But if I want to wear one of these! I must, I must look at my diet!!

Shhh….dont repeat it…..the word that many fear…

its the word that offends so many….

…its the word that make us suck in our bellys and sink down in their chairs and hide that bag of chips!

Now seriously…this is confession time.

Last year alone, I tried all kinds of different ways to drop weight….

…I tried the Slimfast shake drink, which I do like occasionally.

….I tried the 3 day Diet, which I still encourage many to try!

…..I bought the Flat Belly Diet book and tried that….

…..Went to the Doctors and took prescription strength weight loss suppressants

….All of those diets do work while you are faithful to them but as soon as you eat something else, the weight just comes back on….

So……

…..I was desperate to find a way to look good again!

and then a new year came…..
A new year and a new resolution!

And honestly….its been the best resolution I have ever had….

What works best is the old fashion normal way to be healthy…Simply just exercise and eat right!

So….

1st I joined a Fitness Club and committed to working out 5 days a week….

and along with that commitment, I also made a pact with my self to have confidence in how I dressed again….I was ready to look like a fashionista again and put away the cowgirl boots and blue jeans.

So…here I am 6 months later….and I feel so much better.

I feel so fabulous!

I addicted to exercising and when I cant seem to find the time, I make it happen where ever I am….Ive treated my self to a new outfit each month, to reward myself.

Besides the 5 day a week exercise routine Ive changed a few things about how I eat…smaller portions are a must…no packaged foods…I cook as fresh as possible and eat dinner as early as I can…
Of course the one thing I was told I should do but didn’t is give up my red wine!
But I think my readers already knew that one. Ha ha!

So….I found this cool website that has discount prices on brand named fashions…

I measured my body size and then picked out the bikinis I wanted and was finally able to wear one of them for the first time…confidently! Last weekend!

So if your looking to lose weight, have more energy, gain more strength, get rid of that

chunky cottage crap on your buttocks…the only way your gonna make it happen is to get up

and move!

Start out small and work your exercise time up each day…minute by minute…You will feel so much happier. Good Luck
Feel free to post comments or ask questions!
Have wonderful wine day! xxoo

Baked Chicken with Mushroom Gravy

Although I’am on day 2 of the 3 day diet, my guys aren’t so this is what they got to grub on!

Today I cooked baked chicken in a mushroom gravy and mentioned the dish on FaceBook.

A sweet young mommy, who is probably trying to learn how to cook…requested this recipe, so I am honored to pass it along.

Baked Chicken with Mushroom Gravy

Season a fryer or leg quarter, which ever you prefer.

My family tends to prefer spicy seasoning, so I am very generous with Tony Chachere’s seasoning and  black and red pepper on both sides of chicken. You may alter to your taste.

After seasoning I lightly dust flour over both sides of the chicken and then place in a large baking dish that has been sprayed with Pam.

Pour 2 cups of water over chicken and bake for 1 hour covered with foil or casserole dish top.

After the first hour remove dish from oven and add another cup of water if needed and half a can of Cambells Mushroom Soup and chopped up onion.

Bake another 30 minutes without top.

Serving suggestions – over rice or mashed potatoes served with Green Beans

and a glass of wine!

Shopping List

Fryer or Leg Quarters

Tony Chachere’s Seasoning

Red Pepper

Black Pepper

1 cup Flour

1/2 Campbells Mushroom Soup

1 large onion

Enjoy! It isnt the prettiest of pictures but here is an idea of what it looks like. As you can see, I let it crust over and brown a bit more, that is up to you!

Food for thought….why do southern people call this a gravy dish and northern people call it sauce dish?

Pomegranate Yogurt Ice Cream

Everything Pink!

In honor of Breast Care Awareness Month
October 2009

Pink Pancakes…

Wine Wisdom thoughts from the desk of Wine Glass Girl

  I was extremely exhausted the other day and when dinner time came around my husband asked what we were having for dinner…

 … for the 1st time in 5 years, I had to say to him…

Uh….” I was thinking about cooking breakfast for dinner”

I used to cook breakfast for dinner in my past life but it hadn’t happened in my new life with this #2 husband.

I was almost afraid for the words to finish…because I have spoiled my family with home cooked meals ever since I moved into their lives 5 years ago.

But the idea went over well and my husband actually decided to cook the breakfast for dinner meal.

