I’m not a huge cook, but I do try to make healthy meals for my family most nights. I am an avid slow cooker user (at least once a week–and sometimes 2 of them at a time). That’s why my very favorite cookbook is Fix-It and Forget-It Lightly by Phyllis Pellman Good.

I was originally turned onto the cookbook by some friends in the Sunshine Rewards forum. Since I have started using it, I get requests from my other friends almost every time I make a recipe out of it. Crowd favorites are Taco Soup, Roasted Chicken, and Chicken and Dumplings. I made the Chicken Soft Taco recipe for Bunko one night and ended up making 5 copies of the recipe to send home with people.

The cookbook sells for less than $10, and I just saw that there is a revised and updated version coming out this month. My own version is about 7 years old, but I will probably buy the new one just to see what has changed. It might also help to have some clean pages because mine are well worn! The new version says that it contains 600 recipes. I’m not sure about my version, but it is probably close to that. They all have the nutritional information listed so that you can see exactly what you are eating. In my case, I also use it to figure up Weight Watchers points.

Check out both the old and new versions of Fix It and Forget-It Lightly. Buy one for a friend and you will both love it!

I’m back on Weight Watchers and happy to report that the weight is starting to come off! It definitely takes some work, but here are 5 tips that help me stay on target.

1) Start each week with a menu. Download a free Printable Monthly Menu Planner and start filling in WW friendly meals. I use a combination of slow cooker meals, “quick” meals made by baking up Schwan chicken or fish, “full meals” where I spend a little more time cooking, and leftover nights. The key is to plan ahead so that you have everything on hand. You will be a lot less likely to go out to eat or eat junk.

2) Keep healthy snacks in the house. Start with “free foods,” which right now are most fruits and vegetables. I always have clementines, baby carrots, and apples. Then I try to vary other things each week like grapes, cucumbers, pre-cut cauliflower, etc. If I have something right there to grab, I am less likely to grab carbs.

3) Calculate points before you go to restaurants. When you want to go out to eat and stay within your points, try to find nutritional information online in advance and figure up the points for a couple of different meal choices.

4) Exercise! If you are getting in your exercise, you will have activity points to offset those times when you either really want a treat or will be spending time eating and drinking with friends or family and it is too hard to stay within your point allotment. The exercise does tend to make me more hungry on some days, so be prepared for that.

5) Everyone needs a little support around them. If you can meet up with others also on Weight Watchers and talk about meals, restaurants, activity points, etc, it will help to keep you motivated to stay on plan.

Weight Watchers is a healthy alternative to regular “diets” because you truly have to learn portion sizes and gain a better understanding of nutrition and exercise. The good news is that you are paying for them to help you.

Last week my daughter had a birthday party to attend at a place called Monkey Joes. As we were dropping her off, I saw a stand for Funky Monkey fruit snacks. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I remembered Hungry Girl talking about them, but I had never tried them.

My 9-year-old and I picked 5 different flavors, but they were a little pricey. Each serving bag was about $2.50. I figured it was worth it to try them just to see what we thought about them.

My 9-year-old is picky when it comes to fruits and vegetables. Even though I make the kids eat a fruit and a veggie at every meal, she just truly doesn’t like a lot of them. I was skeptical that she would like Funky Monkey because it is essentially nothing but freeze dried fruit (no sugar!). She opened a bag of the Applemon in the car as we were running errands. To my surprise, she loved them! The next day, we opened up all of the flavors and everyone in the family tried them. They were all a hit (although I liked the bananas and no one else did). I did a little research and found that each bag is a single serving size but the equivalent of 3 of the USDA’s recommended 2-4 servings of fruit.

Funky Monkey is a perfect snack. It would travel well or could be packed in a lunchbox. I’m planning on switching out sugary after-school snacks with Funky Monkey packages now. Luckily for me, some of the flavors are only one point on Weight Watchers. So I will be having some each day, too!

The Funky Monkey website says that you can buy them at Kroger, but I couldn’t find them. I ended up ordering them on Amazon for much less than they cost at Monkey Joes. A 12 pack is under $22 and it is eligible for Super Saver shipping. You can buy variety packs or single flavor packs. We’re partial to the Applemon and Carnival Mix at our house. Try them all and let me know what you think.

Edited: If you live near Indianapolis, they now have them at Marsh!

I’ve struggled with my weight since I was in law school. It is so easy to gain 10-15 pounds in a month. The really crummy part is that I am active and healthy. I exercise pretty regularly and even ran the Indianapolis Mini Marathon back in May. I start almost every single day with oatmeal with a little Splenda. I hardly ever eat fast food or fried foods. Where do I go wrong??

Thanks to Weight Watchers, I know exactly where I go wrong. I’ve been a member for over 10 years and started doing it online about 7 years ago. I love that the online version is easy to enter foods and activities. I can look back over weeks, months, and years to see where I have “fallen off the wagon” and why.

I won’t say that the pounds just melt off of me. Weight Watchers doesn’t work like that. It’s really a way of teaching yourself what foods are best for you and what real portion sizes should be. And there is flexibility to eat those foods that you “must have” and share in celebrations with your family.

Why am I telling you all of this now? Two reasons. The first is that it is time for me to get back on the wagon. I can tell now without even weighing myself when I have gained 5 pounds. (and I have!) So I start counting points again today. The other reason is that they are running a great deal where you can get a month free. You really need to give it a few months to work, so signing up for the 3 Month Savings plan is a good idea. It will take a few weeks to learn the system and get your body used to eating more healthy. Give it a shot and tell me what you think! And then we can share recipes.

As a Work at Home Mom, for some reason I always feel like a total failure when I can’t have dinner on the table for my family by 6pm. Never mind that I am working all day while balancing getting the kids off to school, running to the school for PTO meetings, and getting homework and snacks when the kids get home from school. Plus the normal phone ringing, door knocking, and errands that sometimes happen. Why do I beat myself up? Whatever the reason, my saving grace comes in the form of a cookbook.

Fix-It and Forget-It Lightly is a way for me to make sure that dinner is ready for my family AND healthy. In fact, I’ve even written Weight Watchers point values into the margins of many of the recipes. At the start of the week, I pick at least 2 crockpot recipes for the week and buy the ingredients. Then I throw everything into the crockpot in the morning after the kids leave for school. By 6pm, a healthy dinner is awaiting my family.

Some of our favorite recipes are Chicken and Dumplings, Taco Soup, and Chicken Fajitas. All of them are 6 Weight Watchers points or less per serving. This week I’m trying baked apples to pair with tuna noodle casserole one night.

Fix-It and Forget-It Lightly is available at Amazon for only about $10. With over 500 low fat crockpot recipes, you can try something new every day for a long time!

I’m struggling with being back on Weight Watchers after the holidays and a trip to Vegas. I was watching The Biggest Loser the other day and Bob was talking about Extra Fruit Sensations Gum. I figured that I would give it a shot.

I picked up a package of the “Sweet Watermelon” gum at the grocery store yesterday. I’m one of those people who tires of the flavor of gum easily and wants piece after piece. Needless to say, I was skeptical that sugarfree gum would keep me from eating.

Much to my surprise, it worked! I chewed and chewed that gum so long that I couldn’t even “taste test” as I was making dinner. I finally had to throw it away (and it still had flavor) after a couple of hours. Today when afternoon came and started wanting a snack, I just popped in a piece of the gum instead. I’m looking forward to trying some other flavors. If I can get through this first couple of weeks of counting points again, I will be back on track!