DGMETT Blueberry Cobbler: YUM!

Trust me on this. Really.

I followed this recipe along with the advice from one of the reviewers and it's just so so so easy and SO DAMN TASTY. Really.

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons butter

• 3/4 cup + 1 Tb. all-purpose flour

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 3/4 cup milk

• 3 cups frozen blueberries

• 1 Tb. sugar

Directions

• Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position, and heat oven to 350 degrees.

• Put butter in an 8-inch square or 9-inch round pan; set in oven to melt. When butter has melted and browned a little, remove pan from oven.

• Whisk flour, 3/4 cup of sugar, baking powder and salt in small bowl. 

• Add milk; whisk to form a smooth batter.

• Add blueberries to butter in pan. 

• Pour batter atop berries.

• Sprinkle with remaining 1 Tb. of sugar.

• Bake until batter browns and fruit bubbles, 50 to 60 minutes.

Let cool a bit before diving in. I ate this without any ice cream but holy cannoli I can imagine how awesome a scoop of vanilla would be atop this warmed cobbler!

and i'm not even PMSing

Unwrapping the foil makes me happy.

Giddy.

Pulling down the paper sides makes me salivate.

Foolish.

Resting the silkiness between my thumb and middle fingers makes me impatient.

Gluttonous.

Popping it into my mouth makes me calm.

Peaceful.

Being deliberate about allowing the sweet and salty to melt into all my senses… Well, that’s just down right electrifying.

come to momma!

Orgasmic.





linking this bad boy up with the fine folks at Trifecta.

TILTW: 4.6-4.12.2013

Lovie’s dreams will be coming true on Mother’s Day when she gets to dress in the pinkest, princessiest (I know it’s not a word), gaudiest, ugliest pink frilly dance costume my eyes have ever seen. Like, my eyes burned when I saw the dress. Blech. But she couldn’t be more excited about getting to wear it... just not so sure she realizes she’ll be on a stage with an audience. (I tried talking with her about this just last night and she was all, “What’s a stage? What’s a recital?” I’m new to this whole Dance Mom thing so I’m not sure if I’m supposed to be making her practice and really, if I am, I haven’t a clue what. They read from Angelina Ballerina for a couple of minutes then do random dance stuff or something at ballet on Saturdays—all this while I’m peering in through a tiny window when other Dance Moms aren’t glued to it.)

 

My baby won’t stop growing. I’m not just now realizing this but… A) she’s pretty much completely potty trained to the point that she even goes by herself and is waking up dry, B) she’ll be moving into her big girl bed as soon as daddy puts it together and the thought of my girl in a real bed and not a crib with its side down almost makes me teary.

 

 

The invites for my BFF's baby shower went out end of last week and so far only one person isn't coming and that's because she'll be flying out to be with my cousin in person. I'm getting super excited about this shower, and thanks to Pinterest, have lots of decor and food ideas for the shower found on my partay ideas page, as well as my baby shower ideas page.

 

 

Last night I made the easiest, yummiest dinner: Schmarren.

 

 

 

It's like a thick pancake with fruit compote atop (so the juices can soak into the pancake-y part!). Probably doesn't look or sound yummy to most, but it's been a good 15 years since I've had it (Oma used to make it during lunch visits) and I was elated to find that it was so darn simple to make and just as good as I remembered.

 

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GUEST POST: Coconut Butter Poached Lobster Served with Delicious Smoked Clams and Cauliflower Recipe

Written by Kendra Thornton

Coconut Butter Poached Lobster Served with Delicious Smoked Clams and Cauliflower Recipe

Without doubt, the best vacation of my life is the most recent one we spent at the stunning Kimpton Hotel ranked amongst some of the top hotels in Miami. I wanted to take a taste of our amazing experiences back home to share with everyone in Chicago, so I was thrilled when I discovered this decadent recipe from Area 31 Restaurant and Bar. Not only is it a taste of Miami, it is perfect for impressing guests!

