happy with what we had seen and heard thus far. Next step was "Do you want to work out a bit? Toss the basketball around a little? Walk the track? Whatever?" He smiled. "Sure!" I almost fell over... the hurdle was jumped. Now it was all downhill from here & easy rollin'!

 

So we  went our separate ways. I went directly to the pool. I couldn't wait to just get in there. I walked 1/2 laps (the lap pool goes from 3.5 ft to 7 ft. & I obviously cannot run in 7 ft of water since I'm barely over 5 ft. tall! LOL). I ran and then I'd change to treading water for a lengthy spell in the 7ft end. I was in heaven. I was pain free. THIS is my glory. But better than being pain free was when my man walked into the pool area. He had a smile on his face, some sweat on his forehead and he grinned to me as he commented "I can't believe you got me to do this, but I'm glad you did!" I laughed. "What'd you do so far?" He was like a kid again, reliving the days when he'd come to he "Y" to throw some hoops. "I tossed the ball around. I really suck now" I laughed. This was the man who barely moved from his chair each day, telling me he was shooting  hoops. "Then I walked a bit. I think I'll go down and try those stationary bike things"  I cracked up. I was so proud I could pop! He smiled again "Quit smiling so much", he quipped. He knew that this truly made me happy. I smiled at him and made one last comment. "I don't care if you are 800 lbs, what I care about is getting you moving, getting your body to love moving and getting you healthy." He looked at me with complete adoration and said "I realize that. I'm glad I came." 

End result..... we walked out with him saying "So tomorrow let's come a little earlier ok?" I couldn't have smiled any more. "Yes!", was my immediate answer. Then he asked the girl at the desk about joining to which I answered, "You pay the first month & fee, from then on it's mine. Deal?" I knew that I won't get paid until the 3rd of the month so I wouldn't have the money to join while the special was running. He smiled and said "Sounds good".  So it looks like WE are going to have a Y membership! I am truly the happiest girl around right now! I don't expect  miracles but for every MINUTE I get him out of that chair and moving, doing anything other than just sitting there.... I feel like I've gained a minute more of life with him! I'm truly celebrating!

 

 

 

Wish me luck on my journey to "eating clean" and  healthy! 
And please feel free to comment and share ideas for trying to live and eat "clean" and losing weight by changing to a healthy lifestyle!
 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NEED TO GET FIT BUT DON'T WANT THE GYM MEMBERSHIP?

THINK ABOUT A TRAMPOLINE!

Check out The Trampolines King Website for tons of FREE information & guidance in purchasing this wonderful piece of equipment that is affordable and helps burn TONS of calories (not to mention tons 'o fun)!

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Don't forget to check out my newest Book Blog, where I give book reviews on recent books I've read. If you're a reader you'll want to check this out!

WE CAN DO THIS, TOGETHER
ONE DAY AT A TIME!

Like this article? Twit it to your followers!



Who Else Helps me get healthy?
These are just a few of the people online that inspire me....

1.
Check out the Fab Fatties - tons of ideas, comic relief & great give-aways!

2. Joe Gigantino - Fitness Trainer
This is the guy that really set me on the path to physical fitness - Sign up for his FREE newsletter!



3.

4. BWJEN - Another WW Buddy & A 'bookworm' too!?



5.

5.

6.Sean Anderson the formerly 500lb man!
Diary of A Winning Loser - Sean is an inspiration to anyone trying to get healthy!


*Note I am not affiliated nor endorsed by Weight Watchers® at all, in any way. I highly recommend their program and cannot say enough GOOD about it, but I also have decided that they were my "stepping stone" to making a change in my lifestyle. Any mention of Weight Watchers®, their program or their term of "points®" does not mean they have approved, seen, or endorsed anything on my blogs.

Also, if at any time Points® are mentioned it is always with the assumption that you will analyze the recipes, foods, ingredients and figure the points out specifically for your consumption of any product, as ingredients may vary by brand, size, etc. and Points® is a registered trademark of the Weight Watchers® company.

Gotta Have Bread

I will confess, I am a bread freak! I love my bread, plain & simple and I refuse to give it up. This is one area where I won't negotiate... I will never be without my bread! But how do you approach it with a healthier lifestyle approach?  Many will argue that it's very simple, you either "can't" have it or you can't have anything but the gluten free, non-flour, all whole types. To them I say... "good for you, enjoy it". But for me I say, "there has to be something out there that tastes good and is somewhat healthy".

There certainly is no longer any shortage of brands out there that are low in fat, high in fiber, low in calories! The real issue is, which ones truly work for you. Everyone's different so what I love may not be what you love, but  here are a few of my absolute "Can't Do Without" breads and what I use them for. I will however confess, I can be seen visiting Panera Bread once in a while to grab a loaf of asiago bread or some other absolutely divine, hearty bread for a pannini! Like everything, I think in moderation I'll be just fine with it & I don't treat myself often, as I know I can't behave!

