So...who's in?

Hey family!

I've given myself a challenge to lose ten pounds in twelve weeks (by Asher's first birthday). Read more about it here. If anyone wants to join me (in whatever goal they have!), we can help keep each other motivated and check in here to record our progress. And think about it--if we all get in better shape/hopefully lose weight by Asher's birthday, we'll look fantastic in our family photos.

Let me know if you're in and what your goal is!

Junk Food Tips!

Oh, junk food... so delicious, yet so high in calories. We've rounded up what we think are the TOP ATE junk foods, along with our best swaps for them... in the form of recipes and store-bought finds. Weeee!

1. French Fries Make 'Em: We're betting you saw this one coming a mile away, but we'd be remiss not to mention our beloved Bake-tastic Butternut Squash Fries. And if you want tips on making baked fries with items other than b-nut squash, click here for the 411! Buy 'Em: LesserEvil Krinkle Sticks are great to keep on hand if you're prone to French-fry snack attacks. Dunk 'em in ketchup to make them seem more like the real deal...

2. Pepperoni Pizza Make It: Our favorite way to satisfy a craving for pepperoni pizza is to pound a chicken cutlet flat and top it like a pizza. It works. FOR REAL. If you want more tips on how to make DIY pizzas, you NEED to check out the page for the "You Wanna Pizza Me?" episode of Hungry Girl. VERY helpful! Buy It: Frozen pizza is pretty much always a safer bet than ordering from a restaurant. Why? You can control your portions with individually sized finds like this one from Lean Cuisine or this one from DiGiorno. We've all played the "oh, I'll just have ONE more slice" game... and we lose every time.

3. Chicken Fingers/Hot Wings Make 'Em: Fried chicken pieces are delicious, but why ruin a perfectly good lean protein by submerging it in hot oil? Here are a couple of recipes to help you indulge while avoiding the excess fat: our Kickin' Buttermilk Faux-Fried Chicken and H-O-T Hot Boneless Buffalo Wings. You know, because some like it hot. Buy 'Em: If the recipes above have you thinking, "But, HG! The point of getting chicken fingers is that I don't feel like cooking anything," hold your lazy horses -- we've got you covered. Morningstar Farms makes great faux chicken treats in both regular nuggets and Buffalo-style veggie wings. We also looooove Lightlife Smart Wings (refrigerated and found in the produce or natural-foods section of the market). Try 'em!

4. Cheeseburgers Make 'Em: One of the easiest swaps on this list! If you crave a basic fast-food burger, check out this basic swap of ours from back in the day. And if you want to stock up on great must-have ingredients for burgers of all sorts (plus peruse an enormous recipe roundup), click here! Buy 'Em: Scoff all you want, but we have big love for Cheeseburger Lean Pockets. If it's fast-food flavor you want BUT HG-friendly stats you need, one of those should do the trick. FYI, a basic cheeseburger from McDonald's has 300 calories and 12 grams of fat, which is not awful if you need a fix. The hard part is escaping McD's without fries and a sugary drink to go with it...

5. Snack Cakes/Cupcakes Make 'Em: What's not to love about petite cakes?! Oh yeah, all the unnecessary fat and sugar in store-bought ones. Wanna kill the craving in your own kitchen? Make cupcakes! Check out our latest recipes by clicking here. We love them so much, we cannot choose a favorite. Can't do it. Buy 'Em: In a pinch? Don't feel like having a whole batch of cupcakes sitting around? No prob. Hostess makes 100-calorie versions of its popular snack cakes. The mini goodies come three to a pack -- not exactly filling, but they'll quiet your craving.

6. Ice Cream Sundaes Make 'Em: Stock up on basics like fat-free and light ice cream (click for tips and picks!), light chocolate syrup, fat-free whipped topping, and maraschino cherries -- then you'll be all set when the mood strikes. Wanna get fancy? Try these fun, decadent recipes... Buy 'Em: If you're thinking of stopping by Dairy Queen to grab a sundae, DON'T! Keep driving 'til you hit the grocery store and grab a pack of these premade brownie sundaes from Smart Ones.

7. Candy Make It: OK, these next recipes aren't so much about making candy yourself as they are about making a little of the sweet stuff go a long way. Maximize your candy -- use it in a recipe! These Cocoa Loco Krispymallow Treats are packed with bits of candy, and here are a bunch more ways to stretch your sweets! Buy It: Have you heard about Skinny Cow's new chocolate candies yet? If you're a candy fan and haven't tried 'em, YOU MUST! The clusters rock and the bars rule. Another smart find? 100-calorie bars like the kinds by Hershey's.

