Santo Cinco…. de Mayo that is!!! May 5, 2011

Ok, first I’ll start with a little Mexican history {because honestly, I look this up every year for myself}.

Cinco de Mayo is observed to commemorate the Mexican army’s unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. Contrary to widespread popular belief, Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico’s Independence Day {the most important national patriotic holiday in Mexico, which occurs on September 16th}.

The Battle of Puebla was important for at least two reasons. First, although considerably outnumbered, the Mexicans defeated a much better-equipped French army. “This battle was significant in that the 4,000 Mexican soldiers were greatly outnumbered by the well-equipped French army of 8,000 that had not been defeated for almost 50 years.” Second, it was significant because since the Battle of Puebla no country in the Americas has been invaded by a European military force. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinco_de_Mayo

Now with all of that “technical” stuff aside I can get down to the good stuff!!! MEXICAN FOOD!!!

My little family loves Mexican food, so obviously, it only makes sence for this all American family to celebrate this joyous holiday! {As if we really need an excuse to make/eat mexican lol!}

Tonight I decided it would only be right for me to serve up comida, fiesta style!

SO… I made homemade refried beans, mexican rice and pollo verde! Wowzer! It was yummy! {Sorry I forgot to take pics, but I’ll post recipes in a later blog as I will be making it again!}

For me the best part was dessert!!! Oh yeah! I made dessert!!! {A rarity in my house!}

Banana and Dulce de Leche Chimichangas!

3 bananas sliced

1/4 c butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp cream/milk

pinch of cinnamon

3 flour tortillas

ice cream/whipped topping {optional}

 

Preheat Oven to 375*

To start slice up your bananas as your butter melts in a saucepan, after butter is melted add brown sugar and stir until combined well. Stir in your cream or milk {or if you’re like me and are out of milk you can use flavored coffee creamer… it didn’t add or take from the taste}. Fold in your bananas, reduce the heat to low and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Next put 2-3 spoonfuls of banana mixture in the center of each tortilla and fold up burrito style. Brush lightly with melted butter and bake in the oven at 375* for 10-15  minutes until golden brown and puffy!

Now top with ice cream and drizzle with any leftover banana mixture!

OH YEAH!!!

I must warn you that this is one of those desserts that is super rich and delicious but you just simply cannot put it down!!!

Don’t feel too bad about it though! It’s baked instead off fried {and I used fro-yo instead of ice cream!}

Ok you guys! GO make some!!!!

Love,

Amanda

Shopping & Savings March 30, 2011

Yesterday I took my husband on a trip to the local Whole Foods (another of our favorite groceries). We shop there a couple of times a month, but I don’t go there for a lot of my groceries because they are… well, expensive.

Yesterday was a different story. I went in with the mind-set of shopping on a budget! What I mean by that is, I was paying closer attention to prices and comparing value/using coupons!

With that being said I came out with more bang for my buck!

{* =sale, + =coupon, WF= Whole Foods}

• 1 lb ground white turkey
• 1 lb ground dark meat turkey
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1/2 pt. blueberries
• Ezekiel Cinnamon Rasin Bread
• WF Organic tomato basil pasta sauce
• 2 large lemons*
• Organic Italian cheese+
• Sour Cream+
• Chiobani Greek Yogurt+
• Fire Roasted tomatoes+
• WF Sharp Cheddar
• Silken Tofu
• Dates
• 4 bunches fresh broccoli

I got ALL of that for the grand total of {drum roll please}……. $44.94!!!!

This is everything I needed (and a little extra) for the makings of our next 3 suppers and leftovers for Joseph’s lunches!

Tuesday night: Dark turkey burgers topped with a tomato mixture on top of whole wheat english muffins served with spicy steamed broccoli.

Wednesday night: Tacos (made with turkey burger). I already had most of these ingredients at home and only needed the meat.

Thursday night: Grilled Chicken Parmesan with whole wheat pasta.

Friday: I will use the leftover cheeses and veggies to make a Frittata (with the eggs that I already have).

I also got all of the ingredients to make Lemon Cream with Ana!

• 12 oz silken tofu
• 1 tbsp lemon zest
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 8 pitted dates coarsely chopped
• 1/8 tsp ground cardamom (which I didn’t have, and didn’t miss it in the taste)
• fresh blueberries (to top)

I also added a drizzle of honey for sweetness

This stuff is so good! You would never know that it’s healthy! Top it with some fresh fruit and enjoy!

