Pinterest Party

Good morning everyone and Happy Hump Day :) I was glad to share the make-ahead smoothie recipe that I found on pinterest. I love having food ready so that I don't  have to worry or make a big mess in the mornings. Yesterday I instead of a smoothie I had more of a breakfast pudding. Monday night I put almond milk, chia seeds and a little oatmeal in the food processor, I added a squirt of strawberry banana barleans, and a scoop of whole flax seeds, I ate it with some redi whip and two slices of lemon coconut bread. Yum :) Hubby and I talked about adding some protein powder to the smoothies/pudding...the options for these smoothies/puddings are endless.

Last night my Bible Study girls and I had a Pinterest party, everyone brought food from recipes found on pinterest and some girls brought crafts. It was so FUN. I brought mini caprese bites that I made with mini heirloom tomatoes, basil and mozzarella all from Trader Joe's. One girl brought a bird house craft to do, another brought tissue paper to make flowers which she is making for centerpieces for a friends wedding, and another brought fabric to make flower hair clips. The night was a huge success and I hope to host my own Pinterest party when we have a house of our own.

Hello everyone, Happy Monday :) It's a beautiful rainy day up here in my neck of the woods. Thank you for the feedback on my question about allowing friends/family to read the blogs and your opinions about sharing personal information. I have decided that I am comfortable with what I share, but I will remember to be cautious in what I say.

This weekend I made some lemon coconut flour bread which delighted hubby since I haven't made it in awhile. Our local health food store Huckleberries had their quarterly sale on their natural living section, so I picked up some strawberry banana barleans and the lemon barleans for my Mom. The past several days I have been making a recipe I found on Pinterest :)  From the yummylife.com make-ahead oatmeal smoothies. It's a wonderful idea, used the recipe for strawberry banana as a starting point

make-ahead smoothies from theyummylife.com

Strawberry Banana Oatmeal Smoothie from theyummylife.com:

1/4 cup uncooked oats (old fashioned rolled oats recommended; do not use steel cut oats)

1-1/2 teaspoons dried chia seeds

3/4 cup skim milk

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup low-fat yogurt (Greek yogurt recommended)

1/2 cup fresh quartered strawberries

1/2 cup fresh banana slices

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-2 teaspoons honey, optional (or substitute preferred sweetener)

Here is what I did:
1/4c uncooked old fashioned oatmeal
2 T chia seeds
3 strawberries
3/4c unsweetened almond milk
3 fresh strawberries
a squirt of barleans strawberry banana

The options on the make ahead smoothies are endless...hubby is very happy that I have started experimenting making them. He was especially happy when he woke up late on Friday and as he was rushing out the door I handed him a smoothie and a lunch.

Hello everyone, sorry I haven't posted in awhile my mood has been much better I've just been busy with the usual stuff. The other week my Mom and I were having a discussion about my blog, she thinks I share too much personal information and it might come back and haunt me later, she also dislikes facebook and texting. (this is not a dig on my Mom in any way) Since she feels that way I have asked her to please not read my blog, she agreed not to but she thinks she should be able to because it is on the Internet and available to everyone to read. This discussion all started because back in Feb or March I said that "I had fallen off the wagon" referring to falling off the bfc wagon not referring to the alcohol wagon. So that makes me wonder how do you guys feel about sharing personal information on your blogs? And how do you feel about those close to you in your personal life reading your blog?

Lately I realized that the group dynamic is really helpful for me. I love this blogging community and I recently discovered I love taking group exercise classes. I personally think the group dynamic is a big part of why WW is so successful. The bfc/ft is successful for myself and hubby when we stick to it. I'm sure you know what I mean about that. Having chips around is just asking for trouble for us. We have decided to be extra good until the end of hubby's school quarter in the middle of June. Extra good for us means no beer for hubby or wine for me. We are not giving these things up because we have a problem, it is that we want to be extra mindful in our eating and when you cut something out for a time or cut back we have found that to be helpful.

Things are good up here in our neck of the woods, the weather has been beautiful and I love seeing the trees and flowers in bloom. We are hearing good rumblings about our house, nothing official to share yet, just things are moving in a good direction :) On Saturday I was at the mall trying to exchange some work shoes and I decided to pop into Bath & Body Works to see if they had any deals....boy howdy they had their large candles on sale 2 for 1. My hometown Spokane, WA is also known as the lilac city. There are tons of beautiful fragrant lilacs in bloom all over right now. Lilacs have a strong but lovely scent, but often when their scent is manufactured it smells terribly. The slatkin & co. candle that I bought at Bath & Body works is delicious. I also purchased a coconut candle that smells like summer. :) Have a wonderful day.



Hello everyone, sorry it's been a week since I last posted. Last week I was in a terrible mood I think it was a combination of pms and the full moon. Whatever you want to call it I was cranky pants. Anyway I want share some of the delicious things I have been making.
I made a double batch of the turkey pumpkin chili in the crock pot from skinny taste at hubby's request. Lately I have been making it with Italian turkey sausage and that adds some nice spice. We put several containers in the freezer which is perfect for hubby's lunch on days that we don't have leftovers.


Chicken stir-fry with quinoa (left) Katie's meatball broccoli quinoa delight (center) turkey pumpkin chili (right)

6g of sugar for the whole jar.

I made a delicious new dish this week that is a keeper in my book :)
"Katie's Meatball broccoli quinoa delight"
 First I made meatballs based off a recipe from allrecipes.com "meatball nirvana" This is my version:
1 lb extra lean ground beef
1 tsp. powdered garlic
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 T. worcester sauce
1/2c panko instead of bread crumbs
1/3c  unsweetened almond milk.

Preheat oven to 400, mix all ingredients until blended, form 1 1/2 inch meatballs placing on a baking sheet. Make sure to use a baking sheet with raised edges or else the grease will run off your pan and make a big mess in your oven, I learned this the hard way. I personally use a pampered chef baking stone. Bake meatballs for 20-25
While my meatballs were baking I steamed several heads of broccoli and their stalks I added a cup of cooked quinoa and  a jar of trader joe's pomadoro pasta sauce which has 1 g of sugar per half cup which comes out to 6g of sugar for the whole jar. I then combined the broccoli, meatballs, quinoa, sauce and lots of fresh basil and let everything simmer for several mins. I served it topped with more fresh basil and mozzarella cheese. Delish.

Mini Crust less Quiches:
Last night I made crust less mini quiches, so easy and delicious. I thawed and drained a box of chopped spinach, cooked some turkey breakfast sausage's, added some bacon, fresh basil and ricotta cheese and eggs. After every thing was mixed I sprayed my muffin pan with pam and spooned the mixture in. I baked it at 350 for about 45 mins. Depending on your ingredients it doesn't always take that long I set my timer for 25 mins but when I put a butter knife into them they weren't done yet.

Balsamic Vinegar stir fry with quinoa:
Last night I also made a delicious green stir fry. I sauteed asparagus, kale, celery, broccoli and portobello mushrooms in olive oil. I then added fresh garlic, garlic salt and balsamic vinegar. I topped it off with leftover pork chops and quinoa, I portioned it out and...bam lunch and enough to freeze for a later date.


Left mini quiches, Right quinoa stir-fry