My husband is known as “The Pancake King“, when we go camping.

 So he decided he was going tocook the pancakes…
He ran out to the grocery store and came back with a few items which I assumed were going to be used for cooking his pancakes.

 So, I sat my retired myself for the evening, on the couch and let him have the kitchen.

 He didnt understand why the pancake batter was so runny!

~~
It wasn’t long before I noticed the sound of the over beating of the pancake batter…
 but of course, I kept my mouth shut.

Its kind of a rule…that we have, when he cooks, I dont tell him what to do and when I cook he doesnt tell me what to do.
Well, something must have gone wrong and he asked for my help.

 My sassy self of course already knew that he had mixed

the batter too long!

So, as I entered the kitchen to see how I could help, I noticed the pancake batter was PINK!
Next to the batter was a bottle of Nestle Strawberry syrup…
My husband wanted to surprise me with pink pancakes!
Ok….everybody….say awe!!!!!
Well, I later found out that, it was his sons, that had requested pink pancakes for dinner.

So…awe went the idea that he made the pink pancakes for moi!

I’ve been creative in the past with making Mickey Mouse Pancakes and putting bananas and chocolate chips in the pancake mix.
But PINK pancakes?
I think the batter didn’t come out as it normally would because of two things, the over beating of the pancake mix and the strawberry syrup.
Anyways, they were really good and made me think of putting up different ideas to put PINK in our lives to support Breast Care Awareness!

The Day after I had my pink pancakes I found this cool website and the young lady who is the creator has come up with a awesome pink recipe for Breast Care awareness month. So go by and visit and bookmark her page for future creative recipes.
WWW.forkspoonknife.blogspot.com

So, if anyone has any pink recipes they would like to share, I would like to offer a challenge for you.

If your submission is chosen for putting on wineglassgirl.com we will give you full credit and also semd up a WineGlassGirl Gift.

So, put your thinking caps on and lets start thinking PINK!

Football Game or Tail Gate recipes

Wine Glass Girl had her own LSU party this past weekend! She always been a big New Orleans Saints Fan, so she was ready to see LSU in action for the first time. So, she put this little menu together to share with you.
Enjoy!

Creamy Crab Dip
Low Fat Cream Cheese
Low Fat Sour Cream
1 6oz or 8 oz fresh Crab Meat
2 Green Onions
2 Cloves Garlic
2 Tbsp of Tony Chachere Seasoning or
Season to your taste with salt and pepper
Mix all ingredient together in a baking dish or you may select a small crock pot.
Cook for 15 minutes
Serve with Tortilla Chips
This serves 10

Hot n Spicy Chicken Wings and Drumettes

1 cup Worcestersgure Sauce
Crumbled blue cheese
Black Pepper
Red Pepper
1. Season the chicken wings and drumettes with the seasoning and ½ cup of the hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce, fridgerate for at least 2 hours.
2. Mix sour cream, Worcestershire, and blue cheese in pot and cook, will be very thick, add more Worcestershire and hot sauce to thin.
3. Bake wings and drumettes without final sauce for 1 hour
4. Then take cooked Hot sauce and pour over chicken wings and drumettes and cook for additional 30 minutes.
5. Serve with Low Fat Ranch or if you’re a Cajun like my husband, he loved eating them with ketchup.

Beverage choice for this dish…MGD 64 : )

Welcome to our Healthy Tips and Recipes page of Wine Glass Girl!

Here we will share healthy tips and recipes that will warm your soul and lift your spirits!
We will use the most natural of ingredients when cooking.

October is here and with the new month comes the anticipation for cooler temperatures.
With the cool temperatures come the delicious warm comfort recipes we hide away during the summer and now need for the winter.
One of my favorite comfort foods to prepare in the fall is…

Shepherds’ Pie
2 pounds of beef or turkey – as organic or low in fat as you can find.
1 8-12 oz of low fat cheddar shredded cheese
1 chopped onion
3 cloves of  chopped garlic
2 Tbsp of Tony Chachere’s seasoning        www.TonyChachere.com
(if Tony’s not available, see below)
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp of red pepper
½ tsp of salt
1 can of Campbell’s low fat cream of mushroom soup
6-8 boiled potatoes
2-3 tbsp butter
Milk of choice
3 sliced zucchini or squash

Cut potatoes in quarters and boil in microwave for 20 minutes.

