Amish Country

I had no idea that there were so many areas around us that were Amish communities.  A few months ago we went to one that was about 60 miles from us but just recently found out there was a small community called Dunnegan and it is only 20 minutes from us.  We decided to check it out this week and had a great time.  We first stopped at their discount grocery store and found that it was surplus and or damaged packaging, we picked up a couple of items but left the Dove chocolate bars that were only 25 cents each,  Before Weight Watchers I would have bought everyone they had but now it was easy to pass on them.  We then drove down to the bakery, the baked goods all looked so good and we just had to buy something, we found a loaf of sugar free banana bread, it was great.  Next we went to the Country Cafe, they had just reopened for the season and were making donuts and giving them to you as you walked in.  Jan and I shared one as we couldn't pass it up, they also had fresh baked goods and we bought a strawberry angel food cake, yummy.  Our last stop was at a bulk product store were Jan found some rice and a few spices that she had been looking for.  The clerk was a young girl and was talking to a young boy about 12 years old in I think a Dutch/German language.  When we were leaving the store we saw him loading his cart with his purchases to take back home, it was different seeing these carts going down the street.  We had a great adventure and look forward to going again although we did have more bread and cake than we needed so we just froze it for another time.

The young boys cart and horses

We had our weigh in today and I was down .2 for a total of  36.4, Jan was up this week as she didn't feel well all week.  My activity was down this week as I only went to the gym once, I'm now using the ActiveLink and committing to more days in the gym this week and looking forward to see how many activity points I can earn.  One thing that ActiveLink will do is set up a 12 week activity program that should motivate you to accomplish the end goal.  I led a couple of meetings Monday and enjoyed presenting the topic, which was activity.

Not getting enough activity, here are a few suggestions to help get started:

• Chose an activity that you enjoy
• Make sure you have the proper clothing and or equipment
• Monitor your activity ( Pedometer, ActiveLink, Track)
• Schedule it - put it on your calendar
• Join a fitness center
• Buy or rent some DVDs to exercise at home
• Find an exercise buddy
• Make the commitment!

Great works are performed not by strength,

but by perseverance.



This weeks food find is for the real sweet tooth because you usually get a free sample when you buy these.

The recipe can either be an appetizer or a main dish, enjoy.

Crust-less Spinach and Feta Pie

Servings: 6 • Serving Size: 1/6th of pie • Calories: 126 • Fat: 5 g • Protein: 9 g •

Carb: 12 g • Fiber: 3 g  

Ingredients:

• 10 oz frozen spinach, thawed and liquid squeezed out
• 1/2 cup scallions, chopped
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 cup (2.5 oz) reduced fat crumbled feta
• 2 tbsp grated Asiago cheese (or Parmesan, Romano)
• 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2/3 cup fat free milk
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• fresh cracked pepper to taste
• cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°. Lightly spray a pie dish with cooking spray.
Mix spinach, scallions, dill, parsley, feta cheese, and place in the pie dish.

Sift flour and baking powder in a medium bowl. Add remaining ingredients to the bowl and blend well. Pour into pie dish.

Bake 28 to 33 minutes or until knife comes out clean from the center. Let it stand at least 5 minutes before serving.

Served with a salad, you can turn this into a main dish, or cut it into smaller wedges to serve as an appetizer.   Enjoy this warm or at room temperature.

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