Welcome back to my little corner of the blogosphere known as Carol's Corner. Pull up a chair, grab your favorite libation( for anyone who's not familiar with the term it's your favorite liquid beverage)and get comfy. Wish to thank my many readers who viewed my prior post. Who wouldn't be blessed and inspired to see just how Flo still loves life at 84 years young? May we all be so blessed!

So tonight I'm celebrating my independence from having to rely on someone to take me every little place I want to go, and how interesting that I found something I could wear this scarf with. I got it for Christmas from my daughter in law and didn't realize I had the perfect top to wear it with. And just what independence am I referring to? My license was reinstated. After my accident in September, Motor Vehicle decided to suspend it two months later. Never should have happened. They still want to think my accident was caused by some kind of incident, not that I was blinded by the lights behind me. In fact they're contacting me in February to have my doctor fill out more papers to quote “check up on my medical condition”. Oh well if that is what it takes, so be it. I'm not going to drive out of town at night anymore. Hubby can still drive me to the movies in Ithaca. Well I'll drive over while he snoozes and he can drive on the way home. Announcing my ensemble naming winner early because I wanted to use this picture. My friend Angel Marie Sutton wins this with,” Miss Independent” and boy does it ever feel good. That was a total stress and drag.

 

 

And my server friend at Denny's (the other “Angel”) took this pic. This sweater is awesome with this. Just brought it along to keep warm by the window, but it so works. How strange that I would have two friends who go by ” Angel”. Is God trying to tell me something?

 

 

And then there's my jewelry selections. Just noticed my bracelet was turned sideways. Oh well the perfectionist in me will just have to pretend it isn't so. LOL!

So let's get down to business!

So this is me at the present moment in time. I was doing great and fell off the wagon for a few days, the food wagon that is! But you all know me by now. I never ever give up on anything. And if how I handled the last six month of my life hasn't shown that side of me, nothing will. So it's back at it tomorrow, well it's already tomorrow but not for me till I sleep and get back up. People are always asking me what kind of things I eat when I am trying to lose, so I thought I would share some things with you.

One of the most important parts for me is salads. I always try to have the beginnings of one always prepared. When I get ready to have one I take that base and add to it, one serving at a time. I never tire of salad I love it. Lately hubby prepares one part and then I add to it. He chops up cabbage and iceberg lettuce into a large bowl. I add diced baby cucumbers (yum, love them), cherry tomatoes, and frozen peas. ( they thaw out fast). This time I put in a mixed bean sprout. I also love broccoli or mixed sprouts. That's the base. I eat a very large serving to which I add the following: cut up grapes, part of a halo orange cut up, a small amount of low fat cheese mix (whatever kind you like), and for crunch I use these delicious dehydrated red peppers. They add flavor and crunch. I usually use about two tablespoons of a low cal dressing. Currently like this Italian Red Pepper one, but use others as well. The whole thing is delicious, filling and good for you. You could use just that for a meal if you wanted to. I try to go easy on bread. I buy a 9 grain one in Top's bakery that I love. Try to use whole grain or whole wheat ones whenever you can. There is a butter replacement I have to start using again and it melts like butter. It's actually a vegan product called “Earth Balance”. I used it the last time I lost all those 58 pounds two years ago. They have a couple different types, so see if you find it in the butter and cheese aisle.

Sometimes I make wraps with a chicken salad that I make. I buy a whole wheat or whole grain wrap at Aldi's that has very good numbers as far as carbs and calories go.

Here's how I make my chicken salad. I take a large can of white meat chicken that comes like tuna. I get mine in Sam's Club. I drain it and put it in a bowl. Then I shred up the whole thing with a fork. To that I add diced onion and cut up diced tomatoes. You could use grapes if you prefer. For seasoning I use garlic powder, a small amount of salt( we use something called “real salt”), peppercorn medley grinder and my secret ingredient in many things; dillweed. I mix just enough Hellman's light mayo to make it moist. I am not a Miracle Whip person and I don't use fat free because the carbs and sugar grams of almost all fat free products is greater. It's all about the choices that work best for your circumstances. I make a wrap with this many times. It tastes awesome and is filling and pretty healthy. Add whatever side dish is appropriate at the meal you are eating. Learn to use seasonings. They should be your best friend. I don't use a lot of salt, but I love my peppercorn medley. Hubby makes our own now. It contains all four peppercorns, coriander and allspice. I use it in almost everything except dessert items of course.

I make an egg salad with similar ingredients. We use farm fresh brown eggs. I take two for one serving. One secret to a fabulous tasting egg salad is to totally crush it up fine. I use one of those small electrical gadgets. To that I also use diced tomatoes but no onions. I use all the same seasonings. Don't skimp on the dillweed. That makes it. I can usually get away with two tablespoons of light mayo per two eggs. Mix it up and eat it right out of the bowl. I don't even make a sandwich out of it, tastes delicious just as it is. No extra calories and no extra carbs.

The next thing I reccomend everyone invest in is a steamer pot. We have different sizes . We have a large pot on the stove all the time, that has a glass insert hubby found in a thrift store. It fits the pot perfectly. We also have a metal insert that also fits. Besides the large one we have two smaller ones. They are invaluable. You can steam a whole meal in the large one. Just fill the bottom pot partway with water to steam whatever your cooking and cover the pot. Let me tell you about a way to fix ground meat I bet you have never even thought of. My hubby turned me on to this. Since I started eating it that way I haven't fried a burger since. Take one of those white ramekin dishes. Press your meat down into it; enough for one serving. Then season it with whatever you wish. I use quite a few seasonings; garlic powder, peppercorn medley, some of our “real salt”,( secret ingredient to this is ground cloves) and a dash of cayenne. I use ground cloves in sauce and in soup also. I turn the ground meat once before it's all cooked and season the other side. You have to get a knack of lifting it up with something to turn it. Now if you have a large steamer pot, you can steam a whole meal at once. You could steam two vegetables or a potato and vegetable along with the ground meat. I put the ramekin in the pot and just put the other things right in the steamer insert by it. I steam such things as cut up carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, and green beans. Take your steamed vegetables and season as you wish. My broccoli and cauliflower I like to put in a dish,mash it up, add a small amount of whatever butter product I am using and season it with garlic powder, a dash of my “real salt”, and my peppercorn medley. Carrots are delicious when seasoned with dillweed. You can also steam cut up white chicken breast. Put the cut up pieces in the ramekin dish and then you can season how you wish. For the chicken I add a little olive oil to the bottom of the dish. Something I forgot to mention about the ground meat. You just lift it out and put it on your plate. All the grease will stay on the bottom of the ramekin dish. Try using some salsa or chili sauce relish with your steamed burger. Fresh vegetables should be a staple of your diet. I am lucky in that I love most vegetables. Don't forget about the fruit either. Make sure you eat some kind every day.

Another thing you might want to experiment with is spaghetti squash. You can use a tomato sauce of your choice, some low fat cheese and bake it like a casserole, adding meat if you wish. Of course you have to cook the spaghetti squash first and scrape it all out. I also love yellow squash. Learn to love vegetables . They should be your best friend.

I hope you will find some of these things useful to you on your journey to health and wellness. Till next time, God Bless.