Lemonade cream pie

My first attempt at making it. Looks kind of clumpy and gross. I didn't blend it well.

My second time making this pie. Second time is a charm.

1 can of frozen lemonade concentrate

16 oz of whipped topping

Half can of condensed milk

Graham cracker pie crust 

(I used the juice from two lemons and sprinkled the rind on the top)

If you are a lemon lover like me this is heaven in your mouth. This will be my go to dessert for the next few months ;)

252

I ate pizza, birthday cake and a few cookies, but managed to lose three pounds from my 255 last week. Let me tell you that it was not easy to stop eating after I felt full. Each time I wanted food extra food I thought about my health and how I could drastically improve it by losing weight. I would finally look and feel like I was meant to.

I drank a lot of water and tried to cut fats and sweets. I added tons if fruits and veggies which I love anyway.

I was sabotaged! Unknowingly of course. There were many opportunities for sweet treats especially around Valentine's day. I walked into my in laws house and saw cookies on the table and almost ate a handful until I got a hold of myself. What scared me the most is I didn't even think about it...that is how bad my habits are.

I found that I used food as my coping mechanism. I was on my period last week and had migraines and all I wanted to do was eat myself into a coma and sleep until it was all over. I get bad news at work or a rough day at home and I reach for a candy bar and a grape soda. When I should be reaching for people who love and support me. I really try to put on brave front, but each day for the past few months has been difficult in many areas of my life. I thought for sure when I hit my 30's I would have my shit together. Ha!

Muffin Monday

Rum spiced muffins anyone? Co worker brought these in today. Starting the week off right. Happy Monday!

Chutney? Don't mind if I do!

My boss made pear chutney. The pears are from her Asian pear trees in her backyard! It was so savory and sweet. I will post the recipe soon. It went really well with gluten free crackers and brie cheese.

This could be an amazing appetizer!!!

Oh no! I think I am becoming a foodie...

Food!

I tried all of this at the office today. The dish on the left is spicy, sugar coated mango! Chocolate covered walnuts is in the middle. On the right we have pickled watermelon rind! Yum..loved it all, although I was a little skeptical  of the pickled rind.

Yep, I am still on the smoothie kick! This one has strawberries, Asian pears, blueberries, strawberries, fresh peas, raspberries and filtered water. I enjoyed it, but it was very seedy.

Chicago style thin crust pizza...

What did you say? Yes, there is a place in Lawrence, KS that has thin crust Chicago style pizza and it is located in The Oread called A Slice of History, on the KU campus. Craig's from Chicago and if he says it's good, then IT's GOOD!

I finally got to try it on Friday during my lunch break. $4.00 for buffet all you can stuff in your mouth! A Slice of History lived up to the hype.

What I've eaten today and exercise!

toasted peanut butter sandwhich
chobani greek yogurt ( this stuff is amazing you should try it)
1 cup of Kix with no milk
1 can of chicken tortilla soup
1 no make that 2 cookies..tehe!
4 cups of water

What I plan to have before I get off work:
banana
no sugar added applesauce
4 cups of water

Looks like we are having pork chops and veggies tonight! One of my favorite meals.

As you can see I need to add more fresh fruits and veggies!! I am working on it.

I can't wait to get outside with my daughter today. We went for a 30 minute walk yesterday and plan on doing the same while Craig is fixing dinner tonight!

New Favorite Snacks!

Goes well with restaurant style salsa and it is better for you than regular tortilla chips!

Love them and they come in different flavors. I like to take these to work.

If you are a chocolate lover you must try Swiss Miss Chocolate Dream. All I have to say is that it is amazing!

Finally Tried a Moon pie...

Yeah, not too impressed...

Moon pie face!

Check out how big my belly is getting!
No, Colby it is not for you.

At work we talked about moon pies and I realized that I have never tried one so here are the pictures from when I tried a moon pie. For the record I do not like them, but it was fun going to different stores to find them.

Watermelon Non Alcoholic Margaritas!!!

All I can say is yum yum yum!

5 cups of cut watermelon that is frozen

1/2 lime juice

1/2 7up or Sprite

1/3 sugar

Blend it all together and you get awesomeness!

I think that we may try it with other fruits as well! I will let you know how it goes.

BBQ in Lawrence!

Emily and I went to the Sertoma BBQ Competition this Saturday and tasted some really yummy BBQ!

Here's more about it!

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2009/may/10/barbecue-contest-takes-art-taste-texture-seriously/

Picky

Before bed last night Craig and I got to talking about restuarants that I don't like to go to. We got on the subject because Craig mentioned that his family usually went out for Red Lobster on birthdays. He explained that it was one of the only "safe" places where everyone likes the food choices.

