Sweet Meet

Hello lovely ladies! Just a quick reminder we have a meeting here tomorrow evening at 7pm. I sincerely hope you all are doing much better than I as I am having issues....STRESS! I have laid out a new exercise plan for myself and am hoping that will alleviate some of the stress and help with my eating plan. See you all tomorrow.
Amos

Purse Envy

The purses are knock offs. The highest priced ones are the Coach bags which run about 60-75 dollars. But they are niiiiice..... I have way too many but I can always add more. I mean, a deer mount cost about $500 in order to have a dead deer carcass staring down at me from the wall. That's at least 8 purses! Way better deal for my money, I believe...

I'm doing good I have to say. But the homemade salsa does me in. I know the salsa is a freebie but the crunchy tortilla chips are not! But when I weighed on Tuesday AM, my official day, I was at 210 so 7 lbs down! This is good. I was sick, or "out of sorts" today. Couldn't walk straight, walked crooked to the left. Had funky brain, light headedness, dizziness. Guess my inner ear looks funky now. Had to take Zithromax, bad stomach pain, had to eat bagel with 3 tbsp of cream cheese. But it helped the medicine go down....

Just a big honkin bagel
makes the medicine go down
the medicine go down
medicine go down

With cream cheese, tablespoons
makes the medicine go down
in the most delightful way!!!!

And did you know a 16 oz bottle of Cran Grape juice is like 6 points? That's just horrible. What is this world coming to....

Mols

purse me NOW

ooooohhhhh.....salivate....drool, drool. Talk about a kid in a candy store. Uh, just exactly how much does that arm bling cost a gal? Are those replicas?
I am happy you are doing good Kel. As for me and my own we are trying but not desperately hard I guess. What's wrong with me? Somebody kick me in the ass pleeze...real hard like!
Amos

Web Sites

Here are some good web sites:

www.thedailyplate.com

This website gives you the opportunity to look up just about any food in order to figure out the point value.

http://picasaweb.google.com/pursechicks

This site shows some of the types of purses the girls sell for their purse parties!

Enjoy!
M

Are we making good choices?

Hey Ladies,
How's that water coming? I weighed in this morning and I am up .2
I was extremely excited about that after my hell week last week. I am back on track now and kickin butt. Weight loss here I come. Here is my daily journal today.
Breakfast
1/2 a serving of Raisen bran (that is all I had left) with skim milk 2
banana light yogurt 2
Snack
Banana 2
Lunch
Turkey and Lettus wrap with ff miracle whip 4
cherry tomatos 0
carrots 0
pine nut salad (estimate) 4
chips ahoy 100 calorie pack 2
Snack
a couple bites of an apple before it fell on the ground :o( 0
smart ones salsbury steak with mac and cheese 5
pine nut salad 4
TOTAL POINTS 25
No exercise again today - something I have to work on.
How did everyones weigh in go????
Kel

Coach Bag, oh Coach Bag, Where for art Thou Coach Bag!!

So, my public has spoken. I am to have a purse party and have a purse party soon!! So, ask and you shall receive. My purse ladies are going to host an open house at my house on Saturday October 11th from about 1:00 to 4:00. There will be Coach, Burberry, Channel, Juicy Couture and more. There will be purses and wallets but also (I think?) Tiffany jewelry, sunglasses and shoes? Plus snacks. Tell all your friends! It is the day of Autumnfest at Mt. Olive, but I plan on going in the morning as usual. Can't miss out on all the good crafts and treats!

Mols

Just keep making healthy choices girls.

I hear you Molly...things were tough for me last week too, but this is a new week - so lets stay motivated! Here is my daily journal.
Breakfast
raisen bran with skim 4
Snack
trail mix (breakfast blend) ate throughout the day 2 points for whole bag
Lunch
1/2 wrap with turkey and lettus with ff miracle whip 4
3/4 cup pine nut salad from PnS 4
Loorna doones 200 cal pack 2
Snack
2 kraft carmels 1
Supper
1/2 wrap with turkey and lettus with ff miracle whip 4
kettle corn popcorn 2
23 point day for me and no exercise.
I am off to bed so I can get up and exercise tomorrow. Night night and keep chugging!

Crappy Day!!!

