This pumpkin sausage soup recipe comes from one of my key friends. She served this at a family gathering and her grand-niece really enjoyed it. I made it last night and it was yummy. This may be just what you need in the cold winter nights ahead.

Ingredients

• 12 ounces) of Jimmy Dean plain sausage
• 1/2 cup onion, minced 
• 1 garlic clove, minced 
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasonings (packaged salad dressing)
• 1 -2 cup fresh mushrooms, chopped 
• 1 can pumpkin (15 ounce)
• 4 cups chicken broth (I used 2 cups - I like my soup thick)
• 1/2 cup whole milk 

Directions
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Servings: 6

1. Brown sausage, drain, then add the onion, garlic, Italian seasonings and mushrooms and sauté until done. 
2. Add pumpkin to this mixture and mix well. 
3. Stir in broth and mix well. Use less broth for a thicker soup; I used 2 cups.
4. Simmer 20-30 minutes. 
5. Stir in the milk and simmer on low another 10-15 minute. If soup is too thick, add more broth.
6. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed (optional). 

12/15/13: I'm making this recipe as I type and it is perfect for cold, snowy, winter days like today. It's ready in less than an hour and the whole house smells wonderful the whole time! If you haven't made this yet, add it to your short list of new recipes to try!

In Jennifer's kitchen

Jennifer, one of our contributors, also made this soup and shared a few words:

I just tasted it and all's I can say is OMG! Do I HAVE To share with my husband? I highly recommend it! easy TOO! -- Jennifer

November 19, 2013

I'm on a quest to kick things up a little in my weight loss journey. I'm committed to make as many new recipes as I can during the remainder of 2013. I've been collecting recipes and in the weeks ahead I plan to make as many of them as I can. What better way to start kicking things up than with a new kind of chili?

Chili made with Green Salsa

Why do I want to kick things up? One of the key concepts Julie teaches us is to mix it up - don't let your body get used to having the same foods. It was time for me to get back to this basic concept again.

Last week I was feeling bored with food. Nothing seemed interesting or tasty to me. That's when I started thinking it was time to switch out my menus for some new ones.

One night after work I looked in my pantry for something to cook with grass-fed beef, but I didn't see many options. Hmmm, now what?" 

I wasn't game for running to the store, so I looked in the pantry again. That's when I found a jar of chipolte corn salsa. I often make beef chili with a jar of red salsa, so why wouldn't corn salsa be just as good? it turns out corn salsa makes a delicious chili. I created a whole new version of chili that I liked so much I made it again for a potluck I went to yesterday. This time I made my chili with green salsa.

I discovered something else last week after eating that chili: I had lost interest in the meals I was making because I wasn't adding any herbs or spices. It's time to add some spice back into my foods.

What about you? Are you eating the same foods? Are you bored with your meals? Kick things up in you menu and see if that helps. If you have any nice spicy recipes, please share them with us!

Chili

1. Place 1 pound of ground beef in a pan
2. When the beef is done, drain out the oil.
3. Add 1 small chopped onion and 1 small sliced pepper (any color or type) to the pan and allow them to soften.
4. Add the beef to the pan with the onion and peppers and mix in a 16 oz jar of Mrs. Renfro's Green Salsa or Chipolte Corn Salsa. I loved the spiciness of these salsas, but you can add any brand of salsa.

Last week I topped my chili off with sour cream. I've heard mixed reviews if sour cream is on program or not. One person said she called the office and was told "it can be used as a condiment (i.e., in small amounts), but you should think about what your goal is when adding sour cream." That sounds like good advice to me. It's also a concept we can apply to other food choices.

Chili made with Chipolte Corn Salsa

November 17, 2013

Some mornings I grab an egg sandwich at Dunkin Donuts, but I make it a special order so I can have eggs my way: I ask them to hold the bagel. I've been doing this at my local DnD for so long that when the cook sees me coming, she knows to hold the bagel. She also knows to put the cheese between the meat and the egg.

