30 Days About Me: Recipe (I Can Be A Foodie Too!)

Alrighty peeps, I know some of you have read this before (this is 2 years old, how times flies!) But I don't cook, like ever. So I had to repost because trying to re-create goodness in the kitchen could be dangerous!!

I love reading about my blogging buddies yummy culinary creations! I wish scrumptious aromas often filled the air in my own kitchen. Well, I've decided to do something about it. I too can document my fabulous food concoctions! 

Today's assistant will be my lovely daughter.

The delicatessen of choice? Box cupcakes, yum :)

Step 1: Turn box over and read the back, collect ingredients.

(after you chug a glass of wine)

Step 2: Pick out your cupcake cups.

(this will eliminate any unnecessary cleanup)

Step 3: Put cups into pan, arrange in a colorful pattern, a MUST!

(in my experience it makes the cupcakes taste better, i swear)

Step 4: Put packaged mix, eggs, water, and oil into large bowl.

(if you spill the powder as it comes out of the bag just scoop it off the floor and add to bowl, no one will know!)

Step 5: Make the hired help do the mixin'.

(watch her though, she can be a real messy cook)

Step 6: Time for a taste test!

(nothin' like some raw egg goodness!)

Step 7: Does it taste good? if it doesn't then abort immediately.

(OR finish the yucky cupcakes and give to a friend!)

Step 8: If it does taste good, then lick the mixer beaters!

(am I the only one who's tongue can't reach the center pole?)

Step 9: Admire your handy mixing skills, and thank the help.

(meaning bribe her with candy so she'll leave and quit eating it)

Step 10: Pour mix into cups, stick in oven.

*be sure to turn the oven on... VERY important.

(note the beautifully clean oven? the advantages of being a bad cook!)

Step 11: Banish the mixer the the "chamber of never used appliances."

(kind of like the "Island of Misfit Toys" without the island, or the misfit toys)

Step 12: Take out of oven and place on a plate to cool.

(be sure to keep out of reach of dogs. They like cupcakes on the counter... apparently.)

Steps 13 - 15 are not available due to next batch being left in too long, smoke detector going off and hands being burned trying to remove said burned cupcakes from the oven without pot holder. *ouch* No children or animals were harmed in the making of this post.

Good luck and happy baking!

au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time...

Great School & A Change Is A Comin'

The other day I talked about my kiddies 1st day of school pictures. CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL THOSE PICTURES. This week has been a busy one, I now have a 2nd grade daughter and 3rd grade son. Look how much they've grown! How does that happen? 

(yes, I am aware that I need to sweep my dusty porch!!)

I may have said this before but I'll say it again, I love the kids school! They get 2 days of P.E. each week, prayer before lunch over the loud speaker (yes this is a public school!), and the best teachers a mama could ask for. Both kids have been blessed with great teachers and a good group of kids in their classes. The biggest advantage to living in a small town is that I am close personal friends with much of the teaching staff, so I always know what's going on regarding my kids education. 

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Health update: My hubby has been doing pretty good with his health. His heart is strong and his little health scare has created great changes in our home. We are still eating very healthy, my husband has dropped 40 pounds! (way to go sweetie!) I have dropped 15, sure not as impressive but I am working hard on it (most of the time). 

(no that is not us, but I thought if it was a real picture of us running it might scare you! AHHHH! Image me 50 pounds heavier and my hubby would NEVER wear spandex pants!!) 

In the next chapter of our healthy lifestyle/weight loss journey we will be doing a full body detox. I am scared out of my mind! We have never done this, I have no idea what to expect. So in preparation of this body cleansing I ate some cheesecake... What? I figured if we're going to detox might as well say good bye to an old friend, ha ha.

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I hope you have had a great week. I hope to fall into my back to school rhythm very soon where I can juggle all these house hold chores and get back on track with my playstation Zumba (oh yeah, I do that. LOVE IT!) Well, I must be off. My Friday night glass of red wine is calling my name. 

au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time... 

To Veg, Revisited...

This is an old blog of mine from over 2 years ago. Seeing as my husbands health is a serious concern these days, I am taking our family nutrition to a whole new level. The black text is new input, my views have changed on a few things. Hope you enjoy :)

People always say "Knowledge is power" this is very true. But, knowledge can also be a burden in a way. Let me explain:

Before I had children I was a successful vegetarian for about a year. Then one day my husband and I were eating lunch at Ruby Tuesdays. He got up to use the restroom and when he returned to the table his cheeseburger was gone, I ate it. I couldn't help it, something in me needed to eat it. Well, that's how we found out we were going to be parents. My body needed those proteins and it didn't matter what it was, I was going to eat it. Since then I have tried to go back "Veggie" quite a few times, but have been unsuccessful. Translation: I was being lazy about my nutrition. Being a mom became all consuming & I let myself go. In more ways then just food... Have you SEEN my waist line?? AAHHHH!

