Skinny Cinnamon Rolls

Happy New Year's Eve!!!

I know a lot of you are making your resolutions to be healthier in 2013, well just because you're being healthier does not mean you can't indulge is some yummy but health-ish treats! Like my Skinny Cinnamon Rolls! I'm making them today, it gives me a feeling like I'm being "bad" but they aren't bad at all! Only 2 points per roll, and there is only 3 grams of added sugar per roll as well! YUM!!


Ingredients:
1/4 oz yeast
1/4 cup  and 1/2 cup warm water
2 cups flour (I used King Arthur's Unbleached All Purpose)
3 TBSP Light Brown Sugar
1/2 cup oatmeal (I used old fashioned oats)
2 TBSP sweetener (I used Splenda, if you want to use real sugar the points will be different)
2 TBSP non-fat Greek yogurt
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

Filling:
2 TSP cinnamon
1/3 cup sweetener (again I used Splenda)
1 TBSP Olivo (or any butter or butter substitute)

Mix 1/4 oz yeast with 1/4 cup warm water, mix well and let rise  for about 10 minutes.

As that's rising mix in a large bowl mix 1 1/2 cups of flour, 1/2 cup of oatmeal, 3  TBSP brown sugar, 2 TBSP Splenda, and 1 TSP salt. Mix well.

Add 2 TBSP Greek yogurt and 1/4 cup applesauce. Once your yeast has been rising for 10 minutes add the yeast/water mixture and 1/2 cup of warm water.

Mix very well to form soft dough, if you need to add more flour do so. I added maybe 1/4 cup.

 

On a floured surface knead the dough for about 5 minutes. (The dough is going to be very sticky...you have been warned!)

Spray a large clean bowl with cooking spray, put your ball of freshly kneaded dough in and flip it over once or twice so it is coated with the cooking spray. Then cover and place in a warm spot. Let it rise for an hour, it should double in size.

While you're waiting you could be like me and do your dishes   play on Pinterest!

After your dough is done rising, spread it into a rectangle on a floured surface. Mix your cinnamon and Splenda together.

Spread melted butter onto your dough, and sprinkle on your cinnamon and Splenda mixture.

 

Roll your dough and then cut into 12 equal sections.

Place the 12 rolls into a greased 9X13 pan. Cover and let rise for 45 minutes to an hour.

After they've risen put them in a 375 degree preheated oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

 

 

Let cool and enjoy!!

*Now I didn't put any icing on them because I didn't want the extra points or all that sugar, but I'm sure they'd taste even better with icing!

is it your weigh in day?



Is it your weigh in day?? If so this might be helpful...

 

 

 

 

source

 

I saw this on Pinterest this morning and could not stop laughing! If only it was this easy!



Christmas Recap..

I had such a wonderful time this Christmas (it was more of a week of Christmas), we traveled a lot but it was so worth it. I was able to see the majority of our family and a few friends.

It was a really laid back time, very busy with lots of full houses, but it wasn't stressful (that much) which made it even nicer.

This was the second year my family did "Secret Santa", the adults all pick a name from a hat and we get that one person a gift, we make the limit around $25, none of us really need anything, and it's not about the presents. I should also note we can't keep it Secret Santa, our whole family figures out who has who very quickly.

I'm very thankful KBeaner was very spoiled this year with love and a lot of awesome gifts. Our family and friends are so generous. She was so excited for all the gifts, although I'm pretty sure she'd have been just as happy to open wrapped boxes that had nothing in them.

I hope you had a great time as well. Here are some pictures...



 

 

 

KBeaner opening her "Pillow Pet" I made for her. When opening it she said "*gasp* a pillow pet!!"

 

 

Playing with her new make up kit and giving Minnie a make over.

 

Enjoy her new tea cart! She kept singing "tea for two"

The big gain..

It's weigh in day and if you can't tell from this post's title... I gained this week.

3 pounds.

Ugh.

No excuses though, I did it to myself. I took advantage of it being the holidays. I didn't eat enough veggies and fruit, I ate crappy food a few too many times, I had a few drinks, and I didn't always measure out my food. I also didn't always track my points, I told myself I could just keep track in my head and be fine. Yeah... no.

I also didn't exercise as much as I normally do, I had chances to do some exercise, but I didn't take those few minutes here and there.

Oh well, I just need to get back on track. Proof that weight watchers works if you use it correctly, and if you don't you'll gain. Today is a new day, I am going to track and measure everything! I'm going to try and exercise this week as well, as long as my sciatica isn't bothering me.

I'm going to post a Christmas recap later on, I had an amazing time! I hope you all had a great holiday as well!!

weigh in

Hey everyone!

Last Wednesday was weigh in and I'm down to 161!! That's 2 lbs lost!!!

As always I'm so excited, this week I'm also surprised, I worked out a little bit at the end of last week but then my sciatica was bothering me so I wasn't exercising.  I'm thrilled that having a healthy (mostly) diet has helped me lose even if I did not exercise.

This past week I've been crafting a lot for Christmas presents, I can't show any pictures yet, but after Christmas I'll post a ton!

I know a lot of people will say "TMI Jill" but I don't care ... I've also been working very hard on getting KBeaner potty trained, she was doing pretty well, 2 days in a row of no accidents, then a few accidents the past couple days. Potty training is the worst! At least we are saving money not buying diapers, although the past few months we have gone through a lot of carpet cleaner! haha. I downloaded a free Pull Ups app for potty training, that seemed to help. The potty "calls" you and then it plays music while they are using the potty and they get a sticker when they go, and if they get 9 stickers they get a game. It worked better than using the kitchen timer.


Sorry I don't have any pictures but I promise to put some new ones up. I'm visiting my family, and as you all know the holiday season can be a little hectic.

Hope you have a wonderful holiday!!

