Baked Apple Casserole

I've always wanted to come up with something of my own.  I can honestly say that I did not pull this from a recipe.  I even remembered to keep track of the ingredients that I was using.  I just realized how yummy this would be if you served it over ice cream, but maybe use a half serving instead of a full one.  Also, I got two thumbs up from both of the big girls and hubby.

Here it is:

Baked Apple Casserole

Ingredients:
3 pounds Granny Smith Apples (peeled, cored & sliced)
1/3 c + 1 tbsp Splenda Brown Sugar (or regular depending on taste)
1/4 c raisins
2 tsp cinnamon & nutmeg (enough for sprinkling or to taste)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Peel all of your apples. Core and slice enough apples to cover the bottom of an 8x8 pan. Sprinkle with Splenda brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Core and slice more apples to create another layer. Again, sprinkle with Splenda brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Repeat one last time, topping with the 1/4c of raisins. Place uncovered in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until you've reached desired doneness.  Stir to coat the apples and allow the raisins to be throughout.  Serve warm *I think it tastes better that way.*

Serving size = 1/2c
P+ per serving = 4

When exercise equals...

...spring cleaning, then it means that it's that time of year!

After an appointment this morning, school work, and lunch, I put the shortest member of the family to bed and kicked the two big kids outside to play.  During that time, I picked up the living room, moved a few pieces of 'furniture' *read-trampoline and recliner* out of the way, vacuumed, and then shampooed our rug.  It gets so nasty because it's right off the front door.  That to say, it takes a l-o-n-g time to shampoo it because I give it some extra TLC.  Then there is the process of letting it dry.  And no, I didn't sit and watch it dry.

I actually headed into the kitchen to take on the state of emergency that was taking place within it.  It is mostly complete, but there is still much to be done.  I also tackled a few loads of laundry today and hung one load outside.

I'm just hoping that I don't collapse before I finish what I want to get done today.  I just want to get the laundry folded and put away.  That's it *aside from cooking dinner, putting the dishes in the dishwasher away, and maybe doing a few more dishes.*  Ah, a mommy's day is never done.

When I am this busy, there is little time for anything else.  This at least means that I'm not being tempted to find yet another snack while walking through the kitchen.  If anything today, I wanted to take a nap, but that wasn't in the cards.

The point of this post?  I guess it's to say that sometimes when you're doing a bunch of things that you don't do on a daily basis *like shampooing your rugs* that it totally counts towards some activity for the day!  Now...if only chasing after children gave me that same pleasure, I'd be all set.  Alas, I do that every day.

Fear

So, I took a walk today.  It's beautiful out.  I'm rocking the tunes.  And as I turn to complete my first mile, and I'm fighting against past memories in my brain...I start to cry.  I'm sure I was quite a sight to see.  Crying and sweaty, but walking it out.  The tears?  A walking revelation.  It seems as though I've been getting those a lot lately.  Moving on.

The revelation?  I have a fear of gaining weight again.  A fear of what other people see me as.  I'm not sure if this is an unhealthy fear or a healthy one. 

I also learned another important tidbit.  I wear my heart rate monitor when I do most of my exercises.  I just found out that a good portion of my exercises are considered to be in the 'vigorous' category.  If I base my numbers on this site, then my max HR is 186, my 50% of HR would be 93, 75% would be 130, and 85% would be 158.  My vigorous range is between 130 and 158.  The moderate range would be between 93 and 130.  Generally speaking, my HR is over 140 when I walk and it's been logged as high as 157.  This is very helpful information for me.

I'm feeling some better today.  It is certainly a process. 

I'm looking forward to dinner.  Pork tenderloin, quinoa, fresh cauliflower, and a salad.  So, I guess if we're going to eat it, I better make it.

A New Goal?

