Almond Joy Oatmeal

I usually use other people's recipes, but when it comes to oatmeal, I can get creative and hold my own.  ;)  The kids and I frequently do Oatmeal Bar for breakfast.  I let them pick a nut, a dried fruit, a sweetener, and a "booster".  They love being able to customize their breakfast and make so many choices!  I failed to put eggs on my shopping list this week for some unknown reason.  They are my go-to breakfast food.  Unfortunately, we're out, and I won't go grocery shopping again until this weekend, so I had to make do.  Oatmeal was my next choice.  One of the reasons I think oatmeal is a great food is because it fills you up.  I haven't even eaten half my bowl and I'm getting full!  And it keeps you full as well!  I will easily make it to lunch time without feeling the urge to snack after this breakfast.  I actually paid attention to how much of everything I was adding to my recipe this time, so I could pass that information on to you!  If you're craving chocolate for breakfast I think this breakfast bowl will really hit the spot!  Enjoy!

Almond Joy Oatmeal
1/2 cup quick oats
1 tbsp sliced almonds
1 tbsp shaved coconut (mine is sweetened because I wasn't looking close enough when I bought it, but unsweetened will work fine too)
1 tbsp pecan pieces
1 tsp Chai seeds
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (this ended up being a lot, you could probably get away with 1-2 tsp)
2 packets no calorie sweetener (or 1 tbsp Stevia)
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (mine is vanilla flavored)
1/2 cup water

Add all ingredients to bowl and stir to combine.  Microwave to desired consistency, stirring every 30-60 seconds.  Approximately 2-2 1/2 minutes.  Enjoy!

This recipe clocks in at a healthy 326 calories and is packed with 10g of protein and 39g carbs!

Adjustments
Like I mentioned before, a tablespoon was a lot of cocoa powder.  You could probably get away with 1-2 tsp.  If you like a stronger coconut taste, up the coconut to 2-3 tbsp.  It wasn't very pronounced in my bowl.  I added one more packet of sweetener after everything cooked because I love super sweet stuff.  Feel free to adjust the recipe to suit your own tastes!

As I mentioned at the beginning, we love doing breakfast bar at our house.  I simply use what I have in my pantry (which is usually leftovers from baking season).  I get most of my nuts, dried fruit, and boosters at Aldi's.  I love the items that have zipper tops (they were saved, thank goodness) from the darn moths in my pantry.  If you get a bag without a zip top I strongly recommend storing in another zip lock bag (that's what I have to do with my coconut, I folded the bag down and stuffed it all in a ziplock sandwich bag.  Here are some examples of things you can make your own oatmeal bar at your house!

Begin with 1/2 cup quick oats.
Nuts (1 tbsp-1/4 cup)
Almonds, pecan, walnuts, sunflower seed kernels, pistachios, or peanuts (are what are usually around at my house)
Dried Fruit (1 tbsp-1/4 cup)
Coconut, craisens, raisens, Cherries, dates, prunes, mango, bananas, strawberries or pineapple (The Dollar Tree has a great assortment of different dried fruits, next to the trail mix, if you want to try some different things out)
*Fresh fruit would also work, but I would add it in after cooking your oatmeal*
Sweetener (1 tsp-2 tbsp)
Splenda, Stevia, sugar, brown sugar, Maple syrup, honey, or agave nectar (I have sugar free maple syrup, 1/4 cup has 30 calories as opposed to 240 with regular maple syrup!)
Boosters (1 tsp-2 tbsp)
Chai seeds, flax seed, cinnamon, nut butters, or protein powder
Liquid (1 cup)
Water, milk, coconut milk, soy milk, coconut milk, or coffee

There is so much more that you can add in, but this more or less covers what I've got, have used, or think might be good!  If you've got a flavor combination idea, try it out!  Let me know what combinations you've tried and loved!

Capsule Wardrobe - New Top

It's been a bit since I've posted about my capsule wardrobe, but I've added a couple of new pieces and I wanted to share them with you! 

First of all, I have to tell you about this great app I found called Vinted.  It's available in the Google Play Store (sorry iPhone users, no clue if it's available for you).  It's a second-hand app where people sell clothes, accessories, purses, shoes, all sorts of things!  I was looking for a Little Black Dress on there, but the seller I tried to buy from backed out because she couldn't find both of the pieces I tried to buy (another story for another day).  I have also looked for shoes and a trench coat on there.  I know these things can be expensive, so I was trying to find a deal on a "like new" item.  Many sellers also offer "bundles" where they discount things if you'll buy more than one item, so that's what I did!

I bought a khaki trench coat and bundled it with a new top.  It ended up costing about 5 cents less to get the top with the coat!  It made the top free!  With the two items and shipping I ended up paying $21!  Not bad, huh?  I was pretty excited!

