Kitchen Math

Today’s Numbers: Nancy's Total Movement Mileage: 89.7 (running: 54.8; walking: 5.1; biking: 29.8) Money Found For Food Bank: $16.30

2,015 in 2015 Team Progress (for the love of all that is good in this world ... We need a name!!): Nancy: 89.7  Aaron: 78.5 (b: 65.2; w: 13.3)  Elly: 14.5 Total: 182.7

This is a fabulous funny for Friday (from the Run the Edge Facebook page):

Okay, so, today being a Rest Day, I didn't lap anyone on any couch, nor did I utilize a scooter couch. Aaron, however, logged some miles on the bike, so someone around here did do something today!

And, before anything else, I'd like to report that while Elly is still limping a bit, she is definitely progressing in her recovery from yesterday's unfortunate fall-off-the-stairs moment. HOORAY! She won't be running (or even going on an walk) soon, but I'm thankful to see normal progress!!

Okay, let's get to it: One teeny bit of housekeeping about the Oatmeal To Go Squares ... (I promise it's important or I wouldn't keep going on about them!) When I first saw the recipe, it read "43 calories per serving (meaning one muffin/cupcake size). Then, the recipe I used read, "143 calories per serving." THAT not only seemed wrong given the ingredients, but it was also way too high of a calorie count to bother making them (for me). So, I pulled out all of the ingredients that I actually used and did the math. A 'cupcake' size serving of mine is between 66 and 70 calories each. Which is way better than 143. Because then I can eat double. hahahahaha Anyway, doing the math on my own ingredients has been worthwhile in the past (and often results in lower counts than the recipe describes). I just like to know what I'm eating.

Speaking of things that are yummy where I also had to recalculate the calorie count (which went up, and I make no apologies for it), check these out:

Hungry for a s'more? Well, Hungry Girl had an answer! Here's the original recipe for her Gimme Gimme S'mores Sandwiches:

Ingredients:

• 1 sheet (4 crackers) low-fat honey graham crackers
• 1/4 Cup Cool Whip Free, thawed
• 1 teaspoon mini, semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 8 miniature marshmallows

Directions:

• Break graham cracker sheet into two squares. Set aside. 
• In a small bowl, lightly stir together whipped topping, chocolate chips, and marshmallows. Don't over-stir.
• Place one graham cracker square on a plate, and top with whipped-topping mixture. Lightly place the other square on top.
• Freeze until solid, about 1 hour. Store in the freezer until ready to serve. Enjoy!

PER SERVING (entire recipe, 1 sandwich): 133 calories, 2.5g fat, 99mg sodium, 26g carbs, 0.5g fiber, 11.5g sugars, 1g protein

 

These take about 5 minutes to put together. Freeze for at least an hour. They're easier to eat. (Unless you are us last night when I forgot to make them, so we threw all of the ingredients in a bowl and ate them unassembled. That totally worked, too!)

 

Okay, by my picture, you can already see a difference. Allow me to 'splain ...

 

I made the original recipe as directed. It was good, but there was no taste of chocolate whatsoever. Those little mini chips weren't doing it for me, and changing them to regular-sized chips would not have mattered. So, I opted to go for a chocolate drizzle (Hershey's syrup in a bottle, at your service), and it is delish!

 

So, my amendments are (making four) ...

• Honey graham crackers, yes; low-fat variety -- I have no idea where to even find them. Mine are the regular kind.
• Cool Whip Free, absolutely. But, I use 1/2 Cup for all four. 1/4 Cup each was way too cumbersome on every level for me.
• Swap the chocolate chips for a total of 2 Tablespoons of chocolate syrup; 1 Tablespoon on the inside over the fluff and before putting on the top cracker, and one Tablespoon drizzled over all.
• 8 mini marshmallows. Perfect amount as-is, not too many, not too few.

As I said, my calorie count goes up from Hungry Girl's 133 to 213. And, none of us care. They're perfect. As Pit Crew #3 said the other night, when I mentioned I was glad he liked them: "Mom. It's whipped cream, chocolate and marshmallow. What's not to like?!"

 

And, so it is.

 

It's off to wind down this part of Friday and slip into the evening mode! I even have a crockpot meatloaf going on in the kitchen ready for everyone to get home and swap stories at the dinner table (man, I am on it in the kitchen this week! It's not something to get used to ...)! Have a great wind-down of your week, and I'll check in after the morning run!