I'm stoked that fall is really starting to show its face around here. We have a huge window in our living room that looks out over a field, and we have a great view of the trees at the park right across that field. We also have a huge tree in our front yard, right by the window, and all day long, golden leaves have been falling, falling, falling! All of the fall colors are gorgeous, and it puts me in a great mood!
Today I hit a milestone that I didn't think I'd hit again for a while: I weigh 129.5! I haven't seen the 120's in months now. In fact, just a month and a half ago, I weighed 137. My goal weight is 120, but that's only if I can tone myself up. If I stay flabby and reach 120... that'd just look gross. So, for now, I'm just shooting for 125, and gosh darnit, I'm going to maintain it!
Boo-hoo moment: Losing weight means jeans don't fit. :(
And be jealous. I've had a roast in the oven since 11, and I'm not serving it until 4:30ish. It smells FANTASTIC IN HERE. I'm also going to have Phil bring home some apples after his tennis match so that I can make an apple cobbler... if his parents are visiting. I won't know until they get here, since no one likes to answer their phones! :) (If they aren't coming, I'll just make applesauce, or whole wheat apple pancakes to have in the freezer. No use making a whole cobbler just for the four of us.)
I played tennis with Phil yesterday for the first time in over a month, and it was so much fun. I did really good! I'm getting a little more consistent. If I could play a few times a month, that'd be fantastic. I have a great time doing that. In fact... Phil was the one that suggested we stop for the night! I just wanted to keep hitting and practicing my serves. I hope I can get back out on a court soon.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Short-term Problems Create Long-term Goals
My husband was coaching a tennis match until about 5 PM yesterday, and I knew that once he got home that I needed to go do homework, so cooking dinner just wasn't on my "to do" list. So, I texted him and told him that we were just going to get a pizza and call it a night. Easy, no clean up, kids will eat it... plus, we don't eat pizza often at all, so it's a nice treat.
UGH.
My skin felt NASTY within twenty minutes of eating that pizza! And I was bloated and uncomfortable, and I only had two pieces. Ugh, ugh, ugh.
So, I have created a long-term goal for myself: NO FAST FOOD.
This goal will:
POSSIBLY - Lower my weight and clear my skin up
MOST DEFINITELY - Save money!
This isn't just a goal for myself; it's for my whole family. It is cheaper and healthier to just pack sandwiches and fruit if I know that we're going to be on the road during a mealtime, so why in the world am I not doing that? Because we live in freakin' America! Just driving home from Kroger in our town, we pass literally ten fast food restaurants. It's sad.
On a different (though related) note, I got raspberry ketone capsules at the urging of a friend yesterday, and took the first two today. I am going to take two everyday and see if it helps with my energy. She told me that she has lost three pounds in three weeks while on it (accompanied by a good diet and exercise, of course) and that she doesn't get bloated anymore, so it sounds like something I'd really like! It doesn't seem gimmicky, at the very least!
So, I am going to start keeping a tally of my fast-food-free days. My short-term goal is three months, which I know I can do. We really don't get it TOO often... My long-term goal is a year. I know, that's really lofty, especially considering the roadtrip that I'll be taking in March (going down to Hilton Head, SC with the tennis teams and Phil's parents for spring break). If the kids get hungry, I have to feed them, obviously, so I'm going to pack a cooler full of sandwiches and goodies for on the way down. No reason to spend a lot of money on fast food when I'll have even faster (and healthier) food already at the ready! :)
BY THE WAY! I made the chocolate chip muffins with the whole wheat muffin base, and oh my gosh, they are DIVINE. They taste better than those horribly awesome mini chocolate chip muffins that you can get in the sealed bags at the grocery store, and I know that these at least SOME health to them, haha! I also made sour cream drops (cookies) with cranberries in them, and the kids loved them. They only have 1/4 cup shortening and 3/4 cup sugar, so they are by far the healthiest "non-health" cookies I have found.
UGH.
My skin felt NASTY within twenty minutes of eating that pizza! And I was bloated and uncomfortable, and I only had two pieces. Ugh, ugh, ugh.
So, I have created a long-term goal for myself: NO FAST FOOD.
This goal will:
POSSIBLY - Lower my weight and clear my skin up
MOST DEFINITELY - Save money!