One of the hard things about living in a very small town is your choices of food. The closest health food store is a 90 minute drive, and don't even get me started on healthy restaurants to choose from for dinner around here. McDonald's, Burger King, Taco Bell, Wendy's, etc. You get my point. Every time I attempt to eat the way I want to eat I am left with only a head of lettuce, and starving. Excuses, excuses, excuses! Do you hear the whining in this paragraph? I'm lame. The answer to my "small town problem" is easy. Have no clue why I didn't see it then. Step 1: get fresh produce from the local farms, and/or plant a garden. Step 2: cook at home! 

Whenever I am enjoying a burger there is this huge part of me that feels so guilty. I am smarter then this. What is wrong? My main problem with the meat industry is how the animals are treated. Why do we need to torture in such an inhumane way just to be fed? Many years ago when men would go out and hunt for food they would only kill what they needed, and use every bit of that animal. Native Americans were experts at this. But now it's heartless, and even though the food may be good, every time we do eat meat we are contributing to these horrible acts that go on today in slaughter houses. Be advised, I wrote this prior to "Food, Inc." WOW was that an eye opening documentary! And as of late my husband being in the hospital has also been a huge motivator to change my eating habits. Not so much guilt, but necessity.  

My husband is a meat and potatoes kind of guy, he is also the main cook in our home. What's a girl to do? (Not anymore! Red meat and starch is a NO NO for people with heart problems. He is now a salad and fish guy.) I need to find a happy medium. I need to find a Vegetarian cook book for people who can't cook. Oh and have no resources for ingredients other then a small town grocery store. Knowledge is power, yes it is. I have seen things about this industry, I have learned about the health benefits to eliminating meat from my diet. I consider myself an animal loving environmentalist. I just can't figure out why I am having such a tough time with this one. Any thoughts? K, as much as I understand, and sympathize with the "old me," I am no longer seeking guidance on how to do something I want to do, I'm living it. So what are my new challenges with food? Ingredient labels!! 

My husband can't eat a lot of Sodium, Trans fat and Saturated fat. Yeah well those 3 ingredients are in EVERYTHING! The best way to keep these things out of his diet is to eat Vegan (eating no animal or dairy products at all.) This is HARD. So we're going to take baby steps...

We will keep fish in our diet, it's like #1 on the heart healthy list of what to eat. Egg whites, at this point i'm not ready to lose my wonderful yummy eggs. And grilled Chicken breast. We can do so many meals with chicken and our kids love it. Very limited Cheese & butter, slowly eliminating it all together. And of course we are eating TONS of fruits and veggies. 

Hummmm. Fish, chicken, eggs, cheese and butter. Doesn't sound Vegan at all! Moral of the story is we are trying. We are making permanent changes & I fear if we do a 180 degree change it won't last. I think in the end if we are eating a vegetarian diet with fish every now and then I will be ecstatic! 

I used to think the whole "Knowledge is power" part about food meant knowing how the animals are treated, and the processes our food goes through to get onto our table. But I have to say as important as that is, knowledge is power can sum up finding out my husband has heart issues. We have the knowledge now we are taking the power and eating right. 

Sheesh! Sorry, I didn't realize this post had gotten so long. Hope I kept you entertained. I would love any recipes you would like to share for healthy yummy food :)  

au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time... 

Upping My Game

Many wonderful documentaries and literature are out now a days giving us insight into living a better life, making better choices and "Saving the Planet." Two that I have gained a lot of knowledge from are No Impact Man & Food Inc. . I am shocked at the huge differences my family and I have made in the right direction. Shocked because it seemed so effortless, so necessary. I don't feel like a Planet crusader or a Tree hugging hippie, I feel like a person who is just more aware and making intelligent choices for my family.

Some of the simple things we do are recycling, and I mean everything, anything at all that can be recycled we do. Doing this has cut our garbage out take by more than 50%! WOW. Our garbage can used to over flow come garbage day, now... I could go 3 weeks without a trash pick up and it still isn't full :) Part of the trash reduction is using reusable stuff a lot. I always take reusable bags to the grocery store and we reuse some of our things for other purposes. Like mason jars, jelly jars and spaghetti jars. My kids LOVE collecting things in jars, we have a great sea shell collection in the kids bathroom. Simple simple things.

There are difficult things to get used to as well. Like food. I LOVE fast food and eating out, probably because I don't like to cook. Changing our food choices and eating habits has been hard for me. I can't in good conscience eat a lot of the things I used to eat. I know too much now. I know the impact my eating, and the companies I used to support have on my children's health and the Earth they will some day inherit from our generation. But armed with this new found knowledge has also made shopping more fun. It narrows down the choices, makes decisions easier. I'm quite indecisive so this really helps :) We have started getting our produce from local farmers markets and McLeod Farms, My meats now come from Ovis Hill Farms, while I'm there I also pick up my Dairy shipped from Happy Cow Creamery . Oh and I get the best soaps from Harvest Moon Soapworks.Yes I still go to a normal grocery store, but I don't buy much there. It's amazing how many things in those aisles are truly bad for you. Not just for your body or the environment, but the companies they represent. The keys to our new eating habits are knowing where our food comes from and what's really in it.

The benefits are endless with the changes we have made. We all feel better! My kids understand where food comes from, and they are excited to try new things. We have also planted a huge garden in the backyard, I'll be shocked if anything actually grows since I do not have a green thumb at all. But, it's been fun working on it with the family.

