The Benefits of Butter

Julia Child taught us that butter is key to a flavorful meal. I would like to thank her for giving me some intensely delicious dinners as well as 15 pounds. There has to be a way to enjoy all that life has to offer (butter) while losing weight, right? So naturally, I Googled "the benefits of butter" and learned some interesting facts:

1) Butter is a rich source of Vitamins A, D, E and K. Vitamins? CHECK! Vitamin A helps improve vision! Goodbye glasses!

2) Butter contains selenium, a mineral rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants are also in blueberries, right? It's practically the same as eating blueberries! CHECK!

3) The fatty acids in butter contain lauric acid which has antifungal and antibacterial properties. Butter obviously kicks athlete's foot's booty! So, basically butter helps motivate the earning of Activity Points (weight watchers style)! CHECK!

4) Butter has Glycospingolipids that protect against gastrointestinal infections. It keeps us healthy! WINNING!

5) And last, but not least, it makes almost every food out there taste better! DOUBLE CHECK!

For any of those watching you weight: While butter is not a product you want to eat in mass quantities, it is OK to use in moderation. 1 tsp of butter is 1 point and just enough to make your mouth happy! Warning: 1 cup of butter is 48 points, so on nights that you grab the nearest spoon and dominate a tub of frosting, make sure you have all of your weeklies left!

FUN FACT ABOUT BUTTER: As if there weren't enough already, Depending on the diet of the cow, the color of the butter will vary.
Grass-fed cows produce butter with yellowish shade while cows fed with
grains and other food items produce butter that which is white in color. If you are wondering which type of butter is better, check out this link and decide for yourself! http://www.marksdailyapple.com/grass-fed-butter/

Go butter something....in moderation.

For more information about Weight Watchers Points, visit www.weightwatchers.com

Coffee Solution!

If you read my post "Coffee Break," you are aware of my situation. I have had the coffee blues, so to speak, since the coffee maker broke. The single cup filter wasn't cutting it either. Behold! My coffee dreams have come true with a Keurig!

Brew one perfect cup at a time. It even brews my loose leaf tea and eliminates my need to buy a second infuser.

This is not me, but this is how I feel about this new addition to our household.
Happy Drinking!

Egg McMuffin Face-Off

This afternoon around 4:00 pm I was having a massive craving for a McDonald's Egg McMuffin. I immediately flashed back to this morning's weigh-in at my bathroom scale and made the smart and healthy decision to make a less fatty version. Decision heavily weighed by the fact that it is after 11:00am and Mickey D's no longer serves breakfast.

The hunt was on. After hitting up two grocery stores looking for the right stuff, I had everything I needed to satisfy my craving.


This is what I made.

Oroweat Double Fiber English Muffin
Kraft American Singles, Fat Free Cheese
Hormel Deli Sliced Ham (2 slices)
Sunnyside Egg substitute (1/4 cup)

Toast Muffin.
Fry egg.
Stack.

It was bomb. Not only was it delicious, it is healthier than my evil-to-my-waistline alternative.

Let us compare

MY CREATION OF HEALTH vs. MCDONALD'S EGG MCMUFFIN OF DEATH
Calories: 210______________ Calories: 300
Total Fat: 2.8g _____________Total Fat: 12g
Sodium: 930 mg ____________Sodium: 820 mg
Total Carbohydrates: 33.5g____ Total Carbohydrates: 30g
Dietary Fiber: 8g___________ Dietary Fiber: 2
Sugars: 7.5g ______________ Sugars: 3g
Protein: 20g______________ Protein: 8g

Weight Watcher's Points: 6 ___Weight Watcher's Points: 8


With my recipe, I can shave 90 calories and 2 WW points off of my meal.

Do any of you have any healthier alternatives to some of your calorie-unfriendly meals?

Coffee Break!

Since my coffee maker broke and thus, broke my heart, I have been trying to make do with other remedies. Why-you might be wondering-do I not just buy a new coffee maker for $10 at Wal-mart? I don't know. Laziness? Lack of caffeine perhaps? So I have been unsuccessfully trying to make coffee via other pathways.
#1) The Italian Coffee Maker
Not working for me. You fill the bottom part up with water and put the coffee in the "waist" of the thing and put it on the stove. The water boils, the steam rises through the grinds and viola the 1/2 cup of coffee is magically finished in the top compartment. How about no. There is no timer, I usually burn it, and there is a cloud of coffee grinds in the bottom of my tiny cup. This is not working out for me.






#2) Single Cup Coffee Filter
This has been something that has not worked, then worked. This little guy sits on top of the coffee mug. you put a cone filter in it and fill it up with hot water and it will drip down directly into your mug! It has only taken me 5 tries to finally get the ratio of grinds to water to make a good cup. I was so thrilled with my work this morning that I needed to blog about it. Mind you, this is the first relatively good cup of coffee I have had in about 3 weeks...today, I am a happy camper.

Do any of you have any other coffee-making alternatives? Let me know!