What a crappy day for my weight loss journey. I was doing SO great. I was keeping my points within the numbers. I can't say I was exercising yet, but at least the diet part was on track. Then I just dropped the ball. Had breakfast burritos from McD's for breakfast. Had kettle corn and 5 cheese curds at the Autumn Fest downtown. Had an Orange Julius. Had a DANG! rootbeer (which by the way is the yummiest root beer I have ever had!) Then I came home and partied at the neighbors and had her homemade salsa and tons of tortilla chips along with a beer! Then home for more kettle corn. I don't know what the heck is wrong with my brain sometimes...... It's so frustrating. I saw Ms. Amy at the Autumn Fest and she said this week sucked for her. So I guess it is just that time of year. Maybe our bodies think they have to store up fat for the winter for hibernation. That's all I can come up with. What do you think!

Mols

Molly's Email

Hi ladies. Just wanted to pass on my email in case anyone needs it:

edandmols@verizon.net

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Lost in Space

Hellooooo. I was going to email my weight but I don't have your address Molly. Don't know how it came off my address book but it probably was our computer gremlins. Anyhoo, I will tell you this much, I am up. Surprise surprise. I fell off last Thursday and am just trying to get back in the swing. I have been walking and increased the fiber but have been real lax in the water department. I will weigh in from now on this coming Sunday so I am on board with you all.
Amos

Terrific Tomato Tart ala Amy

Here's the YUMMMY Tomato Tart curtesy of Amy!!

12 sheets phyllo dough (14 inches x 9 inches)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp dry bread crumbs
2 tbsp prepared pesto
3/4 cups crumbled feta cheese, divided
1 medium tomato, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 large yellow tomato, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1/4 tsp pepper
5-6 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced

Place one sheet of phyllo dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper; brush with 1/2 tsp oil and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp bread crumbs. (keep remaining phyllo covered with plastic wrap and a damp towel to prevent it from drying out) Repeat layers, being careful to brush oil all the way to edges.

Fold each side 3/4 inch toward center to form a rim. Spread with pesto and sprinkle with half of the feta cheese. Alternately arrange the red and yellow tomato slices over cheese. Sprinkle with the pepper and remaining feta cheese.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until crust is golden brown and crispy. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove parchment paper before cutting. Garnish with basil.

Makes 8 servings.
One serving contains:

Calories: 135
Fat grams: 7 grams
Fiber: 1 gram
Points in one serving: 3 points

Rules of Mom

I am a parenting magazine junkie. Just wanted to get that out there. I have subscriptions to: Parenting, Parents, Family Fun, Women's Day, Good Housekeeping and Family Circle. I get free from work: Wonder Time, Child and Cookie. I read them all. I can't get enough. So anyway, Wonder Time has turned out to be one of my favorite magazines because the articles are so clever and cute and funny. They aren't the usual articles. I tend to even save a lot of the articles because they are so well written. For example, the article about a Dad's obsession for Star Wars and his excitement when he found out he was having a boy and now he could pass on this legacy. I'll let you read it sometime, I laughed so hard I almost peed a little. It made me think of my brother who just trekked to Minneapolis with his brood of 4 kids to see some Star Wars exhibit at some museum. (snicker) Anyway, to the point, which has nothing to do with Weight Watchers. But it is cute. Today I read an article entitled "Them's the Rules". It was all about rules Moms make up. Here are some of my favorites:

1. Whoever made it gets to flush it.
2. Whichever child (or adult) is being the "stinker" of the week is on pooper-scooper duty.
3. Whever out and about, a child can touch anything but only with one finger. If they break this rule, they have to spend the rest of the time out and about with their hands on top of their head.
4. You can run around naked only in your room.
5. No steamrolling the cat.
6. If Mom or Dad has said no to something and y ou whine, the answer will still be no. But if you hold the back of your hand to your forehead (in your best impersonation of a damsel in distress) and say, "Alas, I fear I shall perish without it!" the answer might (just might) be changed to a yes.
7. There are no bad words, just bad places to use those words. For example, the f-word and the s-word are onlyl appropriate in rock music, so you can't use them until your a certified rock star.
8. If you want to watch an inappropriate move, such as the movie "300", it isn't forbidden because you may be scared, it is forbidden because you won't understand it. So you can see the movie "300" as soon as you write a three page paper on the Battle of Thermopylae.