Cook seasoned meat and when cooked put in baking dish 9×12
Use same pan and sauté garlic and onions, adding in the zucchini or squash, when vegetable is soft remove from heat. Pour contents over meat in baking dish.

When potatoes are cooked (soft) add butter and milk to desired thickness. (tip…thicker is better) and mash.

Add potatoes on top of the vegetables and then top with cheese. Bake for 10 minutes (just to melt the cheese)

Serve! And Enjoy!
Suggest serving with Red Wine Choice
Today’s suggestion is Red Bicylette Pinot Noir  

Thinking back to when I was a child….I have no memory of knowing anyone who was ever obese…
I cant help but wonder, at what time did this disease become so much of a problem for ones self  and then now our society?/?

I have vivid memories of mama raising us with limited snack choice….probably only because we lived on a budget…But never complained….the food was always good!

I remember mama cooking bacon and fried eggs for breakfast, fried spam for lunch and fried pork chops for dinner…..
And….
My family had no issues with fat, considering today if that was part of our daily menu, most of society would freak out, because its not considered healthy.

I also remember we never went to drive thru windows or ate any fast food places….maybe a few restaurants…My family cooked outdoors a lot and with family and friends and those are the memories I treasure the most.

I remember one time mama bought some Lucky Charms…I think I ate the whole box!
We usually only had  Granola Nuts or plain Cheerios for cereal…

For snacks I remember vanilla wafers and that’s about it.

So, looking at today and what we eat…because we all in a rush…we go to the quickest drive thru for lunch, and buy the easiest packaged meals to cook…coffee is flavored with all kinds of sugars and artificial sweeteners, what happened to plain ole sugar???

….this is just a small look at the differences in how our generations and the old generations have changed our eating habits.

Also I can mention that, being obese is a choice. Just like taking care of ourselves.
We do have a choice of what to put in our mouth.
I wish more parents could be better role models for our children…

….we might see a difference in who will run our world in the future when we are to old and sick to make a difference.

Honestly, I love organic and healthy foods and my children eat them up faster than I can put them in the pantry.

They actually love trying different kinds of cheeses and organic crackers and flavored water…believe me they still want the chips and the sodas…but they are actually ADD and ADHD as it is…which they shouldn’t have any ways, so I try to influence them to make better choices.

Maybe we should all go back to the way we used to eat?

I hope you can make better choices in choosing your groceries for you and/or your family.

However….

The beauty effects of the summer sun upon our skin now needs to be tended to.
The benefits of hydrating lotions and moisturizers that we will want to pile on our skin in the next few months will not work unless you first exfoliate the dead skins cells that you and the environment have created over the summer months.

Now, I’m not just talking about the skin on your visible face, Im also talking about your whole body. So keep in mind all treatments can be used for face and body.
There are many ways to exfoliate your skin. From homemade remedies to over the counter to higher end treatments purchased from a professional cosmetic counter and for the royal treatments completed by a licensed esthetician in a spa.

For those who prefer homemade organic treatments I can recommend this recipe.
Cup of Green Tea
1tsp of Oatmeal
1 fresh Apricot (can substitute with ½ banana or avocado
1tsp of raw Sugar
1 drop Tea tree Oil
Mix smashed fruit with oatmeal, sugar and oil add enough green or chamomile tea to make a paste. This is plenty for the face and neck.
Gently scrub in mini circles and then leave on for at least 5 minutes. Rinse with ice cold water to close pours.

For over the counter exfoliation treatment, I recommend St. Yves Apricot Scrub. It is very cost effective. Under $12.00
I recommend using a lot of water. Product is very grainy but works well to rid dead skin. Rinse with Ice Cold water to close pours.

For the higher end I suggest either Clinque’s exfoliating scrub. Very creamy and easy to remove. $18.00
Or for a more complete treatment for the slightly aging skin…

My Favorite is Estee Lauders Idealist Micro-D…it has a thermal action that opens up the pours of the skin and cleans them deep and it also give you an instant radiant boost! Cost a little under $50
And of course if you want to treat yourself or have the time to go the spa, My choice of Spa Treatments come from the skincare line from Hungary, Eminence Organics‘. They have a great selection of yummy exfoliating Scrubs and Peels.

So, Aging is a choice…take care of your skin

By Kelley (WGG)
Licensed Esthetician and Skincare Guru