First Date

Your first date is always a bit nerve wracking.
But after you bite in, you realize there was nothing to be nervous about...he he.
No really I like to have a sweet treat sometimes. Usually after dinner.
Some one put me on to dates. Have you ever had a date? They are incredibly sweet!
Slather a little almond butter on there, and you got your self a healthy treat that is delish!

I also put this concoction together for a sweet smoothie for breakfast. Better than sugar cereal for sure.


1 Banana
1/2 cup Almond Milk
2 Dates
1 Tablespoon of Almond Butter (I add a little extra to make it nutty!)
Ice

And Blend!!!!

That will hold you till lunch time for sure.

Yummy Thursday and an Update

Ok so as you know I have been seeking to eat well and lots of veggies & fruit. This can get boring and I definitely love a good treat. I am planning on having lots of my favorite treats on our big trip home to visit in Alabama. Treats like this:


Anyway today I thought instead of a recipe I would tell you some good snack ideas.

These are awesome! Organic, taste great, full of fiber!

Strawberries dipped in chocolate.
(I just melt a few semi sweet chocolate chips in the Micro and dip my strawberries in. YUM!)

Celery and Natural Peanut Butter

Nuts

Frozen Grapes

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus And Red Hot Blue Chips (a favorite)

Fruit To Go (Organic fruit leathers you can find some at Target)


Enjoy your snackin'!

So Josh and I have an opportunity to do an internship at a church. Josh is required to do a certain number of hours of Mentored Ministry for school. It would be amazing to be somewhere he got paid for this time. God has thrown an opportunity in our laps. At first I was hesitant and felt we would not fit in at this Church. It is very Conservative and different in some ways. I love worship and I had a hard time with the music. I feel like it would be taking a step backward. But the more I thought about it the more God worked in my heart that right now its not about being at a church where I love the worship and feel comfortable its about being at a church that Josh and I can learn and be prepared for full time ministry. I want to be where He wants us and will transform and use us to love the body. Its quite a God story how it all came about.The pastor and his wife really want to pour in to us. This pastor is amazing and truly loves the Lord. He wants to meet up with Josh 1x a week for mentoring. And we would also get mentoring together as a couple as they are trained NANC counselors. He wants to mentor Josh in preaching, shepherding, and they have been in the ministry for over 20 years. We are excited about this possibility. We would have to adjust to a few things and really need prayer if this is what the Lord wants. We are excited and feel blessed to come across a couple like them! It is rare to find a pastor that has the time and wants to do this sort of thing. The money of course would help, but the life learning Josh and I will receive will be priceless. Thanks for your prayers.

Health in a Glass

I went for a run today! OUTSIDE! It was sunny and the birds were chirping. Mind you there was 2 feet of snow on the ground around me. I carefully stuck to the well shoveled sidewalks less I fall and make a big - o- fool of myself.
Anyway. I am excited to hear birds chirping. It means this long, snowy, New England winter is ALMOST over. I do see seagulls every day all through the winter, but those fat, selfish birds wouldn't leave this fish heaven of a town if it was -40.

So I have a new BFF. Actually 2. Gwyneth Paltrow & Tracy Anderson. I recently came across Gwyneth's web site Goop and fell in love. She is a wellness seeker, and a great chef! Who knew? I got the idea for the detox from her site. She lists many recipes and ideas, many of which I just couldn't do because of the fact I am not an A list movie star with money rollin' around. Some of her ingredients were expensive! Here is an idea of a menu of one of the days of the Detox I adapted with things I can afford!

Morning - Glass of room temp lemon water
Breakfast- Oatmeal
Mid Morning- Herbal Tea
Lunch - Kale Smoothie
Snack-Carrot, Apple, Beet & Ginger Juice
Dinner - Broccoli and Arugula soup

Unfortunately I do not own a juicer, so I went to Organic Harvest an awesome organic cafe and juice bar in Beverly. It was delish! I was surprised at how good it was and how full I got off of it. It was like Health in a Glass.

