Winding Down & Mother’s Day Freezer Meals

Ahhhhhhhh, finally. The semester is over. I turned in my last assignment on Thursday afternoon, finished my last day of work until July on Friday afternoon, made Mother’s Day up to my mom yesterday because last Sunday I was drowning in ~65 pages of paper writing death….

And now it’s over. For eight whole days. Granted, we’re moving next Saturday, but until next Friday is over, I have time to myself to do whatever I want. Of course, I have chosen to blog, to surf Pinterest for the first time in forever, and to watch TV and movies I’ve been neglecting with the Ryan. We might even get to play some Guild Wars together this week. Mwahahahaha! (Shout out to all my njorn out there! )

Anyway, yesterday the Ryan and I made the haul down to my mom’s house where I got to see my wedding dress up close and personal for the first time ever (she picked it up for me and is keeping it hidden, as the Ryan will peek. And yes, I saw it when I tried it on, but this one is actually in my size!) and it is soooooooooo pretty. Yay!! Our Mother’s Day gift to her was a webcam, so she and my brother can Skype us whenever they want (my brother sends us around 9 million messages on Xbox but it’s such a pain in the ass to write back with a controller >.<), and I decided to make her freezer meals.

A little thing about my mom: she never cooks. Okay, maybe not never, but it’s more common to see a blue or harvest moon than it is to see a legitimate homemade meal hit your plate in that house. Unless, you know, I’m visiting, in which case it happens then. As a matter of fact, one of my gifts was turkey burgers, sauteed mushrooms, corn on the cob and watermelon yesterday for lunch. Bam! Anyway, since my mom has been working so hard to lose weight, she has resorted to eating those frozen Smart Ones and Weight Watcher’s meals, which…A for effort, mom. She’s starting somewhere, so baby steps. She has lost 20 lbs, so good for her! In the mean time, my brother is left to eat Hot Pockets and those self-serve pizza thingies, I dunno what they are. He also drinks soda. Lots of it. Needless to say, he’s gotten quite..hmm..pudgy?

Being the avid cook that I am, and the fact that the Ryan and I have made significant lifestyle changes to aid us in losing weight, I sort of freaked out (understatement). I love my family, and I want them to be healthy. Letting my brother happily subsist off Hot Pockets and pizza for the next 20-30 years is not the right practice, and I don’t want to have to become his caretaker (he has disabilities) with diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc., to handle on top of everything else. So I sat down, went through Pinterest, made a list of several meals that I knew they would eat, wrote a grocery list, and took my mom shopping. Well, she paid for it, but still. I went through the store, got everything we needed, went back to her house, and got to work.

Look at it all! Eeeek! I wrote the name of each meal, how to cook it in the crock pot and on what setting, and even what to serve it with. I got her some egg noodles and she picked out some minute rice (baby steps, at least it’s rice, right?).

Two hours and 13 freezer meals later, I was done. Most of this should have leftovers, so almost all of these meals should serve as two meals….therefore, they should last her almost a month. She was shocked that $120 worth of groceries could get her that far (she spends way too much on eating out 3x/day), so hopefully the health and economic benefits of this experiment will show their pretty faces and get her on the freezer meal train. Plus, she doesn’t have to do any work. Thaw it out the night before, put it in the crock pot, come home and eat dinner. Voila! It’s like those icky frozen foods but much, much better for you.

I didn’t take any photographs while I was working because frankly, my hands were dirty and covered in some sort of food substance pretty much the entire time, so I didn’t want to touch my phone.

I am hopeful that this will save my mom some $$ and get both of them eating healthier. In a little bit, I am going to make her a chart for each meal and email it to her so she can write whether she did/didn’t like it, what she did/didn’t like about it, and what I can change if I come down and do it again in a month or so. She and my brother are probably two of the most picky eaters you’ll ever meet. Ever. So I’m terrified that they won’t like something I made multiples of and will throw them out. So the chart, I think, will be helpful. High five to the Ryan for coming up with that idea, haha!

In the mean time, here are the recipes for each meal I made her:

Ranch Pork Chops

• 1 can organic cream of chicken soup
• 1 packet Hidden Valley ranch dressing mix
• Pork chops
• Add all ingredients plus maybe some baby potatoes to the crock pot and cook on low for 6 hrs, high for 4 hrs.

Chicken Tacos

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• one 12 oz jar of salsa
• 1 envelope taco seasoning (since I was down there, I made my own taco seasoning and put that in)
• Add all ingredients to crock pot and cook on high 4-6 hrs; serve w/cheese, sour cream, or any other garnishes.

Tortilla Soup

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• one 16 oz jar salsa
• 11 oz can of corn (I hate that stuff, I bought her frozen corn)
• one can of beans (I made one with black beans and one with pinto beans)
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• Cook on low 4-6 hrs, shred chicken and serve. Garnish with sour cream, cheese, etc.

Sausage & Bell Peppers

• 3 Italian sausages (I got her Italian style chicken sausages, have you seen the calories in regular sausages? *shudder*)
• 1 red pepper
• 1 yellow pepper
• 1/2 red onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 can Italian diced tomatoes
• 1 tbls Italian seasoning
• Cook on low 6 hrs, serve w/mashed potatoes or as is.

