Grazing for weight loss

 Can you eat all day and still lose weight? Why yes you can!

 We can't graze all day on carbs and fats. But we can on super high foods that are low on the glycemic index. What foods are they? Tons of raw veggies, some fresh fruit, and wonderful high protein dips--perfect for your Christmas party platter! 

Don't be afraid to graze, just remember grazing should be mostly in the vegetable arena.

Check out these tips in the video and try the dip recipes. I promise you'll love them!

Do you have low-fat, high nutrient dips to share? Leave a comment with your dip recipe.

I tried to share a video with you, but something in the link isn't working to load it right here on the page today. So to correct that, here's the link to the video on KPAX's website. Otherwise, I've uploaded it to my twitter and facebook pages for you. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Angie

Simple Elegant Time Savers!

Elegant Creative Cooking & Kitchen Shortcuts with Marnie and Angela Breidenbach on December 9. Kitchen Shortcuts author, Marnie Swedberg, interviews Angela Breidenbach, author of Creative Cooking for Simple Elegance to help you make elegant, inexpensive, and simple tables full of joy in this crazy world. Enjoy tips to simplify your life right now! Cookbooks being given away on the show!

Marnie & Friends blogtalk radio, today, Elegant Creative Cooking & Kitchen Shortcuts
http://www.leadershipattitudes.com/
1-2 Pacific
2-3 Mountain
3-4 Central
4-5 Eastern

Free training notes on Simply Elegant Time Savers available to download from Leadership Attitudes and then click on the right side of the web page to enter the radio show and listen live!

We'll be giving away a free cookbook and 3 e-cookbooks! If you miss the show, you can listen to archives, but the drawings for the cookbooks are only during the live broadcast.

May your tables overflow with joy!
Angie :-)

Thanksgiving: The Musical?

Lots of families have a hard time visiting over a long day. Chats turn into criticism and irritation over old habits invade what's supposed to be a pleasant holiday.

What if you could change it this year by getting out of the rut?

For musical families, the change is easier than you think. Tell everyone to bring their instruments and have  a good old fashioned jam session.

What if you're not so musical?

Plan some silly moments around creating music with odd instruments and rhythm. Spoons, rubber bands, boxes, pots and pans, old glasses filled with water. See if guests can guess that tune. Then everyone divvy up the parts and try playing it. Start simple with children's songs and build up. The familiarity will give everyone confidence.

Try karaoke in the living room.

Pass out kazoos or penny whistles.

Put in a musical and create a sing-a-long.

Find Silly Songs from the Vegie Tales. (You'll be shocked at how many adults know them too!)

Using music in the background can add dimension and atmosphere. It can also bring back the 50's, 60's, and 70's! Teach the younger generation the dances from your generation. Get them excited about it by dressing for the event in costumes.

Talk about the history of your family and how certain songs remind you of significant family or historic events. Were any of your family members involved in those historic events? Protests, wars, the Great Depression, serving during a catastrophe all have huge impact on our country and telling those stories crosses generational lines. Did anyone become a hero or cross paths with a famous American? Play the music that helps you tell the stories. Share the stories that shouldn't be forgotten.

The idea isn't to show off your talents but to invite, encourage, and enlist everyone present to be a participant in the laughter and bonding.

May your gems of wisdom overflow and fill the treasure chests of those you love,
Angie

ACFW New Publicity Officer

I'm pretty excited right now! Our American Christian Fiction Writer's group just voted on new officers and I was voted in to be the new Publicity Officer!

I have to admit my knees are a little weak. Cara Putnam has been in these shoes for 2 years now and is quite accomplished. I am thrilled to have her helping me learn the new position as we transition over to the new operating board that will serve 2009 and 2010. (It's a 2 year position.)

I'm cleaning up my schedule this month as I learn my new duties so that I will be fully available. This means deciding what to cut out.

I think sometimes we women forget to sift out or give up those things that have become stale in our lives and then try to do it all. I'm terribly guilty of that myself.

So this month as I'm learning the new things, I'm also examining the old habits and commitments. As I try to rid myself of outdated things and prepare for the new year to come, I need to do that with my volunteer and work schedule too.

I will be cutting back on my Weight Watcher's schedule and saying no to other requests for volunteer work that I would normally take on in my son's school. I'll also be very careful how much I agree to do in church.

All these are worthy of my time, but it is simply not my season. Prayer and lots of consideration have brought me into a new adventure.  I've agreed to a volunteer position that takes about 10-15 hours a week. With that plus my family owned business and my writing, I have to make choices.

I've been a volunteer at my kid's various schools for 19 years now. Many different areas and many different schools. I am happy for other moms and dads to get those same opportunities that I have truly enjoyed. So I enter a new realm of volunteerism and wave goodbye to the familiar.

Are you making any changes? 

Or are you just adding to your load?

Sometimes it's bittersweet to leave behind the familiar, but how exciting to learn something new!

Thank you to all those ACFWers that chose to vote me into Publicity Officer. Thank  you for the opportunity to learn and grow with such an awesome organization!

I shadow Cara through December and then take over Jan. 1st, 2009 with the other new board members.

