Day # 22 & 30 Day Challenge # 3

Hi!

Today was very good. I have felt FULL alllll day! Our supper was super yummy. It is called Ranch Chicken. Basically brown some boneless skinless chicken breasts in some olive oil. Add some chicken broth and some ranch dressing. I added onion. Cook the breasts through and then add a fresh diced tomato. Serve it with some pasta. Top the chicken with a little cheese. I added some peas (our lil ones choice). The sauce is yummy on the noodles as well.

The other picture is of the leftovers. I just diced the chicken breast that was left over into the two dishes with the pasta and peas. I topped it with cheese and there is our lunch. I think I will make something like this for the potluck on Sunday. It is something I know we can eat and get full and it will be a hit with others! For my Bestie...just take away the tomato and you will be fine! Just make sure to add a fruit or veggie to your plate for nutrition and color! :)

I am going to play on the Wii tonight for my activity. My family is doing it now. I am next! Now for the 30 Day challenge # 3: Tell a bit about your parents.

Well, I could say a lot about my 'rents. First, they are strong! Things have not always been easy for my family but my parents have remained strong. I am VERY proud to say that my parents are still together after MANY years of marriage...38 I believe. There have been times of trial but what I can say is that my Dad is a HARD worker and was always a wonderful provider for our family. My Mom, although not always the healthiest has been there for us kids. She was home making suppers, doing laundry, listening to us when we needed to talk. Now that I am an adult, I like to reflect on all of the wonderful memories I had as a kid. All the camping trips and fun vacations. When I was little, I can remember my dad filling his boat full of water just so I could swim on a hot day. So yes, while there was some trials (as almost all families have) the good outweighs the bad (if you let it)...I love my parents and I am glad that God gave them to me!

Day # 21

Ok, so my numbers are a little wonky! LOL! I just noticed that I completely missed the # 7 in the mix because today actually marks three weeks of our new life style. Anyhow, I am on track again.

Drum ROOOLLLLL PLEEEASSSSE.....I lost another 1 lb! This is great news. I was not expecting that! So within the last 3 weeks I have lost a total of 7 lbs. :) I am happy. Our area commander commented that she said it looked like I had lost some weight. THAT feels good. I like that it is noticeable.

Tonight my family and I played on our Wii Fit. We had a good time. Tonight's supper was a big hit! I made Baked Fish Florentine. Our lil ones comment was "yummm, that's my favorite!" Mike also really enjoyed it. There was none left! Along with it was some rice, corn, brussels sprouts and raw orange peppers. VERY filling and great!

Again if you want to see any recipies let me know...I can get them to you. Have you tried a new recipe lately?

Day # 22

Alright so today we did well. Kinda' a cleansing day. We had a piece of toast for breakfast with lots of fruit. I had a fruit smoothie and some nuts for lunch and then for supper I made a meatless dish. 6-bean and cheese quesadilla. It was yummy! Basically it is a smaller version of the Quesadilla Torte. So good. Tonight I might have some more fruits and veggies.

The other picture you see is our lil one eating what she calls "spaghetti" it is actually apple peels. I am making some apple sauce and our girl LOVES eating the peels! We shall see how it turns out.

Well that is all for now. Take care. I step on the scale again tomorrow. I have a feeling camp and that time of month may not be kind to me...I will fill you in tomorrow! :)

Day # 21 & 30 Day Challenge # 2

Hi!

So tonight we went out for supper with our DC's. It was a good time. I ended up getting a steak, mashed potatoes that I didn't eat all of and some veggies. I did have a small piece of cheesecake. I feel waaayyyy too full but I feel like I was able to pick and choose. I could have had the garlic toast that came with it, I could have had the soup that came with it and I could have had the potatoes smothered in gravy but I didn't. I also could have had a pop as well but I did not. SO although I did go out, I didn't do as bad as I could have. So I am happy.

30 Day Challenge # 2: Tell a little bit about my vices...

Wow! My vices. Hmmmmmm, Welllll I really don't know what to say about it. I don't want to pretend that my life is perfect because it is not. I am not addicted to facebook, I don't play video games... So if I have a vice it would have to be food and blogging (about food) LOL! Now I really don't believe I am addicted to food...anymore. The food does not control me because I control it! I am feeling as if I am in a good place right now. This is a lame post but that is all I have for you right now. I will check back later. Most likely tomorrow! Have a great evening (if it is evening for you) and have a GREAT Sunday.

