Better Together

Weight Watchers has a slogan Better Together. That has never been truer for Beckie Blanton this time around. I met Beckie a couple years ago when I joined Weight Watchers for my final time. Beckie was one of the smiling faces that welcomed me to the tribe. I could always count on Beckie for encouragement and insight. Then all of the sudden, Beckie was missing. I couldn’t wrap my mind around how such a committed member could just disappear. Well, Beckie was just human like the rest of us. She had gotten discouraged with her progress and dropped out. Every time I would see a post from Beckie on Facebook, I would wonder what happened. Could I have done anything to have helped her along the way? Is she sick?… Why? I’ll tell you why, life happened. She was also fighting the weight loss battle alone on the home front. Let me share Beckie and Jim’s story with you. Beckie met her husband of 52 years while she was in high school. To hear Beckie tell it, she was a new girl in school and she quietly caught Jim’s eye a few months after meeting him. To hear Jim tell it, he was a fine studious gentleman minding his own business with no interest in girls. Whatever the case may be, they ended up dating. Beckie went to college in the fall of 1965 and Jim went to the Army where he ended up in Germany. Jim said he needed space and time to think. He must not have needed that much time and space, because on February 2, 1966, he came in on leave. They were married on the 7th. I don’t think Jim was as hard to catch as he was trying to make us believe. Like most of us, Jim and Beckie lived many years never needing to worry about their weight or what they ate. Jim contributes his success to 30 years in the military which kept him lean and fit. I imagine that Beckie was like most ladies of her generation. Weight was not much of an issue because they didn’t have all the convenience foods we consume today, or a restaurant on every corner for that matter. Families prepared wholesome meals and worked hard in the process to get them on the table. The lack of all these modern conveniences was really to their advantage. Fast forward to a time in Jim and Beckie’s life that was pivotal in how Beckie related to food. Unbeknownst to Beckie she had a brain tumor that effected her ability to taste. Beckie shared that she began preparing the same thing all the time because she liked chewy foods. Beckie had compensated for her loss of taste with the ability to sense texture. Not many of us are going to over eat when all we are enjoying is texture. Beckie had surgery to remove the tumor and her sense of taste was restored. She recalls being served a tomato while she was in the hospital and from that moment on it was history. Beckie had never had an issue with over indulging, but with her new sense of taste, she found it extremely hard to control portions. Just imagine losing your taste and having it restored. Bless her heart, she should be commended for maintaining as well as she did. Beckie realized she needed help and she joined Weight Watchers in 1998. She had great success and even made lifetime twice. You know what that means, just like most of us, Beckie is a repeat offender. In September of this year, Beckie returned to Weight Watchers. This time was different though, she brought with her one of the missing links, support from home, her husband, Jim. After retiring from the military in February 1995, Jim was enjoying his retirement. He describes his life as blissfully happy. He enjoyed cooking and eating which brought with it weight gain. Jim recalls being in denial of the affects for 20+ years until he realized he and Beckie both needed to change. Armed with her husband’s commitment to get healthier together, Beckie and Jim have found the Weight Watchers slogan BetterTogether really is true. Beckie has lost 19.2 pounds in 12 weeks and Jim has lost around 10. They are both enjoying this adventure together. They enjoy tracking and planning meals together. They plan meals that will help them reach their goals of a happier, healthier future. One of Jim’s biggest sacrifices is sweets. He really misses the days of eating pie carefree. Not to mention the fact Beckie might be having a little too much fun slicing their pies and freezing them in portions. For some reason Jim hasn’t embraced sharing a slice of pie with her . I have a treat that will make both Jim and Beckie happy. You see, I love pie as much as Jim. I have created this recipe for Jim’s Apple Pie just to show Jim that we are better together.

Jim’s Apple Pie

Serves 2@ 5SP each

4 sheets of phyllo dough

3 medium apples diced or sliced

3 tablespoons of sugar free syrup

Cinnamon to taste

Butter flavored Cooking spray

1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 375

Peel and dice apples

Place apples , sugar free syrup and cinnamon ( I just sprinkle a liberal amount in mine but it is to your preference) in a microwave safe bowl and cook apples for 3-4 minutes until tender. Don’t overlook or you will have applesauce. Stir well to combine after cooking.

Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray.

Lay out phyllo dough 1 sheet at a time on the cookie sheet, spray each layer with butter flavored spray and sprinkling with cinnamon.

When you have all of the pastry stacked, spoon the apples in the center, reserving some of the liquid for later.

Fold the ends of the pastry over the apples forming a burrito style roll.

Flip the pastry over , placing the seam side down.

Spray the pastry one last time , sprinkle with cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon of granulated sugar.

Bake about 12-15 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.

Slice into two servings.

Place each serving on a plate and top with a small serving of ice cream. I used a small cookie scoop and gave each slice two scoops. (I weighed the ice cream and it was 28 grams)

Spoon the reserved syrup from the apples over the ice cream.

Just in case Jim’s sweet tooth hasn’t been filled, top with 1 tablespoon of Fat Free Reddi Wip.

For those following Weight Watcher, each serving is 5SP including the ice cream and Reddi Wip.

Better Together Jim and Beckie Blanton ❤️