What's on the Table Tuesday

Here are this week's 5 meals, one of each meat type, with some additional notes to add to what I've already mentioned in my meat breakdown:

Monday - Turkey
Maple Country Turkey Sausage Burgers, sweet potatoe fries and Sensational But Simple Salad. 

Tuesday - Beef
Beef Stew
Another quick meal for Tuesday, love the crockpot meals, throw everything in, turn it on, leave for work, come home and eat yumminess!

Wednesday - Pork
Cantonese BBQ Pork
One of our favorite 'chinese' food items is BBQ pork, going to make this with some fried brown rice, mixed with a fried egg, diced carrots, peas, and corn.
 
Tuesday - Chicken
Fantastic Chicken Amaretto
This has an amazing taste to it, the amaretto moistens the chicken deliciously! I'll be using the Potato & Asparagus Toss side dish again because it uses some of the same flavors, and it's easy and yummy :)

Friday - Seafood
Tuna & Bacon Pasta Fina 
Tuna has never tasted SO good! I'll likely throw in a lot of brown mushrooms, and fry them up with it, they are a great complimentary taste to the bacon & parmesan. 

Here is the host blog of Titus 2sdays, a great place for house-wifery and godly woman(wife)hood!

Pinkified

I have been pinkified :)

I finally did it, I dyed my hair pink...a little ;)
next time I think I'll try more, I love it!

I love....
I love Sean.
I love Sean for the steps of faith he took to delve deeper into Church once again.
I love that Sean opened himself to more relationships at Church and they've led to so much more.
I love that Sean really dug into applying what he's been learning from Sundays and other material he's read.
I love that these things have led Sean to dive into serving passionately and sacrificially and he still wants to do more!
I love that Sean is reaching out and letting more people in his life in ways he never has before.
I love that Sean is opening up about his weaknesses to others, and trying to learn to overcome them and be accountable to others for them.
I love that Sean is succeeding at overcoming some of his weaknesses.
I love that Sean is seeking God's will and even choosing situations he was against less than a year ago.
I love that Sean finds solace and encouragement from serving, even after a bad day at work, and he'd rather go than miss a night because of how good he feels after.
I love that Sean is beginning to see blessings in other areas of his life he had almost resigned to 'suffering through'.
I love the Sean I had.  I love the Sean I have. I will love the Sean God is moulding him into.
I love Sean for giving me another dimension of experiencing God's power, love, grace, truth, patience.
I love God for blessing me with a life I get to share with Sean.

Best Things in Life aren't Things

A hand-me-down skirt from a co-worker who has fabulous taste!

What's on the Table Tuesday

Here are this week's 5 meals, one of each meat type, with some additional notes to add to what I've already mentioned in my meat breakdown:

Monday - Leftovers
Apparently even with my attempt at pre-packaging smaller proportions I already had some leftovers that needed eating, so no meal plan menu Monday. 

Tuesday - Chicken
Shake n’ Bake Almond Chicken
Another quick meal for Tuesday, the chicken is already pre-cooked, and it's a homemade shake n' bake that Sean loves.  I made brown rice last week so I can quickly make this Mushroom and Almond Rice Pilaf, keeping the almond theme going. And I love roasted asparagus with almonds as well, so that will make for a nice veggie.

Wednesday - Pork
Root Beer Roasted Ribs (Boneless)
Mmmmmm, I love ribs! My only beef is that there is usually too much bone and not enough meat.  And Sean isn't a fan of having to dig his meat from between bones, so I decided to make ribs boneless! To me they are just like ribs but better, the key is cooking it like ribs and not just pork in BBQ sauce.  AND I get to use my birthday present from my cousin Pam....mmmm....raspberry chipotle sauce!  I'm serving this with sweet potato fries and Italian-Marinated Vegetable Salad.
 
Thursday - Beef
Leader's Pie
This is another all-in-one dish that hubby co-created....he came up with the idea and I made it happen :)  It's kind-of got a hamburger helper casserole vibe, but with spinach, mushrooms and potatoes it's much healthier and heartier.

