Hi Michelle, Just wondering if you had been to Woodman's lately. They are now carrying very nice [color=orange:c8b008173d]fresh A]tlantic salmon. [/color:c8b008173d] We've enjoyed it twice (grilled and broiled with a yogurt/herb/green onion sauce that was delish!) and it has been fabulous! It might be something to treat yourselves to, and serve the kids more chicken or something! At about 4.50 a piece (enough for 2 people) it is a little pricey, but much cheaper than going out and ordering a 20$ piece of salmon! :? I talked to the butcher guy, and he said it comes in Wednesday, so that's the day to buy as it will be freshest. Also, if you are a steel cut oatmeal fan, the[color=red:c8b008173d] Bob's Red Mill[/color:c8b008173d] bag of steel cut oats (in the health food isle) is about 2 bucks, as opposed to the same amount in the fancy McCann's can in the regular cereal isle for 6 bucks. I just keep refilling our first can--works great. I should do a Woodman's newsletter or something. I go there too often! :wink: Was yesterday and the peaches are garbage, but there are nice grapes and plums and the Braeburn apples smell divine. Have a good day! Ronica boy aren't emoticons fun? :twisted: :lol: :roll: 8)

[color=blue:59e19d027f][/color:59e19d027f] Boy- You must be telepathic...I was just thinking of you, and was going to post you a message! I went "lazy" grocery shopping last night...I went to Sentry Foods in Waunakee...no energy to make the Woodman's trek. Anyway, they had "La Tortilla Factory" Low Carb/Low Fat Tortilla Wraps. Just 3 net grams of carbs and 1 gram of fat per wrap. I tried them for lunch and they weren't bad. Not great, but not bad. I got garlic and herb and original flavor. I didn't have the garlic yet (thinking of my customers :lol: ) Are those the same ones that you saw at Woodman's? BTW, thank you for listing what section you found the new items in...I need all the help that I can get! :wink: The only salmon that I had ever tried, before going to Florida, was canned...and DIDN'T like it. My brother made me try "real" salmon in Florida, and I liked it very much. So, I will be sure to try it. I will also look for the steel cut oats (in the natural section :) ) Starting Monday, for the first time since the birth of our last child, my husband and I will be working the same shift! Alex started kindergarten last week - Tuesday and Bill got word that same day that he made the cut for a transfer to first shift. Life as we know it is really going to change. We will be having dinner together every evening. Salmon would be a great celebratory "first meal"! Thank you for the idea. How are things with you, Ronica?? ~Michelle

Hi Michelle! I was wondering where you had gone... :) Yes, the La Tortilla factory ones are the same as at Woodman's. Haven't done any but the plain. You're right, not great, but doable, especially for a quick enchilada meal. (I do ground lean beef or turkey with taco seasoning and olive oil, a few beans in my hubby's, a little cheese in mine, some salsa and enchilada sauce. Bake 20 min. MMM.) The salmon is very nice, I grilled some (on a piece of foil so it wouldn't stick), and broiled more (another well sprayed piece of foil) with a sauce (served on the side) I made from plain yogurt, salt, Pepper, lemon juice, and fresh herbs from my yard (green onions, parsley, chives, whatever) and one night some chopped cucumber, too, so that was nice. I ate leftovers today at lunch and all the teachers commented on how healthy my food was, and how they were eating garbage (including one teacher who tried to nuke an old french bread healthy choice pizza and actually started it on fire in the micro!). I found it works well to bring a tupperware of fresh broccoli with a little water (1 t.) and some seasonings, nuke for 3 minutes and you have fresh steamed broccoli! Anyway, I digress... I didn't do well tonight, went to Laredo's (great mex, but I didn't make good choices!), but I won't feel guilty and will get back on the horse at breakfast. I have been trying that FitDay online thing, and it's pretty neat to see how you did--breaks it down into % for you. School's going very well--kids are great and don't seem to have forgotten too much from last year. They are excited to get going, so that's fun. We are working on a Harry Potter piece, and they can't wait! I will be excited to see the looks on the faces of the younger kids when we perform it at the school concert--they act as if we are rock stars anyway, so Harry Potter should really get them excited to join Band when they are old enough! I really work in a couple of great schools (I am at St. Francis Xavier in Cross Plains and St. Maria Goretti in Madison.) Also find it interesting to know that I post a note to you, and 40-some people have read it already! :o That's fine, it's just kind of funny! :D Well, I need to get moving. Let me know if you find any goodies! (PS. have you tried the low-carb pasta in the health food isle at W's? It's not bad, and holds us fine! There is a soy pasta that's not low-carb, so make sure you get the one in the green box that's by the Atkin's stuff if you want to try it.) 8) Ronica Boy, I am really overloading the emoticons!!!! :!:

