Italian Meatballs with Oven Roasted Broccoli and Tomato Coconut Sauce

It's day 6 of my 21 day Primal challenge. One thing I know about myself is that I need to make my food interesting and varied or there's no way I'll stay the course. I also really enjoy cooking and don't mind spending a lot of time in the kitchen. A few days ago I made the delicious meal you see above. I wanted to get the recipe down so I wouldn't forget about it. 

I should say that this isn't a real recipe but just me throwing some things together.

Italian Meatballs with Tomato Coconut Sauce

1 lb pasture raised ground pork

1 lb pasture raised ground beef

1/2 onion minced as fine as you can get it

2 cloves garlic minced fine

1 TBSPish Italian Seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

fat of choice

1 can coconut milk

1 large fresh tomato peeled and chopped

fresh sage, julienned

2 cloves garlic sliced 

To make the meatballs, put first 6 ingredients into a bowl and smoosh together with your hands until everything is mixed well. Roll into your desired size meatballs. I like mine on the smaller size so they cook faster and you can eat more of them! You can cook these either by baking them or frying them in oil or bacon fat. Bacon fat makes them a little bit yummier.

While you are cooking the meatballs, heat your fat of choice in a skillet and saute' the garlic slices for a few minutes. Add in the chopped tomato and saute' until the tomato turns into pulp and the juices are mostly evaporated. Add in the coconut milk and bring to a low boil. Continue cooking until the sauce reduces to your preferred state. Add the sage and cook for one or two minutes more. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve the sauce over the meatballs and roasted broccoli (recipe to follow).

Roasted Broccoli

1 head broccoli cut into florets

olive oil 

salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 400F. Spread broccoli florets evenly on rimmed baking sheet. drizzle with oil and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until starting to brown on the top. I actually didn't time how long this took but I'm thinking around 20-30 minutes depending on the size of your florets. 

I hope you enjoy! I know we did. Next time I will make more broccoli but I just used what I had in the fridge for this recipe. If you've never had oven roasted broccoli you are in for a treat!

Having Fun

It's day four of my 21 day Primal Challenge. One of the Primal rules that I think is so wonderful is play.  I love this idea! So last night I went with a group of friends country line dancing! We were all novices and went on 'beginner night.' It was so much fun. It was also challenging (more to my brain than my body). We also met some of the nicest people ever. Everyone was really encouraging and helpful and friendly. I can't remember the last time I was in that kind of environment. 

It made me think about how I act around people I don't know very well and how I can be more encouraging and inclusive. 

So, by taking the rule of play seriously, I not only got some exercise, had some great socialization with some friends but also was able to take a little look inside myself for some (hopefully) positive changes.

Next up for fun I'm thinking of rock climbing!

Monday. The start of a new week and day 1 of my 21 day Primal Blueprint challenge. My day started with a disappointment that may lead to another change in my life. I don't really want to delve into it but it's made me take a good look at where I'm going and what I'm doing. It's a step back and peer closer kind of thing.

One of the Primal rules of living is to move around a lot at a slow pace. What that means for me is taking long walks, bike rides and hiking. These are exercises that I've always loved. So today, while I was needing to spend a lot of time in deep thought, taking a long walk was the perfect opportunity to do just that.

How will this situation all work out? Who knows. There's a lot to think about. In the end it will all be fine and will certainly give me an opportunity to grow in one way or another.

So for now, I'll just keep on thinking and finding more ways to move around a lot....slowly. Gardening anyone?

Blogging....again

I used to be such an avid blogger. I think social media has ruined the blog. So many wonderful blogs that used to inspire me have fallen by the wayside. They are replaced by Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and the like. Yet, I find something is missing from these platforms. 

*sigh*

There's no going back. So why am I posting now? For many months I've thought to myself, "You should blog again." Yet I just couldn't seem to sit and do it.

Perhaps it's because I've been blogging on Sundays for my Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program and posting on my school Facebook page. 

Well, I've decided to dedicate the next three weeks to blogging agin. I've also dedicated the next 21 days to renewing my health, fitness and energy level. It's hard to believe that I'm 47 years old. I'm very happy with my life. Mike and I have lived very intentionally for the last 25 years. By not worrying about the 'ways of the world' we have been able to do the work we feel passionately about: music and education. Our children are grown and pursuing their own passions. 