Eggs my way - made at home (recipe below)

If you order eggs my way at DnD or anywhere else, know that you will pay the same price in most cases. They should give you a discount, and at DnD on Main in Northampton they often do, but if it gets in the way of having this my way or not, I keep it simple. If they look confused at how to ring it up, tell them: 1) ring it up as they do a sandwich, 2) let the cook know to hold the bagel (or other bread), and 3) ask the cook to put the cheese between the meat and egg (or skip the cheese entirely). You don't want to order a sandwich with the bread. Pulling the bagel from the sandwich is too tempting. You don't want to do this. No bagel, no temptation. Keep it simple.

Most mornings I don't eat breakfast. This was a big change for me that happened after I started this weight loss program. I don't know exactly when I stopped being hungry in the morning. Prior to seeing Julie, I always ate first thing in the morning, otherwise I felt dizzy. I was not a diabetic, and I was tested many times over the years, so I never knew why I had those spells. I recall when I first started feeling dizzy vividly. I was 19 years old. I woke up, jumped up out of bed like I always did, but that morning I quickly sat back down because I felt dizzy, and ever since that morning, I was dizzy every morning and I found eating stilled the dizzy spells - up until some time after I started Julie's program when I no longer had morning dizzy spells and I lost my appetite for breakfast.

Julie talks about stabilizing our metabolism for us in her sessions. Perhaps she stabilized my metabolism and that made the dizzy spells stop. I don't have another explanation. What I do know is I don't miss those dizzy spells and I'm good with this change.

That said, there are mornings when I am hungry and I have breakfast. Yesterday I saw an article about making a week’s worth of egg sandwiches in 15 minutes, and since I didn't have anything planned for dinner, and I had 2 dozen eggs in the house, I decided to adapt the recipe and made it for dinner last night.

Julie teaches us to vary our menus, so don't make this recipe with a dozen eggs unless you have family to help you eat them or you plan to freeze some. Trying this recipe last night is my first step in changing up what I eat. I'm re-evaluating what I'm eating and I'm cooking new recipes to move away from eating the same foods all the time. I'm making spicier foods and using my crockpot again. There's nothing like coming home to a cooked meal!

Eggs My Way
I think you'll find this recipe easy to adapt to make eggs your way. 

1. Drop a small amount of olive oil into each well of your muffin pan. Smear the oil around the well with your fingertip or a paper towel to coat the bottom and edges of each well. 

2. Place a piece of sliced ham in each well and add a small amount of spinach. I added spinach that was still frozen. You can use any vegetable or none at all.

3. Crack one egg into each well.

4. Sprinkle the eggs with a little salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Season to suit your tastes.

5. Bake in the oven at 350 for about 15 minutes. Adjust the cooling time depending on how you like your yolks. Cook them less if you want runny yolks or longer for harder yolks.

I got a phone call while my eggs were cooking, so they were perfectly hard boiled when I ate them. I prefer them runny, but hard boiled means I can eat the leftovers cold from the refrigerator instead of needing to heat them up.

Recipe adapted from Make A Week’s Worth Of Healthy Egg Breakfast Sandwiches in 15 Minutes.

November 14, 2013

This question was posted a few minutes ago on an August 2013 post (Quick Recipes) and in order to help Rose, I'm posting her question so that some of you may be able to answer her questions:

I am new to blogging and not sure if I'm doing it right. I have been on the diet for two months and doing well. I do still have some food questions and how the food combinations effect the body, as well as dynamics of Julie's philosophy. I really enjoyed the sessions and am in awe of her. However, after driving for two hours from Gloucester and attending the night sessions, I tended to space out and not necessarily absorb a lot if the information. I emailed Theresa, but got back some long form letter of encouragement. Is there anyone out there who can help me?  -- Rose

11/13/13 update:
I just read an excerpt from the book Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth About Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar - Your Brain's Silent Killers, by Dr. David Perlmutter, which supports a lot of what Julie teaches us. I highly recommend this article. It's available on Amazon and the Kindle price is only $6.62. I devoured the article, so I may have to buy the Kindle version! -- Theresa

November 12, 2013

This weight loss journey isn't a contest. We are all winners, even though this is not a contest. This journey is about our commitment to drop our excess weight, to reach our desired size, and maintain that size for the rest of lives. How's your commitment working for you?

