I'd really like to get this! If only someone would buy it for me and I'd also like a watch with a heart rate monitor. Thank you!
Monday, December 12, 2011
Pancakes!
they never fail to come out fluffy!
I couldn't sleep last night so I was up pretty early and I decided to make pancakes since my husband was heading to work by 4:30, so I got up at 3:30 and made pancakes!
I made them from scratch and I always use the same recipe, it's great!
Here's the recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/good-old-fashioned-pancakes/detail.aspx
I love ALLRECIPES.COM!
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Lentil Soup - Lebanese Style
I made lentil soup differently today and I think it tasted great! With a couple of alterations I made this soup my own.
My yummy soup!
Alterations:
Used brown lentils instead of red (because I used the ones we had)
Instead 3/4 cup lemon juice I added small amounts at a time and tasted
Added 1 cup chopped spinach
Added coriander spice
Added more cumin
Added more cayenne pepper
Recipe:
If you like lemon flavored food you'll like this, if you don't you might just exclude the lemon juice!
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Run, run, run...
Running is something I'd like to someday day be good at and dedicated to. I wish I just had it in me to run miles, but I don't which is unfortunate so I have to train and some how find the motivation to keep at it. What sucks about this transformation is that I picked horrible weather to do it in, almost winter and full blown winter in middle of my program. If I get through this program that consist of 9 weeks of running/ walking that shows dedication.
The program I decided to use is called C25k Pro and it's an app on my phone that trains a beginner how to run. It consist of run/ walking for 3 days a week in a 9 week spread. It's pretty much a program that has you walk say 1 min, then run 2 mins for 30 mins every other day. Every week adds more time running and less walking until you get to the 9th week, which by that point the program has you running the whole 30 minutes.
So as of right now I'm on Week 2 Day 1, but I have decided to go ahead and start over because I have n't been running consistently every other day. Tomorrow will be Week 1, Day1 and I will post again tomorrow about my experience I will say that my initial first week I had a lot of knee pain hopefully this wont be the same issue.
Adios!
Botanical Garden, Fort Worth
Our first time all together at the Botanical Garden.. more like the inside conservatory!
(it's too cold to walk around in this weather)
Chris and Grace doesn't she look warm :)
wow do I look big, remind me to never wear such a loose coat!
Grace was sucking away at her fist.
I decided to hide behind her.
Chris' favorite plant! Look at the squared leaves.
Grace and that fist!
Great day spent with our little family!
Pictures taken by Chris.
Fettuccine Alfredo & Bread
I made fettuccine alfredo with chicken yesterday and it tasted fine, but just wasn't that flavorful. I also made bread that came out "just fine" and I blame the flour for that!
So yesterday I found a blog (again) with tons of recipes promoting health & fitness and (I'm a sucker for those) since I to am trying to live a healthier life style, I decided to try out her recipe, but as I said earlier it was a bit flavorless in my opinion and I think it had a lot to do with everything being fat- free or low fat which is less calories and that's good for me, but bad for my taste buds. It for example asked for fat-free cream cheese, low fat milk well not necessarily asking for BUT suggested the use of these items and I of course was a go for that! Anyhow I'm not saying it was bad it was quite delicious I could eat it again without any alteration but people who want flavorful fettuccine wont get it here, at least not with this recipe. Here are the recipe and some picture of my pasta!
(Here's the recipes for the Fettuccine Alfredo, some might like it more than other, but on the plus side it's healthier then the regular one and I would eat it again. Also I added chicken and cherry tomatoes to mine)
http://mamagrubbsgrub.blogspot.com/2011/12/fettuccine-alfredo-with-mushrooms-and.html
This was dinner and my lunch today that included a smaller portion of pasta and green tea!
On to the "BREAD"
I found a website with instructions, pictures and all and I still managed to mess up somewhere because my bread didn't get very big and I'm thinking it had to do with the flour. I bought whole wheat grain bread flour (me TRYING to be healthy) so it was very grainy and dry. I think next time I will use regular bread flour if I can find it, for some reason I didn't see it in Walmart. Anyone know how it looks? I didn't see one called "bread flour" but bread still tasted good just not big enough to make sandwiches. This bread came out more like bread you eat with meals and wipe your plate clean with lol.