Unfortunately, what we have not been so intentional about is caring for our health and fitness. Slowly over time we have come to understand that we need to eat in a way that is very counter to the "conventional wisdom" of our age. This is easier said than done. As I've aged, I've found it harder to maintain a healthy weight.

So....in order to get ourselves into the habit of eating and exercising we are devoting the next 21 days to the Primal Blueprint. I'm not going to say much about this now but will be blogging about our journey for the next three weeks.

I have decided to blog again to help myself. I've always blogged as a personal journal of sorts. I'm hoping by returning to this form of self reflection I can help myself stay the course and also have a record of the journey.

Frugal Friday

It's June and I've been done with school for about a week. Nolan graduated from Lancaster Catholic and the Lancaster Career and Technology Center. The parties are over. I deep cleaned the kitchen floor. The new school I'm starting (more on this later) is set up and the paperwork sent to the state.  What does all this mean? I'm a little bored. So yesterday it occurred to me that I used to love to blog. I think one of the reasons I stopped blogging was that I no longer had the time to do it. Well, this new found boredom has given me time to blog again!  So I went back to my blog and found this post that never got posted. I think it's a good one so I'm sharing it with you today. It is over a year old but still relevant. Enjoy this one and look for more this summer.

We're still eating the sauce we made from these tomatoes.

Here it is (from 2015. And, no, it's not Friday. Please don't expect me to post a Frugal Friday post each week this summer. This was the 2015 me, not the new and improved 2016 me who knows better.):

This is the first in what I hope will be a weekly Friday posting. Hope being the operative word here.

I've been contemplating voluntary poverty for the last few weeks. I'm not going to get into that topic right now because it would require more time than I want to give to my computer at the moment. We all know that there are people who live in terrible poverty all over the world, including the town you live in. 

I'm prone to a guilty conscience and so I have to be careful about my motives. I don't want to do something because it seems romantic at the time but is unsustainable.

What I have felt convicted about for a long time is to live more simply. To honor the beauty of the natural world that has been entrusted to us by our creator. What does this mean exactly?

Well, first off: waste not.

I guess that is my basic definition of frugality. So on this and (I hope) subsequent Fridays I'll post something about being frugal. We all know that when one can make a posting alliterative it has universal appeal. Right???

So, my first Frugal Friday post topic is PATIENCE. "Patience,"you may ask? What does that have to do with being frugal and eliminating waste?

1. Impulse buying. It is so easy, isn't it? Let me give you a current example. Yesterday a friend recommended the book 7:An experimental mutiny against excess. I was cleaning out my closet and lamenting the number of skirts in there that almost never get worn. My gut instinct after looking at the book was, "Hey, this is right up my alley. I'll buy it right now. I'm just one click away on Amazon!" Fortunately, the angel sitting on my other shoulder reminded me that purchasing a book immediately because I REALLY wanted to read it was just as bad as those 13 skirts sitting in my closet. Worse, actually, because I still had the option of NOT buying it. So, my friend offered to loan me the book when she was finished with it and my dilemma was over. I'll still get to read the book and glean the knowledge written inside while saving some cash and possibly having a moment to chat with a friend during the exchange. 

2. Savings. I think we all know the cost of buying on credit or buying more than we have income to sustain. Just take a look at the housing crisis in America. How many people were approved for loans that they could not sustain. My parents taught us that if you want something, save for it first. Chances are you may not even want the item you were saving for once you have the money in hand. Being patient about fixing up the house, upgrading the computer, or even that new pair of shoes pays off in the end.

3. Eat real food and cook it yourself. Yup. Cooking takes time. Cooking real food takes extra time. It takes patience to learn to make something from scratch, to use the oven instead of the microwave. No, dinner isn't usually ready in 10 minutes or less. To be honest, the cost of real food isn't always less than processed. Unless you look at the big picture. Most commercially available foods are subsidized by the government along the path from giant farm to your table. Where do the subsidy monies come from? Yup, taxpayer pocketbooks. How about your health? What is the cost in medicine, doctor visits and hospital stays that are directly linked to the poor quality of food that we eat? High. The cost isn't just in money but in time and quality of life. 