Friday - Turkey
Curry Turkey 
This one is an old family favorite my mom used to make.  I love curry, but Sean isn't a big fan usually, so I think I'm going to try to find some red curry, which is a bit sweeter and he can tolerate, and try that instead of the yellow/green curry mom used. If not, I will make my half with curry and Sean's half with his choice of spice/sauce. Garden fresh carrots are a great side, takes the edge off the curry a little.

Here is the host blog of Titus 2sdays, a great place for house-wifery and godly woman(wife)hood!

Books, Books, Everywhere a Book

Well, I started my year off with a bookshelf half full of books I was determined to read by year end.  I have not read a one. I keep getting gifted books (thank you!!), borrowed books (thx too!), and find myself wanting to re-read books! Ack!

These are my most recent reads, and hopefully my next reading post will include at least ONE book from my original list.

After No Perfect People allowed I was borrowed two books from my friend. The Purpose of Womanhood was a good read but it wasn't anything new to me, I'm already a pretty firm believer I'm equal but different, and that I am the one called to submit to my husband and he's the one called to lead us.

The second book was The Maker's Diet, and this one did really open my eyes to things I was already somewhat beginning to understand but tied it into God's original dietary instructions for the Jewish people.  I've always been of the opinion these were for spriritual cleanliness, but there are very valid connections to physical cleanliness.  It's not necessarily about organic, it's about food being the way it was before it was tampered with by human knowledge. And how God knew about the internal health qualities of some food long before we did, and had the Jews avoid food based on that wisdom. I haven't decided to follow the entire change in my diet, but I have definately changed my perspective on some certain foods and am now limiting them, and some foods I'm definitely trying to find alternatives for.  I am avoiding giving details because a) learning about some foods is not appetizing, and b) there were far too many details to summarize. But if you are already leaning towards AVOIDING; horomone-injected foods, meats fed on anything but grass, figuring out what 'healthy fats' really are, etc. then I would definitely recommend you read this book. Or if you have severe physical ailments that haven't been able to be treated successfully with modern day medicine, this may be an eye opener for you as well.  If I ever get that ill, I would certainly take on changing my whole diet to it's recommended plan.

Then I read Reshaping It All, by Candace Cameron Bure.  She was one of my fav stars as a kid on Full House, and I identified with her being that I was a bit larger than my skinny counterparts as well. To find out she is a Christian and struggled with her weight and kept it off without giving up any particular foods (not that she didn't give up anything to acheive it, just didn't follow an elimination diet), I was thrilled to find out she talked about it all in this book.  I've been wanting it for several months now and Sean got it for me for my birthday.  I have loved it, she has such great examples to tie into the princple point she's trying to get across in each chapter.  And the fact that she still loves to eat, that eating at restaurants is her 'treat' just as it is mine, it made each point hit home for me all the more.  I have been so much more aware of my eating habits since reading this book, I'm fairly sure it's one of the keys in my ability to start dropping weight I haven't been able to for a couple of years!

Anyway, now I have a fiction book to read finally :) It's not even the latest Ted Dekker book anymore, but I have to read it before the latest does release on Sept. 13th!  I can't wait to dive back into his world.  Then I'll have that book shelf of non-fiction calling out to me again.  Good thing I'm down-sizing our cable package :)

Funny Friday

Laugh of the Day!

It's too bad I don't want this colour, Sean would be sold on anything called Bacon! :) lol.

It's no Starbucks....

lemon raspberry loaf, but considering it's HALF the calories! and way less than half the cost, I am pretty pleased with the version I found.

and so were my guinea pigs at work....who all raved about it, and asked for the recipe.

as did some of you :)

so here is the recipe.

which I think would go well with my home-brewed Passion Iced Tea Lemonade....also a Starbucks rip off.

Wordless Wednesday - Homemade Lemon Raspberry Loaf

What's on the Table Tuesday

Here are this week's 5 meals, one of each meat type, with some additional notes to add to what I've already mentioned in my meat breakdown:

Monday - Chicken
Fabulous Fritos Cuban Cooking
This is one of my new favorites one dish meals, and I got a tip to make it (and all cooking/baking) healthier and tastier by using coconut oil, I can't wait to try it! I have some white wine I need to use up that I will sub for the vodka, and I have some asparagus I need to use up so I'll add that instead of carrots.