Here are some pictures.
Next placed in oven
After about 45 mins I got 2 small loafs of bread! They are tasty, just not big but not to shabby for my first attempt at bread making WITHOUT a bread maker.
So yesterday I found a blog (again) with tons of recipes promoting health & fitness and (I'm a sucker for those) since I to am trying to live a healthier life style, I decided to try out her recipe, but as I said earlier it was a bit flavorless in my opinion and I think it had a lot to do with everything being fat- free or low fat which is less calories and that's good for me, but bad for my taste buds. It for example asked for fat-free cream cheese, low fat milk well not necessarily asking for BUT suggested the use of these items and I of course was a go for that! Anyhow I'm not saying it was bad it was quite delicious I could eat it again without any alteration but people who want flavorful fettuccine wont get it here, at least not with this recipe. Here are the recipe and some picture of my pasta!
(Here's the recipes for the Fettuccine Alfredo, some might like it more than other, but on the plus side it's healthier then the regular one and I would eat it again. Also I added chicken and cherry tomatoes to mine)
http://mamagrubbsgrub.blogspot.com/2011/12/fettuccine-alfredo-with-mushrooms-and.html
This was dinner and my lunch today that included a smaller portion of pasta and green tea!
On to the "BREAD"
I found a website with instructions, pictures and all and I still managed to mess up somewhere because my bread didn't get very big and I'm thinking it had to do with the flour. I bought whole wheat grain bread flour (me TRYING to be healthy) so it was very grainy and dry. I think next time I will use regular bread flour if I can find it, for some reason I didn't see it in Walmart. Anyone know how it looks? I didn't see one called "bread flour" but bread still tasted good just not big enough to make sandwiches. This bread came out more like bread you eat with meals and wipe your plate clean with lol.
Here are some pictures.
I combined the hot"ish" water with flour, salt, sugar, yeast, oil making what they call the "sponge"
(not in that order)
Then I keep mixing more flour and kneading for about 8 mins! You need some elbow grease for that
oh bread maker where are you....
Went on a run since it need 45 mins to rise...
45 mins later...it has risen! Wait it's not that big :-/
What went wrong??
I kneaded then left in a warm spot covered with a moist cloth!
I then "punched" it and divided into two bread pans and placed it in a warm place and let it rise for awhile.
Next placed in oven
After about 45 mins I got 2 small loafs of bread! They are tasty, just not big but not to shabby for my first attempt at bread making WITHOUT a bread maker.
This is Chris doing a comparison with his big finger...oh so tiny!
I fell off the band wagon AGAIN!
Sorry I keep forgetting to post! Lets get you updated with everything that has gone on these past couple days and I will do this by publishing several post today. Lets begin with today...well today was pretty eventful (and when I say eventful, I mean I got more stuff done then usual ,WOW do I sound boring) I got more of our laundry done and some cleaning but of course my kitchen seems to be a never ending task. I clean the kitchen several times a day depending on how much I cook, if my dish washer worked it would be a time saver but it doesn't. Our new addition to our family my sweet, chubby baby Grace is quite a handful and she require all the attention from mommy and daddy especially when he comes home from work. Today she was very content sitting in her bouncer for at least 30 mins, and it was wonderful I even caught for on video, it was adorable she was cooing and kicking!
After that I kept on my laundry project and yes it's a project because that too is never ending! If only clothes instantly washed itself and dinner of course was in order, must have food on the table for my hard working husband. I began making enchiladas and ended up with a taco salad. How did that happen you may ask? Well I decided to pick a recipe off a blog which I do on occasions, but usually I play it safe and pick something off allrecipes.com they rate and comment all the recipes, so I always pick the most popular and with best best rating. Today I decide not to go the safe route and well lets say this "new" recipe I picked to make enchiladas was horrible but I improvised. The enchiladas sauce was a fail but thankfully I hadn't done anything to the meat so I used it and made some homemade tortilla chips, cut up some lettuce, grabbed the sour cream, cheese and salsa that I made earlier this week and BAM I had a meal and my husband was full and happy, as was I.