I personally will eat at most places with the exception of a few most of which Craig really likes...LOL! As my cravings come and go I think that Craig my be surprised at what foods and resturants I end up liking.

What became of that chocolate chip icing?!

I bet you are dying to know?! Well, it turned into fudge!! The best fudge that I have ever tasted! I thought that the icing was to sweet for the cupcakes so I put it in the fridge and that's the end of the story. The icing hardened creating some pretty good stuff. I hope to try it again soon and I will post the recipe and pictures.

P&C (puppies and cupcakes)

This is the chocolate chip frosting I made for the brownie cupcakes! I tested the brownies with the icing and even I think that its too sweet so I am saving the icing for something else may I will make a cake or something.

I seriously feel like there is something wrong with me. All I want to do is bake! I bet Craig thinks this problem is awesome.

Having a puppy is truly great. I caught Stewie laying with Spooky, his favorite cat. All of our pets love laying on this bed in our spare room. I think it might be because Craig and I spend time in there on the computer.

Did you see all the chicken strips?

Yesterday, while walking Stewie, I saw a chicken strip in the yard. At first I didn't think much of it. About a block later I saw another chicken strip! Then when we completed our walk I was 6 in total! I don't think that I would have known that they were because Stewie was the one who sniffed them out! I wonder what else we will find on our walk today?!

I feel like Betty Crocker!

Monkey bread in cake pan

Puppy chow!

In the past few weeks I've baked more than I have in the past two years! I don't know what is going on with me..maybe I am becoming more domestic! So far I have made monkey bread, cornbread, and puppy chow. I know that it doesn't sound like much, but it definitely is a huge step for me. What is funny is last night I kept thinking about what else I could make! Any ideas or suggestions?

New Eats in the Area and good smells

Craig and I noticed a new eatery on Iowa St in Lawrence, KS last night called McAlister's . They serve most deli items like sandwiches, but they also have soup, chili and appetizers. Get this...they are famous for their SWEET TEA! I am not a huge fan of sweet tea (I don't want to get diabetes..LOL) , but I do like to try different types. I am looking forward to the opening.




I use alot of Bath and Body Works products and I found my new favorite scent for the upcoming holiday season called Twisted Peppermint! If you are anything like me and buy boxes of candy canes to eat then it's the scent for you to. It's crazy because I have seen this fragrance on the shelves in past seasons. I saw it last night and I thought I should try it and now I love it!

Date Night

Walking on the Country Club Plaza, drinking coffee drinks, enjoying the music, see little fires on Brush creek, eating at the Melting Pot, smelling burning wood and BBQ. I would say that it was a great night. Craig and I went to Waterfire Kansas City at the Plaza last night and it was a blast. It was such a lovely night to be out.

It's simple really

This is my fourth day and I am still eating healthy. By now I would of had at least one to two meals of fried, greasy, or carbohydrated to the max food! Anyway, I found this website that is very helpful in explaining why certain foods are healthy. I will admit that some of the information is common sense, but it's still interesting.

http://whfoods.org/

What a difference a day makes

In my earlier posts, on this blog I wrote about changes that I would like to see in my health and my weight. I would like to give you an update on those. Well, I am happy to report that I am no longer on blood pressure medicine which is a great thing, but I didn't lose much weight. All together it averages out to 10 lbs in the last 8 months. I know that I can do better than that!

Sunday night I started thinking about my health and they things that I want to do with my life. I started praying about it. To be honest, I hadn't prayed about my health or weight loss before. I always thought of it as something only I could do, not God. I think that's why I haven't been getting better results. I have not given this part of my life to the Lord... the part that eats out more than I'm supposed to, the part that is too lazy to prepare a healthy meal, the part that is too busy to plan out meals for the week. etc.. I give it all to the Lord.


That same day Craig and I went to the store and stocked up on fresh produce, meat from the deli and dairy products and bought very few processed items. Our grocery bill was pretty expensive (almost twice what we spend in two weeks..), but I think that it's worth it.

Yesterday was the first day of healthy eating and I feel wonderful. I had strawberries, apples, bananas,pitas, hummus, alfalfa sprouts, carrots, grapes, blueberries, red peppers, turkey meat, chicken breast, peas, yogurt, granola, granola bars, milk, water, pure pomegranate juice, cup of ice cream for dessert, a little bit of mac&cheese. Let me tell you it was so yummy! I feel a lot better than I have in weeks. It's amazing what a difference a day makes when you eat healthy.

I will keep you posted though out the week on my progress!