Turkey Day leftovers

Thanksgiving has come and gone but the food lingers on. We had two turkey dinners.  We spent Thanksgiving Day with family, but knowing how much my hubby loves leftover sandwiches I bought a turkey breast of our own. So yesterday I started to make the turkey breast which turned into an all out turkey dinner. Lol I just kept going. Homemade bread turned into stuffing, homemade rolls, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole & sweet potatoes (both leftover from Thanksgiving), spinach dip with homemade Hawaiian bread, homemade cranberry relish and pistachio fruit salad. 

I know that's a lot of work for dinner for 3 people, but we have dinner for the rest of the week. Lol. Truth be told, I love to cook and I love to make my own bread. Many years ago I had a bread machine, but it absolutely hated the whole it left in the bread. One day I decided to try it from scratch....and I love it! 

What do you like to make with your leftovers?  Our turkey will primarily be sandwiches, but when hubby is tired of that I will make some turkey pot pie or turkey and dumplings. I will use mashed potatoes with some ground turkey to make shephard's pie. Then we usually pick up a steak from Costco and eat that with the leftover side dishes. 

On a side note I am very thankful for my husband. As I sit here and type this up he is hard at work cleaning the kitchen and doing the dishes. As he put it, "he's being spontaneous". Gotta love those character quizzes on Facebook. Lol

Today the plan is to go cut down our Christmas tree.

Home at last

As I sit here tonight not wanting to unpack anymore boxes (and wait for the banana bread to finish baking) I am so grateful we moved into the home we did and that my son is going to a school where he has friends and he feels comfortable.
We attended an event at his school and he just went off and played with his friends.  Normally he would want one of us there by his side.  Today we come home from hockey practice and running around and the boys in the neighborhood are out playing.  They asked if he could come out, and amazingly they don't mind playing in our cul de sac with him (because I won't allow him to leave it).  He's been out there playing with them for the last 3 hours and they are having a blast!  The last place we lived he didn't have kids in the neighborhood to play with.  It warms my heart that he has made friends and that he's settling in and confident in himself!  Today during hockey practice that confidence was just beaming from him.  He was finally getting how to stop!  The best part, he was doing it on his own.  It's amazing how much difference one week can make.  Even though our family is in Alaska (and we miss them incredibly), Spokane is where home is for us.

Now back to that Banana Bread... My house smells incredible!!!  I love the way the house smells when yummy goodness is baking!!

 Banana Bread Recipe

1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
3-4 bananas, mashed
1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla

Cream together butter and sugar.  Add eggs and bananas.  Combine well.  Sift together flour, soda and salt.  Add to creamed mixture.  Add vanilla.  Pour into greased loaf pan.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Enjoy the recipe and your weekend!
~K

Weekly Menu

One of the best ways to keep myself on track is to make a weekly menu.  Do you make a weekly menu?  I have found by doing a weekly menu we eat out less.  I can take out the meat that I need first thing in the morning so it thaws and if for some reason I need to pick up something from the store I have all day to do it.  It saves you from buying unnecessary groceries as well.  Be sure to post your weekly menu where you will see it.  I have already gone through some recipes, now I just need to make a grocery list based on it and we're off and running!  My weekly menu will be:

Big Mac Casserole
Mexican Turkey Casserole
Chicken Corn Chowder
Chicken Pot Pie
Cheesy Chicken & Rice Casserole
Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes
Kielbasa with Potatoes and Peppers

I will post some of the recipes with pics as the week progresses.  Not all will be shared because I am working on a Cookbook.  These recipes have all been tested and kid approved! :)

Here are some links to different weekly menus that you can print out.  :)

Printable Menu 1
Printable Menu 2
Printable Menu 3

You can always do a Google search for them if you don't like the ones I have listed. :)

As I think about the changes I am going to be making to my diet one of the things I find that I don't want to give up is my coffee creamer.  Now don't get me wrong I can drink coffee black, but I enjoy the creamy goodness of the cream.  I don't normally add sugar to my coffee when I am at home.  I have found that if I spend a little bit of money and buy the coffee I really want for my Keurig and use the coffee creamer then I am less likely to go to a coffee stand and buy coffee.  Doesn't mean that I won't stop and buy coffee once and a while, but it won't be an every day occurrence.  I think that's the trick to changing your diet, finding what works for you and what doesn't work for you.  Every person is different so don't expect to lose like your friend does or that because they can cut coffee completely out of their diet that it will work for you too.  When I say making changes to my diet it doesn't mean that I consider this a diet, it's a change that I intend to be permanent, not temporary.


Happy Planning!
~K

Home Remedies

Do you make your own dishwasher detergent? Or laundry soap?  I have recently come across many blogs of folks making their own detergents.  I think I will try making my own as well.  Of course I decided this after I stocked up on laundry soap because I found a good sale!  :)  So it looks like I will be starting with dishwasher detergent.  For the most part my dishwasher seems to get the dishes clean, but it is leaving a cloudy film on the plastic dishes.  I bought a container of Tang while I was at the store (yes when I forgot the honey) and I will be running an empty load with just some Tang to see if that can't get rid of the film.  For those of you who don't know, Tang is a great cleaner for dishwashers.  I am just not sure what exactly is causing the cloudy film on the plastic ware.  I also read on another blog that she uses white vinegar to keep the spots from occurring.  If the Tang doesn't work, I will be trying the vinegar.  I have Jet Dry in there now, but who knows why it's still cloudy.  We just moved in here the beginning of the month so you just never know what the previous tenants did.  The recipe I think I will try is: 1 c. Borax 1 c. washing soda 2 tbsp Tang.  Remember if you try this recipe, I have not yet tried it so I can't guarantee how well it's going to work.
What recipes do you use?  Visit us on  Facebook and share your recipe.
Happy cleaning!
~K

Mama Bear Moments

Do you ever get those "mama bear" moments?  You know the ones I am talking about.  The one where you literally could swing your arm out fingers extended and rip the other person's face right off, kind of moment.  I had a version of that recently, but I am proud to say I just walked away.  Trust me that was not something that was easy to do and I am sure in the upcoming days I will be dealing with it face to face but I am hoping that by walking away and not saying anything I have given myself time to really think about what it is I want to say vs. just being made as hell.  A few years ago I might not have done so well, funny how time changes us.  Say a prayer for me friends that "mama bear" stays in check! :)

One thing that I hate about moving (different states), is repurchasing regular condiments and spices.  Those suckers cost a small fortune!!  However when you are paying by the weight it costs a bigger fortune to ship them.  And let's be honest it's not like a piece of furniture that you can sell, who wants to buy an open, partially used container of cumin or balsamic vinegar?  My rant comes from the fact that I was going to make some homemade bread yesterday...but what was it I was missing?!  The honey!  Seriously, I had already repurchased the yeast but forgot the honey.  How could this happen, especially since my hubby loves honey?! So today I will be stopping at the store to pick up some honey.  I might even pick up a bookshelf or two so that I can finish unpacking and put things where they belong.  