30 Day Challenge # 1

Challenge 1: Write a bit about your best friend.

Ok, so I could talk about my husband or Jesus but I really don't think that this is the way I am going to interpret this. I am going to tell you about my BFF "Best friend Forever" Shannon.

Shannon and I have known each other for a number of years now. We met through our husbands who also are best friends. How often does that happen?!?

Anyhow, I am almost speechless when I think about her. She is a picture of beauty and strength. We have laughed together, cried together, talked until the wee hours of the night/morning, shared our struggles and fears. She saw me through some scary times as I gave birth to my daughter and all that happened after that! We have camped in the rain, swam in lakes ;), travelled hundreds of miles just to spend some time together. We have prayed for each other and have kept each other accountable on some tough issues. Together we have grown. We have grown closer to God and our friendship has gotten stronger through the years. There is not one thing that I couldn't share with her. Friends like her are hard to find and I am glad that I did.

So to you my "bestie"...Thank you for all of the memories past and for all the new ones coming. Thanks for being the one that I share with, have fun with and pray with. Here is to you, who can make me laugh (sometimes so hard I cry) and to you, the one I know I can cry with. I raise my cyber glass of...water in honor of you and our friendship. I love you.

There, challenge one is done. That is enough mush for one evening don't you think? Who is your "bestie" and why are they yours?

30 Day Challenge

Alright!

In addition to updating you about our healthy lifestyle change, I have decided to take up this other challenge...I am to write about each of the topics on the list below. Now I can't promise it will be everyday but it will happen! Maybe you can take up the challenge as well. Let me know if you are so I can follow it. Here is the list:

30 Day Challenge: Tell a little about the following...

Day 1 — Your Best Friend
Day 2 — Your vices
Day 3 — Your parents
Day 4 —Your siblings
Day 5 — Your dreams
Day 6 — Someone that inspires you
Day 7 — Your job
Day 8 — Your favorite internet friend that you’ve never met
Day 9 — Someone you wish you could meet
Day 10 — Someone you don’t talk to as much as you’d like to
Day 11 — A deceased person you wish you could talk to
Day 12 — Your dream vacation
Day 13 — Something you’re looking forward to
Day 14 — Someone you’ve drifted away from
Day 15 — The person you miss the most
Day 16 — Someone that’s not in your state/country
Day 17 — The place you wish you were from
Day 18 — The person that you wish you could be
Day 19 — Something that makes you different
Day 20 — Your favorite television shows
Day 21 — Someone you judged by their first impression
Day 22 — Your pet peeves
Day 23 — The last person you kissed
Day 24 — The person that gave you your favorite memory
Day 25 — A life changing moment
Day 26 — The last person you made a pinky promise to
Day 27 — The thing you most enjoy doing
Day 28 — Someone that changed your life
Day 29 — Your talent
Day 30 — Your reflection in the mirror

Days # 15-20

Hi!

Well I am back from camp. I am sorry but I ended up not taking pictures of the food. I forgot the first night and then the next so I thought I would just tell you about it. I have to say that camp food is good by many peoples standards. I did find the food to have tons of salt and sugar. I always left food on my plate. So I was conscious of what I was taking for portions and then I left some on the plate as well. We had meals such as:

Turkey dinner-I asked for a half portion of potato, more veggies and a small amount of gravy.

Tacos-I made sure to have lots of lettuce and minimal meat. I did use salsa and sour cream. I had a bit of cheese with it.

BBQ hot dogs, sausages, hamburgers: I chose a hot dog. BAD mistake. I did not finish it because the salt almost killed me! All of the salads were covered in sauces (coleslaw, mayo etc...) So I found it challenging to eat that day. I will confess that I took a few potato chips and some beans in tomato sauce. Can't say I really enjoyed the chips. However they were not horribly salty so that was a bonus.