I never thought that I'd need a new one.  I've continued to work on my 12 for '12, but I'm not really thinking about those kinds of goals.  I'm thinking more along the lines of a new health goal.  I'm not even sure what that could be.  I think subconsciously *or so my hubby says* that I might be feeling 'off' because I worked so hard to attain my goal and now that I've reached my goal, I don't know what to do next.

Maybe that is it.  Just a little.  I'm missing my purpose.  My drive.  As of late, I don't feel like things are filling that void of 'I need to make goal.'  Does this even make sense?

I started cutting back on my caffeine a couple of days ago.  So far, no headaches from whittling it down.  I've been drinking half caff at breakfast and then nothing else after.  I do like to have *from time to time* some decaf coffee at night, so I've been having that.  When I was at the store picking up lettuce and spinach today, I stared longingly at the Coke Zero *another guilty pleasure from time to time.*  I didn't get one. 

Last night when I made pizza, I did the entire dough with whole wheat flour, and I only ate 2 slices.  And?  I was satisfied after those 2 slices.  This is a huge step for me as normally I'm incapable of stopping at just 2 slices.  I count what I eat and move on. 

I bought a dark chocolate bar *78% cocoa* and if I'm feeling like a little something during the day, I have just one *yes one* square of it.  That's been helping me from feeling like I'm 'deprived.'

I also like to have yogurt every day.  It's truly tasty to get Greek yogurt *plain/0% fat*, peel and core an apple *I eat some, but cut the rest up into bite size pieces and nuke it*, I stir 1 teaspoon of honey into the yogurt, and then add the heated apple...YUM!  Those of you point counting, it's 3P+ for 6oz Greek yogurt, honey, and the apple.  Yes, you could buy Greek yogurt with fruit already in it, but this cuts out some of the preservatives, and gives you fresh fruit.  A WW friend taught me that trick.

And one more change recently...I've stopped having peanut butter every day.  I love, LoVe, LOVE peanut butter, but I've been thinking that it has been somewhat of a trigger food.  I'm not always happy with just the tablespoon that I put on my bread at lunch.  I like to have a spoonful.  Yep.  I'm one of those people that like peanut butter right out of the jar.  I'll walk by the jar of peanut butter, open it and spoon a little out.  Cutting it out, has been a great release!  I'm also making sure that it goes back in the cupboard *after making lunches* instead of letting it sit there and stare me in the face.  I am instead choosing to have a slice of homemade bread *or the organic nine grain bread from Bountiful Baskets* with a teaspoon of real butter on it.

All of this to say, I'm still learning new things.  And, I'm searching for a new goal.  It's something to think about.  Hubby and I are going to put our heads together to see if we can figure something out.  In the meantime, bear with me.

Biggest Obstacles to Weight Loss

Everyone has obstacles.  Some are more substantial than others.  For me, I think my biggest obstacle is me.  Yes, I am my own worst obstacle.  I get in my own way and I can easily sabotage myself.  I can also be my own biggest fan, but most of the time, it's the other way around.  There are also things that hinder my stamina and those are food items.  I would love to say that I don't struggle with the same things now that I did in the beginning, but they're the same.  They still haunt me and I fight with them on a daily basis.

Right now, I'm struggling with the idea that I am this person:

And not this one:

This should be a no-brainer, but I think I often have the mentality of the second picture.  I guess I feel like I still look like picture number two.  I want to hide myself away.  Maybe that's just my personality.  Maybe it's a shell that I still need to break out of.  Maybe I was stuck in the body of the second picture for far too long.  Whatever the case may be, I still have a lot of healing to do.  Even now, I'm sitting here scrolling between the two pictures finding it hard to believe that it's the same person.  And it's me.

I know how I got from one to the other.  I've also done it before.  I don't want to do it again.  Every day is a struggle.  Every day is a choice.  We have to make the choice to feed our body the things that it needs rather than what it wants.  Even though our brain knows this, we don't always make that choice.

I would love to say that things got easier towards the end, but they only seemed to get more difficult.  The most important thing?  Don't.  Ever.  Give.  Up!

