Tasty Tuesday: Eating This Load of Delicious Crap

Happy Tasty Tuesday! 

Today I'm giving you a sneak peek of some of the things I can seriously live off of.  These are foods from my kitchen that I buy at the store every week.  Welcome to my immensely reduced sugar living.

I feel like we are moving our relationship to a new level.  I mean I'm showing you what is in my fridge and cabinets!

Let's start with the Kraft Olive Oil Vinagrette Dressing, shall we?  This stuff is the bomb dot com.  Yes, I could just mix up my own (and I have) but this is too easy and so good. There is a whole line of these olive oil based dressings that you can try.  This one is my favorite so far, I'm boring.

Pineapple, anyone?  Yes this is a sugary treat but it is natural sugar and a girl like me has a sweet tooth no matter what.  If I can get a few chunks before my kids eat it all I'm doing well!

Did she put Redi Whip on her list?  Oh yes she did.  I love this stuff.  I put a little on some fruit and sometimes I just open the fridge, open my mouth, and fill it up with the crap and smile.  Don't hate me for being honest.

Eggs!  If you're one of my SnapChat (abullnojoke) friends you know that I can easily down 24 eggs in a week.  Yes, I love eggs.  Scrambled, poached, over easy, boiled, bring them on.

Put a little South in your mouth!  I eat pork skins.  Yes, I do!  I don't do chips (unless its a celebratory day and then I'll want some salt and vinegar) but I do do the pork skins.  They aren't dripping with real goodness but they fulfill that chip urge when it comes!  Little to no sugar and very low carbs (yes it really is fried pork skin.  Don't worry, my daughter is repulsed by it too.)

Lemons are my friend.  I love all things lemon including lemon sliced up and in my water (like ten bazillion other people.)  I also do a lot of cooking with lemon juice.

Tomatoes - I could literally live off them.  I eat them at breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack.  Only two people in my household love them - my son and I.  My husband cannot stand the thought of eating a tomato and my daughter is not caring for them anymore.  Hey, that's fine!  More for me!  

Avocado because it is fabulous.  Avocado and tomato basically go hand in hand in my eyes.  Most mornings I have an egg, avocado, and tomato.  It makes me so happy.  I love to slice them up for salads and also throw them on a wrap.  Yes I said wrap, keep reading!

Joseph's Flax, Oat Bran, and Whole Wheat Pita....haven't tried them?  Then you're missing out!  These guys have 4 grams of carbs (after you subtract out the dietary fiber) and they taste great.  I only have one a day and is generally at lunch.  If you're looking for them and you're in my area go to Harris Teeter!

Back up do I need to explain the carb and dietary fiber mathematical equation?  OK I can do that very quickly!  When you are counting carbs you need to always look at the number of dietary fiber grams.  The reason is dietary fiber cancels out carbohydrates.  Why?  Well to put it in laymon's terms it is because dietary fiber takes longer to digest and that makes food healthier for your body.  You won't find loads of dietary fiber in foods that are bad for you.  Let's put this into action now.

If you have a food that has 10 grams of carbs and 6 grams of dietary fiber then you say:

10 - 6 = 4

So really this food has a carb count of four instead of six.

Yep, that's how it works.  Who knew math could be so in your favor?

Moving right along...

Turkey Sausage because I love meat.  I could have been a vegetarian but someone gave me meat and I was like - yep I'm sold.  Turkey sausage and turkey bacon make me smile.  I don't eat it every day but some mornings I want some sausage darn it!

Boca Burgers are a food I have enjoyed since high school.  These things are so good they are completely meat free and are a great addition to my Joseph's Pita - add in a little tomato, green leaf lettuce, and mayo or mustard and I'm a face stuffing pig.

So there's a little sneak peek into what I eat every week.  These are my breakfast and lunch picks.  For dinner I am pulling recipes from my Trim Healthy Mama cook book.  I love that one so much!  I want to share some with you and hope to very soon.  I promised my bestie to put up recipes again soon.  That means I better get on it!

Maybe next week!

I am sharing this post on Tuesday Talk today visit Grammie Time to see all the links!

My Weekly Menu No. 4

Happy Superbowl Sunday!!!  Over here in my area we're all Panther crazy!  We're hoping our boys can win the 50th Superbowl and you can trust we will be eating heavy and rooting hard tonight.