I forgot to mention since I did have Grace a couple months ago I am trying to eat healthier TRYING key word so my plate is the one with no cheese but sadly does have sour cream, good thing is it's low fat.
Things I suggest to improve this meal even for us next time I make it.
1. lean meat
2. fat- free cheese, fat- free sour cream (or none at all)
3. Add more veggies! (we usually use tomatoes but we were out at the moment)
4. Make tortilla chips at home, use whole wheat tortillas and no salt! (just a thought)
I could have or would've done these things if I has access to them but since I was trying to budget I decided to use what we had at home instead of running to the store.
oh! and tortilla chips were easy to make, my husband came up with the idea when I realized we didn't have chips. Get couple tortillas cut them into 4's, place in a shallow baking pans like a cookie sheet I guess and lightly coat them in olive oil, then add little salt place in oven for 400- 450 degrees for couple minutes and you have homemade chips! I still need to perfect it but they were still good!
After that I kept on my laundry project and yes it's a project because that too is never ending! If only clothes instantly washed itself and dinner of course was in order, must have food on the table for my hard working husband. I began making enchiladas and ended up with a taco salad. How did that happen you may ask? Well I decided to pick a recipe off a blog which I do on occasions, but usually I play it safe and pick something off allrecipes.com they rate and comment all the recipes, so I always pick the most popular and with best best rating. Today I decide not to go the safe route and well lets say this "new" recipe I picked to make enchiladas was horrible but I improvised. The enchiladas sauce was a fail but thankfully I hadn't done anything to the meat so I used it and made some homemade tortilla chips, cut up some lettuce, grabbed the sour cream, cheese and salsa that I made earlier this week and BAM I had a meal and my husband was full and happy, as was I.
I forgot to mention since I did have Grace a couple months ago I am trying to eat healthier TRYING key word so my plate is the one with no cheese but sadly does have sour cream, good thing is it's low fat.
Things I suggest to improve this meal even for us next time I make it.
1. lean meat
2. fat- free cheese, fat- free sour cream (or none at all)
3. Add more veggies! (we usually use tomatoes but we were out at the moment)
4. Make tortilla chips at home, use whole wheat tortillas and no salt! (just a thought)
I could have or would've done these things if I has access to them but since I was trying to budget I decided to use what we had at home instead of running to the store.
oh! and tortilla chips were easy to make, my husband came up with the idea when I realized we didn't have chips. Get couple tortillas cut them into 4's, place in a shallow baking pans like a cookie sheet I guess and lightly coat them in olive oil, then add little salt place in oven for 400- 450 degrees for couple minutes and you have homemade chips! I still need to perfect it but they were still good!
Monday, December 5, 2011
Recipes
I will try to add some of my favorite recipes in one post if possible.
Tuna Patties
I used this recipe as a guideline
Only things I did different was added
3 cans of tuna instead of 2
3 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp tuna water instead of reg water
2 tbsp parsley flakes seasoning instead of fresh parsley
1 tbsp minced onion (dried seasoning) instead of chives, green onion etc
2 tbsp of plain bread crumb instead of bread peices
And no butter at all just olive oil
3 cans of tuna instead of 2
3 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp tuna water instead of reg water
2 tbsp parsley flakes seasoning instead of fresh parsley
1 tbsp minced onion (dried seasoning) instead of chives, green onion etc
2 tbsp of plain bread crumb instead of bread peices
And no butter at all just olive oil
All this made 4 tuna patties
I made tuna patties for the first time and they were very easy & delicious to make!
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| Ingredients but I forgot to include the extra virgin olive oil |
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| the original recipe say to let them cool to prevent them from falling apart but I just went ahead and put them in the pan and they came out fine. |
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| put the patties in some olive oil |
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| let them brown before taking them out they were sticking a little at first because I didn't put enough olive oil , so make sure to put enough ;) |
Tomato Soup & Broccoli
I'm sure this would be really good if it was homemade but I just bought tomato soup , boiled broccoli, and some reduced fat wheat thins so warm.
Chicken & Spinach Pizza!
My husband and I both enjoyed it not too many calories at all I bought a whole wheat crust
Healthy green smoothie & tasty!
I created this as something healthy to drink before or after working out but it's good anytime of the day.
My green smoothie! Healthy.