Roast Beef Dinner: Came with veggies and potatoes. I am grateful that the gravy was on the side in a dish because I am SURE it was made mostly of sodium!! For dessert there was fruit in a waffle bowl topped with whipped topping. I didn't catch the server in time to ask for no topping so I picked through the topping to get to the fresh fruit. I ate some fruit but not the bowl. As a side note it was a wonderful time with the Commissioners of The Salvation Army and a nice service to install our new DC's.

It was a challenge. for snacks I was happy to see some fresh fruit put out. One night the snack was popcorn and sno cones!!! The snack was at 9pm and the KIDS were allowed to have SNO CONES!!! My kid did not have one. I actually decided to try one. Couldn't finish it all. HA!

I think this experience has taught me that I won't always be able to control what I am eating. I can control things like portions, if I have seconds (which I didn't), whether I eat dessert (I did, sometimes like the fruit bowl or once I had a cookie with a tiny bit of ice cream) my stomach did not like me much. I also learned that it was alright for me to ask for honey so I could have honey on my oatmeal in the morning instead of brown sugar.

Oh, it was really hard to exercise as well because our time was jammed packed with sessions. Any free time I had entailed trying to get our daughter to nap. That was a challenge especially because Mike and I REALLY wanted to explore the camp and the walking trails.

I am sure this week has affected my weight loss for the worst but I will be back on track now! By the way I stepped on the scale before I left for camp and it showed that I lost another pound so that would be a total of 6lbs. That is great.

Tonight for supper I made Maple Salmon you can check out the recipe here: http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/maple-salmon/Detail.aspx
Along with it I made dill carrots, brussels sprouts and some salsa basmati rice. Yummy.

When you are away from your normal routine what do you do to make healthy choices?

Day # 14

Well today was good. A little off but still alright. For supper tonight we went to Subway because I thought it would be nice to try the salads there. Not sure if you knew but at Subway you are able to make any of the subs into salads. We have never done that so I wanted to see what it would be like. I ordered the "Veggie Delight" sub as a salad but I had a sour taste in my mouth (not literally) because the cost was close to $6 for some lettuce, cukes, black olives and onions. NOT happy. Sure I didn't have to make it but I wish I had for that price! LOL! Well, now I know. THAT won't be happening again!

Tomorrow we leave for camp and this will prove to be very interesting for a few reasons. For me, ummm how can I say this so my male readers don't go away screaming??? Lets just say I have a visitor coming really soon which usually creates some cravings. I was really hoping to be home for the first one so I can make sure that I have those foods around me that would satisfy the cravings but in a healthy way. I plan to hit the nearest town to camp so I can stock up on some yummy fresh things like fruits and veggies for snacks and for those possible cravings. Anyhow, I will be taking pics of my meals at camp. I find that when I do that, I choose better because I know you are watching! LOL! Plus it is just plain fun! Well, I will be gone for a while but I will be back. If you want to check out some of the recipes and other yummy things to try head over to "Hospitality Haven" or check out any of blogs on my blog list! They all are great reads! Take care...and pray I do well! I will pray for you too! Oh I didn't have a supper pic so please enjoy this one that was taken in Alaska. We went there this summer. :)

Day # 13

Hi Healthy Buddies!

Today I had a burger...Now before you gasp too much, it wasn't from a fast food place. Close though. We travelled to a neighboring community for a hospital visitation and afterwards we had the opportunity to visit some fellow officers and they asked us to join them to have lunch at a charity BBQ. The proceeds were going to those who lost everything in a fire. So our choices were a hot dog, smokie or a hamburger. I chose the burger. It seemed the lesser evil! LOL! Anyhow, I didn't really enjoy it but it was for a good cause and the visit was AWESOME!! Afterwards, we went to DQ where I didn't get anything. My stomach was unsure after lunch as it was...I couldn't imagine adding milk and sugar to the mix! The great news is that I shared what we were doing with our friends and she was SUPER excited about the whole idea and wants to do it herself! So we will see what happens...I may be referring her to you Alison!

As for supper, I did a "clean out the fridge" thing. So I took some chicken, turkey bacon, rice, veggies some soy sauce for the main dish and added some fresh garden cukes and apples. I ended up picking out the meat because it wasn't appealing to me. Especially after my lunch earlier.