Festivities Food & Fun! March 25, 2011

This week has been a pretty good one {looking back}. We have had lots of fun and family time. 🙂

Tuesday Ana and I were supposed to go to a playdate at a park about 30 min. from us but… let’s just say she didn’t want to get up! So we went to a park closer and ran errands instead. It was still lots of fun, and I got to chat with a nice mom while we were at the park too! 🙂

Wednesday we stayed home, but Ana had some things in mind for us as soon as we got up (you’ll see in the pics). 😉

Thursday (yesterday) we went downtown! Thursdays in G’ville’s beautiful downtown is Downtown Alive! Live music and local vendors on the street! It was great :). Not many vendors yesterday, but I’m sure as the season warms up there will be more and more! We also tried (and loved) another mexican restaurant, this one downtown (of course)!

Today (Friday) my grandma Pat and papaw Larry came down! Papaw cleaned up my yard (mowed and weed-eated), while mamaw put another perm in my hair! 🙂 (It was way overdue… both things!) And finally, tomorrow my in-laws are coming back down for more food and fun! 😀

Yep it’s been a great week, and it’s looking like a great weekend!

Hope your’s is fabulous too!  

{Hover over an image for a description}

 

Catching up… March 21, 2011

I know it’s be forever since I have posted, but we have been some sickies around here… I had a severe sinus infection and Joseph had a stomach bug {week before last}, and this past week I had to take Ana to the doctor and found out she has a bad ear infection in her right ear (due to cutting a molar) 😛 { blah}

So here is a little rundown of our doings here recently, via photos. 🙂 {Hover over the image to get a description.}

I should probably give a time line on this {lol}, and a little more description. 🙂 St Paddy’s day was the 17th (Thursday). The following day (Friday the 18th) I took Ana to her new doctor whom I LOVE, and afterward we went to Tony’s NY style pizzeria (my fav new italian/pizza place), thus the salad picture. Saturday the 19th, Joseph’s parents came to visit and the guys had guy time (basketball), and us girls went out on the town… only to get caught in a BIG storm (in which I later found out a tornado spawned from and touched down in Laurens, about 45 min from here!) No worries though, we found refuge in the mall! 😉

Family fun & FOOD!!!! March 12, 2011

Thankfully I am finally starting to feel human again!

Last night We went on a family fun date! I wanted Italian food SO bad {specifically a cannoli}, so we found a little italian restaurant and fell in love! This place was small, but authentic and the prices were unbelievably low! I decided on a small {actually quite large} greek salad and a slice of Sicilian pizza with spinach, mushrooms, and tomatoes! Joseph got a small {read HUGE} calzone stuffed with onions, mushrooms, sausage and other things that I simply cannot remember, for Ana we chose baked ravioli, and to start us all off we tried their cheese bread!!!

You wouldn’t believe the food! Everything was beyond good…. I can’t begin to find an adjective to fit it… The cheese bread melted in our mouths, the marinara was perfect {and I am extremely picky about my marinara}, my Sicilian “slice” was huge and amazing {Sicilian pizza has focaccia crust), Joseph’s calzone was superb, and Ana’s raviolis were huge and delicious!!!

 Of course we had to have dessert! For Daddy and miss priss it was chocolate chip cookies, and for me it was cannolis!!!! Yes I said cannolis (plural). 😛 I intended on just getting one, but they just had to offer regular and chocolate covered cannoli shells… So I decided on one of each, but in the mini size… didn’t happen… they were out of mini chocolate cannolis and my sweet hubby (who got them at the counter while I waited at the table) didn’t want to bring me back one tiny cannoli! {Sometimes I think he wants me fluffy, lol} Long story short everything about our meal was FABULOUS!

Afterward we went to see Rango… We were not at all happy with this movie and wouldn’t advise anyone on seeing it. There was nothing to it for the first 30-45 minutes, and once it finally started (being interesting) I began hearing a word slipped in here and there… Not what I wanted out of a cartoon. It was also kind of scary to be a kids movie. If I had it to do over again I think we would have seen Gnomeo & Juliet

I think my favorite part of the movie was before it actually began. Ana turned around and looked at her daddy and said {so seriously} ” I wan pa-torn”… We both bust out laughing and our poor child just looked at us like she couldn’t believe we thought this was a laughing matter! Of course her daddy got her some “pa-torn” (after we made her say it a few more times and got all of our kicks in), which we wnjoyed with our cookies and cannolis that I snuck in via my big bag! (What? Concessions are outrageous these days!)