Mongolian Beef

• 1 lb stew meat
• 2 tbls olive oil (she didn’t have any, I used canola)
• 1 onion, sliced thickly
• 1 tbls garlic
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup beef broth (we used low sodium)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (I only used 1/4 cup)
• 1/2 tsp minced ginger
• 1/2 cup Hoisin sauce
• Cook on low 6-8 hrs, serve over rice.

Lazy Day Stew

• 1-2 lbs stewing beef
• 1.5 cup baby potatoes
• 2 tsp quick cooking tapioca (I have not been able to find this anywhere in ANY store. If you have any ideas where I could get it, let me know!)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• One 8 oz can of tomato sauce
• 1 tbls brown sugar
• 1-2 cup baby carrots
• 1-2 cup celery
• 1 onion
• Add 1 cup water or beef broth, cook on low 4-6 hours. Eat as is or serve over egg noodles.

Pork Tenderloin

• 1 tenderloin
• 1 cup low sodium beef broth
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 3 tbls garlic
• 3 tbls low sodium soy sauce
• 4 tsp dried onion flakes
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• Add all to crock pot, turn loin to coat; Spread garlic over roast (I used garlic powder, we didn’t have fresh cloves – she doesn’t have a press and I wasn’t feeling that ambitious) and cook on low 4 hrs. Serve with mashed potatoes and corn.

Buffalo Chicken

• 3-4 chicken breasts
• One 12 oz bottle hot sauce (or less if you’re super sensitive – we used a 5 oz bottle of Franks original)
• One packet Ranch dressing mix
• 2 tbls butter
• Spray crock pot with canola oil; Place chicken in crock pot, mix hot sauce and ranch, and pour over chicken. Cook on low 6-8 hrs. Add butter in the last half hour of cooking. Then shred and serve on rolls like pork bbq but not.

Rosemary Chicken

I wasn’t able to make this one, as we ran out of chicken, but I had it on the list anyway:

• 3-4 chicken breasts
• 1 can low sodium chicken broth
• Fresh onion & garlic
• 1/2 cup fresh Rosemary
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Line crock pot with sliced onions and garlic; Lay chicken breasts on top. Pour in chicken broth, sprinkle w/rosemary. Cook on low, 6 hrs. Serve w/brown rice and a veggie.

So there you have it! I am likely going to have to do some in this fashion myself in the next week or so, since I’m starting field school on the 28th and will be gone from ~7 in the morning to 5 in the evening, and will be out in the hot sun and sweltering humidity digging in the dirt and busting my hump everyday for 6 weeks. Oh, to be an archaeologist…Needless to say, the Ryan is going to be in charge of things for a while. Might as well help him out, right?

Anyway, I am off! Off to do whatever I want today, for the first day since at least Spring break! Wheeeeeeeee!!

Happy Anniversary, Blog! *sniffle*

Oh my goodness, has it been a year already? I can’t believe it! I logged in today with the intent of giving you guys an update on the Ryan and I’s wedding body progress and found a “Happy Anniversary!” notification from WordPress. Wow!

Granted, I’ve sort of fallen off the radar with school, wedding planning, and now a baby shower to plan!!! Huzzah (no not for me, but for the Ryan’s best woman! EEEK!)! But I still love this blog and I am really hoping that once things settle down a bit in the 2nd half of the summer I can do a little more for you guys! For those of you that still read – THANK YOU!

I feel like for this one year anniversary I should make something special! But tonight I was just going to make spaghetti because I’m lazy like that and in the process of writing two 20 page research papers…I know! How about Honey Lime Shrimp (it has been a LONG time since I fed the Ryan shrimp!) and Cupcakes for Two? Courtesy of Pinterest, of course! This gives me a chance to make something new and less boring (the Ryan likes less boring) but still within acceptable calorie limits. Except the cupcakes…hehe! I will just hold off on icing, since that is where the majority of cupcake calories come from – it’s pure sugar and butter! SO FATTENING! Actually, they’re not that bad. Maybe 100 calories each.

Woot!

In other news, the Ryan and I have continued to progress. I have lost 5 more pounds since my last entry for a grand total of 15 lbs. I believe the Ryan has lost the same, if not slightly more. He has begun doing sit ups, push ups and squats in his office during the day while his code compiles (oh, to have an office with a door!) and bought a pull up bar that mounts in the doorway for our house. His goal is to get in shape so that he could pass the military PT tests if he wanted to. ^_^ I am proud of him, his arms and shoulders are getting more delicious every day!

Myself, on the other hand, I am not going for military PT test excellence. Instead, I’ve been working (as you know) on toning. Apparently I have been using weights that are too light! Luckily for me, the Ryan’s pull up bar came with resistance bands and yesterday he taught me how to use them. I can do 10 lbs of resistance for triceps and 20 for biceps. No wonder those dinky 3 lb weights weren’t working! On top of that, he showed me how to use his pull up bar on the ground to do push ups. Sadly, I am a wuss and can only do about 12. Total. SOMEDAY!! I also downloaded the “Just Do It” app (more like the Ryan downloaded it on my phone for me) which is an app that helps you reach a goal of 100 sit ups, push ups, squats and pull ups in 6 weeks or so (with the option to repeat weeks if you need to). You input what you can currently do (it assumes you can do zero otherwise) and then gives you sets/reps and rest times. Do your sets every other day, and it will build you up as you go. When you can do more, you can change your numbers, and it will work you even higher. Tomorrow evening, I intend to start doing squats with the resistance bands and with the assistance of the app. I hope I don’t break my legs!!

