I'm still learning

All these posts and blogs about resolutions have spurred some wonderings in me.  Over my last 30 years I've gotten to know myself pretty well.  Part of me wishes I could make goals like normal people do...lose 30 pounds, go without sweets, workout 5 days a week every single week, or get pregnant and know that I will succeed in those goals.  But I know I won't.  I'm not normal.  I'm a special kind of crazy.  Yes, I know how that sounds.  There's no doubting it though.  Those above are goals I've made for myself in the past.  Many times actually.  I've even been able to stick with them for long lengths of time.  When goal setting, one issue for me lies in maintenance.  Just because a goal is set and attained, this doesn't mean the goal goes away...a new goal slides into place or it must continue.  For instance, I've lost 30 pounds five separate times in my adult life.  Yes FIVE. Now there are two ways to look at this. 1) I achieved my weight loss goal five times!  Whoo hoo!  Way to go!  2) I did five times as much work as I would have needed to and put my body through a lot of unnecessary stress. Had I maintained my goal at age 21 when I lost the weight the first time, I wouldn't have had to deal with the last 9 years of yo-yo weight loss and weight gain.    A second roadblock in goal setting is attainability.  Are the aforementioned goals attainable for me?  Well, yes I could probably lose 30 pounds, but not if I continue to weight train.  I will most likely lose fat and gain muscle, which could put me at a 10-15 pound weight loss and be healthier than if I would have not gained muscle and lost it along with the fat.  Can I go without sweets?  Yes, I did it for 7 months.  Is it a lifestyle for me?  No.  I love food and through all of my battles with food and migraines, I have come to believe that it's all about moderation.  Will I be able to attain the goal of working out five times a week every week?   Possibly.  Will I get sick?  Yes.  Will I get hurt?  Well, if my broken finger proves anything, it's that one little broken digit can put you out of the weight room for 3 weeks.  What about pregnancy?  That was my goal last year.  Silly.  Just silly.  I have absolutely no control over whether or not I can get pregnant.  So why make that a goal?  There are things I can do to help, but I can't make that happen.  Only God can.  Now, onto my biggest personal roadblock with goal setting...failure.  At one point or another I will fail.  And when I fail, I stop in my tracks and throw in the towel.  It's mental.  I know it.  When I see a goal, I want to achieve the heck out of it and the perfectionism in me just can't deal.  As I said before, I have gotten to know myself pretty well and here are some things I've learned so I CAN make attainable, achievable, maintainable goals...
>I know that just because I make a goal, it doesn't mean I'll stick with it. 
>I don't do well with group accountability...you know like running groups or workout buddies, etc.  >Comparing myself with others doesn't push me...actually it makes me want to sit down with a bag of oreos.
>People telling me what to do makes me dig in my heels (personal trainers, books, motivational speakers, etc.)
>Rewards don't do much for me.  It's all about personal pride and accomplishment.
>I do really well with a plan.  I love plans and lists and calendars.  They help me set up my days and weeks with everything from things to accomplish, things to buy, food to cook, etc.  Heck, I make lists about my lists and write things down I did yesterday just so I can cross them off my list!
>Meal prep is huge for me.  I buy what I know I will eat and I make it ahead of time so I am poised to make good choices.
>If it's not in the house, I won't eat it.  If it is I'm ALL OVER IT like white on rice.
>It's me vs. me that really pushes me to succeed. If I can make a better version of the same meal than I did the last time it's a victory.  If I can run even 5 seconds faster than I did last Tuesday, I'm on cloud 9.  If I can look at a picture of myself from this summer and see my face is thinner now, than it was before, I'm set.  If I have a deeper relationship with my friends than I did last year, then it's all good.
>Food is a comfort to me, but I've learned and my husband has learned that it doesn't matter what kind of food you give me...chocolate or cauliflower...they both have the same calming effect. 

Reading these over shows me just how stubborn, anti-social and self-absorbed I can be.  Honestly, I think it's really healthy to take an honest look at yourself every once in a while...introspection at it's finest.  But I digress...

Looking ahead and taking all these things I've learned about myself into account, I can now attempt to make some goals for 2014.  They will probably sound pretty vague to you, but I've learned that I don't do well with specific, detailed goals.  When they are vague, usually I blow them out of the water...for instance, in November my goal was to work out more days than not.  I worked out 23 days.  See?  There's a method to my madness.

In no particular order...

