Texas, I will resend it tomorrow and use your old e-mail address. I watched all the National iceskating yesterday and today. Boy,was this great.

Marlene, I amv ery sorry to hear,that you not this well. I am thinking about you. Why would it take this long,until the results are back?

Erna,you must have had a fantastic day. 

I am very tired,since I could not fall asleep last night. I watched the old Moulon Rouge film and it is an intense film. It lasted until 1.00am and I fell asleep at 3.00 am.

My super nice neighbor had a lttle boy last Friday.She came home today.The three year old is very happy to have a little brother. 

The owl is hooting outside. Gute Nacht!

Renate 

Renate, I watched last night the ice skating too. We had company tonight, they just left, so I missed tonights skating.

I stayed up last night till 4:14am and watched the final of the Australian tennis tournament. What a game. I didn't get up till 8am and ended up not doing a thing.  We did go out for dinner, Italien, and I'm feeling like a blown up balloon, but it was yummy, I had linguini with clam, garlic and white wine sauce. Now I got all those dinners and who knows what behind me and serious dieting starts.

Marlene, you know we miss you and I wish you all the best and hope you will be pretty soon on the recovery road.

We having some very good, nasty rains, which will temper off tomorrow afternoon.

Bis spaeter

Erna

Good morning everybody,

i have been thinking about you all  - my internet connection was on and off all weekend so i didn't even boahter to start typing becuase the moment i had a message the system would turn off - arg...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU  ERNA - wishing you all the best and much more - i hope you have a very special day and get spoiled with nice food, gifts and special friends... HUGS

Erna this will be a wonderful wedding -what a great idea - i cross fingers that all goes well.

Picasso nice to see you back and thanks for helping. Those abbrivations where a huge help back when i started on this board. How have you been lately?

Berny congrats on the weight loss!

Texas and marlene i hope you two are getting much better and your test turn out to be not painful and with some good news.

Renate what kind of recipe are you looking for?

Lydia i have made a huge batch of fresh fruit salad and a vanilla muffin for breakfast and as usual the tea!

Waving to Jet, Melanie, Germanlady and all the other readers....

We had a pleasant weekend with a bit of sunshine. Today it is rather cold again and i wish i could go back to bed.... I will look for some more recipes

 Twinkle

Basic Low Sodium Golden Stock

 Makes approx. 4 cups

This is an excellent base for clear soups or whenever you want a lighter-looking (and tasting) broth for your soup. It’s especially tasty with matzah balls, for a delicious vegetarian Passover dish.

1-2T unsalted butter or olive oil (butter adds a nice flavor without much extra fat)
1 large sweet onion, peeled and chopped into ½ inch chunks
4 celery stalks (including leaves – they add lots of flavor!), chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped (it’s ok to include carrot tops, but not the greens)
1 head garlic, sliced in half (remove outer skin around the bulb, but don’t peel every clove)
2 bay leaves
½ t salt
¼ to ½ t poultry seasoning (to taste; add ¼ t first, then taste before adding more)
4-5 cups water (to taste; less water intensifies the flavor)
½ cup minced fresh parsley

1. Place butter/oil in a heavy-bottomed pot (preferably a stockpot) and heat over medium heat. Add onions and cook until soft (3-5 minutes).
2. Add celery, carrots, garlic, bay leaves, and water.
3. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes.
4. Add parsley and simmer for another 10-15 minutes.
5. Strain and add broth to soup.

This makes a good soup all by itself. Just remember to remove the garlic bulb before serving.

Variations:

Tomato stock: This is a great base for vegetable soup.
• Reduce water by 2 cups and add 2 cups chopped, canned tomatoes.
• OR add 3-4 T salt-free tomato paste.
 

Mexican tomato stock: This makes a savory cooking broth for Mexican rice.
• Add ½ cup chopped cilantro
• Add 1-2T chili powder (to taste).

No-Salt Seasoned Salt Mix Recipe

Low Sodium Salad Dressings

Sweet & Spicy Salad Dressing

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup canola oil

1/3 cup vinegar

1 tsp horseradish

Balsamic Vinegar Marinade

1 cup balsamic

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tsp mixed spices such as garlic, 

basil, oregano, lemon pepper etc.

Honey Mustard Dressing

1 cup water

1 tsp dry mustard

1 tbs. cornstarch

Cook until thick and then cool. Then add:

½ tsp paprika

1/3 cup honey

1 tbs. canola oil

Mix well and store in a container and refrigerate.

Twinkle, there you are!  TY for all the low-sodium bases.  Yikes, went to make a cup of chicken broth, using a Knorr bouillion cube - 1/2 cube - 50% of your sodium intake for the day.  You have the best breakfasts - DH just brought me a box of fancy teas, all assorted, each teabag has its own little box, how continental, lol.

Erna, you weren't bragging, just sounded very happy and excited.  Can't wait to get gobs of pictures.  Went to a very fancy wedding, the FOG said to me, "This tux feels like those things women wear to hold in their stomachs."  I replied, "A girdle"?  "Be glad you don't have to wear a bra," he thought that was pretty funny.

Picasso, TY for the appreviations list; have copied too.