Now for the Broccoli Soup recipe. I was expecting this to be not so great because well its part of a Detox but you must try it even if you are not going to do the detox it is a healthy, cheap way to get some good veggies.

Broccoli Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 yellow onion, roughly diced
1 head broccoli, cut into small florets (about 2/3 pound)
2 1/2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon each coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup arugula (watercress would be good, too)
1/2 lemon

Heat the olive oil in a medium nonstick saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and sauté for just a minute or until fragrant. Add the broccoli and cook for four minutes or until bright green. Add the water, salt and pepper, bring to a boil, lower the heat and cover. Cook for eight minutes or until the broccoli is just tender. Pour the soup into a blender and puree with the arugula until quite smooth. Be very careful when blending hot liquids; start slowly and work in batches if necessary (you don’t want the steam to blow the lid off). Serve the soup with a bit of fresh lemon.

So I will fill you in on Tracy Anderson next time. I hope this finds you all WELL! (ps. I am feeling much better thanks to vigorous water drinking! It works! annnnd if anyone has a juicer lying around they don't want I will take it gladly!)

Sweet Valentine......

In order to save some mulah we had a nice dinner at home for Valentines! It was super yummy and we had a great time!

Garlic and Mushroom Pork Chops, Sugar Snap Peas, Mini Baked Potatoes and Balsamic Salad

3-4 Boneless Center Pork Chops
1/3 cup of Olive Oil
2 Garlic Cloves
Montreal Steak Spice Mix
Cavenders Greek Seasoning
1 pkg of Mushrooms (either Baby Bella or White)

Put pork chops, olive oil, steak seasoning, and pressed Garlic cloves in a zip lock bag. Shake it up and rub spices and garlic in to pork chops, let sit in fridge for a few hours.
Pour pork chops and marinade in to non stick pan add mushrooms and shake Cavender's seasoning on to the pork chops. Add a little more olive oil if needed. Cook on medium high until pork chops are slightly browned on either side then turn down to medium low, cover and let simmer until mushrooms are soft and chops are cooked through.

Balsamic Salad
Lettuce of choice (the darker the better for you)
Cucumber
Baby tomatoes
Avocado
Slivered Almonds

Combine salad ingredients

Dressing

1 part Balsamic Vinegar to 2 parts Olive Oil
1/2 a tsp of Italian Seasoning
Sugar to taste
Pressed Garlic Clove

combine ingredients and shake well. Pour over salad.

Yummy!!!!!!

Kale Yum Yum

One of the tips in the wellness program is to eat RAW at least one meal a day. Meaning no cooked food or packaged. (Overall you are supposed to stay away from pre packaged foods!) But 1/3 of your meals is to be completely Raw. This has been fun and quite an adventure to try! Sometimes I do it for Lunch and have raw cut up veggies and hummus and a berry mixture after. This is delish! But sometimes I do it for breakfast and make an amazing KALE SMOOTHIE!

I promise you can't taste the Kale at all. (You can find Kale in the lettuce section of most grocery stores.) Kale is super good for you and provides a boost of energy. Think of it as the caffeine of the Veggie world!

Kale Yum Yum
1 cup of frozen mixed Berries
1 Banana
1 handful of well washed Kale
1/3 Cup of plain yogurt. (No fake sweeteners people! And if you have to know why check out This website.)
Ice
Water or a little Acai & Pomegranate Juice to get some liquid in there.

Blend Blend away and enjoy a natural, raw, energy drink! YUM!

Fiber Chicken?

Ok so as you know Josh and I are trying this wellness program. And it is hard to come up with food ideas besides just eating fruit and raw veggies every meal. So when I came across this recipe idea I had to try it. I love chicken fingers. Obviously they are NOT on the wellness food list. In fact you are only supposed to shoot for one meat meal a day. (seeing as meat has a lot of things in it we shouldn't be eating.) Anyway here is a twist on a old favorite. Not fried, not greasy, but in fact DELISH!