Happy Hump Day!

~K

10,000 steps

I love the smell of fresh basil.  After we moved back to Spokane one of the first stops we made was at Trader Joes.  They have beautiful basil plants for sale, and at a super reasonable price.  Now I have fresh basil whenever I want.  Last night that fresh basil came in handy for dinner.  We had homemade spaghetti sauce with spahetti squash and garlic bread.  It was delicious!!  If you have never made your own spaghetti sauce I recommend that you give it a try.  I have never followed a recipe to make mine and every time I make it, it's a little bit different.  Open up a can of tomatoes, tomato sauce; cook up some ground turkey, add chopped onion & sliced mushrooms.  Mix in some chopped garlic, fresh basil, oregano, salt & pepper...and stir.  Now be sure you don't forget a couple teaspoons of sugar to help cut that acid.  Give it a try and see how it comes out.  I haven't bought spaghetti sauce in so many years and once you make your own you won't buy another jar of premade sauce again. 

Do you know how many steps per day that you should be walking?  10,000 steps!  On average a person takes between 5,000-7,000 steps per day.  That's way under the suggested amount.  I bought a FitBit for my hubby and myself to see just how many steps we take.  I love the fact that we can add each other as friends and see how many steps the other has taken.  It's set up to motivate each other, it just requires you to look at the app or the website. :)  One thing I am not good about doing every day.  and as of this minute hubby is kicking my bootie!  LOL  Guess I need to run up and down the stairs today. This is my status from yesterday.

Hockey, Pumpkin Patch, Apple Picking... Oh My! (Recipe posted)

This weekend was wonderful!  I got to spend the entire weekend with hubby and little man doing what we wanted with no particular time schedule (except for hockey practice of course).  The weekend started with a Fall Spooktacular at little man's school.  And let me just tell you he had so much stinkin' fun!!  Normally when we go anywhere he wants Mommy and/or Daddy right by his side while he's playing.  Not this time!  Our intent was to go and help get things set up and stay for maybe an hour or so.  We were there until the end!  He was busy playing games with his friends and just having fun.  It was so wonderful to see him settled enough that he finally felt comfortable to do just that!  It made my heart so happy!  He had so much fun in fact he woke up Saturday morning sad because he wanted it to be Friday again.  Got to love the way their minds work. 

Saturday was filled with house work and doing things around the house.  Hubby got my new faucet in, LOVE IT!!  Ours was leaking so I picked up one that was on sale at Costco.  It has the sprayer built into the faucet, even has a soap dispenser.  I love this faucet.  I love hubby more for putting it in, not even one curse word through the whole thing!  Pretty impressive. :)  There is still so much to do around here.  I feel like it's never going to get done.  But I know that little by little it will happen, I just have to be patient.

Sunday morning was hockey!  Little man is loving it.  It sucks being the first ones there for practice because they don't have the heaters on and ready for you.  So the first 20-30 minutes were really cold.  After practice the first thing out of little man's mouth was "now we get to go to Greenbluff".  Ha ha! He cracks me up, he has a mind like a steel trap and doesn't forget anything.  So off to the Pumpkin Patch we went.  We decided to go to Eleven Acres where we had gone the last time we went to pick out a pumpkin.  We spent some time picking pumpkins.  We got big one and baby ones, 6 to be exact. Little man of course picked the biggest one he could.  I told him the deal was he had to be able to carry it to the wagon.  He did, dropped it a couple of times but he made it.  Then we were off to pick some apples.  The idea was to just pick a few but when we finally found trees with apples the apples were so far down in the trees that little man was able to pick them himself with no ladder.  He was having so much fun, we just picked.  At one point he had both of his jacket pockets full of apples.  It was a great way to spend the day.  Of course when we got home we had to carve some pumpkins.  We still have 2 more pumpkins to do but we're getting there.  I used some of the apples and made an apple pie....Pies are NOT my thing! The filling is tasty, but it's runny. Oh well, guess we'll have to go back up and get some more apples and make applesauce. :)

Dinner was homemade BBQ Chicken Pizza

Happy Monday Friends!

~K

TGIF!

I know people get excited about the weekend and this weekend I am one of those people!  Normally I am happy that the weekend is here because that means family time.  Yes I am happy about the weekend being here for that reason, but also because it means that tomorrow is Saturday.  I know many of you are thinking DUH! But we have been on the go and just crazy like for so long this is the first day in a LONG time that we didn't have to do something.  Oh don't get me wrong, we have plenty that we need to do.  There's a ton of unpacking left and furniture to be picked up.  We will be working but if we decide to go outside and play or go for a walk or just sit on our butts and play a game on the xbox, we can do it with NO rush to do anything!  And that folks is why I am thankful today is Friday!  My Friday is crazy busy from the moment I leave the house until we are done for the night and can sit (which won't be until after dinner sometime). 

Little man is excited because at school today they are having "Camp Read A Lot" and that means they get to bring in their favorite book, wear their jammies, bring their favorite stuffed animal and bring a blanket to school.  What a fun way to end the week! :) 

On my mission to get into shape I have decided it's time to take a walk every night.  We have moved into this new neighborhood and it will give us a chance to walk around and check it out.  Not to mention meet some of our other neighbors who live in the surrounding cul de sacs.  Our dog will love it too. 

Time to get this busy day started!  First stop: school! 

Enjoy your day and remember to smile at someone or hold the door for them....it might be the best thing that happens to them today!