4. You. We are all human. We all have our faults. We all need to strive to improve our lives in some way. Be patient with yourself. Nothing changes overnight except the date on the calendar. Every experience in your life is forming you and often those around you. Waste not. Examen yourself but be patient with yourself. If you find you have blessings then give thanks! If you find you have faults, make a plan. If you have faulted your husband, your children, your friend, your coworker: ask forgiveness. Take the time to improve yourself. Give thanks for the many blessings you have in your life and find one area that you can improve upon. Continue practicing patience with it all.

I'm sure there are more areas where patience and frugality meet. If you've got an idea, comment or facebook or post! Send me your links. Have a great weekend, everyone.

The Seven Day Challenge Wrap Up

Today is Day Seven of my Seven Day Challenge. What was the purpose of it all? I think overall my purpose in doing something for seven days is to jump start myself into a new way of thinking and acting. So often we think we are incapable of making changes. Change is hard and I find that change involves a slow morphing journey of some sort. I know there have been many things in my life that have slowly changed the way I think about food and nutrition. They didn't happen overnight. In fact, it's probably been almost 42 years (my birthday is coming up) in the making. 


So the challenge of seven days is really a blip in the big scheme. I find that if I can show myself that I am able to refrain from something or consistently do something or change something for only seven days then I am more likely to believe I can continue in the change if I've felt it was worthwhile. Seven days isn't impossibly long but long enough to ponder an issue.


So, what have I learned in my seven days about food? 

• I need variety
• It is important to take the time to plan out my meals
• I can go to a coffee shop and not indulge
• Cooking at home is vital but also something we enjoy
• I need to add in more fruit allowances to my daily diet
• Keeping things simple is the key, especially at first
• Reading and learning keeps me motivated
• When making a change, make sure I have time to spend on the issue (ie: researching new recipes, going to market, cooking, etc.)
• Having support is vital. If I had to fight my husband on the issue it would be almost impossible to make this kind of change. 

So, what now? I plan to continue eating this way as much as possible. Since it is Lent, I can look at staying the course until Easter Sunday when I will probably indulge in some goodies. Mike and I were discussing how to add indulgence to our lives without the indulgence becoming a slippery slop back to unhealthy eating practices. We've not come up with a good solution yet. 

We have a busy weekend coming up so I won't be posting for the next few days. I do have some plans for next week that I want to share with you but I'm not sure when that will be. I hope everyone who challenged themselves this week has made some progress or learned something about themselves. I'd love to hear from you once your seven days are over. Words of Wisdom are always welcome!

The Seven Day Challenge...cravings

Today is Day Six of my Seven Day Challenge to stay away from wheat and sugar. I have to admit that yesterday I was feeling a little grey and listless but the weather may have had a little to do with that and also my hormones! I have been tracking my menstrual cycle for the last few months and trying to identify if it had anything to do with my mood swings. I certainly know that the way I eat affects my cycle and how good or poorly I feel when I have my period. Being almost 42 I know that hormonal changes are probably occurring or will occur in the next few years. I'm trying to pay more attention to my body and what I put in it. "Temple of the Holy Spirit" and all.


Ok, enough girl-y talk. To be honest, today I would really love to have something forbidden for breakfast! Toast, bagel, pancakes, etc. I do love my yogurt and I also enjoy eggs in many forms but just don't want to eat anything that is in my pantry at the moment.


Poor me.

At times like these I try to remember that I am so fortunate to have a choice about what I eat. The fact that we have enough income to buy an abundance of food is such a gift. I need to appreciate that gift and Give Thanks for it. I also have to remember that I often learn more from sacrifice and hardship (although I hesitate to call these cravings hardship) than I do from indulgence. I participated in a few sessions of a Catholic program called the Light Weigh a few years ago. While I don't agree with all of her tenents, I did glean quite a few nuggets from the program. The nugget I will follow this morning is to offer up my craving (and the fact that I'm not going to give in to it-the sacrifice part) as a prayer for someone or something. There is no shortage of needs in that area! I still have the prayer beads that were given out during the class for such a time as this! I have them in my pocket today.


I know that God is working on my heart and my mind. I've been pondering His Will for my life this morning. Many of you know that I gave up my good job (with our health benefits) this year to go back to school for my Montessori Certification. I can trace the circuitous path of my life and the crazy wanderings of my education, jobs, children, their education, husband, his gifts and talents, etc. all as a path to something else. I am beginning to have an inkling about what that something else may be but I also know that it is in God's timing, not my own. When I see how multiple philosophies in my life are coming together under one umbrella, so to speak, I know I'm on the correct path. 


So today I will remember that it is all a journey and that the journey is not always paved and level. But, like the hikes we take, the most beautiful overlooks are arrived at by some arduous climbs. I hope that you can take some time today to ponder your own journey, to see God's hand in it and to give yourself over to the wonder of it all.

7 Day Challenge, Day 3 and some sewing

Well, it's day three of my 7 Day Challenge not to eat wheat or sugar. So far it's been pretty uneventful. I've been busy with lots of projects and we have a fairly wheat free house except for a few items we put in the boys' lunch (like cheese its and bread). I find when I am busy I don't think about food quite as much. Maybe spring is the best time to do such a challenge!


I know in years past I couldn't imagine eating without wheat. Life without pasta you say? No way! And, to be honest, I'm glad it's not something I have to give up for life. I do hope to relegate those tasty beasts like homemade pizza to special days shared with our family. I have started a menu page at the top of the blog for anyone interested in what it looks like to eat without wheat and sugar. 


One of the necessities for me that surround healthy eating is variety. Fortunately, God provided us with these lovely things called seasons and if we remember to eat by them the variety is already provided for us! It is also necessary for me to have some tasty but simple recipes handy. Mike has been on the Paleo diet for about a year and so we do have a Paleo cookbook. I also love the website the Nourished Kitchen. There is LOTS of good information about food there and simple recipes, too. I've also poured over lots of cookbooks at the library and on my own bookshelf. I have a great Weight Watchers cookbook. I just always modify the ingredients. For instance, if it says vegetable oil, I use olive oil, if it calls for chicken broth, I use my homemade chicken stock, if it says low-fat (fill in the blank) I use the real deal. Don't even get me started on margarine! So, the result is that I'm learning new things and trying out new foods which feeds my brain and my body. It helps keep me on the path.


A great book that I recommend is Food Rules by Michael Pollan. I checked it out of our local library. It's a very small and simple book. In fact, I read it to the boys one night over dinner. Some of the rules:

• If your grandmother (or greatgrandmother if you are a young person) wouldn't know what it is, don't eat it. Think: yogurt in a tube.
• If a second grader can't pronounce the ingredients, don't eat it.
• Never eat the same place as your car. Wawa?

The list goes on and is very interesting. A good though provoking read. I also wanted to point you in the direction of my friend Michele's blog. She's joining me in the Challenge and is posting about it all week. Click here to find today's post.

Thanks to all the people who are joining me on the challenge. I can't wait to here how you are doing! One tip: if you 'fall off the wagon' before day seven just get back on! Don't give up!! If you are having a really hard time, plan your indulgence for day 7 and look forward to it!

Ok, here's a little sewing for you. I bought an Amy Butler pattern at the quilt show for more than 1/2 price and set about making this little shoulder bag. I used the hand bag pattern with the shoulder bag straps. I just don't carry that much in my purse so the large bag seemed ridiculously large to me. I also didn't have interfacing and just used a piece of quality cotton instead. It probably didn't make much difference but the top of the bag was a little floppy so I sewed the straps to it. The bag had two pockets that are almost as large as the inside of the bag. I wish I would have sewn up the center of both to attach them to the lining. They tend to flop over and are useless otherwise. Since I didn't realize this until after the bag was finished I just hand stitched them to the lining. Better, but not perfect. All in all it was a fun project for an evening. It kept my mind off food, that's for sure!

The Seven Day Challenge

From Last Year's Garden

Recently my facebook ID was hacked by a weight loss company selling some kind of drops that are supposed to help you lose weight. It got me thinking about why people resort to products like that to lose weight. I think what happens is that many people want to lose weight but don't want to change their eating habits. I know I have struggled with that for a long time. I've always known that losing weight is pretty simple but I've not wanted to put forth the effort to modify my diet and physical activity. Certainly there are also psychological reasons that people eat and I know I've got those too! Over the next week I may ponder those issues.

For the last year my husband has changed his diet in a drastic fashion at first due to some health issues and now for more general health purposes. Thus, we've changed the kind of foods we have around the house and the way we eat our main meals. I've found that when I eliminate wheat and sugar from my diet I feel more energy. Wheat and sugar laden foods are triggers for me to overeat. I know this but they taste so good! I also really enjoy baking. Alas, my weight has gone up since I've stopped being vigilant. 

So here's the plan: The Seven Day Challenge. I'm challenging myself to stay off wheat and sugar for seven days. Ultimately I'd like to stay off longer but I know myself. I have to start small. Small goals are more attainable. Once I meet a small goal, I can add another and feel more prepared to achieve the goal. 


Is there something you'd like to stay away from or learn or do? Maybe there's a book you've been meaning to read, perhaps you want to stop drinking so much soda? Maybe you keep intending to start running. Whatever it is, make a commitment to refrain or to partake (depending on your goal) for seven days! Let me know if you're joining me. I'd love to have some company!

All About Lettuce

 We (actually I) planted a garden this year. I come from a long line of farmers. My grandparents were farmers and my parents both grew up on farms. My parents always had a large garden when I was a kid. Unfortunately, they never really had us work with them in the garden. Yes, I was called upon to go over to the garden and pull up onions (one of my favorite jobs) and I used to pull off Japanese beetles and throw them in the jars of gasoline. Of course, I would also often wake up on sunny summer mornings to a kitchen table full of pea pods or beans to be hulled. What I never did was help to plant the garden. I'm sure it was just easier for my parents to do it themselves. I wish they hadn't.


Oh well. They did teach me lots of other good things. So....here I am planting a garden in my little yard. I really wanted to plant lettuce and bought both butter lettuce and large leaf lettuce. For the most part, it was a no brainer. I bought the plants, dug the space and watered as needed. I'm about at the end of the patch and it has provided quite a few salads.


One thing I really didn't think about when harvesting lettuce, was how many bugs I would have to smash (good thing I'm not squeamish) and how much dirt gets on the leaves. If I plant more next year or even in the fall, I'm definitely going to purchase some straw to lay over the ground to eliminate some of the dirt. What I liked about all those bugs and dirt was that it was REAL. Neither thing is harmful and it only took a few minutes to go from dirty mess to delicious salad. Here's my salad in pictures.

Lettuce straight from the lettuce patch (about 10 steps from my door). You can see the dirt. I only killed two bugs with this batch.

The lettuce is getting a good bath in the colander.

Here's the finished product. I also added three kinds of herbs from the garden. The rest of the produce is not from the garden. I do have some tomatoes growing but don't think I'll ever get around to carrots.

My Favorite Summer Lunch

We've been trying to eat healthier this year. It all started out because Mike was having a lot of joint pain in his hands. For a musician that is really scary. As he looked into possible causes, wheat allergies came to the forefront. So, in desperation, he stopped eating all grains. His pain went away. His skin cleared up. His sinuses stopped draining. He lost weight. 


Needless to say, he has continued eating naturally and mostly grain free. I'd like to find out more specifically which grain he is allergic to. Is it wheat, corn or something else? He doesn't really care. To accommodate him, I've vastly changed the way I cook and the type of foods around the house. I buy very little that is processed. We buy our fruits and veggies at market twice a week. We're looking at planting a garden. 

So the picture above is my favorite summer lunch. The lettuce changes depending on what I find at market but the rest is pretty standard: red pepper, carrot, cucumber (always peeled...I hate the skin), goat feta (made here in Lancaster county), tomato and calamata olives. Although I should make my own dressing, I'm lazy and partial to Neuman's Own Olive Oil and Vinegar. Yum, Yum. 