Fiber One Chicken Strips

1 Package of antibiotic free Chicken tenders
1 1/2 cups of original Fiber One Cereal
Garlic Salt
1 Cage Free Egg

Blend Fiber One in a blender or food processor
add a little Garlic Salt to taste

Mix egg in a bowl and dip one chicken tender at a time in and then proceed to cover with Fiber One mix.
Put strips on baking sheet and spray with a tiny bit of EVOO.
Bake at 375 until brown and crispy.

I make a homemade honey mustard sauce to dip them in! They are so good. YOU HAVE TO TRY THESE! A way healthier version of a classic comfort food.
(Christie maybe Josiah will like these too!)

Sometimes you just need a treat.

SOOOO
Josh and I have been doing this new wellness program from my Chiropractor. He is a Christian and truly an amazing man. It has been great for us so far and pretty easy to stick to for the most part. I will explain more about this program later but for now I am just going to put my Yummy Thursday Recipe.

So mostly we are just eating fruit and veggies. But everyone needs a bit of a treat every once in a while. So I cam up with this concoction the other day.


Chocolate Blended Goodness.

1 cup of Hood Simply Smart Chocolate Milk (if you have this in your area you must try it! It is fat free but tastes like 1% and it has double the protein of other milks! 12 grams to a cup!)
1 Banana (frozen is good)
Ice
1/4 cup of plain yogurt.
Blend well and enjoy tastes like Frosty! (you can also add a scoop of protein powder if you just worked out)

Yummy Thursday - Dips

Southern Rotel Dip.

Ok so I never had heard of Rotel until I moved to Alabama. I love it now. I use it for so much! My taco soup, my salsa, chili, and dips of all sorts! I remember going to watch my first Alabama football game at someones house and someone saying they were bringing Rotel. I was like what the heck is that?????

Well being back up in the North I have brought my love of Rotel with me. I make dips and such and when people ask what is in it I say Rotel. They say "what is that?" haha. Oh fun times.

Here is a yummy dip I love! So easy to make too!

2 Cans of Rotel
2 pkg of Cream Cheese
1 Pkg of Jimmy Dean Original Sausage (also hard to find up here)
2 Pkgs of Frito's Scoops

Brown Sausage and drain (as much as you can at least...there will still be LOTS of fat in there!!!)
Mix in with Cream Cheese and Rotel in a dish
Make sure it is all well mixed
Put in oven at 350 for 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly

Enjoy with the Frito's! or Chip of your choice! ( I am not a fan of Frito's but for some reason they go great with this dip)

Pumpkin Fluff Dip


1 (16 ounce) container Cool Whip topping, thawed
1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or substitute Nutmeg & Cinnamon)

In a large bowl, mix together instant vanilla pudding mix, pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice. Fold in the thawed frozen whipped topping. Chill in the refrigerator until serving. Enjoy with Ginger Snaps! YUM

Yummy Thursday - Apple Bread and Stew..not together.

So I missed last week so again I am giving two recipies.

So the first one is one that I have made twice over the last 2 weeks. It has been sooo cold here. Like 15 degrees with the wind chill. BRRRRRRRRRR. Every night after work I have been coming home getting my slippers and electric blanket out and eating some HOT stew and HOT chocolate!

Tangy Beef Stew

1 Package of Stew Meat (I like the lean kind & I cut it up to get more out of it)
1 TBL spoon of Flour
2-3 Carots peeled and sliced
1 Stalk of Celery washed and sliced
2-3 Potatoes Peeled and sliced
1 Clove of Garlic
1 Medium Onion
1/2 cup of BBQ Sauce
1 small can of Tomato Sauce
1 tsp of Worchester Sauce
1- 1/2 cans of Beef Stalk or Beef Bullion

Cover the meat with flour
Brown the Meat and Garlic in a pan. While it is browning Chop up Veggies.
Put all the veggies and meat in a Crock Pot.
pour in the Beef Stalk
Add the BBQ Sauce and Worchester Sauce and Tomato Sauce stir well.

