WEEK 10

YAH-HOO WE MADE IT!

Angie...........582
Brianne.......609
Chris...........543
Elisabeth....590
Jake............426
Russ............604
Sherri..........565
VaLynn.......610

So that means our WINNERS are:

1st VaLynn $40
2nd Brianne $24
3rd Russ $16

Good job everyone.

WEEK 9

Sorry it's late!!

Angie..........57, 56, 56, 59, 519
Brianne......60, 60, 60, 59, 539
Chris..........46, 48, 55, 56, 481
Elisabeth...59, 60, 59, 54, 522
Jake...........50, 43, 30, 30, 416
Russ...........60, 60, 60, 60, 540
Sherri.........56, 60, 50, 58, 499
VaLynn......60, 60, 60, 60, 540

ONE WEEK LEFT!!! Not even that! 4 DAYS!

Vanilla Cake

We made this cake for Abby's 2nd birthday when we wanted a low sugar cake and it was quite tasty. Top with whipped cream for added delight.

Vanilla Cake adapted from a recipe found at http://wholesomebabyfood.com

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose unbleached flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup vanilla yogurt (or plain)
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons coconut oil (or canola)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 egg whites

1/2 cup blueberries (optional)

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Spray an 8" X 8" baking pan with low-fat spray. Sift the dry ingredients and set aside.

Whisk together wet ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add the dry to the wet and mix until most of the lumps are gone. Pour mix into the pan and bake at 350ºF for 30-35 minutes or until knife or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Pancakes YUM

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oats
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp. powdered milk
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 egg
1 Tbsp. oil
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup apple juice

Mix it up and cook like any old pancakes. The good news is that these don't taste like any old pancakes. YUM YUM. Top with butter and honey and you've got yourself a Gimme 10 approved breakfast delight.

WEEK 8

Angie..........57, 56, 56, 460
Brianne......60, 60, 60, 480
Chris..........46, 48, 55, 425
Elisabeth...59, 60, 59, 468
Jake...........50, 43, 30, 386
Russ...........60, 60, 60, 480
Sherri.........56, 60, 50, 441
VaLynn......60, 60, 60, 480

YaHoo We only have two more weeks! Keep it up you guys!

Caprese Melts YUM

We tried a new twist on grilled cheese sandwiches. OOOH Nelly are they good! We found them on eatingwell.com. Even Abby liked it. We tried grilling on the stovetop and broiling in the oven- both are good. We served it with carrot sticks and peaches and cottage cheese. Super good and super easy for a day when you don't really feel like cooking.

Ingredients

• 6 slices buttermilk or sourdough sandwich bread (we used plain old whole wheat bread)
  
• About 1 tablespoon olive oil (we used butter)
  
• 15 fresh basil leaves, rinsed (used dried basil and McCormick's Italian herb seasoning grinder)
  
• 2 firm-ripe tomatoes (about 8 oz. total), sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced 1/4 inch thick (can go thinner)
  
• Salt and pepper

Preparation

1. Brush one side of each bread slice with olive oil. Place 3 slices, oil side down, on a 10- by 15-inch baking sheet and layer evenly with basil leaves, tomato slices, and mozzarella slices. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and top with remaining bread slices, oil side up.

2. Broil sandwiches 6 inches from heat, turning once, until bread is golden brown and cheese is melted, 2 to 3 minutes total. Serve immediately.

WEEK 7

Angie..........57,56, 404
Brianne......60, 60, 420
Chris..........46, 48, 370
Elisabeth...59, 60, 409
Jake...........50, 43, 356
Russ...........60, 60, 420
Sherri.........56, 60, 391
VaLynn......60, 60, 420

WEEK 6

Sorry it took so long to get the results up today. Abby is teething and needs lots of holding and Ada was really sick this weekend and wanted holding too.

Angie..........57, 348
Brianne......60, 360
Chris..........46, 322
Elisabeth...59, 349
Jake...........50, 313
Russ...........60, 360
Sherri.........56, 331
VaLynn......60, 360

I realized this week that I'm not going to win. Eating sugar sure is easier now!
Good luck everyone! We have four more weeks to go.

WEEK 5

Here we are:

Angie.........55, 60, 60, 59, 57, 291
Brianne.....60, 60, 60, 60, 60, 300
Chris..........56, 58, 58, 55, 49, 276
Elisabeth...59, 58, 59, 57, 57, 290
Jake...........53, 57, 49, 56, 48, 263
Russ...........60, 60, 60, 60, 60, 300
Sherri.........58, 55, 48, 57, 57, 275
VaLynn......60, 60, 60, 60, 60, 300

Ye-Haw! We've made it half way!

WEEK 4

Angie.........55, 60, 60, 59, 234
Brianne.....60, 60, 60, 60, 240
Chris..........56, 58, 58, 55, 227
Elisabeth...59, 58, 59, 57, 233
Jake...........53, 57, 49, 56, 215
Russ...........60, 60, 60, 60, 240
Sherri.........58, 55, 48, 57, 218
VaLynn......60, 60, 60, 60, 240

I think I've given up on the idea of inserting a graph. We're practically half way through anyway. WOO HOO WE'RE PRACTICALLY HALF WAY THROUGH!

