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

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

Monday Munchies~Cinnamon Almonds

So this recipe doesn’t exactly pass my health food test, but  there are some aspects of it that is healthy, like the almonds. And egg whites.  This is a special snack I like to make that can:

1} Incorporate the help of children.

2} Replace buying junk food when going on a field trip

3}And make the house smell incredibly good.

Cinnamon Almonds

Ingredients:

6 cups unsalted almonds

2 egg whites

2 tsp. vanilla

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup organic sugar or turbinado

3 Tbsp. Cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

Begin by beating two egg whites with the vanilla.  Stir in the almonds real good.

In a separate bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients together. 

Next, spray your crock pot with olive oil and dump in the almonds, pouring the sugar mixture on top.  Stir. Stir.  Stir.

Set the crock pot to low.  We put our almonds in at 7:45 am and they were done by noon.  They need to be stirred occasionally, a perfect task for a wiggly homeschooled child.  When they are done, spread them on parchment paper or wax paper to cool.

When they are cooled off and deliciously crunchy eat some and then store the rest in an air tight container.

I made these on the day we were going to the Science Museum.  We don’t normally eat a snack in the evening but being as we were going to be up late I figured the kids were going to need a little something extra.  A sweet, nourishing treat that makes their souls and mouths happy.

No go nourish someone!

The Battle is the Lord’s,

Mrs. Taffy

Monday Munchies~Dreamy Creamy Orange Pops

I see a lot of Meal Plan Monday posts, but my menu is too boring to share, I did think maybe it would be fun to start a series with simple and nutritious snacks, one of the areas I struggle with.  We only do 1 snack a day.  3 meals. 1 snack. But have a hard time planning snacks, sometimes, well, most of the time, they (the children and the prep) make  just as big of a mess as a meal!

So to start off the series here is an easy and fun snack.  More of a summer treat really, but here in Minnesota we enjoy cold treats in the winter too.

           

Dreamy Creamy Orange Pops

Ingredients:

2 cups unsweetened coconut milk

1/2 a container of frozen orange juice (100% juice)

3 Truvia packs

1 tsp. Vanilla

Popsicle holder thingy-mabobs.

Put everything in the blender and mix it up.  Poor it in the popsicle thingy-mabobs and freeze.  So EASY!

I gave some to my teens when they were watching a movie one night, they LOVED them!  Obviously Marshmallow loved them too!  And I didn’t feel any guilt about feeding them to her!

Now, remember what I said about the mess…here’s proof.

I am some kind of messy cook, that’s for sure!

Now go nourish someone!

The Battle is the Lord’s,

Mrs. Taffy