Cook on 10 hours Low or 6 hours high.

YUM!

Apple Bread - My friend Jenny made this last night for our dinner get together. I am going to make some for the girls B-ball team for their game Saturday!

# 1 cup white sugar
# 1 cup vegetable oil
# 2 eggs
# 3/4 cup honey
# 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
# 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
# 1 teaspoon baking powder
# 1 teaspoon baking soda
# 1 teaspoon salt
# 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
# 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
# 3 apples - peeled, cored and shredded


1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9 inch Bundt pan.( You can also use 2 loaf pans!)
2. In a large bowl, stir together the sugar and oil. Beat in the eggs until light, then stir in the honey and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and allspice; stir into the batter just until moistened. Fold in the apples and nuts.
3. Bake for 50 to 65 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the crown comes out clean. Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes before inverting onto a plate and tapping out of the pan.

Yummy Thursday

Hobo Stew....cooked over a fire. When my good friend Rachel called me Tuesday to ask what I was doing I replied, "Making Hobo Stew over the fire." She then said "Annnnddddd When did you become homeless?"

This is traditionally used when going camping! Our good friends the Starbucks (yes that is their last name.....no they don't own the company) put me on to it. We were not camping on Tuesday but I decided to give it a little try in the ol' Chiminea. We inherited it from the family I nanny for and we have just loved it! Its so fun to sit around with friends and get warm, or roast Marshmallow's and enjoy the Fall nights.



So on to the recipie! I am not even sure why they call it stew...because it isn't but whatever.

Hobo Stew
for 4 people
Pepare 4 pieces of heavy duty tin foil, with butter rubbed on it. Or you can use the Rynolds Aluminium that is non stick.
Cut up what ever veggies you desire
ex:
Mushrooms
Zuchinni
Carrots
Potatoes
Onion
ect....

Also cut up a package of Chicken Breast Tenders (I like using these because they are already cut pretty much and tender)

Evenly distribute the Chicken, and veggies on the tin foil.

Proceed to season veggies. I use Cavander's Greek Seasoning, along with some Montreal Chicken Seasoning.

Place a bit of butter on top

Wrap it up and throw it in the fire. :)

Ideally it would be great if you had a metal rack to place them on, but I didn't in my Chiminea. I just wrapped them in tin foil 2x and kept turning them over.

It came out super yummy! And no clean up! Try it next time you go camping or have a fire around :)

Yummy Thursday

Well its been a while so I will include two recipies!!!! Both are super healthy!

We did carve our pumpkin the other night so I naturally made roasted pumpkin seeds!
Its so easy!

Scoop out the seeds
wash and remove pulp
Dry seeds
place on a roasting pan and mix olive or veggie oil on them and sprinkle with salt to taste
roast at 325 for 20 minutes or until golden brown.


Pumpkin Pudding
Ingredients:
1 15-16 oz can pumpkin
2 cups unsweetened soy milk
1½ teaspoons cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ginger
1 box instant (no-cook) sugar-free butterscotch or vanilla pudding, 6 serving size
If using butterscotch, add 1 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation:

In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, spices, and half the milk. While whisking, add the pudding mix and the rest of the milk. Whisk well to fully combine. (You can also use a stick blender.) The pudding will continue to thicken a little over time. You can add more liquid and/or spices for the consistency and flavor you prefer.
Top with Cool Whip if you would like!
Makes 8 half-cup servings.

Nutritional Information: Each serving has 62 calories, 8 grams Carbs, 3 grams fiber, 4 grams protein, 1.4 grams fat


SO I am so excited about tomorrow! I am dressing up like a cat with the kids and going to a Halloween party with them and then to a corn maze with some friends and then a few couples are coming to our place to hang outside with the chiminea and play some games! It will be the funnest Halloween in a long time!!!! Oh and a little shout out to Bob and Greta Carter celebrating little Sam's 1st Birthday tomorrow!!! Happy Birthday Little Halloween Buddy!!!