I get nervous buying things online.  What if they don't fit?  When you buy from a private seller there are truly no returns, all the more reason this had to be a great deal, and I had to be positive about my size.  Fortunately, despite the fact that my brain does not comprehend,  the small top and jacket fit!  And I think they look great!

I didn't really need another top, but these colors look like they'll be great for the fall!  And I love the jacket and think it will be a great addition to my capsule wardrobe!  It's been a while since I totalled things up, but here's what my capsule wardrobe consists of at the moment...

Dresses -
Green high-low dress
White eyelet dress
Black dress with white flowers
Chevron Striped Dress
Neutral Color Block Dress
Little Black Dress

Tops -
Black t-shirt
Teal 3/4 sleeve blouse
Gray leopard print tank top
Blue t-shirt
White spaghetti strap top
Black sleeveless blouse with lace
Teal elbow length blouse
Black and white striped tank top with lace
Navy and White Striped Tank top
Gray t-shirt
Beige Leopard Print tank top
Green cap sleeve blouse
Black "Cold Shoulder" sweater
Coral, Brown, and Khaki "fan" blouse

Layering -
Chambray shirt
Gray Racerback tank top
Black Racerback tank top
Black and White Knee Length Cardigan
Khaki Trench Coat

Bottoms -
Boyfriend jeans
White shorts
Denim cuffed shorts
Skinny jeans
White Capri pants
Blue shorts

Accessories -
Black belt
Thin brown belt (stolen from a coral dress, no longer in wardrobe)
Thick brown belt (stolen from a white skirt, no longer in wardrobe)
Thick brown belt (stolen from Chevron Easter Dress)
Black sunglasses
Brown belt

Shoes -
Black Chucks
Nude Wedges
Gray Braided Sandals
Gray Flats
Cognac Quilted Boots
Black Decorative Sandals
Black Pumps

44 Capsule Items

One Pot Lemon Orzo Shrimp Skillet

So many recipes today!  Anyone else a shrimp eater in the crowd?  I LOVE shrimp!  I also love pasta!  Orzo pasta is great because it's tiny and feels like you're eating a lot more food per serving.  If you don't know about one-pot meals head on over to Pinterest now and check them out!  They are awesome because they minimize your dishes and mess created during your meal prep.  Who doesn't love that?  This meal cooks your shrimp, pasta, and frozen peas all at the same time!  It's great!  Michael and I gave this recipe 4 thumbs up!  If you like shrimp and pasta, you should give it a try.  I didn't notice a strong lemon flavor in this recipe, but maybe I just got a mild lemon or didn't juice it enough.  Either way, great recipe and worth a try!  Hope you like it too!

Crispy Baked Fish and Homestyle Lima Beans

Trying to catch up on some of the yummy recipes we've had lately.  We had two new recipes last night, Crispy Baked Fish and Homestyle Lima Beans.  This might seem like an odd combination, but I had them both in the freezer, and thus a meal was created.  ;)

This recipe had some really delicious flavor!  The mayo and Herbes de Providence made it almost taste like the fish already had tartar sauce on it.  The flavors were really yummy together!  The fish I used was Bass from my grandparents' pond.  Each filet is on the smaller side, 1.5-2oz.  Any time my recipes call for white fish, I use this fresh Bass if I have some on hand.  It cooks up delicious!  I use Tilapia if I don't have any that we caught ourselves.  I thought there was WAY TOO MUCH mayo mixture for this recipe.  Maybe it was because I used small filets, but I think you could cut the mayo mixture in half and still have more than you need.  Even so, it was delicious!  There was also too much of the bread crumb mixture.  I only used 1 cup of Panko and it was still too much.  I would say when you make this recipe, evaluate how much fish you have and adjust your ingredients accordingly, because as is, it makes too much.  IMHO.

Lima Beans are not my favorite food, but this recipe was really good!  I had an opened bag of them in my freezer and wanted to finish them up.  I adjusted the recipe because I only had 8 oz of beans instead of 12 oz.  Michael told me he likes Lima Beans.  Who knew??  Even though they aren't my favorite, I thought this recipe was a winner too!  Yay!  I love when the recipe proves me wrong and surprises me with being better than I expect!

Michael and I gave this meal 4 thumbs up!  The kids took their time eating it, but they ate it up too.  They weren't as crazy about the Lima Beans, but Avery ended up eating all of hers and Connor ate most of his (at 9pm when he was suddenly hungry and couldn't possibly go to bed without some food).  This meal was created because I had the supplies on hand, but each recipe was tasty and we'd happily eat either of them again!  Hope you like them too!

PS - Sorry the picture isn't that great!  I was too excited to dive in and forgot to take a picture at the beginning!

