Happy Birthday To Me!

My parents took us out to eat for my birthday, and I picked Cheesecake Factory as I usually do. We rarely go out to eat because who wants to take four children with them?  But going out with my parents is perfect since we have a 1 to 1 ratio of adults to kids as you can see in the pictures below.  So, Happy 35th Birthday to me!

Southern Snow

Our poor southern children didn't get much snow this year.  So one afternoon, when flurries were landing on the trampoline, they all had to go out and watch and take their buddies with them.

Valentine's Party

So, I'm very behind on blogging again (imagine that).  Back in February, we had our annual Valentine's Party.  What's even better is that we had it after V-Day, so we could buy our cards on clearance at Target.  We had a small crowd, but we still had tons of fun!

A Day in the Life of THM

So, I have posted weekly menus before, but I thought I would post a daily menu so that you could see how all the meals combine in one day.  All of my meals/snacks are spaced around 2.5-3.5 hours apart.

Breakfast - Omelet with ham, mushrooms, spinach, and cheddar, water, coffee with half and half - S

Morning Snack - Dannon Oikos Triple Zero Banana Yogurt, 1/3 sliced banana, a tiny bit of chocolate shavings, coffee with a small splash of half and half - E

Lunch - Spicy Slaw with Lime and Cilantro (see recipe below), grilled chicken (precooked store bought), cheese crisps (microwave cheese until crispy), berries, sparkling water, square of dark chocolate - S

Afternoon Snack - Fat Stripping Frappe (Sugar free chocolate coffee drink with protein powder, recipe in the book), small handful of almonds - S

Dinner - (no picture because I was late getting it on the table) No Tortilla Enchilada Bake (recipe below), sour cream, a few chips made from a baked low carb tortilla, asparagus (didn't really go with the main dish, but it needed to get used up), salad with ranch, rest of the bottle of sparkling water - S

Bedtime Snack - 2 slices Ezekiel bread toasted.  One is topped with light laughing cow cheese and one with jam.

Spicy Mexican Slaw with Lime and Cilantro - S

6 cups thinly sliced cabbage (or buy a bag of colelaw)

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1/2 cup chopped cilantro (or more)

4 T mayo

3 T fresh lime juice (more or less to taste)

hot sauce to taste (I used about 1/2 tsp. green Tabasco sauce)

salt and pepper to taste

Thinly slice cabbage, using a mandoline or food processor if desired. Slice green onions, and wash, dry and chop cilantro. Combine cabbage, green onions and cilantro in large salad bowl.

In small bowl, whisk together, mayo, lime juice, and hot sauce. (You may want to start with less than the full amount of lime juice and hot sauce and keep adding until you have the desired blend of sour/hot flavor.)

Use a wooden spoon to mix dressing into cabbage mixture. Season to taste with salt and serve immediately, or chill for a few hours.

No Tortilla Chicken Enchilada Bake - S

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts, boiled and shredded

2 cups shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese

30-32 oz enchilada sauce, store bought (check for low sugar, Aldi brand only has 1 g) or quadruple the recipe below.

Green onions, optional

Sauteed onions and/or peppers, optional

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Layer the bottom of a casserole dish with shredded chicken.  Top with sauteed onion and/or peppers if desired.  Pour enchilada sauce over top.  Top with cheese and green onion, if desired.  Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove foil and cook for another 10 minutes until cheese is melted.

Enchilada Sauce             Makes 1 Cup

• 8oz. can of tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 t. chili powder
• 1/2 t. onion powder
• 1/2 t. garlic powder
• 1/4 t. sea salt
• 1/4 t. cumin
• 1/4 t. oregano
• pinch of crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

More Sierra Words

And the words keep coming and coming.  It is SO fun hearing her say Amen in church or tell me, "I love you," before bed.  I am just SO proud of this girl and all the progress she has made.

36. Blast off
37. Ignore me (I asked her if she was ignoring me, and she repeated it)
38. God
39. Book
40. Sorry (she has to do a lot of apologizing for beating Jordanna or Silas up)
41. Time to eat
42. Yes
43. Granola bar
44. Cup
45. Frozen
46. Let's Go
47. Obey
48. Grammy
49. Gramps
50. Dog
51. Caleb
52. Audrey
53. Jordanna
54. Elmo
55. Please

I am sure I am forgetting some, but you get the idea.  My girl is finally talking!

