Food

It seems my existence revolves around food.  Whether it’s eating it or preparing it for somebody else, it’s always in my forethoughts.  What shall we eat next?  What can I do to keep everybody eating their veggies?  How can I keep loosing weight?  What’s for dinner?  Jesus said not to worry about what we will eat or drink, but rather we should trust God, who knows we need these things.  I’ve been trying to take that approach and let my food prep be more spirit-led if you will.  I still make grocery lists and I still plan ahead (at least weekly) but I try to keep some things unplanned, so I can practice NOT worrying, instead I practice listening and letting the Holy Spirit inspire me.  It’s kind of fun, because surprisingly, He always gives me a good idea!  Always!

We joined a CSA this year.  That stands for Community Supported Agriculture.  Every week we get a gorgeous box full of organic, locally grown veggies and sometimes fruit.  It has been a tremendous blessing!  I don’t always know what to do with the bounty I get, but I’m learning!

Roasted CSA veggies with butter and seasonings.  Scrumptious!

I’ve got tomatoes coming out of my ears!  I find them in my CSA box, in my own garden and my neighbor brings them over!  So I decided to dehydrate some.  I read that I can pulverize them and use the powder to make tomato sauce and tomato paste.  They turned out so pretty that I might just keep them this way.

Besides tomatoes, I’ve been dehydrating apples, nectarines and pears.  I find dehydrating to be the easiest way (besides freezing) to preserve food.  No sugar is needed and I can just keep everything right in my big pantry.

I’ve also been freezing onions, peppers and berries.  Squash season is starting, my absolute favorite!

Bless the Lord , O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul and forget not all his benefits; who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles. Psalm 103: 1-5

He forgives, heals, redeems, crowns and feeds us! 

Bless the Lord, O my soul!

Joyfully,

Mrs. Taffy

More on Trim and Healthy Mama

I’ve been having fun with some of the different foods that are encouraged to eat on the Trim and Healthy Mama plan.  Each time something turns out yummy I want to share it because I’m such a visual person and there are no pictures of food in the book!

This is Slim Belly Jelly which sounds disgusting to me.  The belly jelly part, I have plenty of belly jelly excuse me, the point is to get RID of the belly jelly.  Ha! It’s not pretty like this jelly either and what I made is more like jam anyway.  lol  It’s basically fruit, water, stevia extract and glucomanan.  Simmered up and thickened and then stuck in a jar and put in the fridge.  EASY!  We like it on our Trim and Healthy Pancakes, stirred in our yogurt and on my new favorite love:  Chia Pudding!

I honestly didn’t know how I was going to feel about this.  It’s rather ugly and kind of lumpy, like tapioca (gag).  But I was willing to try since Chia is so nutritious and I just want to be healthy and keep up with all these little people!  I bought this particular Chia seed at Trader Joe’s and the recipe is:  1 cup milk (almond, coconut, whatever you like, I used almond) and 1/4 cup chia seeds.  Then you are supposed to add 1/4 cup honey but there’s NO way I’m going to do that so I added vanilla and stevia extra, like 8 drops and stirred it up.  You just stir it up and stick it in the fridge.  And a few hours later you have a yummy, creamy, slightly crunchy bed time snack!  This is how I served it:

Just added a plop of my blackberry sugar-free jam (aka slim belly jelly).  My husband says it has a little tapioca like texture, almost. The seeds are little crunchy, not so slimy.  He loved the flavor though!  I also bought some Chia seeds from Costco and the pudding I made from that looks even thicker.  The kids all want their own, how can I refuse them?

Strawberry and I hosted a luncheon for her blog writers and we made it an S luncheon (S for Satisfying or Fat).

Here’s what we had:

Cornbread Salad with Dill dressing

Maca-foni and Cheese

Lemon Coconut Cake

               

The cake was so much tastier than we expected, especially when it was chilled.  There was a lot of left over so Strawberry has been eating it for breakfast!  Amazing that eating cake for breakfast is approved for THM!

The is the “corn” bread.  I didn’t actually like it by itself, but mixed in the salad it was delicious.  I think whole wheat bread is so much prettier.  I only used half the loaf in the salad so I sliced up the leftovers and put them in the freezer, maybe it would make a good grilled turkey and cheese sandwich?!