We made a commitment to ourselves, and with Julie's help (hypnosis) we can stay committed to drop our weight.

My commitment has stayed strong, but sometimes I get in my own way. The mean girl inside me sometimes whines "how come she lost weight faster than me?" Or I discover something I'm doing that isn't according to the program.

I know people who started this program and dropped straight down to their goal size. For others, including me, reaching our goal size is a longer journey. People in both groups indicate they have always been 100% in the river (on program) the whole time. Others indicate they jump in and out of the river all the time and they still reached their goals. I can't speak for the later group and I don't judge them. This is a solo journey and I can only speak of my own truth.

Why it is that some lose weight so much faster than others? Perhaps it's because we don't all hear or remember the same details and because we interpret what Julie teaches us in different ways. Again, I can only speak of my own journey.

As time passes, I refine my program, as I discover things I was doing wrong. These discoveries happen at refreshers or when I talk with others, but sometimes I have my own "ah ha" moments.

My recent "ah ha" was about the meat-veggie-ratio. I recall meals where I had more veggies than meat. I removed coleslaw from my food options a few months ago, because I realized it's a food I eat too much of, especially when I make it at home. I start off with the correct ratio, but then I go back for more coleslaw than meat and throw off the balance.

Yes, coleslaw is a food we're allowed. Yes, I stayed in the river. However, if we eat more veggies than meat we are going to either stop losing or gain weight. I speak of coleslaw, but I overate other veggies as well. I'll bring coleslaw back again, but for now, it's off my plate.

This concept is not complicated: eat equal to or less veggies than meat.

I'm not sure why I didn't take this meat-veggie-ratio more serious every day or when the line became blurry and I ignored this key concept over and over. I'm not even sure when it started or why I allowed myself to tip the balance. Why didn't I catch this and stop sooner? I'm not sure.

What I do know is that now that I've put the meat-veggie-ratio balance back in balance, my weight is coming off again.

I've followed this program for nearly 3 years and along the way I've identified areas where I make mistakes. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why my weight loss is slower than others. I learn from these imperfections and then I move on.

A big part of this program is learning to reprogram our minds. I don't beat myself up when I discover something I'm doing wrong. This program is a lifestyle change and I keep this in mind as I journey forward. Imperfections are part of the human experience. I expand my knowledge of how this program works by listening to my own body. When I feel I'm in a plateau, I look around to see if it's something I'm doing wrong and if it is, I stop it immediately.

As much as my old way of thinking (my inner mean girl) asks "why is she losing weight so much faster than me?" I have to remind myself: this is NOT a competition. There is no finish line. There is no "end" of this journey. Life doesn't work this way. I am on a journey to lose weight and I'm doing my best to stay the course. My best is good enough.

After I reach my goal size I'll learn how to maintain that and then move on once again. Move on to what? Living my life just as I always have. My whole life doesn't change just because my size does. My life is the same, but I'm a whole lot healthier. I'm the same person, just a smaller size. I think the same, except the mean girl is melting away. The mean girl who held me back no longer has a place in my life.

I speak of the mean girl because a lot of us are so critical of ourselves. It's important on this journey to quiet the inner mean voice. If we want to transform our lives, we have to stop listening to the mean girl who tells us we're still fat. The mean girl who looks in the mirror and only sees our flaws. The mean girl has no place in your life either; let her go.

If we are truly committed to losing this weight and maintaining it for the rest of our lives, we cannot afford such negativity in our lives, especially from ourselves. If we cannot look in the mirror and see ourselves as we really are, we're never going to maintain our goal size.

