Winter is coming!

[Lady Schist]

Whether we want it to or not, winter comes. It looms like a big blanket waiting to smother our outdoor activities and it beckons like a warm fire surrounded by chocolates and other delicacies that we seem to get only when the sunshine goes away in the northern latitudes.

What does winter mean, usually it means that we stay inside. Hell. It's already here for some of us. Winter is hailed as the time of food and lethargy.

Now, for me, winter is usually a time of loosing if not maintaining weight. USUALLY, the last two winters I've not been able to do that. I actually like exercising outside MORE in colder weather than in warm weather really.

So. What are your plans for winter?  

[Starlurk]

As odd as it sounds I have a hard time already going outside to exercise. So my goals for winter will remain the same: try to find indoor exercises I can stick with. sweatdrop  

[Iconised Ghost]

Winter's leaving for me mrgreen so im going to be walking and running outside, spending time at the beach, eating salad and swimming in the sea heart  

[Divash]

My plans are to make holiday meals that won't bust my calorie/fat/sugar "budget," to continue to walk everywhere until the temperature drops below zero (Fahrenheit), and to go VOTE TODAY.  

[Lady Schist]

Good on you for voting.

Where are you Ghost?

I plan on trying to continue watching my portions.  

[Iconised Ghost]

New Zealand 3nodding so ive already suffered through winter. If i can do it, you guys can too!  

[__penguin__]

I'm going to try to limit myself to one sweet hot drink per week (hot chocolate, lattes, etc. not including tea)!  

[Starlurk]

Only once a week? Oh yeah you're in California, depressing snow doesn't reach you there. gonk  

[Iconised Ghost]

mmm tea saved me this winter. Cold, hungry, tired- tea!  

[Divash]

Tea is great. Just remember that sugar, honey, agave syrup, and most add-in flavorings such as Torani syrups all have the same amount of calories. Use artificial sweetener, or do without, if you want it to help you in your weight loss goal.

Also remember, if you're thinking of desserts for special occasions, that these are diet-killers. However, sliced fruit is still healthy. I know, I know, sliced fruit is cold and unappealing in the winter. Not to fear, Apple Crisp is here!

Apple Crisp

3 tbsp old-fashioned oats (rolled or steel-cut)
2 tbsp Splenda Brown Sugar (it's half-and-half)
1 tbsp Smart Balance Lite, softened to room temperature
pinch salt
2-2 apples (Brae Burn, McIntosh, Jonagold, Honey Crisp... Granny Smith as a last resort. You want apples that are sweet, tart, and will stand up to cooking.)
2 tsp lemon juice

1. Mix oats, Splenda Brown Sugar, Smart Balance Lite, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

1. Core apples, slice thinly, and lay in a thin layer at the bottom of a baking dish. Sprinkle lightly with lemon juice to keep it from browning.

3. Crumble oatmeal mixture over the top of the apple layer.

4. Bake at 300 Fahrenheit (roughly 150 Celsius, I think) for about 25 minutes.

5. Serve hot. Serves 4.

Weight Watchers: This entire dish is 8 points, so each portion is 2 points:

Apples: 3 points
Lemon juice: 0 points
Oatmeal: 2 points
Splenda Brown Sugar: 2 points (regular brown sugar would be 2 points)
Smart Balance Lite: 1 point (regular butter/margarine would be 3 points)  

[__penguin__]

That apple crisp sounds really good. surprised

And tea is fine for me because the only kind of tea I like is peppermint tea without added sweeteners. biggrin  

[Iconised Ghost]

meh i have 1 tsp sugar in each cup of tea, about 15 calories. Given the choice between that and a binge on biscuits, crackers or other snack foods i'd take the 15 calories mrgreen  

[Lady Schist]

I don't put sugar in my drinks ever anymore. I used to. But now I rely on spices.

Diet Emergency Dessert! (or DED!)

Now, this is a really good healthy recipe that I made when I was at a friend's house, I made it because I'm vegan and there was no dessert I could eat and that made me a sad panda, because it sucks watching everyone else have desert without you.