Texas and Jet, when my DH gets sick, his remedy is a tall, ice-cubed glass of NyQuill.  It seems to work for him  He's usually better in 24 hours.

Texas and Marlene, am sure all the docs, etc. makes you just "sick" thinking about them, not to mention weary.  Marlene, you might want to let your instructor know you were in the hospital; he might just give you a pass; or, otherwise ask him if it's worth your continuing.  Aren't your classes on a semester basis?

Renate, aww, a new baby to admire.  Mom is sure going to be busy, my two sons were 20 mos. apart, I was nute for about 7 years - that's when I lost about 20 lbs. w/o dieting, running after them, helping DH with sec'y work, etc.

Diva must be busy treadmilling.

Everyone have a nice day, lydia.

  Happy Birthday Erna!!!

Happy Birthday Erna!  Hope you have a wonderful day!  You can't start your diet until after you've had your birthday cake today! 

Well we are having more snow and blowing snow today with an extreme windchill (-44)!  I think we are supposed to get about 4 inches of snow.  I didn't have to work today so YAY!

Lydia I think your weight loss idea is a little extreme and I don't think it is really feasible for me at this time!  Got any better ideas?  LOL

I want to go for a run before I have a shower but my DD is sleeping downstairs...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERNA!  Wishing you many more.  Hope you will get spoiled and lots of kisses from DH, and a pretty gift or two.

Diva, huh? I only meant you're probably busy exercising on the treadmill.  Yep, anything over 40 minutes on that beast I consider extreme too.  Bundle up, brrr.

Am off to do something, just not sure what, lol.  Too many tasks that I don't want to do.  Mostly putting Christmas stuff away, sigh.  DH thinks we live in Santa's castle and loves to decorate.  Guess who gets to take it down every year.  Feel like the Little Red Hen, nobody wants to help.

OK, let's try this again.

Holy Cow! Y'all got busy and did some chatting this weekend! I couldn't believe all the emails and recipes! The weekend must be your time to catch up with the group. The weekend is my busy time to do other things. I substitute teach during the week so I have free time to do my group chats then. You all are so interesting and friendly! I am so glad I joined this group!

I have to admit that I do not share your taste in salt (if that's the right way to put it). I love salt! In fact, I have a collection of salts from around the world...Malaysia, London, Germany and Paris. It's fun to cook with them. But I understand your hesitation for health concerns...maybe I should tell you a little about me...

About 3 years ago I had a weight loss surgery called BPD (it IS NOT the by-pass surgery that most people are familiar with). The surgeons basically rearranged my intestines so that I don't digest all the fat, cholesterol, SODIUM and other bad components that contribute to obesity, heart disease, diabetes and so on. I used to weight over 400 lbs. and I've lost 220 lbs. total. Wahoo! The best part about this surgery is that I can never gain the weight back. It's based on how I digest my food, not on how much I eat. So I enjoy all I can when it comes to eating. I do, however, make a point to eat balanced nutrition. I snack on carrots, celery and other vegetables (with dip of course) but I also will have an occasional brownie or cookie. I was eating more sweets than any normal human should and it was causing some unpleasant side effects (gas) so I've decided to indulge less. Anyway, I wanted to let you know this about me becuase I really like this group and wanted you to understand where my foodie mind comes from.

I enjoyed reading all your recipes and comments. Hope you have a terrific week. BTW I am a certified Home Ec. teacher and love to teach, learn and share so let me know if I can help in any way or share a recipe! I love that! Talk to you all soon.

Shannon

Oh, and thanks for all the initials! You're a peach!

Just wanted to "pop" in and wish you a very Happy Birthday Erna!!! Hope you have a great day.

Melanie

 I found some low-salt recipes that I think you all will like. I'll post some tonight and more tomarrow. Waving hello to everyone.

Melanie

NO SALT BARBEQUE SAUCE #2
 
                          

    1   TBL.   Vegetable oil
    1  Small  Onion, coarsely chopped
    2 cups  No-salt tomato sauce
      1/2   cup Light molasses
      1/4   cup Cider vinegar
      1/4   cup Dijon mustard
    1 1/2   tsps.     Fresh lemon juice
    1  tsp.  Liquid smoke
    1   tsp.   Garlic powder
      1/2   tsp.   Cayenne pepper
      1/4   tsp.  Tabasco
    3   pinches of ground  Allspice

   Heat oil is a heavy medium skillet over med-high heat.
   Add onion and cook until translucent, stirring
   occasionally. This should take about 8 minutes. Add
   all remaining ingredients and simmer until thickened,
   about 15 minutes. Stir frequently. Makes 3 cups.

Fried Chicken

serves 4

sodium per serving: 77mg

2 Tbls. all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. dried basil

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/4 tsp. crushed dried rosemary

1/4 tsp. dried tarragon

1/4 tsp. dried thyme

4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts or thighs (about 1 pound)

1-2 Tbls. olive oil

    Mix together flour through thyme; dredge the chicken in the mixture, shake off any excess. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add chicken. Cook until brown on one side,4-5 minutes, turn. Decrease heat to medium low; cover and cook until chicken is no longer pink, but still moist inside, 15-20 minutes. Serve hot.