Coconut Butter Poached Lobster:

- 4 cups lobster stock
- 1 piece of ginger, crushed
- 2 dried chilies
- 4 cups coconut milk
- 2 cups coconut butter
- 2 1½-lb lobsters (Nova Scotia are best)

Method:

- Bring the stock, chilies and ginger to a simmer. Add the coconut milk. When it reaches a simmer again, whisk in the coconut butter.

- Transfer the mixture to a 6-inch hotel pan with an immersion circulates. Set it to 135'F or 59’C run it and allow it to come to room temperature. A deep baking dish also works.
- Remove claws and tail and blanch in simmering salted water for 6 minutes.

- Remove lobsters from their shells when cool enough.
- Roast the lobster in a heavy-bottom pan for 15 minutes. Place them in a small stockpot with enough salted water to almost cover them. Bring the water to a boil and simmer for 2 hours.
- Split the tails down the middle. Season and sear them quickly on high heat. Put tails and claws into buerre monte, your butter sauce. After about four minutes, take them out.


Smoked Clams and Cauliflower:

- A couple handfuls of wood chips
- 2 cups cauliflower flowerets
- 8 small neck clams
- 16 oz. lobster stock
- 1 tbsp. coconut butter

In a 4 ½ hotel pan on a burner, throw in the wood chips and cover with shallower perforated half hotel pan. Put the cauliflower and clams into a pan covered with foil. When smoke starts to seep out, remove from heat. Repeat after letting stand for 10 minutes. Set clams aside.
Place cauliflower, liquid from smoked clams, and enough stock to cover halfway in a small stockpot. Simmer over medium heat until tender. Season to taste. Mash and fold in the coconut butter.

Mizuna Puree:

- 4 cups mizuna greens
- ½ cup spinach, blanched
- ½ fresh parsley, blanched
- ¼ cup coconut milk
- ¼ cup coconut butter

Blend all ingredients in a blender until very smooth.

To Serve:

On one side of the plate, spread some of the mizuna puree. Put some cauliflower and one-half lobster tail on top, with a claw. Top it off with a smoked clam and mizuna greens. I hope you enjoy this meal just as much as my husband and I do and I have to say I feel like quite the chef when I create it (but the secret is…it really isn’t very hard!)



Kendra Thornton, "former Orbitz Director of Communications and promoted into full time position in the care of Motherhood", can be found on Twitter @KendraThornton.


if you're interested in Guest Posting here, drop me a line at finallymom@gmail.com

oh cereal. how i love thee.

When it comes to cereal, I don't think I can really pinpoint a favorite.

I love cereal.

I could eat cereal morning, noon, and night.

I'm not even sure why exactly I love it so--the ease, the readily availability of it, the taste, the crunch--but I just know that I feel sorry for people who don't like cereal. In fact, I find people who dislike cereal to be a bit ... strange.

There is one cereal, however, that I cannot eat. It was a favorite of my older brother and sister growing up and I tried many times to eat it but I always ended up never being able to eat a full bowl, sometimes even getting sick from it: Cap'N Crunch.

Should be called Cap'N Gross if you ask me.

Even thinking about it now, I get the heebie jeebies. Didn't matter if they were the plain ones, the peanut butter ones, or the strawberry ones. They were all nasty to me and I wanted to cry anytime I saw a box of them in the pantry.

Other than those though, I love all cereals. I'm an equal opportunity cereal lover, if you will.

Now Lovie? Granted she's only 3 but her favorite cereal is Cinnamon Toast Crunch. She's a lot like her mama, that one.

YUM!! NOW I WANT SOME CEREAL DAMMIT!



linking this up with Mama Kat, who's Losin' It.

YOLO rolo cracker sandwiches

it honestly doesn't get much easier (and yummier) than this. can't even recall how i came about this easy recipe but wow i can't wait to make these again.

easy easy EASY chicken and dumplings

Not going to sugar coat this one, folks: I'm damn proud of myself for making this. And it's damn good. When a sick three year old comes running into the kitchen excitedly asking, "Mama, what's that smell?" you know you've done something right. Enter yesterday's adventure to Chicken and Dumplings land.

Taye went home sick yesterday and Lovie still wasn't well despite being fever-free so I picked her up late morning from school. We stopped at the grocery store to get some things, including several ingredients for this really easy dish. REALLY REALLY EASY. And tasty.