100 pounds lost!

It's official I have lost 100 lbs since January 2010!!! I lost one pound today making me 163lbs! I realized today that since May I have lost 37 lbs! That's a lot in 6 months! I feel amazing and so proud of myself, and thankful for all the support from friends and family.

I am so thankful to that day when something in my head clicked and I knew I had to change my lifestyle, and start this journey. Sometimes it is hard, sometimes I want to quit and say screw it, but I remember how far I've come. Yes dieting is hard, but so is being overweight and not being healthy. I think that is harder than dieting and exercising.

This week I made myself get back to the basics, I've been working on getting at least 64 oz of water in a day and trying to get all my fruit and vegetable servings in. The little extra changes I made this week obviously helped because I'd been maintaining for the past few weeks.

P.S. Sorry I didn't take a picture of me but yesterday I was wicked sleep deprived (which is why I didn't post) and today I'm being lazy.

ACCOUNTABLE

Hold yourself accountable.

I think that is a huge part of any weight loss journey. It’s hard to hear but you have to get serious about it, and get hard on yourself at times. At least that has been one of the “secrets” to my success. 

I feel like (and I know) it’s easy to just tell yourself I’ll start tomorrow or I don’t have to journal that piece of candy, or I’m too tired to workout (I’ve been using that last one a little too much lately… guilty!) You need to tell yourself “I AM going to stay on track today” or even a smaller goal like “ I AM going to journal what I eat, even if it isn’t ‘good’” or “I AM going to have an extra fruit or veggie.”  Say that to yourself and do it!

 I’m not going to lie, it’s going to be hard but you can do it, it will get easier and become second nature.  Although some days or weeks it will be hard again, but you just need to keep pushing yourself. The results of becoming healthier and losing weight is amazing, I feel wonderful physically and mentally.  Those feelings start after only a few pounds! It’s a great, empowering feeling to know that you can do this, you are in charge of yourself, and are making healthy decisions for yourself.  

Something that has been very helpful for me is journaling what I eat. Since I do weight watchers I keep track of my daily points, and weekly points in a notebook. I also keep track of how much water, fruits and veggies I’ve had and how much exercise I’ve done.  Whenever I eat or drink something I track it! Then I know how many points I’ve used and how much I have left for the day. For me this stops mindless eating.

my journal

 

Even if you are not doing weight watchers I highly recommend food journaling for a week or even a few days, or even one day!  Just try it!

Another way that has helped is holding yourself accountable by talking with friends and family about your journey. If you tell someone you are going to work out later you are much more likely to actually work out. At least for me I don’t want to let people down, I want to prove to people that you can do this and that it’s not that hard (well not all of the time) and that I am actually doing this and will do this.  Part of the reason I have this blog is that it holds me accountable; I know it doesn’t get a ton of views and I only have a few followers but that is enough to keep me accountable. I have come so far and hopefully I am inspiring others to become healthier,  I can’t just take a “break” from my weight watchers plan and eat whatever I want, if I did that I feel like I’d be letting myself down and you.  I’m not going to lie and say I eat perfectly all of the time, I don’t, and I eat in moderation. Sometimes I eat things that are not that healthy for me but when I do I always track it and write it down.

I know it’s the holiday season, it’s hard to stay on track or to get started, and a lot of people say well I’ll just give up and start over in the New Year. How many times have you said that? I know I used to say that all of the time. Why not start now? Looking back I wish I had started this a long time ago, I didn’t because I think I was too afraid to try and fail. Well I feel like you can’t fail if you are trying.

Take it one day at a time, one meal at a time… one craving at a time. You can do this, trust me if I can do this YOU can do it!

 

Here's some inspiration...

 

source:fitabcities.com

 

 

Maintaining...again

 Hey it's weigh in day and I'm happy so say I'm the same weight...although I'd be happier to say I had lost weight. Just one more pound and I'll have lost 100! I need to keep reminding myself I didn't gain weight so I should be ecstatic!

Even though I didn't lose weight I've had some non-scale victories. I'm wearing size medium yoga pants right now, so comfy and they are not overly tight (which for me is exciting). My sweater dress I bought last year fits and actually looks good! I've wanted a sweater dress for so long but could never find one that did not accentuate parts that I did not want accentuated.

I also saw some people I have not seen in awhile, they noticed my weight loss and complimented me on it. That is always the best feeling! I know sometimes people don't want to say to someone "have you lost weight? you look good!" for fear that the person will be offended, I can't speak for all women out there but I'm pretty sure everyone loves hearing that!

my sweater dress!

 

I was also nice to myself and had my eyebrows waxed, its those little things that make me feel happy and better about myself!

Princess KBeaner is now more of a princess with her new crown and clip on earings! She is loving them! I'm pretty sure she would wear them to bed if she could!

Princess KBeaner in front of our Christmas tree (yes its a fake but I still love it!)

 

This weekend we did some cotton ball crafts (aka playing with glue and cotton balls), KBeaner had so much fun!

 

The finished projects

 

 

These are KBeaners first stick figure drawings!! Future artist? I think so!

 

Hope you're all having a great week so far!

Felt Christmas Tree

Last year I made KBeaner a Felt Christmas Tree since we weren't going to be around most of December I didn't want to get a tree and just have her pulling at it, so I made her own tree she could play with. She loved it!

This year I made her some different "ornaments" since I couldn't find the ones from last year.

KBeaners Felt Christmas Tree!

The Felt Christmas Tree is so cute, and most importantly sooo easy!! Felt sticks to felt so the kids can decorate and un-decorate the tree as much as  they like!

I made some of the "ornaments" with my sewing machine, but I also added detail to other ones with puffy paint.

This was a quick and easy project that has made hours of fun for KBeaner!

 

Decorating and un-decorating...