Is There Such a Thing as Decent Green Cookware?

A few years ago, I bought a set of orange, Teflon-coated non-stick cookware by Rachel Ray.  I love the design of the pots,as they're a little higher on the sides and the handles are silicon. They're my favorite pots and pans I've owned, but when Kathy told me about how Teflon releases toxins in the air a while back, I've been hesitant to use them. When I do, it's on med-low to cook eggs, but otherwise, I kind of avoid them. Total bummer.

I decided to get a set of "green" cookware so that I didn't have to worry about toxins. Some of you may know I have a bunny, Lulu, and while some of those toxins may not affect me, small animals can be quite sensitive, I learned. So I bought a set of Cuisinart Green Eco-Friendly Non-Stick Cookware.

At first, I thought they were the best thing since Teflon -- things slid right out of the pan and clean-up was a snap.  But despite following every cleaning request (no dishwasher, let cool before cleaning), the thrill was gone after about a week or two.  I noticed during cooking that my food started to stick, especially my egg whites, even when I used my Misto olive oil mister liberally and cooked at a medium to medium-low temperature. Allegedly, the non-stick coating they use is not toxic, but only if you don't cook at high temperatures, which also kind of sucks because sometimes, well, you just need to cook things on high.

Looking for Misto Right?

I have been saying I wanted to get an olive oil mister for a long time.  I really hate the chemically taste that Pam and other cooking sprays impart on my food and it also burns fairly easily, I've found.  I have so many pans with cooked on Pam that's impossible to scrub off.

One day, I was in Bed, Bath and Beyond and finally remembered to pick up an olive oil mister and I will never, ever go back. The Misto Mister, which is the type I chose, is my new lover.  I use it all the time for everything from scrambled eggs and omelettes to stir fried veggies to baked fries in the oven.

For $9.99, it's the best $10 I ever spent.  Except for maybe that martini I had that one time at that place I can't remember the name of. That was a really good. But I digress.

You simply fill it according to the super easy instructions, pump a few times and spray for up to 15 seconds. I use it on my Cuisinart Griddler (indoor grill, like a Foreman) before I grill and stuff never sticks.  Sometimes, if you get olive oil too hot, it can smoke a bit  -- I recommend using straight up EVOO and not Extra, Extra Virgin or Extra Light olive oil; it has a slightly higher threshold for burning.

You could put other oils in it, too, if you wanted -- like canola oil or vegetable oil. I just prefer olive oil for just about everything. It's a good fat, but I sometimes still have a hard time measuring it when I cook (it never seems like enough to 'coat' the pan) so sometimes I overpour when I'm sauteeing and end up with an oily dinner that only BP could love. I find this eliminates that factor, gives a nice thin coating and so far, nothing has ever stuck.

You complete me, Misto. You had me at hello.

I give this 5 donuts.

Weight Watchers iPhone App: Tracking Your Weight Was MY Idea

This may or may not be news, but I noticed yesterday that my Weight Watchers app on my iPhone was greatly improved!  I remember emailing them a while back, requesting that they add weight tracking and "Healthy Checks" to the features to make the app more worthwhile. I love tracking my Points, but if I don't log my weight right when I do it, I'll forget... even in the short time it takes for my laptop to boot up.  And I never remembered to log my water or vitamins.

So, OK, it wasn't my idea -- certainly I wasn't alone in my request, but it's wonderful to know that they really listened and brought out a vastly improved application.  They rolled out the little 'menu' tab along the bottom a while ago, but on June 12th, instead of just Points tracking and recipes, they included Healthy Checks (your daily vitamin, water, veg count, etc), Weight Tracker (so you can actually log your weight instead of just looking at the graph), a more robust Cheat Sheet offering and what appears to be the start of a social network.

George Foreman Grill

Is it possible to be in love with an appliance? I think so.  When I started Weight Watchers back in February 2002, I ran to Target and bought myself a George Foreman Grill... the little ones with the bun warmer on top. I would hump it if I could. It is the best $30 I ever spent in my life. I don’t cook really.  I mean I can cook if I have to.  But it’s not a forte.  Sure I can put together a lasagna and read instructions, but as far as being creative or having desire to cook is just not in me. My husband and I have busy lives (as do the rest of the world) so this little grill made behaving so easy.

