What’s in the Crockpot? Part Eight

We haven’t played ‘What’s in the Crockpot?’ in months! Time to fix that. Ready for a new installment? It’s easy to play. I won’t even have to explain the rules – you’ll pick it up as you go. I promise!

READY TO GO? LET’S PLAY!

What’s in the Crockpot?

Exciting TV Announcement PLUS My Awesome New Kitchen Toy PLUS A Tasty Easy Dip Recipe!

Is your DVR remote control handy? Or pen and paper? I just want you to be prepared, because I have exciting news: I’m gonna be on TV again!

I’ll be a guest on “The Doctors” next Monday, January 28th! It’s a show about weight loss, featuring the one-and-only Richard Simmons. As part of his segment, they wanted to feature success stories of people that have worked with Richard to drop pounds. I’m one of 5 success stories, along with my friends Joanne, Marcia, Iris, and Lori, that are there to inspire a woman in the studio audience who wants to lose weight.

We taped the show in late December (and I’ve kept my mouth shut about it per the confidentiality agreement they asked me to sign), and it was a lot of fun. I’m in the very first segment at the start of the show, and also onstage at the very end of the hour as well. “The Doctors” is syndicated, and to find out when it airs in your area, click here. I actually don’t know right now if my appearance will be available online. There’s a good chance it won’t be, so if you don’t have a DVR or a VCR or the ability to drop everything and watch it when it’s actually on, then you have about a week to figure out a solution! TUNE IN!

FUN FACT: This is actually my second appearance on “The Doctors” – I appear, briefly, in a segment taped at Slimmons that aired about a year ago. You can watch it online right here.

Moving on… I got a fun new kitchen toy as a Christmas present, and I’ve been photographing it in action!

Easy Pumpkin Dip AND Weight Loss Chart Update!

By the time you read this, it’ll already be November 12th, and I just realized I never posted my most recent weigh-in results from… um… 12 days ago. Whoopsy, my bad! I got a little swept up in last weekend’s 10K race, which, by the way, left me sore in my quads and calves for nearly three days. Even though the race is over and done with, I still ran three more times last week, due to the convenience of running and my new habit of bringing a change of clothes to the office so I can hit the streets as soon as I’m done with work.

But I digress. I have a weight loss chart to update! For anyone that may be new here, I’ve kept a weight loss chart since I began this endeavor nearly three years ago (!), and every month I update it with my weight as a way to stay accountable, remind myself of my successes, and track my progress. After I weighed myself on November first, I updated my chart like this:

I stayed even at 241 pounds. I’ll confess that I was hoping for a loss, on account of all the running I’d been doing to prepare for the 10K, but I’ll take it! After two months of small gains, I’m glad that I stopped adding weight. And looking back at calendar year 2012, which that photo shows, I realized that I’ve stayed within the same 5-pound range since January. That’s pretty sweet, even though I’m at the high end of the range at the moment.

241 pounds represents a loss of 161 pounds. I don’t get tired of reminding myself of that! Here’s the chart in its entirety (for you new folks, it’s hanging on my closet wall, where I can see it every day as I dress):

October Weight Loss Chart Update AND Crockpot Ratatatatatatouille

I’ve been trying to focus on the positive the past few days, because it regards to my eating and exercise, it hasn’t been a fantastic few days.

I delayed this post a day so I could include the results of my October 1st weigh-in. Let’s see what the ol’ weight loss chart has to say, shall we?

Up three pounds. That’s five pounds that I’ve gained over the past two months. No bueno.  And here’s the crappy part about having a weight loss chart… it only took me approximately 15 seconds to realize that this is the heaviest I’ve been in about 18 months. The last time I weighed 241 pounds was March 2011.

What’s In The (Brand-New) Crockpot? Part Seven

On Sunday I got to break in my brand new fancy-pants Crockpot! It was a very exciting day. I couldn’t wait to pull that lid off and sample the contents, but I had to endure hours and hours of waiting, because as you know, Crockpots don’t cook things fast. They cook them slow… which is why they’re also known as slow cookers (whoever thought that name up should definitely get bonus points).

So… are you ready? Ready for the first-ever edition of this game that features my brand-new crockpot? Strap on your knee and elbow pads, because it’s time to play!

WHAT’S IN THE CROCKPOT?

Cordon Bleu Toasts

Health-conscious. Figure friendly. Guilt-free.

I made an appetizer for my cousin’s birthday party that’s ALL OF THE ABOVE! Best of all, it tasted good. Really good. Wanna see how I made it?

Hope you said ‘yes’, because that’s what this post is about!

Hami Melon & Recipe

My most recent produce haul post featured a quick mention of my purchase of a hami melon, a variety of melon that I hadn’t heard of before. It’s a good lookin’ melon, don’t you think?

Hami melons are named after the Chinese region where they were cultivated, in the northwest part of the country, near the Mongolia border.

What’s In The Crockpot? Part Six

A big thank you to everyone who sent good thoughts my way yesterday. My first day at the new job was great – I met a lot of great new colleagues and absorbed a lot of info… now, onto Day 2!

Like I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I spent part of my Sunday loading up my crockpot to make some meals to eat throughout the week. There’s no better way to reveal my crockpottery than by playing a riveting, edge-of-your-seat game of What’s In The Crockpot?!

What’s In The Crockpot? is a spin-off of the very popular, smash hit, blockbuster blog game What’s In The RediSetGo?, all of which are archived here. (I haven’t archived my What’s In The Crockpot? installments yet, but it’s on my list.) If you’ve never played before, hold on to your hat! Don’t worry about the rules – you’ll figure it out quickly. And if you get hooked, click here and here to play a couple more installments!

So stuff some shin guards into your socks, because it’s time to play…

WHAT’S IN THE CROCKPOT?

What’s In The RediSetGo? Part Twenty-Four

It’s been over two months since we’ve played “What’s In The RediSetGo?” – and that’s too long! I’m ready for another installment. Are you?

Some CliffsNotes for any first-timers: “What’s In The RediSetGo?” is a little game I created back when this blog was a wee little blogling. It’s based on my love of the RediSetGo, a fantastic kitchen thingamajig that you can order off an informercial (watch it online at the RediSetGo website). You’ll soon see how ridiculously easy it is to play – all you have to do is guess the answer to the simple (or not-so-simple) titular question. If you like the game as much as a lot of my readers do, then check out the archives. You can play Parts One through Twenty-Three by visiting my “What’s In The RediSetGo?” Page (there’s a link in the header, so you can easily access it no matter where you are on this site).

So round up four high-energy members of your family, and put on your best ’70s duds, because it’s time to play the Feud!

Nope, wrong game. It’s time to play…

WHAT’S IN THE REDISETGO?

What I Found At The Farmers’ Market…

…and what I did with it!

It was a beautiful day to visit the farmers’ market, and I ended up finding (and buying) all sorts of interesting things! Starting with…

STRAWBERRIES WITH STEMS! I’ve seen strawberries with stems at fancy restaurants and events – they’re often dipped in chocolate – but I’d never seen them someplace where I could actually purchase them. So I purchased them. When it comes down to it, I don’t think I’ll do anything different with these than I’d do with any other strawberries, but I’m a sucker for a gimmick, and in this case, stem = gimmick.

Wanna see what else I found?