~K

This is going to be me this Saturday! :)

Pumpkin

For those of you who love summer I am sorry to announce that fall is here!  Truth be told, it's my favorite season!  (don't confuse this with holiday, that would be Christmas.) The colors of fall are so stinkin' beautiful!  And let's not forget the pumpkin!  One of my favorite things to bake is Pumpkin Bread.  The funny thing about it is I never in a million years thought that I would like it.  At first the thought of it seemed nasty to me.  It's one of my grandmother's recipes and I figured I had better give it a whirl because I have yet to be disappointed by one of her recipes.  And this one is a winner!!  Little man LOVES pumpkin bread!  Now I need to come up with a healthier version that is just as delicious as the fatty version.  I have come across so many other yummy sounding recipes that include pumpkin lately.  The other is a Pumpkin Doughnut... yea I am a carb junkie, can you tell?!  I have never tried to make a Pumpkin Soup, but I have seen recipes and I am thinking it's almost time to venture out and experiment with one.  I have tried Butternut Squash Soup and really like it.  All this talk of food is making me hungry! :)
I gave in and made some Pumpkin Bread!  But I sent some to work with hubby, sent some next door to the neighbors who just had a new baby, it's heading out the door mostly....  But I did have a slice and it's all that I was wanting!  :)
This weekend will include a trip to the Pumpkin Patch to pick out our pumpkin.  Little man loves this tradition and honestly so do I.  It is a memory he will have forever and hopefully one day carry on with his own family. 

~K     

Falling off the wagon.... don't let it keep you down!

I feel like I should be sitting in a confessional right now....  It's been months since my last post...  :)
Life has been crazy this last year!  We moved from Washington to Alaska in October last year and then back to Washington in September of this year.  Two major moves in less than a year.  Won't do that again!  So I am working on getting things back in order and unpacked once again.  Little man just started hockey so that will consume MUCH of our time!  He wants to get back into Tae Kwon Do as well.  Provided we can swing the time and schedules don't conflict then we are going to go for it. 

As I was listening to the radio the other day Mandisa's "Overcomer" came on the radio and I felt this ease come over me and I knew it was time to get back on track. It's funny how a song can talk to us when we are really listening to it.  I've listened to the song a thousand times and for some reason this last week it really struck home.  It's not like I hadn't heard the songs before because I knew what it was about and I had heard her interview about it before as well.  My mind was open and receptive this time. 

I could go off into a million different directions and I keep having thoughts of what I want to type...I really do need to start keeping a small notebook with me to write down my notes.  Of course my epiphanies usually come when I am driving so not sure how much good a small notebook would be.  I guess it's time to start using all the features of my iPhone.  Brilliant!  See these ideas just come to me!  :) Ha ha ha

So are we ready to ROCK THIS PARTY!?!  Here is my selfie ready to ROCK it! 

~K

Healthy Eating

What does "Healthy Eating" mean to you?  I know that when I go to the store I am more aware of the things I put into my cart.  I wasn't always aware of the groceries I would buy. My older children complain that I don't have "regular peanut butter" in my cupboard, but instead it's all natural peanut butter in the fridge.  If you haven't guessed it they grew up on the processed filled with crap peanut butter.  However, my youngest son thinks the stuff in the fridge is pretty darn good and he'll even eat the almond butter with flax seed that I get from Trader Joes.  My older kids wouldn't eat that if their lives depended on it.  It's hard to make changes in our lives especially when the kids have moved out of the house and no longer eat the food that you bring into your house.  10 years ago I wouldn't be eating the natural peanut butter either.  
I have decided to find a cookbook and to review recipes from it.  Do you have a favorite cookbook that you would recommend?  Please keep in mind that we want Eating Clean or Paleo type cookbooks.
I have to keep in mind that there are no quick fixes.  I didn't get to this weight overnight and it's not going to come off overnight.  I have to find a balance, I don't do well when I am restricted to only eat "nuts & berries" but I don't do well when I don't have a plan either.  It's a fine line and I know that I can do it.
This is my scattered blog post for you all. :)

Nutshell

This year I am seriously struggling with allergies.  To the extent that I am out of breath when I get on my elliptical.  I am not talking because I am out of shape (I am out of shape) but before I was able to do 25 minutes no problem (don't get me wrong I was sweating and it was a work out) but now 8 minutes into it I am having a hard time breathing.  The Dr. gave me some more meds to help clear up the allergies so we will see what happens.  I would really like to be able to move without feeling like my lungs are going to collapse. :)

Needless to say life has been crazy here lately and it's just going to get crazier.  We are relocating back to Spokane.  Yes I know we just got to Alaska, but you gotta follow the work.  I will keep you all posted, but as of right now we are looking at mid to late August.

Today little man and I are headed to the Alaska Zoo with my sister and 2 neices.  It's a beautiful day out and perfect weather for the zoo.

I was up at 4 am to see my BFF before she went in to surgery.  I will be headed back up this afternoon and possibly spending the night at the hospital with her (if they don't let her go home, my guess is they will be begging her to go home because she will be driving them all nuts!).  :)  I gave her a cow bell to ring for things when she gets home...LOL  I know her hubby is going to be hiding it very early on....  :)  I was looking for a small little "sweet" bell, but I tell you I don't think they exist anymore!  This was the best I could do.

This past weekend we were in the valley helping my sister and brother in law build a new deck.  (When I say we I mean the guys were working the women were cooking and visiting.)  While we were out there all us girls went to the Colonial Days.  It was a good time.  They were having an egg toss there and my sister wanted to do it with little man, but he just didn't want to get up in front of all those people...so when we got back to her place they did a small egg toss there.  He loved it!  I have a feeling we will be doing that again!  :)

So this is what's going on in my world in a nutshell. :)

Happy Mother's Day

This week will be a busy week for us.  Tomorrow is Mother's Day, Tuesday is our Anniversary, Saturday is my youngest son's birthday party and Sunday is his birthday.  It's weeks like this that make you really stop and think about how can you celebrate everything and still "be good".  Other than the obvious answer, that not every celebration has to be celebrated with food.  :)  Realistically we probably won't be able to celebrate our anniversary on Tuesday, little man has baseball practice that night and Daddy is the coach.  His birthday party is going to be here so I am in complete control over what we serve.  Yes there will be cake and ice cream, but I have found a brand of ice cream I really like that's all natural and their frozen greek yogurt is delicious!  And for his actual birthday we always go to dinner (this is a tradition I started when I was a single mom with my older 2 kids, it was our special treat and it's just continued to carry on).  For dinner I will just have to trust that I make good choices.  I believe by planning out the events that you know are coming you will have 100% control, even on the ones you don't have control over.  Because in the end you always have control over yourself.  So plan and prepare.  Even if that means you eat a meal before you go to a party, so you won't be tempted.  And know your triggers.  :)  If you HAVE to have that piece of cake, skip the ice cream.  Or make sure it's a tiny piece or even share it with your spouse.  Perhaps at his party some of the adults can get some exercise too, we are renting a bounce house!  Yes, this should be fun!!  See, there's a silver lining to it all!

