Good morning!
We have all been sleeping in a little bit which results in a late morning start which then turns in to me forgetting to post!! I will make it a point tomorrow morning to hole up in my bedroom alone and post a good one.
Yesterday was magazine delivery day and I worked HARD! It was actually pretty fun. I obviously cannot take a bowl of cereal with me for the road (I didn't buy any meal bars this time around), so I just took a couple snack bars, an apple, and a banana. By 2:45 when I was heading over to pick up the boys I was starving. I couldn't think straight and was so tired of hauling magazines!! Luckily, my friend who had been watching Zoe all day was at Subway and offered to grab me a sandwich. It was the healthiest sub I've ever eaten (read: not so great), but it did the trick and I wasn't left feeling guilty afterwards! Took the kids to the park after school where we all got super worn out, then headed home. I slept like a ROCK once I finally got to bed last night! My parents came over for their final couple hours in town, so the kids ran around some more and actually didn't end up getting to sleep until 9! Zoe included. It was rough going since my parents had to go shortly after Shaun left for his final hockey game...of the season. I got everyone to bed and attempted to watch some tv, but that lasted about 20 minutes before I realized I was snoring. Ha!
Today should be another good day! We have some guests coming over this morning to play, the sun is shining, and everyone is in pretty good spirits this morning.
Have a great day!
xoxo
Friday, April 29, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Week Eleven: Day Three
Good morning!
This will be a super short post because I waited too late in the morning and the natives are getting restless. It happens. Quite frequently, actually! I felt too bad about not posting yesterday, so I didn't want to miss two days in a row.
Well, the stomach bug turned out to be something fierce and Monday was downright horrible. I felt awful through the entire day...slept like a rock Monday night and was 100% on Tuesday! Weird, right? I get sick so rarely that I forget what it feels like! Anyway, I totally stayed on track with the diet, though. Probably eating too little, actually. I ate what I could which ended up being my two bowls of cereal and then a bowl of pasta for dinner with the kids.
Yesterday, however, was great. Two bowls of cereal, only one snack bar (oops!), but I did make some more of that blueberry zucchini bread at my friend's house and I totally licked the spoon before washing out the bowl. Tee-hee. My parents got into town last night (yay!!) and we had jambalaya stuffed chicken, couscous, and salad for dinner. It was DEEEEE-lish! I will try to post the recipe later because it was super easy. I didn't figure up the calorie count, but I split one of the chicken pieces with my mom and used a small plate and made almost half the plate salad greens. Used Lite dressing, too.
Today we are heading to Bounce U with the kids, so I will definitely be getting in a bit of a work out! I am strangely very excited. Tomorrow is magazine delivery day, so I'll be getting in lots of extra steps and lifting.
I hope everyone has a great day!!! After peeking at the scale, I can hardly wait until Monday to share!!!! :)
xoxo
This will be a super short post because I waited too late in the morning and the natives are getting restless. It happens. Quite frequently, actually! I felt too bad about not posting yesterday, so I didn't want to miss two days in a row.
Well, the stomach bug turned out to be something fierce and Monday was downright horrible. I felt awful through the entire day...slept like a rock Monday night and was 100% on Tuesday! Weird, right? I get sick so rarely that I forget what it feels like! Anyway, I totally stayed on track with the diet, though. Probably eating too little, actually. I ate what I could which ended up being my two bowls of cereal and then a bowl of pasta for dinner with the kids.
Yesterday, however, was great. Two bowls of cereal, only one snack bar (oops!), but I did make some more of that blueberry zucchini bread at my friend's house and I totally licked the spoon before washing out the bowl. Tee-hee. My parents got into town last night (yay!!) and we had jambalaya stuffed chicken, couscous, and salad for dinner. It was DEEEEE-lish! I will try to post the recipe later because it was super easy. I didn't figure up the calorie count, but I split one of the chicken pieces with my mom and used a small plate and made almost half the plate salad greens. Used Lite dressing, too.
Today we are heading to Bounce U with the kids, so I will definitely be getting in a bit of a work out! I am strangely very excited. Tomorrow is magazine delivery day, so I'll be getting in lots of extra steps and lifting.
