Eat.Live.Be. - Portion Control

 It's been a bit of time since my last post... sorry for the "silence", but we had to get away from the brutal Winter and experience some sunshine and WARMTH for a few days.  More on that later, I promise!

It's Monday and time to talk about this week's theme: Portion Control.  Ughhhhh!  That is something that I struggle with because I do love food... no, that's not totally true.  I love GOOD food, which makes it hard to eat what is considered an appropriate portion.  It's so easy to go beyond what will leave you feeling satisfied versus feeling stuffed and wishing you wore pants with an elastic waistband.

Many of us who have been on a whole range of diets have probably experimented with different ways to control portion sizes.  Everything from weighing food, to eyeballing the sizes based on your fist or a deck of cards or something else.   But, do you know what one tip I actually do follow pretty regularly?  I eat my meals on my salad size plates!  I bought some pretty salad size plates for taking food photos and once I'm finished with the "photo shoot", that's generally my dinner.  The plates are very visually appealing and look so much fuller than my dinner plates that I don't feel like I'm depriving myself.  The key to this method is to not go back for seconds.

It's definitely not foolproof, but if the plate size is smaller it is more likely that it will seem more satisfying because it appears you are eating a plate full of food.  It's a mind game, but often that smaller plate size is all I need for my meal, then I can enjoy a small sweet of some kind after dinner.

Be sure to check in with the other Eat.Live.Be. bloggers to see how the use portion control to stick to their healthy living goals.

• Sarah - Sarah's Cucina Bella
• Cate - Sweetnicks 
•  Maris - In Good Taste
•  Chris - Mele Cotte
•  Faith - Blog Appetit
•  Kristen - Dine & Dish
•  Emily - Three Boys and a Little Lady
•  Jenna - FireMom
•  Joanne - Eats Well With Others
•  Casey - The Starnes Family
•  Tri-Fit Mom -Trying to be Fit Mom
•  Claire - Cooking is Medicine
•  Allison - Sweet Flours
•  Jen - NJ Epicurean
•  Leslie - The Hungry Housewife
•  Rivki - Healthy Eating for Ordinary People
•  Jennifer - Lick-a-Plate
•  Sarah - A Spoonful of Sugar
•  Denise & Lenny - Chez Us

Please note that all photos and content belong to Patsy Kreitman, unless otherwise noted. If you want to use something please ask first.

Life as I Know It: Reading for Fun

While at the library recently, I couldn't help but snap this picture with my phone.  Of course, My Oldest was annoyed at me, but he's forgotten it by now.

If you have more than one child, you will understand why finally seeing both of my boys enjoying reading as much as I did as a child was such a pleasure.  My Oldest took to reading fairly quickly and has no problem when I tell him to go read a book for an hour.  He "falls into the story" - I just love that saying that we found on a bookmark from the library.

My Youngest had to work a bit harder to find books that he liked enough to enjoy reading.  Thank goodness for the Magic Tree House book series!  These stories are not only entertaining, but are also based on actual historical events.  You don't even have to read them in order to enjoy them.

Eat.Live.Be. - Expert Advice

 After a week of missing most of my workouts... yes, I know... scheduling them would have helped, but life and time got away from me.  So, this week's topic of sharing information from experts was a good one.  These tips are things I know, but going and looking for them puts them at the forefront of my thinking.  Which, is a good thing and will help keep my motivation rolling the right direction.

Since I'm back to Weight Watchers, I went to the WW website for the tips I'm going to share here.  The entire article can be viewed HERE.  I really feel that WW is a wonderful source for up-to-date tips on losing weight and the success stories help show that anyone can do it with the right motivation.

Guylian Belgian Chocolate Winner!

 And the winner of the Gulian Belgian Chocolate gift basket is....

Guylian Belgian Chocolates Giveaway!!! NOW CLOSED!

 This giveaway is now closed.  The winner has been posted on this link.  Thanks, so much, for visiting and I hope you come back often!

Do you like chocolate... or do you LOVE chocolate?  I'm in the LOVE chocolate category so, when I was contacted by Guylian Artisnal Belgian Chocolates I was thrilled!  They were kind enough to send me some samples and...

They are the creamiest, most decadent chocolates I've tasted in a long time!  They are even in these super cute seashell and seahorse shapes.  I expected them to be solid all the way through, but they were creamy inside so that they really melt in your mouth. 

ShopRite Gift Card Giveaway Winner!

And the winner is....

Eat.Live.Be. - Keeping Things Fresh

 This week, we are all checking in to share our progress since starting the Eat.Live.Be. challenge.  I got of to a fabulous start, but the last week or so has been kind of hard to stick to my exercise routine.  Not sure if the cold and snow has just gotten to me at this point or what.  I also didn't lose as much as I would have liked during the past 4 weeks.  I am at a net loss of 3 pounds.  Not awful because the scale is going in the right direction, but I would have preferred to see a bigger downward trend.

Super Bowl Eats: Carmelized Onion Dip

 I read a lot of different blogs and bookmark tons of recipes that I want to go back and try.  It's often hard to remember where I saw a recipe and how far back it was for me to find the bookmark in my Google Reader.  But, every once in awhile... a recipe that I came across sticks out and keeps popping up in my memory.  The dip I took to Bunco last week is one of those recipes.