[color=green:71bcc54bc9]Hi Ronica-- I tried the garlic and herb la tortilla wraps and they were awful!! I think the mistake that I made was not warming/cooking them. I made a cold meat and cheese wrap. I think that your idea of enchiladas would be better. I also thought that maybe quesadillas would be good. I'll let you know... Don't sweat the Laredo's meal. I find that since I am no longer disgusted with my body, I am not as strict with myself and the diet. I know that the weight loss is slower, but I also know that the weight WILL come off. I have the tool!! Your Harry Potter show sounds great! I'll bet MY kids would love it! I also find it humorous the number of "views" a personally addressed post gets. However, a fair number of authors end up saying "If anybody has any input..." I have not tried the pasta, yet. I LOVE garlic, my husband does NOT :lol: (for himself or me) so I have to control the urges for foods flavored with garlic, unfortunately Italian is on that list (my favorite :cry: ) Keep the smileys coming! I love them :lol: Michelle[/color:71bcc54bc9]

Hello! Glad to get your message! Had a couple of rough days (2 parties so I didn't eat very well, also the rain-though desperately needed- was kind of depressing!) but am feeling better today. (Of course, that could party be because I really slept in today!) Went to Matchstick Men movie last night which is really, really good. (Go if you get a chance to leave the kids with a sitter. :wink: ) The pasta I mentioned is pretty good. Sears isn't sure if the protein in it is still available after cooking, but both Jeff and I have had no troubles with it. I have it around for those nights when we are really pressed for time. With a few cups of jarred sauce (we like Barilla- has olive oil plus there are non-garlicky versions. We enjoy the margherita for a plain tomato/basil and the black and green olive one. You can even nuke it in the jar, so saves washing a pot). With this, dinner can be on the table in about 15 minutes with no chopping. The pasta is not as chewy or smooth as regular, and smells a little "soy-ey" when you drain it, but tastes decent. It is more expensive than regular, but less than 3 bucks a box, so not bad overall. There is another soy pasta in the same isle, but it has lots of carbs, so make sure you get the one in the green box on the produce side of the isle (vs. the frozen food side). It's on the end by the protein isolates and the Atkins stuff. Well, I guess I should get motivated and actually accomplish something besides reading the paper in my jammies. So far, I have also showered and dressed. I consider this fairly ambitious for 2 o'clock on a Sunday. :roll: Have a great weekend! Ronica PS, you got any pull to get pepsi to put out a splenda drink? :wink:

[color=indigo:d2ee6691b7]Hi Ronica :) I too had a very low-key weekend. We rented movies and video games. We watched "Signs" and "The Rookie" -both good movies, and played Mario Bros. video games all weekend, I love Mario golf :oops: Except for the laundry, that was about it for us. Every once in a while we need a lazy, guilt-free weekend like that :) You know that if the weather had been nice we couldn't have wasted it inside the whole time! I am not sure why, but I am not consulted by the powers-that-be at Pepsi for input on product line additions. I have pleaded and begged the Pres and V. Pres to get Diet Cherry Pepsi in a 20 oz bottle (we only have it available in 12 oz cans) but you'll notice that we still don't have it. That shows you the weight that my opinion carries :P I have always said that if I ruled the world, it would be a VERY different place :wink: We do, however, have a new water line out just this week. It is Klarbrunn Tropikals. They are flavored, carbonated, artificially sweetened waters. I will check on the sweetener. I didn't think to check. I am assuming that it is nutrasweet. Tthe flavors are Kiwi-Strawberry, Guava-Tangerine, Peach-Mango, and Passion Fruit-Berry. "Check you local retailer, Today" :lol: I haven't tried them yet, I'll let you know, if you're interested... How's the Potter production coming along? Talk to you later- ~Michelle[/color:d2ee6691b7]