This isn't just a goal for myself; it's for my whole family. It is cheaper and healthier to just pack sandwiches and fruit if I know that we're going to be on the road during a mealtime, so why in the world am I not doing that? Because we live in freakin' America! Just driving home from Kroger in our town, we pass literally ten fast food restaurants. It's sad.
On a different (though related) note, I got raspberry ketone capsules at the urging of a friend yesterday, and took the first two today. I am going to take two everyday and see if it helps with my energy. She told me that she has lost three pounds in three weeks while on it (accompanied by a good diet and exercise, of course) and that she doesn't get bloated anymore, so it sounds like something I'd really like! It doesn't seem gimmicky, at the very least!
So, I am going to start keeping a tally of my fast-food-free days. My short-term goal is three months, which I know I can do. We really don't get it TOO often... My long-term goal is a year. I know, that's really lofty, especially considering the roadtrip that I'll be taking in March (going down to Hilton Head, SC with the tennis teams and Phil's parents for spring break). If the kids get hungry, I have to feed them, obviously, so I'm going to pack a cooler full of sandwiches and goodies for on the way down. No reason to spend a lot of money on fast food when I'll have even faster (and healthier) food already at the ready! :)
BY THE WAY! I made the chocolate chip muffins with the whole wheat muffin base, and oh my gosh, they are DIVINE. They taste better than those horribly awesome mini chocolate chip muffins that you can get in the sealed bags at the grocery store, and I know that these at least SOME health to them, haha! I also made sour cream drops (cookies) with cranberries in them, and the kids loved them. They only have 1/4 cup shortening and 3/4 cup sugar, so they are by far the healthiest "non-health" cookies I have found.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Sick Kids and Carbolicious Breakfasts
Sorry for the lull in posts. Grad school and two sick kids has had me down a little bit. I haven't tried making anything new yet, but tomorrow I am going to make another batch of bread (the first batch has lasted us forever! Just now taking the last loaf out of the freezer to thaw). I think I'm going to do a honey wheat this time.
Tomorrow, I am going to make more whole wheat muffins-- one batch blueberry, and one batch chocolate chip. The base for the apple muffins would be a good vehicle, since they freeze AWESOME! I defrosted one for myself today on low for a minute, then microwaved for 30 seconds, and it was fantastic. These muffins don't have much of a shelf-life, though, if made with apples, because the apples will oxidize, even after baking. I found that out when I opened one up a couple of days after making them and the apple chunks had turned red. I didn't see any harm with eating them, but nonetheless, I pitched the few that were left uneaten and just focused on the ones in the freezer.
The breakfast cookies are a BIG HIT in this house. Both the husband and David (and me, too!) love them. David requests them, and the frozen ones, just like the muffins, thaw on the counter/defrost in microwave without compromising the taste or texture. Perfect for this family. If I have a mixture of muffins, whole wheat/flax pancakes, and those cookies in my freezer at all times, I think that David will always be set for breakfasts and I won't be scrambling around trying to figure out what to feed him when we're running late for school.
All that being said-- I wish David would eat something else for breakfast, but like I said, he does not like eggs. Some mornings, he will eat a cheesestick for breakfast.. yes, strange, I know, but we've all had those "I don't want breakfast foods" mornings. I don't like how carby his first meal typically is, but if it's whole wheat (and he doesn't really get bad carbs the rest of the day) then I don't feel as bad, especially since I know he'll burn it all up with his energy levels.
David has been requesting cookies lately, which he doesn't typically get, anyway, but I thought I'd oblige, so earlier I set out to make a batch of sour cream cookies. I creamed together the shortening and the sugar, and reach for the next ingredient-- an egg-- only to remember that Phil hardboiled all of the eggs this morning. So, the creamed shortening and sugar are sitting in the fridge right now, waiting for Phil to bring home some eggies. The kids won't eat a ton of them, and since the recipe makes roughly 30 cookies, and the dough freezes well, I can bake up four at a time (since Phil and I don't need them) and the kids can have a little treat here and there. They aren't healthy, sure, but they're small, and every kid deserves a cookie sometimes! :)
As soon as this cold is over (and I'm sure that's when a new one will start, with David in preschool and Phil working at a college), I will start experimenting again. For now, I just want to seclude myself in my bedroom because I'm cutting my darn wisdom teeth. Boohoo. I'm not a happy camper, at all.