So, how bout that dinner and dessert?

Shameless plug here – this rice maker is the best use of Amazon gift cards and Cash Rewards…..ever! I came home and put in brown rice and walked away. And when it’s finished, I’ll get perfectly cooked rice! This thing has fuzzy logic to monitor the internal temp of the rice to make sure it cooks evenly! Fancy schmancy amazingness. Just saying. Get one.

So, for the shrimp. Mix together 1/4 cup olive oil, 3 cloves garlic (smashed), 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 2 tbls honey, the zest and juice of one small lime and 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes.

Pour that marinade in the ziplock bag with your shrimp, mix em up well and stick that bad boy in the fridge for 30-60 minutes, turning 2-3 times.

When they are good and marinaded, drop them into a nice, hot skillet. The oil in the marinade is enough to prevent them from sticking, so you don’t need to add more oil. In other news, I love my Lodge skillet. Best $20 at Target EVER!

Mmmm, will ya look at that? They were sweet, tangy and hot. Perfect with the brown rice! And psst – I didn’t realize until I went to cook them – they weren’t peeled! XD And by then it was too late (in my defense, they were de-veined so I ass-umed they had also been peeled. DERP)! It was a messy dinner, but delicious nonetheless! The Ryan was excited to have shrimp.

Now, for the cupcakes. Preheat the oven to 350. Mix together in a bowl 1 egg white, 2 tbls sugar (I used the equivalent of Stevia), 1 tsp vanilla, a pinch of salt, a heaping 1/4 tsp of baking powder, 2 tbls butter (melted), 1/4 cup flour, and 1 1/2 tbls milk (I used fat free cuz that’s all we have).

Meanwhile, I didn’t have any cupcake liners (sad face!!) so I sprayed two of the cups with Pam and put water around the other 10 cups, as you should do when you bake things with empty cups. The steam also encourages even baking. Or so Cupcake Wars says.

Here is your finished batter. Isn’t the stove lovely? The Ryan cleaned it yesterday until it was squeaky, brilliant white. Excellent job, don’t you think?

Pour the batter into the individual cupcake cups and then stick in the oven. Bake 10-12 minutes.

Let cool completely. Aren’t they cute? I wonder how they will taste.

Okay, so they’re not the most lovely thing in the world…but they were delish! The Ryan was surprised, and we both enjoyed them!

So, there you have it, an anniversary dinner and dessert! Now, off to homework land!

———————————

One final word: My thoughts and prayers are with those in Boston this evening, I heard the news on my drive home in the car and recently watched the President’s address. May everyone you know be safe and blessed, and may all of the first responders and those who are helping stay safe tonight.

Happy Easter, y’all!

Howdy! I actually had some time tonight to do something fun! That’s not true….I made time by procrastinating on an assignment. I’m reading a book that is akin to having my teeth pulled, and I would basically rather do anything except read…Blargh!

I’m sure if anyone has spent any amount of time on Pinterest in the last month or two, you have come across this Pin for Easter strawberries that look like carrots. =) The Ryan and I are attending an Easter dinner tomorrow, and I decided to make these as a snack to bring to the party. Since I haven’t done any photo recipes in a while, I decided to go ahead and take some pictures while I did this. It’s pretty straight forward and simple. I used my cell phone because…well because I’m lazy and I had it with me. Once I started melting the candy melts I wasn’t about to walk away. So PARDON MY MESSY KITCHEN! There is no such thing as housework during school. I need to win the lottery because then I’d have time to clean. Or I’d probably just hire someone to do it for me because I could afford it…But I digress…

While the Ryan and I ran errands today, I swung by Michaels and grabbed some orange candy melts. I also grabbed two pints of strawberries. When I got home, I rinsed all of the strawberries and laid them out on some paper towels to dry. Once that was finished, I set up to get going!

I don’t have a double boiler so I did it old school and simmered water under a stainless steel bowl.

Which you apparently don’t see in this picture, but who cares? I made sure I could grab the strawberries quickly and had them set right beside me while I waited for the water to start simmering.

I stuck the bowl on the pot and dropped in the first bag of candy melts. And then I stirred, stirred, stirred until I couldn’t stir no more….

I then added the second bag of candy melts and kept stirring…I swear, I totally built some arm muscles stirring this until it was smooth. My strapless dress will thank me indeed come picture time at the wedding!

Then I dipped the strawberries and set them out on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.

The Ryan was a sweetheart and assisted me when I ran out of space on the cookie sheet. =) I kept the chocolate warm and melty and he lined another dish with wax paper so I could keep going. Isn’t he the greatest?

Finally I dipped the spatula into the remaining melted candy and spattered it across the strawberries for those cute little lines. =) Mmmm, carrots…but not!

Finally, I put them in the fridge to live overnight until I am ready to plate them for the party tomorrow. Yes, look, my fridge is just like everyone else’s. Don’t judge me.

