Healthy Spirit

Lots has been going on. I made a wonderful new friend. Who is as excited about nutrition as I am. So hopefully I will have more info to share!!

I have still been crocheting away. Not selling much but that's ok. Selling enough to make it, I suppose.

I enjoyed a women's retreat with my Mom, Grandma, and Sister-in-Law,last weekend. That is really what I want to blog about today. I believe that being healthy does include being spiritually happy. I have always wanted to go on a women's retreat so when my Mom told me about their church having one I was excited about getting to do something with her, I just wasn't excited that it was her church hosting it. Here is my confession, I have attended their church on more then one occasion and was blessed each time I went, but it is a small church and it is very different from the church we came from in Georgia. So I was a little skeptical about how it would turn out; a small church hosting a women's retreat didn't sound so promising. (Harsh I know, but that's really how I felt) As the time neared for this retreat I started praying. I didn't want to have any expectations. I was afraid if I expected too much that it would hinder what God had planned for me. So I prayed for Him to prepare my heart for whatever He had for me. The first day of the retreat arrived and when it came to introductions, I gave my name and said "I came expecting nothing, but willing to receive whatever is offered." and I meant it. The purpose of the retreat was revealed later and it was "Women Under Construction".

Perfect. I was ready to receive. I have to admit I had a great time at the retreat and do look very forward to attending next year. God showed me that He is mighty in ALL things, including small churches. I never excepted to see or feel the intimacy that was there. I never felt isolated or alone and felt very welcomed. I came away with one word that stood out more then all the other words spoken at the retreat and that word was COURAGE.  Others may not have received the same thing, but for me courage is what I kept hearing God speak to my heart over and over.
In order for God to change you; you need to have courage. Courage is the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear. You can't even begin the process of change without having the courage to admit that you need change. You can't offer grace without first admitting that you need grace. Admitting that you need grace takes Courage. God can't restore you until you have the courage to release yourself to Him for Him to begin that restoration.

It was a great weekend that I can't possibly cover in one blog..lol. I just mostly wanted to share that we shouldn't put God in a box. We shouldn't assume that He only does great things through mega churches. I encountered more intimacy at this small baptist church women's retreat then I have ever experienced anywhere. I shared a wonderful healing weekend with some very radiant, captivating, and beautiful women.

God is mighty in all things and through all things (we just have to take off the blinders!!)

Till next time enjoy the photo's

Loves Angela

Three women packed for 2 days. can you say excessive!!

32 women in one cabin!! God is mighty..lol

Blessed to be able to share this experience with my mom and Grandma

Just a bunch of country girls and a truck:O)



Nature trail stop



Cabin companions



Not so green but still healthy and happy!!

We hhaven't been eating to green lately. I mean I have still been trying to be careful of what we purchase at the grocery but I haven't really been to the grocery very much in the last few weeks. Tito has been fishing up a storm and bringing home shrimp too. My freezer is staying full thanks to his new found skill and passion for fishing. I just wish I liked fish...ick. Some days I just can't bring myself to cook it. I have also realized that fall veggies are not my fave and neither are the fruits really. Maybe I can survive on bread and water alone..:O) Just kidding. I really have been living in fast forward for almost a month now but I can see the slow down coming of course it won't happen till next week and even then will be a short lived slow down before we will be going again. I never thought I would say this but, I dislike staying so busy that you can't breathe!! and really staying so busy you can't eat right. But there is truth to that. In this fast paced society it makes since that we have issues with obesity. We are just too busy to slow down and eat right. We need everything fast including food and most of us believe that it takes to much time to make healthy food. We had to chance to eat at home on Saturday night, and I really contemplated for a good hour and a half about just ordering out. then after much debate with myself got up and made a black forest ham sandwich on french bread with pepper jack cheese and sweet potato chips on the side. How hard was that!!? Not hard at all and it took no time, now I should have had it on wheat bread with no mayo but lets just be real what I had was way lower in calories then the burger or pizza we would have ordered!! I think I have to stop making eating right so darn hard and then maybe I will quit beating myself up on the days that we didn't eat perfectly natural food.

I went to LNO tonight and had a great time with some wonderful Christian women. We ate at O'Charley's which is probably my least favorite place to eat. However I ordered the bacon cheeseburger with sweet potato fries and cinnamon and sugar donuts for dessert. I was very pleased with myself when I walked out because I walked out with half my meal in a to-go box. I made a conscious decision when I placed my order to NOT CLEAN MY PLATE (yea isn't that going against the grain) and I was just satisfied, not over full and not starving!! The burger was very good and I was very happy with the service. When I inquired about the use of peanut oil the manager came out with the waitress to assure me that they don't use it but they did want me to know that they deep fry pecans in the oil. It made my day that my peanut allergy was taken seriously because sometimes I don't believe the waitresses really care.

Say a little prayer for me, I am going on a women's retreat this weekend and it looks like the menu may be a little challenging for me. So I will have to make and pack different foods that I can eat and not have reactions to.

Anyway gotta run...thanks for listening to my rant..lol

Loves Angela!!

Roadblocks

Yea so I have not been wanting to cook. I am not sure why we go through these lulls with things. I am sure Tito can't wait for me to be over it though. We bought a grill and I was so excited, but I have only used it twice. The weather has turned cooler, yay that it is plus. Fall is my favorite time of the year, yet I am not feeling very full of joy these days. Funny how that happens. Anyway enough of my depression. I am reading a great book right now, Waking the Dead by John Eldredge. Very good read, of course I haven't read one of his books yet that was difficult.

On to cooking. So I cooked steak and some grilled veggies and sweet potato fries over the weekend. Oh they were so yummy. I love grilled veggies. I also made homemade banana walnut bread for our growth group on Sunday. It was very good, Tito was bummed I didn't make a cake he could it.