Still Here

No worries.  I haven't dropped off the face of the planet.  I'm in a weird kind of funk.  As my home healthcare nurse called it...punky.  I'm in a punky mood.  I'm just off.  Mood is off.  Emotions are off.  I had my temporary crown put on yesterday and it's too 'high', but I didn't realize it until after my mouth wasn't numb any more.  So...I'm dealing with it for 2 weeks.  Bah!

On my way home from said appointment, I heard this song:



I want you all to focus on the words.

Here is a link to the lyrics.  I hope someone loves you in a way similar to this.  Someone who loves you "just the way you are." 

I've had this song on my heart since yesterday.  Know that you are loved, that you are valued, that you are cherished, and that someone cares about you!

Differences In Life

It's so very interesting to me to see the differences in how people are raised.  And, I guess in some cases, are left to raise themselves.  In this particular case, it's a matter of differences in being raised.

With her permission, I'm sharing a bit about our morning.
 
I met my friend for coffee this morning.  Hubby seems to encourage me to go out and meet gal friends for conversation.  I appreciate his ability to see when I need a 'time out.'  We met at one of the local coffee places *not Starbucks, but makes good stuff too.*  They also have a much larger selection of sugar free syrups *like White Chocolate* and they're cheaper and they have a  'loyalty' program too.  All good things.  Moving on.

She had called me earlier in the week to see if we could meet and talk weight loss stuff.  Sure!  Why not?  Anywho, it seems as though in her childhood/adolescent years, it was all about body image, how others perceived you, and was 'encouraged' to remain thin by her mom, who also has this perception.  At some point, my friend started to possibly feel a sense of rebellion against what she 'knew.'  She's now married and being away from that community, things start to come to light.  Have you ever had that happen?  You get pulled from a situation and then...WHAM!  It's like a light bulb goes off or you have an 'ah-ha!' moment.  What makes you, you?  Is it what others 'put upon' you or is it how you look at yourself?

Where am I going with this?  I'm drawing a comparison, so hang in there.

As I grew up, my parents were encouraging.  However, I was surrounded by people who told me *or at least I felt that they were telling me* that I was unattractive.  It never seemed to make a difference what I did, it wasn't enough.  My parents always told me how beautiful I was, but I could never wrap my mind around it.  It's like the good was outweighed by the bad.  And why would I let what others say to me change what my parents were saying to me?  I'm not really sure.

Two different up-bringings, but we've kind of come to a similar ending.  Our self-image is distorted.  There is no magic answer to change the way we see ourselves.  Often times when we see ourselves so negatively, we have a hard time sharing ourselves with others.  In particular, we have a hard time sharing our inner most self with our significant other.  Of course, if they love us as unconditionally as humanly possible, then they'll love us no matter what.  They love our quirks, our idiosyncrasies, our fluff, and they love our sensitivities.  If we happen to be paired to a member of the male species, their love for us includes trying to 'fix' our hurts.  While we, as women, don't want to be 'fixed', we just want to be heard.  I often times feel better if hubby offers to help.  After all, we were created to be help-mates for each other.

I'd imagine that a lot of you *most of you women* know exactly what I'm saying here.  You don't necessarily feel good in your own skin.  Again, no magic answer, but surrounding yourself by others who encourage you and love ya for who you are, is a huge step in this direction.  Sadly, there are many women in this same place, and you can count me in on it too.  Don't feel alone.  Reach out and be encouraged!

Normal

I've made it past Wednesday.  And?  I feel like my 'normal' self again.  My cravings have subsided and life can go on as normal.  Whatever normal is.  I seriously become a wicked witch and I'm sure my family doesn't appreciate it.  At.  All.  To top of my witchiness, my poor hubby has been battling an ear & sinus infection, along with the beginning stages of pneumonia.  Yuck!  Thankfully, he's kept the nasties to himself.

