145 Peanut Butter Can Be Healthy

I have to admit, this idea to make peanut butter apples was not mine originally. I got it from my sister's best friend's mom, in 1974. This mom is in fantastic shape -- trim and healthy. She is from England and speaks with an accent.

Her ways were foreign to us. We were kids. We thought she was weird. My sister came home one day and told me, "For lunch, they ate peanut butter on apples!" We giggled over how weird that was. Today, I appreciate this mom's wisdom!

Half of this feast in the picture was my "second breakfast" just now, with the rest of my coffee. I got the apple yesterday at our new Trader Joe's Market, here in Spokane. I tried to shop for fruit at thursdaymarket.org. That was just silly of me. It's only April. They won't have fresh fruit until they open outside May 17th.

See my lifestyle change! Six months ago, I had no idea about nor interest in any farmer's market. Even a month ago I made peanut butter cookies instead of peanut butter apples or peanut butter toast. Today, I know a serving of peanut butter is just 2 tablespoons, and I stick to that.

Dr Tarnower's Keep Trim rules say not to eat peanut butter. I know I am breaking the rules. So far, so good, though. I am keeping the weight off. This way of eating is not just for a little while, for me. It is for the rest of my life. I feel the need to work in the foods that I love so that I don't feel deprived. I love peanut butter!

I gained a fifth of a pound yesterday. That is OK. I was a fifth of a pound under goal weight yesterday, and now I am back at my goal weight of 145. Small ups and downs from day to day are a realistic part of keeping the weight off. We walked the dogs two miles in the rain, shivering in the 44 degree weather without gloves on so we could use the cord microphones on our radios. Here is what I ate yesterday:

Small bowl of Special K, strawberries and organic soy milk
McDonald's Bacon, Egg and Cheese Biscuit with side of hash browns
2 slices of toasted Sara Lee Healthy Multi Grain bread with
2 tablespoons peanut butter and 2 teaspoons of Smucker's Special Recipe strawberry preserves
Two-bite sample of spiral sliced ham at Trader Joe's
6 oz Fried ham and 6 steamed Brussels sprouts
1 Small sliced banana dipped in 1 tablespoon Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Syrup