April 2008


How many times have you caught yourself sitting in front on the television with a bag of empty chips. The aftermath of mindless eating fills you with guilt. Before you know it, you’ve grabbed a bowl of ice cream and said to heck with healthy eating!

Before you allow yourself to be tossed off the track, give some thought to keeping yourself safe from such misadventures. A bit of forethought and planning might save you from the guilt monster and those extra pounds on your hips.

In our hurried lives it’s easy to plop down in front of the television with a tv tray and have dinner. Eating in front of the computer screen is not too uncommon, either. We are a society of multitaskers. We are a society of tired, overweight multitaskers. It’s easy to slip into mindless eating when we aren’t paying attention to what is going into our mouths.

Make eating an occasion to stop and smell the grilled chicken… so to speak. Clean off that kitchen table and use the thing for something besides storing your mail and unwanted catalogs. Take in the site and smell of what you are eating. Appreciate the time to slow down. If you make the tv and computer off limits for eating, you’ll begin to notice a difference in how much it takes before you feel satisfied.

Oh, I hear you whining. We all like a snack when we are deep into some horror film. Plan ahead. That’s right. Instead of getting into the opening credits and running to the kitchen to grab anything in sight, plan your snack ahead of time. Choose some carrot sticks if you feel the need to crunch. Some fruit slices are great if you feel you need something sweet. Prefer salty? How about some popcorn with just a touch of salt? The key here is planning a healthy snack to enjoy with your film.

Taking the time to pay attention to our food at one time and our favorite television show at another time can save us from adding on extra weight that we would rather not.

Ingredients:

2 cups Fiber One Bran Cereal

2 tbsp. light whipped butter

2 tbsp. egg beaters, original

1 tbsp. cornstarch

1 (20 oz.) can No sugar added cherry pie filling

8 servings (16 tbsp) Fat Free Reddi Whip or Cool Whip

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a food blender, or food processor, blend Fiber One cereal into crumb like consistency. Melt butter in microwave for 20 seconds. Combine cereal, butter and egg beaters and stir until well mixed. In an oven safe pie dish, sprayed lightly with non-stick spray, press crumb mixture into pie dish. Press crumbs into the edges and also up the sides of the pie dish. Bake crust for 10 minutes and allow to cool.

In a medium sized non stick pot, combine cornstarch with cherry filling. Cook at medium heat. Stirring often. Once mixture begins to bubble, lower heat, stirring constantly for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool for several minutes. Evenly spoon pie filling into the crust, and allow to cool in the fridge for several hours before serving. Serve each slice with a dollop of whipped topping.  Serves 8. Only 90 calories per serving.

“I forgive myself for having believed for so long that… I was
never good enough to have, get, be what I wanted.”_Ceanne DeRohan

I choose happiness over sadness. I choose freedom over bondage. I choose to love myself without judgement. I feel joy pumping through my veins. I am living the life I deserve.

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