Frozen in time?

I know you've probably been wondering why the numbers on my Pound-O-Meter have not budged. I just decided that I would not change it until I'm actually BACK to that number again. Yeah, I went nutso again and gained 3.8 pounds after losing a total of 12.8 pounds the 2 previous 2 weigh-ins. Although, after the July 4th weekend, I was sure that I had gained but I actually managed to lose .2 pounds when I was SURE I had gained. And then last night's weigh showed I had lost 2.2. One more pound to go until I'm "Back In Black" - or am actually truthful on my Pound-O-Meter. :-)

I've been enjoying the fruits (and vegetables) of my labor lately. I've got green peppers and tomatoes out the wazoo, and just this weekend picked the large eggplants that were ready and waiting. Sunday, I made eggplant parmigiana using the recipe on the WW website - to the sauce I added peppers, tomatoes, and ground turkey breast for a bit of substance and protein. OMG, it was YUMMY!! And I still have a lot of it left over in the freezer for lunches! Oh, and I've got a good couple of meals' worth of okra put up in the fridge.

For my cakes classes, when I start out a new Course 1 series, I usually bring in cake layers and show the students how to prepare the cake, level the layers, ice the cake, and a few decorating techniques. For last Tuesday night's class, I used an easy recipe that our WW leader had told us about - just one box of cake mix and a 12 oz. can of any flavor diet soda. I used yellow cake and one can of Fresca, and then I added 2 snack-packs of applesauce and some nutmeg and cinnamon. It smelled SOOOOO good. It made me think of the cinnamon pecans they sell as you walk into the Christmas Made In The South that we have here annually in early November.

I had to use the class buttercream recipe for the cake I used in class, and I did take a couple of small slices with me afterwards because it just smelled so good! But I left the rest of the cake for the store's staff to eat.

I'm going to make another cake like that for my birthday next week, but instead of using class buttercream icing I am going to mix together some fat-free cream cheese and Cool-Whip Free to make a cream cheese-like frosting for this cake. Yum! Will have to work on the Points Value to see what that turns out to be. Heck, I'm sure it would be a LOT better to have a big slice of that cake rather than just a sliver of a regular birthday cake, right?

I'm also going to try that brownie recipe I sent some of you. If I didn't send it to you - all you do is get a package of brownie mix and a can of black beans, drain and rinse the black beans and put them back into the can then refill the can with water until the beans are covered. You then pour the beans and water into a blender and puree them. Mix the bean puree and brownie mix together (do not add oil or eggs) , pour in a 9x9 brownie pan and bake according to the brownie mix package directions. Makes 20 servings (that seems like pretty small brownies - hmph) at 2 points apiece. Beans and chocolate seems like an odd (and gross) combination, but the people commenting on this particular message board raved about them! I guess I'll have to judge for myself! :-)

OK.....back to the grind. I'm still rooting for 39 by 39! I think I'll be pretty close, but I don't think I'll lose 9.1 pounds in the next 9 days. But, who knows? I mean, I DID lose 9.8 in one week last month and that was after yet another significant gain. :-)

Go 39 by 39!!! (Eccch....am I really going to be 39???)

Next.....we'll be "Laboring for 50". Going for 50 pounds removed by Labor Day!