Tomorrow, I am going to make more whole wheat muffins-- one batch blueberry, and one batch chocolate chip. The base for the apple muffins would be a good vehicle, since they freeze AWESOME! I defrosted one for myself today on low for a minute, then microwaved for 30 seconds, and it was fantastic. These muffins don't have much of a shelf-life, though, if made with apples, because the apples will oxidize, even after baking. I found that out when I opened one up a couple of days after making them and the apple chunks had turned red. I didn't see any harm with eating them, but nonetheless, I pitched the few that were left uneaten and just focused on the ones in the freezer.
The breakfast cookies are a BIG HIT in this house. Both the husband and David (and me, too!) love them. David requests them, and the frozen ones, just like the muffins, thaw on the counter/defrost in microwave without compromising the taste or texture. Perfect for this family. If I have a mixture of muffins, whole wheat/flax pancakes, and those cookies in my freezer at all times, I think that David will always be set for breakfasts and I won't be scrambling around trying to figure out what to feed him when we're running late for school.
All that being said-- I wish David would eat something else for breakfast, but like I said, he does not like eggs. Some mornings, he will eat a cheesestick for breakfast.. yes, strange, I know, but we've all had those "I don't want breakfast foods" mornings. I don't like how carby his first meal typically is, but if it's whole wheat (and he doesn't really get bad carbs the rest of the day) then I don't feel as bad, especially since I know he'll burn it all up with his energy levels.
David has been requesting cookies lately, which he doesn't typically get, anyway, but I thought I'd oblige, so earlier I set out to make a batch of sour cream cookies. I creamed together the shortening and the sugar, and reach for the next ingredient-- an egg-- only to remember that Phil hardboiled all of the eggs this morning. So, the creamed shortening and sugar are sitting in the fridge right now, waiting for Phil to bring home some eggies. The kids won't eat a ton of them, and since the recipe makes roughly 30 cookies, and the dough freezes well, I can bake up four at a time (since Phil and I don't need them) and the kids can have a little treat here and there. They aren't healthy, sure, but they're small, and every kid deserves a cookie sometimes! :)
As soon as this cold is over (and I'm sure that's when a new one will start, with David in preschool and Phil working at a college), I will start experimenting again. For now, I just want to seclude myself in my bedroom because I'm cutting my darn wisdom teeth. Boohoo. I'm not a happy camper, at all.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Breakfast Cookies
On my quest to find more breakfast foods for my kids so that they have a large variety to choose from, I stumbled across a recipe for breakfast cookies. Cookies? For breakfast? How fantastic! I'm in!
The recipe kind of made me think of those dry, nasty Quaker breakfast cookies that you can buy at the store now. I think we've bought those once, a long time ago, and never did it again. These ones, though, are moist and yummy but hearty at the same time. Not dry at all!
The ingredients:
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup applesauce
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla
2 ripe bananas (I used two LARGE bananas... Two small bananas might make for dry cookies)
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 cup AP flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour (make sure it's pastry flour-- it'll make them more tender)
1/4 cup milled flax
2 cups quick oats
1 cup chocolate chips (can used dried fruit instead, but I used chocolate because I'm not a fan of banana flavor... which is a non-issue, anyway. They don't taste like bananas at all, really!)
Cream together the peanut butter and applesauce before adding brown sugar, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the mashed bananas. Add the flour/salt/baking soda in three batches, stirring by hand. Once all of the flour is incorporated, stir in quick oats one cup at a time. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips (or fruit, or a combination of the two).
Lightly grease a cookie sheet and drop 1/4 cup cookies, lightly pressing them a bit to flatten them out. I fit about eight per sheet. Yields 16 big cookies (but you can definitely make them smaller. Just adjust cooking time). Picture to show their size:
Bake at 350 for 15-17 minutes, until edges are golden brown. After letting them rest a minute on the sheet, transfer them to a wire cooling rack. They freeze well, so keep a few out and put the rest in the freezer and thaw in the fridge the night before!
They are definitely large enough to be a substantial breakfast, and they're awesome, because there is no added oil, sugar is minimal, and protein is high! :)
They passed the David test with flying colors, too!
The recipe kind of made me think of those dry, nasty Quaker breakfast cookies that you can buy at the store now. I think we've bought those once, a long time ago, and never did it again. These ones, though, are moist and yummy but hearty at the same time. Not dry at all!