In other news, I poured the remaining melted candy onto some wax paper and shaped it into a bunny with my spatula..because why not? It is also in the fridge, but it’s not a work of art I cared for you to see

I hope all of you have a happy Easter! (Isn’t this one of the cutest pictures you’ve ever seen ever??? I know, right?!?!?)

Spring Break! Kind of…And Diet Hacks!

This week has been our ever-so-wonderful Spring Break from school…but don’t let the word break fool you, I have read three quarters of one book, took three pages of notes for a presentation, have another book to finish as well as another 120 pages or so to read for a different class…I have gathered resources for a research project (which I must now write a Precis for), researched for another paper I have to write by Tuesday, I have to find a topic for an additional research project, and I was really hoping to catch up on some extra credit in another class to potentially raise my grade..because lord knows I have no idea how I did on my midterms yet. I have also been working my normal schedule this week.

To add to that pile, the Ryan and I found a new place to live and will be moving in a couple of months. Hooray for more floorspace and a safer area! Not hooray to my commute to school being doubled and my work commute tacking on an additional 15 minutes..T__T; Also packing..packing sucks. BUT! It is what it is. At least I can decorate, (we can paint and everything!) which will make my heart smile.

With all of this business, you’d think I’d be hard at work, right? Nope. I have definitely decompressed by spending countless hours on Pinterest and I even went out window shopping the other day. WHY had I never gone into Hobby Lobby before? There was definitely some extreme sensory overload there. All the colors! All the projects! All the different ways I could spend way too much money and not even blink. I am proud, though. I picked up one item in Pier 1 and then talked myself out of it. I did not buy anything anywhere…except groceries later in the day. That’s some self restraint, folks!

Speaking of self-restraint, I have managed to somehow lose 10 pounds on this diet thing I’m doing, and am finding myself having that problem where my pants are starting to get loose and feel weird, but they’re not quite loose enough to go down an entire size. Don’t you hate that? Annoying. Anyway, another problem I’m finding is that today, I was a dumbass and got on the food board on Pinterest (why did I do that? I must be hungry) and everything on there looked soooooooo bad for me in a way that made me want to binge eat all of it because it would be soooooooo worth it. At least during the time I was eating it…after that it would probably turn into a mountain of shame and regret. I was even bad and ate a Skinny Cow chocolate bar today. Bam, I’m a rebel! 110 calories be damned!

I’m also craving enchiladas verdes more than anything and for the life of me I cannot tell you why. I don’t even really like green sauce. No, I’m not pregnant….I’m just carb and cheese and deep-fried deprived! I want Doritos! I want tacos! I want enchiladas! I want deep fried, fatty goodness! So I’m going to make spaghetti tonight with turkey meatballs. And maybe tomorrow I’ll make enchiladas verdes because I have all of the ingredients (Pro Tip: corn tortillas are significantly less calories than flour). Maybe I’ll even blog that, because it is on my Pinterest board, and I did say I would blog some Pinterest recipes..right?

In the mean time, the pictures I have of myself in my wedding dress (conveniently located on my phone so I have a portable reminder of why I’m inflicting this torture upon myself) are serving as motivation, and it has worked. I have also picked up the hobby of growing orchids so that I can focus my free-time energy on NOT snacking mindlessly, but instead on nurturing something beautiful and rewarding. Orchids are pretty!

But for those of you who are dieting, and are having a hard time, I will share a few cheats and tips and tricks I have learned in the last month or so:

1) The MyFitnessPal app is pretty damn awesome! It really helps you to visualize what you are eating and how many calories it is. WARNING: Double check the math! Just because something on the app says it’s X amount of calories doesn’t mean it is. The calorie amounts in the app are input by users, so they tend to vary..and not just by a little bit. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, put in your own. It helps. Trust me. It also tracks the calories you burn with exercise. Plus the little graph lets you track your weight over time and it’s such an awesome feeling to watch that line go down.

2) Popsicle Fudgesicle bars are a life saver. I have a serious addiction to chocolate. I tried that Pinterest recipe where you take the Greek yogurt and you put cocoa powder and Stevia in it…yeah, the sweetener didn’t really make it sweet, no matter how much I added. So then it just tasted like powdery, off-brand plain yogurt…plus it was still like 100 calories. It was gross. The Fudgesicles are the best thing since sliced bread – 2 of them for 80 calories, one of them for 40. It’s nice to have the sweet tooth and get the chocolate without feeling guilty. I can have three Fudge pops for the same calories as I can have one Skinny Cow treat..Plus you get about 20 fudgesicles in a box as opposed to 6 skinny cow treats for the same price if not slightly less depending on where you live…Think about it.

Choose THIS:

Not THIS:

3) Stevia is your friend. I bought some organic Stevia after reading about all the fun controversy surrounding it, and if the Mayans could use it, I could too. I’m sure Stevia didn’t wipe out their civilization. If you want some healthier options to the Fudgesicles, try fruit with Stevia. I have been getting strawberries at the Amish market and have been cutting them up and putting some Stevia on them. They’re a delicious snack, and a cup of sliced strawberries is 52 calories.