Yummy Thursday

So I was feeling a little hesitant about my blog wondering if I should continue writing it or not. Wondering if anyyyyyone even reads it. So I decided to do a little experiment. I wasn't daring enough to do what my friend Greta did, so I resorted to a blog counter type thing. And in the past 2 days 77 people have come to view it! Well that made me feel encouraged! So if you stop by and read on a regular basis I would love to hear from you! Leave a comment or email me if you don't know how! Love to know who you are and keep in touch!

SO on to the task at hand....

Yummy Thursday. So In case you haven't noticed I started out with pretty healthy recipes, and slowly dwindled away to well....not so healthy....(pumpkin bread/ Cupcakes....ect). I have strayed from my quest for health, a little...ok A LOT! Gezz, well I am trying to get back on track, but THIS weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving. Yes I know....no Pilgrims landed, and nothing really happened, but the harvest is still something to be thankful for, so we have Canadian Thanksgiving.

So in preparation for this weekend I have been looking at Pioneer Woman's recipes. Now my good friend Jenny put me on to her, and she is awesome! You need to go check out her website. Her cooking recipes have detailed instructions and pictures. She has a thanksgiving section that you can check out to get ready for American Thanksgiving with, or if your like me and doing your shopping tomorrow for Canadian Thanksgiving you can still use some of her tips!

Click Here for her yummy Apple Pie recipe

Yummy Thursday

Fall Fall Everywhere!The Leaves are just beautiful here and it is just beginning! Driving to work is filled with me in awe of God's awesome creation. I mean if you think about it He could of just made the leaves turn from green to brown and die. But He didn't! I love the colours they are so bright and striking!Here are some leaves on my back deck.


So one of my favorite parts of fall is Pumpkin. Pumpkin everything! I love the colour of them, I love the taste of them! I even love the seeds roasted YUM!
Here is a yummy Thursday recipe!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

3 cups sugar
3.5 cups flour
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups pumpkin (1 small can)
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1.5 cups chocolate chips

Mix all dry and add wet ingredients, Grease and flour a bundt pan and bake at 375 for 1 hour. Top should be "crunchy" and toothpick should come out clean. Inside may take longer than an hour to cook.

Yummy Thursday

So I know that I posted about Seminary already but then I realized IT's THURSDAY!!! and I haven't posted a Yummy Thursday in a few weeks...soooo.

Its been a little chilly in Gloucester so I have been in the mood to eat warm things! Like Pumpkin Spice Lattes, Hot Chocolate, and SOUP!

Taco Soup (aka Santa Fe Soup)

1 pound of ground Turkey
1 can of Corn
1 Onion cut up
3 cans of beans (2 Kidney 1 Black Bean)
1 Can of Rotel
1 Can of Diced Tomato's
1 Package of Ranch Dressing mix
1 Package of Taco Seasoning

Cut up the onion and brown with the Turkey
Add a the other ingredients in a big pot (including all the juices from beans, corn ect)
Stir in Ranch and Taco seasoning. Let simmer for 1/2 an hour to 45 mins.

This soup is super healthy. You can eat it with a dollop of Sour Cream & Cheese or with some warm bread! Its YUMMY!

Mmmm..that's pretty good!

Yummy Thursday

So I made Zucchini Bread today with fresh Zucchini from a garden. No..not mine yet, someday though. Caleb and Kennedy loved the smell of it and wanted to watch it bake in the oven. I wasn't sure if they would like it. But if you have ever had Zucchini Bread it tastes something like well sugar & spice bread. Its moist and sweet! Well I cut Caleb off a piece while it was soft and warm, he hesitated as he saw the green flecks of zucchini and then decided to put it in his mouth. When then sounding like a grow up even though he is two he uttered "Mmm that's pretty good." You had to be there to hear it. I laughed sooo hard. He is so cute. Kennedy also said "This is the best bread I have ever had in my life" in her long 5 year old life. Still I was glad they liked it.....they kept asking for it all day.