Hidden Veggie Sloppy Joes

Hey Friends!  Sorry it's been a while!  I'm back now and I have a great new recipe to share with you!  Hidden Veggie Sloppy Joes!  Enjoy!

First, let me be honest with you, I was a little concerned about how this recipe would turn out.  I've never purposefully hidden veggies in my food.  Some recipes "call for" hidden veggies, like my Shephard's Pie, but on the whole, I just make whatever the recipe tells me and it either does or doesn't have veggies.  So when I saw this recipe I worried about whether it would really "hide" the veggies, specifically the mushrooms.  Now, don't get me wrong, I have used mushrooms effectively and had many recipes turn out great, but I have years of "I don't like mushrooms" mantras in my brain and sometimes it's hard to give a recipe a chance when I see them on the ingredients list.  Nevertheless, I put them in and this recipe was great!  I am so excited!  It has probably been 11 years, Camp Good News, since I've had Sloppy Joes.  I was under the impression they were just ok, not something I actually wanted to seek out.  Well let me tell you friends, this is going into our regular line up, because, YUM!  Here's how it all went down...

To see the original recipe click HERE or the link above.  My variations are below.

Now I've said before, we always make recipes the first time the way the recipe says, because you'll never know if you like a recipe if you change it before you start.  However, I'm cheap, and when I have similar ingredients on hand I tend to reach for them first.  Instead of 1.25 lbs ground beef, I used ground venison because I had it in the freezer (Thanks again, Sis and Adam!).  Instead of 10 oz of mushrooms, I used 8 oz (because that's what size a package is).  That's all the alterations I did!  Pretty by-the-book!

Seriously, Guys, so good!  Michael and I gave this recipe 4 thumbs up!  We each ate 2 sandwiches also!  Another great review is that my kids gladly ate their dinner with no complaining or arguing!  Yes!  Win!  This recipe was a little sweet, although it only had 1.5 tbsp brown sugar.  I thought it was great!  I hope you try it and enjoy it as well!

Plateau

Hey Friends, sorry I've been quiet for a few days.  During the weekends Michael and I tend to go out and do things with the kids and I'm bad about remembering to blog.  Also, I haven't been feeling extremely motivated to motivate all of you.  For a week now I've been hovering at 136.2-136.4 lbs.  On one hand, it's good that I'm staying consistent, not gaining, and maintaining my weight.  On the other hand, it's frustrating because I'm doing what I think I need to do to continue to lose weight.  However, like I mentioned before, muscle weighs more than fat, so this could be part of the plateau I'm experiencing.  I've been active in one way or another almost every day.  But getting back on the blog to check in will keep me accountable every day.  I've been struggling in the water department lately.  I don't like drinking water or peeing all day, so I've been skipping the water or not getting as much as I should.  Sounds like, once again, I need to practice what I preach and drink lots of water to get over this plateau.  My DietBet has one more week and I still need to go down 0.3 lbs.  I got down below the required number a week ago, but I think it must have been a fluke, because I went up the next day and haven't seen that number again.  *sigh*  Yeah, so I'm just not feeling terribly motivated or motivating.  Sorry.  But, this is real life.  As much as I'm excited to be healthy, it doesn't mean I don't have rough days too.  A couple days ago all I wanted to eat was junk food.  Fortunately, we don't really have any in the house, thanks Past Jen for trying to keep me on task.  So yeah, that's where I am.  If you've got something to motivate me or give me energy to clean my house, I'd love to hear about it.  :\  (But not if it's a supplement that's going to cost an arm and a leg, sorry Xyngular people, I believe we're all capable without such supplements.)  Have a great day, Guys!  Love ya!

Harry Potter and The Cursed Child

***No Spoilers***

Dear Friends, I am an emotional wreck right now.  Just finished Harry Potter and The Cursed Child and it was wonderful.  J.K. Rowling wowed me again with another captivating portrayal of the Wizarding world of my childhood.  I cannot tell you how much I loved this book.  To revisit these beloved characters was a true treat for this girl who never liked reading in the first place.  While The Bailey School Kids held my interests as a child, and Anamorphs kept me reading through my middle school years, Harry Potter is the series that made me love reading.  Harry Potter is the series that I'd stay up late to read because I simply couldn't put it down, I had to know what happened next.  Harry Potter is the series that taught me that I could truly love reading, and I have LOVED reading them as I've grown up.  I feel like I've grown older with Harry Potter and in this new installation with him as a father, I feel like I see the other side of the story in my own eyes, as I too now have children that I love deeply and passionately.  It will make you laugh, it will make you cry, it will make you pen a letter to J.K. Rowling, begging for more.  I cannot rave enough about this book.  If you are a Harry Potter fan like I am, you will not be disappointed.  I hope that one day I can see this brilliant work on stage.  I think it has so much potential and I can't wait!  What a happy day for this Harry Potter fan!  I am even more convinced now that one day I'll get a Harry Potter tattoo!  Love love love love love!  A good read, my friends!

