Rainy Day Temptation - Great Pot Roast!

It seems to rain everyday!

 Even Miss Elizabeth Cat is tired of staying inside watching the rain.  It seems like a day where South Carolina has a record breaking 68 degrees and 4" of rain would be a cookie day for sure.  But no, I'm on a diet and I will not be tempted by sweets. Maybe not sweets, but what about beef?  I've been eating so much chicken, turkey, and fish (sorry vegans) that I lost myself for an afternoon and went to the grocery to pick up a chuck roast. Here is the best pot roast recipe ever!  (No pictures because my family LOVED it and it was gone before I could get up from the table to get the camera!)

MAMA'S OLD-FASHIONED POT ROAST

2 tablespoons onion flakes

4 pounds lean chuck roast

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon paprika

   Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup water

1.  Sprinkle onion flakes over bottom of large pot.

2.  Preheat pot and brown meat on all sides.

3.  Add all other ingredients and cover.

4.  Cook on low heat for about two and one-half hours or until meat is tender.

Serves 8

 (3 oz. serving = 282 calories, 20 g. fat,and 0 carbs)

---from SLIM FOREVER by Mary Sargent

I halved this recipe and cooked a 2 pound roast.  It was oh-so tender after one and a half hour.  The house smelled wonderful.  Even Miss Elizabeth perked up! 

(What cha cooking, Mama?)

 

Hope you are having a sunny day!

Love,

Lottie

Healthy August

In July , I wrote a post about how I was challenging myself to walk 26 miles over the 31 days of July.  Well... I did it!   In fact, I walked 31 miles! I was amazed at how easy it was to remind myself to walk everyday.  We even drove to the walking track at the lake (20 miles) a couple of times just to shake things up!

 It takes twenty-one days for the

 mind and body to create a new habit.

                                                                     --- Checklist for Life for Women

I must have created a habit because here it is the 8th of August and I'm still walking!   One thing seemed a little strange to me, however.  It looks like I would have lost weight, but  I weighed exactly the same as when I started?

30 minutes brisk walking = 300 calories burned

                                                                      -- Roizen and Oz, You on a Diet

How could I burn an extra 300 calories a day and still not lose weight?   I had to admit to myself that  I was eating like it was still the 4th of July!  Time to make a change!

My Healthy August challenge is to follow a portion control diet the five weeks of August.  I have been writing down everything I have eaten and have been eating LOTS of vegetables.  Maybe I'll create another habit!  I'll let you know how it goes at the end of August.

Hope you are having a healthy August, too!

Love,
Lottie

PS:  Read about other people who are starting a diet in August.
The 4 week Back on Track challenge.

Back From Home

I've been away from blogging for a couple of weeks as we were busy working on our 1907 old house in Alabama.  Dear husband finished staining the floors and we needed to move the furniture back in place. We came to work on the porch but it rained at least most of the days we were here.  I persuaded dear husband to help me move furniture around.  Here are some of the little changes we made.

We turned everything in the living room on the diagonal.  It made the room (in my humble opinon) a little more interesting.  The fireplace became more of a focal point.  We hardly watch the TV when we visit so we have it available for the news.

Also, I created a cozy reading nook by a sunny bay window in the living room.

In the front hall, we bought a new red rug to place in front of the fireplace.

We moved the bookcase into the center hall and I love it there!  I keep the lamp on all day and just love the cozy feel of the bookcase.  I would like to fill it with games and more books to give away to visitors someday.

And then we started putting back the master bedroom.  Dear husband did a wonderful job on the floors in this room.  We washed the windows and hung sheers and curtains before moving furniture back.

We did some rearranging in the butler's pantry.

 

And that brings us to the curtains in the butler's pantry and dining room.  I showed you last time you visited the old house that I was unsatisfied with the curtains in the dining room.  There was too much lace and not enough light!

I forgot to take the AFTER pictures from our last visit, so here they are.

Actually, the curtains look better open all the time!

Now I just need to find a  l-o-n-g table to put in the dining room!

We were away a week and I had started a walking challenge for the month of July.  Dear husband walked with me while we were here and I was able to get a mile in each day.  It was strange walking in the city with sidewalks and "curbs" to step on and off.

Thank you for visiting today!  I just wanted to share with you some of the changes.  Have a great day!

Love,

Lottie