I had the pleasure of meeting Jennie of In Jennie's Kitchen almost 2 years ago when she invited me to attend the Scharffenberger Chocolate Tasting at the French Culinary Institute... which featured Jacques Pepin.  Still one of my most favorite food blogger events to this day!   Since that time, I've kept in touch with her via Twitter and Facebook, and of course, through her blog.  About a year ago, she posted a Carmelized Onion Dip that I've been thinking about ever since.

I've always loved the way carmelized onions become so sweet and really quite addictive.  So, when I needed to bring something to Bunco this week, I looked in the fridge and decided this would be my contribution to the nibbles!

 This was so simple to make!  After I had My Husband taste it, I informed him that we won't be going back to the onion soup mix dip again!  This dip has so much more flavor and honestly, I liked making it from scratch.  It doesn't require a ton of ingredients or time.

I did have to make a couple of changes to the recipe based on what I had on hand... didn't realize that I didn't have enough sour cream so, I swapped that for 8 ounces of reduced fat cream cheese.  I actually started with only 4 ounces, but found that the Greek yogurt was a bit strong for my tastes so I added the additional 4 ounces of cream cheese.  I liked the additional creaminess that it added to it.

Overall, this dip got rave reviews by everyone who tried it!  I'm even making it again for Super Bowl Sunday!  You can serve it with chips or entertaining crackers... or if you want to be really virtuous, serve it with carrot sticks, cucumbers and celery.  Depends on your mood and the crowd you are serving.

The link to the original recipe at In Jennie's Kitchen is above where the recipe name appears.  Be sure to check out her blog, it's full of wonderful recipes that she thoroughly tests before sharing.

Have you entered my latest giveaway?  If not, head on over HERE and leave a comment to for a chance to win a $25 ShopRite (grocery store) gift card. 

 Here are some other fantastic ideas for food to serve at your Super Bowl Party:

• Recipegirl compiled her own list of the best recipes from around the internet HERE. 
•  Picky Palate has a fabulous list of her favorite recipes that range from savory nibbles to the sweets everyone craves by half time!
• Head over to Aggie's Kitchen to find some Spicy Pistachios to serve along with the cold beer tomorrow.
• Dine & Dish suggests Fish & Chips for a change from the average Super Bowl Food... and it looks incredible!
• Janet at LaDue & Crew has my mouth watering with her Crispy Chorizo Bites... I'm loving that she used Puff Pastry to make them! Yum! 

Enjoy the game, no matter who you are rooting for... my team, sadly, couldn't get through the playoffs this year... so, I'm all about the commercials, half time AND THE FOOD!

Please note that all photos and content belong to Patsy Kreitman, unless otherwise noted. If you want to use something please ask first.

ShopRite Program: Shop Once. Give Twice. (and a Giveaway!) CLOSED!

Giveaway has now closed!  To see who won, go see this post! 

Do you have kids in school?  Do you save Box Tops for Education and turn them in so your school will receive additional money?  If so, then you will want to keep reading!

 ShopRite has introduced a program that will run through September 30, 2011 that you will want to sign-up for!  The program is simple, register your Price Plus Card at ShopRiteShopOnceGiveTwice.  What will this do for you?  Well, when you purchase any 5 participating products on or before the end of the month using your ShopRite Price Plus Card, the giving will begin! With a qualifying purchase of 5 participating products you earn 5 Bonus Box Tops to be electronically added to your school, and $0.55 will be donated to the ShopRite Partners in Caring Fund (please visit ShopRiteShopOnceGiveTwice to see restrictions associated with the Partners in Caring Fund donations).

In the month of February, a few of the featured products are:  Cheerios, Wheaties, Nature´s Valley Granola Bars, Fiber One Bars, and Fruit by the Foot.  Just check back every month to see what products are featured so that you can add them to your shopping list!  It's that easy!

You can also enter to win the ShopRite "Shop Once. Give Twice." Sweepstakes by filling out the form on ShopRiteShopOnceGiveTwice.com for your chance to win one of 10 Grand Prizes of 5,000 Bonus Box Tops for the school of your choice! (Note:  No purchase is necessary to enter the sweepstakes!!)

Now, for the giveaway!  My Blog Spark and General Mills have generously given me one $25 ShopRite Gift Card to give to one of my readers!  Please read on to see how to enter to win!

1. Giveaway is open to U.S. residents only!
2. Leave a comment on this post sharing what your favorite Box Tops for Education product.
3. Tweet this giveaway (include @famfriendsfood in the tweet) and leave a comment that you tweeted the giveaway.
4. Leave a way for me to contact you - either your blog address or an email address.  If the winner cannot be reached within 48 hours of being announced, a new winner will be chosen.
5.  The giveaway will end at 10 p.m. EST on February, 9th.  

Disclaimer:  I received a gift card to ShopRite from MyBlogSpark and General Mills.  They are also providing the Gift Card for the giveaway.


Please note that all photos and content belong to Patsy Kreitman, unless otherwise noted. If you want to use something please ask first.