Tuesday - Turkey
Turkey, Bacon Pasta Salad With Lemon Basil Dressing
Tuesdays we need a quick meal as Sean runs off to his serve at his Church ministry early, so since the turkey is already pre-cooked, this is a fast and easy and yummy meal.  I love pasta salads, especially one you can throw meat into and make it a one-disher. And, again, got some asparagus I need to use up.

Wednesday - Pork
Pepsi Pork Roast
Yes, I'm doing roast again, but I wanted to get the left overs for sandwiches later on in the plan. As my side dish for this roast I am also making Potato & Asparagus Toss, I'll be using more of the farmer's market baby red potatoes and....you guessed it, asparagus to use up.
 
Thursday - Beef
Multi-Meatloaf/Meatballs
I made the mini-meatloaves with BBQ sauce and cheddar stuffed in the middle. And of course, a great side for some good ol' meatloaf is some Slow-Baked Mac and Cheese.

Friday - Seafood
Mango Fiesta Shrimp 
This one was a much modidfied recipe from my vodka recipe book, actually 2 recipes combined and then Lori-fied. I'm adding red peppers, roasted and/or pepper flakes, to almost everything these days! I love it
Yum, can't wait. It's funny how excited I get for my meals with this blog entry.  It makes it even better that I know I've already pre-portioned them to meet my calorie allowance, and pre-prepared them so I know I don't have a lot of work to do after work every day. This plan is genius :) (if I do say so myself).

Here is the host blog of Titus 2sdays, a great place for house-wifery and godly woman(wife)hood!

Wellness Wednesday

So, I'm finally losing weight again! Despite celebrating my birthday for almost 2 weeks straight :)

I am down to a weight I haven't been since probably 2009. After hitting my top weight loss (at one time) of 29 lbs September 2008, it slowly crept back on during some hard times over the next 2 years and by last fall I had gained back 8-12 lbs, fluxuatingly. Now, I'm back to only having 5-6 lbs over my original loss! I know it's only a difference of 2-3 lbs but they have evaded shedding for almost 2 years! I of course originally had wanted to lose another 13 after those 29, so I still have about 19 lbs more to go over all, but I'm finally moving there significantly!

I changed a lot in my habits recently so for posterity (I want to remember what I'm doing right!) here are most of the contributing factors:

~ I've been reading a few books on diet (not eating fads, habitual food guides) and health, which have given me new information on what I am putting in my body, and what I'm not giving my body that it needs. some of the below changes are because of that, some have yet to be implemented.

~ stuck strictly to my calorie allowance during the weekdays, even when I ate 'out', and no extra food when I exercised (my calorie counter app automatically calculates an increase in my calorie allowance based on exercise, and I tended to then allow myself to eat those calories).

~ on weekends I did allow myself to eat the calories that I had earned back through exercise, but not over that. previously I would indulge quite a bit over my allowance on weekends.

~ started being more regimented in taking my vitamins and added more; stronger dose of Vitamin C and Omega 3s, and added Cod Liver Oil pills too.

~ started adding 5 min. here and there of weights and yoga, managed about 4 times per week.

~ started walking more vigorously when I'm walking the dog, when he dawdles I tended to dawdle too, but now even when he is slow I try to move on the spot instead of just standing still.

~ having less snacks after supper. I had typically would have some snack every night, now it's been every other night and mostly fruit, but whatever I choose I have much smaller snack portions as well now.

~ pre-calculating and preparing weekday breakfasts and lunches I bring to work; pre-planned means meeting my calorie allowance, and I plan out a variety of foods so that even though I eat the same thing everyday it's 7 different foods, as well as balance of fruits/veggies, fiber, protein & healthy fats. I have a small protein shake I make myself, a mini chocolate raspberry muffin, a small banana with a teaspoon of nutella, 6 baked pita crackers topped with a little cottage cheese and tomato slice each, a baked egg (over-medium in a muffin tin in the oven, no extra fat), another fruit, and a handful of unsalted nut mix.  all that is only 635 calories.

~ I spread my work meals throughout the day, to help my stomach get used to portion control and it also is supposed to increase metabolism eating more smaller meals.

