VEGETARIAN CHILI

I found this great recipe for chili. It makes a large pot but I heard it freezes well. I have some in the freezer but haven't defrosted it yet to try it out. The calorie count is low only 280 per bowl. It is very satisfying and with all those beans it has to be high in fiber. I never realized how much salt is in canned beans. I would guess that is the reason they have you drain and rinse them.

1 can of vegetarian refried beans

1 can of black beans (drained and rinsed)

1 can of light red kidney beans (drained and rinsed)

1 can of dark kidney beans (drained and rinsed)

2 (28 oz) cans of crushed tomatoes

1/2 can of water

2 cups of celery

1 small red bell pepper (diced)

1 small yellow pepper (diced)

1 medium red onion (diced)

2 Tablespoons of olive oil

1 1/2 Tablespoons of ground cumin

2 cloves of fresh garlic crushed

3 Tablespoons of chili powder

Pepper to taste

Pour oil in a large dutch oven and saute' all the vegetables until tender.

Add tomatoes, beans and spices and cook for 3 to 4 hours

This makes 12 bowls of chili

RUN THE RACE

Last night Bob and I were at our granddaughters track meet. It reminded me of this verse from

I Corinthians 9:24 Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it. Paul is writing this to remind us that winning takes purpose and discipline. As I sat and watched from the stands I saw Brooke run with determination and purpose. Not yesterday but on other days I have seen her run 2 miles and then immediately run across the track and cheer her friend on. What a lesson we can all learn from Brooke. We can do this ladies and not use all the energy it takes to win a race. We can exchange bad habits for good ones. Stick to it and cheer each other on. I don't know about you but I am sick and tired of living out of this broken down body. I need to get it back to what God designed it to be.

As our 3 year old grandson R.J. shouts from the stand LETS GO GIRLS!!!

Just a reminder we are running our race like the tortoise and the hare. Slow but sure.

Tip: How about removing any fast food from your diet. Life gets pretty busy and sometimes I am out at lunch time. A week or so ago it happened that it was past lunch time and I still had a few errands to run. Usually I would do a drive-thru somewhere and grab a burger and a coke. I resisted doing that but that didn't help the hunger problem. What to do? I stopped at a grocery store and bought a banana. It held me over until I could get home and have something better for me and it worked out great. It was God's Fast Food!

Bird Brain

I spend my quiet time at our breakfast nook table in the morning. Every once in awhile I glance out the window at a tree in our yard. On that tree hangs a bird feeder. One day as I watched the birds eating it came to my mind that I have never seen an overweight bird. They eat just what they need to keep flying. I got to thinking does that make my brain even less than of a BIRD BRAIN? You see it all comes back to the free will thing. God gives me a free will to eat whatever I want. I need to take a lesson from the birds to only eat what I need. To do what God put me on earth to do. The good news is found in Luke 12: 6 & 7 Sparrows have little value in this world but God is aware of them. He knows when one falls to the ground. We are of more value to Him than a sparrow is. He is very aware of us. He loves us and cares deeply for us that is why He sent his only Son, Jesus to die so that we can live. We need to ask for forgiveness for our bad food choices and start over. So now ladies we need to have a BIRD BRAIN and eat only what we need. More good news is found in Philippians 4:8 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Weekly Tip: Start another habit exchange by exchanging your couch time with a little exercise time at least three days a week. I started out exercising just 10 minutes per session and kept adding time week after week. Now I exercise four times a week for 30 to 40 minutes. Of course you should ask your doctor what exercise is good for you. My good news is that I lost another two pounds this week. Making my total loss 12 pounds now. Don't forget I have been at this since January 11th. Slow but sure! Guess what no one has even noticed my loss but thats okay because God knows what I have lost and what I have gained in Him! Keep going and please post a comment so I know how you are doing. Just click the word comment after this paragraph and post a message.

Eat those vegetables!!!