August Health Goals - Day 6 Check-In

Weight: 136.4 (up 0.2 lbs)
I didn't figure I'd be up after eating so well at B-Dubs, but the scale fluctuates.  I will not let it keep me from making good choices.  I will not let it discourage me.  So much of this is in your mindset, I will continue to choose to be positive.
Activity: None to speak of. 
I did some light housecleaning, picking up, vacuuming, etc.  I knew I was sore after several days of various activities and I didn't want to be wiped out before the wedding last night.  So I gave myself a day off.
Water: 3 glasses (approximately 48 oz)
Didn't work very hard on getting my water done today.  Took still got a bit though.  Will have to do better today.  I enjoyed a little more coffee than I planned on yesterday.
Healthy Breakfast: Blueberry Muffins and 1 Fried Egg
I decided I wanted a little protein with my breakfast this morning.  It was delicious.  I love fried eggs!
Lunch: Turkey and Cheese Sandwich
Had to eat on the run today, so I threw together a quick sandwich.  Even spoiled myself with a couple drops of ranch.  ;)
Dinner: Pizza, Cupcake, and Wine
OK, so dinner wasn't healthy.  We went to a wedding and I just enjoyed myself.  It's good to do that now and then.  I had 3 small pieces of pizza, which was probably 360-450 calories; a cupcake, which was probably 120-200 calories; and a glass of wine, which was probably 120-200 calories.  Overall, not the absolute best choices, but it probably could have been worse.  And budget-wise, free food is always good!  ;)  (And, since I'm posting this the morning after, I've already done my weigh-in this morning and I am at the same weight, 136.4, so I guess I didn't do too bad!)

Michael and I had a great, child-free evening last night!  Big shout out to my mom for babysitting (again)!  That's 2 evenings in a row.  We really appreciate it!  Love you, Mama!

Success!

Good Morning, Friends!  I just wanted to post a quick report because I'm proud of myself for my food yesterday!  Especially dinner!  We went to Buffalo Wild Wings and I ordered the 4 piece Naked Chicken Tenders (grilled chicken).  I even ordered carrot sticks instead of french fries (though my soul cried a little doing so).  I got my Asian Zing Sauce, but only used about half of it, because it's spicy.  Best of all, I didn't order or use any ranch!  It was an excellent eating out experience, filled with good choices, including water to drink, and when I left I didn't feel like I had missed out on anything!  The chicken was actually really good and seasoned well, which was good because I ate some plain bite in between bites with sauce because, like I said, it was spicy!  I wish I could say I made good choices more often when we go out to eat, but I often cave, which is why I'm so excited today!  Thanks for the inspiration, Guys!  Love you all!  Have a great Friday!

Eating Healthy Eating Out

Can it be done?  Is there anything on that menu that isn't going to ruin the hard work you've been doing?  Do you have to choose between celebrating your friends' birthday with her and sticking to your goals?  Well, those are great questions that I hope I can shed some light on in this blog.  Please know, these are just my own experiences.  I will share links to articles I've read, but I am not a dietician, nutritionist, or trainer.  I'm just a girl trying to live a healthy life and sharing my thoughts and observations.

Can it be done?
Yes, at most restautants it can!  The bigger question I find that I'm asking myself is Can I do it?  I can know the information, know what's healthy and what's not, know what the best thing to order is, but if I get there and don't make the right choices in the moment, it doesn't matter how much I know.  One thing I really like to do is look up the restaurant online and see if they have nutrition facts.  This usually helps me steer clear of the things with the most calories, and guides me towards healthier choices.  However, caloric values are not available for all restaurants, so it helps to know what to look for on a menu.  You might not know the exact caloric value, but you can see healthy meals and avoid the ones loaded with calories.

Is there anything on the menu that isn't going to ruin the hard work you've been doing?
Yes!  More than likely there is!  You just need to know how to spot it!  Look for grilled or baked meats, avoid the fried stuff as well as entree that come with heavy sauces like cream sauce or gravy or ranch (my personal kryptonite).  Get the veggies!  They are basically free calories!  You guys have no idea how hard it's going to be for me tonight to ask for veggies instead of fries when we go to Buffalo Wild Wings, but this is the will power I was talking about before.  If you don't think it's hard, teach me your ways!  Because I struggle daily!  Some restaurants have healthy choice sections to their menu, which can make ordering easy as well.  The other thing to keep in mind when eating out is serving size.  I LOVE Chicken Carbonera at Olive Garden!  It is literally the worst thing on the menu.  I don't have the exact numbers, but one meal could easily be over 2500 calories when you add breadsticks and salad (or soup, like I prefer!  Zuppa Toscana, anyone?).  It's crazy!  But if I don't eat EVERYTHING IN SIGHT, I can still enjoy my most indulgent meals and not break the bank.  I'll try to post some serving size articles later if you're interested in learning more.  A K-State nutritionist did a study to show that you can eat bad food, but still lose weight, if you stay unset your daily caloric needs.  Now while a whole diet like this is not advised, it just goes to show that you can have not-so-good stuff as long as you don't overindulge.  This is super hard for me to stick to.  So it's easier for me to stick to grilled chicken and veggies and eat a lot than limit myself on my favorite things, that I want to devour in their entirety.

