I wrote about the delicious meringue cookies I was buying at Costco a couple of months ago- Costco stopped carrying them so I have been on a hunt to duplicate them. I came up with my own recipe and they are as good if not better. These are oneof the best meringue cookies I have ever tried- whole family raved about them. They work out to be about 30 calories a cookie.
The fat comes from nuts so feel free to omit. The are light and crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. Perfect!

Best Almond Meringue Cookie Recipes

Makes 24 nice sized cookies approx 30 calories each.

Preheat oven to 275F.
4 egg whites
pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 packet vanilla powder or vanilla bean
1 1/3 cup of white sugar
1/4 finely chopped/crushed almonds ( can also use any nut / pistachios)

Beat egg whites. salt and cream of tartar to soft peak than add vanilla powder/bean and gradually add sugar until stiff peak. Fold in nuts.

Drop onto parchment lined cookie sheets.
Bake for 35 mins.
Store in air tight container.

Posted by Linda J. - Weight Loss Using Diet, Exercise and Meridia as Food and Snacks at 10:17 AM EDT

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Wow. this call really got me thinking. Last week I was in husbands car and he had Howard Stern show on. A woman called in to discuss her problem. Child protective services had warned her that they might take her daughter away from her. Her 15 year old daughter weighed 285 lbs (about the same as me now) . For fear of her daughter being taken away- and then her other kids- she was encouraging her daughter to purge after a binge!!!! OMG. If you are unaware of risks and stupidity f this- terry Schiavo was doing this and this is what made her go into a coma! Other risks besides death are your teeth rotting from enamel, burns and danger to esophagus, etc

The people on Howard Stern came down on the woman pretty hard- who seemed to think she would get sympathy and praise (!)
She said she had tried everything.. Her daughter would eat whole dinners for the family, etc.
I have been thinking about this all week- it really disturbed me. My husband and I have talked about what we do if we noticed our kids leaning toward obesity. But hterory is different then reality.
One thing with my dieting is I am just not keeping temptation food in the house. We can all survive without puddings, cakes, cookies and ice creams. If I do have treat here in cupboards they are ones I don’t care about. My kids can always buy chocolate bar or whatever with their allowance if they feel the need.
My kids are all very healthy and athletic and I have done all I can not to pass on my issues to them. Forbidding foods is not something I do- but I am fine with just buying them. About the only food I don’t “allow” them to have is anything with aspartame or caffeine. I also tend to not buy juice that much.

I have a quite over weight girlfriend and her son is very heavy- probably by about 50 lbs. She stocks her cupboard with Kraft Dinner and lunch is usually hot dogs or pizza pockets. We just don’t have those foods in the house. Even before dieting My issues would be with sneaking foods.
I actually place no limits on my kids eating- I also don’t have crap in the house. There is likely to be an argument for that last orange as the last bowl of ice cream.
If my daughter wanted to buy 10 chocolate bars with her allowance- its not something I would forbid. Who knows- if my parent had thrown giant quantities of chocolate at me maybe i would have turned my head away.
Over eating isn’t always about food. it can be about self-esteem, feeling good, being angry and especially control. Fat parents do have fat kids- they are usually eating the same things. MacDonald’s, Fried chicken, deep fried food, donuts, pizza, etc. All foods high in white flour and fats.
Getting rid of these foods is half the battle.

Exercise has to be fun if it is to become a habit and a life long one. All kids have a passion for something- hockey, dance, gymnastics, etc If your child doesn’t like it- find something else. Forcing your kids to do exercise they don’t want to do becomes a control and power play. Sometimes doing something with them is a big part of it. Making a special time for you an done of your kids to go for walk or hike may be more than just exercise :-)

Posted by Linda J. - Weight Loss Using Diet, Exercise and Meridia as Food and Snacks, Obesity and Children at 7:39 PM EST

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I have been having serious issues getting enough protein on my diet. The recommended intake is 90 grams a day. This is HARD enough but I am also not a big meat eater. No red meat at all and very little chicken and fish. Dairy is fat laden and a bad option for the most part. I have been relying on protein shakes and meal replacement bars.

My morning ritual has been to make a smoothie. I used to find is a DRAG to make with blender- huge mess and takes up too much counter space. Hand blender can’t do ice or frozen fruit very well. I broke down and bough a Magic Bullet blender. I am THRILLED with it. I I LOVE this thing! I can make smoothie/protein shake in the same container in blends in.

I have been buying protein power at Costco. Soy protein is not where near as good as Whey protein. The soy is very grainy and chalky and you can really “taste” it.
I would get Vanilla. They come in huge containers and you are pretty stuck if you don’t like it. Any vanilla Whey protein powder is a pretty good bet. I did try Proteins+ brand one and it was delicious- but its about 4 times as expensive as anything else.
I would be curious to hear what other brands people like.

So protein shake is scoop of vanilla whey protein powder, the a add 2 frozen strawberries and about 1/3-1/2 a banana. The banana make a huge difference in the taste and texture of the shake.
you could also use older bananas and throw int the freezer and use for smoothies and protein shakes later.

Using the Magic Bullet (or similar) give you great shake pretty much every time- if you can find one at yard sale, ebay or wherever I would pick one up- worth it. Each shale has 25+ grams of protein ( depending on powder you use).

Posted by Linda J. - Weight Loss Using Diet, Exercise and Meridia as Food and Snacks at 9:25 PM EST

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Eat something in the morning- anything. When yo go too long without eating your metabolism drops. After going 12 hours without eating your metabolism can drop by as much as 40%.
When you wake up make it a PRIORITY to eat something. A protein is best- hard boiled egg, yogurt, cheese, etc. A protein + carbohydrate is better. High fiber cereal mixed with yogurt, oatmeal + milk, etc. Cheese + apple , etc
Dont be afraid of protein or meal replacement bars. Just watch for calorie intake.

