Recipe Review: Crescent Pepperoni Roll-Ups

For weeks I was on a quest to find the perfect snack to make for our Sunday school Super Bowl party. I spent way too much time searching Pinterest looking for a recipe that would really wow people.

I found this recipe for Crescent Pepperoni Roll-Ups at Plain Chicken. I adapted Steph's recipe to help make this Super Bowl snack a little bit more Weight Watchers friendly.

These snack were a hit! No one even noticed that they were Weight Watchers friendly! People enjoyed them so much that they were gone before half-time.

Ingredients

First, I opened each individual package of string cheese and then I cut them in half.

Next, unroll the crescent rolls into 8 triangles.

Then, place 5 slices of turkey pepperoni on each crescent roll.  Top pepperoni with string cheese half and roll up.

Then, place crescent roll-ups on baking sheet and sprinkle with garlic powder.

Bake for 12-15 minutes

or until golden brown.

Serve with a side of warm pizza sauce.

They were so good!! I look forward to making them again!!

. . . . . . . . . .
Crescent Pepperoni Roll-Ups
Adapted from: Plain Chicken

Ingredients
1 can refrigerated reduced fat crescent rolls
40 slices turkey pepperoni
4 pieces of Weight Watchers mozzarella string cheese, cut in half
garlic powder
pizza sauce

Instructions
Preheat oven to 375.

Unroll crescent rolls and separate into 8 triangles. Place 5 slices of turkey pepperoni on each crescent roll. Top pepperoni with string cheese half and roll up. Sprinkle crescent rolls with garlic powder. Place rolls on baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve with a side of warm pizza sauce.

Servings: 1 roll-up; 4 PointsPlus+

Wordless Wednesday: It's a Lifestyle

Snacking Smart

source

This morning, I want to give you the meeting summary from my Weight Watchers meeting on Saturday, February 4, 2012.

Learning tips on how to survive the Super Bowl can really help us year round as we make snack choices everyday!

Pregame prep
Before entering your buddies' house, give yourself a mental pep talk and then "stick with your plan.” Ask yourself why you are at the game. Is it to eat or is it to watch the game?

New game plan
You can still enjoy some football fare: a chicken wing or two, some chips and dip, a slice of pizza and a cold one. Just don't overindulge — eat and drink reasonably, keep track of what you chow down on, and save your weekly PointsPlus™ Allowance for game day.

"If you're working at getting rid of your beer belly, remember that, 'If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always got,'" Fleming says. "So if you pig out at that tailgate party or during the game, you'll get that beer belly just like in the past."

Know your opponent
Forget the game for a sec. At the party, your foe is all that grub on the counter. It most likely isn’t low calorie or fat free, either. Keep in mind, a plain hot dog on a roll can pack 9 PointsPlus values. Two medium slices of thin crust pepperoni pizza have about 11 PointsPlus values. A serving of nacho chips and mystery cheese can be laden with around 9 PointsPlus values and more fat grams than points both teams will score. If you're still jonesing for football food, try minimizing the damage. Eating the dog minus the bun will save about 5 PointsPlus values. Have only 1 slice of pizza and you’ll cut 6 PointsPlus values.

Good substitutions
"Make better food choices," says Neil Anderson, a master personal trainer. To make that easier, prepare and bring healthier items such as:

• grilled chicken sandwiches
• fruit cups
• a veggie tray
• shrimp with cocktail sauce,
• baked chips
• light beer
• fat-free pretzels
• turkey brats
• bags of low-fat microwavable popcorn.
*Not all to be eaten at the same time, of course.

Walk it off
Consider parking a few blocks from the party or heading outside for a walk instead of watching for the next wardrobe malfunction at halftime (that’s what DVRs are for anyway).

Improve your bench
Try fitting in a few exercises – push-ups or Pilates – whenever possible, Anderson suggests. Drop and do 20 push-ups or a few Pilates hundreds during commercial breaks. Or put a couple of bucks in a pot for the winner of a game-long challenge with your friends. You can also make friendly competitive wagers using crunches instead of money. Every time your team scores, fans on the opposite side have to hit the deck for 20 and vice versa.

Stay in motion
During breaks in the action, get off your seat – but not to visit the food table. "Try to do anything that can make you active. The activity counts just as much as eating right," Anderson says. "If you get active during a football game, you'll eat less."

Try staying on your feet for an entire series, and switch between doing push-ups, stretches, crunches or squats during breaks. Do "secret squats" by pushing yourself out of a low-rider chair over and over. Here's a good stretch for your back and legs: sit up straight against a couch, extend your legs and hold as long as you can.

You could even practice different TD celebration dances. This, of course, is best done alone – unless you have no shame or don't embarrass easily.

If you follow these tips, your new fleet-footed celebration moves might be used to commemorate a losing season on the scale.

Baby Blogging

source

Thank you all so much for your sweet comments, emails, and notes that you have been sending to me, since I made my BIG announcement!!

I have been looking forward to blogging about my baby for weeks!! I've been keeping my pregnancy a secret since before Christmas. It's been so hard to blog over the last few weeks, because a lot of the things on my mind have to do with my pregnancy and the baby. However, while it was a secret I could not blog about how I was really feeling.

I am so thankful that we waited to tell people until after I went to the doctor. However, now that we have received the go ahead from the doctor I am so excited to start blogging about my pregnancy!