I hope everyone has a great day!!! After peeking at the scale, I can hardly wait until Monday to share!!!! :)
xoxo
Monday, April 25, 2011
Week Eleven: Day One
Good morning!! I seem to have a slight stomach bug or something this morning...not sure if it is due to the diet change? Anyway, I feel fine, so that's good. The Nashville Predators made history last night by winning in Round 1 of the NHL Playoffs!! Shaun and I and some good friends of ours are wanting to go to a Round 2 Home game, but the dates haven't been announced just yet, so we are anxiously stalking nashvillepredators.com in anticipation of finding out.
Well, I am happy to be back on Special K. Yesterday I had my two bowls of cereal, only ate one snack bar but did get some canteloupe in as well. For dinner last night we had turkey burgers, green bean casserole (not from "scratch", it was a frozen thing from Green Giant!), and some instant mashed potatoes. I was feeling kind of lazy....not really the right word because I did go out for a nice walk after dinner! Just didn't feel like running around my kitchen.
FOOD/DRINK: I ate my breakfast cereal a little late since we all slept in a bit and decided to go to the second service at church. I did eat a snack bar on the way home from church, and then I had to pick up Conner...he had his very first sleepover Saturday night! I picked him up and we headed over to Harris Teeter where I did some major couponing. Fun times! When we finally got home around 3:30 and I put all the groceries away, I scarfed a bowl of cereal and just had to sit down. By the way, Conner slept from about 3:15 until almost 7:30 last night! Turned around and went back to bed by 9:00. Sleepovers are great! After dinner I did some cleaning of the kitchen (side note for anyone who doesn't know me - Shaun is the cleaner in our relationship. Regardless of how much I clean the kitchen, he will always have to follow behind me and "really clean". This is why I will only ever half-ass it so I don't get frustrated when I think I've done a good job and he still HAS to follow behind!)...cleaned up, emptied the dishwasher, then put on my tennis shoes and went for a walk! Oops...
EXERCISE: Wrong category! So, continued from above...I have mapped out a 1 mile route away from my house, so this makes it 2 miles when I walk there and then come back. If you remember, on Friday I did 2 miles in 37 minutes, so I was trying to beat that time last night. I did! 2 miles in 34 minutes! What I find cool, as well, is that I maintained my pace...I checked the time when I got to my turnaround point and it had been 17 minutes. I tried jogging a little bit just to see how it felt....I'm not ready. Just being honest. I will "rest" today.
Well, here's hoping my stomach can handle a bowl of cereal! Jack woke up vomiting this morning, but he seems to be feeling better now. I have been trying to think of what he and I may have eaten that others didn't...maybe the canteloupe? Zoe ate some, too, but she is still sleeping so I can't really tell how she may be feeling. Sigh. Pray for us!
Oh, by the way, from my "records" and pictures, it looks like I lost 2 pounds last week. Perfect! Even with a bad day, I still had an on track week. Now, here's hoping this week will show higher results.
Thanks! xoxo
Well, I am happy to be back on Special K. Yesterday I had my two bowls of cereal, only ate one snack bar but did get some canteloupe in as well. For dinner last night we had turkey burgers, green bean casserole (not from "scratch", it was a frozen thing from Green Giant!), and some instant mashed potatoes. I was feeling kind of lazy....not really the right word because I did go out for a nice walk after dinner! Just didn't feel like running around my kitchen.
FOOD/DRINK: I ate my breakfast cereal a little late since we all slept in a bit and decided to go to the second service at church. I did eat a snack bar on the way home from church, and then I had to pick up Conner...he had his very first sleepover Saturday night! I picked him up and we headed over to Harris Teeter where I did some major couponing. Fun times! When we finally got home around 3:30 and I put all the groceries away, I scarfed a bowl of cereal and just had to sit down. By the way, Conner slept from about 3:15 until almost 7:30 last night! Turned around and went back to bed by 9:00. Sleepovers are great! After dinner I did some cleaning of the kitchen (side note for anyone who doesn't know me - Shaun is the cleaner in our relationship. Regardless of how much I clean the kitchen, he will always have to follow behind me and "really clean". This is why I will only ever half-ass it so I don't get frustrated when I think I've done a good job and he still HAS to follow behind!)...cleaned up, emptied the dishwasher, then put on my tennis shoes and went for a walk! Oops...
EXERCISE: Wrong category! So, continued from above...I have mapped out a 1 mile route away from my house, so this makes it 2 miles when I walk there and then come back. If you remember, on Friday I did 2 miles in 37 minutes, so I was trying to beat that time last night. I did! 2 miles in 34 minutes! What I find cool, as well, is that I maintained my pace...I checked the time when I got to my turnaround point and it had been 17 minutes. I tried jogging a little bit just to see how it felt....I'm not ready. Just being honest. I will "rest" today.
