FLOWER-POT-PALOOZA!!!

As Spring blossoms for most of us, the barrage of clay flower pots will choke the aisles of your favorite home improvement stores, and we are going to show you that they can be used for much more than just petunias!  Plain or painted they will amaze you with their versatility!  REMINDER:  Any suggestions using food require you to fully wash and dry the pieces with a mild dish soap.  They will take time to fully dry since the clay will hold some water!

SAUCER

POT

    

• Cake Stand- Place a pot upside dwn and top with a larger saucer also upside down. Use an epoxy to glue the pieces together. 
  
• Twine or Yarn Holder- Place a pot upside down on a sauce the same size as the top lip of the pot and pull your twine or yarn through the drainage hole in the bottom (now the top) for non-tangling use!   
  
• Pizza Stone
• Garlic Roaster-Same setup as the twine holder but smaller (and no twine, duh!)
• Chip and Dip Bowl- Glue a small pot onto a larger saucer.  Add chips and guacamole and go!
• Cover Food at Picnics or Cook Outs 
• Silverware Holder
• Pendant Lamp Shade- Add a pot to a pendant lamp kit!
  
• Bird Bath-  Get creative with your epoxy on this one!  Connect the pots top to top and bottom to bottom, until you reach your desired height.  Add a medium sized saucer for a base and a larger saucer for the actual bath. (painted below)
  
• Gift Container- Add seeds and a trowel or use for an Easter basket.  Wrap in cellophane!
• Kindling Holder-  Place a large pot next to your fireplace or fir pit.
• Fish Tank Cave- Set a small pot on it's side and nestle it in the gravel at the bottom of the tank.
  
• Mosaics- Create something pretty with all those broken glazed pots!  Take the pieces and grout them onto a table or other surface.

  

  Timmy made this beautiful creation with his collection of broken flower pots.

• Fire Pit/BBQ Grill-  Sink a large pot into the ground approximately 1/3rd of the way down.  Surround with crushed stone.  Add wood and light a blaze!  For a grill,  line a medium sized pot with foil. Fill the pot approximately 1/2 full with sand.  Next, add charcoal or wood and a grate (either a perforated pizza pan, cookie cooling wrack, etc).  Be sure to always grill outside when using charcoal and remember the pot will get EXTREMELY hot.  If you must move it before it cools, use the saucer to gently pull it.  Use a second saucer on top when you need to extinguish the fire.
  
  
  
  
  

MEAL OF THE MONTH: MARCH

This month's entree is quick and easy!  Perfect for an early Spring evening full of errands.

Thai Vegetable Ravioli "Quick" Soup

-64 oz chicken stock
-2 large carrots, coarsely chopped
-1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped
-1 medium onion, quartered
-2 medium potatoes, large dice
-1 cup Brussels sprouts, halved
- 1 (13 oz) bag frozen cheese ravioli 
-Thai Green Curry Spice blend or traditional curry powder, to taste
-Salt, to taste

Combine all ingredients except ravioli .   Being to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Simmer partially covered for 1-2 hours.  

During the last 5-7 minutes, add frozen ravioli.  Continue to simmer until  ravioli  float to top.  

Portion into bowls and garnish with cilantro if you'd like a burst of freshness.

* Make it your completely vegetarian by using vegetable stock in place of chicken stock.  You could also add shredded chicken for some protein.  Also, you could experiment with different types of ravioli or tortellini!

* The Dangold Thai Green Curry blend was purchased at Christmas Tree Shop.  You can easily sub this for yellow curry powder easily found in the international aisle. 

Now that you have been good and had a healthy, low calorie dinner now its to CELEBRATE spring in Vermont with a maple syrup delight!