I have been getting out with my friends more the last couple of weeks. My friend Kristal and I had lunch at Southern Grounds, its off of Cowan Rd in Gulfport, and I was very pleased with my Tomato, Bacon and Cheddar Panini. I also had a brown sugar and cinnamon scone that was wonderful. The atmosphere at this little coffee house that serves lunch is very friendly and inviting. I was surprised to see all the people showing up there for lunch. The only down side to it is they are only open till 2.

I have been taking Brooklyn the little one I babysit to a Mommy Mixer group from our church on Tuesdays. I know she is a bit young but I enjoy us being able to get out of the apartment once a week. I can't wait for her to get a little bit older so she can start engaging in some of the things we are doing.

I had dinner at Los Tres in Gulfport for our Ladies Night Out (LNO) time. (Something the church does). It was pretty good. I had the Monetary Chicken with rice. It was very good. I ate way more of it then I should have, however it still bothered my stomach so I am guessing they use corn oil to cook the veggies and chicken in. So I can't say that I will frequent there.

I have been crocheting up a storm. Tito asked me last night if I really enjoyed doing it or if it was just a filler for my time. I said, I like it. I enjoy seeing how cute things come out when I am finished. Who would have ever thought that knotting yarn (that's basically what it appears like you are doing) could make such adorable things. I am happy to say I am getting better at it. I will post some pics of my finished projects at the end of this post.

Anyhow so that's my happenings for the last week or so. I am hoping to get back to my bread making and baking very soon. Oh yea, I have also been doing Brazil Butt Lift workout!! OMG...my fanny has been killing me. Can't wait to see if I lose inches at the end of the 4 weeks.

Loves Angela

Been awhile..

I don't really know what has happened that has stopped me from blogging and cooking for matter. Maybe life, maybe bordedom, maybe life and boredom..haha. But I am back and ready to bring it. We bought a new grill (yay!!) I decided that is why we like to eat out cause we both love grilled food. I especially love grilled veggies. We made a trip to GA and TN and really enjoyed ourselves. I met Gelato and fell in love, (don't worry its a frozen dessert not another man..lol) if you have never had Gelato you should find a place that sells it (and makes it fresh themselves) it will ruin you!! You will never want plain ole ice cream again. It was soooo soooo very yummy. We have also had to give up driving to the Whole Foods Market in New Orleans until our home in GA gets some reliable renters in it. While I can't buy all hormone antibiotic free meats at the commissary they do have some and I know that their standards for meat are higher then other grocery stores. I found Gelato at the commissary and was so excited I bought two flavors and tried it as soon as I got...it was ok. Not the same as the fresh stuff. But it will have to do for now until I can find a place around here that sells it. I am still working on Christmas gifts but its taking longer then I thought it would.

I love the fall, ever aspect of it really except 1. I don't really like fall and winter fruits that much...I know I am going to have to expand my pallette and try some but I am really afraid. I can only eat apples if I peel them but I can manage that, but pears are so gritty....I really don't like it and then their is the dreaded fig...ugh, really not looking forward to that one. Well enough of my chatty cathy-ness. I gotta run till tomorrow...Loves Angela

Oh PS tomorrows dinner will be Chicken Caprese with bacon (our favorite but I am beginning to get bored with it. Spell check isn't working....so sorry about all the errors:O(

Burger Come Back

I haven't been posting because I have been sick. As much as I have tried to stay away from the sick people out there I still  managed to get their sickness. So while I was sick my hubby had to pretty much vend for himself for a couple of days. For lunch today he brought home Sonic (ick) but I appreciated the fact that he was trying to take care of me and feed me. lol

I was feeling well enough to cook today so I decided to make some orange muffins. I think they taste ok but Tito says they taste like flowers...lol. I shouldn't have used olive oil for the oil in the recipe cause they smell kind of like olive oil they taste fine though. I also decided to take the easy way out for bread this week and used the master boule recipe my sister gave me to make some ciabatta bread. I made two small ciabatta bread rolls to use as buns for the homemade hamburgers I was making for dinner.

I made homemade hamburgers and french fries (yummy) there is nothing like homemade fries. I also sauteed some onions and cooked up some of the deer sausage a friend gave us that Tito has been dying to try.  It  turned out pretty good. I use Montreal steak seasoning by McCormick in my hamburger patties. I added some pepper jack cheese and lettuce and tomato.Tito said "yum so much better then that burger from sonic" He even liked the homemade bun it was on. It made me feel good to come back from being sick and make him a meal that made him happy:O) (minus the orange muffins)

I love feeding people. Hope everyone had a great week!! Happy to be back on my feet

Loves Angela

Crazy busy

Wow! My life was so busy since last Wednesday, no wonder I was so exhausted by Sunday not to mention feeling under the weather.
 Let me update you on the last several days:

before I put it in the oven

Wednesday my girlfriends came over for dinner with their little boys and we had a great time visiting and catching up with one another!! Brooklyn even was in a pleasant mood for the first part of the morning so I was able to get my pizza's almost made up by time my girlfriends got here. I made a whole wheat plain cheese pizza for the boys. I was very pleased with myself because it was all homemade (except the cheese :o) I thought the pizza turned out beautifully...

The only bad thing was it bubbled in the middle the last few minutes of baking. I am not sure why but it still tasted fine. I forgot to take a picture of the Margarita pizza I made for us ladies but I did get a picture of a slice. It tasted just as good as the cheese only pizza. We also had mango strawberry smoothies...they were de-lish!!

I also have been keeping really busy trying to expand on my reduce skills by "reducing" the amount of money I spend on Christmas. So I have been slaving away with my crochet needles making gifts..hopefully I get everything done by Christmas!!

Just started my first baby blanket ever as well...its a little frustrating for me because I am dealing with curling and rippling but its because I don't keep the same tension...I guess..oh well maybe over time I will get better at it and I am hoping that once I am done I can block it to fix my mistakes.