My beautiful children!!

Happy Mother's Day!!  

~Kari

Paleo

It's hard to believe that Mother's Day is this weekend!  Time is flying by!  Little man gets out of school in just under 2 weeks, he will officially be a 2nd grader!  My other son is graduating high school!  Where does the time go?! (Yes, we have a big gap between them.)  Do you have big plans for Mother's Day?  I am not quite sure what we will be doing yet.  I know our middle son is working, not sure about our daughter or our oldest son, they are probably working too.

So I've been doing some reading on Paleo.  I am not sure that I will follow it to a "T".  I do like and agree with most of it so far.  I know that there is no way I will give up creamer in my coffee, or coffee for that matter.  I also don't see us not eating oatmeal, or legumes etc.  But I do see us following the fresh no processed part of it all.  I've been trying to incorporate that already.  This is what works for us.

As I see all of the Paleo "ads" everywhere, I mean it seems like everyone is talking about it.  It makes me think of all the hype diet schemes that have been out there.  (Not saying this is one of those.)  But you know what I mean, all the fad diets.  Is Paleo just another fad diet?  I had a friend doing the Atkins diet many years ago when it was all the rage.  And I find it funny that every now and then I'll read or hear something about Paleo that makes me think of Atkins.  Now please don't think I am truly comparing those two and saying they are identical, because I am not.  I don't know enough about either of them to compare them.  I just find it funny that some of the wording triggers memories of the Atkins.  Is it possible that many diets are "created" from another and "tweaked" just enough to be original?  I also find if funny that the Paleo diet has a creator.  I guess someone has to get credit for starting the craze...but really? A creator?  If the idea is to follow Paleolithic eating then aren't they (that time era) the real creators of the diet?  Or is it a scheme for the "creator" to make a few bucks?  Again, not saying the diet doesn't work, just some random thoughts that are going through my mind.

As I get older I think more about the connection between politics and the world around us.  I am NOT a political person, I HATE politics!  I haven't found a Politician I like yet.  But anyway, that is not the purpose of this post.  I just seem to notice how much the politicians have their hands in.  Could there be a connection between a politician and a fad diet?!  I believe 100% that there is.  Scary part is all of the Genetically Modified foods!  I came across a company that is boasting about the Genetically Engineered Seeds that they provide and how it's great for the growers.  Yes, I am sure it's great for them, but what about the people who are eating it?!  Let's get this straight, you want me to eat a fruit or vegetable that never existed until you "created" this seed.  How do I know you didn't use synthetic something in that creation process?  You've got a free pass to "create super seeds"!  That makes me think of those movies that you see the Government creating "super soldiers".  These seeds are the super soldiers of food.  Scary!

Ok, so that's my tangent for the week!  :)

Here's a picture of dinner last night!  Yes, still working on weeding out the processed foods.  With the cost of groceries I have a hard time throwing away food I've paid for and it's sitting in my freezer.  Anywho last night was a "oh crap didn't take anything out for dinner" kind of night...I'd say I didn't do too bad.

Black Bean Chipotle Burger, Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Thyme, Garlic & Feta, and Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette (homemade)

Curry

I have been craving Curry lately.  Why? I have no idea because until now I've only had it once and I was severely disappointed with it!  So we went out to dinner the other night and wouldn't you know the soup of the day was a Curry Chicken (mind you I was going to make Curry Chicken for dinner but our evening got rearranged by a unexpected trip to the Dr. just before they closed). So I thought, wow let's give it a shot what are the odds?!  The soup was delicious!  Thank you City Diner!  So tonight I made the Curry Chicken that I had planned for the other night.  It was good, but it doesn't compare to that soup and quite frankly was a little bit bland.  Even though it was good it just didn't meet my expectations and I won't be making it again.  So I am still on a search for an awesome Curry dish!  I know they exist, I've heard people rave about them.  That soup was delish and I want to find a main dish that can compare!!  Help a girl out!!! :)  Here's a pic, it does look yummy though doesn't it.  (If you like bland then this could be the recipe for you, let me know if you want it and I will send you the link.)

Flavored Coffee Syrup

Just the other day I blogged about coffee and homemade coffee syrup (you can find the post here).  So yesterday I set out to make my own coffee syrups.  I was so pleased with myself, I did a little happy dance!  Good thing there wasn't anyone here to see it!  Now the original recipe I found said to use 2 cups water & 2 cups sugar, I modified that one.  I just can't put that much sugar in mine.  And you know what, it turned out awesome!!!  It is a little thinner than the store bought version but it's still delicious.  The next time around I will definitely put in more extract.  When I tasted it alone it seemed very strong but now that it's in my coffee it's not a strong flavor.  So keep that in mind when you make yours.  If you like to be able to taste the flavor add more extract, if you like a subtle flavor then go with a little.  It might take you a time or two to get it to exactly the way you want, but it'll get there.  Just think about all the money you are saving not to mention you know exactly what is going in to your body!  Play with the extracts and be creative!  Google how to "create" a certain flavor, that's what I did!  I used empty syrup containers that I had and removed the labels the best I could.  This recipe filled them right to the top!  Let me know what you think.

Vanilla Coffee Syrup
4 cups water
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract (next time I will use 2 tsp of extract)

Bring water to a soft boil, add sugar.  Stir and let boil for a few minutes to be sure sugar is dissolved.  Add extract and stir.  Remove from burner and allow to cool.  Then bottle.

