The success and failures of food makeovers

So I spent Sunday preparing some the the food for this week ( to make my already crazy life a little more predictable!)  The family and I loved the sliders(Monday night's meal!) it was a great idea and will definitely be repeated.  The Au gratin potatoes which were another blogger take on the Weight Watchers version, lets say we are having them tonight and I think I may eat extra veg instead, they do not taste anything like what I dreamed of, of well so far this week one success one failure!  I also already took the time to plan for next week so i could add the basics to my list as we go ( I did all of that on Thursday night before shopping).  Our grocery total was 107 with tax.  Not what I was hoping for, but here is to next week.  I will be posting next weeks menu on Thursday and our grocery list.

Fabo Friday Foods: Part 1

As many of you know life with kids is crazy and Friday we try and kick back and relax.  However, we have already had leftover night by this point (so we have room in the fridge for groceries!) So I always try and cook something not so complicated.  Before the health changes I would have grabbed a frozen pizza, so the 1^st Fabo Friday food to make over ~ pizza!

Crescent Pizza Rolls

1 package of crescent rolls

5 tablespoons plus a tsp. of ready-made spaghetti sauce

1 cup of Kraft - Natural Shredded Cheese - Mozzarella Fat Free

24 turkey pepperoni

Veggie topping of your choice, zucchini are great, spinach, mushrooms, onions, all my fave!

Serves 4

Serving size 2 rolls

• Quick add calories
• Remember meal
• Copy yesterday
• Copy recent

• Yesterday
• Wednesday, January 19
• Tuesday, January 18
• Monday, January 17
• Sunday, January 16
• Saturday, January 15
• Friday, January 14

Calories 252 Carbs 26 Fat13 Protein 9 Fiber1

First you want to preheat the oven to 350.  Unroll the crescents as you normally would (I stretch them out a little to make more space for filling).  I use 2 teaspoons of sauce and it more than covers the crescents, I chop the pepperoni, add the veg and then the cheese.  Then you want to roll the crescents according to directions, these usually take 12-15 minutes.  I prepare a small salad and enjoy!  These are also great for football parties and you can make these ahead of time and freeze for lunches!

Starting a little early....

Justin and I are really trying to cut back expenses and wastes, so we are planning from A to Z, 1st menu then shopping list so we can avoid any grocery splurges.  I will be posting the menu in advance and a copy of my grocery list and afterwords to hold myself accountable....gulp...our actual receipts!We want to stick with our list!

Menu Plan for 1/24/2011-1/30/2011

Monday Dinner

·         Mini Lean Ground Beef and TVP ( Textured Vegetable Protein) sliders

·         Whole wheat dinner rolls

·         Homemade sweet potato fries

·         Frozen Sweet Peas

Tuesday Dinner

Grilled Chicken Breasts

Au Gratin potatoes Recipe

Frozen broccoli

Wednesday Dinner

HEALTHY & SPICY BUFFALO CHICKEN MEATBALLS recipe

Carrots

Celery

Thursday Dinner

Leftover night

Friday Dinner

Lean Ground Beef/TVP tacos 

With Black Beans and Corn

Saturday Dinner

Bubble Up Pizza Casserole recipe

Sunday Dinner

Finish up leftovers

Dessert for the week

Guilt free cupcakes! recipe

Grocery List    1/24-1/30
Produce	Dairy	Meat	Canned Foods	Frozen
Sweet Potatoes	Skim milk	Turkey Italian sausage	Black Beans	peas
Russet potatoes	Almond milk	Turkey Pepperoni	Corn	broccoli
mushrooms	Shredded mozzarella	Ground lean turkey breast	pumpkin
onions	Greek yogurt	LM Oven roasted turkey
garlic	2 Canned biscuits	LM Ham
Carrots
celery
parsley			Dry Food
apples		Bread/Cereal	Yellow cake mix
Banana	Baking	Multi-grain rolls
Sweets & Snacks	Carmel	2 Whole wheat white bread
Fiber bars				Condiments
Tortilla chips				Frank’s Original   Hot Sauce
				Fat free ranch
Beverages	Health /Beauty	Paper Products	Cleaning	Miscellaneous
water
pop
Monday Jan 24,2011

Sometimes the things you'd never even thought of really help

So this is just a list of those for me.
A fitness website....hahahahahaha!  But so true do not know what I'd do with www.myfitnesspal.com
Working out...ok you can laugh really hard at this one, gives me more energy and helps burn the fat away that is already there, I was always one of those people who thought there were people out there who just had random success and that working out really wasn't for me! Boy was I wrong, and know I get to give people the answer that I never wanted when I was looking for weight loss success, I work out and eat right!
Something else I know that works that I have fallen away from but restarted today, meal planning and meal preparedness!  I will post our menu for the week later including something new pictures!

Ham, Peas and Fettuccine Oh My!