~ increase my water intake which had dwindled down to maybe 2-3 cups per day from 6-8 cups I used to drink. now I've been back up to over 6 cups per day for the last 2 weeks. I keep neglecting how important water is to metabolism, and fat & toxin flushing.

~ going through the 12 step recovery program we'll be launching at Church in the fall (the leaders need to go through lessons before we can lead them :) and answering questions about the out-of-control areas in my life have led to some hard answers I've had to give about why I eat when I don't need to.

~ talking to a friend about eating habits and hangups I have, and the obstacles to having a healthy, active lifestyle, trying to make myself accountable to her.....and being there for her the same way.  I need that additional voice to encourage me to make the healthier choice sometimes.

Last time I had a go at losing weight, I had so many motivators to help me lose weight; my hip, my fertility, my sleep deprivation/snoring, and just being able to keep up with the children in my life. Now that most of those are not an issue or not weight related issues, I had lost most of my motivation (because of course there is always appearance & self esteem). But as I begin to realize why I don't habitually choose the healthiest lifestyle that fits me I now know that being physically healthy is also part of being healthy mentally and spiritually as well.  AND I don't have to deprive myself, just discipline myself.

I think I've finally made lifelong changes and I hope to keep building on them.

What's on the Table Tuesday

So, I wanted to start my 80 meals plan sooner but thought it best to use most of the meats I already had in my freezer first, which means this week is our first week on my plan.  Each week I thought I'd post the current week's meal plan on Tuesdays (link up to Titus Tuesday while I'm at it, accomplished homemaker that I am now, lol), as a record of my plan, and because I received a few requests for the menu and recipes I used. Here are this week's 5 meals, one of each meat type, with some additional notes to add to what I've already mentioned in my meat breakdown:

Monday - Seafood
Spicy Ginger Shrimp
Mmmmm, I love me some stir fry, the only thing that makes it better is shrimp! I'm going to be using green peppers instead of red, since that's what I have on hand, but a stir fry needs LOTS of veggies, so from a bag of mixed veggies I bought at Costco (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots & squash) I'm adding about 2 cups veggies as well.

Tuesday - Pork
Salsa Sausage & Potato Bake
I love this all in one dish, so easy and yummy! A nice change from the usual tomato-based meals I used to make. I have farmer's market baby red potatoes to use, my own homemade salsa, my own homemade roasted red peppers, and some frozen shredded cheese from the Costco trip.

Wednesday - Beef
Pepsi Pork Roast
I am using one of my substitutions, making this for the roast beef rather than pork roast. As my side dish for this roast I am also making Creamy Dill Potato Casserole and some carrot sticks on the side, fresh from my garden! I'll be using more of the farmer's market baby red potatoes for the casserole. The nice thing is I'll be saving leftovers from this roast for easy roast beef sandwiches for a meal in the future :)
 
Thursday - Chicken
Homemade Mac & Cheesy Broccoli Bake
I am adding chicken to this very easy casserole to make another one dish meal. Frozen broccoli already pre-portioned from Costco trip.

Friday - Turkey
Turkey Tacos
I'm simply exchanging ground turkey/pork for ground beef for this meal.  I have the remaining green peppers, some homemade roasted red peppers, homemade salsa, and frozen shredded cheese from the Costco trip, as toppings. One day I hope to get brave enough to make my own tortillas!

Well, that's this week's plan, I'm so looking forward to good eatins' this week, and the weeks to come!

Here is the host blog of Titus 2sdays, a great place for house-wifery and godly woman(wife)hood!

Miscellany Monday

~ life is getting better all the time, as I look back at my week it's hard NOT to feel blessed with all the great people I have in my life, and all the great things God is doing in my life.

~ here are some pictures of the great time I had with my mum and sisters at Folklarama's Ethiopian pavilion. Tami's adoption is through Ethiopia so we thought it would be great to get an idea of their culture. adorable little children running around, dancing along with the performers, made Tami a little more eager for the day she has her own I think.