Just so you know, I will me missing in action for one week due to Officer's camp so please know that I will update you when I return. By the way, we had fresh bread waiting for us this morning for breakfast. I think I am going to LOVE my bread maker! :) Do you have a bread maker?

Day # 12

Hi! (I am really tired, please excuse mistakes...Not really editing this...) :)

Tonight's supper was YUMMY! It was chicken Kiev with basmati rice, broccoli and corn on the cob. It was super delicious! There was definitely some prep work involved as we pounded the chicken breasts, made a filling of butter, cheese and oregano. We made the coating out of parm cheese and oregano. So we rolled the chicken up carefully making sure the filling stayed IN as we dipped them in egg and coated them! LOL! It was SOOOOO worth it!

We invited some friends over and they really enjoyed our healthy meal. Hard to believe that this meal was considered healthy. As we shared our meal with our friends they told us that this was the healthiest meal they had eaten all WEEK! WOW! This meal wasn't our healthiest either...I actually thought it was almost like "cheating" not that I can cheat because I am not on a diet right? HA! Still LOVE that. Anyhow, it was a good day. Our family went to the park and I tossed a ball with a friend. Good day. Looking forward to tomorrow. Right now I have programmed my bread maker to have fresh bread for us in the morning...I have never used it before so I am curious to see what happens. It is like Christmas! Have a good evening everyone!

Day # 11

Today was a good day. Food was alright...I did have a very small sliver of carrot cake today to celebrate a 96 year old birthday. I also had some crackers and cheese. I have to say that when I got home to prepare for supper tomorrow...(yes for tomorrow!), I was feeling ill. I needed to drink large amounts of water to feel better. Tonight there will be no picture of our supper because it was leftovers. Our little one REALLY wanted the broccoli casserole again for supper so we actually ate it cold like a salad! It was GOOD! I really enjoyed it.

I also got lots of activity tonight! A friend and I went for a walk and before we knew it, we were out well after an hour. It was nice. Mike and our lil one went swimming while I went walking so they had some great activity again! Swimming 2 days in a row! Wow!

I am looking forward to tomorrows supper. More because I want to see how it turns out...I will tell you more about that tomorrow tho! Well, tell me...What have you tried new? Keep commenting...It keeps me going! :)

Day # 10

Day 10 and feeling....OK. Been a tough week...Not food wise but other things. Has this affected my eating? No not really. Has it affected my activity level? YES. :(
Tonight we went swimming as a family so that was good. Anyhow, I need to make more of an effort to get some activity in.

I am about to sit and relax now but first I will tell you a bit about our supper. It is a meatless dish. Called Broccoli Casserole. Basically whole wheat pasta on the bottom of a dish, broccoli layer, plain yogurt, cottage cheese and eggs all blended together and put on the broccoli then more noodles, cottage cheese mix and then cheese on top and baked. It was really tasty and filling. I added some watermelon and snap peas and carrots. It was good. Well that is all I have tonight. See you!

Day # 9

The truth about peanut butter. After switching to natural peanut butter (no salt or sugar), Mike and I decided to see the difference between the two by taking out a spoon and tasting the highly processed stuff. We were both SHOCKED at how much salt you can taste in it! I thought it would have been the sugar I tasted...NOPE! Salt. Huh! It is crazy how our bodies get used to the junk we put into ourselves. We both found the processed peanut butter HORRIBLE! :) Great news!!

Well, tonight's supper was fun. Our family tried something new. Today I cooked whole wheat couscous. I liked it! I think my family found the texture tough to take but all have agreed not to give up on it! Along with it I made an assortment of sauteed veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, yellow pepper, celery, carrots, onion, fresh garlic). Also you will see teriyaki chicken breast and fresh garden cucumber. It was a good supper. GRRRRRRRRRRR I just tried to upload my picture of my supper! I was SO proud of it!! So turns out I took the camera to Meg's swimming lessons and took pics of my supper with NO card in it...Which means they didn't save. So I am sorry you couldn't see it. I'm even more sorry that I don't have pics of swimming lessons! *Sigh* maybe tomorrow. :(

I need to get some exercise in yet tonight so I have to go...What have you done for exercise today? Let me know.

Day # 8

Hey All!

Today I stepped on the scale to see if there were any other benefits to my new lifestyle. I am happy to report that there have been -5 benefits! You heard me...I have lost 5lbs. It feels really good.