Plans, not resolutions

Nolan asked me the other day if I made New Year's Resolutions. I replied that I do sometimes. I asked him if he planned any resolutions and he said no. I then asked if he thought he was ok just the way he was, he said yes, in fact, he was!

I love it!

I don't really think about 2009 in terms of resolutions but more in plans. Since I blog to keep track of myself, here are some of my plans for 2009:Birds: We are blessed with a number of beautiful birds in our backyard. I really would like to learn more about them and also how to attract other species native to the Northeast. I am very motivated by Dawn's blog. I think one of the plans I have is to email her and ask for advice. Bird feeders and birdbaths as well as flowers and shrubs to attract and feed the birds are part of the plan. (**this picture is NOT our backyard but the back yard of Mike's Aunt and Uncle in Colorado. The birds there are AMAZING!)

Vegetable Garden: We haven't been in this house a full year yet and I need to remember that. So with that in mind, these plans may be ongoing over many years. Our yard needs some work and I have plans for this coming year. I'd like to grow a lot more food this year including tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, potatoes, onions, lettuce and I'm not sure what else. My friend Amy has a great garden at her house and I may just have to bother her husband for advice. Our yard isn't set up for a plotted vegetable garden but I'm thinking of growing things around the house as it works.
Flower Garden: This really goes with the last plan but I thought I'd separate it since it really is a bit different. We have a ton of ivy in our yard and I'd like to rip it all out. I spent a few days working on a spot last spring and although it was really time intensive, the results were fantastic. None of the ivy returned. I couldn't believe it. I want to move a few plants to different spots as I don't think they are getting the right amount of sun or are getting too much sun: the roses, the bleeding hearts, and the one that starts with a P that I just can't think of right now! I also want to move or eliminate some shrubs that are in bizarre places. There is also some bamboo that must be eliminated.

Photography: I have been taking some really terrible pictures lately. My camera has many functions and I used to love photography prior to digital. I need to learn to use my camera to its full usage. The nice thing about digital is that I can see the results of my attempts right away and I'm not wasting anything (except my time, perhaps!).
Health: This is always an ongoing struggle for me. I've already begun working on improving the health of our family by cooking healthier and going to the gym. My boys aren't interested in sports so we are active in other ways: biking, hiking and swimming. I'd like to get to the gym three times a week at a minimum. I'm signing the boys up for swimming lessons to improve their skill. Nolan is a very good swimmer but could use some help with a few of his strokes. Nathan can swim but needs more practice. They both could use the exercise.

School: I start classes on Wednesday toward my Special Ed/Elem. Ed Certification. I have quite a few classes to take so this will be a very long process. I found out that I have to take some elementary college courses because it has been so long since I've been in school: English Composition and Literature and two math classes. I actually wouldn't mind if it didn't add like a year or two to the process. I think the Composition class may help my writing so this isn't such a terrible thing. I'm going to see if these are online classes I can take.Sewing: This may surprise some of you but my sewing goals for 2009 include sewing LESS! I read a simplicity book once that recommended no more than three goals at a time. Otherwise none of them will be accomplished. I love to sew but the reality is that I often sew for pleasure only. This isn't a bad thing but if I really want to work on the other goals I think I need to cut back to sewing when needed. This may be difficult to do and by no means will I stop doing it but I think I'd like to finish up my few projects and give that room a good cleaning. I may need to utilize the table for writing papers!

Well, that's about it. Those are the plans that have been on my mind for quite a while and I wanted to get them written down before I head back to work. I picked up a few books from the library yesterday on birds and gardening. I hope to get the kids involved in both pursuits so I picked up a few kids books in the mix. Have a great Saturday and a fantastic start to the new year.

Bad News, Good News and Some Quilting

Well, the bad news first: we won't be moving to this house. Saturday we learned that someone made an offer on the house without a contingency like in our agreement. The seller obviously went with that offer. I had prayed for some guidance and we were given it. That is the good news: we are being led in a different direction. We had an amazing open house here on Sunday. We aren't 100% sure we are going to sell now that we've lost the other house but we are reevaluating our situation and are keeping the house on the market for now. We are taking a long hard look at what it is that we want to get out of moving. The biggest thing is a better financial future. God will lead.
Now for the quilting. I added a border to my Irish Chain quilt and am finished with the quilting in the plain blocks. You can see a close up in the top picture. I use a blue washable pencil to mark my pattern and it always makes me a little nervous. I'm always afraid the blue won't come out of the white but it always does. I do enjoy the hand quilting even though it takes longer than by machine. I will also quilt straight lines in the small squares and then a design in the border. The sun is shining today and it is a little warmer. I saw some bulbs peeking their little green stems out of the ground and that always makes me feel cheerful.