As for food, like I said, once I got to Wednesday, I was no longer craving things that I shouldn't have and was able to feel satisfied on what I have been eating *more protein and less 'sugary' stuff*.  I did do Slim in 6 yesterday, but spent today going through our shed.  I know what you're thinking, "But Kati, that isn't exercise!"  Oh, believe me, it was!  I picked up and moved plastic tubs full of clothes.  I sorted all of the clothes *my old clothes that need to be gone*, baby clothes *sizes 3mo-24mo*, and big kid clothes.  I brought a few things in for my middle kiddo to wear and a few things for the littlest one.  After I got it all put into bags, I had to put it back into the shed.  I'm hoping that I can bring it in the house, lay it on the floor, and take pictures.  All of this before the alleged 10-24 inches of snow we're due to get between Saturday and Monday.  Boo!!  My entire body aches from leaning over tubs and sorting.  I did find a pair of fun pants that I had tucked away.  And yes, they fit.

I'm looking forward now to Saturday.  Yep, it's St. Patrick's Day.  Yes, I have some Irish in my background.  And yes, we're having corn beef and cabbage.  Yum!  When I saw it go on sale, I just had a hankerin' for it.  So...we're having some.  Sunday is my littlest one's birthday.  A whole big 2!  I can't believe it!  And honestly, I'm still unsure of what I'm doing for her birthday cake.  I have ideas, I just haven't come to any solid decisions.

My fun and exciting non-food related news?  I bought our new washer and dryer today.  We'll get those delivered this next Wednesday.  I also bought my tickets to fly home *alone* today.  Yippee!  That's another bonus to having lost weight...you don't have to ask for the seat belt extender on a plane.  Sad, but true.

Tomorrow is my weigh-in day and I'd imagine I'll show at least a slight gain.  All will be well and it's all part of learning my new 'normal.'  I hope everyone is hanging in there.  Take each day as it comes.  That's all we can do.

Day 7

I know women were created to be hormonal and stuff, but seriously?  There's days when it totally gets old and affects every other fiber of our being.  It's one thing that I struggle with when it comes to food.  And.  It's.  A.  Bear.  In all seriousness.  Hormones make me feel more hungry than I really am and want things like a bunch of yucky processedwhitefloursugarytastythings and I really wish that I didn't.

Today had gone swimmingly well.  I made this delicious chicken salad for lunch today (carrots and celery and raisins and seasonings and ooh a bunch of tasty stuff).  I served it up on romaine and was quite the happy camper.  I took the girls into 'town' and ran our few errands before their dental appointment.  By the time we were done, I couldn't wait to get home and make our dinner.

My one big mistake?  The Coke Zero that I drank on the way home.  I think that it paired up with my hormone crazed body and decided that after our yummy dinner, I needed to have a few additional items.  So...I've counted them and I'm moving on to tomorrow.

Is it Wednesday yet?

So...I'll ask again...do you all have a topic in mind for me to blog about?  Or do I need to search the webs for something good? 

Also...there is this particular holiday that occurs here pretty soon and it involves the stores carrying massive amounts of chocolateyevilgoodness.  How will you avoid?

Day 5

I definitely skipped posting yesterday.  I had a lot of moments of weakness and counted every morsel.  This is me being the best sugar addict I can be.  Yikes!  Maybe at some point I can say that I'm a recovering sugar addict, but for now, I'm a straight up, hard-core, sugar addict.  Who wouldn't love pancakes made with white flour instead of wheat?  Who wouldn't love milk chocolate over dark?  *Wait...maybe there's a select few that love those subtle differences...*  Not that I had all of that mind you, it's for illustration purposes.  The point being, there are times where I like to buck the system.  Maybe you could call me evil, bad, or some other vicious name, but I'm a redhead.  There's something kind of ingrained when you're a true redhead that makes you just a bit fiery, if you know what I'm saying.

Today has been a much better day.  Then again, I've been busy.  I printed off my checklist *again* and went to town.  Nothing says wahoo like checking stuff off your list *at least for me.*  I even hung our laundry out on the line today which is so ridiculously early for us, it's not even funny.  But, this momma is trying to not have a $100+ electric bill again next month...it's just not in the budget.