All in all it was a pretty good night, and I learned a valueable lesson, Always look up a movies reviews before going to see it…

Also this evening out broought back to the front of our minds the desire that we share to open our own Italian restaurant! My husbands family is Italian and I may as well be as much as I love the food! (We even named our restaurant! Sorry not sharing the name…) 😉

Here are a few pictures of food {like what we had}, and from the movie. (Sorry, this isn’t actually what we ate, I forgot to take pictures.)

Finally!!!

Cheese!!!

Something was funny…

Licking the salt from her lips! {hahaha}

The Magic of Food, Family & Love! March 11, 2011

Yesterday was a day from down under… and I’m not talking about Australia. It was one of those days when you wake up and feel awful and it just keeps getting worse.

Ana whined and I cried…This was our pattern for the day

I cried because I wasn’t feeling good, because I felt like I didn’t have anyone close by me (which I don’t), because I have been sick and just wanted a break. I cried because my house was (and still is) a wreck, because I don’t know anyone here, because I just felt like crying… See the pattern here? I, I, I, I, I…. Whaa, Whaaa, Whaaa! I was feeling sorry for myself, and a little depressed too. {Don’t judge me, you know you’ve done it too.}

After a while I managed to pull out of it a little (thanks to a sweet friend and sister in Christ, whom I called on for prayer). Somewhere around 1:30 pm I finally gout out of my pj’s, took a shower, and even blow dried my hair! (No small undertaking).

When my hubby got home he gave me a big hug, which always makes me feel better! He even said he was going to take me out (or should I say us, since we don’t have anyone to watch Ana)!… YAY YAY YAY YAY!!! This meant I was actually getting out of the house! Despite all of this the bad energy was still flowing, but the evening kept getting better, as did my mood.

Joseph was going to take me out, and to make it even better we were going downtown! My favorite place to go! 🙂

My Town!

I love this place! It just feels like home!

Joseph wanted to try a new restaurant, one that I had already been to and raved about! THE LAZY GOAT!!!!!

On our little 10 minute drive downtown Ana fell into a deep sleep! (Her only nap of the day at 4:30, turned out to be the best baby-sitter we could have asked for!) She actually slept through most of our meal!

About the restaurant:

The Lazy Goat is an eclectic, tapas style restaurant, specializing in Mediterranean cuisine. It is fab! {lol}

Our view to the left... a fun clock wall!

The view to my right... beauty!

A little further down the river...

A little further to the right...

 

This place is so much fun! As Ana’s slumber continued Joseph and I talked and laughed, and ATE!!! 🙂

As we sat and talked we couldn’t help but be taken in by this beautiful city that we now call home. We talked about why we love it here… the classy business people, the funky artistic edge, the outdoorsy-ness (yes it’s a word… now), how family friendly it is (note the family out for a stroll in the above picture). We love the character, and culture this city has to offer. Most of all we love that it’s perfect for us!

…back to the eating part!… We ordered a smorgasbord of yummy tapas!

 

Sorry… I forgot to snap before we dug in! 😉

 

This is the last of our delicious Fried Goat Cheese! These were warm, little pieces of heaven, deep-fried, dusted with ground pistachios and drizzled with honey!!!! 

Oh My Word!!!

 

Here we have the rest of our meal!

 Mediterranean Pimento Cheese (it will blow your mind!), is made with feta cheese and served with warm bread; Even Lazier Paella (in the molcajete), is a dish of roasted chicken, house made chorizo sausage, “bomba” rice,and sofrito broth; and Toasted Garlic Shrimp which features blistered tomatoes, feta, ouzo and arugula tossed with the best tasting shrimp you will ever eat!

Ana did eventually wake up and she was in a much better mood, as was I, she even ate… She actually devoured the rest of our Mediterranean pimento cheese! 

Our bellies were full and we were all ready to head home and finish out this great evening with some relaxation!

Fit for the dogs… March 4, 2011

…that pretty much sums up my night and my breakfast. 😦 Ana hasn’t been feeling well, and if you have kids you know that= no sleep. Thankfully this morning she seems to be feeling a little better. {Just so you know I don’t blog if she is sick, thus no post yesterday.}

As I said my breakfast was pretty much disgusting… I tried a meal idea from my INSANITY nutrition guide and I was SO disappointed! It was power protein oatmeal (plain oatmeal with vanilla whey protein and berries). Maybe I made it wrong, but this is how it turned out…

Does that look disgusting or what!? The texture was like a mixture of grits and oatmeal… Maybe like eating polenta uncooked…? (Polenta is very good… cooked!)

So I went back to my trusty (up until this point) guide, and I decided on an omelet! However I didn’t have everything it called for, so I improvised! Here is was I came up with after a long hard look at my fridge.