I still make mistakes, I don't do everything right... I choose to drive my kids to school instead of utilizing the school bus that passes my house, I can't say no to a Krispy Kreme donut, I use the air conditioning way too much, and I love buying new books to put on my book shelves instead of borrowing them from the library.

This is a long post, I'm sorry. If you stuck around I encourage you to learn about where your things come from, watch Food Inc., it will change your life. And visit Local Harvest to find the farmers and great choices in your area. Oh and by the way, I don't mind if you call me a "Tree Hugging Hippie," I kind of like the label these days :) Thanks for reading!

au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time...

Inspiration, Goals, Weight Update & Other Fatty Things

In April of this year I finally got mad enough at my weight to really do something about it. I started out at 210 pounds and now 10 weeks later I am 186 pounds (yeah I know... should I really be sharing the actually numbers with you? Well, it helps keep me accountable.) 24 pounds lighter, yet I still have a ways to go.

One of the key's to my success so far has been my emotions. I used to try and lose weight for the wrong reasons: love, affection, attention, happiness... Nope, never worked. It wasn't until I decided to do it for ME that I saw results.

A few of my fellow blogger buddies have asked what my weigh loss regimen is. So here you go...

I joined a local Weight Watchers group and completely changed my eating habits. I used to eat fast food every day, shameful I know. And now I snack on cut up fruits and veggies from my fridge. I don't eat perfect all the time, but I make a conscious effort to make good choices.

Some simple changes our family has made are switching white rice for brown rice, eating more salads, not using mayonnaise, and the biggest help for me: Not eating out all the time.

Another big change was joining a gym, and actually going! At first every part of me hurt, but slowly it got easier and easier. Soon a habit had formed and now when I miss a day I feel SO guilty.

I try and work out at least 4 days a week, and on days when I just can't I do something physical (walk the dogs, ride bikes with the kids, do sit ups in the living room, etc.)

I wish there was an easy way to lose weight, to build muscle mass and lose fat. The real answer is it takes hard work, and patience because it doesn't happen over night. I wish it did!

There is a long road ahead still, but I'll make it one pound at a time :) So what's my goal weight? Not sure... I am more concerned with being fit and strong. I want muscle, I want to be toned, I want my body to look like p!nk:

DO you have any tips, struggles, or successes you'd like to share?

au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time...

Can you tell I'm hungry?

My hubby is away on business for the next 2 weeks so I am filling up on chick flicks and junk food! So I was trying to figure out what to do for dinner tonight, then it hit me:

I missed In-N-Out Burger so much while we lived in the southeast. This is one of the perks of moving back west. I LOVE this place. If you all remember, I am such an indecisive person. That is why their menu is great for people like me!

Right to the point, just the way I like it. I think the kids and the dogs (remember Sammy the "unicorn eared dog" has to go with me everywhere while wearing his cone...) and I will load up and head to In-N-Out for dinner. Yum! Here's what I'm having, what will you be eating tonight?

(please be advised that all food consumed while husband is away magically becomes calorie free)

Ta Ta for now

Lunch Anyone?

This morning my mini-munchkin was playing in her pretend kitchen. She asked me if I was hungry and did I want her to bake me some lunch. Well, of course I said yes as any good mommy would have. She started to clank away, working on my meal. A few minutes later I was presented with my meal:

Whole baby piglet with a tomato garnish

Oh my... what do I make of this? Should I be concerned? I laughed so hard, luckily she laughed right along with me.

"What mama? you think food is funny?" Yes baby girl, I certainly do :)

Ta Ta for now

Sick Foods

My Munchkin isn't feeling well, I think he has a little chest cold. Poor guy :( We leave for California on Wednesday to visit family and I would hate for him to miss out on adventures with his cousins due to illness.

As a little girl, when I was sick my mom would always give me flat soda, toast (cut into triangles of course) and chicken noodle soup. It always warmed me up and made me feel better. Even today whenever I have these items I smile and remember my mom taking care of me.

I have the soup all ready for my little man. I hope my munchkins look back on these memories and smile as well. As a mom now, I understand why my mom did these things. It is heart breaking to watch your kids suffer, even the tiniest bit.

What did your mom or dad do for you when you were a sick child? Do you do the same things for your kids?

Ta Ta for now

Pig Out Prevention

How do you curb your food cravings? What secret can you share?

I always start my day off great, fruit and/or yogurt for breakfast. A warm cup of green tea, and LOTS of water. Seriously... I go to the restroom like a hundred times, it's rather annoying.

Then comes lunchtime, I skip it (I know, I know, I SHOULD eat then. But, I'm not hungry.)

Then comes 2 PM. Why is 2 PM such a horrible time for me? Everyday around that time I am starving and I PIG OUT LIKE CRAZY!

Guilt fills up in me, "I'm a failure!"

I finish the day by eating well and going to bed saying "Tomorrow I will have NO slip ups, I will make it all day without eating everything in sight."

The next day rolls around and it's the same game, different day. It's like my stomach has split personality disorder. Damn you 2 PM! I loath you!

Any advice on taming the 2 PM monster within me?

Ta Ta for now