A Sweet Smoothie For That Sweet Tooth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A while back my mom and I were thinking of doing the Dr. Oz 48 hour cleanse just to see if it would help shake us out of the winter blues. Well, we decided that before we committed ourselves to it, that we would sample the recipes from it first to see if we even liked them. I mean, why do a cleanse when you cannot stand the taste, smell or even the look of the things you will be consuming for the next two days?

Lucky for us most of the recipes were actually GOOD. In fact today I am bringing you my fave from the whole bunch. I know, flaxseed in a smoothie??? Believe it or not this is what I am now using to curb my sweet tooth, maybe it can help you do the same. I have yet to see if this will fall into my Paleo diet that I am working myself into, but if it does not… this will be the one thing I break the rules with. LOL

And now for the recipe!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Oz’s Banana Blueberry Smoothie

Ingredients:

½ cup almond or hemp milk (plain/unsweetened)
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed or chia
¼ cup frozen blueberries
¼ banana
½ cup ice

Directions:

Combine all ingredients into blender and blend until smooth.

Pretty simple huh? I do mine a tad bit different though. I actually only end up using about 4 ice cubes, I use the vanilla almond milk (because I can never seem to find plain almond milk! Grr!) into mine and I put half of a banana instead of the 1/4. And yes, I do eat the other half while I am making my smoothie!

If you would like to give the Dr. Oz 48 hour cleanse a shot, I say go for it! It is actually not as bad as you would think! I think I spent more time dreading it than I actually spent doing it.

Here is the link to the page. It is several pages, so make sure you click through them all to get all of the info!

Dr. Oz’s 48 Hour Cleanse

If you try this smoothie out, please come back and let me know what you think!

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Love Green Onions? Here’s How To Regrow Them So You Never Have To Buy Them Again!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How can you have a baked potato with cheese and sour cream without a bunch of green onions sitting on top?

I LOVE these things!

If you are like me you probably buy a bunch at least once or twice a week. Recently I was told about a way to regrow these so that I would never have to buy them again! I gave it a shot and it worked!

Ok, so here’s what you do:

Cut the onions down to the white area, leaving about 2-3 inches of the onions and the roots.

As you can see in the pic below, you put the onions into a glass, bowl or whatever you have that they can stand up in and add water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Five days in and these guys are ready to be cut and used once again!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Make sure you change the water daily or you will have a VERY potent onion smell roaming through your kitchen. I found this out the hard way. LOL

After my first “harvest” I decided to plant them in soil instead of continuing with the water, although I am told you can continue the water way for quite a while. I used a 2 liter to plant these in and they have been growing so well. I usually trim them twice a week! Beats going to the store and buying them when I can just grow them in my office window. :o)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We rent the house that we are currently in so having a garden in the back yard is not possible. I am going to cover indoor gardening in one of my next blogs and explain the whole 2 liter planting idea. It works great and I think you all will love it! Especially if you are a renter like myself.

If you give this a try, please come back and let me know how it works out for you!

Posted in Growing Your Own Goods, Hints & Tips | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

One More Time!

I have fallen behind again in posting, ugh.   Got so much stuff to share with everyone and so many cool projects I have started!  Hoping to get caught up soon, have several days off coming up so I should be able to at least get a few updates going.  :o)  Please check back!!!

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Several X-Rays and Doctor Visits Later…

I know many of you had been wondering what happened to me, well, let’s just say that I have going through Hell and back and I am now back!

When you have problems with your feet, your world if completely altered and that’s what happened to me. I was having horrible, sharp pains in my right foot to the point that it drove me to tears. When you work in a casino like I do, you are on your feet all the time and this was a big problem. While standing 8 hours behind a gaming table I would often pull the “flamingo stance” as I called it. I would stand on my left foot and literally prop up my right foot like a flamingo would as this was the only way I could take pressure off of it.