Smoothie before 

Smoothie after

Yesterday I also wrote about our morning smoothies.  Well I put spinach in them this morning and put little man's in a cup with a lid (so he wouldn't see any of the green specks) and he liked it!  Of course he didn't drink it all this morning, but he didn't drink it all yesterday morning either so I don't think that had anything to do with the spinach.

~Kari

Space Bags and Smoothies

I have been testing out new recipes again.  Two recipes for snack ideas were a BUST!  But dinner last night was a huge hit! I also think I've found the best combination for our morning smoothies.  Hubby always likes them but finally my 6 year old says they are good and he wants some too!  YES, VICTORY! Anyone with kids knows what this victory feels like.  As long as it has blueberries in it, he's a happy camper!  So I will be making another trip to Costco this week to pick up another bag of frozen blueberries.  Tomorrow I am going to add spinach and see if he notices it.  Hubby and I like it with spinach in them, but the real test will be if he will still drink it.

My morning smoothie recipe:
Frozen fruit (this is from a mixture bag from Costco that has strawberries, pineapple, mango & papaya)
Frozen blueberries
Greek yogurt
Banana
Cinnamon
Agave
Milk
Blend together!

Trying to follow a specific diet is sometimes very hard to do.  I've tried several different diets and it's no surprise or secret that Weight Watchers has always been my favorite choice.  Recently though I've decided to change things up.  As you might know from reading my posts I have begun really reading labels.  Before I was reading the labels to calculate how many "points plus" that food might be.  Now I look to see what the ingredients are and if I can't read them or know what they are, it goes back on the shelf.  Now don't be confused, I am not 100% accurate with my choices it is a work in progress but I am working on this.  My goal is to eat better, plain and simple.  I am working towards our family eating clean, no processed foods and very little going out to eat.  When I went grocery shopping the other day there were so many items that I was going to pick up and put into my cart, but I stopped and thought to myself "I can make that" and I moved on.  I believe with the food changes that I am making and increasing our exercise we (hubby & I) will lose the weight that we have been struggling with.  It's a matter of finding what works for us.  Honestly I struggle with always counting "points plus", even though I understand the logic and it does work for me when I do it, but I don't always do it.  I have to find a way to eat right without worrying about counting.  If I can change our diet to be primarily fruits, veggies & protein then I believe we will be successful!

This is dinner last night: Black Bean & Spinach Enchiladas

I asked on the Facebook page if there were products that you like that I could try and give you a review on.  I would love to make this a regular part of my blog so please let me know what products I can try.  Or even a recipe!  I love new recipes! :)  Thank you Rhonda for suggesting the 3M hooks & the Space Bags.  Now if you want to see my comments about the 3M hooks please check out my Facebook Page.  

Space Bags Review: When we moved from Spokane to Anchorage we bought a big box of the Space Bags from Costco.  Our thinking was we could put a ton of our clothes, towels, blankets etc into the Space Bags to save on room.  They worked wonderfully for this!  The bags are pretty "crisp" so they tear easily if you catch them on something.  I don't recall how many were in the box we bought, but we only had to throw away 3 of them after our move was complete.  Now also keep in mind that they endured the ride in the back of a U-haul from Spokane to Anchorage and then into storage, then into another storage and finally into our home.  For the $20 (estimated because I don't remember exactly) it was well worth it!  I would totally recommend them.  I still use them to store my extra blankets that I am not using.  It keeps them protected from getting wet, mildewy and keeps the bugs out!  The best part (other than keeping the bugs out) is it saves me space!  Just keep in mind that they will tear, but if they last you a year or several moves like us then they are totally worth the money you pay and a good investment.  One word of caution, the "cube" size is LARGE!  And it gets extremely heavy.  I made the mistake of putting all clothes in it, which probably wasn't the best choice.  I think it would be good for big comforters that you are storing.  

Coffee

Inadvertently everything in today's post is about coffee in one form or another! Ha ha!! I didn't even plan it.  How funny is that!?

I don't know about in your house, but here my coffee cups feel like they are disappearing or getting chips in them.  So I have decided it's time to get some new ones.  I don't think I'll be buying a new "set" or maybe not even ones that match.  Not because I don't like my dishes to match, because trust me I am sure my husband would say I am a wee bit anal about that.  But there's just something eclectic about having mismatched coffee cups that I like.  Not to mention when you have guests over and you're drinking coffee how do you know which cup is yours unless you are holding it the entire time?!  I can't tell you how many times people have been over and I hear "is this cup mine?"  So this morning I am having coffee in my first new coffee mug. :)

Yesterday when I was doing some grocery shopping I was getting more coffee for my Keurig.  Since I am really watching what I am putting in to my body I was looking at the flavored coffees that they have available.  Thinking it could be a good alternative to the coffee syrups I have been using or the flavored creamer.  On the box it says "Artificially Flavored".  Now it took me quite some time (and a little help from hubby) to find where the ingredients were listed on the box.  And the ingredients just say coffee, natural & artificial flavorings.  Now what the hell kind of ingredient list is that?!  What are the natural and artificial flavorings, specifically?  How do I know they haven't put ground up bark in there (little over dramatic I know, but trying to make a point)!?  So needless to say I put back the "Artificially Flavored" coffee and just bought the plain 'ol "Breakfast Blend" coffee along with some plain 'ol half & half.  I figured I could add some pure vanilla or almond extract (or any flavor I have) to the half & half and make my coffee yummy!

And last but not least...  This morning while I was drinking my coffee and enjoying the quiet time while everyone was still in bed (which ironically they are still sleeping), I was perusing Pinterest and came across a Pin for Homemade coffee syrup!  Heck yea!! Right up my alley!  Now seriously with all the canning that I do, why didn't I think of this myself?  Really?!  Anyway, the person that did think of this is a GENIUS!  I'm just sayin'.  So thank you Elsie & Emma for your terrific coffee syrup DIY post.  I will be getting a ton of use out of this baby!  As I look at the recipe though, I am thinking I might use less sugar and see how it turns out.  (Just as I altered the syrup recipe for canned fruit that my Grandmother gave me...just TOO much sugar for my tastes.) It's worth a shot, and if it doesn't taste good with less sugar, we can always add more on the next batch. :)

Enjoy your coffee!!
~Kari

Dinner Success!