But FIRST - let's make our menu for the week.

The theme this week is make ahead, crock pot, and super fast.  I'm back to regular work this week so I need easy peasy recipes to satisfy my little crew.

Easy Crock Pot Beef Stew

Guess what?  My mom's husband got me a new crock pot a few weeks ago and I'm excited to use it for the first time with this hearty and easy stew!  Minimal ingredients (stew beef, onion, potatoes, carrots) and lots of flavor is a great recipe for success to the start of our week.

Skinny Broccoli Casserole

I'm really looking forward to making this Pinterest find this week!  I love broccoli casserole but I am used to the traditional version with rice.  This one is slimmed down (no rice) and I think it will be perfect for Wednesday evening.  I plan on pairing it with a salad.  I know the kids will want bread.  

Rotisserie Chicken Tacos

We haven't had a taco night in several weeks so I am really looking forward to tacos this week!  My plan is to grab a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store after our work out and come home and whip these up.  

Those are my dinner plans this week - here's an extra bite.

Drive Thru Egg & Cheese

My kids are getting bored with breakfast.  They aren't cereal eaters and have over done the waffles (waffles traditionally, waffle parfaits, and PB&J waffles.)  So I decided to get them a different and more hearty treat for breakfast.  This casserole combines biscuits, sausage, egg, and cheese and should fill those little tummies right up until the lunch bell rings.

Alright it is your turn to tell me what you have on your menu this week!  Also, if anything in this post caught your attention then let me know!  I will highlight it in a Tasty Tuesday post in the coming week or two!

I appreciate you stopping by and hope you have a fabulous Sunday and blessed week ahead!    

Let's Eat! 8/31-9/4

When I write this post I’m reminded at how incredibly fast the weekend goes!  I really hope your weekend has been relaxing and beautiful.  Now let’s regroup for another week ahead.

Let’s eat y’all.

Breakfasts

Well the first week of school really shows you what you need to tweak in the kitchen.  This year my daughter has started out being a non-breakfast kid.  Guys, this kills me beyond explanation.  You need energy and to set your metabolism for the day.  I cannot let her leave without anything on that little tummy so I worked with her to get something down the hatch and in the brain!

The recipe for breakfast will be small, full of fiber and protein.

Last week I shared our love for Fiber One bars and this week I am doing it again.  

I also think I need to tell you Fiber One has not contacted me at all and I’m not paid to include them in a post.  However, if they ever feel the need to call a girl up and offer her a year’s supply of their products I’m ready and willing.

Back to it! 

This week breakfast for the kid will be Fiber One products  - bars, muffins, cookies.  It is true I am against cookies for breakfast but these are more like a filling fiber cookie and not a Chips Ahoy.  I can make small alterations to the meal plan for the sake my kid’s nutrition.

To counter the carb and fiber load of those products we will have plenty of yogurt in the fridge.  I prefer Greek yogurt to Swiss.  Greek yogurt gives you more protein and is a bit more filling thanks to the thick texture. 

If you’re wondering what the mama bear is devouring for breakfast then I should go ahead and tell you.  A bagel thin with a 2 teaspoons of strawberry cream cheese slathered on there.  Yep, eat it up!

Snacks

Guys, I have found two snacks that my kids are tripping billies over. (I imagine tripping billies and talking about my kids in the same sentence is a faux paux.)

Horizon Snack Crackers, both the peanut butter version and the cheese version, are my kid’s addiction right now.  They want them for snack, meals, and more snack.  The great thing about Horizon is that it is organic and you don’t have to worry about what those crackers are made of or what makes that “cheese” in the middle.  It is real stuff!  The questionable cheese product in other snack crackers has often had me quite aloof!

Apple slices and peanut butter are the classic snack of the week.  You cannot beat that snack.

Emerald’s Yogurt Bites (Breakfast on the Go) is another great snack for purses or book bags.  Dried fruit, nuts, and covered in a yogurt coating make the sweet tooth and tummy happy at 10a or 2p.

Lunches

Last week the kid enjoyed mini pizzas, a turkey wrap, the good ole peanut butter and jelly, and a salad in her lunch.  I scored big time when I was given a free flat of produce from a truck that wrecked locally.  I had a big fat box of organic spinach, cherry tomatoes, avocados, bananas, pineapple, pears, oranges, peaches, nectarines.  Yes, good eating is what that is called!