Do you have to choose between your people and your goals?
No way!  Tell your friends about your goals!  They can help encourage you to make good choices!  The more accountable you are, the more likely you are to stick to things and make good choices.  Case and point: I have had several opportunities to cheat this month, but because of my challenges to myself, a DietBet, and blogging to you all about it, I am sticking to it!  I hope to make good choices at dinner tonight because you guys inspire me by reading and I want to live up to your expectations.  :)  So thank you for keeping me accountable!  Another reason not to ditch your friends is opportunities to practice looking for healthy choices on the menu.  The salad is a great choice if you don't drown it in dressing.  Don't worry, I'll post articles later.  ;)

Well, I hope I haven't confused you too much.  Sorry I don't have the links ready yet.  But I will do more research and get you the research that is the basis for my opinions.  :)  Don't take my word for it!  *Cue the Reading Rainbow music*

Wish me luck at B-Dubs tonight!  Time to practice what I preach...  :\

August Health Goals - Day 5 Check-In

Here's how today went...

Weight: 136.2 (Down 0.2 lbs)
Not much, but still going down.  If I believe what my articles, magazines, and blogs tell me, muscle weighs more than fat, so this weight loss may slow a little as my body converts some of my flab into muscle.  We shall see.  I honestly don't care if the weight comes off slow as long as it keeps coming off.  So hopefully it will.  However, as long as I look and feel good, the number on the scale does not matter at all.  ;)
Water:  5 glasses (80 oz)
Activity:  Walked around Botanica with my mom and the kids for an hour in the heat and did a light 60 minute workout in the WiiFit
Healthy Breakfast:  Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins
So I read an article that said to start your daily metabolism off right, you should eat breakfast within an hour of waking up.  I usually try to do that, but this morning Avery and I had dentist appointments, so I waited until after 10 to eat breakfast (I get up at 7).  Not ideal, but I ate my healthy food, so I'm still calling it good.
Lunch: Zucchini Pork Chop Skillet
Tomorrow Michael agreed to eat this for lunch too, so it's almost gone.  Good to the last bite, though!  And it's been awesome not having to assemble lunch all week!  Ate lunch late too.  My mom and I took the kids to Botanica, so I didn't eat lunch until we got home and got the kids down for naps between 2 and 230.  Let me tell you, my stomach was rumbling!
Dinner: Naked Chicken Tenders w/ Asian Zing Sauce from Buffalo Wild Wings
If you haven't read my other blog from today yet, about eating healthy while eating out, go check it out.  If you've got the will power to stock with the healthy choices, you can eat out and not undo all your hard work.

Today was a good, healthy day.  I'm proud of myself!  Tomorrow Michael and I are going to Jeremy and Jordi's Wedding (two of his co-workers).  I'm glad to have had such a good food, water, and activity day the day before.  I know I'll be feeling thin and fit tomorrow as I rock my new Little Black Dress to the wedding and reception!  Thanks, Beth, at Aspen Boutique for letting me know about the great sale you were having, and for picking out clothes, jackets, and shoes and having them ready for me to try on when I walked in the store!  That's service!  Stay tuned for pictures of the new dress!  :D

Had this typed out last night, but hit save instead of publish!  Oops!

August Health Goals - Day 4 Check-In

Hey Guys, sorry I didn't get this written and posted last night.  I went to sleep instead.  But since I don't have a breakfast recipe to post this morning (leftover muffins), I figured I'd take some time now to explain how yesterday went.

Weight: 136.4 (Down 1.2 lbs, I told you, things fluctuate.  You just have to keep persevering no matter what number the scale shows one day to the next.)
Water:  5 glasses (80 oz) - Target achieved again!
Activity: 1 hour on the WiiFit (30 minutes of training, 30 minutes of steps while I watched TV.)
My calves and abs are killing me today.  Guess that reflects well on my activity yesterday.  :\  As a girl who generally does no physical activity I am unaccustomed to this ache.  I suppose if I keep this up I'll get used to it by the end of the month...
Healthy Breakfast: Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins and Coffee
No, the coffee isn't THAT healthy, especially once I add the creamer and sugar, but it tasted good with my muffins!
Lunch: Zucchini Pork Chop Skillet
I love all the leftovers of this!  Soooo yummy!  The onions are especially good!
Dinner: Steak Kabobs and Rice
I love the marinade on the steak!  Will definitely have to scour my freezer for more leftover steak hiding in there!  I always have peppers and onions on hand and usually (until yesterday, grr!) have rice on hand, so it's easy to whip this meal up in no time.