I am trying to be pretty basic with dinner lately.  Normally I go through my cookbooks and make a grocery list and menu based on the recipes.  The recipes are almost always delicious, but I find that we don't have basic dinners very often.  By basic I mean, for example tonight's dinner: Baked chicken breast, couscous, broccoli & salad.  Little man ate ALL of his dinner, which was shocking because usually there's some leftover.  I even made some salad dressing using some balsamic vinegar, olive oil and italian seasonings (my sister Danielle inspired this).  It was so good little man was licking the spoon I used to put it on the salad and couscous.  So I will be making that again for sure!  I find it amazing that I can make these big elaborate meals and sometimes the basic meals are the ones that are the bigger hit.  I think eating "greener" will be welcomed with open arms to my family if I can make it more "normal" for them.  Like dinner tonight for instance.  The hard part will be changing up little man's school lunches.  I am one of those moms who has fallen into the sandwich for lunch routine.  The sandwich will change sometimes, but I would really like to get out of the sandwich routine.  What do you make your kiddos for lunch (I'm talking school lunch that they take to school, not what they eat at home).  For me, it's going to be my coffee.....  Now I could drink coffee black, but I really like it with creamer.  But I think I've found one that I like.  I just wish when they put Natural Flavors on the containers, they had to break it down to what that really means.  Because looking at the ingredient list other than the "Natural Flavors" I think my creamer looks pretty darn good.  And let's face it, if I am giving up the yummy sugary coffee stand loaded with syrups, I still need my creamer!  What do you put in your coffee?  Or are you one of those "crazy" people who don't drink coffee? ;)  (please know that is a joke! Don't be offended if that's you.)

My friend Shannon is driving me crazy with the whole elliptical challenge!  But you know what, that's exactly what I need to get my bootie back in gear!  I didn't want to get on it this morning and I didn't get up early like I had planned to get on it....but I did get on it!  So I am sure she will continue to drive me crazy, because let's face it that's what friends do!

Eating Cleaner

What does your daily diet consist of?  Do you follow Weight Watchers? Jenny Craig?  What works for you?  I have been doing a lot of reading lately about different diets.  I really like Weight Watchers (that's no secret though), it teaches you how to eat healthier and incorporate working out.  One thing that I keep finding is the "eating green".  I am finding that even though Weight Watchers teaches you to eat healthier it also allows you to eat "crap" so long as you account for the points plus that you eat.  My husband and I have decided that we are going to be eating "greener".  It is different and I don't expect that we will make all the changes overnight but we are working on it.  It is scary what kind of preservatives and chemicals that are allowed to be put into the foods that we eat.  The FDA has approved so many things that have alternative "jobs".  This blog post about Stevia is really educational!  The Silica Gel that comes with shoes that is labeled, DO NOT EAT, is added to an Organic Stevia!  SCARY!!!  So if you are eating these things, you are also feeding them to your kiddos!  Do you feed your kids Go-gurts or Otter Pops?  Thank you to Amanda and her blog for introducing me to Zipzicle.  I can now make my little man homemade "go-gurts" or popsicles and put them into a container that he can throw away.  For those of you who are looking for a recyclable alternative there is also Silicone Ice Pop Maker Set on Amazon that you can make them in.  I like these as well!  But it might not be ideal for those of you who have kiddos who aren't as conscientious about bringing them home.  I am just happy that I will know what he is really eating!

Enjoy your research!  I will be posting more information as I find it.  It's a lot to process when you think of all the things that you eat and feed your kiddos.  I have never watched "Super Size Me" and I am afraid to.  I have seen the ads online of how the McDonalds Happy Meals...  SCARY!  

I haven't really looked into the Paleo Diet, but I am really considering it....  Do you have info on the diet you can share?

Meal Planning

Dinner the other night was a hit!  It's amazing how something so simple can be such a huge hit!  We had taco salad last night, a very basic taco salad.  Little man had 2 bowls!  He didn't eat the tortilla, but I won't complain!  Hubby & I love those taco salad bowl pans!  I used them to bake up the entire package of tortillas that I had so that today for lunch it will be a quick and easy throw together.

I find that I am more successful when I have a plan.  All the way down to my workout plan.  Each week I sit down and make a menu for the week and base my grocery list on that menu.  It's the best thing I could have possibly done for my family.  I even assign each meal to a day so that there is no question what we will be eating.  In return it's easier to not go out to eat.  Do you create a meal plan?  Do you find that you struggle to create a meal plan?  

Another thing I have found is that I have more fun trying to lose weight and exercising when I have a buddy or something on the line.  My friend Cheri and I have a small competition to see who can lose the biggest percentage of weight.  Our deadline was originally Valentine's Day, but now it's sometime in the fall. :)  It really doesn't matter what the end date is (until we get closer to our goal weights) because what does matter is that we are there for each other and pushing and motivating each other.  My friend Shannon had challenged me to doing 10 minutes every day on the elliptical (I've kinda fallen off track).  It's a great motivator to have someone pushing you to do it and knowing that they are doing it too!  Do you have a "workout buddy"?

Beautiful Day

It feels like Spring might actually be here finally!  I have had the windows open to let in some fresh air.  I think about 1/2 our driveway is finally clear of snow and ice!  We went outside to let hubby walk around the cul de sac a little bit while little man got to ride his scooter.  It was good for them both to get out in the fresh air.  I can feel Spring itching at me, I was able to get my chairs onto the back deck and put a couple on the front porch as well.  I am thinking of putting one on the balcony outside my bedroom.  It would be so nice to sit out there and drink a cup of coffee in the mornings, but then again it will be in the shade....  Will have to think this one through a bit.  I am also excited to get some flowers planted and hung (our place has many brackets hanging up outside already for planters).

Hubby is doing better today.  He was up moving around more today so that's a good thing.  Every day gets a little bit easier.  We've been up every 4 hours at night, getting him meds and moving around and using the bathroom, etc.  I will be happy for him to feel normal again.  It's been awhile and it's amazing to see him moving around now without the pain he was experiencing before (of course right now he's just got the pain from surgery).