Well, here's hoping my stomach can handle a bowl of cereal! Jack woke up vomiting this morning, but he seems to be feeling better now. I have been trying to think of what he and I may have eaten that others didn't...maybe the canteloupe? Zoe ate some, too, but she is still sleeping so I can't really tell how she may be feeling. Sigh. Pray for us!
Oh, by the way, from my "records" and pictures, it looks like I lost 2 pounds last week. Perfect! Even with a bad day, I still had an on track week. Now, here's hoping this week will show higher results.
Thanks! xoxo
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Week Ten: Day Seven
Good morning!
Ooh, such a bad girl yesterday!! I have decided, after much discussion with family and friends, the cabbage soup diet is no good when you don't have a specific purpose for doing it. Example: Starting off a full on weight loss journey! Needing to lose a few pounds to fit back into some pants that are ALMOST fitting! Maybe even after a week of eating horribly, like on a cruise or vacation or something! However. In the middle of aforementioned weight loss journey - ick. It was awful. Didn't feel good. My heart truly wasn't in it. All sorts of excuses for the "bottom" I hit yesterday. I just couldn't even LOOK at the soup anymore! Not to mention the extreme discomfort I was feeling...my belly was hard and protruding (abnormally) and I was in some crampy pain through my back and chest. Ugh. I tried drinking water. I tried to eat a little rice. Drinking water wasn't a problem, but I wasn't even a little bit hungry for any rice. So, we headed off to the easter egg hunt at a friend's church. I continued to feel bad, but I really wasn't even considering "cheating" - just trying to decide what steps I wasn't going to take to flush out all the steak I had eaten Friday night! After the egg hunt, there was a lunch of hot dogs and chips served at the church. Shaun took two of the boys in to work with him, so I was left with just Zoe and Henry. They each got a hot dog and some chips, I was still resisting the urge to just forget about my meal plan. As we were about to leave, someone announced there was "plenty of hot dogs left! Please help yourselves!" And I did. I ate a hot dog on the way home and instantly decided to have a break day and immediately began to feel better. When I got home I realized we didn't have any pineapple in the house (an excellent dieting diuretic) because I had made a "pineapple casserole" the night before, so I ate those leftovers. Felt even better. I continued to drink water throughout the afternoon and just plain didn't think about food at all!
Last night is when I really turned "bad". Ha, ha. We drove to a friend's house while Shaun had his hockey game. There had been a birthday party earlier (which we missed due to naps), so there were cupcakes (ate 1) and then we ordered pizza for dinner (ate 3 pieces). Sigh. I wasn't even trying to NOT eat...I have all my Special K "tools" and CHOSE to not take anything to my friend's house for me to eat well. I was a part of the pizza ordering decision making, so I knew I was going to eat some. Ah, well. It was one day, right? Half a day, even, because I didn't eat that hot dog until noon! I still drank all of my water. I have just finished my breakfast of Special K cereal with a banana. I am back on it and feeling READY!! I would love to say the hot dog and pineapple casserole and pizza weren't any good...oh, and the cupcake...but - it was all just as delicious as I remembered. I didn't think once about how many calories I was eating. I just ate. Hey, while we are being honest, I just remembered a second cupcake I ate at the next door neighbor's daughter's birthday part! There you have it. The End to my day of shame! Ha, ha.
FOOD/DRINK: Today begins 14 days of the Special K diet. I have already purchased four boxes of cereal - Fruit and Yogurt, Chocolatey Delight, Cinnamon Pecan, and Vanilla Almond. I also have 5 boxes of the snack bars. (there was a sale at Publix and I had coupons!) I am ready, ready, ready. I am SO close to getting below 200 and I just KNOW it can happen in the next two weeks...maybe even sooner, right?
EXERCISE: I went for a 37 minute walk on Friday! Around the neighborhood, focusing on really walking hard and doing some pretty steep hills. It felt good. I am pledging 60 minutes today. It might end up being on the treadmill at Shaun's work, if I find it hard to motivate myself to get out in the sun, but it WILL be 60 minutes.