Walking, standing, taking stairs… all of it caused pain. If I sat down for more than 10 minutes and got back up, the pain was even worse! I was basically SOL at this point and finally made it to the doctor. After several x-rays and many visits later I was told that I have multiple bone spurs, bone deterioration and arthritis. As you can imagine, I was not a happy girl.

I was set to a podiatrist for more x-rays and tests. Then to my surprise I was told that I also had Morton’s Neuroma. Could they add anything else to this list? No wonder my foot was killing me!

A few shots in the foot later, some bulky foot padding, pain meds, numb toes and lots of limping around, my foot was finally somewhat tolerable again! My foot is still not 100%, but I will take 40% over nothing any day! My next appointment is on May 8th and I am praying that they will tell me that things are looking better and that this will somehow heal. I know, not likely, but I can hope! :o)

I am going to go into greater detail on my foot issues in later posts. I have been doing some research and it does seem that these symptoms are common in many over weight people. Maybe my experience and the information that I have gathered along the way can help someone else out. :o)

After all of the previous issues, I feel like I can actually start to get myself back on track again. For the past few years I have tried every flippin diet, pill and fad out there to lose this weight. Final results… mostly failures. The ones that actually kinda worked always ended up in a plateau and the weight came back shortly after.

May 1st is the start of my new diet and way of living. I am hoping if I can stick to this that it will get me off all of my meds and maybe, just maybe I can kick all of the medical problems I have racked up along the way.

So here’s to a new beginning and a healthy me. :o)

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I Know I Have Said It Before, But I’m Back!!!

I know I have been saying I would be updating for a while now, but I have had several medical issues that I ended up having to deal with.  Looks like all things are finally on their way to becoming better and I will have the time to start updating again.  :o)

I decided that yesterday, May 1st, was going to be the beginning of a new me.  And so far, so good!  I will explain all the details in my next update or two.  I am also going to post about some of the problems I have had along the way to see if anyone else has had the same issues because I am kind of wondering if they are all somehow related to weight and weight gain.

Will post again soon!!!  :o)

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And Here I Go Again!

After many failed attempts at diets and work out programs, I took a nice long break and I am back again!

On January 20th I weighed in for the The Transform Your Body Challenge V: ABocolypse. This will be attempt #5 for me on the challenge. I plan on actually completing this one! LOL

Of course I am not all that excited with my weigh in weight since it is much higher than I weighed earlier in the year. My weigh in weight was 242 lbs, which I guess I am actually kinda happy about considering my scale showed 246 two days before that.

I have been making and testing out several recipes and cannot wait to share them with everyone! I love the fact that it does not taste like food that I would eat while I am on a diet. It actually has flavor!! You know the food is great when you cannot wait to make it again and do not dread the taste. :o)

I will be trying my best to update as much as I can. Between the traveling, spring cleaning and recipe making I am not sure how much I will be updating, but will try to as much as I can!

Welp, I am back home in Cross Lanes for the night so I better go spend some time with the family. :o)

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2012… A New Year and A New Beginning

Time to stop making excuses and start making progress!

I will be making my return in the next few days after a much needed break.  See you all soon!!

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Pumpkin-Oat Bread – Weight Watchers Recipe

Since it feels like autumn here in West Virginia, I am craving pumpkin! What better way to start off the fall season than with pumpkin-oat bread?!

This recipe will make 24 servings of this yummy bread! Each piece is 4 points for my Weight Watchers friends!!!

Here I will take you step by step thru the recipe:

Pumpkin-Oat Bread – Weight Watchers recipe

Ingredients

Cooking Spray
1/2 cup regular butter, softened
1 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs, beaten
2 cups canned pumpkin
1/4 tsp table salt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice, or more to taste
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups uncooked quick oats
2 1/2 tsp baking soda
24 walnut halves

I add a few dashes of cinnamon and nutmeg to mine!

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°. Coat a 10×15 inch dish with cooking spray.

In a large bowl mix butter and sugar until it becomes light and fluffy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not looking so yummy yet huh?

Add eggs and canned pumpkin to the above mixture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking a little better!!

Add salt, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg and cinnamon (if used) and mix well.