Maple Bread Pudding

3/4 cup, plus 1/4 cup Vermont maple syrup

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

2 tbsp room temperature butter

6 slices high quality, firm bread with or without crust

4 eggs, plus 2 additional egg yolks

2 cups light cream

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp sea salt

2 tsp vanilla extract or rum

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Grease a 3 Quart baking dish.  Pour in lemon juice and 3/4 cup syrup.  Butter each slice of bread on one side and cut into 3/4 inch cubes.  In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, egg yolks, cream, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and vanilla/rum.  Add bread cubes and toss just until coated.  Pour into baking dish.  Bake for 1 hour.  The syrup will sink to the bottom to create a thick maple layer.  Drizzle with 1/4 cup maple syrup and serve!

Variations: Add raisins (or rum soaked raisins), walnuts, pecans, dried cranberries or cherries.  You could dollop of whipped cream (add cinnamon to the whipped cream for extra note).  Try making the pudding with Challah bread to celebrate Easter!  

New Year's Resolution Booster Shot!

We all have at one time or another made the dreaded New Year's Resolution.  Even if you have managed to hold it together till now, Spring is coming, and those promises of loosing a few pounds are replaced milkshakes and ice cream cones!  We've decided to give you a morale booster shot to help propel you into the warmer weather with even more commitment than before!  Try these tips from the staff at CELEBRATE!

1. Go public: Start a blog, create a Facebook group or fan page, tweet daily, start an Tumblr or Instagram page!  Going public holds you accountable to your audience.  Remember to be honest!  Someone might see you on the street and know if you have been lax.  Also, your audience will act as an amazing support system offering encouragement and motivation! 
2. Get a partner and complete for money each week.  For example, Kathleen and I check in weekly and whomever loses the least amount of weight must pay a dollar into the other's "kitty" or weight loss "fund" envelope.  By the time you are finished, one of you will have enough for the new bathing suit or pair of running shoes.  Plus having a partner again helps to keep you motivated!
3. Reassess your weight loss goal and make sure that it is reasonable and that the time you have given yourself is realistic enough to achieve your target weight.
4. Start a food diary!  Keep track of all your meals, snacks, drinks, etc.  Record the food, calories, etc.  Be honest and share the information with a partner to stay honest.  You can even keep a photographic journal using your smartphone or camera phone.  Just remember it's a lot less embarrassing to record an apple or celery sticks than a double cheeseburger and a large french fry.  Consult the internet for ideal daily calorie intake for your gender.  
5. Make sure you have a healthy plan when an unhealthy craving strikes!  First start by drinking 8-16 oz of cold water.  Your body works harder to warm the water up as you digest it.  Frequently, when you think you are hungry you are actually thirsty!  If hydrating yourself doesn't seem to work, try distracting yourself.  Take a short walk around the neighborhood,  go fold laundry,  have an impromptu dance party!  If you still have cravings after about 15 minutes, have a healthy snack such as almonds, raisins, or dark chocolate (darker the better but also not a whole bar).  For some people, this is even too much of a temptation.   
6. Weight yourself daily!  This helps keep you cognizant of your weight.  It also helps you to make connections between what you eat and how it effects the fluctuation of your day-to-day weight.
7. Don't keep sugary, fatty, high calorie foods in the house.  It's not about the calorie count necessarily because many healthy snacks are high in calories and heart healthy fats but more about the make up of the snack.  Over processed foods are bad for the body.  We all know junk food when we see it.
8. Drink 16 oz of water shortly before halving a meal.  You also should drink 16 oz of water immediately when you walk up and right before you go yo bed.
9. Literally walk away! With discounted holiday candy everywhere, do your best  and avoid it.
10. Visualize something off-putting or "gross" to help avert you from eating something.  (Ex. That fudge sure does look like dog shit)
11. Eat healthy and eat real!  What good is a diet bar if you end up eating a dozen in one sitting?  Instead, eat a healthy well-balanced meal of 2/3rd vegetables and 1/3 lean protein.
12. If you are able to exercise, and by this we don’t necessarily mean hours at a gym, do it.  Walk to the corner and back.  Eventually, you might walk all the way around the block.  Anything is better than nothing.

We’d like to say listen to yourself because you know yourself better than anyone else, but if you only listen to your old undisciplined self, you’ll still be over weight and making up reasons why you can’t seem to lose.  So…try some of these things out for a month and see how it goes!