I also had 1/2 a glass of wine because my mom came by (after the moth fiasco) and took the kids out for dinner and ice cream and the house was quiet and relaxing for over an hour.  It was glorious.  I love my children, but a little peace and quiet is nice too.

And that's it, that was my day.  I think it was a pretty good day, overall (health-goal wise).  Stay tuned for my next post, I don't have any new recipes today, but I am going to talk about making smart choices when eating out, and how not to let a friend's invitation to go out for her birthday spoil your hard work.  :)  Happy Thursday, Friends!  Have a rockin' day!

Steak Kabobs

Tonight's dinner was easy, thank goodness, because we had other issues going on in our house.  Apparently the Great Value Brown Rice in our cabinet had moth eggs or larva or something in it, which turned into moths infesting our pantry.  We threw out half our food, which was extremely frustrating.  But I won't gross you out any further, here's how dinner went...

We had steak Kabobs because I found a steak in the freezer.  I knew it wouldn't be enough food for both of us, so I had to figure out a way to split a bit of steak between us.  I ended up doing what I usually do, adding more veggies.  But first, I marinated the steak.  I only had 8 oz of meat, so I decreased the marinade to 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp minced garlic, and 1/4 tsp black pepper.  I marinated that between 30 and 45 minutes.  Then I threaded the meat with green pepper and red onion on skewers.  Michael grilled them and, fortunately, I had some minute rice in the pantry that was still good, that we had for a side.  It was all really good, which was good, because otherwise the evening was pretty frustrating.

Oh well, tomorrow is another day, right?  Hoping it goes a little better.  Otherwise, today was not too bad of a day.

Oatmeal Blueberry Muffins

Good morning, Friends!  I hope you all slept well!  I baked breakfast this morning, and let me just tell you, it had me aching for summer to be over and for fall to be here!  With the smell of oatmeal and cinnamon filling my kitchen this morning, I couldn't help but put myself a big cup of coffee to try to trick my brain into believing fall is around the corner.  ;)  I didn't even drink my water before getting to the coffee.  Lol, shame on me!

This mornings breakfast is based off of this Blueberry Muffin recipe.  However, I changed a couple things.  With these changes, each muffin ended up costing less than 100 calories!  That means I get extra muffins!  Yum!

So here are the things I changed...  Instead of honey, I used 1/4 cup of sugar free maple syrup.  Instead of coconut sugar I used 2 tbsp of Stevia.  Not big changes, but they saved me a few calories in the end.  My muffins would have probably just been a little over 100 calories each without the changes, so they are still super healthy!  I've done enough healthy baking to know what I can and cannot substitute.  If you don't have those items, feel free to use what's available in your own kitchen.  I'm a big proponent of using what you have before going out and buying new products.  The exception to this rule is when you're converting your pantry, fridge, and kitchen into a healthier cooking environment, then I encourage you to slowly add some healthier alternatives and slowly add them into your recipes to see how you like the healthy alternatives.  You may find you'll never miss maple syrup after trying the sugar free.  You may find your baked goods tasting just as sweet with little to no calories in Stevia instead of regular sugar.  You might realize almond milk tastes better than skim for less than half the calories (but it does cost more, so I still use skim for my kids' sippy cups and the almond for me, my recipes, and my baked goods).  You might realize that Greek Yogurt is rather versatile and you can use it in place of mayo, sour cream, to add moisture to your baked goods, and protein to everything.  ;)  It's possible you could learn all sorts of things.  I sure did!

Michael hasn't tried this recipe yet, so I don't have a score from him, but I give this recipe 2 thumbs up!  I love that I can eat a couple (even 3 if I feel so included) of muffins in one sitting.  I love eating things with oatmeal because they leave me feeling very full.  Just like Chai seeds.  Maybe next week we'll focus on oatmeal and Chai seeds and healthy breakfasts that keep you super full for hours on end.  Anyone have requests of recipes or ingredients you'd like to see me try?  I'm game for just about anything!

Anyway, that's about all I've got.  One more sidenote before I go, my muffins in the pictures might look a little funny, with bright red and some dark spots...  That's because my kiddos wanted to add sprinkles.  I love them and (sometimes) enjoy when they want to help me cook, so I let it happen.  ;)  Have a great day, Friends!