I'm up for suggestions on how to celebrate this fabulous new adventure and twist in the plot of my life. Any suggestions?

Angie (who has the deer in the headlights look right now.)

Montana Chef of the Year Awards

I had the great honor of being the MC at the Montana Chef of the Year Awards recently. The gentleman above is the outgoing Chef of the Year and President of the Montana Chef's Association, Tom Campbell. Such a wonderful and gracious new friend! We met at the HuHot Mongolian Grill's national recipe judging.



As Chef of the Year, Tom's reign ended in providing his team's culinary expertise to help raise scholarship funds for students in Montana to attend culinary art school. And he asked me to help! I had so much fun watching them put together displays like the oysters on a half shell above. The lighting through the ice is spectacular.



People bought tickets to a Spanish themed dinner that was held at the Lake Missoula Cellars. We had a silent auction, salsa and tango dancers from the Downtown Dance Cooperative, and Salsa Loca (a local band) played. All this to fund the scholarships.


One of my sponsors, Dana Wheeler of the Shear Art Salon, donated a Spanish hairstyle for me:-) Then she also does photography and came to the event to capture it on film for Tom Campbell.

And announcing the new Chef of the Year for Montana, Tom Seigle!

Congratulations to both the new Chef of the Year and to the scholarship winners for 2008/09!

One tidbit for anyone traveling through Missoula, MT is that the Lake Missoula Cellars offers luncheons from 2p-8p Tuesday through Saturdays and holds concerts every Friday night! Excellent outing or romantic moment for you and your sweetie.

Angie

Wedding photos for those who missed it.

The really happy groom:-D


Here is my oldest with me moments before his vows.


The exchange of rings! Doesn't she look beautiful in a white Sleeping Beauty styled dress?



And moments after he took his vows! Wow, it was such a gorgeous ceremony.



This in my pretty daughter as a bridesmaid. I think she was surprised at how many people thought she was so beautiful!



Check out this cool idea! The bride's mom is just so creative. She saw this on T.V. years ago and recreated it. Both the bride and the groom had photos of them growing up tucked in between criss-crossed ribbons. No holes or tape in the photos. Loved this idea! I had a hard time helping with the decorating for the reception because I was reliving my son's life!




How would you like to have an ice cream cake for your wedding? It's kept cold with dry ice inside a plexiglass box. You take it off 15 minutes or so before cutting the cake.

This lovely confection was made by Cold Stone Ice Cream Company. It sits on a plastic rack above the dry ice.



Well, 2 sons married and only one kiddo left at home. Holy Cow! Life moves so quickly. I am loving every breath, every moment, every chance to make this life great! The kids had sparklers for the guests as they ran to the car. Life is kind of like that too. It takes a second to get started, blazes hot and sparkles, and then sputters out. I'm glad that after the sputter, I have something even better to look forward to with Christ in Heaven. I don't think I could handle this roller coaster life without knowing there's a terrific prize at the end!

Thanks for sharing a moment of my happiness today,
Angie

He's Married!

This is my oldest son and my new daughter-in-law at the rehearsal dinner. The wedding was so beautiful yesterday!

She had the neatest idea of an informal jeans and pizza party for the rehearsal dinner. So to make it a little more special, we ordered gourmet pizza from the McKenzie River Pizza Co. (a special Montana chain.)

Then I made the couple's favorite dessert-Strawberry Short Cake. They are huge fans of it. So we made it up HUGE :-)

If you'd like the recipe that we tossed together to make this waterfall confection, check the next post. I'll put a picture up with the simple instructions on how to create your own fun & simple dessert that's both casual & elegant.

Angie

Simple & Elegant Strawberry Short Cake

I have a fun 4 ingredient cookbook that uses really simple ingredients. Nope, this one's not in it. I'm sure other people have figured out my trick to a fast & pretty treat, but just in case...

I have a 4 Tier Tea Tray that I bought at Costco over Christmas. It swings into lots of different display styles.

Now for the simple fun:

-Slice strawberries and sprinkle with sugar, stir, and set aside for sugar to dissolve.
-Add angel food cakes from any bakery on each layer of tier trays.
-Fill the center of each angel food cake with sliced strawberries.
-Now for the fun...Dollop (yes, that's right, too cool of a word not to use, lol) 3-4 tubs of whip cream all over each cake.
-Cover the sides and swirl down the tiers in a waterfall of whip cream.
-Now take your sliced strawberries and gently top each cake and gently drop several spoonfuls down the cream from cake to cake.
-Oh no, you are not done until you swirl dark chocolate syrup around each cake and down the strawberry cream waterfall.
-Now top each cake with one huge whole strawberry.
-Of course if you feel like dipping those huge strawberries in chocolate first, it could be awesome.
-Voila! You have a fun, elegant & simple cake that takes you about 20 minutes.



Psst: I found out from a really smart guest that it's easiest to cut an angel food cake with an electric knife so as not to smush the confection. Another thing that works well is a bread knife instead of a cake knife. The serrated edge saws through the cake instead of pushing down on it and scrunching it into the plate.

She Graduated!