Hi Ladies,

I thought to encourage you to eat more vegetables I would give you a fast and simple recipe for making CABBAGE SOUP it is just under 50 calories a bowl and gives you two of your five servings of vegetables per cup. You will need the following. 1 Large 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes (I use Dei Fratelli because there is no puree in them making it lower in calories) You can use whole tomatoes and crush them yourself. 3 cups of beef broth you can use canned or bouillon cubes and water. 16 ounces of water, 3 cups of chopped fresh cabbage, 2 stalks of chopped celery, 2 whole carrots chopped, 1 cup of chopped onion, 1 green pepper chopped, one or two gloves of garlic diced, 3 tablespoons of sugar, salt and pepper to taste. Put all together in a large pot and simmer until vegetables are cooked. If it seems to thick you can add more water.

This is a very hearty and satisfying soup. ENJOY!!!

Tuesday, May 11th

We have a scripture verse written on the wall in our breakfast nook (part of a lovely birthday surprise from my family) it reads "There you and your families will feast in the presence of the Lord and rejoice in all you have accomplished because the Lord your God has blessed you"

Deu. 12:7

I believe the there this verse is talking about is heaven but anytime our family gets together we have a feast. Remember Mothers Day was just a couple of days ago. How hard is it not to eat too much when there is so much delicious food to choose from. No shock to anyone that knows me. I did eat more than I should have but not as much as I could have. Even when I eat too much I am always hungry around four hours later. I guess I never outgrew my days as an infant. Such was the case later Sunday evening. However, in order not to eat a full meal, I fixed myself and Bob a snack plate, which consisted of the following: Cut carrots, cucumbers and also some strawberries. We had that with a few crackers and a wedge of Laughing Cow Cheese. Oh I almost forgot a small amount of peanuts as well. It was better than eating a full meal and very satisfying. Surprise! On my weekly weigh in the scale showed a 1/2 pound weight loss. Off my goal of losing a pound a week but better than a gain.

I have another tip for you. Did you know you are supposed to have at least five 1/2 cup servings of vegetables a day? If you aren't used to having that many, start by increasing your intake a couple of servings a week, until you work your way up to five servings. Make that one of the things on your list that you want to change and check it off. Remember it takes 21 days to make it a habit. What I am trying to accomplish is to make small changes in my eating habits a little at a time so it becomes a part of my life style. I have tried losing weight fast and it ALWAYS returns and brings friends with it. This is an experiment and I would love to have you join me. Please keep me posted and let me know how you're doing and tell me what works for you.

May your love for Jesus lead you to a feast in heaven at God's bountiful table!

The reason for this blog comes from the title "Temple Reconstruction" I Corinthians6:19, 20

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. God put this title and this verse on my heart at least six years ago. I thought about writing a book along with my husband on this topic but life got in the way and we dropped the idea. I would like to say that our weight stayed dropped as well but it didn't. I have been up and down the scale faster than the "William Tell Overture". Our daughter Susan started a blog a few months ago www.thewhatsfordinnermom.blogspot.com She has some great thoughts and some great recipes as well. Keep in mind Susan is a runner and does not have a weight problem. Susan is the is the one who inspired me to start a blog to help overweight, older women like myself to set some new habits and lose weight. It is my prayer that together with the help of God we can reconstruct our temple to be pleasing in His sight. After all how can we serve him well with a run down vessel. The only way to start reconstruction is with a plan and a goal in mind. First we have to ask God's forgiveness for abusing his creation and ask for his help to make it into what he intended it to be healthy, functional and useful.

I started my reconstruction on Monday, January 11th. I missed my first start date of January 1st. Then I went for the first Monday in January and missed that mark as well. I think it may be Biblical to start a new way of eating on a Monday. It has got to be in the Bible somewhere I am sure. I committed to losing one pound a week for one year. I did very well for the first 9 weeks but since then I have met with some obstacles. I have lost a total of 10 pounds now and I need to get back on track.

I am hoping to log in once a week or so and give you tips as to what is working for me. I am also hoping to get some feedback from others as to what works for them.

My first tip is to change some bad habits one or two at a time. I have heard it said that it takes 21 days to change a habit. I started making a list of all my bad eating habits and how they could be replaced. Such as drinking 6 glasses of water a day instead of drinking one or two glasses of Coke. Having the sweet tooth that I do. I allowed myself just one thing sweet a day.

Won't you please join me. I know your out there ladies, I have SEEN you.