Jelly Bean's Helpful Hints

Today I am pleased to present Jelly Bean who successfully lost 20 pounds as the guest blogger.

Strawberry once asked me what tricks I had up my sleeve to help me succeed on this diet roller coaster called Life.  I want to be healthy in mind, body, and spirit.  As a result, I tried everything:  (1) Pre-packaged meals (you know which ones), (2) Eliminating things that grow on stalks and eating only those things that swam, clucked, and mooed, (3) Not eating, which meant starvation mode, (4) Drinking my breakfast, lunch, and dinner (if it did not fit through a straw, then it wasn't consumed), (5) Drinking hot lemon water in the morning until the dentist notified me that enamel doesn't grow back, and (6) Going to meetings that tried to motivate me, but for me that didn't quite work either.  

My tricks:
 (1) Go to a grocery store that has a sit down deli. See if there are individually packaged  salad dressings.  Marzetti's has a non-fat raspberry vinaigrette, a non-fat ranch, and other non-fat varieties;  the 1.5 oz package is only 1 WW point and they are all delicious.  When I go to the pot lucks at church (PS we are Dutch Protestants and yes we love to eat too) I will have one or two of those packages in my purse.  They make great vegetable dip and a quick addition to the salad. 

(2)   When making salad, I love a lot of color-- red, yellow, and orange peppers, red radishes; my salads are huge with a lot of free veggies.  But my problem is that I don't quite like to spend time cutting up all the veggies (which takes a lot of time).   So this is my solution to that problem.  I bought a salad spinner.  I wash my lettuce really well and spin it till it is dry.  Keep the lettuce in the spinner and keep a couple of paper towels between the bowl and the colander type thingy.  Then take a separate container, you know the round container that is sectioned off into separate little areas to put cheese, onions, peppers, celery, cucumbers, cauliflower, etc, etc.  I use one with a snap down lid and I cut up all my veggies and place them in separate sections in that container.  For the onions I place them in a zip-lock bag so everything doesn't smell and tastes like onions.  Then I place plastic wrap over the veggies and over the edges of the container and I seal it.  For a family it would be great- retrieve it from the refrigerator, set it on the table, open it up and everyone could get their favorite veggies and place it on their salad.  I eat a salad everyday because I know that I don't have to spend time cutting the radishes, cucumbers, celery, sweet peppers, onions, garbanzo beans and black olives.  

 

Strawberry wrote in her "Going Against the Grain Still" blog that everyone needs to find what works for them.  But in order for us imperfect people to become healthy in mind, body, and spirit, we need to have a support system (our buddies) around us to love and encourage us regardless of whether or not we fail and to encourage each other regardless of the circumstances.  Strawberry and Jelly Bean (me) have been friends for 28 years; we have gone through a lot together.  Although the miles have kept us 2,100 miles apart, God keeps our friendship strong.  Prayer keeps us close, and the Christian bond that we have between us keeps us sisters, if not in blood then in spirit.  "Going Against the Grain Still" makes me laugh, cry, and every emotion in-between.  Got to love strawberries, especially on a shortcake or ice cream sundaes or covered in chocolate;  well forget the strawberries- just the chocolate will do.  Keep the faith and God will always give you the strength to follow the road less traveled.   God Bless the Strawberries and Buttercups of life.  Keep life sweet by eating a few jelly beans now and then.