The ingredients:
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup applesauce
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla
2 ripe bananas (I used two LARGE bananas... Two small bananas might make for dry cookies)
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 cup AP flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour (make sure it's pastry flour-- it'll make them more tender)
1/4 cup milled flax
2 cups quick oats
1 cup chocolate chips (can used dried fruit instead, but I used chocolate because I'm not a fan of banana flavor... which is a non-issue, anyway. They don't taste like bananas at all, really!)
Cream together the peanut butter and applesauce before adding brown sugar, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the mashed bananas. Add the flour/salt/baking soda in three batches, stirring by hand. Once all of the flour is incorporated, stir in quick oats one cup at a time. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips (or fruit, or a combination of the two).
Lightly grease a cookie sheet and drop 1/4 cup cookies, lightly pressing them a bit to flatten them out. I fit about eight per sheet. Yields 16 big cookies (but you can definitely make them smaller. Just adjust cooking time). Picture to show their size:
Bake at 350 for 15-17 minutes, until edges are golden brown. After letting them rest a minute on the sheet, transfer them to a wire cooling rack. They freeze well, so keep a few out and put the rest in the freezer and thaw in the fridge the night before!
They are definitely large enough to be a substantial breakfast, and they're awesome, because there is no added oil, sugar is minimal, and protein is high! :)
They passed the David test with flying colors, too!
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Okay, okay, okay... finally got around to the muffins!
...and the applesauce, though that isn't finished yet, so I can't judge on the taste, but it smells AWESOME in my house right now.
David and Gwen were good little helpers in the kitchen today. Since I didn't have to flour any surfaces, the mess was minimal and they were able to help me pour, stir, and as far as Gwen goes, taste the flour.
The muffins are whole wheat apple muffins. There are two cups of apples and a teaspoon of cinnamon in them, so they're very autumny! (Yes, that is a word). I sprinkled oats on the top of them, and they came out very pretty!
Look at all of those apple chunks! Freakin' yum! There is more whole wheat flour than AP in this recipe (1 1/4 cup WW, 1 cup AP), but the texture is delightfully light. I shredded one cup of the apples, and chunked the other cup, so the apple flavor is all throughout. David ate one, and this is his reaction:
Right from the mouth of the critic: "Mom, these are my best muffins EVER!" (He sometimes says "best" instead of "favorite;" that means whatever he's referring to is super-mega-awesome.)
For the applesauce, I peeled and quartered the apples (ten medium-sized Ohio apples.. I have no idea what kind they were, Phil just brought them to me at my request, but they smelled incredible.) The apples were super sweet naturally, which is awesome, because I don't think I'll have to add ANY sugar at all! I put a teaspoon of cinnamon in them, as well. Man, I love cinnamon so much.
Anyway, I had been told that it is easiest to just pop the apples into a crockpot and let them go, but I LOVE my Visions pots, so I thought I'd try it out in one of those first.
They smell so good. Once they're really soft, I'll run them through the Ninja for a few seconds to get it to the applesauce texture that my kids are used to. I am so excited to have fresh applesauce for them! I will add a photo once it's all done.
UPDATE: The applesauce is awesome. My Ninja blended it to just the right consistency and the kids are gobbling it up. David said it is better than the store-kind!
Now, I have a ton of bananas that will be super ripe in a couple of days. I'm thinking some banana muffins are in our future, too! I'm not a fan, but I know David and Gwen will like them, and all of this is for them, anyway :) I'll have to see how well these apple muffins freeze to see if it's worth doubling the batch the next time.
For those of you interested in the muffin recipe!
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour (I used regular, since muffins are more dense)
1 cup AP flour
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1 cup half and half (or buttermilk, if you like that)
1/4 cup canola oil
1 large egg
1 t vanilla
2 cups apple (one cup shredded, one cup diced small)
In one bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. In a larger bowl, mix wet ingredients. Add dry to wet in batches, careful not to over-stir. Add apples at the end. Pour into muffin tin. The batter can be almost to the top-- these don't puff up a ton! I sprinkled quick oats on top, just to pretty them up :) Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.
David and Gwen were good little helpers in the kitchen today. Since I didn't have to flour any surfaces, the mess was minimal and they were able to help me pour, stir, and as far as Gwen goes, taste the flour.