Let go of your mean girl. Let go of anything that is keeping you from reaching your goal size and embrace your commitment to reach your goal.

November 11, 2013

Happy November,

Yes, it's Fall and the weather is getting chilly.  I wanted to check in to see how you were all doing. Well, how are you doing? Challenges, successes, laughs? Update us.....

I'll start first.  These past 4 months have been fantastic.  I feel great and in fact, I think I am going to start to run again.  OK... Jog.  :). I was out with my dog last week and started to jog around the neighborhood and felt pretty good.  The places that used to bounce around and not feel comfortable, didn't feel too bad.  So, I'm going to sign up with Planet Fitness and start to use the treadmill 3/wk.  I will keep you posted on how this goes.

I have gone off program 2 times.  Both times when I went away for a few days.  I limited my "off" times to beverage selection and on one vacation food choices.  Both times, I have been able to get back "into the river" successful.

My 4 month anniversary is coming up Nov 15.  I just signed up for a refresher for the end of November.  I have a goal that I would like to hit by Jan 1.  To complete it, I want to be as prepared as I can be.  This will assure that nothing will stand in my way.

Here are a few things that I have learned over the past 4 months:

1. Food doesn't have a tight grip over me anymore.  With Julie's help with cravings, I don't feel the pull of food anymore.
2. My beverage of choice (when out with friends) used to be beer.  All different kinds of seasonal ones.  I've realized that, Vodka is a great replacement.
3. I now drink coffee. Maybe it's because my taste buds have changed and it gives me something different to drink along with water and seltzer.
4. I'm not hungry anymore.  In fact, I need to remind myself to eat.  I think this is because I don't crave or think about food anymore.
5. I have the support of family and friends.  I do find that after you have been on the program for a bit, it's easy to stay on it and not have sugar or carbs.  You get used to leaving them off your plate.

Do you agree?

How are you doing?

Jane

"Preparedness Equals Peace of Mind" - is a quote from a dear friend that coached college athletes for over 30 yrs.  She recently lost her battle with cancer this past August.  This quote is right on the money as we are all prepared once our 3 sessions are completed with Julie.  To believe in ourselves and the program brings success and POM.

November 04, 2013

The month of October has been packed full of conferences and other travels and I'm happy to report that, like our friend Linda who traveled to Italy - I stayed on program everywhere I went! I'll post about my travels in a day or so, but this morning I want to talk about leg cramps, because last night I woke up in the middle of the night with a wicked bad leg cramp.

"The best theory is the “squatting hypothesis,” which speculates that leg cramping is associated with the modern habit of sitting on chairs and on the toilet instead of squatting as our forebears would have done." -- Lisa Shives, M.D., founder of Northshore Sleep Medicine.

I haven't had leg cramps for a while, but last night's was an exceptionally bad cramp. This morning I was determined to find out why I get these cramps. Since I'm no medical expert, and putting soap at the foot of my bed or rubbing it on the sheets didn't work for me, I turned to Google for help.

There's a ton of information online about causes and treatment of leg cramps. After reading a good number of articles, and this isn't the first time I've done this research, I'm taking the route of stretching and taking magnesium to stop leg cramps from happening again. In fact, I just pulled out my bottle of Nature's Bounty 500 mg Magnesium and took one just now!

I divided my summary (below) into two categories: 1) what's the best treatment for leg cramps? and 2) what causes leg cramps?  I hope this information is helpful to those of you who have these leg cramps. If you have a solution for leg cramps, please share what worked for you!

What's the best treatment for leg cramps? 

This is what I wanted to know most:  how to prevent leg cramps. Last night's episode was painful and I want to stop this from happening as soon as possible. After reading a good number of articles, I found this simple statement to be the most helpful:

Simple stretches before you turn in may be all it takes to rein in charley horses. In one Dutch study, 40 sufferers who tried a three-minute workout were able to reduce their agonizing sleep-killers by more than half — and when they did get a cramp, it was much less painful. Source: Bye-bye, Leg Cramps.