Tonight for dinner is Taco Salad!  My sister was sweet enough to get us those taco bowl pans that you use a tortilla to create your own taco salad bowl.  I love them!  You can have your crunchy taco bowl without the added grease that you get when they are fried.  You simply bake these and surprisingly enough when you bake them it adds a sweet flavor to them as well.  I know it sounds crazy, but it's true!  :)

(picture courtesy of ebay.com)

Speaking of those.... Cinco de Mayo is right around the corner.  Do you have big plans?  Do you usually have a big feast?  Keep in mind if you go out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant that you are better off eating soft tacos because as I stated above the hard shells are fried.  Better yet, go for the fajitas and skip using a tortilla entirely, I love to eat the meat and veggies by them self with a little bit of salsa.  Along with skipping the tortilla, skip on the sour cream as well!  Why drown out the wonderful flavors with sour cream?!  And when you ask for the rice and beans, be sure to skip the refried beans, get pinto or black beans, refried beans are loaded with fat!  Man I'm making myself hungry!  Are you hungry too?!  

Surgery/Recovery and Best Friends

Hubby had his surgery on Thursday and it went well!  I am happy to say that he is feeling much better and the only pain he is experiencing right now is the pain from the surgery.  So far the issues he was having prior to surgery are gone!  Praise God!!  The next few days will be hard but he is doing GREAT!  He was able to make it up the stairs when we came home without any problems.  Today he went up and down the stairs so that is a terrific sign!  They didn't have to cut any of the muscle they just moved them aside.  The nerves that have been pinched all this time are going to take a little time to heal, they have been pretty ticked off for a while.  This was his first surgery and hopefully his last.  Many times I have been the one who was going in for surgery and he was in the waiting room.  This time little man & I got to wait.  He did so well hanging out in the waiting room for 10 hours.  We came prepared though, DVD player, DS, Kindle, iPad, and they had a toy area!  :)

Our good friend Anita, who is like a second mom, was texting and checking in on him all day long.  I could feel the love and concern and it felt wonderful!  (She is hurt and couldn't physically be there with me, but she was there in spirit for sure!)  We can't wait until Lars is healed and we can go use her hot tub!  :)  She is sweet enough to offer the use of it!
Even though the surgery was a day surgery and I knew that it was going to end well, it was reassuring to have one of my best friends (Shannon) there (the other bff (Cheri) lives in Arizona and was texting me before I was even up to go to the hospital).  It's amazing how best friends are connected.  They know when you need them the most, even when you don't know it.  Shannon is as stubborn as me and even though I was telling her all morning that she didn't need to come and that she should worry about her appointments that she had, she made the time to meet us at the hospital and then she came back after her appointments and got her kiddos to school. After we got home she was also stubborn and brought us goodies and a beautiful cactus.

The love and concern that we have felt during this has been great.
If tomorrow is as beautiful as today I think I might have him sit out on the deck for a little while to get some fresh air.  Being cooped up in the house has been the hardest on little man.  He was sick Thursday night so we kept him home on Saturday and I haven't dared to leave Lars home alone because if he moves wrong or falls he will be stuck until I got back home.  So today little man did go outside and play in the yard for a little bit.  Other than that, it's all going great!  We have food from friends and it's delicious! Definitely blessed!

Being less wasteful

Yesterday we spent the day getting hubby ready for surgery Thursday.  It literally took all morning and afternoon.  But surprisingly enough the hospital was very efficient with it.  There were lots of steps and things to be done, but as soon as you were done with one thing they were whisking you on to the next thing.  I was very thankful for that!  Thursday will be a long day.  I will be taking little man with me to the hospital so that I don't have to stress about who's going to get him from school or will I be done in time to get him.  Good thing the hospital has wifi!  We can bring the laptop and watch a movie and he can also work on his IXL (online learning).  Not to mention lots of coffee!  :)  This is where I will be Thursday.  Good thing that coffee stand is right around the corner.

I was reading a blog post about ways to be less wasteful.  I got a few good ideas and some ideas I already do.  Do you use disposable grocery bags or reusable grocery bags?  I have reusable ones, but I do find myself forgetting them sometimes.  Then I feel horrible about it!  I bought my bags at IKEA & Trader Joes and I LOVE them!  The bags I got from IKEA are so darn strong and big!  I use them for everything!  When we go on road trips & even when we go camping.  I recently read a blog post about reusable produce bags.  Now those I have yet to try!  Let alone find them.  I have never seen any, but you know I'll be looking!  The blog also mentioned about using cloth napkins.  I've had some that I've used for "nice dinners" but never thought about using them every day. Why, I have no idea!  It's a great idea!  Less wasteful and save a few bucks, what could be better?!  The article said that bought some...but I have so much fabric I think I might try making some of my own.  I will have to do a little research to figure out what kind of fabric would be best for them.  Any ideas?

I have been doing a lot of cooking lately.  Yesterday I made up some Shepard's Pie, made with moose meat.  (I didn't get a chance to get a picture of it.)  Moose meat has a "gamier" taste but it's delicious.  Have you ever had moose meat?  My family is full of hunters and there is lots of moose meat eaten.

Girls day!

Today was girls day with one of my best friends. We spent our morning shopping. It has been forever since I've gone shopping with a friend. Although I found many pieces of clothing that I liked, I decided not to purchase anything today. My goal is to get into smaller clothes and I currently have several pairs of jeans and capris in my closet just waiting for me to be able to fit into them. I did find the cutest hat for my little man. He loves hats (almost as much as my 17 year old). He seems to be drawn towards fedoras lately. While I was at Burlington I was able to find the "Agent P" hat that he had seen before. It's the cutest hat!



It's amazing how much kids grow! We were visiting with my parents yesterday and my dad was just amazed at how tall my 17 year old is. He thought they were about the same height... LOL. He didn't believe me so he said they needed to stand back to back... Talk about some serious denial! My dad thought my son was standing on a stuffed animal. My 17 year old is 6'3". I think he's the tallest person in our family! He towers over his short mama (I am a whopping 5'). He plans to try out for college basketball this year.



Tomorrow we meet with the Dr. to go over the do's and don'ts for hubby's surgery then off to the hospital to do all the pre-op paperwork. We are now just a few days away and I am praying there will be instant relief for him!