And in our house the number one rule is:

Hugs, not hits! (specifically aimed toward Gabe of course)

So what are your rules?

Mols

Here is my journal for the day

Breakfast
Raisen bran with skim milk 4
banana 2
Lunch
16 wheat thins 3
Healthy chicken soup 3
Supper
Smartones meatloaf 5
green giant baby veg medly 2
Snacks
5 starbursts 2.5
1 apple 1
nibble of chocolate 2
TOTAL POINTS 24.5

I got all of my water in today, but did not get on the treadmill.

Sunday 9/14/08

Hi ladies. Here are our stats for today:

Name Weight Fat% Water %
Amy 185.2 39% 44.5% (weight from Tuesday, 8/9/08)
Heather 259 52.3% 34.8%
Michelle 179.8 35.6% 47%
Kelly 166.8 38.4% 44.8%
Molly 212.4 47.1% 38.6%

Great job! For Ms. Amy, we will get an updated weight on Tuesday (and anyone else that wants to weigh in Tuesday as well, just email me. Ms. Heather, don't sweat it. Just sweat! (And that ha ha ha)leads me to our goal(s) for the week. First, we need to exercise a minimum of 30 minutes, 3 days out of the week. For those that are already doing that, the goal is an increase in fiber rich vegetable consumption.

And to get serious for a minute.... We are all in this together and we all have the same goals. We will have successes and failures. We will have great weeks, and not so great weeks. We will have joyful weigh-ins and weigh-ins that make us cringe and want to eat chocolate cake. But keep it up and we will reach our goals. We can do it! Just believe!

Rock on and peace out...

Mols

Sunday AM - still awake

And it is Sunday, 12:27 AM. I am still awake. As usual but I should probably be trying to sleep. I am really hungry though. That might be part of the problem. I only have 5 points left of my extra 35 and I don't get my next 35 until Tuesday. Sunday and Monday are going to be LOOOONNNNGGG days. I really utilize those 35 points. I cherish them and I treat them like gold. It's like a little hidden stash of Abdallah dark chocolate vanilla creams. But instead it is a hidden stash of extra food when it seems as if I will pass out from hunger. Which is what I feel like all the time. (grrrrrrrr - the sound of my stomach growling) I know that I need to keep with it. I have only dropped about 7ish pounds but I know that with even that small weight loss, I walk taller and feel better and have more bounce in my step. I know my pants don't fit better yet but in my mind they do. I can't say I never squeeze some junk food into my daily points, cuz I do. That's why I like the points system. I can still can have that Pizza Hut thin crust mushroom and fresh tomato pizza. I just have to realize that one slice is 3 points. So two slices maximum. But I think the hardest times come when I am out and about with the kids. It would be so easy to run through a drive through but I know I won't find anything that has low points, unless it is a glass of water or a glass of black coffee.

Enough rambling. See some of you in church tomorrow!

Mols

Awesome post video from my favorite blog.

Hello Ladies,
I just wanted to share a really good video post from one of my favorite bloggers Roni. Check it out and let me know what you think :o) It is right here ->http://ronisweigh.com/2008/09/ask-roni-_v08s3-dealing-with-jealously-emotional-eating-impatience.html#more-1016

Here is my journal for today
Breakfast
grape nuts with skim milk 4
Lunch
Bowl of chili 5
15 blue chips with homemade salsa 3
100 cal pak shortbread cookies 2
Supper
3 pc corn on the cob 3
2 pc bread 1
pb & jelly 2
Snacks
1 apple 1
1 banana 1
bag of kettle corn 2
No exercise today :o(
Total points today 24

What is everyones weight from this weeks weigh in? Did you all do well?

Weigh In Woes?

Well ladies I only received two weigh in numbers (and one of them was mine). I'm down 5 lbs (although keep in mind, it was that time of the month so I shed some water and lining pounds) and Kelly lost 3.8 lbs! Go Kelly!!! Awesome! Heather will be weighing in on Sunday and I haven't heard from anyone else. Let me know ladies, unless you are weighing in on Sunday. And we start another week..... Good luck again!

Mols

MOPS, Oh My!