L’arte d’arrangiarsi!

The art of making something out of nothing!

This was my power breakfast, and let me tell you it brought me out of my slump!

• 2 eggs
• 2 egg whites
• leftover Grilled Asparagus
• 1 medium tomato diced
• 1 slice whole-wheat toast
• 1 Tbsp all fruit preserves
• 1 large orange

Make the eggs and egg-whites omelet style, saute veggies, top toast with preserves and VIOLA!

My sweet baby-girl (whom I playing tea party with as I type (a mom’s multitasking talent), also had a wonderful breakfast! Over 1/2 of her bowl of oatmeal, a whole egg and some sautéed tomatoes! I was more happy that she ate something than anything! (She pretty much won’t eat when she feels bad.) So when she asked my for a “tookie” I happily handed one over!

Who says you can’t have dessert after breakfast!?

I do have one more thing to share with all of my “bloggies”! A new recipe!!! This is once again inspired by my nutrition guide but tailored to our liking and caloric needs for the day! You can do the same with this recipe…

Pasta Surprise

(lame name, I know, but oh well the taste makes up for it!)

• 1 lb whole wheat penne pasta
• 1 bag frozen bell pepper strips with onions
• garlic (4-5 cloves minced)
• 2 cans tuna
• italian seasoning, S&P (to taste)
• feta and  quatro formaggio cheeses (low-fat)

Cook pasta al dente, in a separate pan saute garlic in olive oil until fragrant, add peppers and onions, saute 3-5 minutes until warmed, add spices and tuna and heat through. When pasta is cooked drain and toss with the vegetable mixture. Serve sprinkled with cheeses.

One good size portion (1 1/2 cups) of this is probably about 450 calories.

This was a huge success! My hubby loved it! 🙂 Which makes me very happy!

 

Much love and happiness to you all!

Day 2… Accountability March 1, 2011

Today I have been trying to be accountable for all of my calories. I am writing down everything I eat, and breaking down the calories item by item. I really want to make sure I am hitting the right caloric range because, I know that if I am not getting enough calories, or fuel, I won’t be able to burn off the excess… gunk. {lol}

So here’s the breakdown….

Breakfast: 8:45 am

This morning was delicious!

• 1 slice of light wheat bread (40 cal)
• 1 Tbsp all natural PB (95 cal)
• 1.5 tsp all fruit blackberry preserves (25 cal)
• 1 cup berries (strawberries & blueberries) (65 cal)
• Activia light yogurt (70 cal)
• 1/4 cup kashi crunch (with flax seed) (25 cal)
• Coffee with flavored creamer (45 cal)

                                        {I only drank half of my coffee}

Grand total: 368 calories

I was not at all happy about this… I was aiming for at least 400 calories. I know, I wasn’t that far off, but this is where the obsessing comes in…

So, I will be trying to make up for that at my next “meal” or my mid-moning snack. I am supposed to eat 5 times a day…

Mid-Morning Snack: 10:45 am

“Vanilla Berry Protein Shake”

• 1 cup 1% milk (110 cal)
•  1 cup strawberries (46 cal)
• 1/2 of a medium banana (50 cal)
• 2 Tbsp all-natural Peanut Butter (190 cal)
• Ice to taste

Grand total: 396 calories

Much better! I almost hit 400 calories at this “meal”!

Lunch: 1:45 pm

•  Whole Wheat English Muffin (120 cal)
• Tuna (50 cal)
• 1 Tbsp.vegenaaise (35 cal)
• 1 Tbsp. dill relish (16 cal)
• 1/4 cup cheese (50 cal)Mixed Greens Salad w/ Balsamic Vinegarette (35 cal)

Grand total: 306 calories

Afternoon Snack: 5:15 pm

• 1 slice light wheat bread (40 cal)
• 1 Tbsp all-natural peanut butter (95 cal)
• 1 tsp honey (21 cal)
• Greek yogurt cup (90 cal)
• 1/4 cup blueberries (20 cal)
• 1/4 cup Kashi crunch cereal with flax seeds (50 cal)

Grand total: 316 calories

I know this was late for a “snack” but really they are 5 small meals. I knew we would have to eat supper late since Joseph didn’t get off until 5:00 pm, and then he had to go to the store… Such is life.

So after Joseph got home it was time for our mad crazy butt kickin’ workout! And oh did it kick our hineys!!! It was great though. we were sweating and pushing ourselves SO hard! A few times I had to stop because I was light-headed and nauseous! It was intense, even more so than yesterday!