It cooks everything in minutes and when you are hungry, the thought of waiting around for more than 5 minutes to make dinner is not a helpful strategy when your trying to lose weight and be healthy.  With the George, I can grill up veggie burgers in less than 5 minutes… sometimes I am still prepping my bun when it’s ready and I have to rush.  You can grill a chicken breast in a few minutes to put on top of a salad, you can grill veggies, fat free hot dogs, fish, and I even make grilled fat free cheese sandwiches on it.

One of the habits I noticed that I needed to break was nibbling in the kitchen while I was waiting for dinner to be done.  The less time it takes to prepare a meal the less likely you are to nosh in the process. This little grill is my savior.  You can grill just about anything and fast. I have worn through 3 of them in the last almost 2 years.

I prefer the grill without the little bun warmer now only because I never used it and it flapped open and got in the way all the time and pissed me off, which was my only gripe.  I give George Forman grill 4 and a half donuts. It’s worth every single penny.

I give this 4.5 donuts.

Unofficial Weight Watchers Popcorn Cheat Sheet

Trying to figure out what the points are in most microwave popcorns is like trying to figure out cold fusion.  So, again I got crazy with the info gathering and came up with this handy-dandy list.

Thanks to Dotti’s Weight Loss Zone, 3 Fat Chicks and Weight Watchers Online.

ORVILLE REDDENBACHERS

1) 94% Fat-Free Smart Pop Movie Theater Butter Flavor
(1 bag yields 14 cups @ 15 cal/~.33 fat*/~.5 fiber# per cup)
210 calories/4.62 fat/7 fiber
1-2-3 Success/The 10% Difference: 3 Points
Winning Points: 4 Points

Snack size bag: 2pts

2) Movie Theater Butter Flavor
(1 bag yields 12 cups @ 35 cal/2.5 fat/~.5 fiber# per cup)
420 calories/30 fat/6 fiber
1-2-3 Success/The 10% Difference: 10 Points
Winning Points: 10 Points

3) Homestyle
(1 bag yields 13.5 cups @ 35 cal/2 fat/2 fiber per cup)
472.5 calories/27 fat/27 fiber
1-2-3 Success/The 10% Difference: 6 Points
Winning Points: 11 Points

4) Corn on the Cob
(1 bag yields 12 cups @ 35 cal/2.5 fat/~.5 fiber# per cup)
420 calories/30 fat/6 fiber
1-2-3 Success/The 10% Difference: 10 Points
Winning Points: 10 Points

5) Butter Flavor
(1 bag yields 12 cups @ 35 cal/2 fat/~.5 fiber# per cup)
420 calories/24 fat/6 fiber
1-2-3 Success/The 10% Difference: 9 Points
Winning Points: 10 Points

6) Pour Over Butter Light
(1 bag yields 15 cups @ 25 cal/1.5 fat/~.5 fiber# per cup)
375 calories/22.5 fat/7.5 fiber
1-2-3 Success/The 10% Difference: 8 Points
Winning Points: 9 Points

7) Pour Over Butter
(1 bag yields 15 cups @ 40 cal/3 fat/~.5 fiber# per cup)
600 calories/45 fat/7.5 fiber
1-2-3 Success/The 10% Difference: 14 Points
Winning Points: 15 Points

8) Kettle Corn
(1 bag yield 12 cups @ 40 ca/2.5 fat/~.5 fiber# per cup)
480 cal/29 fat/6 fiber
1-2-3 Success/The 10% Difference: 11 Points
Winning Points: 11

9) Natural Light
(1 bag yield 12 cups @ 20 ca/0.5 fat/~.5 fiber# per cup)
240 cal/6 fat/6 fiber
Flexpoints Plan: 4.5

POP SECRET

1) Movie Theater Butter
(1 bag yields 12 cups @ 40 cal/3 fat/~.5 fiber# per cup)
480 calories/36 fat/6 fiber
1-2-3 Success/The 10% Difference: 11 Points
Winning Points: 12 Points