Well, tomorrow is our weigh in. I am not looking forward to it. I've kept my points within my target and did use most of my 35 points but did not go over. So that's good. But I'm afraid I'm going to step on that scale tomorrow and be disappointed. I just have a bad feeling about it. We shall see....

Tomorrow I have my first MOPS meeting of the year which means good food including cheesy potatoes (usually). That could definitely be a problem for me. I have a large weak spot for cheesy potatoes. I'm going to have to sit on my hands. We shall see.

Good luck girls!!

Mols

Kellys food journal for September 8, 2008

Hello Ladies,
I made it through my first day and it was exciting and overwhelming at the same time. I think I am going to love it though! Here is my food journal today. I even got up at 6 am and walked for 1.52 miles for 30 minutes. Hope the scale reflects my new journey tomorrow.
Breakfast
raisen bran with skim milk 4
Snack
granola bar 2
Lunch
bowl of chili (fresh - no cheese) 5
2 pc light bread 1
grapes 1
apple 1
Supper
turkey sandwich 2 light mayo 4
home made salsa with blue chips 4
TOTAL POINTS 22 (RIGHT ON TARGET) :O)
Good luck everyone with your weigh in tomorrow! Hope it is a deduction!

Meow Meow Help!

So, there's a cat up my tree. WAY up my tree. The backstory on this is.... I sat down to dinner tonight with Emily. She said this to us, "hey, a man came to the door today looking for his cat and I told him I didn't know where it was". To which both Ed and I after whipping our heads around, screamed in unison, "you didn't open the door to this stranger claiming to have lost his cat did you????" And of course she said yes. Now is the time when we both freak about her opening the door to strangers and especially ones that are using a very casebook ploy to lure a child away such as missing a dog or cat. And of course Emily cried and cried as she thought we were mad at her. We weren't we were just freaked out thinking some pedophile came to our door! Then she mentioned that he looked like the guy "Bob" who lives down the street who came to our block party and he had a picture of a orange and white striped cat. Well, now we at least knew it WAS Bob from down the street by description of he and his cat. But no, we had not seen a cat.

Well move forward to a bunch of us neighbors having our nightly neighborhood campfire, this time at our pad, and we all of a sudden hear a little "meow" coming from the woods. We think we had imagined it but it happens again. Or neighbor boy Brady flashes the light around and up the trees and low and behold, there sits Bob's orange cat up our tree about 50 feet. So we have a cat in our tree and we don't know how to get it down. It's terrified to the point that it tried to pee or spray on us from the branch. If we go forward, it goes higher, if we wait and try to coax him out he comes just close enough to touch with fingertips but can't get a grip. Finally we give up and leave open bags/jars of cat food to try and tempt him out. What do you do?

Well, it's late and I am going to bed. Took a sleeping pill, my little blue friend! Now they are coming up to tell me that they got the cat out! Better go check....... INTERMISSION........

And they did! Don't know how but ai have another cat sitting in my cat carrier. Now he is residing in my 1/2 bath accross from my bedroom since it is 12:00 AM and I'm sure Bob is sleeping. Tomorrow we will try and bring kitty back but for now it is living in the BR with litter food and water. Good enough for an evening stay. My cats are FREAKIN out from the smell of a new cat. Good thing it is not staying! But that is behind us now.....

Bob will be happy, MEow!

M

Dizzy Diva Dies for Donuts

Too funny! I thought I was the only one walking around in the starvation mode. I am also feeling that way and almost went off the deep end just last nite. Gosh! It's only been 5 days! I truly believe that this bod is so used to chowing whatever and whenever, that this restriction crap throws it off kilter. Anyhoo, I have found a godsend. Orville's 94% FF popcorn! Man, I pop me a bag and throw it in between the front seats and off I go. Big bottle of Crystal lite (its no Bud) and shazam! your taking that edge off for next to nothing. Thats one of my biggest issues. In the car and starvin and those arches look lucious. I get tempted.......I think of the GIRLZ!
(thats you guys)I think this only lasts for 2 weeks. Hellava long time I say.
Amos

Points Schmoints....