I know that a few weeks ago I was complaining about feeling like I am not doing enough. I think it was the next day or two that things in our lives got chaotic. That was God telling me to be grateful and giving me a gentle reminder that I am where he wants me to be. If I didn't have the time that I do, then I wouldn't be able to do the things for my family that I need to be doing. I have been able to be sure that with everything going on that my family has meals and they aren't eating a quick burger or a bag of chips or whatever their stressed out go to food is. I wouldn't have the time to help a family friend who is in need of our help. There are just so many things that God has put upon me in the last couple of weeks, all of which I welcome. It's amazing how perfect God's timing is, but in the same breath I feel I shouldn't be amazed because its God and he knows the plan and its just completely perfect! (I am not sure that came out the way I wanted, but it's an amazing thing regardless!)

Life gets crazy!

The last 2 weeks have been insane!  It seems life has bit me in the butt again!  I need to just be sure to juggle things correctly so that I have time for my blogging!  It seriously keeps me accountable.  We've had some family members that are sick over the last couple weeks.  Hubby's back just seems to be getting worse.  We finally talked to the Dr. again and convinced them to bump the surgery up a week, so he will be going in on Thursday to get this done.  I know he can't wait to be done.  It's so hard to see him in pain all the time.  (Only plus side is I don't have to share my bottle of wine with him...he can't have any with the pain pills..lol)  Thank you to those of you who sent me messages to check up on me!

Next weekend is my first scheduled run.  I am nervous because I have not been training for it at all!  So it will probably be a run/walk combo!  Both of my sisters will be doing it as well.  My sister created our team name...  "Twisted Sisters" LOL!  Love it!!  I am thinking of trying to get some t-shirts made up for it!  I think it would be great to have a memento from my very first official run (even if I walk most of it!).

Today was another visit to Acai Alaska.  My 17 year old son hadn't been there and neither had my brother in law, so we had to take the "newbies" for a visit!  They enjoyed their Acai Bowls, and heck it was a great reason for me to go and get a "fix" (along with my sister and my hubby, because they are hooked too!).

Whooaaa is me.... & Greek Salad!

I am driving myself crazy!  I really have to focus more on my praying to the Lord to help me every day.  I like to be busy and since we've moved my life has become almost stagnant.  The weather lately isn't helping any at all.  It's done nothing but snow.  I  know that I have to get my mind set right and I am just struggling.  What do you do to help you get through a winter that just won't seem to go away?  When we lived in Spokane I was a SAHM (stay at home mom), ran my own business, President of my MOMS Club, Event Coordinator for a local non-profit, Meal Co-ordinator for our Church and not to mention being a wife and just every day life with field trips and PTSA meetings & volunteering in my son's class. That was a typical day for me...finding the time to get all of that done along with housework, cooking, dogs, etc.  Now...  I don't do any of those things.  I feel like I've gone from 1,000/hour to stop.  There were days that were stressful but I love it.  I know I can't expect to be as busy as I was there, after all it did take me time to get there, but something would be good.
I have started my own event planning business here (just starting it) but I am finding the normal networking that I am used to just isn't the same here.  So what worked in Spokane isn't working here.
I looked for another MOMS Club here and there is one that is just being started, but the lady isn't so good at responding. So I started my own Moms Group, which has picked up in conversation today so that's a plus.
We are still in the process of finding a church that we feel is "home".  I signed up to be on the PTA here, but have yet to hear back.
Perhaps you can start to see/feel my frustrations.  I have my family here and that's great, but it doesn't keep me busy.
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Ok enough of my whining!
Hubby's surgery is scheduled for May 1st.  I pray that when all is said and done he feels like a new man.  I know it's been hard on him (not only physically) but mentally as well.  He can't really do anything physical at all.  He lucked out not having to shovel this year.  LOL!
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There is a restaurant here in Anchorage, Guidos and this is their Greek Salad.  Now if you live here in Anchorage and have never had one of these salads, then you truly do NOT know what you are missing out on!  (Their pizza is pretty darn good too!)  The in house made dressing is what (in my opinion) totally makes this salad!  Stop by and try it for yourself and let me know what you think!

Foods and allergies related?

I have had many conversations with several friends regarding opinions about foods, preservatives and allergies being related.  I don't know about you but the amount of people who are now allergic to things seems to have sky rocketed over the years!  10 years ago you didn't hear about people being Gluten Free.  Now it's seems to be the latest "fad".  And please do not read that wrong, it is not meant to be disrespectful to anyone who is Gluten Free.  I do believe that the allergies exist, but why all of a sudden are they existing?  Is it because technology has improved?  Possibly.  Is it because we are filling our bodies with TONS of processed crap?  Probably!  It could be a combination of both, but lets face it; did our Grandparents have to worry about the amount of processed foods they were eating?  I don't know about yours, but I know that my Grandmother canned her own food, made her own jellies and eating out was something that was done once in a blue moon.  Now a days it seems like there's a restaurant or fast food joint on every corner.  People wonder why or how obesity can be so dominant in our society.  I read an article on Facebook about "scary food additives".  It made me start thinking about the foods that we have been eating.  It's scary to think about what we put into our bodies.  Needless to say we will be eating more organic foods and I will be reading labels closer than I was before.  Not only will I be looking at the calories and fat but I will be looking at all the ingredients as well.  If there are more than 5 ingredients and words that I can't pronounce then I won't be buying it, let alone eating it.
Below are a few articles that you might find interesting about the different artificial additives that you can find in your foods.  It's hard to determine what articles are accurate, but after reading a few of them quite a bit of the information is the same from article to article.  I am just your average person who has done a little bit of research.

I have many opinions about the foods that are considered "ok" by our FDA....  but for now I will keep those opinions to myself.  I do think that we need to educate ourselves and not just accept what we are told or made to believe.
(Remember I am not a Dr. or a nurse and that all of this is my opinion.)

Do research and think for yourself!  Here's to reading labels!

http://fooddemocracy.wordpress.com/2008/01/18/the-dirty-dozen-12-foodsfood-additives-to-avoid-and-why/

 http://www.livestrong.com/article/370945-health-effects-of-yellow-5-food-coloring/

http://www.cspinet.org/olestra/11cons.html

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Winter is still lingering....  Here's pictures from today!  Hopefully it's sunny where ever you are, and think of me! :)
The first picture is when the snow started this morning, the 2nd picture is 4 hours later and the 3rd picture is while we were out and about.  Hard to believe that most of the roads were totally clear yesterday!  (Mother Nature is playing cruel cruel jokes!)