TIPS/ISSUES: This might sound funny after reading what I wrote above, but you CANNOT beat yourself up about a day off! Life goes on. Every day life continues around us. As of yesterday morning (this is an early reveal!) I was at 33.5 pounds lost. That is no small feat!! I think I was discounting it because I am so eager to get to 40...50....80! I have already lost track of how far I have come. Oh, the human mind. I truly hope to be still at the 33.5 pound mark tomorrow morning when I officially weigh-in.
Still taking pledges for the ADA! :)
xoxo
Ooh, such a bad girl yesterday!! I have decided, after much discussion with family and friends, the cabbage soup diet is no good when you don't have a specific purpose for doing it. Example: Starting off a full on weight loss journey! Needing to lose a few pounds to fit back into some pants that are ALMOST fitting! Maybe even after a week of eating horribly, like on a cruise or vacation or something! However. In the middle of aforementioned weight loss journey - ick. It was awful. Didn't feel good. My heart truly wasn't in it. All sorts of excuses for the "bottom" I hit yesterday. I just couldn't even LOOK at the soup anymore! Not to mention the extreme discomfort I was feeling...my belly was hard and protruding (abnormally) and I was in some crampy pain through my back and chest. Ugh. I tried drinking water. I tried to eat a little rice. Drinking water wasn't a problem, but I wasn't even a little bit hungry for any rice. So, we headed off to the easter egg hunt at a friend's church. I continued to feel bad, but I really wasn't even considering "cheating" - just trying to decide what steps I wasn't going to take to flush out all the steak I had eaten Friday night! After the egg hunt, there was a lunch of hot dogs and chips served at the church. Shaun took two of the boys in to work with him, so I was left with just Zoe and Henry. They each got a hot dog and some chips, I was still resisting the urge to just forget about my meal plan. As we were about to leave, someone announced there was "plenty of hot dogs left! Please help yourselves!" And I did. I ate a hot dog on the way home and instantly decided to have a break day and immediately began to feel better. When I got home I realized we didn't have any pineapple in the house (an excellent dieting diuretic) because I had made a "pineapple casserole" the night before, so I ate those leftovers. Felt even better. I continued to drink water throughout the afternoon and just plain didn't think about food at all!
Last night is when I really turned "bad". Ha, ha. We drove to a friend's house while Shaun had his hockey game. There had been a birthday party earlier (which we missed due to naps), so there were cupcakes (ate 1) and then we ordered pizza for dinner (ate 3 pieces). Sigh. I wasn't even trying to NOT eat...I have all my Special K "tools" and CHOSE to not take anything to my friend's house for me to eat well. I was a part of the pizza ordering decision making, so I knew I was going to eat some. Ah, well. It was one day, right? Half a day, even, because I didn't eat that hot dog until noon! I still drank all of my water. I have just finished my breakfast of Special K cereal with a banana. I am back on it and feeling READY!! I would love to say the hot dog and pineapple casserole and pizza weren't any good...oh, and the cupcake...but - it was all just as delicious as I remembered. I didn't think once about how many calories I was eating. I just ate. Hey, while we are being honest, I just remembered a second cupcake I ate at the next door neighbor's daughter's birthday part! There you have it. The End to my day of shame! Ha, ha.
FOOD/DRINK: Today begins 14 days of the Special K diet. I have already purchased four boxes of cereal - Fruit and Yogurt, Chocolatey Delight, Cinnamon Pecan, and Vanilla Almond. I also have 5 boxes of the snack bars. (there was a sale at Publix and I had coupons!) I am ready, ready, ready. I am SO close to getting below 200 and I just KNOW it can happen in the next two weeks...maybe even sooner, right?
EXERCISE: I went for a 37 minute walk on Friday! Around the neighborhood, focusing on really walking hard and doing some pretty steep hills. It felt good. I am pledging 60 minutes today. It might end up being on the treadmill at Shaun's work, if I find it hard to motivate myself to get out in the sun, but it WILL be 60 minutes.
TIPS/ISSUES: This might sound funny after reading what I wrote above, but you CANNOT beat yourself up about a day off! Life goes on. Every day life continues around us. As of yesterday morning (this is an early reveal!) I was at 33.5 pounds lost. That is no small feat!! I think I was discounting it because I am so eager to get to 40...50....80! I have already lost track of how far I have come. Oh, the human mind. I truly hope to be still at the 33.5 pound mark tomorrow morning when I officially weigh-in.
Still taking pledges for the ADA! :)
xoxo
Friday, April 22, 2011
Week Ten: Day Five
Good morning!
It feels like a Saturday to me because Shaun is home, but then I remembered - it's Good Friday!!