Ingredients:

Roasted chicken (the kind from the store makes this super duper easy yo), no skin or bones
Onion, finely chopped (1 medium-large onion)
Celery, finely chopped (3-4 stalk)
Carrots (bag of shredded from the store adds to the super duper easy aspect)
Potatoes (2 yellow/Yukon gold, diced)
salt, pepper, poultry seasoning
Chicken stock (I use this amazeballs stuff)
Hot water
Butter
Biscuits in a can (I use Pilsbury Grands 8 to a can)

Instructions:

• In a big stock pot melt couple tablespoons butter & add chopped onion, celery, carrots and cook for about 10 minutes or so.
• Add some salt, pepper, poultry seasoning and stir.
• Add some chicken broth (again, I used THIS amazeballs stuff!) and bring to simmer.
• Taste.
• Add hot water and/or seasoning to taste.
• Let simmer.
• Dice raw potatoes and microwave for several minutes. They should be soft but not super soft as they will cook more in the soup. Add to soup and stir.
• Taste.
• Add hot water and/or seasoning to taste.
• Let simmer.
• While that yummy goodness simmers, take chicken off bone and remove skin. I'm not a fan of huge chunks of chicken and neither is my kiddo, so I really chopped up most of the meat and shredded some of the white meat. Add to soup and stir.
• Taste.
• Add hot water and/or seasoning to taste.
• Let simmer.
• Open can of biscuits per can instruction and cut each biscuit into 1/2 inch pieces. Add each piece individually to soup mixture and cover with lid for 10-15 minutes. (Biscuit dumplings will expand and become less wet-like and very much dumpling-like.)
• Stir and taste.
• Add hot water and/or seasoning to taste.
• Serve hot and ENJOY.

TILTW: 1.12-1.18.13

*
Lovie's a good patient for the doctor at age 3. Much better than at 2 when she was stuck to me like Velcro. She weighs 31 pounds and is 37 inches tall (39 if you add her hair, heh).

**
Lovie starts ballet tomorrow. Ballet. My little lovebug. In a leotard, tights, and of course, ballet slippers. She's so excited. Especially about the slippers. And the ballet.

Speaking of ballet slippers, don't get the ones sold at Target or Walmart with the tights and leotards they have set up to make it seem like it's all legit stuff needed for dance class. Those slippers are SLIPPERS. Like for the house. Get the kid real ballet slippers so people don't laugh at you both. Fortunately I made this realization before it was too late and ordered a pair of real ballet slippers from AllAboutDance (free shipping on all US orders, yo!).

***
Ann Sather is the most amazing place on earth to have breakfast. If you're ever in Chicago, you absolutely must have the world's most amazing cinnamon buns.

Or better than that, have their French Toast Fantasy, made from their cinnamon buns...

My life will never be the same.

last minute gift

not only is it SUPER easy, quick to make, and pretty inexpensive, but it's damn tasty, too.

inexpensive holiday gifts

The other week I made some Merry Mix-Mess and Chocolate Pretzel Buttons with the purpose of packaging it all up and gifting it out this season. Then, I found these adorable Dixie brand coffee cups with lids (12 each to a package for less than $3.00) at either WalMart, Target, or Meijer. I put the snacks in a ziploc baggie, tucked those inside the coffee cup, and BOOM: instant little cheap, yummy, festive gift! If only I picked up more of the cups because I can't seem to find them anywhere online! :(

cake batter cookies

soooooooooo easy and yummy. makes three dozen cookies- perfect to package up and give away around the holidays.

Chocolate Pretzel Buttons

I'm not sure if it was NaBloPoMo or what, but I'm fresh out of shiz to write about. I've got a couple more hours to come up with something to link up with the folks at Yeah Write and/or The Speakeasy, but, as of right now, I got nothing.

Nothing but food.

Over the weekend I made some Merry Mix-Mess to give away at Christmas to Lovie's teachers, friends and maybe some of my coworkers. I also made a small batch of Chocolate Pretzel Buttons. And, with the help of Lovie, I made another batch last night.