Pray more.
Spend more quality time with my husband.
Call my friends and family more.
Send more cards.
Make a monthly calendar and exercise more days than not.
Make meal plans for most meals.
Avoid the chocolate/candy aisle.
Eat more veggies.
Eat more protein.
Up my weights.
Get faster at running.
Get faster at swimming.
Get faster at biking.
Keep going to counseling.
Read more.
Play with my dog more.
Stay off of my phone more.
Doubt myself less.

9 Tried & True Crock Pot Freezer Meals

Here is a collection of crock pot freezer meals that are tried and true for me.  They are easy to prepare and the ingredients are reasonably priced for the most part.  Most of them serve around 4.  The soups serve more like 6-8.  Most of the recipes can be cooked for much longer than the suggested time.  Most days it ends up cooking for about 10 hours on low just because of our schedules.  I really don't know where I found these recipes and most have been tweaked.  Enjoy!

Serrano Pork Tacos with a side of brown rice

Serrano Pork Tacos

3-4 pound pork roast or loin cut into chunks

2 onions

6 tbsp canola oil

2-4 serrano chillies

3 garlic cloves

salt and pepper to taste

2 c. water

Divide all ingredients into two bags, label and freeze.

Thaw in refridgerator the night before and then dump all ingredients into crock pot.  Cook on low 8 hours.  Serve in taco shells or tortillas with toppings of your choice.

 

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:
4 cups shredded, cooked chicken
2 (15 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes,
mashed(you can do this with a potato masher right in the bag, be careful that you don’t break the bag)
1 large can rosarita red/mild enchilada sauce
2 medium onion, chopped(about 1 cup)
2 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chiles
4 cloves garlic, minced or 4 tsp. minced garlic
2 cans chicken broth
2 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4-1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 can corn
1-2 tablespoon chopped cilantro
6 chicken bouillon cubes
1 can black beans
Split the above between two gallon freezer bags and remove as much air as possible seal and then double bag into another freezer bag.
Freeze
When ready to enjoy place in fridge to thaw the day before. Pour into crockpot add an additional 1 cup water to crockpot. Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 4-6 hours.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Makes 2(4-6 serving dinners)

Ingredients:

3-4 cups chicken cooked and cubed

2 cups sliced carrots

2 cups celery, sliced

2 cups onions, diced

3 tsp. poultry seasoning

4 cloves garlic, (or 4 tsp).minced

12 chicken bouillon cubes

2 cans chicken broth

Split the above between two gallon ziplock bags,remove as much air as possible and seal.

Also needed: 2 cups uncooked egg noodles

Tape one bag of uncooked egg noodles onto each filled gallon bag.  Freeze.

When ready to place in crockpot take out the soup mixture and add 6-7 cup water directly to the bag, Pour into crockpot and cook on low for 5-6 hours or High 3-4 hours. (Low is best and can be cooked longer than 6 hours if needed. Reserve Noddles in freezer.  Place noodles in soup 30 minutes before serving.

 

Ranch Chicken

4 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 dry packet ranch dressing mix

Add ingredients to ziplock bag, label and freeze.

Preparation:  Thaw the night before in refridgerator and place in your slow cooker with about 1 C of Water or Chicken broth for 3-4 hours on High, or 4-5 Hours on Low. Serve whole or chop up for tacos or sandwiches.

 

Pulled Chicken

1 1/2 BBQ sauce

3 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

Combine in ziplock bag, label and freeze.

Thaw the night before in refridgerator and place in your slow cooker with about 1/4 C of water for 3-4 Hours on High. Shred chicken and mix back in with sauce, serve on crusty rolls with a slice of cheese. This recipe is also pretty flexible and can be baked or grilled if you don’t want to slow cook.

 

Italian Chicken

4 whole bonless skinless chicken breasts

1 1/2 c. italian dressing

Add ingredients to ziplock bag, label and freeze.

Place in refridgerator the night before and dump into your slow cooker with about 1/2 – 1 C of water or Chicken broth for 3-4 hours on high or 4-5 hours on low.

 

Beef Fajitas

1-2 lbs. flank steak

1 medium onion chopped

1 medium green pepper chopped

1 packet fajita mix

1 can Rotel tomatoes and chilies

Add all ingredients to ziplock bag, label and freeze. 

Thaw the night before in refridgerator, dump in crockpot and cook 4-5 hours on low.