4) BEWARE THE SALT! Sodium causes you to retain water, which makes you hold onto water weight and thus gets discouraging..it can make you look like you’re not losing weight even if you are. So many processed and canned goods contain ridiculous levels of it! What’s more, the recommended daily dose of sodium is ~1500 milligrams. According to the CDC, the average American consumes 3400 milligrams per day! WAY too much! Excess sodium can raise your blood pressure, and in turn can put you at risk for heart disease and other nasty diseases! If you want delicious spices without the salt, try Mrs. Dash brand. Yummy!

4) Measure EVERYTHING!! I mean it. Seriously. Portions, portions, PORTIONS!! 35 calories for a Tablespoon of creamer? I stir my coffee with the tablespoon. 200 calories for 2 oz of uncooked pasta? Weigh it on a scale. (Also, 2 oz may not seem like a lot, but once its cooked its actually a good portion)

5) Substitute whenever possible! When I make pancakes, I use Stevia instead of sugar and I use apple sauce instead of oil. Why? Because one tablespoon of oil is 120 calories and one tablespoon of applesauce is like 40. Check out this list of things I sub on a regular basis:

• Need chips? Choose Special K Chips. 110 calories for 27 chips. Count them. Portion them into baggies and take them with your lunch. It actually makes you feel like you’re getting more, and you probably are. We all know that a Doritos bag, which is 175-200 calories for the snack size, is half full of air and probably doesn’t have 27 chips in it. Also, White Cheddar Cheetos are 150 calories for 1 ounce (the bag says about 32 pieces) where the traditional Cheetos are 150 calories for 21 pieces. I don’t know about you, but when it comes to my Cheetos, I’ll totally eat 11 more pieces for the same price.
• Like sandwiches? Arnold brand Sandwich Thins are 100 calories for the entire thin. They come pre-sliced so you don’t have to, and not only are they darling (who doesn’t like to eat tiny food?) but they cut the bread calories in half. So I can have a whole sandwich AND a couple snacks and still fit within my calorie limit for lunch. Bam! Plus, they make good toast (the Ryan had me make him an egg sandwich on one this morning ^_^). BONUS: No high fructose corn syrup.
• Wine! I am simmering spaghetti as we speak, and instead of using legitimate wine in my sauce, I am using Holland House “cooking wines.” Yes, I know they’re notorious for having a lot of sodium in them. But it’s less than 200 mg of sodium, and I’m cool with that. 1/2 cup of this wine is 80 calories. 1/2 cup of a drinking wine used for cooking, let’s say a Merlot, is about 123 calories.
• Choose your condiments wisely! Did you know that yellow mustard has no calories? Light mayonnaise is 35 calories per tablespoon, which is totally more than enough for a small sandwich. Traditional mayonnaise has 57 calories per tablespoon.
• Instead of Olive Oil, use PAM whenever possible. One tablespoon of olive oil is 120 calories…that means that 1/2 cup of Olive Oil, used for some recipes, is 960 calories!! Obviously, you can’t use PAM under some circumstances – last night I made roasted boiling potatoes (the super cute tiny ones!) and I coated them with 1 tbls of olive oil before putting them in the oven. PAM would not have worked. But for cooking a sunny side up egg or sauteeing chicken, it works just fine.
• Go sugar free where you can. I bought sugar free syrup by Spring Tree. 1/4 cup of syrup is 30 calories. Log Cabin syrup (my favorite brand!) is 100 calories per 1/4 cup. On top of the substitutions I make in my pancakes, I don’t feel guilty at all eating them for breakfast.
• Instead of sour cream or cream cheese, use Greek yogurt. Instead of butter, use avocado – you still get fat, but you get the GOOD fat. In place of oil, use applesauce where possible.
• Go lean: The general rule of thumb is that chicken is about 40 calories per ounce. Beef is about 72 calories per ounce raw and ground, and pork is about 62 calories per ounce. Turkey is 38 calories per ounce roasted and 67 per ounce ground (probably because of the added fat). I have made turkey chili (when you have 16 oz of meat, the 5 calorie difference adds up to about 80-100 calories saved) and it tastes great! Two Bob Evans turkey sausage links are 60 calories for two, while the traditional sausage links are 93 for two. Additionally, I have switched to turkey meatballs instead of beef. (It may not seem like a lot, but throughout the day saving 30 calories here and 40 there can add up to an additional treat for you later in the day if you so desired (saved 100? Have two fudge bars!)).

6) Eat breakfast! Studies have shown that eating a good breakfast will boost your metabolism and give you energy throughout the day. Also, breakfast should be your largest meal of the day. I generally have two eggs, a cup of oatmeal with a tablespoon of brown sugar, coffee with creamer and a clementine. The protein gives me energy and keeps me full, as well as the oatmeal, which is less soluble so my system feels fuller, longer because it takes more time to break it down. Coffee I can’t live without, and the fruit is nice and sweet and makes me feel like I’m eating extra with my breakfast.

7) Get enough sleep! Studies have also shown that the less sleep you get, the more your body will crave snacks that are bad for you! I know, who knew? This is because when you don’t get enough sleep, certain chemicals in your brain cause you to a) not feel full after you eat and b) stimulate your appetite. This may be the body’s way of craving more energy since it didn’t get it from sleeping. For information related to this study, click here.