 

 

 

 

 

In a separate bowl I add my flour and oats. You can mix them all in one big bowl if you choose, but I found that it seems to be easier to mix the wet and dry mixes separate.

 

 

 

 

 

Combine the two mixes into one large bowl. This will take a good bit of stirring to get it all mixed well.

 

 

 

 

 

Next, pour the batter into your baking dish. I section mine off by making 4 lines long ways and 5 short ways so I have my portions already figured out before I bake. I just think it makes it easier for when you add your walnuts on top. :o)

 

 

 

 

 

Once you add your walnuts, pop this sucker in the oven and bake it for approximately 40 minutes. I have a gas stove so after 30 minutes I usually give it a peak and test it with a toothpick.

 

 

 

 

 

Ta-da!!! All done! Doesn’t this look amazing?!

 

 

 

 

 

If you give this a try at home, please come back and let me know what you think! I am currently working on a print out version so check back for it!

Posted in Recipes, Weight Watchers | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Please Help Nick The Cat! He Is Currently Accepting Donations!!!

Now how could anyone stand to see this precious little face in pain??

This hit kinda close to home for me because my kitty went through the same thing just a few months ago so I can totally understand the worry that is being experienced here!!

Nick’s mommy and brothers would love to have him back home instead of stuck at the vet.  :o(

Please, if you can donate a dollar or two!  All you have to do is give up that big mac for one day!!  ;o)

To visit Nick on Facebook please head over here:

If you would like to make a donation, please follow the link below:

http://www.chipin.com/widget/id/1cec84855ae5a26b

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My Weight Watchers Update…. IT IS FINALLY HERE!!! LOL

Alright, so I am finally back!! The past few days have been a tiny bit rough, but you know what? Screw the dumb people that seem to try to go out of their way to hurt my feelings. Karma is a bitch people and she is one of my bestest friends! ;o)

Back to the Weight Watchers update that I have been trying to get together!

My first goal weight for WW is 228 lbs, or 5% of my beginning weight. I have been literally hanging around 229 for the past 2 weeks and it is really starting to piss me off! LOL That last pound of this goal has been the biggest pain in the butt… I know that it probably does not help that I get those little cravings for certain fast foods, but all in all I have behaved compared to where I was.

My weigh in is tomorrow and I honestly would not be surprised if I am not back over 230 after the past few days I have had. Let’s just say a girls night out was much needed and Applebee’s was calling my name!

I intend to get back on track starting Wednesday, figured I better wait until after we hit the state fair. Mmmm… funnel cakes….. :o)

I have all of my recipes gathered and am going to start baking some of the breads and other things that I know can be kept for longer periods of time tonight so they will be ready to go when I am ready to get back on track.

When I am at work I have been hitting my frozen meals and I am not gona lie… the Smart Ones meals are REALLY good! Usually I hate frozen dinners, but these do not taste like cardboard! And their sundae snacks…. OMG. WOW… yeah, they are great! They are only a few points and you feel like you are having a cheat day with them! So if any of you get that sweet tooth and want something chocolate, I suggest the chocolate chip cookie sundae!

Most of the meals run around $2.00 each at Walmart and hit the $3.00 mark if they have more meat in them. Most of your breakfast meals are right around $3.00 as well. I adore the mini pizzas! The great thing about them is that they come with 2 servings per pack so you are getting 2 meals in the box instead of one! Yay!!!

If you are a big fan of these meals or just wana try a few and save some money, I have some coupons for you! Always nice to be on a diet and be able to save at the same time. ;o)

Buy 5 meals and save $1.00

Buy 10 meals and save $3.00

Buy 12 meals and save $5.00 (Yes, this is the one I use all the time!)

You can usually print these 2 times, sometimes more!

If you have trouble printing these, please let me know and I will help you out the best that I can.

Alrighty, I am off to do some cooking! Will post the recipes and some photos shortly!!

Posted in Coupons, Getting Started, Hints & Tips, Weight Watchers | Tagged , | Leave a comment