2) Jumbo Pop
(1 bag yields 10.5 cups @ 40 cal/2.5 fat/~.5 fiber# per cup)
420 calories/26.25 fat/5.25 fiber
1-2-3 Success/The 10% Difference: 10 Points
Winning Points: 10 Points

3) Homestyle
(1 bag yields 12 cups @ 35 cal/2.5 fat/~.5 fiber# per cup)
420 calories/30 fat/6 fiber
1-2-3 Success/The 10% Difference: 10 Points
Winning Points: 10 Points

4) Land O Lakes Butter Flavor
(1 bag yields 12 cups @ 35 cal/2.5 fat/~.5 fiber# per cup)
420 calories/30 fat/6 fiber
1-2-3 Success/The 10% Difference: 10 Points
Winning Points: 10 Points

5) Land O Lakes Light Butter Flavor
(1 bag yields 2 servings of 6 cups @ 120 cal/5 fat/4 fiber)
240 calories/10 fat/8 fiber
1-2-3 Success/The 10% Difference: 4 Points
Winning Points: 5 Points

6) 94% Fat-Free
(1 bag yields 2 servings of 6 cups @ 110 cal/2 fat/4 fiber)
220 calories/4 fat/8 fiber
1-2-3 Success/The 10% Difference: 3 Points
Winning Points: 4 Points

JOLLY TIME

1) Blast O Butter Flavor
(1 bag yields 10.5 cups @ 45 cal/3 fat/1 fiber)
472.5 calories/31.5 fat/10.5 fiber
1-2-3 Success/The 10% Difference: 10 Points
Winning Points: 11 Points

2) Butterlicious Flavor
(1 bag yields 12 cups @ 35 cal/2 fat/1 fiber)
420 calories/24 fat/12 fiber
1-2-3 Success/The 10% Difference: 8 Points
Winning Points: 10 Points

3) Healthy Pop 94% Fat-Free
(1 bag yields 12.5 cups @ 20 cal/~.33 fat*/1 fiber)
250 calories/4.13 fat/12.5 fiber
1-2-3 Success/The 10% Difference: 3 Points
Winning Points: 5 Points

4) White and Buttery Flavor
(1 bag yields 12 cups @ 35 cal/2 fat/1 fiber)
420 calories/24 fat/12 fiber
1-2-3 Success/The 10% Difference: 8 Points
Winning Points: 10 Points

HEALTHY CHOICE

1) Low Fat (large bag) 180 cal/5 fat/6 fiber or old program 2 points and new program 3 points

ACT II

1) 94% Fat-Free 250 cal/unknown fat/unknown fiber or old program and new program at least 5 points
2) 96% Fat-Free 200 cal/2 fat/10 fiber or old program 2 points new program 3 points
3) Light 250 cal/10 fat unknown fiber or old program and new program at least 6 points
4) Natural Light 240 cal/8 fat/8 fiber or old program 4 points and new program 5 points
5) Kettle Corn (both regular and buttery) 480 cal/36 fat/6 fiber or old program 11 points and new program 12 points

Land O Lakes Light Butter Flavor; Snack Size Bag
(1 bag yields 6 cups popped @ 120 cal/6g fat/3g fiber)
1-2-3 Success/The 10% Difference: 2 Points
Winning Points: 2 Points

AMC THEATER POPCORN

Small Popcorn, 1 serving per container
(225 cal/11 g fat/3 g fiber/26 g carbs) 5 Points

Medium Popcorn, 2 servings per container
(per container - 434 cal/20 g fat/6 g fiber/49 g carbs) 9.5 Points (10 Winning Points)
(per serving - 225 cal/11 g fat/3 g fiber/26 g carbs) 5 Points

Large Popcorn, 3 servings per container
(Per container - 664 cal/31 g fat/9 g fiber/75 g carbs) 13.5 Points (14.5 Winning
Points)
(per serving - 225 cal/11 g fat/3 g fiber/26 g carbs) 5 Points