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February 2009

South Beach Quiche Cups an oldie but goodie

Quichecups I've been drifting back toward the South Beach Diet lately, and the other morning I made some Quiche Cups, little muffin-sized mini quiches, perfect for breakfast or snack time.

Those little suckers are tasty and crazy low in calories. Each serving of two quiches is only 77 calories. Also, they're super easy to make.

South Beach Quiche Cups

  • 3/4 cup liquid egg substitute
  • 3/4 cup low-fat shredded cheddar
  • 1 10-oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and all water squeezed out
  • 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1 teaspoon hot sauce


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix everything together and spoon into sprayed muffin tins. Bake for 20 minutes or until set.


Free pancakes at IHOP today

J0182749 If you missed the free Grand Slam at Denny's earlier this month, today's your shot for another free breakfast. IHOP is giving away free a free short stack of pancakes today. In the Catholic religion, the day before the beginning of Lent is called Shrove or Pancake Tuesday, and traditionally people would make pancakes to get rid of "luxurious" products like butter, milk and eggs. Things that someone might give up for Lent. (A friend of mine is giving up Facebook for Lent -- stay strong Joyce!).

Anyway, if you do succumb to the free pancakes, the short stack is 600 calories, but that's with margarine and sugar-free syrup (that's the only way I could find the count). I'd suggest skipping the margarine and even the sugar-free syrup (yuck). That should save you around 50 calories, and for that order yourself some scrambled egg whites to boost the protein of your breakfast.

IHOP is using today to ask for donations to the Children's Miracle Network, a worthy cause, so send some pancake bucks their way.


Want a free Kashi frozen meal?

Kashimeal I'm a big fan of Kashi frozen meals. They're just about the only frozen meals that don't need a sandwich to accompany them. They're full of veggies, fiber and protein and low in calories. And for a frozen meal, they're pretty responsible with the sodium. They pretty much all taste great. I'm partial to the Southwestern Chicken and the Chicken Pasta Pomodoro.

And right now, Kashi is giving away a coupon for a free frozen meal. All you have to do is go to Kashi's site HERE.


Our Bob Harper book/Extra sugar-free gum giveaway is still on!

We've had some good comments on successfully handling afternoon snack time but we need more! All you have to do is add a comment about your favorite healthy snack or how you handle afternoon snack time and you'll be in the running for a copy of Bob Harper's book Are You Ready? or a 12-pack of Extra Sugar-Free Gum, the official fruity chewing substance of The BIggest Loser.

C'mon! My house smells like gum!


7 pounds in 2 weeks -- how'd I do it?

Cottage_Cheese First I had a painful flare-up of arthritis in my right big toe. Then I caught a really lousy cold.
But in those past two weeks I lost 7 pounds. No exercise, lotsa cold medicine.
How'd I do it?

  • First off, I've been journaling what I eat a lot better than I had been.
  • I've been really putting a lid on the after-dinner grazing.
  • But I think the thing that did the trick was cutting back on starchy carbs at dinner.

I kinda followed an inverted pyramid for my carbs: Breakfast might be a bowl of cereal and milk (carbarific!). Then lunch would be a wrap made with a Flatout wrap (carby but also full of protein and fiber). I switched my afternoon snack from fruit and yogurt to fruit and cottage cheese. Doesn't seem like a huge change but cottage cheese has twice the protein for the same amount of calories. Then dinner would be protein and veggies.
So it's pump up the protein, dial down the carbs.
And that's tough because I love carbs.
But I love losing weight more.


Bob Harper Q&A, plus win a free copy of his book or Extra gum

Areyouready I did a Q&A over at Examiner.com with Biggest Loser trainer Bob Harper. He's been working with Wrigley, maker of Extra Sugar-Free Gum, to come up with ways to win the midafternoon munchie wars. To read the entire interview with Bob, click HERE. But here's a tip from Bob:

Q. What are some good ideas to bring from home to work?

A. One convenient tip I recommend to help folks combat unnecessary snacking is keeping a pack of Extra sugar-free gum handy, and chewing it when that temptation sets in because research shows chewing Extra can help reduce snack cravings. I like Polar Ice because of the long-lasting mint flavor. Other great low-calorie options for that afternoon snack would be:

  1. An apple with a tablespoon of all natural peanut butter
  2. A handful of raw or dry roasted nuts.
  3. A cup of nonfat Greek yogurt with a 1/4 cup of fresh blueberries
  4. Low-fat cheese stick and a few Triscuits

It is all about planning ahead and making sure you have healthier snacks to choose from.

Here's the cool part

We want to give Shrinking Sisters something to chew on. So chew on this:

What's your biggest weakness at afternoon snacktime, and what's your favorite healthy snack?

The 4 best answers will win a copy of Bob Harper's book Are You Ready!: Take Charge, Lose Weight, Get in Shape, and Change Your Life Forever. Ten finalists will win a whole bunch of packs of Extra Sugar-Free Gum. Then we'll share your answers with readers.

All you've gotta do is post a comment below. Don't worry about leaving your e-mail address or other personal info -- we'll deal with that later. And don't worry, we won't use your info for anything other than getting you your prize.

We'll give you until Feb. 16 to get your answers in.