And finally, I wanted to show you these weird low-carb “rolls.”  They are mostly made of eggs but are perfect for hamburger buns!!  Mr. Taffy really likes them!  I didn’t add cheese to these ones but the original recipe has cheese in them.  They go together VERY quickly.  I still think whole wheat rolls are more beautiful, but these will do for now. 

I gave him 2, with chicken burgers on them, a side of corn bread salad and watermelon.  Watermelon isn’t plan approved but it makes my husband happy and I’m not going to complicate his eating anymore than I already have!  lol  He’s lost almost 30 pounds in less than 6 weeks!

I’ve also got some pretty lofty fitness goals.  We cleared out our family room and sold all the furniture in it and turned it into a workout room.  The only thing that is in there is the TV and an X-box Kinect machine.  Mr. Taffy bought us a workout program for it and I’ve been working on getting stronger by punching blocks and kicking walls and jumping rope.  Jumping rope is so hard for me!  There are three levels and I’m determined to master each level.  Well, yesterday I met one of my personal goals and actually made it through the entire first level without 1) stopping.  2) peeing my pants!  I was so happy!  I’m going to keep at it, I’m think if I can make it all the way through the hardest level I’ll be ready for whatever Israel throws at me! 

The Battle is the Lord’s,

Mrs. Taffy

P.S.  I linked up the recipes in the pictures and text if you want to look at them!

Turkey Veggie Chili {THM-E}

I wish I would have added a little low-fat cheese to my chili before I took the photo, it would have been so much prettier!

Turkey Veggie Chili

1-2 pounds lean ground turkey

4-5 garlic cloves (minced)

1 large white onion (chopped)

1 medium bell pepper (chopped)

4 Large Carrots (sliced) (Carrots aren’t plan approved, but I eat them anyway because my body likes them and I personally don’t believe of all the things I’ve eat in my life that carrots are what made me fat!  lol )

2 Medium Zucchini's (sliced/chopped)

1-28 oz. diced tomatoes or 2-15 oz. cans of tomato sauce (my family doesn’t like the texture of tomatoes)

2 can of black beans

2 can of other beans (I used white kidney beans)

1-2 Tbsp. chili powder

2 tsp. garlic powder

1 Tbsp. Cumin

Sea Salt to taste

Fresh ground black pepper

1 tsp. xylitol or Truvia (opt.)

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

1) Heat olive oil in soup pot. Sauté onions and garlic, being careful not to burn garlic.

2) Add chopped peppers and sauté a few more minutes.

3) Add ground turkey, brown the turkey in the onion mixture and add all the spices except the salt. 

4) Add carrots and zucchini once turkey is browned and mix together well.

5) Pour beans and tomatoes and add any water if chili needs thinning.

6) Salt to taste and allow to simmer for a couple hours.

The non-THMer’s in my house got some nice organic tortilla chips along with their chili.  I also served low-fat shredded cheese and fat-free sour cream.  This is an E because of the beans and the tomato sauce and probably the carrots too, but I ignore those.  (smile)

I liked this recipe for several reasons:  Tons of veggies, high-protein, good-carbs, went together quickly, Mr. Taffy had seconds and it was so tasty that even Marshmallow LOVED it! 

Less of me and more of HIM,

Mrs. Taffy

Raspberry Lemon Mini Muffins {THM-S}

Since faithfully doing Trim and Healthy Mama for a month, I finally felt confident enough to be a little creative with a recipe from the book.  I’m not a very creative cook, I like recipes and directions.  Then if it doesn’t come out good…well, I can blame it on the recipe!  ha!  Good ole’ pride is the cause of that I’m pretty sure.  Anyway, this recipe is on page 264, in the chapter called Muffins, Breads and Pizza Crusts: Light White Muffins.

Here’s my adaption:

Mini Raspberry Lemon Muffins

2/3 cup coconut flour

1 tsp. baking powder

6 eggs

8 tsp. of Truvia (I used 8 little baggies, you can use more if you want too, I was trying to be frugal)

4 tbsp. coconut oil

3 1/2 tbsp. vanilla almond milk, unsweetened (I’m sure you could use anything here, coconut milk, half and half, etc.)

1 tsp. lemon extract

Zest from one lemon

Raspberries (I used fresh but I think frozen would be fine, they just might need to bake longer.)

1)  Add coconut flour and baking powder to food processor.  Pulse to combine.

2)  Add the rest of the ingredients except the raspberries.  Blend until smooth.