 

Tortellini Soup

1 Medium Green Bell Pepper, Chopped
1 Cup Yellow Onion, Chopped
2 Teaspoons Minced Garlic
2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
1 (8 Oz.) Can Tomato Sauce
2 (14.5 Oz.) Cans Crushed Tomatoes
1 Teaspoon Dried Oregano
1 Teaspoon Dried Basil
2 (14 Oz.) Cans Chicken Broth
1 chicken boullion cube

Place above in gallon ziplock bag and remove air and seal.

Tape 1 frozen meat tortellini package to the filled gallon bag.  Freeze.

Thaw in refridgerator the night before. Place soup and one cup water in crockpot cook on
low 5-6 hours. Put in tortellini 30 minutes before cooking time is complete.






Chicken Fajitas

3 whole boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced into strips

1 medium onion sliced

1 medium green pepper sliced

1 can Rotel tomatoes and green chilies

1 packet fajita seasoning

Add all ingredients to the ziplock bag, label and freeze.  To prepare, thaw the night before in refridgerator and dump into the crockpot – cover and cook 4-5 hours on low

Laura's No No Food List (per dr's orders)

Laura's No No Food List from the Headache Clinic
(for the prevention of migraines)

**Some are easier to avoid than others as you will see ;)

Bacon (sadness)
Sausage
Hot dogs
Corned Beef
Bologna
Ham (sniffle)
Lunch meats with nitrates and nitrites
Meat with tenderizer added
Caviar (no issues here)
Aged, dried, fermented, salted, smoked, or pickled products
Liverwurst
Pepperoni
Salami
Non-fresh meat (yeah, think I'm avoiding that anyway)
Liver
Pickled herring
Aged cheese: blue, brick, brie, cheddar, swiss, roquefort, stilton, mozzarella, colby jack, pepper jack, provolone, emmentaler
Fava or broad beans
Sauerkraut
Pickles
Olives
Fermented products like miso, soy sauce and teriyaki sauce
Raw onion
Sourdough breads
Home-made yeast leavened breads
Hardest for me----->No more than 1/2 cup a day of orange, grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, lemon, lime, avocados, banana, figs, raisins, dried fruit, papaya, passion fruit, red plums
All nuts and seeds
Canned soups with autolyzed or hydrolyzed yeast
Chianti, Sherry, burgundy, vermouth, ale, beer, non alcoholic fermented beverages
Limit of 2 servings a day of caffeinated beverages
Limit of 1 serving a day of non-listed alcoholic beverages
Mincemeat pie
MSG
Seasoned salt
Meat extracts
Meat tenderizers
Brewers yeast
Nitrites
Nitrates
Yeast extracts
Wine, apple, or other fermented vinegars
Limit 1 cup chocolate based products (ice cream, pudding), 1 chocolate cookie, 3" chocolate cake, 1/2 oz. chocolate candies

**Very thankful I can still have chocolate and really it will be great for me to have a limit on it, especially with the holidays.  :)

Freezer Meals

Stress has tried to get the best of me this week with migraines, trouble sleeping and fatigue.  Due to my stress-induced migraines, I had to miss my Bible Study, a wedding coordinator meeting with a bride, and a half day of work.  This cannot continue, so I have decided to take action.  First and most importantly, I'm doing a lot of prayer and Bible reading.

Then my grandma gave me a book by Dale Carnegie about ridding your life of worry called, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living. Right up my alley. 

 I'm on chapter 4 and so far it's been pretty helpful with giving real strategies that I can apply to my daily life.  I'm also considering letting go of my responsibilities as wedding coordinator for my church.  I think that will help my stress level.  My mom came and helped me with my classroom after school yesterday for 2 hours so we got 4 hours worth of work done.  YEAH!  I feel so much better about my upcoming work week now.  Also, we go to dinner with Tom's parents every week so we decided to change that to every other week.  It was a hard decision, because family is very important, but it's hard to rush home from work, rush to their house, rush to Bible Study and rush home to bed.  Too much rushing in one day.  Finally, I have decided to make better use of my weekends so I can better enjoy my weekdays.  As a result, I decided to take three hours of my Saturday morning to make as many freezer meals as possible.  That is exactly what I did this morning. 

Here's what I made...

8 servings of 3 Ingredient Chicken Tacos

8-10 servings of Mom's Turkey Chili

8 servings of Southwestern Stuffed Peppers

5 servings of turkey and mushroom spaghetti

8-10 servings of 1 Skillet Chili Mac

That equals approx. 40 servings of food!!!  How exciting!  Our week night dinners and week day lunches are DONE for TWO WEEKS!  All we have to do is warm them up.  Praise the Lord for the invention of the microwave! :)

This is what made it so easy...