We got our basket today which means trying something new *usually* for dinner.  Here was our basket from today:

So many fun things, so little time.  What we ended up trying tonight was the kale.  That is the green stuff between the carrots and the romaine on the right hand side.  I made kale chips.  Umm...it was like eating potato chips without the guilt.  I'm so there!  So tasty and so easy to make.  I will definitely be picking up kale again on our own!  We also had cucumber and banana peppers in our romaine salad tonight.  Our salad was definitely a happy one tonight.

I shared my fun new tip about regrowing the green onion with the lady picking up her basket next to mine this morning and with my friend Sarah.  I'm still using the same green onion that I bought about a month ago.  Now, I have some fresh stuff to alternate with.  And what do I mean by this?  When you get down to the white part of your green onion, throw it in a glass of water *with part of the stalk sticking out of the water*...it would look like this:

This is after just a couple of days being in the water.  Another friend of mine told me that she actually throws hers in a pot with soil and continues to grow hers that way.  I know that green onion isn't terribly expensive, but sheesh!  If only people knew of this little trick...

Oh and the kamut rolls were okay, but I felt like they might have been missing something.  They'd be good if you were dipping them in something, but they seem a little 'salty'...maybe too much baking soda/salt.  Who knows?  I'm not good about tweaking things like that in a recipe.  This is what they looked like:

And I have to say that our meal turned out so amazing that night *Thursday*.  I stuffed the chicken with lemon, garlic, rosemary and marjoram.  It was the best chicken I have ever roasted *if I do say so myself.*  The girls all had seconds.  That's how good it was!  Our chicken:

The full meal:

And lastly, after we'd enjoyed our dinner, some kickin stock got made as well.

I said to hubby after our meal was finished, that I was a pretty good cook when we got married, but I've gotten better over time.  He agreed *although, he didn't have much to compare me to anyway...except maybe his grandma :) *
Now that I've overloaded you on pictures, I'm off to put the oldest kiddo to bed.  It truly has been a lovely day today and I'm hoping that tomorrow is equally as nice with a little less of the cleaning stuff.

Day 3--Ugh!

Oh boy...trigger-city!!  I've decided that, for as much as I love my girls, they are one of my triggers for my sugar addiction.  We all have bad days, but I'm realizing that when we have those bad days, all I want to do is eat comfort foods (ie: simple carbohydrates, chocolate, salty stuff, etc).  I'm so glad that I'm beginning to realize this so that I can start to nip it in the bud.

My choices to nip it?  Some 78% dark chocolate, a Coke Zero, and 1 1/2 cups of my soup that I made yesterday.  Surprisingly, I feel full and satisfied with no desire to run back to the kitchen for more.  I'm also drinking my water.  How much water have you had today?

I tried a new recipe for breakfast.  This morning I had an omelet of spinach, onion and 2 laughing cow cheese wedges.  It was very tasty.  I also had my Kamut Puffs.  We are having a roast chicken for dinner tonight.  I still haven't decided on sides to put with it, but I'll get that figured out before I start making dinner.

Ooh!  I just found a recipe for rolls!  Yippee!  They're just 2P+ per roll.  Here's the recipe.  I'll let you know how they turn out.  We'll probably have broccoli and a salad to round things out.

Off to make rolls!

Day 2

Well, day 2 is shaping up to be a good one.  It's now afternoon and I'm feeling a little more energy than I did yesterday.  For breakfast, I made the same scramble that I had yesterday, but this time I remembered my 'greens'.  I did throw the spinach in at the end to cook it a little since eating eggs on fresh spinach didn't exactly appeal to me.

My snack consisted of light Activia yogurt and 14g of almonds *and yes, I measured those*. 