We had a really fun graduation party at our house on Monday. My daughter spent the last year in Thailand on an international exchange. Her public high school refused to let her walk in the graduation because the last two credits came from an international school instead. Sad, but we got creative!!!



Here is my beautiful new graduate. We actually held a ceremony at home. Her principal from the international school came to the party and gave her a formal presentation of her diploma. It was truly a wonderful experience.

We combined the colors of all the high schools she attended in the stole from our pastor at church. We must have had around 30 people. And we all sang the march tune as she came down the stairs and paraded to her chair. Then we all gave her both serious and humorous advice on how to get into college, survive at school, get a good job, and move into the adult world successfully.

After lots of laughter, her principal asked the Class of 2008 to stand. Then he called the class alphabetically, lol.

It was totally fun. The last thing we did before cutting the cake...we sang her retreat to the tune of Smurfs! We all rolled with laughter as she got into the fun and games. Since a lot of the advice had to do with Smurfs taking over campus to help her get into college while she ate spaghettios to financially survive, the impromptu Smurfy theme totally fit. I don't think we'll ever forget that day and the joy everyone threw into it to celebrate her accomplishments.

I really hope she enjoyed the party and presentation. She had several nice gifts, her favorite chocolate eclairs, and lots of family and friends to love on her.

So when things don't go as you expect, make them better! No bland cookie cutter graduation day here.

Angie

The Results Are In...

How Do You Huhot?

HuHot Mongolian Grill's national recipe contest ran for 8 weeks. All 27 restaurants participated by sending in their customer favorites (after they won in their local store.)

After serious contemplation, the field was narrowed to 12 grand finalists.

And that is where I came in ;-)

Introducing the distinguished celebrity panel for the How Do You HuHot? national recipe contest:

Tom Anthony of Fresh 104.5 FM radio, Kate Murphy-expert wine columnist for the Missoulian, Angie Breidenbach-Mrs. Missoula America, Monte Turner Montana talk show host of KECI's Montana Today, and Chef Thomas Campbell-President of the Montana Chef's Association.

So who is the winner? I promise to reveal the winning dish as soon as they have been notified...I wish I could be there for that one!

By the way, I hear all the recipes are posted over at the HuHot Mongolian Grill's website. Pop on over and drool, then scoot to the nearest HuHot for a great meal :-D

Here's a fun idea: have a dinner party at a HuHot. Then do a taste testing of your own. Everyone make a dish. (The grillers actually cook it for you.) Then put each dish in the center. Everyone takes a little of each. Vote by secret ballot. Then the winner gets treated to dessert purchased by the other diners:-D No, you can't automatically vote for your own, lol.

Angie

The Pearl Cafe

Here's those photos I promised yesterday :-)



Our 10th anniversary dinner with friends who were married the day before us! Parties don't have to be big to be fun. In fact, we all lost track of time. We waltzed in at 7:30p.m. and were all stunned when it was already 10p.m!

Lucious Tomato Bisque


Dinner was Filet with Port and Roquefort

Oh my gosh! It was so scrumptious. I felt like I could cut the steak with a butter knife. Oh wait, I did! I also swiped my hubbies little, tiny fried onions that were on top of his Smoked Bison Tenderloin with Huckleberry-Zinfandel Sauce. Yummy!

Dessert? Of course!


We traded the camera back and forth for a shot of our Lemon Chiffon with Huckleberry Filling topped with a Marzipan Dome. And the technical name is Princess Cake. The special order is so well worth it! Life would be so dull without this amazing, succulent decadence. (Oh, and you get to pick the cake and filling flavors...)



So there you have it, a place to eat in Montana, an update on what to do for your anniversary (go to dinner with people married the same length of time as you), and design your own special cake! A great night out on the town.
I love The Pearl Cafe' & Bakery!

Angie

The Pearl Cafe

Oh my goodness, am I honored! I would like to introduce to you one of my new sponsors for the Mrs. Montana pageant. And if you have 5 minutes on 4/3/2008, go to www.fresh1045.com at 8:45a.m MST to hear a fun radio show I get to be on. I'll be talking about The Pearl :-D

The Pearl Cafe!

I love this upscale restaurant found in downtown Missoula. You should see the cake Margaret designed for my son's wedding rehearsal dinner! Wait, here it is...


The food is amazing! In fact, we are going back for our own anniversary. Another couple we love dearly were married the night before us. So we are getting together to have a mini anniversary party, just the four of us at The Pearl Cafe.

It's a lovely restaurant with excellent service too. In fact, they were very accommodating for one of our daughter's 18th birthday. Here's her cake...


From pasta to bacon wrapped rabbit (my youngest's favorite dish at The Pearl) you can find unusual delights.

As always, mine are the marzipan on the amazing cakes! So I ordered a lemon chiffon with a marzipan dome similar to the Princess Cake you see above. I have no doubt we will find it scrumptious!

Are you planning a visit to Montana? Are you a regular? Or are you a Missoulian who has never known of this special place? An excellent local spot to explore and relax away an evening.

I promise, you'll find it as much of a treasure as I do :-)
Angie