A few days this week I packed spinach salads with cherry tomatoes, black olives and celery for crunch!  Mmmm with a red wine vinaigrette it is damn near perfection!

Here is my lunch box pick of the week.  It is labeled for adults but I think you can make a lot of these for your kids too.  Remember, they don't live off PB&J they like to spice things up too!

Click here to visit the blog!

Dinner

This week we’re eating:

·       Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches then turning the chicken into enchiladas on Tuesday.  I love a double duty meal.

·       Wednesday is soup and salad night.

·       Thursday is reserved for that Mongolian Beef from last week.  I didn’t make it because of some awesome food deals at Sonic (50 cent corn dogs) and laziness on Friday which led me to a tomato sandwich for dinner.

·       Friday night is my daughter’s birthday so we’re up in the air on what we’ll be doing that night.  I know it will be a great out to dinner night.  In her honor I’ll be making tacos very soon.

No sweet treats this week due to more birthday cake rolling in!

Happy eating this week!  

Let's Eat 8.24-8.29 2015!

I feel like we all get in a cooking rut and my hope is that these posts will help pull us out!  Trust me, I get knocked in the ditch when I'm planning out menus all the time !

If you haven't already - go "like" my Facebook page and lets start a conversation each week on good recipes we’ve had.  There’s nothing better than making something so delicious and then sharing it with others!

I want to warn you this week’s post is LONG!  So bear with me.  I promise to keep the proceeding week’s posts much shorter!

Let’s Eat

August 24-29th

Breakfast

School is back in session so we have two options for breakfast:

1.     Eat at school – free breakfast for all elementary students.

2.     Eat at home – because we are too lazy to get up early enough to make it to breakfast at school.

Guess what?  If you guessed number two you are the lucky winner of eating your breakfast at home tomorrow.

I get bored with having recurring dishes and I just assume everyone else does too.  So here’s how my week’s breakfasts are looking:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Waffles, eggs, sausage	Eggs, toast, grits	Muffins and yogurt	Waffles, eggs, sausage	Kid Pick

I can hear you – you just said, “I don’t have time for that!”  Well shut your mouth and keep reading! Let’s apply these options to nearly everyone….

Waffles – if you don’t have time to pull out the waffle maker then buy a brand you trust!  Eggo, Udi’s, Van’s whatever there are millions of brands of frozen waffles.

Eggs – they take NO TIME to make.  You can use a mug to make your scrambled eggs – just spray it with cooking spray break your egg into the cup and add in a tablespoon of milk, whisk it around and cook for 45-60 seconds in the microwave.  When it is finished “cooking” it will resemble an egg from McDonald’s in shape and texture.  Throw it on an English muffin and you just made the cheapest McMuffin EVER!

Sausage – you do know you can buy Johnsonville Links that are precooked?  Oh you didn’t?  Well you can and they are yummy.  I prefer a turkey option but I can tell you the Johnsonville Pork Sausage Precooked are really good!

Muffins – make them the night before!  But make sure you make them and not the bakery.  The ones you can make at home in 20 minutes are way better for you than the ones you purchase.

Another thing I take into account with breakfast planning is this….Snacking!

In a perfect world we eat five small meals a day, are satiated and look like Jennifer Aniston.  Well, the world is far from perfect and we tend to eat three large meals and then two large snacks and have to fight from being Jennifer’s polar opposite.

A good couple of rules of thumb for us adults– snacks are small & snacks are between meals.  Plan your snack 2-2.5 hours after breakfast and a 1.5 hours from lunch.  And no, a bag of M&M’s is not a snack choice but a DUMB choice. 

My daughter has lunch at 11:30 this year.  She’ll eat her breakfast around 7:30 and be ravenous by the time lunch comes rolling around.  Therefore I’m loading more protein and a few more dense carbs in her breakfast.  (Thanks to snack time being at the end of the day!)