That article includes stretching exercises, as does this one:

What Causes Leg Cramps at Night

What causes leg cramps?   

The cause of leg cramps is written about on a million websites, many of which include ads for products. After reading a good number of them, I found a common thread about magnesium deficiency and dehydration. These three article excerpts align with information I found on medical websites:

Medicine.net

Muscle cramps can often be prevented by measures such as adequate nutrition and hydration, attention to safety when exercising, and attention to ergonomic factors. Muscle cramps are extremely common. Almost everyone (one estimate is about 95%) experiences a cramp at some time in their life. Causes for cramps include: vigorous activity, sitting or lying for an extended period, dehydration, low blood levels of either calcium or magnesium, and some medicines. 

WiseGeek

Many people have had the experience of waking up in the middle of the night with excruciating calf pain, and when such a charley horse strikes, the first tendency is usually to try to straighten out the leg and massage the muscle that is causing the pain. This instinctive reaction is actually the best way to ease a leg cramp, and applying a warm heating pad to the painful area also is effective for immediate relief. If the pain persists, the person can take a pain reliever such as aspirin or ibuprofen to help ease the pain.

If common treatments don't help alleviate the cramps, or if they occur with great frequency, the sufferer should consult with a medical professional who can determine if there is a more a serious underlying medical condition.

MgBRIGHT Magnesium Supplement

The cause of leg cramps is a deficiency of magnesium. According to Dr. Oz, Dr. Weil, the Mayo Clinic, and other leading authorities, magnesium deficiency is the hidden cause of leg cramps, and no prescription medication can treat it. In fact, 78% of leg cramp sufferers have a severe magnesium deficiency. Without magnesium, your body is missing its most important natural defense against pain, swelling, tension and inflammation. Studies show that aggressively replenishing magnesium eliminates leg cramps and prevents them in the future.

October 29, 2013

It was 2 years ago today that I went to Julie for the first time!! Thus the term Julieversary!! Our friend Jill came up with this term and I love it!!!

I will say, I am pleased, thankful, happy, and in disbelief!!!

I have gone from this, my absolute largest size was 26/28.

To this in 2 years, I am getting into 12's!!!

What have I learned in these past 2 years:

I have learned to start trusting in myself. I am learning to like myself (which is a MAJOR step for me)! I have learned I can follow this program anywhere, even in Italy!!!

I have learned patience (I am a slow looser) I am finding myself liking clothes shopping. I don't try to blend into the wall as often anymore when in crowds. I enjoy getting dressed now in the morning as my clothes fit!!!

I have learned there is always tomorrow to eat, I don't have to eat it all today. I have learned to ignore the naysayers and the ones who have to say negative things about how I am eating.

I have learned to love meat and I thoroughly enjoy it!! It is a treat for me to eat so much meat after denying myself meat while on other plans.

It is wonderful to go to bed knowing it was a good eating day and I won't be up half the night with heartburn. It is wonderful to enter into the holiday season, or New Years Day or celebrations and not panic because I have to loose weight to get into something decent to wear!

I can get on the floor with my grand kids!! I sit with my legs crossed with no problem at all!!

I am gaining confidence daily.

I trust the program, I don't mess with the program, it works when you do what she tells you to do!!!

I do not miss the scale! I feel so free from getting weighed in and weighing and measuring my food!! I LOVE I DON'T HAVE TO JOURNAL!!!

I am learning to accept compliments graciously, even though it is hard for me to believe them, the word skinny and Linda just never were in the same sentence in my life ever before!!

I am happy for the first time in my life I am happy with me!!!

Julie if you are reading this, THANK YOU!!!!! THANK YOU for giving me back my life!!!! THANK YOU for giving my husband and my children and my grandchildren - a wife, mother and grandmother!!!

October 24, 2013