WEEK 3

Angie.........55, 60, 60, 175
Brianne.....60, 60, 60, 180
Chris..........56, 58, 58, 172
Elisabeth...59, 58, 59, 176
Jake...........53, 57, 49, 159
Russ...........60, 60, 60, 180
Sherri.........58, 55, 48, 161
VaLynn......60, 60, 60, 180

Guess what everyone? By tomorrow we will be a third of the way through this competition! It's still anyone's win so keep on it! Good luck this coming week.

Anyone have ideas about keeping Valentine's Week sweet and sugar free? Let us know.

WEEK 2

Can you believe we've already completed another week? This one seemed to go by much faster than the first week.
Still haven't figured out how to add a chart, and Chris says it sounds pretty complicated so he hasn't attempted yet either. So here is the archaic version. (week 1, week 2, total):

Angie.........55, 60, 115
Brianne.....60, 60, 120
Chris..........56, 58, 114
Elisabeth...59, 58, 117
Jake...........53, 57, 110
Russ...........60, 60, 120
Sherri.........58, 55, 113
VaLynn......60, 60, 120

Good work everyone!
Studies show that after doing something 21 times it becomes a habit so hopefully at the end of next week things will seem a bit easier. I've also heard that the third week of doing something is the hardest week because it isn't new anymore. KEEP GOING! Your slimmer waist line and peacful sleep are motivation enough!

Does anyone else feel blah at the end of a sugar day? I sure do... but maybe that's because I ate four chocolate chip cookies and a piece of chocolate cake with ganache and whipped cream... that might be it.

I struggle with drinking all that water. But I have found that if I drink two cups when I first get up and then two cups before breakfast that I can usually get the rest taken throughout the day. I have had a couple of times though of having to drink three cups before I go to bed. Last night it was four! That was a problem... Anyone else have any ideas on how to make sure you drink all the water?

WEEK 1

So I haven't figured out yet how to insert a table... but I will!
Here are the results for week 1:

Angie 55
Brianne 60
Chris 56
Elisabeth 59
Jake 53
Russ 60
Sherri 58
VaLynn 60

WAY TO GO EVERYONE! Keep it up!

On Your Mark... Get Set...

Here we GO! Week one is underway and already I want sweets. In a moment of weakness I googled "totally healthy cookies" and got this link in return:
http://www.allhomemadecookies.com/recipeindex/healthycookies.htm

We tried the No-Bake Peanut Butter Balls w/Rice Krispies Cereal and boy were they good. It was like having a mini peanut butter and honey sandwich, only crunchy. This recipe makes about a dozen 2 -inch balls. And hey- NO SUGAR or sugar substitutes. YUM!

1/2 cup peanut butter (Use reduced fat for less calories.)

1/4 cup honey

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2-3 cups of crispy rice cereal

Combine the peanut butter, honey, and vanilla. Stir in enough cereal to make balls. (Hint: Moisten your hands before rolling the mixture into balls.) Place the balls on waxed paper (or on cereal liner bags) and chill.

Here's How it Works

Everyone pays $10 to enter, that money is sent to me and goes in the "pot". Everyone has to have their money turned in by a certain date and the competition is for 10 weeks. You all become authors on the blog so everyone can post to it...tips, ideas, suggestions, complaints, recipes, etc.

You will receive a chart to keep track of your points. Each person tries to earn 10 points a day. The points go like this:

Healthy/Portioned Breakfast - 1 point

Healthy/Portioned Lunch - 1 point

Healthy/Portioned Dinner - 1 point

No Junky Snacks or Sugary Treats - 1 point

30 Minutes of Exercise - 2 points

Take Multi-Vitamin - 1 point

64 Ounces of Fluid (no sugar, no more than 1 can of diet-pop) - 1 point

No Food After 8:30 p.m. - 1 point

Sleep at least 6 Hours Within a 24 Hour Period - 1 point

Also, everyone is allowed 10 bonus points to use throughout the competition. Any unused bonus points will be added to your final score. If they are used, it must be reported to me but nobody else will know...it keeps the winner of the competition a bit of a mystery!

You keep track of your points everyday and email/call/text them to me on Sunday. For every day late you turn them in, you will be docked 1 point. I post your scores on the blog every Monday.

You get one free day a week when you don't have to count points at all!! Woo hoo! So, it's time to eat everything you have craved during the week and time to gear up for another week of being healthy.

Whoever wins will receive 50% of the pot, 2nd place gets 30%, and 3rd gets 20%. If there are multiple winners who receive their full 60 points for all 10 weeks, the pot will just be divided amongst them.

The reason this has been so great is because not only can you try to win money, but you are motivated by having your score posted every week for everyone to see! Nobody wants to look like a bum! Also, it's fun to have everyone be involved in the blog and post their thoughts and ideas.

Obviously, this is all based on honesty. However, even if someone cheated and won all the money...you still feel like a winner because at the end of 10 weeks you have a better body and a healthier lifestyle!

(copied and modified from http://www.chunksforchange.blogspot.com)