I know that we have family and friends who do not live close to us, that want to know how my pregnancy is going. My plan, in the coming months is to give you weekly pregnancy highlights, which is an idea that I stole from my friend Kristen. You will be able to find these pregnancy highlights on my personal blog, Newsham Flight Log. I will not be posting pregnancy highlights here on my weight loss blog, Living a Changed Life.

I plan to continue to blog about healthy living, Weight Watchers, recipes, and more!! I just might have a lot more to say about babies and pregnancy, but I hope that you will continue to stick with me during this time of transition!!

Our BIG Announcement

On Saturday, December 17th, 2011, the morning of our five year anniversary, I woke up extra early so that I could take a pregnancy test before I left for my Weight Watchers meeting. The tests results came back POSITIVE! I could not believe that I was really pregnant.

I hurried into our room and got together a special gift for Jon, because I wanted to announce our first pregnancy to him in a creative way. I finished my preparations and decided to go ahead and wake Jon up at 5:30am. At first, he was not happy about being woken up so early on a Saturday morning. However, his frustration soon changed to pure joy and excitement as he opened his present and saw the positive pregnancy tests!!

We told our immediate family about our baby on Christmas Eve. However, we decided not to tell anyone else about our little until after I went to the doctor.

On Monday, January 23rd, 2011, I had my first doctor's appointment. Jon was able to get off work to come with me. We had an ultrasound and heard our baby's heartbeat!! It was amazing!!

Since my doctor's appointment we decided to tell everyone about our baby. We have told our extended family, friends, work, church, and even Facebook. The only people left to tell are my bloggy friends and followers!

Next Tuesday, I will be 11 weeks pregnant, which means that my due date is August 28, 2012!! We are so excited about this little blessing that God has given us!!

Not the Same

source

This morning I read a Proverbs 31 devotional about how as you come into God's presence you will be transformed. I was reminded of the fact, that as I spend time with God in His word, in prayer, in worship, and even in silence I will be changed!!

Every Wednesday night after work, I go to church for choir practice. Please do not be deceived when I say this, because I am not the world's best singer. However, I love singing praises to my God! I joined choir, because of the way God has used music and worship to change me. It isn't something I expected, but as I spend time worshiping God, I cannot help but be changed by Him!

Last night in choir, we sang one of my favorite songs called, "Unto the Lamb". Honestly, I do not know how anyone could hear this song and not be moved by the music and lyrics, because it is so powerful! My favorite line in this song is, "All praise unto the Lamb who sits on the throne, Honor and power, dominion and praise, Unto the Lamb, who was and is, and is to come!" Do you believe that those words are true!?

Choir is just one of the places where I come into God's presence on a weekly basis and experience God's transforming power in my life. Have you been spending transforming time with God? If not, I would encourage you to take time this week to come into God's presence!

This isn't my church, but if you have never heard this song, please take a moment to listen to "Unto the Lamb".

. . . . . . . . . .
Not the Same
January 31, 2012
Lynn Cowell

“When the people of the land come before the LORD at the appointed feasts, whoever enters by the north gate to worship is to go out the south gate; and whoever enters by the south gate is to go out the north gate. No one is to return through the gate by which he entered, but each is to go out the opposite gate.” Ezekiel 46:9 (NIV 1984)

As soon as my eyes opened I knew it was going to be one of “those” days. I think that saying, “If mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy” was created for days like this. I was sad, disappointed, frustrated and empty.

But I couldn’t put my finger on why I felt all of these emotions. I just knew I had to get out of the house before everyone woke up and my feelings steered our day in the wrong direction.

I put on my tennis shoes and started out the front door. Though unsure of where I was going to run, I was certain of the length: far! Far enough for me to come back with a different perspective. What I needed was to get alone with Jesus, to have Him fill me, and exchange my negative emotions with His peace, truth and life.

As I started my run, old thoughts poured into my head. You are not beautiful. You are not special. Your life doesn’t count. After years of reading, studying and even teaching the Truth, it was hard to believe I still struggled with these dark thoughts.

As lies poured in, I remember scriptures stored in my mind and heart. He sees me as beautiful. He says He is wild about me. He is more than enough for me. He is all I need.

Mulling over these precious promises from God’s Word, tears began to pour. This is what I needed.

I didn’t need more words of affirmation from my husband. I didn’t need another pat on the back from a friend. I needed a new outpouring of love from my Love. I needed to be reminded of who He says I am, to give up the old lies and replace them with His Truths.

When we come into God’s presence, He fills us. The Lord changes us so that we are not the same as we were when we came to Him. Ezekiel 46:9 represents this exchange of old for new. The people of Israel were told when they came into the temple area to worship, they were to enter through one gate and exit through the opposite gate.

So the same should be true with us; we are “not to go back as we came, but more holy, and heavenly, and spiritual” (Matthew Henry). As we enter into our special times with God, we need to come out the “opposite gate,” different than the way we went in.

After an hour of running, crying and talking to God, I was not the same when I returned home. Now, I was ready. Ready to be the wife and mom my family needed. Restored into a vessel that God could use. Being with Jesus had changed me.

Dear Lord, I need You today. Living this life sometimes drains me and leaves me empty. As I come through Your gates and into Your presence, change me. Pour Your life and heart into me so that as I leave through the “opposite gate,” I am not the same woman as when I came in. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Wordless Wednesday: Keep Going