Lunch was some lentil soup that I made.  I did prepare all of my veggies that I needed for my soup and for dinner this morning.  I figured, why not?  I was standing there at the cutting board, I might as well.

Tonight's dinner will be homemade sloppy joes.  This particular recipe doesn't come from the new cookbook, but it doesn't have too many 'sugary' items in it.  I am going to have mine on nine grain bread.  The girls can have the buns. 

I've now picked up my kitchen...again.  I've got enough soup to put in the fridge and some in the freezer.  I pulled the buns out of the freezer, set up the ingredients by the stove for tonight's dinner, and I'm having a cup of hot decaf tea because it's cold today.

As for exercise, I've taken the week off.  I'm still doing my "Mad Abs" *a new challenge I started with the gals on the 1st*, but I'm just focusing on my food this week.  I need to focus on my food.  I need to find my energy.  When you are lacking energy, it's difficult to get some of the 'easiest' things done around the house.  It's frustrating.  And yes, I know that I have 3 children home most of the day, but I want to be a better momma.

Thank you for sticking with me while I get my thoughts out.  It helps me to write things down...kind of like a journal of how I'm feeling with the subtle tweaks that I'm making.  So hang in there!  If there is something else that you'd like me to discuss, don't hesitate to ask.  I don't want to bore you with my daily stuff.

Keep on friends, keep on!

Changing things up!

I'm still struggling with being tired a lot so, I'm making an effort to switch things up just a bit. If you know anything about me or my journey, I like to tweak things from time to time. It definitely keeps my body guessing what will happen next. So while I was in PHX the other day, I went through the cookbook section. Oh yes. It's another addiction...cookbooks. On the plus side, I probably could accommodate just about anyone's particular diet plan. The title of the book is "Beat Sugar Addiction NOW! Cookbook". My thinking in buying this book is two-fold. One, I know that I have problems with carbohydrates *and I struggle to stay clear of them during that wicked time of month...about a 2 week period*, and my hubby also has a problem with sugary things. 

The neat thing about the book is that there are 4 different types of sugar addicts.  They have a little 'quiz' to see which you are.  For hubby, he turned up to be a Type I sugar addict.  I am a Type III addict.  We both flirt with the Type IV part as well *since it has parts for both men and women.*  It also includes recipes that benefit all 4 types of addicts.  There is definitely a little bit of adjusting, but I think if I can stick to it, I'll lose a few more pounds and will find my energy again.

When I went shopping yesterday, I went to our 'local' whole foods store.  I was kind of excited about going since a friend of mine shared some important information.  That info?  That they have a bulk foods section in the back of the store.  Oh.  My.  Goodness!!  It was kind of like being a kid in a candy store, but with healthy stuff.  I know.  I'm weird.  It's okay, I've always known this.  Moving on.  What they had back there was numerous types of bulk hot cereal, various types of flour, various types of granola, nuts, etc.  I walked to the checkout with:  spelt flakes, Kamut puffs *a breakfast cereal--relatively cheap and pretty tasty*, 7-grain cereal for making bread, quinoa, barley *not pearly, but hulled regular barley*, and a 70% dark chocolate bar *that's one chocolate that I can have that won't set this Type III addict into a tailspin.* 

I came right home and put groceries away while I cooked some quinoa.  I have now officially had my first serving of quinoa and it was wonderful!  It was a bit like rice, but almost has a nutty taste.  It was very good.  Even the hubby liked it.  The short people didn't get a taste of it since hubby had already fed them.

This morning, I had a serving of the Kamut puffs with my almond milk on it.  I also made a scramble that consisted of 1 egg, 3 tbsp of egg whites, 1 minced garlic clove, fresh basil, green onion, some dried oregano, and a teaspoon of olive oil.  After cooking it, I forgot to throw it on top of some salad greens.  Eh...I hope to remember tomorrow.  Lunch was tofu egg salad.  Yeah, it was good.  I'm not sure what I will be adding to dinner for protein, but we're having multi-grain pasta.