My breakfast will be a lighter version of hers (don’t ask me about my bagel problem).  Why?  Because I’ll have a snack at 10am.  I didn’t want to blow money purchasing separate snacks for the kids versus the adults.  So here’s my snack outlook for this week:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Fiber One Bar	Peanut Butter & Celery	Carrots & Light Ranch	Trail Mix/Popcorn	Fiber One Bar

Fiber One Bars are, for me, a great option for the family.  The kids will eat them and not complain and I feel good that they are getting extra fiber in their diet.  Don’t forget you can get various flavors and appease nearly every palate.  Little Missy is all into the chocolate while I kind of love the streusals!  I have heard people say these bars make them extra gassey.  Look, they don't me but if you are a Fiber One Farter then pick another option like Cliff or Quest.  Just remember, don't eat them on an empty stomach (aka for breakfast).

I purchase the Jif to go and Hidden Valley Lite Ranch to go cups specifically for lunches that are packed for out of the home.  Don’t use those while you are home because that will kill your pocketbook.  Stick to scooping out portion control sizes from the regular canister.

Trail mix is a great snack as long as you try to steer clear of the ones chock full of candy.  Look for dried fruit options.  I’m a sucker for M&M’s so this is particularly hard for me.  (Am I craving M&M’s?  Seriously, that’s the second time I have mentioned them…hmmm)

Skinny pop! We love Skinny Pop in our home and I think your home will love it too.  You can buy a regular bag for about $3 or you can spend around $6 and get mini bags which are perfect for portion control and throwing in the book bag or purse.

Lunch, Lunch, Lady

I have this weird love of food and making meals.  I get excited about making my daughter’s lunches.  I know it is strange.  Maybe it is something my late Mamaw passed down to me – she was a true lunch lady at my middle school.  Of course that was back in the stone ages when the lunch ladies could actually make the food from scratch or semi scratch.  Today they government sends them heat and eat and threatens them not to add seasonings.  Oops did I say that?  Look, I love lunch ladies and that’s all you should gather from this paragraph.

This week I found a blog post from Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom that I couldn’t stop going back to look at.  So I decided it was bread from heaven and I needed to use it as my blue print for my girl’s lunch this week.  I also think I will be enjoying this stuff too.  Here’s the link!

Of course all kids are different and I had to make some adjustments:

• No salami, we’ll do ham.
• Tuesday’s tostadas will not include the beans but instead ground turkey I’m saving from the meal the night before.
• Thursday we will do the mini pizzas but I like to make them on English muffins or bagles instead of the chips.
• Friday will be subbed with Sunday’s meal.

Ahhhh flexibility is the secret of life I tell you!

We’ll also put in some milk but have water in the lunch too.  My kid is iffy on milk but it is important as she’s growing!

Dinners…  I mean it is the real reason you visited today right?

This week we’re eating some dang good food.

Tonight we’re having meat loaf, asparagus, and creamed potatoes.  I’m saving some of the ground meat for lunch on Tuesday.  That way my daughter can have tostadas!

Tomorrow is my son’s birthday and he will be three. I like to cook whatever the kids love for their birthday dinner but this year we are going out!  Little Man said he wanted spaghetti and meatballs so we're going to celebrate his day at a local Italian restaurant!

Tuesday’s dinner is going to be grilled pork chops, corn, and roasted red potatoes.  That my friends is good eating.  Also, pork chops are on sale in my area this week at ALL the grocery stores.

Wednesday night we’re having homemade chicken tenders, green beans, and mac and cheese for the kids.  Total kid friendly night, right?

Thursday, my crock pot will be doing the dirty work as it makes Mongolian Beef.

Friday I plan to celebrate a successful start to the school year by having the kids pick the dinner they want to devour.  The kids tend to want chicken noodle soup, not kidding.  I always keep a few cans of Progresso's Lite Chicken Noodle Soup on standby.  They prefer it over the regular condensed soup.

Saturday is my husband’s choice unless he is at a Fantasy Football Draft. 

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Out for the Little Man's 3rd Birthday!	Pork Chops, corn, roasted red potatoes	Homemade Chicken Tenders, green beans, and mac n cheese	Crock Pot Mongolian Chicken	Kid’s Choice! Maybe we’ll order out?  Or maybe we'll have chicken noodle soup!

What I’m baking this week?

Nothing, we should have plenty of birthday cake around here for the next two weeks!

Have a yummy week, friends!  See you tomorrow with Monday, May I!