a Pinch of Salt--supermarket finds

I've posted before about the inevitable, disappointing temporary weight gain whenever I go out for Thai food or indulge in popcorn.  I haven't yet solved the Thai food out problem, but I'm thrilled with my new popcorn fix.

I make my popcorn in the Presto Power-Pop Microwave Popper, read this post for my review.  I still love it.  Until yesterday, I'd always used a sprinkle of Jolly Time Buttery Seasoning with the popcorn.  A quick look at the nutritional info disclosed that JTBS has a whopping 540 mg of sodium per 1/4 tsp serving.  That's what probably caused my temporary weight gain--a big jolt of salt.

Fast forward to Wednesday.  I went shopping at Wegman's, a huge, well-stocked grocery with Whole-Foods type merchandise.  I checked out their popcorn seasoning (usually located next to the popcorn) and found this!  Kernel Season's Popcorn Seasoning. 
 It came in two flavors, regular and white cheddar.  (The quoted price is for a pack of 6.)
Our friends at Amazon.com have five flavors.  Anyway, the white cheddar has 75 mg of sodium per 1/4 tsp serving, less than 1/6th the Jolly Time.

DH and I made popcorn last night.  We shared a batch.  The verdict?  Awesome!  We had the white cheddar.  It's a keeper.  I'm tossing the other high-salt brand in the trash.  Oh, and yes, both DH and I had a nice little loss from yesterday to today--who knew?  WW works if you really do it right!

The other low-sodium find was  Pacific Natural Low Sodium Chicken Broth.  I was delighted to find this at Costco.  They used to only have the regular (not low sodium).  I bought it because it was a good price.  When I checked out the nutrition info I was amazed.  My regular brand of low sodium chicken broth (Swanson) has 570 mg per cup.  The Pacific Natural has only 80 mg per cup.  This makes a big difference.  This is, by the way, also fat free, although it doesn't tout that info on the front of the box.   I'm a believer.  And, of course, our friends at Amazon have this available online in case you don't shop at Costco.

I use a lot of chicken broth in my OP cooking.  Tonight I made a herb crusted braised pork tenderloin with vegetables (carrots, parsnips, and celery).  I gladly added the 3/4 cup of required chicken broth and know I am well within my target sodium level. That recipe is from the recipes at WW online.  It was good.  I rated it a solid B.

If you're sensitive to high doses of sodium, you might give these a try.

I have no connection with any of the companies that make these products and they don't know that I exist.   I just like that they help me with my goal of healthy eating.

For your viewing pleasure.                                                      On a recent visit to Mount Vernon, I asked Jack to pose with the statue of one of George Washington's step-children.  Here he is trying to get the little boy statue to hold his hand.

My New Favorite Four Word Phrase

My new favorite four word phrase? = "Put down the kettle bell." Today I tried out my new kettle bell set. My daughter Laura decided to torture gift me with it as a belated birthday present. It came yesterday and I resolved to try it out today. It's The Firm 5-Pound Kettle Bell Kit with Transfirm Your Trouble Zones DVD.  I waited until after dinner and cleared a workout space in the privacy of our sitting room upstairs.  I dressed in workout clothes (so as not to feel outclassed by all the buff girls modeling the moves in the background) and popped in the DVD.  First I viewed the introductory Learn the Moves section. Then I decided to go for the whole enchilada and clicked on the Full 45 Minute Workout.  I could have chosen the 20 minute "Express" workout, but nooo, I go and choose the 45 minute workout. The instructor, Kelsie, is very clear and encouraging; she reminds me a bit of Leslie Sansone in the Walk Away the Pounds videos.

I'm definitely not a natural-born dancer, but the choreography isn't too hard and it was fairly easy to catch up if I missed a move.  Thankfully there is an option for beginners (that's ME, folks) to do abbreviated versions of some of the moves (yes, please).  They guarantee visible results after 10 workouts.  I decided to take and record my current measurements again, just to test this claim. We'll see. I was able to do the entire workout except for the floor exercise just before the cool down section. This involved a diabolical flat-on-your-back-to-standing move (without benefit of help from your elbows or arms) that was impossible a little too tricky for this grandmother of five. You know it's tricky if I fall back on hiding behind my grannyhood! It was a good workout. I'm hoping that maybe as the scrapes, bruises and aches from last night's bike fall fade and as I continue to practice with it, the moves will get easier. For now, though, I'm thinking the several sections that commenced with my new favorite four word phrase were the best part of the workout!  There may be more Ibuprofen in my future at bedtime tonight.

For your viewing pleasure:  A picture with my sister taken at my Dad's 93rd birthday dinner last month.  I have lost 8 more pounds since this picture was taken.

We're down to just the three of us again, as my brother & his friend left today.  Back to our normal routines. It's time for me to get back in my own routine to keep trimming away these pounds so I can get to my goal by Thanksgiving.  We'll have the whole family here (all the kids and grands!), lots of fun and lots of pix.  I think I can be at or very close to my WW goal (20 pounds lighter than last week's WI weight) by then.  That's three months--13 weeks.  I'm going to DO it.  Having a goal helps.  I haven't quite reached my goal of 12 pounds for the Summer Diet Buddies challenge, but it's still possible.  The challenge ends Sept 7th--that's 10 more days. I have 4 more pounds to lose to meet that goal.  My morning weight this week is looking good for melting away several sticks o' butter by my Wednesday WI.

I did a little closet shopping the other night and there's a very nice size 12 dress that bodes well to fit this fall.  I can zip it up all the way now, but maybe a few more pounds and a little more torture work with the kettle bell set will do the trick and smooth out the too-bumpy bits.

Are you setting short term goals to keep yourself going?