These are the easiest damn things ever.

Ingredients:
Hershey Kisses and/or Hugs, unwrapped (I've tried using the peppermint and they don't melt as nicely as the kisses and hugs ... I find the Hugs melt the nicest and it's probably best to use only ONE KIND at a time!) (btw, my almost 3 year old loved helping me unwrap all these.)
Plain M&M's (I used some peppermint M&M's and those are just nasty but if you like chocolate mint, I don't see why you can't use them- though they are bigger than plain M&M's)
Square Pretzels

Directions:
Cover a baking sheet (lined with parchment paper) with square pretzels. Put unwrapped Kiss/Hug on each pretzel. Bake at 200 for 5 minutes (do not let the Kisses/Hugs melt- just let them get soft). Top each Kiss/Hug with an M&M and let cool in fridge.

the Merry Mix-mess (aka Christmas Crack)

Found this recipe on Pinterest the other day and thought it sounded yummy and easy. It sounded as if it would make a lot and I thought it might make a good little treat to give out this season to Lovie's teachers. While in Target gathering supplies yesterday, she asked if we could give it to her friends, too. Why not? There really is a TON of it and if I don't give it away my stomach will hate me.

I've changed the name because I'm thinking The Merry Mix-mess is a little more age appropriate for 3-year-olds than Christmas Crack but this shiz is definitely appropriately named as its original, Christmas Crack.


I went off the original recipe but changed up my dry ingredients a bit and followed someone's suggestion in the comments to make it less sticky. The result? Insanely good. And addictive. Oh so addictive.

Ingredients:
box of Golden Grahams
box of Rice Chex
bag of pretzels, broken up a bit (didn't have nuts but would definitely add some)
holiday M&M's
2 cups corn syrup
2 cups sugar
3 sticks butter

Directions:
Mix cereal, pretzels in a huge bowl (I needed to use two bowls- there's LOTS of it!). Cook corn syrup, sugar, butter in large saucepan for about 10-15 minutes till your thermometer reads 234 degrees. (Suggestion in comments was to drop a bit of the liquid in cold water and if it balls up, it's ready.) Pour hot liquid over dry ingredients and mix, mix, mix. Add some M&Ms for color and different texture. Stir. Spread out on PAM sprayed cookie sheets and let cool, stirring a bit to break it up. You can then bake for an hour on 250 (original recipe doesn't do this) and it will become less sticky because the sugar hardens... but it HARDENS. And it becomes more candy-like, in my opinion, but oh so good. And it's a bit of a bitch to then break up but sooo worth it, really.

I was able to fill up three gallon size freezer zip lock bags and will store in the fridge till I'm ready to divvy out in little packages. (Assuming I don't keep sneaking handfuls of it.)

TILTW: 9.22-9.28

* Carby foods like chips and pretzel M&Ms, is like a drug to me. I've known this for a while, but this month, this week has really proven it yet again. I just cannot control myself around carby foods. If I know it's there, I eat it all. And I'm not exaggerating. I can't stop thinking about it if I know it's at home and I'm at work (or something). And I feel so incredible after eating it... even if I also feel like I'm going to burst. I get an actual high after eating carby foods- especially those fucking pretzel M&M's. I like to think that I can indulge on occasion, but it's so damn dangerous when I do! For example, it's taken me more than three weeks to quit eating the shit food. Three weeks! I have a problem and it's carbs. (Actually, this problem is why I don't drink. Once I start drinking I cannot stop. If I had alcohol in the house, I'd be a drunk. It's also why I don't smoke anymore. Holy shit maybe my problem isn't so much with carby foods or booze or smoke, but rather that I have an oral fixation of sorts. Hm, maybe it's one more thing I can blame on my parents?? =D)

* I hate potty training but who doesn't, right?

* This shit right here is awesome:

Especially when you hab a coldth and your throat hurts and you just want hot salt to coat your throat. Add some of this to a mug with boiling water along with a couple baby carrots and you have instant hot chicken soup. SO YUMMY and easy. And seriously, WAY better than bouillon!!

can't you smell that smell?

My stomach hurts.

