Ellen ~~Defining Myself

BERRY COBBLER

Makes 8 servings

2 cups fresh blueberries

2 cups raspberries

3/4 cup all purpose flour

2/3 cup unpacked light brown sugar

6 tbsp regular butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Place berries in a medium bowl. In another medium bowl, combine flour and sugar.
Remove 3 tablespoons of flour mixture and gently toss with berries. Place berries in an 8-inch square pan.
To make topping, add melted butter to remaining flour mixture, and mix well. Crumble little bits of topping all over top of berries.
Place pan in oven. Bake 35-40 minutes, or until berries start to bubble. Cut into 8 pieces, and serve warm or at room temperature. Yields 1 piece per serving.
Weight Watchers PointsPlus™ Value: 5

© 2011 Weight Watchers International, Inc. © 2011 WeightWatchers.com, Inc. All rights reserved. WEIGHT WATCHERS and POINTS are registered trademarks of Weight Watchers International, Inc. and are used under license by WeightWatchers.com, Inc.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This week’s Weight Watchers meeting was all about how to survive Thanksgiving. The general thought over Thanksgiving is, “It is a holiday, of course I am going to gain weight!” We might not say it, but we are thinking it! It is just kind of an “understood” fact for most people. Over the holidays you gain weight, in the New Year, you lose all the weight you gained.

I believe....that is CRAP!!! It is time to change our thinking!

One way to change the past is to learn from it, make a plan, and stick to it. At this week’s meting, we had plates where we would figure up how many points we would be eating on that day and then plan accordingly. This is my third time hearing this talk but I guess you can never hear something too many times when it comes to weight loss. Here is the breakdown of our favorite Thanksgiving foods:

■1/2 cup of stuffing- 5 points plus
■4 ounces of turkey – 4 points plus
■1/4 cup gravy – 3 points plus
■1/2 cup mashed potatoes – 3 points plus
■1/2 cup sweet potato souffle – 5 points plus
■1 cup Green Bean Casserole – 6 points plus
■1/8 slice of Pumpkin Pie – 8 points plus
■1/8 slice of Apple Pie – 11 points plus
■1/8 slice of Pecan Pie – 14 points plus
Do any of those surprise you? A few of them surprised me. I have always known that Pecan Pie is the worst food you can eat on Thanksgiving but Apple pie has fruit in it…it is supposed to be healthy! When adding up, realistically, what I would “normally” eat on Thanksgiving, my total was…

39 POINTS PLUS!!!!!

Yes, I know that is more than I get in a day. And…this is just one meal.
So, what are some things I am going to remember this Thanksgiving when I sit down at the table to eat?

■Only eat what is SPECIAL to the holiday. I will not eat mashed potatoes, I can eat those anytime. I will not eat the Green Bean Casserole, too many points for the taste. I will DEFINITELY not eat any Pecan Pie.
■Only eat a little of what we love. If it is really good, I can go back for a little more. Try it all before I commit to a big serving. That way, if it is not worth the points, I don’t feel obligated to eat it!
■Find a healthy alternative to our fattening, favorite foods. I am searching now for alternatives and will do a blog post next week sharing them with you. Why do all of our favorites have to be bad? They don’t! I am on a mission to find recipes lightened up!
■The most important thing I will remember is how far I have come. One day is not worth taking ten steps back. I have to keep moving forward.