Mom and dad visited for the weekend and we had an awesome time!!  Friday night we didn't feel like waiting till 9 to eat so we decided to order pizza from a local restaurant called  Winter Garden bistro. They sell Toarmina's pizza (which I have never heard of) but it tastes very good and isn't very greasy. Well we decided to save money and order the 24 inch Jumbo...lol. We  had no idea how big this pizza would be. It barely fit in the front of my dads truck! We didn't even dent it and Tito and I had pizza leftovers for three days.


We went to the Long Beach Farmers Market this weekend and I was so excited when I saw that they had local farm raised eggs!! I can't wait to dig into them. But we have to finish off the other eggs first!

Also we went shopping over the weekend for my daughters birthday gifts and she said she only wanted stuff from this store called Justice. Well I almost chocked when I saw the prices of this clothing store for little girls. I had to pretty much shop clearance only. (Thats probably the way I should always shop anyway). Well as we were checking out we found out that it used to be Limited Too. So it made a lot of sense that it was so expensive. However the cashier was really nice and gave us the coupon discount (even though we didn't have the coupon) and we got 40 percent off of our total purchase...so naturally they gained a new customer by being so kind:O) I just know that if this is all she wants for Christmas I am going to have to start buying a little at a time.

I made Carne Asada and home made tortilla's for my parents on Saturday night and they really enjoyed it. I love when my dad is pleased with my food!!

So that pretty much sums up my last several days.

So on the menu this week is:

Eggplant and Zucchini Picodillo

Stuffed Poblano peppers (I didn't get to these last week)

Hamburger Steak

Some type of Chicken and chile soup!!

Hope I can stick a little closer to my menu this week. Hope you have a great day:O)

Loves Angela

Fishy fish...yuck

Yea tonight was fish night. I decided to fry the fish and make french fries...bottom line way too much grease for this lady...but Tito enjoyed it especially since I made him rice to go along with it. The fish was really fishy tonight and if you know me you know I don't like fishy fish...I know that it doesn't make sense but it is what it is. So needless to say I didn't really enjoy dinner much at all tonight and I know I have to figure out a better way to cook the fish.

On the up side. I am having friends over for lunch tomorrow and can't wait to try out my margarita pizza recipe on them. I am also going to make some mango fruit smoothies and blondies are in the oven as we speak...I have to get a head start,sometimes I am a little too ambitious and forget that I have a two month old I am keeping that demands a lot of my attention.

Well gotta run, I am just beat today and I still need to finish up a few chores before tomorrow.

OH yea I almost forgot. I figured out how to cook brown rice in the rice cooker finally. I have to add 2 1/4 cups of water to 1 cup of rice and I added a little salt to it. The rice came out great (not anywhere as good as white rice but way healthier right...that's what I keep telling myself anyway)

Anyway have a great night!!

Loves Angela

Roasted chicken night = SUCCESS!!

Ok so I get tired of chicken its not really my favorite meat at all so tonight I was anything but excited about cooking roasted chicken breast. I knew I wanted some sweet potatoes, and that I had to cook one of the two eggplants I had bought over the weekend at the farmers market. I also bought some small grape or cherry type tomatoes from the farmers market that I wanted to incorporate before they went bad. (not sure what kind they were cause they were like yellow and purple reddish colored but very sweet)

Well all day today while I was holding Brooklyn (the baby that I keep) I was watching Food Network. It must have been Italian day cause it seemed like that's what a lot of the hosts were making. Anyway...Giada came on about 3 and wouldn't you know she was cooking eggplant. So I paid attention to how she cut it and cooked it. She made a Basil pesto eggplant mixture to go over some pasta...I can't wait to try the recipe. I couldn't do what she did but at least I knew what to - kind of do with an eggplant, and I gotta tell you this has been one of the foods that I have not been keen on cooking because I didn't think I liked them.

So while I was making  Honey Wheat Bread I had some time to think about what I was going to make for dinner. I decided I was craving bruschetta so I decided that I would give tonight's dinner an Italian spin...(uh oh I see a theme occurring here cause we had spaghetti last night). So I put together my normal rub for my roasted chicken (salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, and basil)and peeled and cubed the sweet potatoes (not sure they fit into the Italian theme..LOL) and got all that in the oven. I chopped up some of the tomatoes I got over the weekend and added some salt, pepper, 2 cloves of garlic, basil and olive oil and toasted some Ciabatta bread we had. Then I put my chopped up eggplant in a pan with olive oil  and added some chopped zucchini. ( Next time I know it takes zucchini longer to cook then the eggplant, it was a bit mushy but OMG)..the flavor was so good. I never knew I liked eggplant. I could have very well done without the chicken tonight for dinner. Before I pulled the chicken from the oven I added a little smoked Gouda cheese to it..oh that was so yummy. Tito said the bruschetta was awesome....yea success.He liked the flavor of the eggplant zucchini mixture but agreed with me that it was too mushy. Dinner was wonderful...there I go again tooting my own horn...but it really was.

On a side note...today for lunch I use some of the ciabatta bread and added some of my marinara (the meatless one) that I made last night for dinner on it then put a little Gouda cheese on it and threw it in the toaster oven for a few minutes...oh goodness that was delightful too!!

I never in a million years would have figured that I would love to cook and that I would love to try new food...who knows maybe next week I will try leeks...ok maybe not next week but I do plan on trying them in the future!!

Loves Angela

Started Italian ended American

On Sunday's I usually make a big lunch and then we just have leftovers for dinner. Well staying true to my menu that I planned I decided that today I would make spaghetti because it was something I could start before church and finish up quickly after church.

