Monthly Archives: October 2015

Well it’s fall and I am not immune to the pumpkin craze that seems to have hit everyone. Now since I want to enjoy the pumpkin craze without throwing my diet off course I am finding healthier recipes. This soup was good but it was definitely missing something so I added some curry powder 🙂 It’s the perfect fall recipe. It will warm you up and make you feel like and cozy.

What you need to make this recipe:

2 tsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cups canned pumpkin
1 cup dry red lentils
6 cups water
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tbsp curry powder
Sea salt and ground black pepper

How to make it:

1. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. Add onion; cook, stirring frequently until translucent.
3. Add garlic; cook for 1 minute.
4. Add pumpkin, lentils, and water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; gently boil, covered, for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat.
5. Place soup in a blender in small batches;  Blend until smooth.
6. Return soup to sauce pan over medium heat. Add ginger and cumin, curry powder, salt, and pepper,  cook, stirring constantly, until soup is hot. Serves 6

This weekend has been less then pleasant in more ways then one. I got my flu shot on Friday and for some reason I made a reaction to the shot. Leaving me with a big bump on my arm and some pain. It also left me wanting to sleep and be slightly lazy.

Eating was less then stellar since then stellar as well. I had take out pretty much all weekend and I am feeling the sluggish effects of the crappy eating. But thankfully we did some groceries today and stocked up on some healthy foods. I got some free kindle books about Low carb eating and I received confirmation that my Weight loss Surgery for Dummies books are on their way 🙂

I have some delicious recipes that I’m going to try this week that hopefully the kids will enjoy as well. But for now it’s off to bed and to hoping I feel better in the morning.

This week has been incredibly busy with appointments and commitments and I am feeling the effects tonight. Today was no exception in the appointment and commitment train. And I even got a surprise when I showed up from a Dr visit they informed me that I would be getting a flu shot and since my oldest was with me so would he. He was not impressed that his special one on one time with mom started with a needle but got over it rather quickly.

I’ve gotten a few comments recently from people saying that I always say I’m busy so I wanted to give you a quick run down of what this busy mama schedule looked like this week and yes I am this busy most of the time.

Monday

Worked the Elections from 6 am and got back home at 10 pm

Tuesday

Homeschooling the three kids (pre school, K and grade 2)

Have a playdate with a friend and do some crafts

Get to the store to pick up a few groceries

Wednesday

Homeschool kids for about 30 minutes because I have an appointment

Weight loss surgery orientation from 9-230

Come home cook a quick supper

weight loss course 6-8pm

Thursday

Kids see their support teacher from 930-11

Oldest has speech therapy from 130-2

Cognitive behaviour therapy class from 430-630

Friday

Dr appointment

Oldest swimming lessons

homeschooling

And as you noticed I didn’t put all of my cooking time and cleaning the house time in this or my sleep. I say I am busy because lately I am busy all the time. Today I at least took the time to get a workout in by swimming while my son was in his swim lessons but I am struggling to find the time to get everything done. My husband has come up with a plan that will probably work. We will wake up about an hour earlier then we currently do and it will at least give me 30 minutes a day to workout.

I also took time to just be with my kids and husband tonight. I brought my oldest to his swimming class alone. I took my youngest out on a date and enjoyed listening to him chat away and play tic-tac-toe. I’m going to a halloween party with my middle child tomorrow. But tonight I let her pick a family movie and we all watched it together. Sometimes taking care of yourself means having a quiet night in with laughter and surrounded by the people you love.

Now this wasn’t very weight loss or health related but it is part of my journey 🙂

After being on the wait list for almost 2 years I have finally gotten and orientation for bariatric surgery. I went to the orientation on Wednesday morning and I wanted to share everything with you. But honestly there was so much information given to us during that orientation that I am still wrapping my head around it. I know that the program I will be doing offers a variety of classes that I’m excited to participate in. Like a cooking class and a class on how to read food labels.

They took our picture and I’m excited to see the progress I make during the length of the program.

I do feel the need to clarify something. WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY IS  NOT THE EASY WAY OUT.  There is tons of work to do pre and post surgery and it’s not all going to be a walk in the park. There is strict guidelines that we need to follow in order to get a surgery date we don’t just walk in get a date and move on with out lives.

Another thing I should clarify is that we have done tons of research. Most of us have looked up the surgery and what types of surgery there is and what we would want. And a another prerequisite for the surgery is to buy books on the subject. To be precise I need to buy Weight loss surgery for dummies book and the cookbook that goes with it.

I have tons more to say on this subject but I need to get to bed tonight. I will try to keep you updated as much as I can as the journey progresses.

Mushrooms and chicken are two of my favourite foods. So naturally I wanted to make a delicious meal that was healthy and the whole family would eat. This recipe did have some trial and errors. The first time I made it I added some dried rosemary and it was terrible. Think about eating pine needles with your chicken gross lol. So this is the new and improved recipe

What you need to make this recipe (makes four, four oz chicken servings)

1½ tsp. olive oil, divided 
12 oz raw chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
4 medium shallots, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 lb. sliced mushrooms
½ cup  low-sodium  chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste

How to make it:

1. Heat 1 tsp. oil in medium skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add chicken; cook for 3 minutes on each side. Remove from pan.
3. Heat remaining ½ tsp. oil over medium-high heat.
4. Add shallots; cook, stirring frequently  until translucent.
5. Add garlic; cook, stirring frequently, for 1 minute.
6. Add mushrooms cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, or until mushrooms release all their liquid.
7. Add  broth. Season with salt and pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
8. Add chicken; cook  until chicken is no longer pink in the middle.
9. Place a chicken breast on  serving plates. Top with mushroom mixture.

As most of you know by now I have three children. And most of the time they are great and will eat whatever I put in front of them NOT lol. My youngest is particularly picky. He won’t eat a lot of foods. I mean no pizza, no cheese, no yogurt, a lot of meats are hit and miss and fish must be served without telling him it’s fish but telling him that it’s chicken. He will however eat Mushroom and bean burgers go figure. So tonight I tried a recipe I was intrigued with from mind over munch head (www.mindovermunch.com)  over to her page and say hi she has tons of delicious recipes and I love her videos.

Anyways back to the delicious recipe. I decided to make some vegan mac and cheese. Why was I so intrigued? Well there is no cheese and the main ingredient is pumpkin. Yay a hidden veggy that the older two can’t complain about 🙂

Here’s the link to her video trust me you want to check it out it’s amazing!!

Since the holidays are coming I decided to look into working to help with the cost. I actually will only be working one day. I got hired as an elections official for Monday October 19th. This is seriously the best timing to get some cash for Christmas. And I will be among adults for the day. However that means I will be gone from 545 am to about 9 pm. I’m sure it will be a crazy day that will go by hopefully fast. It also means I need to figure out what I am going to eat while staying on plan. Oh did I mention that we must eat at the desk.

Here’s what I have put together so far.

Cheese

Grapes

Turkey pepperoni

Apples

Crackers

Overnight Pumpkin Oats

I think I will be good with this but thankfully I can call my husband if I do run out of food 🙂 As long as I eat 1200 calories it’s all I need especially since I won’t be moving much.