3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil - I use half a cup and then you can use 1/2 a cup of applesauce to make it moist
2 cups white sugar - You can use organic sugar instead
2 cups grated zucchini
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour - you can substitute Whole Wheat flour
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F ( 165 degrees C). Grease and flour two 8x4 inch loaf pans.
In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and frothy. Mix in oil and sugar. Stir in zucchini and vanilla. Combine flour, cinnamon, soda, baking powder, salt and nuts; stir into the egg mixture. Divide batter into prepared pans.
Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until done.

Yummy Thursday's & an update

Well, they did a test to look at the Pancreas and still nothing. SO that means it is from MS and related to her spinal cord and means she probably has 3 legions in the same place effecting the vegas nerve which effects the organs she is having so many problems with. She is probably going to have to do something along the lines of Chemo to shrink the size of them. Meanwhile she is still in a lot of pain and not doing too well in the hospital. She is hoping to get an appointment with the top nero guy in the Province. She missed her other one because she was in the Hospital. She is hoping to get out by Friday. Josh and I are planning to go up to see her next weekend. Pray her emotions can hang on till then. She is desperate to see us. My brother will be heading up then too. She really will be encouraged to see us, and of course I always love seeing AJ, haven't seen him since Christmas.
Thanks for the prayers. She is def not out of the woods yet. But the good news is it is not Chronic Pancreatitis which only gives you about 7 years to live. SO PRAISE GOD!!!! Thanks for your prayers!

So I went to NYC last weekend. OH MY GOODNESS. Never again will I drive in to that city or around it by myself. Lets just say its a long story that involves driving a million miles an hour on the New Jersey Turnpike, getting lost, turning around 12 times, getting pulled over, missing parking permit, almost missing the last train of the night, running down the road like a maniac with all my bags, crying, getting a ride with a stranger, no train ticket, and well....if you want the rest of the story, call me.
Lets just say it was easily one of the worst nights of my life.

SO anyway while in NYC we ate some wonderful Brooklyn style Pizza sooo I was in the mood for it last night and recreated it. SO HENCE Yummy Thursday today is Brooklyn Style Pizza.



Now I can make my own dough (thanks to my sweet mentor Naomi) but sometimes it is easier to just buy some. To make it healthy get whole wheat, or thin crust. If you would like a homemade dough recipe just leave a comment.
Thin Crust Dough
Pizza Sauce
Fresh Mozzarella Ball
Fresh Basil (I got some from a friends garden mmmm)
Pepperoni
Mushrooms (or whatever toppings you like, veggies ect)

Roll out your dough on pizza stone
put a little olive oil all over it
Slice the fresh Mozzarella Ball and place slices on various parts of the crust
Next use a spoon to spoon sauce in other various places (this is how they do it a Grimaldi's pizza in Brooklyn)
Next put your toppings on, pep, mushrooms or whatever else
Place your fresh Basil leaves on the pizza

Pop in the oven at 400 degrees. Take out when Mozza cheese is nice and bubbly and golden brown! MMMM

Yummy Thursdays!

I am introducing a new feature on my blog! We will call them Yummy Thursdays. Since I am on this new quest to work out and NOT QUIT! I am also trying to eat healthy YUMMY food. I will post a new Yummy Healthy Recipe! Feel free to post your own in the comments I am always looking for new healthy meals!

Perfect Pita- my own creation



1/2 Whole Wheat Pita
Diced Cucumber, Tomato, Onion (if you like)
Sliced Low Sodium Turkey (I love it sliced thin)
2 Slices of Avocado
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
Red Wine Vinegar
EVOO
Salt & Pepper

Spread some of the Hummus in the Pita and place 3-4 slices of the turkey.
Combine the diced Cuc's Tomato and Onion in a little bowl and toss with a little EVOO & Vinegar and Salt & Pepper to your liking.
Scoop the mix in the pita and top with Avocado slices.

Enjoy with some Fresh Fruit on the side! YUM!!!!