Also, it is basket week!  Oh how I love basket week!  It will definitely help in the goal of eating to control sugar.

I can't say that I feel a whole lot of energy yet, but we'll see what a week or two does for my body.  It is trial and error.  I may make one of the soup recipes that's in the cookbook tomorrow for lunch.  It includes barley.  Yum!  I'll keep you all up-to-date on how it's going.

Yesterday

So I had my WI yesterday and it really wasn't terrible.  I gained .7, but it only took me .2 above my goal weight.  When you're in maintenance, anything less than a pound above goal, isn't terrible.  It's all part of the process.  And, it is a process.

It was certainly a busy day yesterday.  We had school work to do and normal house chores.  Then, my oldest and I got dolled up and headed out the door.

On our way, we stopped at McDonald's for dinner.  I ordered...a salad.  My oldest said to me, "Mom, why do you always order a salad?"  Well, because it's the best option for me and because I know how many points it is.  And also, because I'm sure if I sat down and had the greasy-ness of what they serve, my stomach would be really unhappy with me.  After finishing, we headed on our way to the concert.

If I'd known how easy it was to get to the college, I might have looked into other things there.  I followed the signs for the college and then there were other people pulling up too, so that helped.  We went to see The MozART Group.  If you don't know they are, you can check out their website here or see one of their videos like this one on youtube:



This one cracks me up!

After the show, my kiddo got their autographs and this:

Needless to say, she was thrilled!

On the long drive home, we stopped at the same McDonald's to get her dessert and me a diet Coke.  Yep, no dessert for me.  It was a truly lovely evening and I'm so glad we had the opportunity to go.

To continue on with my culture weekend, I'm going to see "Wicked" tomorrow with a bunch of gals.  Whew! 

In the midst of everything...stay the course!

My Healthified Cookie

So today was baking day for my friend Sarah.  Her favorite cookie?  Oatmeal Raisin.  The recipe?  It is as follows:

Kati's Healthified Oatmeal Raisin Cookies  *I doubled the recipe, so hang in there.*

2/3 c agave nectar
1/2 c packed brown sugar & 1/4 c packed Splenda brown sugar
1/2 c homemade applesauce *unsweetened store bought or the like would probably be fine.*
1/2 c canned pumpkin *told ya I love me some pumpkin*
1 tsp baking soda
1 slightly rounded tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 c egg whites *or 2 egg whites*
3 c quick-cooking oats
1 c all-purpose flour
1 c kamut flour *or whole wheat*
1 c *or 1 package* of pomegranate craisins

Heat oven to 375.  Mix all ingredients except oats, flour and craisins.  Stir in oats, flour and craisins *allowing your dough to sit just for a few minutes*.    I used a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop and made level tablespoon sized cookies.  You'll also need to use parchment paper because these don't have any butter or oil in them, so they might stick if you don't.  These didn't spread too much, so you can easily get 4 cookies across on a sheet *at least on my cookie sheets.* Bake about 10 minutes or until light brown; cool..
These came out to be 1 P+ per cookie or 3 P+ for two cookies.  They are very tasty and both the girls and the hubby give them 2 thumbs way up *so do I by the way.*  The pomegranate craisins give them a nice twist and I'd imagine you could use just about any type of craisin.  I also didn't double the amount of craisins, but you wouldn't know it if I didn't tell you.  I love being able to tweak recipes and sometimes they don't work out, but most often they do.  This one certainly turned out fantastic!  Am I the type of person to come up with something on my own?  Nope.  But, I do a great job when someone gives me a starting point.

Tomorrow is my first WI day of my maintenance.  I'm not sure how to feel about it.  It's been a rough week and I am certainly ready to put it behind me.  This weekend will also be busy.  Oldest kiddo and I will be off to a concert of sorts tomorrow evening and then a group of gals and I will be going to see "Wicked" on Sunday.  Whew!

If cookies happen to be a trigger food for you...walk...away.  If not, give these a whirl.