Weight Struggles

Here I am again struggling with my weight. I have to confess, I have almost put on all of the weight I lost six years ago. 

If you know me, you know my weight loss journey and the success I had by losing 50 lbs on Nutrisystem. I was able to keep the weight off for five years. You can still read my journey HERE.. 

I gave up eating Nutrisystem because I had to go on a low sodium diet and honestly , even though they had a great selection, I was getting tired of the same foods all the time. They rarely came out with new menu choices. But while I was on it, I enjoyed it and it really did work. 

Within one year after losing 50lbs, I gained 10lbs back and felt better. I was happy at that weight. Then I put on 5 more pounds and it was not so bad. I was still getting into the same clothes, I still had energy, and felt good but I knew the weight would creep up one me if I didn’t get back to balancing my diet. I worked hard after that to keep the weight off by simple exercise, healthy eating and portion control. 

In the past year I have put on 20lbs. I still walk every day and hula hoop some. I eat healthy but my meals are larger and my snacks are less healthy than before. Did I mention I love those Little Debbie peanutbutter bars?

I have decided to get back on track. I’m not real sure how yet but I have decided not to use any fancy diet programs this time. I want to do it on my own and not owe it to any company, but to my own willpower. I plan to incorporate some plant based smoothie mixes and healthy food choices. I plan to do the intermediate fasting. I will also stop trying to compare myself to those weight loss and workout videos on social media. I am me, I am not them. I am 52, not 32. Every body is different with different lifestyles, time and money.  

Starting, next week I am going to tackle my weight and win with it again. Wish me luck and Stay tuned. 

Breakfast

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day. This was the first time in my working life that I had a job that gave me Labor day off as a holiday. Unfortunately, my husband had to work all weekend and on Labor day too. I caught up on some housework and did a little shopping. We went out to dinner in my old hometown of Belmont to celebrate the holiday instead of the usual cooking out. 

Being off work, I was able to play around with some new breakfast items. Breakfast is my favorite meal and lately I have to rush breakfast to get to work, so I settle for a bowl of cereal, or oatmeal. 

One of my new favorite oatmeals is Lucky Charms. This is my favorite cereal and now my favorite oatmeal. 

I tried another cereal flavored oat meal. 

Cocoa Puffs flavored.

Both of these oatmeals taste like the real thing. But my favorite of the two is still Lucky Charms. I was not a fan of chocolatey oatmeal. 

One morning I decided to experiment by making biscuits in my air fryer. It worked! I made a couple biscuits using the directions on the Bisquick box. No, these are not momas homemade style. This is just the quick method. Bisuick always comes to the rescue for mornings like this. 

I stuffed it with some homemade sausage and muscadine jelly. 

Another morning, I decided to give Chia pudding a try. There are a lot of health benefits in Chia Seeds. 

It turned out pretty good but I was not a fan of the texture so I am marking this one off. If you like over night oats, you might like chia pudding so don’t let my opinion change yours. You should make some and try it for yourself. It’s so easy to make, a child could do it. I will share the recipe with you . 

CHIA PUDDING

• 3 Tablespoons Chia Seeds.
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 3/4 cup of milk of your choice
• 1 Tablespoon maple syrup.  

Mix all together in a bowl, cover and place in fridge for a few hours or over night. 

Like magic, the chia seeds will absorb the milk and become a pudding texture. 

Before eating, add your favorite toppings. (I added microwave cooked blueberries).

Over all, my favorite breakfast is waffles….or is it Gravy biscuits? No wait, I like avocado toast too. So many to chose from, I like it all!

Do you eat breakfast? What is your favorite breakfast? 

Easy Muscadine Jelly

My parents recently moved into a new home. It came with a big Muscadine vine and mature peach trees. The peach trees did not produce many peaches but the Muscadine vine is full of fruit. 

I made a visit one day to pick some muscadines. Within a few minutes I had a small bucket full. I was not sure what to do with them so I washed and put them in the fridge. For a week, we would reach in and grab one or three for a snack but I still had a lot and wanted to do something with them before they went bad. 

I decided to make jelly. Mom told me I did not need to add extra pectin and all I need to do is boil them hull and all. Then strain them afterwards. She said they have enough natural pectin to do the trick.

I looked around online anyway and every recipe I found had added pectin. I took my moms advice and went with what she said.

Mom was right (as always). With 3 cups of muscadines, I was able to fill three small jelly jars of thick jiggly jelly. I gave a jar to my mom and dad and one to my daughter. We kept one for ourself and it is almost gone.

Here is how I made Muscadine jelly.

• 3 cups of muscadines.
• 2 1/4 cups of sugar (3/4 cup to every cup of muscadines).
• 1/4 cup water.

Add muscadines, water and sugar in a pot and boil for about 20 minutes. 

With cheese cloth, strain the muscadine mix into a pot and boil for another 5 to 10 minutes. 

Note: You can seperate the hulls and boil them separately. Place the hulls in a food processor to chop fine and add them to the stained muscadine mixture. This would make it jam. 

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To test if it is ready, place a plate in the freezer for a few minutes to get it cold. Add a drop of the Muscadine jelly to the cold plate. It should move when the plate is tilted but not runny and watery. It will have a slight skim texture on the top when you touch it. This is how you know it’s ready to put in a jar and place in the refrigerator. It will thicken as it cools. This is called refrigerator jelly. 

It turned out great and went good on my peanut butter and jelly sandwich and toast. I may be going back soon for some more grapes because I found a recipe for Muscadine cobbler I want to try soon. 

Muscadine vs Scuppernong: Muscadines are red (or purple) and Scuppernong is golden green. Scuppernongs are the state fruit of North Carolina. All Scuppernongs are Muscadines but not all Muscadines are Scuppernongs. Confused yet?