Movie/Book Reviews in a Nutshell

It has been ages since I have posted anything on my blog. Usually, I only blog when I find something interesting to blog about. Since my last post, I have read a bunch of books and caught a few flicks. I usually put my two cents in about each, so here's a quick recap.
This was given to me by Stephen's dad. It was ok. It is not in my usual genre of books I enjoy to read, but it was interesting enough. Joel C. Rosenberg is basically a young Tom Clancy writing fiction based on current events. The Last Jihad, in short, is about the idea of going nuclear on Israel and whether the decision is a good one. Another long story short, it ended where I would have expected it to climax. Mr. Rosenberg's most recent novel "The Twelfth Iman" is in my "to read" stack and I have high hopes for that one.
Couldn't put it down. Loved it. If you like love stories, READ IT! It is the most interesting twist of fate. Claire meets her fated future husband at the age of six in a clearing behind her house. Henry is a time traveler. They fall in love and it is beautiful. I don't want to give too much away, but oh my gosh, I cried, laughed, and felt such a real connection to these characters. It is beautifully written and is a story of how true love literally stands the test of time. Read it.

*I read a few quick books by Gemma Townley. Not much worth an entire review, but I enjoy her work. :)

I saw it and like it. I didn't love it. It was exactly like the book I read and loved years ago. Maybe I didn't love it because I knew what was going to happen? I don't know, but it is a great Rom Com.


I saw it. I liked it. All I am going to say about it is that if you like LOST, then you will like this! It was pretty cool. That's all I'm saying. Don't let anyone spoil it. Takes away the fun :)

It was awful. The only good part....

Welcome Home Iran!

My mom's fiance moved home last night from Florida! He wasted no time in getting back into his routine of lovingly tormenting the animals. This morning he was annoying my mom's cat Mercy so much so that she reached out and swiped him one good! This leaves Iran holding his bleeding finger defeated, mumbling "Bitch."

Welcome Home!

HAHA!

"Shattered Bass"

A fellow Gossip Girl fanatic across the country asked me to reveal what I thought about EVERYTHING about tonight's episode, "Shattered Bass." If you do not give a hoot about GG, I give you permission to stop reading. You have been warned. So here goes....

First thing I would like to say is that I LOVED Blair's engagement party dress! I wanted this episode to be solely about Blair because of this dress.

Continuing on the subject of Blair, I think that she might be making a huge mistake by marrying Louis, the Prince of Monaco. Ok, sure, so she's super happy, but is she really? No, of course she's not because she is meant to be with Chuck. I will be devastated if she is following her dream of being an actual princess and doesn't follow her destiny in Chuck Bass. I realize that I take their fictional relationship way too seriously. Deal with it.

Next, I would like to point out what a crazy floozy Charlie is. She trashed her crazy pills?! She's going after Dan (her cousin's ex-bf/step brother - strange) and to top it off, she is attempting to replace Serena. Cuckoo! This is Serena's dress fo sho. Look familiar? Dan is getting retarded by trying to do whatever he's doing with this girl. Not smart. Serena must not be messed with. She will bring them down. Obviously. She's gotta go.
Next, I discuss what is going on with Chuck...besides his good-looks and chic wardrobe. I swear the man 1) Doesn't own a T-shirt or a pair of jeans, 2) Wouldn't be caught dead in flip flops, and 3) Cannot throw a football. No one else could exude nearly as much confidence while introducing themselves as Chuck. "I'm Chuck Bass." Not even Hugh Jackman could do it.
Poor Chuck. He's always getting caught in a bad business deal. Someone is always trying to bring down Bass Industries and he is always in the throes of a scandal. Someone is always going after the love of his life to bring him down. It would be better if C and B were just together for good ruling Manhattan and blackmailing others. It's what they do best!
I do not like Reyna's character. Nor am I a fan of her father, but at least they clear Bart's name on setting that fire! Nate needs to get himself out of that mess PRONTO! Nate is better than all this. He needs his own story soon. I'm ready to get some Nate drama. Bring back Bri Buckley please!

The last thing I am going to say about this episode is that I am glad that Chuck and Jack seems to be rekindling something. I JUST realized that whoever plays Jack on GG, also plays on my other favorite show...DEXTER! He's Quinn! You have no idea how long I have been watching Dexter and have been trying to figure out where I know Quinn from. I kept thinking it was 90210...I couldn't be more dense! Gossip Girl follows me wherever I go! Haha! By the way, my favorite line of this episode came from Jack. Thorpe and Chuck were revealing all kinds of drama about the fire back in the day and Chuck was being the bigger man. Jack was trying to order Chinese and says, "I can't choose an entree with the Hallmark hall of fame going on in here." haha! Oh Jack....
Overall, I loved this episode and can't believe there is only one more episode this season. Blair better end up with Chuckster. Thorpe is going to lock Blair up on the roof and set the building on fire and then Chuck is going to come in his helicopter and save her. Maybe? Probably not. But Thorpe is going to get violent at C and B's expense to get back at them when he should really be getting back at Nate. Maybe that is where Nate's drama is going to come from? At any rate, both Thorpes need to go back to Chicago. No one wants them in New York.

So there you have it...my thoughts on this episode of GG! What are your thoughts?