Diet Tip # 2: Do Not Add Velveeta to Your Spaghetti Sauce

Do not add the southern basic, processed cheese food (aka: Velveeta) to any sauce if you want to loose weight.

It adds calories, fat and lots of salt (especially if salt is already an ingredient in your recipe) that is a diet killer.

My dad is famous for his spaghetti. When I was a child, he used to cook spaghetti for church fundraisers. I do not remember it being as salty way back then. It was that original spaghetti that made his recipe "famous". Today, he is famous for making the saltiest spaghetti. We all go in the kitchen to ask him to cut down on the salt in the recipe. He replies with a grin, "This is a one cook kitchen." We suspect that he then proceeds to add more salt. Our "Pop" is a hard-headed man who is now "famous" for not taking anyone's advice--especially if you are one of his children or are married to him.

Today, my husband and I are having corned beef and cabbage with him and Freda (my wonderfully patient step-mother who I am daily grateful to God for her marrying my widowed Daddy). I am sure that he will be putting an extra handful of salt in the recipe. Hopefully, he is out of Velveeta.

FYI: as of yesterday, I have lost 2 pounds. Only 8 more to go to meet the "Scale Back Alabama" goal.

(the image of the processed cheese unwrapped was found on the blog Red Ravine)

Diet Tip #1

This past week my husband and I signed up for the "Scale Back Alabama" weight loss program. We have a team of 4 and we are to lose 10 pounds each in 10 weeks. This is a doable thing. I have lost weight before using Weight Watchers and earned my "lifetime" pin. Time and food have not been kind since I earned my status with that diet program. I did learn a lot and I use the skills WW taught me. I just have a problem with portions.

In honor of joining the SBA, I am posting a diet tip. I will try to post new tips as I find them. Here is the first:

The little pieces at the bottom of a chip bag DO NOT have fewer calories.

Memorable Chocolate Covered Cherries

I had such fun making chocolate covered cherries this past holiday season. I even created a page on Squidoo about my experience.

Since these cherries would be a wonderful and thoughtful gift for Valentine's Day, I want to share the recipe with you today. Yes, February 14th is a little more than a month away, but these covered cherries need that much time to "age" and become a cordial (another term for friendly and "liqueur")eating pleasure.

There are many recipes for chocolate covered fruit on the web and I looked at most of them. It took forever! If I say so myself, I think that the recipe I used on the Memorable Chocolate Covered Cherry Recipe page on Squidoo is a really good and has all of the information one might need to make this delicious homemade candy for gift giving.

I made the candy and the picture of this chocolate cherry!

Go take a look at it and let me know what you think. You do not have to be a member of Squidoo to leave me a comment on that page. You can leave a comment here, too.