~ been battling the cold Sean has had for over a week now, it still hasn't managed to get me :)

~ cleaning and decluttering slowly but surely has led to a pretty big pile of stuff I need to get rid of, if they don't have a curb-side giveaway soon I'm going to have to make a trip to Value Village asap.

~ the weather has been so terrific, spending more time in the yard again, and making plans to go for walks with friends, especially friends who want to feel the burn like I do!

~ I'm getting right into my role as Promotional Materials leader for Celebrate Recovery, so many ideas rattling around in my brain, I can't wait to see them come to fruition.

~ made my own roasted red peppers, bought a big bag of them at Costco and then followed some online directions I found to making them roasted, just like the ones I've been buying in a jar.  also made my own salsa, just a can of herbed, stewed tomatoes, some red onion, a bit of garlic, some of my recently made roasted red peppers, a few drops of Frank's Red Hot sauce, and chipotle seasoning from Tupperware. yum!

~ books keep getting added to my 'to read' pile, I've just finished 2 books recently, almost done a third, and yet I still feel like my stack hasn't moved at all! 

~ inpromptu date surprised me Saturday afternoon when Sean all of a sudden took me to play pool and have some appys for lunch. he doesn't do spontaneous very often, and going out is especially not usual when he's fighting a bad cold, but his spirits have been up recently so I'm glad for the chance to enjoy his company, doing something fun that reminds me of back when we were dating.

~ Sunday ended up being the perfect beach day for my family's celebration of all summer birthdays. we went out to St. Malo, played in the water, on the beach, had Rollkuchen made by Tami & Kellin, with watermelon and burgers. What a great way to cap off birthday partying and the week!

Wordless Wednesday - Lunch

Miscellany Monday

~ well, birthday week is almost over :) it's made it a busy week but I'm so blessed to have so many people who want to help me celebrate my birthday, I feel so loved <3

~ here's some pics of the birthday pedicure and dinner last Tuesday that I mentioned last week.

~ my birthday necklace arrived FAST and I was wearing it already by Wednesday :)

~ finished writing my testimony, boy that was HARD!....leaders need to have a written one prepared because testimonies are part of the recovery ministry. I can have a convo about it no problem, but ask me to simplify it, make it to the point, and approx.10 min. long, yikes!

~ finished my first brochure to announce the launch of the recovery program!

~ Muki's mamma came by for a visit on Wed., with the usual Chilean bottle of vino. when she took him for a walk we took the opportunity to do a thorough house clean, like clean up little messes (when people knock or ring the doorbell when we're not there he gets a little scared), and wash all the fabrics, etc. this product, b the way, is an AMAZING stain remover if you are ever needing one.

~ went to to our first Bomber game of the season on Thursday and boy what an exciting game, and we won! I have never heard the crowd that loud, ever.

~ took the day off work on Friday to sleep in, go for breakfast while the car is getting some routine maintenance, and have a long weekend with my hubby who doesn't get Monday off. we wandered the mall where Sean bought me a book I've been wanting for awhile now.

~ we also went to see Transformers - Dark of the Moon 3D for our July date, which was fun.

~ also had our first Celebrate Recovery Leaders Team meeting on Friday.  we will meet every Friday for 2 hours until it starts and then it runs every Friday evening all year round.

~ on my actual birthday we took it slow, mostly a typical Saturday. I got so many FB birthday greetings, some all the way from Hong Kong, Pompeii, Papau New Guinea, Alberta and Northern Manitoba :)

~ I'm determined to use my birthday dinners as a way to try new restaurants, it's worked 4 years in a row now ;) (hubs isn't too fond of trying new things) this year I picked Hermanos. it was awesome, tied with last year's birthday at Fude for sure. the steak was the best we've ever had. here are a few pics.

 chicken & sausage empanadas

I would have taken a picture of my steak topped with shrimps half the size of my hands! but I dug into deep by the time I realized the plate looked a little too devoured for a decent picture. but take my word for it, excellent food!

~ today is another birthday tradition, ok, just started last year, but it's bound to keep going :) my baby sis has a birthday the day after mine, and she and I happen to find ourselves husband less on the August long weekend Monday, so we along with my other sister and my mom make a girls day of it. those details I'll have to give you later because I'm off and running for another day of fun.....