FOOD: Yesterday was ground beef and tomatoes day. Remember how excited I was in the morning? That did not last. I think I may have to wait several months before trying this meal plan again. Whew. I had a bowl of cabbage soup with ground beef stirred in for "breakfast". It was delicious and filling. The boys had school yesterday, and Zoe and I drove out to visit with my grandfather. It was nice to see him, and I really didn't feel hungry at all the entire morning. Well, even in to the afternoon! We got home about 2 and played for a bit before leaving to get the boys a little before 3. I felt like I should eat something because I hadn't eaten anything since that breakfast, so I heated up some ground beef I had cooked the night before. It was very tasty, but I really wasn't excited about it. For dinner last night we had "Pick Your Plate". Basically anything leftover in the fridge was warmed up and put on a plate...then the kids got to pick which one they wanted to eat! I also made some quesadillas and biscuits. Random? Yes. Fun? Yes.
I am heading to the grocery store this morning to get some steak and vegetables! This is my favorite day on this diet plan. All you can eat beef and veggies. We are having friends over this evening for an egg hunt and dinner, so the grill may be going all day long. Good times! Also, I see there is quite a great sale at Publix on Special K, so I'm going to stock up for next week. I think I may even do it for 2 weeks before embarking on the ol' 17-day diet. We'll see.
EXERCISE: I took Zoe for a walk yesterday! Woohoo! I would guess we walked for about 25 minutes. I focused on not taking it slow and trying to get my heart rate up a little bit. I am having to "guess" because I checked the time when we left and when we got back, but forgot to check how much time we spent playing at the little playground. I know it wasn't 60 minutes, but it was something which is better than nothing.
Have a great day!
xoxo
It feels like a Saturday to me because Shaun is home, but then I remembered - it's Good Friday!!
FOOD: Yesterday was ground beef and tomatoes day. Remember how excited I was in the morning? That did not last. I think I may have to wait several months before trying this meal plan again. Whew. I had a bowl of cabbage soup with ground beef stirred in for "breakfast". It was delicious and filling. The boys had school yesterday, and Zoe and I drove out to visit with my grandfather. It was nice to see him, and I really didn't feel hungry at all the entire morning. Well, even in to the afternoon! We got home about 2 and played for a bit before leaving to get the boys a little before 3. I felt like I should eat something because I hadn't eaten anything since that breakfast, so I heated up some ground beef I had cooked the night before. It was very tasty, but I really wasn't excited about it. For dinner last night we had "Pick Your Plate". Basically anything leftover in the fridge was warmed up and put on a plate...then the kids got to pick which one they wanted to eat! I also made some quesadillas and biscuits. Random? Yes. Fun? Yes.
I am heading to the grocery store this morning to get some steak and vegetables! This is my favorite day on this diet plan. All you can eat beef and veggies. We are having friends over this evening for an egg hunt and dinner, so the grill may be going all day long. Good times! Also, I see there is quite a great sale at Publix on Special K, so I'm going to stock up for next week. I think I may even do it for 2 weeks before embarking on the ol' 17-day diet. We'll see.
EXERCISE: I took Zoe for a walk yesterday! Woohoo! I would guess we walked for about 25 minutes. I focused on not taking it slow and trying to get my heart rate up a little bit. I am having to "guess" because I checked the time when we left and when we got back, but forgot to check how much time we spent playing at the little playground. I know it wasn't 60 minutes, but it was something which is better than nothing.
Have a great day!
xoxo
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Week Ten: Day Four
Good morning!
Whew, am I ever sick of bananas...and really looking forward to some ground beef this morning! What a strange sentence. Ha, ha!
FOOD/DRINK: Ate 6 bananas yesterday and could only choke down the soup once. I drank so, so, so much water. I didn't feel hungry, really. Just bored? Actually, yesterday was definitely NOT boring. We had a great time running around the house during the day, everyone took at least an hour nap, and I left during dinnertime to get some errands done. I really do think my mind is changing directions and food is becoming less of the focus for me! Love it! So, I have to tell about two things I cooked last night. First of all, dinner was a huge hit. Beef Macaroni Casserole. THEN, I made Zuchinni Blueberry bread. Oh my. This house smelled SO good. Both Shaun and I came out from putting our crew to bed (me with the boys, Shaun with Zoe) and just sniffed in hard. Mmmmm. I will work on finding a candle company to "bottle" that scent! Both recipes will be included below, but I did not figure out the calorie count. Sorry!!