So, it is Friday. I've made it this far. I'm obsessed with points and finding the yummiest foods for the lowest points. I have the need to feed. I had a small amount of cheese curds today. Couldn't help myself. But I was cautious and sat there with a little slip of paper, marking a little check mark counting off each curd that went in. After awhile, they just were not worth it. So I sampled but did not gorge. For me, that is a victory. (I went to Hudson's for lunch with a friend). For me that is a large victory. I ordered the soup and salad. I probaby ate 1/4 of what was in the bowl of soup and tried to eat more of the salad (which by description was only lettuce and tomatoes as I picked off the onions and olives) which I only lightly dipped a few times in dressing. Yes, those curds put me over into my 35 points which I have reserved until this time. But, a victory it was. Thanks to Tupperware and my obsession with it, I have two of their new lunch box kits and have used both this week. Again, a victory as by bringing my own lunch, it is 100% healthier (and cheaper). Again, a victory for me. But I am still very hungry. I'm trying a new vitamin supplement thing that a friend ordered for me. Didn't know I was ordering vitamins but I guess once she thought I should take a vitamin, she just put them in my hands and said "take!". Which is what I guess I need most of the time. Anyway, they are supposed to be really good and are supposed to make you feel energetic and full, as in not hungry full. We shall see as I feel hungry every minute. That's my biggest problem this week. No matter what I do, I'm still hungry all the time. What should I do with that???

Your ramblingness,
Mols

Her Flatness

I don't know about you peeps but its only day 5 for me and I already feel my pouch getting smaller.Yeehaw! I usually go gung-ho on exercise when I start back and then I end up on the injured list. This time I am taking my boy Dasher for a walk every morn as soon as Jacie is on the bus. Definitely feeling it in my shins already. I hope you all have time to get in a 30 min. walk daily. I will try to start jogging after I reach my first goal of 10%. Do you think we all could do something special just for us when we attain it?
Amos

Kelly's food journal for September 4th

I had a 24 point day today (trying to stay between 22 and 25).
Breakfast
grape nuts with skim milk 4
coffee with coffemate creamer and splenda 2
Lunch
2 pieces of light bread 1
9 slices of honey ham with mustard 2
1/2 cup cottage cheese 2
Supper
6 inch sweet chicken teriyaki subway sub with honey oat bread 7
Snacks
16 wheat thins 3
1 TBSP peanut butter 2
3 blue chips with my homemade salsa 1
Exercise
walked on the treadmill for 34 minutes at 3.7 mph
2 miles and burned 258 calories

Ms. Tater Tot

I kind of figured it out using 1/2 of a 2 lb bag of OreIda tater tots, 1 lb of 90% lean ground beef and one can of cream of mushroom soup. So give or take if you divide the pan into 9 servings, it would be about 205 calories, 11 grams of fat and 1.2 grams of fiber. That is if all the ingredients match to what I figured. That would put it at 5 points but depending on how big your serving size was, I would go with 6 so you're right!

Mols

yum yum

ok ladies

I need help with breaking down a recipe. Made tater-tot casserole and ate a cup and a half. I used a pound of lean gr. beef. 1 can regular cream of mushroom and half a bag of OreIda tater tots. Pleeze tell me I was a good girl! I put down 6 points for this. Um, 9 servings for a 8x8 pan sounded right.

Amos

Fiber One Bars

I found a new Fiber One chewy granola bar. Well maybe it is not a new flavor for all of you but for me, I had never seen it. You can get a big box from Sam's for a reasonable price. They have the chocolate and also the oatmeal caramel which is YUMMY!! At only 2 points a piece, I can handle that!

Mols

One more thing to add

It is 23 weeks until Heather and Joes wedding. That is a 25 pound loss if we do it right ladies. Just a little FYI for you all.

Kelly's food journal for the day

Just thought I would post my food journal (in case anyone cares to see it).
Have a great (skinny) week!
Breakfast
Banana light yogurt 2
Banana 2
Lunch
2 pc light bread 1
9 piecese thin sliced honey ham 2
1/2 cup cottage cheese 2
3 cherry tomatos 0
Supper
4 (1/4 cups) egg subsitute 2
salsa (2 Tablespoons) 0
red and green peppers 0
1/4 cup shredded cheese 3
glass skim milk 2
Snacks
100 calorie pack shrtbread cookies 2
1 large apple 2
100 calorie pack oreo 2
bag of 98 ff kettle corn popcorn 3
Total pts today 25

Tuesday 9/2/08 - Meeting Minutes

Good Morning! We had our first meeting of the minds last night. This is what we came up with...