I’m peeing lots and I’ve got gas cramps. The kind that rumble. The kind that rumble low toward your seat. The kind that sneak out in silence but reek of …

 

death.

 

I’m on day two of eating the shit food again.

 

Once I start, once I truly give in to it- not just a nibble here, a french fry there; but an entire meal of burger with bun, french fries dragged through ketchup, milk shake- I can’t stop. I mean, of course I can, but it’s so hard. And it’s especially so hard while sitting at work watching the damn clock, praying the damn numbers flip on over to quitting time. There’s only so many times I can check Facebook or Twitter and not comment because no one can know I check it during the WORK day. There’s only so many times I can refresh my reader, my email, my work email, message boards.

 

So I think of food.

 

Glorious food.

 

Sweets and salts, salts and sweets, and salty sweets.

 

Crispy crunch…soft gooeyness… melt in your mouth. It doesn’t really matter; if it’s bad for you, it’s what I want. And not just a taste, but all of it.

 

 

I’ve been on a low carb diet for several months now, losing 30 pounds. Yay me, I know… But I have so fucking far to go.

 

I feel good about myself when I restrict the carbs, the sugar; my energy and mood is way higher than when I eat a lot of carbs. Way higher. But yesterday was my birthday… and any excuse to indulge is good enough for stupid me.

 

But again, with me, indulging means to fucking bathe in the shit. I can’t just dabble here and there. No, I have to eat it all.

 

Yesterday it was three huge cookies at the start of the day. Because I brought them in to share for my birthday and because it’s my birthday, I should have one of each. Right? Then I had what I always bring every workday morning: 2 hardboiled eggs. Couldn’t let them go to waste. Followed that show up with lunch out with coworkers: Sesame Chicken, rice, egg roll. Came back to work and couldn’t move without feeling like I would burst. Literally. But for dinner, Taye brought me my choice so I went for it: an Epic Burger and fries.

 

Then he and Lovie made homemade molten lava cake, which, I HAD to eat.

Since I didn't die in my sleep, this morning a trail of silent, deadly gas followed me to the bathroom where I vowed that I would go back to low carb eating. NO bread, NO fucking sugar, NO fries.

So I had 2 hardboiled eggs for breakfast at work.

And about half past bored o’clock, I noticed the snack size KitKat taunting me from the corner of my desk. I slowly peeled the wrapping off while holding it under my desk to avoid having the world hear that I’m opening up a KitKat. And I took a bite into both little sticks.

 

Then I shoved the rest in my mouth and the chocolate eased onto my tongue and roof of my mouth just before the roughness of the wafer. Once I felt the wafer on my tongue, I slowly pressed my teeth together, letting each fiber get soaked with my saliva.

 

Oh it was tasty.

 

So tasty.

 

I stalked the internet some more and quickly grabbed my lunch from the fridge: low carb meal of chicken breast, mayo, cheese, tomatoes, oh my.  At 11:10am.

 

At 12:30pm I moved on to devouring a snack size M&Ms, peanut M&Ms, and snickers bar (all “snack size” so don’t you fret too much).

 

And now my stomach hurts. And my mouth is so dry. And the stench coming out of my ass??

 

WHY DO I DO THIS TO MYSELF?!?
 

 

http://yeahwrite.me/speakeasy/74-open/

 

 

TILTW: 8.11-8.17

* I can no longer eat these damn things:

* Forward Facing Lovie is so much easier than having her Rear Facing. I still feel that she'd be safer if she was rear facing and in the center, but she's getting so big and it was becoming really hard to communicate with her. I don't feel these are good reasons to forward face a one year old, but she's making her way toward three and is pretty big for her age.

* I enjoy having a clean car (after Taye moved the seat, I went and vacuumed the hell out of it).

* Lovie isn't ready to potty train quite yet. We tried last Friday - the whole day - but it was a big fat fail. I was super proud of my Lovebug; she did an amazing job of being super excited and compliant with going to the potty (hate that word) every 20 minutes. But she just doesn't care if she pees herself and won't release on the toilet. I'm not worried or anything; I think we'll give it another go Labor Day weekend.