**Edit**

I found this link about how to best store muffins in case, like me, you aren't eating all 12 at once.  ;)

http://www.savvyeat.com/the-best-way-to-store-muffins/

August Health Goals - Day 3 Check-In

Good evening, Friends.  Here's how today went...
Weight: 137.6 (up 0.6 from yesterday, which is a bummer, because I was good yesterday)  :/  Oh well, the scale fluctuates.  I just have to persevere no matter what it says!
Water: 5.5 glasses (90 oz) Another great water day!
Healthy breakfast: Same Veggie Egg Casserole that I had yesterday (almost gone)
Lunch: Zucchini Pork Chop Skillet Leftovers (so yummy!)
Dinner: Grilled Chicken and Twice Baked Veggie Potatoes
Activity: 30 minute step aerobics while watching TV during nap time (definitely beats the laying in bed and possibly eating chips that I would have done otherwise)

Now that all looks well and good, and I'm happy with the healthy choices I made today.  However, I also had a glass of wine, part of Connor's smores, and a couple roasted marshmellows.  Nothing that I think will break the bank, but I have to be careful when I choose unhealthy choices, they tend to multiply on each other.  Fortunately, tonight, I think I handled myself well.

I smell glorious from the fire, but don't really want that smell in my bed, so it's off to the shower I go...

But before I do, I just want to say that I hope you voted today!  (Should have reminded you yesterday, but hey, what can I do about that at now?)  Love you all!  Night!

Veggie Twice Baked Potatoes

Hey Friends!  Another new recipe for you!  I had potatoes from my grandparents this week, but I wanted to find a way to make them a little healthier.  So I found a veggie-stuffed twice baked potato recipe!  I don't know about you guys, but any time I make twice baked potatoes, I end up with more stuffing than will fit back inside my potatoes.  That was definitely the case again today.  But I don't like letting anything go to waste, so I slices some green bell peppers and "stuffed" them with the remaining mixture.  Also, twice baked potatoes are supposed to have cheese in them, even if they are the healthier, veggie version.  The recipe didn't call for cheese, so I added it in.  And let me tell you, it was a good choice!  ;)  I hope you enjoy this healthier spin on a classic favorite, Twice Baked Veggie Stuffed Potatoes!

To go with our potatoes tonight Michael and Connor grilled some chicken for us.  We got this Honey Garlic Rub at Sam's and it is THE BEST!  We love it on chicken and pork!  It is just sensational!  Yum!  So if you have a Sam's membership, you should go check that out too!

Just take a look at my plate tonight!  Yum!  4 thumbs up from Michael and me!  A dinner worth repeating!

Sweet Potato, Turkey Bacon Egg Bake

Good morning, Friends!  I don't have a picture of this recipe because we've already eaten all of it.  But I figured since I was eating leftover Veggie Casserole for breakfast, I'd post the recipe for the other casserole we had last week, Sweet Potato, Turkey Bacon, Goat Cheese Egg Bake.  This was another great recipe, as it's already gone.  ;)  I didn't have goat cheese on hand, but I did have some Feta that needed used up, so I substituted it.  I actually love using turkey bacon instead of regular because it's not nearly as greasy, it's a lot healthier, and it's cheaper!  Yay!  Egg casseroles always tend to be pretty cheap.  Even at $2 per dozen, which I haven't paid in quite some time, eggs are an affordable ingredient.  (**Sidenote: Eggs are currently $1.09 at Aldi's.  I bought 2 dozen yesterday.)  ;)  Michael likes his bacon crunchy, so I needed to cook it longer than I did to make this an excellent recipe in his book, but I thought it was good.  It will be even better next time I try it and I use the actual goat cheese.  :)  Overall, it was a great recipe!  We finished it long before the veggie one.  :P  Sorry I don't have a picture, click the link and you can see pictures from the original post.  Enjoy!  Happy Tuesday!

August Health Goals - Day 2 Check-In

Short check-in.
Today's weight: 137 lbs (down 1.4 lbs, told you I was up from cookie cake, chips, and pop Saturday)
Glasses of water: 6+, 100 oz total
Wooohooo!  Above and beyond!  Was only aiming for 69 oz!
Activity: 40 minutes of walking (While I was reading the new Harry Potter book - My hubby LOVES me!) and 20 minutes on the WiiFit
Healthy Breakfast: Veggie Loaded Casserole
Lunch: Zucchini and Onion Pork Chops
Dinner: Sweet Potato, Okra, and Chickpea Gumbo

So today was a big win!  Yay!  And I got most of the kitchen cleaned up!  Woot!  Bedtime!  Goodnight!