The muffins are whole wheat apple muffins. There are two cups of apples and a teaspoon of cinnamon in them, so they're very autumny! (Yes, that is a word). I sprinkled oats on the top of them, and they came out very pretty!
Look at all of those apple chunks! Freakin' yum! There is more whole wheat flour than AP in this recipe (1 1/4 cup WW, 1 cup AP), but the texture is delightfully light. I shredded one cup of the apples, and chunked the other cup, so the apple flavor is all throughout. David ate one, and this is his reaction:
Right from the mouth of the critic: "Mom, these are my best muffins EVER!" (He sometimes says "best" instead of "favorite;" that means whatever he's referring to is super-mega-awesome.)
For the applesauce, I peeled and quartered the apples (ten medium-sized Ohio apples.. I have no idea what kind they were, Phil just brought them to me at my request, but they smelled incredible.) The apples were super sweet naturally, which is awesome, because I don't think I'll have to add ANY sugar at all! I put a teaspoon of cinnamon in them, as well. Man, I love cinnamon so much.
Anyway, I had been told that it is easiest to just pop the apples into a crockpot and let them go, but I LOVE my Visions pots, so I thought I'd try it out in one of those first.
They smell so good. Once they're really soft, I'll run them through the Ninja for a few seconds to get it to the applesauce texture that my kids are used to. I am so excited to have fresh applesauce for them! I will add a photo once it's all done.
UPDATE: The applesauce is awesome. My Ninja blended it to just the right consistency and the kids are gobbling it up. David said it is better than the store-kind!
Now, I have a ton of bananas that will be super ripe in a couple of days. I'm thinking some banana muffins are in our future, too! I'm not a fan, but I know David and Gwen will like them, and all of this is for them, anyway :) I'll have to see how well these apple muffins freeze to see if it's worth doubling the batch the next time.
For those of you interested in the muffin recipe!
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour (I used regular, since muffins are more dense)
1 cup AP flour
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1 cup half and half (or buttermilk, if you like that)
1/4 cup canola oil
1 large egg
1 t vanilla
2 cups apple (one cup shredded, one cup diced small)
In one bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. In a larger bowl, mix wet ingredients. Add dry to wet in batches, careful not to over-stir. Add apples at the end. Pour into muffin tin. The batter can be almost to the top-- these don't puff up a ton! I sprinkled quick oats on top, just to pretty them up :) Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Today, I shall...
... get up off of my butt and get moving! I am typically moving constantly, picking up after the kids, dancing with Gwen (because her idea of dancing is me holding her while I dance), etc... but I will actually get up and walk/jog in place, crawl around on the floor with the kids, and so on.
Back when I was wayyyy overweight after having David (weighed about 170 at his first birthday. Yeeeeah....), I started my weight-loss simply by getting up and walking in place for 30 minutes a day. Simply getting active again kickstarted my metabolism. So, I am going to start doing that again! My body won't expect it!
I am also doing a fruit and veggie "cleanse" for the next three days. After that awful (and delicious) cake that I made for Phil and his parents a few days ago, my body totally needs it. So, I am going to eat as many vegetables (with some fruits) as I want for the next three days. If nothing else, the lack of added salt and surplus of water that I will be drinking will help me flush out any water weight I might be carrying! Plus, my skin drastically needs a break from any kind of fats for a few days. I really reflect what I eat, literally. :(
I didn't get around to making the apple muffins yesterday, so that and homemade applesauce is on the agenda for today.
Back when I was wayyyy overweight after having David (weighed about 170 at his first birthday. Yeeeeah....), I started my weight-loss simply by getting up and walking in place for 30 minutes a day. Simply getting active again kickstarted my metabolism. So, I am going to start doing that again! My body won't expect it!
I am also doing a fruit and veggie "cleanse" for the next three days. After that awful (and delicious) cake that I made for Phil and his parents a few days ago, my body totally needs it. So, I am going to eat as many vegetables (with some fruits) as I want for the next three days. If nothing else, the lack of added salt and surplus of water that I will be drinking will help me flush out any water weight I might be carrying! Plus, my skin drastically needs a break from any kind of fats for a few days. I really reflect what I eat, literally. :(
I didn't get around to making the apple muffins yesterday, so that and homemade applesauce is on the agenda for today.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)