* I really do believe Two and a Half is the bomb diggity. At least with my 2.5 year old. Her communication skills are incredible (they have been for a year now but hot damn it doesn't slow down!) and she's just a damn joy to be around. That said, the INSTANTANEOUS FREAKOUTS over who knows what are kinda nuts. Love it all, though!! :)

* I've come to terms with being "OK" if I were to get pregnant again. We're team One and Done all the way, but if it were to happen, I'm finally at a place where I'd be OK with it. Up till now, I was absolutely terrified of getting pregnant again.

* I fucking LOVE my new header... oh, and, while on the topic of the blog, I need only ONE more follower to hit 200. Who will it be??

such a shame

My mom likes to tell people that when I was a newborn, I was so tiny that she’d tuck me into a shoe box inside an open drawer to nap. I was her third and final baby born and I "slid right out.”

As a small child, I was a shit of a kid wanting nothing to do with baby dolls and girly stuff and everything to do with soccer and boy stuff. I didn’t watch a lot of TV; instead, I was always outside playing with friends. But then my parents split when I was 9 and absolutely everything changed. I didn’t know what was going on because nobody explained anything—they just told me what to do and I did it. Like go to three different grammar schools and four different high schools. As a result, I had no friends.

No friends but food.

I've recently lost nearly 20 pounds of this bullshit fat, but nobody can notice. Twenty pounds is nothing to sneeze at but nobody can tell I've lost it because I have so much more to lose. It's disgusting, really. And sad.

I try so hard not to dwell on how much more I need to lose to be closer to an average size. Instead, I try to focus on the fact that I feel really great right now: My energy is up, I sleep better at night, I'm more active with my Lovie when it's not 100 degrees out. But then something like yesterday happens and I get slammed into the reality of it all: I'm morbidly obese.

I got certified in CPR yesterday afternoon.

When it came time to kneel on the floor in front of our victim (a dummy) to check for signs of life and/or perform CPR, I knelt just fine. Yeah it wasn't comfortable to kneel but it wasn't comfortable for any of us. When it came time to join our hands together to perform chest pumps, I did just fine. When it came time to lean in to the victim to check for air, I nearly fell over. Literally. And when it came time to breathe into my victim, I simply couldn't do it.

I couldn't bend over enough to give my unconscious victim mouth to mouth resuscitation. My huge boobs and big fat belly stopped me from bending over enough. I tried with all my might to force the fat to move, but it wouldn’t budge and I couldn’t pinch the victims nose and breathe into its mouth at the same time.

WHAT IF THAT WERE MY CHILD ON THE FLOOR?!?

I could feel my face get hot and refused to look up from my dummy.

While I’ve been fat most of my life, I’ve never been one to let it define me. It’s a part of who I am, yes, but it’s not all of who I am… until a moment pops up when shame seeps inside of me and takes over.

TILTW: 6.30-7.6

* This Summer is only technically a couple weeks old and, once again, it's proving that I'm just not a Summer person. I hate the heat and humidity. And, apparently, so does Lovie. Have you seen the photo above? That was taken last Saturday (or maybe it was Sunday) when it wasn't even 90 yet, wasn't even 11AM. She lasted a whole 20 minutes before saying, "I wanna go inside and watch TeeBee."

* I'm not a compulsive overeater like I thought I was. I overeat, for sure, but after seeing the movie Lbs on July 4th while Lovie was napping, I'm certain mine isn't as severe an addiction as some. I still feel that food can be addictive because we absolutely have to have it to live, but I just don't feel like I'm as addicted as some. Lbs is one of those movies that sticks with you well after it's over... I really recommend anyone seeing it.

F.A.T. Friday

I'll be joining Ginger at (Not) Just Another Mom of Twins every Friday for her F.A.T. Friday.

6/22-Next Week's Suggested Topic: What’s your support system like? How do family and/or friends support or not support you? Do you reach out to strangers via message boards, blogs, etc.?