Hey !! The Klarbrunn Tropikals are sweetened with sucralose...that's Splenda, right? The Peach Mango was good. Give them a try if you like that kind of water :) ~Michelle

Hi! I'll have to give them a go. Haven't been lately, as have been remembering to include a few bottles in my school bag in the AM. Also haven't been to Walgreens... Walmart has ZP bars for $.99 everyday, so picked up a few this weekend when needed contact stuff and ceiling fan lightbulbs. Too bad Pepsi's pres won't listen, you'd have it all running properly! :twisted: My mom worked for Coke when I was a baby, and they didn't listen to her either. She told them Fresca sucked. :roll: I am normally Coke-loyal (it's in my blood), but didn't like their vanilla. Pepsi's is much better--not so heavy and sickeningly sweet. Also like their lemon one better, too. Coke's tastes like someone sprayed lemon Pledge in it. :P Blech! I am not drinking as much as I used to, but now and then it will hold me an hour until a snack when I just want flavor! I think you're right, I think sucralose is Splenda. Our principal was very sweet today, and bought us all Subway for lunch. Nice gesture, so I just removed much of the bread, and added some grapes and applesauce I had with me. Did OK, but only had a balance bar in my purse for snack and had a faculty meeting that lasted until 6. Ate 1/2 balance, then found 1/2 zp bar, so ate that too. Little over, but at least I didn't totally crash. Jeff didn't eat very well today (including 1/2 pitcher of beer on the terrace, bagel, fruit and no protein to speak of) and he had the first really big crash he's ever had on the bike ride home. He was miserable. I actually handed him turkey to eat while he was in the shower! We had fish and tons of veggies with olive oil for dinner, so he's feeling better now. He'd never experienced the big obvious highs and lows of a blood sugar crash (he actually got shaky on the bike), so now I think he empathizes more with me, who had this problem regularly until I found the Zone. Well, should get something done tonight--Talk to you later! Ronica :mrgreen:

[quote="yikerszikers"] ..... are sweetened with sucralose...that's Splenda, right? quote] There is a wwwebsite that offers good sweetner alternatives: www.globalsweet.com. I haven't tried them because I mainly drink filtered H2O, and nothing else except a small glass of no-fat milk (with some almonds) at work as my mid-AM snack. And the occasional beer about once a week, usually after a heavy Saturday of doing the repairs on our older house. (I have a mid-AM snack because I eat breakfast at 5:30 AM and Lunch at 12 Noon! More than the recommended 5 hours between eating. Hey, but I'm home from work by 3:30 PM - enough time to put almost a full day of repairs in - when 4 teens aren't being chauffered here and there.)

[quote:360ff1706e="jaydpiii"] There is a wwwebsite that offers good sweetner alternatives: www.globalsweet.com. [/quote:360ff1706e] Hi John- That website appears to be a retail website for that particular brand of sweetener. I would not believe any information that they give on their sweetener vs other sweeteners. They obviously have a motive for comparison ($$$) and certainly wouldn't have the information available if it didn't glorify their product. I, too, don't have much call for sweeteners. I drink my Dt Dew for "morning coffee" and then bottled water the rest of the day. Bottled water quality is a whole 'nother issue. I can't tell you how many times (around here, anyway) that there are news stories about someone's "pure artesian" bottled water turning out to be local "tap" water :x I haven't done any research on water filters, however, someone once told me that products like the Britta filter can't possibly, with their equipment, filter out the smallest particles. That one would still be drinking impurities...?? Basically, it's just marketing. Who do you believe, about anything? One can't possibly research everything. Four teenagers?? How do you find time for anything but chauffering? ~Michelle

Hi Michelle, Sorry to burst another bubble, but read in a free mag from whole foods (probably another marketing ploy, but I won't even go there now...) that Ice Mountain brand is taken from a feeder river of Lake Michigan, and it is pumping so much water that the level is down a lot and it's affecting the ecosystem. Yay. Owned by Nestle-Purina, the ones who also own Perrier (yes, of the Wisconsin water issue.) Corporations. Can't live with 'em...???? Ronica :roll: