Wednesday, May 18, 2011

GREAT taste...NO pain!

So much has changed the last few months….our meal plan is the biggest of all changes. Dave had another bout of intestinal issues and we decided NO MORE MEDICINE, the antibiotics they give are extremely toxic and cause a slew of other problems and we decided ENOUGH!

And so the searching began. Dear friends at church led us to some books called “Great Taste No Pain” we ordered those books and after reading and researching we decided to give this a try. Basically you can’t eat a protein combined with a starch, Hellooo that’s the American diet, meat and potatoes!! But for those that suffer with many of the intestinal diseases those combinations are painful!! We also started looking into GMO genetically modified foods and what all of that means and decided it was time we become aware of what we are purchasing and what is in our foods.

Making these changes was not an overnight thing, we are still transitioning into this new lifestyle, that’s what it is really, a lifestyle not a new diet. I can say with certainty…IT WORKS!! My husband has been pain and symptom free for a few months now and we are overjoyed!!

How did we get started? Well we started by making a few minor changes at first, antibiotic free milk organic brown eggs, organic coffee beans, organic yogurt and organic vegetables. Then we started with hormone free chicken and grass fed beef. As I started shopping I started to pick up organic condiments, ketchup etc… Again it’s a slow process and we are going into this step by step. Our meal menus have changed and for the most part the kids have embraced our new eating habits….sometimes it does come with resistance and we are selective in those battles….if it’s a meal that I KNOW they won’t appreciate I will compromise and make something they will eat which usually ends up being pasta and sauce!!

The more I read and learn I realize there is no turning back. Certain 'go to' foods I just cannot purchase anymore knowing that in the long run could really affect our health... Going out to eat is a challenge and we have to be really selective with where we chose and what we chose. I realize that I can make some amazing meals at home and so going out to eat has lost it’s novelty.

Here is a peak into our new weekly menu:

• Mediterranean veggie Panini (roasted red pepper hummus, sliced cucumbers, roasted red peppers, lettuce, red onion, feta cheese, sliced tomatoes) with Homemade tomato soup
• Spinach Calzones with blue cheese/ grilled veggies
• Honey mustard pork tenderloin with roasted kale
• Falafel pita/ salad
• Pasta puttanesca/salad
• Grilled chicken/ veggies

Enjoying the Journey!!!

Thursday, April 7, 2011

I'm eating my toast on the good plates!!

As someone who has struggled with self worth, even the title is a huge thing!! I would never do that, the good dishes are for company, for others more deserving….not for me to eat a simple piece of toast on…until now!! The other week I watched as women of all shapes and sizes walked across a stage carrying their cardboard testimonies and the speaker challenged us to think of our own, I came up with a few, one is for now and one is my big dream I’m asking God! The for now one goes like this: I used to compare myself to others” flip it over “I AM a PRICELESS PRINCESS…my daddy is a KING” . I am worthy! I can eat my toast on the good dishes!!

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Facebook withdraw....

A week with no Facebook……I’m in withdraw for sure!! I was on my page on Monday evening and then poof it went off and I have not been able to log on since. Best part is that facebook can’t find me, I don’t exist in facebook world!! Yet my friends can ‘see’ me... I have loved being on facebook, finding lost friends and keeping connected with new friends and now my time there is over….since they cannot find me. I attempted a new account, but when I enter my email account facebook tells me that an account already exists with that email…….hummm so I do exist, but I’m invisible!!! I’m seeing that M & M commercial they play at Christmas time running thru my mind, where the big M & M sees Santa and says “he does exist” and Santa says “they do exist” and they both fall over…. LOL My husband tells me it’s a good thing, I spent way too much time on there. Little does he know I get things accomplished on there………….ok so I may spend to much time on there but I like it danggit. So until ET returns and takes me to my facebook home….I’m off there for now. :(

Monday, January 17, 2011

1-17/1-23 menu

I'm really going to enjoy this once I get a few weeks into this...then I can track to see what was a hit or a miss and see what we eat alot of. Right now it's pasta for sure, with Josh in swimming he likes to have carbs the night before a meet, so I try and buy the 'smart pasta' or whole grain pasta.

Here is 1-17/1-23-2011 menu:

*Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu/ long grain wild rice/ sugar snap peas

*mexi-mac skillet (great one dish meal)

*Steak on grill/ baked tator/ green beans with dill cream sauce

*hard & Soft tacos/ spanish rice

*Shredded beef sandwiches/ Coleslaw/ veggie

*Spag with sauce/ salad

*barley beef skillet (one dish meal)

*weeknight chicken & pasta

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Weekly Menu

Menu for this week:
Some of the meals were not made this past week, so I'm adding them again!

* French Onion Soup in crocks/ salad

* Tenderloin steak sandwiches/baked tators/veggie

* Weeknight Chicken & Pasta/ fresh rolls

* Crunchy onion BBQ chicken/smashed tators/ veggies

* makeover rigatoni with Bacon & asparagus

* Barley Beef Skillet

* Spaghetti with meatsauce/ salad

* swiss chicken/veggies/cranberry

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Weekly Meal Plan

Someone has given me a book that is called “make your own cookbook” where I get to write out my favorite recipes in each category!! I have always had the desire to write out recipes for my kids, that someday they will cherish mom’s recipes in her own handwriting as I cherish recipes from my mam mam.

This inspired me to also write out my weekly meal plans and use this as a tool to track what we like vs. what didn’t work based on how many times we make the same recipes!!

So here goes, each week I will post my weekly meal plan. I don’t pick meals for each day, just 8-9 meals that I have all the ingredients on hand to make and daily I chose what to make from that list. If I happen to have meals left at the end of the week I flip them over to the next week. We always have “mustgoes” that is, everything in the fridge that “must” GO. I will allow the kids to pick what they want, or they can have a bowl of cereal and then I package and give meals to people in the neighborhood or at church!! I’ve been doing this for years, and now I will have a permanent record on my blog!! I have WW points for the majority of my meals and all of my recipes are made with the light alternative (low fat sour cream vs. reg sour cream) and most came from the Healthy Cooking magazines and cookbooks thru the years that I have tweaked.

*Chicken parmesan over angel hair pasta/salad

* Healthy tuna noodle casserole/ peas & Carrots

* Dijon crusted Tilapia/ cooked noodles or seasoned rice/ veggie
(my favorite meal)

*Swiss Chicken/cranberry/ veggies

*Homemade chicken breast sandwiches/ homemade baked French fries/ salad

* Tortellini chicken soup

* Spaghetti with mini meatballs/garlic bread/ steamed broccoli

* Homemade French Onion Soup in crocks

* Pasta Fagioli

Monday, January 3, 2011

The "other shoe has dropped"




The other shoe has finally dropped!! Okay so it’s a boot…but bear with me.

Last year we started 2009 in the ER and spent a significant amount of the year back and forth to Dr’s and surgeons and hospital stays and lot’s and lot’s of antibiotics. Watching my husband suffer was really difficult for me, and soon I was so wrapped up in sickness that I lost myself in it. I remember saying to him that I felt like I was living each day waiting for the “other shoe” to drop. Don’t get me wrong, I had good days and bad days, it was a roller coaster to say the least!

As 2011 approached, I became paranoid…that’s a strong word, but I really felt like I was!! I kept asking him everyday how do you feel, do you have any pain….and not only was I driving him crazy, I was driving myself crazy!

Normally we spend New Year’s Eve with friends, but this year was different, their whole family had the flu so plans changed, and honestly I think it was just what I needed. Instead of staying in we decided to attend our town’s celebration. As cheesy as it sounds our town drops a boot on New Year’s Eve! Why a boot? Well apparently back in its hay day there were four shoe factories and one of those made military boots, hence dropping the boot! LOL It was fun, and we laughed, but I began to think how significant that event was for me…..the other shoe DROPPED!!! It Dropped!! And for the first time in a year I felt like I could exhale…God has it all under control, HE always did, and I just wasn’t letting HIM have it all. I know it sounds so silly but I really needed to see that shoe drop…and this year I resolve to live in Victory and not fear!! I read an article the other day about facing the New Year without fear here is an excerpt:

“Who says, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee"? It is the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God. This is the confidence of His promise.
In the coming year, when you say, "God, I just don't have the strength." The omnipotent God will answer, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." When you say, "God, I'm afraid of what is going to happen." The omnipresent God says, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." And when you say, "God, I don't know what to do." The omniscient God will respond, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." He himself hath said it”


I am confidently going into the New Year with my omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent God!! Happy New Year.

p.s. kermit was the towns anniversary celebration mascot...cheesy I know. And the muppet animal is the fire company mascot :)