Saturday, October 8, 2011

Fall has arrived!

I feel like one of the tell-tale signs that fall is here is when you start baking with either apples or pumpkin.  There's just something about those two ingredients that make me so excited.  To me, it means fall is here.  Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays (seriously, a holiday that revolves around food), and the beginning of fall means that Thanksgiving is only a couple months away.  While this weekend is totally un-fall-ish (it's supposed to be 80 degrees today and 85 tomorrow), I still felt the need to break out a can of pumpkin and make some Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread.



This recipe is so delicious, and yet so simple.  Those of you who went to Oaklawn Elementary may recognize the recipe....I'm pretty sure that just about everyone made this in 2nd grade, and then got to take the recipe home to our parents (the recipe that I brought home was graded for handwriting....It says at the top "All of your work should be this neat").


For your viewing pleasure:
       Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
       3 cups flour
       2 cups sugar
       2 tsp cinnamon
       2 tsp baking powder
       2 tsp baking soda
       4 eggs
       1 cup oil
       1-15oz can pumpkin puree (***NOT pumpkin pie mix)
       1 package chocolate chips

       Grease and flour tube pan.  Coat chocolate chips in 2 tsp of the allotted flour.  Mix together all dry ingredients.  Add oil and mix well.  Add eggs and pumpkin.  Mix well and then add in chocolate chips.  Bake for 1 hour at 350 degree (I often find that 1 hour isn't enough time....Check after one hour, and then bake longer, if needed).  


The result is something delicious.






Oh, and I made a note on the bottom of my own recipe....It says:  "If making for Scott, use Milk Chocolate Chips and put some on top, too!"  haha - it is really good with the chocolate chips on top, too!  I didn't have enough today to put them on top, but I recommend doing it!!!


Thursday, October 6, 2011

Stuck in a Rut.

I'm in a rut.  I remember going to my WW@Work meetings throughout the summer and being hearing so many of the ladies complain about how hard it is to follow a good eating plan throughout the summer because of the cookouts, etc.  Personally, I think that it's so easy to eat healthy during the summer!  Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Strawberries, Blueberries, you name it, I love to eat it!  My challenge is the fall and the winter.



In all honesty, I've found that as I've gotten older, my love for apples has gone from so-so to completely non-existent.  I can go to the grocery store and buy a half-dozen apples, and throw all six away three weeks later.  I just don't like them, or I at least don't like the idea of eating them.  Unless they're in pie.  And I'm sorry....it's a little difficult making an entire pie for just me and Scott.  It doesn't work out too well.  Maybe I ate too many apples as a child...


Throughout the fall and winter, you have Halloween (candy), Thanksgiving (turkey, pumpkin pie, apple pie), Christmas (Antipasto, Ham, Roast Beef, pure deliciousness).  My argument is that it's much harder to follow a good eating plan throughout the fall/winter.  Plus, no more of the delicious fruit selections (at least for me).

I posed the question in my WW@W meeting yesterday:  What are some good fall fruits??  

I unfortunately didn't get a lot of good answers....Most people were astonished that I'm not a fan of apples....And they just started shouting out names of fruit for the hell of it, as well as saying that I should just eat canned fruit instead.  So I did some research.  According to this website, here are in-season fruits for the fall (most of these are the same for winter, too):

Apples, Bananas, Clementines, Cranberries, Grapes, Grapefruit, Kiwi, Kumquat, Oranges, Pears, Persimmons, Pomegranates, Quinces, Satsuma Mandarin Oranges, Tangerines.  

My opinion on this list:  I don't like apples, I like bananas, I like clementines, I have never eaten cranberries outside of muffins, I love grapes (I thought they were a summer fruit), I like grapefruit, I have never really eaten a Kiwi so I may need to experiment with that, I have never even heard of Kumquat, I like oranges, I'm so-so on pears, I have never had a persimmon, pomegranates are good but they take too much effort to eat, I have never heard of quinces, I have never eaten a mandarin orange and I like oranges better than tangerines.

How's that?  I guess I have a bit of mind-broadening to do....And should try a few new things.

The other thing that the ladies at WW@W suggested was that I just have jarred/canned vegetables.  I'm sorry, but I really have a problem with these.  They're just mushy.  And syrupy.  And totally not my thing.  

I was also told that I can lump "Fruits" and "Vegetables" together.  I always have a habit of thinking that I need to eat a substantial amount of BOTH every day.  But in reality, I don't need to have 2.5 of each every day.  I just need to have 5 of some kind of combination of fruits and vegetables.....I can even have all fruit OR all vegetables.  

In season vegetables?  (Same website....)
Avocados, Beans, Beets, Bok Choy, Broccoli, Rabe, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery Root, Chestnuts, Collards, Garlic, Jerusalem Artichokes, Kale, Leeks, Lettuce, Parsnips, Pumpkin, Rutabaga, Salsify, Snow Peas, Spinach, Squash, Sweet Potatoes, Swiss Chard, Turnips, Watercress

I'd say my choices with vegetables are much higher.  There are some even on that list that I've never heard so, so I'll try some of those, too....But the

Let's see how this week goes (for weight loss) - it will be interesting after tonight's dinner at Spikes.....  I'll report in on Tuesday with my results, especially with how I did with eating more fruits and vegetables....


Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Word of the day...

...In Italian.