2 cups spinach
Small handful of baby carrots
3/4 cup almond milk (either sweetened or unsweetened)
1 tbsp flax seed
1 tsp peanut butter (optional but it some protein I sometimes add whey protein instead)
(blend all these items first)
1 banana
couple strawberries
(blend again)
4 ice cubes
Pumpkin Cookies!
These cookies are my weakness, just looking at them makes me hungry and the recipe is easy to make!
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| so yummy! |
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| the first batch I made I didn't put frosting on them the second, third, fourth time I made them I can imagine the load of calories with all that on them but it was good. |
Okay guys got a bit tired so to be continued.
Herb Beef Tenderloin
Today I made tenderloin and it was the first time I've dealt with this kind of meat but it came out good!
I have the recipe in the link below and some images.
Long Time.
Well it's been a long time since I been on here blog, I didn't mean to neglect you! Past few months have been an experience, let see I got married. had a baby, quit my job, we moved, and I became a mother, cook, wife, self-employed & part-time web designer and a striving to be a runner. I have started doing a lot of different things from my norm of a year ago. For one I'm a fairly good cook & baker and I will try my best to keep you'll updated and once in awhile post recipes, well I might do that today. I'm in a blogging mood. My daughter Grace is 3 month and 2 weeks old and is slobbering, and chewing on everything she grabs, my husband works full-time and we moved from an apartment to a cute small house. I will continue to share my journey with you!
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| She was trying to grab it and chew on it! |
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| I had to get a picture of her laying on my baby blanket |
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| In Missouri visiting the grandparents for the first time since she was born. |
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| At her uncle Dougs' house |
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Life..
I wonder about life and look back at my life and what I haven't finished, what I still want to do and I wonder is it selfish to still want all that. Especially with everything coming up this month. It's going to be full of challenges for my little family because we are packing, moving to a house in a unknown area, and having a new addition to family, while I also take some online courses.
I feel like I had so much that I could have done and didn't, due to my lack of motivation, laziness, and some obstacles I either couldn't get past or I stopped trying to conquer and now with a new baby coming I wonder what else i will or will not do? This life wont be about me anymore it is about my husband and my newborn child. I will devote myself to husband fully and my sweet baby Grace and her needs because I want her to have everything I didn't and to have positive people in her life. I wan't her to do everything I couldn't and to be happy with life, all life little things...
I pray our Lord helps me be the wife I need to be and the mother my child deserves. I'm still new to all of this but it will be a journey I take...through the good and the bad because of the love I have for my family.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Our precious baby is on the way!
Many people might know and some might not but I'm pregnant and it has been quiet an experience. I'm 35 weeks today and only 2 weeks away from being consider full term. I remember my first couple of months of pregnancy and, how terrified I was of losing the baby, I don't know if every new mother goes through that but I sure did. I watched everything I did and made sure I did nothing to hurt my self such as; straining, stressing and so on. It was weird because it didn't really hit me that I was really pregnant and a little human being was growing in me, I knew she was there, but never really felt like she was until I was about 5months and I finally began to have a baby bump, a very small one at that. I started feeling the little flutters in my belly and I now heard heartbeats and my heart melted because it hit me, it was real, I was having a baby. I love my baby and I enjoy feeling and seeing her move. Once in awhile I'll play classical music and sometime I'll just lay in bed so her daddy and I can feel and see her move. I remember the first time I felt her move and I was sure of it I was probably 20wks or so when I felt like something was rolling in my belly they say babies do somersaults in the womb and I guess that is what she was doing or at least it felt that way. I haven't taken any prego picture like in professional pics and don't know if I will because life has just been to busy for us right now. I was put on maternity leave this month and we are looking for a house and well baby is on the way but I think I'm okay with it. We are starting to buy some baby items on top of some gift we got earlier last month and we have a car seat coming as a gift so overall we are doing good I think. At this point I'm just ready to hold my baby in my arms :) we've done so much bonding through the nice flutters to the painful rolls she does now but I love it all the entire experience has been great.
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| I was 21 week pregnant here. |
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| Me at 34 weeks |
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| My baby girl This was the first sonogram I was given on a cd. |
Sunday, July 10, 2011
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