All homemade, ok not really the ciabatta bread wasn't

First let me say that trying to find tomato sauce that has less then 5 ingredients proved to be a daunting task yesterday! I finally had to settle on tomato puree, and I bought some organic fire roasted tomatoes (also 5 ingredients or less). So I was nervous about using tomato puree but excited to try and make my own sauce. I started by sauteing 1 diced onion in about 3 tablespoons of olive oil, then I added 4 minced garlic cloves and sauteed till they were brown. Then I chopped 3 roma tomatoes and added them and cooked it all down. To that mixture I added 2 cans of tomato puree and 1 can of diced fire roasted tomatoes and half a can of water. I probably didn't need the water but I was nervous that it wouldn't make much sauce. Let me tell you the smell was awesome. I also added about 1 teaspoon of oregano and about 1/2 tsp of basil a little salt and pepper also. I don't measure when I cook so sometimes its hard to tell how much I used. I let it come to a boil and then I turned it to low and went and got ready for church. Before we left for church I turned the stove off but left the pot on the burner.

So on the way home I asked Tito if he was ok with me not adding meat to the sauce. There was a very long quiet pause before he answered...lol. He said, "I am all for us eating right and more healthy but if you try and turn me into a vegetarian I am going to be mad!!" I started laughing.
I explained that I wasn't trying to do that and that I  have read that if you can eat a couple meals a week without animal protein  its better for you. So anyway when I got home I cooked up some ground beef and separated me some of the sauce and added meat to his sauce. (he was happy) The sauce turned out wonderful. But it was chunky and my kids are not going to eat a chunky sauce so I have to figure out how to make a smoother sauce. Tito did complain about the noodles too. In my haste at the grocery store I just grabbed a box of whole wheat spaghetti and didn't even think to make sure it was angel hair. (he has become acccustomed to eating the whole wheat angel hair because they taste less grainy)

While I was finishing up lunch I decided I was going to make the apple pie I have been craving all week. So I threw together an apple crumb pie. It wasn't ready until about an hour after we ate but it was really good. 

Whats for dinner?

So I decided just to blog what I want to do for dinner for the next week, that way I am not writing and typing the same menu twice. I stole the idea from Leafy Green, (sorry Rachel:O). Anyway... so this will be a loosely followed plan, as my menus always are.

Pasta Carbonara    
This easily one of my most favorite dishes. I like to use the bow tie pasta




Carne Asada- another easy but favorite,of course I will be attempting my own tortilla shells again.

Stuffed Poblano peppers..yum (not one of Tito's favorites though)

Picadillo (Filipino dish) with rice (I like to use ground turkey breast)

Spaghetti with marinara (and meat sauce for Tito), side salad and bread

Fried Flounder, french fries, and a side salad

Roasted Chicken, twice baked potato casserole, greens

pretty good menu I will let you know how successful I am with it. Also just wanted to let yall know I am down another pound! Yay!! I am not dieting or calorie counting either just making healthier choices

Bad quiche, good caprese

So still cooking cooking cooking. I think my husband is enjoying all the made from scratch cooking lately. He is getting spoiled and so much more picky then he used to be. I have been waiting to make a quiche for a really long time. Ever since one of my co-worker made some from scratch for her wedding and I helped. Her quiche was so good and nothing I have eaten since then has come close tasting the same. So when I came across a recipe for a spinach, green onion, and smoked gouda quiche I was more then excited to try it. Tito said he liked quiche, so I bought the ingredients and then every time I wanted to make it last week something would come up and i couldn't make it. Finally yesterday I decided to make it. I altered the recipe a little.

I think it baked up beautifully

I wanted to make a whole wheat pie crust so I substituted whole wheat flour for the all purpose flour and I wasn't sure if Tito would be ok with a no meat dinner so I added 4 pieces of cooked chopped bacon to the recipe. I was having trouble rolling out the pie crust so I had to just mash it into the pie plate with my fingers lol.

I was super nervous about this dinner because I had no clue how to know if it was done cooking or not. But then I started thinking ok eggs cook rather quickly so it has to be done. So I stuck a fork in the middle and it seemed firm so I decided that it must be done, now all we had to do was wait 10 min for it to cool.

I couldn't wait to try it. Tito wasn't hungry so he decided to wait. It cut well and stayed together. I thought it tasted wonderful. The bacon added just the right amount of saltiness to it and the cheese made it so moist. It was really good. I couldn't wait for Tito to try, well after he finished eating I asked what he thought. He said "its ok" WHAT!!! OK?!?! I slaved in the kitchen for a whole 25 minutes making this and he says its ok?!!! I was a tad bit irritated so I said, well what could I change? Or what didn't you like? He said, "I don't like salty pie crust." LOL. I told him I couldn't have made a sweet pie crust that would have been gross. He said he knew. Anyway...long story short, when my hubby tells me something is ok that means, don't make it again. Bummer. I am really trying hard to find dishes that don't have meat that he will eat as a main course because I would like to do all veggie dinners a couple of times a week. So far I have had no success. What is truly remarkable is that his mom cooks a lot of vegetarian foods so I don't understand his aversion to it. Anyhow on to better things.

Tonight I made Chicken Caprese with Bacon (which has quickly become one of our favorites except I can't add the basil to Tito's chicken) with stir-fried spinach and spinach and tomato fusilli with a garlic butter sauce. He said the spinach was bitter. I told him I am just going to have to start adding sugar to his food. lol. Greens are bitter, I think they are supposed to be, they are leaves right? Any suggestions on how to not make bitter greens because he said the same thing about the collard greens last week. Oh well, you win some and you lose some right:O)  Oh yea the only thing missing from my wonderful dinner tonight was a nice glass of Riesling.

Hope you enjoy the recipes as much as I did.

Loves Angela

No more "happy plate"

Have you ever thought about the damage we have done to our kids by making them eat everything on their plate!! ( or the damage our parents did to us!). I know you are thinking but its wasteful to not make a clean plate (or as my kids were told "a happy plate"). There are two lessons I have learned by reading "In Defense of Food" one, put smaller amounts of food on your plate, and two stop eating when you are full!!! I am thinking maybe that's what half of us fat girls of America's problem. We put to much food on our plate to start with and then we feel we must finish it. Or if you are like me you finish your plate and your kids plates cause you don't want them to waste either (especially if you are at someone's house for dinner).  So you would think this habit would be easy to break but it isn't. I noticed tonight I was only a quarter of the way done with my food and I had to take a deep breath before I took another bite, that should have been my sign to stop eating but instead I kept eating and then I was like, OH no I am getting really full so I stopped before I was done. So I did get a little over full but not stuffed, thank goodness.