EXERCISE: Dude. I hate this category. I am taking Zoe for an hour walk today. If it is too cold outside, we will go to the mall! I PROMISE. I was talking to a friend yesterday about how I allow myself an out when I have plans with a friend and they have to cancel for whatever reason. This does NOT mean I have to cancel on myself!! I am driving out to see my grandfather this morning with Zoe, and was planning for her to nap in the car on the way home. She sleeps pretty good in the stroller, so I'll wear her out good this morning at grandpa's and she can half-nap in the car, half-nap during my walk. Perfect. Consider it done.
TIPS/ISSUES: Yeah, I got nothing for banana day tips. Except, keep yourself busy!! Keep thinking about the ground beef you get to eat the next day!
BEEF MACARONI CASSEROLE
1.5 pounds ground beef
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1 T flour
1/2 cup water
1 cup uncooked macaroni noodles
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Brown meat and onion together. Drain. Add crushed tomatoes, flour, and water. Cover and simmer for 13 minutes. Meanwhile, boil macaroni. Drain and combine with meat mixture. Turn into casserole dish. Sprinkle with cheese and bake 15 minutes at 400.
ZUCCHINI BLUEBERRY BREAD
(I am going to write the recipe as it's written, in parentheses I will tell you changes I made)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour (okay, my dad bakes desserts for a living. I called him to ask about this and he has never heard of such an ingredient. I couldn't find it at Kroger, so I just used another cup of all-purpose flour)
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt (just used regular table salt)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3 eggs
3/4 cup canola oil (during my conversation with my dad, he said this is the only oil I should ever be buying. I used vegetable oil because it was what I had. lol)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup blueberries
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly coat the bottom of 4 mini 5-inch loaf pans or 1 9-inch pan with cooking spray; set aside.
In a large bowl combine flours, sugars, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder; set aside. In another bowl, mix eggs, oil, and vanilla extract. Add to flour mixture and stir until combined. Gently stir in zucchini and then blueberries. (just a note. This mixture is quite thick. I used the beaters at first, then switched to a spatula as I was adding in the veggies and fruit.)
Spoon batter into prepared pans. Bake about 40 minutes for mini pans (this was exactly the right amount of time) or about 1 hour for 9-inch pan or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of each comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan 10 minutes before removing. Serve warm or let cool completely before slicing. Each mini loaf makes 8 pieces (yeah, right), while the large loaf has 12. Freeze extra mini loaves for up to 3 months. (My opinion: there is no way you would need to freeze any of these, unless you cook a bunch at one time! In the first 30 minutes of being awake this morning, my family has gone through one mini loaf and I am thinking I'm going to have to serve the one I was planning to give to a friend. I am giving one loaf to my grandfather today and Shaun is taking one to a guy at work, so I can give opinions from them, too, later.)
xoxo
Whew, am I ever sick of bananas...and really looking forward to some ground beef this morning! What a strange sentence. Ha, ha!
FOOD/DRINK: Ate 6 bananas yesterday and could only choke down the soup once. I drank so, so, so much water. I didn't feel hungry, really. Just bored? Actually, yesterday was definitely NOT boring. We had a great time running around the house during the day, everyone took at least an hour nap, and I left during dinnertime to get some errands done. I really do think my mind is changing directions and food is becoming less of the focus for me! Love it! So, I have to tell about two things I cooked last night. First of all, dinner was a huge hit. Beef Macaroni Casserole. THEN, I made Zuchinni Blueberry bread. Oh my. This house smelled SO good. Both Shaun and I came out from putting our crew to bed (me with the boys, Shaun with Zoe) and just sniffed in hard. Mmmmm. I will work on finding a candle company to "bottle" that scent! Both recipes will be included below, but I did not figure out the calorie count. Sorry!!
EXERCISE: Dude. I hate this category. I am taking Zoe for an hour walk today. If it is too cold outside, we will go to the mall! I PROMISE. I was talking to a friend yesterday about how I allow myself an out when I have plans with a friend and they have to cancel for whatever reason. This does NOT mean I have to cancel on myself!! I am driving out to see my grandfather this morning with Zoe, and was planning for her to nap in the car on the way home. She sleeps pretty good in the stroller, so I'll wear her out good this morning at grandpa's and she can half-nap in the car, half-nap during my walk. Perfect. Consider it done.