Today was a bit difficult because we had a staff meeting where we brought in pizza. So I did have a piece but I also made sure to bring salad and fresh fruits and veggies. So I loaded my plate with salad, and veggies first and then I picked the pizza. Instead of taking the cookies and pasteries that were at the meeting, I had fruit. So another day of good choices. I have noticed that I am ALOT thirstier now after eating the pizza. It was very salty. I did enjoy it though. I still think homemade pizza would have been better. I think I would like to make a homemade greek pizza for supper one day...Yummm.

We are heading into week two and hopefully we will be just as strong. Have you tried anything new this last week?

Day # 7

YAYYYY!!!

We have made it one week!

Disclaimer: I am extremely tired so please excuse any spelling errors. I am too tired to pay that much attention to this post. Hopefully it makes some sense.

Well, today was a different day! My poor hubby has been having BAD back problems lately. So bad to the point that he could not take this Sunday. It was his turn to preach but he was in so much pain that he could not do it. He couldn't even pick up his guitar. Well...That means it was me up. Now I need to mention as well that it was discovered only this morning that the pain was that bad. Which means that gave me an hour to plan a service. I want to say that God came through!!! He pulled a beautiful service together for me and we used iworship because we do not have a worship team. All in all, it worked wonderfully. Even the kids time flowed with the service! Praise God!!! Today could have been a stressful day but instead we trusted in God and worship today was wonderful!

Another praise report: Amidst the possible stress, our eating was not affected! **Insert thumbs up here!** Now I have decided that I would like one day a week where I am not cooking. So Sundays it is! We rely on leftovers and eating out. Today we went out and I believe we did well in choosing our meals. I had crab legs (no butter), some stuffed (with cheese, rice, broccoli) shrimp (which I couldn't eat all of because it was too rich and greasy) and instead of choosing mashed potatoes or fries I asked for some broccoli. It also came with a tossed salad but I forgot to ask for the dressing on the side. I found that I couldn't eat all of the salad because it had so much dressing on it! I actually dug to the bottom for some "fresh" veggies :). I found that when I eat out, I am less shy about asking about alternative choices such as having a veggie instead of potato. I have also learned that most places are accommodating and with no extra cost. Now, I do have to say that coming home after eating out, I have a BIG headache. I have been drinking water to help and I know that I have met my quota so that is not the cause of the headache...I have to wonder if it is because we ate out. I am thinking so! Hmmm...

Also another great report: My family and I were driving by a McDonald's and we have this game where we would point out the restaurant and then say "EWWWWWW!!!" Our little one would sometimes say "Nooooo!" but today when we mentioned McDonald's she chimes in with the resounding "EWWWWWWWWWWW!!!" It was GREAT! :)

When I look at the picture of my paid for meal...I can't help but think that what I make looks better!!! This is good news! Well, I did some walking today but no real exercise...I can't wait to do it tomorrow. As for you: When you go out to eat, don't be afraid to ask for healthier choices. The worst they can say is no. Happy eating.

Day # 6

Almost a whole week has passed on our new lifestyle! I can hardly believe it...It has seemed so easy, I wonder if it will only get easier from here? I get to have another week here to form the good habits before I am off to Officer's camp for 4 days where we will be at the mercy of someone else's cooking...Even though the cooking is good, I am now used to eating nothing processed or full of salt or sugar. I intend to go to the closest town and grab some fresh fruit for snacks and some veggies too. We will survive!!

So yesterday I gave Megan the choice of what to have for supper for today. I was impressed with her choice. She said "May I have spaghetti and meatballs please Mommy?" She also kept adding to the requests with asparagus and garlic toast (that is the impressive part). So off we went to the store to find some ground turkey/chicken for the meatballs. She picked orange pepper, celery, broccoli, cauliflower and I added to it onions and fresh garlic for the sauce. The garlic toast is homemade bread (my moms). For dessert (our first this week) we had baked apples. I made a yummy mix of oatmeal, cinnamon, raisins, chopped almonds, and maple syrup for the middles of apples. It was sooooo GOOD! Well that is all I have for you tonight. Here is your challenge: Make a dessert but instead of using sugar try some pure maple syrup...just be sure to use a little less then the recipe calls for! Let me know how it is!

