Menu Plan Monday...a day late ;)

All of my dinners are Weight Watcher friendly. I have lost 15 lbs so far following the Weight Watchers plan.

Sunday: Ranch Chicken, Beans and Alexia Potato Wedges
Monday: Hamburger Goulash
Tuesday: Chicken Alfredo and Wild Rice
Wednesday: Black Bean Soup
Thursday: Skinny Tuna Noodle Casserole
Friday: Breakfast for Dinner - Pumpkin Waffles, Turkey Bacon, Eggs.
Saturday: Thai Beef Salad Wrap

You can find more menu plans for the week here Organizing Junkie

Some Updated Pics of My Little Guys

Jack's 4th Birthday

Oliver

Menu Plan Monday

It's been a while since I've visited my blog. I've done plenty of different diets or ways of eating and because of budget and having limited mental energy for planning meals have come back to just doing Weight Watchers (seems to work the best for me). So here goes :)

Sunday: Hamburger Casserole (Crockpot)
Monday: Easy Fried Rice
Tuesday: Super Easy Cream of Broccoli Soup
Wednesday: Crockpot Chicken Ranch Tacos
Thursday: Kielbasa Pasta Skillet(made substitutions to make this WW friendly)
Friday: Shepherds Pie
Saturday: Bacon, Bean and Cheese Stuffed Peppers

Sunday: Cream Cheese Chicken
Monday: Skinny Baked Mac and Cheese
Tuesday: Stuffed Pepper Soup
Wednesday: Turkey Kielbasa, Potatoes, and Cabbage
Thursday: Baked Ranch Chicken w/ Cucumber Tomato Salad
Friday: Swedish Meatballs w/ Egg Noodles and Veggie
Saturday: Brown Rice Mexican Casserole

Check out more menu plans at I'm An Organizing Junkie

Feeling Amazing on Whole30

I am over a week into doing Whole30 and I feel amazing.

I will say that eliminating sugar has done wonders for me. Yesterday I was up at 5:40 in the morning as we had an early morning doctors appointment for my littlest guy. Usually, I would be crashing multiple times throughout the day and I made it through the entire day until midnight without feeling tired at all. Proteins and good fats really do fuel the body.

Yesterday I ate:

Breakfast: Eggs with green pepper and onion fried up in bacon fat.
Lunch: Chicken salad made with homemade mayo, drizzled with Sunshine Sauce and served in a lettuce wrap.
Dinner: No Bean Chili
Snacks: Handful of mixed nuts (almonds, pecans, and walnuts), coffee with coconut milk creamer, a spoonful of coconut butter. Acorn Squash Porridge. Banana with coconut milk.

I really love the way I feel and am starting to see how sugar has really been bad for me.

I whipped up a pot of No Bean Chili, Crockpot Pot Roast and Pork Carnitas the other day to make it easier to just grab what I need when I need it. Being prepared is key when eating this way.

I am so interested in seeing my body composition results at the end of the 30 days. I already know I will be doing another Whole30.

Have a wonderful Saturday everyone!

Pork Carnitas, It's What I'm Cooking!

Pork Carnitas

NOTE: This recipe is done using a Cuisinart Pressure Cooker...results would be different if using a pot. Find the original recipe using a stock pot at The Clothes Make the Girl

3-4 lb pork shoulder roast, boneless or bone-in
1 rounded tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon salt
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cayenne (I use 1/2 cause of kids)
1/2 cup lime juice
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup Water

I add the juices and water into the pot first. Put the spices into a large ziploc bag. I cut the roast up into very, VERY, large chunks, like maybe 6. If the roast has a bone, just cut around it (but include it...good meat next to the bone). Take the chunks and throw each of them in the ziploc bag to coat with the spices. Then place them into the pressure cooker. It does not have to be perfect. When the cooking is done, you can remove the bone. Now, tuck that baby in and set the pressure cooker for high and add 50 minutes to the clock. After the timer beeps, just let it go with natural pressure release. It will take a little while for all the pressure to go out. Once it is done, take the huge chunks of pork out of the pressure cooker and a few at a time place in a hot pan to sear all sides of the pork. Keep turning it until it is a nice brown color (not blackened and burned)...just be careful..that pan is HOT. It usually causes my house to smoke up and my kids to freak out and want to dial 911! I let the pieces cool for a few minutes and then shred them up and put them in a storage container to eat through the week.

This goes nicely wrapped in romaine lettuce with some Sunshine Sauce which you can also find at The Clothes Make the Girl. Sometimes we like to just eat it all by its wonderful self...yummmmm

Here is the pressure cooker I use...just in case you all wondered!



Find more recipes at The Grocery Cart Challenge

FOLK and 4th Street Candle Co.

My candle shop, 4th Street Candle Co, will be advertised in FOLK Magazine in a couple weeks. If you have not checked out FOLK you need to. I love it!!

FOLK and 4th Street Candle Co. are a good match wouldn't you agree?

You can find FOLK HERE and 4th Street Candle Co. HERE. Some of 4th Street's new scents for Spring include Lemon Lavender, Lilac, Lemon Squares, and Seaside Cotton. Also, check out Fresh Linen and Clean Cotton, a couple bestsellers!

