HALT

Hi Everyone,

When was the last time you were tempted to eat for reasons other than hunger?

What would life be like if you only ate when you were hungry?

Sometimes it is hard to determine why we are eating - is it tempting food lying around, or am I hungry, or is it something else. Learning how to keep that just right feeling of fullness will help us make better food choices throughout the day. Keeping track of the comfort zone on our daily trackers each day can help us do just that.

The week 4 book of habits of successful members talks about managing your feelings, making sure that we are not emotional eating. If it is emotional eating we need to stop and reassess. Think of what we are looking for and how else we can get that feeling. Maybe we need to take a walk, or call a friend, or have a cup of tea or coffee and sit and relax. So next time you go for the frig - HALT - and ask yourself am I :

HUNGRY
ANGRY
LONELY
TIRED

Try this breakfast casserole.

SAUSAGE AND CHEESE STRATA
Makes 8 servings
Points value per serving: 4

2 cups fat free milk
2 large eggs
2 egg whites
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 (8 oz) loaf whole wheat french bread, cubed (about 4 cups)
1 (7 oz) package frozen fully cooked turkey sausage links, thawed and sliced
1/2 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese

1. Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with nonstick spray.

2. Whisk together the milk, eggs, egg whites, parsley, mustard, salt and cayenne in a large bowl. Stir in the bread and sausage. Let stand stirring occasionally, until the bread is moistened, about 10 minutes. Transfer to the baking dish and spread evenly. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.

3. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Remove the strata from the refrigerator; uncover and let stand 10 minutes.

4. Sprinkle the strata with the cheese and bake until golden and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Each serving 3/4 cup.

See you at the meeting.

Lorraine