Family, Food and Fun!

             This weekend was a great time to enjoy being with family, eat some great food, and just relax and have fun.  It was jam packed with fun shopping and my new favorite dessert.  We went to Chapin Friday night to cook my mom a birthday dinner.  I am so proud of the weight she has already lost over the past few months, so we got grass fed steak for her birthday dinner.  Man do I love some Grass Fed Steak...delish!!!  It was so nice to relax by the fire and enjoy each other's company.

              Saturday, I went shopping with my mom and sister.  We had such a blast.  First, we went to Starbucks, and we got skinny vanilla lattes.  These have changed my life...haha  but seriously they are amazing and you don't feel guilty drinking them.  

            As we walked out of the Starbucks, we noticed a setup for the American Heart Association.  It was a display with stations that had a variety of things to learn about keeping your heart healthy.  There were stations with giveaways and door prizes to sign up for.  One station had a variety of heart healthy recipes.  The last station we stopped at was the BMI and body fat station.  They tested your Body Fat and BMI to tell us what our ranges were. 

             I was so excited to see such a great set up in the mall.  I feel like sometimes people get so caught up in actually losing weight that they forget that the most important thing is to keep your body healthy.  I also think that there is not enough support and encouragement for people to live healthier.  Needless to stay, I was so excited to see such a great display for health awareness.

                               The stations were around the setup displayed above.

                  After a great day of shopping with the girls, I came home to a beautiful view of Lake Murray from the back porch.  Wow what a view... I just love this!

Now to a great recipe I made for my cousin's baptism...Apple Crisp!

I love this recipe because it is quick, easy, and healthier for you than most desserts. I had already decided to make it for my cousin's lunch after her baptism and then it was posted on one of my new favorite blogs 

Carrots n cake.  I did a little different oatmeal twist and based my recipe on  this apple crisp recipe.  I made the recipe for a bigger pan since we would be having a lot of people for the baptism.                                   

           These are the only ingredients.  I tried to hide the butter, because I am not a fan.  I have recently found that is is better to have some butter and sugar in a dessert so that one serving satisfies me.  I have learned that replacing with applesauce or other healthier replacing options just leaves me wanting more.                      

           To make the Apple Crisp heat the oven 350 degrees.  Dice up about 8 apples and spread the across a 9x11 pan.  Pour a little water in the bottom.  This helps get the apples a little mushy so they melt in your mouth.  Next, mix 1 1/3 cups of brown sugar, 1 cup of oats, 1 cup of whole wheat flour, a stick of butter softened , and a tablespoon of cinnamon.   Mix this together and pour it over the top of the apples.  After, I added more cinnamon and I poured a little melted butter over the top to get it crispy.  It cooked for about 45 minutes.  The Apple Crisp is even better when you make it the night before and it can blend together overnight.                                                                                                                                         

                                                 

                                                  What is your favorite dessert right now?

Meatless Monday!

Driving to work today was such a great moment from God! This is the view I had alongside me and in the rear view mirror.  There is just something about nature that brings so much emotion in me.  What a great start to a Monday!

After a fun day with my 3rd grade kiddos, I set off to my spin class at the YMCA. I have grown to love this class. There is something about going harder and longer than you thought you could. It is so empowering when you finish. This is one of the greatest benefits of exercise and why I am so passionate about it. 

After spin, I came home to make one of my favorite Meatless Meals.  Devin and I went to a wonderful resteraunt in Hendersonville a few months ago where we had Veggie and Humus Pitas.  They were so delicious and we knew had to make them ourselves. We never knew how easy they would be to make.   

To make the Pitas for two you need: 

Olive oil

Humus( I used roasted red pepper) 

Whole Wheat Pitas lightly toasted

1 diced squash

1 diced zucchini 

1 diced onion

First, sautée the diced vegetables, olive oil and rosemary. After, lightly toast the pita bread. Spread

the humus on both sides of the inside of the Pitas. Next, stuff the Pitas with the sautéed vegetables.  

The way that humus and vegetables blend together is undescribeable. I love meals that taste like they should be bad for you, but aren't. Oh so good!

My Delicious In House Birthday Dinner!

My birthday was about a week ago and I realized that I forgot about my delicious meal. I used to always love going to nice restaurants for special events... Like my birthday! Lately, Devin and I have been buying grass fed beef or wild caught fish, and our favorite sides instead of going out to eat as much . I must say that  the food is much better tasting, healthier for you, and cheaper than going out.  Check our my birthday meal. 

This meal was definitely one of the best ever. We had grass fed steak, scallops, and the delicious beet and goat cheese salad I posted about a few weeks ago. The taste of grass fed beef is such a deeper and unique flavor that anything I ever tasted. If you haven't had it before... You have got to....it will change your life. :). You can find it at Whole Foods, Earthfare or a local farmers market. What makes it even better... is that the entire meal ended up being about $30 for two people. What a great price for such a high quality meal! This was by far my favorite celebratory meal. What are some of your go to meals for celebrations or special events?

New Year....New Devotion!

     Last January I set a New Year's Resolution to do a devotion every morning.  I wanted to  start small so that I could form the habit of making myself read and pray each morning.  A great friend and coworker of mine gave all of the third grade teachers a copy of this devotional.  This was clearly God's will!  I absolutely loved this devotion every morning.  I really felt like God was speaking to me every single morning.  If you haven't read this...you need to.