But, it's also a great alternative to cakes and pies that float around all holiday season, tastes great, and can be made in ten minutes. It's like apple crisp, but super fast.

What you'll do is you'll take stock of the fridge to see what you might want to go in this. Thanksgiving (for americans) Christmas? any other family get together? You'll have looots of things.

Now. The only things you actually need are:

An Apple,
Brown sugar,
Cinnamon.

You can make a great little dessert with just that. If you've got cranberry sauce around, throw that in. It helps keep things tart and wonderful. (I used two table spoons of cranberry juice the last time I made it)

What I use when I've got all the things I need (ie: when I'm in an exceptionally well stocked kitchen)

One apple. peeled, cored, and chopped roughly. (around half inch pieces)
A small spoon of brown sugar, not heaping.
As many raisins as you want.
Cinnamon to taste (around a teaspoon if you can)
Nutmeg to taste. (A few shakes will do)
Dried cranberries and dried apricots chopped. (maybe around two dried apricots, and a spoonful of cranberries (use less cranberries than raisins unless you don't like raisins.)
Cranberry sauce! My partner's grandma makes this wonderful cranberry sauce, it has citrus fruits and spices and is more like jam than the jelly you get from a can, but you can use that as well. OR like I stated above around two tablespoons of cranberry juice and some raspberry jam.
Two tablespoons of oats, more if it's a little runny.
Chopped walnuts or pecans.
A tablespoon of peanut butter. More if you like. Any nut butter works.

So. What you'll do is you'll throw the apples, brown sugar, spices, and dried fruits in a bowl. Put in the cranberry sauce or cranberry juice, or raspberry jam. NUKE THAT SUCKER! Put it in the microwave for 3-5 minutes. Take it out, stir it, maybe give it a thrashing with a fork, and put it in for another minute.

After that's done, throw in the oats, nut butter and walnuts/pecans, stir it up and let it sit.

Now. When it comes to your nut butter you CAN use jiffy or whatever supermarket stuff you have, but you really should use a natural organic nut butter if at all possible.

And you have a deliciously creamy dessert, that is rather good for you. And is DELICIOUS!  

[Divash]

This dessert sounds delicious, but it's also very high in calories. The parts to worry about:

* Brown sugar. (Use Splenda Brown Sugar instead)

* Raisins, dried cranberries, dried apricots. (A handful of these contains the same amount of fiber and calories as three apricots and two or three cups of whole, not dried, berries. One handful of dried fruits is enough fruit allowance for two days!)

* Butter and peanut butter. (Butter is all fat, and peanut butter is more than half fat. One tablespoon of butter is enough fat for an entire day, and it's not one of the healthier fats you could be eating. The healthiest oils are: olive, canola, safflower, sunflower, and flax.)

* Chopped nuts. (Nuts are, like peanut butter, mostly fat. They're healthy-ish fats, but they're still fats, and they aren't going to help you lose weight.)  

[Lady Schist]

My dessert isn't really a good thing for omnivores I guess.

My thing is that you shouldn't avoid these things, it's better for you to eat peanut butter than to eat fries or other nasty things that we eat on a regular basis, (and there is no actual butter in that recipe, the peanut butter is the source of oil.)

I've gone through this with my mother and I have to stress, fats and oils are not the enemy. A table spoon of peanut butter every once in a while isn't going to kill you, and it's not going to make you gain weight, but it MIGHT just give your dessert a little protein pick me up to keep you from getting snack munchies later. Nuts are the same.

Though I will admit that I do go wild with the dried fruits but I'll also say that what I call for (besides raisins which are a weakness of mine) is by no means a handful.

The point is not to omit everything that could make you gain weight, it's to have everything in moderation which is hard to get the hang of, but if you never eat something because it has fats in it, you'll just eat it later, OR you'll be less fulfilled culinar-ily, especially if you love peanut butter the way I do.

And as another note, I do this recipe up mostly after family dinners where I haven't had enough to eat because the only things that are vegan there are the carrots and broccoli.