Enjoy your day all!

Whole30

I began another journey. Seems as if I'm always doing something doesn't it. Being 250 lbs on my frame (under it all I'm pretty tiny) is killing me. I decided I had to do something. Weight Watchers for whatever reason had quit working for me. I really think that I have an issue with sugar. I had been reading a lot about Paleo and believe in eating the way it encourages you to eat, but needed something more. Whole30 is an extreme Paleo. No grains, legumes, dairy, alcohol, or sugar. Paleo allows a little bit more. I would say Whole30 is a way of getting in touch with how you view food. Where is it that you have a problem. As I suspected, sugar is mine. The first two days were pretty harsh. I was craving (of all things) coffee creamer. I felt like I was going to bottom out throughout the entire two days. I'm on day 5 now and have a lot of energy. More energy then I have seen in the past couple years. So....what do I eat you might ask! Meat, veggies and some fruit. LOTS of good fats. Some nuts. It has caused me to get creative with food. I will be posting what I eat and including recipes as I am able. I also will be taking you all on my journey through losing what I hope to be 100 lbs. Would be great to have that gone by my 40th birthday in November, but any loss is an improvement. I have started to add a lot of my favorite blogs that explain Paleo and Whole30. Another reason for our food change is because of Jack. My son will likely be getting a diagnosis of Autism in the next couple months. This is no surprise to us and we have been tweaking his diet for almost a year to try to help him. Shortly after just going gluten free, he started talking a lot more and singing. That was something we had not seen out of him before taking gluten out of his diet.

Here is the link to the Whole30 way of life WHOLE30. Check them out and also I would encourage you to find them on Facebook. They are a great group of people.

I am SUPER determined. I smoked once...and once I started feeling like it was a monkey on my back...IT WAS GONE (it took me a while to get to that point). Here I am again...I am determined!

Love

Isn't my little guy getting big!

My sweet sensitive boy...

We have really been looking into Jack's issues a little more now that he is a bit older. We have had concerns since he was born, but most times voicing our concerns led to doctors just saying to wait because things could change. Things have changed...some things are just a tad bit better and some things are worse. His newest things are taking his clothes off (a lot), gagging himself, throwing himself into people, hitting and throwing himself down on the ground a lot. We had an appointment with a neurologist who basically felt the "big picture was a boy with Autism" and gave us some recommendations on where to take him to be tested. This past week the school did a sensory profile on him. To no ones surprise, he has some sensory dysfunction. I am glad that this has been found so we can help him. The occupational therapist was extremely impressed with the fact that his emotional/social scores were normal. She says usually when you have behavorial dysfunction due to sensory processing you have emotional/social issues as well. She said that is a huge indication of how we handle things at home with him. I said....that's no surprise...he's normal and I'm the one with the emotional/social disorder..ha ha. Anybody that has children with special needs knows how HARD and EXHAUSTING it can be at times. I am very glad that we are recognizing his sensory needs before it does become more emotional/social issues. Jack has proprioceptive sensory disorder so it makes him EXTREMELY active. He throws himself and runs into people trying to gain some input. His brain does not regulate senses properly. He seeks to fix what he does not feel right within him. After a nice long conference with the team which included occupational therapist, social worker, speech therapist and his teacher we are going to try working on fixing his sensory needs....I suppose putting him on a sensory diet. He will require certain techniques or playing throughout the day to help regulate his brain. The trick will be trying to find what sensory input will help not make him more hyper or upset. I feel so overwhelmed by all the information. I can't imagine being able to do everything that is required to help Jack. I keep thinking that when he gets to heaven...none of this will matter....he will be perfect. Earth is so temporary....our bodies are temporary. It still hurts though. I'm not gonna lie. I have a hard time finding my energy in God when I have no brain to seek God in the first place. Does that make sense? I feel God all around me during the day. Sometimes he seems to be just like the dishes that sit in the sink...waiting to be washed. He is on my to do list. I know that, that is not how it should be. I'm just exisiting at times...breathing. I sometimes find myself saying...Lord, I'm just breathing, just breathing. I need more than just breathing. Sigh...I'm done venting. I just thought I would catch up on Jack. My littlest one is now climbed up on the chair and is batting around the lamp. My little family circus....

Facebook

There are reasons why I love Facebook. I love the pages I have joined to see shopping deals or the blogs that update through Facebook. There are the few close friends I have that I can chat with about recipes or what's the latest crazy things our kids did. I love being able to share in their joys and sorrows. I also love being able to converse with people I went to high school or church with.

But.......

Does anyone else feel like Facebook makes them into an evil thoughts monster at times? There are times that I have to take a step back and just separate from it. I find I don't like the person I become when I'm using it. The times when I realize I need a break are when I find myself thinking very negatively in regards to the "friends" I have on Facebook. I also hate how people just think they can write whatever. I feel like I have nothing together when I'm seeing status' about how some are able to handle one million things and I can't handle ONE thing. Oh and there is always feeling ignored by certain people....ever feel like that? I start thinking...this is ridiculous that I am letting these lies fill my head.

This is when it's time for a Facebook break! Kind of a reset from my ungodly thinking.

Anyone else need to take occasional breaks from Facebook?