RIDERVILLE

Hi Blogger Friends!

Could you do me a favor? Could you go to the link below and on the right hand side of the page find "fan poll" and vote for Weyburn? The community is going for this title and it will help out the local football teams get some funding for the club! PLUS it would just be cool to be known as "Riderville"! Please vote everyday beginning tonight until the the 31st! Any help is GREAT! Thanks!

http://www.riderville.ca/

Day # 5

Day five already! Feeling strong! I am TIRED! I just finished using my Wii for exercise tonight. I played the game "Just Dance" it is so fun! You sure get the heart rate up as you dance.

The supper you see on the right was our "other white meat". A family in our church bought a pig from a local farmer here and their family is the size of ours with the kids being the same age so they decided to share their meat with us! What a blessing! Let me tell you how great it is knowing where your meat has come from. It was all prepped and butchered locally which is AWESOME! It is SUPER fresh and lean. It tasted so good. You will also see some raw carrots, swiss chard and beet tops. I must say I have been trying to think of more creative side dishes...I am getting tired of plain rice. So this rice has more veggies then rice in it (fresh snap peas, onion, garlic, corn, yellow pepper, spinach, carrots)...I think I am missing one or two! Oh well. It was all sauteed with about a tablespoon of soy sauce. It was good! My family could eat rice every day so I need to get creative with it for my sake. Today was a great day! Still feeling good! How are you doing? :)

Day # 4

Well, I have a confession to make. NO I did not "cheat" or "fall off the wagon"...Know why? Because I can't cheat or fall off anything I am not on! I LOVE that! See I am so used to diets where you can fail, but my family is not on a diet. We are living a new lifestyle. I think it just hit me today really. I know I have said it but it just sunk in today when Mike said, "Do you think we could have this or that?" and my response was "Yes!" We are not on diet. As long as it not processed and it is wholesome then we can have whatever we want! We are enjoying it! Anyhow, that was my revelation today!

Alright, a quick update on today: Breakfast was yummy. Pancakes and fresh fruit. Lunch was eaten out and I had a great salad. NOW...I want to tell you that I was NOT happy with the color of my supper tonight. I almost didn't want to show you. (It is basmati rice, cauliflower with homemade cheese sauce, salmon, a tossed salad in a corn tortilla). I was SOOOOO tired that I didn't get the red peppers sliced or raw carrots cut to go along with it as planned. Also I planned to pick up fresh salmon but we don't have it here apparently. It was frozen and took overnight to thaw. Opps! I should have checked the store sooner. Like a good girl, instead of skipping the fish meal, I decided to use what was left in my freezer (M&M Meat salmon in dill sauce). NOT my first choice. Fresh would have been better. Oh well, at least it was not fast food or from a box so YAY me!

I DO have good news! The reason I was so tired was because Mike and I took some time together after lunch to go to our outdoor pool to swim! Mike did something he never has before...He swam in the deep end! That is HUGE for him! We swam laps and just enjoyed some time together without a kid...SHOCKING! We had a wonderful time getting some exercise and connecting again. So this lifestyle is not only benefiting our physical health but it is benefiting our relationship. Anyhow, I have learned that I have to watch and see how tired I am because that will affect the color of my meals. Sounds goofy but color to me is BIG. If it looks appealing I will enjoy it better and it looks yummy to my family too. Today I also realized the importance of prepping meals. I didn't really look over the meal last night. I just decided to have fish and this is what happened. Now I know...

ANNNNDD a funny from my lil one: (sitting at the breakfast table about to put pure maple syrup on her cakes):

Meg: "Mom may I have some of the other syrup?"
Mom: "No, that has chemicals in it."
Meg: "But I like chemicals!"
Mom: "You don't even know what chemicals are."
Meg: "Oh, what are they?"
Mom: "Some stuff that could hurt your body."
Meg: "Oh." She ate the pure stuff! I did let her have a little of the other stuff too mixed in just so I could use it up.
(I must say, I don't think there are chemicals in it really but I couldn't think of a good word that early! LOL!). I could have said it's not pure...Oh well, mornings!



