Wisdom Wednesday (a day late)

Sorry for the delay, friends.  I know you have all been eagerly awaiting Wisdom Wednesday #2!  The wisdom I have to impart today is absolutely priceless, of course.

1.  In this day and age, if you're famous and well-known for anything whatsoever, it somehow qualifies you to be a professional at everything..  i.e. Chris Harrison (host of the Bachelor) now has a clothing line.  Paula Deen now has an eye wear line.  She is an expert cook, so she now has magically become an expert on bifocals?  What about the Karsashians...they have everything.  Just because they have a crazy reality show.  One that I never miss, but don't tell anyone.    Give me a break.  I'm a professional teacher so maybe I will just create my own line of toilet seats or water hoses.  It's just nuts. 

2.  Don't ever return a chicken.  You read that right.  My sweet and sometimes crazy grandmother bought a chicken at the grocery store the other day.  She got it home, cooked it, and realized it just wasn't worth what she payed for it.  It was too small, people!  She took that joker right back to the store..IN THE PAN IN WHICH SHE COOKED IT, and asked for a refund.  Oh yes, she did.  She got it too.  Don't mess with grandmother.

3.  Up until last week, I always splurged and paid extra money for Tide laundry detergent.  I LOVE the smell of clean laundry and well, I just thought Tide was the one that smelled the best.  Wrong.  It's Gain powder detergent.  Way better.

4.  The diet is working.  I'm down 8.2 pounds in three weeks.  Pumped.

Until next time....

Pineapple Cheese Ball

We had "Finger Food Bunco" last night and with the busyness that is this week, I needed something quick, simple, and inexpensive to make.  I found this recipe on Pinterest (imagine that) and thought I would try it out. It will from now on be on my list of favorite appetizer/snack recipes.  I thought it was delicious!

PINEAPPLE CHEESE BALL

1 and 1/2 packages cream cheese
1 small can crushed pineapple (well drained)
powdered sugar (to taste- about 2-3 tablespoons)
green onion (approximately 2 tablespoons)
chopped pecans

Combine all ingredients together.  Mold into a ball and chill.  Roll in crushed pecans.  Refrigerate until served.  Serve with crackers.


Enjoy!

Welcome to Wisdom Wednesday #1

Wisdom Wednesdays Mission Statement: to impart tidbits of wisdom, whether large or small, serious or silly, that I've learned, noted, or observed throughout the week.

1.  If you can't cash out sick days upon retirement...take.every.one.of.them.  I'm at home writing this blog because I have a little cold very brutal sinusitis infectionosis streptococus syndrome.  I need my rest, people.

2.  Those girls on Teen Mom need to come to my 4th grade reading class.  I guess they were too busy smoking pot or getting pregnant during the lessons on fluency.  Didn't anyone teach them to read with expression? Those dialogues are horrific.

3.  Catfish the TV Show host Nev- aka Grizzly Bear.  If you insist on not maintaining that forest that is growing on your chest, keep your shirt on while filming.  Signed, one violated viewer.

You're welcome.

Garlic Shrimp Pasta (Low Calorie option)

Well, I had high hopes for this recipe.  There's good news and bad news.  1- If you make it the low calorie way, it tastes just that..low calorie.  2.  If you make it without using low fat/fat free ingredients and especially using normal pasta, it will be amazing!  I will share the exact recipe I used, but if I make it again, I will probably compromise a few calories for a better taste. 

Garlic Shrimp Pasta
12 oz. whole grain linguine
9 oz. shrimp (I got the frozen/deveined small size from Walmart.)
8 oz fat free cream cheese
1/2 cup parmesan
5 cloves garlic
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup fat free, low sodium chicken broth

Cook linguine as directed on package.  Heat skillet.  Put in garlic (I used my garlic press so I could pretend to be all "cheffy." And yes, I made up that word.  I like it.  Don't judge.), onion, and shrimp.  Fry 1-2 minutes.

Add cream cheese and chicken broth.  Stir on low heat until cream cheese is melted and mixture is well blended.  Add parmesan cheese.  Stir.  Drain pasta and add to shrimp mixture.  Stir well and serve.

Makes 7 one cup servings.