• I chose recipes that are SIMPLE.
• I used recipes with similar ingredients to make grocery shopping easy (ground turkey, diced tomatoes, chili powder, etc.)
• I only used 3 pans-1 skillet, 1 medium sauce pan, 1 dutch oven (just kept rinsing them out and resusing).  This is SUPER important for not having a hige pile of dishes afterwords.
• I never had to turn the oven on for the stuffed peppers because I just boiled the peppers, pre cooked the meat and rice then mixed the stuffing.  It will all cook together when I warm it up in the microwave.
• Choose one recipe to put in the crock pot so it does the work for you.

**Happy Dance**

Healthy eats on vacation...my "how to"

Tom and I just got back from vacationing at Wisconsin Dells.  We've been doing really well with eating right and making good choices so I didn't want that to stop just because we were going away from home.  I did end up eating some goodies and I'll tell you about that in my next post.  But this is all about my meal planning.  We stayed in a cabin with a fridge, fire pit and a microwave.  We brought a toaster with us. So I planned out all of our meals except for one dinner, which we decided would be a nice dining out experience :)

Here's my valient attempt at a stress-free healthy eating vacation...it worked too, because we only ate out once and it was planned!  Go us!! :)  Here's how we did it...

Step #1: Plan out breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and dinners (remember drinks too!)

Step #2: Be choosey on what, when and where you want to eat out.  Make sure it is something you will enjoy, you don't get often, keep it special so you won't feel like you are being deprived of eating out on vacation.

Step #3: Avoid typical camping food like premade salads (pasta salad, potato salad, coleslaw, etc.) They are full of mayo and won't fill you up.  Plan for lots of fresh fruits, veggies, hummus, string cheese and whole wheat crackers instead...think picnic at a rest stop instead of McDonald's drive-thru.

Step #3: Write down every single necessary food item to make those meals (don't forget condiments!)

Step #4: Write down every appliance, dish and utensil needed to make (and serve) the meals.

Step #5: Write down everything you will need to clean up or wrap up leftover food (think foil, cling wrap, zippy bags, paper towels, clorox wipes, etc.)

Step #6: Make a grocery list of everything you don't already have on hand.  Go shopping!

Step #7: Prepackage, prewash and precook anything you can.

Step #8: Pack wisely.  Utilize all those reusable grocery bags you get for free.  Put all snacks in one bag.  Put all appliances in another.  Pack all paper goods together, etc.  Take a small cooler for picnics or for day trips (to waterparks, theme parks, etc.) Pack a big rolling cooler with ice for all of your refridgerated or frozen items. 

Step #9: Fill up milk jugs with water ahead of time and put them in the freezer.  Then pack the cooler with them so you don't need as much ice and then you have drinking water at the end of the trip and you won't have to resort to that gas station soda!

Step #10: Enjoy, have fun and eat great food without guilt!

Here's a few photos of my food prep...

My shopping trip for some of our snacks and sides for the week.

We got a good deal on a meat bundle at HyVee...pork chops, brats (for Tom), chicken sausage (for me), chicken breast (I cut it up and precooked it).

I divided up the Pirate's Booty into individual servings.  Otherwise, I would eat half the bag in one sitting.  I also did this with my oatmeal so I wouldn't have to bring the huge container of oats or a measuring cup.

Prewashed cherries, blueberries, strawberries, cherry tomatoes, carrots, celery.

I used naan for my lunch sandwiches.  Naan, chicken, spinach, tomato and cheese...mmm.

The directions say they need to be warmed in an oven, but I just stick the pieces in a toaster :)

There it is folks...it does take time to plan, shop and pack, but it was totally worth it! 

I'll weigh myself in the morning and let you know my progress!

Food Challenge

As you know, I've challenged myself to eat more veggies!!!  I am beginning to see my food not just as enjoyment, but as fuel.  So here's what I've been eating lately...

Triscuits, pepperjack, strawberries, blueberries, celery, carrots, and roasted red pepper hummus.

This was my lunch on our anniversary since I knew I'd be having a big dinner at Joe's Crab Shack to celebrate :)

Dinner the other night...parmesan crusted tilapia, egg noodles, carrots, spinach salad with cheese, tomatoes, and "Goddess Dressing".  Trying to keep my veggies 50% of my plate.

Lots of kiwi spinach salads!

Tom's famous weekly Sunday night homemade pizza...his half has the onions, green peppers, sausage and pepperoni.  Mine has cheese and sometimes mushrooms or pineapple.  SO YUMMY! 