Trim Healthy Dinners: Part III

Day #1 -  Baked omelet (see recipe below), Trim healthy pancakes for me(from the book), regular pancakes for everyone else, fruit salad - crossover (To make this an S, use an almond flour pancake recipe and have berries not other fruit)

Day #2 - Bacon wrapped cream cheese stuffed chicken (no real recipe, I mix cream cheese, minced garlic and Italian seasoning.  Cut open chicken breasts and fill with cheese.  Wrap in bacon.  Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes then broil for a few minutes until bacon is crisp), sauteed green beans with almonds, strawberries - S

Day #3 - White chicken chili (see recipe below) topped with Greek yogurt, grilled cheese sandwich (2 slices sprouted bread, 1 tsp butter, light laughing cheese), berries - E

 Day #4 - London Broil with herb butter (see recipe below), roasted cauliflower for me, potatoes for everyone else, salad - S

Day #5 - Crockpot southwest chicken and rice chowder, baked blue tortilla chips (regular for the family), 0% Greek yogurt or low fat sour cream, fruit salad - E

Day #6 - Spaghetti (ground beef, organic sugar free spaghetti sauce from Aldi, Dreamfield's pasta), salad - S

Day #7 - Crustless Sausage Quiche (omit milk or sub half and half or heavy cream), roasted asparagus, berries, whole grain bread for everyone else - S

White Chicken Chili -E

 In a 6 quart crockpot, place 2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  Season with salt and pepper.  On top of chicken, place 3 cans of white beans (I used 2 cans of white kidney beans and 1 can of great northern beans), one small can of diced green chiles, one carton of chicken broth, 1 TB of cumin, and salt and pepper to taste.  Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.  Shred chicken before serving.  Top with fat free Greek yogurt or sour cream.

  

Baked Omelet - S

Ingredients

8 eggs 1/2 cup heavy cream 1/2 cup half and half 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt 6 ounces bacon, cooked and crumbled 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 1/2 tsp onion powder Directions

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 8x8 inch casserole dish and set aside.
2.	Beat together the eggs and creams. Add seasoning salt, bacon, Cheddar cheese, Mozzarella cheese and onion powder. Pour into prepared casserole dish.
3.	Bake uncovered at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 40 to 45 minutes. London Broil w/Herb Butter - S 1 beef bouillon cube 3 TB extra virgin olive oil 1 TB soy sauce (make sure carbs are low) 1 TB Worcestershire sauce 2 TB fresh lemon juice Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper 1 top round London broil steak (about 2 lbs) Herb butter: 4 TB unsalted butter, softened 1 TB chopped fresh parsley 1 TB chopped fresh chervil or tarragon Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper 1 TB fresh lemon juice Prepare the steak: Dissolve the bouillon cube in ¾ cup hot water in a bowl; set aside to cool. Whisk in 2 TB olive oil, the soy sauce, Worcestershire, lemon juice, 1 tsp salt, and ½ tsp black pepper. Place the steak in a large resealable plastic bag, pour in the marinade and seal, squeezing out the air. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 1 day. Prepare the herb butter: Mix the butter with seasonings in a bowl. About 30 minutes before cooking, remove the meat from the bag (discard the marinade), dry it well and bring it to room temperature. Heat a large heavy skillet over high heat, about 2 minutes. Rub the steak with the remaining 1 TB olive oil. Sprinkle 1 TB salt over the surface of the pan; add the meat and set a heavy skillet on top to weigh it down. Sear for about 7 minutes; turn the steak; replace the weight until a thermometer inserted into the side reads 110 degrees for medium-rare, about 5 minutes. Transfer the steak to a cutting board; brush with some of the herb butter, tent with foil and let rest for about 10 minutes. Thinly slice against the grain; top with more herb butter and drizzle with the pan juices.

One Year Trimaversary

Today marks one year since I started Trim Healthy Mama.  I bought the book on 3/5 last year. I started reading it while eating a Chick-fil-a sandwich, large fries, and a large Coke. I read very fast, and I read enough to know that I wanted to start the next day. I started at 184 and a tight 12. I hoped to lose 10-15 lbs and wear a size 10, but I was skeptical that it would happen. Well, it didn't! I lost 40 lbs and wear a size 6! What a difference a year can make.

Before -

After -

Chatterbox

My sweet Sierra is saying new words like crazy lately!  Even her teacher has commented on how much she is talking at school.  A lot of time, she just repeats words. For instance, she will drag me to the pantry and point. When I ask he if she wants a snack, she will say, "Snack."  Some words she does use spontaneously, though, especially "all done" and "no".  Anyway, here is a list of words that she has been saying lately.

1. Mama
2. Dada
3. Uh oh
4. All done
5. Snack
6. Stop
7. Show
8. Hi
9. Bye
10. Go
11. School
12. Bus
13. Home
14. Candy
15. Chocolate
16. Derivative (Dave thinks it's funny to get her to repeat this.)
17. Amen
18. Jesus
19. Alexa
20. I love you
21. Ball
22. No
23. More
24. Bedtime
25. Hotdog
26. Okay
27. Molly
28. Ready
29. Thank you
30. Bath
31. Dora
32. Barney
33. Yeah
34. Cheese
35. That one

I'm sure I forgot a few, but I'm so proud of all the progress she has made!