Well today my eating habits were so bad. (side note, I have lost 1.5 pounds in 5 days;o)I had a breakfast bar (Kashi Apple and Cinnamon) and coffee not to bad but the bar has more then 5 ingredients!! Then when I got to my Grandma's she had made biscuits and asked me to cook some eggs and turkey sausage. So I did. I opted out on the egg but I did have a sausage biscuit with homemade dew berry jelly, a cup of coffee and a banana. The banana was good right!!? I had to take my G-ma to the doctor today and we thought we would be out of there by lunch but we didn't leave there till 1 and didn't have lunch till almost 2! My blood sugar was low so I ate a peach on the way home. So for lunch I cut up some iceberg lettuce, threw an ounce of diced cheddar cheese on it with some baco's and ranch dressing plus I had some "wheat crackers", that was a completely processed lunch I am sure, except the lettuce. Even the wheat crackers were full of junk. Then we had 4 o'clock coffee!!! When  Tito picked me up we went and got sno-balls (oh heaven help me, I am just completely got off track!!)

I did redeem myself for dinner. We had pork chops (free of all the icky stuff) that I seasoned with some salt, pepper and oregano, garlic and onion powder. I pan seared them in olive oil (not to much) then put them in my deep dish stone and threw them in the oven with the oven roasted sweet potatoes.

I added a little more oil in the pan that I seared the pork chops in and added some shallots. Those started to caramelize and I added some fresh garlic for a few min then threw in some zucchini and about a tablespoon of soy sauce (that's free of sugar). Once the zucchini started to brown I pulled the pork chops out of the oven and put them on top of the zucchini mixture and covered it and turned the heat off. I wanted to let the steam finish cooking the veggies.

Something that amazed me about this meal is there is no grain! That is just totally A-MAZING for me, because I love bread and Tito loves rice, but we survived without it:O)  So we had a completely healthy meal free of refined or processed anything. Yay. By the way if ever you make oven sweet potatoes, salt, pepper, olive oil, that's all you need and those ingredients compliment the sweetness of the potato well! Have a great night!
Loves Angela

Lots of YUM today!!

I am always trying to be creative for lunch, especially since its usually just lunch for 1. I had one slice of my homemade honey wheat bread left and was trying to decide what to make with it. I am a little tired of cashew butter sandwiches. So I decided that I wanted to see how my homemade bread would hold up to grilling. I got a piece of black forest ham (nitrate and nitrite free!), and a half a slice of pepper jack cheese and made an open face black forest ham and cheddar jack grilled cheese sandwich!! OH MY!! it was so yummy on its own but I couldn't resist getting some Terra Sweet Potato chips to go with it., followed by a few fresh strawberries! I know its simple but it was oh so yummy!!

For dinner I decided to try and make my own whole wheat flour tortillas!! OMG that was so much harder then I expected it to be. First off rolling anything into a circle is not very easy, secondly I was a bit heavy handed on "lightly" flouring my work surface. But they were edible once you put the carne asada and cheese and grilled onion and bell pepper on them, all I was missing was sour cream (I am not quite ready to try and make that on my own yet). So as you can see in the picture my tortilla looks a little closer to Naan then a tortilla, but it tasted nothing like Naan.

I can brag on my carne asada though. I think I have pretty much perfected that recipe except one of the seasonings I use isn't real food (guess I gotta work on that, huh?) For dessert tonight we had Amish Friendship Bread, but I used whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour, 1/2 a cup less oil then it called for and omitted the instant vanilla pudding mix. It tastes good. Not as sweet as it is when you make it following the directions. It does contain sugar but I tried making it with honey and thought it was horrible, Tito liked the honey one though, so maybe I could acquire the taste for it.
Hope you all had a yummy day of eating too;OP
Loves Angela



P.S.Day 2 into my 4 weeks and 4 days and I still haven't been to the gym!! No motivation and its been so stinking hot!

Did you say collards?!

Yes, I did. I hate greens of any kind, that smell was my least favorite smell in the world during the holidays. No matter where we went someone was cooking them and they stink when they cook!! So let me tell you how I acquired these particular greens. I asked Tito to stop by the store on his way home from work one day last week and pick up some romaine lettuce and Ranch salad dressing. He did and when he came in Grace looked at the "romaine lettuce" her Pop had bought and said, that's not romaine...lol. I said your right its not but don't say anything. Well of course she goes to the room and tells him he didn't get the right things. I checked the receipt thinking maybe I was wrong, maybe this was some type of romaine on steroids. Well the receipt said romaine lettuce. Hmmpph. I was perplexed. So I used up what little romaine we had and proceeded to divvy it up myself so that everyone who wanted some salad got some. I was not using the "romaine" he had bought, I was quite sure it was some type of green just not sure what type. So when he came to the table I said that's not romaine. He said that the sign up above what he had bought said romaine lettuce.I said well they were probably so close to each other you thought it was romaine, but what you bought is some type of greens. Anyway long story short, after a trip to the store I discovered that it was collard greens he had bought. I have never in my 35 years, eaten or cooked collard greens, but I couldn't bring myself to throw them away. So tonight for dinner I knew I was making roasted chicken breast, salad and  oven sweet potato fries. I decided that greens and sweet potatoes probably compliment each other well. So I got on the Internet and found this recipe for stir fried collard greens. It took me awhile to find a simple recipe that I didn't have to cook the greens for hours. I did tweak the recipe a little by first blanching the greens so they would be more tender before I stir fried them. They turned out well, I still don't know if I can acquire the taste for them but at least I can cook them for my hubby now! (even though I always told him I would never cook greens in my house ever! Guess you should never say never huh!!) Anyway, if you try the recipes let me know how they turn out for you!!
Loves Angela

4 weeks, 4 days!

