Random Thoughts....

I haven't been postings as regularly as I would like. I have been a bit jumbled this week. Here is some of my randomness.

A completely vegan lifestyle change is not in my near future but I will be continuing to make small changes to my diet to reach my goal to be healthier.

I love Coffee mate's Coconut Creme coffee creamer. It happens to be one of the reasons the above ^ isn't going to happen soon. It is pure heaven. My husband who dislikes coffee will have a cup just to be able to drink this stuff. No joke. Awesomness....

I have a love/hate relationship with my microwave. I love it to warm up leftovers quickly. I hate it because it makes my food so hot it burns my mouth. Boo.... Plus it takes up a lot of space on my counter top.

I have two boxers named Lily and Reeses. I named Lily after Lily Potter. Yep, I'm one of those nerds. My husband named Reeses after his favorite candy. I'll give you three guesses. :) Plus, Reeses is brindle, his fur color looks like chocolate and peanut butter. I love my fur-babies!!!

When Reese's was a puppy he would play so hard he would pass out everywhere and in any position. He was only 10 weeks in these photos and now he is almost two years old!!!

Today is my little brother's birthday. Three weeks out of the year I'm the same age as my little brother. I feel sorry for my mom. Happy Birthday Lenny!!!

Ok, I feel better now. Happy Wednesday!!!

Always Said...

"My momma always said life is like a box..."

Just kidding she said.

"You always get what you pay for."

Sometimes this is true and other times I don't think it is. But this post is about some of the times she was right. Here are a list of a things that I think you get what you paid for..

Cheap Green Tea

Gag... It has a seaweed taste to it and it is SO bitter!! I have some Green Tea that I have spent a little more money on and it is so much better.

Great Value Vegetable Oil

I can't put my finger on it but there is something not right about it and the smoke point is extremely low so my house is filled with smoke that smells like burning tar! BLAH!

Off Brand Shortening

I mean really, What was I thinking? I don't use shortening anymore but gag it is horrible and the mouth feel is way off and makes your tongue feel like glue.

I'm sitting here drinking horrible Green Tea and it got me thinking that sometimes in life you really do get what you paid for.

Cashew Crema...

I’m not one to spend money on something I’ll never use. Pre-child I would have never spent money to get a weekly meal planner but upon having a child and barely time to think I decided it was time to look into it.

IT IS A TIME SAVER and a money saver because before I would never plan my meals I would just go to the store and buy what looked good. This shopping method is the bane of all budgets.

I looked at about 5 different meal planning site before I came upon Emeals. Almost instantly I knew it was the right one for me. The prices are fair and the options are great. There are 10 different meal plans to choose from and you have the option for the meal plan to feed 2 or 4-6. I went with the plan for vegetarian for two since Emma isn't eating solids yet. My husband still eats meat products but it is easy enough to include.  

I've been doing this for about a month and a half and I plan to continue because it really is helpful for my lifestyle. Maybe someday I'll get my stuff together and create my own meal plans but not anytime soon.

The recipes given so far have been good. Since tastes vary there have been a few phenomenal recipes that I will be keeping in my recipe box. A few I'd rather forget but on average both my husband and I have liked everything. I usually pick out two meals from the plan an discard them because I don't need them. Every Friday is our shopping day and we usually go out to eat because after work and after shopping we both just want to sit down and relax for a few minutes. The other missing recipe is a random reason like having dinner with in-laws or parents or just a request from my husband for a favorite dish.

One of the meals for this week was:

Rajas con Crema

(Poblanos with Onion and Cream)

Mexican Brown Rice

This looked great to me but you can see from the name that it didn't gel with my efforts to try and eat vegan but I really wanted to try this recipes. I tried for the first time ever to make Cashew Cream. It worked like a dream.

Ingredients:

Cashews
Water

That's it. I promise.

All I did was take 1/3 cup cashews and let them soak in fresh water for about 4 hours. Once they soaked long egoug I drained off the water and added the cashews and enough fresh water to cover the cashew in my blender (which is not a hig speed blender just 450 watts) and blended for about 2 minutes. Scraped down the edges gave it a quick pulse and then added enough water to reach the consistency I was looking for. SO EASY. Just store is the fridge.

I'm so glad I tried to make this because the dish was simple yet amazing and I couldn't tell that real cream hadn't been used. If you have a recipe that calls for cream try this Cashew Cream in it's place. If you are like me you won't even notice the switch.



One week... Staring Now!

So I weighed myself this morning... Not only did I not lose any weight last week but I gained .2 lbs. I know it isn't a lot but it is the wrong way. Sigh....

Anyway, I have an addiction. Well actually two... Cheese and Coffee Creamer.

I know Coffee Creamer isn't your run of the mill addiction but I like coffee but once you add the sugar laden flavored creamer I am in heaven! Bah... It makes me sad to see you go.

Cheese... Le sigh...

I truly and deeply love cheese. And the worst of the worst of cheeses... Cheddar! Everything about it makes me happy. The smooth texture, the pleasant saltiness, the buttery yellow hue. 

Unfortunately, They must go in the best interest of what my heart truly desires... Size Healthy.

So this morning I'm drinking French Vanilla Black Tea but dreaming of the smooth and delicious Coconut Creamer in my fridge at home. (I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the remainder.)

I have decided I'm going to give up dairy and eggs for one week and eat vegan to see if the change helps my efforts or causes me to binge on a block of Mild Cheddar Cheese. I'm hoping for the former.

So to kick off my week of good eating I've started with this...



This was taken by my phone. Not such a good pic but you get the point.



Overnight Steel Cut Oats  with Naturally More Crunchy PB and an apple.

Yumminess in my to-go container at my desk. :)