8) Most Importantly: Don’t deprive yourself!!! Outback Steakhouse is one of the Ryan and I’s favorite haunts! We went there a few weeks ago and since I knew we were going ahead of time, I looked up Outback’s menu online. The 6 oz filet with grilled shrimp on the barbie and steamed fresh green beans is 474 calories. If you eat the bread without butter, that’s an additional 200 calories for one loaf. So I ate my meal and half the bread, and it was sooo delicious. I ordered unsweetened iced tea, and I was good to go. This past weekend, I am fairly certain I ate about 6 mini brownies with Bailey’s buttercream frosting, as well as way too much spinach dip on bread and Tzatziki on pitas and some Carne Asada (it was a multicultural St. Patrick’s!). I also had a giant green cocktail. I gained 3 lbs overnight and then lost it again the next day (can you say SALT?). Your body can’t process a badrillion calories in a day, so every once and a while you just have to let yourself eat! Just be aware – the Ryan’s insides (and mine) were extremely unhappy. That will start to happen once you clean up your eating habits.

Now, not just dieting will get you where you want to go. We all know you have to do exercise. That said, I have lost 10 lbs and all I really do is walk around school all day and I speed walk for 30 minutes during my lunch break on my days at work. On my days not at work, I do exercises like squats and lifting small weights and ab stuff, but it’s not cardio. I will jump rope, though, and I always take the stairs. Mostly, I just want to slim down and tone up so that I can do my sleeveless wedding gown some justice. Also, another tip: take advantage of special offers! My office building has a gym in it that members can pay $28 (I think) a month to use. Since I am only there 2 days a week, I didn’t want to join, but I recently saw a “Fitness Challenge” that our gym is hosting that is specifically geared toward non-members. For $25, I can come in during my lunch for 8 weeks and work with a personal coach who will help me set and achieve goals, and I have access to all of the machines. Additionally, they’ll measure my progress by taking body fat measurements. If I complete the 8 weeks successfully, I will get my $25 back. Unfortunately, I will not complete the 8 weeks because in the 7th week, my summer field school will start, but it’s still $25 well spent – it breaks down to $1.25 per day to use the gym and receive coaching during the days I am there. I’m cool with that. Another cool thing is that I pay out my butt in mandatory fees (those aren’t so cool) in my tuition at school. One of those fees is an “athletic fee.” What does that mean? I dunno, something to do with jocks, I suppose. That said, I can use the school gym (which isn’t a gymnasium, it’s an actual gym with machines and everything) for free. Be aware of options like this in your surroundings, and definitely utilize them!

Don’t like the gym? Don’t worry, I don’t either! But there are plenty of fun things you can do at home with no equipment! For instance, the Ryan is big into doing Cross Fit type stuff, but it’s about $250 a month for him to join a center. He has ordered a few kettle bells of varying weights, and through intense study and talking to folks who used to be in the military (they use Cross Fit in their training), he has done a bunch of exercises here at the house..and let me tell you, his arms look sexy. He may not think so, but I sure do. Another thing is to make it fun! My mom wants to look good in her Mother of the Bride pictures, and she has lost 12 pounds so far (I’m so proud of her!) doing Zumba with a friend! And of course HAVE A BUDDY! Buddies will keep you motivated and give you someone who you can count on. Early in the game, I hit a wall for like 6 days and I was so discouraged and wanted to give up…but the Ryan was insistent that I not give up, and suddenly I lost three pounds over 4 days! It was so awesome!

And last but not least: DON’T GIVE UP! You can do it!

The Groundhog Lied! And the question of “Organic.”

I don’t know about the rest of you, but as I was walking around campus today in some kind of cold, blowing ice/rain mix, I felt compelled to tell ol’ Punxsutawney Phil to take his tiny groundhog shadow and shove it where the sun don’t shine…because the sun is clearly not shining today! Early Spring my ass, furball!

On my way home today I stopped by the Mom’s Organic Market to have a poke around. I can’t resist the smell of the place, and I can’t meander around the aisles looking at things while the Ryan impatiently stares at me, so I figured it best to go alone – besides, I needed some tea.

This past weekend I went wedding dress shopping (I found “the one” and damn it’s gorgeous!) and while I love my dress, I was a bit…well, more than a bit upset by how I looked in the pictures. Too much holiday (and poor post-holiday) eating has finally caught up with me. The poor Ryan was on the receiving end of my realization Sunday morning when he stood there in the kitchen hugging me while I cried over how fat I was and how I’d disgrace my beautiful dress. Being the adorable dude he is, he told me I was beautiful no matter what and he was sure I’d look amazing, but you know us females – that’s not good enough! (Although I thank him for being so sweet and sincere ^_^) Have any of you seen that shirt on Pinterest that says “Sweating for the Wedding”? Someone get me that! I’m feelin’ the motivation!! I am also going to repair my eating habits – I got too lax over the holidays and, well, just kept going once school started. Shame on me! Back on the calorie counting train I go.

So, during my time enjoying the sights and smells at the Mom’s market, I pretty much picked up and examined the food labels of everything I encountered (focusing on calorie content and nutritional value, mostly).