So I have exactly  4 weeks and 4 days to try and lose 8 to 10 pounds. But this time no pills and I don't think I am going to calorie count anymore. This is just another short term goal to get to my long term goal. Tito is graduating from NCO Academy Sept 2 and I want to feel good about myself since I get to dress up like a princess that night!! Well its semi formal but still we don't get to play dress up that much so I take advantage of it every chance I get. We are currently trying to convert to real food eating. It has been a slow two year process but I didn't know that's what I was doing until just recently, lol. I found out I had a tremendous amount of food allergies in Nov 2008 and we started slowly changing our diet then. I have the normal lethal allergy to peanuts, but I also have a lethal allergy to legumes. Yea I know, dumb huh? Most people have never heard of that one but trust me when I say we went against what the allergist said and I had severe reactions all 3 times, so we don't play with that allergy anymore. I am also allergic to corn and soy (in case you didn't know soy is a legume) however here is the interesting part I cook with soy sauce. As long as I cook the soy into my dishes I don't have a reaction to it. I have no idea why but that's just how it is. Now I will say I don't add soy to all my dishes and over time I have figured out how to use it less and less in the Filipino dishes I cook. The reaction I have to corn is more like the reaction people who are lactose intolerant experience.Anyway this is not about my allergies, but that is what prompted our food changes. I began to realize everything that was prepackaged, bottled, or bagged contained some type of corn or soy derivative. So I had no choice but to start cooking some things from scratch using some canned products. So like I said our switch has been a long one but I am excited because we have pretty much made great leaps and bounds in the last few months. Then I discovered some great resources and am happy to say will probably make the rest of the changes in the next couple months. So I said all that to say that the reason I won't really count calories is because I am really trying to rid my mind of the diet concept and the only way to do that is to EAT REAL FOOD and eat smaller portions. Well I have noticed that  eating smaller portions seems to be easier when you eat real food. Buying real foods is difficult here in the deep south, but the more I dig the more I find stuff. So, over the next 4 weeks I am going to continue to blog about how well I am doing! Wish me luck:O)
Loves Angela

Who knew I could bake?!

So this week I have continued my bread kick!! I decided hey if I can make the ciabatta rolls that my sister Nit posted the recipe for on her blog, then I could make anything!! Well...that may not be entirely true, lol however I decided that I wanted to try the Honey Whole Wheat Bread recipe on the back fo the whole wheat flour bag that I had. So I got everything out and while I was baking the ciabatta bread, I started on this loaf bread recipe. I am guessing I was feeling ambitious that day because I was babysitting Brooklyn (who is 8 weeks old) whatever possessed me to bake twice in one day while babysitting I will never know, but  I can say that I won't be that ambitious again..lol Anyway back to the bread...so after getting the ingredients together I realized I was going to need a large work space so I cleaned off the kitchen table and proceeded to use it. Cliff assisted me in cooking while Grace (bless her heart) tried tending to the (very fussy) baby. But I was already in and couldn't turn back because the water was in the yeast!! I was scared to death baking this bread ( I was doing it all by hand mind you!! NO BREAD MAKER HERE..lol) So in the middle of kneading the dough, the baby decided she was hungry and we had to take a break and make a bottle, I was just hoping that it wouldn't cause my bread any issues, all I could think of was 6.5 cups of flour is a lot of waste if this doesn't work out!. I had no idea when I began this how time consuming it would be. So it came time to roll out the dough and wouldn't you know I don't even own a rolling pin (guess I should put that on my would love to acquire list) but I did have a  wine bottle so I washed it and floured that baby up and it worked just as well as a rolling pin!!  I didn't even have a dough mat!! I used a large round pizza pan, Tito always says I am industrious!! Guess I am haha! 

So after all the kneading and rising and punching and rolling and pinching and rolling and pinching and rolling and rising the bread was finally in the oven!! I was excited and the smell was wonderful!! To make the baking time go by faster the girls and I put the movie Fame into the DVD player and watched it. Halfway through I took the bread out and placed it on the cooling rack, I wasn't sure if it would taste good, but it was very pretty.

 After a not too long hour wait for the bread to cool, because we were still watching the movie, it was time to cut the bread!!

And it was AWESOME!! The kids couldn't wait to try it. Before I knew it, half the loaf was gone!! So I must say that my bread making experience was a success and I won't be buying 9 million ingredient bread from the store anymore!

So exciting. Now I am going to have to try and tweak the recipe and not put any white flour in it. I wonder how it will turn out? HMMM, hopefully better then the whole wheat ciabatta rolls I tried out that day. Yes, I tweaked my sister's recipe to see if I could make it into a whole wheat recipe, ummm lets just say that bread is good toasted or with some type of sweet butter on it but not plain. I think I will just have to make the ciabatta rolls according to the recipe. It did make pretty good ciabatta croutons though..lol Anyway, if you make the bread ENJOY and tell me how it turns out!!

Loves Angela

Week of Cooking

So we have been introducing the kids to natural and organic foods for the last week. Dinner has been very enjoyable. Sitting around the table together, holding hands to say the blessing every body making their plates take those first bites and then trying to figure out what organic and whats natural and whats not. I have had a little difficulty explaining the difference between natural and organic to the kids,  as I am not sure myself how to tell the difference. What I have discovered is that my whole family loves homemade bread. I have asked myself several times why have I not tried this before. I get great joy making food and listening to all the yums and requests for more. I have discovered that whole wheat pasta is kid friendly  but not whole wheat with flax mixed in it. it changes the texture to much for them.