TIPS/ISSUES: Yeah, I got nothing for banana day tips. Except, keep yourself busy!! Keep thinking about the ground beef you get to eat the next day!
BEEF MACARONI CASSEROLE
1.5 pounds ground beef
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1 T flour
1/2 cup water
1 cup uncooked macaroni noodles
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Brown meat and onion together. Drain. Add crushed tomatoes, flour, and water. Cover and simmer for 13 minutes. Meanwhile, boil macaroni. Drain and combine with meat mixture. Turn into casserole dish. Sprinkle with cheese and bake 15 minutes at 400.
ZUCCHINI BLUEBERRY BREAD
(I am going to write the recipe as it's written, in parentheses I will tell you changes I made)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour (okay, my dad bakes desserts for a living. I called him to ask about this and he has never heard of such an ingredient. I couldn't find it at Kroger, so I just used another cup of all-purpose flour)
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt (just used regular table salt)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3 eggs
3/4 cup canola oil (during my conversation with my dad, he said this is the only oil I should ever be buying. I used vegetable oil because it was what I had. lol)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup blueberries
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly coat the bottom of 4 mini 5-inch loaf pans or 1 9-inch pan with cooking spray; set aside.
In a large bowl combine flours, sugars, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder; set aside. In another bowl, mix eggs, oil, and vanilla extract. Add to flour mixture and stir until combined. Gently stir in zucchini and then blueberries. (just a note. This mixture is quite thick. I used the beaters at first, then switched to a spatula as I was adding in the veggies and fruit.)
Spoon batter into prepared pans. Bake about 40 minutes for mini pans (this was exactly the right amount of time) or about 1 hour for 9-inch pan or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of each comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan 10 minutes before removing. Serve warm or let cool completely before slicing. Each mini loaf makes 8 pieces (yeah, right), while the large loaf has 12. Freeze extra mini loaves for up to 3 months. (My opinion: there is no way you would need to freeze any of these, unless you cook a bunch at one time! In the first 30 minutes of being awake this morning, my family has gone through one mini loaf and I am thinking I'm going to have to serve the one I was planning to give to a friend. I am giving one loaf to my grandfather today and Shaun is taking one to a guy at work, so I can give opinions from them, too, later.)
xoxo
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Apology!
I was truly convicted at my Bible study today. This post has not been thought out or prayed about or anything. Straight from the heart while I listen to Henry scream from the couch about being mad at me. (I won't let him wear his shoes in the house)
Here goes. Rather than being "disappointed", i should have commended the ones who DID notify me about their pledges! Rather than ask for more followers, I should have thanked my 18 (now 19!) followers for their loyalty! I should not expect others to lift ME up, I need to turn to God and the Holy Spirit for this. I am being conceited, self-centered, absolutely the opposite of the way I need to be acting.
Ephesians 4:29-32
29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
I am going to keep going and stride ahead. I will let you know there is now $5 per pound being paid to the American Diabetes Association, this does include my own personal pledge of $1 per pound. I will be redesigning the blog today, and I would love to hear any comments on the changes! I truly and sincerely thank EVERY single one of my followers and my readers and my occasional "perusers". I am happy to have this blog as an outlet and a place where I can be open and honest and held accountable for my dieting actions. I hope this serves as a place where others can come to laugh, maybe cry, maybe learn, maybe agree, maybe disagree.
Thank you. If you are reading these words, I appreciate you. Even if you are reading them in July. :)
xoxo
Here goes. Rather than being "disappointed", i should have commended the ones who DID notify me about their pledges! Rather than ask for more followers, I should have thanked my 18 (now 19!) followers for their loyalty! I should not expect others to lift ME up, I need to turn to God and the Holy Spirit for this. I am being conceited, self-centered, absolutely the opposite of the way I need to be acting.
Ephesians 4:29-32
29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
I am going to keep going and stride ahead. I will let you know there is now $5 per pound being paid to the American Diabetes Association, this does include my own personal pledge of $1 per pound. I will be redesigning the blog today, and I would love to hear any comments on the changes! I truly and sincerely thank EVERY single one of my followers and my readers and my occasional "perusers". I am happy to have this blog as an outlet and a place where I can be open and honest and held accountable for my dieting actions. I hope this serves as a place where others can come to laugh, maybe cry, maybe learn, maybe agree, maybe disagree.
Thank you. If you are reading these words, I appreciate you. Even if you are reading them in July. :)
xoxo
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