We will meet at Amy's house every 2 weeks on Sunday evenings at 7 PM. So our next two upcoming meetings are Sunday, September 14 and Sunday, September 29. We will weigh in at home every week and report those findings to me (Molly). You can report your results in your current weight or pounds lost for that particular week. Whichever is more comfortable. Our first goal that was decided upon was our goal of losing 10% of our current weights. Although, I decided to break that goal down a little for myself and have my first goal to be dropping down below 200, then 10% which would be 5 lbs more. So you can work it in your own home how you want it. But our first group goal is the 10%. Along with that, our smaller goal this week is to drink more water.

At our meeting last night we discussed little shortcuts and tips to help start the program. Some of those tips included taking a frozen dinner (LeanCuisine, WW, Healthy Choice, etc.) and dumping that SMALL meal over a plate of cooked vegetables to make the meal more filling yet not increasing the points by much. Also discussed was "tricking" the metabolism by changing your points daily. So if your figured daily points total is 25 (and you have that extra 35 for the week remember), you could have say 27-28 points one day and the alternate days do say 23-24. This way your metabolism does not reach a "comfort level". We also sampled (thanks Michelle!) a very yummy 2 point apple/oatmeal cookie. Once I have that recipe, I will post it on the blog. Or anyone that gets it can post it as well.

We also weighed in on Amy's scale (which by the way, is a cool yet very HONEST scale). Here are our weights from last night:

Participant - Weight - Fat % - Water % - 10% goal

Amy - 188.6 - 40.1 - 43.7 - 19 lbs
Heather - 256 - 45.9 - 36.2 - 26 lbs
Kelly - 170.8 - 38.8 - 44.6 - 17 lbs
Michelle - 184.6 - 37.2 - 45.8 - 18 lbs
Molly - 217 - 42.8 - 41.7 - 22 lbs

So there you go. Not pretty but hey, we're all in this together so let's get busy!

Mols

I'm HUNGRY!!!!

It's Tuesday. Only my second day. But I have to say, score a point for my willpower. I was out and about with Gabe and was thinking at about 12:00, boy I could use something to eat. But everything I thought of would have severely depleted my points for the day. 29 sounds like a lot to start with, BUT IT ISN'T!!! I seriously had narrowed it down to a subway sub or a steak sandwich from Culvers, which I figured out, if you take everything off and eat just the meat and bun it is 6 points. But I made it all the way home and had a turkey sandwich instead and only knocked off I think 4 points. I have to figure it out because today I added a little smidge of light mayo. Bread and turkey alone equals, BLEAH!!! But I'm proud because I had to pass McD's, BK, Subway, Chinease food, Culvers and many other temptations to get home. It sucked but now I feel good. Well, I have an "I'm starving" headache, but at least now I can eat more tonight!!

Mols

Im starting on Tuesday, September 2nd everyone!!

Hello all,
I just got back from vacation and had a total pig out before I start day! UGG! I am weighing in tomorrow night at Amy's but starting the program tomorrow. Let's getter done this time ladies!Thinnest one wins, so let's all win! NOTHING TASTES AS GOOD AS SKINNY FEELS!
Good Luck
Kel

Recipe

Hi! Here I am on my first day. I'M HUNGRY!!!! It stinks. My body is not used to surviving on so little food and so little junk food! I hate it but I suppose, it takes a while to get used to the change. I've posted a recipe for trying at home. It sounded good and it is from a Weight Watchers "Dining for Two" cookbook. Happy cooking!

Baked Potato Soup

2 baked potatoes
2 strips bacon
4 scallions, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (14 oz) can reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/2 cup fat-free half and half
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1. Coarsely chop the potatles (leave the skin on); set aside.
2. Cook the bacon until crisp; drain the bacon and set aside. Pour off and discard all but 1 teaspoon of the bacon drippings from the pan.
3. Add 2 of the scallions and the garlic to the drippings in pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the broth, salt, cayenne, and chopped potatoes, mashing the potatoes slightly with a wooden spoon to break them up a bit. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until heated through, 2-3 minutes. Stir in the half and half and parsley; return to a simmer. Serve the soup sprinkled with the bacon and the remaining 2 sliced scallions.

Per serving (2 1/4 cups) - 7 points