Update!!!

LOSE FOR GOOD
Weight Watchers International received enough pounds lost by members to donate 1,000,000 to the two hunger agencies.
We need your food in house by Saturday November 8, 2008.

We will take this to our local food bank.

If you would prefer to do a monetary donation, we accept cash or check (pay to Bellingham Food Bank).

COMPUTER STATUS
We will be going live the week of November 8th. That will be the last week you will need to grab your "card" out of the file when checking in.

We ask for your patience during this transition. Some of us may seem dazed and confused.

Once we get enough practice, we will be lightening speed. This should be a good experience for you as it will make check in time go faster and you'll no longer have to search for your card.

The first week you will receive a bar code that is to be applied to your membership book. From that moment on we will only need to scan the bar code on your membership booklet to check you into the system.

Training Day - All Staff

No one was hurt during this exercise...yet!

Recipes - Crock Pot

By request I'm including two crockpot recipes. These are great ideas for this time of year when it gets dark early and we come home hungry; dinner will be ready.

These two recipes are from the now out of print - Best Eats Cookbook, Weight Watchers. This cookbook was created by recipes from members.

**Feel free to use Chicken Breast instead of Chicken Thighs in the following recipes**

Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore

1 lbs. Skinless boneless chicken thighs. Cut into 1 inch pieces
1 - 14 1/2 oz. can crushed fire roasted tomatoes
1 Cup sliced mushrooms
1 Green bell pepper sliced
1 Onion chopped
1 Garlic clove minced
1/4 Cup dry red wine or reduced sodium chicken broth
1 Tbs tomato paste
3/4 tsp dried oregano
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions:

Place all the ingredients into a 5 - 6 quart slow cooker.
Cover and cook until vegetables are tender (5-6 hours high or 6-8 hours on low)

Serves 4 Prep time 15 minutes

Per serving - 1 cup = 4 points
Recipe is totally core

Slow Cooker Chicken Posole

1 lbs. skinless boneless chicken thighs cut into 1 inch pieces
1 - 14 1/2 oz. can hominy drained
1 - 14 1/2 oz can diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 - 4 oz. can chopped green chiles
1 Cup frozen mixed vegetables - such as - onion, pepper, celery mixture
1 Cup reduced sodium chicken broth
1 Garlic clove minced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 lime cut into 4 wedges

Directions:

Place all the ingredients, except lime, into 4 - 5 quart slow cooker.
Cook the vegetables until tender (4 -5 hours on high or 7 hours on low)
Serve with lime wedge
This can be made into a double batch and freeze the leftovers.

Serves 4 Prep time 15 minutes

Serving size 1 1/4 cup = 6 points
Recipe is totally core

Wrap Up Week 44

SATISFYING
What did you do this past week to physically or visually make your meals and snacks more satisfying?

Did you think about the low energy density foods? Like the 5 cups of 94% fat free microwave popcorn for 1 point or core choice?

TRICK OR TREAT?
How many points would you say you consumed off the list of candies I provided in this blog last week?

Were they your activity points or out of your thirty-five weekly points allowance?

Did you find the points for candy were worth it?

This Week: Get Out And Vote...Vote For Yourself

Remember you have one more day to postmark your ballot or place in the drop box at the county courthouse for this year's election.

Vote For Yourself....

It's all about taking care of yourself, so make some time for you.

How often do you vote for yourself? What keeps you from putting your needs first?

Let's talk about it this week!