's MOTD Fri Jan 4, 2008

[Guest guest]

's Daily Message FridayJanuary 04, 2008IN THE CLEANING MOOD?

I love to clean. There`s simply a domestic side of me that likes cleanliness and order. My parents were clean freaks. Every room of our home had to look like a layout from House and Garden Magazine.

I mean, let me ask you, did your parents keep a vase of fresh flowers in the bathroom? (See what I mean?) And of course, the towels had to be folded in only a certain way. The pillows had to sit just perfectly on the couch and the hardwood floors had to really shine!

I made my bed perfectly every morning, folded my pajamas and left my room so clean. I could tell how proud my parents were of me.

Now, there is house cleaning and then there is food cleaning. And in order for you to lose weight this year, you have got to keep an orderly and clean kitchen. There can`t be anything in your kitchen to tempt you to go off program.

I told you this last year and I`m telling you again this year. You need to first open up your freezer and take a gander in there. Are there things in your freezer that are so old that they shouldn`t be eaten? Then start by getting rid of those foods!

What should be in your freezer are foods like frozen chicken breasts, ground turkey, frozen vegetables and some nice little frozen meals you made ahead of time for yourself. Wait! Is that a carton of Haagen-Dazs Rum Raisin sitting in the back of your freezer? Well, off with it`s head!

Now it`s time for a look-see in your refrigerator, itself. I`m sure there`re some foods in your fridge that need to be thrown out, too. I don`t want you getting food poisoning this early in the year! LOL.

You know what should be in your fridge. Things like I Can`t Believe It`s Not Butter spray, fat-free milk, yogurts and low-fat cheeses. There should also be lots of salad fixings and plenty of fresh veggies. And you should have a healthy selection of condiments to spark up the taste your meals. (Without adding more calories!) S-a-a-ay, is that a container of brown rice I see and some whole wheat pasta? Are those cooked yams you`ve wrapped in foil right next to that jar of mustard?

Now close the fridge and let`s go check out your cupboards. Do I see processed foods there? Now you know those aren`t going to help you lose weight. Get rid of all that stuff! Any candy bars or cookies hidden behind the oatmeal carton? If so, you have to say good-bye to them, too.

Now don`t be shaking your heads! You know you can`t have anything in your kitchen that`s going to knock you off your weight-loss program. Many of you didn`t take the time to clean your kitchens last year. And many of you did not lose weight last year, either. Hmmm, could there be a connection?

You`re beginning the first weekend of 2008. Set aside an hour for yourself and get to work cleaning out that kitchen.

And while you`re at it, go to the store today, buy some colorful fruit and place them in a pretty bowl on the table. Because you never know when House and Garden may pay you a visit. In fact, I think I`ll send them your address!

Love,

[Guest guest]

>I love to clean.

There is something *seriously* wrong with that man! LOL

>I made my bed perfectly every morning, folded my pajamas and left my

room so clean.

I'm lucky I make my bed twice a week, and the PJ's get rolled in a ball

and stuffed into a drawer. Unless, that is, it's a lazy day and I'm

still in them.

>There can`t be anything in your kitchen to tempt you to go off program.

And if you *have* to have the stuff in the house because other family

members eat it, make sure they keep it out of your sight. My kid keeps

*his* potato chips in his room and hubby's I have a spot for them in his

closet where I don't see them all day long.

>Things like I Can`t Believe It`s Not Butter spray,

What my husband lovingly calls " snot butter. "

>Are those cooked yams you`ve wrapped in foil right next to that jar of

mustard?

Yeah. Wanna make something of it? It's my snack. A baked sweet potato,

eaten wither with a spoon or just held in the hand and skin peeled off

bit by bit, is as sweet as any ice cream, and loads healthier, too.

>Do I see processed foods there?

Some whole wheat pasta, canned cranberries and beans, containers of rice

milk, fat free refried beans. Stuff like that. What's so bad about

those?

>And while you`re at it, go to the store today, buy some colorful fruit

and place them in a pretty bowl on the table.

Oh, heck no! I have a hard enough time with the small amount of bananas

and apples I *do* buy! Even when they're in-season, everything is cruddy

in the stores and rots within days once it gets into my house. Right now

I have some apples that have skin like my hubby's 89 yo aunt, all

wrinkled and saggy, and neon green bananas that are soft and mushy and

full of brown spots and blotches and they're only a few days old. We

have this produce discussion frequently on one of my veggie lists.

One gal who lives in VA was always stymied at how lousy my produce is

when she would get such great stuff at a fraction of the cost down by DC

where she works. Until this past year, that is. Now even *her* stores

have the mushy melons, pre-rotted tomatoes, and tasteless bananas. She

has no idea what caused the sudden change. *Now* she knows what I've

been putting up with all these years, and she isn't happy!

Sue in NJ

[Guest guest]

Sue,

We call it " ickbinib " (ICBINB) in this house.

- Eileen

>Things like I Can`t Believe It`s Not Butter spray,

What my husband lovingly calls " snot butter. "

>Are those cooked yams you`ve wrapped in foil right next to that jar of

mustard?

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