Ham, Peas, and Fettuccine Oh My!(Tuesday Night)

Ingredients

• 16 ounces uncooked fettuccine
• 3/4 pound fully cooked lean ham, cubed
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 2 tablespoon all-purpose whole wheat
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1-1/4 cups of unsweetened almond milk
• 1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed

Directions

• Cook fettuccine according to package directions.
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet, sauté ham until lightly browned. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add onion to skillet; sauté for 4 minutes. Add mushrooms; sauté 3 minutes longer. Stir in the flour, rosemary and pepper until blended. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
• Reduce heat; add peas. Cook 2 minutes longer. Drain fettuccine; stir into the mushroom mixture. Add ham; heat through. Yield: 8 servings.
• Per Serving: Cal 302 Carbs 48 Fat 4 Protein 17 Fiber 3
• WW Points 6

Lasagna Soup( Wednesday Night)

Number of servings

Serves 8 people

Ingredients	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Fiber	Iron
Medium - Yellow Onion, 1 medium	64	15	0	2	3	2
Italian Sausage- Mild, 3 Link	810	6	75	42	0	12
Diced Tomatoes (Canned), 1 container (2 cups ea.)	100	20	0	4	4	16
Swanson - Beef Broth 99% Fat Free, 1 container (2 cups ea.)	30	2	0	4	0	4
C & H - Dark Brown Cane Sugar, 1 Tablespoon	45	12	0	0	0	0
Rigatoni, 8 oz dry( half of the box)	840	168	4	28	8	4
Grated Parmesan Cheese, 12 tsp(1/4 cup)	150	0	9	12	0	0
Shredded Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese, 1 1/2 cup	480	6	30	42	0	0
Garlic and Herb Spaghetti Sauce, 1 cup

Start by taking the casing from the links and brown, chop onion and add to the meat while browning.  I try to make this a one pot meal and add the rest of the indigents except the pasta. After brining to a boil, add pasta and continue to stair for 20 minutes.

Per Serving: cal 325 carbs 31 fat 15 Protein 17 Fiber 3  *without cheese Per Serving: cal 246 carbs 30 fat 10 Protein 11 Fiber 3

WW Points 8 (if you subtract the cheese though it is only 6+ points)

Thursday night leftovers
Friday Night
Crescent roll pizzas- you stuff pizza toppings in one of those reduced fat crescent rolls, they are 187 calories and yum!  Plus the kids love them!

Balancing Act a Joke or A REALLY hard task

So today's blog is talking about a struggle I have since before I was a parent.  When I was younger the balance was finding time to sleep between all the staying up late with friends and husband.  Then it was finding a balance between friends and husband.  Then it was balancing work and hubby, and for a short while ( during my 1st pregnancy) I had a balanced life, there was church, and friends, and family.  After I had kids it was finding a balance between the kids and the hubby, and now I am trying to balance church, kids, hubby, school, and family, and friends.  Kind of find myself asking if balance is possible, if I can achieve all that and still be me? Well I can check REALIZING THAT THE ONLY BALANCE I WILL FIND IN LIFE WILL BE UNSATISFYING, AND THAT THE CHALLENGE OF IT ALL IS A THRILL!  Never something I thought until I had a little time to examine things ( I am on semester break!)

So...this is one I for sure didn't even hope or expect!

I bought a pair of 9/10's from Aeropostle!  I started this journey as a size 18!  Crazy , My goal when I started was a size 12 ( in the back of my mind I would have been content with a size 14), I wanted to weigh 150 pounds, not there yet but really close ( that is how confused I was about close, I had been wearing a size too small for quite sometimes and in fact I have been doing it for along time!).  I weigh less than I did when I was in high school ( the year I graduated 98, my weight 156!), I weighed in last Wednesday at 154!  I have changed my goal to 145, and I am tempted to lower it even more, my medically ideal weight is 113-154.  Something I never expected but probably hope to check off my Bucket List!  And if you ask how did I do it, I work out and eat right( this involves knowing what I am eating, portion control and calorie counting!).  Can't wait to post when I hit, 150!

Checking off a lot!

So it has been awhile since I have blogged and a lot that I never knew I wanted to do until it had been done.  I took my kids to see Disney on Ice!  That was an experience I shall never forget, hope they like it as much as I did.  I hugged and kissed a 5 year old boy, that is right my baby turned 5!  My weight loss journey encouraged other people.  Ok that is a big one for me, I never meant to fix anybody ( other than me).  I am glad though, and I am glad that my friends ( Vanessa and Andee love you both!) told me, becuase I forget or maybe I never knew that the little things we do in life that are good always outweigh the bad.  When I die and meet my maker, I want people to remember those things.  I want people to remember be vibrant and happy, not blue and struggling to get off the couch, so thanks Lord for helping directing me to happiness(even if it involves calorie counting, but much like reading the bible it needs to be done daily to remember what is truly important in life!)