Have a good night all! If you can, eat some fish sometime this week! You don't have much time left! Let me know if you did or not!

Day # 3

Hello!

Another good day! Lunch was late today but when we finally had it, it was sooo good! It was the leftover Cantonese chicken. For some reason today my water intake SUCKED!!! I will definitely have to make a point to drink more during the day tomorrow.

As for supper tonight, it was a meatless dish called Quesadilla torte...SOOO YUMMY! Basically you take some onion and green or red or yellow pepper...whatever you like and sautee them until they are soft. Then you add some beans. I chose a canned six bean blend. Ideally I would like to use real beans but I need to learn how to cook with them first. Anyhow, then you add some frozen corn. In a spring form pan you put a tortilla on the bottom then some of the bean mix, some salsa and cheese. You repeat until you have 4 layers and on top you brush the final tortilla with some olive oil and cheese and bake it. If you try this, make sure to cut the tortilla into pie pieces and form it back together, it worked well! Mike and Meg also make some freshly squeezed OJ to go along with supper. It was SOOOO tasty!

This evening, our family spent some time in the backyard. Our lil one jumped on the trampoline to entertain us and Mike and I tossed a ball around. We tried to toss the ball fast enough to get a bit of a workout and it worked well. Tonight I may make myself a fruit smoothie as a dessert. That sounds yummy. Well, that is all for today! Your challenge...Pick a meatless dish to make, experiment you just may be surprised! Take care!

Day # 2

Hi Again! It is day two of our new change. Today seemed to be just as easy. Breakfast was....Interesting. I had made some whole wheat blueberry and raspberry muffins and put them in the freezer so I could just pull them out when we needed them. I don't know what went wrong with them...Maybe I left them out too long before freezing them and the berries went bad but the muffins were HORRIBLE! LOL! That is alright though! We ate around the berries and had additional fruit with it! We had some almonds later for snacks and for lunch we ate leftover Mac N Cheese along with a side tossed salad....FILLING! Also the Mac N Cheese was good the second day!!

Our supper tonight is pictured above. Cantonese chicken, basmati rice, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and sauteed red, yellow, orange peppers with onion. It was so tasty and I made enough for leftovers tomorrow! I am looking forward to it. :)

As for exercise it was tougher today. We managed to walk a bit but the weather is very threatening.

My family and I have not been hungry at all and we don't feel deprived of anything as of yet. I am not missing pop or sugary drinks or candy! WOW! Could it be because I have cut sugar out of our diets? I really think so! I find that if I want a dessert or candy (which I have not yet, fruit will be enough). I am feeling really good. I know that I am feeding my family properly and it just feels so right! There are so many benefits to eating better and getting active! I can't wait until I can report how these changes have affected our health! Until tomorrow...instead of that ice cream to cool you down grab a few strawberries, or other fruit on hand with some ice cubes, throw it in the blender and enjoy a refreshing, healthy treat! :)

Day # 1

Here I am with one whole day of eating healthy under my belt (dare I say smaller belt?) Ok so it wouldn't be THAT quick but lets just say that I stepped on the scale this morning (poor thing...) and did NOT like what I saw. I am happy to begin this venture.

It was REALLY tough to begin to today as I am not feeling well at all! I have a sore throat and I have been fighting a fever all day. I think it was because of lack of sleep and the fact that I had 10 kids over yesterday for our now four year old's birthday party. The kids didn't make me sick (well I don't think anyways) but I think it was because it was STINKING HOT (33 degrees Celsius) and I was running in and out of our air conditioned house. I think the temp. change plus the lack of sleep finally caught up with me. I am sure the added stress of work doesn't help either. God will win, Yes He will...HOWEVER, I will say that today was a great success! Here is why:

It would have been so easy to grab a bowl of sugary cereal but we managed to have some plain yogurt and fruit for breakfast. I tried to eat it without sweetener but decided to try it with some pure Maple Syrup...YUMMY! I had some ginger mint tea with it as well. I think I would need more substance in the morning...Maybe a protein so I added a few almonds and that seemed to help (I ate maybe 2 or three). For lunch we went out and I had a delicious bowl of homemade beef vegetable soup and a side garden salad (which I took home because I was too full). After I got home from a tough day at the office, I decided to make a meatless meal because I was missing one ingredient for my Cantonese chicken. I made Gourmet Mac N Cheese. If I was up to it and knew how...I would post the link to the recipe. Just check on Hospitality Haven's blog for the recipe she is on my blog list! This was the first time I used coconut milk for anything and I have to say that I smiled when I opened it, tasted it, and cooked with it! I felt I was somewhere exotic, somewhere tropical. I had a wonderful feeling, It just felt good. The picture you see is our actual meal. The Mac N Cheese was made with coconut milk (as mentioned) but sprinkled on top are bread crumbs and cheese. The veggies were locally grown and bought from a farmers market, except the spinach unfortunately. I LOVVVVE fresh veggies! With being sick, we still managed to get in some exercise. Our lil one rode her bike and we all walked for 1/2 an hour. On the walk I told my dear hubby that I think we will do well! I think so because it could have been SOOOO easy to start tomorrow instead of today because of how we are feeling but we decided to stick to the plan and I feel GREAT (well, I don't physically but I do about our new life!)...I even have our breakfast prepped and in the fridge ready for tomorrow and our supper is marinating in the fridge. I am sure you will hear about that tomorrow. OH and I drank my quota of water today! Go Me!!

Well this was a long post/day so I am going to now sit down with a bowl of air popped, buttered (sans salt), sprinkled with herb and garlic sea salt (YUMMY) popcorn and enjoy some mindless entertainment. Have you tried something new and healthy lately?

A New Direction

Hello Blogger Friends!

Well, as promised I am here to tell you about the new direction that my family is taking. This new direction will affect our health and well being....For the BETTER! We are taking up a challenge that a friend has given to us. Beginning August 9th, Our challenge will be to eat better. We are to eat only wholesome foods. This means nothing processed, nothing full of grease or sugar. We are doing away with that harmful salt and we have replaced it with sea salt (which we prefer anyway). This challenge looks awesome! I feel so much better already just preparing for it! Yesterday I cleaned out my pantry as instructed. I packed up two laundry baskets FULL of the foods that our family is to stay away from. These foods included: canned meats, canned soups, KD, packaged soups, iced tea and other drinks full of chemicals. As I was packing up the pantry and taking note of the ingredients listed on the side of the boxes or cans, my eyes grew big and I was shocked at the amount of junk that I was willing to feed my family. I didn't often use that food because I prefer to cook fresh but I was amazed that I had that much processed food in my house!

So why the change? Because I am ready. Recently I was diagnosed with PCOS (Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome) you can google it if you wish. Basically it means that it would be tough for me to conceive again without some sort of treatments, rapid weight gain with it being hard to lose which can lead to more serious diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, bad cholesterol (high or low) etc...! There is more to this disease but that is the short of it. I have decided that with Gods help, I will be healthy in order to serve him better and longer!!! I am passionate about my health and I am ready to take control. THAT is why I have accepted this healthy lifestyle change. I don't like calling it a diet because it really isn't. It is a lifestyle change. I am re-learning how to choose healthier food and I am re-learning how to take the time to care for myself and my family by preparing proper meals. Also, my three year old will learn at an early age how to choose healthier foods and meals. She has been involved with the grocery shopping and the baking. I intend on allowing her to help prepare all the meals she wants! She has enjoyed making our Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins that we will eat for breakfast along with fresh fruit (instead of sugar we used real maple syrup). We also made Chocolate Chip Oatmeal cookies...Again, no sugar. Both were VERY YUMMY!!! If you would like the recipes just let me know. :)

Anyhow, as for blogging I will be sharing my journey of this change of lifestyle. I will tell the truth...the good the bad and the UGLY! I will share my thoughts and feelings about all of the changes and I will hopefully be able to post a picture of myself that hopefully will grow smaller and smaller each week! I am sure I will have other posts about life as well. My hope is that you will join me in this journey and the odd time I may challenge you as well! For now...Here is YOUR challenge...Go to your cupboards and take a box or can from it. Now...READ THE INGREDIENTS! Pay particular attention to the serving size and then look at the sodium content and other harmful ingredients that are in it. So far I have really learned that if you can't pronounce the name...STAY AWAY! :) Here's to a new direction and a healthy life!