Jiffy Brand Pizza Crust is the way to go...no sugar!

This week is going to be tough eating well because it's Relay for Life week, which is awesome but may be difficult in the no sugar aspect.

I've been sugar free for almost half a year though so I'm ready for the challenge!

As for exercise, Sunday I jogged 3 miles.  Monday was rest day.  Today I was all ready to get on the eliptical, but then the migraine that I had been feeling coming on for two days finally hit...hard.  Yes, another migraine.  That makes seven for the month.  So no exercise for me today, unless you count walking around the zoo for a couple hours in the morning.  Tomorrow is Sole Sisters night!  I'm pumped to jog with my sole sisters!!!  I will probably jog another 2-3 miles there and do some stretching with the resistance band afterwards. 

Chili mac is on the menu for dinner tomorrow :)  Love that stuff!  Only 5 WW points a serving too!  YESSSSS ;)

2 Weeks of Pre-Planned Meals!

So in the past I have planned a month of meals at a time and then proceeded to shop for a month's worth of food.  I would still go to the store throughout the month for milk, eggs, fresh produce.  My thought was that this would be a great organizational tool for meals.  WRONG.  I completely wore myself out by making a HUGE list of ingredients plus spending a couple of hours pouring over ads and coupons to try to find the best deal.  Once I had divided out the food I needed at each grocery store I ended up going to 5 different grocery stores and shopping for 5 hours.  Bleh.  I got burned out on that quickly.  So now I'm going to try 2 weeks at a time instead.  I'm planning to continue to put up all of my recipes so you can follow along and enjoy these meals with us!

Here it is...

Sunday: Homemade Pineapple Pizza
Monday: Chicken Florentine Casserole
Tuesday: Cilantro Lime Chicken Crock Pot
Wednesday: Spinach Artichoke Pasta
Thursday: Lemon, Lime and Garlic Shrimp
Friday: Three Cheese Turkey Ziti
Saturday: Chicken Bruschetta Pasta
Sunday:  Super Bowl!  I'm making homemade cheese stuffed pretzels and spicy tortilla roll-ups for sure!
Monday:  White Cheddar Chicken Pasta
Tuesday:  Turkey Black Bean Tacos
Wednesday: Crock Pot Chicken Lime Fajitas
Thursday: Parmesan Crusted Tilapia
Friday: Chicken Enchilada Soup
Saturday: Cajin Seafood Fettucini

Can you tell I love pasta??!!  :) :)  I'm also going to try out a new dessert recipe...all natural Peanut Butter Cups with no sugar or artificial sweeteners!  We will see how they turn out!  I'll be sure to post for you!

Tonight's dinner is from chaosinthekitchen.com

Creamy Shrimp and Mushroom Pasta

serves 4, prep 5 min, cook time 30 min

• 4-8 oz fettuccine or linguine
• 10 tbsp butter, divided (I know, but I’ve tried it with less and it’s just not the same)
• 8 oz fresh, sliced mushrooms
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 oz cream cheese, cut into small pieces
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped (you can use dried herbs if that’s all you have)
• 2/3 cup boiling water (from your noodle pot)
• 1 lb cooked shrimp (feel free to buy frozen-gasp!)

1. Boil and salt a large pot of water and cook your pasta.  I usually only use about half of an 8 oz box, preferring fewer noodles.
2. While your pasta is cooking, cook your shrimp if necessary and reserve.  If your shrimp are pre-cooked and frozen, quickly thaw them under running water.
3. In a large skillet melt 2 tbsp of butter over medium heat and saute mushrooms until soft and brown.  Season with salt and pepper.
4. Reserve cooked mushrooms and melt remaining butter in the skillet.  Add minced garlic, cream cheese, and herbs.  At this point, I generally feel like something has gone terribly wrong.  The cream cheese doesn’t really melt and starts to look almost curdled, don’t worry about it!  It will all smooth out and be wonderful when we add the water. I promise.
5. Simmer cream cheese mixture until well blended. Get a scoop of boiling pasta water from your noodle pot and mix it in, stirring quickly to smooth out the sauce.
6. Keep sauce hot and add shrimp and mushrooms, mix well and simmer (stirring often) until everything is hot and thickened, about 10 minutes-you wont ruin this sauce by accidentally boiling it so don’t worry.
7. Toss sauce with cooked noodles and serve.

I am VERY excited to try this tonight! I'll let you know how it goes! :)