I’m SUPER lucky in that my husband eats low carb, too. I guess it’s a benefit of us both being obese- ha! J

Seriously though, I’m not sure where I’d be without that man. He got me into the LC lifestyle in 2004 when we both lost a ton of weight and he stuck by me all through the years and the up and down weight, even loving me when I was at my largest. I’m so very lucky to have him by my side because I’m not sure how or if I could succeed without his support. I mean, with a 2.5 year old, it’s kind of hard to eliminate all carbs so having your life partner by your side mimicking your habits is super amazing.

Also, I’ve found a lot of support through a low carb forum/message board I discovered back in 2004. I journal all of my food and weight and feelings toward it all over there so I feel like I’m being held accountable at all times. And the people there are all there for pretty much the same reason so the support is just truly wonderful.

I feel so lucky when I think about it. I mean, I feel lucky in so many aspects of my life, but having the support to change my life? Wow am I lucky. I should play the lottery!

WEIGHT: -17 Total/-3 from last week

EXERCISE: none
CHEATS: none
RANDOM THOUGHTS: Really wish I would’ve recommitted myself to this way of life sooner. I very rarely feel deprived and am never hungry after I eat, which makes eating LC so easy. It doesn’t hurt that this time around I’m OK with eating eggs and salads unlike last time.

F.A.T. Friday

I'll be joining Ginger at (Not) Just Another Mom of Twins every Friday for her F.A.T. Friday. I kind of forgot about it the past couple weeks and last week's topic was really intriguing so I'm adding it before today's...

***********************************************

6/15/12

This Week's Suggested Topic Was: Write yourself a motivational reminder/letter about all the “good” things about your healthy lifestyle & why you are on this journey. This will be good to have in 10 minutes, 10 days, 10 months or 10 years from now when you need a “pick me up!”

(ending week 4)

Dear Christina,

You are amazing, strong, beautiful, kind, giving.

You are your daughter’s Mama and whole wide world right now (at almost 2.5) and she’s yours for always.

You are your husband’s partner for life- through thick and thin.

Because of all of this, you are living a low carb life because carby foods are mean to you… because you feel amazing, alive, full of life when low carbing… because you once lost 75 pounds so you know it does work… because you need to live a long long life for that girl of yours, for your husband, for YOU.

You can do it.

You WILL do it… for life.

Love,

Your healthy body

***********************************************

6/22/12

Next Week's Suggested Topic: Summertime=Vacation Time=Overindulging= FUN Possible Derailment! What summer vacation(s) do you have planned and how to you plan to be proactive in staying (mostly) on the healthy living train?

(ending week 5)

A week after starting to live a clean low carb (LC) lifestyle, we went on vacation. I knew we were going on vacation when I decided to dive back into low carbing but because this has to be a lifestyle for me- for life- I figured I needed to start right then and there and not allow vacation to be an excuse. Was I as diligent when on vacation about my food as I am when not vacationing? Not completely. Did I go hog wild and eat everything in sight like my old self would’ve? Hell no.

See, I’m fortunate because my husband is doing this with me. Just like he did the first time around. So we packed a bag full of LC snacks to have on hand at all times to save us from indulging in the bad. And it worked. And when we sat down to eat, we stuck with eating as LC as possible which is not hard to do at any restaurant other than Chinese.

That’s the beauty of the LC lifestyle to me- there are so many damn good foods you can eat that staying on track usually isn’t too difficult. Plus, it really doesn’t take a lot of planning ahead when going to a restaurant as long as you stick with no bread and steamed veggies or salad. I get to eat meats (un-breaded), bacon, eggs, cheese, most veggies, nuts, salads which is pretty much available anywhere. For example, our first stop was at a Wendy’s so Lovie could have a burger and fries (she loves!) and I had a very low carb meal of a double cheeseburger (no bun) and salad.

I do have to plan ahead with snacks though- making sure I always have something available because if I start getting hungry without something LC nearby me… that's when the trouble begins. Readily available high carb foods like chips, french fries, pizza, and ice cream is impossible to stop eating once I start.

That's why eating LC is a lifestyle for me- for life. Because food is my drug; I'm a High-Carb-Foodaholic.

WEIGHT: Down 14 pounds at the start of this week (week 5).

EXERCISE: none :(