So here are some of my faves in the bread aisle:

• Sandwich Thins - originally Arnold's were the only ones out there in my area but now there are tons. These are simple, round slices to create sandwiches in and come in a variety of types from Whole Grain White to Multi-Grain, Honey Wheat, Rye or Wheat. They're plain, simple and do the job of giving you a fairly healthy option, high in fiber, low in calories and decent in taste for making your sandwich. I love the rye sandwich thin for my ham and swiss melts! IowaGeek has some neat ideas for using the sandwich thins in a variety of ways!
  
  
• Italian Sub Thins - much like the bread above, these "thins" are a version created that is longer for a sub style sandwich. While they seem to accommodate sandwiches a bit easier since they're long, they don't offer any extra flavor or "beefiness" to your sandwich. They're good and serve their purpose as both a sub roll and a hot dog roll (although they do offer a specific thin for hot dogs too)
  
  
• Bagel Thins - These top my list for both sandwiches and stand alone. I always

  

  4 Pt. Cajun Egg White Bagel Sandwich

  purchase both styles, the plain and the "everything" bagel thin. I use the plain when I have a flavorful meat that I don't want extra flavors coming from the bread. I use the everything when I want a bagel (yes these really do hit that craving with a pack of Laughing Cow light and creamy swiss, which is almost like cream cheese) or when I have something that can handle the full flavor of a combination of sesame seed, poppy seed, onion and garlic. As you can see by my picture here, I also LOVE using them for breakfast sandwiches!
  
  
• Ezekiel Breads - these are actually one of the healthiest in terms of content but they're not exactly low in calories. They offer quite an array of flavors and generally are kept in the freezer to extend the life. They have NO additives so this bread is the REAL thing, like great grandmum used to make, without the chemicals and additives to give it a long shelf life. No big problem though with freezing it because it tends to pop apart easily and toasts up well. My favorite is the Sesame Seed bread because it has just a touch of sweetness to it when toasted. I tend to toast it and slide just a hint of peanut butter across the top to get a little protein. Downside is, if you're counting points 1 slice is pretty much all you're going to want toast up for a light breakfast with some fruit or juice on the side. For some reason I always use these breads for toasting or making French toast as opposed to sandwiches. I'm not sure why. It could be a texture thing, a flavor thing, I really don't know but it's my go to when I want toast or am making French toast. Plus side: it's hearty and completely natural! They're made by Food For Life, who also offers an array of other items! Check them out here!
  
  
• Naan Bread - you have to read the labels on these and be sure you realize what a serving is! I love these for instant and delicious Naan Pizzas! They come in so many different flavors!

Please feel free to share some of your favorite breads or styles to use the ones I've mentioned!

IF YOU LIKE FREEBIES HERE'S YOUR CHANCE!
Check it out! You can win some glass straws from Glass Dharma & Incredible Smoothies HERE!

Wish me luck on my journey to "eating clean" and  healthy! 
And please feel free to comment and share ideas for trying to live and eat "clean" and losing weight by changing to a healthy lifestyle!
 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NEED TO GET FIT BUT DON'T WANT THE GYM MEMBERSHIP?

THINK ABOUT A TRAMPOLINE!

Check out The Trampolines King Website for tons of FREE information & guidance in purchasing this wonderful piece of equipment that is affordable and helps burn TONS of calories (not to mention tons 'o fun)!

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Don't forget to check out my newest Book Blog, where I give book reviews on recent books I've read. If you're a reader you'll want to check this out!

WE CAN DO THIS, TOGETHER
ONE DAY AT A TIME!

Like this article? Twit it to your followers!



Who Else Helps me get healthy?
These are just a few of the people online that inspire me....

1.
Check out the Fab Fatties - tons of ideas, comic relief & great give-aways!

2. Joe Gigantino - Fitness Trainer
This is the guy that really set me on the path to physical fitness - Sign up for his FREE newsletter!



3.

4. BWJEN - Another WW Buddy & A 'bookworm' too!?



5.

5.

6.Sean Anderson the formerly 500lb man!
Diary of A Winning Loser - Sean is an inspiration to anyone trying to get healthy!


*Note I am not affiliated nor endorsed by Weight Watchers® at all, in any way. I highly recommend their program and cannot say enough GOOD about it, but I also have decided that they were my "stepping stone" to making a change in my lifestyle. Any mention of Weight Watchers®, their program or their term of "points®" does not mean they have approved, seen, or endorsed anything on my blogs.

Also, if at any time Points® are mentioned it is always with the assumption that you will analyze the recipes, foods, ingredients and figure the points out specifically for your consumption of any product, as ingredients may vary by brand, size, etc. and Points® is a registered trademark of the Weight Watchers® company.