Posted by Linda J. - Weight Loss Using Diet, Exercise and Meridia as Food and Snacks, Weight loss Tip Articles at 11:56 AM EST

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VitaSoy Peppermint Chocolate Soy Milk- this taste pretty good! You can have warm or cold.

Sugar-Free Gingerbread Syrup from Starbucks. Add this to warm or hot milk. DELICIOUS !

Baked Apple- put peeled (or not) . cored apple in small microwavable bowl, put in about tsp of water. Use sweetener if you must- tsp of brown sugar, syrup, splenda, etc, zap for 2 mins. I serve with 1/2 frozen vanilla yogurt. To increase fiber you can also sprink on some granola.

Angel Food Cake

I In know there are others- i will add them as i thnk of them.. If you have some to add- please do!

Posted by Linda J. - Weight Loss Using Diet, Exercise and Meridia as Food and Snacks at 11:53 AM EST

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I saw Dr. Sean Wharton this week at the Canadian Bariatric Center - one of the things we discussed was food cravings/feeling full and getting enough protein. I am pretty much vegetarian except for the odd bit of chicken and find it hard to get enough protein.
I have been eating ALOT of protein and meal replacement bars- the one I like are from Wal-Mart, the Equate Chocolate Peanut caramel bar and Pria bar. They are about 250 calories in one bar. Dr. Wharton told me his patients like the Detour bar- and he liked it because it had less sugar and about half the carbs as other bars- and they were good price. He also gave me a sample of Boost “diabetic” meal replacement drink to try .. which I really didn’t like.

Posted by Linda J. - Weight Loss Using Diet, Exercise and Meridia as Canadian Bariatric Clinic, Food and Snacks at 12:36 PM EST

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At a friends house this week we ha these- oh my god are they good! I am making them tonight in honour of Hanukkah and the Festival of Lights. Normally you would make food loaded with fat- donuts, latkes, etc.

How I have made them in the past is BAKED them in the oven. Yes- you heard right. Take your usual latke recipe ( and try using 2 egg whites instead of 1 egg for even less fat) and putting a bit of oil on a cookie sheet.. heat a little, than spoon on latke/potato pancake batter. Do NOT make them too big! ( Maximum 3″ in diameter). Cook for about 7 mins or so a side- keep an eye on these so they don’t burn.

Serve with low fat our cream or applesauce or both.

Posted by Linda J. - Weight Loss Using Diet, Exercise and Meridia as Food and Snacks, Recipes at 5:10 PM EST

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Yes, Good ole Costco again… The has samples of their sugar free Tapioca pudding yesterday. The brand is Kozy Shack Sugar-Free Tapioca Pudding.
The generous serving size has 3 grams of protein, 4 grams of fiber and 90 calories. It does however have 2 grams of fat. It is also sweetened with splenda. I have also seen in grocery stores but was good price- 5.79 for 12 at Costco.

The protein is about the same as a yogurt but you also get the fibre have also tried their other sugar free products , like Sugar Free Chocolate pudding- which I did not like at all.

I have not tried their sugar free rice pudding- but would like to. All of their sugar free products had similar nutritional breakdown.

Posted by Linda J. - Weight Loss Using Diet, Exercise and Meridia as Food and Snacks at 5:42 PM EST

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I have actually bought many times from GNC and I was a member- getting member discounts, at GNC. At Coupon Kathy’s you can find out about lots of deals- including regular postings of gnc coupons .

I was actually at GNC last week and bought something called “Body for Life” bar .. which I didn’t like that much. It was what I asked for though ;-) . I got both lemon poppy seed and brownie. The brownie was pretty much inedible- and tasted STRONGLY of dates. The lemon poppy was bit better- still had date taste to it but was not bad. Both were kind of gummy and hard to chew. I had hard time swallowing and had to eat in teeny tiny bites- which is good thing. I must have had 2 litres of water right afterwards, tho.
With diet I am on- basically low calorie with larger intake of fibre ( 30 grams) and high protein ( 90grams) I do find ti hard to meet those requirements. The staff at GNC have always been respectful and helpful to me- quite knowledgeable. I used to be intimidated because I am certainly not buff body-builder type and thought I might feel out of place- but this has never been the case. I general I have found GMC prices to be a bit higher than usual- but they do have HUGE selection and if you get membership prices are significantly better.

I rely heavily on meal replacement drink and bars and having access to large variety and taste becomes a big deal after a few months, so worth the trip to try new things. Staff are also good at recommending “best flavors” and have been honest about the taste of drink and bars. My personal favourite has been Green+ Protein taste and texture wise but it is pricey- will be able to use coupons :)

Posted by Linda J. - Weight Loss Using Diet, Exercise and Meridia as Food and Snacks, Weight Loss Product Reviews at 2:34 AM EDT

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was at Costco this week- and my eye caught these cookies- they are almond meringues. Cookies is kind of wrong word- they are very crunchy meringue with almonds - the center is bit chewy/taffy like. They are UNBELIEVABLY good- and get this- 2 of them- decent sizes- are 60 calories! I have a real sweet tooth and if I were having a snack, 4 of these with tea might even be too much “sweet” for me. I will try and get the name- I put them in tupperware all ready and box recycled. I meant to save it so I could post nutritional label here. Was 5.99 for a box of about 25 of these cookies.

Posted by Linda J. - Weight Loss Using Diet, Exercise and Meridia as Food and Snacks at 12:32 AM EDT

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