I learned a few things, such as: pre-packaged turkey burgers contain the same amount of calories as pre-packaged veggie burgers (mind = blown) and apparently one specific brand of pita bread’s serving sizes are based in grams, while my scale measures ounces. Gah!! No calorie counting for that pita bread.

My exploration also led me to ask some questions:

Exactly what is the difference between organic and non-organic products? Other than one is grown with synthetics/hormones and the other is not (or so we are told). In some instances, I can see the value in organic products, but in others, I can see how the word “organic” can just be a money filter for hipsters who think it’s better for them and the environment to go organic (I’m not saying don’t hug the trees, y’all). Now before you yell at me, take eggs as a case study. According to IncredibleEgg.org’s FAQ page, Federal Law in accordance with the USDA prohibits the use of hormones and antibiotics in hens that produce eggs for consumption, except when the hen becomes ill, which is rare:

“Are there hormones in my eggs?

Whether it says so on the carton or not, laying hens (hens raised to produce eggs) do not receive hormones in any form.

Do Antibiotics in Eggs Contribute to Antibiotic Resistance?

Antibiotics aren’t considered a food-safety issue for eggs. Low levels of antibiotics are occasionally, but only rarely, used to prevent disease and ensure the health of laying hens, just as for humans. Very few antibiotics are permitted and there is an economic incentive not to use them due to the additional cost. Rather than routinely, antibiotics are used only if the birds become ill – a rare occurrence because hens have to be healthy to produce eggs. Because so few antibiotics are used and are used to such a small degree, they aren’t likely to contribute to the problem of antibiotic resistance.”

Additionally, hens that lay eggs for human consumption are selectively bred through traditional means — so no genetic modification whatsoever. Any food the hen eats that was genetically modified (say, Monsanto corn grain or something) would be broken down by the hen’s digestive system. Anything genetically modified is changed on a DNA level and cannot affect the genes of an ingesting creature, such as a hen.

So why do people pay through the nose for “organic, antibiotic-free” eggs if all of our eggs are the same? Because, in this writer’s humble opinion, the word “Organic” allows the product to cost more (I understand that the operating costs of organic farming can be higher, but seriously – they have to make a profit, too, and I am inclined to wonder just how much of that profit is from the novelty of “superior” food). That being said: I also understand the concept of buying that $6 organic dozen eggs on the principle that the hens are allowed to be all free-range and frolic with the unicorns and kittens and rainbows. I get it. So if that’s why you do it – keep it up. If you do it for the simple fact that your organic eggs are somehow better, you’re really paying for the label instead of the product.

What else is out there that we can safely buy non-organic?

For me, the jury is still out on fruits and vegetables. I have it on good authority from some farmers I know that pesticides cannot penetrate the waxy skin of most fruits and vegetables…That being said, I am aware of the numerous articles on pesticide contamination being linked to XYZ cancer/disease/whatever that the patient contracted from ingesting a contaminated food item. It was also pointed out to me, however, that there are equivalent if not higher risks of food contamination involved with organic farming (think disease and microbial laden manure being used to fertilize the ground your food grows in…the plant will surely absorb it, which creates a risk for diseases transmitted by feces such as: E coli, Listeria, Salmonella and Giardia).

If your fear is genetically modified food, according to the National Institute of Health, the FDA rates GM foods as “Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS).” Another article on Co.Exist.com cites GM foods as necessary for an increasing demand on the world’s food supply. No conclusive studies have shown the trustworthiness or lack-there-of of genetically modified food, and those same farmers I cited earlier use GM crops in their growing – I believe for a higher yield. Again, there are plenty of documentaries and sources advocating for the abolishment of GM food, and you know what, Monsanto is f*cking evil, so I suppose on principle if you could get away from buying their product, it would be pretty awesome.

Steering away from all of this heavy controversial stuff, I am hoping to avoid the subject altogether over the Spring/Summer by planting my own herbs and vegetables on the patio. Our new apartment has plenty of sunlight, and we are in a good position to “Vertically Garden” as it were. And before you criticize me, I buy my fruits and vegetables from the Mom’s Organic Market not because they are organic, but because they are actually cheaper than supermarket prices. And not only is the market locally owned, but they sell produce from local farmers whenever possible, so I am happy to support them. As for some of the other organic products, well…that’s for another time.

And one final, unrelated note: I have been pinning my heart out on Pinterest and after mid-terms in early March, I am hoping to do a “Cooking from my Pins” series where I make selected recipes from my Pinterest board.

Oops! And News!

I know, I know! I said I’d do “Freezer Meals” on Sunday, right? I’m a slacker. That was totally yesterday. And I’m still not doing them today! (I am, instead, reading the last 25 pages of this Method and Theory assignment and making Spaghetti)

You see, I was sidetracked on Friday night. What does Friday night have to do with Sunday? Well, just hang on. The Ryan came home from work Friday evening and despite the fact that it was totally snowing outside, asked if we could go to Outback. Not wanting to turn down free Aussie cheese fries (when you share them, they are only half the calories, AMIRITE?) and the opportunity to get some delicious dinner, I agreed and braced myself the entire time we were driving because the roads may as well have been covered in road tar slurpees. We sat in our usual booth and enjoyed a nice, quiet dinner with prompt service because nobody in their right minds wanted to drive out in the snow.