I have also discovered the reason my family wasn't eating salad in the years past was because bagged salad has a very strange uninviting flavor to it. My friend Dodi, makes salad that I LOVE!! I asked her what her secret was...she said, don't buy bagged lettuce (romaine in-particular) she said buy it fresh. Well we did and I am happy to say everyone is eating salad with their dinner every evening!! How awesome is that.  (Well Cliff isn't, and Grace had to be convinced that green lettuce did taste just as good as white lettuce (iceberg). I told her the greener it was meant the more nutritious it was. Once she tried it, she loved it.

My mom thinks me making home made bread may not be a good thing, but I think it is. I love knowing there aren't all the extras in the bread that you can't pronounce. I have been very surprised at how excited the kids are about the changes in our diet. I wasn't expecting them to be so easy going about it and they are willing to try most things. They also love the Amish friendship bread I made, and I am delighted cause the bread (which is more like cake) is made from ingredients you can pronounce!!

So far so good on our journey. I am excited, sometimes its hard staying away from the quick foods at the store or the box snack cakes that I know the kids love. But I believe that in time they will stop wanting that stuff if I stick to my guns!!  (Wish me luck:O)

Little White Monster

So far our switch to mostly organic has been easy. I am using up what non organic stuff we have because I don't want to be wasteful by throwing out food. The change has come for the most part pretty easy with the exception of a few items. The kids have come on board and are at least trying things. (I made a peanut butter smoothie for Cliff and Tito last night and they both loved it, Cliff didn't know I used rice milk!! ) Some things they like (for instance Annie's White Cheddar Bunnies) and some things they don't (for instance all natural cashew butter). They had no clue about the change to organic meat and they couldn't taste a difference. I certainly can. Especially when I take the meat out of its packaging, it never smells.

Ok so about the sugar. Like I said the change has been easy for the most part. I even bought some organic cane sugar. It smells different but there is no taste difference. Which is great, because I have tried stevia and do not like it. Here is my problem. My kids love kool aid and sweet tea. At 4 dollars for a 1 pound bag of organic sugar I can't afford to make Kool aid (which I have an issue with any way because there is nothing natural about it) and tea by the gallon. So last night I broke down and bought regular old sugar. I have a difficult time, now that I am becoming educated on what is in the food we eat, feeding things to my kids that I know is bad for them. The process for the children is going to have to be slower and of course the children brought to our attention that they don't get to pick and choose at their Dad's house what they eat. I told them I understood that, but it was still my job to educate them about what we are doing and then when they are able to make the choices for themselves they will have the knowledge they need to make an educated choice.

Sno-balls!! My secret love!! This is one thing that I know is not good for me. But I just don't want to give them up!! Maybe in time as my body gets used to the natural sugars we eat I will quit craving them..We will see.

So last night we made homemade smoothies according to Grace's memory of what she made at camp. She did not like it.(neither did I) So we took what we made and put in the freezer because I didn't want to waste it. Well I decided I wanted to try a different twist so I added two ice cream scoops of mango sorbet!! OMG!! It was wonderful. The girls of course didn't like it, but then they don't like mango. I however think I have found a new favorite drink. I just have to tweak the sugar content (again that sneaky substance is sneaking in).

So wish me luck on trying to get rid of this little white monster from my diet!!

Loves Angela

By the way I am going to dry to make homemade bread today. Wish me luck!!

Green inside and out

So I have finally taken the time to begin making several important life style changes for me and my family. I started by ordering all "GREEN" products from Alice.com on Thursday. I was so excited. To know that everything I will be using is safe for the environment and safe for me to use in my home. I have in the last few years developed severe allergies to certain foods and products. I can't use anything with bleach (chlorine) in it. I hurt in my chest and burn in my throat all day even when I wear a mask. So I haven't used bleach products in a few years. Anyway. I decided the other day when I was placing my order on Alice.com that I would just "DO IT" I would just make the jump even though I knew it would cost more I was ready and would just change our budget to fit our new lifestyle. I was tired of making excuses. After I bought all that stuff, I went to the commissary the next day and realized they have a large portion of if available there. I was so excited and its a little cheaper at the commissary. So I will still have to use Alice for some things like storage bags and stuff. (they didn't have that at the commissary.) I am excited to know that my commissary is going green too.

WHOLE FOODS MARKET!!
OMG!! I have been dying to go to this store for a long time. Finally on Saturday we went. Tito took me because its in Metairie, LA and that's about an hour and 15 minutes from us. I was so overwhelmed when we walked into the store. I should have went with a plan but I didn't. Spent a whole lot of money but got enough groceries to last the rest of the month. I was not that impressed with their local produce section. They didn't have much so I decided that I would use our local farmers market for my produce. Their meats there where awesome looking. I can't wait to try them and see if there is a difference. Tito and I fell in love with all the different cheeses and enjoyed being able to taste them before we bought them. I was very excited to find local milk that was hormone and antibiotic free!! We also found eggs that are farm raised. they were more expensive but I told Tito I wanted to buy eggs that you just walked out to the hen house and got. So we chose the vital farms brand. they say organic. we will see. the reason I say this is I have tried the cage free eggs before but they were fed a soy diet and I had an allergic reaction to them. So we only bought a small container of them to see how I do. The strawberries I chose from there were organic, and oh my goodness. You can really taste the difference. I was amazed! I think next year I may try and grow my own. It took me a little bit to realize that when they used the word "Conventional" in the store that that meant it was just like what was in a regular grocery store. We bought a loaf of bread that was wonderful (but I think I still want to try and make my own). I finally found cashew butter and it was awesome. All natural too. No added sugar:O) It actually tasted very similar to peanut butter.
So when we got home, I had to put the chicken into smaller packaging and was bracing myself for the icky chicken smell. I have over the years developed an aversion to chicken because it smells horrible and is slimy when you take it out of the pack. Well when I opened this hormone and antibiotic, cage free chicken breast package...there was no smell and it wasn't slimy!! I was in shock!! I can't wait to cook with this chicken no more gagging!! Yay!!