Ok, I promise I’m not usually always this ugly, but this was right after a crazy workout! I am flushed and sweaty… Ewwwwww!!!

 As much as I felt like puking then, I had to go cook supper… 😛

Supper: 8:00 pm

(I know late, but there was nothing I could do about that today.)

 

Stir-Fry!

• 5 oz. Salmon
• Stir fried broccoli, mushrooms, and snow peas with homemade sauce
• 2/3 cup cooked brown rice

Grand total: 400 calories

That brings me to today’s……. Final total!!!!!

Final total: 1,786 calories!

Yay!!! I hit my range… although my mind does go into a spiral of … whoa… that’s too much… I never eat that many calories… Oh no!… but it’s what the formula says I need, so it’s what I will do!

Welp, it’s time for me to hit the shower and the sack!

Much Love

Understanding… February 24, 2011

I am beginning to try to understand myself, to accept who I am, not as a person. I already know and like the inside me, it’s the outside that I have never gotten along with. When I look in the mirror I see every flaw, every lump or bump or bulge. I always have, even at my smallest I was never happy with my size. And no surprise that after gaining 15 lbs after getting married and 50 lbs during my pregnancy, I hate the outside more than ever… even though I am back down to my pre-pregnancy size my shape has not exactly recovered (I’m prepared that it may not completely). Then again I didn’t like my shape when I was small, so…

This is where the beginning is. Trying to accept that I may not have what it takes genetically to be a “skinny girl”. I once thought this is what mattered, but with having a child this view, along with everything else, has changed. Now I am ready (emotionally) to be more accepting of myself, to take responsibility, and leadership in my own health (health being the key word). I’m sure there will always be some desire to be thinner (what American girl in this messed up generation doesn’t), but now it’s more about being the best me possible. Leading a healthy lifestyle to lay an example for my daughter, so that one day she will be able to look at herself in the mirror and think “I look good”, “I love me”! This honestly brings me to tears… I pray that I can set that example for her. So she will know she is beautiful, valuable and most importantly that she will know that God made her perfectly!

These aren’t just words that we teach our children they are actions that we must live out loud.

Having said all of that, and completely and totally opening myself up to you, this is my plan:

• Eat the healthiest foods possible, and feed my

    family the healthiest food possible.

• Exercise daily, for at least 45 minutes

            (Sundays may be an off day, not sure yet)

• Get my family involved in our meal planning and exercising.

{I also am starting to think about monitoring my calories more closely, I’m not sure that I am hitting the right range having stopped eating meat.}

I know this is going to be tough to do because I am the type of person who becomes obsessive over things (A perfectionist?). I am the most scared about monitoring calories… I have been known to bawl my eyes out if I don’t know how many are in something I want… embarrassing, but true (sadly).

So here is my official call to all of you to do the same. Maybe you’re where you want to be, maybe you just want to tone up or start exercising. Maybe like me you want to lose 15-20 lbs. No matter what your goal is you will never reach it if you don’t try! So I am encouraging you to try! You might just surprise yourself!

 

My scripture verse to keep me centered in this quest will be Psalm 139:14

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. (NKJV)

Be Healthy, Be Happy!

Easy As 1, 2, 3! February 23, 2011

There are normally 3 meals in a day… Having said that, here are our 3 for the day!

1: Breakfast! The most important meal of the day!

Grilled Banana Sandwich!

 

 

 

 

 

This is a party in your mouth!!!

You need:

• 2 slices whole wheat bread (I use the low cal.)
• 2 eggs beaten
• 1 banana (sliced)
• a sprinkle of cinnamon and brown sugar
• a drizzle of syrup/agave/honey (your choice)

 

What to do:

Beat eggs with cinnamon and sugar in a bowl (large enough to fit the bread). Lay the bread in the egg mix just like french toast, but only coating one side. Cook the bread in your pan, toasting both sides. Add the banana slices cooking them until they are warm and gooey! 🙂 Now build your Bananwich! Layer the toast (egg side in) banana slices, and top toast (egg in), drizzle with topper of your choice. ENJOY! (I suggest you use a fork.)

 

2: Lunch, it keeps ya goin!

Salad and Boiled Eggs!

Pretty self explanatory…

 

3: Supper: Fuel for the night!

Naan Pizza!!!

This one was so much fun to make with my little helper! So I decided to make these instructions so simple you don’t even have be able to read!

 

  

  

(Naan is an Indian bread.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Her version of a thumbs up!

 

These were SO good!!!

Hope you enjoy these!