***I was too hungry and forgot to take a picture of it plated.  Prepared as above, one serving is 257.2 calories.  THAT IS ALL!  Now, if you want a really tasty treat, forget the whole grain linguine and use normal fetticine.  Also, use normal cream cheese.  It will make a ton of difference....and a ton of calories. :)

Funday Monday

I tell ya, it's amazing what one can accomplish on a day off! I've done two loads of laundry, baked a cake, vacuumed, caught up on a few of my reality tv shows, created my new blog template (you like??), and am about to make a new low- calorie recipe for dinner.  If it's good, I'll post the recipe.  Hint: shrimp+pasta.  All that combined with the fact that my boyfriend the Bachelor comes on tonight....I couldn't ask for a better day.

I've been perusing through a few awesome blogs today and, I'm still struggling with a bit of jealousy.  I want my blog to be one that excites people when a new post pops up on the sidebar.  I need some topics.  I need some suggestions.  I've been thinking of a weekly post, something I can always post on a certain day of the week.  For now, I think I'm going to being Wisdom Wednesdays.  I want to share, for myself in particular, what God has taught me that week, what I feel convicted to change, what I want to work on, etc.  Some may be serious, some may be humorous.  Hopefully this idea will stick...we will see.

Have a great week!

Back at It

I’m at it again, folks.  I’m on a health kick.  I’m determined to eat healthy and stop feeling guilty about my diet.  I’m on one 24/7 and there’s not a day when I’m not trying to eat well (okay, maybe one or two every now and then if I’m honest).   I still feel like screaming from the roof tops that while I may looks as if I do, I don’t eat four double whoppers , two large fries, and three milkshakes for every meal.  I actually eat fairly well, but my body fights everything I do to hold on to the weight I want to lose.  I need a re-wiring and an extra dose of metabolism.

 While I was feeling so bad at the end of the year, I could barely manage to put one foot in front of the other much less concentrate on making healthy recipes and counting calories.  But now that I feel myself again and like I’ve re-joined the free world, I feel like I can focus more on my diet.  Here is my plan.

1.       I’ve downloaded the My Fitness Pal app.  I’ve used it multiple one or two times but I never stuck with it.  Until now, I also had never connected with friends for accountability.  It's similar to facebook in that you send "friend" requests and once approved, you have access to others' information.  They can view my daily food diary and see what I’ve eaten every second of the day.  That’s HUGE for me!  And don’t worry, your weight is kept secret or this girl definitely would not be joining.   You can leave encouraging notes for each other and comment on food entries as much as you'd like.  In addition to the accountability,  the app also gives me a target daily caloric intake based on my goal weight and the number of pounds I’d like to lose weekly.  My goal is 1470 calories a day.  That may sound like a lot, but it’s not.  (Yesterday I had over 200 I didn’t use!)  If you’d like to be My Fitness Pal “friend,” leave me your email address in the comment section and I will send you an invitation email.  I really think you’ll love it. 

 

2.     I not only want to lose weight, but I want to incorporate more healthy foods into my diet.  I’ve started making smoothies again.  I use about two cups of fresh spinach then add frozen strawberries, blueberries, or bananas, a few cubes of ice, and a cup of water.  No, it doesn’t taste like an Orange Julius by any means, but it’s super healthy and actually doesn’t taste bad at all.  I’m going today to by milled flax seed to put in my next one.  There are many benefits from flax seed: cardiovascular health, cancer prevention, etc.  I’m also looking into additional recipes that I will be happy to share soon. 

3.       Water. The End.

4.      Slack off on the Carbs.  I love carbs.  Carbs. Carbs. Carbs.  I’m a picky eater and in my dream world, I would eat Cheesz-Its, Wheat Thins, Chips, and drink Sweet Tea for every meal every day.  That’s terrible.  I never even buy Cheez-Its because I know how tempting they are for me.  I use Stevia drops to sweeten my tea because I think it’s ridiculous to drink my calories.  I’m not saying I will never have carbs here and there, but overall I am trying to reduce my intake. 

There you have it.  I’m writing this more for myself than anyone else, but hopefully I can accumulate a few more accountability partners on My Fitness Pal.  That is helping me more than anything else right now to stay on track.  Also, I’d love to hear your low-carb or smoothie recipes.  Share if you’d like. J

CanNOT Believe It!

Can it really be true?  Can two of my most favorite things in the world be combined into one??  It looks like that's the case.  For all my fellow bachelor fans and blog lovers- visit SEAN LOWE'S (aka the Bachelor) sister's blog!  She is a baker and takes one recipe and makes it 52 different ways.  She also has some Favorite Things posts, Entertaining Tips, and crafts. I mean, I guess this means Sean has no choice than to dump all those crazy women he met last night and COME FIND ME!  I think I'd fit perfectly into the family.  Just sayin'.

Mix and Match Mama