Every day, I get an email from Transparent Language with the "Word of the Day" in Italian.  I originally set this up because I wanted to increase my Italian Vocabulary.  I've found it pretty interesting, although I don't know how well my vocabulary has really improved (or increased).  I'm not sure if getting an email a day with a word and a sentence has really helped.


But I'd like to share with you what I have learned just over the past few days.


What do you think???


Tuesday October 4, 2011
Italian word:                 zio
English translation:     uncle
Part of speech:           noun
Example sentence 
Italian:                         Lo zio Attilio è emigrato in Francia.
English:                      Uncle Attilio emigrated to France.


Monday October 3, 2011
Italian word:                 appartenere
English translation:     to belong
Part of speech:           verb
Example sentence 
Italian:                         Questo castello appartiene al principe Enrico e alla sua famiglia.
English:                      This castle belongs to Prince Henry and his family.


Sunday October 2, 2011
Italian word:                 economico
English translation:     cheap
Part of speech:           adjective
Example sentence 
Italian:                         Faccio sempre la spesa in questo negozio, è tutto molto economico.
English:                      I always shop in this store, everything is very cheap.


Saturday October 1, 2011
Italian word:                 indietro
English translation:     behind
Part of speech:           adverb
Example sentence 
Italian:                         Sono indietro con i compiti, questo fine-settimana dovrò studiare.
English:                      I'm behind in my homework, I'll have to study this weekend.


Friday September 30, 2011
Italian word:                 accorgersi
English translation:     to notice
Part of speech:           verb
Example sentence 
Italian:                         Non vi siete accorte che ho cambiato pettinatura?
English:                      Haven't you noticed that I changed my hairdo?



Italian word:            indietro

English translation: behind
Part of speech:       adverb
Example sentence 
Italian:                     Sono indietro con i compiti, questo fine-settimana dovrò studiare.
English:                   I'm behind in my homework, I'll have to study this weekend.


Sunday, October 2, 2011

Guilty Pleasures & Funny Habits

Everyone has some guilty pleasures and funny habits, and I am no exception.  Here are a few:



  • I log into Facebook at least once daily, in addition to the multiple times a day I check it on my blackberry
    • I honestly hate the new Facebook.  I hate the layout, I hate the stalkerish values, I hate the fact that people I don't know can all of a sudden "like" and comment on my pictures.  In the words of my awesome Nonni, "I don't go for that."
  • If I'm going to drink, I want top shelf.  
    • I don't do it often, but I indulge in cocktails, and I like good alcohol.  If I'm going to get a Martini, I want Kettle One.  And if I'm going to get a Gin and Tonic, I want Tanqueray.  
  • I play the same songs over and over and over.
    • I can't help it.  I like what I like.  When I go to the gym and turn on my iPod, more often than not, I go to the Playlist "Top played songs."  Those are all the songs I know I like.
  • I read Harry Potter and Twilight over and over and over
    • I do read new literature, I swear.  But if I'm just going to bed, and want something to put me to sleep, that I know isn't going to get my blood racing and keep me up throughout the night, I like to read something I've read before.  I like Harry Potter and I like Twilight.  I've read them both.  A lot.
  • I refuse to jump on the fat free bandwagon.  Give me the full fat!!!
    • Yes, I'm on Weight Watchers.  I understand that you have the choice of eating fat free everything, thereby allowing yourself to eat more.  But honestly.  If you go to a friend's house, or go out to dinner, are you going to bring your own fat free ingredients with you?  No, I didn't think so.  I'd much rather indulge in the full fat, and learn the meaning of "Portion Control" while enjoying what I'm eating.
  • Cookbooks.  I have a ton.  I don't use hardly any of them.
    • I have an obsession with cookbooks.  I have tons.  I buy them, and people buy them for me.  I look through them, and then neglect to bake/cook any of the recipes.  But in all honesty, I use 2 more than anything else:  The Joy of Cooking and King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion.  They are the best, no matter what.
  • Dancing with the Stars / Switched at Birth
    • Yes, I watch both of these shows.  Dancing with the Stars is my #1.  I love it, and I also which I could dance.  Or at least take dancing lessons.  And yes, I also watch Switched at Birth on ABC Family.  It's one of the worst shows ever, with horrible actors (although possibly not as bad as the actors on Secret Life of the American Teenager).  It's like a trainwreck.  I can't help watching it.
  • I buy my lunch almost every day.  
    • I NEED to start packing it.  We're on a money saving plan.  I need to let go of this habit.  The funny thing is, I often don't enjoy what I buy.  It would be so much better if I just took the leftovers.  Seriously.
  • Coffee.  Iced Coffee.  Coffee Milk.  I love coffee!
    • No justification needed here....
  • I play with my hair.  All the time.
    • I don't know why.  I can blow it out all pretty, and then I play with it and it looks a mess.  I envy people who can sit through the day without messing with their hair and thereby having beautiful hair.  Can I do it?
  • Driving on Empty
    • I blame my mother for this habit.  She used to do it all the time.  I can't count the number of times we all loaded into the car (my dad driving) and had to stop for gas because the light was on.  The worst part of this is....I know exactly how far I can go once the light comes on.  That's bad, isn't it?
  • Scratch Tickets
    • I haven't bought on in a while, but one day Scott pulled a whole bunch of loser cards out of my trunk.  I bought them, lost and unsuccessfully hid the evidence.  I always think I might just get a winner.  It's never going to happen.  
That's a pretty substantial list.  What are your guilty pleasures and funny habits???