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CRUST:
32 round vanilla wafer cookies, crushed
1/4 cup butter, melted
FILLING:
6 oz sweet chocolate
3 8 oz pkgs cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 T cornstarch
4 eggs, room temperature
1 8 oz. container sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Wrap outside of an 8 1/2 or 9″ springform pan with foil. Find a roasting pan that is large enough to hold the springform pan. Set aside.
Crust: Place cookie crumbs in a medium sized bowl. Stir in butter until evenly combined. Pat into bottom of prepared springform pan. Place pan in roasting pan.
Filling: Coarsely chop chocolate. Place in a medium size microwave safe bowl; microwave on HIGH power for 1 minute. Stir until smooth. Set aside.
With an electric mixer, beat cheese, sugar, and cornstarch in large bowl until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, scrape down sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in sour cream and vanilla. Blend 3 cups batter into the melted chocolate, stirring until smooth.
Dollop both kinds of batter over crust. Using a knife, swirl the batters together to marbleize. Transfer to 325 degree oven. Pour hot water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the side of springform.
Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour, 5 minutes until set. Remove cheesecake from water; remove foil. Run knife around edge of cake; cool on rack. Refrigerate, uncovered, for 6 hours or overnight.
NOTE: Can serve with chocolate sauce. Delish! Looks very elegant set on a cake pedestal.
Marbled Cheesecake
Mexican Chicken Taco
3 oz chicken, cooked
1 small low carb whole-grain tortilla
2 T corn
2 T black beans (I omit these and add 1 oz of chicken since I am allergic to beans)
2 T salsa
2 T fat free sour cream
1/2 yellow squash
Combine chicken, corn, beans, yellow squash, salsa and sour cream together. Put all on tortilla. Yummy! NOTE: I modified the recipe adding the yellow squash – you are supposed to eat 1 cup broccoli on the side – but I like the texture and flavor of the yellow squash in the tortilla. Yummy! And quick to prepare. From http://www.kristiapproved.com/ Phase Two, week one.
Baby Izze Update 4
The kids went to court yesterday and were met with the birth mom and her attorney. Unfortunately we are going to have a fight on our hands. I cannot even begin to comprehend what is going through the birth mom’s mind and where her heart is right now. I feel an enormous amount of compassion towards her, but frustration at the same time (is that even possible?!). When the kids started this process the birth mom was adamant that she wanted to do the best thing for baby Izze and she knew that she was not in a position to provide a stable, loving environment for her. I don’t think anything has changed on her end, but for some reason she is fighting now for custody.
The court has decided that she can have weekly visitation until the next court date in October. This must be supervised by a third party approved by the court and the cost split 50/50. The visits will be 2 hours long. The kids have never objected to visitation until the birth mom became threatening. I am relieved that the visitations will be supervised.
It is hard to wonder if Izze will be a permanent member of our family. We have become so attached and love her so much. We are praying that she will be able to be with us forever… I believe the Lord has a hand in all of this and that we have to trust that the right thing will come to pass. We are grateful for all of those who have prayed for us and provided love and support. Here’s hoping that we will find the answers we seek sooner rather than later. Izze has touched us in ways impossible to describe. No matter what the outcome – we will never be the same….
Update for Week 1 Phase Two
Just got back early this morning from our trip to Maine – I have been kind of apprehensive about my weigh-in since it has been about 10 days since I have seen a scale. I am happy to report I am down another pound and a half. This brings me to a total of 17.3 pounds lost in 13 weeks. It was challenging to say the least to stick to the eating plan since we were eating out much of the time and trying to make the most intelligent choices from a menu. We bought lots of greek-style yogurt and ate lots of bars – both granola and protein. It seems to have worked out ok for both of us. I was worried about weight-gain during our vacation. I think our kids think we are nuts – constantly eating and always very specific foods, but we are pretty happy with our new life-style.
The working out was lots easier. We packed our resistance bands and did our regular exercises every morning without fail. The cardio was much different for us, as we did not have access to a stationary bike or elliptical. We rode our kids bikes, with our granddaughters as our “guides” thru their beautiful little town on the extensive bike trails some mornings, walked others (I ended up with bad shin splints), and used machines in the hotels we stayed in. Although my heart rate was not as elevated during those activities as it is when I am on the stationary bike and elliptical, I felt it was a good work-out and a bit more “fun” than usual.
It is good to be home and back in our routine! Looking forward to this second phase and the challenges and progress to come. On an funny note, I raided my “skinny” closet before we left and had to laugh at how baggy and silly my jeans looked while we were out of town. Some of my pants could be pulled down without even unzipping them – ridiculous! I was pleased to see that although the scales are not moving as quickly as I would like, that my body is clearly changing for the better and toning up and getting definition I have not seen for many years. Thank you http://www.kristiapproved.com/ for such a life changing program and one that I am actually excited to stick with! Here’s to a healthy, happy week for all!