3)  Add one raspberry to each mini muffin cup.  Put a plop of muffin mix on top of raspberry.

4) Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes.

I haven’t had much experience baking with coconut flour.  I wasn’t sure how the muffins should look when baked.  I just kept checking them and lightly touching the tops to see if they were “set.”  I let them cool in the pan for a couple minutes and then popped them out to finish cooling on the cooling rack.  They are much less crumbly than I expected.

My plan is to take these to the beach on Tuesday’s.  Strawberry and I usually have a salad with turkey bacon and sliced turkey lunch meat.  We’ll add these little muffins (3 each) and we won’t feel like we are missing out on dessert! 

I’m not sure these will pass the hubby-test, he doesn’t like the taste of coconut, but the children all liked them.  I had to let them taste them, but I doubt I’ll be sharing any more after that!  ha! 

Less of me, more of HIM,

Mrs. Taffy

P.S.  If you are new to THM, the reason these are an S (fat) is because of the eggs and coconut oil.  That’s why this pairs good with a salad with salad dressing, which would also be an S (Fat).

Yucky Kale

I’ve been trying and trying and trying to like this superfood.  I just don’t like it.  Any way I make it, it’s still disgusting.  My least favorite vegetable, the only food that makes me gag when I try to swallow it:  Brussel sprouts.  I like Kale even less, though it doesn’t make me gag like Brussel Sprouts do.

I tried to make Kale Chips.  It’s in the Trim and Healthy Mama book, it’s on Pinterest, I have friends who rave about them.  Gag.

I was really careful to get all the stems off, spritz the leaves with olive oil and used this yummy vegetable seasoning that generally makes everything taste yummy.  Baked them until crispy.  They did have a nice crunch, but after the crunch, NASTINESS filled my mouth!

She didn’t like it either. She willingly tried them, with great expectation.  I ate mine before I shared them with everybody else, I thought maybe it was just me.  I promise, they didn’t see ME make this face!

“Can I spit this out?” 

Marshmallow seemed to like them, at first.  She stuffed quite a few in her mouth.

I even caught her sneaking a few.  Then I saw her spitting the kale out and putting the chewed up Kale back in the bowl.  Um…

Then she started making this face.  Yeah, no more Kale for her!  There were more Kale pieces on my floor than her mouth or stomach!

Maybe you have a suggestion?  I just can’t figure out how to eat this super food.  To me, it’s super-ly yucky!

The Battle is the Lord’s,

Mrs. Taffy

How to eat Trim and Healthy

It’s really easy, in a complicated way.  Your body burns either fats or carbohydrates.  It can’t use both energy sources so it ends up storing what it doesn’t need.  The Trim and Healthy way, simply put, is to not combine your carbs and fats.  And avoid all sugar.  The goal is to keep your blood sugar even, without the spikes.  In Trim and Healthy lingo:

Fat =S =Satisfying         Carbs=E=Energizing

Meals are built around lean proteins like:  fish, especially salmon, chicken, ground turkey, sometimes higher fat meats like roasts or ground beef.  Then you choose what kind of meal your having, either an S or an E.  How you build on your protein will determine the kind of meal it is.

For example:

This is an S dinner.  S for satisfying. It’s called Fooled Ya’ Pizza and the recipe is in the book.  The crust is made with cauliflower, egg whites and mozzarella. cheese.  I topped it with pesto sauce and chicken and cold tomatoes.  I love this so much I could eat it every day!  Marshmallow loves it too and often eats half of mine!  The recipe makes a 12 x 18 pan size, so I divide that up in thirds and make each third different for the person who is eating it:  Me, Strawberry or Mr. Taffy.  I make the rest of the kids a regular pizza like the one on my recipe page.  This is an S meal because of all the cheese.  Cheese = fat.

Here’s an example of an E meal.  E for Energizing.  It’s a BLT on sprouted grain (Ezekiel) bread.  I used turkey bacon and toasted the bread.  I used a little smear of low-fat mayo (don’t want to mix fats and carbs, but a little tiny bit of “light” is allowed) and it was delicious! I could eat this every day too!  ha!  It’s an E because of the bread.  Bread = Carbs.

Here’s an example of a S breakfast.  S for Satisfying.  It’s a Trim and Healthy Crepe, this recipe is in the book too.  I loaded it with fresh berries and put low-fat whip cream on top.  I think, because it’s already an S meal, I could have used full fat whip cream but I didn’t have any.  I ate 2 and was stuffed!  This meal is an S because of the whole eggs used.  Whole eggs = fat = satisfying.  Egg whites = nothing  (Okay maybe something but they are pretty insignificant and I can make a pretty mean egg white omelet, loaded with meat and veggies and give my husband a piece of toast with slim belly jelly and it becomes an E meal!)

One night I made this for dinner.  It’s my interpretation of Cheese Burger Casserole, Trim and Healthy style.  The bottom layer is steamed cauliflower.  Then I put a layer of turkey bacon, followed by cooked ground turkey, I sprinkled cheese on the top and warmed it all up in the oven.  I served it with ketchup (for the children) and chopped cold pickles for Mr. Taffy and I.  We had snow peas and fresh strawberries on the side.  It was delicious and I was stuffed. Because of the cheese, this meal was an S.  S for Satisfying.  S because of the Cheese.

There is so much more information in the book, I’m just barely scratching the surface here. I’m still learning and there are a fantastic group of women on Facebook that discuss these things and help each other figure stuff out.  If you are struggling with weight or just want to feel healthier, Trim and Healthy Mama might be what you’ve been looking for.  I don’t do everything correctly but I’m still have positive results so I must be doing enough correctly and that’s what matters most.

Since I’ve had so much extra energy, I already got the first two months of our next homeschool year planned.  I’ll share my plan in the next post.

The Battle is the Lord’s,

Mrs. Taffy

Trim and Healthy Mama & Daddy

You can easily search my weight loss label and read the story of my struggle with weight.  Yuck.  Truth be told.   I quit.  I quit trying.  I plateaued at 170 and I got discouraged.  So I quit.  And you know what quitting does, it makes you gain back weight.  Not all the weight thankfully but enough to make my clothes feel bad and to start getting more depressed about it.

Enter Trim and Healthy Mama.

This was my most favorite Christmas gift!  I really wanted it, it was so “expensive” in my mind and I was so worried about wasting money and never “doing” the book.  I was worried that these were vegetarians and that I could possibly do this with my big family at the same time.  It’s taken me a long time to get through this book, I’m not even completely done with it yet, but I’m getting there. 

I tried doing the plan for a while in February and was seeing results, but I needed my husband to be on board, it’s so much easier to do things when there is oneness in the house.

So three week ago, basically the day after we got back from our anniversary getaway we started living “to the Plan.”  Mr. Taffy is totally on board because he does not want to go to Israel as a 300 pound man.  Oh his aching feet!

Here’s my personal weight details in numbers:

213-Highest weight EVER.

170-Lowest weight that I could get to by counting calories.

189-The weight I went back up to because I quit.

178-The weight I’m at now since starting the plan three weeks ago.

That’s 11 pounds in 3 weeks!  And here’s the really cool thing, I’m not hungry all the time like I was when I was counting calories.  AND, I’m not shaky all the time like I was when I was counting calories.  AND, since I’ve given up all forms of sugar I don’t crave sweets anymore. That one still surprises me! 

This was my breakfast the other morning, along with a cup of coffee, sweetened with Stevia and half & half.

The plan has a learning curve that is pretty intense if you ask me, only because it goes against what you hear all the time and what you think you know.  As I approach my plateau number I’m honestly a little nervous, but at the same time I’m not because eating this way is a joy and it’s not complicated (once you get the hang of it) and it’s satisfying and I’ve noticed my body healing in other ways because of eating this way and that alone is worth the changes!

Wanna know more?  Either order your own book from Amazon or Above Rubies or you can read a little more about it here…next time.  (smile)

The Battle is the Lord’s,

Mrs. Taffy

Monday Munchies~Turkey & Cheese Roll-ups

 

These are an every once in a while snack I like to make.  I will only make them with the Trader Joe’s refrigerator crescent rolls though.  I’m just too much of a food snob, but I do NEED to do things simple sometimes, so when I do, I’m extra thankful for Trader Joe’s.

Super easy to make.  I take the crescent roll and before rolling it up I lay in a half slice of turkey lunch meat and a little bit of cheddar cheese.

Roll them up tightly and lay them on a lightly oiled cookie sheet.

Bake them at 350 until golden brown. Between 12-18 minutes.

Such an easy and semi-nutritious snack! (grin)

The teens really love these too!

Now go feed somebody!

Mrs. Taffy