After we went to the store I talked with Tito about going green. I told him I really wanted to try and recycle stuff and be more earth friendly. He agreed. I told him it makes no sense to only have do this. If we are going to do it, then we need to put our best foot forward. I later asked my mom if she thought I was nuts. She said no, she has always wanted to make the switch but it was just too expensive. So see I get it honest!! So I will be driving to NOLA twice a month for some organic meats, unless I find some place closer!!

Finally what started all of this.
Well my sister in laws are very earth conscious and I have always admired them for that. But what really set it off was I watched FOOD INC. It just really touched me and I knew that it was time. It makes since to me that we pump our food full of antibiotics and then we eat it and wonder why we have diseases that the antibiotics can't fight. I have always been a person that did not like to take a lot of meds. So why would I eat foods that are full of meds and chemicals.

Ok so maybe this whole post was a soap box. But I don't care!! I am so excited about the changes we are making in our lives. and we are really going to try and start eating seasonally too. Whew. that will be a chore for me..lol guess I better learn how to fix them greens, but in a healthier way!!:O)



So till I post some new healthy recipes remember, REUSe, REDUCE, RECYCLE!!

Kalbi Ribs

1 pound of flanken cut short ribs
2 tablspoons of brown sugar
2 tablspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons crushed garlic
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 green onion sliced
1/4 cup kiwi juiced
pinch of black pepper

Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over meat let sit 10 min.

Prepare marinade in a seperate bowl. Mix soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, crushed garlic, black pepper and onion. Mix

Pour marinade over ribs and leave in fridge for 2 hours or more.

I think these ribs are best grilled and then served with rice.

I found this receipe online and used it yesterday it was pretty tasty!!

Baked Pasta with Sausage, Tomato, and Cheese

This recipe also came from Cooking Light. You will find that a lot of my recipes come from there since I have a subscription to it.:O)


1 (1-pound) package uncooked ziti (short tube-shaped pasta)(I used a whole wheat one)
1 pound hot turkey Italian sausage links
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 (14.5-ounce) cans petite-diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
Cooking spray
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded fresh mozzarella cheese
1 cup (4 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain the pasta, and set aside.

Remove casings from sausage. Cook sausage, onion, and garlic in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Add the tomato paste, salt, pepper, and tomatoes, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Combine cooked pasta, sausage mixture, and basil. Place half of the pasta mixture in a 4-quart casserole coated with cooking spray. Top with half of mozzarella and half of Parmesan. Repeat layers. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until bubbly.

Makes 8 1 1/2 cup servings

I used extra lean ground beef because I don't like italian sausage. I also cut up some grape tomatos instead of using the canned diced ones. Hope yall like this one. I love pasta and am always excited about healthy recipes for it. Loves Ang


Calories:413
Fat:11.8g
Protein:24.1g
Carbohydrate:53g
Fiber:4.5g
Cholesterol:49mg
Iron:7.9mg
Sodium:941mg
Calcium:265mg

Grown Up Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Got this one from Cooking Light magazine and it has become a fast favorite.

Cooking spray
1 cup vertically sliced red onion
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 cup (4 ozs) shredded reduced-fat white cheddar cheese
8 (1 1/2- oz)slices hearty white bread (We used a hearty whole wheat instead)
2 cups fresh spinach leaves
8 slices tomato
6 slices center-cut bacon (cooked)

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over med-low heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add 1 cup onion and garlic;cook for 10 min or tender and golden brown, stirring occasionally.
2.Sprinkle 2 tbsp cheese over each of 4 bread slices. Top each slice with 1/2 cup spinach, 2 tomato slices, 2 tbsp onion mixture and 1 1/2 bacon slices. Sprinkle each with 2 tbsp cheese top with remaining 4 bread slices
3. Heat skillet over med heat. Coat with cooking spray. Place sandwiches in pan and cook for 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown and cheese melts.

Serves 4
376 Cal; 11g fat; 20.2g protein;50.3g carbs; 3.3g fiber; 24mg chol; 2.9mg iron; 876mg sodium;308mg Calc


I like to use roma tomatoes they fit on the bread better. Hope you enjoy it

Turkey Sliders

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons low fat mayo
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 Cup finely chopped green onion
1 pound ground turkey breast
12 baby spinach leaves
1/4 cup shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar
1 shallot thinly sliced into 12 slices
1 tablespoon steak sauce (optional)
12 Mini whole wheat pita breads

In a large bowl combine Worcestershire sauce, mayo, pepper and salt mix well set aside. Add green onion to turkey and gently knead ingredients together. Don't over work, shape into 12 patties about 2inches across. Coat large skillet with cooking spray heat over medium heat arrange patties in skillet. Cook 5 to 6 min on first side or till browned turn over and cook second side 4 to 5 min or till cooked through. Remove from skillet. Split pita bread open and line each with 2 baby spinach leaves. Spread 1/2 tsp of mayo mixture on top bun. Place 1 turkey patty on each bread. Top with 1 teaspoon of cheese, 1 shallot slice and 1/2 teaspoon steak sauce if desired.

Servings 6 (2 burgers per person) Calories 262; Fat 4g; Carbs 31

I varied this recipe a little when I made it myself. I put the salt and pepper in the meat and I omitted the green onion cause I don't like them. We add a slice of Roma tomato to each burger as well. I loved it it was delicious. Side note if your like me and don't have a scale I buy the packaged low fat cheese and shred those. That way I know I am getting exactly 1 oz. Enjoy:O)

Sharing

Hey yall, I decided to start sharing my recipes with everyone and this is the simplest way to do it. I have decided to take on a whole new lifestyle especially in my eating habits and of course with plenty of exercise. I hope yall enjoy these recipes and when I can I will put the nutrition facts with them. Love yall and Happy Healthy Eating:o)