Chicken Salad
3 oz. cooked chicken
2 T salsa
2 T fat free sour cream
8 cherry tomatoes
romaine lettuce
spinach
onions of choice
fresh lemon or lime
Dice all salad ingredients and combine with remaining ingredients in a bowl; top with fresh juice from lemon or lime.
Update for Week 12 Phase One
Don’t really have much to report – we are in Maine visiting our grandchildren and as such, I do not have scales or a measuring tape to check on my progress. I will say it has been a bit of a challenge to stay completely on course with travel all day on Saturday and coming up again next Tuesday, but we have stayed as close as possible to the program – with both eating and exercise as has been possible.
We enjoyed a great bike ride this morning with the two oldest girls and it was fun to do “cardio” while enjoying their company. They are cute and rode us a couple of miles down the road to a beautiful park and then back home “the secret way”. (we came in thru a baseball field and down a steep grassy hill to their back yard). LOVED it!
It is a bit difficult to stick too closely with the eating portion when you are flying and driving all day – but we have been pretty determined and have done relatively well. I will be anxious to weigh myself when we get home and see how I have done. If I have at least broken even I will feel good about that.
Just trying to enjoy our time with family this week! Will check back in next Wednesday morning and let you know how we did! Have a wonderful week!
Chicken Enchiladas
1 low carb whole-grain tortilla
2 oz cooked chicken
2 T cream cheese
2 T green chilies
4 T green enchilada sauce
2 T mozzarella
Dice chicken. In a bowl mix cream cheese and chilies together. Spread cream cheese mixture on tortilla and add 2 T green enchilada sauce, diced chicken, and 1 T mozzarella cheese; roll tortilla up tightly. In a small pan sprayed with cooking spray, place tortilla in pan and top with remaining 2 T enchilada sauce and remaining 1 T cheese. Cover with tinfoil to keep moist and bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes.
From Week 11 of the 12 Week Live the Life Challenge. http://www.kristiapproved.com/
Cottage Cheese Pancakes
1/2 cup oats
1/4 cup low fat cottage cheese
1 T protein powder
2 egg whites
1/4 banana
2 T sugar-free syrup
Blend all ingredients except syrup in blender. Cook in fry pan sprayed with cooking spray on medium heat. Top with syrup and cinnamon. Yummy!
One of my favorite recipes from week 11 of Phase One Challenge. See http://www.kristiapproved.com/
Update for Week 11 Phase One
This week was one of my most challenging. I had a realtor convention in Park City for two days. I only got 3 1/2 hours of sleep the night before I left due to wrapping things up since I would be out of town for 2 days. While I had to change the menu quite a bit and use salads and things from past weeks, I did great with eating clean! The workout was quite a different story! They had us so heavily scheduled that I was not able to fit in a workout for either of the days I was up there! When I got back to my room the first night I had an offer to write and a photo tour to get up for a new listing. AND was exhausted besides. I find it more tiring to sit all day in class than to be up and running hard all day! That being said, I did not make any progress this week for inches or pounds lost. On a brighter note I am down 2 sizes and still feeling great and not too disappointed with my results. I am also noticing a huge difference in muscle tone and definition! Life is going to happen and we just have to do the best we can and roll with it!
Beginning Saturday we are leaving for Maine for 10 days to visit our grand-kids there. This will require us to change things up a bit as far as exercise, etc. I think we can follow our eating plan alright (with modification on flight days), but the exercise portion will consist of resistance bands and walking. We have already had our granddaughters scoping out the best walking trails for us. They are planning to come along and ride their bikes. Presque Isle has the best walking trails and the most beautiful views! Kind of looking forward to a change of pace! Here’s to a better week!
Update for Week 10 Phase One
I started the week with a two pound weight gain (I have done this before and don’t know if this is hormone related or what), but ended with a 1/2 pound loss for the week. I lost another 1/2″ from my waist and feel good about that. Feeling strong and grateful for the things I am learning. I think that persistence is definitely key and I am glad that I have had enough experience not to allow the temporary “set-backs” to totally derail me. I am doing 4 sets of 15 now on each exercise and on Saturday (which is cardio only) I added 100 crunches on the exercise ball. LOVE that I can do that easily now. Heading out to Maine to visit grandkids in a couple of weeks and have already been working out a plan to stick with the program while we are there. My granddaughters are planning to ride their bikes with us each morning when we walk for our cardio. I think when you are determined enough you will make a plan and stick to it even when your routine changes a bit. Two more weeks on Phase One and then on to Phase Two. Hope you have started your program and that this finds you motivated and feeling healthy!
On an interesting note, I have had a bit of stress to deal with this week with a toilet going down (and my husband out of town) and last night water pouring into my living room during a terrible thunder and lightening/rain storm and I find that I handle it much better than I might have in the past. Thinking it has to do with being much better balanced overall.