Sweet Potato, Okra, Chickpea Gumbo

***Edit***

Sorry!  Forgot the link!  http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2009/09/sweet-potato-okra-and-chickpea-gumbo.html

Dearest Friends, it is my pleasure to share this delicious Sweet Potato, Okra, Chickpea Gumbo recipe with you today!  Michael and I were both overwhelmingly pleasantly surprised by how good this recipe turned out!  I look forward to making it again (probably in the winter months when soup is a bit more appropriate).  ;)

So I found this recipe on Pinterest (where I find all my recipes) by searching for "Healthy Okra Recipe".  My grandparents gave me a pound of okra out of their garden.  The only way I've ever eaten okra is fried, and I know that's not healthy, so I was looking for a different way to cook this fresh, free veggie.  ;)  I'm not sure I've ever had Gumbo before, but I knew I had sweet potatoes in the fridge and I thought I had a can of chickpeas in the pantry (from my phase when I was making my own hummus), so I thought I'd look at the recipe.  As I looked through the list of ingredients I was thrilled to find I had everything I needed for the recipe but the celery (because eww, celery is gross and I avoid it when I can).  So I put the recipe on my meal plan for the week!  Don't you just love it when things work out?

We didn't make it to the store yesterday because we were busy with church and the kids taking naps a lot of the day, so Michael picked up the celery for me on his way home.  I (for the most part) try not to alter new recipes too much so I can taste what they're supposed to taste like before I decide if I like them or not.  That means no omitting the celery.  I ignored this rule to use up the yellow bell pepper in my fridge instead of buying another one since the recipe called for green.  I'm also cheap, so if we have something that will work, I use it first.

The recipe starts by having you saute onions, but it doesn't call for oil.  I looked over the recipe several times, but nope, no oil.  It did suggest putting a pinch of baking soda with the onions to quicken the process.  I thought that was weird, but I tried it and my onions turned yellow quickly and released a lot of liquid and cooked quickly, though not burning, it was crazy!  Like I said before, I used a yellow bell pepper instead of green.  I thought it worked just fine.  I used my grandparents' canned tomatoes for the tomatoes in the recipe.  I didn't drain them because I like my soup runny and I knew this one was going to be plenty chunky.  I didn't have vegetable broth, but the recipe says you can use water.  I was afraid the water was going to leave the gumbo bland, so I added two chicken bullion cubes.  Did I mention this gumbo is vegetarian?  I bet it would be wonderful with shrimp and sausage too!  The recipe says you can use smoked paprika or regular, I used regular because it called for a decent amount and smoked paprika has a powerful flavor.  I didn't want it overwhelming the dish.  However, next time I may give it a try.  We have both hickory and mesquite liquid smoke.  Since the recipe didn't specify, I chose mesquite.

This recipe was seriously good, friends!  I was skeptical with the okra and chickpeas.  I knew the sweet potatoes would be great!  But the flavors really mixed and deepened in the hour that it was cooking.  Don't skip the Bay Leaves, I think they added a lot to the flavor!  Yum!  So good!  Looking forward to the leftovers!  Even the kids liked it (once we convinced them to try it)!  Michael and I give this recipe 4 thumbs up!  Give it a try, now or in the fall, you will not be disappointed!  And if you are, Michael and I will eat your leftovers.  ;)

Loaded Veggie Breakfast Casserole

Good Morning, Friends!  I couldn't remember last week if I posted the recipe for this breakfast casserole or not.  It made a lot of food, so Michael and I are still eating it this week.  So I thought I'd share it!  I love the sweet potatoes in this recipe!  They give it a slightly sweet taste.  The only thing I would change from the original recipe would be that I would bake the sweet potato "hashbrowns" in the bottom of the dish a bit before I added all the other ingredients.  This is a great recipe because it's customizable to whatever veggies you have on hand.  I went ahead and bought the veggies to make it exactly as the recipe said, but next time I'll just use what I need to use up.  :)  As I said before, this makes a lot of food.  I used a 9x13 pan and cut it into 8 slices.  But since the kids weren't going anywhere near it (and we had another breakfast casserole a few days before with plenty of leftovers) we are still eating it, even though I made it a week ago.  We try not to let any food go bad in our house and not to waste our money.  I'm not super crazy about leftovers and have had a lot lately, so I think it'll be a little while before I bring this one back into the rotation.  But, don't get me wrong, I did like the recipe.  Especially the fact that it's so full of veggies!  Yum!  If you don't want to mess with breakfast this week, try throwing this casserole together and live on the leftovers for the rest of the week!  You'll be set!  Plus, you could also cut it into 12 slices instead of 8.  Making the pieces smaller will give you more calories for a little something different like some fruit, a piece of toast, or some yogurt, whatever tickles your fancy.  Have a great week, my friends!  And remember to drink plenty of water!