8. Potato Chips Make 'Em: Fine... This is one type of junk food you're probably not going to create at home. If you are prepared to make your own guilt-free crispy potato chips, you're more ambitious than we are, and you beat us to it. (Congrats!) Buy 'Em: The best picks, hands down, are Popchips, Kettle Brand Baked Potato Chips, and Cape Cod 40% Reduced Fat Potato Chips. As Tina Turner would say, they're "simply the best, better than all the rest." (Um, this is not meant to imply an endorsement by Ms. Turner.)

Miss South Carolina

I don't know if any of you have seen this story on the news.... but I find it very inspirational. It talks about how Miss South Carolina went from "chubby teen to beauty queen." I love that she lost her weight by eating healthy and exercise (no surgery invovled!)

You can check out the story here.

-Grace

Fruit

This time of year is my favorite for food, cuz there is fresh fruit everywhere!!! Today the kids and I stocked the fridge with grapes, raspberries, blueberries, and cherries! (Rainier are the best of all the cherries) If we can't eat the fruit fast enough, I will either freeze some, or throw it into a blender and make a smoothie. I don't feel bad for snacking when it's this kind of food. Also, today I cleaned out my cupboards of all candy... it felt SOOO great to go through my cupbaords and just start trashing the stuff. I have a hard time saying no to treats, so if it's outta the house, there is no temptation.

-Grace

Starting Healthy Traditions

The Hambly Family has a tradition of holding a family 5K every Fourth of July. This year was the 8th annual 5K, and we were glad we were able to go. The 5K started before anyone in the family really got into running and was small because there weren't nearly as many grandkids. This year, 37 family members (including little ones and babies) participated in the 5K! The point of the 5K isn't to win or to show off how fast you can go, but to spend time as a family doing something healthy and fun. Not everyone runs, but everyone makes an effort to participate. It has become one of my favorite family traditions.

I think it's important to start healthy traditions because when you are trying to be healthy together, it's some much easier and so much more fun! Do you guys have any healthy traditions? Anyone up to holding a family 5K in October :) ?

Sausage-stuffed Manicotti

*This is one of my favorite "light" recipes that we've tried so far. It's delicious!!*

10 uncooked manicotti
Cooking spray
1 pound sweet turkey Italian sausage*
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups fat-free milk
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
2 cups tomato-basil pasta sauce (such as Newman's Own)
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

*Our store didn't have turkey sausage, so we used ground turkey and added a few different seasonings to make it more sausage-like. It was still great!

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.
2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Remove casings
from sausage. Add sausage to pan; cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Add onion
and bell pepper to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until tender.
3. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour; cook 2 minutes, stirring
constantly with a whisk. Remove from heat; gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk. Return pan to
heat; bring to a boil. Cook 6 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly with a whisk. Remove from
heat; stir in black pepper. Add 1/2 cup milk mixture to sausage mixture; stir well.
4. Preheat oven to 350°.
5. Spoon about 1/3 cup sausage mixture into each manicotti; arrange manicotti in a single layer in a
13 x 9 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle mozzarella over manicotti; spread
remaining milk mixture evenly over mozzarella. Top milk mixture with pasta sauce, spreading to cover.
Sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until bubbly.

CALORIES 292 ; FAT 11.5g (sat 4.9g,mono 3.5g,poly 1.8g); CHOLESTEROL 57mg; CALCIUM
193mg; CARBOHYDRATE 25.8g; SODIUM 719mg; PROTEIN 19.6g; FIBER 1.4g; IRON 1.8mg

From Cooking Light

Lightened Up Jambalaya

2 tsp olive oil 1 medium sweet onion, chopped (about 1 cup)   1 medium green pepper(s), chopped (about 1 cup)   8 oz Chicken, breast, raw, without skin & bone, cut into bite-size pieces 29 oz canned stewed tomatoes, undrained 12 oz shrimp, peeled and deveined* 1 tsp italian seasoning, dried  1 tsp hot pepper sauce 4 cup(s) cooked brown rice *I am so not a shrimp girl, so I substitute either more chicken or turkey sausage. 1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and pepper; cook, stirring, until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. 2. Stir in chicken; cook, stirring, until chicken is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. 3. Stir in remaining ingredients, except rice; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, stirring occasionally, until shrimp are cooked through, about 5 minutes. 4. Stir in rice; continue cooking until liquid is almost absorbed and rice is thoroughly heated, about 2 minutes. Yields about 2 cups per serving.

Tips from WW: This recipe also tastes great if you use lean pork tenderloin strips instead of chicken. And go ahead and toss some red beans into the cooked rice.

From Weight Watchers