Old habits die hard...or don't die at all

Doe the Taco bell drive thru call to any of you like it does to me? I had an early morning and two doctors appointments for the girls that seemed to last forever. I didnt get anything in me and was starting to feel sick...good thing my "Auto Pilot" on my Yukon decided to feed me Taco Bell...Ha ha ha Can I help it that my car knows what I like?! :) 210 calories for the single Taco Supreme I had and 400 calories for the chalupa I ate. I also ate some chips and cheese so add 320 calories to that...man it adds up and it added up quickly to a whopping 930 calories, good thing I opted for the DIET soda...lmfao.....Baaaaahaaaa haaaa
Seriously though, I did well considering what I ate and the fact that I ate what I love the most it was worth all the calories in the world. Normally I wouldnt have had a chalupa but it sounded good...wasnt all that good to be honest and I wouldnt splurge another 400 calories on one again. I always feel strange ordering a diet soda with my fast food though because I used to work in the food industry and we always commented about people ordering the most fattening foods and then topping it off with a diet soda... I finally understand why they do that....order the diet soda, not eat the most fattening food. I'm a diabetic now and I haven't drank regular soda in years. It started about 8 years ago when I went on the Atkins diet...and I got used to it. Now, regular soda grosses me out and is far too sugary.
So, even though I ate Taco bell I controlled my impulse to over-eat, although I would have been satisfied with just the taco and chips and cheese, I think I'm going to chalk this up as a win for me. Technically I still have two snacks and dinner to eat and I still have 1070 calories for the day(or 1000 if you round them like I do). I can make a calorie friendly dinner like I did last night and keep it under 300 calories and even if it is 500 I still have enough for my snack...Yup. I'd say this is going to be a wonderful day....even with the Taco Bell. I think I may even take a walk with my son. :) I feel good today and I feel really happy for some reason...maybe its the Prozac, maybe its the sunshine and crisp air...maybe its cause I have the best kids in the world and the greatest friends, maybe its all of those reasons...I dont know, "but the sky is blue and the sun is shinning, I feel like a bum with a pocket full of diamonds...." I am going to enjoy the day with a smile. Hope you enjoy your day too. Much love...
Malisa

Tip of the day:

Old habits die hard but making the effort to dish up will go a long way toward changing your eating habits and preventing overeating. It's virtually impossible to practice portion control when you eat straight out of a package or container. Plus, the experience of eating the food in and of itself will be different, and more pleasant, if you use a dish.

OMG this sounds so tasty! This makes a total of 16 servings at 72 calories per serving and only 0.6 grams of FAT....that's it folks

When Fall is in the air, nothing quite hits the spot like a slice of fresh baked pumpkin bread. Also, the ready availability of fresh pumpkin makes it hard to come up with a reason NOT to have a back-up loaf. This version virtually fat-free but still retains the moist gooyness that you typically get from quick breads. Fresh pumpkin also has a natural sweetness to it. Rather than covering it up with too much excess sugar, I opted to try and enhance the interesting flavor it provides. If you can't get a hold of a real pumpkin, you can substitute the canned stuff (Using fresh pumpkin is very easy and pretty fun, too. Not only can you taste the freshness, but you get some tasty pumpkin seeds for roasting or adding to the recipe.)

Ingredients

1	c. All-Purpose Flour
1/2	c. Rolled Oats
1	tsp. Baking Soda
1/2	c. Brown Sugar
1	c. Pumpkin, Prepared
1/2	c. Apples, Peeled and Roughly Chopped
1/2	c. Applesauce, Unsweetened
1	large Egg
1	Egg White
1	tsp. Cinnamon
1/4	tsp. Allspice
3/4	tsp. Salt

Directions

1. To prepare pumpkin: First of all, use a smaller variety of pumpkin (about the size of a bag of popped popcorn). The lighter the skin, the sweeter the taste. Cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds and pulp. Save the seeds for drying or roasting (trust me.) Put both halves cut side down on a foil lined baking sheet, loosely cover them with foil, and pop them in the oven for about an hour at 375. When they're done, scoop the flesh from the skin with a spoon and mush up the yummy pumpkin goodness. It should keep in a refrigerator for about a week or so. If you've decided to just go with canned pumpkin: Open the can.
   
2. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and ready a 9x5 inch loaf pan (cooking spray or oil work just fine.)
   
3. In one bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking soda, salt, allspice, and cinnamon.
   
4. In another bowl, combine the brown sugar, pumpkin, egg, egg white, and apple sauce until the mixture looks like bright orange mush.
   
5. Stir the dry stuff into the wet stuff just until you don't see dry stuff anymore.
   
6. Fold in the chopped apples. At this point, you can also add any solid ingredients (nuts, berries, the like) that you think would taste good inside of a loaf of pumpkin bread. Pour the batter into your loaf pan and sprinkle a few pumpkin seeds on top.
   
7. Bake in the middle oven position at 350 degrees for about an hour, turning once or twice throughout the process. It will look and smell done - just check it with a toothpick. As a precautionary measure, I recommend putting a foil-lined baking sheet on the rack below the bread so it doesn't get so much direct heat from the bottom heating element.
   
8. When you decide that the baking process has completed, cool the bread for about 10 minutes. Flip the loaf out of the pan and let it cool or you can eat it hot!
   
9. Enjoy your surprisingly easy to make pumpkin bread and give yourself a hug for a job well done.