When we safely returned home, I took the opportunity to pelt the Ryan with snow…He sought revenge, but I got him good (I won). After putting on some tea, the Ryan suggested we watch a movie, and I agreed. While I waited for the water to boil, I came back to our couch and sat on his lap…where he asked me two questions: “Do you love me?” and “Will you spend the rest of your life with me?”

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Look at that, boys and girls! My best friend in the entire universe just asked me to spend my life with him. (He did an awesome job, did he not? Picked that out all by himself! I may just be biased because he got my dream ring, but I don’t think I am. ^_~) As it turns out, the Ryan didn’t come home from work on Friday after all. He came home from the jeweler!

The mundane details of our evening may seem insignificant to you folk, but they perfectly entailed our entire relationship. Outback? One of our favorite places to eat. We usually go once a month just to be served so I don’t have to cook once in a while. And we always sit in the same booth. We usually end up with the same waiter, too, which is kind of fun. It’s a nice little “us” thing. Snow? Snow is the MOST romantic thing in my book…Yeah, it’s cold. But it’s quiet, it’s delicate, and it changes the landscape into a sparkling blanket of serenity. I absolutely LOVE snow…and I love my best friend. We play together, we wrestle, we dance in the rain, so a snowball fight on a nice winter evening is totally us. As for the movie? How to Tame Your Dragon. Yeah, it’s silly…but it’s the first movie we ever saw together. When we first started dating and didn’t live together, I would come over for the weekends and Fridays were our “Mega Movie Friday” date – we’d either order a pizza or go out to eat and then curl up under a blanket and watch movies until the wee hours of the morning together. With my schooling and his deployment (which lasted up until Christmas, if you can believe it O_O!) the movies fell to the wayside, so the fact that he wanted to get back into our first ever tradition really made it that much more special. And finally, “Will you spend the rest of your life with me” is a very special and meaningful line in our relationship – it’s part of a silly rhyme we recite back and forth to each other in banter. I won’t share it, though, it’s private.

To top it off, when the Ryan’s grandmother died last year, he inherited her wedding ring (his grandparents were married for 72 years or so! Amazing!) and he has worked it out with the jeweler to design my wedding band to include the center stone from her ring…Which, of course, made me bawl like nobody’s business. It was the most touching and sweet thing ever, and it’s going to be so beautiful when everything is put together.

Needless to say, not much got done this weekend. We did our shopping at the Amish market, and I took the Ryan to Cold Stone for some celebratory splurge ice cream..after all, I can’t buy him a diamond..But he really REALLY likes ice cream. So it worked (for now). Otherwise, we just spent our time hanging out and floating on our little cloud of congratulations and excitement from friends and family. I will do a crock pot meal, I promise. I have to get one together tomorrow for Wednesday, after all!

Look for it! <3

Quick Update!

Good afternoon, folks!

Thought I’d died, didn’t you? Luckily, such is not the case. I have just been EXTREMELY busy. Like chicken with her head cut off plus one armed paper hanger busy.

On the day of my very last final exam for Fall semester, the Ryan and I came home, packed, slept, and left the next day for California, where we spent 9 days visiting his parents and touring the area. It was lovely, I enjoyed the relaxation very much, and I got to cook some stuff. Yay! We did run around quite a bit, as I’ve never been to the Sacramento area and wanted to see it and San Francisco, so there was much traveling and eating out to be done. I can now say I own a shot glass from Bubba Gump Shrimp Co from Pier 59 in San Francisco and one from Old Sacramento. Whoop! (Yeah, shot glasses..it’s a thing. The Ryan thinks I’m insane).

I also got to see the Golden Gate Bridge. It was on my bucket list, so I am a happy girl. (I took that picture. *flex* Go me!)

Upon our return home, I had to work, and then we went to a New Year’s Eve party, spent New Year’s day recuperating, and January 2nd was the beginning of my Winter semester, which just ended yesterday. Today is the beginning of the Spring 2013 semester, and I am leaving in about an hour to go to my first class. I’ve got potato soup going in the crock pot (thank this Pinterest find) and prepped everything for the Ryan to finish it up for me when he gets home, as I will be later than him (a change, no?). In completely unrelated news, however, I did get an enameled cast iron dutch oven for Christmas from my granddad. /swooooon! Look for a few recipes using it soon!

Anyway, I’m crazily carrying 5 classes (one of which has a lab, so in essence, 6) and working 2 days a week, so you can definitely say my schedule is quite full. Every Wednesday, I’m going to be late, so this weekend I am planning on writing a post for you lovely people complete with 4-6 “Freezer Meals” (they’re all the rage now!) that I can thaw on Tuesday and dump in the Crock Pot before I leave Wednesday morning, thus sparing the Ryan of having to sit around waiting for me to get home so he can eat, or worse, trying to cook something himself! (Egads!) It will also give me more time in the evening when I get home to spend with him and the cats (cuz, for real, we have TV now and I need my Restaurant Impossible and Triple D fix) or doing homework or laundry or whatever. You know, life stuff.

Look out for my Freezer Meal post this weekend (probably on Sunday), and enjoy the rest of your week! It’s all down hill from here!

Ta ta!