The other great news is that we have finalized our plans to vacation in Colorado in June. Mike's aunt and uncle own a home out there and have graciously invited our family to stay with them for a week. We are excited! Now I REALLY have to get in shape. I'm dedicated to walking everyday and really taking a look at my eating habits. Actually I'm going to be bugging the whole family about this. We don't want to be outdone by some 60 year olds!

Black Bean and Crab Bisque

I do not have a picture for this but wanted to share. I got this recipe out of one of my cook books but don't have the title of it handy. The recipe called for Guiltless Gourmet bean dip. I couldn't find this at all and so substituted as follows:

Black Bean and Crab Bisque

3 cups chicken broth
1 can (15 1/2 oz until they decide to change the amounts again so we don't know the price is going up) refried black beans (the kind I bought already had some zing added with peppers)
1 can (6 or 8 oz) crab
sour cream (optional)
green onions (optional)
Brandy (optional and I didn't use it and so I have no idea how much you were supposed to put in).

Soooooo easy: mix chicken broth with refried beans and cook until boiling. Add crab and cook until crab is warm. Eat. You can add sour cream and green onions to it prior to eating but I'm telling you the three ingredients are all you need. If you are a weight watcher the points are like three per serving (without the sour cream that is). Yum.

Oh, I think the brandy was to be mixed in with the crab. I don't know for sure. I don't like brandy and I have no idea how it would change the flavor. If you want to know, leave a comment and I'll hike to the kitchen and read the recipe again.

Try it, you'll like it. It has a nice little kick.

I hate to admit this but...

I've gotta slim down. I am now 20 pounds overweight. Probably more like 25-30 pounds over but I'm sticking with 20 for now. I wasn't going to blog about this since I generally make a resolution to eat less and eat healthier and then I don't. So I didn't want to make a big production out of saying I was going to lose weight and then not doing it. Buuuuut, then I thought to myself, why the heck not. Maybe it'll keep me focused or at least embarrassed enough to stay with the program.

Program, did I say program??? Yes, I'm desperate and realizing that I need a little (ok, a lot) of help. I probably went on my first "diet" when I was like 8 or something crazy like that. Do any of you remember that silly one where you had to eat a cup of red beets but then you could have a cup of ice cream? I did that one for a week with my mom where you ate exactly what they told you to eat (I just remember all the red beets). I actually stayed on the diet and didn't cheat but didn't lose a pound. That ended that. I did Slimfast once in college. That did work but I really hate drinking my meals. After my kids were born I went to Weight Watchers. Man did that work! I was also nursing like crazy and taking the kids for these insane walks in the double stroller everyday. I think it was the combination of running after toddlers, taking sanity walks and eating appropriately that did it. I was thinner than ever in my life.

What happened??? It didn't stick. A few years ago I discovered a program called Light Weigh.This is an amazing Catholic spiritual weight loss program. I lost about 15 pounds on that program as well at one point. It works. It also brings you closer to God. Major bonus points for that one. Of course you really need to follow the program for it to work. Boy, do I have trouble with that. Too many yummy foods out there.

So, what am I going to do????? I'm combining. I need the structure of Weight Watchers right now since I tend to eat junk food all day if left to my own devises. I am going to incorporate the spiritual aspects of the Light Weigh (prayer, Bible study and sacrifice) to my plan. Oh, and I will begin exercising again. I walk about 2 miles after I put Nolan on the bus. I'm already out there in the cold at 7:15am I might as well keep walking.

I may never post about this topic again, but then again, maybe I will (don't you love my resolve?). I am going to start a little side bar for some notes and maybe some recipes that I come across. Wish me luck (pray for me) and keep eating healthy!