You can find a copy of Jesus Calling at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. It can also be ordered through itunes.

You can find a copy of this devotion at Barnes and Noble  and Amazon.  It can also be ordered through itunes.

         I wanted to continue a devotion this year, so  I scanned Barnes and Noble looking for my new devotion.  Growing up Catholic we didn't use the Bible during the church service.  Recently, Devin and I have loved our involvement in Grace Church.  Listening to sermons at our new non denominational church I have found that I need to get more into the Bible.  Therefore, I wanted to get a daily devotion that was still pretty short but had more reference to the Bible and stories from it.  I stumbled upon The 365 Most Important Bible Passages for women.  It was just what I needed.   It gives a quick story directly from the Bible, and then helps you understand it and connect it to your life. So far I love it.  It is never too late to start a devotion if you feel lead to.  No matter if it is Dec. 24th or Jan. 28th....it is always great to start. Does anyone else have other christian devotions they would recommend? 

My Beets Obsession!

      Growing up, beets were the mushy and gross side I stayed away from on holidays. After eating my first beet and goat cheese salad at The Lazy Goat, a wonderful resteraunt in Greenville, South Carolina, my eyes have been opened to the wonderful world of beets! I was inspired to make my own salad similar after the heavenly one at The Lazy Goat.

      My husband, Devin, and I made our own version of the salad with spinach, beets and  we used mozzarella cheese instead of goat cheese. This salad was tasty, but I didn't know it's potential. After perusing through Whole Foods, I found a 4oz pack of goat cheese for $2.50...score!!!! I bought the goat cheese and came home to make the wonderful salad with goat cheese this time.  In the salad I used about 1 oz of goat cheese, 1/4 of a beet (boil for 20 minutes and then peel off the skin and dice).  I also added about 1/4 of a cup of crushed walnuts. I pretty much followed this recipe for whole foods, but used a large beet and spinach.   http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/roasted-beet-and-goat-cheese-salad-sherry-walnut-vinaigrette
Words cannot describe how the great cheese mixes together and blends with the spinach, beets , and walnuts.  
    


       We had about half of a beet left over after making the salad for Devin and me. We put the beets in the fridge and ate them as a side the next night. I doubted it at first, but beets are just as good plain and cold.
      After talking with some friends about my new obsession with beets, little did I know that they would introduce me to a new way to cook them. Tonight I took their advice and peeled the beet and diced it. I also halved a few baby carrots to go with it.  I threw in some olive oil and spices(rosemary, oregano, basil, thyme are a few options). I cooked them at 400 degrees for 20 minutes ... Oh man! So delicious.

Convenient, Tasty,and Filling Oatmeal Delight!

             I have seen a few posts and magazine articles about overnight oatmeal and my mother n law has made it with whey protein.  I began to search for a way to make it where it wasn't so expensive.    I found a few different recipes off of pinterest and came up with a concoction of my own. 

Ingredients:
Steel cut oats
 ( I used the prepackaged but later found it cheaper ridiculously cheap in the bins at Whole Foods )
milk
walnuts
peanut Butter
frozen Fruit
honey
greek yogurt
mashed bananas(optional)

I put about 3-4 cups of steel cut oatmeal in a big bowl that I will keep in the fridge all week.I added a handful of chopped walnuts.  Next, I addedabout 1 tablespoon of peanut butter.  I combined about 3/4 cup of Vanilla Bean Yogurt( that was in my fridge)  and a drizzle of honey.  I set out the frozen rasberitries, blueberries, and strawberries mixture to thaw a little and put some in there too.  Lastly, I drizzled a little honey in there.  I poured about twice the amount full of milk as the entire mixture combined. Overnight, the oatmeal will soak up the milk and it will get dry if you don't put a lot of it.   When you spoon it out, you don't get all of this milk.  It wil be delicious and filling!



I mixed everything together well and set it in the fridge overnight.  The great thing about this, is that I will leave it in the fridge all week for my husband and I to have for breakfast.  It is delicious, healthy and ready made breakfast.  What else could you ask for?

Happy Tracking with Livestrong!

  

I have read and heard about this site Livestrong.com. It seemed neat, but recently I have begun to investigate it some on my own. I downloaded the calorie tracker and have been amazed at how user friendly it is. I have never actually counted my calories and thought I would give it a try. I am on my first few days and am loving it. I love how you can track water and exercise as well.  I have found that just  tracking the calories has made me think twice about picking here and there. For example, I was making chocolate covered ritz sandwiches. Wanting to eat a ritz here or there seemed nice until I remembered I would have to track the minor picking and realized it wasn't worth it.
      I do think more about what I am eating when tracking the calories; however, I have found that it also gives me liberty to eat some things that I would usually think wouldn't be such a good idea.  For example, I track my breakfast, lunch and dinner.  After putting in the calories...I realize hey I have 200 calories left so I can indulge in a favorite sweet like a Skinny Cow Nutty Buddy (only 90 calories).  Then I still haven't used them all.  I also always feel a little guilty about eating anything that isn't great for me.  Tracking the calories has taken the restrain off and given me a little relief for these things. I think hey if I have stuck well and have enough calories left then I deserve it and don't feel guilty.  Don't get me wrong...this may not be helpful for everyone....but I am loving it.  You can just download the livestrong app or use the livestrong site (both free).    I would love to hear of any other great websites others have found similar to this one.
Happy Tracking....isnt it great to be able to say that.